Abstract
The invention relates to a method (100) for lowering the temperature of at least one component (410 . . . 470) in a vehicle (400), comprising the steps of: determining (110) future route-dependent data; lowering (130) the temperature of at least one component (410 . . . 470) as a function of the determined data.
Claims
1. A method (100) for lowering the temperature of at least one component (410 . . . 470) in a vehicle (400), the method comprising: determining (110), via a computer, future route-dependent data; lowering (130), via the computer, the temperature of at least one component (410 . . . 470) depending on the future route-dependent data.
2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein lowering (130) the temperature of at least one component (410 . . . 470) comprises at least one of the following: lowering (132) the clock frequency of the actuation of a power electronics system of the vehicle; changing (134) the actuating method of a power electronics system of the vehicle; changing the switching dynamics (135) of the power electronics system; increasing the coolant throughflow (136) through the radiator or the cooling ducts of a component; increasing the fan rotation speed (138) for cooling a component; increasing the cooling capacity (142) of an air-conditioning system which serves to cool a component; switching off (144) an auxiliary assembly of the vehicle; adjusting (146) a transmission ratio of a transmission of the vehicle.
3. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the steps (132 . . . 144) for lowering the temperature are selected or combined in such a way that reliable operation of the components (410 . . . 470) of the vehicle (400) when traveling along the future route is ensured and the energy required for lowering (130) the temperature is minimized.
4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein determining (110) future route-dependent data comprises at least one of the following: determining the expected thermal losses of at least one component (410 . . . 470) when traveling along future route sections (112); determining the expected thermal losses of at least one component (410 . . . 470) when traveling along a future route depending on the slope and length of said route (114); determining the expected thermal losses of at least one component (410 . . . 470) for an imminent acceleration process (116); determining the expected thermal losses of at least one component (410 . . . 470) for the future stopping at a location (118); determining the expected thermal losses of at least one component (410 . . . 470) when traveling along future route sections depending on the driver request or the operating strategy of an automated vehicle (122).
5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the component (410 . . . 470) is at least one sub-component of a power electronics system (410), of a voltage converter (420), of a battery (430), of an electrical machine (440), of an internal combustion engine (450) or of a component of the internal combustion engine (460) or of a component of the exhaust gas system (470) of the internal combustion engine.
6. (canceled)
7. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium containing computer-executable instructions that when executed by a computer cause the computer to determine (110) future route-dependent data; lower (130) the temperature of at least one component (410 . . . 470) depending on the future route-dependent data.
8. (canceled)
9. A drive train (300) comprising a computer (490) configured to determine data depending on future routes; and lower the temperature of at least one component depending on the determined data.
10. (canceled)
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0037] The invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to some figures, in which:
[0038] FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of a vehicle comprising a drive train and a device for lowering the temperature of at least one component, and
[0039] FIG. 2 shows a schematically illustrated flowchart of a method for lowering the temperature of at least one component.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0040] FIG. 1 shows a device 490 for lowering the temperature of at least one component 410 . . . 470, or a sub-component of said component, in a vehicle 400. The device 490 is designed to determine data depending on future routes. To this end, the device 490 is connected to sensor devices and data detection devices 495. Depending on the data, the device 490 actuates further devices of the vehicle which lead to lowering of the temperature of at least one of the components 410 . . . 470. The connection between the voltage converter 420 and the device 490 is schematically illustrated. The voltage converter 420 supplies a low voltage to the device 490 as operating voltage. To this end, the voltage converter 420 converts the voltage of the battery 430, preferably a high voltage of a high-voltage battery of 300 volts for example, into a low voltage, for example to 48 volts or 12 volts. The battery 430 is connected to the electrical machine 440 by means of a power electronics system 410, in particular an inverter. A further component, not illustrated in FIG. 1, in particular a step-up converter, is preferably provided between the battery 430 and the power electronics system 410 for converting, in particular for stepping up, the voltage of the battery 430 into the input voltage of the power electronics system 410, for example from 300 volts to 600 or 800 volts. The power electronics system 410 provides the electrical energy for supplying power to the electrical machine 440. To this end, the power electronics system 410 converts the input voltage of the power electronics system 410 into an AC voltage. The electrical machine can be connected to an internal combustion engine 450 by means of a coupling 445, preferably a clutch. A turbocharger 460 is flange-connected to the internal combustion engine 450, preferably for increasing the power. An exhaust gas system, which comprises a component 470 of the exhaust gas system, is provided for purifying the exhaust gas of the internal combustion engine 450. The two drive assemblies, the internal combustion engine 450 and the electrical machine 440, can be coupled to an output shaft 484, which drives wheels 480 by means of an axle 482, by means of a transmission 455, preferably a manual transmission or an automatic transmission. The drive train 300 comprises the device 490 and at least one of the described components 410 . . . 470. Here, the vehicle 400 is schematically illustrated with a further two wheels 480 on a further axle 486. However, the vehicle 400 may also be a one-, two- or multiple-wheel drive land vehicle, watercraft or aircraft.
[0041] FIG. 2 shows a schematic sequence of the method 100 for lowering the temperature of at least one component 410 . . . 470 in a vehicle 400. The method starts with step 105. In step 110, future route-dependent data is determined. This can be done in various ways, so that, for example, in step 112, the expected thermal losses of at least one component 410 . . . 470 when traveling along future route sections are determined, in particular the expected thermal losses correlate to the power requirement which is required in the future or is expected to be required. In step 114, the expected thermal losses of at least one component 410 . . . 470 when traveling along a future route are preferably determined depending on the slope and length of said route. In step 116, the expected thermal losses for an imminent acceleration process are preferably determined. In step 118, the expected thermal losses for the future stopping at a location are preferably determined. In step 122, the expected thermal losses when traveling along future route sections are preferably determined depending on the driver request or the operating strategy of an automated vehicle. In addition to these method steps, further method steps are also possible, this being indicated by the sequence of dots within step 110. In step 130, the temperature of at least one component 410 . . . 470 is lowered depending on the determined data. To this end, a large number of steps is once again possible. By way of example, in step 132, the clock frequency of a power electronics system of the vehicle is lowered. In step 134, the actuation method of a power electronics system of the vehicle is preferably changed, for example a switchover is made from the sinusoidal pulse-width modulation to a block mode (square-wave actuation or flat-top mode). In step 135, the switching dynamics of the power electronics system are preferably changed, for example by means of changing a gate series resistance of a circuit breaker of the power electronics system. In this context, changing the switching dynamics is understood to mean, in particular, changing the period of time which is required by the circuit breaker in order to change over from the switched-on to a switched-off state, and vice versa. In step 136, the coolant throughflow through a radiator or through cooling ducts of a component is preferably increased. In step 138, the fan rotation speed of a fan for cooling a component is preferably increased. In step 142, the cooling capacity of an air-conditioning system, which serves to cool a component, is preferably increased. In step 144, an auxiliary assembly of the vehicle is preferably switched off and furthermore, in step 146, a transmission ratio of a transmission of the vehicle is preferably adjusted for lowering the temperature of at least one component 410 . . . 470. Further measures are also conceivable in step 130, this being illustrated in the drawing by the sequence of dots in step 130. The method ends with step 150.
