Vehicle Having A Two-Stage Cooling System

Abstract

A high-capacity vehicle includes a vehicle floor and at least one refrigeration machine which is disposed under the vehicle floor and has a first refrigerant circuit. A second refrigerant circuit extends at least partially inside the vehicle. An intermediate heat exchanger is provided for heat exchange between the first refrigerant circuit and the second refrigerant circuit.

Claims

1-10. (canceled)

11. A high-capacity vehicle, comprising: a vehicle floor; a vehicle interior disposed above said vehicle floor; at least one refrigeration machine having a first refrigerant circuit, said at least one refrigeration machine and said first refrigerant circuit being disposed below said vehicle floor; a second refrigerant circuit extending at least partially into said vehicle interior; and an intermediate heat exchanger configured for heat exchange between said first refrigerant circuit and said second refrigerant circuit.

12. The vehicle according to claim 11, wherein said at least one refrigeration machine is a compression refrigeration system including at least one of at least one vapor compressor or at least one throttle member disposed in said first refrigerant circuit.

13. The vehicle according to claim 12, wherein said second refrigerant circuit does not have at least one of a vapor compressor or a throttle member.

14. The vehicle according to claim 11, wherein said second refrigerant circuit includes at least one further heat exchanger disposed in said vehicle interior and configured for cooling a refrigerator of an onboard kitchen.

15. The vehicle according to claim 11, wherein said second refrigerant circuit includes at least one circulating pump for delivering a second refrigerant in said second refrigerant circuit.

16. The vehicle according to claim 11, wherein said first refrigerant circuit contains a first refrigerant, said second refrigerant circuit contains a second refrigerant, and said first refrigerant has at least a different chemical structure than said second refrigerant.

17. The vehicle according to claim 11, wherein said first refrigerant circuit contains a first refrigerant, said second refrigerant circuit contains a second refrigerant, and said first refrigerant has different physical properties than said second refrigerant.

18. The vehicle according to claim 11, wherein said first refrigerant circuit contains a first refrigerant, said second refrigerant circuit contains a second refrigerant, and at least one of: said first refrigerant includes carbon dioxide or propane or a hydrofluoro-olefin, or said second refrigerant is selected from a group of alcohols.

19. The vehicle according to claim 11, wherein at least one of said first refrigerant circuit or said second refrigerant circuit is closed.

20. The vehicle according to claim 11, wherein said intermediate heat exchanger is disposed below said vehicle floor.

Description

[0022] As a result of the two mutually separate refrigerant circuits, refrigerant with a GWP below 150 can be used without additional risk to the passengers. Therefore, combustible refrigerants are optionally arranged outside the passenger area whilst, inside, only low-flammable and therefore harmless refrigerants are used. In the event of a leak in the first refrigerant circuit, the potentially dangerous refrigerant cannot escape into the carriage interior.

[0023] The invention permits numerous embodiments. It is explained in more detail with reference to the following FIGURE. This shows a schematic circuit diagram of an inventive two-stage refrigeration system of a vehicle.

[0024] The vehicle has a vehicle floor 11, which delimits an interior space of the vehicle towards the bottom. A refrigeration machine 1 having a first refrigerant circuit 2 is arranged exclusively underfloor and therefore underneath the vehicle floor 11.

[0025] In the first refrigerant circuit 2, a first refrigerant is guided through various components of the refrigeration machine 1 by means of a pipeline system. Only a central cooling system 3, a first circulating pump 4 for delivering the first refrigerant, a first valve 5 for further controlling the refrigerant flow and an intermediate heat exchanger 6, in which the first refrigerant is heated, are illustrated here.

[0026] The central cooling system 3 of the refrigeration machine 1 can comprise a central heat transfer device, for example in the form of a heat exchanger, a condenser, a vapor compressor and an evaporator. It henceforth optionally comprises a throttle between the condenser and the evaporator. It can furthermore comprise at least one fan. The first refrigerant is cooled by means of the central cooling system 3 of the refrigeration machine 1. In this case, the heat is released to the environment of the vehicle in particular by means of the heat transfer device.

[0027] A major part of a second refrigerant circuit 10 extends above a floor and therefore inside an area 12 of the vehicle which delimits the interior space, in particular a passenger space, towards the environment, for example a carriage body shell of a rail vehicle.

[0028] A second refrigerant is also guided through various components in the second refrigerant circuit 10 by means of a pipeline system. A second circulating pump 8 is provided for delivering the second refrigerant, and a first valve 9 is provided for further controlling the refrigerant flow. The first refrigerant circuit 2 is connected to the second refrigerant circuit 10 via the intermediate heat exchanger 6. The second refrigerant is firstly cooled in the intermediate heat exchanger 6. To this end, it is guided past the first refrigerant, which is heated thereby. The heat from the second refrigerant circuit 10 is transferred to the first refrigerant circuit 2 in the intermediate heat exchanger 6. The intermediate heat exchanger 6 is configured as a counter stream recuperator here.

[0029] The cooled second refrigerant is supplied further downstream to a further, second heat exchanger 7, which serves for cooling a refrigerator of an onboard kitchen. In this case, it is in turn heated and conducted to the intermediate heat exchanger again for cooling.