Temperature Management Module with Pump and Central Control Device

Abstract

Pump module, particularly for a temperature management system, and temperature management system comprising the pump module, and motor vehicle comprising the pump module or the temperature management system

The invention relates to a pump module, in particular a liquid fluid pump module for a temperature management system (100), e.g. of an electric battery-driven motor vehicle or a hybrid motor vehicle, comprising: at least one electrically driven fluid pump unit (2) which is configured and provided to supply fluid to be pumped to at least one actuatable fluid valve means (3); a control device (ECU) for actuating at least one drive motor (7) of the fluid pump unit (2), wherein the control unit (ECU) also comprises at least one electrically actuatable operating solenoid (31) for a pilot valve (20), which solenoid is configured and provided to hydraulically operate the fluid valve means (3) by means of the pilot valve (20) during normal use of the pump module (1).

Furthermore, the invention relates to a temperature management system comprising the pump module, and a motor vehicle comprising the pump module or the temperature management system.

Claims

1. A pump module, particularly a liquid fluid pump module for a temperature management system, e.g. of an electric battery-driven motor vehicle or of a hybrid motor vehicle, comprising: at least one electrically driven fluid pump unit configured and provided to supply fluid to be pumped to at least one actuatable fluid valve means; a control unit (ECU) for actuating at least one drive motor of the fluid pump unit, characterized in that the control unit (ECU) also comprises at least one electrically actuatable operating solenoid for a pilot valve, which solenoid is configured and provided to hydraulically operate the fluid valve means by means of the pilot valve during normal use of the pump module.

2. The pump module according to claim 1, wherein the fluid to be pumped is a liquid fluid, particularly a temperature control fluid.

3. The pump module according to claim 1, characterized in that there is furthermore an additional pump assembly that provides a control fluid having a control pressure.

4. The pump module according to claim 1, characterized in that the additional pump assembly may be driven by the drive motor of the fluid pump unit.

5. The pump module according to claim 3, characterized in that the additional pump assembly may be driven by a free end of a drive shaft of the fluid pump unit.

6. The pump module according to claim 1, characterized in that the control fluid is the pumped fluid and may be branched off from a fluid volume flow.

7. The pump module according to claim 1, characterized in that for branching off the control fluid there is a flow channel leading from a pump chamber of the fluid pump unit to the additional pump assembly.

8. The pump module according to claim 1, characterized in that at least the actuation solenoid is mounted directly on the control board of the control unit (ECU) by means of SMD mounting.

9. The pump module according to claim 1, characterized in that the pump module comprises at least one fluid pump unit provided as a low-temperature pump, particularly for the cooling of a battery cooling circuit, and a fluid pump unit provided as a high-temperature pump, particularly for cooling an inverter or a drive of a motor vehicle.

10. The pump module according to claim 1, characterized in that the at least one fluid pump unit is provided as an orbiter eccentric piston pump.

11. The pump module according to claim 1, characterized in that all fluid pump units are arranged coaxially around a common drive axis in a drivable manner.

12. A temperature management system at least comprising one pump module according to claim 1 and at least one fluid valve means which is operable by at least one pilot valve that is operable by the at least one operating solenoid.

13. A motor vehicle comprising a pump module according to claim 1, or a temperature management system according to claim 12.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0042] The invention will be described in more detail by way of example hereinunder with the aid of the drawing. The single FIGURE shows:

[0043] FIG. 1: in a highly schematic manner, a temperature management system in accordance with the invention, comprising a pump module in accordance with the invention for use in a motor vehicle, in particular in an electric battery-operated motor vehicle, with a partially cut-away longitudinal cross-sectional view of fluid pump units designed as temperature control fluid pump units, in a two-row orbiter eccentric piston construction.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0044] In an exemplified embodiment according to FIG. 1 described hereinunder, the pump module 1 in accordance with the invention is described with reference to use in a schematically illustrated temperature management system 100. Fluid pump units 2 are designed as temperature control fluid pump units therein. The fluid valve means 3 are designed as temperature control fluid valve means. The temperature control fluid pump units 2 deliver a liquid temperature control fluid.

[0045] In the exemplified embodiment, the temperature control fluid pump unit 2 has a high-temperature pump 4 for delivery of a temperature control fluid at a relatively high temperature, e.g. up to 120° C. The high-temperature pump 4 is illustrated as a two-row orbiter eccentric piston pump in the exemplified embodiment according to FIG. 1. In the exemplified embodiment according to FIG. 1, the other temperature control fluid pump unit 2 is designed as a low-temperature pump 5 for delivery of a temperature control fluid at a lower temperature e.g. up to 40° C. The low-temperature pump 5 is likewise designed as a two-row orbiter eccentric piston pump.

[0046] Furthermore, the pump module 1 comprises an additional pump assembly 6. The additional pump assembly 6 is designed by way of example as a gerotor pump. The additional pump assembly 6 and the low-temperature pump 5 and the high-temperature pump 4 can be driven about a common drive axis A by means of a drive motor 7. Each orbiter eccentric piston pump has an eccentric shaft 8 which carries two eccentrics 9. Respective orbiter eccentric pistons 10 in pump chambers 11 are mounted on the eccentrics 9. The pump chambers 11 are separated by a respective separating wall 12. Therefore, in each case two pump chambers 11 separated by the separating wall 12 are formed in a common pump housing. As seen in a direction of rotation DR, the eccentrics 9 and the orbiter eccentric pistons 10 of a temperature control fluid pump unit 2 are phase-offset with respect to each other by 180° so that a two-row orbiter eccentric piston pump is formed.

[0047] The two temperature control fluid pump units 2, which are designed as orbiter eccentric piston pumps, are mechanically connected but hydraulically separated from each other by means of a separating wall component 13. For optimal thermal separation of the two temperature control fluid pump units 2, i.e. of the low-temperature pump 5 and of the high-temperature pump 4, the separating wall component 13 is formed from a material which has the lowest possible level of heat conductivity. The heat conductivity of the material from which the separating wall component 13 is produced is in particular lower than the heat conductivity of the pump housing forming the pump chambers 11.

[0048] In terms of construction, the low-temperature pump 5 is likewise designed as a two-row orbiter eccentric piston pump as described above with reference to the high-temperature pump 4.

[0049] In terms of axial succession it is particularly expedient to arrange—following the drive motor 7, which is designed e.g. as a brushless direct current motor (BLDC motor) 7—first the high-temperature pump 4, then the separating wall component 13, then the low-temperature pump 5 and then the additional pump assembly 6 which can be driven by a free end 14 of a drive shaft 15. In the exemplified embodiment according to FIG. 1, the drive shaft 15 is composed e.g. of two eccentric shafts 8 which are connected via a coupling 16 which can transmit torque.

[0050] Therefore, in the exemplified embodiment according to FIG. 1, both the high-temperature pump 4 and also the low-temperature pump 5 and the additional pump assembly 6 can be driven centrally by a drive motor 7. The high-temperature pump 4 provides high-temperature temperature control fluid for a high-temperature cooling circuit 40, in which e.g. the temperature control fluid valve means 3, e.g. one-way valves or multi-way valves, are disposed. The low-temperature pump 5 provides e.g. temperature control fluid at lower temperature compared to the high-temperature temperature control fluid. This low-temperature fluid is used e.g. for cooling a battery circuit (not shown). Such a low-temperature cooling circuit 50 contains e.g. rotary slide valves 17a, for instance as temperature control fluid valve means 3. Of course, said temperature control fluid valve means 3 in the respective cooling circuits 40, 50 are not limited to said types of valve construction.

[0051] A flow channel 17 leads from a pump chamber 11 of the low-temperature pump 5 to a fluid inlet of the additional pump assembly 6. The low-temperature fluid flowing through the flow channel 17 therefore serves as a control fluid 18 which is pumped by the additional pump assembly 6 and—as will be described hereinunder—serves to actuate at least one temperature control fluid valve means 3 with at least one pilot valve 20.

[0052] Following axially on from the low-temperature pump 5 and the additional pump assembly 6, a control unit ECU is set against the low-temperature pump 5 and is electrically connected to the drive motor 7 by means of a conductor channel 21 in which the electric conductors extend. The conductor channel 21 thus passes through the pump housing of the high-temperature pump 4 and of the low-temperature pump 5 and of the separating wall component 13.

[0053] The control unit ECU comprises a control board 30, on which, in a known manner, electronic circuits are disposed which serve to actuate the drive motor 7.

[0054] In the case of the embodiment in accordance with the invention according to FIG. 1, operating solenoids 31 of the pilot valves 20 are also disposed on the control board 30 and at that location are fastened directly on the surface of the control board 30 by means of SMD technology. SMD technology is to be understood to be surface-mount device technology in which electronic components are disposed and mounted directly on a surface of a circuit board.

[0055] Therefore, electric drive means of the pilot valves 20, which are the operating solenoids 31, are integrally disposed on the control board 30. Therefore, all singular plug connections for actuation of the operating solenoids 31 of the pilot valves 20 are omitted since these are already provided via the control board 30.

[0056] In the illustration according to FIG. 1, a total of four operating solenoids 31 for four pilot valves 20 are shown. The four pilot valves 20 can be mechanically held in a valve support and be used as a pilot valve module for mounting into the operating solenoids 31. Of course, the number of operating solenoids 31 is not limited to four but is naturally dependent on the number of pilot valves 20 to be actuated in the specific application.

[0057] The pilot valves 20 are connected to a pump output of the additional pump assembly 6. The control fluid 18 serves as a hydraulic supply fluid for the pilot valves 20. In accordance with the invention, the pilot valves 20 actuate, with the control fluid 18, the temperature control fluid valve means 3 which are larger in terms of their dimensions than the pilot valves 20.

[0058] A pump module 1 in accordance with the invention as described above can therefore be combined together with the pilot valves 20 and the temperature control fluid valve means 3 to form the temperature management system 100 while avoiding a multiplicity of conventionally required electric plug connections, this temperature management system as a whole also having a lower cabling outlay.

[0059] In the most favourable case, a single plug connection, which provides electric energy to drive the drive motor 7 and to supply the control unit ECU, will suffice for this purpose.

[0060] Accordingly, a lower cabling outlay for the temperature management system 100 results in simplified cable harnesses also being able to be used.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0061] 1 pump module

[0062] 2 fluid pump unit/temperature control fluid pump unit

[0063] 3 fluid valve means/temperature control fluid valve means

[0064] 4 high-temperature pump

[0065] 5 low-temperature pump

[0066] 6 additional pump assembly

[0067] 7 drive motor

[0068] 8 eccentric shaft

[0069] 9 eccentric

[0070] 10 orbiter eccentric piston

[0071] 11 pump chamber

[0072] 12 separating wall

[0073] 13 separating wall component

[0074] 14 free end

[0075] 15 drive shaft

[0076] 16 coupling

[0077] 17 flow channel

[0078] 17a rotary slide valve

[0079] 18 control fluid

[0080] 20 pilot valve

[0081] 21 conductor channel

[0082] 30 control board

[0083] 31 operating solenoid

[0084] 40 high-temperature cooling circuit

[0085] 50 low-temperature cooling circuit

[0086] 100 temperature management system

[0087] A drive axis

[0088] ECU control unit

[0089] DR direction of rotation