U.S. patent application number 14/286470 was filed with the patent office on 2015-06-18 for cooling module for vehicle.
This patent application is currently assigned to Hyundai Motor Company. The applicant listed for this patent is Hyundai Motor Company. Invention is credited to Jae Yeon KIM.
Application Number | 20150167532 14/286470 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 53192698 |
Filed Date | 2015-06-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150167532 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
KIM; Jae Yeon |
June 18, 2015 |
COOLING MODULE FOR VEHICLE
Abstract
A cooling module for a vehicle may include a main radiator, a
sub-radiator, a water-cooled condenser and an air-cooled condenser.
The main radiator may be disposed at a front region of an engine
room and supplies cooled cooling water to an engine. The
sub-radiator may be disposed substantially in parallel with the
main radiator and in front of the main radiator, have header tanks
at both sides and supply the cooled cooling water to an intercooler
or electric components. The water-cooled condenser may be disposed
in one of the header tanks and primarily condenses a refrigerant by
using the cooling water as a heat exchange medium. The air-cooled
condenser may be in fluidic communication with the water-cooled
condenser to be introduced with the refrigerant condensed in the
water-cooled condenser and may be disposed in front of the
sub-radiator to secondarily condense the refrigerant.
Inventors: |
KIM; Jae Yeon; (Hwaseong-si,
KR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Hyundai Motor Company |
Seoul |
|
KR |
|
|
Assignee: |
Hyundai Motor Company
Seoul
KR
|
Family ID: |
53192698 |
Appl. No.: |
14/286470 |
Filed: |
May 23, 2014 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
165/41 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60K 11/04 20130101;
F25B 6/02 20130101; F01P 2003/187 20130101; F25B 39/04 20130101;
F01P 3/18 20130101; F25B 2339/047 20130101 |
International
Class: |
F01P 3/12 20060101
F01P003/12 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 12, 2013 |
KR |
10-2013-0154967 |
Claims
1. A cooling module for a vehicle, comprising: a main radiator
which is disposed at a front region of an engine room with respect
to a longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and supplies cooled
cooling water to an engine through heat exchange with external air;
a sub-radiator which is disposed substantially in parallel with the
main radiator and in front of the main radiator, has header tanks
at both sides of the sub-radiator and supplies the cooled cooling
water to an intercooler or one or more electric components through
heat exchange with the external air, wherein one header tank
includes an inlet into which cooling water is introduced and an
outlet from which the cooling water is discharged, and a diaphragm
is disposed inside the sub-radiator and prevents the cooling water
introduced through the inlet and discharged through the outlet from
being mixed; a water-cooled condenser which is disposed in the
other header tank of the header tanks and primarily condenses a
refrigerant by using the cooling water as a heat exchange medium;
and an air-cooled condenser which is in fluidic communication with
the water-cooled condenser to be introduced with the refrigerant
condensed in the water-cooled condenser, and is disposed in front
of the sub-radiator to secondarily condense the refrigerant by heat
exchange with the external air.
2. The cooling module for a vehicle of claim 1, wherein a position
of the diaphragm is changed between the inlet and the outlet
depending on a mounting position of the air-cooled condenser and a
state of the refrigerant passing through the air-cooled
condenser.
3. The cooling module for a vehicle of claim 1, wherein the header
tanks include a first header tank in which the inlet and the outlet
are formed and a second header tank in which the water-cooled
condenser is disposed.
4. The cooling module for a vehicle of claim 3, wherein the inlet
and the outlet are formed at one end and the other end of the first
header tank, respectively, and the diaphragm is disposed
therebetween.
5. The cooling module for a vehicle of claim 3, wherein the
sub-radiator primarily cools the cooling water introduced through
the inlet by heat exchange with the external air while flowing the
cooling water from a portion of the first header tank partitioned
by the diaphragm to the second heater tank, secondarily cools the
cooling water by heat exchange with the external air while flowing
the cooling water from the second header tank to a portion of the
first header tank where the outlet is disposed, and discharges the
cooled cooling water through the outlet.
6. The cooling module for a vehicle of claim 3, wherein the
sub-radiator is configured to flow the cooling water in a U-turn
pattern from the first header tank to the second header tank and
back to the first header tank.
7. The cooling module for a vehicle of claim 1, wherein the main
radiator and/or the sub-radiator are formed of a fin-tube type heat
exchanger in which inner sides facing each other include a
plurality of tubes and heat radiating fins provided between the
respective tubes.
8. The cooling module for a vehicle of claim 1, wherein the
air-cooled condenser is configured of a fin-tube type heat
exchanger in which a plurality of refrigerant pipes are disposed at
substantially equal distances and at least one heat radiating fin
is provided between or among the refrigerant pipes.
9. The cooling module for a vehicle of claim 1, wherein the
air-cooled condenser is divided and partitioned in a height
direction of the air-cooled condenser to sequentially condense the
refrigerant supplied from the water-cooled condenser for each
refrigerant state.
10. The cooling module for a vehicle of claim 1, wherein the
air-cooled condenser has one side equipped with a receiver dryer
which separates a gaseous refrigerant remaining in the refrigerant
introduced from the water-cooled condenser, and is in fluidic
communication with the water-cooled condenser through the receiver
dryer.
11. The cooling module for a vehicle of claim 1, wherein the main
radiator has a cooling fan mounted at rear of the main radiator
with respect to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.
12. The cooling module for a vehicle of claim 1, wherein the
water-cooled condenser includes: a condensing part that includes at
least two plates spaced apart from each other to form at least one
refrigerant passage for flowing the refrigerant, wherein a
refrigerant passage in the at least one refrigerant passage is
formed by coupling two adjacent plates with each other; a
refrigerant inlet which is formed at one end of the condensing part
in a longitudinal direction of the condensing part, and protrudes
outside the corresponding header tank of the sub-radiator; and a
refrigerant outlet which is formed at the other end of the
condensing part, and protrudes outside the corresponding header
tank, and is connected with the air-cooled condenser.
13. The cooling module for a vehicle of claim 12, wherein a plate
in a pair of two plates disposed at one side has a plurality of
protrusions formed at an outer side thereof at a set interval, and
is coupled with an outer side of a plate in an adjacent pair of two
plates disposed at the other side through each of the protrusions
contacting the outer side of the plate in the adjacent pair.
14. The cooling module for a vehicle of claim 13, wherein the plate
in the adjacent pair of two plates disposed at the other side has
heat radiating protrusions that protrude toward an outside at both
sides of the plate in a width direction of the condensing part.
15. The cooling module for a vehicle of claim 1, wherein: the
header tanks include a first header tank which is provided with the
inlet and the outlet and partitioned by the diaphragm, and a second
header tank which is in fluidic communication with the first header
tank, and the water-cooled condenser is disposed inside a portion
of the first header tank where the outlet is disposed.
16. The cooling module for a vehicle of claim 1, wherein the
sub-radiator supplies the cooled cooling water to the intercooler
when the sub-radiator is applied to an internal combustion engine
vehicle and supplies the cooled cooling water to the one or more
electric components when the sub-radiator is applied to a hybrid
vehicle.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] The present application claims priority of Korean Patent
Application Number 10-2013-0154967 filed on Dec. 12, 2013, the
entire contents of which application are incorporated herein for
all purposes by this reference.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to a cooling module for a
vehicle, and more particularly, to a cooling module for a vehicle
in which a condenser condensing a refrigerant is configured to be
divided into an air-cooled type and a water-cooled type so as to
embed the water-cooled condenser in a radiator and a cooling water
flow type of the radiator is changed, thereby improving the entire
cooling performance.
[0004] 2. Description of Related Art
[0005] Generally, an air conditioner system of a vehicle maintains
an indoor temperature of a vehicle at an appropriate temperature
independent of a change in external temperature to be able to
maintain a comfortable indoor environment.
[0006] Recently, as energy efficiency and a problem of
environmental pollution receive attention day by day, a development
of an environmentally-friendly vehicle which may substantially
replace an internal combustion engine vehicle has been required.
The environmentally-friendly vehicle is divided into an electric
vehicle which is generally driven by using a fuel cell or
electricity as a power source and a hybrid vehicle which is driven
by using an engine and an electrical battery as a power source.
[0007] Herein, the hybrid vehicle drives a motor using electricity
supplied from the fuel cell or the electrical battery, along with
the engine driven with general fuel, to generate a driving torque.
In this case, heat generated from the fuel cell or the battery and
the motor needs to be effectively removed to secure the performance
of the motor.
[0008] Therefore, a cooling system according to the related art,
which is equipped in the hybrid vehicle, is configured to include a
radiator for an engine which supplies cooling water to the engine,
an electric radiator which supplies the cooling water to electric
components such as an inverter and a motor, a cooling module which
includes a condenser and a cooling fan for cooling a refrigerant of
an air conditioner system on a front surface of the vehicle, a
cooling line which mutually connects the cooling module to a
driving system, a cooling pump which circulates the cooling water,
and a reservoir tank which stores the cooling water.
[0009] Herein, in a cooling module for a vehicle according to the
related art, when the water-cooled condenser is used, the cooling
water and the refrigerant exchange heat, and thus an outlet
refrigerant temperature of the condenser is increased, thereby
increasing the required power.
[0010] Further, compared to the air-cooled type condenser, the
water-cooled condenser has a larger heat capacity of cooling water,
such that the water-cooled condenser has a low condensing pressure
but reduces a temperature difference between the cooling water and
the refrigerant and has a cooling water temperature higher than
external air, such that it is difficult for the water-cooled
condenser to form sub-cool, thereby reducing the overall cooling
performance of the air conditioner system.
[0011] To prevent this, the large-capacity cooling fan and radiator
are required, which may have a bad effect on a layout in a narrow
engine room and the overall weight and costs of the vehicle.
[0012] Further, in order to mount the water-cooled condenser in the
narrow engine room, the water-cooled condenser needs to be mounted
at a rearward region of a fender or a rearward region of the engine
room, and therefore ensuring space is difficult, such that a
connecting pipe and a disposition layout may be complicated and
assembling performance and mounting performance may deteriorate,
and thermal damage to the engine room may cause a reduction in
performance, thereby leading to an increase in power consumption of
the compressor due to an increase in flow resistance of a
refrigerant.
[0013] Further, in the case of the environmentally-friendly vehicle
to which the motor, electrically driven components, a stack, and
the like are applied, the cooling water cools each component and
then is introduced into the condenser, and thus the temperature
thereof is increased, such that a condensed amount of refrigerant
may be more reduced.
[0014] Further, it is difficult to secure a space to mount the
cooling module between the narrow engine room and a bumper, heat
capacities and operation temperatures of the radiator and the air
conditioner condenser are differently formed, such that at the time
of uniform cooling by the cooling fan and the traveling wind, the
problems of the reduction in the cooling performance and the indoor
cooling efficiency of the vehicle due to the occurrence of the
difference in cooling performance, the reduction in a traveling
distance due to the increase in use power of the cooling fan and a
water pump, and the like may occur.
[0015] The information disclosed in this Background section is only
for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the
invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form
of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already
known to a person skilled in the art.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
[0016] The present invention has been made in an effort to provide
a cooling module for a vehicle in which a condenser condensing a
refrigerant is configured to be divided into an air-cooled type and
a water-cooled type so as to embed the water-cooled condenser in a
radiator and a cooling water flow of the radiator embedding the
water-cooled condenser is applied in a U-turn flow type, thereby
increasing a heat radiating amount with respect to the increase in
flow resistance of the cooling water to improve the overall cooling
performance and reducing a condensing pressure and improving
condensing performance at the time of condensing the refrigerant to
improve cooling performance.
[0017] Further, the present invention has been made in an effort to
provide a cooling module for a vehicle in which a radiator is
disposed depending on heat capacity and a water-cooled condenser
and an air-cooled condenser are mounted, thereby simplifying a
package to improve space availability and improving cooling
performing without increasing capacity to save manufacturing
costs.
[0018] Various aspects of the present invention provide a cooling
module for a vehicle, including: a main radiator which is disposed
at a front region of an engine room with respect to a longitudinal
direction of the vehicle, and supplies cooled cooling water to an
engine through heat exchange with external air; a sub-radiator
which is disposed substantially in parallel with the main radiator
and in front of the main radiator, has header tanks at both sides
of the sub-radiator and supplies the cooled cooling water to an
intercooler or one or more electric components through heat
exchange with the external air, wherein one header tank includes an
inlet into which cooling water is introduced and an outlet from
which the cooling water is discharged, and a diaphragm is disposed
inside the sub-radiator and prevents the cooling water introduced
through the inlet and discharged through the outlet from being
mixed; a water-cooled condenser which is disposed in the other
header tank of the header tanks and primarily condenses a
refrigerant by using the cooling water as a heat exchange medium;
and an air-cooled condenser which is in fluidic communication with
the water-cooled condenser to be introduced with the refrigerant
condensed in the water-cooled condenser, and is disposed in front
of the sub-radiator to secondarily condense the refrigerant by heat
exchange with the external air.
[0019] The position of the diaphragm may be changed between the
inlet and the outlet depending on a mounting position of the
air-cooled condenser and a state of the refrigerant passing through
the air-cooled condenser. The header tanks may include a first
header tank in which the inlet and the outlet are formed and a
second header tank in which the water-cooled condenser is disposed.
The inlet and the outlet may be formed at one end and the other end
of the first header tank, respectively, and the diaphragm may be
disposed therebetween.
[0020] The sub-radiator may primarily cool the cooling water
introduced through the inlet by heat exchange with the external air
while flowing the cooling water from a portion of the first header
tank partitioned by the diaphragm to the second heater tank,
secondarily cool the cooling water by heat exchange with the
external air while flowing the cooling water from the second header
tank to a portion of the first header tank where the outlet is
disposed, and discharge the cooled cooling water through the
outlet. The sub-radiator may be configured to flow the cooling
water in a U-turn pattern from the first header tank to the second
header tank and back to the first header tank.
[0021] The main radiator and/or the sub-radiator may be formed of a
fin-tube type heat exchanger in which inner sides facing each other
include a plurality of tubes and heat radiating fins provided
between the respective tubes.
[0022] The air-cooled condenser may be configured of a fin-tube
type heat exchanger in which a plurality of refrigerant pipes are
disposed at substantially equal distances and at least one heat
radiating fin is provided between or among the refrigerant pipes.
The air-cooled condenser may be divided and partitioned in a height
direction of the air-cooled condenser to sequentially condense the
refrigerant supplied from the water-cooled condenser for each
refrigerant state. The air-cooled condenser may have one side
equipped with a receiver dryer which separates a gaseous
refrigerant remaining in the refrigerant introduced from the
water-cooled condenser, and may be in fluidic communication with
the water-cooled condenser through the receiver dryer.
[0023] A cooling fan may be mounted at rear of the main radiator
with respect to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.
[0024] The water-cooled condenser may include: a condensing part
that includes at least two plates spaced apart from each other to
form at least one refrigerant passage for flowing the refrigerant,
wherein a refrigerant passage in the at least one refrigerant
passage is formed by coupling two adjacent plates with each other;
a refrigerant inlet which is formed at one end of the condensing
part in a longitudinal direction of the condensing part, and
protrudes outside the corresponding header tank of the
sub-radiator; and a refrigerant outlet which is formed at the other
end of the condensing part, and protrudes outside the corresponding
header tank, and is connected with the air-cooled condenser.
[0025] A plate in a pair of two plates disposed at one side may
have a plurality of protrusions formed at an outer side thereof at
a set interval, and may be coupled with an outer side of a plate in
an adjacent pair of two plates disposed at the other side through
each of the protrusions contacting the outer side of the plate in
the adjacent pair. The plate in the adjacent pair of two plates
disposed at the other side may have heat radiating protrusions that
protrude toward an outside at both sides of the plate in a width
direction of the condensing part.
[0026] The header tanks may include a first header tank which is
provided with the inlet and the outlet and partitioned by the
diaphragm, and a second header tank which is in fluidic
communication with the first header tank, and the water-cooled
condenser may be disposed inside a portion of the first header tank
where the outlet is disposed.
[0027] The sub-radiator may supply the cooled cooling water to the
intercooler when the sub-radiator is applied to an internal
combustion engine vehicle and supply the cooled cooling water to
the one or more electric components when the sub-radiator is
applied to a hybrid vehicle.
[0028] As described above, according to the cooling module for a
vehicle of the present invention, the condenser condensing a
refrigerant may be configured to be divided into the air-cooled
type and the water-cooled type so as to embed the water-cooled
condenser in the radiator and the cooling water flow of the
radiator embedding the water-cooled condenser is applied in the
U-turn flow type, thereby increasing the heat radiating amount with
respect to the increase in flow resistance or flow path of the
cooling water to improve the overall cooling performance, and the
refrigerant passing through the water-cooled condenser may be
introduced again into the air-cooled condenser to reduce the
condensing pressure of the refrigerant and improve the condensing
performance, thereby improving the cooling performance.
[0029] Further, both the water-cooled condenser and the air-cooled
condenser are mounted to simplify the layout of the pipe and the
package, thereby minimizing the mounting space and improving the
space availability of the vehicle engine room.
[0030] In addition, the cooling performance may be improved without
increasing the capacity of the radiator and the cooling fan to save
the manufacturing costs and the layout of the pipe may be
simplified to reduce the flow resistance of the working fluids and
increase the passing flux.
[0031] Moreover, the water-cooled condenser and the air-cooled
condenser are simultaneously applied to reduce the condensing
pressure of the refrigerant and improve the condensing performance,
thereby reducing of the required oil of the compressor and
improving the overall fuel efficiency of the vehicle.
[0032] The methods and apparatuses of the present invention have
other features and advantages which will be apparent from or are
set forth in more detail in the accompanying drawings, which are
incorporated herein, and the following Detailed Description, which
together serve to explain certain principles of the present
invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0033] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary cooling module
for a vehicle according to the present invention.
[0034] FIG. 2 is a front view of an exemplary cooling module for a
vehicle according to the present invention.
[0035] FIG. 3 is a back view of an exemplary cooling module for a
vehicle according to the present invention.
[0036] FIG. 4 is a plan view of an exemplary cooling module for a
vehicle according to the present invention.
[0037] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an exemplary water-cooled
condenser applied to an exemplary cooling module for a vehicle
according to the present invention.
[0038] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of
FIG. 5.
[0039] FIGS. 7 and 8 are block diagrams of another exemplary
cooling module for a vehicle according to the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0040] Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments
of the present invention(s), examples of which are illustrated in
the accompanying drawings and described below. While the
invention(s) will be described in conjunction with exemplary
embodiments, it will be understood that present description is not
intended to limit the invention(s) to those exemplary embodiments.
On the contrary, the invention(s) is/are intended to cover not only
the exemplary embodiments, but also various alternatives,
modifications, equivalents and other embodiments, which may be
included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by
the appended claims.
[0041] In order to clearly describe the present invention, portions
that are not connected with the description will be omitted. Like
reference numerals designate like elements throughout the
specification.
[0042] In addition, the size and thickness of each configuration
shown in the drawings are arbitrarily shown for understanding and
ease of description, but the present invention is not limited
thereto and in the drawings, the thickness of layers, films,
panels, regions, etc., are exaggerated for clarity.
[0043] Throughout the present specification, unless explicitly
described to the contrary, "comprising" any components will be
understood to imply the inclusion of other elements rather than the
exclusion of any other elements.
[0044] FIG. 1 is a projected perspective view of a cooling module
for a vehicle according to various embodiments of the present
invention, FIGS. 2 and 3 are a front view and a back view of the
cooling module for a vehicle according to various embodiments of
the present invention, FIG. 4 is a plan view of the cooling module
for a vehicle according to various embodiments of the present
invention, FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a water-cooled condenser
applied to the cooling module for a vehicle according to various
embodiments of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a
cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 5.
[0045] Referring to the drawings, according to a cooling module 100
for a vehicle according to various embodiments of the present
invention, condensers 130 and 140 condensing a refrigerant are
configured to be divided into an air-cooled type and a water-cooled
type so as to embed the water-cooled condenser 130 in a radiator
and a cooling water flow of the radiator embedding the water-cooled
condenser 130 is applied in a U-turn flow type, thereby increasing
a heat radiating amount with respect to the increase in flow
resistance of the cooling water to improve the overall cooling
performance and reducing a condensing pressure and improving
condensing performance at the time of condensing the refrigerant to
improve cooling performance.
[0046] Further, in the cooling module 100 for a vehicle according
to various embodiments of the present invention, radiators 110 and
120 are disposed depending on their heat capacities, and both the
water-cooled condenser 130 and the air-cooled condenser 140 are
mounted, thereby simplifying a package to improve space
availability and improving cooling performing without increasing
the capacity to save manufacturing costs.
[0047] To this end, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4, the cooling
module 100 for a vehicle according to various embodiments of the
present invention includes the main radiator 110, the sub-radiator
120, the water-cooled condenser 130, and the air-cooled condenser
140.
[0048] First, the main radiator 110 is disposed at a forward region
of an engine room and at a rear of the sub-radiator 120, with
respect to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and supplies
cooled cooling water to an engine through heat exchange with
external air.
[0049] A cooling fan 111 is mounted at a rear of the main radiator
110, with respect to the length direction of the vehicle, and blows
wind to the main radiator 110 along with external air introduced
while driving, thereby more efficiently cooling the cooling
water.
[0050] According to various embodiments of the present invention,
the sub-radiator 120 is disposed in parallel or substantially in
parallel with the main radiator 110 in front of the main radiator
110 to supply the cooled cooling water to an intercooler or
electric components through the heat exchange with external
air.
[0051] That is, when the sub-radiator 120 is applied to an internal
combustion engine vehicle, the sub-radiator 120 may supply the
cooled cooling water to the intercooler, and when the sub-radiator
120 is applied to a hybrid vehicle, the sub-radiator 120 may supply
the cooled cooling water to the electric components.
[0052] The sub-radiator 120 has one header tank 121 of header tanks
121 at both sides of the sub-radiator 120, which includes an inlet
123 into which cooling water is introduced, and an outlet 125 from
which the cooling water is discharged, and a diaphragm 127 which is
disposed inside the sub-radiator 120 and prevents the cooling water
introduced and discharged through the inlet 123 and the outlet 125
from being mixed.
[0053] In this configuration, the header tank 121 may be configured
to include a first header tank 121a in which the inlet 123 and the
outlet 125 are formed, and a second header tank 121b in which the
water-cooled condenser 130 is provided.
[0054] According to various embodiments of the present invention,
the inlet 123 and the outlet 125 may be formed at one end and the
other end of the first header tank 121a, respectively, having the
diaphragm 127 disposed therebetween.
[0055] In this configuration, a position of the diaphragm 127 may
be changed between the inlet 123 and the outlet 125 depending on a
mounting position of the air-cooled condenser 140 and a state of a
refrigerant passing through the air-cooled condenser 140.
[0056] The sub-radiator 120 configured as described above primarily
cools the cooling water introduced through the inlet 123 by heat
exchange with external air while moving the cooling water from the
inside of the first header tank 121a partitioned by the diaphragm
127 to the second heater tank 121b.
[0057] Next, the sub-radiator 120 secondarily cools the cooling
water by heat exchange with the external air while moving the
cooling water from the second header tank 121b to the first header
tank 121a in which the outlet 125 is disposed, and then discharges
the cooled cooling water through the outlet 125.
[0058] The sub-radiator 120 may be formed in a U-turn flow type
which moves the cooling water from the first header tank 121a via
the second header tank 121b and then to the first header tank 121a
again to U-turn the flow of the cooling water.
[0059] Meanwhile, the main radiator 110 and the sub-radiator 120,
which are configured as described above, may be formed of a
fin-tube type heat exchanger in which inner sides facing each other
include a plurality of tubes T and heat radiating fins P provided
between the respective tubes T.
[0060] That is, the main radiator 110 and the sub-radiator 120 are
the fin-tube type heat exchanger, and exchanges heat between the
introduced cooling water with the external air introduced into the
heat radiating fins P mounted between the respective tubes T while
moving the cooling water through the respective tubes T, thereby
cooling the cooling water.
[0061] According to various embodiments of the present invention,
the water-cooled condenser 130 is configured by stacking a
plurality of plates 133 in the other header tank 121 of the header
tanks 121 at both sides of the sub-radiator 120, and primarily
condenses the a refrigerant by using the cooling water as a heat
exchange medium.
[0062] That is, as described above, the water-cooled condenser 130
is mounted in the second header tank 121b, in which the inlet 123
and the outlet 125 are not formed, among the first and second
header tanks 121a and 121b.
[0063] In this configuration, the water-cooled condenser 130 is
configured to include a condensing part 132, a refrigerant inlet
137, and a refrigerant outlet 139, which will be described below in
more detail.
[0064] First, in the condensing part 132, one refrigerant passage
135, through which the refrigerant moves, is formed by coupling two
plates 133 with each other, and at least two of the two plates 133,
which are coupled with each other, are provided so that at least
one refrigerant passage 135 is formed, and are disposed to be
spaced apart from each other.
[0065] In this configuration, the condensing part 132 may be
configured by mutually stacking a plurality of pairs such as seven
pairs of two plates 133, which are coupled with each other, so that
the refrigerant passage 135 formed through the two plates 133,
which are coupled with each other, becomes seven columns.
[0066] The refrigerant inlet 137 is formed at one end of the
condensing part 132 in a longitudinal direction of the condensing
part 132, protrudes outside the second header tank 121b of the
sub-radiator 120 to be connected to a refrigerant pipe 131, and
introduces the refrigerant into the condensing part 132 through the
refrigerant pipe 131.
[0067] Further, the refrigerant outlet 139 is formed at the other
end of the condensing part 132, corresponding to the refrigerant
inlet 137, protrudes outside the second header tank 121b, and is
connected with the air-cooled condenser 140 through the refrigerant
pipe 131.
[0068] In this configuration, the plate 133 of the two plates 133
that is disposed at one side has a plurality of protrusions 134,
which is formed on one surface at a set interval, and may be
coupled with the outer side of the plate 133 disposed at the other
side through each of the protrusions 134, while contacting the
outer side of the plate 133.
[0069] That is, according to various embodiments of the present
invention, each of the protrusions 134 is formed on an upper
surface of the plate 133 disposed at the upper portion on the basis
of the drawings, and the plate 133 is coupled with the plate 133
disposed at the lower portion through the protrusions 134, such
that the two plates 133, which are coupled with each other, may be
more stably coupled with each other.
[0070] Further, when the cooling water introduced into the second
header tank 121b may flow between the spaces formed through each of
the protrusions 134, the flow of the cooling water through each of
the protrusions 134 is continuously changed, such that the heat
exchange of the cooling water and the refrigerant may be more
easily performed and the condensed rate of the refrigerant may be
increased.
[0071] Meanwhile, according to various embodiments of the present
invention, the plate 133 of the two plates 133 that is disposed at
the other side may have heat radiating protrusions 136, which
integrally or monolithically protrude toward the outside, at both
sides of the plate 133 in a width direction of the condensing part
132.
[0072] The heat radiating protrusion 136 smoothly radiates heat of
the refrigerant passing through the refrigerant passage 135 of the
water-cooled condenser 130 when heat exchange with the cooling
water in the second header tank 121b.
[0073] In the water-cooled condenser 130 configured as described
above, when the cooling water flows in the space formed between the
two plates 133, each of the protrusions 134 serves as a flow
resistance to increase a contact area with the plate 133 so as to
more efficiently exchange heat between the refrigerant and the
cooling water passing through the refrigerant passage 135, thereby
improving the condensing efficiency of the refrigerant.
[0074] Further, the heat radiating protrusions 136 may smoothly
radiate the heat, which is transferred from the refrigerant passing
through the refrigerant passage 135, to the cooling water
introduced into the second header tank 121b.
[0075] Further, the air-cooled condenser 140 is interconnected with
the water-cooled condenser 130 through the refrigerant pipe 131 to
be introduced with the primarily condensed refrigerant in the
water-cooled condenser 130, and is disposed in front of the
sub-radiator 120 to secondarily condense the refrigerant by heat
exchange with the external air.
[0076] Herein, the air-cooled condenser 140 may be mounted in front
of the sub-radiator 120 in a longitudinal direction and may be
configured of a fin-tube type heat exchanger in which a plurality
of refrigerant pipes 141 is disposed at equal or substantially
equal distances and the heat radiating fin P is mounted between or
among the respective refrigerant pipes 141.
[0077] The air-cooled condenser 140 may be divided and partitioned
in a height direction to sequentially condense the refrigerant
supplied from the water-cooled condenser 130 for each refrigerant
state.
[0078] For example, the air-cooled condenser 140 may be divided and
partitioned into three stages or two stages, and when the
air-cooled condenser 140 is divided into three stages, the
air-cooled condenser 140 cools and condenses a superheated vapor
refrigerant among the refrigerants supplied from the water-cooled
condenser 130 at the upper portion thereof, cools and condenses a
wet vapor refrigerant among the condensed refrigerants at the
center portion thereof, and finally supercools and condenses a
liquid refrigerant at the lower portion thereof.
[0079] Further, when the air-cooled condenser 140 is divided and
partitioned into the two stages, the air-cooled condenser 140
condenses the wet vapor refrigerant including in the superheated
vapor refrigerant in the region including the upper portion and the
center portion thereof, and condenses the refrigerant at the lower
portion thereof that is divided into a sub-cool refrigerant region
which supercools and condenses the liquid refrigerant.
[0080] The air-cooled condenser 140 configured as described above
has one side equipped with a receiver dryer 143 which separates a
gaseous refrigerant included in the refrigerant introduced through
the refrigerant pipe 131 from the water-cooled condenser 130, and
may be interconnected with the water-cooled condenser 130 through
the receiver dryer 143.
[0081] That is, the air-cooled condenser 140 allows the
refrigerant, which is introduced from the water-cooled condenser
130, to pass through the receiver dryer 143 and then be introduced
and condensed by heat exchange with the external air, such that at
the time of secondarily condensing the refrigerant, the refrigerant
is condensed in the state in which a gaseous refrigerant is
removed, thereby increasing the condensing efficiency.
[0082] FIGS. 7 and 8 are block diagrams of a cooling module for a
vehicle according to various other embodiments of the present
invention.
[0083] First, referring to FIG. 7, in a cooling module 200 for a
vehicle according to various other embodiments of the present
invention, a diaphragm 227 included in a first header tank 221a is
disposed corresponding to the sub-cool refrigerant region disposed
at the lower portion of an air-cooled condenser 240.
[0084] Therefore, the diaphragm 227 introduces heated air passing
through the upper portion of the sub-cool refrigerant region of the
air-cooled condenser 240 into the entire region of a sub-radiator
220 to prevent the heat radiating performance of the sub-radiator
220 from deteriorating.
[0085] Further, when the cooling water cooled by being introduced
into a second header tank 221b is additionally cooled by heat
exchange with the external air while flowing in the first header
tank 221a again, the diaphragm 227 introduces external air, which
is less heated than the external air heated while passing through
the upper portion of the sub-cool refrigerant region of the
air-cooled condenser 240 and has a relatively lower temperature, to
prevent the cooling efficiency of the cooling water from
deteriorating.
[0086] Further, referring to FIG. 8, in a cooling module 300 for a
vehicle according to various other embodiments of the present
invention, a water-cooled condenser 330 is partitioned from a first
header tank 321a by a diaphragm 327 to be disposed in the inside
thereof at which an outlet 325 is disposed.
[0087] Therefore, the water-cooled condenser 330 has a more reduced
size than the case in which the water-cooled condenser 330 is
disposed in a second header tank 321b without the diaphragm 327,
thereby reducing a heat capacity, but may condense the refrigerant
by heat exchange with the low-temperature cooled cooling water
which is discharged through the outlet 325, thereby securing the
equivalent performance in spite of the reduced size.
[0088] That is, in the cooling module 300 for a vehicle according
to various other embodiments of the present invention, even though
the size of the water-cooled condenser 330 is reduced, the
equivalent condensing performance may be secured, thereby reducing
the manufacturing costs and the entire weight.
[0089] Therefore, the cooling modules 100, 200, and 300 for a
vehicle according to the present exemplary embodiments move the
cooling water in the sub-radiators 120, 220, and 320 in a U-turn
flow type to cool the cooling water by heat exchange with the
external air twice, thereby improving the heat radiating
performance.
[0090] Further, the water-cooled condensers 130, 230, and 330 cools
the refrigerant by using the cooling water, which has a larger heat
transfer coefficient than the external air, as a heat exchange
medium, thereby reducing the condensing pressure of the refrigerant
generated from the inside thereof.
[0091] Further, the air-cooled condensers 140, 240, and 340 receive
only the liquid refrigerant through the receiver dryers 143, 243,
and 343 while the condensed refrigerant passing through the
water-cooled condensers 130, 230, and 330 and may condense the
supplied liquid refrigerant by heat exchange with the external air
while passing through each region divided and partitioned for each
refrigerant state to enable more efficient condensation.
[0092] Therefore, the air-cooled condensers 140, 240, and 340 may
make the temperature difference between the external air and the
refrigerant large to easily form the sub-cool and reduce the heat
capacities of the refrigerant pipes 131, 231, and 331.
[0093] Therefore, when adopting the cooling module 100 for a
vehicle according to various embodiments of the present invention,
which is configured as described above, the condensers 130 and 140
condensing a refrigerant are configured to be divided into the
air-cooled type and the water-cooled type so as to embed the
water-cooled condenser 130 in the sub-radiator 120 and apply the
cooling water flow of the sub-radiator 120 embedding the
water-cooled condenser 130 in the U-turn flow type, thereby
increasing the heat radiating amount with respect to the increase
in flow resistance of the cooling water to improve the overall
cooling performance, and the refrigerant passing through the
water-cooled condenser 130 is introduced again into the air-cooled
condenser 140 to reduce the condensing pressure of the refrigerant
and improve the condensing performance of the refrigerant, thereby
improving the cooling performance.
[0094] Further, the water-cooled condenser 130 is mounted in the
sub-radiator 120 to simplify the layout of the refrigerant pipe 131
and simplify the package, thereby minimizing the mounting space and
improving the space availability of the vehicle engine room.
[0095] In addition, the cooling performance may be improved without
increasing the capacity of the radiators 110 and 120 and the
cooling fan 111 to save the manufacturing costs, and the layout of
the pipe may be simplified to reduce the flow resistance of the
working fluids and increase the passing flux.
[0096] Moreover, the water-cooled condenser 130 and the air-cooled
condenser 140 are simultaneously applied to reduce the condensing
pressure of the refrigerant and improve the condensing performance,
thereby reducing of the required oil of the compressor and
improving the overall fuel efficiency of the vehicle.
[0097] For convenience in explanation and accurate definition in
the appended claims, the terms "upper" or "lower", "front" or
"rear", "inside" or "outside", and etc. are used to describe
features of the exemplary embodiments with reference to the
positions of such features as displayed in the figures.
[0098] The foregoing descriptions of specific exemplary embodiments
of the present invention have been presented for purposes of
illustration and description. They are not intended to be
exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms
disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are
possible in light of the above teachings. The exemplary embodiments
were chosen and described in order to explain certain principles of
the invention and their practical application, to thereby enable
others skilled in the art to make and utilize various exemplary
embodiments of the present invention, as well as various
alternatives and modifications thereof. It is intended that the
scope of the invention be defined by the Claims appended hereto and
their equivalents.
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