JPH0788773B2 - Vehicle heating device - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a heating device for a vehicle, and particularly to heating various heating targets (cooling water, oil, intake air, etc.) with a heater containing a hydrogen storage alloy. To a heating device suitable for.

[Prior art]

Recently, various heat pump systems utilizing a hydrogen storage alloy (hereinafter referred to as MH) have been put into practical use and proposed to be applied to a vehicle engine or an air conditioner. (Japanese patent application
See 59-107073).

For example, FIGS. 9 and 10 show each heat pump system conventionally proposed as a heating device for a vehicle. The heater 100 accommodates the high temperature dissociation type MH, the low temperature dissociation type MH.
A hydrogen storage device 101 (however, a hydrogen tank can be used instead), a gas passage 102 connecting the two, and a control valve 103.
And a vacuum pump in the system shown in FIG.
A bypass passage 102a having 104 is provided.

For example, when the hydrogen storage device 101 is heated by the exhaust gas heat (Q ₁ ) of the engine at the time of cold start, H ₂ gas is released, and the MH in the heating device 100 stores the H ₂ gas and generates heat to generate heat. (Q ₂ ) can be used to heat the cooling water. However, in order to repeatedly operate the heat pump system, it is necessary to dissociate the H ₂ gas stored in the MH in the heater 100 and return it to the hydrogen storage device 101.

As a method of regenerating MH in the heater 100, (1) a method of utilizing the hydrogen equilibrium dissociation pressure between the MH in the heater 100 and the MH in the hydrogen storage device 101 as in the system of FIG. ) As in the system shown in FIG.
How aspirated H ₂ gas returning the H ₂ gas to the hydrogen reservoir 101, but is common.

That is, in the system of FIG. 9, when the heater 100 is heated by the heat (Q ₃ ) of the cooling water after warming up, the H ₂ gas dissociates and flows into the hydrogen storage device 101. At this time, it is necessary to cool the hydrogen storage device 101 with outside air or the like (Q ₄ ) for regeneration. FIG. 11 illustrates the relationship between the hydrogen dissociation pressure and the temperature during heating and regeneration in the heat pump system when the outside air temperature is −25 ° C., and FIG. 12 shows the MH of the heater 100 and the hydrogen storage unit 1.
This is an example of the time change of the MH temperature of 01.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

In the heat pump system of FIG. 9 described above, the hydrogen storage device 101 is heated during heating, and the heating device 100 is heated with cooling water of about 80 ° C. during regeneration, while the hydrogen storage device 101 is cooled with outside air of −25 ° C., for example. Will be done. But,
As the system becomes larger, the heater 100 and hydrogen storage 101
Since the heat capacity of MH increases, the time for heating the heating device 100 during regeneration and the time for cooling the hydrogen storage device 101 also increase. As a result, as can be seen from FIGS. 11 and 12, it takes a considerably long time (about 33 minutes in the example of FIG. 12) until the regeneration of the heater 100 is completed after the engine is started.

Therefore, in the case of a vehicle equipped with this heat pump system, the heater 100 cannot be regenerated unless the vehicle runs for a considerably long time, and therefore the heat pump system cannot be repeatedly operated.

On the other hand, in the case of the system shown in FIG. 10, the vacuum pump 10
The sealing technique of 4 is difficult, energy is required to operate the vacuum pump 104, and the system becomes complicated and large in size.

[Means for solving problems]

A vehicle heating device according to the present invention is a vehicle heating device in which a heater containing a hydrogen storage alloy and a first storage device storing hydrogen gas are connected in communication with each other via a control valve. The second storage device described above is provided, and the control means for introducing hydrogen gas from the heating device to the second storage device in the low temperature state at the time of regeneration of the heating device is provided.

The first storage device may be a storage device in which H ₂ gas is stored in a hydrogen storage alloy, or may be a hydrogen tank that simply stores H ₂ gas.

[Action]

In the heating device for a vehicle according to the present invention, when operating the heater, first, the H ₂ gas is supplied from the first reservoir to the heater, and the heater is caused to generate heat as the H ₂ gas is stored. When regenerating the heater after the heating, heat the heater and
Dissociating H ₂ gas from the MH, the introduction of the H ₂ gas to the second reservoir in the cold state, the H ₂ gas is the second reservoir MH
Will be stored in.

Next, the H ₂ gas is returned from the second storage device to the first storage device to completely regenerate it, and when the heater is operated again, it is repeated in the same manner as above.

However, from the second reservoir to the first reservoir in advance not return the H ₂ gas, when operating the heater again heating the H ₂ gas to dissociate the H ₂ gas by heating the second reservoir Introduce into the heater to heat the heater. When the heater is regenerated after the heating, the heater may be heated and the dissociated H ₂ gas may be introduced into the first reservoir.

〔The invention's effect〕

According to the vehicle heating device of the present invention, as described above, the first storage device → the heating device → the second storage device → the first storage device,
Alternatively, the first reservoir → heater → second reservoir → heater → first
Since the heater can be regenerated in a short time by moving the H ₂ gas in the same order as the storage tank, even when repeatedly operating (driving) the vehicle for a short time during cold weather. The heating device can be operated reliably.

〔Example〕

 Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) This embodiment is a case where the present invention is applied to a heating device for heating cooling water of an automobile engine.

As shown in FIG. 1, in order to accelerate the warm-up by heating the cooling water of the engine E during cold start, MH ₁ (first hydrogen storage alloy) is provided in the middle of the cooling water passage 1 of the engine E. The heater 2 accommodating is housed outside.

A first bypass passage 4a and a second bypass passage 4b are provided in the exhaust passage 4 downstream of the exhaust manifold 3 of the engine E, and the first bypass passage 4a has an MH
1st hydrogen storage device 5 containing ₂ (second hydrogen storage alloy)
A second reservoir 6 containing MH ₃ (third hydrogen storage alloy) is also mounted on the second bypass passage 4b.

The heater 2, the first storage device 5, and the second storage device 6 are communicatively connected by a gas passage 7, and the first control valve V ₁ , the second control valve V 2, and the third control valve V 3 are connected as shown in the figure. provided in the passage 7, the shutter valve V ₄ · V ₅ · V ₆ for opening and closing a passage as shown are provided respectively in the exhaust passage 4 first and second bypass passages 4a · 4b.

Further, outside air ducts 8 and 9 are provided so as to surround the outer peripheral sides of the first reservoir 5 and the second reservoir 6, respectively, and traveling wind can be introduced into the outside air ducts 8 and 9, and the outside air ducts 8 and 9 can be introduced.
Shutter valves V ₇ and V ₈ are respectively provided at the downstream end portions of the.

The cooling water passage 1 corresponds to a bypass cooling water passage that branches from a thermo valve and bypasses a radiator (not shown). The cooling water passage 1 has a water pump 10
And the temperature sensor 11 are interposed, and the H ₂ in the second reservoir 6
A pressure sensor 12 for detecting gas pressure is provided, and signals from the temperature sensor 11 and the pressure sensor 12 are output to a control unit (not shown) respectively, and the first to third control valves V _{1 to} V ₃ and The shutter valves V _{4 to} V ₈ are controlled by the control unit. Note that FIG. 2 is an equivalent illustration of the H ₂ gas system of the heater 2, the first reservoir 5, and the second reservoir 6.

MH ₁ in the heating device 2 for example L _a N _i based hot dissociation type MH
MH ₂ in the first reservoir 5 is, for example, _a La _Ni system low-temperature dissociation type MH, and MH ₃ in the second reservoir 6 is, for example, a medium temperature (M _m T _i system).
(Intermediate temperature when compared to H ₁ and MH ₂ ) dissociated M
H (however, M _m is misch metal).

Next, the operation of the heating device will be described.

First, in the case of heating the engine cooling water at the time of cold start, when the cooling water temperature is, for example, 5 ° C. or lower according to the signal from the temperature sensor 11, the first and second control valves V ₁ and V ₂ and the shutter valve V ₅
Open V ₈ and open the third control valve V ₃ and shutter valves V ₄ and V ₆
・ Close V ₇ .

Therefore, since the outside air does not flow into the outside air duct 8 and the exhaust gas of about 200 ° C. flows through the inside of the first bypass passage 4a, the first reservoir 5 is heated and the H ₂ gas is dissociated from the MH ₂ thereof, so that the H 2 ₂ Gas flows into the heater 2 through the gas passage 7 and is stored in MH ₁ . As a result, the MH ₁ generates heat as it occludes the H ₂ gas, the MH ₁ is heated to about 50 ° C. in about 2 to 3 minutes, and the cooling water is heated (see FIG. 4). On the other hand, during this time, the outside air flows into the outside air duct 9 and the exhaust gas does not flow in the second bypass passage 4b, so that the second reservoir 6 is cooled to the outside temperature (−20 ° C.).

After the heating by the heater 2 is continued for about 3 minutes, the shutter valves V ₄ and V ₇ are opened, and the second control valve V ₂ and the shutter valve V ₅ are closed.

As a result, the supply of H ₂ gas to the heater 2 is stopped and the first
The cooling of the reservoir 5 is started.

Next, the regeneration of the heater 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. As the engine E warms up, the cooling water temperature rises, and the warming up is almost completed, and the cooling water temperature rises to about 80 ° C. or higher. When the third control valve V ₃ is opened at the time of rising, the inside of the heater 2
The H ₂ gas dissociated from MH ₁ is supplied to the second reservoir 6, and the MH ₃ is cooled by the outside air, so the H ₂ gas is occluded in MH ₃ (Reset 1 in FIG. 3). In addition, in FIG.
After the regeneration of MH ₃ , when the cooling is not sufficient, reset 1 becomes an arrow pointing to around 0 ° C. When the dissociation from MH ₁ in the heater 2 is completed, the cooling water temperature starts to rise again. At that time, the first control valve V ₁ and the shutter valve V ₄
Close V ₈ and open the shutter valve V ₆ . This allows
The second reservoir 6 is heated by the exhaust heat and the dissociation of H ₂ gas from MH ₃ progresses, and the H ₂ gas pressure rises. In the second reservoir 6
When the H ₂ gas pressure exceeds approximately 9 kg / cm ² , the second control valve V
Open _2, from the second reservoir 6 to the first reservoir 5 supplies H ₂ gas, thereby absorbing the H ₂ gas in MH ₂ (FIG. 3 reset 2). During this time, the first reservoir 5 is cooled by the outside air, so
Storage of H ₂ gas proceeds. If you continue this for about 10 minutes,
Since the regeneration of the second reservoir 6 is completed, the second and third control valves
Shutter valve V _{4 as} well as closing V ₂ and V ₃ and shutter valve V ₆
• Open the V _8. It goes without saying that the above heating and regeneration control is automatically performed by the control unit.

In the above heating device, the second reservoir 6 accommodating the intermediate temperature dissociation type MH ₃ intermediate between MH ₁ and MH ₂ is provided.
After completion of heating by, the cooling period of the first storage device 5 (about 25 minutes)
It is possible to start the regeneration of the heater 2 when about half the time has elapsed without waiting for. Therefore, even when the vehicle is traveling for a relatively short period of time, the heater 2 can be reliably regenerated, and the heating device can be operated at the next traveling, thereby increasing the operating rate of the heating device. Then, since the play MH ₁ → MH ₃ → MH ₂ and the heater 2 through the two-stage regeneration, the MH ₃ As can be seen from Figure 3 about 40
Since it is possible to regenerate from MH _{3 to} MH ₂ by heating to about ℃, it is possible to regenerate using a low heat source such as heat dissipation from the engine or heating by an electric heater without necessarily using exhaust heat.

In this case, for example, a thermoelectric generator (TEG) is installed inside the cylinder block, cylinder head, or oil pan,
It is also possible to generate electricity by the heat storage remaining in the engine and heat the MH ₃ via the heater with the electricity.

It should be noted that the second reservoir 6 has the same type of MH _{2 as} the MH _{2 of} the first reservoir 5.
May be used. In this case, when warming up, the first reservoir 5
And H ₂ gas are alternately supplied to the heater 2 from the second storage device 6,
For example, when H ₂ gas is supplied from the second storage device 6 to the heating device 2, the H ₂ gas is returned from the heating device 2 to the first storage device 5 in a low temperature state to regenerate the heating device 2.

Second Embodiment This embodiment is a case where the present invention is applied to a heating device for heating intake air of an engine of a vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 5, a heater 21 accommodating MH ₁ (first hydrogen storage alloy) is installed in the intake pipe 20 of the engine E (however,
A first reservoir 22 for storing H ₂ gas having a gas pressure of about 10 kg / cm ² is provided, and an MH ₃ (3rd Second hydrogen storage alloy 24) is housed in the exterior, and the heater 21, the first hydrogen storage 22 and the second hydrogen storage 24 are connected by a gas passage 25.
To third control valve V ₁ · V ₂ · V ₃ is interposed in the gas passage 25 as shown.

In order to heat the heater 21 when the heater 21 is regenerated, an electric heater 21a is wound around the heater 21, and the electric heater 21a is connected to a battery via a relay switch 21b. Although not shown, a temperature sensor for detecting the cooling water temperature and the first and second reservoirs as in the case of the first embodiment.
A pressure sensor and the like for detecting the H ₂ gas pressure in the 22 and 24 are provided, and this heating device is controlled by the control unit.

Z _r C _r1.2 F of MH ₁ accommodating in the heater 21 is a high temperature dissociation type
a _e0.8, MH ₃ accommodated in the second reservoir 24 is L _a N _i based MH cold dissociation.

It said _{Z r} C _r1.2 F e0.8 occluding speed faster heating amount larger than that of the L _a N _i based MH but, 200 ° C. of about generated in the engine E so regeneration temperature (about 400 ° C.) is higher Conventionally, it was regenerated by sucking with a vacuum pump to regenerate it by exhaust heat. However, by providing the second reservoir 24 as described above, it can be easily regenerated.

Next, the operation of the heating device will be described.

First, when heating the intake air at the time of cold start, the first and second control valves V ₁ and V ₂ are opened and the third control valve V ₃ is closed. Then, H ₂ gas is supplied to the heater 21 from the first reservoir 22, H ₂
As the gas is stored, the heater 21 generates heat and the intake air is heated.

As described above, the H ₂ gas is supplied for a predetermined time, and when the warm-up of the engine E is completed, the second control valve V ₂ is closed and the intake air heating is stopped.

When the heater 21 is regenerated, as shown in FIG. 6, first, before the engine E is warmed up, the heater 21 is changed to the second reservoir.
The heater 21 is regenerated by flowing H ₂ gas to 24, and after warming up, the second
H ₂ gas is caused to flow from the storage device 24 to the first storage device 22 and the second storage device
Play 24. That is, the heater 21a of the heater 21 is energized to heat the heater 21 to about 200 ° C. to dissociate the H ₂ gas from MH ₁ and open the _first and third control valves V ₁ and V ₃ to heat the heater. H ₂ gas is caused to flow from the 21 to the second storage 24 in the low temperature state, and is stored in the MH ₃ (reset 1 in FIG. 6).
Close the 3rd control valves V ₁ and V ₃ . Next, after warming up, while heating the second reservoir 24 with cooling water of about 50 ° C or higher, the second and third control valves
V ₂ · V ₃ is opened and H ₂ gas is supplied from the second reservoir 24 to the first reservoir 22 to regenerate the second reservoir 24 (Reset 2 in FIG. 6).

As described above, in the heating device is provided with a second reservoir 24 containing a MH ₃ cold dissociation type compared to _{MH 1, MH 1 → MH 3} →
By reproducing the first reservoir 22 in two stages in order, 200
MH ₁ can be regenerated at a low temperature of about ℃.

Next, the MH ₁ stored in the heater 21 and the second reservoir 24
The Al vapor deposition apparatus 30 for vapor depositing Al on the powder surface of MH ₃ and MH ₃ will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.

In FIG. 7, a cylindrical vapor deposition container 31 made of tempered glass is rotatably supported via a support shaft 32, and a vapor deposition container is driven by a motor 33.
31 can be rotated. As shown in FIG. 8, a cylindrical cylindrical vapor deposition device 35 made of tungsten having a large number of small holes 34 is concentrically arranged in the vapor deposition container 31, and is fixed to the inner end portion of the support shaft 32. A peripheral wall portion 35a of the vaporizer 35 is openable and closable, and a pellet-shaped Al lump is accommodated inside from the opening. The peripheral wall portion of the vapor deposition container 31 can be opened and closed in the same manner as the evaporator 35, and the powder of MH can be accommodated inside from the opening.

In order to discharge the air inside the vapor deposition container 31, a suction pipe 36 is provided outside the one support shaft 32, and the suction pipe 36 includes a valve 37.
Also, the suction pipe 36 is connected to the vacuum pump 39 via the connector 38 and communicates with the internal space of the vapor deposition container 31. Further, in order to heat the evaporator 35, a predetermined current can be passed from the controller to the evaporator 35.

Next, the operation of the Al vapor deposition device 30 will be described.

First, MH having a particle diameter of about 100 to 200 μm is accommodated in the vapor deposition container 31, and pelletized Al lumps are accommodated in the evaporator 35. Next, the vacuum pump 39 is operated to suck and remove the air in the vapor deposition container 31, the valve 37 is closed, and the connector 38 is disconnected.

Next, the vaporization container 31 and the vaporizer 35 are rotated at a low speed by the motor 33 while the vaporizer 35 is energized and heated.

Then, the Al lump in the evaporator 35 is heated to generate Al vapor, and the Al vapor flows out from the small holes 34 of the evaporator 35 into the vapor deposition container 31. Since the MH powder in the vapor deposition container 31 is agitated by the rotation of the container, Al vapor is vapor-deposited on the surface of the MH powder. In this case, the thickness of the Al vapor deposition film is several μm
It is desirable to set it to about 10 μm, but this film thickness is for the evaporator.
It can be appropriately controlled by the current supplied to 35 and the processing time.

As described above, when Al is vapor-deposited on the powder surface of MH, the thermal conductivity of MH, which has a thermal conductivity as small as that of glass, is significantly increased. When the thickness of the Al vapor deposition film is within the above range, there is almost no adverse effect on the absorption of H ₂ gas. Since Al has a low specific gravity, compared with the case of forming a deposited film of C _u, I small specific gravity
Since MH can be obtained, the heat capacity of the heater 21 and the reservoir 24 can be reduced, and the reaction rate during heating and regeneration can be increased.

The vapor deposition container 31 may be made of ceramics or a metal material coated with ceramics inside, and the evaporator 35 may be made of ceramics and a heater made of tungsten may be provided inside thereof.

The vehicle heating device of the present application can be applied not only to a heating device that heats cooling water or intake air, but also to a device that heats oil or air for air conditioning, and can also be applied to a diesel engine or a rotary piston engine. Is.

[Brief description of drawings]

Of the drawings, FIGS. 1 to 8 show an embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 1 to 4 show a first embodiment, and FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a heating device, FIG. Is a block diagram of the H ₂ gas system, No. 3
The figure shows the hydrogen dissociation pressure / temperature characteristic diagram of MH ₁ , MH ₂ and MH ₃ , FIG. 4 shows the temperature time chart of MH ₁ and MH ₂ , and FIGS. 5 to 8 show the second embodiment and the fifth example. The figure shows the overall structure of the heating device, No. 6.
Fig. 7 is a hydrogen dissociation pressure / temperature characteristic diagram of MH ₁ and MH ₃ , Fig. 7 is an overall configuration diagram of an Al vapor deposition apparatus, Fig. 8 is a perspective view of an evaporator, and Figs. 9 and 10 are conventional techniques, respectively. diagram of the H ₂ gas systems of heating apparatus according a temperature time chart of FIG. 11-FIG. 12 respectively Figure 9 and hydrogen dissociation pressure-temperature characteristics of the MH diagram in the device of FIG. 10 and MH. 2.21 ... Heating device, 5.22 ... First storage device, 6.24 ...
Second reservoir, 7 ・ 25 …… Gas passage, V ₁ , V ₂ , V ₃ …… Control valve.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A-57-79213 (JP, A) JP-A-60-249666 (JP, A) Actual opening 61-178058 (JP, U) Actual opening 61- 181866 (JP, U)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A heating device for a vehicle in which a heater containing a hydrogen storage alloy and a first storage device storing hydrogen gas are connected to each other through a control valve, and a second storage device containing a hydrogen storage alloy is provided. And a control means for introducing hydrogen gas from the heater to the second reservoir in a low temperature state when the heater is regenerated.