Magnetic heat pump device

A magnetic heat pump device, comprising:

• a magnetocaloric element disposed between a hot end and a cold end of a working chamber, the magnetocaloric element generating a hot heat and a cold heat according to changes in an external magnetic field;
• a magnetic field modulator that regulates the external magnetic field applied to the magnetocaloric element;
• a heat transport device that circulates a heat transport medium which exchanges heat with the magnetocaloric element so as to form the hot end and the cold end;
• a high temperature heat exchanger that uses a hot heat output from the hot end of the working chamber, which is a portion of a thermal output from the working chamber, to heat a heating target fluid by exchanging heat with the heat transport medium;
• a high temperature flow rate regulator that regulates a flow rate of the heating target fluid in the high temperature heat exchanger;
• a low temperature heat exchanger, providing cooling from the cold end of the working chamber, to cool a cooling target fluid by exchanging heat with the heat transport medium;
• a low temperature flow rate regulator that regulates a flow rate of the cooling target fluid in the low temperature heat exchanger;
• and
• a controller that controls an operation of the magnetic field modulator, the heat transport device, the high temperature flow rate regulator, and the low temperature flow rate regulator, wherein
• the controller includes
• a characteristic information acquisition unit that obtains a characteristic information of the thermal output with respect to a temperature difference between the hot end and the cold end, and
• a flow rate controller that, when increasing the thermal output, controls the high temperature flow rate regulator and the low temperature flow rate regulator based on the characteristic information obtained by the characteristic information acquisition unit to change at least one of the flow rate of the heating target fluid in the high temperature heat exchanger and the flow rate of the cooling target fluid in the low temperature heat exchanger, such that the temperature difference changes in a direction that increases the thermal output.