Thermal management system, control method therefor, and compressor included therein

A method of controlling a thermal management system comprising a coolant circuit having a circulating coolant, and a battery heat exchanger configured to allow the coolant to exchange heat with a battery of a vehicle, a refrigerant circuit including a compressor configured to compress a refrigerant, a first heat exchanger configured to cool the refrigerant compressed by the compressor, an expansion valve configured to expand the refrigerant cooled by the first heat exchanger, and a second heat exchanger configured to allow the refrigerant, which is expanded by the expansion valve, to exchange heat with the coolant, a measurement means configured to measure a pressure and a temperature of the refrigerant, and a controller configured to determine whether a battery thermal management mode operates in which the coolant circuit and the refrigerant circuit are operated and operations of cooling and heating an interior of the vehicle do not operate, detect a degree of superheat or a degree of supercooling of the refrigerant from the pressure and the temperature of the refrigerant measured by the measurement means, and determine whether a current state is a low-refrigerant state in which a refrigerant amount in the compressor is smaller than a reference refrigerant amount, the method comprising the steps of:

• a first determination step of determining whether the thermal management system operates in the battery thermal management mode;
• a second determination step of determining whether a first reference time has elapsed after initiating an operation of the compressor;
• a third determination step of comparing the degree of superheat or the degree of supercooling with a reference temperature;
• and
• a fourth determination step of determining whether the current state is the low-refrigerant state on a basis of a determination result in the first determination step, the second determination step, and the third determination step.

A compressor comprising:

• a motor configured to generate power;
• a rotary shaft configured to be rotated by the motor;
• an orbiting scroll configured to be rotated by the rotary shaft;
• and
• a fixed scroll defining a compression chamber together with the orbiting scroll, wherein the compressor includes a thermal management system comprising:
• a coolant circuit having a circulating coolant, and a battery heat exchanger configured to allow the coolant to exchange heat with a battery of a vehicle;
• a refrigerant circuit including a compressor configured to compress a refrigerant, a first heat exchanger configured to cool the refrigerant compressed by the compressor, an expansion means configured to expand the refrigerant cooled by the first heat exchanger, and a second heat exchanger configured to allow the refrigerant, which is expanded by the expansion means, to exchange heat with the coolant;
• a measurement means configured to measure a pressure and a temperature of the refrigerant;
• and
• a controller configured to determine whether a battery thermal management mode operates in which the coolant circuit and the refrigerant circuit are operated and operations of cooling and heating an interior of the vehicle do not operate, detect a degree of superheat or a degree of supercooling of the refrigerant from the pressure and the temperature of the refrigerant measured by the measurement means, and determine whether a current state is a low-refrigerant state in which a refrigerant amount in the compressor is smaller than a reference refrigerant amount.