Patent application number | Description | Published |
20110162901 | COOLING AIR DUCT FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLE - A vehicle having a front seating row, a rear seating row, and an electric compartment located behind an/or beneath the rear seating row has a duct extending forward from the electric compartment. The duct carries air exiting the electric compartment toward a HVAC system intake located forward of the front seating row. The air from the electric compartment may thus be drawn through the HVAC system for cooling before being returned to the passenger cabin, yielding improvements in both electrical equipment cooling and passenger comfort. | 07-07-2011 |
20110165830 | ELECTRIC COMPARTMENT COOLING APPARATUS AND METHOD - An automotive vehicle has a passenger cabin, an HVAC system adjustable between a fresh air mode and a recirculate mode, a compartment containing a heat-producing electrical component, and a non-passenger compartment that is ventilated to outside of the vehicle. A duct has an inlet end adjacent the compartment and an outlet end adjacent an air intake of the HVAC system. A valve controls whether cooling air exiting the compartment is directed into the duct or into the non-passenger compartment. The valve is operated to direct a majority of the cooling air into the duct when the HVAC system is in the recirculate mode, and into the non-passenger compartment when the HVAC system is in the fresh air mode. Air from the non-passenger compartment may be vented out of the vehicle through an air extractor vent. | 07-07-2011 |
20110165832 | ELECTRIC COMPARTMENT EXHAUST DUCT WITH ENHANCED AIR COOLING FEATURES - For cooling electric equipment in an electric automotive vehicle, an exhaust duct carrying exhaust air flowing from an electric compartment located behind and/or beneath a seat extends beneath the seat and exhausts into the passenger cabin. The exhaust duct has at least one air induction opening therein downstream from the electric compartment to draw auxiliary cooling air from the passenger cabin into the duct to join with the exhaust air. As exhaust air from the electric compartment passes through the exhaust duct, auxiliary cooling air is drawn into the exhaust duct through the air induction openings and mixes with the warmer air from the compartment to reduce the temperature of the air mixture exiting the exhaust duct. Air mixing features may be located inside the exhaust duct to improve mixing of the air flow from the electric compartment with the auxiliary cooling air. | 07-07-2011 |
20120144849 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CONTROLLING AUTOMOTIVE HVAC APPARATUS - A system and method for automatically controlling the operation of a climate control system, such as a HVAC, in a vehicle. The system disclosed here includes a monitoring module coupled to a blower motor and a controller coupled to the monitoring module and a compressor. The monitoring module monitors the status of the blower motor, and provides the status condition to the controller. Subsequently, the controller transmits an operational command to the compressor based on the inputs received from the monitoring module. | 06-14-2012 |
20130002446 | LOW AIR CONDITIONING REFRIGERANT DETECTION METHOD - A low air conditioning refrigerant detection method for a vehicle air conditioning system includes measuring an evaporator core outlet refrigerant temperature, measuring an evaporator core outlet air thermistor temperature, calculating a refrigerant to air temperature delta value based on difference between the evaporator core outlet refrigerant temperature and the evaporator core outlet air thermistor temperature and determining system refrigerant charge level based on the refrigerant to air temperature delta value. | 01-03-2013 |
20130004336 | COMPRESSOR CONTROL METHOD - A compressor control method for prolonging operating time of a vehicle air conditioning compressor includes monitoring an operating temperature of an insulated gate bipolar transistor in the compressor, comparing the operating temperature to at least one predetermined threshold temperature, continuing operation of the compressor if the operating temperature is below the at least one predetermined threshold temperature and implementing at least one mitigating step to prevent premature shutdown of the compressor if the operating temperature is above the at least one predetermined threshold temperature. | 01-03-2013 |
20130094972 | Climate Thermal Load Based Minimum Flow Rate Water Pump Control - A control system for minimizing the flow rate and energy consumption of a water pump in a vehicle. The control system and method correlate a climate thermal load value with the temperature of the coolant in a climate control cooling circuit. A correlation is performed by mapping the inputs to a desired pump flow rate that is determined to be necessary at a minimum to provide adequate cooling for the engine and for air conditioning or heating the vehicle. | 04-18-2013 |
20140070013 | THERMAL SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR A VEHICLE HAVING TRACTION BATTERY - A thermal system for an electric vehicle includes an electric heat source, a heat exchanger, a traction battery, a first thermal loop thermally coupled to the heat exchanger and the heat source, and a second thermal loop thermally coupled to the battery and configured to be selectively thermally coupled to the heat source. A vehicle includes an electric heat source, a heat exchanger system selectively thermally coupled with the heat source, and a traction battery system selectively thermally coupled to the heat source. A method of controlling a battery electric vehicle includes detecting a vehicle state input and operating an electric heater to heat a fluid. A valve arrangement is actuated to provide the fluid to one of a traction battery through a first fluid conduit, a heat exchanger through a second fluid conduit, and a battery and a heat exchanger through the first and second fluid conduits. | 03-13-2014 |
20140216709 | ELECTRIC VEHICLE THERMAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM - A traction battery thermal management system is provided. The thermal management system includes a battery loop for regulating the traction battery temperature. A motor loop is provided for regulating a motor temperature. The thermal management system also includes a radiator. A radiator valve selectively controls fluid flow through the radiator. A battery valve selectively couples the battery loop and the motor loops. The battery loop, the motor loop are in fluid communication and arranged in parallel to be cooled by the radiator. | 08-07-2014 |
20150052913 | Climate Control System - A climate control system having a coolant subsystem, a heat pump subsystem, and an intermediate heat exchanger. The intermediate heat exchanger may transfer thermal energy from the heat pump subsystem to the coolant to increase the temperature of the coolant when the climate control system is in a heating mode. | 02-26-2015 |