Systems and methods for absorbing waste electricity from regenerative braking in hybridized vehicles
First Claim
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1. A method of absorbing energy from regenerative braking, comprising:
- sensing a charge state of a battery;
transferring an electric current from the regenerative braking to a thermoelectric module;
adjusting a polarity of the electric current to control a heat transfer between the thermoelectric module and the battery when the sensed charge state is less than or equal to a maximum charge state of the battery; and
adjusting the polarity of the electric current to cause the thermoelectric module to absorb heat from the battery when the sensed charge state is greater than the maximum charge state of the battery.
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Abstract
The invention relates to a system for absorbing electric energy from regenerative braking. The system includes a battery, a thermoelectric module in thermally-conductive contact with the battery, a generator for generating an electric current from regenerative braking, the generator connected to the battery via a first switch and connected to the thermoelectric module via a second switch, and a sensor for measuring a temperature and a charge state of the battery. The system also comprises a controller for activating and deactivating the first switch and the second switch when certain conditions have been met.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of absorbing energy from regenerative braking, comprising:
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sensing a charge state of a battery; transferring an electric current from the regenerative braking to a thermoelectric module; adjusting a polarity of the electric current to control a heat transfer between the thermoelectric module and the battery when the sensed charge state is less than or equal to a maximum charge state of the battery; and adjusting the polarity of the electric current to cause the thermoelectric module to absorb heat from the battery when the sensed charge state is greater than the maximum charge state of the battery. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method of regulating a temperature of a battery for use in regenerative braking, the method comprising:
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transferring an electric current from the regenerative braking to the battery; sensing the temperature of the battery; transferring the electric current from the regenerative braking to a thermoelectric module; and adjusting a polarity of the electric current to enable the thermoelectric module to absorb heat from the battery when the sensed temperature is equal to or greater than a maximum operating temperature of the battery. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of absorbing electricity from regenerative braking, comprising:
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measuring an actual temperature of a battery using a first sensor; measuring a charge state of the battery using a second sensor; obtaining a maximum operating battery temperature and a maximum charge state from memory; transferring electric current from the regenerative braking to a thermoelectric module using a controller wherein the controller sets a polarity of the electric current to cool the battery when the actual temperature is greater than or equal to the maximum operating battery temperature; and transferring electric current from the regenerative braking to the thermoelectric module using the controller wherein the controller alternates a polarity of the electric current to heat and cool the battery when the charge state is greater than or equal to the maximum charge state. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification