Method of controlling system temperature to extend battery pack life
First Claim
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1. A method of controlling the temperature of an electrical energy storage system (ESS) coupled to an electric powertrain of an electric vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:
- a) monitoring an operational condition of said electric vehicle, wherein said operational condition is either in a first state of operation or a second state of operation, wherein said first state of operation corresponds to said electric vehicle being turned on, and wherein said second state of operation corresponds to said electric vehicle being turned off;
b) determining whether or not a power source external to said electric vehicle is connected to an ESS charging system, wherein if said power source is not connected to said ESS charging system and if said electric vehicle is in said second state of operation the method further comprises the steps of;
c) determining a current ESS temperature with at least one temperature sensor;
d) comparing said current ESS temperature with a preset temperature;
e) activating an ESS cooling system if said current ESS temperature is greater than said preset temperature;
f) deactivating said ESS cooling system if said current ESS temperature is lower than said preset temperature; and
g) repeating steps c) through f) until said current ESS temperature is lower than said preset temperature.
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Abstract
A method for actively cooling the battery pack of an electric vehicle after the vehicle has been turned off, thereby limiting the adverse effects of temperature on battery life, is provided. Different battery pack cooling techniques are provided, thus allowing the cooling technique used in a particular instance to be selected not only based on the thermal needs of the battery pack, but also on the thermal capacity and energy requirements of the selected approach.
40 Citations
11 Claims
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1. A method of controlling the temperature of an electrical energy storage system (ESS) coupled to an electric powertrain of an electric vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:
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a) monitoring an operational condition of said electric vehicle, wherein said operational condition is either in a first state of operation or a second state of operation, wherein said first state of operation corresponds to said electric vehicle being turned on, and wherein said second state of operation corresponds to said electric vehicle being turned off; b) determining whether or not a power source external to said electric vehicle is connected to an ESS charging system, wherein if said power source is not connected to said ESS charging system and if said electric vehicle is in said second state of operation the method further comprises the steps of; c) determining a current ESS temperature with at least one temperature sensor; d) comparing said current ESS temperature with a preset temperature; e) activating an ESS cooling system if said current ESS temperature is greater than said preset temperature; f) deactivating said ESS cooling system if said current ESS temperature is lower than said preset temperature; and g) repeating steps c) through f) until said current ESS temperature is lower than said preset temperature. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method of controlling the temperature of an electrical energy storage system (ESS) coupled to an electric powertrain of an electric vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:
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a) monitoring an operational condition of said electric vehicle, wherein said operational condition is either in a first state of operation or a second state of operation, wherein said first state of operation corresponds to said electric vehicle being turned on, and wherein said second state of operation corresponds to said electric vehicle being turned off; b) determining whether or not a power source external to said electric vehicle is connected to an ESS charging system, wherein if said power source is not connected to said ESS charging system and if said electric vehicle is in said second state of operation the method further comprises the steps of; c) determining a current ESS temperature with at least one temperature sensor; d) comparing said current ESS temperature with a preset temperature range; e) activating a first ESS cooling system implementation if said current ESS temperature is within said preset temperature range; f) activating a second ESS cooling system implementation if said current ESS temperature is greater than said preset temperature range; g) terminating ESS cooling if said current ESS temperature is lower than said preset temperature range; and h) repeating steps c) through g) until said current ESS temperature is lower than said preset temperature range. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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Specification