Apparatus and method for air conditioning vehicle interior using battery charge control of electric vehicle

• US 9,020,668 B2
• Filed: 03/30/2010
• Issued: 04/28/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/17/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai Motor Group), Kia Motors Corporation (Kia Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai Motor Group), Kia Motors Corporation (Kia Corp.)
• Inventors: Park, June Kyu, Park, Hee Sang, Kim, Hun Soo, Yun, Jung Hwan, Kim, Hyun, Jeong, Hee Jun
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, John Q
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fei, Jordan S
• Application Number:
  US12/749,858
• Publication Number:
  US 20110118919A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,855 Days
• Field of Search: 701/22, 165 41- 44
• US Class Current: 701/22
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00392 for electric vehicles having only electric drive means
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00778 the input being a stationary vehicle position, e.g. parking or stopping
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 1/003 to auxiliary motors, e.g. for pumps, compressors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 1/04 fed by the power supply line
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/34 Cabin temperature
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/545 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/80 Time limits
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/16 by display
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/58 Departure time prediction
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/11 DC charging controlled by the charging station, e.g. mode 4
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/14 Conductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/63 in response to network capacity
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/64 Optimising energy costs, e.g. responding to electricity rates
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/26 by cooling
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/27 by heating
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/00 Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/167 : Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for supporting the interoperability of electric or hybrid vehicles, i.e. smartgrids as interface for battery charging of electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 10/126 : the energy generation units being or involving electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV], i.e. power aggregation of EV or HEV, vehicle to grid arrangements [V2G]
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 30/14 : Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing

Abstract

The present invention provides an apparatus and method for air conditioning a vehicle interior using a battery charge control of an electric vehicle, which can improve the cooling/heating performance by setting a start-up time of the electric vehicle and supplying heat generated from a battery during charge and its latent heat to the vehicle interior during initial start-up of the vehicle.

Claims

1. A method for air conditioning a vehicle interior using a battery charge control of an electric vehicle, the method comprising:

setting a start up time of the electric vehicle;

dividing a charging time into first and second charging processes, wherein the charging time is a time until a battery is fully charged before the start-up time of the electric vehicle;

performing the first charging process of the battery and storing in a battery case heat generated during the first charging process of the battery, wherein the first charging process is performed until the battery is charged to a predetermined level;

performing the second charging process of the battery and storing in the battery case heat generated during the second charging process of the battery, wherein the second charging process is performed from the predetermined level until the battery is fully charged; and

exchanging the heat stored in the battery case during the first and second charging processes with a heat exchanger disposed around the battery before the start-up time of the vehicle;

supplying the heat-exchanged air to the interior of the electric vehicle to cool or heat the electric vehicle interior,

wherein when outside air below a first temperature is fed into the battery case from outside of the electric vehicle at the start up time of the electric vehicle and passes through the heat exchanger during the first and second charging process the outside air below the first temperature is heated by heat exchange with the heat stored in battery case and is then supplied to the electric vehicle interior, and

wherein when outside air above a second temperature is fed into the battery case from outside of the electric vehicle at the start up time of the electric vehicle and passes through a heat-absorbing side of a thermoelectric device of the heat exchanger to absorb the heat stored in the battery case during the first and second charging processes, the outside air above the second temperature is cooled and supplied to the electric vehicle interior, wherein the second temperature is higher than the first temperature.