Method of operating a preemptive EV battery pack temperature control system

• US 9,446,682 B2
• Filed: 01/20/2015
• Issued: 09/20/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/20/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Atieva, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Atieva, Inc.
• Inventors: Gauthier, Jean-Philippe, Tse, David, Hao, Jieliang, Rawlinson, Peter Dore
• Primary Examiner(s): Shafi, Muhammad
• Application Number:
  US14/600,039
• Publication Number:
  US 20160207416A1
• Time in Patent Office: 609 Days
• Field of Search: 701/22, 180/207.3, 180/65.29, 180/65.1, 180/65.21
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/26 by cooling
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/023 for transmission of signals between vehicle parts or subsystems
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/00 Conjoint control of vehicle sub-units of different type or different function for propulsion of purely electrically-propelled vehicles with power supplied within the vehicle B60L50/00 - B60L58/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/343 Calculating itineraries, i.e. routes leading from a starting point to a series of categorical destinations using a global route restraint, round trips, touristic trips travelling salesman problem G06Q10/04; optimisation of routes G06Q10/047
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/085 using electronic data carriers
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries

Abstract

A method of thermally pre-conditioning a vehicle'"'"'s battery pack prior to vehicle departure is provided. The system, after determining that the vehicle is off and/or the driver has left the car, monitors a variety of conditions corresponding to both the vehicle and the driver in order to determine the probability of the driver requiring near-term use of the car. Typical monitored conditions may include driver and vehicle location, driver proximity, time of day, day of week, driver'"'"'s upcoming appointments, and a historical data base that tracks driver behavior. Once the probability that the car will be needed within a preset time period exceeds a preset level, the system determines whether the battery pack should be heated or cooled based on the current battery pack temperature, and then activates an appropriate thermal management system.

Claims

1. A method of activating a thermal management system, the method comprising the step of:

monitoring an operational state of a vehicle utilizing a vehicle system controller incorporated into the vehicle, said vehicle system controller comprising a central processing unit (CPU) and a memory, wherein the vehicle is on when said operational state corresponds to a first state, wherein the vehicle is off when said operational states corresponds to a second state, and wherein when said operational state corresponds to said second state the method further comprises the steps of;

monitoring a plurality of conditions, wherein said plurality of conditions are selected from the group consisting of a driver location, a direction of driver movement relative to the vehicle, a vehicle location, a separation distance between the vehicle and a vehicle driver, a current time of day, a current day of week, a driver appointment schedule, a historical data base, and an alarm clock, wherein said monitoring step is performed by said vehicle system controller;

determining a probability of the vehicle departing from a present location within a preset number of minutes from said current time based on said plurality of conditions monitored by said system controller, wherein said determining step is performed by said vehicle system controller; and

comparing said probability to a preset probability, wherein if said probability is less than said preset probability said vehicle system controller continues to perform said steps of monitoring said plurality of conditions, determining said probability and comparing said probability for as long as said operational state of the vehicle corresponds to said second state, and wherein if said probability is greater than said preset probability said vehicle system controller performs the step of activating said thermal management system, said thermal management system coupled to a battery pack mounted within said vehicle.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of monitoring said operational state of the vehicle further comprises the step of monitoring a vehicle on/off switch.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of monitoring said operational state of the vehicle further comprises the step of monitoring proximity of said vehicle driver to the vehicle, wherein said operational state corresponds to said first state when said vehicle driver is within a passenger cabin of the vehicle, and wherein said operational state corresponds to said second state when said vehicle driver is outside of the passenger cabin of the vehicle.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said driver location is monitored by said vehicle system controller by performing the step of monitoring a location corresponding to a smartphone.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said driver appointment schedule is monitored by said vehicle system controller by performing the step of synchronizing an on-board calendar with a calendar contained on a remote system, wherein said remote system is selected from the group consisting of a cellular phone, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a personal digital assistant, a computer system, or a network-based computing system.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said calendar includes a plurality of successive appointments spanning a period of time, and wherein each appointment of said plurality of successive appointments has a corresponding appointment start time.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein said remote system is physically separate and independent of said vehicle, and wherein said step of synchronizing said on-board calendar with said calendar contained on said remote system is performed when said remote system is plugged into an on-board port coupled to said vehicle system controller.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein said remote system is physically separate and independent of said vehicle, and wherein said step of synchronizing said on-board calendar with said calendar contained on said remote system is performed when a wireless link is established between said remote system and said vehicle system controller.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of maintaining said historical data base, wherein said historical data base comprises a plurality of departure times and a plurality of time durations, wherein said plurality of departure times corresponds to a first plurality of locations, and wherein each time duration corresponds to a duration period of the vehicle residing at one of a second plurality of locations.

10. The method of claim 1, said step of activating said thermal management system further comprising the steps of:

monitoring an elapsed time corresponding to said step of activating said thermal management system, wherein said step of monitoring said elapsed time is performed by said vehicle system controller; and

comparing said elapsed time to a preset time interval, wherein said step of comparing said elapsed time to said preset time interval is performed by said vehicle system controller, wherein if said elapsed time is less than said preset time interval said vehicle system controller continues to perform said step of activating said thermal management system, and wherein if said elapsed time is greater than said preset time interval said vehicle system controller terminates said step of activating said thermal management system.

11. The method of claim 1, said step of activating said thermal management system further comprising the steps of:

monitoring a battery pack temperature sensor with said vehicle system controller;

determining a current battery pack temperature; and

comparing said current battery pack temperature to a preset temperature, wherein said step of comparing said current battery pack temperature to said preset temperature is performed by said vehicle system controller, wherein if said current battery pack temperature is lower than said preset temperature said step of activating said thermal management system further comprises the step of activating a battery pack heater.

12. The method of claim 11, said step of activating said battery pack heater further comprising the step of circulating heated air throughout said battery pack.

13. The method of claim 11, said step of activating said battery pack heater further comprising the steps of activating a heater coupled to a coolant circulation system and activating a coolant circulation pump, wherein said coolant circulation system is thermally coupled to said battery pack.

14. The method of claim 13, said step of activating said heater further comprising the steps of:

monitoring an elapsed time corresponding to said step of activating said heater, wherein said step of monitoring said elapsed time is performed by said vehicle system controller; and

comparing said elapsed time to a preset time interval, wherein said step of comparing said elapsed time to said preset time interval is performed by said vehicle system controller, wherein if said elapsed time is less than said preset time interval said system controller continues to perform said step of activating said heater, and wherein if said elapsed time is greater than said preset time interval said vehicle system controller terminates said step of activating said heater coupled to said coolant circulation system while continuing to perform said step of activating said coolant circulation pump, wherein said vehicle system controller performs the step of activating said coolant circulation pump for a preset period of time.

15. The method of claim 1, said step of activating said thermal management system further comprising the steps of:

monitoring a battery pack temperature sensor with said vehicle system controller;

determining a current battery pack temperature; and

comparing said current battery pack temperature to a preset temperature, wherein said step of comparing said current battery pack temperature to said preset temperature is performed by said vehicle system controller, wherein if said current battery pack temperature is higher than said preset temperature said step of activating said thermal management system further comprises the step of cooling said battery pack.

16. The method of claim 15, said step of cooling said battery pack further comprising the step of activating a battery pack air circulation system.

17. The method of claim 15, said step of cooling said battery pack further comprising the steps of activating a chiller coupled to a coolant circulation system and activating a coolant circulation pump, wherein said coolant circulation system is thermally coupled to said battery pack.

18. The method of claim 17, said step of cooling said battery pack further comprising the steps of:

monitoring an elapsed time corresponding to said step of cooling said battery pack, wherein said step of monitoring said elapsed time is performed by said vehicle system controller; and

comparing said elapsed time to a preset time interval, wherein said step of comparing said elapsed time to said preset time interval is performed by said vehicle system controller, wherein if said elapsed time is less than said preset time interval said vehicle system controller continues to perform said step of cooling said battery pack, and wherein if said elapsed time is greater than said preset time interval said system controller terminates said step of activating said chiller coupled to said coolant circulation system while continuing to perform said step of activating said coolant circulation pump, wherein said vehicle system controller performs the step of activating said coolant circulation pump for a preset period of time.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of providing a user interlace coupled to said vehicle system controller, wherein at least one of said preset number of minutes and said preset probability are settable by a user via said user interface.