METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR AN ELECTRICAL VEHICLE

• US 20090139781A1
• Filed: 07/18/2008
• Published: 06/04/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: AI Acquisitions Corp.
• Original Assignee: AI Acquisitions Corp.
• Inventors: Straubel, Jeffrey Brian
• Application Number:
  US12/176,005
• Publication Number:
  US 20090139781A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 180/65.100
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 1/08 Methods and devices for control or regulation
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/26 Rail vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/545 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/549 Current
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/662 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/80 Time limits
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/64 Constructional details of batteries specially adapted for electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/14 Conductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/21 having the same nominal voltage
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/27 by heating
• 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 10/72 Electric energy management in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles

Abstract

One embodiment includes a vehicle that includes a battery to supply a flow of electrical energy, an electric motor arranged to propel the vehicle, a first control circuit coupled between the battery and the motor to control the flow of electrical energy to the motor; a first heat exchange loop thermally coupled with a heat exchanger and a heating element, the first heat exchange loop to circulate a first fluid to heat or cool a passenger cabin; a second heat exchange loop thermally coupled with the heat exchanger, the second heat exchange loop to circulate a second fluid to heat or cool the battery and a second control circuit to couple a charger to the battery and to perform charging operations on the battery using a voltage source powered from a line source.

Claims

1. A vehicle comprising:

a battery to supply a flow of electrical energy;

an electric motor arranged to propel the vehicle;

a first control circuit coupled between the battery and the motor to control the flow of electrical energy to the motor;

a first heat exchange loop thermally coupled with a heat exchanger including a heating element, the first heat exchange loop to circulate a first fluid to heat or cool a passenger cabin;

a second heat exchange loop thermally coupled with the heat exchanger, the second heat exchange loop to circulate a second fluid to heat or cool the battery; and

a second control circuit to couple a charger to the battery and to perform charging operations on the battery using a voltage source powered from a line source, the control circuit including a comparator circuit to register a difference between a battery voltage of the battery to a voltage of the line source,

wherein the second control circuit is to couple the heating element between the voltage source and the battery when the difference exceeds a predetermined voltage value, and to bypass the heating element when the difference is less than the predetermined voltage value.

2. The vehicle of claim 1, further comprising:

a third control circuit constructed and arranged to control circulation of the first and second fluids, responsive to at least one parameter relating to the performance of the battery; and

a battery monitoring device to measure a first temperature of at least one of a plurality of rechargeable cells within the battery, wherein the at least one parameter relating to the performance of the battery includes the first temperature.

3. The vehicle of claim 2, wherein the second heat exchange loop includes a cooling tube to be in thermal communication with at least one of the plurality of rechargeable cells, and the second fluid includes a coolant.

4. The vehicle of claim 3, wherein the third control circuit is to control a coolant temperature using a circulation of the coolant in the second heat exchange loop.

5. The vehicle of claim 1, further comprising:

a third heat exchange loop to be in thermal communication with the first control circuit, wherein the first control circuit includes electronic circuitry to conduct the flow of electrical energy.

6. The vehicle of claim 5, wherein the third heat exchange loop is to further be in thermal communication with the motor and in thermal communication with a radiator.

7. A vehicle comprising:

an electric motor to propel the vehicle;

a battery including a first plurality of rechargeable cells coupled in parallel in a plurality of bricks to supply a flow of electrical energy to the motor;

a first control circuit coupled between the battery and the motor to control the flow of electrical energy to the motor;

a processor coupled to the plurality of bricks to identify at least one cell of the plurality of rechargeable cells that contains a weak short circuit and to deactivate such cells and to provide a weak short signal associated with the weak short circuit; and

a further processor to be communicatively coupled to the plurality of bricks, the further processor to store a reference voltage for each brick and to sample at least one of the plurality of bricks for a first voltage and compare the first voltage with the reference voltage, the further processor to replace the reference voltage with the first voltage if the first voltage is lower than the reference voltage, and to cause the first voltage to be lowered if the first voltage is higher than the reference voltage.

8. The vehicle of claim 7, wherein the processor is to temporarily switch off cells of the plurality of rechargeable cells while monitoring the cells to detect a weak short circuit, and to determine that the at least one cell contains a weak short circuit when the at least one cell is switched off and the weak short circuit signal is detected.

9. The vehicle of claim 7, further comprising:

a cooling tube including a first channel, the cooling tube to be thermally coupled with the battery, and to circulate a first flow of coolant via the first channel, to heat or cool the battery.

10. The vehicle of claim 9, wherein the cooling tube is to circulate a second flow of coolant, via a second channel to heat or cool the battery, the first flow of coolant and the second flow of coolant to provide a flow of heat from one or more of the first plurality of cells, in opposing directions.

11. The vehicle of claim 9, wherein a first brick of the plurality of bricks includes a first conductor plate to be conductively coupled to at least one of the first plurality of rechargeable cells;

and further comprising at least one fusible link to conductively couple the at least one of the first plurality of rechargeable cells with a first collector plate, the at least one fusible link to decouple from the first collector plate based on a detection of threshold current flow between the at least one of the first plurality of rechargeable cells and the first collector plate.

12. The vehicle of claim 11, further comprising a second brick of the plurality of bricks and a second collector plate to be conductively coupled to at least one of the plurality of rechargeable cells.

13. The vehicle of claim 12, wherein the first collector plate and the second collector plate are to be conductively coupled together in series via a fuse, the fuse to conductively decouple the first collector plate and the second collector plate based on a detection of a threshold current flow between the first collector plate and the second collector plate.

14. The vehicle of claim 12, wherein the first collector plate and the second collector plate are to be conductively coupled together via a flexible conductor.

15. The vehicle of claim 7, wherein at least one of the first plurality of rechargeable cells is coupled to a first conductor plate via a frangible conductor constructed and arranged to conductively decouple from the first conductor plate based on an exposure of the battery to at least one of a specified force, a specified vibration level and a specified thermal level.

16. The vehicle of claim 15, wherein the frangible conductor includes a wire made of an aluminum alloy.

17. The vehicle of claim 16, wherein the frangible wire has at least one of a specified thickness, a specified diameter or a specified length associated with at least one of a specific melting behavior and a specific fusing behavior.

18. The vehicle of claim 7, further comprising:

a material to thermally couple with a case of each of the first plurality of rechargeable cells, the material having a higher thermal conductivity than air, wherein the material is to transfer heat released from a first of the first plurality of rechargeable cells to at least a second of the first plurality of rechargeable cells.

19. A vehicle comprising:

a battery including a first plurality of rechargeable cells to supply a flow of electrical energy;

a control circuit coupled to the battery, the control circuit to control the flow of energy; and

an electric motor coupled to the control circuit to receive the flow of energy and to propel the vehicle, the electric motor including,

a rotor assembly having a plurality of copper bar conductors embedded in a rotor surface, with some of the plurality of copper bar conductors being conductively coupled to one another, via a plurality of bridging copper slugs, and

a rotor shaft having a hollow portion and a coolant feed tube rigidly coupled to the shaft to communicate with the hollow portion,

wherein a separation between an outer surface of the coolant feed tube and an inner surface of the hollow portion of the shaft defines a coolant flow region for coolant flowing through the feed tube in a first direction, and to flowing through the coolant flow region in a second direction.

20. The vehicle of claim 19, wherein the electric motor is an alternating current induction motor.

21. The vehicle of claim 19, further comprising:

a cooling subsystem to provide cooling to at least two zones including the rotor shaft, at least one of the zones including the battery;

a processor to estimate a remaining operational time before depletion of the battery charge; and

a valve to regulate cooling of the zone including the rotor shaft, the valve controlled by the processor to cool the zone including the rotor shaft to maintain the rotor shaft below a threshold operating temperature until the battery charge reaches depletion.