HYBRID VEHICLE AND METHOD OF CONDITIONING A VEHICLE BATTERY

• US 20170072813A1
• Filed: 09/16/2015
• Published: 03/16/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: MARTIN, Douglas Raymond, LEONE, Thomas G., MILLER, Kenneth James
• Granted Patent: US 9,873,350 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/00 Methods of charging batteries, specially adapted for electric vehicles; Charging stations or on-board charging equipment therefor; Exchange of energy storage elements in electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/56 Mechanical storage means, e.g. fly wheels
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/26 by cooling
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/27 by heating
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/46 Accumulators structurally combined with charging apparatus circuits for charging H02J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/486 for measuring temperature
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/613 Cooling or keeping cold
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/625 Vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/633 characterised by algorithms, flow charts, software details or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/6568 characterised by flow circuits, e.g. loops, located externally to the cells or cell casings
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/6572 Peltier elements or thermoelectric devices
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2220/20 Batteries in motive systems, e.g. vehicle, ship, plane
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries
• 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

Abstract

A includes a battery, an electric machine, an electrically powered cooling system, and a controller. The electric machine is configured to charge the battery with current generated from regenerative braking. The electrically powered cooling system is configured to cool the battery. The controller is programmed to, in response to a temperature of the battery being greater than a threshold, direct at least a portion of the current generated from regenerative braking to the cooling system.

Claims

1. A vehicle comprising:

a battery;

an electric machine configured to charge the battery with current generated from regenerative braking;

an electrically powered cooling system configured to cool the battery; and

a controller programmed to, in response to a temperature of the battery being greater than a first threshold, direct at least a portion of the current generated from regenerative braking to the cooling system.

2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the first threshold corresponds to an upper limit of a desired battery temperature range for battery charging.

3. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the cooling system includes a thermoelectric cooler configured to receive the current generated from regenerative braking.

4. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the cooling system includes a refrigerant loop having an electric compressor configured to receive the current generated from regenerative braking.

5. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the cooling system includes an electric fan configured to receive the current generated from regenerative braking and direct air across the battery.

6. The vehicle of claim 1 further comprising an electric heater configured to heat the battery, wherein the controller is programmed to, in response to the temperature of the battery being less than a second threshold, direct at least a portion of the current generated from regenerative braking to the electric heater.

7. The vehicle of claim 6, wherein the second threshold corresponds to a lower limit of a desired battery temperature range for battery charging.

8. The vehicle of claim 6 further comprising a coolant loop in fluid communication with the battery, wherein the electric heater is configured to heat a coolant within the coolant loop.

9. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the current generated from regenerative braking that is directed to the cooling system is a portion of the total regenerative braking power that exceeds a charging rate limit of the battery.

10. A vehicle comprising:

a battery;

an electric machine configured to charge the battery with current generated from regenerative braking;

an electric heater configured to heat the battery; and

a controller programmed to, in response to a temperature of the battery being less than a first threshold, direct at least a portion of the current generated from regenerative braking to the electric heater.

11. The vehicle of claim 10, wherein the first threshold corresponds to a lower limit of a desired battery temperature range for battery charging.

12. The vehicle of claim 10 further comprising a coolant loop in fluid communication with the battery, wherein the electric heater is configured to heat a coolant within the coolant loop.

13. The vehicle of claim 10, wherein the electric heater includes a resistive coil configured to heat air and a fan configured to direct the heated air across the battery.

14. The vehicle of claim 10 further comprising an electric cooling system configured to cool the battery, wherein the controller is programmed to, in response to the temperature of the battery being greater than a second threshold, direct at least a portion of the current generated from regenerative braking to the cooling system.

15. The vehicle of claim 14, wherein the second threshold corresponds to an upper limit of a desired battery temperature range for battery charging.

16. The vehicle of claim 14, wherein the cooling system includes a thermoelectric cooler configured to receive the current generated from regenerative braking.

17. The vehicle of claim 14, wherein the cooling system includes a refrigerant loop having an electric compressor configured to receive the current generated from regenerative braking.

18. The vehicle of claim 14, wherein the cooling system includes an electric fan configured to receive the current generated from regenerative braking and direct air across the battery.

19. The vehicle of claim 10, wherein the current generated from regenerative braking that is directed to the electric heater is a portion of the total regenerative braking power that exceeds a charging rate limit of the battery.

20. A vehicle battery temperature controller comprising:

an input channel configured to receive a signal indicative of battery temperature;

an output channel configured to provide a command to direct current generated via regenerative braking to an electrically powered battery temperature conditioning system; and

control logic configured to generate the command in response to the battery temperature traversing a desired battery temperature threshold.