Patent Application
20110165829
Cabin air temperatures of a parked automotive vehicle may be high due to high ambient temperatures and/or heat from direct sun. Upon entering the vehicle, an occupant may experience discomfort from such cabin air temperatures.
An automotive vehicle may include a cabin and an energy storage unit, such as a traction battery, disposed within a container. The energy storage unit may be used to provide power to move the vehicle. The vehicle may also include at least one controller and a climate system capable of moving air from the cabin to the container. The at least one controller may receive a request to activate the climate system while the vehicle is in a non-propulsion mode. In response to the request, the at least one controller may activate the battery climate system to, for example, purge air from the cabin and/or cool the energy storage unit.
While example embodiments in accordance with the invention are illustrated and disclosed, such disclosure should not be construed to limit the invention. It is anticipated that various modifications and alternative designs may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.
A vehicle occupant may attempt to cool the vehicle's cabin by opening one or more windows and/or activating the vehicle's air conditioner. Significant time may pass, however, from when the occupant initiates these activities until when the cabin reaches a comfortable temperature.
Referring to
The vehicle 10 may be in either of propulsion mode or non-propulsion mode. In propulsion mode, the vehicle 10 may be driven under the power of the engine and/or electric machine 16 (the vehicle 10, however, need not be moving). For example, if the vehicle 10 were to be waiting at a stop light for the light to turn green, the vehicle 10 would be in propulsion mode. In other words, the elements used for propulsion are enabled in propulsion mode.
In non-propulsion mode, the vehicle 10 is not capable of being driven although various vehicle components may nevertheless be powered-up. For example, if the vehicle 10 is in an “off” state, the vehicle 10 would be in non-propulsion mode. In other words, at least one of the elements used for propulsion is disabled or otherwise impeding a driver's request for propulsion so as to prevent propulsion.
The traction battery 14 resides within an enclosure (or container) 18 that houses the traction battery 14. The container 18 may thus provide some level of protection for the traction battery 14 against damage as well as provide a controlled environment, as discussed below, in which the traction battery 14 may operate. In the embodiment of
Duct work (or other fluid passageways) connect the cabin 12, the container 18 and outside of the vehicle 10 as indicated by heavy solid line. As discussed in more detail below, air from outside of the vehicle 10 may be pulled through the cabin 12 and the container 18, and then exhausted again to outside of the vehicle 10 to cool the cabin 12 and/or traction battery 14 in advance of an occupant entering the cabin 12. Air from the cabin 12 and/or container 18 may also be periodically purged to keep the temperatures within these areas within some desired range. Other scenarios are also possible and will be explained below.
The vehicle 10, in the embodiment of
The fan 26 is located within the duct work fluidly connecting outside of the vehicle 10 and the cabin 12. The fan 30 is positioned within the container 18. The fans 26, 30, in other embodiments, may be positioned in any suitable location. For example, the fan 26 may be located in the duct work fluidly connecting the cabin 12 and the container 18. The fan 30 may be located in the duct work fluidly connecting the container 18 and outside of the vehicle 10. Other arrangements are also possible.
As discussed below, cooperative activation of the fans 26, 30 may circulate fresh air through the cabin 12 and container 18 for cooling purposes. Periodic activation of the fan 30 may purge air from the container 18, etc.
The vehicle 10 further includes one or more controllers 32, power electronics 34, cabin temperature sensor 36 and ambient temperature sensor 38. The climate systems 20, 22 are under the influence/control of the controller(s) 32 and may receive power via power electronics 34. Electrical connections are shown in thin solid line. Control channels/communication lines are shown in dashed line.
The controller(s) 32 may, for example, selectively activate the climate systems 20, 22 based on information from the sensors 36, 38 or other information. As an example, a command originating from a key fob and eventually received by the controller(s) 32 may direct the controller(s) 32 to activate the fan 30 to purge air from the cabin 12 and container 18. As another example, the controller(s) 32 may be configured in a known fashion to detect a door open event and, as a result, activate one or both of the fans 26, 30 to purge air from the cabin 12 and container 18. As still yet another example, the controller(s) 32 may periodically activate one or both of the fans 26, 30 if the difference between the temperatures detected by the sensors 36, 38 exceeds some predetermined threshold, e.g., 5° C., etc. Other components of the climate systems 20, 22 may also be activated under similar circumstances.
The controller(s) 32 may discontinue fan/climate system operation after some predetermined time period (e.g., 3 minutes), upon the vehicle 10 entering propulsion mode, or if the temperature within the cabin 12 and/or container 18 achieves some desired value, etc.
Referring to
Referring to
The controller(s) 32 may, upon detecting a suitable activation event (such as those discussed above), (i) activate one or both of the fans 26, 30 to circulate fresh air through the cabin 12 and container 18 and/or (ii) activate the air conditioner 24. When one or more of the fans 26, 30 and/or the air conditioner 24 is first activated, cooling in the cabin 12 and container 18 may be dominated by the circulation of fresh air into the cabin 12 and container 18. Once the air conditioner's evaporator is sufficiently chilled, however, cooling in the cabin 12 and container 18 may be dominated by the air conditioner 24. As a result, the operation of one or both of the fans 26, 30 may be discontinued, in some embodiments, once the cabin/container air temperature is near or below the ambient air temperature.
The controller(s) 32 may deactivate the climate systems 20, 22 upon the occurrence of a suitable deactivation event (e.g., the vehicle 10 enters propulsion mode, a predetermined period of time passes, the interior temperature becomes near the ambient temperature, a remote command signal is received, etc.)
Referring to
Referring to
While embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it is not intended that these embodiments illustrate and describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
