Patent Application
20220281409
The present invention is generally related to batteries and automotive electrical systems, and more particularly to an enhanced automotive electrical battery system.
A conventional automotive SLI battery consists generally of six lead acid cells connected in series. It is a primary function of the automotive battery to provide sufficient high electric current at short intervals to crank the internal combustion engine in order that it may start. The battery must also provide current to the coil for engine ignition, and provides lighting, heating and ignition to the vehicle if the vehicle's generator is not operating. The current requirements of the starter motor are vastly different from those of the vehicle's auxiliaries, such as lighting, heating and ignition. Cranking requires large amounts of current for a relatively short duration as the start motor cranks the internal combustion engine against the compression of the cylinders. Whereas, ignition and other vehicle auxiliaries, however, require lower current rates but for longer periods of time. The conventional SLI battery system is therefore designed first to provide sufficient cranking power, and secondly to provide current to the vehicle's auxiliaries while the generator is not operating.
In addition, automobiles are designed to operate under a wide variety of temperature and weather conditions. However, the comfort of the driver and any passengers is often not taken into consideration with respect to these differing temperature and weather conditions. It is often desirable to start the heater or the air conditioner prior to the driver and any passengers entering the vehicle in order to make the vehicle interior more comfortable. It is known in the prior art to remotely start the engine of an automobile in order to warm the engine. Such a solution is deficient for numerous reasons. For instance, starting the engine of an automobile is dangerous due to the carbon dioxide emissions in a closed space such home garage or even a public covered parking lot or parking garage. There is also the possibility of a combustion engine overheating in a confined space potentially resulting in a fire or other hazard. Further, there is always the risk of theft of an untended automobile after the automobile is remotely started using techniques known in the prior art.
Thus, there currently exist deficiencies associated with automotive electrical systems, and, in particular, with an automotive electrical battery system.
Accordingly, one aspect of the present invention is to provide an enhanced automotive electrical battery system having a primary automobile electrical energy source of an automobile having a combustion engine, a receiver configured to receive one or more wireless signals to respectively control one or more automobile functions, and a remote keyless entry (RKE) having a transmitter in wireless communication with the receiver and having one or more buttons. The remote keyless entry (RKE) is configured in an operating mode to transmit, via the transmitter, the one or more wireless signals to the receiver upon activation by the respective one or more buttons. Upon receipt of the one or more wireless signals by the receiver, one or more automobile functions are controlled without starting the combustion engine of the automobile.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide an enhanced automotive electrical battery system having an electrical system connecting a plurality of automotive on-board systems of an automobile having a combustion engine, a primary automobile electrical energy source connected to the electrical system, a secondary automobile electrical energy source connected to the electrical system, a receiver connected to the electrical system and configured to receive one or more wireless signals to respectively control at least one of the plurality of automobile functions, and a remote keyless entry (RKE) having a transmitter in wireless communication with the receiver and having one or more buttons. A plurality of automobile functions control the plurality of automotive on-board systems of the automobile via signals communication via the electrical system. The remote keyless entry (RKE) is configured in an operating mode to transmit, via the transmitter, the one or more wireless signals to the receiver upon activation by the respective one or more buttons. Upon receipt of the one or more wireless signals by the receiver, one or more of the plurality of automobile functions are controlled without starting the combustion engine of the automobile, wherein the plurality of automobile functions include activating or deactivating one of the plurality of automotive on-board systems, wherein the one of the plurality of automotive on-board systems are powered by the secondary automobile electrical energy source.
A more complete appreciation of the present invention and many of the attendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate identical or corresponding parts throughout the several views, preferred embodiments of the present invention are described.
As used herein, a smart entry system is an electronic lock that controls access to a vehicle without using a traditional mechanical key. The term remote keyless system (RKS), also referred to as a remote keyless entry (RKE), refers to a lock that uses an electronic remote control key which is activated by a handheld device or automatically by proximity. Widely used in automobiles, an RKS performs the functions of a standard car key without physical contact. When within a few yards of the car, pressing a button on the remote can lock or unlock the doors, and may perform other functions.
Referring to
According to an optional embodiment, the automobile 100 also includes a secondary battery 250 in communication with the automobile electrical system. Depending on the use for which it is intended, the secondary battery 250 can have the same electrical capacity or even a different, usually more limited, capacity compared to the battery 200 and, therefore, can be smaller and cheaper than the battery 200. Secondary battery 250 may be connected to the automobile electrical system through electronic switch 110.
According to an embodiment, the automobile 100 includes an electric grill heater 180 which is connected to the automobile electrical system through electronic switch 178,
The automobile 100 may also include an optional regenerative braking system 106 in communication with the automobile electrical system. According to this optional embodiment, upon braking, the kinetic energy of the automobile is converted into an electrical current using means known in the automobile industry as regenerative braking.
As shown in
The remote keyless entry (RKE) 300 includes a transmitter 304 and one or more buttons 302a and 302b. Upon pressing one or more buttons 302a and 302b, the transmitter 304 transmits a signal to an automobile 100 within proximity of the remote keyless entry (RKE) 300.
Referring to
If a control activation signal is not received, then at block 414, a determination is made as to whether a control signal function was received. If a control signal was received, then the control signal function is communicated to the respective control unit. If a control signal function is not received, then at block 418, a determination is made as to whether a deactivation control signal was received. If a deactivation control signal was received, then the respective automobile function is automatically deactivated, at block 420.
An optional regenerative braking system 106 is illustrated in
As shown in
Referring to
The present invention may utilize one or more computer applications. As used herein, a “computer application” is a computer executable software application of any type that executes processing instructions on a computer or embedded in a processor, and an “application” or “application project” are the files, objects, structures, database resources and other resources used in integrating a computer application into a software platform.
While the present invention has been described with reference to one or more particular embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that many changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Each of these embodiments and obvious variations thereof is contemplated as falling within the spirit and scope of the claimed invention, which is set forth in the following claims.
This invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, portions of the invention may be embodied as a method, device, or computer program product. Accordingly, portions of the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects all generally referred to as a “circuit” or “module.”
The present invention includes a computer program product which may be hosted on a computer-usable storage medium having computer-usable program code embodied in the medium and includes instructions which perform the processes set forth in the present specification. The storage medium can include, but is not limited to, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical disks, CD-ROMs, magneto-optical disks, ROMs, RAMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, flash memory, magnetic or optical cards, or any type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions.
Computer program code for carrying out operations of the present invention may be written in any programming language including without limitation, object-oriented programming languages such as Java®, Smalltalk, C# or C++, conventional procedural programming languages such as the “C” programming language, visually oriented programming environments such as VisualBasic, and the like.
Obviously, many other modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. The specific embodiments discussed herein are merely illustrative, and are not meant to limit the scope of the present invention in any manner. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the disclosed concept, the invention may be practiced otherwise then as specifically described.
