Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090000146 | Evaporator Core Drying System - An evaporator core drying system in which air that is blown by a blower is concentrated into a narrow cross-sectional air stream of high speed purge air which passes progressively across the area of the evaporator core, per an appropriate blow algorithm, so as to effectively and efficiently dry the evaporator core. Preferably, the configurable barrier is composed of at least one roller door located between the blower and the evaporator core. | 01-01-2009 |
20090107172 | Receiver/Dryer-Accumulator-Internal Heat Exchanger for Vehicle Air Conditioning System - An integrated receiver/dryer-accumulator-internal heat exchanger for use in a vehicle HVAC system and a method of operation are disclosed. The integrated receiver/dryer-accumulator-internal heat exchanger may comprise an accumulator portion having an accumulator inlet configured to be in fluid communication with an evaporator, and an accumulator outlet configured to be in fluid communication with a compressor; and a receiver/dryer portion mounted within the accumulator portion and having receiver/dryer inlet configured to be in fluid communication with a first portion of a condenser and a receiver/dryer outlet configured to be in fluid communication with a sub-cooler portion of the condenser. The integrated receiver/dryer-accumulator-internal heat exchanger allows for exchanging heat between the refrigerant in the accumulator portion and refrigerant in the receiver/dryer portion. | 04-30-2009 |
20090236089 | Controlling Temperature of Vehicle Devices Using a Variable Speed Fan - A method for controlling a fan in a vehicle includes comparing the current temperature of at least a first device and a second device to multiple temperature ranges for each of said devices and determining on the basis of said comparisons whether fan speed should be changed, increasing fan speed to a maximum fan speed if at least one of the comparisons indicates that the maximum fan speed is desired, increasing fan speed to a reference fan speed if at least one of the comparisons indicates that an increase in fan speed less than the maximum fan speed is desired, and decreasing fan speed to a reference fan speed if the comparisons indicate that a decrease in fan speed is desired. | 09-24-2009 |
20100011789 | VEHICLE HVAC CONTROL - A method of controlling a HVAC system for a hybrid vehicle having a refrigerant compressor driven by an engine is disclosed. The method may comprise: determining a requested air conditioning operating point for a passenger compartment; estimating a time to reach the requested operating point; based on the previous steps, estimating a maximum allowed compressor off time; determining if the allowed compressor off time is greater than a minimum engine off time; if the allowed compressor off time is greater than the engine off time, determining if the vehicle is entering an allowable engine off mode; if so, commencing engine shut-off mode; if engine shut-off is anticipated, prior to commencing the shut-off mode, adjusting the HVAC system to maximize cooling of the passenger compartment with minimum energy usage; and if the engine shut-off is commenced, monitoring the HVAC system to determine when engine restart is needed to maintain comfort. | 01-21-2010 |
20100064700 | Refrigerant System Oil Accumulation Removal - A method and system for removing oil accumulation from refrigerant lines of a vehicle HVAC system having multiple refrigerant loops each having an evaporator is disclosed. The method for operating the system may comprise the steps of: monitoring a flow rate through at least one of the refrigerant loops; determining if the flow rate through any of the at least one refrigerant loops being monitored is below a predetermined flow rate for greater than a predetermined time limit; monitoring for an indication of imminent vehicle operation; and if the indication of imminent vehicle operation is detected and the flow rate through any of the at least one refrigerant loops being monitored is below the predetermined flow rate for greater than the predetermined time limit, opening a valve to allow for maximum flow through the at least one refrigerant loop. | 03-18-2010 |
20100230505 | Auxiliary Heater Pump Control - A method of auxiliary heater pump control in a vehicle including a heater core and an auxiliary pump in a heater core branch of a vehicle coolant system is disclosed. The method comprises the steps of: determining if a power plant is on, the power plant being connected to the coolant system; calculating an estimated heating power required to meet HVAC system heating requirements that is a function of mass air flow, specific heat, and a change in temperature in a passenger compartment; determining if the calculated estimated heating power required is greater than a minimum required heating power that will be able to maintain thermal comfort in the passenger compartment of the vehicle; and if the calculated estimated heating power required is greater than the minimum required heating power and the power plant is not on, activating the auxiliary pump to pump a coolant through the heater core. | 09-16-2010 |
20120082871 | Thermal Management Controls for a Vehicle Having a Rechargeable Energy Storage System - A method of operating a RESS thermal system in a vehicle having a coolant loop for directing a coolant through a RESS and a refrigerant loop configured to selectively cool the coolant flowing through a chiller in the coolant loop, including: determining a current target temperature range for the RESS based on a current vehicle operating mode and ambient temperature; determining a temperature of the RESS; determining if the temperature of the RESS needs to increase or decrease to be within the current target temperature range; if the determination is made that the temperature of the RESS needs to increase, determining if an active heating or a passive heating of the coolant will be employed, the active heating using a greater amount of energy over a shorter time period than the passive heating; and activating the determined active heating or passive heating of the coolant. | 04-05-2012 |
20140174707 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR THERMAL STORAGE IN A VEHICLE - A method for charging a thermal storage device of a thermal storage heat pump system in a vehicle is provided. The method includes comparing an actual temperature of the thermal storage device to a target temperature, and an actual charge time to an available charge time, where the comparing is performed by a controller. The target temperature may be based upon ambient air temperature and ambient air humidity. The actual charge time is the time it takes to charge the thermal storage device to the target temperature. The available charge time is the difference between the current time and an intended departure time. When the target temperature is greater than the actual temperature, and the available charge time is equal to or greater than the actual charge time, the controller may charge the thermal storage device until the actual temperature is equal to the target temperature. | 06-26-2014 |
20140196485 | METHOD FOR CONTROLLING A THERMAL STORAGE HEAT PUMP SYSTEM - A thermal storage heat pump system transfers heat to a passenger compartment of a vehicle from at least one of a thermal storage device and ambient air. Heat from the thermal storage device is absorbed by a first coolant flowing through it, and is transferred to a refrigerant via a first heat exchanger. The heat is then transferred from the refrigerant to a second coolant via a second heat exchanger, and then from the second coolant to air flowing into the passenger compartment via a heater core. Heat from ambient air is absorbed by the refrigerant via a third heat exchanger. The heat source is determined by at least one of the thermal storage device temperature, ambient air temperature, and ambient air humidity. At start-up of the vehicle, heat transfer to the refrigerant and to the second coolant is controlled based on low-side and high-side pressure measurements of the refrigerant. | 07-17-2014 |
20140208789 | VEHICLE HEAT PUMP SYSTEM AND METHOD UTILIZING THERMAL STORAGE - A heat pump system for use in a vehicle having a passenger compartment, and a thermal storage medium is provided. A method for providing heat to a vehicle passenger compartment is also provided. The vehicle may have an electric only vehicle mode wherein the vehicle may occupy one of an active electric drive state and an inactive state. The heat pump system may include a thermal storage medium configured to store heat produced during the inactive state. The thermal storage medium may be a device which has a thermal capacity exchangeable with a fluid medium such as an Rechargeable Energy Storage System (RESS) or a phase change material. The heat stored by the thermal storage medium during the vehicle charge event may be transmitted from the thermal storage medium to the passenger compartment via the heat pump system during the active electric drive state. | 07-31-2014 |
20140216689 | VEHICULAR THERMAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND METHOD THEREOF - A thermal management system having a first heating device, such as a rechargeable energy storage system (RESS), and a second heating device, such as an internal combustion engine (ICE), for a vehicle is provided. The system may allow waste heat within an ICE to be stored in a RESS, and may cool the RESS by depositing heat in the ICE. The RESS and the ICE are located in a first coolant circuit and a second coolant circuit, respectively. The system also includes a third coolant circuit interconnected with the first coolant circuit, and in thermal communication with the second coolant circuit via a first heat exchanger. The first and third coolant circuits are configured to circulate a first coolant, and the second coolant circuit is configured to circulate a second coolant. The RESS and the ICE are each configured to selectively operate as a heat source or a heat sink. | 08-07-2014 |
20140230463 | METHOD FOR CONTROLLING A COMPRESSOR OF A THERMAL STORAGE HEAT PUMP SYSTEM - A method of controlling a compressor of a thermal storage heat pump system of a vehicle is provided. The system may operate in one of a heating mode and a cooling mode, as determined by at least one system controller based on at least one parameter. The at least one parameter may be ambient air temperature. The compressor has a compressor motor and a motor controller configured to selectively operate the compressor in an unmodified state or a modified state based on the operating mode of the system. The compressor motor is operated in the unmodified state when the system is in the cooling mode, and in the modified state when the system is in the heating mode. Operating the compressor motor in the modified state may include decreasing its coefficient of performance (COP). | 08-21-2014 |
20140277878 | METHOD FOR OPERATING HYBRID VEHICLE - A method and system used to identify an optimal hybrid vehicle operating mode based on a variety of potential factors, and then recommend the optimal operating mode to the driver so that they can make an informed decision regarding their operating mode selection. In one embodiment, the method uses geographic-, vehicle- and/or environmental-related factors to establish one or more operating zones, monitors the location of the hybrid vehicle and determines when it is within one of the operating zones, and then determines an operating mode that is optimal for that particular operating zone. | 09-18-2014 |