Refrigerant Based Cooling for EV Batteries

Heat pump thermal management system for heavy trucks that uses a dual refrigerant circuit to provide higher cooling capacity for the battery packs in electric heavy trucks. The system has two refrigerant loops, one for battery cooling and one for air conditioning, that can be selectively engaged. A three-way valve connects the loops, allowing simultaneous operation for maximum cooling intensity. This provides sufficient cooling capacity for high-power electric heavy trucks with large battery packs.

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Thermal management system for electric vehicles that allows both battery cooling and heating using a single chiller component. The system has a battery circuit, drive circuit, and refrigerant circuit. The chiller can operate in cooling mode to extract heat from the battery during charging or discharging, and in heating mode to provide heat to the battery during cold weather starts. This eliminates the need for a separate battery heater component. The chiller can switch between cooling and heating using a combination valve to redirect the refrigerant flow path.

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Thermal management system for electric vehicles that efficiently extracts and reuses waste heat from the battery pack to cool the passenger cabin and the battery itself, while reducing complexity and cost compared to separate circuits. The system uses a combined coolant/refrigerant loop with a battery cooler, compressor, and condenser. In passenger compartment cooling mode, the compressor pumps refrigerant to the condenser. In battery cooling mode, the compressor pumps coolant from the battery to the cooler, then refrigerant from the cooler to the condenser. This reuses battery waste heat to cool the cabin and battery, without separate circuits. The condenser can operate at higher airflow for battery cooling vs passenger compartment cooling.

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A vehicle thermal management system for electric vehicles that improves energy efficiency by using a refrigerant loop instead of resistance heaters and separate coolant loops for batteries and electronics. The system has a compressor, throttles, and valves to switch between cooling and heating modes. In cooling mode, refrigerant is throttled and returns through the battery pack to cool it. In heating mode, refrigerant bypasses the throttle and goes directly through the battery pack to heat it. This allows using a single refrigerant loop for both battery and cabin heating/cooling, improving efficiency compared to separate coolant loops.

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Integrated temperature management system for electric vehicles that reduces weight, cost, and complexity compared to separate systems for battery, electronics, and cabin cooling/heating. The system uses a single integrated unit that heats/cools the battery pack, electronics, and cabin air using a refrigerant-coolant heat exchanger. The refrigerant is from the vehicle's heat pump. The integrated unit can change flow patterns to optimize temperature management based on conditions. It can also use the radiator and coolant heater to further improve temperature control. This eliminates the need for separate cooling/heating systems, simplifying the design and reducing cost and weight.

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Temperature management system for electric vehicles that integrates the battery pack, electronic component module, and air conditioning temperature control into a single system using the vehicle's refrigerant and coolant. The system uses a heat pump with a refrigerant-coolant heat exchanger to transfer heat between the refrigerant and coolant. Valves change the coolant flow path to manage battery pack, module, and air conditioning temperatures. This allows optimization based on driving conditions and environment. The integrated system eliminates separate cooling/heating systems and uses the refrigerant to reduce power consumption and weight compared to separate systems.

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Thermal management system for automobiles with reduced components and simplified circuitry compared to prior art systems. The system uses a separate refrigerant circuit with multiple heat exchangers to enable heat exchange between the refrigerant, electric drive coolant, passenger cabin coolant, and battery coolant. This allows recycling waste heat from the electric drive and battery to heat other circuits instead of using auxiliary heaters. The refrigerant circuit also has valves to selectively connect loops in parallel or series. This reduces the number of components compared to prior systems that have separate circuits and heaters for each application.

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Battery pack thermal management system for electric vehicles that uses a direct refrigerant cooling loop instead of a secondary coolant loop to improve cooling efficiency and uniformity. The system has two loops connected by a plate heat exchanger. The air conditioning loop contains a compressor, condenser, and evaporator. The secondary refrigerant loop has battery panels, plate heat exchangers, and refrigerant inlet/outlets. When cooling is needed, the AC loop pumps refrigerant to the battery packs through the plate heat exchanger. When heating is needed, the AC loop heats the refrigerant in the battery loop through the plate heat exchanger. This direct refrigerant loop avoids the lower heat transfer coefficient of coolant in a secondary loop.

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Thermal management system for electric vehicles that enables both battery cooling and heating using a single refrigerant circuit. The system allows switching between cooling and heating the battery without requiring separate circuits. It uses valves to selectively route refrigerant flow through the battery cooler in either direction depending on whether cooling or heating is needed. This allows the battery to be cooled in normal operation, but if needed, the refrigerant can be bypassed through the cooler and sent to the battery to heat it instead.

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Battery pack thermal management system that improves temperature uniformity by reversing the flow of the cooling/heating fluid through the pack. The system has a heat exchange plate with openings connected by pipes. A reversing device allows the fluid to flow through the openings in either direction. This enables switching between cooling the center or periphery first. A pump circulates the fluid through a refrigerant delivery pipe and a brine transfer pipe. The pipes pass through a heat exchanger to exchange heat with the refrigeration unit. By reversing the fluid flow, the system can choose to cool/heat the pack core or edges first. This reduces temperature differences between the center and edges for better pack temperature uniformity.

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Battery thermal management system for electric vehicles that uses an ejector to boost compressor pressure and reduce power consumption compared to a traditional compressor. The ejector mixes refrigerant streams from two heat exchangers to increase pressure at the compressor inlet. Valves control flow between the heat exchangers, ejector, compressor, and battery coolant loop for cooling or heating the battery and cabin based on temperature ranges.

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Battery thermal management system that uses a hybrid cooling strategy to efficiently cool battery packs. It switches between refrigerant cooling and air cooling based on ambient temperature. A control module connects a brine pipeline to either a refrigerant heat exchanger or an air-cooled heat exchanger. This allows the battery compartment to be cooled using refrigerant below a threshold temperature, and above that threshold uses air cooling. It dynamically switches between the cooling modes to match the heat dissipation demand.

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Battery temperature control system for electric vehicles that reduces temperature variations between battery cells while also heating the interior of the vehicle. The system uses a refrigerant circuit with a compressor, outdoor unit, battery heat exchanger, indoor unit, and expansion valves. The battery heat exchanger cools/heats the battery cells. The indoor unit can also be used to heat the vehicle cabin. The expansion valves allow adjusting refrigerant flow rates to balance cooling/heating capacity across the battery and cabin. This prevents temperature gradients in the battery pack.

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Integrated electric vehicle battery and cabin air conditioning system using a high capacity centrifugal refrigerant compressor to compress refrigerant for heating and cooling of the battery and cabin. The system has a compact design with selective routing of refrigerant between battery and cabin loops to optimize cooling efficiency and reduce noise compared to scroll compressors. A processor controls the compressor, expansion valve, and coolant pumps based on battery and cabin temperature, cooling load, and HVAC setting to balance heat transfer between loops. This allows using the centrifugal compressor's advantages of lower NVH and compactness while avoiding limitations like narrow map width.

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A vehicle thermal management system with optimized layout and control to improve efficiency and reduce energy consumption compared to conventional systems. The system has three subsystems: passenger cabin temperature, battery temperature, and motor temperature. They are coupled through a shared heat exchanger. The control determines the refrigerant circuits based on subsystem temperature modes. Direct cooling for battery uses a dedicated heat exchanger, while direct cooling for motor uses a shared exchanger. This allows direct battery cooling with higher efficiency vs passing through passenger compartment.

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Battery temperature control system for electric vehicles that allows uniform battery temperature regulation without significant variation between batteries. The system uses a refrigeration cycle with multiple battery heat exchangers, an external fluid heat exchanger, and expansion valves. In the cooling mode, refrigerant flows through the battery heat exchangers to extract heat from the batteries, then returns to the compressor. In the warming mode, refrigerant flows directly through the batteries. A refrigerant heat exchanger between the main flow paths helps maintain consistent refrigerant temperature for uniform battery warming. Arranging the battery heat exchangers, main flow paths, and refrigerant heat exchanger parallel reduces size compared to separate pipes.

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Thermal management system for electric vehicles that enables efficient cooling and heating of the vehicle cabin, batteries, and electrical components while improving refrigerant compressor efficiency and battery charging time. The system has separate refrigerant and coolant loops. The refrigerant loop cools components using a heat exchanger and chiller. The coolant loop cools the cabin using a heat exchanger and heater core. A directional valve allows connecting the coolant loop to the refrigerant loop for battery cooling. This allows reusing the compressor refrigerant to cool the battery instead of using the separate coolant pump. It also allows bypassing the chiller in mild cooling mode. This improves compressor efficiency and battery charging time by avoiding compressor work to cool the battery.

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Thermal management system for electric vehicles that improves cooling efficiency during fast charging to reduce charge times. The system has a refrigerant cycle, motor coolant cycle, and battery coolant cycle. When charging, the refrigerant flows through the exterior, motor, and battery heat exchangers multiple times. This leverages existing components to maximize heat dissipation during fast charging. The refrigerant cycle takes heat from the battery, the motor coolant cycle absorbs heat from the refrigerant, and the exterior heat exchanger further dissipates heat. This optimized architecture uses each component multiple times to improve heat dissipation during fast charging.

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Battery pack cooling system for electric vehicles that improves cooling efficiency and prevents cooling imbalance. The system uses a modular battery design with separate battery modules that are cooled individually. Each module has a refrigerant inlet and outlet to circulate cooling fluid through the cells. The modules are arranged in a pack with a central case. Refrigerant enters the pack at one end, passes through the modules, and exits at the other end. Sensors monitor the temperature in each module section to optimize cooling. This allows precise cooling of each module while preventing coolant imbalances.

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Thermal management system for electric vehicles that optimally cools the passenger cabin, battery, and powertrain components. It uses a cascade refrigeration cycle with separate refrigerant loops for the cabin, battery, and powertrain. Heat exchangers connect the loops to allow selective heat transfer. The cabin refrigerant loop is independent. The battery loop uses a compressor, condenser, and expansion valve. The powertrain loop has a condenser connected to the battery loop. This allows simultaneous or independent cooling.

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