Charging energy recapture assembly and method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10913369-B2
Application number	US-201715434645-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 16, 2017
Priority date	Feb 16, 2017
Publication date	Feb 9, 2021
Grant date	Feb 9, 2021

Abstract

An exemplary charging energy recapture assembly includes a fluid loop outside a traction battery of an electrified vehicle. The fluid loop communicates a charger fluid through a charger to the electrified vehicle and returns the charger fluid to a charging station without combining the charger fluid with a vehicle fluid. An exemplary charging energy recapture method includes circulating a charger fluid through a charger between a charging station and an electrified vehicle without the charger fluid commingling with a vehicle fluid or communicating through a traction battery of the electrified vehicle.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A charging energy recapture assembly, comprising:
a fluid loop that is entirely outside a traction battery of an electrified vehicle, the fluid loop configured to communicate a charger fluid through a charger to the electrified vehicle and to return the charger fluid to a charging station without combining the charger fluid with a vehicle fluid,
wherein the fluid loop is a first fluid loop, and further comprising a second fluid loop that is entirely contained within the electrified vehicle and is configured to communicate the vehicle fluid through the traction battery,
wherein the first and second fluid loops extend through a thermal exchange device of the electrified vehicle, and the vehicle fluid takes on thermal energy from the traction battery that is then passed from the vehicle fluid to the charger fluid within the thermal exchange device,
wherein the thermal exchange device and the traction battery are spaced a distance from each other such that the thermal exchange device does not contact the traction battery.

2. The charging energy recapture assembly of claim 1 , wherein the charger is a DC charger that charges the traction battery with direct current provided by the charging station.

3. The charging energy recapture assembly of claim 1 , wherein the charger fluid is outside the electrified vehicle and the vehicle fluid is inside the vehicle when the charger is decoupled from the electrified vehicle.

4. The charging energy recapture assembly of claim 1 , further comprising a thermal exchange device outside the electrified vehicle that takes on thermal energy from the charger fluid that is returned to the charging station from the electrified vehicle.

5. The charging energy recapture assembly of claim 4 , wherein thermal energy extracted from the charger fluid at the thermal exchange device outside the vehicle is transferred to ambient air.

6. The charging energy recapture assembly of claim 4 , further comprising an interior area of a building, wherein thermal energy in the charger fluid returned to the charging station is used to heat the interior area.

7. The charging energy recapture assembly of claim 6 , wherein the interior area is adjacent a floor of the building, and the charger fluid that is returned to the charging station is passed through a pipe system beneath the floor to permit the thermal energy in the charger fluid to heat the floor.

8. The charging energy recapture assembly of claim 1 , further comprising a heat sink and a thermoelectric module, wherein thermal energy in the charger fluid that is returned to the charging station is used to heat the heat sink to facilitate a temperature difference across the thermoelectric module, the thermoelectric module generating electrical energy in response to the temperature difference that is used to power a load external to the electrified vehicle.

9. A charging energy recapture assembly, comprising:
a fluid loop outside a traction battery of an electrified vehicle, the fluid loop configured to communicate a charger fluid through a charger to the electrified vehicle and to return the charger fluid to a charging station without combining the charger fluid with a vehicle fluid; and
a supply of water that is separate from the charger fluid and outside the electrified vehicle, wherein thermal energy from the charger fluid is used to heat the supply of water,
wherein the fluid loop is a first fluid loop, and further comprising a second fluid loop that is entirely contained within the electrified vehicle and is configured to communicate the vehicle fluid through the traction battery,
wherein the first and second fluid loops extend through a thermal exchange device of the electrified vehicle, and the vehicle fluid takes on thermal energy from the traction battery that is then passed from the vehicle fluid to the charger fluid within the thermal exchange device,
wherein the thermal exchange device and the traction battery are spaced a distance from each other such that the thermal exchange device does not contact the traction battery.

10. A charging energy recapture method, comprising:
circulating a charger fluid through a charger between a charging station and an electrified vehicle without the charger fluid commingling with a vehicle fluid or communicating through a traction battery of the electrified vehicle;
circulating the vehicle fluid through the traction battery, and transferring thermal energy from the vehicle fluid to the charger fluid at a position outside of the traction battery; and
transferring thermal energy from the vehicle fluid to the charger fluid using a thermal exchange device within the electrified vehicle, the thermal exchange device and the traction battery are separated by a distance from each other such that there is an open area between the thermal exchange device and the traction battery.

11. The charging energy recapture method of claim 10 , further comprising transferring thermal energy from the charger fluid to ambient air at a position outside of the electrified vehicle.

12. The charging energy recapture method of claim 10 , further comprising heating a supply of water using thermal energy from the charger fluid.

13. The charging energy recapture method of claim 10 , further comprising heating an interior area of a building using thermal energy from the charger fluid.

14. The charging energy recapture method of claim 13 , further comprising heating the interior area by communicating the charger fluid received from the electrified vehicle through a pipe system beneath a floor of the building.

15. The charging energy recapture method of claim 10 , further comprising using the charger fluid from the electrified vehicle to facilitate a temperature difference across a thermoelectric module, and generating electrical energy with the thermoelectric module that is used to power a load external to the electrified vehicle.

16. The charging energy recapture method of claim 10 , further comprising charging the traction battery with direct current that is moved through the charger.

Assignees

• Ford Global Tech Llc

Inventors

• Rhodes Kevin James
• Christen Erik J
• Sohoni Pallav
• Giacchina Joseph

Classifications

• Y02T10/7072

  Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors · CPC title

• Y02T10/70

  Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries · CPC title

• Y02T90/14

  Plug-in electric vehicles · CPC title

• B60L53/30

  Constructional details of charging stations · CPC title

• B60L53/31

  Charging columns specially adapted for electric vehicles · CPC title