Thermal dissipation system of an electric vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9604546-B2
Application number	US-201514967373-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 14, 2015
Priority date	Mar 16, 2015
Publication date	Mar 28, 2017
Grant date	Mar 28, 2017

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a thermal dissipation system of an electric vehicle that includes: a heat exchanger arranged at the front part of the electric vehicle for providing heating or cooling to an air conditioning system of the electric vehicle; a first heat sink and a second heat sink, which are respectively arranged at the two sides of the front part of the heat exchanger; a number of rotatable and adjustable air deflectors for changing the flow direction of the air flowing through the heat dissipation system. Temperature sensors are included within the thermal dissipation system for sensing the working temperatures and the environmental temperatures of a battery pack and a motor of the electric vehicle. Opening and closing states of the air deflectors are adjusted in accordance with data provided by the temperature sensors.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A thermal dissipation system suitable for placement within a channel defined by a vehicle that draws ambient air through the channel during operation of the vehicle, the thermal dissipation system comprising:
a heat exchanger configured to provide cooling and heating for a cabin air conditioning system;
a first heat sink and a second heat sink arranged forward of and laterally shifted to opposing sides of the heat exchanger, each of the heat sinks configured to be in thermal contact with an operational heat emitting component of the vehicle; and
a plurality of air deflectors configured to alter a flow of the ambient air through the thermal dissipation system by transitioning between two or more configurations,
wherein the plurality of air deflectors comprises a first air deflector positioned in front of the heat exchanger and spanning the gap between the first and second heat sinks,
wherein in a first configuration the air deflectors are arranged to direct all the ambient air passing through the thermal dissipation system through one of the first and second heat sinks and then subsequently rejoin the ambient air after flowing through the heat exchanger and in a second configuration the air deflectors are arranged to allow a portion of the ambient air to flow directly to the heat exchanger by passing through a gap between the first heat sink and the second heat sink.

2. The thermal dissipation system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the first configuration is a heating configuration for the cabin air conditioning system and the second configuration is a cooling configuration for the cabin air conditioning system.

3. The thermal dissipation system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the plurality of air deflectors further comprises second air deflectors arranged to prevent air passing through the first and second heat sinks from flowing into the heat exchanger.

4. The thermal dissipation system of claim 3 , wherein the plurality of air deflectors further comprises third air deflectors arranged to redirect air exiting the first and second heat sinks into an air intake of the heat exchanger.

5. The thermal dissipation system of claim 4 , wherein in the first configuration the first deflector and the third deflectors are closed while the second deflectors are left open.

6. The thermal dissipation system of claim 4 , wherein in the second configuration the first deflector and the third deflectors are left open while the second deflectors are closed.

7. The thermal dissipation system of claim 1 , wherein the operational heat emitting components of the vehicle are a motor and a battery pack.

8. The thermal dissipation system of claim 7 , further comprising:
a controller for adjusting the closing and opening of the plurality of air deflectors in accordance with an operating state of the heat exchanger and the temperatures of the motor and the battery pack.

9. The thermal dissipation system of claim 8 , further comprising:
a first temperature sensor disposed within the battery pack; and
a second temperature sensor disposed within the motor,
wherein the first and second temperature sensors periodically send signals to the controller indicating temperature changes in the motor and the battery pack.

10. An electric vehicle, comprising:
a vehicle chassis defining an air inlet;
an air conditioning system configured to govern a temperature within the electric vehicle;
a motor;
a battery pack configured to provide energy to the motor; and
a thermal dissipation system positioned proximate the air inlet and configured to receive air entering the air inlet, the thermal dissipation system comprising:
a heat exchanger in thermal contact with the air conditioning system,
a first and a second heat sink in thermal contact with the motor and the battery pack respectively, the first and second heat sinks being positioned forward of and on opposing sides of the heat exchanger,
a plurality of air deflectors configured to switch between open and closed configurations, and
a controller configured to direct configuration changes of the plurality of air deflectors,
wherein when the thermal dissipation system is operating in a heating state the controller directs the plurality of air deflectors to divide the air received through the air inlet so that a first portion of the air passes through the first heat sink and a second portion of the air passes through the second heat sink and then the first and second portions of the air are subsequently recombined to pass through the heat exchanger.

11. The electric vehicle of claim 10 , further comprising:
a battery pack heater in communication with the controller and configured to supply heating to the battery pack when the thermal dissipation system is in a heating mode.

12. The electric vehicle of claim 10 , further comprising:
a battery pack temperature sensor arranged in the battery pack and connected to the controller for sensing a working temperature of the battery pack and sending a temperature signal to the controller;
a motor temperature sensor arranged in the motor and connected to the controller for sensing a working temperature of the motor and sending a temperature signal to the controller;
an air conditioner state input connected to the controller for sending a working state of the air conditioner to the controller;
a battery pack environment temperature sensor arranged at the outside of the battery pack and connected to the controller for sensing the environment temperature of the battery pack and sending a temperature signal to the controller; and
a motor environment temperature sensor arranged at the outside of the motor and connected to the controller for sensing the environment temperature of the motor and sending a temperature signal to the controller.

13. The electric vehicle of claim 10 , further comprising:
a first air deflector drive, a second air deflector drive and a third air deflector drive, which are used for receiving the control signals of the controller and respectively controlling the opening and closing of a first air deflector ( 111 ), a second air deflector and a third air deflector of the plurality of air deflectors.

14. The electric vehicle of claim 13 , wherein the operating modes of the air deflectors comprise at least four modes:
mode I: the first air deflector and the third air deflectors are open, the second air deflectors are closed, and the air passes through the first heat sink, the heat exchanger and the second heat sink at the same time;
mode II: the first air deflector and the second air deflectors are open, the third air deflectors are closed, part of the air first passes through the first heat sink and the second heat sink and then flows through the heat exchanger after being heated, and part of the air directly passes through the heat exchanger;
mode III: the first air deflector and the second air deflectors are closed, the third air deflectors are open, the air only flows through the first heat sink and the second heat sink without passing through the heat exchanger;
mode IV: the first air deflector and the third air deflectors are closed, the second air deflectors are open, and the air firstly flows through the first heat sink and the second heat sink and then flows through the heat exchanger after being heated.

15. A thermal dissipation system suitable for use within a vehicle, the thermal dissipation system comprising:
a heat exchanger;
a first heat sink and a second heat sink arranged forward of and laterally shifted to opposing sides of the heat exchanger;
a plurality of sensors configured to

Assignees

• Thunder Power Hong Kong Ltd

Inventors

• Chen Yong-Syuan
• Ho Ming-Hui
• Hsiao Jen-Chieh

Classifications

• H02J7/56

  Active balancing, e.g. using capacitor-based, inductor-based or DC-DC converters · CPC title

• H01M10/486

  for measuring temperature · CPC title

• B60H2001/3255

  related to temperature · CPC title

• F16B11/00

  Connecting constructional elements or machine parts by sticking or pressing them together, e.g. cold pressure welding (non-electric welding in general B23K; methods of using adhesives independently of the form of the surfaces joined C09J5/00) · CPC title

• B60Y2400/112

  Batteries · CPC title