Method and device for generating electrical energy in a motor vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9680400-B2
Application number	US-201214351426-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 26, 2012
Priority date	Oct 12, 2011
Publication date	Jun 13, 2017
Grant date	Jun 13, 2017

Abstract

A method and device for generating electrical energy in a motor vehicle involves thermoelectric generator having a plurality of thermoelectric modules and coupled to at least one electrical consumer. Module open-circuit voltages of the modules are determined and those modules for which a sum of their module open-circuit voltages attains twice a predefined generator output voltage with the smallest possible deviation are determined and electrically connected to one another in series.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for generating electrical energy in a motor vehicle using a thermoelectric generator coupled to at least one electrical consumer and having a plurality of thermoelectric modules, the method comprising:
determining module open-circuit voltages of the plurality of thermoelectric modules by a processor coupled to the thermoelectric generator;
determining, using the determined module open-circuit voltages, a group of modules of the plurality of thermoelectric modules having a sum of the determine module open-circuit voltages that is twice a predefined generator output voltage with the smallest possible deviation by the processor; and
electrically connecting modules of the group of modules to one another in series as controlled by the processor.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein multiple groups of modules electrically connected to one another in series are electrically connected to one another in parallel.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
measuring temperatures of hot sides or cold sides of the plurality of thermoelectric modules;
determining a temperature and a mass flow of a hot side medium or a cold side medium using the measured temperatures,
wherein the module open-circuit voltages are using the determined temperature with reference to at least one predefined characteristic map.

4. A device, comprising:
a thermoelectric generator having a plurality of thermoelectric modules, wherein the thermoelectric generator is coupled to at least one electrical consumer; and
a processor coupled to the thermoelectric generator and configured to:
determine module open-circuit voltages of the plurality of thermoelectric modules;
determine, using the determined module open-circuit voltages, a group of modules of the plurality of thermoelectric modules having a sum of the determine module open-circuit voltages that is twice a predefined generator output voltage with the smallest possible deviation; and
control electrical connection of modules of the group of modules to one another in series.

5. The device of claim 4 , wherein the at least one electrical consumer is situated in a vehicle electrical system having at least one voltage-stabilizing component.

6. The device of claim 4 , wherein the modules are electrically connected to each other by switches.

7. The device of claim 6 , wherein the switches are semiconductor switches.

8. The device of claim 4 , further comprising:
at least one sensor unit configured to measure temperatures of hot sides or cold sides of the plurality of thermoelectric modules.

Assignees

• Daimler Ag

Inventors

• Lang Swen
• Sommerfeld Tobias
• Stengel Thomas

Classifications

• H01L35/325

  Electricity · mapped topic

• Y02T10/705

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic

• B60L2240/445

  Temperature · CPC title

• H02N11/002 Primary

  Generators · CPC title

• Y02T10/7005

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic