Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Timothy Noah Blatchley

Angel Fernando Porras

Mark G Smith

James George Gebbie

Clay Wesley Maranville

Kenneth John Jackson

William Samuel Schwartz

Brett Allen Dunn

Rohan Shrivastava

Michael James Uhrich

Gregory McConville

Christopher Adam Ochocinski

Chad Allan Baker

Ryan J Skaff

Mark Anthony Rockwell

Loren John Lohmeyer, Iii

Thomas Zenner

Daniel Benjamin Kok

Justin Badger

Angelo Patti

Franco Ragazzi

Anthony Tsakiris

Jaswant S Dhillon

Randy Lee Mallari

A thermal system for an electrified vehicle including a thermal loop and a controller is provided. The thermal loop may include a rear evaporator and a compressor fluidly connected thereto, a conduit to distribute oil throughout the thermal loop, and an evaporator valve. The controller may be programmed to, responsive to receipt of a signal indicating evaporator valve shut-off and detection of a vehicle plug-in event, cycle the compressor to promote oil movement through the compressor. The controller may be further programmed to, responsive to receipt of the signal, open the evaporator valve to force oil back to the compressor. The thermal loop may further include a first expansion valve up stream of a chiller fluidly connected to the compressor, a second expansion valve between the evaporator valve and the rear evaporator, and a third expansion valve up stream of a front evaporator fluidly connected to the compressor.

Electrified vehicle refrigerant system

An electrified vehicle and method for heating a passenger cabin of an electrified vehicle that may include an internal combustion engine in addition to an electric machine and a traction battery for supplying the electric machine control an electric heating element to store thermal energy while the vehicle is connected to an external power source that is also used to charge the traction battery, and to extract stored thermal energy during operation of the vehicle with the electric heating element turned off to extend the electric driving range of the vehicle while also providing heat to the passenger cabin. The electric heating element may positioned and controlled to heat one or more elements directly by mechanical contact, or indirectly by heating a circulating liquid coolant to a temperature above a current or anticipated external ambient temperature.

Plug-in electric vehicle and method for heating a passenger cabin

Methods and systems are provided for operating a climate control system. In one example, a method for operating a vehicle climate control system includes modeling a pressure in a heat pump downstream of an exterior heat exchanger an upstream of an expansion valve. The method also includes operating the expansion valve to cool a vehicle cabin using the modeled pressure in conjunction with a temperature from a sensor positioned upstream of the expansion valve and downstream of the exterior heat exchanger.

Heat pump system and method for operating said system

A method of climate control in a vehicle includes cooling a battery and cabin of a vehicle at a target chiller-pump speed of a chiller. The target speed corresponds to a difference between a temperature of a battery and a target temperature of the battery. The target pump speed does not exceed a limit defined by a look-up table that identifies a capacity of the chiller by mapping the load and the difference.

Method to control battery cooling using the battery coolant pump in electrified vehicles

A vehicle includes a vapor-injection heat pump having a refrigerant loop with an evaporator configured to cool cabin air, the evaporator coupled to an electronically controllable pressure regulating valve having a fully-open position with near-zero pressure drop, and a cabin conditioning coolant loop having a heater core configured to selectively heat the cabin air. A controller is configured to control the valve to maintain temperature and pressure of the refrigerant loop above a freezing threshold to inhibit or prevent evaporator icing. The valve may be controlled to throttle flow during a parallel dehumidification mode and to fully open to minimize pressure drop during other operational modes, such as a cooling mode, heating mode, de-icing mode, and series dehumidification mode.

Vehicle vapor-injection heat pump system with controllable evaporator valve

Methods and systems are provided for operating a dual loop heat pump system in a de-icing mode which enables the heat pump system to maintain a target rate of heat delivery to a cabin while de-icing an outside heat exchanger by leveraging waste-heat available at one or more waste-heat sources. In one example, responsive to an outside heat exchanger de-icing request and a cabin heating request, selecting a first waste-heat heat exchanger based on a temperature of the first waste-heat heat exchanger exceeding a first temperature threshold, flowing coolant to the first waste-heat heat exchanger, flowing a first portion of the coolant exiting the first waste-heat heat exchanger to a cabin heat exchanger, and flowing a second portion of the coolant exiting the first waste-heat heat exchanger to an outside heat exchanger.

De-icing control in a vehicle heat pump system

Methods and systems for providing de-icing a heat pump exchanger and heating a vehicle cabin are presented. In one example, a climate control system that experiences icing of the exterior heat exchanger may be operated in a first mode where thermal energy from the energy storage device is used to de-ice and also heat the cabin.

Opportunistic system and method for de-icing an exterior heat exchanger

Methods and systems are provided for operating a climate control system. In one example, a method for operating a vehicle climate control system includes modeling a temperature in a cabin heating circuit coupled to a heat pump. The method also includes operating the heat pump to deliver thermal energy to a cabin heat exchanger based on the modeled temperature.

Methods and systems are provided for exhaust heat recovery and EGR cooling via a single heat exchanger. In one example, a method may include selecting a specific mode of operation of an engine exhaust system with the heat exchanger based on engine operating conditions and an estimated fuel efficacy factor. The fuel efficiency factor may take into account fuel efficacy benefits from EGR and exhaust heat recovery.

Method and system for exhaust gas recirculation and heat recovery

This disclosure relates to a vehicle configured to prevent oil entrapment within a refrigerant system of the vehicle. This disclosure also relates to a corresponding method. An example vehicle includes a refrigerant system configured to circulate fluid including a mixture of refrigerant and oil relative to an evaporator, a controller, and an electronic expansion valve upstream of the evaporator. The electronic expansion valve is responsive to instructions from the controller, and the controller is configured to instruct the electronic expansion valve to open to prevent entrapment of oil within the evaporator or refrigerant lines.

Vehicle configured to prevent oil entrapment within refrigerant system and corresponding method

Methods and systems for providing control of a heat pump of a motor vehicle are presented. In one operating mode, speed of a heat pump compressor is controlled responsive to an outlet pressure of the heat pump compressor. In a second operating mode, speed of the heat pump compressor is controlled responsive to a pressure ratio between an inlet and an outlet of the heat pump compressor.

Method and system for operating a heat pump of a vehicle

A thermal management system for a vehicle includes a controller. The controller pre-heats a coolant in a power electronics loop via heat transfer between the coolant and an electronic component in response to an ambient temperature being less than a threshold and a coolant temperature being less than a battery temperature. The controller also pumps the coolant through a battery loop in response to the coolant temperature exceeding the battery temperature.

System and method to utilize waste heat from power electronics to heat high voltage battery

A cooling system is provided for a traction battery of an electrified motor vehicle. That cooling system includes a cooling circuit, a refrigerant circuit, a plurality of flow control valves and a control system. That control system includes a controller configured to (a) control operation of the plurality of flow control valves, including a coolant proportional valve, and (b) prioritize cabin cooling over traction battery cooling.

Traction battery cooling system with coolant proportional valve

An exemplary vehicle climate control operating method includes in a cooling mode, moving a valve to a first position and initializing the valve without moving the valve to a second position. In a heating mode, the method moves the valve to a second position and initializing the valve without moving the valve to the first position. The first position permits more flow than the second position.

Vehicle climate control valve and operating method

An exemplary electrified vehicle assembly includes a battery pack, a cabin heater, and a coolant loop that communicates liquid coolant from the battery pack to the cabin heater. The cabin heater configured to heat a cabin of a vehicle with thermal energy from liquid coolant.

Growing community of inventors

Dearborn, MI, United States of America

Timothy Noah Blatchley