{
  "patent_number": "US 11043834",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "How Electric Cars Pre-Cool Batteries Before Fast Charging",
  "original_title": "Method and system of predicting recharging of battery of vehicle at charging station and correspondent pre-cooling of the battery using cold storage as the vehicle is being driven to the charging station",
  "summary": "This patent describes an electric vehicle system that automatically cools its main battery to an ideal temperature while driving to a charging station, making charging faster and more efficient.",
  "what_it_does": "This patent details a system for electric vehicles to prepare their batteries for charging. A controller in the vehicle automatically detects when the car is heading to a charging station, specifically when the battery's charge is below a certain level (Claim 1). As the car drives, the controller activates the battery cooling system. This system uses a special material called a phase change material (PCM) that surrounds part of the battery (Claim 5). Refrigerant coolant circulates to cool this PCM, which in turn cools the battery to a specific target temperature by the time the vehicle arrives at the charging station (Claim 1, 5). For example, if you set your navigation to a fast charger and your battery is low, the car starts cooling the battery on the highway so it's ready for optimal charging when you plug in.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover pre-cooling systems that activate only after the vehicle arrives at the charging station.",
    "Does not cover systems that pre-cool the battery when its state of charge is above a predefined threshold (Claim 1).",
    "Does not cover battery pre-cooling without the use of a phase change material (PCM) as a cold storage component (Claim 5, 8).",
    "Does not cover systems where the cooling rate is not adjusted based on factors like the battery's discharge rate, distance to the station, and the charging station's expected rate (Claim 4, 6).",
    "Does not cover pre-cooling methods that do not involve circulating a refrigerant coolant to the phase change material (Claim 5, 8)."
  ],
  "filed": "2019-06-28",
  "granted": "2021-06-22",
  "expires": "2039-06-28",
  "status": "active",
  "holder": "Ford Global Technologies",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/ford-global-technologies",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Waqas Ahmed Manzoor",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/waqas-ahmed-manzoor"
    },
    {
      "name": "Brian Joseph ROBERT",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/brian-joseph-robert"
    },
    {
      "name": "Yinhua ZHENG",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/yinhua-zheng"
    },
    {
      "name": "Daniel C. Huang",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/daniel-c-huang"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 1,
  "tags": [
    "automotive",
    "consumer_electronics",
    "software",
    "energy"
  ],
  "abstract": "A method and system for an electric vehicle include a controller and a battery cooling system. The controller automatically detects when the vehicle is being driven to a charging station. The controller controls the battery cooling system to pre-cool a traction battery of the vehicle as the vehicle is being driven to the charging station so that the traction battery is cooled to a target temperature upon the vehicle reaching the charging station. The battery cooling system includes a phase change material (PCM) surrounding at least a portion of the traction battery. The traction battery is pre-cooled by circulating refrigerant coolant to the PCM to cool the PCM and thereby pre-cool the traction battery.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/11043834/method-and-system-of-predicting-recharging-of-battery-of-vehicle-at-charging-sta",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/11043834/method-and-system-of-predicting-recharging-of-battery-of-vehicle-at-charging-sta/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US11043834",
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  ]
}