# US 10,870,368 B2 · Systems and methods of battery thermal management > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,870,368 B2 - Document ID: US10870368B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/954,286 - Filed: 2018-04-16 - Published: 2019-10-17 - Granted: 2020-12-22 - Earliest claimed: 2018-04-16 - Assignees: NIO USA, Inc. - Applicants: NIO USA, Inc. - Inventors: Adam H. Ing; Yadunandana Yellambalase; Rick Rajaie - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10870368B2 ## CPC - B60L 58/24: for controlling the temperature of batteries - B60L 58/26: by cooling - B60L 58/27: by heating - B60L 2240/545: Temperature - B60L 2240/62: Vehicle position - B60L 2240/66: Ambient conditions - B60L 2260/44: by parameter estimation - Y02T 10/70: Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries - Y02T 10/72: Electric energy management in electromobility - Y02T 90/16: Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles - B60L: PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (arrangements or mounting of electrical propulsion units or of plural diverse prime-movers for mutual or common propulsion in vehicles B60K1/00, B60K6/20; arrangements or mounting of electrical gearing in vehicles B60K17/12, B60K17/14; preventing wheel slip by reducing power in rail vehicles B61C15/08; dynamo-electric machines H02K; control or regulation of electric motors H02P); SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (electric coupling devices combined with mechanical couplings of vehicles B60D1/64; electric heating for vehicles B60H1/00); ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL (control or regulation of electric motors H02P); MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES - Y02T: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION ## Abstract A thermal management system of a battery of an electric vehicle proactively manages the temperature of the battery based on sensor data and sets limits to control cooling and heating of the battery. Using the data gathered from an autonomous drive platform, a highly-efficient control system which uses predictive modelling can be created. A control system predicts the battery final temperature and determines if cooling and/or heating is necessary for the route. If cooling and/or heating is not necessary, the thermal management system may be simply turned off to save energy. This is a dynamic approach which should optimize energy usage under all situations using trip predictive information (from GPS, route-calculation algorithms, and weather information), and thermal model predictive controls to determine battery final temperatures. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A system comprising: a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor and comprising computer-readable program code that when executed by the processor causes the processor to perform operations comprising: determining a current temperature of a battery of a vehicle; determining that the current temperature of the battery is within a threshold temperature range of the battery; and in response to determining that the current temperature of the battery is within the threshold temperature range of the battery, performing operations comprising: determining an estimated temperature at arrival of the battery; determining that the estimated temperature at arrival of the battery is within the threshold temperature range of the battery; determining an amount of time that the vehicle will be within the threshold temperature range of the battery; determining that the amount of time the vehicle will be within the threshold temperature range of the battery exceeds a maximum amount of time within the threshold temperature range of the battery; and in response to determining that the amount of time the vehicle will be within the threshold temperature range of the battery exceeds the maximum amount of time within the threshold temperature range of the battery, initiating a thermal management process. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, further comprising determining the current temperature of the battery is not within the threshold temperature range of the battery, determining the vehicle has not arrived, and in response to determining the vehicle has not arrived, instructing the vehicle to drive without initiating the thermal management process. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, further comprising determining the estimated temperature at arrival of the battery exceeds a maximum temperature of the battery, and cooling the battery in response to determining the estimated temperature at arrival of the battery exceeds the maximum temperature of the battery. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, further comprising determining the estimated temperature at arrival of the battery is less than a minimum temperature of the battery, and heating the battery in response to determining the estimated temperature at arrival of the battery is less the minimum temperature of the battery. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the estimated temperature at arrival of the battery is determined based on historical usage of the vehicle. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the estimated temperature at arrival of the battery is determined based on weather information associated with a route of the vehicle. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the estimated temperature at arrival of the battery is determined based on one or more data points associated with a current operating scenario. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The system of claim 7, wherein the one or more data points are obtained by the processor from a network location external to the vehicle. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The system of claim 7, wherein one or more of the one or more data points are obtained by the processor from a vehicle navigation system. ### Claim 10 A method comprising: performing operations on a processor of a vehicle, the operations comprising: determining a current temperature of a battery of the vehicle; determining that the current temperature of the battery is within a threshold temperature range of the battery; and in response to determining that the current temperature of the battery is within the threshold temperature range of the battery, the processor performs operations comprising: determining an estimated temperature at arrival of the battery; determining that the estimated temperature at arrival of the battery is within the threshold temperature range of the battery, battery; determining an amount of time the vehicle will be within the threshold temperature range of the battery; determining that the amount of time the vehicle will be within the threshold temperature range of the battery exceeds a maximum amount of time within the threshold temperature range of the battery; and in response to determining that the amount of time the vehicle will be within the threshold temperature range of the battery exceeds the maximum amount of time within the threshold temperature range of the battery, initiating a thermal management process. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, further comprising determining the current temperature of the battery is not within the threshold temperature range of the battery, determining the vehicle has not arrived, and in response to determining the vehicle has not arrived, instructing the vehicle to drive without initiating the thermal management process. ### Claim 12 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, further comprising determining the estimated temperature at arrival of the battery exceeds a maximum temperature of the battery, and cooling the battery in response to determining the estimated temperature at arrival of the battery exceeds the maximum temperature of the battery. ### Claim 13 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, further comprising determining the estimated temperature at arrival of the battery is less than a minimum temperature of the battery, and heating the battery in response to determining the estimated temperature at arrival of the battery is less the minimum temperature of the battery. ### Claim 14 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, wherein the estimated temperature at arrival of the battery is determined based on historical usage of the vehicle. ### Claim 15 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, wherein the estimated temperature at arrival of the battery is determined based on one or more data points associated with a current operating scenario. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The method of claim 15, wherein the one or more data points are obtained by the processor from a network location external to the vehicle. ### Claim 17 (depends on 15) The method of claim 15, wherein the one or more data points are obtained by the processor from a vehicle navigation system. ### Claim 18 A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code embodied therewith, the computer-readable program code configured, when executed by a processor, to: determine a current temperature of a battery of a vehicle; determine if the current temperature of the battery is within a threshold temperature range of the battery; and in response to determining that the current temperature of the battery is within the threshold temperature range of the battery, the processor performs operations comprising: determining an estimated temperature at arrival of the battery; determining that the estimated temperature at arrival of the battery is within the threshold temperature range of the battery; determining an amount of time that the vehicle will be within the threshold temperature range of the battery; determining that the amount of time that the vehicle will be within the threshold temperature range of the battery exceeds a maximum amount of time within the threshold temperature range of the battery; and in response to determining that the amount of time that the vehicle will be within the threshold temperature range of the battery exceeds the maximum amount of time within the threshold temperature range of the battery, initiating a thermal management process. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the estimated temperature at arrival of the battery is determined based on one or more data points associated with a current operating scenario. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The computer-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the one or more data points are obtained by the processor from a network location external to the vehicle.