Ram air generator for an automobile

An automobile comprising:

• an engine;
• a battery for powering movement of the automobile;
• a ram air generator located in an ambient air-flow path of the engine, the ram air generator comprising a fan and configured to generate energy from a rotation of the fan by an ambient air in the ambient air-flow path for charging the battery or for powering at least one electronic device of the automobile;
• an energy converter connected to the ram air generator for converting the energy generated by the ram air generator and supplying the converted energy to the at least one electronic device of the automobile;
• a sensor configured to detect operational data corresponding to at least a characteristic of the ambient air;
• and
• a control unit connected to the sensor and configured to:
• control an operation of the ram air generator or the charging of the battery based on the detected operational data, and
• increase supplying of energy from the ram air generator to the energy converter when the operational data indicates that the ram air generator can convert an increased amount of energy and can supply the increased amount of energy to the at least one electronic device.

An automobile comprising:

• an engine;
• a battery for powering movement of the automobile;
• a ram air generator located in an ambient air-flow path of the engine, the ram air generator comprising a fan and configured to generate energy from a rotation of the fan by the ambient air in the ambient air-flow path for charging the battery or for powering at least one electronic device of the automobile;
• an energy converter connected to the ram air generator for converting the energy generated by the ram air generator and supplying the converted energy to the at least one electronic device of the automobile;
• a radiator located in the ambient airflow path;
• an air conditioning condenser located in the ambient air-flow path;
• a sensor configured to detect operational data corresponding to a temperature of the radiator, a temperature of the air conditioning condenser, or a temperature of the engine;
• and
• a control unit connected to the sensor and configured to:
• control an operation of the ram air generator or the charging of the battery based on the detected operational data, and
• decrease supplying of energy from the ram air generator to the energy converter when an increase in the temperature of the radiator, the temperature of the air conditioning condenser, or the temperature of the engine indicates that more ambient air is needed for cooling the radiator, the air conditioning condenser or the engine.