| CPC B60H 1/00899 (2013.01) [B60H 1/00278 (2013.01)] | 18 Claims |
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1. An electric vehicle thermal management system comprising:
a user interface for receiving a HVAC setting;
a centrifugal compressor for compressing a low pressure refrigerant in a refrigerant loop to generate a high pressure refrigerant;
an expansion valve for reducing a pressure of the high pressure refrigerant in the refrigerant loop to generate the low pressure refrigerant;
a heat exchanger coupled to the refrigerant loop, a battery coolant loop and a cabin coolant loop; and
a processor for detecting a battery cooling condition, routing one of the low pressure refrigerant and the high pressure refrigerant to the heat exchanger in response to the battery cooling condition, regulating the transfer of heat between the refrigerant loop and the battery cooling loop in response to a temperature of the battery coolant within the battery cooling loop and the battery cooling condition, and regulating the transfer of heat between the battery coolant loop and the cabin coolant loop in response to the HVAC setting and a cabin coolant temperature within the cabin coolant loop, wherein the processor is further operative for isolating a cabin portion of the cabin coolant loop from a heat exchanger portion of the cabin coolant loop in response to the cabin coolant temperature being less than a threshold temperature wherein the threshold temperature is determined in response to the HVAC setting and a vehicle cabin temperature, and activating a coolant heater within the cabin portion of the cabin coolant loop in response to the HVAC setting and the cabin coolant temperature being less than the threshold temperature.
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