Abstract:
A vehicle operating system and a method of controlling the vehicle operating system, the vehicle operating system including an electric power generation module that is configured to generate electric power; a battery, the battery being chargeable by using the electric power generated by the electric power generation module; a battery management system that controls the chargeable battery; and a cooler that is configured to cool the battery, wherein the battery management system is configured to cut off the electric power supplied to the battery when the battery is fully charged, and when the battery management system cuts off the electric power supplied to the battery, the cooler is configured to consume the electric power generated by the electric power generation module.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    Korean Patent Application No. 10-2012-0030235, filed on Mar. 23, 2012, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, and entitled, “Vehicle Operating System and Method of Controlling Same,” is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    1. Field 
         [0003]    Embodiments relate to a vehicle operating system and a method of controlling the same. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    Unlike primary batteries that are unable to be recharged, secondary batteries may be recharged. Secondary batteries may be used in a single battery form and in a battery module form (in which a plurality of batteries are connected to each other and bound in one unit) according to types of external devices to which the secondary batteries are to be applied. 
         [0006]    A lead battery has been used as a power supply for starting engines of vehicles. Recently, an Idle Stop &amp; Go (ISG) system to improve gas mileage has been considered. A power supply that supports the ISG system, e.g., an idling stop device, may have a power characteristic for outputting high power for starting an engine. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0007]    Embodiments are directed to a vehicle operating system and a method of controlling the same. 
         [0008]    The embodiments may be realized by providing a vehicle operating system including an electric power generation module that is configured to generate electric power; a battery, the battery being chargeable by using the electric power generated by the electric power generation module; a battery management system that controls the chargeable battery; and a cooler that is configured to cool the battery, wherein the battery management system is configured to cut off the electric power supplied to the battery when the battery is fully charged, and when the battery management system cuts off the electric power supplied to the battery, the cooler is configured to consume the electric power generated by the electric power generation module. 
         [0009]    The vehicle operating system may further include a main controller that receives data related to a charge state of the battery from the battery management system and that controls the cooler based on the received data. 
         [0010]    When the main controller receives data indicating a full charge state from the battery management system, the main controller may be configured to generate a control signal for controlling the cooler based on the received data. 
         [0011]    The cooler may include a fan that cools the battery, and a fan controller that controls driving of the fan, and the fan controller may be configured to adjust a rotating speed of the fan based on the control signal. 
         [0012]    The fan controller may be configured to rotate the fan to consume all the electric power generated by the electric power generation module. 
         [0013]    The main controller may receive data related to the charge state of the battery from the battery management system and may be configured to generate a control signal for starting driving of the cooler when the charge state is greater than a reference value. 
         [0014]    The cooler may include a fan that cools the battery, and a fan controller that controls driving of the fan, and the fan controller may be configured to adjust a rotating speed of the fan based on the control signal. 
         [0015]    Charging the battery and driving the cooler may be simultaneously performed by using the electric power generated by the electric power generation module, when the charge state of the battery is greater than the reference value and the battery is not yet fully charged. 
         [0016]    The data related to the charge state of the battery may be data indicating a voltage of the battery. 
         [0017]    The main controller may estimate a temperature of the battery from the data indicating the voltage of the battery and controls the cooler based on the estimated temperature. 
         [0018]    The battery management system may directly transmit data indicating a charge state of the battery to the cooler. 
         [0019]    The cooler may include a fan that cools the battery, and a fan controller that controls driving of the fan, and the fan controller may be configured to adjust a rotating speed of the fan based on the data. 
         [0020]    The fan controller may be configured to rotate the fan to consume all the electric power generated by the electric power generation module when the fan controller receives data indicating a full charge state from the battery management system. 
         [0021]    Driving of the cooler may begin when the charge state is greater than a reference value. 
         [0022]    Charging the battery and driving the cooler may be simultaneously performed by using the electric power generated by the electric power generation module, when the charge state of the battery is greater than the reference value and the battery is not yet fully charged. 
         [0023]    The data indicating the charge state of the battery may be data indicating a voltage of the battery. 
         [0024]    The cooler may be configured to estimate a temperature of the battery from the data indicating the voltage of the battery and may be configured to control the cooler based on the estimated temperature. 
         [0025]    The embodiments may also be realized by providing a method of controlling a vehicle operating system, the method including charging a battery by using electric power generated by an electric power generation module; determining a charge state of the battery; determining whether the battery is fully charged; cutting off the electric power supplied to the battery when the battery is fully charged; and consuming at least some of the electric power generated by the electric power generation module via a cooler that cools the battery when the charge state of the battery is greater than a reference value. 
         [0026]    When the battery is fully charged, the cooler may consume all the electric power generated by the electric power generation module. 
         [0027]    Determining the charge state of the battery may include measuring a voltage of the battery, and when the charge state of the battery is greater than the reference value, a controller may allocate an amount of electric power used to charge the battery and another amount of electric power used by the cooler from among the electric power generated by the electric power generation module based on the voltage of the battery. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0028]    Features will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by describing in detail exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings in which: 
           [0029]      FIG. 1  illustrates a block diagram of a vehicle operating system according to an embodiment; 
           [0030]      FIG. 2  illustrates a block diagram of a battery pack in the vehicle operating system of  FIG. 1 , according to an embodiment; 
           [0031]      FIG. 3  illustrates a graph showing an amount of a current generated by an electric power generation module according to an embodiment; 
           [0032]      FIGS. 4 to 6  illustrate operational states of the vehicle operating system of  FIG. 1 , according to an embodiment; 
           [0033]      FIG. 7  illustrates a flowchart of a method of controlling the vehicle operating system of  FIG. 1 , according to an embodiment; 
           [0034]      FIG. 8  illustrates a block diagram of a vehicle operating system according to an embodiment; and 
           [0035]      FIG. 9  illustrates a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling the vehicle operating system of  FIG. 8 , according to an embodiment. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0036]    Example embodiments will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings; however, they may be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. 
         [0037]    As used herein, the term “and/or” may include any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. Expressions such as “at least one of,” when preceding a list of elements, modify the entire list of elements and do not modify the individual elements of the list. 
         [0038]    The terminology used in the application is used only to describe specific embodiments and does not have any intention to limit the embodiments. An expression in the singular includes an expression in the plural unless they are clearly different from each other in a context. In the application, it should be understood that terms, such as ‘include’ and ‘have’, are used to indicate the existence of implemented feature, number, step, operation, element, part, or a combination of them without excluding in advance the possibility of existence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, elements, parts, or combinations of them. 
         [0039]      FIG. 1  illustrates a block diagram of a vehicle operating system according to an embodiment. A vehicle to which the vehicle operating system is applied  1  may include, e.g., an automobile or an electric bicycle. 
         [0040]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , the vehicle operating system  1  may include a battery pack  100 , a start motor  110 , an electric power generation module  120 , a cooler  130 , and a main controller  150 . An electric load  140  may be connected to the vehicle operating system  1 . 
         [0041]    The battery pack  100  may store electric energy by receiving a current generated by the electric power generation module  120  and may supply a driving current to the start motor  110 . The battery pack  100  may also supply stored electric power as operating power for control units, e.g., a Battery Management System (BMS)  102 , a fan controller  132 , and the main controller  150 , to be described in greater detail below. The battery pack  100  may include a battery  101  and the BMS  102 . 
         [0042]    The battery  101  may be a rechargeable secondary battery and may be configured with one or more serial-connected and/or parallel-connected battery cells. For example, the battery  101  may be a lithium ion battery. 
         [0043]    The battery pack  100  may be applied to a power supply for starting an engine in an Idle Stop &amp; Go (ISG) system in which an ISG function is implemented to improve gas mileage. In response to frequently repeated stopping and restarting of the engine in the ISG system, charging and discharging of the battery pack  100  may also be repeated. 
         [0044]    For a lead battery in one type of ISG system, when a charge and discharge operation is frequently repeated, a life span of the lead battery may be reduced, and a charge and discharge characteristic thereof may be deteriorated. For example, due to the repetition of charging and discharging, a charging amount may be reduced, an engine&#39;s starting performance may be lowered, and a replacement cycle of the lead battery may be shortened. 
         [0045]    According to an embodiment, the battery pack  100  may include a lithium ion battery maintaining a relatively constant charge and discharge characteristic and having less aging deterioration compared with the lead battery. Thus, the battery pack  100  may be appropriately applied to the ISG system in which stop and restart of the engine are repeated. In addition, a weight of the battery pack  100  may relatively lower than that of the lead battery having the same charge capacity. Thus, a gas mileage improvement effect may be expected. Also, the battery pack  100  may realize the same charge capacity and have a smaller size than the lead battery. Thus, a loading space may be saved. 
         [0046]    In an implementation, the battery  101  may include various kinds of batteries. The battery  101  may have a lower rated voltage than an output voltage of the electric power generation module  120 . For example, a Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMH) battery or a nickel-cadmium battery may be used as the battery  101 . 
         [0047]    According to the present embodiment, the battery pack  100  may include the BMS  102 . A lithium ion battery may have a better charge and discharge characteristic but may have lower stability than a lead battery. Thus, the battery pack  100  may include the BMS  102  so that the battery  101  may be stably charged or discharged. For example, the BMS  102  may control the battery  101  to be charged and discharged so that over-charging or over-discharging of the battery  101  may be reduced and/or prevented. For example, the BMS  102  may cut off electric power supplied to the battery  101  when the battery  101  is fully charged. 
         [0048]    The BMS  102  may communicate with the main controller  150  through a third terminal P 3  to transmit and receive various kinds of data, e.g., a charge state and a temperature, to and from the main controller  150 . In addition, the BMS  102  may transmit data regarding a charge state of the battery  101  to the fan controller  132  through a fourth terminal P 4 . A configuration of the BMS  102  will be described in detail below with reference to  FIG. 2 . 
         [0049]    The start motor  110  may operate when a vehicle is to start operating and may provide an initial rotation dynamic force for rotating a driving axis of an engine (not shown). For example, the start motor  110  may drive the engine by receiving electric power from the battery pack  100  through a first terminal P 1  and a second terminal P 2 , and rotating the driving axis when the engine starts or when the engine restarts after an idle stop of the engine. 
         [0050]    The electric power generation module  120  may be connected to the driving axis of the engine and may operate during operation of the engine to convert a rotation dynamic force to electric power. For example, the electric power generation module  120  may generate electric power during operation of the engine and may be, e.g., an alternator. The electric power generation module  120  may include a Direct Current (DC) or Alternating Current (AC) generator and a rectifier. In an implementation, the electric power generation module  120  may generate electric power having a voltage of about 15 V DC, e.g., about 14.4 to 14.8 V DC. The electric power generation module  120  may supply the generated electric power to desired components, e.g., the battery pack  100 , the cooler  130 , and/or the electric load  140 . 
         [0051]    The cooler  130  may lower a temperature of the battery pack  100  by detecting a temperature increase (according to charging and discharging of the battery pack  100 ) and cooling the battery pack  100 . The cooler  130  may include a fan  131  (for receiving electric power and generating air flow from a rotation dynamic force) and the fan controller  132  (for controlling driving of the fan  131 ). In an implementation, the cooler  130  may further include a switching unit  133  (for controlling a flow of current through the fan  131 ). 
         [0052]    The fan  131  may be configured so that the air flow generated by the fan  131  directly reaches the battery pack  100  or the battery  101  of the battery pack  100 , thereby directly cooling the battery pack  100 . In an implementation, the fan  131  may be configured so that the air flow arrives at the battery pack  100  or the battery  101  of the battery pack  100  through a duct. 
         [0053]    According to the present embodiment, the fan controller  132  may receive data regarding a charge state of the battery  101  from the BMS  102 . The fan controller  132  may drive the fan  131  based on the received data. For example, an operation of the fan controller  132  may proceed as described below. 
         [0054]    When the charge state of the battery  101  is equal to or less than a reference value, e.g., 90%, the fan controller  132  may cut off the electric power supplied to the fan  131  by turning off the switching unit  133 . When the charge state of the battery  101  is greater than the reference value, the fan controller  132  may supply the electric power to the fan  131  by turning on the switching unit  133 . In this case, the fan controller  132  may adjust a rotating speed of the fan  131  based on the charge state of the battery  101 . When the battery  101  is in a full charge state, the fan controller  132  may turn on the switching unit  133  and control the rotating speed of the fan  131  so that all electric power generated by the electric power generation module  120  is consumed by or directed to the fan  131 . 
         [0055]    The electric load  140  may be a component for consuming electric power stored in the battery pack  100 . The electric load  140  may include various kinds of electronic devices, e.g., a navigation device, an audio device, a light, a vehicle black box, and/or a burglarproof or security device. The number and types of components forming the electric load  140  may vary according to the vehicle. 
         [0056]    The main controller  150  may control general operations of the vehicle operating system  1  in which the battery pack  100  is installed. The main controller  150  may be connected to the battery pack  100  through the third terminal P 3  to exchange various kinds of data and a control signal with the battery pack  100 , to monitor a state of the battery pack  100 , and to control an operation of the battery pack  100 . 
         [0057]      FIG. 2  illustrates a block diagram of the battery pack in the vehicle operating system of  FIG. 1 , according to an embodiment. 
         [0058]    As described above, the battery pack  100  may include the battery  101 , the BMS  102 , and the first to fourth terminals P 1  to P 4 . The BMS  102  may include a battery controller  103  and a protection circuit  104 . 
         [0059]    The battery controller  103  may monitor a state of the battery  101  and may transmit a monitoring result to the main controller  150 . For example, the battery controller  103  may detect a plurality of types of data, such as a voltage applied to the battery  101 , a current flowing through the battery  101 , a temperature of the battery  101 , and a charge state of the battery  101 . The battery controller  103  may individually detect the data or may acquire each of the types of data by estimating the data from another one of the plurality of types of data. For example, the battery controller  103  may measure a voltage of the battery  101  to estimate the charge state or temperature of the battery  101 . 
         [0060]    The battery controller  103  may transmit the plurality of types of detected data to the main controller  150  through the third terminal P 3 . Then, the battery controller  103  may receive data or a control signal from the main controller  150  and may operate according to the received data or control signal. 
         [0061]    In addition, the battery controller  103  may transmit data indicating the charge state of the battery  101  from among the plurality of types of detected data to the fan controller  132  through the fourth terminal P 4 . The data indicating the charge state of the battery  101  may be voltage data of the battery  101 , used to estimate SOC. 
         [0062]    The protection circuit  104  may control a flow of current towards or to the battery  101  under control of the battery controller  103 . For example, when an over current flows through the battery  101 , or when the battery  101  is over-charged, the battery controller  103  may control the protection circuit  104  to cut off a path of the current and, according to the control, the protection circuit  104  may turn off a switching device included therein to cut off the flow of the current. 
         [0063]      FIG. 3  illustrates a graph showing an amount of a current generated by the electric power generation module according to an embodiment. A horizontal axis indicates a time (t), and a vertical axis indicates an amount of current (I). 
         [0064]    Referring to  FIG. 3 , when the electric power generation module  120  generates electric power, a current flows through the battery pack  100 . As an amount of the current increases, a charge amount of the battery  101  may also increase, and the battery  101  may be in a full charge state at time t 1 . However, the electric power generation module  120  may continuously generate electric power to apply the current to the battery pack  100  (a slashed part after t 1 ). Accordingly, if electric power were to be continuously supplied to the battery  101 , the battery  101  may be in an over-charge stage, and thus, deterioration, i.e., damage to the battery  101 , may occur. 
         [0065]      FIGS. 4 to 6  illustrate operational states of the vehicle operating system of  FIG. 1 , according to an embodiment.  FIG. 4  illustrates a case where the battery  101  is not yet fully charged. 
         [0066]    Referring to  FIG. 4 , the electric power generation module  120  may generate electric power and, accordingly, a current I 1  may be generated. The generated current I 1  may flow toward the battery pack  100  and the cooler  130 . 
         [0067]    The battery controller  103  may detect a charge state of the battery  101 , may determine that the battery  101  needs to be charged, may generate a control signal Son (for turning on the switching device of the protection circuit  104 ), and may apply the control signal Son to the switching device. Accordingly, the switching device may be in a turn-on state, and a current  12  may be applied to the battery  101  to charge the battery  101 . For example, when the charge state of the battery  101  is equal to or less than about 90%, the battery controller  103  may turn on the switching device to charge the battery  101 . 
         [0068]    In addition, the battery controller  103  may directly transmit data regarding a charge state of the battery  101  (i.e., data Sv regarding a voltage of the battery  101 ) to the fan controller  132 . The fan controller  132  may determine that the battery  101  does not need to be cooled, based on the received data Sv. Thus, the fan controller  132  may apply a control signal Soff to the switching unit  133  so that the switching unit  133  is in a turn-off state, to thereby cut off a current  13  applied to the fan  131 . 
         [0069]    Accordingly, I 1 =I 2 , and I 3 =0. For example, the battery  101  may be charged, and the cooler  130  may not operate. 
         [0070]    The fan controller  132  may estimate a temperature of the battery  101  based on the data regarding a charge state of the battery  101 , which has been received from the battery controller  103 , e.g., the data Sv regarding a voltage of the battery  101 . As the voltage of the battery  101  increases, the battery may be charged for a long time. Accordingly, it may be estimated that the temperature of the battery  101  increases. Thus, when the data Sv regarding a voltage of the battery  101  (which has been received from the battery controller  103 ) is equal to or less than the reference value, the fan controller  132  may determine that the battery  101  does not need to be cooled. Thus, the fan controller  132  may not drive the fan  131 . 
         [0071]      FIG. 5  illustrates a case where a charge amount is greater than the reference value. 
         [0072]    Referring to  FIG. 5 , the electric power generation module  120  may generate electric power and, accordingly, the current I 1  may be generated. The generated current I 1  may flow through the battery pack  100  and the cooler  130 . 
         [0073]    The battery controller  103  may detect a charge state of the battery  101 , may determine that a charge amount is greater than the reference value, may continuously turn on the switching device of the protection circuit  104 , and may allow charging of the battery  101  by allowing the current  12  to be applied to the battery  101 . 
         [0074]    The battery controller  103  may directly transmit data regarding a charge state of the battery  101  (i.e., the data Sv regarding a voltage of the battery  101 ) to the fan controller  132 . The fan controller  132  may determine that the battery  101  needs to be cooled based on the received data Sv. Thus, the fan controller  132  may apply the control signal Son to the switching unit  133  so that the switching unit  133  is in a turn-on state to apply the current  13  to the fan  131 , thereby driving the fan  131 . 
         [0075]    Accordingly, I 1 =I 2 +I 3 , I 2 ≠0, and I 3 ≠0. For example, the battery  101  may be charged and, simultaneously, the cooler  130  may be operated. 
         [0076]    The fan controller  132  may estimate a temperature of the battery  101  based on the data Sv regarding a voltage of the battery  101 , which has been received from the battery controller  103 . In the instant case, the charge amount of the battery  101  may be greater than the reference value. Thus, the voltage of the battery  101  may also be greater than a reference voltage. Accordingly, it may be estimated that the temperature of the battery  101  is high. Thus, when the data Sv regarding a voltage of the battery  101  (which has been received from the battery controller  103 ) is greater than the reference value, the fan controller  132  may determine that the battery  101  needs to be cooled. Accordingly, the fan controller  132  may drive the fan  131 . 
         [0077]    In this case, the fan controller  132  may determine a grade of cooling based on the temperature of the battery  101 . Thus, the fan controller  132  may generate a control signal Sd by determining a suitable rotating speed of the fan  131  based on the data Sv regarding a voltage of the battery  101  and may drive the fan  131  by applying the generated control signal Sd to the fan  131 . For example, an amount of a current applied to the fan  131  may be adjusted to thereby adjust the rotating speed of the fan  131 . Accordingly, an amount of electric power used to charge the battery pack  100  and an amount of electric power used by the cooler  130  may be determined or allocated from among the electric power generated by the electric power generation module  120 . 
         [0078]      FIG. 6  illustrates a case where the battery  101  is fully charged. 
         [0079]    Referring to  FIG. 6 , the electric power generation module  120  may generate electric power and, accordingly, the current I 1  may be generated. The generated current I 1  may flow toward the battery pack  100  and the cooler  130 . 
         [0080]    The battery controller  103  may detect a charge state of the battery  101 , may determine that the battery  101  is fully charged, may generate a control signal Soff (for turning off the switching device of the protection circuit  104 ), and may apply the control signal Soff to the switching device. Thus, the switching device may be in a turn-off state, and a current  12  applied to the battery may be cut off, thereby ending the charging. 
         [0081]    The battery controller  103  may directly transmit data regarding a charge state of the battery  101  (i.e., the data Sv regarding a voltage of the battery  101 ) to the fan controller  132 . The fan controller  132  may determine that the battery  101  needs to be cooled based on the received data Sv. Thus, the fan controller  132  may apply the current  13  to the fan  131  so that the switching unit  133  is continuously in a turn-on state to continuously rotate the fan  131 . 
         [0082]    Accordingly, I 1 =I 3 , and I 2 =0. For example, charging of the battery  101  may be prevented, and only the cooler  130  may operate. 
         [0083]    The fan controller  132  may estimate a temperature of the battery  101  based on the data Sv regarding a voltage of the battery  101 , which has been received from the battery controller  103 . In the instant case, the battery  101  may be fully charged. Thus, the voltage of the battery  101  may be greater than the reference voltage and, accordingly, it may be estimated that the temperature of the battery  101  is high. When the data Sv regarding a voltage of the battery  101  (which has been received from the battery controller  103 ) is greater than the reference value, the fan controller  132  may determine that the battery  101  needs to be cooled and, accordingly, the fan controller  132  may drive the fan  131 . 
         [0084]    In this case, the temperature of the battery  101  may be maximized due to a full charge state of the battery  101 . Thus, the fan  131  may operate at a maximum. In addition, if the electric power were to be supplied to the battery  101  to further charge the battery  101 , the battery  101  may be deteriorated. Accordingly, the fan controller  132  may rotate the fan  131  to consume all available electric power generated by the electric power generation module  120 . 
         [0085]    Although the battery controller  103  may transmit the data Sv regarding a voltage of the battery  101  to the fan controller  132  (so that the fan controller  132  may determine the temperature of the battery  101  based on the received data Sv and may control driving/not driving and a rotating speed of the fan  131 ), the present embodiment is not limited thereto. For example, the vehicle operating system may be configured so that the battery controller  103  determines the temperature of the battery  101  based on the voltage of the battery  101  and applies a control signal for controlling the cooler  130  to the fan controller  132  based on a result of the determination. 
         [0086]      FIG. 7  illustrates a flowchart of a method of controlling the vehicle operating system of  FIG. 1 , according to an embodiment. 
         [0087]    Referring to  FIG. 7 , in operation S 101 , the main controller  150  or the BMS  102  may determine whether the electric power generation module  120  is generating electric power. If the electric power generation module  120  is generating electric power, charging of the battery  101  may be started in operation S 102 . 
         [0088]    In operation S 103 , the battery controller  103  may detect a charge state of the battery  101  and may measure a charge amount based on the detected charge state of the battery  101 . In operation S 104 , whether the measured charge amount is greater than the reference value may be determined. If it is determined that the measured charge amount is equal to or less than the reference value, the method may proceed back to operation S 103 . 
         [0089]    If it is determined that the measured charge amount is greater than the reference value, the battery controller  103  may transmit a signal regarding the charge state to the fan controller  132  in operation S 105 . For example, the battery controller  103  may transmit data regarding a charge state of the battery  101  (e.g., data regarding a voltage of the battery  101 ) to the fan controller  132 . 
         [0090]    In operation S 106 , the fan controller  132  may estimate that a temperature of the battery  101  is high (based on the received data regarding a voltage of the battery  101 ), may determine that the fan  131  needs to operate, and may start to drive the fan  131 . 
         [0091]    In operation S 107 , the battery controller  103  may determine whether the battery  101  is fully charged. If it is determined that the battery  101  is not fully charged, the method may proceed back to operation S 103  to repeat the above-described operations. If it is determined that the battery  101  is fully charged, the battery controller  103  may turn off the switching device of the protection circuit  104  to end charging of the battery  101  in operation S 108 . 
         [0092]    In operation S 109 , the battery controller  103  may transmit a signal regarding a full charge state of the battery  101  to the fan controller  132 . For example, the battery controller  103  may transmit data regarding a voltage of the battery  101  to the fan controller  132 . 
         [0093]    The fan controller  132  may estimate that the battery  101  is fully charged and the temperature of the battery  101  is sufficiently high based on the received data. Accordingly, in operation S 110 , the fan controller  132  may increase a rotating speed of the fan  131  to consume all available electric power generated by the electric power generation module  120 . 
         [0094]    In operation S 111 , whether the electric power generation module  120  continues to generate the electric power may be determined. If it is determined that the electric power generation module  120  continues to generate the electric power, the method may proceed back to operation S 103 . If it is determined that the electric power generation module  120  is not generating the electric power, the method may end. 
         [0095]    As described above, in the vehicle operating system  1  according to the present embodiment, if the battery  101  is fully charged, electric power supplied to the battery  101  may be cut off, so that charging may not be further performed. The vehicle operating system  1  may be controlled so that all the electric power generated by the electric power generation module  120  is consumed by the fan  131 . Accordingly, a decrease in performance, such as deterioration of the battery  101 , may be reduced and/or prevented, and stability of the battery pack  100  may be improved by cooling the battery  101 . 
         [0096]    In addition, the fan controller  132  may estimate the temperature of the battery  101  (based on the voltage of the battery  101 ), and adjust driving/not driving and a rotating speed of the fan  131  based on the estimated temperature. Accordingly, the temperature of the battery  101  may not need to be separately measured, thereby omitting a configuration or element for measuring the temperature of the battery  101 . 
         [0097]      FIG. 8  illustrates a block diagram of a vehicle operating system=according to an embodiment. In the present embodiment, a difference from the vehicle operating system  1  of  FIG. 1  is mainly described. 
         [0098]    Referring to  FIG. 8 , a BMS  202  may transmit data regarding a charge state of a battery  201 , e.g., data regarding a voltage of the battery  201 , to a main controller  250 . 
         [0099]    The main controller  250  may transmit a control signal for directing driving/not driving of a fan  231  to a fan controller  232  based on the received data. For example, the main controller  250  may direct an operation of the fan controller  232 . 
         [0100]    The fan controller  232  may drive the fan  231  based on the direction of the main controller  250 . The direction of the main controller  250  may include driving/not driving and a rotating speed of the fan  231 . Alternatively, the main controller  250  may receive the data regarding a voltage of the battery  201  or temperature data (based on the data regarding a voltage of the battery  201 ) from the BMS  202 , and the fan controller  232  may determine driving/not driving and the rotating speed of the fan  231  based on data received from the main controller  250 . 
         [0101]    As described above, in the present embodiment, the BMS  202 , the fan controller  232 , and the main controller  250  may be related to the data regarding a voltage of the battery  201  and the temperature estimation based on the data regarding a voltage of the battery  201 . 
         [0102]      FIG. 9  illustrates a flowchart of a method of controlling the vehicle operating system of  FIG. 8 , according to an embodiment. 
         [0103]    Referring to  FIG. 9 , in operation S 201 , the main controller  250  or the BMS  202  may determine whether the electric power generation module  220  is generating electric power. If the electric power generation module  220  is generating electric power, charging of the battery  201  may begin in operation S 202 . 
         [0104]    In operation S 203 , the BMS  202  may detect a charge state of the battery  201  and may measure a charge amount based on the detected charge state of the battery  201 . In operation S 204 , whether the measured charge amount is greater than the reference value may be determined. If it is determined that the measured charge amount is equal to or less than the reference value, the method may proceed back to operation S 203 . 
         [0105]    If it is determined that the measured charge amount is greater than the reference value, the BMS  202  may transmit a signal regarding the charge state to the main controller  250  in operation S 205 . For example, the BMS  202  may transmit data regarding a charge state of the battery  201 , e.g., data regarding a voltage of the battery  201 , to the main controller  250 . In operation S 206 , the main controller  250  may transmit a control signal for directing driving/not driving of the fan  231  to the fan controller  232  based on the received data. For example, the main controller  250  may direct an operation of the fan controller  232 . 
         [0106]    In operation S 207 , the BMS  202  may determine whether the battery  201  is fully charged. If it is determined that battery  201  is not fully charged, the method may proceed back to operation S 203  to repeat the above-described operations. If it is determined that the battery  101  is fully charged, the BMS  202  may turn off the switching device of the protection circuit  204  to end charging of the battery  201  in operation S 209 . 
         [0107]    In operation S 210 , the BMS  202  may transmit a signal regarding a full charge state of the battery  201  to the main controller  250 . For example, the BMS  202  may transmit data regarding a voltage of the battery  201  to the main controller  250 . In operation  211 , the main controller  250  may direct an operation of the fan controller  232  based on the received data. 
         [0108]    The fan controller  232  may estimate whether the battery  201  is fully charged and whether the temperature of the battery  201  is sufficiently high, based on the received data. Accordingly, in operation S 212 , the fan controller  232  may increase a rotating speed of the fan  231  to consume all the electric power generated by the electric power generation module  220 . 
         [0109]    In operation S 213 , whether the electric power generation module  220  continues to generate the electric power may be determined. If it is determined that the electric power generation module  220  continues to generate the electric power, the method may proceed back to operation S 203 . If it is determined that the electric power generation module  220  is not generating the electric power, the method may end. 
         [0110]    As described above, in the vehicle operating system  2  according to the present embodiment, if the battery  201  is fully charged, electric power supplied to the battery  201  may be cut off so that charging is not further performed. The vehicle operating system  2  may be controlled so that all the electric power generated by the electric power generation module  220  is consumed by the fan  231 . Accordingly, a decrease in performance, such as deterioration of the battery  201 , may be reduced and/or prevented, and stability of the battery pack  200  may be improved by cooling the battery  201 . 
         [0111]    In addition, the fan controller  232  may estimate the temperature of the battery  201  (based on the voltage of the battery  201 ), and may adjust driving/not driving and a rotating speed of the fan  231  based on the estimated temperature. Accordingly, the temperature of the battery  201  may not need to be separately measured, thereby omitting a configuration or separate element for measuring the temperature of the battery  201 . 
         [0112]    By way of summation and review, a desirable characteristic of a power supply supporting an ISG would be that the power supply robustly maintains a charge and discharge characteristic and guarantees a long life span even with frequent starting. Nonetheless, the charge and discharge characteristic of lead batteries may not be sufficient due to deterioration when used in the ISG system, thereby reducing life spans of the lead batteries. 
         [0113]    The embodiments provide a vehicle operating system capable of properly charging a battery pack in a configuration in which charge current is supplied from an electric power generation module of a vehicle to the battery pack. 
         [0114]    As described above, according to the embodiments, electric power generated after a battery pack is fully charged may be efficiently used, thereby providing a vehicle operating system capable of increasing stability and a life span of the battery pack. 
         [0115]    For conciseness of the specification, disclosure of conventional electronic configurations, control systems, software, and other functional aspects of the systems may be omitted. In addition, connections or connection members of lines between components shown in the drawings illustrate functional connections and/or physical or circuit connections, and the connections or connection members may be represented by replaceable or additional various functional connections, physical connections, or circuit connections in an actual apparatus. 
         [0116]    For steps forming the methods according to the embodiments, if an order is not clearly disclosed or, if there is no disclosure opposed to the clear order, the steps may be performed in a proper order. The embodiments are not necessarily limited to the disclosed order of the steps. The use of all illustrations or illustrative teams (for example, and so forth, etc.) herein is simply to describe the embodiments in detail, and the scope of the embodiments is not limited due to the illustrations or illustrative terms unless they are limited by claims. In addition, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various modifications, combinations, and changes may be formed according to design conditions and factors within the scope of the attached claims or the equivalents. 
         [0117]    Example embodiments have been disclosed herein, and although specific terms are employed, they are used and are to be interpreted in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purpose of limitation. In some instances, as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art as of the filing of the present application, features, characteristics, and/or elements described in connection with a particular embodiment may be used singly or in combination with features, characteristics, and/or elements described in connection with other embodiments unless otherwise specifically indicated. Accordingly, it will be understood by those of skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the following claims.