Patent ID: 7918296

Claim:
A cooling system for cooling one or more components of an electric drive system in a machine, comprising: a cooling duct extending between a first component and a second component of the machine; a fan disposed to create an airflow within the cooling duct when the fan is operating; a motor disposed to rotate the fan; a first temperature sensor disposed to measure a first temperature of the first component, the first temperature being associated with a first temperature limit; a second temperature sensor disposed to measure a second temperature of the second component, the second temperature being associated with a second temperature limit; an electronic controller disposed to control operation of the motor, receive the first temperature, and receive the second temperature, and in response, to calculate a first temperature difference between the first temperature and the first temperature limit and generate a first command for the motor based on the first temperature difference, to calculate a second temperature difference between the second temperature and one of the first temperature limit and the second temperature limit to generate a second command for the motor based on the second temperature difference, to select the greater of the first command and the second command to yield the maximum command, and to control the motor based on the maximum command.