Patent ID: 7975757

Claim:
A HVAC and RESS thermal management system for a vehicle having a passenger compartment, a power plant and a battery pack, the system comprising: a RESS coolant circuit configured to direct a coolant through the battery pack and including a pump for pumping the coolant through the RESS coolant circuit, a coolant heating branch having a coolant-to-coolant heat exchanger, and a controllable coolant routing valve that is actuatable to selectively direct the coolant through the coolant heating branch; and a power plant coolant circuit including a heater core branch, the heater core branch having a HVAC pump for pumping the coolant through the heater core branch, a coolant heater, a heater core configured to be located in a HVAC module to provide heat to the passenger compartment, and the coolant-to-coolant heat exchanger, the coolant-to-coolant heat exchanger configured to provide heat transfer between the coolant in the coolant heating branch and the coolant in the heater core branch; the RESS coolant circuit includes a chiller branch including a chiller, with the controllable coolant routing valve actuatable to selectively direct the coolant through the chiller branch, bypassing the coolant-to-coolant heat exchanger, and actuatable to selectively direct the coolant through the coolant heating branch; and the RESS coolant circuit includes a RESS radiator branch including a RESS radiator, with the controllable coolant routing valve actuatable to selectively direct the coolant through the RESS radiator branch, bypassing the coolant-to-coolant heat exchanger, actuatable to selectively direct the coolant through the chiller branch, and actuatable to selectively direct the coolant through the coolant heating branch.