Patent ID: 8448460

Claim:
A chiller bypass system for deployment onboard a vehicle that includes a battery pack configured to have a first coolant circulated therethrough, an air conditioning (A/C) module configured to have a second coolant circulated therethrough, and a refrigeration assembly configured to have a refrigerant circulated therethrough, the chiller bypass system comprising: a chiller; a chiller bypass duct configured to be fluidly coupled to the battery pack and to supply the first coolant thereto; a chiller bypass valve, comprising: a valve inlet configured to be fluidly coupled to the battery pack and to receive the first coolant therefrom; a first valve outlet fluidly coupled to the chiller and configured to supply the first coolant thereto; and a second valve outlet fluidly coupled to the chiller bypass duct and configured to supply the first coolant thereto, the chiller bypass valve configured to selectively direct coolant flow between the first valve outlet and the second valve outlet to adjust the volume of the first coolant cooled by the chiller; a third valve outlet; a first flow passage formed through the chiller and fluidly coupled to the refrigeration assembly; a second flow passage formed through the chiller and fluidly coupled to the A/C module, the volumetric capacity of the second flow passage less than the volumetric capacity of the first flow passage; a third flow passage formed through the chiller and fluidly coupled between the battery pack and the first valve outlet, the volumetric capacity of the third flow passage less than the volumetric capacity of the second flow passage; and a secondary cooling source fluidly coupled between the third valve outlet and the battery pack.