Patents by Inventor Ronald L. Piontkowski

Ronald L. Piontkowski has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Method and apparatus for predicting battery temperature
    Patent number: 5711605
    Abstract: A vehicle control unit estimates a temperature of the vehicle's battery including the temperature of each of the battery's plurality of cells. The control unit includes a memory unit having stored therein heat transfer coefficients of three types. The first type is representative of heat transfer between the cells of the battery; the second type is representative of heat transfer between the surrounding air and the middle cells of the battery; and the third type is representative of heat transfer between the surrounding air and the end cells of the battery. A microprocessor retrieves the heat transfer coefficients from the memory unit and determines individual cell temperatures of the battery based on the heat transfer coefficients, temperature of the ambient air, and the drive state of the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 1996
    Date of Patent: January 27, 1998
    Assignee: Globe-Union, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael T. Reher, Ronald L. Piontkowski, John J. Weier, Bradley N. Koeppel