Patents by Inventor Jan-Christoph ALBRECHT

Jan-Christoph ALBRECHT 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).

  • Patent number: 11878571
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for operating a climate-control system (12) for a vehicle (10). According to the invention, total energy efficiencies are determined for a group of operating strategies for the air-conditioning system (12) and an operating strategy with the greatest total efficiency that fulfills the heating output requirement (44) that has been determined, is selected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2024
    Assignee: VOLKSWAGEN AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
    Inventors: Jan-Christoph Albrecht, Jochen Westhäuser, Carsten Wachsmuth
  • Patent number: 11772458
    Abstract: In order to provide a method for de-icing a heat exchanger of a motor vehicle, which prevents large amounts of melt water from a defrosting process running onto the floor or the road beneath the motor vehicle, freeze again and pose a risk of injury to pedestrians, in a method for defrosting a heat exchanger of a motor vehicle, in which, for a heat exchanger arranged in a motor vehicle, a defrosting process for removing a layer of frozen water or frost formed on a surface of the heat exchanger is carried out, the defrosting process comprising heating the surface, and melt water being produced, it is proposed that the amount of melt water discharged onto a local region of a floor beneath the motor vehicle is limited to a maximum value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2023
    Assignee: VOLKSWAGEN AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
    Inventors: Jochen Westhäuser, Jan-Christoph Albrecht
  • Patent number: 11728495
    Abstract: A fuel cell system includes a combined cooling circuit for a motor vehicle that provides a method of cooling a fuel cell of a fuel cell system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2023
    Assignees: AUDI AG, Volkswagen AG
    Inventors: Jan-Christoph Albrecht, Jan-Philipp Brinkmeier, Oliver Berger, Frank Jürgen Engler, Carsten Wachsmuth
  • Patent number: 11440542
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for setting a driving speed of a motor vehicle on a route. A control device of the motor vehicle sets the driving speed depending on an operating position limited by two extreme positions of a pedal device of the motor vehicle, which may be operated by a driver, wherein the control device detects the operating position of the pedal device, and depending on the detected operating position, determines in at least one specified driving mode a target driving speed corresponding to the respective operating position, and the control device sets the driving speed corresponding to the respective target driving speed by means of a closed loop control as long as the respective operating position is detected. The setting in this case takes place independently of a current condition of the route. The invention also includes a motor vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2022
    Assignee: VOLKSWAGEN AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
    Inventors: Jan-Christoph Albrecht, Alexander Wess, Hendrik Schröder
  • Publication number: 20220258567
    Abstract: In order to provide a method for initiating a defrosting process of a heat exchanger of a heat pump of a motor vehicle, which method is insensitive to external influences and can also be used in combination with other methods, wherein the heat exchanger and a coolant heat exchanger of a cooling circuit of the motor vehicle are arranged in a common air path, a coolant outlet temperature of a coolant from the coolant heat exchanger is determined, and a state of icing of the heat exchanger is determined using the coolant outlet temperature, and initiating a defrosting process of the heat exchanger if icing of the heat exchanger is determined.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 14, 2022
    Publication date: August 18, 2022
    Applicant: VOLKSWAGEN AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
    Inventors: Jochen WESTHÄUSER, Jan-Christoph Albrecht, Sven Twenhovel
  • Publication number: 20220258566
    Abstract: In order to provide a method for initiating a defrosting process of a heat exchanger of a heat pump of a motor vehicle, which method is insensitive to external parameters influencing the air flow through the evaporator, and with which method unnecessary defrosting processes can be avoided, wherein a fan is assigned to the heat exchanger, wherein a power consumption and/or a speed of the fan is monitored, a defrosting process is initiated when the power consumption and/or the speed exceeds and/or falls below a threshold value, and the threshold value is determined as a function of a parameter, wherein the parameter is an indicator of a current relative air speed of the ambient air in relation to the motor vehicle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 14, 2022
    Publication date: August 18, 2022
    Applicant: Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Jochen WESTHÄUSER, Jan-Christoph ALBRECHT, Sven TWENHÖVEL
  • Publication number: 20220185065
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for defrosting an external-air heat exchanger of an electric vehicle. Contrary to the conventional principle of operating systems in an electric vehicle at the lowest possible output power, according to the invention, high output power is used for the defrosting process, to reduce the defrosting time and thus reduce heat loss.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 16, 2019
    Publication date: June 16, 2022
    Applicant: VOLKSWAGEN AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
    Inventors: Jan-Christoph ALBRECHT, Jochen WESTHÄUSER, Carsten WACHSMUTH
  • Publication number: 20220055453
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for operating a climate-control system (12) for a vehicle (10). According to the invention, total energy efficiencies are determined for a group of operating strategies for the air-conditioning system (12) and an operating strategy with the greatest total efficiency that fulfills the heating output requirement (44) that has been determined, is selected.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 16, 2019
    Publication date: February 24, 2022
    Applicant: VOLKSWAGEN AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
    Inventors: Jan-Christoph ALBRECHT, Jochen WESTHÄUSER, Carsten WACHSMUTH
  • Publication number: 20210379966
    Abstract: In order to provide a method for de-icing a heat exchanger of a motor vehicle, which prevents large amounts of melt water from a defrosting process running onto the floor or the road beneath the motor vehicle, freeze again and pose a risk of injury to pedestrians, in a method for defrosting a heat exchanger of a motor vehicle, in which, for a heat exchanger arranged in a motor vehicle, a defrosting process for removing a layer of frozen water or frost formed on a surface of the heat exchanger is carried out, the defrosting process comprising heating the surface, and melt water being produced, it is proposed that the amount of melt water discharged onto a local region of a floor beneath the motor vehicle is limited to a maximum value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 8, 2021
    Publication date: December 9, 2021
    Applicant: VOLKSWAGEN AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
    Inventors: Jochen WESTHÄUSER, Jan-Christoph ALBRECHT
  • Publication number: 20210265852
    Abstract: A method for controlling the charging process of an electrical energy storage device, at an electric charging device, wherein the charging device has a temperature control system and the energy storage device has a temperature control system, including at least the following steps: transfer of electrical energy between the charging device and the energy storage device, transfer of thermal energy between a temperature control system of the charging device and the temperature control system of the energy storage device, and transmission of at least one first item of information from a computing unit associated with the charging device to a computing unit associated with the energy storage device, and/or transmission of at least one second item of information from a computing unit associated with the energy storage device to a computing unit associated with the charging device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 22, 2021
    Publication date: August 26, 2021
    Applicant: Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Jan-Christoph ALBRECHT, Jochen WESTHAEUSER, Frank Juergen ENGLER, Carsten WACHSMUTH, Arne-Christian VOIGT
  • Publication number: 20210265642
    Abstract: A fuel cell system includes a combined cooling circuit for a motor vehicle that provides a method of cooling a fuel cell of a fuel cell system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 5, 2019
    Publication date: August 26, 2021
    Inventors: Jan-Christoph ALBRECHT, Jan-Philipp BRINKMEIER, Oliver BERGER, Frank Jürgen ENGLER, Carsten WACHSMUTH
  • Publication number: 20210265853
    Abstract: A method for controlling the charging process of an electrical energy storage device, at an electric charging device, wherein the charging device has a temperature control system and the energy storage device has a temperature control system, including at least the following steps: transfer of electrical energy between the charging device and the energy storage device, transfer of thermal energy between a temperature control system of the charging device and the temperature control system of the energy storage device, obtaining charging progress information, and closed-loop or open-loop control of at least a first temperature of a cooling medium in the temperature control system of the charging device and/or of the energy storage device as a function of the charging progress information.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 22, 2021
    Publication date: August 26, 2021
    Applicant: Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Jan-Christoph ALBRECHT, Jochen WESTHAEUSER, Frank Juergen ENGLER, Carsten WACHSMUTH, Arne-Christian VOIGT
  • Patent number: 11059387
    Abstract: In a method for cooling a traction battery of an electrically drivable vehicle, a refrigerant is used as cooling medium, and in a mass flow of specified magnitude is led along the traction battery through at least one channel. The at least one channel is in heat-conducting connection with the traction battery. It is proposed that an available cooling power (PV) for cooling the traction battery is determined, wherein as a function of the available cooling power (PV), the magnitude of the mass flow of the refrigerant is regulated in such a way that either no cooling power (Pactual) is delivered to the traction battery, or the delivered cooling power (Pactual) in each case assumes one of multiple cooling power stages (I, II) as a function of the available cooling power (PV).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 13, 2021
    Assignee: VOLKSWAGEN AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
    Inventors: Jan-Christoph Albrecht, Carsten Wachsmuth, Bastian Schaar
  • Publication number: 20200369272
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for setting a driving speed of a motor vehicle on a route. A control device of the motor vehicle sets the driving speed depending on an operating position limited by two extreme positions of a pedal device of the motor vehicle, which may be operated by a driver, wherein the control device detects the operating position of the pedal device, and depending on the detected operating position, determines in at least one specified driving mode a target driving speed corresponding to the respective operating position, and the control device sets the driving speed corresponding to the respective target driving speed by means of a closed loop control as long as the respective operating position is detected. The setting in this case takes place independently of a current condition of the route. The invention also includes a motor vehicle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 2, 2018
    Publication date: November 26, 2020
    Applicant: Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Jan-Christoph Albrecht, Alexander Wess, Hendrik Schröder
  • Publication number: 20190275911
    Abstract: In a method for cooling a traction battery of an electrically drivable vehicle, a refrigerant is used as cooling medium, and in a mass flow of specified magnitude is led along the traction battery through at least one channel. The at least one channel is in heat-conducting connection with the traction battery. It is proposed that an available cooling power (PV) for cooling the traction battery is determined, wherein as a function of the available cooling power (PV), the magnitude of the mass flow of the refrigerant is regulated in such a way that either no cooling power (Pactual) is delivered to the traction battery, or the delivered cooling power (Pactual) in each case assumes one of multiple cooling power stages (I, II) as a function of the available cooling power (PV).
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 8, 2019
    Publication date: September 12, 2019
    Applicant: VOLKSWAGEN AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
    Inventors: Jan-Christoph ALBRECHT, Carsten WACHSMUTH, Bastian SCHAAR
  • Publication number: 20160303945
    Abstract: The invention relates to an air-conditioning system for a motor vehicle, comprising a refrigerant circuit having at least one evaporator (16) configured as a refrigerant-air heat exchanger by means of which cooling air can be blown into an interior space of the motor vehicle by means of an air flow generating unit (12). The invention is characterized in that the evaporator (16) can be operated at a working temperature of less than 0° C.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 15, 2014
    Publication date: October 20, 2016
    Inventors: Jan-Christoph ALBRECHT, Cartsten WACHSMUTH, Nils VRIELINK, Michael DOBMANN