Engine start/stop control system and method

• US 10,414,391 B2
• Filed: 08/18/2016
• Issued: 09/17/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/19/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cummins Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Cummins Incorporated
• Inventors: Muralidhar, Praveen C., Books, Martin T., Light-Holets, Jennifer K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Oh, Harry Y
• Application Number:
  US15/240,585
• Publication Number:
  US 20170050631A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,125 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/06 including control of combustion engines
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/08 including control of electric propulsion units, e.g. motors or generators
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/24 including control of energy storage means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 20/12 using control strategies taking into account route information estimation or calculation of non-directly measurable driving parameters B60W40/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0039 of the propulsion unit
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2300/12 Trucks; Load vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2510/0676 Engine temperature
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2510/244 Charge state
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2555/20 Ambient conditions, e.g. wind or rain
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2710/244 Charge state
• CPC Class Codes: B60Y 2200/92 Hybrid vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 11/0822 related to action of the driver
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 11/0829 related to special engine control, e.g. giving priority to engine warming-up or learning
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 11/0833 Vehicle conditions F02N11/0822, F02N11/0825 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 11/0837 Environmental conditions thereof, e.g. traffic, weather or road conditions
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 11/084 State of vehicle accessories, e.g. air condition or power steering
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 2200/023 Engine temperature
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 2200/061 Battery state of charge [SOC]
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 2200/122 Atmospheric temperature
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 2200/123 Information about vehicle position, e.g. from navigation systems or GPS signals
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/40 : Engine management systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/62 : Hybrid vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 903/905 : Combustion engine

Abstract

The present disclosure provides an engine stop/start control system for a vehicle comprising a first engine restart module configured to set a restart frequency and duration of an engine in response to a sensed ambient temperature, a second engine restart module configured to control the engine in response to a sensed characteristic temperature associated with the engine, a third engine restart module configured to control the engine in response to occurrence or non-occurrence of at least one expected charging event along a predefined route, a fourth engine restart module configured to control the engine in response to a state-of-charge of an energy storage device, and a route optimization module configured to set and adjust a proposed route to a destination that results in reduced engine usage.

Claims

1. An engine stop/start control system for controlling stop and start operations of an engine of a vehicle comprising:

at least one controller having;

a first engine restart module configured to set a restart frequency and duration of the engine in response to a sensed ambient temperature;

a second engine restart module configured to control the engine in response to a sensed characteristic temperature associated with the engine;

a third engine restart module configured to control the engine in response to occurrence or non-occurrence of at least one expected charging event along a predefined route;

a fourth engine restart module configured to control the engine in response to a state-of-charge of an energy storage device; and

a route optimization module configured to set and adjust a proposed route to a destination that results in reduced engine usage,

wherein the at least one controller is configured to control the stop and start operations of the engine of the vehicle.

2. The engine stop/start control system of claim 1, wherein the first engine restart module is configured to set the restart frequency and the duration of the engine in response to the sensed ambient temperature such that the engine is operated after each start to avoid excessive cool down of the engine.

3. The engine stop/start control system of claim 1, wherein the first engine restart module is configured to set the restart frequency and the duration of the engine in response to evaluation of a model for the engine using the sensed ambient temperature.

4. The engine stop/start control system of claim 1, further comprising a temperature sensor configured to measure the sensed ambient temperature.

5. The engine stop/start control system of claim 1, wherein the first engine restart module is further configured to adjust the restart frequency and the duration of the engine in response to a variation in the sensed ambient temperature.

6. The engine stop/start control system of claim 1, wherein the sensed characteristic temperature is measured when the engine is not running.

7. The engine stop/start control system of claim 1, wherein the second engine restart module is configured to run the engine in response to the sensed characteristic temperature being below a threshold value.

8. The engine stop/start control system of claim 1, wherein the sensed characteristic temperature is a temperature of one of an engine coolant, an engine oil, air at an intake manifold, an engine exhaust, or an exhaust aftertreatment.

9. The engine stop/start control system of claim 7, wherein the second engine restart module is configured to run the engine for a fixed period of time in response to the characteristic temperature being below the threshold value.

10. The engine stop/start control system of claim 7, wherein the second engine restart module is configured to run the engine in response to the characteristic temperature being below the threshold value until the characteristic temperature reaches a desired value above the threshold value.

11. The engine stop/start control system of claim 1, wherein the third engine restart module is configured to run the engine in response to non-occurrence of the at least one expected charging event.

12. The engine stop/start control system of claim 1, wherein the third engine restart module is configured to determine occurrence or non-occurrence of the expected charging event in response to one of information about a state-of-charge of an energy storage device, information manually input by a vehicle operator, or information from at least one sensor associated with the vehicle.

13. The engine stop/start control system of claim 1, wherein the fourth engine restart module is configured to run the engine in response to a desired state-of-charge trajectory of the energy storage device being above an actual state-of-charge value of the energy storage device over a fixed time period when the engine is not running.

14. The engine stop/start control system of claim 13, wherein the fourth engine restart module is further configured to stop the engine in response an actual state-of-charge value of the engine during a fixed time period when the engine is running is at or above the desired state-of-charge trajectory.

15. The engine stop/start control system of claim 13, wherein the desired state-of-charge trajectory of the energy storage device is configured to ensure that a reserve of useful energy is always present in the energy storage device.

16. The engine stop/start control system of claim 1, wherein the route optimization module is further configured to obtain destination information specifying a destination of the vehicle, obtain route information for potential routes to the specified destination, and identify potential routes in response to route constraints.

17. The engine stop/start control system of claim 16, wherein the route optimization module is configured to set the proposed route in response to the information obtained regarding the destination and potential routes to the specified destination.

18. The engine stop/start control system of claim 16, wherein the route information comprises information about at least one of a number of stop lights, traffic condition, and historical data.

19. The engine stop/start control system of claim 16, wherein the route constraints comprise at least one of a drive time limitation, a requirement to minimize a number of left turns, and a requirement to avoid a certain road.