Method for Increasing Fuel Economy of Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles

• US 20120116626A1
• Filed: 01/10/2012
• Published: 05/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/10/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Perkins, William Paul, Kuang, Ming Lang, Okubo, Shunsuke
• Granted Patent: US 9,580,062 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/22
• 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 10/26 for electrical energy, e.g. batteries or capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 20/11 using model predictive control [MPC] strategies, i.e. control methods based on models predicting performance utilising navigation and traffic information in the control strategy B60W20/12
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2510/244 Charge state
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2710/0677 Engine power
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/0097 Predicting future conditions
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/62 Hybrid vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles

Abstract

A method for increasing fuel economy of a vehicle such as a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) having an engine and a battery each configured to supply power to propel the vehicle includes supplying power from the battery and operating the engine below peak efficiency to supply from the engine only the difference in power between a demanded power and the power which the battery can deliver when the demanded power exceeds the power which the battery can deliver.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

supplying power from a battery of a vehicle; and

operating an engine of the vehicle below peak efficiency to supply from the engine only the difference in power between a demanded power and the power which the battery can deliver when the demanded power exceeds the power which the battery can deliver.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

increasing the power supplied from the battery to the power which the battery can deliver when the demanded power exceeds the power which the battery can deliver.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein:

supplying power from the battery includes supplying from the battery the power which the battery can deliver.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein:

operating the engine to supply the difference in power when the demanded power exceeds the power which the battery can deliver is enabled while the battery has sufficient energy by itself to propel the vehicle over a distance to be driven by the vehicle.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving a request from a driver of the vehicle to enable the engine to supply the difference in power when the demanded power exceeds the power which the battery can deliver;

wherein operating the engine to supply the difference in power is disabled until receiving the request.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

supplying from the battery the demanded power when the demanded power is less than the power which the battery can deliver.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

increasing the power supplied from the battery to the power which the battery can deliver and increasing the power supplied by the engine to supply more than the difference in power when the demanded power exceeds the power which the battery can deliver and when the battery lacks sufficient energy by itself to propel the vehicle over a distance to be driven by the vehicle.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the vehicle is a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.

9. A method comprising:

enabling at a given time one of a fuel economy mode and a fuel efficiency mode for a vehicle having an engine and a battery each configured to supply power to propel the vehicle;

wherein the fuel economy mode includes supplying power from the battery and operating the engine below peak efficiency to supply from the engine only the difference in power between a demanded power and the power which the battery can deliver when the demanded power exceeds the power which the battery can deliver.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein:

the fuel economy mode further includes increasing the power supplied from the battery to the power which the battery can deliver when the demanded power exceeds the power which the battery can deliver.

11. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

obtaining a distance to be driven by the vehicle; and

disabling the fuel economy mode until a charge-depletion range of the vehicle exceeds the distance to be driven, wherein the charge-depletion range is the distance that the vehicle can be driven with energy from the battery itself.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein:

the distance to be driven is obtained from at least one of a driver of the vehicle and a navigation system of the vehicle.

13. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

receiving a request from a driver of the vehicle to enable the fuel economy mode; and

disabling the fuel economy mode until receiving the request from the driver.

14. The method of claim 9 wherein:

the fuel economy mode further includes supplying from the battery the demanded power when the demanded power is less than the power which the battery can deliver.

15. The method of claim 9 wherein:

the fuel economy mode is enabled while the battery has sufficient energy by itself to propel the vehicle over a distance to be driven by the vehicle.

16. A system comprising:

a controller configured to enable at a given time one of a fuel economy mode and a fuel efficiency mode for a vehicle having an engine and a battery each configured to supply power to propel the vehicle;

wherein in the fuel economy mode the controller is configured to control the battery to supply power and operate the engine below peak efficiency to supply from the engine only the difference in power between a demanded power and the power which the battery can deliver when the demanded power exceeds the power which the battery can deliver.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein:

in the fuel economy mode the controller is further configured to control the battery to increase the power supplied from the battery to the power which the battery can deliver when the demanded power exceeds the power which the battery can deliver.

18. The system of claim 16 wherein:

the controller is further configured to obtain a distance to be driven by the vehicle; and

wherein the controller is further configured to disable the fuel economy mode until a charge-depletion range of the vehicle exceeds the distance to be driven, wherein the charge-depletion range is the distance that the vehicle can be driven with energy from the battery itself.

19. The system of claim 16 wherein:

the controller disables the fuel economy mode while the battery lacks sufficient energy by itself to propel the vehicle over a distance to be driven by the vehicle.

20. The system of claim 16 wherein:

the vehicle is a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.