AUTOMATIC SHUTDOWN SYSTEM FOR AUTOMOBILES
First Claim
1. A system for automatically shutting down an engine of a motor vehicle, comprising:
- a plurality of status indicators, each providing status data in response to an operational parameter of the vehicle, wherein the status data from each of the status indicators has a predetermined status value,a controller responsive to the status data and configured to (1) sum the status values of the status data received by the controller to determine an aggregated status value, (2) compare the aggregated status value to a predetermined shutdown threshold value, and (3) provide a shutdown signal if the aggregated status value is at least equal to the shutdown threshold value for a predetermined time interval; and
an engine control unit in signal communication with the controller and operable to shut down the engine in response to the shutdown signal.
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Abstract
A system for automatically shutting down an engine of a motor vehicle includes a plurality of status indicators, each providing status data in response to an operational parameter of the vehicle, wherein the status data from each of the status indicators has a predetermined status value. A controller is responsive to the status data and is configured to (1) sum the status values of the status data received by the controller to determine an aggregated status value, (2) compare the aggregated status value to a predetermined shutdown threshold value, and (3) provide a shutdown signal if the aggregated status value is at least equal to the shutdown threshold value for a predetermined time interval. An engine control unit in signal communication with the controller is operable to shut down the engine in response to the shutdown signal.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A system for automatically shutting down an engine of a motor vehicle, comprising:
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a plurality of status indicators, each providing status data in response to an operational parameter of the vehicle, wherein the status data from each of the status indicators has a predetermined status value, a controller responsive to the status data and configured to (1) sum the status values of the status data received by the controller to determine an aggregated status value, (2) compare the aggregated status value to a predetermined shutdown threshold value, and (3) provide a shutdown signal if the aggregated status value is at least equal to the shutdown threshold value for a predetermined time interval; and an engine control unit in signal communication with the controller and operable to shut down the engine in response to the shutdown signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method of automatically shutting down an engine of a motor vehicle having a plurality of status indicators, each of which provides status data for an operational parameter of the vehicle, the method comprising:
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(a) assigning a value to the status data for each of the status indicators; (b) setting a timer to t0; (c) receiving the status data; (d) summing all of the received status data values algebraically to yield an aggregated status value; (e) determining if the aggregated status value is greater than or equal to a shutdown threshold value for a predetermined time interval; and (f) if the aggregated status value is greater than or equal to the shutdown threshold value for the predetermined time interval, initiating an engine shutdown process; (g) otherwise, resetting the timer to t0 and repeating steps (c) through (f). - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification