UTILIZATION OF VEHICLE PRESENCE SYSTEMS FOR POWERTRAIN RESPONSE READINESS AND CONSERVING ENERGY
First Claim
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1. A method for operating a vehicle, comprising:
- operating the vehicle to activate a park-assist mode to save energy;
selectively remaining in the park-assist mode in response to an indication of an absence of an oncoming vehicle to maintain fuel economy; and
inhibiting entry into, or exiting, the park-assist mode in response to an indication of a presence of the oncoming vehicle to maintain vehicle responsiveness to oncoming traffic.
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Abstract
A method and system relates to improving powertrain responsiveness in a vehicle while maintaining fuel economy by inhibiting entry into, or exiting, energy-saving modes when oncoming traffic is detected. In one example, the energy-saving mode is inhibited in response to an indication of an oncoming vehicle of concern. In a second example, the energy-saving mode is selectively maintained in response to an indication of an absence of oncoming traffic.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A method for operating a vehicle, comprising:
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operating the vehicle to activate a park-assist mode to save energy; selectively remaining in the park-assist mode in response to an indication of an absence of an oncoming vehicle to maintain fuel economy; and inhibiting entry into, or exiting, the park-assist mode in response to an indication of a presence of the oncoming vehicle to maintain vehicle responsiveness to oncoming traffic. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method for operating a hybrid-electric vehicle, comprising:
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operating the vehicle in an electric-only mode of the vehicle; selectively remaining in the electric-only mode in response to an indication of an absence of an oncoming vehicle to maintain fuel economy; and inhibiting entry into, or exiting, the electric-only mode in response to an indication of a presence of the oncoming vehicle to maintain vehicle responsiveness to oncoming traffic, wherein the presence of the oncoming vehicle comprises the oncoming vehicle traveling within a first threshold distance from the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A vehicle system, comprising:
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an engine; one or more vehicle presence sensors to detect a presence of an oncoming vehicle; and an engine control unit that receives input from the one or more vehicle presence sensors, the engine control unit comprising non-transitory instructions executable to operate a vehicle in an engine start-stop mode, the non-transitory instructions comprising; selectively remaining in the engine start-stop mode in response to an indication of an absence of an oncoming vehicle to maintain fuel economy; and inhibiting entry into, or exiting, the engine start-stop mode in response to an indication of the presence of the oncoming vehicle to maintain vehicle responsiveness to oncoming traffic. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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Specification