Temperature control of exhaust gas catalytic converters in vehicles
First Claim
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1. A temperature control system for a catalytic converter in a parallel hybrid vehicle, the system comprising:
- an engine for producing driving torque for the vehicle;
an electrical machine capable of producing driving or braking torque for the vehicle, said engine and said electrical machine collectively forming a powertrain for the vehicle;
an exhaust system including treating means for treating exhaust gases from the engine, the efficiency of the treating means being at least partially dependent of the temperature of the exhaust gases;
sensing means for sensing the temperature of at least one place in the exhaust system; and
control means arranged to monitor the temperature sensed by the sensing means and to control the torque produced by the electrical machine and the engine in response to said sensed temperature as to control the efficiency of the treating means whilst maintaining the desired output torque from the powertrain, wherein the control means is arranged to temporarily increase the torque produced by the electrical machine if the temperature sensed by the sensing means indicated that the treating means is at a temperature so as to temporarily decrease the load on the engine, such that the temperature of said exhaust gases is lowered in order to maintain the desired output torque from the powertrain despite a cool down of the treating means.
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Abstract
A vehicle powertrain comprises an internal combustion engine 10 and an electric motor 14 capable of producing driving or braking torque for the vehicle. The exhaust system for the engine 10 includes a catalytic converter 22. A control unit 18 monitors the temperature of the catalytic converter 22 using a sensor 32 and controls the driving or braking torque produced by the electric motor 14 so that the load on the engine produces exhaust gases of a suitable temperature to keep the catalytic converter within its optimum operating temperature range while maintaining the desired total output of torque from the powertrain.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A temperature control system for a catalytic converter in a parallel hybrid vehicle, the system comprising:
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an engine for producing driving torque for the vehicle; an electrical machine capable of producing driving or braking torque for the vehicle, said engine and said electrical machine collectively forming a powertrain for the vehicle; an exhaust system including treating means for treating exhaust gases from the engine, the efficiency of the treating means being at least partially dependent of the temperature of the exhaust gases; sensing means for sensing the temperature of at least one place in the exhaust system; and control means arranged to monitor the temperature sensed by the sensing means and to control the torque produced by the electrical machine and the engine in response to said sensed temperature as to control the efficiency of the treating means whilst maintaining the desired output torque from the powertrain, wherein the control means is arranged to temporarily increase the torque produced by the electrical machine if the temperature sensed by the sensing means indicated that the treating means is at a temperature so as to temporarily decrease the load on the engine, such that the temperature of said exhaust gases is lowered in order to maintain the desired output torque from the powertrain despite a cool down of the treating means. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of controlling the temperature of a catalytic converter in a parallel hybrid vehicle, the vehicle comprising:
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an engine for producing driving torque for the vehicle; an electrical machine capable of producing driving or braking torque for the vehicle, said engine and said electrical machine collectively forming a powertrain for the vehicle; an exhaust system including treating exhaust gases from the engine, the efficiency of the treating means being at least partially dependent on the temperature of the exhaust gases; sensing means for sensing the temperature of at least one place in the exhaust system; and control means arranged to monitor the temperature sensed by the sensing means and to control the torque produced by the electrical machine and the engine in response to said sensed temperature so as to control the efficiency of the treating means whilst maintaining the desired output torque form the powertrain, the method including temporarily increasing the torque produced by the electrical machine if the temperature sensed by the sensing means indicated that the treating means is at a temperature above a desired working temperature so as to temporarily decrease the load on the engine, such that the method includes lowering the temperature of said exhaust gases in order to maintain the desired output torque from the powertrain despite a cool down of the treating means. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A control system to maintain an optimum desired temperature in a catalytic converter in a parallel hybrid vehicle, the control system comprising:
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a powertrain producing a desired output torque via a ratio of an engine producing driving torque for the vehicle, in parallel combination with an electrical generator capable of producing one of driving and braking torque for the vehicle; an exhaust system including treating means for treating exhaust gases from the engine, the treating means having an efficiency being at least partially dependent on the temperature of the exhaust gases; sensing means for sensing the temperature of at least one place in the exhaust system; a control means which, for each desired output torque from the powertrain, varies a ratio of the relative torques produced by the electrical generator and the engine based on the temperature sensed by the sensing means to effect a desired optimum temperature of the catalytic converter and sustain efficiency of the treating means while maintaining the desired output torque from the powertrain; and the control means temporarily increasing the torque produced by the electrical generator to facilitate a temporary decrease of the load on the engine when the sensing means indicates the treating means is at a temperature above the desired optimum temperature for efficiency in order to lower the temperature of the exhaust gases while preserving the desired output torque from the powertrain despite the decrease in relative torque produced by the engine.
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Specification