Control strategy for an internal combustion engine in a hybrid vehicle
First Claim
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1. A vehicle system comprising:
- at least two machines capable of being coupled to driving wheels of the vehicle, one of said machines being an internal combustion engine;
at least one particulate filter coupled to said engine; and
an engine controller operably connected to said machines to determine when said particulate filter should be attended to and to determine whether a current engine operating condition is within an acceptable engine operating range which satisfies said particulate filter.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method is disclosed for operating an internal combustion engine disposed in a hybrid vehicle, in which engine operation is selected to provide secondary vehicular functions, such as cabin heating, cabin cooling, and exhaust aftertreatment of exhaust components.
107 Citations
36 Claims
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1. A vehicle system comprising:
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at least two machines capable of being coupled to driving wheels of the vehicle, one of said machines being an internal combustion engine;
at least one particulate filter coupled to said engine; and
an engine controller operably connected to said machines to determine when said particulate filter should be attended to and to determine whether a current engine operating condition is within an acceptable engine operating range which satisfies said particulate filter. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. A vehicle system comprising:
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at least two machines capable of being coupled to driving wheels of the vehicle, one of said machines being an internal combustion engine;
an air conditioning system coupled to said engine; and
an engine controller operably connected to said machines to determine when said air conditioning system should be attended to and to determine whether a current engine operating condition is a high efficiency engine operating condition. - View Dependent Claims (4)
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5. A vehicle system comprising:
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at least two machines capable of being coupled to driving wheels of the vehicle, one of said machines being an internal combustion engine;
a fuel vapor purge system coupled to said engine; and
an engine controller operably connected to said machines to determine when said fuel vapor purge system should be attended to and to determine whether a current engine operating condition is within an acceptable engine operating range which satisfies fuel vapor purge system. - View Dependent Claims (6)
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7. A vehicle system comprising:
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at least two machines capable of being coupled to driving wheels of the vehicle, one of said machines being an internal combustion engine;
a cabin heating system coupled to said engine; and
an engine controller operably connected to said machines to determine when said cabin heating system should be attended to and to determine whether a current engine operating condition is within an acceptable engine operating range which satisfies said cabin heating system. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9)
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10. A computer readable storage medium having stored data representing instructions executable by a computer to control a vehicle system, the vehicle system comprises at least two machines capable of being coupled to driving wheels of the vehicle, one of the machines being an internal combustion engine, and an air conditioning compressor coupled to the engine, comprising:
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instructions for determining a demand for activating the air conditioning compressor;
instructions for determining a high thermal efficiency engine operating condition for providing high thermal efficiency of the engine in response to said demand; and
instructions for commanding said engine to attain said high thermal efficiency engine operating condition when said air conditioning compressor should be activated. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12)
instructions for determining a desired power at the driving wheels requested by an operator of the vehicle;
instructions for causing the secondary machine to absorb a difference between said engine provided power at said high thermal efficiency operating condition and said desired power when said engine provided power is greater than said desired power; and
instructions for causing the secondary machine to supply a difference between said engine provided power at said high thermal efficiency operating condition and said desired power when said engine provided power is less than said desired power.
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13. A computer readable storage medium having stored data representing instructions executable by a computer to control a vehicle system, the vehicle system comprises at least two machines capable of being coupled to driving wheels of the vehicle, one of the machines being an internal combustion engine with a water jacket through which an engine coolant is circulated, and a vehicle cabin heating system, the vehicle cabin heating system comprising an air to liquid heat exchanger with engine coolant circulated through the liquid side of the heat exchanger, comprising:
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instructions for determining a demand for cabin heating; and
instructions for determining a high power engine operating condition which simultaneously provides high thermal efficiency of the engine and rapidly raises the temperature of the engine coolant in response to said demand. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
instructions for determining a temperature of the engine coolant;
instructions for commanding the engine to attain said high power engine operating condition when the temperature of the engine coolant is below a predetermined temperature.
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15. The medium of claim 13, further comprising instructions for commanding the engine to attain said high power engine operating condition.
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16. The medium of claim 15, further comprising:
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instructions for determining a desired power at the driving wheels requested by an operator of the vehicle;
instructions for causing the secondary machine to absorb a difference between said engine provided power at said high power operating condition and said desired power.
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17. A vehicle system comprising:
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at least two machines capable of being coupled to driving wheels of the vehicle, one of said machines being an internal combustion engine;
at least one lean NOx catalyst coupled to said engine for reducing NOx when the engine air/fuel ratio is lean of stoichiometry; and
an engine controller operably connected to said machines to determine when said lean NOx catalyst should be attended to and to determine whether a current engine operating condition is within an acceptable engine operating range which satisfies said lean NOx catalyst. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A method to control a vehicle system having a primary machine, which is an internal combustion engine, at least one secondary machine and a lean NOx catalyst coupled to the engine and receiving an exhaust stream from the engine, said machines are capable of being coupled to driving wheels of the vehicle, comprising the steps of:
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determining that the lean NOx catalyst should be attended to;
determining a desired engine operating condition that satisfies the lean NOx catalyst; and
commanding the engine to attain said desired engine operating condition. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
determining a desired power at the driving wheels desired by an operator of the vehicle;
determining an engine provided power at the driving wheels based on said engine desired operating condition;
causing the secondary machine to absorb a difference between said engine provided power and said desired power when said engine provided power is greater than said desired power; and
causing the secondary machine to supply a difference between said desired power and said engine provided power when said engine provided power is less than said desired power.
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35. The method according to claim 34 further comprising the steps of:
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determining a maximum power at the driving wheels that the secondary machine may provide; and
postponing said commanding step when a sum of said maximum power and said engine provided power are less than said desired power.
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36. The method according to claim 34 further comprising the steps of:
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determining a maximum absorption power that the secondary machine may absorb; and
postponing said commanding step when a difference of said engine provided power and said desired power exceeds said maximum absorption power.
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Specification