Voice control system and method for a motor vehicle with a stop/start device

• US 8,095,291 B2
• Filed: 06/26/2009
• Issued: 01/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Christen, Urs, Busch, Rainer, Gussen, Uwe, Rambow, Thomas, Kees, Markus, Mueller-Lerwe, Armin
• Primary Examiner(s): Kwon, John
• Application Number:
  US12/492,262
• Publication Number:
  US 20090326790A1
• Time in Patent Office: 928 Days
• Field of Search: 701/102, 701/107, 701/112, 701/114, 701/115, 123/179.1, 123/179.4
• US Class Current: 701/102
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/0373 Voice control in general G10L
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/06 including control of combustion engines
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2040/089 Driver voice
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/10 Longitudinal speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/10 Accelerator pedal position
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/21 Voice
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/18018 Start-stop drive, e.g. in a traffic jam
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 2200/025 Engine noise, e.g. determined by using an acoustic sensor
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 41/042 for stopping the engine
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 11/0814 comprising means for controlling automatic idle-start-stop
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 11/0822 related to action of the driver
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/40 Engine management systems

Abstract

The invention relates to a control device for a motor vehicle having an internal combustion engine and a stop/start device, and to a method for controlling the operation of an internal combustion engine in such a motor vehicle, wherein the stop/start device is designed to switch off the internal combustion automatically when at least one stop condition is met, wherein the switching off of the internal combustion engine when the stop condition is present does not take place until after a switch off delay time has passed. The control device is designed to prevent, in reaction to a first voice command, the automatic switching off of the internal combustion engine for a predefined time period and/or until a predefined vehicle operating state criterion has been fulfilled irrespective of whether or not the stop condition was already met at the time when the voice command was issued.

Claims

1. A control device for a motor vehicle having an internal combustion engine and a stop/start device,

wherein the stop/start device switches off the internal combustion engine automatically when at least one stop condition is met,

wherein the switching off of the internal combustion engine when the stop condition is present does not take place until after a switch off delay time has passed, and

wherein the control device prevents, in reaction to a first voice command, the automatic switching off of the internal combustion engine for a predefined time period until a predefined vehicle operating state criterion has been fulfilled, irrespective of whether or not the stop condition was already met at the time when the voice command was issued.

2. The control device as in claim 1, wherein the predefined vehicle operating state criterion comprises the motor vehicle exceeding a velocity threshold value or the internal combustion engine exceeding a rotational speed threshold value.

3. The control device as in claim 1 wherein the control device is designed to trigger directly automatic switching off of the internal combustion engine in reaction to a second voice command when the stop condition is present, without waiting for the switch off delay to pass.

4. The control device as in claim 1 wherein the stop/start device automatically starts the internal combustion engine when at least one start condition is met, and wherein the control device triggers direct automatic starting of the internal combustion engine in reaction to a third voice command when the engine is switched off if a transmission which is assigned to the internal combustion engine is in the idling mode and/or the clutch of the internal combustion engine is disengaged.

5. The control device as in claim 1 wherein the stop/start device starts the internal combustion engine automatically when at least one start condition is met, and wherein the control device does not carry out automatic starting of the internal combustion engine which is indicated to the driver by at least one of a visual indication and a voice output, and is implemented with a predefined delay in reaction to a fourth voice command.

6. The control device in claim 1 wherein the control device continuously blocks the automatic switching off of the internal combustion engine in reaction to a fifth voice command issued at any desired time while the vehicle is operating, wherein the blocking is canceled again in reaction to a sixth voice command.

7. The control device as claim 1 wherein the control device locates the starting location of the voice commands and takes into account only the voice commands which are issued from the position of the driver of the motor vehicle.

8. The control device as in claim 1 wherein the motor vehicle is embodied as a hybrid vehicle, and wherein the control device switches over to exclusively electric driving in reaction to a seventh voice command.

9. A method for controlling the operation of an internal combustion engine in a motor vehicle having an internal combustion engine and a stop/start device, wherein the stop/start device switches off the internal combustion engine automatically when at least one stop condition is met, the method having the steps of:

switching off of the internal combustion engine when the stop condition is present does not take place until after a switch off delay time has passed, preventing, in reaction to a first voice command, the automatic switching off of the internal combustion engine for a predefined time period or until a predefined vehicle operating state criterion has been fulfilled, irrespective of whether or not the stop condition was already met at the time when the voice command was issued.