Method and system for retrofitting a full hybrid to be a plug-in hybrid
First Claim
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1. A retrofit system for converting a hybrid vehicle to a plug-in hybrid comprising:
- a battery for storing a charge sufficient to provide a vehicle with an electric-only driving range in excess of 5 miles;
a battery management system for monitoring battery parameters indicative of the state of battery charge to produce a “
true SOC”
signal indicative thereof; and
a control unit responsive the battery management system to report an inflated state of battery charge to the hybrid vehicle'"'"'s hybrid control system to maintain the gasoline engine in a deactivated condition over an extended driving range.
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Abstract
A retrofit system for converting a hybrid vehicle to a plug-in hybrid comprises a battery for storing a charge sufficient to provide a vehicle with an electric-only driving range in excess of 5 miles, a battery management system for monitoring battery parameters indicative of the state of battery charge to produce a signal indicative thereof; and a control unit responsive the battery management system to report an inflated state of battery charge to the hybrid vehicle'"'"'s hybrid control system to maintain the gasoline engine in a deactivated condition over an extended driving range.
30 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A retrofit system for converting a hybrid vehicle to a plug-in hybrid comprising:
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a battery for storing a charge sufficient to provide a vehicle with an electric-only driving range in excess of 5 miles; a battery management system for monitoring battery parameters indicative of the state of battery charge to produce a “
true SOC”
signal indicative thereof; anda control unit responsive the battery management system to report an inflated state of battery charge to the hybrid vehicle'"'"'s hybrid control system to maintain the gasoline engine in a deactivated condition over an extended driving range. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. The retrofit system of claimed 14 wherein the first indicia is in the form of a bar graph having a variable length proportional to the position of the vehicle'"'"'s accelerator, and the second indicia is in the form of a generally vertical line positioned adjacent the bar graph to indicate the accelerator position which, when reached, will activate the gasoline engine.
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16. A method for converting a hybrid electric vehicle into a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle comprising the steps of:
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(a) adding to the vehicle'"'"'s battery capacity a sufficient battery capacity to provide an electric-only driving range in excess of 5 miles; (b) monitoring the state of charge of the vehicle'"'"'s resulting battery and producing any “
true SOC”
signal indicative thereof;(c) generating a “
reported SOC”
signal to the vehicle'"'"'s hybrid control system that is sufficiently inflated to maintain the gasoline engine in a deactivated condition over an extended electric-only driving range.
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17. A method for converting a hybrid vehicle into a plug-in hybrid vehicle comprising the steps of:
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(a) adding to the battery capacity of the vehicle to provide charge storage sufficient to impart an extended electric-only driving range in excess of 5 miles; (b) installing a battery management system in the vehicle that monitors the battery'"'"'s parameters indicative of the state of battery charge to produce a “
true SOC”
signal indicative thereof; and(c) installing a control unit that is responsive to the “
true SOC”
signal to produce a “
reported SOC”
signal to the vehicle'"'"'s hybrid control system that is sufficiently inflated to maintain the gasoline engine in a deactivated condition over the extended electric-only driving range.
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Specification