System and method for storage and delivery of a fuel additive on-board a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle

• US 8,251,022 B2
• Filed: 01/29/2009
• Issued: 08/28/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/29/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Yaccarino, Philip A.
• Primary Examiner(s): KAMEN, NOAH P
• Application Number:
  US12/361,583
• Publication Number:
  US 20100186702A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,307 Days
• Field of Search: 123/1.A, 123/198.A
• US Class Current: 123/1.A
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 15/03 Fuel tanks chassis frame comprising fluid storage compartment B62D21/16 ; Details of the fuel feeding system related to the fuel tank F02M37/0076
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2015/03348 for supplying additives to fuel
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 6/20 the prime-movers consisting of electric motors and internal combustion engines, e.g. HEVs
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 6/24 characterised by the combustion engines
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 6/48 Parallel type
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/06 including control of combustion engines
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/08 including control of electric propulsion units, e.g. motors or generators
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/26 for electrical energy, e.g. batteries or capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 20/00 Control systems specially adapted for hybrid vehicles hybrid vehicle design, B60K6/00; electric vehicles B60L
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 20/15 Control strategies specially adapted for achieving a particular effect
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2530/213 Fuel type
• CPC Class Codes: F02M 25/00 Engine-pertinent apparatus for adding non-fuel substances or small quantities of secondary fuel to combustion-air, main fuel or fuel-air mixture adding secondary air to fuel-air mixture F02M23/00; adding exhaust gases F02M26/00; fuel-injection apparatus operating simultaneously on two or more fuels or on a liquid fuel and another liquid F02M43/00
• CPC Class Codes: F02M 37/0064 for engines being fed with multiple fuels or fuels having special properties, e.g. bio-fuels; varying the fuel composition controlling engines working with pluralities of fuels F02D19/06
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/62 Hybrid vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles

Abstract

A system for storage and delivery of a fuel additive on-board a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle having a purely electric mode of operation and a hybrid mode of operation and having a fuel tank configured to store a fuel includes a reservoir configured to store the fuel additive, a pump that delivers the fuel additive to the fuel tank, a first and second conduit, a controller that actuates the pump to deliver the fuel additive from the reservoir, an electric motor, a battery, and an internal combustion engine configured to consume the fuel during the hybrid mode of operation. A method of storing and delivering the fuel additive on-board the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle includes storing the fuel additive within the reservoir and actuating the pump via the controller to deliver the fuel additive from the reservoir to the fuel tank.

Claims

1. A system for storage and delivery of a fuel additive on-board a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle having a purely electric mode of operation and a hybrid mode of operation and having a fuel tank configured to store a fuel, said system comprising:

a reservoir configured to store the fuel additive;

a pump that is operable to deliver the fuel additive to said fuel tank of said plug-in hybrid electric vehicle;

a first conduit in fluid communication with said reservoir and said pump;

a second conduit in fluid communication with said pump and said fuel tank of said plug-in hybrid electric vehicle;

a controller that actuates said pump to deliver the fuel additive from said reservoir to said fuel tank of said plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, wherein said controller provides a signal after said plug-in hybrid electric vehicle has not operated in said hybrid mode during an elapsed time interval of eleven months;

an electric motor;

a battery configured to be charged via said electric motor and/or a power source external to said plug-in hybrid electric vehicle; and

an internal combustion engine configured to consume the fuel stored in said fuel tank of said plug-in hybrid electric vehicle and provide kinetic energy to said electric motor for charging of said battery during said hybrid mode of operation;

wherein said electric motor and said battery cooperate to provide a driving force to said plug-in hybrid electric vehicle during said purely electric mode of operation; and

wherein said internal combustion engine charges said battery during said hybrid mode of operation.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said internal combustion engine is a diesel engine.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the fuel is selected from the group of diesel, biodiesel, biomass-to-liquid diesel, gas-to-liquid diesel, coal-to-liquid diesel, ultra-low sulfur diesel, and combinations thereof.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the fuel is selected from the group of gasoline, ethanol, oil, hydrogen and combinations thereof.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the fuel additive is selected from the group of antioxidants, corrosion inhibitors, lubricators, metal deactivators, oxygenates, combustion catalysts, burn rate modifiers, polymerizers, stabilizers, demuslifiers, biocides, detergents, catalyst additives, anti-knock agents, lead scavengers, colorants, nitromethane, tetranitromethane, vaporization additives, anti-foaming agents, and combinations thereof.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein said purely electric mode is an operating condition of said plug-in hybrid electric vehicle wherein said internal combustion engine does not supply the driving force to said plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein said controller automatically actuates said pump according to a condition.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein said condition is a time interval.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein said condition is an event wherein fuel is added to said fuel tank of said plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein said pump provides a metered amount of the fuel additive to said fuel tank of said plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein said metered amount is determined by the formula (I):

O=V·

C

wherein O represents a volume of output of the fuel additive from said pump, V represents a volume of fuel in said fuel tank of said plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, and C represents a ratio of volume of fuel additive to volume of fuel in said fuel tank of said plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.

12. A method of storing and delivering a fuel additive on-board a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle having a purely electric mode of operation and a hybrid mode of operation and having a fuel tank configured to store a fuel, said method comprising:

storing the fuel additive within a reservoir;

actuating a pump via a controller to deliver the fuel additive from the reservoir to the fuel tank of the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle; and

providing a signal from the controller to the pump when the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle has not operated in said hybrid mode during an elapsed time interval of eleven months.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein actuating the pump provides a signal from the controller to the pump according to a condition that is a time interval.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein actuating provides a signal from the controller to the pump according to a condition that is an event wherein fuel is added to the fuel tank of the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein actuating the pump delivers a metered amount of the fuel additive as determined by the formula (I):

O=V·

C

wherein O represents a volume output of the fuel additive from the pump, V represents a volume of fuel in the fuel tank of the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, and C represents a ratio of volume of fuel additive to volume of fuel in the fuel tank of the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle includes a diesel engine.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein the purely electric mode is an operating condition of the plug-in electric hybrid vehicle wherein an internal combustion engine does not supply the driving force to the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.

18. A system of storing and delivering a fuel additive to a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle having a purely electric mode of operation and a hybrid mode of operation and having a fuel tank configured to store a fuel, said system comprising:

a reservoir on-board the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle configured to store the fuel additive in fuel additive flow communication with the fuel tank;

a pump configured to deliver a metered amount of the fuel additive from the reservoir to the fuel tank in response to a condition; and

a controller that actuates said pump to deliver the fuel additive from said reservoir to said fuel tank, wherein said controller provides a signal after said plug-in hybrid electric vehicle has not operated in said hybrid mode during an elapsed time interval of eleven months.