Micro-hybrid system for motor vehicle incorporating piloting strategies module

• US 8,475,328 B2
• Filed: 05/04/2007
• Issued: 07/02/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Valeo Equipements Electriques Moteur (Valeo SE)
• Original Assignee: Valeo Equipements Electriques Moteur (Valeo SE)
• Inventors: Rouis, Oussama, Boudjemai, Farouk, Lecole, Brice, Masfaraud, Julien, Laurence, Magali, Doffin, Hugues, Leboeuf, Cedric, Taspinar, Ertugrul, Armiroli, Paul, Gerard, Alain, Dubus, Jean-Marc, De Vries, Arnaud, Blanc, Eric, Treguer, Mattieu
• Primary Examiner(s): LEWIS, TISHA D
• Application Number:
  US12/303,771
• Publication Number:
  US 20100298088A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,251 Days
• Field of Search: 477/3, 477/7, 701/22, 180/65.27, 180/65.275
• US Class Current: 477/3
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2006/268 Electric drive motor starts the engine, i.e. used as starter motor
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 6/485 Motor-assist type
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/64 Road conditions
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/003 relating to inverters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/0092 with use of redundant elements for safety purposes
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/04 Cutting off the power supply under fault conditions protective devices and circuit arrangements in general H01H; H02H
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/16 with provision for separate direct mechanical propulsion
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/40 using propulsion power supplied by capacitors
• 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 20/11 using model predictive control [MPC] strategies, i.e. control methods based on models predicting performance utilising navigation and traffic information in the control strategy B60W20/12
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 20/19 for achieving enhanced acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2552/05 Type of road, e.g. motorways, local streets, paved or unpaved roads
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/62 Hybrid vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/72 Electric energy management in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles

Abstract

The micro-hybrid system for a transport vehicle comprises a rotary electric machine suitable for being coupled mechanically to an engine of the vehicle, an AC-to-DC converter, a DC-to-DC converter, first and second electrical energy reservoirs suitable for storing an electrical energy produced by the rotary machine and for returning the electrical energy to consumer devices equipping the vehicle, and a controller for controlling the operation of the micro-hybrid system. The controller comprises piloting strategies module suitable for autonomously piloting the operating modes of the micro-hybrid system according to a plurality of strategies depending on information provided to said piloting means regarding an internal state of the micro-hybrid system and of a state of the vehicle.

Claims

1. A micro-hybrid system for a transport vehicle, comprising:

a rotary electrical machine (10) suitable for being coupled mechanically to an engine (5) of said vehicle;

an AC-to-DC converter (11);

a DC-to-DC converter (13);

first (12) and second (2) electrical energy reservoirs for storing electrical energy produced by said rotary electrical machine (10) and for returning said electrical energy for use by consumer devices equipping said vehicle; and

control means (14) for controlling an operation of said micro-hybrid system;

said control means (14) comprising piloting means (140) suitable for autonomously piloting operating modes (ALTERNATOR, REGEN, BOOST) of said micro-hybrid system according to a plurality of piloting strategies depending on information provided to said piloting means regarding an internal state of said micro-hybrid system and of a state of said vehicle;

said piloting means (140) further suitable for piloting, in a slave mode, said operating modes (ALTERNATOR, REGEN, BOOST) in accordance with instructions contained in external demands originating from a system of said vehicle;

said operating modes comprising the following modes;

at least one alternator mode (ALTERNATOR;

modes 1, 1a, 2, 2a, mixed);

at least one regenerative braking mode (REGEN;

REGENT1, REGEN2); and

at least one torque assist mode (BOOST;

BOOST1, BOOST2, BOOST_CONS).

2. The micro-hybrid system according to claim 1, wherein said piloting means (140) comprise monitoring means (141) which determine a situation of said vehicle and authorize and define at least partially at least one of said operating modes (ALTERNATOR, REGEN, BOOST) of said micro-hybrid system, taking into account said determination of at least one of a situation of said vehicle and of said external demands originating from said system of said vehicle.

3. The micro-hybrid system according to claim 2, wherein said monitoring means (141) comprise means (1410) for estimating said situation of said vehicle from at least one of the following situations:

said vehicle is in an urban environment;

said vehicle is on a highway;

said vehicle is on a motorway.

4. The micro-hybrid system according to claim 3, wherein said operating modes comprise several alternator modes, and wherein said monitoring means (141) comprise means (1413) for authorizing and selecting an alternator operating mode of said rotary electrical machine (10) among said several available alternator operating modes (modes 1, 1a, 2, 2a, mixed) while taking into account at least said situation of said vehicle.

5. The micro-hybrid system according to claim 2, wherein said monitoring means (141) comprise means (FORE_OK, 1414, 1411) for authorizing and defining said at least one regenerative braking mode of said rotary electrical machine (10).

6. The micro-hybrid system according claim 2, wherein said monitoring means (141) comprise means (FOBO_OK, 1415, 1412) for authorizing and defining said at least one torque assist operating mode of said rotary electrical machine (10).

7. The micro-hybrid system according to claim 1, wherein said piloting means (140) comprise safety means (142) which define at least one operating limit of said micro-hybrid system on the basis of an internal representation of at least some of operational elements of said micro-hybrid system and of an external demand originating from said system of said vehicle.

8. The micro-hybrid system according to claim 7, wherein said at least one operating limit is comprised in the following operating limits of said micro-hybrid system:

minimum and maximum values of an operating range of a fluctuating voltage component (X) of the micro-hybrid system (Xmin, Xmax), the calibration/diagnostic (Xcalibration), protection (Xprotection) and safety (Xsafety) values of said fluctuating voltage component (X), a maximum value (lex_max) of an exciting current of a rotor of said rotary electrical machine (10) and a maximum value (Cregen_max) of a mechanical torque to be drawn in said at least one regenerative braking mode (REGEN) of said rotary electrical machine (10).

9. The micro-hybrid system according to claim 7, wherein said internal representation covers at least the following functional elements:

said rotary electrical machine (10), said AC-to-DC converter (11), said DC-to-DC converter (13) and said first (12) and second (2) electrical energy reservoirs.

10. The micro-hybrid system according to claim 1, wherein said piloting means (140) comprise state machine means (ALTERNATOR, REGEN, BOOST, BOOST_CONS) authorizing transitions (T) between said operating modes of said micro-hybrid system depending on at least monitoring information and safety information produced by said piloting means (140).

11. The micro-hybrid system according to claim 10, wherein said monitoring information and safety information are supplied respectively by said monitoring means (141) and safety means (142).

12. The micro-hybrid system according to claim 1, wherein said at least one alternator mode comprises at least one of the following five alternator modes:

an alternator mode (mode 1) in which a fluctuating voltage component is fixed at a determined value indicated by a set value;

an alternator mode (mode 1a) in which said fluctuating voltage component (X) is fixed at an optimal value;

an alternator mode (mode 2) in which said set value passes to a minimum value (Xmin) when said measured fluctuating voltage component attains a maximum value (Xmax);

an alternator mode (mode 2a) in which no set value is fixed between the minimum (Xmin) and maximum (Xmax) values of said fluctuating voltage component; and

a mixed alternator mode (mixed mode) comprising at least two of the above modes over different operating speed ranges of said rotary electrical machine (10).

13. The micro-hybrid system according to claim 1, wherein said at least one torque assist mode comprises at least one of the following three torque assist modes:

a torque assist mode (BOOST1) intervening following the pressing of an accelerator pedal of said vehicle;

a torque assist mode (BOOST2) intervening when said engine is at an idle speed;

a torque assist mode intervening when there is a change in the ratio of a gearbox of said vehicle; and

a torque assist mode (BOOST_CONS) intended to consume available electrical energy stored in at least one of said electrical energy reservoirs.

14. The micro-hybrid system according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said first and second electrical energy reservoirs comprises at least one supercapacitor (12).

15. The micro-hybrid system according to claim 14, wherein said electrical energy reservoir comprising a supercapacitor (12) supplies an on-board network under a DC voltage (Vb+X) comprising a fluctuating voltage component (X), and the other electrical energy reservoir (2) supplies another on-board network under a substantially stable DC voltage (Vb).

16. The micro-hybrid system according to claim 1, wherein said piloting strategies module comprises means for supplying to said system of said vehicle information about external equipment to be piloted according to its knowledge of the situation/state of the vehicle.