Method and system for vehicle refueling

• US 8,751,140 B2
• Filed: 09/13/2012
• Issued: 06/10/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Surnilla, Gopichandra, Leone, Thomas G., Prasad, Krishnaswamy Venkatesh, Agarwal, Apoorv, Hinds, Brett Stanley
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Kim T
• Application Number:
  US13/614,989
• Publication Number:
  US 20130013183A1
• Time in Patent Office: 635 Days
• Field of Search: 701/29.5, 701/31.5, 701/32.3, 701/32.4, 701/32.5, 701/33.4, 701/103, 701/123
• US Class Current: 701/123
• 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: G01C 21/26 specially adapted for navigation in a road network

Abstract

Methods and systems are provided for facilitating refueling operations in vehicles operating with multiple fuels. A vehicle operator may be assisted in refueling the multiple fuel tanks of the vehicle by being provided one or more refueling profiles that take into account the vehicle'"'"'s future trip plans, the predicted environmental conditions along a planned route, and the operator'"'"'s preferences.

Claims

1. A vehicle system, including,

a first fuel injector coupled to a first fuel tank with a first fuel;

a second injector coupled to a second fuel tank with a second fuel;

a display for displaying fueling profiles to a vehicle operator and receiving operator preferences from the vehicle operator;

a vehicle positioning device; and

a controller with computer-readable instructions for,

displaying on the display one or more fueling profiles based on fuel usage rates of the first and second fuels, the fuel usage rates adjusted based at least on predicted future environmental weather conditions of a vehicle trip plan and ratios of injection of the first and second fuels.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the second fuel has a higher effective octane than the first fuel, and wherein the second fuel injector is a direct injector and the first fuel injector is a port injector.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the predicted future environmental weather conditions are based on navigational inputs received from the vehicle positioning device, the predicted future environmental conditions including one or more of an ambient temperature, ambient pressure, ambient altitude, and ambient humidity, and wherein a suggested refueling amount of the second fuel tank in the one or more fueling profiles is increased as the ambient temperature increases, the ambient altitude increases, the ambient pressure decreases, and/or the ambient humidity decreases.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the fueling profiles are further adjusted based on additional predicted conditions including at least one of driver aggressiveness, road grade, trailer or other load, and wherein a suggested refueling amount of the second fuel tank in the one or more fueling profiles is increased as the driver aggressiveness increases, the road grade increases, or a trailer load increases.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein each of the one or more displayed fueling profiles includes a fuel type, a fuel amount, a fuel ratio between the first fuel and the second fuel, one or more fueling stations, and directions to each of the one or more fueling stations, and wherein the controller further includes instructions for navigating the vehicle to a fueling station selected by the vehicle operator;

and receiving fuel according to a fueling profile selected by the vehicle operator from the displayed fueling profiles.

6. A vehicle system, including,

a first fuel injector coupled to a first fuel tank with a first fuel;

a second injector coupled to a second fuel tank with a second fuel;

a display for displaying fueling profiles to a vehicle operator and receiving operator preferences from the vehicle operator;

a vehicle positioning device; and

a controller with computer-readable instructions for,

displaying on the display one or more fueling profiles based on fuel usage rates of the first and second fuels, the fuel usage rates adjusted based at least on predicted future environmental conditions of a vehicle trip plan, and wherein each of the one or more displayed fueling profiles includes a fuel type, a fuel amount, a fuel ratio between the first and second fuels, one or more fueling stations, and directions to each of the one or more fueling stations, and wherein the controller further includes instructions for navigating the vehicle to a fueling station selected by the vehicle operator; and

receiving fuel according to a fueling profile selected by the vehicle operator from the displayed fueling profiles.

7. The vehicle system of claim 6, further comprising a fuel control valve and additional instructions for directing a first amount of fuel from a fuel filling tube to the first fuel tank and a second amount of fuel from the fuel filling tube to the second fuel tank, the first and second fuel amounts based on the one or more fueling profiles.

8. The vehicle system of claim 6, further comprising additional instructions for receiving and displaying when the first fuel is being received at a fuel filling tube, and additional instructions for receiving and displaying when the second fuel is received at the fuel filling tube.

9. A vehicle system, including,

a first fuel injector coupled to a first fuel tank with a first fuel;

a second injector coupled to a second fuel tank with a second fuel;

a display for displaying fueling profiles to a vehicle operator and receiving operator preferences from the vehicle operator;

a vehicle positioning device; and

a controller with computer-readable instructions for,

displaying on the display one or more fueling profiles based on a ratio of the first and second fuels.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the second fuel has a higher effective octane than the first fuel, and wherein the second fuel injector is a direct injector and the first fuel injector is a port injector.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein a suggested refueling amount of the second fuel tank in the one or more fueling profiles is increased as the ambient temperature increases, the ambient altitude increases, the ambient pressure decreases, and/or the ambient humidity decreases.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the suggested refueling amount of the second fuel tank in the one or more fueling profiles is increased as driver aggressiveness increases, road grade increases, or a trailer load increases.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein each of the one or more displayed fueling profiles includes a fuel type, a fuel amount, a fuel ratio between the first fuel and the second fuel, one or more fueling stations, and directions to each of the one or more fueling stations, and wherein the controller further includes instructions for navigating the vehicle to a fueling station selected by the vehicle operator;

and receiving fuel according to a fueling profile selected by the vehicle operator from the displayed fueling profiles.