Vehicle engine and electric machine control

• US 9,168,914 B2
• Filed: 01/14/2014
• Issued: 10/27/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Martin, Douglas Raymond, Miller, Kenneth James
• Primary Examiner(s): Zanelli, Michael J
• Application Number:
  US14/154,528
• Publication Number:
  US 20150197233A1
• Time in Patent Office: 651 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2006/4825 Electric machine connected or connectable to gearbox input shaft
• 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 20/10 Controlling the power contribution of each of the prime movers to meet required power demand
• 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 2050/0054 Cut-off filters, retarders, delaying means, dead zones, threshold values or cut-off frequency
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/10 Accelerator pedal position
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/106 Rate of change
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/1882 characterised by the working point of the engine, e.g. by using engine output chart
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/62 Hybrid vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 903/93 Conjoint control of different elements

Abstract

A vehicle having an engine, an electric machine, a traction battery configured to supply power to the electric machine; and at least one controller is provided. The at least one controller is programmed to apply a filter to a requested engine power. The filter has a filter effect responsive to a difference between an actual and filtered driver demand such that the filter effect increases as the difference decreases to reduce rates of change in engine power output to satisfy the actual driver demand.

Claims

1. A powertrain control system comprising:

a controller programmed to

apply a filter to a requested engine power increase having a filter effect responsive to changes in power requests such that the filter effect increases as a difference between the power requests and a filtered power request decreases, reducing a rate of change in engine power to satisfy the power requests, and

operate an electric machine based on a difference between the requested engine power increase and filtered requested engine power.

2. The powertrain control system of claim 1, wherein the controller is further programmed to provide an engine control window in which the filter may be applied to a requested engine power increase based at least on an engine speed and engine torque range and a change in power requests less than a threshold.

3. The powertrain control system of claim 1, wherein the filter effect is a function of a filter time constant and wherein the filter time constant is varied in response to changes in power requests such that a filter constant increases as changes in power requests decrease.

4. The powertrain control system of claim 1, wherein the filter effect is a function of a filter time constant and wherein the filter time constant is varied in response to changes in power requests, such that a filter time constant decreases as changes in power requests increase.

5. A vehicle comprising:

an engine;

an electric machine;

a traction battery; and

a controller programmed to

apply a filter, having a filter effect responsive to a difference between actual and filtered driver demands, to a requested engine power such that the filter effect increases as the difference decreases to reduce engine power output rates of change to satisfy the actual driver demand, and

command traction battery power for the electric machine based on the difference.

6. The vehicle of claim 5, wherein the controller is further programmed to cause the electric machine to output power based on a difference between the requested engine power and the engine power output to satisfy the actual driver demand.

7. The vehicle of claim 5, wherein the filtered driver demand is a rolling average of the actual driver demand.

8. The vehicle of claim 5, wherein the filter is a two sided filter having a first filter effect in response to increases in power requests and a second filter effect in response to decreases in power requests.

9. The vehicle of claim 5, wherein the filter effect is reduced in response to the difference exceeding a threshold value.

10. The vehicle of claim 5, wherein the filter is applied to the requested engine power when the engine has achieved a first steady operating point and the difference is less than a threshold.

11. The vehicle of claim 10, wherein the filter is applied to the requested engine power as the engine power output is increased during a transition from the first steady operating point to a second steady operating point such that the actual driver demand is satisfied.

12. A method comprising:

applying a filter to an engine power request to generate a filtered engine power request having a filtering effect responsive to a difference between an actual and filtered driver demand such that the filtering effect increases as the difference decreases;

operating an engine to satisfy the filtered engine power request; and

operating an electric machine in response to a deficit between the engine power request and the filtered engine power request.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein when operating the electric machine, the electric machine receives battery power to satisfy the deficit between the engine power request and the filtered engine power request.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein engine power output is increased and battery power is decreased in response to the deficit between the engine power request and the filtered engine power request decreasing.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising

receiving a signal indicative of the engine operating at a second steady operating point;

and

awaiting a change in driver demand.

16. The method of claim 12, further comprising receiving a signal indicative of the engine operating at a first steady operating point.