Vehicle Mass Detection System
First Claim
1. A method of controlling a vehicle including an electric machine based on vehicle mass, the method comprising:
- while a speed of the electric machine is changing, measuring current consumed by the electric machine at two different instances of time;
calculating a mass of the vehicle based on the measured currents; and
controlling operation of the vehicle according to the calculated mass.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle system and a method for calculating a vehicle mass is provided. In at least one embodiment, the system and the method measure current consumed by an electric machine of the vehicle to calculate vehicle mass. A controller of the vehicle uses the calculated mass to control operation of the vehicle, for example a four wheel drive, transmission, stability control, or brake system of the vehicle. A GPS and tire speed sensor system may be incorporated to detect the presence of a towed object, for example a trailer, and to further adjust operation of the vehicle.
31 Citations
17 Claims
-
1. A method of controlling a vehicle including an electric machine based on vehicle mass, the method comprising:
-
while a speed of the electric machine is changing, measuring current consumed by the electric machine at two different instances of time; calculating a mass of the vehicle based on the measured currents; and controlling operation of the vehicle according to the calculated mass. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8)
-
-
6. The method of 5, wherein the stored data further comprises data corresponding to a number of tire revolutions for the distance traveled at a plurality of vehicle masses.
-
9. A vehicle comprising:
-
an electric machine; a driveline; a traction battery; and at least one controller programmed to command the electric machine to apply a braking torque to the driveline of the vehicle based on a mass of the vehicle such that when the electric machine is outputting a propulsive torque to the driveline, a magnitude of current from the electric machine to the traction battery varies according to the mass of the vehicle and when the electric machine is not outputting a propulsive torque to the driveline, the magnitude of the current remains generally constant.
-
-
10. A vehicle system comprising:
-
an electric machine; and at least one controller programmed to control operation of the vehicle based on current consumed by the electric machine at different instances of time while the vehicle is accelerating. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
-
Specification