Battery State of Function Prediction with Self-Learning

• US 20180065636A1
• Filed: 09/02/2016
• Published: 03/08/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/02/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lear Corporation
• Original Assignee: Lear Corporation
• Inventors: Fabregas, Antoni Ferre, Alari, David Gamez, Esteve, Jose Antonio Canals
• Granted Patent: US 10,150,479 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/18018 Start-stop drive, e.g. in a traffic jam
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 11/00 Starting of engines by means of electric motors
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 11/0818 Conditions for starting or stopping the engine or for deactivating the idle-start-stop mode
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 11/0825 related to prevention of engine restart failure, e.g. disabling automatic stop at low battery state
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 2200/023 Engine temperature
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 2200/043 Starter voltage
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 2200/044 Starter current
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 2200/046 Energy or power necessary for starting
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 2200/063 Battery voltage
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 2250/02 Battery voltage drop at start, e.g. drops causing ECU reset
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 2300/2006 using prediction of future conditions
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/40 Engine management systems

Abstract

A system for a vehicle having an engine and a battery includes a memory and a controller. The memory has a predicted current expected to be provided by the battery for restarting the engine during a cranking event. The controller is configured to predict a minimum voltage of the battery expected during the cranking event based on the predicted current and to update the predicted current in the memory as a function of the predicted current and an actual current actually provided by the battery for restarting the engine during the cranking event.

Claims

1. A system for a vehicle having an engine and a battery, comprising:

a memory having a predicted current expected to be provided by the battery for restarting the engine during a cranking event; and

a controller configured to predict a minimum voltage of the battery expected during the cranking event based on the predicted current and to update the predicted current in the memory as a function of the predicted current and an actual current actually provided by the battery for restarting the engine during the cranking event.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein:

the controller is further configured to predict a minimum voltage of the battery expected during a next cranking event based on the updated predicted current and to update the updated predicted current in the memory as a function of the updated predicted current and an actual current actually provided by the battery for restarting the engine during the next cranking event.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein:

the controller is further configured to update the predicted current in the memory further as a function of the predicted current weighed by a factor α and

the actual current weighted by a factor (1−

α

), where 0<

α

<

1.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein:

the factor α

is less than 0.5 whereby the actual current is a greater contributor than the predicted current in updating the predicted current in the memory.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein:

the factor α

is within a range 0.2≦

α

<

0.5.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein:

the predicted current is a function of predicted currents expected to be provided by the battery for restarting the engine during previous cranking events and actual currents actually provided by the battery for restarting the engine during the previous cranking events.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein:

the controller is further configured to enable the engine to be stopped ahead of the cranking event when the predicted minimum voltage of the battery is greater than a minimum voltage threshold and to prevent the engine from being stopped ahead of the cranking event when the predicted minimum voltage of the battery is less than the minimum voltage threshold.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein:

the memory has predicted currents expected to be provided by the battery for restarting the engine during the cranking event for a plurality of engine temperatures; and

the controller is further configured to predict the minimum voltage of the battery expected during the cranking event based on the predicted current corresponding to a temperature of the engine ahead of the cranking event.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein:

the controller is further configured to predict the minimum voltage of the battery expected during the cranking event based further on an internal resistance of the battery and to update a value of the internal resistance of the battery as a function of the actual current and an actual minimum voltage of the battery actually occurring during the cranking event.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein:

the controller is further configured to predict the minimum voltage of the battery expected during the cranking event based further on a predicted variation of a voltage of the battery due to current flowing from the battery between an instant at which the controller predicts the minimum voltage of the battery and an initiation of the cranking event.

11. A system for a vehicle having an engine and a battery, comprising:

a memory having a predicted current expected to be provided by the battery for restarting the engine during a cranking event; and

a controller configured to predict a minimum voltage of the battery expected during the cranking event based on the predicted current and to update the predicted current in the memory as a function of the predicted current weighed by a factor α and

an actual current actually provided by the battery for restarting the engine during the cranking event weighted by a factor (1−

α

), where 0<

α

<

1.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein:

the controller is further configured to predict a minimum voltage of the battery expected during a next cranking event based on the updated predicted current and to update the updated predicted current in the memory as a function of the updated predicted current weighed by the factor α and

an actual current actually provided by the battery for restarting the engine during the next cranking event weighted by the factor (1−

α

).

13. The system of claim 11 wherein:

the factor α

is within a range 0.2≦

α

<

0.5 whereby the actual current is a greater contributor than the predicted current in updating the predicted current in the memory.

14. The system of claim 11 wherein:

the controller is further configured to calculate the factor α

as a function of a difference between the predicted minimum voltage of the battery and an actual minimum voltage of the battery actually occurring during the cranking event.

15. The system of claim 11 wherein:

the memory has predicted currents expected to be provided by the battery for restarting the engine during the cranking event for a plurality of engine temperatures; and

the controller is further configured to predict the minimum voltage of the battery expected during the cranking event based on the predicted current corresponding to a temperature of the engine ahead of the cranking event.

16. The system of claim 11 wherein:

the controller is further configured to predict the minimum voltage of the battery expected during the cranking event based further on an internal resistance of the battery and to update a value of the internal resistance of the battery as a function of the actual current and an actual minimum voltage of the battery actually occurring during the cranking event.

17. The system of claim 11 wherein:

the controller is further configured to enable the engine to be stopped ahead of the cranking event when the predicted minimum voltage of the battery is greater than a minimum voltage threshold and to prevent the engine from being stopped ahead of the cranking event when the predicted minimum voltage of the battery is less than the minimum voltage threshold.

18. A method for a vehicle having an engine and a battery, comprising:

obtaining from a memory a predicted current expected to be provided by the battery for restarting the engine during a cranking event;

predicting a minimum voltage of the battery expected during the cranking event based on the predicted current; and

updating the predicted current in the memory as a function of the predicted current and an actual current actually provided by the battery for restarting the engine during the cranking event.

19. The method of claim 18 further comprising:

predicting the minimum voltage of the battery expected during the cranking event based further on an internal resistance of the battery; and

updating a value of the internal resistance of the battery as a function of the actual current and an actual minimum voltage of the battery actually occurring during the cranking event.

20. The method of claim 18 further comprising:

enabling the engine to be stopped ahead of the cranking event when the predicted minimum voltage of the battery is greater than a minimum voltage threshold; and

preventing the engine from being stopped ahead of the cranking event when the predicted minimum voltage of the battery is less than the minimum voltage threshold.