Motor assistance for a hybrid vehicle based on user input
First Claim
1. A method of providing assistance to an internal combustion engine for a vehicle using an electric motor coupled to the engine, the method comprising:
- selectively operating the motor to provide assistance to the engine at predetermined operating conditions of the engine, wherein the assistance provided to the engine at one or more of the predetermined operating conditions is determined based on one of a plurality of motor assistance profiles, wherein the motor assistance profile upon which the assistance is determined is selected from among the plurality of motor assistance profiles based on an expected driving range provided by a user of the vehicle, the expected driving range indicating a distance the vehicle is expected to be driven before charging of a motor battery;
wherein each of the plurality of motor assistance profiles comprises a lookup table having stored therein a plurality of data elements, wherein each of the plurality of data elements is associated with a different combination of one or more linear speeds and one or more rotational speeds, and wherein the assistance provided to the engine at a particular linear speed and rotational speed is determined based at least in part on the data element of the selected motor assistance profile that is associated with the particular linear speed and rotational speed;
wherein a first motor assistance profile is selected when the expected driving range indicates that the vehicle is expected to be driven a first distance;
wherein a second motor assistance profile is selected when the expected driving range indicates that the vehicle is expected to be driven a second distance that is greater than the first distance; and
wherein the first motor assistance profile is configured to cause the motor to provide a different amount of assistance than the second motor assistance profile at one or more of the predetermined operating conditions of the engine.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method of providing assistance for an internal combustion engine in providing driving power for a vehicle using an electric motor coupled to the engine is provided. The method comprises selectively operating the motor to provide assistance to the engine at predetermined operating conditions of the engine. The assistance provided to the engine at one or more of the predetermined operating conditions is determined based on one of a plurality of motor assistance profiles. The motor assistance profile upon which the assistance is determined is selected from among the plurality of motor assistance profiles based on an expected driving range provided by a user of the vehicle.
289 Citations
34 Claims
-
1. A method of providing assistance to an internal combustion engine for a vehicle using an electric motor coupled to the engine, the method comprising:
-
selectively operating the motor to provide assistance to the engine at predetermined operating conditions of the engine, wherein the assistance provided to the engine at one or more of the predetermined operating conditions is determined based on one of a plurality of motor assistance profiles, wherein the motor assistance profile upon which the assistance is determined is selected from among the plurality of motor assistance profiles based on an expected driving range provided by a user of the vehicle, the expected driving range indicating a distance the vehicle is expected to be driven before charging of a motor battery; wherein each of the plurality of motor assistance profiles comprises a lookup table having stored therein a plurality of data elements, wherein each of the plurality of data elements is associated with a different combination of one or more linear speeds and one or more rotational speeds, and wherein the assistance provided to the engine at a particular linear speed and rotational speed is determined based at least in part on the data element of the selected motor assistance profile that is associated with the particular linear speed and rotational speed; wherein a first motor assistance profile is selected when the expected driving range indicates that the vehicle is expected to be driven a first distance; wherein a second motor assistance profile is selected when the expected driving range indicates that the vehicle is expected to be driven a second distance that is greater than the first distance; and wherein the first motor assistance profile is configured to cause the motor to provide a different amount of assistance than the second motor assistance profile at one or more of the predetermined operating conditions of the engine. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
-
-
11. A motor controller, comprising:
-
one or more processors configured to execute instructions stored on one or more computer-readable media, wherein the instructions are executable by the one or more processors to selectively operate an electric motor to provide assistance to an internal combustion engine at predetermined operating conditions of the engine, wherein the assistance provided to the engine at one or more of the predetermined operating conditions is determined based on one of a plurality of motor assistance profiles, and wherein the motor assistance profile upon which the assistance is determined is selected from among the plurality of motor assistance profiles based on an expected driving range provided by a user of the vehicle, the expected driving range indicating a distance the vehicle is expected to be driven before charging of a motor battery; wherein each of the plurality of motor assistance profiles comprises a lookup table having stored therein a plurality of data elements, wherein each of the plurality of data elements is associated with a particular range of one or more operating conditions of the vehicle, and wherein the assistance provided to the engine at a particular set of operating conditions of the vehicle is determined based at least in part on the data element of the selected motor assistance profile that is associated with the particular set of operating conditions; wherein a first motor assistance profile is selected when the expected driving range indicates that the vehicle is expected to be driven a first distance; wherein a second motor assistance profile is selected when the expected driving range indicates that the vehicle is expected to be driven a second distance that is greater than the first distance; and wherein the first motor assistance profile is configured to cause the motor to provide a different amount of assistance than the second motor assistance profile at one or more of the predetermined operating conditions of the engine. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
-
-
20. A hybrid drive system for a vehicle, comprising:
-
an electric motor configured to provide assistance to an internal combustion engine to provide driving power for the vehicle; and a controller configured to control an operation of an electric motor, wherein the controller comprises one or more processors configured to execute instructions stored on one or more computer-readable media; wherein the instructions are executable by the one or more processors to selectively operate an electric motor to provide assistance to an internal combustion engine at predetermined operating conditions of the engine; wherein the assistance provided to the engine at one or more of the predetermined operating conditions is determined based on one of a plurality of motor assistance profiles, wherein each of the plurality of motor assistance profiles comprises a plurality of data elements, wherein each of the plurality of data elements is associated with a different combination of at least one of one or more linear speeds or one or more rotational speeds, and wherein the assistance provided to the engine at one or more of a particular linear speed or a particular rotational speed is determined based at least in part on the data element of the selected motor assistance profile that is associated with the one or more of the particular linear speed and the particular rotational speed; wherein the motor assistance profile upon which the assistance is determined is selected from among the plurality of motor assistance profiles based on an expected driving range provided by a user of the vehicle, the expected driving range indicating a distance the vehicle is expected to be driven before charging of a motor battery; wherein a first motor assistance profile is selected when the expected driving range indicates that the vehicle is expected to be driven a first distance; wherein a second motor assistance profile is selected when the expected driving range indicates that the vehicle is expected to be driven a second distance that is greater than the first distance; and wherein the first motor assistance profile is configured to cause the motor to provide a different amount of assistance than the second motor assistance profile at one or more of the predetermined operating conditions of the engine. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
-
Specification