Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Ford Motor Company Limited

Joanne Theresa Woestman

Prabhakar B Patil

Chinu P Bhavsar

Thomas Edward Pilutti

Vijay Garg

Stephen John Kotre

Abbas Raftari

Deepa Ramaswamy

Ross Maxwell Stuntz

Mary Theresa Breida

John O'Rear

Curtis Lee Tyson

Ross M Stunz

A hybrid electric vehiclehaving a propulsion systemwhich integrates a motor-generatorand a variable displacement internal combustion engine. Motor-generatorand engineare each operatively coupled to drive trainof vehicle, and cooperatively power vehicle

Hybrid electric vehicle with variable displacement engine

This invention is a method and system to disconnect drive wheels from the powertrain of any electric powered vehicle. A vehicle controller monitors input from, for example, an inertia switch and electric motor generator conditions and can disconnect the output shaft from the drive wheels in predetermined vehicle conditions such as during a rear-end collision, or abnormal electric motor conditions such as over-torque, over-temperature, or over-current. The invention can be configured to monitor and respond to driver demand for four-wheel drive, two-wheel drive, and neutral tow. The disconnect device can comprise a disconnect actuator and joint attached to an axle disconnect. The axle disconnect can be electric or vacuum powered and positioned as a center disconnect or a wheel-end disconnect. The invention can be configured for conventional or limited slip axles.

Wheel-end and center axle disconnects for an electric or HEV

A hybrid electric vehicle having a propulsion system which integrates a motor-generator and a variable displacement internal combustion engine . Motor-generator and engine are each operatively coupled to drive train of vehicle , and cooperatively power vehicle

This invention is a method and system for determining whether the engine should be running in a Hybrid Electric Vehicle during vehicle idle conditions. Specifically, a controller determines if the vehicle is in idle and if engine operation is necessary. To determine whether engine operation is necessary, the controller determines whether the battery needs charging, whether vacuum needs to be replaced in the climate control system or brake system reservoir, whether the vapor canister requires purging, whether the adaptive fuel tables require fast adapting, whether the engine or catalyst temperatures are unacceptable, or whether the air conditioning has been requested. Once the controller determines that the engine must be running, the controller determines in which control mode to run the engine, either speed control mode (using powertrain controllers) or torque control mode (using a generator and generator controller). Finally, the controller optimizes engine running conditions, to the extent possible depending upon the control mode, to perform any necessary functions during vehicle idle.

Engine on idle arbitration for a hybrid electric vehicle

The present invention integrates an on-board navigation system to provide energy management for an electric vehicle (EV) and a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV). The HEV control strategy of the present invention accommodates the goals of fuel economy while always meeting driver demand for power and maintaining the functionality of the traction motor battery system using battery parameter controllers. In the preferred embodiment of the present strategy, a vehicle system controller tightly integrates the navigation system information with energy management while en route to a known destination. Present vehicle location is continuously monitored, expectations of driver demand are determined, and vehicle accommodations are made. The system can be configured to includes as part of its present vehicle location data on road patterns, geography with date and time, altitude changes, speed limits, driving patterns of a vehicle driver, and weather. The vehicle accommodations can be configured to use discrete control laws, fuzzy logic, or neural networks.

Growing community of inventors

Dearborn, MI, United States of America

Joanne Theresa Woestman