Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Ford Motor Company Limited

John Richard Blankenship

Anthony Mark Phillips

Miroslava Jankovic

Kathleen Ellen Bailey

Mark Steven Yamazaki

Richard E Soltis

Francis Thomas Connolly

Steven Joseph Szwabowski

Suriyaprakash Ayyangar Janarthanam

John Robert Grabowski

Theodore Joseph Filippi

Sam Hashemi

Payam Naghshtabrizi

Viet Quoc To

Michael Brown

Zhang Yan

Anthony G Grabowski

Arun Kumar Jaura

A system includes a GPS receiver that generates a signal that is representative of a posted speed limit at a location where a vehicle is located and a device that generates a signal that is representative of an actual speed of the vehicle. A controller is responsive to the GPS receiver signal and the actual speed sensor signal for either (1) generating an alarm or (2) limiting or otherwise controlling the speed of the vehicle when the actual speed of the vehicle is greater than the posted speed limit.

Vehicle speed limiting and/or controlling system that is responsive to GPS signals

A gaseous fuel management system for an automotive vehicle includes at least one gas sensor for detecting the presence of gaseous fuel outside of the confines of the vehicle's fuel storage tank, fuel lines, and prime mover. In the event that fugitive gas is detected and the concentration exceeds a predetermined threshold, the fuel supply to the vehicle's prime mover will be shut off and, if so equipped, the vehicle may then be operated in a battery power mode for the convenience of the driver.

Gaseous fuel management system for automotive vehicle

A method for controlling charging of a power source of a hybrid vehicle. The method includes determining a maximum output level of a primary power source, determining a state of charge of a secondary power source, determining a charge torque modifier value based on the maximum output torque level and the state of charge, determining a target torque level for an electrical machine based on the charge torque modifier value, and driving the electrical machine at the target torque level with the primary power source to charge the secondary power source.

Method for controlling charging of a power source of a hybrid vehicle

A starter/alternator system ( ) for hybrid electric vehicle ( ) having an internal combustion engine ( ) and an energy storage device (34) has a controller ( ) coupled to the starter/alternator ( ). The controller ( ) has a state of charge manager ( ) that monitors the state of charge of the energy storage device. The controller has eight battery state-of-charge threshold values that determine the hybrid operating mode of the hybrid electric vehicle. The value of the battery state-of-charge relative to the threshold values is a factor in the determination of the hybrid mode, for example; regenerative braking, charging, battery bleed, boost. The starter/alternator may be operated as a generator or a motor, depending upon the mode.

Method and apparatus for controlling battery charging in a hybrid electric vehicle

An energy control strategy ( ) for a hybrid electric vehicle that controls an electric motor during bleed and charge modes of operation. The control strategy ( ) establishes ( ) a value of the power level at which the battery is to be charged. The power level is used to calculate ( ) the torque to be commanded to the electric motor. The strategy ( ) of the present invention identifies a transition region ( ) for the electric motor's operation that is bounded by upper and lower speed limits. According to the present invention, the desired torque is calculated by applying equations to the regions before, during and after the transition region ( ), the equations being a function of the power level and the predetermined limits and boundaries.

Energy control strategy for a hybrid electric vehicle

A vehicle system controller (,) is presented for a LSR parallel hybrid electric vehicle having an engine (,), a motor (,), wheels (,), a transmission (,) and a battery (,). The vehicle system controller (,) has a state machine having a plurality of predefined states (,) that represent operating modes for the vehicle. A set of rules is defined for controlling the transition between any two states in the state machine. The states (,) are prioritized according to driver demands, energy management concerns and system fault occurrences. The vehicle system controller (,) controls the transitions from a lower priority state to a higher priority state based on the set of rules. In addition, the vehicle system controller (,) will control a transition to a lower state from a higher state when the conditions no longer warrant staying in the current state. A unique set of output commands is defined for each state for the purpose of controlling lower level subsystem controllers. These commands serve to achieve the desire vehicle functionality within each state and insure smooth transitions between states.

Control system and method for a hybrid electric vehicle

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Dearborn, MI, United States of America

John Richard Blankenship