Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Ralf Hecke

Mark Eifert

Eckhard Karden

Leonhard Bartsch

Volker Haupts

Birger Fricke

Hans Günter Quix

A method for operating a motor vehicle having at least one sound sensor for detecting acoustic signals generated outside the vehicle includes the steps of detecting an acoustic signal by means of the sensor, classifying the detected acoustic signal as a warning signal if the detected signal has defined features, determining the speed of the vehicle, determining the steering angle of the vehicle, defining an action to be carried out by the motor vehicle in response to the detected warning signal, and carrying out the defined action if the speed of the motor vehicle undershoots a defined threshold value and the steering angle of the vehicle exceeds a defined threshold value. The defined action may be a steering and/or braking maneuver by the vehicle, and/or may be alerting a driver of the vehicle.

Acoustic warning signal detection for motor vehicles

The charge state of a battery powering a starter of a motor vehicle is evaluated to determine whether the battery voltage is sufficiently high to re-start an internal combustion engine during a stop/start operating mode. The engine is operated to drive a generator so that the generator output voltage is at a level below a setpoint value for a time period. At the end of the time period, the battery voltage is measured and if it exceeds a threshold voltage the battery charge state is determined to be sufficient to re-start the engine. The threshold voltage is approximately equal to the rated battery voltage. If the measured battery voltage is below the threshold voltage value, indicating that the battery will not have sufficient charge to re-start the motor, automatic shut-off of the engine when the vehicle stops is suppressed.

Method for evaluating the ability of a battery to start

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Aachen, Germany

Ralf Hecke