The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jul. 08, 2014
Filed:
Oct. 04, 2011
Birger Fricke, Aachen, DE;
Mark Eifert, Frankfurt am Main, DE;
Ralf Hecke, Aachen, DE;
Eckhard Karden, Aachen, DE;
Birger Fricke, Aachen, DE;
Mark Eifert, Frankfurt am Main, DE;
Ralf Hecke, Aachen, DE;
Eckhard Karden, Aachen, DE;
Ford Global Technologies, LLC, Dearborn, MI (US);
Abstract
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.