IP Library Granted Patent US 7,559,387
Granted Patent B2
US 7,559,387 · App. 11/017,173 · Granted Jul 14, 2009

Deceleration rate based engine spin control and engine off functionality

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 7,559,387
App. No.
11/017,173
Granted
Jul 14, 2009
Kind
B2
Abstract

A hybrid vehicle that includes an engine and an electric machine that selectively drives the engine. A control module monitors a deceleration rate of the vehicle and regulates fueling of the engine based on the deceleration rate. The control module regulates rotation of a crankshaft of the engine based on the deceleration rate.

Claims (69)

1. A hybrid vehicle, comprising:

an engine;

an electric machine that selectively drives said engine; and

a control module that monitors a deceleration rate of said vehicle, that regulates fueling of said engine based on said deceleration rate and that regulates rotation of a crankshaft of said engine based on said deceleration rate,

wherein said control module drives said engine by applying a positive torque to said engine via said electric machine to increase engine torque after startup of said engine and based on said deceleration rate, and

wherein said control module drives said engine by applying a positive torque to said engine via said electric machine when said engine is not receiving fuel.

2. The hybrid vehicle of claim 1 wherein said control module cuts-off fuel to said engine upon deceleration of said hybrid vehicle and inhibits rotation of said engine when a vehicle speed is equal to a stall speed.

3. The hybrid vehicle of claim 2 wherein said electric motor drives said engine during said deceleration to inhibit rotation of said crankshaft.

4. The hybrid vehicle of claim 1 wherein said control module cuts-off fuel to said engine upon deceleration of said hybrid vehicle and fuels said engine when a vehicle speed decelerates to a threshold vehicle speed.

5. The hybrid vehicle of claim 4 wherein said control module cuts-off fuel to said engine and inhibits rotation of said engine when engine stop conditions are achieved.

6. The hybrid vehicle of claim 5 wherein said engine stop conditions include said vehicle speed being equal to zero, a rotational speed of said crankshaft being less than a threshold speed and a manifold absolute pressure (MAP) of said engine being less than a threshold pressure.

7. The hybrid vehicle of claim 1 wherein said control module cuts-off fuel to said engine upon deceleration of said hybrid vehicle and fuels said engine when a vehicle speed decelerates to a stall speed.

8. A method of regulating a hybrid electric vehicle during deceleration, comprising:

monitoring a deceleration rate of said vehicle;

regulating fueling of an engine based on said deceleration rate;

regulating rotation of a crankshaft of said engine based on said deceleration rate,

driving said engine by applying a positive torque on said engine via an electric machine to increase engine torque after startup of said engine and based on said deceleration rate; and

driving said engine by applying a positive torque to said engine via said electric machine when said engine is not receiving fuel.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising cutting-off fuel to said engine upon deceleration of said hybrid vehicle and inhibiting rotation of said engine when a vehicle speed is equal to a stall speed.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising driving said engine during said deceleration using an electric machine to inhibit rotation of said crankshaft.

11. The method of claim 8 further comprising cutting-off fuel to said engine upon deceleration of said hybrid vehicle and fueling said engine when a vehicle speed decelerates to a threshold vehicle speed.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising cutting-off fuel to said engine and inhibiting rotation of said engine when engine stop conditions are achieved.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein said engine stop conditions include said vehicle speed being equal to zero, a rotational speed of said crankshaft being less than a threshold speed and a manifold absolute pressure (MAP) of said engine being less than a threshold pressure.

14. The method of claim 8 further comprising fueling said engine when a vehicle speed decelerates to a stall speed.

15. A hybrid vehicle, comprising:

an engine;

a clutch that selectively enables said engine to directly drive a transmission;

an electric machine that selectively drives said engine; and

a control module that monitors a deceleration rate of said vehicle, that regulates fueling of said engine based on said deceleration rate, that regulates engagement of said clutch based on said deceleration rate and that regulates rotation of a crankshaft of said engine based on said deceleration rate,

wherein said control module drives said engine by applying a positive torque on said engine via said electric machine to increase engine torque after startup of said engine and based on said deceleration rate,

wherein said positive torque is applied to said engine to decrease said deceleration rate.

16. The hybrid vehicle of claim 15 wherein said control module cuts-off fuel to said engine upon deceleration of said hybrid vehicle and inhibits rotation of said engine when a vehicle speed is equal to a stall speed.

17. The hybrid vehicle of claim 16 wherein said electric machine drives said engine during said deceleration to inhibit rotation of said crankshaft.

18. The hybrid vehicle of claim 15 wherein said control module cuts-off fuel to said engine upon deceleration of said hybrid vehicle and fuels said engine when a vehicle speed decelerates to a threshold vehicle speed.

19. The hybrid vehicle of claim 18 wherein said control module disengages said clutch when said vehicle speed achieves said threshold vehicle speed.

20. The hybrid vehicle of claim 18 wherein said control module cuts-off fuel to said engine and inhibits rotation of said engine when engine stop conditions are achieved.

21. The hybrid vehicle of claim 20 wherein said engine stop conditions include said vehicle speed being equal to zero, a rotational speed of said crankshaft being less than a threshold speed and a manifold absolute pressure (MAP) of said engine being less than a threshold pressure.

22. The hybrid vehicle of claim 15 wherein said control module cuts-off fuel to said engine upon deceleration of said hybrid vehicle and fuels said engine when a vehicle speed decelerates to a stall speed.

23. The hybrid vehicle of claim 22 wherein said control module disengages said clutch when said vehicle speed achieves said stall speed.

24. A method of regulating deceleration of a hybrid vehicle, comprising:

monitoring a deceleration rate of said vehicle;

fueling of an engine based on said deceleration rate;

regulating engagement of a clutch that selectively enables an engine to directly drive a transmission based on said deceleration rate;

regulating rotation of a crankshaft of said engine based on said deceleration rate; and

driving said engine by applying a positive torque on said engine via an electric machine to increase engine torque after startup of said engine and based on said deceleration rate,

wherein said positive torque is applied to said engine to decrease said deceleration rate.

25. The method of claim 24 further comprising cutting-off fuel to said engine upon deceleration of said hybrid vehicle and inhibiting rotation of said engine using an electric machine when a vehicle speed is equal to a stall speed.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein said electric machine drives said engine during said deceleration to inhibit rotation of said crankshaft.

27. The method of claim 24 further comprising cutting-off fuel to said engine upon deceleration of said hybrid vehicle and fueling said engine when a vehicle speed decelerates to a threshold vehicle speed.

28. The method of claim 27 further comprising disengaging said clutch when said vehicle speed achieves said threshold vehicle speed.

29. The method of claim 27 further comprising cutting-off fuel to said engine and inhibiting rotation of said engine when engine stop conditions are achieved.

30. The method of claim 29 wherein said engine stop conditions include said vehicle speed being equal to zero, a rotational speed of said crankshaft being less than a threshold speed and a manifold absolute pressure (MAP) of said engine being less than a threshold pressure.

31. The method of claim 24 further comprising cutting-off fuel to said engine upon deceleration of said hybrid vehicle and fueling said engine when a vehicle speed decelerates to a stall speed.

32. The method of claim 31 further comprising disengaging said clutch when said vehicle speed achieves said stall speed.

33. The hybrid vehicle of claim 1 wherein said control module transitions from back driving said engine by applying a negative torque on said engine to driving said engine by applying a positive torque on said engine.

34. The hybrid vehicle of claim 1 wherein said control module stops driving said engine when said engine is stopped.

35. The hybrid vehicle of claim 1 wherein said control module drives said engine by applying a positive torque on said engine via said electric machine from startup of said engine to when said engine is stopped.

36. The hybrid vehicle of claim 1 wherein said control module drives said engine by applying a positive torque on said engine via said electric machine from when said engine is stopped to when said engine is operating at an idle speed.

37. The hybrid vehicle of claim 1 wherein said control module drives said engine by applying a positive torque on said engine via said electric machine prior to engine startup.

38. The hybrid vehicle of claim 15 wherein said control module drives said engine by applying a positive torque on said engine via said electric machine when said engine is not receiving fuel.

39. The hybrid vehicle of claim 1 wherein said control module drives said engine by applying a positive torque on said engine via said electric machine based on air-conditioning compressor load.

40. The hybrid vehicle of claim 1 wherein said control module drives said engine by applying a positive torque on said engine via said electric machine to provide a net engine output torque that is at least one of neutral and positive.

41. The hybrid vehicle of claim 15 further comprising:

a clutch that selectively enables said engine to directly drive a transmission,

wherein said control module regulates engagement of said clutch based on said deceleration rate.

42. The hybrid vehicle of claim 1 wherein said deceleration rate is based on at least one of back-driving of said engine and engine-braking.

43. The hybrid vehicle of claim 1 wherein said positive torque is applied to said engine to decrease said deceleration rate.

44. The hybrid vehicle of claim 1 wherein said positive torque is applied to said engine to adjust said deceleration rate during a transition from a drag state of said engine to a coasting state of said engine.

45. The hybrid vehicle of claim 1 wherein said positive torque is applied to said engine to adjust said deceleration rate during a transition from a drag state of said engine to an idle state of said engine.

Assignments (14)
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Nov 7, 2014
From: WILMINGTON TRUST COMPANY
To: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC
Reel/Frame 034371/0676 →
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Feb 10, 2011
From: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS, INC.
To: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC
Reel/Frame 025780/0936 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Nov 8, 2010
From: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS, INC.
To: WILMINGTON TRUST COMPANY
Reel/Frame 025327/0001 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Nov 4, 2010
From: UAW RETIREE MEDICAL BENEFITS TRUST
To: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS, INC.
Reel/Frame 025311/0770 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Nov 4, 2010
From: UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
To: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS, INC.
Reel/Frame 025245/0442 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Aug 28, 2009
From: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS, INC.
To: UAW RETIREE MEDICAL BENEFITS TRUST
Reel/Frame 023162/0001 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Aug 27, 2009
From: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS, INC.
To: UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Reel/Frame 023156/0052 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Aug 21, 2009
From: CITICORP USA, INC. AS AGENT FOR BANK PRIORITY SECURED PARTIES; CITICORP USA, INC. AS AGENT FOR HEDGE PRIORITY SECURED PARTIES
To: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS, INC.
Reel/Frame 023127/0468 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Aug 20, 2009
From: UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
To: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS, INC.
Reel/Frame 023124/0429 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Apr 16, 2009
From: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS, INC.
To: CITICORP USA, INC. AS AGENT FOR BANK PRIORITY SECURED PARTIES; CITICORP USA, INC. AS AGENT FOR HEDGE PRIORITY SECURED PARTIES
Reel/Frame 022553/0446 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Feb 4, 2009
From: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS, INC.
To: UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Reel/Frame 022201/0610 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jan 14, 2009
From: GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION
To: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS, INC.
Reel/Frame 022117/0022 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 16, 2005
From: TAMAI, GORO
To: GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 015727/0089 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 16, 2005
From: TAMAI, GORO
To: GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 015727/0137 →