Granted Patent B2

US 12,580,507 · App. 18/950,861 · Granted Mar 17, 2026

Inventors: Ankit Vinodchandra Patel (Kent, GB); Raghunandan Subramaniam (Kent, GB); Philippe Goesel (Kent, GB); Apoorv Prakash Hiremath (Kent, GB)

Assignee: Cummins Power Generation Limited

H02P9/102F01P7/16F01P2007/146F01P2025/30F01P2025/32F01P2025/62H02P2101/25

Abstract

Claims (62)

1 . A method of regulating an outlet coolant temperature of a genset and an inlet coolant temperature of the genset, the genset comprising an engine, a generator, and at least one controller, the method comprising:

determining a target inlet coolant temperature of the genset according to:

a load condition of the genset; and

a difference between a target outlet coolant temperature of the genset and the outlet coolant temperature; and

regulating the outlet coolant temperature based on the determined target inlet coolant temperature and the inlet coolant temperature.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining the target inlet coolant temperature using one or more control loops including a first proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller having a first input of the outlet coolant temperature and a second input of an outlet target temperature.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein using the one or more control loops comprises:

generating, using a second PID controller, a control signal to regulate the outlet coolant temperature based on an output of the first PID controller and an inlet temperature.

4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

selecting one of a plurality of operating modes, wherein the target inlet coolant temperature is determined using the selected one of the plurality of operating modes.

5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein selecting the one of the plurality of operating modes comprises:

comparing the load condition to a predetermined load threshold value; and

determining whether the load condition is a transient condition.

6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining whether the load condition is a transient condition by comparing a load change to a predefined threshold of at least four percent.

7 . The method of claim 6 , further comprising:

using an interpolation calculator to adjust the target inlet coolant temperature for a predefined time interval responsive to determining the load condition is the transient condition.

8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining whether the load condition is a start-up condition using a cold start indicator of the genset.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein regulating the outlet coolant temperature comprises adjusting an operation of one or more coolant valves.

10 . A control device for regulating an outlet coolant temperature of a genset and an inlet coolant temperature of the genset, the control device comprising:

a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon; and

a processing circuit configured to execute the instructions to:

determine a load condition of the genset;

select, responsive to the determination of the load condition, an operating mode configured to determine a target inlet coolant temperature using one or more control loops;

determine, using the selected operating mode, the target inlet coolant temperature using a difference between a target outlet coolant temperature and the outlet coolant temperature; and

regulate the outlet coolant temperature based on the determined target inlet coolant temperature and the inlet coolant temperature.

11 . The control device of claim 10 , wherein the processing circuit is configured to:

select the operating mode based on a steady state load condition of the genset.

12 . The control device of claim 11 , wherein the processing circuit is configured to:

select a second operating mode based on a second steady state load condition; and

select a third operating mode based on a transient load condition, wherein the steady state load condition exceeds a predetermined load threshold value and the second steady state load condition is less than the predetermined load threshold value.

13 . The control device of claim 12 , wherein the processing circuit is configured to, in the third operating mode:

use an interpolation calculator to adjust the target inlet coolant temperature for a predefined time interval responsive to determining the load condition is transient condition.

14 . The control device of claim 10 , wherein the processing circuit is configured to determine the target inlet coolant temperature using the one or more control loops via:

a determination, using a first feedback controller of the one or more control loops, of a target inlet temperature based on a first input of an outlet temperature and a second input of an outlet target temperature; and

a generation, using a second feedback controller of the one or more control loops, of a control signal to regulate the outlet coolant temperature based on an output of the first feedback controller.

15 . The control device of claim 14 , wherein the first feedback controller and the second feedback controller are proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controllers.

16 . The control device of claim 14 , wherein the first feedback controller is a non-binary controller, and the second feedback controller is a binary controller.

17 . The control device of claim 10 , wherein the processing circuit is configured to regulate the outlet coolant temperature via an adjustment to an operation of a plurality of coolant valves.

18 . A genset comprising:

an engine;

a generator coupleable to a load; and

a cooling system configured to adjust a temperature of the engine, the cooling system comprising:

a heat exchanger;

a coolant valve;

one or more temperature sensors; and

at least one controller configured to regulate an outlet coolant temperature of the genset and an inlet coolant temperature of the genset, the controller comprising:

a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon; and

a processing circuit configured to execute the instructions to:

determine a load condition of the genset;

select, responsive to the determination of the load condition, an operating mode to determine a target inlet coolant temperature using one or more control loops;

determine, using the selected operating mode, the target inlet coolant temperature using a difference between a target outlet coolant temperature and the outlet coolant temperature; and

open or close the coolant valve to regulate the outlet coolant temperature based on the determined target inlet coolant temperature and the inlet coolant temperature.

19 . The genset of claim 18 , wherein the processing circuit is configured to:

select the operating mode from a plurality of operating modes responsive to the determination of the load condition, the load condition comprising at least one of:

a steady state load exceeding fifty percent of a nominal load; and

a transient change exceeding four percent of the nominal load.

20 . The genset of claim 18 , wherein the processing circuit is configured to:

determine, using a first proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller, a target inlet temperature based on a first input of an outlet temperature and a second input of an outlet target temperature; and

generate, using a second PID controller, a control signal to regulate the outlet coolant temperature based on an output of the first PID controller and an inlet temperature.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (3)

References Cited (52)