445 results about "Plug in hybrid electric vehicle" patented technology

The present invention provides a system and method relating to the operation of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles powered both by electricity from rechargeable batteries and by consumable fuel powered means, such as an internal combustion engine or a fuel cell. More particularly, the system and method of the claimed invention enable optimization of the energy cost associated with the operation of such plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, especially when the cost of recharging batteries from external electric power sources may be less than the cost of recharging batteries from the onboard consumable fuel powered means. To this end, the invention enables maximization of the use of electricity from external electric power sources and minimization of the use of electricity produced by the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle's onboard consumable fuel powered means, when the cost of recharging batteries from external electric power sources is less than the cost of recharging batteries from the onboard consumable fuel powered means.

A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is an automobile which can use either electricity or gasoline. With high gasoline prices, electricity is becoming a promising alternative to power next generation automobiles. One advantage of the PHEV and the BEV (battery electric vehicle) is that charging can be done at home. However, the small battery capacity of PHEV's may require recharging the batteries almost daily. It would be convenient for an owner of a car with batteries to not have to plug in the battery each and every day that charging is required. Our invention is a system that plugs the power automatically into the vehicle with minimal human intervention using an automated docking system. The system is composed of a robotic manipulator with a camera and a processing unit. The system uses the camera and vision processing to identify the vehicle's position, and consequently, the location of the vehicle's charging receptacle. The robotic manipulator then directs the charging cord's plug into the receptacle of the vehicle. Once charging is complete, the robotic manipulator removes the plug from the vehicle.

The present invention discloses a system for transferring electrical power between a grid and at least one vehicle. The vehicle can be Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV), Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) or Fuel Cell Vehicle (FCV). The type of vehicle will be recognized and controlled by the system to support demand response and supply side energy management. Vehicle recognition can be carried out by load signature analysis, power factor measurement or RFID techniques. In an embodiment of the invention, the grid is a Smart Grid. The present invention also discloses a method for facilitating electrical power transfer between the grid and the vehicle.

This invention relates to a power module for a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle including an integrated converter having a rectifier changing AC to DC, a DC / DC converter changing from a first voltage to a second voltage, and a battery storing electrical energy. The integrated converter operates in three modes 1) AC plug-in charging mode, 2) boost mode supplying power from the battery to the electrical bus and 3) buck mode supplying power from the electrical bus to the battery. The integrated converter utilizes the same single inductor during each of the three operating modes to reduce cost and weight of the system.

This invention is a pay charging station for electric and plugin hybrid vehicles. A vehicle parks at a space with the charging station and uses a credit card, debit card, cash, smart card or network connection to a database like EZ-Pass to pay for the space and the electricity. The station automatically charges the vehicle as long as it is connected to the station. The station automatically stops charging when the vehicle is fully charged. The customer only pays for the space and the electricity consumed. If the charging circuit is broken the customer must reinsert the smart card or credit card to restart charging. Sufficient funds are removed from the payment method on initiation of charging. Any money not used for charging is returned to the funding account upon the user reinserting the smart card, credit card or debit card, or cash change is returned if cash was the method of payment.

This invention relates to plug-in hybrid propulsion systems where the energy storage element of the hybrid drive train may be charged with externally supplied electricity as well as energy from the engine or regenerative braking. The invention is a plug-in hybrid system with a fast energy storage and delivery system. In a preferred embodiment the invention comprises a fuel powered engine, a battery, a fast energy storage system, power converters, controllers, drive motors, an electrical distribution system, and a drive train. Additionally, the invention relates to plug-in hybrids that provide services to the electrical utility when the vehicle is connected to the utility grid.

A system is provided to instruct a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle how optimally to use electric propulsion from a rechargeable energy storage device to reach an electric recharging station, while maintaining as high a state of charge (SOC) as desired along the route prior to arriving at the recharging station at a minimum SOC. The system can include the step of calculating a straight-line distance and / or actual distance between an orientation point and the determined instant present location to determine when to initiate optimally a charge depleting phase. The system can limit extended driving on a deeply discharged rechargeable energy storage device and reduce the number of deep discharge cycles for the rechargeable energy storage device, thereby improving the effective lifetime of the rechargeable energy storage device. This “Just-in-Time strategy can be initiated automatically without operator input to accommodate the unsophisticated operator and without needing a navigation system / GPS input.

In one aspect of the present invention, a vehicle comprises: a consumable fuel powered engine, a battery and an electric motor powered by the battery. The battery is rechargeable both from an external electric power source (such as an electric power grid) and from the consumable fuel powered engine. A computer receives data as inputs and providing outputs, wherein the input data includes an expected state of the electric power source at a time when the vehicle is expected to be coupled to the electric power source. The outputs include control signals to control the state of charge of the battery during the time the vehicle is expected to be coupled to the electric power source.

A system is provided to instruct a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle how optimally to use electric propulsion from a rechargeable energy storage device to reach an electric recharging station, while maintaining as high a state of charge (SOC) as desired along the route prior to arriving at the recharging station at a minimum SOC. The system can include the step of calculating a straight-line distance and / or actual distance between an orientation point and the determined instant present location to determine when to initiate optimally a charge depleting phase. The system can limit extended driving on a deeply discharged rechargeable energy storage device and reduce the number of deep discharge cycles for the rechargeable energy storage device, thereby improving the effective lifetime of the rechargeable energy storage device. This “Just-in-Time strategy can be initiated automatically without operator input to accommodate the unsophisticated operator and without needing a navigation system / GPS input.

An apparatus and method for sequentially charging multiple electric vehicles. The apparatus including an electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) having an electrical plug connected to a power cord. The power cord is connected to a housing containing a number of electrical components configured to control the power flow to an electric vehicles to recharge the vehicles' batteries. The power cord is divided into multiple power cords that extend from the housing and connect to standard electric vehicle connectors compatible with battery electric vehicles (BEV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV). The EVSE determines, based on a number of possible criteria, which of the multiple electric vehicles to charge at a given time.

A system for connecting an electric vehicle to a high voltage power source. The system including an electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) having an electrical plug compatible with a high voltage power outlet, the plug connected to a power cord. The power cord is connected to a housing containing a number of electrical components configured to control the power flow to an electric vehicle to recharge the vehicle's batteries. The power cord extends from the housing and is connected to a standard electric vehicle connector compatible with battery electric vehicles (BEV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV). The EVSE further includes safety measures, such as a relay that controls the flow of power to the vehicle connector and a ground fault interrupter, to protect users from high voltage electric shocks.

High performance battery packs are described especially for use in electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Based on high energy lithium ion battery designs, the battery packs can have pairs of parallel connected batteries to supply an energy capacity at full discharge of at least about 40 kilowatt-hours or in alternative embodiments a set of all series connected batteries that can produce at full discharge at least about 15 kilowatt-hours. In some embodiments, lithium rich positive electrode active materials can be used to faun the batteries in which the material comprises a composition approximately represented by a formula xLi2M′O3.(1−x)LiMO2 with x from about 0.05 to about 0.8.

A method of operating a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle is provided including the steps of: A) determining whether the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle is receiving power from an external power source; B) disabling the operation of the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle and executing a thermal program if the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle is receiving power from the external power source, wherein the thermal program includes charging a high voltage battery and monitoring the state of charge of the high voltage battery; C) determining if the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle continues to receive power from the external power source; and D) enabling operation of the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle if the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle is no longer receiving power from the external power source.

Electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle derive all, or at least some, of their power from the electrical grid. The vehicle is provided with a receptacle into which a 110 Volt AC power cord can be plugged. According to the present disclosure, coupling of the external power supply and / or charging are prevented when the vehicle is not in a parked condition. The parked condition is based on the application of a vehicle parking brake and / or a gear shift selector being in a parked position. If a parked condition is not detected, one of the following measures is taken: a relay in the battery charger on board the vehicle is opened thereby disallowing charging; an access door to the receptacle is locked by an access door solenoid; and a plug ejector prevents insertion of a plug into the receptacle.

A hybrid energy storage system for supplying power to an application with a fluctuating load profile, such as, for example, electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, wind energy harvesting equipment and solar energy harvesting equipment. The hybrid energy storage system includes an ultra-capacitor electrically connected to a DC bus and a power source electrically connected to the DC bus via a controlled switch. The hybrid energy storage system further including a DC / DC converter connected between the power source and the ultra-capacitor, the DC / DC converter boosting a voltage of the power source to charge the ultra-capacitor. The DC / DC converter is preferably controlled to maintain a voltage of the ultra-capacitor at a higher value than the voltage of the power source.

This invention relates to a power module for a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle including an integrated converter having a rectifier changing AC to DC, a DC / DC converter changing from a first voltage to a second voltage, and a battery storing electrical energy. The integrated converter operates in three modes 1) AC plug-in charging mode, 2) boost mode supplying power from the battery to the electrical bus and 3) buck mode supplying power from the electrical bus to the battery. The integrated converter utilizes the same single inductor during each of the three operating modes to reduce cost and weight of the system.

A drive train for a hybrid electric vehicle has an engine, first and second motor / generators, a third motor, and a transmission in connecting relationships with the engine, the motor / generators, and the third motor. The transmission has planetary gear sets to be shifted among a plurality of running modes including a large driving force running mode. A controller controls surplus power caused by power balance between the first and second motor / generators to be supplied to the third motor when the surplus power is generated and the vehicle starts with the transmission being operated in the large driving force running mode.

The invention relates to a power assembly system for a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, which comprises a front shaft driving assembly, a rear shaft driving assembly, a high-voltage power battery. The front shaft driving assembly mainly comprises an engine, a gearbox and a front shaft motor, wherein the front shaft motor is connected with the engine. The rear shaft driving assembly mainly comprises a rear shaft reducer and a rear shaft motor connected with the rear shaft reducer; and the high-voltage power battery is controlled by a battery manager and is connected with the front shaft motor and the rear shaft motor through a first inverter and a second inverter for supplying power to and charging automobiles working under different conditions. The power assembly system for the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle has a characteristic of simple structure and is more suitable for industrial production in terms of vehicle control and system integration.

The invention relates to a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle energy optimization management method realizing real-time working condition adaption. The plug-in hybrid electric vehicle energy optimization management method includes the steps of (1), acquiring real-time working condition information of each section of each path; (2), setting the optimization target of minimizing accumulated equivalent fuel consumption of each section of each path, building the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle energy optimization management strategy based on the dynamic planning by taking the speed limit of each section of each path, the traffic flow velocity and the limit of power battery working current; (3), acquiring corresponding target economical speed of each section of each path and sending the same to a vehicular controller; (4), by the vehicular controller, acquiring demanded torque sequence of each moment within a predicted time scale; (5), taking the minimum accumulated equivalent fuel consumption within the predicted time scale as the target, and tracking the target economic speed in real time. Compared with the prior art, the method has the advantages of combining the global optimum and the real-time optimum of the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle energy consumption according to the real-time working condition information, and the like.

A method of operating a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle is provided including the steps of: A) determining whether the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle is receiving power from an external power source; B) disabling the operation of the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle and executing a thermal program if the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle is receiving power from the external power source, wherein the thermal program includes charging a high voltage battery and monitoring the state of charge of the high voltage battery; C) determining if the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle continues to receive power from the external power source; and D) enabling operation of the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle if the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle is no longer receiving power from the external power source.

A method, comprising propelling a vehicle with an engine and a motor starting the engine if energy stored in an energy storage device is greater than an upper threshold level when a contaminant amount in the engine oil is greater than a threshold amount. In this way, it is possible to harmonize fuel degradation along with oil degradation, while still providing efficient vehicle and engine operation

The invention provides a control method for a four-wheel-driven hybrid electric vehicle. The control method comprises the first step of detecting ignition key signals, torque required by the vehicle, the charge state of a power battery and vehicle speed signals, and the second step of controlling the vehicle to switch between multiple working modes according to the ignition key signals, the torque required by the vehicle, the charge state of the power battery and the vehicle speed signals. According to the control method, the multiple working modes are adopted, and the advantages of four-wheel-driven hybrid power can be given to full play. Through switching between the multiple working modes, the vehicle can be in an optimal working state all the time, so that fuel consumption is lowered. In addition, through distribution of the torque of all components in different working modes, the working efficiency of an engine, an ISG motor and a rear axle motor can be optimized, so that the fuel consumption of the whole vehicle is further lowered.

The invention discloses a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle energy management method and system. The management method includes the steps that the historical vehicle speed of a target vehicle is obtained; a traveling route of the target vehicle is obtained and sampled section by section, and real-time traffic information streams of all road sections are acquired; according to the traffic informationstreams, a long-term battery state-of-charge track of the target vehicle is calculated; based on a neural network model, the short-term future vehicle speed is predicted according to the historical vehicle speed of the vehicle; and according to the long-term battery state-of-charge track and the short-term predicted vehicle speed, distribution management is conducted on vehicle-mounted energy source power output. By the adoption of the provided management method and system, the calculation time of plug-in hybrid electric vehicle energy management can be shortened, and the instantaneity of theenergy management method and the vehicle energy consumption economical efficiency are improved.

The invention discloses a parallel plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) energy management method based on an intelligent transportation system. The parallel PHEV energy management method based on the intelligent transportation system mainly comprises the steps that a reference SOC generating algorithm and a PHEV parameter self-adaptive vehicle control algorithm are used as the bases for predicting the working condition; the working condition information such as the front path traveling mileage, the road gradient, traffic light signals and vehicle speed distribution is obtained through an ITS system according to the reference SOC generating algorithm, and the predicted working condition of a front path is generated through a working condition predicting algorithm; the required traveling power, the vehicle speed distribution characteristic and the traveling mileage of the front path are calculated according to the predicted working condition, and the reference SOC (SOC ref) is generated through the reference SOC generating algorithm; and real-time online adjustment of the a PHEV control threshold parameter is achieved through the PHEV parameter self-adaptive vehicle control algorithm according to the SOC ref, and the engine torque and the motor torque are distributed reasonably. By the adoption of the parallel PHEV energy management method based on the intelligent transportation system, online adjustment of the control parameter of a PHEV energy management strategy can be achieved according to the front traveling working condition, the electricity quantity of batteries is distributed and used reasonably, and the operating efficiency of an engine and the economical efficiency of a PHEV are improved.

A vehicle propulsion system and a method of its operation are described. As one example, the vehicle propulsion system includes a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. The method may include: producing a motor output by selectively operating the motor to consume electrical energy stored on-board the vehicle; producing an engine output by selectively operating the engine to consume fuel stored on-board the vehicle; and increasing consumption of the fuel by the engine relative to consumption of the electrical energy by the motor as a residence time of the fuel stored on-board the vehicle increases. The residence time of the fuel stored on-board the vehicle can provide an indication of fuel degradation, enabling the duty cycle of the engine to be selectively increased to enforce fuel use conditions, particularly in the context of a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle where fuel use may be less frequent.

The invention relates to a system and a method for managing timing sequences of high-low voltage power-on and power-off of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. The system comprises a vehicle control unit VCU, a flat-motor controller ISU, a drive-motor controller TMU, a low-voltage power-on switch KL.15, a high-voltage power-on switch KL.50, a compressor controller ACP, a direct-current converter DCDC, an electric-oil-pump controller EOP, a positive main contactor PMC, a negative main contactor NMC, a pre-charge contactor PCC and a battery management unit BCU. High-low voltage power-on and power-off control strategies of a vehicle power system are completely realized by the VCU. The system and the method have the advantage that both personal safety and operation safety of electric loads can be guaranteed before or after high-voltage power-on and power-off of a vehicle, and power system failure caused by power-on and power-off timing sequence disorder is avoided.

A variable voltage converter (VVC) is configured to provide bidirectional voltage boost and buck from an input side to an output side. A VVC can include a voltage control portion and a battery charging portion. When incorporated into an inverter system controller (ISC) for a hybrid electric vehicle, the VVC can be configured to charge a battery during both high and low ISC dc bus voltage conditions. A VVC can be configured to receive power from an ac power source through a plug coupled to the VVC via a soft start rectifier. Accordingly, the VVC with integrated battery charger can be used to charge a battery for a Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) from a standard ac electrical outlet.

A plug-in hybrid vehicle is driven by one or more electric motors powered by a battery system with supplemental electric power provided by a gasoline engine powered generator. A canister with fuel vapor adsorptive material, connected by a fuel vapor vent passage, is used to admit and temporarily adsorb fuel vapor from a vehicle fuel tank during refueling and diurnal heating. The canister also has an air flow passage for venting the canister and introducing ambient air (in the reverse flow direction) for removing vapor stored in the canister during canister purging. The canister has a second passage for conducting air and purged vapor from the canister to the operating engine. When engine operation is insufficient to purge fuel vapor from the fuel adsorptive material, microwave energy is used to heat the material to purge adsorbed fuel vapor and drive the vapor back through the fuel vapor vent passage into the fuel tank. A vacuum pump in the vent passage may assist the flow of the purged fuel vapor.