Hybrid Vehicle Low Power Battery Line Haul Controller
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hybrid vehicles require batteries with a C-rate greater than 1-C to realize fuel economy benefits, making low-power batteries unsuitable for hybrid vehicle applications, especially for heavy-duty vehicles.
Innovation Solution
A hybrid vehicle system utilizing low-power batteries with a C-rate less than 0.9-C, integrated with a line haul controller that manages power assistance and regenerative braking to optimize energy use during ascensions and descensions over uneven terrain, allowing for efficient energy storage and reuse.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of stationary object
If low-power batteries with C-rate less than 0.9-C are used in hybrid vehicles, then battery cost and weight are reduced, but fuel economy benefits are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adapts battery power requirements to match actual operating conditions by using a motor-generator that can independently provide or absorb power during transient events. This dynamic capability allows the use of lower-power batteries since the motor-generator compensates for power deficits during acceleration and captures energy during deceleration, resolving the contradiction between reduced battery weight and maintained fuel economy benefits.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the operational parameters of the hybrid system by introducing a motor-generator that operates in parallel with the battery, fundamentally altering how power is delivered and recovered. This parameter change enables the system to achieve fuel economy improvements with lower C-rate batteries because the motor-generator handles high-power transient demands that would otherwise require a larger, heavier battery.
2Weight of stationary object
If low-power batteries with C-rate less than 0.9-C are used in hybrid vehicles, then battery cost is reduced, but power delivery capability is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges the battery and motor-generator into a unified power delivery system where the motor-generator acts as a buffer between the low-power battery and the vehicle's power demands. This combination allows the battery to operate at lower C-rates while the motor-generator provides the necessary power amplification during high-demand situations, resolving the contradiction between reduced battery weight and maintained power delivery capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The motor-generator serves as an intermediary component that decouples the battery from direct high-power demands. It mediates between the low-power battery and the vehicle's transient power requirements, allowing the battery to remain small and lightweight while still enabling the vehicle to meet peak power demands through the motor-generator's intervention.
3Power
If traditional engine-driven alternators are used, then power supply is sufficient, but energy efficiency is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback control through the motor-generator and control system that continuously monitors vehicle operating conditions and optimizes energy flow accordingly. During deceleration, the system automatically captures regenerative energy; during acceleration, it coordinates battery and motor-generator output. This feedback mechanism eliminates the one-way energy dissipation of traditional alternators and enables bidirectional energy management, resolving the contradiction between power supply capability and energy efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system converts what would traditionally be wasted energy during braking and deceleration into useful regenerative energy that charges the battery. The motor-generator captures kinetic energy during deceleration events that would otherwise be lost as heat in friction brakes, transforming this harmful energy dissipation into a beneficial charging opportunity, thereby resolving the contradiction between power supply and energy efficiency.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system enables fuel economy benefits in hybrid vehicles using low-power batteries by optimizing power assistance and regenerative braking, enhancing energy efficiency and reducing reliance on traditional engine-driven alternators.
Implementation Method 1
the low power motor/generator executing a regenerative braking of the hybrid powertrain supplying captured electric energy to the low power storage
Implementation Method 2
a low power storage responsive to a monitoring by a line haul controller of ascensions of the hybrid vehicle
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, methods and apparatus for controlling operation a hybrid powertrain are disclosed that use low power storage and motor/generator components in line haul operations. In one embodiment, a line haul drive cycle includes a low power motor/generator executing a power assistance operation of the hybrid powertrain powered by electricity from a low power storage responsive to a monitoring by a line haul controller of ascensions of the hybrid vehicle at or near a constant speed over an uneven terrain. The line haul drive cycle further includes the low power motor/generator executing a regenerative braking operation of the hybrid powertrain supplying captured electric energy to the low power storage responsive to a monitoring by the line haul controller of descensions of the hybrid vehicle at or near the constant speed over the uneven terrain.