Fuel maintenance guide system in hybrid vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10573102-B2
Application number	US-201815892810-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 9, 2018
Priority date	Feb 10, 2017
Publication date	Feb 25, 2020
Grant date	Feb 25, 2020

Abstract

A fuel maintenance guide system is provided in a hybrid vehicle in which a shift to a fuel maintenance mode prioritizing consumption of fuel is automatically performed under a predetermined condition regardless of a driver's intention. The fuel maintenance guide system includes an information notification unit configured to perform notification of information urging consumption of the fuel, and a control unit configured to estimate a time to shift automatically to the fuel maintenance mode and to begin to perform notifying actuation of the information notification unit a predetermined period of time before the estimated time.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A fuel maintenance guide system in a hybrid vehicle in which a shift to a fuel maintenance mode prioritizing consumption of fuel is automatically performed under a predetermined condition regardless of a driver's intention, the fuel maintenance guide system comprising:
an information notification unit configured to perform notification of information urging consumption of the fuel; and
a control unit configured to estimate a time until a driving mode is shifted automatically to the fuel maintenance mode and to begin to display the estimated time a predetermined period of time before the mode is automatically shifted to the fuel maintenance mode.

2. The fuel maintenance guide system in the hybrid vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit calculates the predetermined period of time using an average traveling distance of the vehicle.

3. The fuel maintenance guide system in the hybrid vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit calculates the predetermined period of time based on fuel economy of the vehicle.

4. The fuel maintenance guide system in the hybrid vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the predetermined period of time is variable according to a user's setting.

5. The fuel maintenance guide system in the hybrid vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the predetermined period of time is not set shorter than a predetermined lower limit value.

6. The fuel maintenance guide system in the hybrid vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the information notification unit displays a number of days until a shift to the fuel maintenance mode.

7. The fuel maintenance guide system in the hybrid vehicle according to claim 6 , wherein the information notification unit displays an amount of fuel that needs to be supplied to avoid a shift to the fuel maintenance mode.

8. The fuel maintenance guide system in the hybrid vehicle according to claim 7 , wherein the notifying actuation of the information notification unit is canceled by supplying at least a predetermined amount of fuel.

9. The fuel maintenance guide system in the hybrid vehicle according to claim 6 , wherein the notifying actuation of the information notification unit is canceled by supplying at least a predetermined amount of fuel.

10. The fuel maintenance guide system in the hybrid vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the information notification unit displays an amount of fuel that needs to be supplied to avoid a shift to the fuel maintenance mode.

11. The fuel maintenance guide system in the hybrid vehicle according to claim 10 , wherein the notifying actuation of the information notification unit is canceled by supplying at least a predetermined amount of fuel.

12. The fuel maintenance guide system in the hybrid vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the notifying actuation of the information notification unit is canceled by supplying at least a predetermined amount of fuel.

13. The fuel maintenance guide system in the hybrid vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the predetermined condition under which a shift to the fuel maintenance mode is performed is set based on a number of days having elapsed since supply of the fuel to the vehicle.

14. The fuel maintenance guide system in the hybrid vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the hybrid vehicle includes a motor driving wheels using power supplied by a battery and an engine driving the wheels or driving a generator using fuel fed from a fuel tank, and has a fuel maintenance mode in which the engine is forcibly operated under a predetermined condition to prevent deterioration and alteration of the fuel in the fuel tank.

15. A fuel maintenance guide system in a hybrid vehicle in which a shift to a fuel maintenance mode prioritizing consumption of fuel is automatically performed under a predetermined condition regardless of a driver's intention, the fuel maintenance guide system comprising:
an information notification unit configured to perform notification of information urging consumption of the fuel; and
a control unit configured to estimate a time to shift automatically to the fuel maintenance mode and to begin to perform notifying actuation of the information notification unit a predetermined period of time before the estimated time;
wherein the information notification unit displays an amount of fuel that needs to be supplied to avoid a shift to the fuel maintenance mode.

16. The fuel maintenance guide system in the hybrid vehicle according to claim 15 , wherein the notifying actuation of the information notification unit is canceled by supplying at least a predetermined amount of fuel.

Assignees

• Mitsubishi Motors Corp

Inventors

• Mito Hideki
• Miyamoto Naoki

Classifications

• B60W2530/209

  Fuel quantity remaining in tank · CPC title

• B60W2530/211

  Fuel quality, e.g. water content due to age of fuel · CPC title

• B60W50/0097 Primary

  Predicting future conditions · CPC title

• B60Y2200/92

  Hybrid vehicles · CPC title

• B60W50/14

  Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention · CPC title