Methods and system for inhibiting automatic engine stopping

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10975825-B2
Application number	US-201916256958-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 24, 2019
Priority date	Jan 24, 2019
Publication date	Apr 13, 2021
Grant date	Apr 13, 2021

Abstract

Systems and methods for operating a vehicle that includes an engine that may be automatically stopped and started are described. In one example, the inhibiting or preventing automatic engine stopping may be performed when a human driver releases a brake pedal, which causes the engine to automatically start, and the inhibiting may continue until vehicle speed exceeds a speed where the engine was automatically stopped.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An engine operating method, comprising:
inhibiting automatic engine stopping of an engine via a controller in response to releasing a brake pedal while vehicle speed is less than a rolling vehicle speed automatic engine stop threshold and above a steady-state vehicle speed automatic engine stop threshold after a most recent automatic engine stop at a vehicle speed between the rolling vehicle speed automatic engine stop threshold and the steady-state vehicle speed automatic engine stop threshold.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising automatically starting the engine after the most recent automatic engine stop.

3. The method of claim 1 , where the most recent automatic engine stop is initiated via applying a brake pedal.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising inhibiting automatic engine stopping in response to battery state of charge being less than a threshold.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising inhibiting automatic engine stopping in response to a vacuum being less than a threshold.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising canceling the inhibiting automatic engine stopping in response to vehicle speed being less than the steady-state vehicle speed automatic engine stop threshold.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising preventing a canceling of the inhibiting automatic engine stopping in response to a battery state of charge being less than a threshold state of charge.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising preventing a canceling of the inhibiting automatic engine stopping in response to a vacuum being less than a threshold vacuum.

9. An engine operating method, comprising:
inhibiting automatic engine stopping of an engine via a controller in response to releasing a brake pedal while vehicle speed is less than a rolling vehicle speed automatic engine stop threshold and above a steady-state vehicle speed automatic engine stop threshold after a most recent automatic engine stop at a vehicle speed between the rolling vehicle speed automatic engine stop threshold and the steady-state vehicle speed automatic engine stop threshold; and
cancelling inhibiting automatic engine stopping in response to vehicle speed exceeding the vehicle speed between the rolling vehicle speed automatic engine stop threshold and the steady-state vehicle speed automatic engine stop threshold plus an offset speed.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising starting the engine a first time after the most recent automatic engine stop in response to battery state of charge being less than a threshold.

11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising starting the engine a first time after the most recent automatic engine stop in response to a vacuum being less than a threshold vacuum.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising starting the engine a first time after the most recent automatic engine stop in response to a steering angle being greater than a threshold angle.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising canceling the inhibiting automatic engine stopping in response to vehicle speed being less than the steady-state vehicle speed automatic stop threshold.

14. The method of claim 9 , where the brake pedal is fully released.

15. The method of claim 9 , further comprising canceling the inhibiting automatic engine stopping in response to vehicle speed being less than the steady-state vehicle speed automatic engine stop threshold.

16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising preventing the canceling the inhibiting automatic engine stopping in response to a battery state of charge being less than a threshold state of charge.

17. A system, comprising:
an engine; and
a controller including executable instructions stored in non-transitory memory to inhibiting automatic engine stopping of the engine in response to a battery state of charge being less than a threshold while vehicle speed is less than a rolling vehicle speed automatic engine stop threshold and above a steady-state vehicle speed automatic engine stop threshold after a most recent automatic engine stop at a vehicle speed between the rolling vehicle speed automatic engine stop threshold and the steady-state vehicle speed automatic engine stop threshold.

18. The system of claim 16 , further comprising additional instructions to cancel the inhibiting automatic engine stopping in response to vehicle speed exceeding the vehicle speed plus an offset speed.

19. The system of claim 17 , where inhibiting automatic engine stopping prevents automatic engine stopping, and where fuel injection to the engine continues when inhibiting automatic engine stopping.

20. The system of claim 16 , further comprising additional instructions to inhibit automatic engine stopping in response to releasing a brake pedal.

Assignees

• Ford Global Tech Llc

Inventors

• Awadi Ahmed
• Khafagy Hafiz
• Makkiya Hussam
• Mezaael Abraham

Classifications

• F02D41/062

  for starting (F02D41/061 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F02N11/0825 Primary

  related to prevention of engine restart failure, e.g. disabling automatic stop at low battery state · CPC title

• F02D41/042

  for stopping the engine · CPC title

• F02D2200/602

  Pedal position · CPC title

• F02D2200/501

  Vehicle speed · CPC title