Method, device and mobile user apparatus for adapting a fuel supply of at least one motor vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11073101-B2
Application number	US-201715462990-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 20, 2017
Priority date	Mar 22, 2016
Publication date	Jul 27, 2021
Grant date	Jul 27, 2021

Abstract

A method and apparatus to determine values for at least one fuel use characteristic variable which represents a first fuel use process in a first vehicle, are provided. In addition, values are determined for at least one parameter which represents at least one peripheral condition of the fuel use in the first vehicle during the first fuel supply process. A mathematical relationship is determined between one or more supplied values of the at least one fuel use characteristic variable and the corresponding values of the at least one parameter. A profile data record including a data record and/or learning data is supplied on the basis of at least one determined mathematical relationship. At least one further fuel parameter of a fuel which is used by the first vehicle and/or by a second vehicle during a second fuel use process is adapted as a function of the supplied profile data record.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for adapting vehicle fuel supply, comprising the acts of:
executing N fuel use processes of one or more vehicles, including a first vehicle, wherein each of the N fuel use processes is a fuel use process executed at an Nth time, using a fuel having a fuel parameter that affects a fuel use characteristic resulting from the fuel use process, and wherein the fuel use characteristic is also affected by a peripheral condition ancillary to the N fuel use processes,
sensing: (a) values of the fuel use characteristic for the N fuel use processes, and (b) values of the peripheral condition for the N fuel use processes;
based on the sensed values of the fuel use characteristic and the peripheral condition, determining a mathematical relationship between the fuel use characteristic and the peripheral condition;
generating respective profiles for the one or more vehicles, each respective profile based on the mathematical relationship, wherein each respective profile includes: a profile data record and/or learning data reflecting an adaptation of the fuel parameter as a function of the peripheral condition values so as to achieve target values of the fuel use characteristic, and a corresponding adaptation of an operating parameter of a drive system of the vehicle;
determining, as a function of each respective profile, a target value of the fuel parameter corresponding to a target value of the fuel use characteristic; and
transmitting a control signal to a vehicle-external fuel supply so as to adapt fuel supplied to the first vehicle and/or a second vehicle during a refueling process for an N+m fuel use process such that the supplied fuel has the target value of the fuel parameter, wherein the N+m fuel use process is the fuel use process at an N+m time.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the fuel parameter reflects a quality of fuel.

3. The method according to claim 2 , wherein the profile reflects the fuel parameter as a function of the operating parameter.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the profile represents one or more adaptation variants of the fuel parameter and corresponding adaptation variants of the operating parameter, with respect to the peripheral condition, such that the target value for the fuel use characteristic is achieved in the N+m fuel use process via the adaption variants.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein a fuel supply is varied as a function of the profile.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein a composition of fuel into an internal combustion engine is varied in the N+m fuel use process as a function of the profile.

7. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
sensing values for at least one other peripheral condition,
wherein the mathematical relationship is between the fuel use characteristic, the peripheral condition and the at least one other peripheral condition, and is determined based also on the at least one other peripheral condition,
wherein the learning data reflect the adaptation of the fuel parameter as a function of the peripheral condition values and the at least one other peripheral condition values so as to achieve target values of the fuel use characteristic.

8. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
determining at least one optimum time or time interval for the refueling process as a function of the peripheral condition and one or more optimization criteria.

9. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
determining a current composition of fuel in a fuel tank of the vehicle;
optimizing the target value of the fuel parameter as a function of the peripheral condition values, including predicted peripheral condition values, and one or more predefined optimization criteria; and
determining, for the refueling, proportions of various fuel types and/or mixture ratios of predefined fuel components for achieving the optimized target value, as a function of the current composition of fuel in the fuel tank and at least one fuel component.

10. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
determining at least one of the following as a function of the profile data record: a state of wear and/or a change in the state of wear of one or more vehicle components, a degree of wear and/or a change in the degree of wear of one or more vehicle components, and a remaining service life and/or a change in the remaining service life of one or more vehicle components.

11. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the fuel use characteristic indicates a degree of wear and/or of consumption and/or a reduction in a remaining service life of a vehicle component.

12. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the peripheral condition is a state and/or a remaining service life of one or more vehicle components of the vehicle.

13. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the peripheral condition is an energetic efficiency level of the fuel use process.

14. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the target value of fuel parameter is determined as a function of authentication and/or compatibility testing of the respective profile data records.

15. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
determining a set of settings changes for the fuel use process as a function of the respective profile data records; and
determining the target value of the fuel parameter as a function of the set of settings changes.

16. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
determining a further profile, including a further profile data record, for a further vehicle as a function of the profile data record of the vehicle and/or the respective profile data records, and a predefined conversion data record, wherein a vehicle type of the further vehicle differs from a vehicle type of the first vehicle.

17. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
interpolating and/or extrapolating the profile data record so as to determine values of the peripheral condition; and
determining the target value of the fuel parameter as a function of the interpolated and/or extrapolated profile data record.

18. The method according to claim 2 , further comprising the acts of:
determining values of the fuel parameter; and
determining, on a basis of iterative optimization, a global optimum of the fuel use characteristic, for at least two optimization criteria, as a function of the fuel parameter.

19. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the fuel parameter reflects at least one fuel use byproduct and/or reflects an information item representative of handling the at least one fuel use byproduct.

20. The method according to claim 2 , further comprising:
determining the fuel use characteristic as a function of a predefined statistical function which represents one or more static relationships between:
at least two fuel parameters, and/or
at least two peripheral conditions, and/or
at least one fuel parameter and at least one peripheral condition determined during a plurality of fuel use phases.

21. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
the fuel use characteristic by sensing one or more variables representative of: at least one exhaust gas characteristic variable, a torque characteristic curve actually reached, at least one detection variable of a knocking sensor of an internal combustion engine of the vehicle, and/or one or more ignition angles and/or ignition times.

22. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
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Assignees

• Bayerische Motoren Werke Ag

Inventors

• Augst Alexander

Classifications

• H04M1/724098

  Interfacing with an on-board device of a vehicle (for hands-free speaking in vehicles H04M1/6075) · CPC title

• H04M1/72412

  using two-way short-range wireless interfaces · CPC title

• F02D41/021 Primary

  Introducing corrections for particular conditions exterior to the engine (conjoint control of vehicle sub-units for propelling the vehicle B60W30/18) · CPC title

• F02D41/2487

  Methods for rewriting · CPC title

• F02D41/2451

  characterised by what is learned or calibrated · CPC title