Power usage planning system and method for vehicle air compressor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2025035103-A1
Application number	US-202318360350-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jul 27, 2023
Priority date	Jul 27, 2023
Publication date	Jan 30, 2025
Grant date	—

Abstract

A system and method to control operation of an air compressor of a vehicle is disclosed. The system may include a transceiver and a processor communicatively coupled with each other. The transceiver may be configured to receive vehicle information from a vehicle control unit. The vehicle information may include a vehicle type and real-time vehicle operational parameters. The processor may obtain the vehicle information from the transceiver and determine that a predefined condition may be met based on the vehicle type and the real-time vehicle operational parameters. The processor may further control an air compressor operation based on the vehicle type and the real-time vehicle operational parameters, responsive to determining that the predefined condition may be met.

First claim

That which is claimed is:

1 . A system to control operation of an air compressor of a vehicle, the system comprising:
a transceiver configured to receive vehicle information from a vehicle control unit, wherein the vehicle information comprises a vehicle type and real-time vehicle operational parameters; and a processor communicatively coupled with the transceiver and the air compressor, wherein the processor is configured to:
obtain the vehicle information from the transceiver;
determine that a predefined condition is met based on the vehicle type and the real-time vehicle operational parameters; and
control an air compressor operation responsive to determining that the predefined condition is met.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the vehicle further comprises an air storage tank.

3 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the air compressor is configured to supply compressed air to the air storage tank, and wherein the air storage tank is configured to store the compressed air and supply the compressed air to an external tool.

4 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
determine that the predefined condition is met when the vehicle type is an electric vehicle and the vehicle is connected to an electric charger, based on the real-time vehicle operational parameters; and control the air compressor operation to fill the air storage tank with compressed air at a first predefined pressure responsive to determining that the vehicle is connected to the electric charger.

5 . The system of claim 4 , wherein the first predefined pressure is 150 Pound-force per square inch (psi).

6 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
obtain an air compressor activation request; responsive to obtaining the air compressor activation request, determine that the predefined condition is met when the vehicle type is an electric vehicle and a vehicle battery state of charge (SoC) is less than a predefined SoC threshold, based on the real-time vehicle operational parameters; and cause the air compressor to fill the air storage tank with compressed air at a second predefined pressure responsive to determining that the vehicle battery SoC is less than the predefined SoC threshold.

7 . The system of claim 6 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
determine an expected vehicle range based on the vehicle battery SoC when the air compressor operates to fill the air storage tank with the compressed air at the second predefined pressure; and output a notification comprising the expected vehicle range.

8 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
obtain an air compressor activation request; responsive to obtaining the air compressor activation request, determine that the predefined condition is met when the vehicle type is an Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicle and a vehicle engine is operational based on the real-time vehicle operational parameters; and cause the air compressor to fill the air storage tank with compressed air at a third predefined pressure responsive to determining that the vehicle engine is operational.

9 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine that the predefined condition is met when a load shedding is not operational in the vehicle.

10 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
obtain an air compressor activation request; responsive to obtaining the air compressor activation request, determine that the predefined condition is met when the vehicle type is an ICE vehicle and a vehicle engine is not operational based on the real-time vehicle operational parameters; and cause the air compressor to operate for a predefined time duration responsive to determining that the vehicle engine is not operational.

11 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured to output a notification comprising an air compressor operation time duration.

12 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
obtain a vehicle geolocation based on the real-time vehicle operational parameters; determine that the vehicle is travelling in a predefined first geographical area based on the vehicle geolocation; and disable air compressor operation responsive to determining that the vehicle is travelling in the predefined first geographical area.

13 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
determine that the vehicle is entering a predefined second geographical area based on the vehicle geolocation; and cause the air compressor to operate at a maximum operating capacity responsive to determining that the vehicle is entering the predefined second geographical area.

14 . The system of claim 3 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
obtain inputs from a vehicle sensor suite; determine an external tool type and a type of task being performed by the external tool based on the inputs obtained from the vehicle sensor suite; determine an expected time duration for air compressor operation to complete the task using the external tool based on the external tool type and the type of task; and output a first recommendation when the expected time duration is less than a predefined threshold and a second recommendation when the expected time duration is greater than the predefined threshold.

15 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the first recommendation comprises performing the task by using the compressed air stored in the air storage tank.

16 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the second recommendation comprises at least one of:
performing the task by using the compressed air stored in the air storage tank and operating the air compressor by using a vehicle battery; and performing the task by operating the air compressor by using a vehicle engine.

17 . A method to control operation of an air compressor of a vehicle, the method comprising:
obtaining, by a processor, vehicle information from a vehicle control unit, wherein the vehicle information comprises a vehicle type and real-time vehicle operational parameters; determining, by the processor, that a predefined condition is met based on the vehicle type and the real-time vehicle operational parameters; and control an air compressor operation responsive to determining that the predefined condition is met.

18 . The method of claim 17 further comprising:
determining that the predefined condition is met when the vehicle type is an electric vehicle and the vehicle is connected to an electric charger, based on the real-time vehicle operational parameters; and
controlling the air compressor operation to fill an air storage tank of the vehicle with compressed air at a first predefined pressure responsive to determining that the vehicle is connected to the electric charger.

19 . The method of claim 17 further comprising:
obtaining an air compressor activation request;
responsive to obtaining the air compressor activation request, determining that the predefined condition is met when the vehicle type is an electric vehicle and a vehicle battery state of charge (SoC) is less than a predefined SoC threshold, based on the real-time vehicle operational parameters; and
causing the air compressor to fill an air storage tank of the vehicle with compressed air at a second predefined pressure responsive to determining that the vehicle battery SoC is less than the predefined SoC threshold.

Assignees

• Ford Global Tech Llc

Inventors

• Salter Stuart C
• Diamond Brendan
• Ansbacher Todd
• Celinske David
• Shenoy Vyas Darshan

Classifications

• B60R16/03

  for supply of electrical power to vehicle subsystems {or for (circuit arrangements for charging batteries H02J7/00)} · CPC title

• B60L1/00

  Supplying electric power to auxiliary equipment of vehicles (circuit arrangements for charging batteries H02J7/00) · CPC title

• B25B21/02

  with means for imparting impact to screwdriver blade or nut socket · CPC title

• F04B49/06

  Control using electricity (regulating by means of floats actuating electric switches F04B49/04) · CPC title

• B60S5/046

  using electrical or electronical means · CPC title