Systems and methods for improving energy efficiency of a vehicle based on route prediction

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9702718-B2
Application number	US-201514708051-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 8, 2015
Priority date	May 8, 2015
Publication date	Jul 11, 2017
Grant date	Jul 11, 2017

Abstract

A hybrid vehicle includes one or more processors, a memory, an engine, a battery, and a motor. The motor is configured to utilize electrical energy stored in the battery for powering a movement of the wheels or an operation of the hybrid vehicle. A memory stores route data and corresponding vehicle operation data. The one or more processors predict, based on the route data, that the hybrid vehicle will travel on a second route after travelling on a first route. The one or more processors predict, based on the vehicle operation data, that the state of charge (SOC) of the battery will reach or exceed a threshold value during the second route. The one or more processors set a target SOC for the battery. The one or more processors discharge the electrical energy stored in the battery during the first route based on the target SOC value.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A hybrid vehicle, comprising:
wheels;
an engine for providing a first amount of power for at least one of a movement of the wheels or an operation of the hybrid vehicle; a battery having a state of charge and storing electrical energy;
a motor configured to utilize the electrical energy from the battery and for providing a second amount of power for at least one of the movement of the wheels or the operation of the hybrid vehicle;
a memory for storing route data, a charging limitation event that indicates when the state of charge of the battery is greater than or equal to a maximum threshold value where the battery is unable to accept an additional charge for capture, and a duration and a distance where the state of charge is at or above the maximum threshold value and the additional charge is available; and
an electronic control unit coupled to at least the engine, the motor, and the memory, the electronic control unit configured to:
predict that the hybrid vehicle will travel on a second route after travelling on a first route based on the route data,
predict that the state of charge of the battery will be greater than or equal to the maximum threshold value during the second route based on the charging limitation event,
determine a target value for the state of charge of the battery for the first route that is less than the maximum threshold value based on the stored duration and the stored distance where the state of charge was at or above the maximum threshold value and the additional charge was available, and
discharge the electrical energy stored in the battery during at least a portion of the first route to decrease the state of charge of the battery to the target value or less by powering the movement of the wheels using the motor to allow the battery to capture the additional charge when the hybrid vehicle travels the second route.

2. The hybrid vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the second route was previously travelled after the first route was travelled, and the second route is driven after a time period during which the hybrid vehicle is in an off state.

3. The hybrid vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the route data includes location data corresponding to at least a start location of the first route, an end location of the first route, a start location of the second route, and an end location of the second route, and
wherein the electronic control unit is configured to predict that the hybrid vehicle will travel on the second route after travelling on the first route based on the location data.

4. The hybrid vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the electronic control unit is configured to discharge the electrical energy when the electronic control unit determines that the hybrid vehicle is travelling on the first route and is within a discharge distance before a start location of the second route to allow the battery to reach the target value before the hybrid vehicle reaches the start location of the second route.

5. The hybrid vehicle of claim 4 , wherein the electronic control unit is configured to determine the discharge distance based on at least one of:
a distance between the start location of the second route and a location at which the state of charge of the battery is greater than or equal to the maximum threshold value,
a time period between a start time of the second route and a time at which the state of charge of the battery is greater than or equal to the maximum threshold value,
a time period or distance during which the state of charge of the battery is greater than or equal to the maximum threshold value, or
a time period or distance during which the hybrid vehicle travels on a substantially flat or uphill surface before reaching the location at which the state of charge of the battery is greater than or equal to the maximum threshold value.

6. The hybrid vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the electronic control unit is configured to predict that the hybrid vehicle will travel on the second route after travelling on the first route further based on a number of times the hybrid vehicle has travelled on the second route after the first route as compared with a number of times the hybrid vehicle has travelled on another route after the first route.

7. The hybrid vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the electronic control unit is further configured to:
determine that the hybrid vehicle is traveling on the first route,
determine that the state of charge of the battery is greater than or equal to the maximum threshold value, and
store the charging limitation event corresponding to the first route in the memory, and
wherein the electronic control unit is configured to discharge the electrical energy stored in the battery further based on the charging limitation event.

8. The hybrid vehicle of claim 7 , further comprising a regenerative braking unit configured to store the electrical energy in the battery when the hybrid vehicle decelerates in response to braking,
wherein the charging limitation event occurs when the battery is unable to store the electrical energy generated by the regenerative braking unit and the state of charge of the battery is greater than or equal to the maximum threshold value.

9. The hybrid vehicle of claim 7 , further comprising a sensor configured to detect a battery temperature,
wherein the electronic control unit is configured to store the charging limitation event in the memory when the electronic control unit determines that inability of the battery to store the electrical energy is due to the state of charge of the battery being greater than or equal to the maximum threshold value and not due to overheating of the battery based on the state of charge of the battery and the battery temperature.

10. The hybrid vehicle of claim 7 , wherein the electronic control unit is configured to discharge the electrical energy stored in the battery to prevent the charging limitation event when the battery is greater than or equal to the maximum threshold value within a threshold distance from a start location of the second route.

11. The hybrid vehicle of claim 1 , wherein each of the first route and the second route begins when the hybrid vehicle is started and set to an on state and ends when the hybrid vehicle is shut off and set to an off state, and
wherein each of the first route and the second route include a plurality of route segments, the plurality of route segments determined based on at least turning of a steering wheel of the hybrid vehicle.

12. A system for optimizing energy efficiency of a hybrid vehicle, the system comprising:
an engine for providing a first amount of power for at least one of a movement of the hybrid vehicle or an operation of a device of the hybrid vehicle;
a battery having a state of charge and storing electrical energy;
a motor configured to utilize the electrical energy from the battery and for providing a second amount of power for the at least one of the movement of the hybrid vehicle or the operation of the device of the hybrid vehicle;
a memory for storing route data, a charging limitation event that indicates when the state of charge of the battery is greater than or equal to a maximum threshold value where the battery is unable to accept an additional charge for capture, and a duration and a distance where the state of charge is at or above the maximum threshold value and the additional charge is available; and
a navigation unit having a processor communicatively coupled to the memory and configured to:
predict that the hybrid vehicle will travel on a second route after travelling on a first route based on the route data, and
predict that the state of charge of the battery will

Assignees

• Toyota Motor Eng & Mfg North America Inc

Inventors

• Payne Joshua D
• Dufford Mohammad E

Classifications

• B60L58/13

  Maintaining the SoC within a determined range · CPC title

• B60L58/24

  for controlling the temperature of batteries · CPC title

• B60L2240/645

  Type of road · CPC title

• B60L2210/40

  DC to AC converters · CPC title

• B60L2240/549

  Current · CPC title