Apparatus and method for electrical power management in a vehicle system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9868410-B2
Application number	US-201514672313-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 30, 2015
Priority date	Mar 30, 2015
Publication date	Jan 16, 2018
Grant date	Jan 16, 2018

Abstract

An electric power management system for a vehicle includes a first power bus arranged in parallel with a second power bus between first and second nodes. A third power bus couples a first battery and an auxiliary load at the second node. The second power bus couples a starter, a second battery and a generator at the first node, and selectively couples the first node to the second node when a first switch is activated. The second battery couples to the first node when a second switch is activated and the engine starter couples to the first node when a starter switch is activated. The second power bus couples the first node to the second node when a third switch is activated. A controller monitors states of charge of the first battery and the second battery and controls activations of the first switch, the second switch and the third switch.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An electric power management system for supplying electric power in a vehicle including an internal combustion engine and a generator, comprising:
a first power bus arranged electrically in parallel with a second power bus between first and second nodes;
a third power bus electrically coupling a first battery and an auxiliary load at the second node;
the second power bus electrically coupling an engine starter, a second battery and a generator at the first node, and selectively electrically coupling the first node to the second node when a first switch is activated, wherein the second battery electrically couples to the first node when a second switch is activated and wherein the engine starter electrically couples to the first node when a starter switch is activated;
the second power bus electrically coupling the first node to the second node when a third switch is activated;
a controller monitoring states of charge of the first battery and the second battery; and
the controller controlling the activations of the first switch, the second switch and the third switch in response to a preferred operating mode and the states of charge of the first battery and the second battery.

2. The electric power management system of claim 1 , wherein the controller controlling the activations of the first switch, the second switch and the third switch in response to a preferred powertrain operating mode comprises the controller activating the third switch and deactivating the first and second switches during a cold engine cranking event.

3. The electric power management system of claim 1 , wherein the controller controlling the activations of the first switch, the second switch and the third switch in response to a preferred powertrain operating mode comprises the controller activating the first switch and deactivating the second and third switches during engine idling when the state of charge of the first battery is less than a minimum threshold state of charge.

4. The electric power management system of claim 1 , wherein the controller controlling the activations of the first switch, the second switch and the third switch in response to a preferred powertrain operating mode comprises the controller deactivating the first, second and third switches during vehicle acceleration when the state of charge of the first battery is greater than a minimum threshold state of charge.

5. The electric power management system of claim 4 , wherein the controller controlling the activations of the first switch, the second switch and the third switch in response to a preferred powertrain operating mode comprises the controller activating the first switch and deactivating the second and third switches during vehicle acceleration only when the state of charge of the first battery is less than the minimum threshold state of charge.

6. The electric power management system of claim 1 , wherein the controller controlling the activations of the first switch, the second switch and the third switch in response to a preferred powertrain operating mode comprises the controller activating the first switch and deactivating the second and third switches during vehicle cruising.

7. The electric power management system of claim 1 , wherein the controller controlling the activations of the first switch, the second switch and the third switch in response to a preferred powertrain operating mode comprises the controller activating the first switch and deactivating the second and third switches during an opportunity charging mode when the state of charge of the first battery is less than a first minimum threshold state of charge and the state of charge of the second battery is greater than a second minimum threshold state of charge.

8. The electric power management system of claim 1 , wherein the controller controlling the activations of the first switch, the second switch and the third switch in response to a preferred powertrain operating mode comprises the controller activating the second switch and deactivating the first and third switches during an opportunity charging mode when the state of charge of the first battery is greater than a first minimum threshold state of charge and the state of charge of the second battery is less than a second minimum threshold state of charge.

9. The electric power management system of claim 1 , wherein the controller controlling the activations of the first switch, the second switch and the third switch in response to a preferred powertrain operating mode comprises the controller deactivating the third switch and activating the first and second switches during an opportunity charging mode when the state of charge of the first battery is less than a first minimum threshold state of charge and the state of charge of the second battery is less than a second minimum threshold state of charge.

10. The electric power management system of claim 1 , wherein the controller controlling the activations of the first switch, the second switch and the third switch in response to a preferred powertrain operating mode comprises the controller activating the first switch and deactivating the second and third switches during a coasting-charging mode when the state of charge of the first battery is less than a first minimum threshold state of charge and the state of charge of the second battery is greater than a second minimum threshold state of charge.

11. The electric power management system of claim 1 , wherein the controller controlling the activations of the first switch, the second switch and the third switch in response to a preferred powertrain operating mode comprises the controller activating the second switch and deactivating the first and third switches during a coasting-charging mode when the state of charge of the first battery is greater than a first minimum threshold state of charge and the state of charge of the second battery is less than a second minimum threshold state of charge.

12. The electric power management system of claim 1 , wherein the controller controlling the activations of the first switch, the second switch and the third switch in response to a preferred powertrain operating mode comprises the controller deactivating the third switch and activating the first and second switches during a coasting-charging mode when the state of charge of the first battery is less than a first minimum threshold state of charge and the state of charge of the second battery is less than a second minimum threshold state of charge.

13. The electric power management system of claim 1 , wherein the controller controlling the activations of the first switch, the second switch and the third switch in response to a preferred powertrain operating mode comprises the controller activating the second switch and deactivating the first and third switches during an autostart mode when a state of charge of the second battery is greater than a second minimum threshold state of charge.

14. The electric power management system of claim 1 , wherein the controller controlling the activations of the first switch, the second switch and the third switch in response to a preferred powertrain operating mode comprises the controller activating the first switch and deactivating the second and third switches during an autostop mode when a state of charge of the first battery is greater than a second minimum threshold state of charge.

15. The electric power management system of claim 1 , wherein the controller controlling the activations of the first switch, the second switch and the third switch in response to a preferred powertrain operating mode c

Assignees

• Gm Global Tech Operations Llc

Inventors

• Namuduri Chandra S
• Gopalakrishnan Suresh
• Atluri Venkata Prasad

Classifications

• F02N11/08

  Circuits specially adapted for starting of engines · CPC title

• B60R16/033 Primary

  characterised by the use of electrical cells or batteries (for propulsion puposes B60K1/04; supplying batteries to, or removing batteries from, vehicles B60S5/06; testing of charge state G01R31/36) · CPC title

• F02N11/04

  the motors being associated with current generators · CPC title

• F02N11/0818

  Conditions for starting or stopping the engine or for deactivating the idle-start-stop mode · CPC title

• F02N11/0866

  comprising several power sources, e.g. battery and capacitor or two batteries · CPC title