Patent Application
20080082247
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.
As shown in
In one embodiment, the engines 104, 106 are operated in response to a throttle position or rpm setting input sensor 112 which indicates the position of the throttle as controlled by the operator. In addition, there may be an optional operator engine start input 114 where the operator can directly or indirectly instruct the controller 102 (e.g., via a keypad) with regard to operation of the engines or termination of operation of the engines. In addition, a vehicle speed sensor 116 for indicating vehicle speed and/or a direction input sensor 118 for indicating desired direction of movement of the vehicle 100 may provide information to the controller 102.
In an embodiment when the first and second engines are not operating, the controller 102 will initiate operation of the first engine 104 when the throttle position or rpm setting input sensor 112 indicates that the throttle has been moved by the operator from one position (e.g., an idle position) to a position which requires additional power. For example, off-highway vehicles frequently have throttles with a notch positions idle, and 1-9 and controller 102 would initiate operation of the first engine 104 by signaling the engine start and stop control 108 when the throttle position or rpm setting sensor 112 senses movement of the throttle from position idle to position 1. As described herein, embodiment of the invention will be presented with reference to throttle notch positions. However, it is contemplated that any type of throttle configuration may be used in combination with embodiments of the invention.
In an embodiment when the first engine 104 of the off-highway vehicle 100 is operating and the second engine 106 is not operating, the operation of the second engine will be initiated by the controller 102 via engine control 108 when a set of operating conditions with regard to the first engine are met. As illustrated in
In particular, a flow chart illustrated in
In one embodiment, an output level of the first engine 104 may be indicated to the controller 102 by a brake output, such as indicated by a traction bus current sensor 128, a traction bus voltage sensor 130, an auxiliary bus current sensor 132 and an auxiliary bus voltage sensor 134, the corresponding sum of these sensors being indicative of the total output of the first engine 106 when the second engine 104 is not operating. Also, an isolation switch 136 which an operator may use to control the status of the vehicle 100 interfaces with the controller 102 to indicate vehicle status. In addition, the controller 102 may be responsive to the isolation switch 136 and control the vehicle in response thereto.
Referring to
A controller area network (CAN) 212 links a plurality of input/output (I/O) cards 214 and a controller card 216, each of which is powered by the power card 210. The I/O cards 214 interface with various systems of the vehicles, such as the air conditioner 138. The controller card 216 includes a processor or programmable logic controller (e.g., controller 102 which executes various applications 218 (instructions such as software) to control operation of the vehicle.
In one embodiment, the controller 216 includes a memory for storing the various operating statistics of each of the engines 220 of the vehicle 100. In another embodiment, a separate memory card 224 stores the operating statistics 226 and interfaces with the controller card 216 via the power card 210 and a bus 228 (such as an SPI bus). In one embodiment, it is contemplated that the memory card 224 would be connected to the power card 210 by a harness. One advantage to this configuration is that the memory card 224 is separate from the power card 210 and the controller card 216 so that replacing either of these cards does not require replacement of the memory card 224. As a result, the memory card 224, which maintains the operating statistics of the vehicle 100, remains with the vehicle even when the controller card 216 and/or the power card 210 is replaced or upgraded.
Referring to
It is contemplated that any operating statistic or a combination of operating statistics, either weighted or as raw data, may be evaluated by the controller 102 to determine which of the non-running engines should be started next. For example, if the operating statistics 226 stored in the memory 224 comprise the total run time of each of the plurality of engines, the controller 102 may be programmed to select the engine of plurality of engines that is not running and has the lowest total run time.
For example, the following one or more operating statistics may be stored in the memory and used by the controller 102 to select a particular engine to start:
In general, any one or more of the operating statistics noted above, or any others known to those skilled in the art may be stored in the memory 224 and used by the controller 102 to determine which engine to start.
In one embodiment, the controller 102 selects which engine to start as a function of the total hours and minutes each engine has been running. That is, the controller 102 selects the engine having that has been running for the lowest total of hours and minutes to be started.
In another embodiment, the controller uses a weighted average of the run time of each engine to determine which engine to select for starting. The weighted average corresponds to wear on an engine. An engine running at idle experiences less stress and wear than when running at its full rated output. Therefore, the amount of time that an engine is running at its full rated output has more influence on engine wear than the amount of time that the engine is running at idle. Accordingly, when determining which engine has less wear, the amount of time that an engine has been operated at each output level should be weighted differently. A weighted average for use with this embodiment may be calculated by, for example, multiplying the time at idle by 1, multiplying the time at 1300 rpm by 2, multiplying the time at 1500 rpm by 3, multiplying the time at 1800 rpm by 4, and totaling these products. This total for each engine may or may not be divided. The controller 102 selects the engine with the lowest weighted average for starting.
In one embodiment, if a particular generator is driving the auxiliary power bus 204, it may be preferable to first select the engine driving the particular generator so that auxiliary power will be available. Alternatively, an optional auxiliary switch 230 may be controlled, such as via bus 222, to associate an auxiliary power bus 204 with the particular generator and its engine.
In addition, in one embodiment, the controller 102 may determine which of the plurality of engines are running and select for shut down an engine of the plurality of engines as a function of the operating statistics 226 stored in the memory 224. In this embodiment, the engine with the most usage based on the operating statistics may be shutdown first. For example, the operating statistics stored in the memory may include the total run time of each of the plurality of engines and the controller 102 may be programmed to select the engine of plurality of engines that are running and has the highest total run time.
Thus, in one embodiment, as shown in
In another embodiment where a selected engine is driving the generator driving the auxiliary power bus, the controller 102 may control switch 230 to switch the auxiliary power bus to a different generator driven by different engine so that the selected engine can be shut down.
In some configurations with three (3) or more engines, one of the engines may be a primary engine which drives the auxiliary power bus generator and the remaining engines are secondary engines. In these configurations, the primary engine would be started first and stopped last. As a result, the controller would select an engine of the secondary engines for starting or stopping as a function of operating statistics stored in the memory. For example, the secondary engine having the highest operating time could be selected for shut down when one of the plurality of engines is no longer needed.
In general, any one or more of the operating statistics noted above, or any others known to those skilled in the art may be stored in the memory 224 and used by the controller 102 to determine which engine to shut down.
As noted above, in one embodiment it is contemplated that the memory 224 be separate from controller, power card and/or other components and removable separately from the other components. Thus, for example, the controller, power card and/or other components can be replaced without replacing the memory. As a result, the memory continues to be associated with the off-highway vehicle and maintains cumulative operating statistics of the off-highway vehicle independent of changes to the controller 216, applications 218 and/or any other components.
In one example, the controller is part of a controller card and the memory comprises a memory card separate from the controller card. Optionally, the controller card and the memory card may communicate via a controller area network bus 212 and/or the power card 210.
In an embodiment, the auxiliary bus receives power from an operating engine and provides power to auxiliary systems of the off-highway vehicle. The switch 230 may be a switch matrix controlled by the controller for selectively connecting the auxiliary bus to the generator driven by the operating engine. A power card receives power from the auxiliary bus, converting the received power to a form compatible with the controller card and the memory card, and providing the converted power to the controller card and the memory card.
In general, any one or more of the operating statistics noted above, or any others known to those skilled in the art may be stored in the memory 224 and used by the controller 102 to determine which engine to start or shut down and/or how to control switch 230.
The controller described herein for executing instructions embodying methods of the present invention may be a computer, a dedicated computing device, a network of computing devices, or any other similar device.
The order of execution or performance of the operations in embodiments of the invention illustrated and described herein is not essential, unless otherwise specified. That is, the operations may be performed in any order, unless otherwise specified, and embodiments of the invention may include additional or fewer operations than those disclosed herein. For example, it is contemplated that executing or performing a particular operation before, contemporaneously with, or after another operation is within the scope of aspects of the invention.
Embodiments of the invention may be implemented with computer-executable instructions. The computer-executable instructions may be organized into one or more computer-executable components or modules. Aspects of the invention may be implemented with any number and organization of such components or modules. For example, aspects of the invention are not limited to the specific computer-executable instructions or the specific components or modules illustrated in the figures and described herein. Other embodiments of the invention may include different computer-executable instructions or components having more or less functionality than illustrated and described herein.
When introducing elements of the present invention or the preferred embodiments(s) thereof, the articles “a”, “an”, “the” and “said” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising”, “including” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements.
In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results attained.
Having described aspects of the invention in detail, it will be apparent that modifications and variations are possible without departing from the scope of aspects of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
As various changes could be made in the above constructions, products, and methods without departing from the scope of aspects of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
