# US 10,245,970 B2 · Variable power outlet and maximum speed in drive mode > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,245,970 B2 - Document ID: US10245970B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/246,168 - Filed: 2016-08-24 - Published: 2016-12-15 - Granted: 2019-04-02 - Earliest claimed: 2012-04-13 - Assignees: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. - Applicants: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. - Inventors: Christopher Gregg; Hidetoshi Kusumi - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10245970B2 ## CPC - B60L 15/20: for control of the vehicle or its driving motor to achieve a desired performance, e.g. speed, torque, programmed variation of speed - F02D 11/105: {characterised by the function converting demand to actuation, e.g. a map indicating relations between an accelerator pedal position and throttle valve opening or target engine torque} - F02D 28/00: Program control of engines - F02D 41/10: for acceleration - B60L 2250/26: by pedal actuation - F02D 41/2422: {Selective use of one or more tables} - F02D 2200/60: said parameters being related to the driver demands or status - F02D 2200/602: Pedal position - F02D 2200/604: Engine control mode selected by driver, e.g. to manually start particle filter regeneration or to select driving style - F02D 2200/606: Driving style, e.g. sporty or economic driving - Y02T 10/72: Electric energy management in electromobility - B60L: PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (arrangements or mounting of electrical propulsion units or of plural diverse prime-movers for mutual or common propulsion in vehicles B60K1/00, B60K6/20; arrangements or mounting of electrical gearing in vehicles B60K17/12, B60K17/14; preventing wheel slip by reducing power in rail vehicles B61C15/08; dynamo-electric machines H02K; control or regulation of electric motors H02P); SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (electric coupling devices combined with mechanical couplings of vehicles B60D1/64; electric heating for vehicles B60H1/00); ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL (control or regulation of electric motors H02P); MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES - F02D: CONTROLLING COMBUSTION ENGINES (vehicle fittings, acting on a single sub-unit only, for automatically controlling vehicle speed B60K31/00; conjoint control of vehicle sub-units of different type or different function, road vehicle drive control systems for purposes other than the control of a single sub-unit B60W) - Y02T: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION ## Abstract A variable power drive mode system for a vehicle. The system includes a pedal, a processor, an engine or other vehicle power source for moving the vehicle and a battery. The processor of the vehicle determines, either automatically or based upon user input, a desired drive mode for the vehicle. A memory connected with the processor stores different data corresponding to the different drive modes determinable by the processor for the vehicle. The processor uses the different data stored in memory in combination with a position of the pedal to control the engine or other vehicle power source to generate power in accordance with the determined drive mode. Certain drive modes may provide for more aggressive driving profiles at the expense of fuel efficiency or fuel consumption when compared to other drive modes. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A vehicle comprising: an accelerator pedal configured to be positioned between an at-rest position corresponding to a minimum power request and a maximum displacement position corresponding to a maximum power request; an input device configured to receive a selection of a drive mode including a first drive mode, a second drive mode or a third drive mode; a power source configured to generate power; and an engine control unit (ECU) coupled to the accelerator pedal, the input device, and the power source and configured to control the power source to provide a greater acceleration rate when the second drive mode is selected than when the first drive mode is selected for accelerator pedal positions greater than the at-rest position and less than the maximum displacement position, wherein a relationship between positions of the accelerator pedal and power output by the power source is non-linear for the first drive mode, the power source providing the same limited maximum power output when the accelerator pedal is positioned at the maximum displacement position and the first drive mode is selected as when the accelerator pedal is positioned at the maximum displacement position and the second drive mode is selected, the same limited maximum power output being less than a maximum power output when the accelerator pedal is positioned at the maximum displacement position and the third drive mode is selected. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The vehicle of claim 1 wherein the engine control unit is configured to: determine whether there is a change in the drive mode based on a weather condition or road condition. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The vehicle of claim 1 further comprising a memory configured to store a pedal map having a first set of data that correlates positions of the accelerator pedal with amounts of fuel or electricity provided to the power source when the first drive mode is selected and having a second set of data that correlates the positions of the accelerator pedal with other amounts of fuel or electricity provided to the power source when the second drive mode is selected. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The vehicle of claim 3 wherein a relationship between the positions of the accelerator pedal and the amounts of fuel or electricity provided to the power source in the first set of data is non-linear. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The vehicle of claim 1 wherein the ECU is further configured to control the power source to generate more power when the third drive mode is selected and the accelerator pedal is positioned at the maximum displacement position than when the second drive mode is selected and the accelerator pedal is positioned at the maximum displacement position. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The vehicle of claim 1 wherein the first drive mode is an Eco mode and the second drive mode is a normal mode. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The vehicle of claim 1 wherein the ECU is further configured to select the first drive mode or the second drive mode based on at least one of a default drive mode, a preferred drive mode of a user, or a previously-used drive mode. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The vehicle of claim 1 further comprising a pedal sensor coupled to the ECU and to the accelerator pedal and configured to detect a current position of the accelerator pedal and to transmit the detected current position of the accelerator pedal to the ECU. ### Claim 9 A system for providing multiple acceleration characteristics to a vehicle comprising: a pedal configured to be positioned between a first position corresponding to a low power request and a second position corresponding to a high power request; a pedal sensor configured to detect a current position of the pedal; an input device configured to receive a request to switch a drive mode among a first drive mode, a second drive mode or a third drive mode; a power source configured to generate power; and an engine control unit (ECU) coupled to the pedal sensor, the input device, and the power source and configured to control the power source to provide a greater acceleration rate when the drive mode is the second drive mode and the current position of the pedal is a third position that is between the first position and the second position than when the drive mode is the first drive mode and the current position of the pedal is the third position, wherein a relationship between positions of the pedal and acceleration provided by the power source is non-linear for at least one of the first drive mode or the second drive mode, the power source providing the same limited maximum power output when the pedal is positioned at the second position and the drive mode is the first drive mode as when the pedal is positioned at the second position and the drive mode is the second drive mode, the same limited maximum power output being less than a maximum power output when the pedal is positioned at the second position and the drive mode is the third drive mode. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The system of claim 9 further comprising a memory configured to store a pedal map having a first set of data that correlates the positions of the pedal with amounts of power generated by the power source when the first drive mode is selected and having a second set of data that correlates the positions of the pedal with other amounts of power generated by the power source when the second drive mode is selected. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The system of claim 10 wherein a relationship between the positions of the pedal and the amounts of power generated by the power source in the first set of data is non-linear. ### Claim 12 (depends on 9) The system of claim 9 wherein the ECU is further configured to control the power source to generate more power when the drive mode is the second drive mode and the current position of the pedal is the second position than when the drive mode is the first drive mode and the current position of the pedal is the second position. ### Claim 13 (depends on 9) The system of claim 9 wherein the first drive mode is an Eco mode and the second drive mode is a normal mode. ### Claim 14 (depends on 9) The system of claim 9 wherein the ECU is further configured to cause the drive mode to be the second drive mode when the vehicle is started. ### Claim 15 A method for controlling power output of a vehicle comprising: determining, by an engine control unit (ECU), a current position of an accelerator pedal between an at-rest position corresponding to a minimum power request and a maximum displacement position corresponding to a maximum power request; receiving, via an input device, a selection of a sport drive mode, a normal drive mode or an Eco drive mode; and controlling, by the ECU, a motor of the vehicle to generate more power when the normal drive mode is selected and the current position of the accelerator pedal is a third position that is between the at-rest position and the maximum displacement position than when the Eco drive mode is selected and the current position of the accelerator pedal is the third position, wherein a relationship between positions of the accelerator pedal and power output by the motor is non-linear for at least one of the Eco drive mode or the normal drive mode, wherein the motor of the vehicle generates the same limited maximum power when the accelerator pedal is positioned at the maximum displacement position and the normal drive mode is selected as when the accelerator pedal is positioned at the maximum displacement position and the Eco drive mode is selected, the same limited maximum power being less than a maximum power when the accelerator pedal is positioned at the maximum displacement position and the sport drive mode is selected. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The method of claim 15 further comprising storing, in a memory, a pedal map having a normal set of data that correlates the positions of the accelerator pedal with amounts of electricity provided to the motor when the normal drive mode is selected and an Eco set of data that correlates the positions of the accelerator pedal with other amounts of electricity provided to the motor when the Eco drive mode is selected. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16 wherein a relationship between the positions of the accelerator pedal and the amounts of electricity provided to the motor in the Eco set of data is non-linear. ### Claim 18 (depends on 15) The method of claim 15 further comprising controlling, by the ECU, the motor to generate more power when the normal drive mode is selected and the current position of the accelerator pedal is the maximum displacement position than when the Eco drive mode is selected and the current position of the accelerator pedal is the maximum displacement position. ### Claim 19 (depends on 15) The method of claim 15 further comprising selecting, by the ECU, a current drive mode based on at least one of a default drive mode, a preferred drive mode of a user, or a previously-used drive mode. ### Claim 20 (depends on 15) The method of claim 15 further comprising controlling, by the ECU, the motor to generate more power when the sport drive mode is selected and the current position of the accelerator pedal is the third position than when the selection of the normal drive mode is received and the current position of the accelerator pedal is the third position.