# US 10,479,347 B2 · Vehicle electrical circuit protection

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- Number: US 10,479,347 B2
- Document ID: US10479347B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/526,608
- Filed: 2015-11-18
- Published: 2017-12-14
- Granted: 2019-11-19
- Earliest claimed: 2014-11-24
- Assignees: Jaguar Land Rover Limited
- Applicants: Jaguar Land Rover Limited
- Inventors: Richard Wain
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10479347B2

## CPC

- B60L 3/12: Recording operating variables {; Monitoring of operating variables}
- B60L 3/0046: {relating to electric energy storage systems, e.g. batteries or capacitors}
- B60L 58/10: for monitoring or controlling batteries
- B60W 10/26: for electrical energy, e.g. batteries or capacitors
- B60W 20/15: Control strategies specially adapted for achieving a particular effect
- B60L 2240/54: related to batteries
- B60L 2250/00: Driver interactions
- B60L 2250/10: by alarm
- B60L 2250/16: by display
- B60L 2270/20: Inrush current reduction, i.e. avoiding high currents when connecting the battery
- Y02T 10/70: Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
- 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
- B60W: CONJOINT CONTROL OF VEHICLE SUB-UNITS OF DIFFERENT TYPE OR DIFFERENT FUNCTION; CONTROL SYSTEMS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR HYBRID VEHICLES; ROAD VEHICLE DRIVE CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR PURPOSES NOT RELATED TO THE CONTROL OF A PARTICULAR SUB-UNIT
- Y02T: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION

## Abstract

A method of protecting the high voltage DC bus of a hybrid vehicle as well as to a hybrid vehicle and controller configured to implement the method. The method involves detecting a plurality of requests to start the vehicle and, in response to at least the first request, precharging and energizing the high voltage DC bus without starting the engine. When one or more further requests are detected the engine is started and the high voltage DC bus is energized if each of the further requests is detected within a respective predetermined time interval from the preceding request. Starting the engine provides an audible feedback to the driver that the vehicle is ready for operation, thereby preventing overheating of the precharging circuit.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method of protecting an electrical circuit of a hybrid vehicle having an electrical circuit and an internal combustion engine, the method comprising: detecting a first request to start the vehicle and, in response thereto, energising the electrical circuit without starting the engine, detecting one or more subsequent requests to start the vehicle and, if each of the one or more subsequent requests to start the vehicle is detected within a respective predetermined time interval from a preceding request, starting the engine in response thereto.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

A method according to claim 1 comprising starting the engine before, after, or simultaneously with the energising of the electrical circuit.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

A method according to claim 1 comprising detecting a second request to start the vehicle within a first predetermined time interval from the first request but not starting the engine in response thereto, wherein the second request is one of the one or more subsequent requests to start the vehicle.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

A method according to claim 3 comprising detecting a third request to start the vehicle within a second predetermined time interval from the second request and, in response thereto, starting the engine, wherein the third request is one of the one or more subsequent requests to start the vehicle.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

A method according to claim 4, wherein the first and second predetermined time intervals are the same amount of time.

### Claim 6 (depends on 4)

A method according to claim 4, wherein the first and second predetermined time intervals are different.

### Claim 7 (depends on 3)

A method according to claim 3 comprising detecting a third request to start the vehicle within a second predetermined time interval from the second request but not starting the engine in response thereto, wherein the third request is one of the one or more subsequent requests to start the vehicle.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

A method according to claim 7 comprising detecting a fourth request to start the vehicle within a third predetermined time interval from the third request and, in response thereto, starting the engine, wherein the fourth request is one of the one or more subsequent requests to start the vehicle.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

A method according to claim 1 comprising precharging the electrical circuit.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

A method according to claim 1 comprising closing one or more contactors to energise the electrical circuit.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

A method according to claim 1, wherein the electrical circuit comprises a high voltage DC bus.

### Claim 12

A method of protecting an electrical circuit of a vehicle, the method comprising: detecting a first request to start the vehicle and, in response thereto, energising the electrical circuit, detecting one or more subsequent requests to start the vehicle and, if each of the one or more subsequent requests to start the vehicle is detected within a respective predetermined time interval from a preceding request, starting the vehicle and providing an audible indication to the driver that the vehicle has been started in response thereto.

### Claim 13

A hybrid vehicle comprising: an electrical circuit, an internal combustion engine and a control system, the control system being configured, in use, to energise the electrical circuit without starting the engine in response to a first request to start the vehicle and to start the engine and in response to one or more subsequent requests to start the vehicle if each of the one or more subsequent requests to start the vehicle is detected within a respective predetermined time interval from a preceding request.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

A vehicle according to claim 13 comprising one or more contactors for selectively connecting the electrical circuit to a battery of the vehicle.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

A vehicle according to claim 14 comprising a precharging means for precharging the electrical circuit before closing the one or more main contactors.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

A vehicle according to claim 15, wherein the precharging means comprises a precharging circuit for bypassing the one or more main contactors.

### Claim 17 (depends on 15)

A vehicle according to claim 15, wherein the system is configured to prevent the electrical circuit from being energised after a predetermined number of requests to start the vehicle is received if each of the second and subsequent requests to start the vehicle is detected within a respective predetermined time interval from a preceding request.

### Claim 18 (depends on 13)

A vehicle according to claim 13, wherein the electrical circuit comprises a high voltage DC bus.

### Claim 19 (depends on 1)

A non-transitory computer readable medium having a program stored thereon, where the program is arranged to make a computer execute a procedure to implement a method according to claim 1.

### Claim 20 (depends on 12)

A method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the respective predetermined time interval is a time interval that indicates the requests to start the vehicle are occurring too frequently and may cause overheating of the electrical circuit.