Variable Displacement Engine Powertrain Fuel Economy Mode
AssigneeFord Global Technologies, LLC
InventorsAlex O'Connor Gibson, Ilya V. Kolmanovsky
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A vehicle drive system comprising of a variable displacement engine including a plurality of cylinders, where at least one of the plurality of cylinders selectively deactivates to decrease engine displacement; a torque converter operatively coupled to the variable displacement engine configured to operate with variable slip; a driver interface for receiving a preference setting from a driver; a control system for receiving the driver preference setting, and adjusting torque converter slip based on the driver preference setting.
Claims18
A vehicle drive system, comprising:
- a variable displacement engine including a plurality of cylinders, where at least one of
- the plurality of cylinders selectively deactivates to decrease engine displacement;
- a torque converter operatively coupled to the variable displacement engine configured to operate with variable slip;
- a
- a driver interface for receiving a preference setting from a driver;
- a control system for receiving the driver preference setting, and adjusting torque converter slip based on the driver preference setting.
A method for controlling vehicle operation including receiving a driver preference from a driver by a driver interface, the interface reflecting a preference for fuel economy and noise/vibration;
- and adjusting cylinder deactivation and torque converter slip based on the driver preference.
A method for controlling vehicle operating parameters of a variable displacement engine having a torque converter and a driver interface, comprising:
- sensing vehicle operating condition;
- selectively activating/deactivating one or more cylinders based on the vehicle operating condition and based on a drive preference setting selected by a driver through the driver interface;
- adjusting torque converter lock-up based on sensed vehicle operating conditions and based on said drive preference setting selected by said driver through the driver interface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.