Method and apparatus for controlling starting of liquefied petroleum injection engine of mild hybrid electric vehicle

An apparatus for controlling starting of a Liquefied Petroleum Injection (LPI) engine of a mild hybrid electric vehicle, comprising:

• an ignition switch including a first node and a second node;
• a pressure sensor for measuring a pressure of a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) fuel;
• an engine speed sensor for measuring a speed of the LPI engine;
• a controller connected to the ignition switch, the pressure sensor, and the engine speed sensor, and for controlling the starting the LPI engine;
• a mild hybrid starter & generator (MHSG) for starting the LPI engine or generating electricity according to an output of the LPI engine;
• and
• a fuel pump for pumping the LPG fuel,
• wherein the controller drives the fuel pump when the first node of the ignition switch is selected, performs an engine cranking operation by driving the MHSG when the second node of the ignition switch is selected, determines whether a cranking completion condition is satisfied while performing the engine cranking operation, compares a pressure of the LPG fuel with a target pressure when the engine cranking completion condition is satisfied, and controls the MHSG to generate a torque corresponding to an idle torque of the LPI engine when the pressure of the LPG fuel is less than the target pressure.