Vehicle control apparatus
AssigneeMitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorWataru Fukui
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A control apparatus for a vehicle equipped with an engine senses a condition indicating the capacity of the battery of the vehicle. When the capacity is below a prescribed level, the drive current to an actuator of the vehicle is adjusted to prevent the battery from becoming excessively discharged. In one form of the invention, the drive current is decreased to decrease the load on the battery. In another form of the invention, the actuator is controlled to increase the engine speed, thereby increasing the output of a generator driven by the engine. In another form of the invention, the actuator is controlled to stop the engine. When the engine is restarted, the initial rotational speed of the engine is high enough for the generator to recharge the battery.
Claims15
A control apparatus for a vehicle equipped with an engine comprising:
- an electrically powered actuator;
- condition sensing means for sensing a condition indicating a capacity of a battery of the vehicle;
- and
- actuator control means responsive to the condition sensing means for controlling a drive current for the actuator in accordance with the sensed condition of the battery, wherein the actuator control means comprises means for reducing the drive current for the actuator to a lower, finite, non-zero value when the capacity of the battery is below a prescribed level.
A control apparatus as claimed in claimed in 1 further comprising speed sensing means for sensing the rotational speed of the engine of the vehicle, wherein the actuator control means comprises means for reducing the drive current only when the rotational speed is below a prescribed speed.
A control apparatus as claimed in claim, 7 further comprising gear position sensing means for sensing a gear position of a transmission of the vehicle, wherein the actuator control means comprises means for adjusting the drive current to increase the engine speed only when the gear position sensing means senses that the transmission is in neutral.
A control method for a vehicle equipped with an engine comprising:
- sensing the capacity of a battery of the vehicle;
- and
- controlling a drive current for an electrically powered actuator for the vehicle according to the senses capacity, wherein the step of controlling the drive current comprises the step of decreasing the drive current for the actuator to a lower, finite, non-zero value when the sensed capacity of the battery is below a prescribed level.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.