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US 8,569,908 B2Granted
Hybrid vehicle with immobilizer
AssigneeAudi AG
InventorsJohann Graf, Martin Steinbrueck
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
In a hybrid vehicle which has a plurality of drives, of which in particular one drive is a combustion engine and the other is an electric drive, all the drive control units, if appropriate even a transmission control unit, require enabling by an immobilizer control unit before the first control unit outputs control commands to communicate a torque request, input by a vehicle driver.
Claims7
A method for operating a motor vehicle, comprising:
- detecting, at an immobilizer control unit, whether a condition has been satisfied;
- communicating that the condition has been satisfied by sending a signal from the immobilizer control unit;
- individually activating each of a plurality of drives of the motor vehicle by outputting control signals from an associated drive control unit, the plurality of drives comprising an internal combustion engine, each of the plurality of drives being individually activated only when the immobilizer control unit has detected satisfaction of the condition within a specific time period which has not yet expired;
- in response to a predetermined situation, determining at a master control unit whether to activate each individual drive which was previously inactive, the master control unit acting as a hybrid control unit;
- when all drives were previously inactive, ensuring that each of the drive control units has received the signal from the immobilizer control unit before a first of the drive control units begins to output control signals for activation;
- and
- after a predetermined time period of inactivity less than the specific time period, briefly activating the internal combustion engine by outputting control signals from the associated drive control unit.
4 more elements
A method for operating a motor vehicle, comprising:
- detecting, at an immobilizer control unit, whether a condition has been satisfied;
- communicating that the condition has been satisfied by sending a signal from the immobilizer control unit;
- individually activating each of a plurality of drives of the motor vehicle by outputting control signals from an associated drive control unit, the plurality of drives comprising an internal combustion engine, each of the plurality of drives being individually activated only when the immobilizer control unit has detected satisfaction of the condition within a specific time period which has not yet expired;
- in response to a predetermined situation, determining at a master control unit whether to activate each individual drive which was previously inactive, the master control unit acting as a hybrid control unit;
- when all drives were previously inactive, ensuring that each of the drive control units has received the signal from the immobilizer control unit before a first of the drive control units begins to output control signals for activation;
- and
- after a predetermined time period of inactivity, briefly activating the internal combustion engine by outputting control signals from the associated drive control unit;
- wherein the drive control unit for the internal combustion engine also serves as the master control unit,
- each control unit must transmit an interrogation signal to the immobilizer control unit before reception of the signal from the immobilizer control unit, which signal communicates that the condition has been satisfied, thereby permitting the associated drive to be activated, and
- ensuring that each of the drive control units has received the signal from the immobilizer control unit before a first of the drive control units begins to output control signals for activation, comprises:
- when the master control unit outputs the interrogation signal to the immobilizer control unit, the master control unit also communicates to the other control units, using a separate signal, that the interrogation signal has been output;
- and
- upon receiving the separate signal from the master control unit, the other drive control units each transmit an interrogation signal to the immobilizer control unit.
10 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.