# US 8,569,908 B2 · Hybrid vehicle with immobilizer

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- Number: US 8,569,908 B2
- Document ID: US8569908B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 13/641,797
- Filed: 2011-04-15
- Published: 2013-04-18
- Granted: 2013-10-29
- Earliest claimed: 2010-04-17
- Assignees: Audi AG
- Applicants: Johann Graf; Martin Steinbrueck
- Inventors: Johann Graf; Martin Steinbrueck
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US8569908B2

## CPC

- B60W 20/00: Control systems specially adapted for hybrid vehicles {(hybrid vehicle design, B60K6/00; electric vehicles B60L)}
- B60R 25/04: operating on the propulsion system, e.g. engine or drive motor
- B60W 10/06: including control of combustion engines
- B60W 10/08: including control of electric propulsion units, e.g. motors or generators
- B60W 10/10: including control of change-speed gearings
- B60L 2240/486: Operating parameters
- B60W 2050/0045: {using databus protocols}
- B60W 2540/10: Accelerator pedal position
- B60W 2710/105: Output torque
- Y02T 10/62: Hybrid vehicles
- Y02T 90/16: Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles
- Y10S 903/902: Prime movers comprising electrical and internal combustion motors
- 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
- B60R: VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- 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
- Y02T: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION
- Y10S: TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS

## 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.

## Claims

### Claim 1

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.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein
the motor vehicle has a transmission control unit for outputting control signals to a transmission, and
the transmission control unit must have received the signal from the immobilizer control unit, which signal communicates that the condition has been satisfied, before the transmission control unit outputs control signals to the transmission.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein
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.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The method according to claim 3, wherein
in response to the predetermined situation, the master control unit outputs an interrogation signal to the immobilizer control unit, and
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.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein
the predetermined situation is present if a vehicle driver performs an operator control by which the vehicle driver requests for torque to be applied by the drives of the motor vehicle, and
the predetermined situation is present if an automatic control device requests for torque to be applied by the drives of the motor vehicle.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein
the plurality of drives comprise the internal combustion engine and an electric motor.

### Claim 7

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.