US 9,239,815 B2 · Vehicle control system

Abstract

The present invention provides a vehicle control system, for example for use with an emergency services vehicle such as an ambulance, fire engine, police car or the like, and which provides enhanced security, functionality and improved fuel consumption for such vehicles when at the scene of a situation such as a fire, accident, or the like, the system being operable to permit an engine of the vehicle to remaining running while simultaneously immobilizing the vehicle. Furthermore when configurable parameters such as but not limited to battery levels and or internal vehicle temperatures are reached, such a control system, without any human interface, automatically shuts down the engine to reduce fuel burn, reduce emissions, reduce engine wear and maintenance and thereby promote a greener environment.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A vehicle control system configured to permit an engine of a vehicle to remain operational while immobilizing the vehicle, the system comprising:

one or more sensors operable to provide feedback regarding, and enable closed loop control of, one or more parameters of the vehicle;
the system being configured:
to maintain running operation of the engine after an ignition of the engine has been disabled,
to turn off the engine in response to one or more events detected by the one or more sensors only while the vehicle is immobilized,
without any human interface to automatically restart the engine, and
to control, closed loop, other vehicle systems based on the feedback from the one or more sensors regarding the one or more parameters of the vehicle state—while the running operation of the engine is maintained after the ignition of the engine has been disabled.

3 more elements

A vehicle control system configured to permit an engine of a vehicle to remain running while simultaneously immobilizing the vehicle in order to provide power to other vehicle systems while preventing unauthorized moving of the vehicle, the vehicle control system comprising:

one or more sensors operable to provide feedback regarding one or more parameters of the other vehicle systems, and
the vehicle control system being configured:
to maintain the engine in a running state after an ignition of the engine has been disabled in order to provide power from the engine to the other vehicle systems and to charge at least one vehicle battery which powers at least one of the other vehicle systems when the engine is not running, and
while the ignition is disabled, the vehicle control system is configured:
to immobilize the vehicle to prevent movement of the vehicle with the engine left in the running state,
to control, closed loop, the other vehicle systems based on the feedback from the one or more sensors regarding the one or more parameters of the other vehicle systems with the engine left in the running state,
to automatically turn the engine off from the running state in response to an event detected by the one or more sensors only while the vehicle is immobilized and without any human interface, and
to automatically restart the engine in response to one other event detected by the one or more sensors only while the vehicle is immobilized and without any human interface via the ignition.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Vehicle control system

Life of this patent

Vehicle control system

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20