Vehicle Energy Management System and Related Methods

Abstract

A vehicle is proposed to control regeneration and reuse of captured energy in a through-the-road hybrid configuration. The vehicle comprises a vehicle frame, an energy store, and a controller. The vehicle frame is configured for over-the-roadway travel under a power of plural drive axles. At least one of the plural drive axles is coupled via a primary drivetrain to a fuel-fed engine to drive at least a pair of wheels. At least one other of the plural drive axles is an electrically-powered drive axle configured to supply supplemental torque to additional wheels. The energy store is configured to supply the electrically-powered drive axle with electrical power in a first mode of operation and receive energy recovered using the electrically-powered drive axle in a second mode of operation. The controller is coupled between the electrically-powered drive axle and one or more sensor inputs to transition between different modes of operation.

1 - 24 . (canceled) 
     
     
         25 . A vehicle, comprising:
 a vehicle frame configured for over-the-roadway travel under a power of plural drive axles, wherein at least one of the plural drive axles is coupled via a primary drivetrain to a fuel-fed engine to drive at least a pair of wheels, and wherein at least one other of the plural drive axles is a first electrically-powered drive axle configured to supply supplemental torque to one or more additional wheels of the vehicle;   an energy store on the vehicle, the energy store configured to supply the first electrically-powered drive axle with electrical power in a first mode of operation and further configured to receive energy recovered using the first electrically-powered drive axle in a second mode of operation; and   a controller operatively coupled between the first electrically-powered drive axle and one or more sensor inputs, including at least a brake line sensor, to transition between the first, the second, and at least a third mode of operation, wherein the controller is not coupled to control the fuel-fed engine or the primary drivetrain.   
     
     
         26 . The vehicle of  claim 25 , wherein the controller is not directly responsive to controls of the fuel-fed engine and primary drivetrain and instead generates computational estimates of operational states of the fuel-fed engine or primary drivetrain and supplies the supplemental torque based on the computational estimates. 
     
     
         27 . The vehicle of  claim 25  wherein, in the first mode of operation, the first electrically-powered drive axle supplements primary motive forces applied through the primary drivetrain; wherein, in the second mode of operation, the first electrically-powered drive axle provides a regenerative braking force. 
     
     
         28 . The vehicle of  claim 25 , wherein the vehicle includes a tractor unit for use in a tractor-trailer vehicle configuration; wherein the tractor unit comprises the vehicle frame;
 wherein each of the primary drivetrain, the fuel-fed engine, and the first electrically-powered drive axle is fixed to the vehicle frame of the tractor unit.   
     
     
         29 . The vehicle of  claim 28 , further comprising a trailer having at least a second electrically-powered drive axle controlled in a same manner as the first electrically-powered drive axle on the tractor unit. 
     
     
         30 . The vehicle of  claim 28 , wherein the tractor unit is a 6×2 tractor unit having the electrically-powered drive axle in a position of a dead axle of a tandem pair. 
     
     
         31 . The vehicle of  claim 30 , wherein the electrically-powered drive axle is coupled to a brake line of the tractor unit to facilitate control of a regenerative braking mode of operation. 
     
     
         32 . The vehicle of  claim 25 , wherein the vehicle comprises a trailer in a tractor-trailer vehicle configuration with a tractor unit; wherein the trailer comprises the vehicle frame and the first electrically-powered drive axle is fixed to the vehicle frame; wherein the tractor unit comprises the primary drivetrain and the fuel-fed engine. 
     
     
         33 . The vehicle of  claim 32 , wherein the tractor unit comprises a second electrically-powered drive axle controlled in a same manner as the first electrically-powered drive axle on the trailer. 
     
     
         34 . The vehicle of  claim 25 , wherein the controller employs a parallel through a road equivalent consumption minimization strategy based on computational estimates of operational states of the fuel-fed engine or primary drivetrain. 
     
     
         35 . The vehicle of  claim 25 , further comprising a heating, ventilation, or cooling (HVC) system that is coupled to the energy store to receive electrical power from the energy store in a stopover operation and without idling of the fuel-fed engine. 
     
     
         36 . The vehicle of  claim 36 , wherein the energy store comprises:
 a battery;   a battery management system for controllably maintaining a desired state of charge (SoC) of the energy store during the over-the-roadway travel; and   a heat exchanger for at least moderating a temperature of the battery during the over-the-roadway travel.   
     
     
         37 . The vehicle of  claim 36 , wherein the heat exchanger includes a fluid-air heat exchanger exposed to airflow during over-the-roadway travel and coupled into a compressor-based loop for sub-ambient cooling of the battery at least during the over-the-roadway travel; wherein the compressor-based loop is further coupled to supply sub-ambient cooling to a cabin of a tractor unit, at least selectively during the stopover operation, via a fluid-air heat exchanger of the HVC system. 
     
     
         38 . The vehicle of  claim 36 , wherein the energy store further includes at least one additional electrical storage device having discharge rate and/or capacity characteristics that differ from the battery; wherein the battery management system is configured to controllably maintain the desired SoC including states of charge of the battery and of the at least one additional electrical storage device. 
     
     
         39 . The vehicle of  claim 38 , wherein the at least one additional electrical storage device includes either or both of an ultracapacitor and additional battery-type storage.