Abstract: A method of determining the state of a battery including the steps of generating a state vector that describes the state of the battery, predicting a response for the state vector, measuring a response of the battery, and correcting the state vector based on the differences between the predicted response and a measured response to determine the state of the battery.

Abstract: A method and apparatus according to the present invention monitors an emission gas, such as a carbon monoxide gas, from an emission source, such as a carbon monoxide source, by periodically sensing a concentration level of emission gas, such as carbon monoxide, in ambient air and generating a signal corresponding to the sensed concentration level of the emission gas. In response to the signal, a percent blood concentration value of the emission gas is determined. The calculated blood concentration value is compared to a threshold value, and if greater than the threshold value, the source of emission gas, such as carbon monoxide gas, is disabled. The blood concentration value can be determined on a predetermined time interval, and at least in part, can be based on a prior blood concentration value in combination with a current blood concentration value.

Abstract: An improved method of diagnosing conditions of a vehicle braking system that degrade the braking effectiveness informs the driver of the condition so that repair or adjustment can be timely made. The relationship between brake pedal position and vehicle deceleration is determined during a calibration interval to construct a calibration table of brake effectiveness, and then periodically over the life of the braking system to develop a current brake effectiveness table. Braking system abnormalities that impair the braking effectiveness are diagnosed by analyzing the table values.

Abstract: An improved engine torque control method uses existing powertrain sensors and controls to reliably detect and suppress power-hop with minimum degradation of vehicle acceleration. Power-hop is detected by identifying a characteristic wheel jerk magnitude and oscillation frequency based on driven wheel speeds. Once a power-hop condition is detected, the control method computes a desired engine torque output for suppressing the detected power-hop without unnecessarily degrading vehicle performance, based on the wheel jerk magnitude, the engine speed and vehicle acceleration. A combination of engine cylinder fuel cut-off and spark retard is then scheduled for reducing the engine output torque to the desired level for the duration of the power-hop condition.

Abstract: A power electronics cooling housing for use in a power electronics system. The power electronics cooling housing has a body with a coolant cavity formed in one surface and a capacitor bus assembly potting cavity formed in an opposite surface. A bus bar passthrough opening is formed through the body. The bus bar passthrough opening provides an opening from the coolant cavity and the capacitor bus assembly potting cavity. A coolant inlet manifold having a coolant cavity inlet and a coolant outlet manifold having a coolant cavity outlet are formed in the body that are coupled to respective ends of the coolant cavity. An environmental sealing gasket surrounds the coolant cavity.

Abstract: A resistor having a generally planar substrate with a resistive element located on each side of the substrate and a plurality of terminals for connecting opposing portions of each of the resistive elements to an electronic circuit. The resistive elements have substantially equal dimensions and resistive properties such that they have substantially equal resistance values and exhibit substantially equal current densities for any given applied voltage. The substrate can be a ceramic-coated metal core with the resistive elements silk-screened onto opposite sides of the substrate. The resistive elements have a substantially uniform thickness so that they exhibit a uniform current density when subjected to an applied voltage. With this dual resistive layer design, thermal bending of the resistor due to differential thermal expansion at one of the ceramic layers is substantially offset by thermal bending due to differential thermal expansion at the other ceramic layer.

Abstract: A vehicle control system method and apparatus including a mobile application service provider communicating over a wireless communication network, a mobile station communicating with the mobile application service provider over the wireless communications network, and a vehicle controller communicating with the mobile station via an automotive communications network, and where the mobile application service provider accesses process variables on a computer network and transfers the process variables to the mobile station to be used by the vehicle controller for vehicle control.

Abstract: An inductive charging apparatus for use in charging batteries of an electric vehicle. The apparatus has a power source, cooling fluid pumping and cooling apparatus, and a charge port disposed in the electric vehicle. An inductive charging coupler that is insertable into the charge port comprises a housing, a ferrite puck, and an insulated, liquid-cooled, current-carrying conductive tubular transformer coil disposed around the puck. A liquid-cooled, liquid-carrying tubular transmission cable is coupled to the power source, to the cooling fluid pumping and cooling apparatus, and to the transformer coil. The transmission cable couples current from the power source to the transformer coil, and couples cooling fluid between the cooling fluid pumping and cooling apparatus and the transformer coil. The transformer coil may be a multilevel helix, spiral fluid-cooled transformer coil such as an eight turn (although n turns are possible), two level helix, four turn spiral winding.

Abstract: A sealed transformer for use in charging the batteries of an electric automobile includes a housing that contains the secondary windings, a core and a dielectric fluid. A removable primary winding coupler is inserted into the housing to complete a magnetic circuit. During operation of the magnetic circuit, heat is continuously generated by the primary and secondary windings and the core. The fluid undergoes a first phase change and boils as it absorbs the generated heat. The boiling fluid absorbs additional heat and undergoes a second phase change is it turns into a vapor. The heat of vaporization is released into thin windows formed in the transformer housing when the vapors contact the relatively cooler windows and re-condense into a liquid. A continuous cycle of boiling, vaporizing, and condensing occurs during operation of the transformer to cool the transformer and to improve the power density of the transformer.

Abstract: An apparatus and system for manipulating the air temperature within an interior compartment of a vehicle, the apparatus and system includes a HVAC system and an operating system. A compressor receives and circulates a gas through a heat exchanger in order to regulate the air within the vehicle. The compressor has a capacity control valve that is manipulated by the control system in response to a user setting.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for determining the state of charge of a battery including determining a current-based state of charge measurement based on coulomb integration, determining a voltage-based state of charge measurement based on the resistance of said battery and a hysteresis voltage, and combining the current-based state of charge measurement and the voltage-based state of charge measurement to generate the state of charge measurement of the battery.

Abstract: A method of transferring information between a vehicle controller and a diagnostic tool including the steps of providing communications hardware for the vehicle controller compatible with the communications hardware of the diagnostic tool, providing a virtual input/output system to interface with the communication hardware of the vehicle controller, providing application layer software that is hardware and communication protocol independent to communicate with the virtual input output system, storing the data in memory of the vehicle controller, building a data request table in the memory of the vehicle controller based on a communications protocol and data transfer rate of the diagnostic tool, the data request table including the data, data size, and transfer rates, requesting the data from the memory of the vehicle controller by the diagnostic tool, and transmitting the data from the controller to the diagnostic tool in response to the request by the device.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for determining the state of charge of a battery including the steps of determining whether the battery is in a charge decreasing, sustaining or increasing mode, integrating the charge going in and out of the battery to determine a current-based state of charge measurement if the battery is in a charge increasing or sustaining mode, and determining the open circuit voltage to determine an open circuit-based state of charge measurement if the battery is in a charge decreasing mode.

Abstract: A vehicle controller including communication hardware for receiving data transmissions from an automotive communication network, control software to control an automotive system, the control software requiring process data from at least one of a plurality of controllers linked to the automotive communication network to control the automotive system, the plurality of controllers broadcasting the process data over the automotive communication network, calibration software containing constants for the operation of the control software, communication software used in conjunction with the communication hardware for polling the automotive communication network for the required process data and identifying a source controller of the required process data, and memory in the vehicle controller for storing the source ID of the source controller, wherein upon identification of the source controller of the required process data, the communication software will read the required process data from the source controller.

Abstract: A solar-ray antenna that includes a tuning element asymmetrically positioned on the windshield of a vehicle a certain distance from a multi-wire bundle connected to a rear-view mirror of the vehicle. An impedance matching element of the antenna is spaced a certain distance from the vehicle body so as to provide proper impedance matching for the tuning element. The wire bundle extends through a channel that is mounted to an inside surface of the windshield. A grounding connector is positioned relative to the wire bundle and is coupled to ground so that FM signals in the wire bundle are coupled to ground. The grounding connector can be positioned over the wire bundle and attached to the vehicle roof sheet metal. In an alternate embodiment, the grounding connector is an L-shaped conductive frit formed on the windshield, and having a horizontal portion positioned between the glass and the urethane windshield seal and a vertical portion positioned between the channel and the windshield.

Abstract: A thermally cooled power electronics system. A cooling housing has a body with a coolant cavity formed in one surface and a capacitor bus assembly potting cavity formed in an opposite surface. A bus bar passthrough opening is formed through the body, along with a coolant inlet and outlet manifolds having a coolant cavity inlet outlet that are coupled to respective ends of the coolant cavity. An environmental sealing gasket surrounds the coolant cavity. A plurality of laminated copper bus bars are disposed through the bus bar passthrough opening. A laminated horizontal bus bar assembly extends along the length of the housing above the coolant cavity and has horizontal bus bars that are coupled to the laminated copper bus bars. A battery input connector is coupled by way of a vertical bus bar assembly to the horizontal bus bar assembly. A plurality of power switching devices are coupled to the laminated horizontal bus bar assembly.

Abstract: A power steering system and induction motor load compensation algorithm or processing method for use in a vehicle. The power steering system comprises a power supply, a power steering motor, a steering subsystem, and a power steering controller coupled to the power supply. The controller processes a frequency command input corresponding to the power steering frequency requested by the steering subsystem and data contained in one or more software lookup tables to adjust the output frequency produced by the power supply to control the speed of the power steering, motor. The lookup tables are generated empirically and characterize the output power of the power supply at different system pressures over a range of motor speeds. The software lookup tables provide a power band that implements a power limiting state machine.

Abstract: A method of cooling an internal combustion engine having a first group of fuel injectors supplying fuel to a first group of injectors and a second group of fuel injectors supplying fuel to a second group of cylinders, the method including the steps of measuring the temperature of the engine, determining if the temperature of the engine exceeds a predetermined temperature threshold, shutting off the first group of fuel injectors to the first number of cylinders where air is pumped through the first number of cylinders to cool the first number of cylinders, energizing the second group of fuel injectors to the second group of cylinders to provide an air/fuel mixture to the second group of cylinders to drive the engine, shutting off at least one of the second group of fuel injectors to the second group of cylinders to pump air through at least one of the second group of cylinders.

Abstract: A surface-mounted permanent magnet synchronous machine drive and a method of controlling the machine drive. Flux weakening and current regulating loops cooperate to provide automatic transition to the flux weakening mode (operation above base speed), regardless of DC bus voltage, load or other operating conditions. The modulation index (d) is used as a condition for automatic start of flux weakening operation is very useful because this point can be easily changed by software when necessary, regardless of the value of DC bus voltage. This feature provides significant performance improvement. No look-up tables are used in the flux weakening loop. The on-set point for flux weakening is automatically adjusted, and may be changed through software. An appropriate d-axis current component is injected over the entire speed range, providing the maximum available torque (which corresponds to the q-axis current component).

Abstract: An improved fuel compensation method for a variable cam phase engine which predicts the phase of the cam at the midpoint of valve overlap and uses the predicted cam phase to compensate a base fuel pulse for the corresponding amount of diluent. If the cam phase is in transition to a desired value, the cam phase for purposes of compensation may be predicted based on the desired cam phase, current cam phase and its rate of change; otherwise, the cam phase is predicted based on the current cam phase. In a first interval of cam phase transition characterized by nonlinear change in cam phase, the cam phase is predicted by applying a nonlinear offset to the measured cam phase. In a second interval of cam phase transition characterized by substantially linear variation of cam phase, the cam phase is predicted by linear extrapolation of the measured cam phase, and limited to range bounded by the measured cam phase and the desired cam phase.