Method and system for providing user-selected telematic services
Granted: July 29, 2008
Patent Number:
7406321
The present invention provides a system and method for providing user-selected telematics services in a mobile vehicle. The method includes accessing a menu of available telematics services and selecting a desired telematics service. The method also includes determining a telematics service fee based on the user selected service and paying the user selected telematics service fee via remote resource. The method further includes receiving the selected telematics service.
Method for responding to a control module failure
Granted: July 29, 2008
Patent Number:
7406624
A method is provided for saving system information immediately following a hardware or software failure that causes a processor to reset. After failure is imminent and before the processor allows the reset to occur, the processor is instructed to copy a fixed amount of the system stack SRAM, in addition to any processor registers that can be used to determine the reset cause, into a preserved area of SRAM. During the initialization sequence, the preserved area of SRAM is tested, but not…
Method and system for automated unit service requests from a telematics unit
Granted: July 29, 2008
Patent Number:
7406169
The current invention provides a method for automated unit service requests from a telematics unit. A unit request call trigger is set at the telematics unit from a call center. A unit request call is received based on the unit request call trigger. The telematics unit is configured in response to the received unit request call. A computer usable medium with suitable computer program code is employed for automated unit service requests from a telematics unit.
Control strategy for lean NOx trap regeneration
Granted: July 22, 2008
Patent Number:
7401462
A method for controlling regeneration of a lean NOx trap includes estimating an accumulated NOx in the lean NOx trap; determining whether the estimated NOx exceeds a first threshold value or a second threshold value; estimating the temperature of the lean NOx trap; determining whether the estimated temperature exceeds a threshold temperature; determining a desired air-fuel ratio for initiating a regeneration event, the desired air-fuel ratio being determined based upon the estimated NOx…
Transient controls to improve fuel cell performance and stack durability
Granted: July 22, 2008
Patent Number:
7402353
The present invention is a method of operating a fuel cell stack and system that minimizes the potential for having a large pressure differential between the anode and cathode flow fields and a low relative humidity occurrence within the cathode flow fields. This is accomplished by tempering the downward transient in power demand seen by the fuel cell stack. The downward transient in power demand on the fuel cell stack is tempered by reducing the rate at which the power generated by the…
Electrically variable transmission
Granted: July 22, 2008
Patent Number:
7402923
A transmission includes a housing, an electric motor having a stator within the housing, and a member including a generally cylindrical portion that circumscribes at least part of the stator. The member cooperates with the housing to form an annular coolant flowpath therebetween, and the member includes a plurality of holes to provide radial inflow of coolant from the flowpath to the stator to provide significantly improved motor cooling compared to the prior art.
Method and system for deploying disaster alerts in a mobile vehicle communication system
Granted: July 22, 2008
Patent Number:
7403098
One aspect of the invention provides a method of deploying disaster alerts to a mobile vehicle. The method includes determining disaster area coordinates of a disaster area and calculating buffer coordinates of a buffer region based on the disaster area coordinates. The method further describes a vehicle circle based on a radius of at least one location coordinate of the mobile vehicle and compares the vehicle circle with the buffer region coordinates. The disaster area coordinates are…
Collision avoidance of unattended vehicles
Granted: July 22, 2008
Patent Number:
7403101
Methods and apparatus are provided for protecting an unattended parked vehicle from being impacted by a moving vehicle under control of a driver. The apparatus comprises a detection and alarm system built into the unattended parked vehicle. When a moving vehicle comes within a predetermined distance from the unattended parked vehicle, the apparatus senses the presence of the moving vehicle and activates the alarm system. If the moving vehicle continues to approach the unattended parked…
Direct water vaporization for fuel processor startup and transients
Granted: July 15, 2008
Patent Number:
7399327
A fuel cell system including a fuel reforming processor having a catalyst therein constructed and arranged to produce a reformate stream including hydrogen and carbon monoxide, a water gas shift reactor downstream of the fuel reforming processor and wherein the water gas shift reactor includes a catalyst therein constructed and arranged to reduce the amount of carbon monoxide in the reformate stream, a preferential oxidation reactor downstream of the water gas shift reactor and wherein…
Powertrain and method for controlling a driveline retarder
Granted: July 15, 2008
Patent Number:
7400961
A method of controlling a driveline retarder of a powertrain including a transmission having a rotatable input shaft connected to an engine and an output shaft connected to the driveline retarder is provided. The method includes determining a set speed value and comparing the set speed value plus a customer modifiable constant value to a current rotational speed value of the output shaft. A driveline retarder cruise modulation torque request value is then calculated when the current…
System and method for data correlation within a telematics communication system
Granted: July 15, 2008
Patent Number:
7400954
The present invention provides a method of operating a telematics enabled mobile vehicle communication system. The method includes receiving vehicle diagnostic information at a relational database and analyzing the received vehicle diagnostic information. The method further includes identifying data correlations of interest identifying common elements associated with one or more specific situations based on the analyzed vehicle diagnostic information and identifying at least one client…
Providing services within a telematics communication system
Granted: July 15, 2008
Patent Number:
7400948
The present invention provides a method of operating a telematics enabled mobile vehicle communication system. The method includes receiving a vehicle power down signal that includes vehicle identification information and time information of vehicle power down from a telematics device to a service provider. The method further includes initiating a vehicle power down count down at the service provider responsive to the receipt of the vehicle power down signal and estimating a remaining…
Method and system for providing telematics unit information
Granted: July 15, 2008
Patent Number:
7400876
A method for providing telematics unit information includes generating an awareness message at a telematics unit, the awareness message including a subscriber status wherein the subscriber status includes location and state information, assigning a current value to the subscriber status, and sending the awareness message with the current value from the telematics unit to a telematics call center. A computer usable medium with suitable computer program code is employed for providing…
Supersonic vapor compression and heat rejection cycle
Granted: July 15, 2008
Patent Number:
7399545
Method and apparatus for cooling a fuel cell stack. The cooling system uses vaporization cooling of the fuel stack and supersonic vapor compression of the vaporized coolant to significantly increase the temperature and pressure of the liquid coolant flowing through a heat exchanger. By increasing the heat rejection temperature of the coolant delivered to the heat exchanger, the heat transfer area of the heat exchanger can be reduced and the mass flow rate of coolant can also be reduced.…
Fuel cell system burp control
Granted: July 15, 2008
Patent Number:
7399542
Fuel cell parameters and limited electrochemical fuel cell sensors are used to calculate the concentration of diluting gas on the anode side of the fuel cell. The calculated concentration is then used to optimize fuel cell efficiency and/or stability by controlling the evacuation of diluted fuel from the anode side of the cell. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention the dilution gas crossover rate of the membrane electrode assembly is calculated and the dilution gas…
Carbon monoxide clean-up in a PEM fuel cell system
Granted: July 15, 2008
Patent Number:
7399326
A fuel processor system is provided including an autothermal reactor (ATR), a pressure swing adsorber (PSA) located downstream of the ATR, and a methanation reactor located downstream of the PSA. A method of operating of proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack involves cooling the methanator output and feeding it into the stack as an anode fuel.
Sun gear bushing and sleeve and method for sealing in a hybrid electromechanical automatic transmission
Granted: July 15, 2008
Patent Number:
7399247
The present invention details a sleeve and bushing of an electromechanical automatic planetary transmission. The sleeve and bushing operate to confine the desired flow of transmission lubricant through the components of the planetary gear arrangement. Additionally, the sleeve and bushing assist in maintaining a sufficient pressure level in the cavity of the planetary carrier to enable the lubricant to reach the bearings of the pinion gear. Moreover, the radius or size of the…
Shifter rod assemblies for automotive transmissions
Granted: July 8, 2008
Patent Number:
7395732
A shifter rod assembly used in automotive vehicles extends between a manual shifter assembly having a manual shift lever and a transmission spaced from the manual shift lever. Large tolerance universal joints with play between the components thereof connect the shifter rod assembly to the manual shifter assembly and to the transmission. In order to eliminate rattle noise in the universal joints, the universal joints are each encased in a layer of elastomer. A preferred elastomer is…
Multiplexed pressure switch system for an electrically variable hybrid transmission
Granted: July 8, 2008
Patent Number:
7395837
A powertrain has an electrically variable hybrid transmission having an electro-hydraulic control system, plurality of electrical power units, and a plurality of torque transmitting mechanisms selectively engageable by the electro-hydraulic control system to provide four forward speed ranges, a neutral condition, an electric low and high speed mode, an electrically variable low and high speed mode, and a hill hold mode. The electro-hydraulic control system includes a multiplexed pressure…
Multiplexed control system and method for an electrically variable hybrid transmission
Granted: July 8, 2008
Patent Number:
7396306
A powertrain has an electrically variable hybrid transmission having an electro-hydraulic control system, plurality of electrical power units, and a plurality of torque transmitting mechanisms selectively engageable by the electro-hydraulic control system to provide four forward speed ranges, a neutral condition, an electric low and high speed mode, and an electrically variable low and high speed mode. Additionally, the electrically variable hybrid transmission provides a parallel…
