METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR IMPROVING VEHICLE FUEL ECONOMY WITH ENERGY STORAGE EFFICIENCY MODEL

摘要

A method is described for improving fuel economy in a vehicle having an engine, a generator driven by the engine, and an energy storage unit by using an energy storage efficiency model. The method includes evaluating a current efficiency state of the engine, evaluating a current efficiency state of the generator, evaluating a current efficiency state of the energy storage unit, and, controlling the generator to provide an optimized voltage output, based on the results of the evaluations and the energy storage efficiency model. A voltage regulator implementing this method is also described.