Description:Complete Specification:
The following specification describes and ascertains the nature of this invention and the manner in which it is to be performed

Field of the invention
The present disclosure relates to a control unit to to control a state of charge of a battery

Background of the invention
[001] In case of hybrid vehicles such as plug-in-hybrid vehicles (PHEV) , it is it is optimal to take the EV battery to lowest state of charge (SOC) to utilize the battery if the vehicle is to be parked and charged. Similarly, before a long downward slope, it is optimal to take the SOC to the lowest, so that recuperation process can be maximized.
[002] Further, in situations where there is a bumper-to-bumper traffic on a road ahead, if such traffic can be detected before hand, the battery SOC taken to a maximum level, then utilizing the Equivalent Consumption Minimization Strategy (ECMS) of the hybrid vehicles (including HEV and PHEV) a SOC setpoint can be used until the condition (of traffic/uphill) is passed. This also enables high recuperation and reduction of emission from the engine.
[003] The prior art US8635020 discloses a method for automatically entering favorite locations into a navigation system is provided. The method according to one embodiment includes receiving information regarding a location from an object within a vehicle using a navigation system. An identifier to the information and the information and identifier are stored in the navigation system. The user may retrieve the information from the navigation system using the identifier. The information from the objects may be received in various wireless formats, including RFID, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.
[004] The present disclosure purports to identify special optimization features that can be paired to a particular location and/or condition (for instance, recuperation and downward slope location or charging and home/parking/charging station location). The locations can be stored in the ECU of the vehicle or in a cloud based memory. When the vehicle will get closer to these stored specific locations, the conditions for suitable optimization process will be identified and specific actions can be triggered to form such optimization. Trigger specific actions like power distribution between the ICE and the electric propulsion, battery state of charge management and the like.
[005] Furthermore, a user interface feature can also calculate and store the benefits of these predictive features and inform the user. The drivers themselves may add/edit more such locations of interest such as Home, Office, regular parking location, regular filling/charging location.

Brief description of the accompanying drawings
[006] An embodiment of the invention is described with reference to the following accompanying drawings:
[007] Figure 1 depicts a control unit to control a state of charge of a battery of an hybrid vehicle .

[008] Detailed description of the drawings

[009] The present invention will now be described by way of example, with reference to accompanying drawings. Throughout all the figures, same or corresponding elements may generally be indicated by same reference numerals. These depicted embodiments are to be understood as illustrative of the invention and not as limiting in any way. It should also be understood that the figures are not necessarily to scale and that the embodiments are sometimes illustrated by graphic symbols, phantom lines, diagrammatic representations, and fragmentary views. In predetermined instances, details which are not necessary for an understanding of the present invention, or which render other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted. Further, the principles and techniques widely known in the art to implement the present disclosure are not described in detail.

[0010] Referring to Figure 1, the same depicts a control unit (1) to control a state of charge of a battery of a hybrid vehicle, said control unit adapted to identify a location of interest when said vehicle is in an operating condition. The control unit determines a distance between said current location of said vehicle and said identified location of interest. Then, the control unit controls the state of charge (SOC) of the battery when said distance is within a pre-defined distance.

[0011] Further the construction of the control unit (1) and the components connected to the control unit (1) is explained in detail. The control unit (1) is a logic circuitry and software programs implemented as one or more microprocessors, microcomputers, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, central processing units, state machines, logic circuitries, and/or any component that operates on signals based on operational instructions. According to an example, the control unit (1) may be an independent component in the hybrid vehicle (10) or a part of the power control module (PCM) of the hybrid vehicle. In an hybrid vehicle, the Equivalent Consumption Minimization Strategy (ECMS) is typically implemented and managed by the vehicle's Powertrain Control Module (PCM).

[0012] According to an example, the control unit(1) may be adapted to run the ECMS algorithm, which continuously evaluates various factors such as vehicle speed, acceleration, battery state of charge (SoC), road grade, and energy demand to determine the optimal power distribution strategy. Based on the inputs from sensors and the ECMS algorithm, the control unit can adjust the power distribution between the electric motor(s) and the battery system. It regulates factors such as motor torque, battery charging/discharging rates, and energy flow to optimize efficiency and performance. According to an example, the controller may control the vehicle's operating modes, such as acceleration, cruising, regenerative braking, and idle, to ensure that the ECMS objectives are met. For example, during regenerative braking, the controller may increase the level of energy regeneration to maximize energy recapture and minimize consumption.

[0013] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the control unit(1) is adapted to monitor and manage the state of charge (SoC) of the battery(3) to keep it within the optimal operating range. The control unit controls the battery charging and discharging rates to balance energy storage and usage, maximizing battery life and performance.

[0014] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, said location of interest in inputted into said control unit via an interface by anyone of the following means comprising a manual entry, an automatic identification of said location of interest, and a past history. Said location of interest is chosen from a group of locations comprising a charging station, an uphill road, a downhill road and a congested road.

[0015] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the control unit comprises a memory (5) to store information related to multiple location of interests (4) and the interface for inputting the location of interest. Said SOC control to be performed is mapped to said identified location of interest (4) in the memory (5) of said control unit. The location of interest is inputted into the control unit via plurality of methods. Few such methods that are practiced is a manual entry, wherein the user of the vehicle enters the location of interest of his choice and the vehicle is detected in proximity or within the predefined distance range, a certain function is performed. In another way, the location of interest is inputted automatically based on the current/past requirements of the user of the vehicle . One such location of interest is a home, a parking space, office or the like. In this case, the vehicle control unit automatically includes/updates the list of location of interest in the memory of the control unit. Yet in another way of inputting the location of the interest, a travel history of the vehicle is considered, and the control unit stores the required locations in the memory. The location of interest is chosen from a group of locations comprising a charging station, an uphill road, a downhill road and a congested road. The congested road, for the purposes of this disclosure is referred to roads and routes where a bumper to bumper traffic is experienced.

[0016] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the control unit (1) may receive and store the location of interest from a GPS system in communication with the control unit. According to an example, the control unit (1) may comprise the GPS system that may identify the location of interest based on a navigation history of the vehicle. This includes identification of locations where the vehicle was parked along a route in the past. In another example, a slope information along a route may also be identified by the GPS system as a part of cartographic data of the road.

[0017] Said at least one function to be performed is based on a type of said hybrid vehicle comprising a Plug-in hybrid-EV and a hybrid-EV. According to the present invention, the SOC of the battery(3) is controlled to obtain a minimum SOC threshold when the said location of interest is at least one of the charging station and the downhill road. According to the present invention, the SOC of the battery is controlled to obtain a maximum SOC threshold when the said location of interest(4) is at least one of the uphill road and the congested road.

[0018] According to a working example, in a plug-in hybrid use case, when the location of interest is within the pre-defined distance, vehicle needs to be prepared for the optimization function associated with the location. The is when regular charging locations are approaching (charging stations which may include homes and offices), it is necessary to trigger optimization action. In this case, the reference SoC for ECMS (Equivalent Consumption Minimization Strategy) can be set to a very low value, for example, 20% and the torque split algorithm can take energy from the battery within the optimal limits before charging station arrives. In a HEV use case, when the distance from slow moving traffic situations (congested roads) is nearing, the reference SoC for ECMS can be kept high (for example from 50% to 80%) before switching the vehicle to electric drive. Once the SoC starts depleting, hybrid mode will be triggered and the reference SoC can be set back to the nominal value (for example 50%). Similarly, for the downhill road, the reference Battery SOC should be reduced before reaching the long downhill slope to effectively utilize the recuperation operation.

[0019] The driver may be informed of an equivalence cost factor that is determined based on the power drawn from the vehicle battery and the power drawn from fuel. The present disclosure advantageously provides effective battery utilization, reduced fuel consumption, increased comfort in city traffic and fast adaptation to the dynamics of load profiles by consideration of special trigger conditions directly in the Equivalent Consumption Minimization Strategy (optimal torque split strategy).

, Claims:We Claim:
1. A control unit (1) to control a state of charge of a battery (3) of a hybrid vehicle (10) , said control unit adapted to :

- identify a location of interest(4) when said vehicle is in an operating
condition;
- determine a distance between said current location of said vehicle and
said identified location of interest; and
- control the state of charge (SOC) of the battery (3) when said distance is within a pre-defined distance.

2. The control unit (1) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said location of interest in inputted into said control unit via an interface (4) by any one of the following means comprising a manual entry, an automatic identification of said location of interest, and a past history.

3. The control unit (1) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said location of interest (4) is chosen from a group of locations comprising a charging station, an uphill road, a downhill road and a congested road.

4. The control unit (1) as claimed in claim 1, wherein, said at least one function to be performed is based on a type of said hybrid vehicle (10) comprising a Plug-in hybrid-EV and a hybrid-EV.

5. The control unit(1) as claimed in claim 1, wherein, the SOC of the battery is controller to obtain a minimum SOC threshold when the said location of interest is at least one of the charging station and the downhill road.

6. The control unit (1) as claimed in claim 1, wherein, the SOC of the battery(3) is controlled to obtain a maximum SOC threshold when the said location of interest is at least one of the uphill road and the congested road.

7. The control unit (1) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said SOC control to be performed is mapped to said identified location of interest in a memory(5) of said control unit .