EP-4737189-A1 - SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MAXIMIZING ENERGY STORAGE ON A VEHICLE WITH INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITATIONS

EP4737189A1EP 4737189 A1EP4737189 A1EP 4737189A1EP-4737189-A1

Abstract

A vehicle includes a battery (110), one or more fuel tanks (125), and a controller (140). The controller (140) performs operations including: receiving data indicative of a location of a refueling station relative to a current location of the vehicle; receiving data indicative of a state of charge of the battery (110); receiving data indicative of a fuel level of each fuel tank (125); determining an amount of energy to arrive at the refueling station from the current location; based on the location of the refueling station, the state of charge of the battery (110), the fuel level of at least one of the one or more fuel tanks (125), and the determined amount of energy, selecting at least one fuel tank (125) to refill; and preconditioning the selected at least one fuel tank (125) by converting fuel from the selected at least one fuel tank (125) from a first form of energy to a second form of energy.

Inventors

LIGHT-HOLETS, Jennifer
KOLHOUSE, Steven

Assignees

Cummins, Inc.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260506
Application Date: 20250925

Claims (15)

A vehicle comprising: a battery; one or more fuel tanks; and a controller comprising a memory with instructions stored thereon that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising: receiving data indicative of a location of a refueling station relative to a current location of the vehicle; receiving data indicative of a state of charge of the battery; receiving data indicative of a fuel level of each fuel tank of the one or more fuel tanks; determining an amount of energy to be utilized to arrive at the refueling station from the current location of the vehicle; based on the location of the refueling station, the state of charge of the battery, the fuel level of at least one of the one or more fuel tanks, and the determined amount of energy, selecting at least one fuel tank of the one or more fuel tanks to refill; and preconditioning the selected at least one fuel tank, wherein preconditioning the selected at least one fuel tank comprises: converting fuel from the selected at least one fuel tank from a first form of energy to a second form of energy.
The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the fuel from the selected at least one fuel tank is converted from fuel to electrical energy so as to increase a state of charge of the battery; and/or wherein selecting the at least one fuel tank of one or more fuel tanks to refill is further based on a type of fuel in the at least one fuel tank; and/or wherein a fuel tank is selected to be refilled and preconditioned responsive to a determination that the fuel level is at or below a predefined threshold value.
The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising: determining an order in which the one or more fuel tanks is emptied, and wherein selecting the at least one fuel tank of the one or more fuel tanks is further based on the order in which the one or more fuel tanks is emptied; and/or communicating instructions to refill the selected at least one fuel tank; and/or communicating instructions to replace the selected at least one fuel tank with a new fuel tank having a fuel level being at or above a predefined threshold level.
The vehicle of claim 1, wherein preconditioning the selected at least one fuel tank is performed prior to the vehicle arriving at the refueling station.
A vehicle comprising: a battery; one or more fuel tanks; and a controller comprising a memory with instructions stored thereon that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising: receiving data indicative of a location of a refueling station relative to a current location of the vehicle; receiving one or more operating conditions of the vehicle; and temporarily increasing an upper limit of a state of charge of the battery based on at least one of the one or more operating conditions of the vehicle.
The vehicle of claim 5, wherein the one or more operating conditions of the vehicle include a fuel tank pressure of one or more of the fuel tanks or a fuel tank fill amount of one or more of the fuel tanks.
The vehicle of claim 5, wherein the upper limit of the state of charge of the battery is temporarily increased based on the data indicative of a location of a refueling station relative to a current location of the vehicle.
The vehicle of claim 5, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising: temporarily decreasing a lower limit of the state of charge of the battery based on the at least one of the one or more operating conditions of the vehicle.
The vehicle of claim 8, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising: determining that the state of charge of the battery is less than or equal to the lower limit; and replenishing the state of charge of the battery responsive to the determination using fuel from the one or more fuel tanks by: converting fuel from at least one of the one or more fuel tanks from a first form of energy to a second form of energy, wherein the first form of energy is fuel energy and the second form of energy is electrical energy.
A method, comprising: receiving, by one or more processors, data indicative of a location of a refueling station relative to a current location of a vehicle; receiving, by the one or more processors, data indicative of a state of charge of a battery of the vehicle; receiving, by the one or more processors, data indicative of a fuel level of one or more fuel tanks of the vehicle; determining, by the one or more processors, an amount of energy to be utilized to arrive at the refueling station from the current location of the vehicle; based on the location of the refueling station, the state of charge of the battery, the fuel level of at least one of the one or more fuel tanks, and the determined amount of energy, selecting, by the one or more processors, at least one fuel tank of the one or more fuel tanks to precondition; preconditioning, by the one or more processors, the selected at least one fuel tank, wherein preconditioning the selected at least one fuel tank comprises: converting fuel from the selected at least one fuel tank from a first form of energy to a second form of energy; and communicating, by the one or more processors, instructions to replace the selected at least one fuel tank with a new fuel tank having a fuel level being at or above a predefined threshold level.
The method of claim 10, wherein the fuel from the selected at least one fuel tank is converted from fuel to electrical energy so as to increase a state of charge of the battery; and/or wherein selecting the at least one fuel tank of one or more fuel tanks to precondition is further based on a type of fuel in the at least one fuel tank.
The method of claim 10, wherein a fuel tank is selected to be preconditioned and replaced responsive to a determination that the fuel level is at or below a predefined threshold value.
The method of claim 10, further comprising determining, by the one or more processors, an order in which the one or more fuel tanks is emptied, and wherein selecting the at least one fuel tank of the one or more fuel tanks is further based on the order in which the one or more fuel tanks is emptied.
The method of claim 10, wherein preconditioning the selected at least one fuel tank is performed prior to the vehicle arriving at the refueling station.
The method of claim 10, wherein communicating instructions to replace the selected at least one fuel tank comprises: generating and displaying a notification to an operator of the vehicle.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION The present application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/699,319, titled "Systems and Methods for Maximizing Energy Storage on a Vehicle with Infrastructure Limitations," filed September 26, 2024, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety and for all purposes. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for refueling based on infrastructure limitations. BACKGROUND Internal combustion engines may be fueled by a variety of types of fuel (e.g., natural gas, gasoline, hydrogen, etc.). Infrastructure limitations may affect the availability of refueling stations in various locations. SUMMARY One embodiment relates to a vehicle. The vehicle includes: a battery; one or more fuel tanks; and a controller including a memory with instructions stored thereon that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations. The operations may include: receiving data indicative of a location of a refueling station relative to a current location of the vehicle; receiving data indicative of a state of charge of the battery; receiving data indicative of a fuel level of each fuel tank of the one or more fuel tanks; determining an amount of energy to be utilized to arrive at the refueling station from the current location of the vehicle; based on the location of the refueling station, the state of charge of the battery, the fuel level of at least one of the one or more fuel tanks, and the determined amount of energy, selecting at least one fuel tank of the one or more fuel tanks to refill; and preconditioning the selected at least one fuel tank. Preconditioning the selected at least one fuel tank may include converting fuel from the selected at least one fuel tank from a first form of energy to a second form of energy. Another embodiment relates to a vehicle. The vehicle includes a battery; one or more fuel tanks; and a controller comprising a memory with instructions stored thereon that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations. The operations may include: receiving data indicative of a location of a refueling station relative to a current location of the vehicle; receiving one or more operating conditions of the vehicle; and temporarily increasing an upper limit of the state of charge of the battery based on the at least one of the one or more operating conditions of the vehicle. Another embodiment relates to a method. The method includes receiving, by one or more processors, data indicative of a location of a refueling station relative to a current location of a vehicle, receiving, by the one or more processors, data indicative of a state of charge of a battery of the vehicle, receiving, by the one or more processors, data indicative of a fuel level of one or more fuel tanks of the vehicle, determining, by the one or more processors, an amount of energy to be utilized to arrive at the refueling station from the current location of the vehicle, based on the location of the refueling station, the state of charge of the battery, the fuel level of at least one of the one or more fuel tanks, and the determined amount of energy, selecting, by the one or more processors, at least one fuel tank of the one or more fuel tanks to precondition, preconditioning, by the one or more processors, the selected at least one fuel tank, wherein preconditioning the selected at least one fuel tank includes converting fuel from the selected at least one fuel tank from a first form of energy to a second form of energy, and communicating, by the one or more processors, instructions to replace the selected at least one fuel tank with a new fuel tank having a fuel level being at or above a predefined threshold level. Numerous specific details are provided to impart a thorough understanding of embodiments of the subject matter of the present disclosure. The described features of the subject matter of the present disclosure may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments and/or implementations. In this regard, one or more features of an aspect of the invention may be combined with one or more features of a different aspect of the invention. Moreover, additional features may be recognized in certain embodiments and/or implementations that may not be present in all embodiments or implementations. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system for use in a vehicle, according to an example embodiment.FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a controller of the vehicle of FIG. 1, according to an example embodiment.FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a method of controlling the vehicle of FIG. 1, according to an example embodiment.FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a method of controlling a state of charge of a battery of the vehicle of FIG. 1, according to an example embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Following below are more d