Patent ID: 11885250
Assignee: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC
Field: Environmental technology (Chemistry)
Classification: CPC F | IPC F

Claim 0:
1. A method of preheating an aftertreatment system downstream of an engine of a vehicle prior to ignition of the engine, the method comprising:
obtaining, by a control module associated with the vehicle, a first measurement indicative of a current temperature associated with the aftertreatment system;
obtaining, by the control module, a second measurement indicative of a current state of an energy source coupled to a heating element integrated with the aftertreatment system within a housing of an emissions control device of the aftertreatment system and disposed upstream of a catalyst component within the housing of the emissions control device;
determining, by the control module, an amount of electrical energy to be applied to the heating element based at least in part on a difference between the current temperature associated with the aftertreatment system and a target temperature for the aftertreatment system;
automatically enabling, by the control module, current flow from the energy source to the heating element prior to ignition of the engine for a duration of time in a manner that is influenced by the amount of electrical energy to be applied to the heating element and the current state of the energy source; and
automatically enabling, by the control module, an auxiliary air injection device to provide fluid flow past the heating element through the aftertreatment system after enabling the current flow from the energy source to the heating element when a temperature associated with the heating element is greater than a threshold.