Patent ID: 7792627
Filing Date: 2010-09-07
Classification: B60K,F01N,F02D,Y02A,Y02T

Abstract:
1. A method comprising: operating a hybrid vehicle in a first mode during which a combustion engine is off and an electric motor propels the hybrid vehicle; energizing an electrically heated catalyst (EHC) during the first mode; determining an operating temperature of an additional catalyst in communication with exhaust gas from the combustion engine; and operating the vehicle in a second mode after the first mode during which the engine propels the hybrid vehicle, the engine operating in a catalyst combustion mode during the second mode when the operating temperature is below a first predetermined limit, the catalyst combustion mode including operating the engine at an air-fuel ratio of less than stoichiometry and injecting air into exhaust gas from the engine at a location before the additional catalyst.