Patent ID: 6752741
Filing Date: 2004-06-22
Classification: B60K,B60L,B60W,F02D,F02N,Y02T,Y10S,Y10T

Abstract:
A method for automatic operation of a vheicle, said vehicle comprising a vehicle engine, a starter motor linked to said vehicle engine through an engine clutch and a plurality of vehicle systems linked to said starter motor, said method comprising the steps of:detecting whether said engine is running; ascertaining that the status of one or more of said vehicle systems are proper for shutting down said vehicle engine; applying a negative torque to said vehicle engine to stop the running of said vehicle engine by connecting said vehicle engine to said starter motor through said engine clutch; evaluating whether the ambient conditions surrounding said vehicle are conductive to operation prior to said step of applying a negative torque to said vehicle engine, said ambient conditions further comprising at least the temperature of the air outside the vehicle and the humidity of the air outside the vehicle; checking the status of one or more of said vehicle systems to determine whether said vehicle engine should be restarted; restarting said vehicle engine by connecting said vehicle engine to said starter motor through said engine clutch; and confirming said vehicle engine has successfully started.