Patent ID: 7424868

Claim:
A vehicle comprising: an engine; a vehicle engine cooling system for receiving and circulating liquid coolant to cool the engine; a vehicle fan operable to assist the cooling of liquid coolant circulating in the vehicle engine cooling system; the vehicle engine cooling system comprising a coolant pump operable to circulate liquid coolant within the vehicle engine cooling system with the quantity of coolant being circulated being variable and responsive to coolant pump control signals, the the vehicle engine cooling system also comprising a thermostat operable to control the flow of coolant being circulated by the coolant pump through the cooling system, with the extent that the thermostat is open to permit the flow of coolant in the cooling system being variable and responsive to thermostat control signals; and a controller operable to receive vehicle parameter information and to determine prediction horizons, the controller being operable to determine the coolant pump and thermostat control signals predictively for a prediction horizon so as to minimize at least one of the following: (a) energy consumed by the coolant pump; (b) variations in coolant temperature; and (c) fan activation as the vehicle travels along a route that corresponds to the prediction horizon.