Hybrid vehicle

Abstract

A control device for a hybrid vehicle acquires information for each travel section in a planned or estimated travel route on the basis of map information and the position of the vehicle, and merges consecutive travel sections in accordance with predetermined conditions. A travel support plan for driving in a motor travel mode or in a normal travel mode is created on the basis of the information of the travel sections obtained by combining the sections. When a predetermined motor travel section in which motor travel should be performed is present in the travel section of the travel route, a travel support plan is created without performing section merging with respect to the predetermined motor travel section.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a hybrid vehicle. Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, as such a hybrid vehicle, a scheme has been proposed to switch the driving mode according to the mode switching vehicle speed (for example, refer to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 06-187595). The driving mode refers to a motor mode in which the motor travels alone, an engine mode in which the engine travels alone, and a combined mode in which both are used. In this hybrid vehicle, by switching the mode switching vehicle speed according to various environments such as urban areas, suburbs, highways, and tunnels, driving suitable for the environment can be performed. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In such a hybrid vehicle, sometimes the driving intervals that are continuous on the driving route are merged according to predetermined conditions such as section similarity. Moreover, the driving mode of each driving interval is set using the merged driving interval. In addition, there are cases where areas where motor driving should be performed, such as around the user's home and around the hospital, are set by the user or the like. When interval merging is also performed on the driving intervals in such a preset area where motor driving should be performed, a situation may occur where motor driving cannot be appropriately performed.

[0004] The main object of the present disclosure is to enable a hybrid vehicle to perform motor driving more appropriately in a preset driving interval where motor driving should be performed.

[0005] The hybrid vehicle of the present disclosure adopts the following means to achieve the above main object.

[0006] A hybrid vehicle, comprising:

[0007] An engine capable of outputting power for driving;

[0008] A motor capable of outputting power for driving;

[0009] A power storage device capable of exchanging power with the motor; and

[0010] A control device, when switching between a motor driving mode and a normal driving mode to control the engine and the motor for driving, obtains information on each driving section of a planned or estimated driving route based on map information and the vehicle's position, merges consecutive driving sections according to predetermined conditions, creates a driving support plan for whether to drive in the motor driving mode or the normal driving mode based on the information of the driving sections after the section merging, and executes driving support control for driving according to the driving support plan. In the motor driving mode, it performs motor driving in which the engine is stopped and the vehicle is driven by the power from the motor. In the normal driving mode, it performs normal driving in which the vehicle is driven by the power from the engine and the power from the motor as needed.

[0011] When there is a predetermined motor driving section that should be driven by the motor in the driving sections of the driving route, the control device does not perform section merging for the predetermined motor driving section and creates the driving support plan.

[0012] In the hybrid vehicle of the present disclosure, it includes: an engine capable of outputting power for driving; a motor capable of outputting power for driving; a power storage device capable of exchanging power with the motor; and a control device that switches between a motor driving mode and a normal driving mode to control the engine and the motor. In the motor driving mode, it performs motor driving in which the engine is stopped and the vehicle is driven by the power from the motor. In the normal driving mode, it performs normal driving in which the vehicle is driven by the power from the engine and the power from the motor as needed. The control device obtains information on each driving section of a planned or estimated driving route based on map information and the vehicle's position. Moreover, the control device merges consecutive driving sections according to predetermined conditions. The control device creates a driving support plan for whether to drive in the motor driving mode or the normal driving mode based on the information of the driving sections after the section merging, and executes driving support control for driving according to the driving support plan. At this time, when there is a predetermined motor driving section that should be driven by the motor in the driving sections of the driving route, the control device does not perform section merging for the predetermined motor driving section and creates the driving support plan. Thereby, it is possible to drive more appropriately in the predetermined motor driving section determined in advance by the motor driving mode.

[0013] As the predetermined motor driving section, for example, the sections determined by a public welfare organization or a user correspond to this. For example, sections belonging to an urban area, sections belonging to the vicinity of a hospital, sections belonging to the vicinity of the user's home, etc. can be cited. Description of the Drawings

[0014] Hereinafter, the features, advantages, and technical and industrial significance of exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals denote the same elements, and:

[0015] Figure 1 FIG. is a block diagram showing an example of a hybrid vehicle 20 as an embodiment of the present disclosure, centered around a hybrid ECU 50 as a module.

[0016] Figure 2 FIG. is a flowchart showing an example of the interval information acquisition and merging process executed by the hybrid ECU 50. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] Next, a mode (embodiment) for implementing the present disclosure will be described. Figure 1 FIG. is a block diagram showing an example of a hybrid vehicle 20 as an embodiment of the present disclosure, centered around a hybrid electronic control unit (hereinafter referred to as hybrid ECU) 50 as a module. As shown in the figure, the hybrid vehicle 20 of the embodiment includes an engine EG and a motor MG as power sources. As driving modes, the hybrid vehicle 20 of the embodiment has a motor driving mode and a normal driving mode. The motor driving mode is a mode in which the vehicle travels by power from the motor MG with the engine EG stopped. The normal driving mode is a mode in which the vehicle travels by power from the engine EG and power from the motor MG as needed by operating the engine EG.

[0018] In addition to the power sources, the hybrid vehicle 20 of the embodiment further includes an ignition switch 21, a GPS (Global Positioning System, Global Positioning Satellite) 22, an in-vehicle camera 24, a millimeter-wave radar 26, an acceleration sensor 28, a vehicle speed sensor 30, an accelerator pedal sensor 32, a brake sensor 34, a mode changeover switch 36, a battery actuator 38, a storage battery 40, an air conditioner electronic control unit (hereinafter referred to as air conditioner ECU) 42, an air conditioner compressor 44, a hybrid ECU 50, an accelerator pedal actuator 60, a brake actuator 62, a brake device 64, a display device 66, a motor driving indicator 67, an instrument panel 68, a DCM (Data Communication Module) 70, a navigation system 80, and the like.

[0019] GPS22 is a device that detects the position of a vehicle based on signals sent from multiple GPS satellites. The in-vehicle camera 24 is a camera that captures the surroundings of the vehicle. For example, it corresponds to a front camera that captures the front of the vehicle, a rear camera that captures the rear of the vehicle, and so on. The millimeter-wave radar 26 detects the inter-vehicle distance and relative speed between the host vehicle and a vehicle ahead, or detects the inter-vehicle distance and relative speed between the host vehicle and a vehicle behind.

[0020] The acceleration sensor 28 is, for example, a sensor that detects the acceleration of the vehicle in the front-rear direction or detects the acceleration of the vehicle in the left-right direction (lateral direction). The vehicle speed sensor 30 detects the vehicle speed of the vehicle based on the wheel speed or the like. The accelerator pedal sensor 32 detects the accelerator pedal opening corresponding to the depression amount of the driver's accelerator pedal. The brake sensor 34 detects the brake position, which is the depression amount of the driver's brake pedal. The mode changeover switch 36 is a switch disposed near the steering wheel of the driver's seat and is used to switch between the motor driving mode and the normal driving mode. Basically, if the mode changeover switch 36 is operated in the motor driving mode, it switches to the normal driving mode, and if the mode changeover switch 36 is operated in the normal driving mode, it switches to the motor driving mode.

[0021] The battery actuator 38 detects the state of the storage battery 40, such as the voltage between terminals, the charge-discharge current, and the storage battery temperature, and manages the storage battery 40 based on these. The battery actuator 38 calculates the state of charge SOC, or calculates the maximum allowable output power (output limit Wout) that can be output from the storage battery 40 and the maximum allowable input power (input limit Win) that can be input to the storage battery 40. The state of charge SOC is the ratio of the remaining charge capacity calculated based on the charge-discharge current to the total charge capacity. Based on the state of charge SOC, the storage battery temperature, and so on, the maximum allowable output power (output limit Wout) and the maximum allowable input power (input limit Win) are calculated. The storage battery 40 is configured as a rechargeable secondary battery, and for example, a lithium-ion battery, a nickel-metal hydride battery, a lead storage battery, or the like can be used.

[0022] Although not shown, the air conditioner ECU 42 is configured as a microcomputer centered on a CPU and includes, in addition to the CPU, a ROM, a RAM, a flash memory, an input port, an output port, a communication port, and so on. The air conditioner ECU 42 is incorporated into an air conditioning device that conditions the passenger compartment and drives and controls the air conditioner compressor 44 of the air conditioning device so that the temperature of the passenger compartment becomes the set temperature.

[0023] The engine EG is configured as an internal combustion engine, for example. The motor MG is configured as an electric motor that also functions as a generator such as a synchronous starting motor, for example. Although not shown, the motor MG is connected to the storage battery 40 via an inverter, and can output a driving force using the power supplied from the storage battery 40, or charge the storage battery 40 with the power generated.

[0024] Although not shown, the hybrid ECU 50 is configured as a microcomputer centered around a CPU, and in addition to the CPU, also includes a ROM, a RAM, a flash memory, an input port, an output port, a communication port, etc. The hybrid ECU 50 sets a driving mode, or sets a target operating point (target rotational speed, target torque) of the engine EG and a torque command of the motor MG. The hybrid ECU 50 sets the target operating point (target rotational speed, target torque) of the engine EG and the torque command of the motor MG according to the set driving mode, the accelerator pedal opening degree from the accelerator pedal sensor 32, the brake position from the brake sensor 34, the output limit and the input limit from the battery actuator 38. In addition, the hybrid ECU 50 does not start when the accessory is turned on, and starts when it is ready.

[0025] During motor driving, the hybrid ECU 50 sets a requested driving force and a requested power according to the accelerator pedal opening degree from the accelerator pedal sensor 32 and the vehicle speed from the vehicle speed sensor 30. Moreover, the hybrid ECU 50 sets a torque command of the motor MG in such a way as to output the requested driving force and the requested power to the vehicle, and sends the set torque command to the accelerator pedal actuator 60. During hybrid driving, the hybrid ECU 50 sets the target operating point of the engine EG and the torque command of the motor MG in such a way as to output the requested driving force and the requested power to the vehicle, and sends the target operating point and the torque command to the accelerator pedal actuator 60. In addition, when the brake pedal is depressed, the hybrid ECU 50 sets a required braking force according to the brake position from the brake sensor 34 and the vehicle speed from the vehicle speed sensor 30. Moreover, the hybrid ECU 50 sets a torque command for regeneration control of the motor MG according to the required braking force and the vehicle speed, and sets a target braking force based on the braking device. The hybrid ECU 50 sends the torque command to the accelerator pedal actuator 60 and sends the target braking force to the brake actuator 62.

[0026] The accelerator actuator 60 drives and controls the engine EG and the motor MG by using the target operating point and torque command set by the hybrid ECU 50. The accelerator actuator 60 controls the intake air amount, fuel injection, ignition, and intake valve opening / closing timing in such a way that the engine EG operates at the target operating point (target rotational speed, target torque). In addition, the accelerator actuator 60 performs switching control of the switching elements of the inverter for driving the motor MG in such a way that a torque equivalent to the torque command is output from the motor MG.

[0027] The brake actuator 62 controls the brake device 64 in such a way that the target braking force set by the hybrid ECU 50 acts on the vehicle by using the brake device 64. The brake device 64 is configured as, for example, a hydraulically driven friction brake.

[0028] The display device 66 is embedded in the instrument panel in front of the driver's seat, for example, and displays various information and also functions as a touch panel. Although not shown, the motor travel indicator 67 is embedded in the instrument panel in front of the driver's seat, lights up when the vehicle is traveling by the motor, and goes out when the vehicle is not traveling by the motor.

[0029] The DCM (Data Communication Module) 70 sends the information of this vehicle to the traffic information management center 100 or receives road traffic information from the traffic information management center 100. As the information of this vehicle, for example, the position, vehicle speed, driving power, driving mode, etc. of this vehicle can be cited. As the road traffic information, for example, information related to current or future congestion, information related to the predicted value of the current average vehicle speed or future average vehicle speed in a section on the driving route, information related to traffic control, information related to weather, information related to road surface conditions, information related to maps, etc. can be cited. The DCM 70 communicates with the traffic information management center 100 at a predetermined interval (for example, every 30 seconds, every 1 minute, every 2 minutes, etc.).

[0030] The navigation system 80 is a system that guides the present vehicle to a set destination, and includes a display unit 82 and a map information database 84. The display unit 82 is a functional block having a function of displaying, on a display device 66, a route to the destination, the position of the own vehicle, etc. based on map information. The navigation system 80 communicates with a traffic information management center 100 via a DCM (Data Communication Module). When a destination and a via point are set, the navigation system 80 sets a route based on information on the destination or the via point, information on the current location (the position of the present vehicle at present) acquired by the GPS 22, and information stored in the map information database 84. Further, the navigation system 80 communicates with the traffic information management center 100 at every predetermined time (for example, every 3 minutes, every 5 minutes, etc.) to acquire road traffic information, and performs route guidance based on the road traffic information. In the map information stored in the map information database 84, not only data as a map but also road gradients, road categories, altitudes, etc. for each travel section of each travel section are included.

[0031] When the navigation system 80 performs route guidance, it generates load information and the like required for traveling in each travel section as pre-read information, and sends it to the hybrid ECU 50. Every time road traffic information is acquired from the traffic information management center 100 (or for each predetermined time), generation of pre-read information is performed. The navigation system 80 generates load information and the like required for traveling in each travel section as pre-read information based on information on each travel section in the travel route, information related to the driving load, the vehicle speed of the own vehicle, the driving power of the own vehicle, the driving mode of the own vehicle, etc. in the road traffic information acquired from the traffic information management center 100. In addition, the pre-read information includes the following: information on the own vehicle such as the position, vehicle speed, driving power, driving mode, etc. of the own vehicle; information related to current or future congestion; information related to the predicted value of the current average vehicle speed or future average vehicle speed in a section on the travel route; information related to traffic control; information related to the weather; information related to the road surface condition; information related to the map, etc. In the information related to the map, it also includes an area where motor driving should be performed (motor driving area) determined by municipalities, etc. The navigation system 80 can also set a motor driving area by designating an area such as an area near the home by user operation. The navigation system 80 sends a signal indicating whether it is a motor driving area to the hybrid ECU 50 during the travel of the own vehicle.

[0032] Next, the operation in the hybrid vehicle 20 configured as described above, particularly the operation when acquiring and merging information on travel sections, will be described. Figure 2 FIG. is a flowchart showing an example of an interval information acquisition and merging process executed by the navigation system 80. This process is performed at every predetermined time and at the timing when the travel route changes.

[0033] When performing the processing of obtaining and merging section information, the navigation system 80 first obtains information on each driving section of the planned or estimated driving route within a predetermined range from the current location (S100). The predetermined range can be 5 km, 10 km, 15 km, etc. The planned driving route is the driving route planned by the navigation system 80 as the route guidance from the current location to the destination by setting the destination, and the estimated driving route is the driving route estimated to start from the current location. As the obtained information, in addition to the above-mentioned preview information, it also includes whether there is a motor driving area, and when there is a motor driving area, it also includes the start point and end point of the motor driving area, etc. In addition, for each driving section of the driving route, the driving sections are sequentially set as driving section (1) to driving section (i) from the current position.

[0034] Next, an initial value of 1 is set for the first variable n (S110), and n + 1 is set for the second variable k (S120). Then, it is determined whether the driving section (k) is a motor driving section within the motor driving area (S130). When it is determined that the driving section (k) is not a motor driving section, it is determined whether the merging condition is satisfied between the driving section (n) and the driving section (k) (S140). The following can be cited as the merging conditions: the condition of being the same road category, the condition of the same congestion level, the condition of not being a motor driving section, the condition that the gradient is within a certain range, and the condition that the distance from the start point of the driving section (n) to the end point of the driving section (k) is within a predetermined distance. When it is determined that the merging condition is satisfied between the driving section (n) and the driving section (k), the value of the second variable k is incremented by 1 (S150), and the process returns to the process of determining whether the driving section (k) is a motor driving section in S130. Therefore, within the range not including the motor driving section, the processes of S130 to S150 are repeatedly performed until the merging condition is not satisfied.

[0035] When it is determined in S140 that the merging condition is not satisfied between the driving section (n) and the driving section (k), the section merging is performed for the driving section from (n) to (k - 1) (S160). When the first variable n coincides with k - 1, the driving section to be merged is one section, so the driving section (n) directly becomes the merged driving section. Then, the second variable k is set for the first variable n (S170), and it is determined whether the driving section (n) is the final driving section (S180). When it is determined that the driving section (n) is not the final driving section, the process returns to the process of setting n + 1 for the second variable k in S120. Therefore, the processes of S120 to S180 are repeatedly performed until it is determined that the driving section (n) is the final driving section.

[0036] When it is determined in S130 that the driving section (k) is a motor driving section, the sections from the driving section (n) to the driving section (k - 1) are merged (S160), and the processes of S170 and S180 are executed. That is, when it is determined that the driving section (k) is a motor driving section, the driving section (k - 1) up to the driving section (k) is merged and returned to the process of setting the second variable k to n + 1 in S120. When the motor driving sections are continuous, it is continuously determined in S130 that the driving section (k) is a motor driving section, so the individual motor driving sections are set as the merged driving sections, and the merging of the motor driving sections is not performed. In the case where a driving section that is not a motor driving section follows a motor driving section, since the condition for not being a motor driving section is not satisfied and it is determined in S140 that the merging condition is not satisfied, the individual motor driving sections are set as the merged driving sections.

[0037] When it is determined in S180 that the driving section (n) is the final driving section, the information of each driving section of the driving path after section merging is sent to the hybrid ECU 50 (S190), and this process ends. The hybrid ECU 50 that has received the information of each driving section of the driving path after section merging creates a driving support plan that allocates the motor driving mode and the normal driving mode to each driving section of the driving path. Moreover, the hybrid ECU 50 executes driving support control for driving in the motor driving mode and the normal driving mode in accordance with the driving support plan.

[0038] In the hybrid vehicle 20 of the embodiment described above, when the navigation system 80 performs section merging after obtaining the information of each driving section of the planned or estimated driving path within a predetermined range from the current location, it does not merge the motor driving sections set as the motor driving areas but performs section merging. Moreover, the navigation system 80 sends the information of each driving section of the driving path after section merging to the hybrid ECU 50 that creates the driving support plan. Thus, for the predetermined motor driving sections, the driving support plan is always created as individual driving sections. Therefore, the motor driving sections and other driving sections are section-merged, so that the situation of driving in the normal driving mode in the motor driving sections can be suppressed. As a result, it is possible to drive more appropriately in the motor driving mode in the motor driving sections.

[0039] In the hybrid vehicle 20 of the embodiment, the navigation system 80 is used to execute the section information acquisition and merging process for merging each driving section of the planned or estimated driving path within a predetermined range from the current location. However, the hybrid ECU 50 may also be used to execute the section information acquisition and merging process.

[0040] Explain the correspondence between the main elements of the embodiment and the main elements of the invention described in the Summary of the Invention. In the embodiment, the engine EG corresponds to "engine", the motor MG corresponds to "motor", the storage battery 40 corresponds to "power storage device", and the hybrid electronic control unit 50 and the navigation system 80 correspond to "control device".

[0041] In addition, the correspondence between the main elements of the embodiment and the main elements of the invention described in the Summary of the Invention is an example for specifically explaining the manner in which the embodiment is used to implement the invention described in the Summary of the Invention. The main elements of the embodiment are not limited to the elements of the invention described in the Summary of the Invention. That is, the interpretation of the invention described in the Summary of the Invention should be based on the description of that part, and the embodiment is only a specific example of the invention described in the Summary of the Invention.

[0042] As described above, the present disclosure has been described using the embodiment, but the present disclosure is not limited to such an embodiment at all, and can of course be implemented in various ways without departing from the gist of the present disclosure.

[0043] The present disclosure can be used in the manufacturing industry of hybrid vehicles and the like.

Claims

1. A hybrid vehicle, characterized in that, Comprising: An engine capable of outputting power for driving; A motor capable of outputting power for driving; A power storage device capable of exchanging power with the motor; And A control device that, when switching between a motor driving mode and a normal driving mode to control the engine and the motor for driving, obtains information on each driving section in a planned or estimated driving route based on map information and the vehicle's own position, and merges consecutive driving sections according to predetermined conditions. The control device creates a driving support plan for whether to drive in the motor driving mode or the normal driving mode based on the information of the driving sections after the section merging, and executes driving support control for driving according to the driving support plan. In the motor driving mode, it performs motor driving in a state where the engine is stopped and drives with power from the motor. In the normal driving mode, it performs normal driving by driving with power from the engine and power from the motor as needed. When there is a predetermined motor driving section that is predetermined to perform motor driving in the driving sections of the driving route, the control device does not perform section merging for the predetermined motor driving section and creates the driving support plan.

2. The hybrid vehicle according to claim 1, wherein The predetermined motor driving section is a section set by the user.

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