Controller apparatus for electric vehicle

Abstract

To provide a control device for an electric vehicle capable of simulating an engine stall and restraining the simulation of an engine stall from causing an inconvenience.SOLUTION: Provided is a controller apparatus for electric vehicle that includes a virtual engine rotation speed calculation unit configured to calculate a virtual rotation speed of an engine on the basis of operation amounts of an accelerator operation unit and clutch operation unit device, the control apparatus including the following steps of: performing engine stall control for stopping a rotating machine to simulate the engine stall when the virtual rotation speed of the engine calculated by a virtual engine rotation speed calculation unit is less than a predetermined rotation speed; and performing hold assist control for applying braking torque to wheels by braking devices when the engine stall control is executed (Step S2).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a control device for reproducing the behavior of a vehicle equipped with an engine and a manual transmission in an electric vehicle that uses an electric motor as a driving force source. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a control device configured to simulate the behavior of a vehicle equipped with a manual transmission that sets a gear stage between the engine and the drive wheels according to a shift operation by a driver, using an electric vehicle in which a rotary machine as a driving force source and drive wheels are connected via a gear mechanism or a propeller shaft. This electric vehicle is equipped with an accelerator pedal, a shift lever, and a clutch pedal as operation request input devices operated by the driver, and the control device is configured to determine the output torque of the rotary machine according to the operation amount of these operation request input devices. Specifically, the control device is configured to calculate the output torque of a virtual engine according to the accelerator operation amount, and to determine the output torque of the rotary machine by multiplying the output torque of the virtual engine by a gain according to the operation amount of the clutch pedal. The control device is configured to calculate the rotation speed of the virtual engine in addition to the output torque of the rotary machine. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6787507 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The control device described in Patent Document 1 is configured to simulate the behavior of a vehicle equipped with an engine and a manual transmission by using an electric vehicle that does not have an engine and a manual transmission. Therefore, for example, when the accelerator pedal is operated with a small amount of pressure and the clutch pedal is depressed, an engine stall can also be simulated. When simulating such an engine stall, the torque of the rotary machine that is the driving force source becomes 0 (zero). For example, when simulating an engine stall on an uphill road, if the driver depresses the clutch pedal, the vehicle may unintentionally roll back, and it may be undesirable to simulate an engine stall. On the other hand, if an engine stall is not simulated in order to prevent such inconvenience from occurring, a driver who prefers vehicle operability may feel uncomfortable.

[0005] The present invention has been made in light of the above-mentioned technical problems, and aims to provide a control device for an electric vehicle that can simulate an engine stall and prevent undesirable situations from occurring as a result of simulating an engine stall. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a control device for an electric vehicle which includes a rotating machine that transmits torque to wheels and a braking device that applies braking torque to the wheels, and which does not include an engine, a transmission connected to the engine, or a clutch mechanism that interrupts the supply of torque from the engine to the wheels, but in which the rotating machine and the wheels are constantly connected, the control device comprising: an accelerator operation unit operated by a driver to determine a drive request amount of the electric vehicle; a shift operation unit operated by the driver to simulate operation of the transmission; and a clutch operation unit operated by the driver to simulate operation of the clutch mechanism. and a controller that controls the braking device. The controller has a virtual engine rotation speed calculation unit that calculates a virtual rotation speed of the engine based on the operation amount of the accelerator operation unit and the clutch operation unit, and when the virtual rotation speed of the engine calculated by the virtual engine rotation speed calculation unit becomes less than a predetermined rotation speed, executes engine stall control that stops the rotation and torque output of the rotating machine, and when the engine stall control is executed, executes hold assist control that applies braking torque to the wheels by the braking device.

[0007] In the present invention, the controller is configured to determine the output torque of the rotating machine based on the amount of operation of the accelerator operating unit, and when the engine stall control is executed, the controller may prohibit the rotating machine from outputting torque based on the amount of operation of the accelerator operating unit.

[0008] In the present invention, when the engine stall control is executed, the controller may issue a recovery notification for recovering from the engine stall.

[0009] In the present invention, the vehicle further includes a brake operation unit that is operated by the driver to determine the braking torque of the braking device, and the return notification may include operation of the brake operation unit to increase the braking torque by the braking device, and operation of the clutch operation unit to simulate the release of the clutch mechanism.

[0010] In the present invention, the controller may stop the engine stall control when the brake operating unit and the clutch operating unit are operated.

[0011] In the present invention, the controller may determine whether or not the driver has low driving skills, and execute the hold assist control when the driver has low driving skills.

[0012] In the present invention, the controller may execute the hold assist control when the driver has high driving skill and the electric vehicle is stopped on a slope.

[0013] In the present invention, the hold assist control may be executed when the driver has high driving skill and there is another vehicle in the moving direction of the electric vehicle.

[0014] In the present invention, the controller may stop the hold assist control when the electric vehicle is able to start.

[0015] In the present invention, when the engine stall control has been executed, the controller may execute a start assist control that suppresses the engine stall control from being executed again.

[0016] In the present invention, the start assist control may include control for prohibiting execution of the engine stall control by setting a lower limit value of the virtual rotation speed of the engine calculated by the virtual engine rotation speed calculation unit to be equal to or higher than the predetermined rotation speed. Effect of the Invention

[0017] According to the present invention, a virtual rotation speed of an engine not provided in an electric vehicle is calculated based on the operation amount of an accelerator operation unit and a clutch operation unit. Then, when the calculated virtual rotation speed of the engine becomes less than a predetermined rotation speed, engine stall control is executed to simulate an engine stall. That is, the rotating machine is stopped. When engine stall control is executed in this way, torque is not output from the rotating machine, so in the present invention, hold assist control is executed to apply a braking torque to the wheels by a braking device. Therefore, for example, when the clutch operation unit is operated to restart, it is possible to suppress inconveniences such as the electric vehicle moving unintentionally. Also, by performing the hold assist control in this way, it is not necessary to prohibit engine stall control that reproduces an engine stall, and it is possible to faithfully reproduce the behavior of the vehicle to be simulated. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an electric vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of an ECU in the form of functional blocks. [Diagram 3] 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of control executed by a control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 5 is a flowchart for explaining a control example in which it is determined whether or not to execute assist control depending on the driving technique of a driver. [Diagram 5] 4 is a flowchart for explaining a control example for reproducing the behavior of a vehicle immediately before an engine stall. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0019] The present invention will be described based on the embodiment shown in the drawings. Note that the embodiment described below is merely one example of a specific embodiment of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the present invention.

[0020] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an example of an electric vehicle (hereinafter, referred to as a vehicle) according to an embodiment of the present invention. The vehicle Ve is a front-drive vehicle that includes a motor (MG) 1 as a driving force source and transmits torque from the motor 1 to a pair of front wheels 2 to run. The motor 1 can be configured as a so-called motor generator that, like a motor provided in a conventionally known electric vehicle or hybrid vehicle, functions as a motor that receives power from a power storage device (BATT) 3 to output driving torque, and also functions as a generator that is forcibly rotated by torque transmitted from the outside to generate electricity. Specifically, a permanent magnet synchronous motor or an induction motor can be used. The motor 1 corresponds to the "rotating machine" in the embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] An output shaft 4 of the motor 1 is connected to a gear mechanism 5, which is further connected to a differential gear mechanism 7, which is a final reduction gear, via a propeller shaft 6. The output torque of the motor 1 is distributed to left and right drive shafts 8 via the differential gear mechanism 7, and a pair of front wheels (drive wheels) 2 connected to the drive shafts 8 are driven by the motor 1 to run the vehicle Ve. In other words, the vehicle Ve does not include an engine, a transmission connected to the engine, or a clutch mechanism that can interrupt the transmission of torque between the engine and the drive wheels. In addition, each wheel 2 is provided with a brake mechanism B that applies a braking torque to each wheel 2, as in a conventional vehicle. This brake mechanism B corresponds to the "braking device" in the embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] Although the vehicle Ve shown in FIG. 1 is a front-drive vehicle, the electric vehicle of the present invention may be a rear-drive electric vehicle that runs by transmitting torque from the motor 1 to a pair of rear wheels 9, or may be a four-wheel drive vehicle that is provided with a transfer and runs by transmitting torque from the motor 1 to a pair of front wheels 2 and a pair of rear wheels 9.

[0023] An inverter (INV) 10 is provided for controlling the magnitude of the current passed through the motor 1 and the frequency of the current passed through each phase, and an electricity storage device (BATT) 3 that outputs a direct current is connected to the inverter 10. In addition to the inverter 10, other electrical equipment such as a converter for amplifying the voltage output from the electricity storage device 3 may be provided, and the electricity storage device 3 may include an electricity storage member such as a capacitor in addition to a secondary battery such as a lithium ion battery.

[0024] An electronic control unit (hereinafter, referred to as ECU) 11 is provided for controlling the switching elements of the inverter 10 and the brake mechanism B. This ECU 11 corresponds to the "controller" in the embodiment of the present invention, and is mainly composed of a microcomputer like an ECU provided in a conventionally known vehicle, and is configured to receive signals from various sensors, perform calculations based on the input signals, pre-stored calculation expressions, maps, etc., and output the results of the calculations as control signals to various devices such as actuators (not shown) that control the inverter 10 and the brake mechanism B, or speakers (not shown).

[0025] The vehicle Ve shown in FIG. 1 includes an accelerator pedal 12 that is operated by a driver (not shown) to accelerate or decelerate (increase or decrease power output), i.e., determines the drive demand amount of the vehicle Ve, and an accelerator position sensor 13 that detects the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal. The vehicle also includes a brake pedal 14 that is depressed by the driver to decelerate or stop the vehicle and determines the braking torque of the brake mechanism B according to the amount of depression, and a brake sensor 15 that detects the amount of depression and the force of depression. The vehicle also includes a vehicle speed sensor (rotation speed sensor) 16 that detects the rotation speed of the propeller shaft 6 (i.e., vehicle speed). These sensors 13, 15, and 16 are connected to an ECU 11, and their detection signals (detected data) are input to the ECU 11. The accelerator pedal 12 corresponds to the "accelerator operation unit" in the embodiment of the present invention, and the brake pedal 14 corresponds to the "brake operation unit" in the embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] Furthermore, the vehicle Ve shown in FIG. 1 is provided with a device for simulating a manual gear shift operation. First, a shift mechanism 17 is provided, which is mainly a shift lever or paddle switch for manually selecting and operating a plurality of forward and reverse gears and a neutral position that do not actually exist. When a gear shift operation is performed in a vehicle equipped with a manual transmission, the transmission of torque between a driving force source such as an engine and a driving wheel is temporarily interrupted in order to enable the engagement and disengagement of gears and to reduce shift shock. The clutch for this purpose is usually disconnected and connected (intermittent) by a clutch pedal. The vehicle Ve shown in FIG. 1 is provided with a clutch pedal 18 as a clutch mechanism, simulating a vehicle equipped with such a manual transmission. An operation unit instead of the clutch pedal 18 may be provided on the steering wheel. The shift device 17 corresponds to the "shift operation unit" in the embodiment of the present invention, and the clutch pedal 18 corresponds to the "clutch operation unit" in the embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] Also provided are a shift position sensor 19 that detects a position (or mode) such as a gear selected by the shift mechanism 17, and a clutch position sensor 20 that detects the amount of depression of the clutch pedal 18. These sensors 19, 20 are connected to the above-mentioned ECU 11, and their respective detection signals (detected data) are input to the ECU 11.

[0028] The above-mentioned vehicle Ve is configured to be capable of performing normal EV driving in which the torque of the motor 1 is controlled to drive and brake in response to the driver's drive request represented by the accelerator opening, as well as driving and behavior during shift operation that simulates the driving and shift operation of a vehicle equipped with an engine, a transmission (manual transmission) connected to the engine, and a clutch mechanism (hereinafter referred to as an MT vehicle). The control for the driving that simulates the MT vehicle may be the control described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, which will be briefly described below.

[0029] A model of the MT vehicle to be simulated is set in advance and stored in the ECU 11 as a numerical model. The actual accelerator opening (amount of depression) detected by the accelerator position sensor 13 described above, the shift position on the shift mechanism 17 detected by the shift position sensor 19, the actual amount of depression of the clutch pedal 18 detected by the clutch position sensor 20, and the actual rotational speed of the propeller shaft 6 detected by the rotational speed sensor 16 are applied to this modeled MT vehicle to determine the torque (driving torque and braking torque) that should be output by the motor 1, and the ECU 11 controls the inverter 10 to realize this torque.

[0030] The modeled MT vehicle (hereinafter, referred to as the virtual vehicle) is equipped with an internal combustion engine (engine) and a stepped transmission connected to the output side thereof, and a virtual engine rotation speed, which is the rotation speed of the engine, is calculated based on the actual driving state input from each of the above-mentioned sensors 13, 19, 20, and 16. As an example, the virtual engine rotation speed can be obtained by multiplying the rotation speed of the propeller shaft 6 detected by the rotation speed sensor 16 by the gear ratio at the shift position (gear stage) selected by the shift mechanism 17, and further multiplying it by a slip rate according to the depression amount of the clutch pedal 18 detected by the clutch position sensor 20. In addition, when the rotation speed of the propeller shaft 6 is 0 (zero), the accelerator opening detected by the accelerator position sensor 13 is 0%, and the depression amount of the clutch pedal 18 detected by the clutch position sensor 20 is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount and is depressed to a degree that the clutch mechanism in the virtual vehicle does not transmit torque, it is assumed that the virtual engine is idling, and the virtual engine rotation speed can be obtained as a predetermined idling rotation speed. A functional means or a functional block for performing such a calculation is shown in Fig. 2 as a "virtual engine speed calculation unit 110." The virtual engine speed calculated by the virtual engine speed calculation unit 110 is output to a speaker (not shown), and a sound simulating an engine sound is emitted from the speaker.

[0031] Since the virtual engine assumed to be mounted on the virtual vehicle is an engine whose displacement, the relationship between rotation speed and output torque, efficiency, etc. are determined by design, once the virtual engine rotation speed is calculated, the output torque of the virtual engine can be calculated based on that value, the accelerator position, and a map that defines the relationship between rotation speed and output torque for the virtual engine. The functional means or functional block that performs such calculations is shown in Figure 2 as a "virtual engine output torque calculation unit 111."

[0032] The clutch mechanism in the virtual vehicle is assumed to be a friction clutch whose transmission torque capacity changes continuously. Therefore, a predetermined relationship determined by design is established between the depression amount of the clutch pedal 18 and the transmission torque capacity, and the relationship can be prepared in advance as a map and stored in the ECU 11. For example, the transmission torque capacity can be set as a gain that changes from "0" to "1", and the gain is "1" when the depression amount of the clutch pedal 18 is between "0" and a predetermined value, and as the depression amount increases beyond that, the gain gradually decreases (linearly or proportionally) according to the depression amount. Therefore, the torque output from the virtual clutch mechanism assumed to be installed in the virtual vehicle is determined by the gain, and the gain can be calculated based on the map and the actual depression amount of the clutch pedal 18 detected by the clutch position sensor 20. A functional means or a functional block that performs such a calculation is shown in FIG. 2 as a "torque transmission gain calculation unit 112".

[0033] The torque input to the manual transmission assumed to be installed in the virtual vehicle is the torque obtained by changing the virtual engine output torque according to the above gain, that is, the clutch output torque. Therefore, the clutch output torque can be calculated by multiplying the virtual engine output torque calculated by the virtual engine output torque calculation unit 111 by the gain calculated by the torque transmission gain calculation unit 112. A functional means or a functional block that performs such a calculation is shown in FIG. 2 as a "clutch output torque calculation unit 113."

[0034] In order to simulate the gear ratio (speed ratio) set in the manual transmission of the virtual vehicle, the gear ratio of the manual transmission is calculated from the actual running state of the vehicle Ve. The gear ratio is the ratio between the engine rotation speed of the virtual vehicle and the output rotation speed of the manual transmission (specifically, the rotation speed of the propeller shaft 6). The engine rotation speed of the virtual vehicle corresponds to the virtual engine rotation speed, and the output rotation speed corresponds to the rotation speed of the propeller shaft 6 detected by the rotation speed sensor 16. Therefore, the gear ratio is obtained by dividing the virtual engine rotation speed by the rotation speed of the propeller shaft 6. A functional means or a functional block for performing such a calculation is shown in FIG. 2 as a "gear ratio calculation unit 114."

[0035] In order to make the behavior of the vehicle Ve, including the behavior during gear shifting, coincide or approximate the behavior of the virtual vehicle, the output torque of the motor 1 is controlled so that the torque of the propeller shaft 6 coincides or approximates the output torque of the manual transmission in the virtual vehicle. Therefore, it is necessary to calculate the output torque of the manual transmission in the virtual vehicle, which is performed by a functional means or a functional block shown as a "transmission output torque calculation unit 115" in FIG. 2. Specifically, since the manual transmission increases or decreases the input torque according to the gear ratio and outputs it, the transmission output torque is calculated by multiplying the above-mentioned clutch output torque input to the manual transmission by the gear ratio. Since the clutch output torque is a torque that reflects the gain calculated by the torque transmission gain calculation unit 112, it is a torque that corresponds to the transmission torque capacity associated with the on-off of the clutch mechanism during gear shifting transition. Therefore, by controlling the inverter 10 by the ECU 11 to realize the torque calculated by the transmission output torque calculation unit 115 (torque at the propeller shaft 6), it is possible to make the behavior of the virtual vehicle during gear shifting appear in the above-mentioned actual vehicle Ve.

[0036] When the above-mentioned virtual vehicle is stopped with the clutch pedal 18 depressed, the virtual engine rotation speed becomes faster than the virtual output rotation speed on the output side of the clutch mechanism. Therefore, when the depression amount of the clutch pedal 18 is reduced when starting, a resistance torque acts on the virtual engine from the output side of the clutch mechanism. Therefore, the virtual engine generates a torque larger than the resistance torque, and a driving torque is transmitted from the virtual engine via the clutch mechanism. In this case, when the torque generated by the virtual engine is larger than the resistance torque, the virtual engine rotation speed increases due to the surplus virtual engine torque, and when it is smaller than the resistance torque, the virtual engine rotation speed decreases due to the surplus resistance torque.

[0037] Therefore, when starting, the virtual engine rotation speed calculation unit 110 calculates the torque difference between the output torque of the virtual engine calculated by the virtual engine output torque calculation unit 111 and the resistance torque calculated based on the depression amount of the clutch pedal 18 and the current virtual engine rotation speed, and calculates the rate of change of the virtual engine rotation speed from the torque difference and a predetermined moment of inertia of the virtual engine, thereby changing (updating) the virtual engine rotation speed.

[0038] When the virtual engine speed falls below a predetermined speed, engine stall control is executed to simulate an engine stall. Specifically, to simulate a state in which the engine has stalled, the engine sound from the speaker is stopped and the output of torque corresponding to the amount of operation of the accelerator pedal 12 is prohibited. In other words, the accelerator request is rejected.

[0039] On the other hand, for example, when the engine stall control is executed when the vehicle Ve is on an uphill road, if the engine stall is simulated and an accelerator request is rejected as described above, there is a possibility that the vehicle Ve will roll back when the driver depresses the clutch pedal 18 to start the vehicle again. Therefore, the control device of the present invention is configured to suppress the movement of the vehicle Ve when the engine stall control is executed. An example of such control is shown in FIG.

[0040] In the example shown in Fig. 3, first, it is determined whether or not engine stall control has been executed (step S1). This step S1 can be determined based on whether or not the virtual engine rotation speed calculated by the virtual engine rotation speed calculation unit 110 as described above is less than a predetermined first predetermined rotation speed such as a rotation speed at which autonomous rotation is possible, or whether or not the virtual engine rotation speed is 0 (zero) and a flag for rejecting an accelerator request is turned on. The above-mentioned first predetermined rotation speed corresponds to the "predetermined rotation speed" in the embodiment of the present invention.

[0041] If the engine stall control is not being executed and therefore the result of the negative determination in step S1 is negative, the routine is terminated. On the other hand, if the engine stall control is executed and therefore the result of the positive determination in step S1 is positive, then the hold assist control for fixing the vehicle position is executed (step S2). This hold assist control can be performed by repurposing a conventional hill hold control or the like. That is, even if the driver does not operate the brakes, a braking torque is applied by the brake mechanism B provided on each wheel 2, 9. Also, in step S2, for example, the motor 1 may be energized to output a torque so as to generate a load counter to the longitudinal load acting on the vehicle Ve, regardless of the amount of accelerator operation by the driver.

[0042] Next, a notification (return notification) for performing a return operation from the engine stall control is output (step S3). Specifically, a notification is output to perform each procedure in order, that is, depressing the brake pedal 14 to increase the braking torque by the brake mechanism B, depressing the clutch pedal 18 to simulate the release of the clutch mechanism, selecting the first forward gear (start gear) by the shift mechanism 17, and performing a restart operation. This step S3 may be performed by outputting a signal from the ECU 11 to a speaker to notify the return by voice, or by outputting a signal to an instrument panel (not shown) to notify the return by displaying it on the instrument panel. The above-mentioned restart operation is an operation of decreasing the amount of depression of the depressed clutch pedal 18 and increasing the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal 12, and is the same as the start operation of a normal MT vehicle. In this control example, the virtual engine is started by depressing the brake pedal 14 and the clutch pedal 18. That is, the rotation speed of the virtual engine is set to an idle rotation speed, and sound and vibration according to the idle rotation speed are generated. Furthermore, the rejection of the accelerator request is released by selecting the first forward gear by the shift mechanism 17. Note that the rejection of the accelerator request may be released on the condition that the brake pedal 14 and the clutch pedal 18 are depressed. In other words, the engine stall control is ended by depressing at least the brake pedal 14 and the clutch pedal 18.

[0043] Next, it is determined whether or not restarting is possible (step S4). That is, it is determined whether or not the driver has performed the brake pedal 14, clutch pedal 18, shift mechanism 17, and restarting operation notified in step S3. This step S4 can be determined based on the detection signals of the accelerator position sensor 13, the brake sensor 15, the clutch position sensor 20, and the shift position sensor 19.

[0044] If the operation based on the return notification in step S3 is not performed and restarting is not possible, and the result of the negative determination in step S4 is false, the process returns to step S3. That is, the return notification is continued until the vehicle is in a state where restarting is possible. On the other hand, if the vehicle is capable of restarting and the result of the positive determination in step S4 is false, the hold assist control executed in step S2 is stopped (step S5), and this routine is temporarily terminated.

[0045] In the above-described control example, the return notification includes the shift operation and the restart operation, but the return notification only needs to be able to return from the engine stall control, and the shift operation and the restart operation do not need to be notified. In that case, the determination of whether or not restarting is possible in step S4 can be made by determining whether or not the brake operation and the clutch operation are being performed. In other words, the hold assist control may be stopped before the shift operation and the restart operation are performed.

[0046] As described above, when engine stall control simulating an engine stall is executed, hold assist control is executed to fix the position of the vehicle Ve, in other words, braking torque is applied to the wheels, thereby preventing the vehicle Ve from unintentionally rolling backward when, for example, the clutch pedal 18 is depressed to restart. Also, by executing hold assist control in this manner, it is not necessary to prohibit the reproduction of an engine stall, and the behavior of the virtual vehicle can be faithfully reproduced.

[0047] In the above-described control example, the hold assist control is always executed when the engine stall control is executed, but some drivers may feel that such hold assist control is excessive. Therefore, in the control example shown in Fig. 4, whether or not to execute the hold assist control is determined according to the driving technique of the driver, or whether or not to execute the hold assist control is determined according to the surrounding conditions of the vehicle Ve. Note that the same steps as those in Fig. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals and their description is omitted.

[0048] 4, if the result of step S1 is negative due to the execution of engine stall control, it is determined whether the driver's driving skill is low (step S10). This step S10 may be determined, for example, by the driver operating a touch panel when getting into the vehicle Ve to select a level of driving skill and storing the selected level in the ECU 11, or the driver's driving operation may be stored in the ECU 11 and the determination may be made based on the history of the driving operation.

[0049] If the driver's driving skill is poor and thus the answer is affirmative in step S10, the process proceeds to step S2. That is, hold assist control is executed. Conversely, if the driver's driving skill is not poor and thus the answer is negative in step S10, then it is determined whether the road is on a slope (step S11). This step S11 is a step for determining whether the situation is favorable for executing hold assist control, and the slope in step S11 includes a downhill road and an uphill road. In addition, whether the road is on a slope may be determined based on an acceleration sensor mounted on the vehicle Ve, or based on information about the road stored in the navigation system.

[0050] If the answer to step S11 is YES because the road is a slope, the process proceeds to step S2 and the hold assist control is executed. On the other hand, if the answer to step S11 is NO because the road is not a slope, the process proceeds to step S3. In other words, the hold assist control is not executed.

[0051] In the above example, whether to perform the hold assist control is determined based on whether the driver's driving skill is low, and further, if the driver's driving skill is not low, whether to perform the hold assist control is determined based on whether the road is a slope. However, the degree of the driver's driving skill may be divided into three stages and whether to perform the hold assist control may be determined. Specifically, if the driver's driving skill is low, the hold assist control may be performed regardless of whether the road is a slope, if the driving skill is at an intermediate level of the three stages, the hold assist control may be performed only when the road is a slope, and if the driving skill is high, the hold assist control may not be performed regardless of whether the road is a slope. Alternatively, if the driving skill is high, the vehicle may be configured to detect, using an on-board camera or the like, whether there is another vehicle in the direction in which the vehicle Ve may move unintentionally, that is, behind if the road is an uphill road, or ahead if the road is a downhill road, and to perform the hold assist control only when there is another vehicle.

[0052] In the example shown in FIG. 4, following step S3, the start assist control is performed again to suppress the execution of the engine stall control (step S12), and the process proceeds to step S4. This start assist control is a control that prohibits the simulation of an engine stall by setting the lower limit value of the virtual engine rotation speed to a rotation speed equal to or higher than the virtual engine rotation speed at which the virtual engine can rotate autonomously, that is, a rotation speed equal to or higher than the first predetermined rotation speed at which the engine stall control is executed. In addition, similar to the hold assist control, it may be determined whether or not to perform the start assist control depending on the driving skill of the driver. To give a specific example, when the driving skill of the driver is low, the start assist control may be performed regardless of whether the road is a slope, when the driving skill is at an intermediate level among the three stages, the start assist control may be performed only when the road is a slope, and when the driving skill is high, the start assist control may not be performed regardless of whether the road is a slope, or the start assist control may be performed only when there is another vehicle in the moving direction of the vehicle Ve.

[0053] In this way, by determining whether to perform the hold assist control or the start assist control according to the driving technique of the driver, it is possible to prevent a driver with high driving technique from feeling that the assist control is excessive. In other words, it is possible to reproduce the vehicle behavior that the driver prefers.

[0054] The control device of the present invention may be configured to reproduce the behavior immediately before the engine stalls. Figure 5 shows a flow chart for explaining such a control example, and the same steps as those in Figures 3 and 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

[0055] 5, if the engine stall control is not being executed and therefore the result of the negative determination in step S1 is negative, it is determined whether or not the engine stall control is about to be executed (step S20). Specifically, it is determined whether or not the virtual engine speed calculated by the virtual engine speed calculation unit 110 has become less than a second predetermined speed such as an idle speed. That is, if the engine speed is equal to or greater than the first predetermined speed and less than the second predetermined speed, the result of the positive determination in step S20 is positive.

[0056] If the engine rotation speed is equal to or higher than the second predetermined rotation speed and is not in a state immediately before the engine stall control is executed, the routine is terminated. On the other hand, if the engine rotation speed is lower than the second predetermined rotation speed and is in a state immediately before the engine stall control is executed, the behavior of the MT vehicle immediately before the engine stall is reproduced (step S21), and the routine is terminated. That is, in step S21, the behavior of the MT vehicle immediately before the engine stall is simulated to make the driver aware of the possibility of engine stall control being executed. By making the driver aware of the sign of engine stall control being executed in this way, the driver is prompted to perform an operation such as depressing the accelerator pedal 12 or the clutch pedal 18, thereby avoiding the execution of engine stall control. The reproduction of the behavior in step S21, for example, changes the engine sound emitted from the speaker into the vehicle cabin as the virtual engine rotation speed decreases, and outputs a stepped torque from the motor 1 so as to generate vibration in the front-rear direction.

[0057] As in the above-described control example, when there is a possibility that engine stall control will be executed, the behavior of the MT vehicle immediately before engine stall is reproduced to make the driver aware of the possibility that engine stall control will be executed. By making the driver aware of the sign that engine stall control will be executed in this way, the driver is prompted to perform an operation such as depressing the accelerator pedal 12 or the clutch pedal 18, thereby making it possible to avoid the execution of engine stall control.

[0058] The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and the rotating machine in the present invention is preferably a so-called motor-generator having the above-mentioned power generation function, but may be configured to include a motor that outputs drive torque and a generator that generates electricity during regenerative braking. Also, the rotation speed for calculating the gear stage (gear ratio) is not limited to the rotation speed of the propeller shaft described above, and may be the rotation speed of an appropriate rotating member that corresponds to the vehicle speed. [Explanation of symbols]

[0059] 1 Motor 2,9 wheels 11 Electronic Control Unit (ECU) 12 Accelerator pedal 14 Brake pedal 17 Shift mechanism 18 Clutch pedal 110 Virtual engine speed calculation unit 111 Virtual engine output torque calculation unit 112 Torque transmission gain calculation unit 113 Clutch output torque calculation section 114 Gear ratio calculation unit 115 Transmission output torque calculation section B Brake mechanism Ve electric vehicle

Claims

1. A control device for an electric vehicle, which includes a rotating machine that transmits torque to wheels and a braking device that applies a braking torque to the wheels, and which does not include an engine, a transmission connected to the engine, or a clutch mechanism that interrupts the transmission of torque from the engine to the wheels, and in which the rotating machine and the wheels are constantly connected to each other, an accelerator operation unit that is operated by a driver to determine a drive request amount of the electric vehicle; A shift operation unit that is operated by the driver to simulate operation of the transmission; A clutch operation unit that is operated by the driver to simulate operation of the clutch mechanism; A controller for controlling the braking device; Equipped with The controller: a virtual engine rotation speed calculation unit that calculates a virtual rotation speed of the engine based on an operation amount of the accelerator operation unit and the clutch operation unit, When the virtual rotation speed of the engine calculated by the virtual engine rotation speed calculation unit becomes less than a predetermined first predetermined rotation speed, an engine stall control is executed to stop the rotation and torque output of the rotary machine.

2. A control device for an electric vehicle.

2. 2. The electric vehicle control device according to claim 1, The controller: The output torque of the rotary machine is determined based on an operation amount of the accelerator operation unit, When the engine stall control is executed, the torque output from the rotary machine is prohibited based on the operation amount of the accelerator operation unit.

2. A control device for an electric vehicle.

3. The control device for an electric vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, The controller: When the engine stall control is executed, a recovery notification is issued to recover from the engine stall.

2. A control device for an electric vehicle.

4. The control device for an electric vehicle according to claim 3, The vehicle further includes a brake operation unit that is operated by the driver to determine a braking torque of the braking device, The return notification includes an operation of the brake operation unit to increase the braking torque by the braking device, and an operation of the clutch operation unit to simulate the release of the clutch mechanism.

2. A control device for an electric vehicle.

5. The control device for an electric vehicle according to claim 4, The controller: When the brake operating unit and the clutch operating unit are operated, the engine stall control is stopped.

2. A control device for an electric vehicle.

6. The control device for an electric vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 5, The controller: When the engine stall control is executed, a start assist control is executed to suppress the engine stall control from being executed again.

2. A control device for an electric vehicle.

7. 7. The electric vehicle control device according to claim 6, The start assist control includes control for prohibiting execution of the engine stall control by setting a lower limit value of the virtual rotation speed of the engine calculated by the virtual engine rotation speed calculation unit to be equal to or higher than the first predetermined rotation speed.

2. A control device for an electric vehicle.

8. A control device for an electric vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 7, The controller: When the virtual rotation speed of the engine calculated by the virtual engine rotation speed calculation unit is less than a predetermined second predetermined rotation speed which is higher than the first rotation speed, a torque that causes the electric vehicle to vibrate in a forward / rearward direction is output from the rotating machine.

2. A control device for an electric vehicle.

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