Heater control device

Abstract

To reduce electric power consumption for removing fixed particulate matters.SOLUTION: A heater control device 50 includes: a catalyst provided in an exhaust flow passage in which exhaust gas of an engine 10 of a vehicle flows; a heater 40 provided upstream of the catalyst in the exhaust flow passage; a specification section 522 that specifies an accumulation amount of particulate matters accumulated in the heater 40; a determination section 523 that determines whether a traveling state of the vehicle is a predetermined state where reduction of an exhaust gas amount of the engine 10 is estimated; and a supply control section 524 that supplies electric power to the heater 40 on the condition that the determination section 523 determines that the traveling state is the predetermined state when the accumulation amount is a predetermined amount or greater.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a heater control device and a heater control method. [Background technology]

[0002] The exhaust gas purification device for an internal combustion engine in Patent Document 1 heats a heat storage material provided upstream of a selective reduction catalyst, and raises the temperature of the exhaust gas flowing into the selective reduction catalyst to a temperature suitable for the selective reduction catalyst to purify NOx (nitrogen oxide), thereby suppressing the emission of NOx. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2010-261423 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Conventionally, particulate matter such as soot and hydrocarbons contained in the exhaust gas adheres to the heater when the heater comes into contact with the exhaust gas. In order to remove the particulate matter adhered to the heater, it has been considered to perform bake-out by electrically heating the heater until it reaches a high temperature, but this has the problem of large power consumption.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of these points, and has an object to reduce the power consumption required to remove adhered particulate matter. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A heater control device according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises a catalyst provided in an exhaust flow path through which exhaust gas from a vehicle engine flows, a heater provided upstream of the catalyst in the exhaust flow path, an identification unit that identifies an amount of particulate matter accumulated on the heater, a determination unit that determines whether the state in which the vehicle is traveling is a predetermined state in which the amount of exhaust gas from the engine is estimated to have decreased, and a supply control unit that, if the amount of accumulation is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount, causes power to be supplied to the heater, on the condition that the determination unit has determined that the predetermined state exists.

[0007] The determination unit may determine that the vehicle is in the predetermined state when the vehicle is decelerating.

[0008] The determination unit may determine that the vehicle is in the predetermined state when the vehicle is stopped and the engine is running.

[0009] The determination unit may determine that the predetermined state exists when an output of a first motor that operates as a power source for the vehicle increases and an output of the engine decreases.

[0010] The determination unit may determine that the predetermined state exists when a first motor that operates as a power source for the vehicle is driven and the engine is stopped.

[0011] When the determination unit determines that the predetermined state exists, the supply control unit may rotate a second motor to rotate the engine at or above a predetermined rotation speed, and may supply power to the heater.

[0012] The supply control unit may reduce the amount of electric power supplied to the heater as an amount of exhaust gas from the engine decreases.

[0013] A heater control method according to a second aspect of the present invention includes an identification step of identifying an amount of particulate matter accumulated on a heater provided upstream of a catalyst in an exhaust flow path through which exhaust gas from a vehicle engine flows, a determination step of determining whether the state in which the vehicle is running is a predetermined state in which the amount of exhaust gas from the engine is presumed to have decreased, and a supply control step of supplying power to the heater if the amount of accumulation is equal to or greater than the predetermined amount, on condition that the predetermined state has been determined in the determination step. Effect of the Invention

[0014] The present invention has the effect of reducing the power consumption required to remove adhered particulate matter. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an overview of a vehicle S according to the present embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of a heater control device 50. [Diagram 3] 11 is a sequence showing the operation of the burn-out process. [Figure 4] 11 is a sequence showing an operation for determining whether or not a predetermined state is reached in which it is estimated that the amount of exhaust gas has decreased. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] <Overview of Vehicle S> Fig. 1 is a diagram for explaining an overview of a vehicle S according to this embodiment. The vehicle S shown in Fig. 1 includes an engine 10, a supercharger 11, an intake passage 12, an exhaust passage 13, an intake pressure sensor 14, a crankshaft 20, a first motor 21, a second motor 22, a clutch 23, a gear group 24, an inverter 30, a battery 31, a heater 40, a purification device 41, a catalyst 42, a catalyst 43, a differential pressure gauge 44, a temperature sensor 45, and a heater control device 50. The vehicle S has a function of removing particulate matter such as soot and HC (hydrocarbon) accumulated in the heater 40 by heating the heater 40.

[0017] The engine 10 is an internal combustion engine that burns and expands a mixture of fuel and intake air (air) to generate power. The supercharger 11 is, for example, a turbocharger, and uses the exhaust flow to increase the density of the intake air. The supercharger 11 has a turbine T provided in the exhaust passage 13 and a compressor C provided in the intake passage 12. The turbine T rotates by receiving exhaust air flowing through the exhaust passage 13. The compressor C is connected to the turbine T via a connecting shaft, and compresses the intake air by rotating together with the turbine T. The intake passage 12 is a passage through which air (intake air) supplied to the engine 10 flows. The exhaust passage 13 is a passage through which exhaust air from the engine 10 flows. The intake pressure sensor 14 is provided in the intake passage 12, and detects the air pressure (intake pressure) of the air supplied to the engine 10.

[0018] The crankshaft 20 is a shaft for converting the reciprocating motion of a piston (not shown) in the engine 10 into rotational motion. The first motor 21 is a power source that acquires electricity output from a battery 31 via an inverter 30 and generates power for driving the drive wheels W of the vehicle S. The second motor 22 is a power source that acquires electricity output from the battery 31 via the inverter 30 and generates power for rotating the engine 10. The first motor 21 and the second motor 22 generate regenerative power when the vehicle S decelerates using a brake (not shown), and supply the power to the battery 31 via the inverter 30.

[0019] The clutch 23 is a clutch that connects the first motor 21 and the second motor 22. The gear group 24 is composed of a plurality of gears having a plurality of concave and convex shapes on their outer circumferences, and includes a ring gear attached to the crankshaft 20. The other gears included in the gear group 24, which are different from the ring gear, rotate as their concave and convex shapes on their outer circumferences mesh with the concave and convex shapes of the ring gear, and transmit the rotational kinetic energy generated by the crankshaft 20 to the drive wheels W.

[0020] The inverter 30 converts the DC current output by the battery 31 into AC current and outputs it to the first motor 21, the second motor 22, and the heater 40. The battery 31 is a rechargeable storage battery, and supplies electricity to the first motor 21, the second motor 22, the heater 40, and electrical components (not shown) provided in the vehicle S. The battery 31 also stores electricity generated by a FC (Fuel Cell) stack (not shown) and regenerative power generated by the first motor 21 and the second motor 22.

[0021] The heater 40 is a device that heats the exhaust gas using electricity supplied from the battery 31 via the inverter 30. The heater 40 heats the exhaust gas flowing into the catalyst 42 by exchanging heat with the exhaust gas flowing through the exhaust passage 13. The purification device 41 is a device for purifying the exhaust gas from the engine 10, and contains the catalysts 42 and 43.

[0022] The catalyst 42 is, for example, a diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC) and purifies hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) contained in the exhaust gas of the engine 10. Specifically, the catalyst 42 oxidizes hydrocarbons to water and carbon dioxide, oxidizes carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide, and reduces nitrogen oxides to nitrogen. The catalyst 43 is, for example, a diesel particulate filter (DPF) and collects particulate matter (PM) contained in the exhaust gas of the engine 10. The differential pressure gauge 44 detects the differential pressure between the exhaust pressure upstream of the heater 40 and the exhaust pressure downstream of the heater 40 in the exhaust passage 13. The temperature sensor 45 detects the temperature of the exhaust gas flowing into the catalyst 42.

[0023] The heater control device 50 is a housing including electronic components or a printed circuit board on which electronic components are mounted. In order to remove PM accumulated on the heater 40, the heater control device 50 executes a process (so-called burn-out process) of heating the heater 40 to burn the PM. In the burn-out process, the heater 40 consumes a lot of power to increase the temperature of the heater 40 to a temperature at which the PM can be burned while exchanging heat with the exhaust gas of the engine 10. Therefore, the heater control device 50 executes the burn-out process when it is estimated that the amount of exhaust gas from the engine 10 exchanging heat with the heater 40 has decreased.

[0024] By operating the heater control device 50 in this manner, the heater 40 can reduce the amount of heat exchange between the exhaust gas and the heater 40 until the heater 40 is heated to a temperature at which the PM is burned, thereby reducing power consumption during the burn-out process. The configuration and operation of the heater control device 50 will be described in detail below.

[0025] <Configuration of Heater Control Device 50> 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of the heater control device 50. The heater control device 50 has a storage unit 51 and a control unit 52. The control unit 52 has an acquisition unit 521, an identification unit 522, a determination unit 523, and a supply control unit 524.

[0026] The storage unit 51 has a storage medium such as a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a hard disk drive (HDD), or a solid state drive (SSD). The storage unit 51 stores a program executed by the control unit 52. The storage unit 51 stores various information for executing the bake-out process of the heater 40. As an example, the storage unit 51 stores divided ranges obtained by dividing the range of differential pressure that the differential pressure gauge 44 can detect into a plurality of ranges, and the accumulation amount of PM corresponding to each divided range. The storage unit 51 may store the amount of power supplied to the heater 40 in the bake-out process corresponding to each exhaust gas amount of the engine 10, and the amount of power supplied to the heater 40 in the heating process in which the exhaust gas is heated by heat exchange between the exhaust gas and the heater 40.

[0027] The control unit 52 is, for example, a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or an ECU (Electronic Control Unit). The control unit 52 executes a program stored in the storage unit 51 to function as an acquisition unit 521, an identification unit 522, a determination unit 523, and a supply control unit 524. The control unit 52 may be configured with one processor, or may be configured with multiple processors or a combination of one or more processors and an electronic circuit. The configuration of each unit realized by the control unit 52 will be described below.

[0028] The acquisition unit 521 acquires, every time a certain period of time elapses, the amount of exhaust gas, the exhaust temperature, and the output of the engine 10, the outputs of the first motor 21 and the second motor 22, the differential pressure between the exhaust pressure upstream of the heater 40 and the exhaust pressure downstream of the heater 40, and the vehicle speed and acceleration / deceleration of the vehicle S. The certain period of time is, for example, 0.1 seconds.

[0029] The acquisition unit 521 acquires the amount of exhaust gas from the engine 10, for example, by acquiring the air pressure of the air supplied to the engine 10 detected by the intake pressure sensor 14 and calculating the amount of exhaust gas from the engine 10. The acquisition unit 521 acquires the exhaust temperature from the engine 10, for example, by acquiring the temperature of the exhaust gas flowing into the purification device 41 detected by the temperature sensor 45. The acquisition unit 521 acquires the output of the engine 10, for example, by acquiring the rotation speed of the engine 10 detected by an engine rotation speed sensor (not shown) and calculating the output of the engine 10.

[0030] The acquisition unit 521 acquires the output of the first motor 21, for example, by acquiring the power output by the battery 31 to the first motor 21 from the inverter 30 and calculating the output of the first motor 21. The acquisition unit 521 acquires the output of the second motor 22, for example, by acquiring the power output by the battery 31 to the second motor 22 from the inverter 30 and calculating the output of the second motor 22.

[0031] The acquisition unit 521 acquires, for example, a differential pressure between the exhaust pressure upstream of the heater 40 in the exhaust path 13 and the exhaust pressure downstream of the heater 40, detected by the differential pressure gauge 44. The acquisition unit 521 acquires, for example, the vehicle speed of the vehicle S detected by a vehicle speed sensor (not shown) provided in the vehicle S. The acquisition unit 521 acquires, for example, the acceleration / deceleration of the vehicle S detected by an acceleration sensor (not shown) provided in the vehicle S. The acquisition unit 521 may acquire the acceleration / deceleration of the vehicle S by calculating the acceleration / deceleration of the vehicle S based on the vehicle speed of the vehicle S detected by the vehicle speed sensor at a predetermined time (for example, 1 second).

[0032] The identifying unit 522 identifies the amount of PM accumulated on the heater 40 provided upstream of the catalyst 42 provided in the exhaust passage 13 through which the exhaust gas from the engine 10 of the vehicle S flows. The identifying unit 522 identifies the amount of PM accumulated on the heater 40, for example, every time a certain period of time elapses. For example, by referring to the division ranges of the differential pressure stored in the memory unit 51 and the amounts of PM accumulated corresponding to each division range, the identifying unit 522 identifies the division ranges that include the differential pressure acquired by the acquiring unit 521 from the differential pressure gauge 44, and identifies the amount of PM accumulated corresponding to the division range.

[0033] The determination unit 523 determines whether or not the state in which the vehicle S is traveling is a predetermined state in which the amount of exhaust gas from the engine 10 is estimated to have decreased. The determination unit 523 determines whether or not the state is a predetermined state in which the amount of exhaust gas from the engine 10 is estimated to have decreased, for example, every time a certain period of time elapses. For example, when the vehicle S is decelerating, the determination unit 523 determines that the state is a predetermined state in which the amount of exhaust gas from the engine 10 is estimated to have decreased. For example, when the acceleration / deceleration of the vehicle S acquired by the acquisition unit 521 indicates deceleration of the vehicle S, the determination unit 523 determines that the state is a predetermined state in which the amount of exhaust gas from the engine 10 is estimated to have decreased.

[0034] The determination unit 523 may determine that the engine 10 is in a predetermined state in which the amount of exhaust gas is estimated to have decreased when the vehicle S is stopped and the engine 10 is operating. The determination unit 523 determines that the engine 10 is in a predetermined state in which the amount of exhaust gas is estimated to have decreased when, for example, the vehicle speed of the vehicle S acquired by the acquisition unit 521 indicates 0 and the rotation speed of the engine 10 acquired by the acquisition unit 521 indicates a rotation speed greater than 0. By operating the determination unit 523 in this manner, it is possible to determine that the engine 10 is in a state in which the amount of exhaust gas is decreased when the vehicle S is in an idle state.

[0035] The determination unit 523 may determine that the engine 10 is in a predetermined state in which the amount of exhaust gas is estimated to have decreased when the output of the first motor 21 operating as the power source of the vehicle S increases and the output of the engine 10 decreases. The determination unit 523 determines that the engine 10 is in a predetermined state in which the amount of exhaust gas is estimated to have decreased when, for example, it is determined that the output of the first motor 21 acquired by the acquisition unit 521 increases and the output of the engine 10 acquired by the acquisition unit 521 decreases at a predetermined time. By operating in this manner, for example, when the vehicle S travels at a constant speed on a highway, a state in which the output of the engine 10 is reduced and the output of the first motor 21 is increased can be determined to be a predetermined state in which the amount of exhaust gas of the engine 10 is estimated to have decreased.

[0036] The determination unit 523 may determine that the vehicle S is in a predetermined state in which the amount of exhaust gas from the engine 10 is presumed to have decreased when the first motor 21 operating as a power source for the vehicle S is driven and the engine 10 is stopped. The determination unit 523 determines that the vehicle S is in a predetermined state in which the amount of exhaust gas from the engine 10 is presumed to have decreased when, for example, the output of the first motor 21 acquired by the acquisition unit 521 indicates a value greater than 0 and the output of the engine 10 acquired by the acquisition unit 521 indicates 0. By operating in this manner, the determination unit 523 can determine that the vehicle S is in a state in which the vehicle S is running using the first motor 21 without using the engine 10 (a so-called motor-running state) and in a predetermined state in which the amount of exhaust gas from the engine 10 is presumed to have decreased.

[0037] The supply control unit 524 heats the heater 40 by supplying electricity from the battery 31 to the heater 40 via the inverter 30. The supply control unit 524 heats the heater 40 when, for example, performing a temperature increase process for increasing the temperature of the exhaust gas by heat exchange between the heater 40 and the exhaust gas of the engine 10, or a bake-out process for removing PM accumulated on the heater 40. Note that the exhaust gas temperature (also referred to as the bake-out temperature) when the bake-out process is performed is higher than the exhaust gas temperature when the temperature increase process is performed.

[0038] When the exhaust temperature detected by the temperature sensor 45 has not reached the activation temperature of the catalyst 42, the supply control unit 524 causes the heater 40 to execute a temperature raising process to raise the exhaust temperature to the activation temperature. By operating in this manner, the exhaust gas from the engine 10 can be efficiently purified.

[0039] When the amount of PM accumulated on the heater 40 is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount, the supply control unit 524 causes the heater 40 to perform a bakeout process by supplying power to the heater 40 on the condition that the determination unit 523 has determined that the predetermined state is one in which the amount of exhaust gas is estimated to have decreased. The predetermined amount is an amount of accumulation corresponding to a value determined as a lower limit of the heat exchange efficiency between the heater 40 and the exhaust gas, and is an amount determined by experiment or simulation. By the supply control unit 524 performing the bakeout process in this manner, it is possible to reduce heat loss that occurs during heat exchange between the heater 40 and the exhaust gas. Furthermore, by the supply control unit 524 performing the bakeout process in a predetermined state in which the amount of exhaust gas is estimated to have decreased, it is possible to heat the exhaust gas to the bakeout temperature in a short time when the heater 40 is heated, and therefore it is possible to reduce power consumption in the bakeout process.

[0040] For example, the supply control unit 524 reduces the power supplied to the heater 40 as the amount of exhaust gas from the engine 10 decreases. For example, the supply control unit 524 calculates a quotient by dividing the amount of exhaust gas from the engine 10 acquired by the acquisition unit 521 by the maximum amount of exhaust gas from the engine 10, and specifies a multiplication value by multiplying the maximum power that can be supplied to the heater 40 by the quotient as the power value to be supplied to the heater 40. Then, the supply control unit 524 causes the specified power value to be supplied to the heater 40 from the battery 31 via the inverter 30. By operating in this manner, the supply control unit 524 can execute the baking process with power appropriate for the amount of exhaust gas from the engine 10, thereby suppressing unnecessary consumption of power.

[0041] The supply control unit 524 may determine the power to be supplied to the heater 40 by referring to the amount of power to be supplied to the heater 40 corresponding to the purpose of heating the heater 40 and the amount of exhaust gas from the engine 10, which are stored in the storage unit 51. For example, the supply control unit 524 acquires the amount of exhaust gas from the engine 10 from the acquisition unit 521. The supply control unit 524 identifies the purpose of heating the heater 40 (i.e., baking-out process, temperature increase process) based on the exhaust temperature detected by the temperature sensor 45 and the amount of PM accumulation identified by the identification unit 522. The supply control unit 524 identifies the amount of power to be supplied corresponding to the acquired amount of exhaust gas and the identified purpose by referring to the storage unit 51, and determines the identified amount of power to be supplied to the heater 40. The supply control unit 524 operates in this manner, thereby reducing the processing load for calculating the power to be supplied to the heater 40.

[0042] If the heater 40 is heated while the engine 10 is stopped, even if the heater 40 can be heated to a temperature at which the PM can be burned, the deposits cannot be removed because exhaust gas for moving the burned PM downstream of the heater 40 does not flow into the heater 40. Therefore, when the engine 10 is stopped and the determination unit 523 determines that the amount of exhaust gas from the engine 10 is reduced, the supply control unit 524 rotates the second motor 22 to rotate the engine 10 at a predetermined rotation speed or higher and supplies power to the heater 40. The predetermined rotation speed is a rotation speed corresponding to a lower limit of the amount of exhaust gas for moving the burned PM downstream of the heater 40, and is a rotation speed determined by an experiment or a simulation.

[0043] The supply control unit 524, for example, supplies power from the battery 31 via the inverter 30 to the second motor 22 to rotate the second motor 22, thereby rotating the engine 10 connected to the second motor 22 by the crankshaft 20. The supply control unit 524 rotates the engine 10 by the second motor 22 and supplies power to the heater 40 to perform the bake-out process. By operating in this manner, the supply control unit 524 can perform the bake-out process of the heater 40 even when the vehicle S is driven by the output of the first motor 21 (i.e., motor driving).

[0044] The supply control unit 524 may supply power to the heater 40 even when the amount of PM accumulated on the heater 40 is less than a predetermined amount, or when the amount of PM accumulated on the heater 40 is equal to or greater than the predetermined amount and the determination unit 523 determines that the predetermined state in which the amount of exhaust gas is estimated to have decreased is not reached. In this case, the supply control unit 524 supplies power to the heater 40 not for the bake-out process but for performing a temperature increase process for increasing the temperature of the exhaust gas, and therefore supplies an amount of power to the heater 40 that is smaller than the amount of power required for performing the bake-out process.

[0045] <Processing sequence in heater control device 50> Figures 3 and 4 are diagrams showing an example of a processing sequence in the heater control device 50. The processing sequence shown in Figure 3 is a sequence showing the operation of performing the baking process, and the processing sequence shown in Figure 4 is a sequence showing the operation of determining whether or not a predetermined state is reached in which it is estimated that the amount of exhaust gas has decreased. The operation shown in Figure 4 is the operation of S14 shown in Figure 3. The heater control device 50 repeats the processing sequences shown in Figures 3 and 4 at regular time intervals.

[0046] First, the operation of the bake-out process will be described. In Fig. 3, the acquisition unit 521 acquires the differential pressure between the exhaust pressure upstream of the heater 40 and the exhaust pressure downstream of the heater 40, detected by the differential pressure gauge 44 (S11). The identification unit 522 identifies the amount of PM accumulated on the heater 40 based on the differential pressure acquired by the acquisition unit 521 (S12).

[0047] If the amount of deposition identified by the identification unit 522 is less than the threshold (NO in S13), or if the amount of deposition is equal to or greater than the threshold but the determination unit 523 determines that the state is not a predetermined state in which the amount of exhaust gas is estimated to have decreased (NO in S14), the heater control device 50 ends the process. If the amount of deposition identified by the identification unit 522 is equal to or greater than the threshold (YES in S13) and the determination unit 523 determines that the state is a predetermined state in which the amount of exhaust gas is estimated to have decreased (YES in S14), the acquisition unit 521 acquires the air pressure detected by the intake pressure sensor 14 (S15). Then, the acquisition unit 521 identifies the amount of exhaust gas from the engine 10 based on the acquired air pressure (S16).

[0048] The supply control unit 524 determines the amount of power to be supplied to the heater 40 to perform the baking process based on the amount of exhaust gas from the engine 10 (S17), and supplies the determined power from the battery 31 to the heater 40 via the inverter 30 (S18).

[0049] Next, an operation of the determination unit 523 to determine whether or not a predetermined state in which the amount of exhaust gas is estimated to have decreased is described. In Fig. 4, the acquisition unit 521 acquires the acceleration / deceleration of the vehicle S (S21). If the acceleration / deceleration acquired by the acquisition unit 521 indicates deceleration of the vehicle S (YES in S22), the determination unit 523 determines that a predetermined state in which the amount of exhaust gas is estimated to have decreased is entered (S30).

[0050] When the acceleration / deceleration acquired by the acquisition unit 521 does not indicate deceleration of the vehicle S (NO in S22), the acquisition unit 521 acquires the vehicle speed (S23) of the vehicle S and the rotation speed of the engine 10 (S24). When the vehicle speed of the vehicle S is 0 and the rotation speed of the engine 10 is greater than 0, the determination unit 523 identifies the vehicle S as being in an idling state (YES in S25) and determines that the vehicle S is in a predetermined state in which the amount of exhaust gas is estimated to have decreased (S30). When the determination unit 523 identifies that the vehicle S is not in an idling state (NO in S25), the acquisition unit 521 acquires the output of the first motor 21 and the output of the engine 10 (S26).

[0051] When the determination unit 523 determines that the output of the engine 10 has decreased and the output of the first motor 21 has increased (YES in S27) by referring to the output of the engine 10 and the output of the first motor 21 at the previous time and the current time, it determines that the exhaust gas amount is in a predetermined state in which it is estimated that the amount of exhaust gas has decreased (S30). When the determination unit 523 determines that the output of the engine 10 has not decreased and the output of the first motor 21 has not increased (NO in S27), it determines whether the engine 10 is stopped or not and whether the first motor 21 is driving or not (S28).

[0052] When the engine 10 is stopped and the first motor 21 is driving (YES in S28), the supply control unit 524 drives the second motor 22 (S29), and the determination unit 523 determines that the predetermined state is such that the amount of exhaust gas is estimated to have decreased (S30). When the engine 10 is operating or the first motor 21 is stopped (NO in S28), the determination unit 523 determines that the predetermined state is not such that the amount of exhaust gas is estimated to have decreased (S31).

[0053] <Effects of the heater control device 50> As described above, the heater control device 50 includes a specifying unit 522 that specifies the amount of PM accumulated on the heater 40, a determining unit 523 that determines whether or not a predetermined state in which the amount of exhaust gas from the engine 10 is estimated to have decreased is being reached based on the traveling state of the vehicle S, and a supply control unit 524 that causes power to be supplied to the heater 40. If the amount of accumulation specified by the specifying unit 522 is equal to or greater than the predetermined amount, the supply control unit 524 causes power to be supplied to the heater 40 on the condition that the determining unit 523 has determined that a predetermined state in which the amount of exhaust gas is estimated to have decreased is being reached.

[0054] With the heater control device 50 configured in this manner, the burn-off process for burning and removing PM accumulated on the heater 40 can be executed in a predetermined state in which it is estimated that the amount of exhaust gas from the engine 10 has decreased. As a result, the heater 40 can be heated in a state in which it is estimated that the amount of exhaust gas from the engine 10 exchanging heat with the heater 40 is small, so that the power consumed in the burn-off process can be reduced.

[0055] Although the present invention has been described above using the embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention. For example, all or part of the device can be configured by distributing or integrating functionally or physically in any unit. In addition, new embodiments resulting from any combination of multiple embodiments are also included in the embodiments of the present invention. The effect of the new embodiment resulting from the combination combines the effect of the original embodiment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0056] 10 Engine 11. Turbocharger 12 Intake passage 13 Exhaust duct 14 Intake pressure sensor 20 Crankshaft 21 First motor 22 Second motor 23 Clutch 24 Gears 30 Inverter 31 Battery 40 Heater 41 Purification Equipment 42 Catalyst 43 Catalyst 44 Differential pressure gauge 45 Temperature Sensor 50 Heater control device 51 Storage section 52 Control section 521 Acquisition Department 522 Specific part 523 Judgment section 524 Supply control section

Claims

1. A catalyst provided in an exhaust flow path through which exhaust gas from an engine of a vehicle flows; a heater provided upstream of the catalyst in the exhaust flow path; An identification unit that identifies an amount of particulate matter accumulated on the heater; a determination unit that determines whether or not a state in which the vehicle is traveling is a predetermined state in which an amount of exhaust gas from the engine is estimated to have decreased; a supply control unit that controls the heater to supply electric power when the amount of deposition is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount, on condition that the determination unit determines that the predetermined state exists; and A heater control device having the above structure.

2. The determination unit determines that the vehicle is in the predetermined state when the vehicle is decelerating. The heater control device of claim 1 .

3. The determination unit determines that the vehicle is in the predetermined state when the vehicle is stopped and the engine is running. The heater control device of claim 1 .

4. the determination unit determines that the predetermined state exists when an output of a first motor that operates as a power source of the vehicle increases and an output of the engine decreases. The heater control device of claim 1 .

5. the determination unit determines that the predetermined state exists when a first motor that operates as a power source of the vehicle is driven and the engine is stopped. The heater control device of claim 1 .

6. When the determination unit determines that the engine is in the predetermined state, the supply control unit causes the second motor to rotate in order to rotate the engine at a predetermined rotation speed or more, and causes the heater to supply electric power. The heater control device according to claim 5 .

7. The supply control unit reduces the amount of electric power supplied to the heater as the amount of exhaust gas from the engine decreases. The heater control device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. An identifying step of identifying an amount of particulate matter that has accumulated on a heater provided upstream of a catalyst in an exhaust flow path through which exhaust gas from a vehicle engine flows; a determination step of determining whether or not a state in which the vehicle is traveling is a predetermined state in which an amount of exhaust gas from the engine is estimated to have decreased; a supply control step of supplying power to the heater when the deposition amount is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount, on condition that the determination step determines that the predetermined state exists; The heater control method includes the steps of:

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