Electric vehicle

Abstract

To allow a driver to recognize whether a vehicle is traveling in a motor traveling mode or traveling in a shift traveling mode.SOLUTION: When a shift traveling mode is selected by a mode selection device, a display device is controlled so as to display a simulated rotation speed as an engine rotation speed in an engine vehicle, which simulates a behavior of torque in the shift traveling mode. When a motor traveling mode is selected by the mode selection device, the display device is controlled so as not to display the simulated rotation speed. This allows a driver to recognize whether the vehicle is traveling in the motor traveling mode or traveling in the shift traveling mode.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to electric vehicles. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, as this type of electric vehicle, there has been proposed an electric vehicle equipped with a motor that outputs power to a drive shaft connected to an axle, and a mode selection device that allows the driver to select one of a plurality of driving modes including a motor driving mode and a variable speed driving mode (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The motor driving mode is a driving mode in which the vehicle runs while controlling the motor so that the torque required for running is output to the drive shaft. The variable speed driving mode is a driving mode in which the vehicle runs while controlling the motor so that the torque output to the drive shaft based on the driver's shift operation is a torque that simulates the torque behavior in an engine vehicle equipped with an engine and a stepped transmission. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2022-036845 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the above-mentioned electric vehicle, it may be difficult for the driver to recognize whether the vehicle is running in the motor running mode or in the variable speed running mode.

[0005] The electric vehicle of the present disclosure has a primary objective to allow the driver to recognize whether the vehicle is running in the motor running mode or in the variable speed running mode. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The electric vehicle of the present disclosure employs the following measures to achieve the above-mentioned main objective.

[0007] The electric vehicle of the present disclosure includes: A motor that outputs torque to a drive shaft connected to the axle; a mode selection device that selects one of a plurality of driving modes by an operation of the driver, the driving modes including a motor driving mode in which the vehicle drives while controlling the motor so that a required torque required for driving is output to the drive shaft, and a variable speed driving mode in which the vehicle drives while controlling the motor so that a torque output to the drive shaft based on a shift operation by the driver becomes a torque that simulates a torque behavior in an engine vehicle having an engine and a stepped transmission; A display device for displaying information; a control device that controls the motor so as to travel in the travel mode selected by the mode selection device and also controls the display device; An electric vehicle comprising: The control device controls the display device to display a simulated rotation speed as a rotation speed of the engine in the engine vehicle that simulates torque behavior in the variable speed traveling mode when the mode selection device has selected the variable speed traveling mode, and controls the display device not to display the simulated rotation speed when the motor traveling mode has been selected by the mode selection device. The gist of the present invention is as follows. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of the configuration of an electric vehicle 20 according to the present embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a display on a display 42 in a motor driving mode. [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the display on the display 42 in a variable speed driving mode. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] An embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an electric vehicle 20 according to the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, the electric vehicle 20 includes a motor 32 for running, an inverter 34, a battery 36, a speaker 40, a display (display device) 42, and an electronic control unit (control device, hereinafter referred to as "ECU") 50.

[0010] The motor 32 is configured as a three-phase AC motor and includes a rotor having a permanent magnet embedded in a rotor core and a stator having a three-phase coil wound around the stator core. The rotor of the motor 32 is connected to a drive shaft 26 that is connected to the drive wheels 22a, 22b via a differential gear 24.

[0011] The inverter 34 is used to drive the motor 32. The inverter 34 is connected to the battery 36 via a power line 38, and has six transistors T11-T16 as switching elements, and six diodes D11-D16 connected in parallel to the six transistors T11-T16, respectively. The transistors T11-T16 are arranged in pairs, two at a time, so as to be on the source side and the sink side of the positive and negative lines of the power line 38, respectively. The connection points of the two transistors in each pair are connected to the coils of the corresponding phases (U-phase, V-phase, W-phase) of the motor 32. Therefore, when a voltage is applied to the inverter 34, the ECU 50 adjusts the ratio of the on-time of the paired transistors T11-T16, thereby forming a rotating magnetic field in the three-phase coils, and the motor 32 is driven to rotate.

[0012] The battery 36 is configured as a lithium ion secondary battery or a nickel-hydrogen secondary battery, and is connected to the inverter 34 via a power line 38. A smoothing capacitor 39 is attached to the power line 38.

[0013] The speaker 40 is disposed near the driver's seat. The speaker 40 is configured as a sound output device that outputs sound in an audible manner. The speaker 40 is controlled by the ECU 50.

[0014] The display 42 is disposed near the driver's seat. The display 42 is configured as a display device that visually displays various information. The display 42 is controlled by the ECU 50.

[0015] The ECU 50 includes a microcomputer having a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, a flash memory, and input / output ports. The ECU 50 receives inputs of the rotational position θm of the rotor of the motor 32 from the rotational position sensor 32a, the phase currents Iu and Iv of the U-phase and V-phase of the motor 32 from the current sensors 32u and 32v, the voltage Vb of the battery 36 from the voltage sensor 36a, the current Ib of the battery 36 from the current sensor 36b, and the voltage VL of the power line 38 (capacitor 39) from the voltage sensor 39a. The ECU 50 also receives inputs of a start signal from a start switch 60, a shift position SP that is the operation position of the shift lever 61 from a shift position sensor 62, an accelerator opening Acc that is the depression amount of the accelerator pedal 63 from an accelerator pedal sensor 64, and a brake pedal position BP that is the depression amount of the brake pedal 65 from a brake pedal sensor 66. The vehicle speed V from the vehicle speed sensor 67, a switch signal from the mode changeover switch (mode selection device) 68, and the depression amount Da of the clutch pedal (pseudo clutch pedal) 70 from the clutch pedal sensor 71 are also input. The shift lever 61 is configured to simulate a shift device equipped in a vehicle equipped with a manual transmission. The shift lever 61 can select, as a shift position SP, a plurality of shift ranges corresponding to the gear stages of the simulated manual transmission, for example, one of the simulated 1st to 6th gear ranges and neutral range. The mode changeover switch 68 outputs a mode switching command to switch between a motor driving mode and a variable speed driving mode every time it is turned on. The motor driving mode and the variable speed driving mode will be described later. The clutch pedal 70 is configured to simulate a clutch pedal mounted on a simulated engine vehicle. The clutch pedal 70 is configured in the same manner as the clutch pedal of a vehicle equipped with a manual transmission in terms of its arrangement and operation feel. The ECU 50 outputs a control signal to the motor 32, an audio signal to the speaker 40, a display signal to the display 42, and the like.

[0016] In the electric vehicle 20 of the embodiment, the ECU 50 controls the motor 32 (inverter 34) to run in a motor running mode in which the required torque required for running is output from the motor 32, or in a variable speed running mode in which the behavior of the torque output from the motor 32 based on the driver's operation of the shift lever 61 is the torque behavior of an engine vehicle equipped with an engine and a manual transmission as a stepped transmission.

[0017] In the motor running mode, regardless of the shift position SP or the depression amount Da of the clutch pedal 70, the running torque requirement Td* required for running (required of the drive shaft 26) is set as the torque command Tm* of the motor 32, and the transistors T11 to T16 of the inverter 34 are controlled so that the motor 32 is driven by the torque command Tm*. Here, the running torque requirement Td* is set based on the accelerator opening Acc and the vehicle speed V.

[0018] In the variable speed driving mode, a virtual engine speed (simulated speed) Ne is set as the engine speed in the simulated engine vehicle using the rotation speed Np of the drive shaft 26 (rotation speed Nm of the motor 32), the gear ratio (gear ratio) r corresponding to the shift position SP, and the slip rate slip of the clutch pedal 70 based on the depression amount Da of the clutch pedal 70, and a virtual engine output torque Teout output from the engine of the simulated engine vehicle is set based on the accelerator opening Acc and the virtual engine speed Ne. The transmission input torque Tmtin is calculated by multiplying a torque transmission gain k, which is the transmission rate of torque from the engine to the manual transmission, by the virtual engine output torque Teout based on the slip rate slip of the clutch pedal 70. The torque transmission gain k is set to be smaller when the depression amount Da of the clutch pedal 70 is large compared to when it is small, and is set to be 0 when the depression amount Da of the clutch pedal 70 is the maximum depression amount at which the torque transmission gain k between the engine and the manual transmission is 0. Then, the transmission output torque Tmtout is calculated by multiplying the transmission input torque Tmtin by the gear ratio (speed ratio) r corresponding to the shift position SP, and the transmission output torque Tmtout is set as the torque command Tm* of the motor 32, and the transistors T11 to T16 of the inverter 34 are controlled so that the motor 32 is driven by the torque command Tm*. Through this control, the motor 32 is controlled so that the behavior of the torque output from the motor 32 based on the operation (shift operation) of the shift lever 61 by the driver is the behavior of the torque in an engine vehicle equipped with an engine and a manual transmission. In other words, it becomes possible to travel in a manner simulating an engine vehicle equipped with an engine and a manual transmission, and the driver can experience the sensation of driving an engine vehicle equipped with an engine and a manual transmission.

[0019] In the variable speed driving mode, the ECU 50 controls the speaker 40 so that a sound (engine sound) linked to the virtual engine speed Ne is output from the pre-recorded engine sounds for each engine speed. The sound from the speaker 40 gives the driver a sense of exhilaration as if he or she were driving an engine vehicle equipped with an engine and a manual transmission.

[0020] Next, the operation of the electric vehicle 20 of this embodiment thus configured, in particular the display on the display 42, will be described.

[0021] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the display on the display 42 in the motor driving mode. In the motor driving mode, the ECU 50 controls the display 42 so that the power meter 43 and the speed meter 44 are displayed side by side at the same size on the display 42. The power meter 43 displays the power output from the motor 30 by the motor driving and the power output from the motor 30 by the regenerative driving of the motor 30. When the motor 30 is driven in the motor driving mode, if the power output from the motor 30 increases, the needle 43a of the power meter 43 changes from the origin position 43b to indicate the "POWER" zone via the "ECO" zone. The "ECO" zone indicates a power range in which the power output from the motor 30 is suppressed and driving is possible while suppressing a decrease in the charge storage rate of the battery 36. If the power output from the motor 30 decreases, the needle 43a of the power meter 43 changes toward the origin position 43b. In the power meter 43, when the motor 30 is regeneratively driven, as the power output from the motor 30 increases, the needle 43a of the power meter 43 changes from the origin position 43b to indicate the "CHRAGE" zone. Such a power meter 43 allows the driver to recognize the power output from the motor 30, i.e., the power for driving, encourages driving that suppresses a decrease in the charge storage rate of the battery 36, and allows the driver to recognize that the battery 36 is being charged with regenerative power from the motor 30. The speedometer 44 displays the vehicle speed V detected by the vehicle speed sensor 67. In the speedometer 44, as the vehicle speed V increases, the display 42 is controlled so that the needle 44a indicates a scale corresponding to the vehicle speed V.

[0022] FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the display on the display 42 in the variable speed driving mode. In the variable speed driving mode, the ECU 50 controls the display 42 so that the tachometer 45 and the speedometer 44 are displayed side by side at the same size on the display 42, and the power meter 43 is displayed as a bar below the speedometer 44. The tachometer 45 displays the virtual engine speed Ne. When the virtual engine speed Ne increases, the angle of the needle 45a of the tachometer 45 changes as shown by the broken line. In the variable speed driving mode, as described above, a sound (engine sound) linked to the virtual engine speed Ne is output from the speaker 40. Such a sound from the speaker 40 and the display of the tachometer 45 give the driver a sense of exhilaration as if he were driving an engine vehicle equipped with an engine and a manual transmission. Furthermore, since the tachometer 45 is not displayed on the display 42 in the motor driving mode, the driver can recognize that the vehicle is traveling in the variable-speed driving mode from the display of the tachometer 45, i.e., the display of the virtual engine rotation speed Ne, on the display 42. This allows the driver to recognize whether the vehicle is traveling in the motor driving mode or the variable-speed driving mode.

[0023] In the electric vehicle 20 of the embodiment described above, when the variable speed driving mode is selected by the mode selector switch 68, the display 42 is controlled to display the virtual engine speed Ne, and when the motor driving mode is selected by the mode selector switch 68, the display 42 is controlled not to display the virtual engine speed Ne, thereby allowing the driver to recognize whether the vehicle is traveling in the motor driving mode or the variable speed driving mode.

[0024] In the embodiment described above, in the variable-speed traveling mode, the ECU 50 displays the tachometer 45 and the speedometer 44 side by side and of the same size on the display 42, and displays the power meter 43 as a bar below the speedometer 44. However, in the variable-speed traveling mode, the tachometer 45, the speedometer 44, and the power meter 43 may be displayed side by side and of the same size on the display 42, or the tachometer 45, the speedometer 44, and the power meter 43 may be displayed in different sizes, or the power meter 43 may not be displayed.

[0025] In the above embodiment, the shift position SP is changed by the driver operating the shift lever 61. However, the present invention can also be applied to a case where two paddle switches are provided near the steering wheel, and the shift position SP is changed by upshifting or downshifting based on a paddle signal from the paddle switches.

[0026] The relationship between the main elements of the embodiment and the main elements of the invention described in the section on means for solving the problem will be described below. In the embodiment, the motor 32 corresponds to the "motor", the mode changeover switch 68 corresponds to the "mode selection device", the ECU 50 corresponds to the "control device", and the display 42 corresponds to the "display device".

[0027] Note that the correspondence between the main elements of the embodiment and the main elements of the invention described in the Means for Solving the Problem column does not limit the elements of the invention described in the Means for Solving the Problem column, since the embodiment is an example for specifically explaining the form for implementing the invention described in the Means for Solving the Problem column. In other words, the interpretation of the invention described in the Means for Solving the Problem column should be made based on the description in that column, and the embodiment is merely a specific example of the invention described in the Means for Solving the Problem column.

[0028] The above describes embodiments for implementing the present disclosure, but the present disclosure is not limited to these embodiments, and it goes without saying that the present disclosure can be implemented in various forms without departing from the gist of the present disclosure. [Industrial Applicability]

[0029] The present disclosure is applicable to the electric vehicle manufacturing industry. [Explanation of symbols]

[0030] 20 electric vehicle, 22a, 22b drive wheels, 32 motor, 34 inverter, 36 battery, 40 speaker, 42 display, 50 electronic control unit (ECU), 68 mode change switch.

Claims

[Claim 1] A motor that outputs torque to a drive shaft connected to the axle; a mode selection device that selects one of a plurality of driving modes by an operation of the driver, the driving modes including a motor driving mode in which the vehicle drives while controlling the motor so that a required torque required for driving is output to the drive shaft, and a variable speed driving mode in which the vehicle drives while controlling the motor so that a torque output to the drive shaft based on a shift operation by the driver becomes a torque that simulates a torque behavior in an engine vehicle having an engine and a stepped transmission; A display device for displaying information; a control device that controls the motor so as to travel in the travel mode selected by the mode selection device and also controls the display device; An electric vehicle comprising: The control device controls the display device to display a simulated rotation speed as a rotation speed of the engine in the engine vehicle that simulates torque behavior in the variable speed traveling mode when the mode selection device has selected the variable speed traveling mode, and controls the display device not to display the simulated rotation speed when the motor traveling mode has been selected by the mode selection device. Electric car.

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