Electric vehicle

Abstract

To provide an electric vehicle that can simulate a shifting operation of a manual transmission internal combustion engine vehicle, Which. in the case that deceleration control is operated at the time of entering a curve road, can suppress an acceleration property from decreasing at the time of exiting the curved road.SOLUTION: An electric vehicle according to an embodiment described in the present disclosure comprises: a pseudo gear shift operation member that simulates an operation member used in gear shift operation of a manual transmission internal combustion engine vehicle in addition to a driving operation member used in driving thereof. A control device that controls the electric vehicle is configured to control motion of the electric vehicle with respect to operation of the driving operation member, in accordance with an operation state of pseudo gear shift operation member. The control device executes deceleration control that autonomously decelerates an own vehicle when the own vehicle enters a curved road. When executing the deceleration control, the control device urges a driver to operate the pseudo gear shift operation member in a manner similar to that when a gear ratio of the manual transmission internal combustion engine vehicle is increased.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an electric vehicle having an electric motor as a drive source.

Background Art

[0002] For example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2018-095112, deceleration control is known as one of the functions of an advanced driver assistance system mounted on a vehicle. Deceleration control is a technology that automatically decelerates when the host vehicle enters a curved road to make it easier to turn on the curved road. Hereinafter, the prior art disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2018-095112 is referred to as the first prior art.

[0003] Further, Japanese Patent No. 6787507 discloses an electric vehicle in which a manual shift operation of a vehicle (hereinafter referred to as a manual shift type internal combustion engine vehicle) equipped with a manual transmission having an internal combustion engine as a power source can be pseudo-reproduced by controlling an electric motor. Hereinafter, the prior art disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 6787507 is referred to as the second prior art.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] When the first prior art is applied to a manually shifted internal combustion engine vehicle, the engine speed decreases as the vehicle speed decreases. However, in order to obtain good acceleration when exiting a curved road, it is required to maintain the engine speed within the torque band. This is a common problem even when the first prior art is applied to the second prior art. When deceleration control is executed, in a manually shifted internal combustion engine vehicle reproduced in the second prior art electric vehicle, the virtual engine speed of the virtual engine decreases. When the virtual engine speed falls outside the torque band, it is difficult to obtain good acceleration even in the second prior art electric vehicle.

[0006] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above problems. One object of the present disclosure is to suppress a decrease in acceleration when exiting a curved road when deceleration control is activated when entering the curved road in an electric vehicle capable of simulating the shift operation of a manually shifted internal combustion engine vehicle.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, an electric vehicle includes a pseudo-shift operation member that mimics an operation member used for a shift operation of a manually shifted internal combustion engine vehicle, separately from an operation member used for its operation. A control device that controls the electric vehicle controls the operation of the electric vehicle with respect to the operation of the operation member according to the operation state of the pseudo-shift operation member. The control device executes deceleration control for automatically decelerating the host vehicle when the host vehicle enters a curved road. When executing the deceleration control, the control device prompts the driver to operate the pseudo-shift operation member in the same manner as when increasing the gear ratio of a manually shifted internal combustion engine vehicle.

Advantages of the Invention

[0008] According to an electric vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, deceleration control is executed when the host vehicle enters a curved road. At this time, the driver is prompted by the control device to operate a pseudo-shift operation member in the same manner as when increasing the gear ratio of a manual transmission internal combustion engine vehicle. By the driver who has been prompted by the control device operating the pseudo-shift operation member, the electric vehicle operates as if an operation to increase the gear ratio has been performed in a manual transmission internal combustion engine vehicle, and a decrease in acceleration when exiting the curved road is suppressed.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] 1. Configuration of the power system of the electric vehicle FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of an electric vehicle 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. First, with reference to FIG. 1, the configuration of the power system of the electric vehicle 100 will be described.

[0011] The electric vehicle 100 is equipped with two electric motors (M) 4F and 4R at the front and rear as driving power sources. The electric motors 4F and 4R are, for example, three-phase AC motors. The front electric motor 4F is connected to a front drive shaft 5F that drives the front wheels 6F. The rear electric motor 4R is connected to a rear drive shaft 5R that drives the rear wheels 6R. The front wheels 6F are suspended by an electronically controlled front suspension 7F with independent left and right sides. The rear wheels 6R are suspended by an electronically controlled rear suspension 7R with independent left and right sides.

[0012] Inverters (INV) 3F and 3R are respectively attached to the front electric motor 4F and the rear electric motor 4R. The front inverter 3F and the rear inverter 3R are respectively connected to a battery (BATT) 2. That is, the electric vehicle 100 is a battery electric vehicle (BEV) that runs on the electrical energy stored in the battery 2. The inverters 3F and 3R are, for example, voltage source inverters, and control the torque of the electric motors 4F and 4R by PWM control.

[0013] 2. Configuration of the control system of the electric vehicle Subsequently, the configuration of the control system of the electric vehicle 100 will be described with reference to FIG. 1.

[0014] The electric vehicle 100 is equipped with a vehicle speed sensor 11. At least one of the wheel speed sensors (not shown) provided on each of the left and right front wheels 6F and the left and right rear wheels 6R is used as the vehicle speed sensor 11. In addition, the electric vehicle 100 is equipped with an accelerator pedal stroke sensor 12. The accelerator pedal stroke sensor 12 is provided on the accelerator pedal 22 and outputs a signal indicating the depression amount of the accelerator pedal 22, that is, the accelerator opening. Furthermore, the electric vehicle 100 is equipped with a brake pedal stroke sensor 13. The brake pedal stroke sensor 13 is provided on the brake pedal 23 and outputs a signal indicating the depression amount of the brake pedal 23, that is, the brake opening.

[0015] The accelerator pedal 22 and the brake pedal 23 are driving operation members used for driving the electric vehicle 100. Separately from these driving operation members, the electric vehicle 100 is provided with a pseudo-shifting operation member that imitates an operation member used for the shifting operation of a manual transmission internal combustion locomotive. The pseudo-shifting operation member includes the following pseudo-H shifter 24, pseudo-paddle shifter 25, and pseudo-clutch pedal 26.

[0016] The pseudo-H shifter 24 is a dummy different from the original H shifter. The pseudo-H shifter 24 has a structure imitating a shift stick provided on the console and can move between shift positions along an H-shaped gate. However, since the electric vehicle 100 does not have an actual transmission, the shift positions of the pseudo-H shifter 24 are virtual shift positions. A shift position sensor 14 is provided on the pseudo-H shifter 24. The shift position sensor 14 outputs a signal indicating the shift position selected by the pseudo-H shifter 24.

[0017] The pseudo-paddle shifter 25 is a dummy different from the original paddle shifter which is a type of sequential shifter. The pseudo-paddle shifter 25 has a structure imitating a shift paddle attached to the steering wheel and the left and right paddles can be moved independently. A paddle shift switch 15 is provided on the pseudo-paddle shifter 25. The paddle shift switch 15 outputs an upshift signal when the right paddle is pulled and outputs a downshift signal when the left paddle is pulled.

[0018] The dummy clutch pedal 26 is different from the original clutch operating device. The dummy clutch pedal 26 has a structure similar to that of the clutch pedal provided in a conventional manual transmission internal combustion engine locomotive. For example, the dummy clutch pedal 26 is provided with a reaction force mechanism that generates a reaction force against the depression by the driver. The position when no stepping force is applied is the starting position of the dummy clutch pedal 26, and the position when it is depressed to the deepest is the ending position of the dummy clutch pedal 26. The driver can operate the dummy clutch pedal 26 against the reaction force from the reaction force mechanism from the starting position to the ending position. A clutch pedal stroke sensor 16 is provided on the dummy clutch pedal 26. The clutch pedal stroke sensor 16 outputs a signal indicating the depression amount of the dummy clutch pedal 26. Since the electric vehicle 100 does not have an actual clutch, the operation amount of the dummy clutch pedal 26, that is, the clutch opening degree, is a virtual clutch opening degree.

[0019] In addition, the electric vehicle 100 includes a human machine interface (HMI) 20 as an interface with the driver and an in-vehicle speaker 21. The HMI 20 includes a touch panel display. The HMI 20 displays information on the touch panel display and accepts input from the driver by a touch operation on the touch panel display. The in-vehicle speaker 21 provides information to the driver by voice and can output a pseudo engine sound similar to the engine sound in an internal combustion engine locomotive.

[0020] The electric vehicle 100 includes a control device 101. The sensors and devices to be controlled mounted on the electric vehicle 100 are connected to the control device 101 by an in-vehicle network. In addition to the vehicle speed sensor 11, the accelerator pedal stroke sensor 12, the brake pedal stroke sensor 13, the shift position sensor 14, the paddle shift switch 15, and the clutch pedal stroke sensor 16, various other sensors are mounted on the electric vehicle 100.

[0021] The control device 101 is typically an electronic control unit (ECU). The control device 101 may be a combination of multiple ECUs. The control device 101 includes at least a processor 102 and a memory 103. The memory 103 includes a RAM for temporarily recording data, and a ROM for storing a program 104 executable by the processor 102 and various data 105 related to the program. The program 104 is composed of a plurality of instruction codes. The processor 102 reads the program 104 and the data 105 from the memory 103 and executes them, and generates a control signal based on the signals acquired from each sensor. The number of processors 102 included in the control device 101 may be one or more.

[0022] 3. Control Mode The control device 101 can control the electric vehicle 100 in various control modes. The control mode can be selected by the driver himself / herself by touching the touch panel display of the HMI 20. Specifically, by touching the touch panel display of the HMI 20, one or more programs 104 associated with each touch operation are read from the memory 103 and executed by the processor 102.

[0023] The control modes selectable by the HMI 20 include an automatic mode and a manual mode. The automatic mode is a control mode for driving the electric vehicle 100 as a normal BEV. In the automatic mode, the driver can basically drive the electric vehicle 100 only by operating the accelerator pedal 22, the brake pedal 23, and a steering wheel (not shown). In the automatic mode, the shift operation of the pseudo H-type shifter 24, the shift operation of the pseudo paddle shifter 25, and the clutch operation of the pseudo clutch pedal 26 are invalidated.

[0024] The manual mode is a control mode for operating the electric vehicle 100 in the same way as a manually shifted internal combustion engine vehicle. When the manual mode is selected, a shift mode can be further selected. The shift mode includes a paddle shift mode and a stick shift mode. The paddle shift mode is a mode in which the pseudo paddle shifter 25 is used for shift operations. In the paddle shift mode, the shift operation of the pseudo H-type shifter 24 is invalidated. In the paddle shift mode, the operation when the gear ratio of the manual transmission is switched is reproduced by the shift operation of the pseudo paddle shifter 25. Note that the clutch operation in a genuine paddle shift type manual transmission is automatically performed by a robot. Therefore, in the paddle shift mode, the clutch operation of the pseudo clutch pedal 26 is not required. In the paddle shift mode, the clutch operation of the pseudo clutch pedal 26 is invalidated.

[0025] The stick shift mode is a mode in which the pseudo H-type shifter 24 is used for shift operations. In the stick shift mode, the shift operation of the pseudo paddle shifter 25 is invalidated. In the stick shift mode, the operation when the gear ratio of the manual transmission is switched is reproduced by the shift operation of the pseudo H-type shifter 24. The stick shift mode includes a stick shift mode with clutch operation where the driver performs the clutch operation himself / herself, and a clutchless stick shift mode where the clutch operation is entrusted to a robot. When the latter is selected, the clutch operation of the pseudo clutch pedal 26 is invalidated.

[0026] 3. Torque Control Figure 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the control device 101 related to the torque control of the electric vehicle 100. By executing one or more torque control programs 104 stored in the memory 103 by the processor 102, the processor 102 functions as a torque control device.

[0027] A control signal is input from the HMI 20 to the control device 101 as a torque control device. The control signal includes information regarding the control mode selected by the driver. The control device 101 executes a process P110 based on the control signal. In the process P110, the control mode is switched according to the control signal. What particularly affects torque control in the switching of the control mode is the switching between the automatic mode and the manual mode.

[0028] When the control mode is switched to the automatic mode, the control device 101 executes a process P120 for torque calculation in the automatic mode. In the process P120, the control device 101 obtains the vehicle speed from the signal of the vehicle speed sensor 11 and obtains the accelerator opening from the signal of the accelerator pedal stroke sensor 12. The control device 101 has a motor torque map with the accelerator opening and the vehicle speed as parameters. The control device 101 inputs the vehicle speed and the accelerator opening into the motor torque map and controls the inverters 3F and 3R to generate the torque obtained from the motor torque map in the electric motors 4F and 4R.

[0029] When the control mode is switched to the manual mode, the control device 101 executes a process P130 for torque calculation in the manual mode. The process P130 includes a process P131 for calculating the torque generated at the drive wheels. The process P130 also includes a process P132 and a process P133. The process P132 is a process for calculating the torque to be generated in the front electric motor 4F, and the process P133 is a process for calculating the torque to be generated in the rear electric motor 4R. The processes P132 and P133 are executed according to the torque distribution between the front wheels 6F and the rear wheels 6R and the drive wheel torque calculated in the process P130.

[0030] In the calculation of the driving wheel torque in process P131, vehicle model MOD01 is used. Vehicle model MOD01 includes engine model MOD11, clutch model MOD12, and transmission model MOD13. The engine virtually realized by vehicle model MOD01 is called a virtual engine, the clutch virtually realized is called a virtual clutch, and the transmission virtually realized is called a virtual transmission. In engine model MOD11, the virtual engine is modeled. In clutch model MOD12, the virtual clutch is modeled. In transmission model MOD13, the virtual transmission is modeled.

[0031] Engine model MOD11 calculates the virtual engine speed and the virtual engine torque. The virtual engine speed is calculated from the vehicle speed, the overall reduction ratio, and the slip ratio of the virtual clutch. The virtual engine torque is calculated from the virtual engine speed and the accelerator opening. The vehicle speed is obtained from the signal of vehicle speed sensor 11. The accelerator opening is obtained from the signal of accelerator pedal stroke sensor 12. The overall reduction ratio is a numerical value obtained by multiplying the gear ratio of the virtual transmission by the reduction ratio determined by the mechanical structure from the virtual transmission to the driving wheels. In engine model MOD11, the relationship between the virtual engine speed and the virtual engine torque is defined for each accelerator opening. The engine characteristics of engine model MOD11 can be selected by the driver through the operation of HMI20.

[0032] The clutch model MOD12 calculates the torque transmission gain. The torque transmission gain is a gain for calculating the degree of torque transmission of the virtual clutch according to the clutch opening. When the clutch operation-equipped stick shift mode is selected as the shift mode, the clutch opening is obtained from the signal of the clutch pedal stroke sensor 16. The clutch opening is 0% at the starting position of the pseudo clutch pedal 26 and 100% at the ending position of the pseudo clutch pedal 26. In the clutch model MOD12, a torque transmission gain is given to the clutch opening. The torque transmission gain is converted into the clutch torque capacity of the virtual clutch, that is, the virtual clutch torque capacity. Then, based on the comparison between the virtual clutch torque capacity and the virtual engine torque calculated by the engine model MOD11, the virtual clutch torque input from the virtual clutch to the virtual transmission is calculated. Also, in the clutch model MOD12, the value obtained by subtracting the torque transmission gain from 1 is calculated as the slip ratio. The slip ratio is used in the calculation of the virtual engine speed in the engine model MOD11.

[0033] When the paddle shift mode is selected as the shift mode, the clutch opening input to the clutch model MOD12 is calculated using the clutch operation model. Also, when the clutch operation-less stick shift mode is selected as the shift mode, the clutch opening input to the clutch model MOD12 is calculated using the clutch operation model. The clutch operation model is a model that simulates the clutch operation of an exemplary driver. When the paddle shift mode is selected, the vehicle speed, the virtual engine speed, and the signal from the paddle shift switch 15 are input to the clutch operation model. When the clutch operation-less stick shift mode is selected, the vehicle speed, the virtual engine speed, and the signal from the shift position sensor 14 are input to the clutch operation model.

[0034] The signals from the paddle shift switch 15 and the shift position sensor 14 are used to measure the timing of clutch operation. When the driver's shift operation is detected by the signals from the paddle shift switch 15 or the shift position sensor 14, in the clutch operation model, the clutch opening is maximized to disengage the virtual clutch. The vehicle speed and the virtual engine speed are used in the calculation of the clutch opening. In the clutch operation model, the clutch opening is calculated based on the rotational speed difference between the rotational speed of the input shaft of the virtual transmission calculated from the vehicle speed and the virtual engine speed so as to smoothly match them.

[0035] The transmission model MOD13 calculates the virtual gear ratio. The virtual gear ratio is the gear ratio determined by the shift position in the virtual transmission. The virtual gear ratio is set for each shift position. In the stick shift mode, the shift position is associated one-to-one with the signal of the shift position sensor 14. In the paddle shift mode, when the upshift signal of the paddle shift switch 15 is received, the shift position is shifted up one step, and when the downshift signal of the paddle shift switch 15 is received, the shift position is shifted down one step. The transmission model MOD13 calculates the virtual transmission torque using the virtual gear ratio and the virtual clutch torque. The virtual transmission torque is the virtual torque output from the virtual transmission. The control device 101 controls the inverters 3F, 3R so that the output torques of the electric motors 4F, 4R change according to the virtual transmission torque.

[0036] Vehicle model MOD01 calculates the drive wheel torque from the virtual transmission torque and the reduction ratio. The drive wheel torque is the sum of the torques acting on the left and right front wheels 6F and the left and right rear wheels 6R. The torque distribution to the front wheels 6F and the rear wheels 6R can be fixed or can be actively or passively changed. In process P132, the torque of the front electric motor 4F in the manual mode is calculated by multiplying the drive wheel torque calculated in process P131 by the torque distribution ratio to the front wheels 6F and the reduction ratio from the output shaft of the front electric motor 4F to the front wheels 6F. The control device 101 controls the front inverter 3F so as to generate the torque calculated in process P132 in the front electric motor 4F. Also, in process P133, the torque of the rear electric motor 4R in the manual mode is calculated by multiplying the drive wheel torque calculated in process P131 by the torque distribution ratio to the rear wheels 6R and the reduction ratio from the output shaft of the rear electric motor 4R to the rear wheels 6R. The control device 101 controls the rear inverter 3R so as to generate the torque calculated in process P133 in the rear electric motor 4R.

[0037] 4. Downshift Notification during Deceleration Control When the electric vehicle 100 enters a curved road, the control device 101 executes deceleration control to automatically decelerate the electric vehicle 100. The deceleration control is one of the functions of an advanced driver assistance system that is also applied to manual transmission internal combustion engine vehicles. The deceleration control is executed both when the control mode of the electric vehicle 100 is in the automatic mode and when it is in the manual mode.

[0038] When deceleration control is executed in a manual transmission internal combustion engine vehicle, the driver operates the shifter of the manual transmission so as to maintain the engine speed within the torque band. The same operation can also be performed in the electric vehicle 100 when it is being driven in the manual mode. In the manual mode that reproduces the operation of a manual transmission internal combustion engine vehicle, the driver is required to perform the same shifting operation as that of an actual manual transmission internal combustion engine vehicle.

[0039] Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of an ideal shifting operation during deceleration in manual mode. The figure shows the relationship between the vehicle speed and the virtual engine speed at each shift position from the first gear to the fifth gear. In this example, the shift position before the start of deceleration is the fifth gear, and as the deceleration progresses, the shift position is dropped to the fourth gear and then further dropped to the third gear. By performing such a downshift operation during deceleration, the virtual engine speed used in the calculation of the vehicle model MOD01 is maintained within the torque band.

[0040] However, a driver without experience in operating a manual transmission internal combustion engine vehicle may not have knowledge about the necessity of the downshift operation during deceleration. If deceleration is performed while maintaining the shift position without performing a shifting operation, the virtual engine speed will deviate from the torque band, resulting in a delay in the rise of the virtual engine torque when attempting to accelerate next. Since the torque of the electric motors 4F and 4R is controlled based on the virtual engine torque in manual mode, the delay in the rise of the virtual engine torque will lead to a decrease in acceleration performance.

[0041] Therefore, when executing deceleration control, the control device 101 issues a notification to prompt the driver to perform a downshift operation. Figure 4 is a diagram for explaining the downshift notification during the execution of deceleration control. When the electric vehicle 100 approaches the upcoming curved road COR, the control device 101 determines whether to execute deceleration control based on, for example, the vehicle speed of the electric vehicle 100 and the curvature of the curved road COR. The fact that the electric vehicle 100 is approaching the curved road COR can be determined from the GPS information and the map information. If it is determined to execute deceleration control, the control device 101 activates the regenerative brake or the hydraulic brake to decelerate the electric vehicle 100.

[0042] While decelerating the electric vehicle 100, the control device 101 determines whether to execute a downshift. This determination is made based on the vehicle speed and the shift position. A virtual engine speed is calculated from the virtual gear ratio uniquely determined from the shift position and the vehicle speed, and it is predicted whether the virtual engine speed falls outside the torque band. When it is predicted that the virtual engine speed will fall outside the torque band in the current shift position, the control device 101 determines that a downshift should be executed.

[0043] When a downshift should be executed, the control device 101 notifies the driver to perform a downshift operation. The notification of the downshift operation is displayed on the touch panel display of the HMI 20 or provided as voice from the in-vehicle speaker 21. The driver may be prompted to perform the downshift operation by both an image and voice. By being prompted by the image or voice, even a driver without experience in operating a manual transmission internal combustion engine vehicle can perform the downshift operation at an appropriate timing. As a result, the electric vehicle 100 operates as when a downshift operation is performed in a manual transmission internal combustion engine vehicle, and a decrease in acceleration when exiting the curve road COR can be suppressed.

[0044] Note that it is preferable that the downshift operation is completed before the electric vehicle 100 enters the curve road COR. However, even though the driver is notified to perform a downshift operation, there is a possibility that the downshift operation may not be performed. In that case, the control device 101 ends the notification for prompting the downshift operation when the electric vehicle 100 reaches the entrance of the curve road COR.

[0045] Figure 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of downshift notification when deceleration control is executed. In step S101, it is determined whether the deceleration control has been activated. If the deceleration control has been activated, step S102 is executed, and if the deceleration control has not been activated, the flow ends. In step S102, it is determined whether the manual mode is selected as the control mode. If the manual mode is not selected, the flow ends.

[0046] When the manual mode is selected, steps S103 and S104 are executed. In step S103, the vehicle speed of the electric vehicle 100 is acquired, and in step S104, the shift position selected by operating the pseudo H-type shifter 24 or the pseudo paddle shifter 25 is acquired. Then, in step S105, it is predicted whether the virtual engine speed deviates from the torque band based on the vehicle speed and the shift position, and based on the prediction result, it is determined whether a downshift is necessary. If a downshift is not necessary, the flow ends.

[0047] If a downshift is necessary, step S106 is executed. In step S106, a notification for prompting the driver to perform a downshift operation is disclosed. In step S107, it is determined whether the section until the electric vehicle 100 reaches the entrance of the curve road COR, that is, whether the downshift notification section for notifying the driver to perform a downshift operation has ended. If the electric vehicle 100 is within the downshift notification section, step S108 is executed. In step S108, it is determined whether the driver has performed a downshift operation.

[0048] Steps S107 and S108 are repeatedly executed until a downshift operation is performed. When the driver performs a downshift operation, step S109 is executed. Also, when the downshift notification section ends, step S109 is executed. In step S109, the notification for prompting the driver to perform a downshift operation ends.

[0049] 5. Automatic Downshift during Deceleration Control In the manual mode, the operation of the pseudo-shifting operation member by the driver is reflected in the calculation of the vehicle model MOD01, and the electric motors 4F and 4R are controlled based on the calculation result of the vehicle model MOD01. In this case, since the success or failure of the operation of the pseudo-shifting operation member by the driver is directly reflected in the behavior of the electric vehicle 100, the driver can obtain a feeling as if actually driving a manual transmission internal combustion engine locomotive. However, for a driver without experience in driving a manual transmission internal combustion engine locomotive, there may be a situation where they want to leave the shift operation to the control device 101. One such situation is the downshift operation when entering a curved road.

[0050] Therefore, in the HMI 20, an automatic downshift mode can be selected as one of the options in the manual mode. When the automatic downshift mode is selected in the manual mode, a downshift is automatically performed in conjunction with the execution of the deceleration control. However, when the automatic downshift is executed in the stick shift mode, a deviation occurs between the shift position physically selected by the pseudo H-type shifter 24 and the virtual shift position in the calculation by the control device 101. For this reason, the automatic downshift mode can be selected only when the paddle shift mode is selected as the manual mode, and the automatic downshift mode cannot be selected when the stick shift mode is selected.

[0051] Figure 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of the automatic downshift during the execution of the deceleration control. In step S201, it is determined whether or not the deceleration control has been activated. If the deceleration control has been activated, step S202 is executed, and if the deceleration control has not been activated, the flow ends. In step S202, it is determined whether or not the manual mode is selected as the control mode. If the manual mode is selected, step S203 is executed, and if the manual mode is not selected, the flow ends. In step S203, it is determined whether or not the paddle shift mode is selected as the manual mode. If the stick shift mode instead of the paddle shift mode is selected, the flow ends.

[0052] When the paddle shift mode is selected, steps S204 and S205 are executed. In step S203, the vehicle speed of the electric vehicle 100 is acquired, and in step S205, the shift position selected by the operation of the pseudo paddle shifter 25 is acquired. Then, in step S206, it is predicted whether the virtual engine speed deviates from the torque band based on the vehicle speed and the shift position, and based on the prediction result, it is determined whether a downshift is necessary. If a downshift is necessary, step S207 is executed, and if a downshift is not necessary, the flow ends. In step S207, a downshift is automatically performed in the calculation of the vehicle model MOD01 by the control device 101.

[0053] 6. Other Embodiments As another configuration of the electric vehicle 100, it may be provided with only the pseudo H-type shifter 24 and the pseudo clutch pedal 26 without the pseudo paddle shifter 25. Also, as another configuration of the electric vehicle 100, it may be provided with only the pseudo paddle shifter 25 without the pseudo H-type shifter 24 and the pseudo clutch pedal 26. Further, as another configuration of the electric vehicle 100, it may be provided with only the pseudo H-type shifter 24 without the pseudo paddle shifter 25 and the pseudo clutch pedal 26.

[0054] The electric vehicle 100 is provided with electric motors 4F and 4R at the front and rear, but it may be provided with only one of them. Also, the electric vehicle 100 is a battery electric vehicle that runs on electricity stored in the battery 2, but the electric vehicle of the present disclosure may be any electric vehicle having an electric motor as a drive source. Therefore, the electric vehicle of the present disclosure is also applicable to a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) or a fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV).

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0055] 2 Batteries, 4F Front Electric Motor, 4R Rear Electric Motor, 11 Vehicle Speed Sensor, 12 Accelerator Pedal Stroke Sensor, 14 Shift Position Sensor, 15 Paddle Shift Switch, 16 Clutch Pedal Stroke Sensor, 20 HMI, 22 Accelerator Pedal, 24 Virtual H-Type Shifter, 25 Virtual Paddle Shifter, 26 Virtual Clutch Pedal, 100 Electric Vehicle, 101 Control Device

Claims

1. An electric vehicle having an electric motor as a drive source, a driving operation member used for driving the electric vehicle, a pseudo-shifting operation member imitating an operation member used for shifting operation of a manually shifted internal combustion engine vehicle, and a control device configured to control an operation of the electric vehicle with respect to an operation of the driving operation member according to an operation state of the pseudo-shifting operation member. The control device executes deceleration control for automatically decelerating the host vehicle when the host vehicle enters a curved road, and when executing the deceleration control, is configured to prompt the driver to operate the pseudo-shifting operation member in the same manner as when increasing the gear ratio of the manually shifted internal combustion engine vehicle. An electric vehicle characterized by the above.

2. In the electric vehicle according to Claim 1, the driving operation member includes an accelerator pedal, the pseudo-shifting operation member includes a pseudo-shifter imitating a shifter of a manual transmission, and the control device changes the torque of the electric motor according to the vehicle speed of the host vehicle, an operation amount of the accelerator pedal, and a shift position selected by an operation of the pseudo-shifter, and when executing the deceleration control, is configured to prompt the driver to perform a downshift operation of the pseudo-shifter. An electric vehicle characterized by the above.

3. In the electric vehicle according to Claim 1, the driving operation member includes an accelerator pedal, and the pseudo-shifting operation member includes a pseudo-shifter imitating a shifter of a manual transmission and a pseudo-clutch operation device imitating a clutch operation device. The control device changes the torque of the electric motor according to the vehicle speed of the host vehicle, an operation amount of the accelerator pedal, a shift position selected by an operation of the pseudo-shifter, and an operation amount of the pseudo-clutch operation device, and when executing the deceleration control, is configured to prompt the driver to perform a downshift operation of the pseudo-shifter. An electric vehicle characterized by the above.

4. In the electric vehicle according to Claim 1, the pseudo-shifting operation member includes a pseudo-sequential shifter imitating a sequential shifter of a manual transmission, and the control device has an automatic downshift mode for automatically increasing a virtual gear ratio of the manually shifted internal combustion engine vehicle reproduced in the electric vehicle to increase a virtual engine speed. When a downshift operation of the pseudo-sequential shifter by the driver is not performed during execution of the deceleration control, the automatic downshift mode is executed. An electric vehicle characterized by the above.

5. In the electric vehicle according to Claim 1, The pseudo-shift operation member includes a pseudo-sequential shifter imitating a sequential shifter of a manual transmission, and a pseudo-H-type shifter imitating an H-type shifter of a manual transmission, either one of the pseudo-sequential shifter and the pseudo-H-type shifter can be selectively operated, The control device has an automatic downshift mode that automatically increases the virtual gear ratio of the manual transmission type internal combustion engine vehicle reproduced in the electric vehicle and raises the virtual engine speed, When the pseudo-sequential shifter is selected and a downshift operation of the pseudo-sequential shifter by the driver is not performed during execution of the deceleration control, the automatic downshift mode is executed, When the pseudo-H-type shifter is selected and a downshift operation of the pseudo-H-type shifter by the driver is not performed during execution of the deceleration control, execution of the automatic downshift mode is withheld. An electric vehicle characterized by the above.

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