Hybrid vehicle

Abstract

To manage a battery storage ratio more appropriately during an automatic driving mode.SOLUTION: A hybrid vehicle comprises: an engine and a motor; a battery connected to an inverter that drives the motor via a power line; an external power supply device that is connected to the power line and capable of supplying power to an external device connected to a power outlet; and a control device that drives the vehicle in a driving mode selected by a driver from a manual driving mode and an automatic driving mode. The control device, in the automatic driving mode, controls the engine and the motor such that the greater the power supplied to the external device, the greater a battery storage ratio and charge-power.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] A conventional hybrid vehicle of this type includes an engine, a motor, and a battery connected to an inverter that drives the motor via a power line (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this hybrid vehicle, charging and discharging of the battery is controlled based on a map that sets the amount of discharge or charge required to bring the future SOC of the battery closer to the SOC center value, depending on the current SOC of the battery. The maps include a normal map and a SOC center value change map that is used when an operation to change the SOC center value is input and that increases the amount of discharge or charge required for the SOC deviation from the SOC center value compared to the normal map. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2020-49987 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In such hybrid vehicles, when DC power from a power line connected to an inverter and a battery is converted into AC power and supplied to an external device connected to an outlet, if the battery's state of charge (SOC) decreases, the supply of power to the external device may be prohibited to protect the battery. In hybrid vehicles that are driven in a driving mode selected by the driver from either a manual driving mode or an autonomous driving mode, it is expected that external devices will be used more frequently in the autonomous driving mode than in the manual driving mode, and in light of this, it is necessary to more appropriately manage the battery's state of charge. The hybrid vehicle disclosed herein primarily aims to more appropriately manage the battery's state of charge in the autonomous driving mode. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The hybrid vehicle of the present disclosure employs the following measures to achieve the above-mentioned primary object: The hybrid vehicle of the present disclosure is a hybrid vehicle including an engine and a motor, a battery connected via a power line to an inverter that drives the motor, an external power supply device that is connected to the power line and is capable of supplying power to external devices connected to an outlet, and a control device that runs the vehicle in a driving mode selected by the driver from a manual driving mode and an automatic driving mode, and in the automatic driving mode, the control device controls the engine and the motor so that the greater the power supplied to the external devices, the greater the battery's power storage rate and charging power.

[0006] In the hybrid vehicle of the present disclosure, when in autonomous driving mode, the engine and motor are controlled so that the greater the power supply to external devices, the greater the battery's power storage rate and charging power, thereby making it possible to more appropriately manage the battery's power storage rate when in autonomous driving mode. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a hybrid vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing routine. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] A mode (embodiment) for carrying out the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a hybrid vehicle 20 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in the figure, the hybrid vehicle 20 according to the embodiment includes an engine 22, a planetary gear 23, motors MG1 and MG2, inverters 24 and 25, a drive electronic control unit (drive ECU) 26, a battery 27, a connector 29, an outlet 30, an external power supply device 31, a brake device 32, a brake electronic control unit (brake ECU) 33, a steering device 34, a main electronic control unit (main ECU) 38, a shift electronic control unit (shift ECU) 50, a surroundings recognition electronic control unit (surroundings recognition ECU) 55, and a navigation device 60.

[0009] A drive shaft 35, which is connected to a motor MG1, an engine, and drive wheels 36a, 36b via differential gears, is connected to the sun gear, carrier, and ring gear of the planetary gear 23, respectively, and a motor MG2 is connected to the drive shaft 35. The motors MG1, MG2 are rotationally driven by switching on and off a plurality of switching elements of the inverters 24, 25.

[0010] The drive ECU 26 includes a microcomputer. The drive ECU 26 receives signals from various sensors, such as the crank angle θcr of the crankshaft of the engine 22 from a crank position sensor and the rotational positions θm1 and θm2 of the rotors of the motors MG1 and MG2 from a rotational position sensor. The drive ECU 26 performs various controls, such as control of the engine 22 and control of the inverters 24 and 25. The drive ECU 26 calculates the rotational speed Ne of the engine 22 based on the crank angle θcr of the engine 22, and calculates the rotational speeds Nm1 and Nm2 of the motors MG1 and MG2 based on the rotational positions θm1 and θm2 of the rotors of the motors MG1 and MG2. The drive ECU 26 communicates with the main ECU 38.

[0011] Battery 27 is connected to power line 28 together with inverters 24, 25. Connector 29 is connected to power line 28 and is configured to be connectable to a connector of an external power source such as a charging station. When connector 29 is connected to the connector of the external power source, hybrid vehicle 20 can charge battery 27 using power from the external power source. Outlet 30 can be connected to external devices that are not components of the vehicle, such as electrical appliances and mobile terminals. External power supply device 31 converts DC power from power line 28 into AC power of a predetermined voltage (e.g., 100 V) and supplies it to external devices connected to outlet 30. Hereinafter, supplying power from the vehicle to external devices connected to outlet 30 will be referred to as "AC power supply."

[0012] The brake device 32 is configured as a well-known hydraulically driven brake device and is configured to apply braking force resulting from the brake depression force applied by depressing the brake pedal 48 and braking force resulting from hydraulic pressure adjustment to the drive wheels 36a, 36b and the driven wheels 36c, 36d. The brake ECU 33 is equipped with a microcomputer. The brake ECU 33 controls the brake device 32, specifically, controls the braking force resulting from the brake depression force applied by the brake device 32 and braking force resulting from hydraulic pressure adjustment. The brake ECU 33 communicates with the main ECU 38. The steering device 34 is mechanically connected to the drive wheels 36a, 36b via a steering shaft and is equipped with a steering actuator. The steering device 34 steers the drive wheels 36a, 36b based on the steering operation by the driver, or steers the drive wheels 36a, 36b by driving the actuator based on a steering signal from the main ECU 38.

[0013] The main ECU 38 includes a microcomputer. The main ECU 38 receives signals from various sensors. For example, the main ECU 38 receives the voltage Vb and current Ib of the battery 27 from a voltage sensor and a current sensor, a connection signal between the connector 29 and the external power supply connector from a connection sensor, and power Ph supplied to an external device connected to the connector 29 from a power sensor. The main ECU 38 also receives an ignition signal IG from an ignition switch 40, a vehicle speed V from a vehicle speed sensor 41, wheel speeds Vwa to Vwd of the drive wheels 36a, 36b and the driven wheels 36c, 36d from a wheel speed sensor 42, an acceleration α from an acceleration sensor 43, a yaw rate Yr from a yaw rate sensor 44, and a road gradient θr from a gradient sensor 45. The main ECU 38 also receives inputs of the depression amount of the accelerator pedal 46 (accelerator opening Acc) from an accelerator pedal position sensor 47 and the depression amount of the brake pedal 48 (brake pedal position BP) from a brake pedal position sensor 49. The main ECU 38 performs various controls, such as control of the external power supply device 31, control of the steering device 34, control of a display device 70 attached to the instrument panel, and control of a communication device 72. The main ECU 38 calculates the state of charge (SOC) of the battery 27 based on the integrated value of the current Ib of the battery 27. As described above, the main ECU 38 communicates with the drive ECU 26 and the brake ECU 33. The main ECU 38 also communicates with the shift ECU 50, the surroundings recognition ECU 55, and the navigation device 60.

[0014] The shift ECU 50 includes a microcomputer. The shift ECU 50 receives signals from various sensors. For example, the shift ECU 50 receives the operation position of the shift lever 51 (shift operation position signal) from a shift position sensor 52. The shift ECU 50 communicates with the main ECU 38 and the surroundings recognition ECU 55. For example, the shift ECU 50 sets a shift position SP based on the shift operation position signal from the shift position sensor 52 and a surroundings recognition signal (described later) from the surroundings recognition ECU 55, and transmits the set shift position SP to the main ECU 38.

[0015] The periphery recognition ECU 55 includes a microcomputer. The periphery recognition ECU 55 receives various signals as input. For example, the periphery recognition ECU 55 receives a periphery recognition signal indicating information about the vehicle and its surroundings from the periphery recognition device 56 (e.g., inter-vehicle distances D1 and D2 between the vehicle and other vehicles ahead and behind the vehicle), and a mode signal from the automatic driving switch 57. Examples of components of the periphery recognition device 56 include a camera, millimeter-wave radar, quasi-millimeter-wave radar, infrared laser radar, and sonar. The automatic driving switch 57 is a switch for switching between a manual driving mode in which the driver performs driving operations and an automatic driving mode in which the driver does not perform driving operations. As described above, the periphery recognition ECU 55 communicates with the main ECU 38 and the shift ECU 50.

[0016] The navigation device 60 includes a main body 61 with a built-in control unit, a GPS antenna 62 that receives information about the current location of the vehicle, and a display 63. The control unit of the main body 61 includes a microcomputer, a storage medium (e.g., a hard disk or SSD) that stores map information and the like, an input / output port, and a communication port. The map information includes service information (e.g., tourist information, parking lots, etc.) and road information for each driving section (e.g., between traffic lights and between intersections). The road information includes distance information, road width information, number of lanes information, area information (urban area or suburban area), type information (general road or expressway), gradient information, legal speed limit, number of traffic lights, etc. The display 63 is configured as a touch panel type display and displays various information such as map information, information about the current location of the vehicle, and information about the planned driving route to the destination, and also allows the user to input various instructions. When a user operates the display 63 to set a destination, the main body 61 sets a planned travel route from the current position of the vehicle to the destination based on map information, the current position of the vehicle, and the destination, and displays the set planned travel route on the display 63 to provide route guidance.

[0017] In this embodiment, when hybrid vehicle 20 is parked at a charging point such as a home or a charging station with the system stopped, battery 27 is charged using power from the external power source when connector 29 is connected to the connector of the external power source. When the system is subsequently started, if hybrid vehicle 20 is not receiving AC power, hybrid vehicle 20 sets the driving mode to CD mode (Charge Depleting) when automatic driving switch 57 is turned on or off (regardless of whether hybrid vehicle 20 is in manual driving mode or automatic driving mode) and before the power storage percentage SOC of battery 27 falls below threshold value Shv, and sets the driving mode to CS (Charge Sustaining) after the power storage percentage SOC falls below threshold value Shv until the system is stopped. CD mode is a mode that prioritizes electric driving (EV driving) over hybrid driving (HV driving) so as to reduce the power storage percentage SOC of battery 27. The CS mode is a mode in which EV driving and HV driving are used in combination so that the power storage percentage SOC of the battery 27 is maintained within a control range including the control center SOC* (for example, the power storage percentage SOC when transitioning from the CD mode to the CS mode). EV driving is driving that does not use the power of the engine 22. HV driving is driving that uses the power of the engine 22. In the embodiment, when the power storage percentage SOC of the battery 27 is less than the threshold value Sref, AC power supply (power supply from the vehicle to an external device connected to the outlet 30) is prohibited in order to protect the battery 27.

[0018] Next, the operation of the hybrid vehicle 20 of this embodiment will be described. Fig. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing routine repeatedly executed by the main ECU 38. When this routine is executed, the main ECU 38 first determines whether AC power is being supplied (step S100), and if it determines that AC power is not being supplied, ends this routine. In this case, the control of the engine 22 and motors MG1, MG2 (inverters 24, 25) is not central to the present invention, and therefore detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0019] If it is determined in step S100 that AC power supply is being performed, the CS mode is set (step S110). This makes it easier to charge the battery 27 by generating electricity using the motor MG1 and the power of the engine 22 compared to the CD mode, thereby suppressing a decrease in the battery 27's power storage rate SOC. Next, through communication with the surroundings recognition ECU 55, it is determined whether the driving mode is manual or automatic (step S120). If it is determined that the driving mode is manual, the control center SOC* of the battery 27 is set to value S1 (step S130), and the target charging power Pch* of the battery 27 is set to value Pch1 (step S140), and this routine ends. Here, the value S1 is the same as or slightly higher than when AC power supply is not being performed. The value Pch1 is set, for example, so that the battery 27's power storage rate SOC approaches the control center SOC*. In EV driving in manual driving mode, the motor MG2 (inverter 25) and the brake device 32 are controlled so that the vehicle runs at the required power Pd* of the drive shaft 35 based on the accelerator opening Acc, the brake pedal position BP, and the vehicle speed V. In HV driving in manual driving mode, the engine 22 outputs the sum of the required power Pd* and the target charging power Pch*, and the engine 22, the motors MG1 and MG2, and the brake device 32 are controlled so that the vehicle runs at the required power Pd*.

[0020] If it is determined in step S120 that the vehicle is in the autonomous driving mode, the control center SOC* of the battery 27 is set based on the power Ph supplied to the external device connected to the connector 29 within a range greater than the aforementioned value S1 (step S150), and the target charging power Pch* of the battery 27 is set based on the power Ph supplied to the external device within a range greater than the aforementioned value Pch1 (step S160), and the routine ends. Here, in the processing of step S150, the control center SOC* of the battery 27 is set so that it increases as the power Ph supplied to the external device increases. In the processing of step S160, the target charging power Pch* of the battery 27 is set so that the charge percentage SOC of the battery 27 approaches the control center SOC* and increases as the power Ph supplied to the external device increases. The autonomous driving mode differs from the manual driving mode in that, during HV driving or EV driving, the required power Pd* is set and the steering device 34 is controlled based on information from the navigation device 60 or the surroundings recognition ECU 55, for example. In the autonomous driving mode, the change in the required power Pd* tends to be more gradual than in the manual driving mode. Furthermore, since the driver does not operate the shift lever 51, accelerator pedal 46, or brake pedal 48 in the autonomous driving mode, it is expected that AC power supply will be used more frequently. However, if AC power supply is prohibited when the power storage percentage SOC of the battery 27 falls below the threshold value Sref, this will lead to a decrease in the marketability and convenience of the vehicle. For these reasons, in this embodiment, the control center SOC* and target charging power Pch* of the battery 27 are increased in the autonomous driving mode compared to the manual mode. Furthermore, the control center SOC* and target charging power Pch* of the battery 27 are increased as the power supply Ph to the external device increases. This makes it possible to more appropriately prevent the power storage percentage SOC of the battery 27 from falling below the threshold value Sref in accordance with the power supply Ph to the external device. In other words, the power storage percentage SOC of the battery 27 can be more appropriately managed in the autonomous driving mode.

[0021] In the hybrid vehicle 20 according to the embodiment described above, in the autonomous driving mode, the control center SOC* and the target charging power Pch* of the battery 27 are increased as the power supply power Ph to the external device increases. This allows the power storage ratio SOC of the battery 27 to be more appropriately managed in the autonomous driving mode.

[0022] In the above-described embodiment, the connector 29 may be omitted from the hybrid vehicle 20. That is, the hybrid vehicle may not be capable of external charging, in which the battery 27 is charged using electric power from an external power source. In this case, the processing of step S110 in the processing routine of FIG. 2 is unnecessary. Also, at least two of the drive ECU 26, brake ECU 33, main ECU 38, shift ECU 50, and periphery recognition ECU 55 may be configured integrally. Furthermore, the hybrid vehicle may be configured in such a way that a motor is connected via a transmission to a drive shaft coupled to the drive wheels, an engine is connected to the motor via a clutch, and an inverter that drives the motor, a battery, and an external power supply device are connected to a power line.

[0023] The above describes the forms for implementing the present disclosure using embodiments, but the present disclosure is not limited to these embodiments in any way, and it goes without saying that the present disclosure can be implemented in various forms within the scope that does not deviate from the gist of the present disclosure. [Industrial Applicability]

[0024] The present disclosure is applicable to the hybrid vehicle manufacturing industry and the like. [Explanation of symbols]

[0025] 20 Hybrid vehicle, 22 Engine, 24, 25 Inverter, 26 Drive ECU, 27 Battery, 28 Power line, 30 Outlet, 31 External power supply device, 32 Brake device, 33 Brake ECU, 38 Main ECU, 50 Shift ECU, 55 Surrounding recognition ECU, MG1, MG2 Motors.

Claims

[Claim 1] A hybrid vehicle including an engine and a motor, a battery connected via a power line to an inverter that drives the motor, an external power supply device that is connected to the power line and is capable of supplying power to an external device connected to an outlet, and a control device that runs the vehicle in a driving mode selected by a driver from a manual driving mode and an automatic driving mode, The control device, in the automatic driving mode, controls the engine and the motor so that the power storage rate and the charging power of the battery increase as the power supply to the external device increases. Hybrid car.

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