Energy management system for vehicle

Abstract

To suppress an increase in adaptation man-hours of software even when an energy transmission path is changed with respect to an on-vehicle system accompanied by energy transmission for achieving a desired function.SOLUTION: The maximum value of the thermal energy which can be created and the creation efficiency when creating the thermal energy in the plurality of thermal energy creation systems 20, 30, 40, 50 are calculated in the respective thermal energy creation systems 20, 30, 40, 50. On the other hand, each transfer efficiency when each thermal energy created by the plurality of thermal energy creation systems 20, 30, 40 is transferred to the on-vehicle system via the thermal energy transfer path is calculated by a transfer path control system 60.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle energy management system for managing energy supply and demand in a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an air conditioning control device for a hybrid vehicle that can perform heating control to optimize energy consumption. This air conditioning control device for a hybrid vehicle has a first heating system that uses the engine as a heat source and a second heating system that uses electrical energy from a battery as a heat source. The air conditioning control device selects either the first heating system or the second heating system to minimize energy consumption based on at least driving requirements and heating requirements.

[0003] For example, when the vehicle is running in EV mode, i.e., when the engine is stopped, if the required heat quantity for heating exceeds the capacity of the second heating system, it becomes difficult for the second heating system to meet the required heat quantity for heating. In this case, the air conditioning control device switches from EV running to HV running and operates the first heating system in response to the required heat quantity for heating exceeding the capacity of the second heating system. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-296646 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] When an onboard system such as the above-described vehicle air conditioning system is applied to various vehicle models, the routing of the coolant circuit of the first heating system may be changed, or different capacities may be adopted for the coolant pump that circulates the coolant or the heater core that exchanges heat between the coolant and the air-conditioned air. Furthermore, the refrigerant circuit of the second heating system may also be changed as the vehicle model changes.

[0006] Even if the basic configuration of the vehicle system remains the same, if the thermal energy transmission path is changed due to a change in the coolant circuit or refrigerant circuit, the capacity of the first heating system and the second heating system may change. Therefore, if only the overall capacity of the first heating system or the second heating system is taken into consideration, as in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, for example, even if only the coolant circuit or the refrigerant circuit is changed, the entire control program of the vehicle air conditioning system may need to be re-examined. Therefore, when an in-vehicle system that involves energy transmission to achieve desired functions is deployed to various vehicle models and grades, there is a problem that the amount of work required to adapt the software, including the control program, becomes significant.

[0007] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned points, and aims to provide a vehicle energy management system that can suppress an increase in software adaptation labor even when the energy transmission path for an on-board system that involves transmitting energy to achieve a desired function is changed. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, the present disclosure provides a vehicle energy management system, a required energy amount calculation unit (12) that calculates the amount of energy required to realize a desired function in an in-vehicle system; A plurality of energy generation systems (20, 30, 40, 50) mounted on a vehicle and generating energy; a first calculation unit (22, 32, 42, 52) that calculates a maximum value of energy that can be generated and a generation efficiency when generating energy in each of the plurality of energy generation systems; an energy transmission path for transmitting each of the energies generated by the plurality of energy generation systems to an in-vehicle system; a second calculation unit (62) that calculates a transmission efficiency when transmitting each of the energies generated by the plurality of energy generation systems to the in-vehicle system via an energy transmission path; The vehicle-mounted system includes an integrated control unit (10) that supplies the required energy amount calculated by the required energy amount calculation unit to the vehicle-mounted system by controlling the energy generation state of each of the multiple energy generation systems based on the maximum value of energy that can be generated and the energy generation efficiency calculated by the first calculation unit and the transmission efficiency of each energy generated by the multiple energy generation systems calculated by the second calculation unit.

[0009] In the vehicle energy management system according to the present disclosure, the maximum energy that can be generated and the energy generation efficiency when generating the energy in the multiple energy generation systems are calculated by a first calculation unit. Meanwhile, the transmission efficiency when transmitting each of the energies generated by the multiple energy generation systems to the on-board system via the energy transmission path is calculated by a second calculation unit. Therefore, when the energy transmission path is changed, it is only necessary to modify the process for calculating the transmission efficiency in the second calculation unit. Therefore, even when the energy transmission path is changed, it is possible to suppress an increase in the amount of work required for adapting the software.

[0010] The reference numbers in parentheses above merely indicate an example of the correspondence with specific configurations in the embodiments described below, in order to facilitate understanding of the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.

[0011] Furthermore, the technical features of the present disclosure other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments and the accompanying drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a vehicle energy management system according to an embodiment; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a control sequence executed in the vehicle energy management system according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the maximum amount of thermal energy that can be generated and the thermal energy generation efficiency in each thermal energy generation system. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the transfer efficiency of thermal energy from each thermal energy generating system to an in-vehicle system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] Hereinafter, embodiments of a vehicle energy management system according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the following embodiments, and various modifications described below are also included within the technical scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, in addition to the following, various modifications can be implemented without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. The embodiments and various modifications can be implemented in appropriate combinations as long as no technical contradiction occurs. In the following description, identical or similar components may be assigned the same reference numerals across multiple drawings, and their description may be omitted. Furthermore, when only a portion of a component is mentioned, the description provided elsewhere may apply to the other components.

[0014] (First embodiment) 1 shows an example of the configuration of a vehicle energy management system 100 according to this embodiment. In this embodiment, an example will be described in which the vehicle energy management system 100 manages thermal energy for realizing a heating function in an air conditioning system and a heating function in a temperature regulation system for an on-board battery in a vehicle.

[0015] In this embodiment, the vehicle is an electric vehicle that uses a motor as a driving source. However, the vehicle is not limited to an electric vehicle. For example, the vehicle may be an engine vehicle that uses an engine as a driving source, a hybrid vehicle or plug-in hybrid vehicle that has both an engine and a motor, or a fuel cell vehicle that is equipped with a fuel cell.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 1, an electric vehicle is equipped with multiple thermal energy generation systems capable of generating thermal energy. The first thermal energy generation system is a heater system 20. The heater system 20 includes a heater 24, such as a PTC heater. The heater 24 generates heat when a current is applied by a heater heat generation manager 22. In this manner, the amount of heat generated by the heater 24, i.e., the thermal energy generated by the heater 24, can be controlled by the current applied by the heater heat generation manager 22. The heater heat generation manager 22 detects vehicle conditions, such as the vehicle's running state and the state of charge of the onboard battery, and calculates the maximum amount of heat generated by the heater 24, i.e., the maximum amount of thermal energy that can be generated, and the efficiency of generating thermal energy when the heater 24 generates thermal energy, based on the detected vehicle conditions. The calculated maximum amount of thermal energy and the efficiency of generating thermal energy are provided by the heater heat generation manager 22 to the integrated control unit 10, which will be described later.

[0017] The second thermal energy creation system is an electric drive system 30. The electric drive system 30 includes an inverter 34 that drives a motor, which is a drive source for the vehicle, using AC current converted from DC current and converts AC current regenerated by the motor into DC current. The electric drive heat creation manager 32 can increase the amount of heat generated by the inverter 34 and the motor, for example, by reducing the efficiency of driving the motor and allowing excess current to flow through the inverter 34 and the motor. The electric drive heat creation manager 32 can also increase the amount of heat generated by the inverter 34 by allowing at least a portion of the regenerated AC current to flow through the switching elements of the inverter 34 rather than converting it to DC current. In this way, the amount of heat generated by the inverter 34 and the motor, i.e., the thermal energy generated by the inverter 34 and the motor, can be controlled by the electric drive heat creation manager 32.

[0018] The electric drive heat creation manager 32 also detects vehicle conditions such as the vehicle's driving state, ambient temperature (outside air temperature), and the state of charge of the on-board battery, and calculates the maximum heat generation value of the inverter 34 and the motor, i.e., the maximum amount of thermal energy that can be generated, and the efficiency of generating thermal energy when the inverter 34 and the motor generate it, based on the detected vehicle conditions. The calculated maximum amount of thermal energy and the efficiency of generating thermal energy are provided by the electric drive heat creation manager 32 to the integrated control unit 10. The functions of the electric drive heat creation manager 32 can be performed by a control device of the electric drive system 30.

[0019] The third thermal energy creation system is a heat pump system 40. The heat pump system 40 includes a compressor 44, a condenser, an expansion valve 46, an evaporator, and other components within a refrigerant circuit through which a refrigerant circulates. The HP thermal creation manager 42 operates the compressor 44 using power provided by the vehicle battery to heat the refrigerant to a high temperature and high pressure. The condenser exchanges heat between the heated refrigerant and the air being blown into the vehicle cabin. As a result, the temperature of the air being blown into the vehicle cabin increases. The refrigerant that has exchanged heat in the condenser is then decompressed by the expansion valve 46 to a low temperature, and then exchanges heat with outside air in the evaporator, receiving heat from the outside air. The refrigerant is then sent to the compressor 44.

[0020] In this heat pump system 40, the HP heat generation manager 42 controls the operation of the compressor 44 and the opening of the expansion valve 46, thereby controlling the heat energy exchanged with the air blown into the vehicle cabin. In other words, the heat energy generated by the heat pump system 40 can be controlled by the HP heat generation manager 42. The HP heat generation manager 42 also detects vehicle conditions such as the vehicle's driving state, ambient temperature (outside air temperature), and the state of charge of the onboard battery, and calculates the maximum amount of heat energy that can be generated by the heat pump system 40 and the efficiency of generating heat energy when the heat pump system 40 generates it based on the detected vehicle conditions. The calculated maximum amount of heat energy and the efficiency of generating heat energy are provided to the integrated control unit 10 by the HP heat generation manager 42. The functions of the HP heat generation manager 42 can be performed by a control device of the heat pump system 40.

[0021] The fourth thermal energy creation system is the outside air system 50. The outside air system 50 includes a grille shutter 54 that can open and close the opening in the vehicle's front grille. By closing the grille shutter 54, the outside air intake / exhaust heat manager 52 can prevent outside air from entering the space under the hood. As a result, cooling of the motor and other devices and the coolant circuit installed under the hood can be suppressed, and the corresponding thermal energy can be secured. In other words, the outside air intake / exhaust heat manager 52 can be said to control the creation of thermal energy by creating thermal energy to compensate for the suppression of cooling.

[0022] The outside air intake and exhaust heat manager 52 also calculates the maximum amount of heat energy that can be generated and the efficiency of generating heat energy based on the vehicle's running state, the environmental temperature (outside air temperature), etc. The calculated maximum amount of heat energy and the efficiency of generating heat energy are provided to the integrated control unit 10 from the outside air intake and exhaust heat manager 52.

[0023] As described above, in this embodiment, the maximum amount of thermal energy that can be generated by each of the thermal energy generation systems 20, 30, 40, and 50 and the thermal energy generation efficiency are calculated by each of the thermal energy generation systems 20, 30, 40, and 50. Therefore, even if the number or performance of the thermal energy generation systems 20, 30, 40, and 50 installed in a vehicle is changed depending on the vehicle model or grade, for example, no changes to the control programs of the integrated control unit 10 or the thermal energy generation systems other than the changed thermal energy generation system are required, or changes can be kept to a minimum.

[0024] Furthermore, as described above, each thermal energy generation system 20, 30, 40, 50 detects the vehicle state and calculates the maximum amount of thermal energy that can be generated and the thermal energy generation efficiency based on the detected vehicle state. Therefore, each thermal energy generation system 20, 30, 40, 50 can calculate the maximum amount of thermal energy that can be generated and the thermal energy generation efficiency with high accuracy according to the vehicle state.

[0025] Here, the thermal energy generated by the first to fourth thermal energy generation systems 20, 30, 40, and 50 is provided to on-board systems, such as an air conditioning system and an on-board battery temperature control system, via their respective thermal energy transmission paths, and is used to heat the vehicle cabin and the on-board battery. For example, the thermal energy generated by the heater 24 of the heater system 20 is transmitted via a coolant circuit and may be heat-exchanged with air blown into the vehicle cabin or air in the space where the on-board battery is located in a heat exchanger provided in the coolant circuit. In this case, the coolant circuit and the heat exchanger correspond to the thermal energy transmission path of the heater system 20. Note that the heater 24 of the heater system 20 may be provided directly in a passage through which air blown into the vehicle cabin flows, without passing through the coolant circuit.

[0026] Furthermore, thermal energy generated by the motor and inverter 34 of the electric drive system 30 is also transferred via the coolant circuit and can be heat exchanged in a heat exchanger provided in the coolant circuit with the air blown into the vehicle cabin and the air in the space where the on-board battery is provided. In this case, too, the coolant circuit and the heat exchanger correspond to the thermal energy transfer path of the electric drive system 30. The coolant circuit for the electric drive system 30 may be shared with the coolant circuit for the heater system 20, or each may be provided independently.

[0027] Furthermore, in the heat pump system 40, for example, a heat exchanger that functions as a condenser during heating is provided in a passage through which air flows to be blown into the vehicle cabin. The thermal energy generated by the heat pump system 40 is transferred to the air being blown into the vehicle cabin by the heat exchanger. In the case of the heat pump system 40, the refrigerant circuit and heat exchanger described above correspond to the thermal energy transfer path of the heat pump system 40. Note that if a temperature adjustment system for the vehicle system is provided, the heat pump system 40 may also provide a heat exchanger that functions as a condenser in the space where the vehicle battery is located, or a portion of the air heated by the air conditioner may be circulated into the space where the vehicle battery is located.

[0028] The outside air system 50 does not generate heat energy itself. As described above, the outside air system 50 contributes to the generation of heat energy by suppressing the cooling of devices such as motors and coolant circuits located under the hood. Therefore, the generated heat energy is transmitted to the vehicle system via the coolant circuits of the devices whose cooling is suppressed and the coolant circuits whose cooling is suppressed, as the heat energy transmission path.

[0029] The transfer path control system 60 has a function of controlling the transfer state of the thermal energy transfer paths of the thermal energy transfer paths of the thermal energy creation systems 20, 30, 40, and 50 described above, which are configured to be capable of controlling the transfer state of thermal energy. For example, if a coolant circuit is shared by the heater system 20 and the electric drive system 30, the energy transfer manager 62 of the transfer path control system 60 can be configured to switch the flow path of the coolant circuit using a multi-way valve 64, which is an energy transfer state control component. Specifically, the energy transfer manager 62 can be configured to switch the flow path of the coolant circuit using the multi-way valve 64 so that the coolant flows only through the heater system 20, only through the electric drive system 30, or through both the heater system 20 and the electric drive system 30. This allows the energy transfer manager 62 to transfer thermal energy from the heater system 20 and the electric drive system 30 individually or simultaneously.

[0030] Furthermore, in addition to or instead of the above-described multi-way valve 64, the transfer path control system 60 may be configured to control, for example, a pump capable of adjusting the flow rate of the coolant flowing through the coolant circuit as an energy transfer state control component. The transfer path control system 60 can also control the transfer state of the thermal energy transfer path by using such a pump. Furthermore, multiple multi-way valves 64 may be provided in the coolant circuit. This allows the transfer path control system 60 to transfer thermal energy via the coolant to only one of the on-board systems, such as an air conditioning system or an on-board battery temperature control system, or to transfer thermal energy via the coolant to multiple devices simultaneously.

[0031] The energy transfer manager 62 has a function of calculating the transfer efficiency of thermal energy transferred through each thermal energy transfer path of each thermal energy production system 20, 30, 40, 50. Specifically, the energy transfer manager 62 calculates the transfer efficiency of thermal energy from each thermal energy production system 20, 30, 40, 50 to an on-board system such as an air conditioning system, taking into consideration the environmental temperature (outside air temperature), the length of the coolant circuit, the flow rate of the coolant, the performance of the heat exchanger, etc. The calculated transfer efficiency of thermal energy of each thermal energy production system 20, 30, 40, 50 is provided from the energy transfer manager 62 to the integrated control unit 10.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle energy management system 100 includes an integrated control unit 10. The integrated control unit 10 may be configured by a computer. For example, the integrated control unit 10 includes at least one processor such as a CPU, a non-volatile memory that stores a control program, a volatile memory that temporarily stores calculation results when the control program is executed, and an interface circuit for communicating with each of the thermal energy generation systems 20, 30, 40, and 50 and the transmission path control system 60. The integrated control unit 10 may be mounted on a vehicle, or may be implemented on a server on the cloud and configured to perform V2I communication with the vehicle.

[0033] FIG. 1 shows, in blocks, functions realized by the integrated control unit 10 executing a control program. As shown in FIG. 1, the integrated control unit 10 has an air conditioning function unit 12 and an energy command calculation unit 14. The air conditioning function unit 12 calculates the thermal energy required to realize a heating function desired by a user or the like in the air conditioning system. The thermal energy calculated by the air conditioning function unit 12 is provided to the energy command calculation unit 14. Furthermore, the integrated control unit 10 may have a function unit that calculates the thermal energy required to realize the heating function of the on-board battery based on the temperature of the on-board battery and the outside air temperature.

[0034] The energy command calculation unit 14 calculates the amount of thermal energy to be generated by each of the thermal energy generation systems 20, 30, 40, 50 based on the maximum amount of thermal energy that can be generated from each of the thermal energy generation systems 20, 30, 40, 50 and the thermal energy generation efficiency of each of the thermal energy generation systems 20, 30, 40, 50 calculated by the transmission path control system 60. At this time, the energy command calculation unit 14 calculates the amount of thermal energy to be generated by each of the thermal energy generation systems 20, 30, 40, 50 so that the total amount of thermal energy to be generated by each of the thermal energy generation systems 20, 30, 40, 50 matches the amount of thermal energy required to achieve the heating function or warming function.

[0035] For example, the energy command calculation unit 14 calculates the amount of thermal energy that can be supplied to the in-vehicle system based on the maximum amount of thermal energy that can be generated and the transmission efficiency of the thermal energy transmission path, in descending order of thermal energy generation efficiency among the multiple thermal energy generation systems 20, 30, 40, 50. Then, the energy command calculation unit 14 repeats the calculation of the thermal energy that can be supplied by each thermal energy generation system 20, 30, 40, 50 until the sum of the calculated amounts of thermal energy reaches the required amount of thermal energy. In this way, the energy command calculation unit 14 can calculate the amount of thermal energy to be generated by each thermal energy generation system 20, 30, 40, 50.

[0036] The amount of thermal energy to be generated by each thermal energy generation system 20, 30, 40, 50 calculated by the energy command calculation unit 14 is instructed to the corresponding thermal energy generation system 20, 30, 40, 50. Based on this instruction, in each thermal energy generation system 20, 30, 40, 50, the heater heat generation manager 22, the electrically driven heat generation manager 32, the HP heat generation manager 42, and the outdoor air intake / exhaust heat manager 52 control the operation of their respective controlled components, namely the heater 24, the inverter 34, the compressor 44 and expansion valve 46, and the grill shutter 54, to generate the instructed thermal energy. In this way, the integrated control unit 10 can control the thermal energy generation state of each of the multiple thermal energy generation systems 20, 30, 40, 50.

[0037] Next, an example of a control sequence executed in the vehicle energy management system 100 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of FIG.

[0038] In step S100, the air conditioning function unit 12 calculates, as an energy requirement, the thermal energy required to realize the heating function desired by the user or the like in the air conditioning system. In step S110, the calculated energy requirement is transmitted from the air conditioning function unit 12 to the energy command calculation unit 14. In addition, the vehicle battery temperature regulation function unit may be configured to calculate the thermal energy required to realize the heating function of the vehicle battery in the temperature regulation system for the vehicle battery, and transmit it to the energy command calculation unit 14.

[0039] In response to an energy request from the air conditioning function unit 12 or the like, the energy command calculation unit 14 requests, in step S120, each of the managers 22, 32, 42, and 52 of the thermal energy generation systems 20, 30, 40, and 50 to calculate the maximum amount of thermal energy that can be generated and the thermal energy generation efficiency. Furthermore, in step S120, the energy command calculation unit 14 requests the energy transmission manager 62 of the transmission path control system 60 to calculate the transmission efficiency of the thermal energy transmission path of each of the thermal energy generation systems 20, 30, 40, and 50.

[0040] When the managers 22, 32, 42, 52 of the thermal energy generating systems 20, 30, 40, 50 receive a request to calculate the maximum amount of thermal energy that can be generated and the thermal energy generation efficiency, they request the controlled components 24, 34, 44, 46, 54 to detect the vehicle state in step S130. Also, when the energy transmission manager 62 of the transmission path control system 60 receives a request to calculate the transmission efficiency of the thermal energy transmission path of each thermal energy generating system 20, 30, 40, 50, it requests the energy transmission state control component 64 to detect the vehicle state in step S130. In response to this request, the controlled components 24, 34, 44, 54 and the energy transmission state control component 64 acquire information indicating their own control state as one of the vehicle states in step S140.

[0041] Then, in step S150, each of the controlled components 24, 34, 44, 46, and 54 and the energy transmission state control component 64 returns information indicating the detected vehicle state (the control state of each component) as a response. Note that in step S140, the controlled components 24, 34, 44, and 54 and the energy transmission state control component 64 may not only acquire information indicating their own control state, but may also acquire various information detected by sensors (e.g., the vehicle's traveling speed, the outside air temperature, etc.) as information indicating the vehicle state. Alternatively, each of the managers 22, 32, 42, and 52 of the thermal energy creation systems 20, 30, 40, and 50 and the energy transmission manager 62 of the transmission path control system 60 may directly acquire various information detected by various sensors.

[0042] In step S160, the managers 22, 32, 42, and 52 of the thermal energy generating systems 20, 30, 40, and 50 calculate the maximum amount of thermal energy that can be generated and the thermal energy generation efficiency based on the detected vehicle state. Also, in step S170, the energy transfer manager 62 of the transfer path control system 60 calculates the transfer efficiency of the thermal energy transferred through the thermal energy transfer path of each of the thermal energy generating systems 20, 30, 40, and 50 based on the control state of the energy transfer state control component 64.

[0043] In step S180, each manager 22, 32, 42, 52 of each thermal energy generation system 20, 30, 40, 50 and the energy transmission manager 62 of the transmission path control system 60 respectively return the calculated maximum value of thermal energy that can be generated and the thermal energy generation efficiency, as well as the thermal energy transmission efficiency of each thermal energy generation system 20, 30, 40, 50 to the energy command calculation unit 14 as a response.

[0044] In step S190, the energy command calculation unit 14 calculates a command value indicating the amount of thermal energy to be generated by each thermal energy generation system 20, 30, 40, 50 in order to generate the required thermal energy, based on the maximum value of thermal energy that can be generated from each thermal energy generation system 20, 30, 40, 50 and the thermal energy generation efficiency, and the thermal energy transmission efficiency of each thermal energy generation system 20, 30, 40, 50 calculated by the transmission path control system 60.

[0045] For example, suppose that the energy command calculation unit 14 receives the maximum value of the thermal energy that can be generated and the thermal energy generation efficiency from each thermal energy generation system 20, 30, 40, 50, as shown in Fig. 3. In the graph of Fig. 3, the horizontal axis indicates the amount of thermal energy that can be generated, and the vertical axis indicates the amount of power consumption required to generate the thermal energy. In Fig. 3, when the amount of thermal energy that can be generated is greater than 0, the generated thermal energy is used for the heating function of the air conditioning system or the heating function of the temperature control system for the on-board battery. When the amount of thermal energy that can be generated is less than 0, the generated thermal energy is used for the cooling function of the air conditioning system or the cooling function of the temperature control system for the on-board battery.

[0046] 3, the energy command calculation unit 14 determines that the outdoor air system 50 has the highest thermal energy generation efficiency because it does not substantially require the consumption of electricity to generate thermal energy. Based on the same concept, the energy command calculation unit 14 determines that the heat pump system 40 has the second highest thermal energy generation efficiency, the heater system 20 has the third highest thermal energy generation efficiency, and the electrically driven system 30 has the lowest thermal energy generation efficiency. For this reason, the energy command calculation unit 14 determines whether the required thermal energy can be supplied in the following order: outdoor air system 50, heat pump system 40, heater system 20, and electrically driven system 30.

[0047] Then, it is assumed that the energy command calculation unit 14 receives the thermal energy transfer efficiency as shown in Fig. 4 from the transfer path control system 60 as the thermal energy transfer efficiency of each thermal energy generation system 20, 30, 40, 50. Note that Fig. 4 shows the thermal energy transfer efficiency to each system when the heating function of the air conditioning system and the heating function of the vehicle battery temperature regulation system are simultaneously performed using the thermal energy of each thermal energy generation system 20, 30, 40, 50. Note that, for example, when the flow path of the coolant circuit is switched by the multi-way valve 64 to perform only the heating function of the air conditioning system or only the heating function of the vehicle battery temperature regulation system, the thermal energy transfer efficiency may differ from the thermal energy transfer efficiency shown in Fig. 4.

[0048] The energy command calculation unit 14 calculates the amount of thermal energy that can be supplied to the in-vehicle system by multiplying the maximum amount of thermal energy that can be generated by the outdoor air system 50, which has the highest thermal energy generation efficiency, by the transmission efficiency of the thermal energy transmission path, among the multiple thermal energy generation systems 20, 30, 40, 50. In the example shown in Figures 3 and 4, first, the amount of thermal energy that can be supplied from the outdoor air system 50 to the in-vehicle system that requires thermal energy is calculated by multiplying the maximum amount of thermal energy that can be generated by the outdoor air system 50, which has the highest thermal energy generation efficiency, by the thermal energy transmission efficiency of the outdoor air system 50.

[0049] If the calculated thermal energy is not enough to cover the amount of thermal energy required by the in-vehicle system, the energy command calculation unit 14 calculates the amount of thermal energy that can be supplied to the in-vehicle system from the heat pump system 40 by multiplying the maximum amount of thermal energy that can be generated by the heat pump system 40 with the second highest thermal energy generation efficiency by the thermal energy transfer efficiency of the heat pump system 40. Then, the energy command calculation unit 14 determines whether the sum of the amount of thermal energy that can be supplied by the outside air system 50 and the amount of thermal energy that can be supplied by the heat pump system 40 is equal to or greater than the amount of thermal energy required by the in-vehicle system.

[0050] When the energy command calculation unit 14 determines that the sum of the amount of thermal energy that can be supplied by the outside air system 50 and the amount of thermal energy that can be supplied by the heat pump system 40 is equal to or greater than the amount of thermal energy required by the in-vehicle system, it does not further calculate the amount of thermal energy that can be supplied by the other thermal energy generation systems 20, 30. Then, the energy command calculation unit 14 calculates the amount of thermal energy that should be supplied by the heat pump system 40 so that the sum of the amount of thermal energy that can be supplied by the outside air system 50 and the amount of thermal energy supplied by the heat pump system 40 matches the required amount of thermal energy.

[0051] On the other hand, if the energy command calculation unit 14 determines that the sum of the amount of heat energy that can be supplied by the outside air system 50 and the amount of heat energy that can be supplied by the heat pump system 40 is less than the amount of heat energy required by the in-vehicle system, it calculates the amount of heat energy that can be supplied to the in-vehicle system from the heater system 20 by multiplying the maximum amount of heat energy that can be generated by the heater system 20, which has the third highest heat energy generation efficiency, by the heat energy transfer efficiency of the heater system 20. Then, the energy command calculation unit 14 determines whether the sum of all the calculated amounts of heat energy is equal to or greater than the amount of heat energy required by the in-vehicle system.

[0052] In this way, the energy command calculation unit 14 repeatedly calculates the amount of thermal energy that can be supplied by each of the thermal energy generation systems 20, 30, 40, and 50 in descending order of thermal energy generation efficiency until the total of the calculated amounts of thermal energy reaches the amount of thermal energy required by the in-vehicle system. Furthermore, when the total of the calculated amounts of thermal energy becomes equal to or greater than the amount of thermal energy required by the in-vehicle system, the energy command calculation unit 14 calculates the amount of thermal energy that should be generated by each of the thermal energy generation systems 20, 30, 40, and 50. The calculated amounts of thermal energy that should be generated by each of the thermal energy generation systems 20, 30, 40, and 50 are then set as energy command values ​​for each of the thermal energy generation systems 20, 30, 40, and 50.

[0053] Furthermore, in step S200, the energy command calculation unit 14 calculates a transmission command value for the transmission path control system 60. In step S200, the energy command calculation unit 14 calculates a transmission command value for controlling the state of the energy transmission state control component so that an amount of thermal energy that matches the amount of required thermal energy is supplied from each of the thermal energy creation systems 20, 30, 40, and 50 to the on-board systems that require thermal energy.

[0054] Then, in step S210, the energy command calculation unit 14 transmits the calculated energy command value to each thermal energy generation system 20, 30, 40, 50, and also transmits the calculated transmission command value to the transmission path control system 60. In step S220, each manager 22, 32, 42, 52 of each thermal energy generation system 20, 30, 40, 50 calculates a control command for each control target component 24, 34, 44, 46, 54 based on the received energy command value so as to realize the commanded amount of energy. Also, the energy transmission manager 62 of the transmission path control system 60 calculates a control command for the energy transmission state control component 64 based on the received transmission command value so as to realize the commanded transmission state.

[0055] In step S230, each manager 22, 32, 42, 52 of each thermal energy generating system 20, 30, 40, 50 sends a control command to each controlled component 24, 34, 44, 46, 54. Also, the energy transfer manager 62 of the transfer path control system 60 sends a control command to the energy transfer state control component 64. In step S240, each controlled component 24, 34, 44, 46, 54 and the energy transfer state control component 64 are controlled in accordance with the respective control commands.

[0056] As described above, in the vehicle energy management system 100 according to this embodiment, the maximum value of thermal energy that can be generated and the generation efficiency of the thermal energy generated in each of the thermal energy generation systems 20, 30, 40, and 50 are calculated individually by the thermal energy generation systems 20, 30, 40, and 50. Meanwhile, the transfer efficiency of each of the thermal energy generated in each of the thermal energy generation systems 20, 30, and 40 when it is transferred to the onboard system via the thermal energy transfer path is calculated by the transfer path control system 60. As described above, in this embodiment, the calculation of the maximum value of thermal energy that can be generated and the generation efficiency when it is generated is separated from the calculation of the thermal energy transfer efficiency. Therefore, if the thermal energy transfer path is changed due to, for example, the need to expand to various vehicle models or grades, only the process for calculating the transfer efficiency in the transfer path control system 60 needs to be modified. Therefore, even if the thermal energy transfer path is changed, it is possible to suppress an increase in the amount of software adaptation work.

[0057] (Variation) The above describes preferred embodiments of the present disclosure, but the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can be implemented in various modified forms within the scope of the gist of the present disclosure.

[0058] For example, in the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which the vehicle energy management system 100 manages the supply and demand of thermal energy using physical quantities in the energy dimension, such as the thermal energy required by the on-board system and the thermal energy that can be generated by each of the thermal energy generation systems 20, 30, 40, and 50. However, the vehicle energy management system 100 may also manage the supply and demand of thermal energy using physical quantities in the power dimension.

[0059] In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which the heater system 20, the electric drive system 30, the heat pump system 40, and the outside air system 50 are used as the thermal energy creation system. However, the thermal energy creation system is not limited to these examples. For example, in a vehicle equipped with an engine, heat may be created by recovering heat from the engine and / or the exhaust system.

[0060] In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which the maximum value of thermal energy that can be generated and the thermal energy generation efficiency of the multiple thermal energy generation systems 20, 30, 40, 50 are calculated by each thermal energy generation system 20, 30, 40, 50. However, any one of the thermal energy generation systems may collectively calculate the maximum value of thermal energy that can be generated and the thermal energy generation efficiency of the multiple thermal energy generation systems 20, 30, 40, 50. Furthermore, a dedicated system for calculating the maximum value of thermal energy that can be generated and the thermal energy generation efficiency of the multiple thermal energy generation systems 20, 30, 40, 50 may be provided separately.

[0061] In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which the vehicle energy management system 100 manages the supply and demand of thermal energy in a vehicle. However, the vehicle energy management system 100 is not limited to managing the supply and demand of thermal energy. For example, the vehicle energy management system 100 may manage the supply and demand of driving energy for realizing a vehicle driving function in a hybrid vehicle or a plug-in hybrid vehicle. In this case, the driving energy generation system corresponds to the engine system and the electric drive system. The driving energy transmission path corresponds to the axle, clutch, torque converter, and the like that convert driving force into voltage. Furthermore, the vehicle energy management system 100 may manage the supply and demand of electric energy for realizing at least the function of supplying power to an on-board system. In this case, the electric energy generation system corresponds to the on-board battery and the electric drive system. The electric energy transmission path corresponds to the electrical wiring and electrical circuits from each electric energy generation system to the on-board system. [Explanation of symbols]

[0062] 10: Integrated control unit, 12: Air conditioning function unit, 14: Energy command calculation unit, 20: Heater system (first thermal energy creation system), 22: Heater heat creation manager, 24: Heater (controlled component), 30: Electric drive system (second thermal energy creation system), 32: Electric drive heat creation manager, 34: Inverter (controlled component), 40: Heat pump system (third thermal energy creation system), 42: HP heat creation manager, 44: Compressor (controlled component), 46: Expansion valve (controlled component), 50: Outside air system (fourth thermal energy creation system), 52: Outside air intake / exhaust heat manager, 54: Grille shutter (controlled component), 60: Transmission path control system, 62: Energy transmission manager, 64: Multi-way valve (energy transmission state control component), 100: Vehicle energy management system

Claims

1. a required energy amount calculation unit (12) that calculates the amount of energy required to realize a desired function in an in-vehicle system; a plurality of energy generating systems (20, 30, 40, 50) mounted on a vehicle and configured to generate energy; a first calculation unit (22, 32, 42, 52) that calculates a maximum value of energy that can be generated and a generation efficiency when generating energy in each of the plurality of energy generation systems; an energy transmission path for transmitting each of the energies generated by the plurality of energy generation systems to the in-vehicle system; a second calculation unit (62) that calculates a transmission efficiency when transmitting each of the energies generated by the plurality of energy generation systems to the in-vehicle system via the energy transmission path; and an integrated control unit (10) that supplies the required energy amount calculated by the required energy amount calculation unit to the on-board system by controlling the energy generation state of each of the plurality of energy generation systems based on the maximum amount of energy that can be generated and the energy generation efficiency of the plurality of energy generation systems calculated by the first calculation unit and the transmission efficiency of each of the energies generated by the plurality of energy generation systems calculated by the second calculation unit.

2. The vehicle energy management system according to claim 1 , wherein the integrated control unit controls an energy transmission state in the energy transmission path between at least one of the energy generation systems and the in-vehicle system.

3. 2. The vehicle energy management system according to claim 1, wherein the integrated control unit calculates the amount of energy that can be supplied to the in-vehicle system based on the maximum amount of energy that can be generated and the transmission efficiency of the energy transmission path, in descending order of energy generation efficiency among the plurality of energy generation systems, and controls the energy generation state of each of the plurality of energy generation systems so that the sum of the calculated energy amounts becomes the required energy amount.

4. 2. The vehicle energy management system according to claim 1, wherein the first calculation unit is distributed among the plurality of energy creation systems, and each of the plurality of energy creation systems calculates the maximum amount of energy that can be created by the system and the energy creation efficiency.

5. 2. The vehicle energy management system according to claim 1, wherein the first calculation unit detects a state of the vehicle and calculates a maximum amount of energy that can be generated by the plurality of energy generation systems and an energy generation efficiency based on the detected state of the vehicle.

6. 2. The vehicle energy management system according to claim 1, wherein the energy controlled by the vehicle energy management system is at least one of thermal energy for realizing a heating function in an air conditioning system as the vehicle-mounted system, drive energy for realizing a vehicle drive function in a vehicle drive system as the vehicle-mounted system, and electrical energy for supplying power to the vehicle-mounted system.

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