Vehicle control system

Abstract

To suppress abnormal combustion of hydrogen during engine startup. [Solution] The vehicle is equipped with an internal combustion engine 10 that uses hydrogen as fuel and an electric motor that performs motoring to rotate the crankshaft 18 of the internal combustion engine 10. The control device 100 performs a determination process and a ventilation process. The determination process is performed when there is a request to start the internal combustion engine 10 and determines whether or not the hydrogen concentration in the cylinder 16 of the internal combustion engine 10 is high based on predetermined conditions. The ventilation process is performed when the determination process determines that the hydrogen concentration is high and motoring is carried out.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a control device for a vehicle.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a device that stops engine startup when ignition of fuel leaked into a cylinder is detected before starting fuel injection into the cylinder at the time of engine startup.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] On the other hand, in an internal combustion engine using hydrogen as fuel, abnormal combustion may occur if hydrogen gas remains in the cylinder at the time of engine startup.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] The vehicle control device for solving the above problems is applied to a vehicle including an internal combustion engine using hydrogen as fuel and an electric motor that performs motoring to rotate the crankshaft of the internal combustion engine. The control device has a processing circuit. The processing circuit executes determination processing and ventilation processing. The determination processing is executed when there is a startup request for the internal combustion engine, and is a process of determining whether the hydrogen concentration in the cylinder of the internal combustion engine is high based on a predetermined condition. The ventilation processing is a process of performing the motoring when it is determined in the determination processing that the hydrogen concentration is high.

Effects of the Invention

[0006] According to this invention, abnormal combustion of hydrogen at the time of engine startup can be suppressed. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle in the first embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a flowchart showing the procedure of processing performed by the control device of the same embodiment. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a flowchart showing the procedure of processing performed by the control device of the second embodiment. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is a flowchart showing part of the processing steps performed by the control device of the third embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] (First Embodiment) The following describes a first embodiment of the vehicle's control system. <Vehicle Configuration> As shown in Figure 1, an internal combustion engine 10 is installed in the vehicle's engine compartment 500.

[0009] The internal combustion engine 10 comprises a cylinder block 11, a cylinder head 12, and a head cover 13. Inside the cylinder block 11 is a cylinder 16 in which a piston 15 is arranged to reciprocate.

[0010] The cylinder head 12 is provided with an intake port 30 for introducing intake air into the combustion chamber 17 of the internal combustion engine 10, and an exhaust port 70 for discharging exhaust gas from the combustion chamber 17. An intake valve 81 is provided in the intake port 30. An exhaust valve 82 is provided in the exhaust port 70.

[0011] The cylinder head 12 is equipped with a fuel injector 84 that injects hydrogen, which is the fuel for the internal combustion engine 10, into the combustion chamber 17, and a spark plug 23. A crankcase 19 is provided at the lower part of the cylinder block 11, which houses the crankshaft 18 of the internal combustion engine 10.

[0012] An intake manifold 29 equipped with a surge tank 60 is connected upstream of the intake port 30, and an intake pipe 20 is connected upstream of the surge tank 60. The surge tank 60 is equipped with an intake pressure sensor 53 for detecting the intake pressure PIM. The intake pressure PIM is the pressure inside the surge tank 60, which is the pressure downstream of the throttle valve 28 in the intake passage.

[0013] The intake manifold 20 is equipped with, in order from upstream, an air cleaner 21, an air flow meter 51, a compressor wheel 24C of a supercharger 24 driven by exhaust gases from the combustion chamber 17, a boost pressure sensor 52, an intercooler 27, and a throttle valve 28.

[0014] The air cleaner 21 filters the intake air taken into the intake manifold 20. The air flow meter 51 detects the intake air volume GA of the internal combustion engine 10. The compressor wheel 24C of the supercharger 24 supercharges the intake air flowing through the intake passage. The boost pressure sensor 52 detects the boost pressure PTC, which is the pressure in the downstream portion of the compressor wheel 24C in the intake manifold 20. The intercooler 27 cools the air after it has passed through the compressor wheel 24C. The throttle valve 28 is a valve that adjusts the intake air volume of the internal combustion engine 10, and the opening of the valve is changed by an electric motor.

[0015] The air cleaner 21, intake pipe 20, surge tank 60, and intake manifold 29 constitute the intake passage of the internal combustion engine 10. Downstream of the exhaust port 70, an exhaust passage 90 is connected. Partway along the exhaust passage 90, a housing for the turbine wheel 24T of the supercharger 24 is connected.

[0016] The internal combustion engine 10 is equipped with a blow-by gas treatment mechanism 200 that introduces blow-by gas leaking from the combustion chamber 17 into the crankcase 19 into the intake passage. The blow-by gas contains hydrogen, which is the fuel, as well as lubricating oil for the internal combustion engine 10 and combustion gases of the fuel-air mixture.

[0017] The blow-by gas treatment mechanism 200 includes a first communication passage 37. One end of both ends of the first communication passage 37 is connected to the intake pipe 20 between the air cleaner 21 and the compressor wheel 24C. The first communication passage 37 penetrates through the head cover 13, passes through the inside of the cylinder head 12 and the cylinder block 11, and is connected to the crankcase 19. In the middle of the first communication passage 37, a separator 38 which is an oil separator installed in the head cover 13 is provided.

[0018] The blow-by gas treatment mechanism 200 includes a second communication passage 32 for guiding the blow-by gas in the crankcase 19 to a separator 31 which is an oil separator provided in the head cover 13. The end of the second communication passage 32 connected to the separator 31 opens into the crankcase 19. Incidentally, a separator 31 may be provided in the middle of the second communication passage 32.

[0019] The separator 31 is connected to the surge tank 60 via a PCV (positive crankcase ventilation) valve 34 which is a differential pressure valve and a PCV passage 35. The PCV valve 34 opens when the pressure in the surge tank 60 becomes lower than the pressure in the separator 31, and allows the inflow of blow-by gas from the separator 31 to the surge tank 60. The pressure in the separator 31 is equal to the pressure in the crankcase 19. Therefore, the PCV valve 34 is a valve that opens when the intake pressure PIM becomes lower than the pressure in the crankcase 19.

[0020] For example, when the operating state of the internal combustion engine 10 is in a naturally aspirated state and the intake pressure PIM is lower than the atmospheric pressure, the pressure in the surge tank 60 becomes lower than the pressure in the crankcase 19. Therefore, the PCV valve 34 opens. When the PCV valve 34 opens, fresh air flows into the crankcase 19 from the intake pipe 20 through the first communication passage 37. Further, blow-by gas in the crankcase 19 is sucked into the surge tank 60 through the second communication passage 32, the separator 31, the PCV valve 34, and the PCV passage 35. The blow-by gas sucked into the surge tank 60 is sent to the combustion chamber 17 together with the intake air and burned.

[0021] The crankshaft 18 is mechanically connected to the carrier C of the planetary gear mechanism 300 that constitutes the power split device. The rotating shaft 310a of the first motor generator 310 is mechanically connected to the sun gear S of the planetary gear mechanism 300. The first motor generator 310 functions as a generator that generates electricity using the engine output, and also functions as a starting starter that cranks the crankshaft 18 when starting the internal combustion engine 10. This first motor generator 310 is an electric motor that performs motoring to rotate the crankshaft 18.

[0022] The rotating shaft 320a of the second motor generator 320 and the drive wheel 400 are mechanically connected to the ring gear R of the planetary gear mechanism 300. The second motor generator 320 functions as an electric motor that generates the driving force of the drive wheel 400, and also functions as a generator that generates electricity by regeneration when the vehicle decelerates.

[0023] An AC voltage is applied to the terminals of the first motor generator 310 by the inverter 330. Also, an AC voltage is applied to the terminals of the second motor generator 320 by the inverter 340. Thus, the vehicle of this embodiment is a vehicle equipped with a hybrid system including an internal combustion engine 10 and a motor generator as prime movers.

[0024] The control device 100 controls the internal combustion engine 10. The control device 100 operates various controllable devices such as the throttle valve 28, fuel injection valve 84, and spark plug 23. The control device 100 also operates the inverter 330 to control the first motor generator 310. Furthermore, the control device 100 operates the inverter 340 to control the second motor generator 320.

[0025] The control device 100 includes a CPU 110 for arithmetic processing and a memory 120 that stores control programs and data. The control device 100 performs various control-related processes by having the CPU 110 execute the programs stored in the memory 120. Although not shown in the diagram, the control device 100 is composed of multiple control units, including a control unit for the internal combustion engine and control units for the first motor generator 310 and the second motor generator 320.

[0026] The control device 100 receives detection signals from the air flow meter 51, boost pressure sensor 52, and intake pressure sensor 53 described above. The control device 100 also receives detection signals from various other sensors. For example, the control device 100 receives a detection signal from the crank angle sensor 54, which detects the rotation angle (crank angle) of the crankshaft 18 in order to calculate the engine rotation speed NE. The control device 100 also receives a detection signal from the accelerator pedal operation amount sensor 55, which detects the accelerator pedal operation amount ACCP, which adjusts the output of the internal combustion engine 10. Furthermore, the control device 100 receives a detection signal from the throttle sensor 56, which detects the throttle opening TA, which is the opening degree of the throttle valve 28. The control device 100 also receives a detection signal from the vehicle speed sensor 57, which detects the vehicle speed SP. Additionally, a hydrogen concentration sensor 58 is installed in the engine compartment 500 to detect the hydrogen concentration Hc within the engine compartment 500. The control device 100 receives a detection signal from the hydrogen concentration sensor 58. Furthermore, the control device 100 receives the output signal Sm1 from the first rotation angle sensor 350, which detects the rotation angle of the first motor generator 310. In addition, the control device 100 receives the output signal Sm2 from the second rotation angle sensor 360, which detects the rotation angle of the second motor generator 320.

[0027] The control device 100 calculates the engine load ratio KL based on the engine rotational speed NE and the intake air volume GA. The engine load ratio KL is a parameter that determines the amount of air filled into the combustion chamber 17, and is the ratio of the amount of air inflow per combustion cycle per cylinder to the standard amount of incoming air. The standard amount of incoming air is set variably according to the engine rotational speed NE.

[0028] The control device 100 calculates the required torque for the vehicle's operation based on the accelerator pedal input (ACCP) and vehicle speed (SP). The control device 100 then controls the required output Pe of the internal combustion engine 10 and the output torques of the first motor generator 310 and the second motor generator 320 to meet the vehicle's required torque. For example, if the required output Pe of the internal combustion engine 10 is "0", the control device 100 stops the operation of the internal combustion engine 10 and performs EV driving, using the output torque of the second motor generator 320 to drive the vehicle. If the required output Pe of the internal combustion engine 10 is greater than "0", the control device 100 operates the internal combustion engine 10 to obtain engine output and performs hybrid driving, using that engine output and the output torque of the second motor generator 320 to drive the vehicle.

[0029] <Regarding ventilation inside the cylinder when starting the engine> Hydrogen, the fuel for the internal combustion engine 10, is a gas at room temperature. Therefore, when the engine is stopped, a small amount of hydrogen gas may leak from the closed fuel injection valve 84 and accumulate in the cylinder 16. If the concentration of hydrogen gas accumulated in the cylinder 16 becomes high, abnormal combustion of the hydrogen gas may occur when the engine is started. One example of such abnormal combustion is the autoignition of hydrogen gas.

[0030] Therefore, the control device 100 suppresses abnormal combustion of hydrogen gas during engine startup by performing the process described below. Figure 2 shows the procedure for the processing that the control device 100 executes at predetermined intervals. The processing shown in Figure 2 is carried out by the CPU 110 executing a program stored in the memory 120 of the control device 100. In the following, the step number of each process is represented by a number preceded by "S".

[0031] When the process shown in Figure 2 is started, the control device 100 determines whether or not there is a start request for the internal combustion engine 10, which is currently stopped (S100). Examples of start requests include a start request resulting from the ON operation of the ignition switch located inside the vehicle's passenger compartment, and a start request resulting from the switching from EV driving to hybrid driving.

[0032] In the process of S100, if it is determined that there is a request to start the internal combustion engine 10 (S100: YES), the control device 100 performs a determination process to determine whether the hydrogen concentration in the cylinder 16 is high or not based on predetermined conditions (S110). In the determination process of S110, the control device 100 obtains the hydrogen concentration Hc in the engine compartment 500, which is the value detected by the hydrogen concentration sensor 58. The control device 100 then determines that the hydrogen concentration in the cylinder 16 is high if the obtained hydrogen concentration Hc exceeds a predetermined determination value Hcref. On the other hand, if the obtained hydrogen concentration Hc is less than or equal to the determination value Hcref, the control device 100 determines that the hydrogen concentration in the cylinder 16 is not high. The determination value Hcref is a suitable value, and for example, the minimum hydrogen concentration Hc at which abnormal combustion of hydrogen may occur in the cylinder 16 during engine startup is set in advance.

[0033] In the process of S110, if the hydrogen concentration Hc exceeds the determination value Hcref and it is determined that the hydrogen concentration in the cylinder 16 is high (S110: YES), the control device 100 executes the ventilation process of S120. As part of the ventilation process, the control device 100 performs motoring by driving the first motor generator 310 to rotate the crankshaft 18.

[0034] When the process in S120 is executed, the control device 100 executes the determination process in S110 again. Therefore, as long as the process in S110 determines that the hydrogen concentration in the cylinder 16 is high, the motoring by the ventilation process in S120 is continued. Note that if the hydrogen concentration Hc does not fall below the determination value Hcref even after performing motoring for a predetermined time, the motoring may be stopped.

[0035] In the determination process of S110, if it is determined that the hydrogen concentration in the cylinder 16 is not high because the hydrogen concentration Hc is less than or equal to the determination value Hcref (S110: NO), the control device 100 executes the process of S130. In the process of S130, the control device 100 executes the process of starting fuel injection and ignition of the internal combustion engine 10. That is, the control device 100 starts the engine by injecting fuel from the fuel injection valve 84 and starting ignition of the spark plug 23.

[0036] Then, if the process in S130 is executed, or if the process in S100 is deemed negative, the control device 100 terminates the execution of this process for the current cycle. <Operation and Effects of This Embodiment> (1-1) The control device 100 executes the determination process in S110 and the ventilation process in S120 shown in Figure 2. The determination process is executed when there is a request to start the internal combustion engine 10, and determines whether the hydrogen concentration in the cylinder 16 of the internal combustion engine 10 is high or not based on predetermined conditions. The ventilation process is performed when the determination process determines that the hydrogen concentration is high, and involves motoring by rotating the crankshaft 18 with the first motor generator 310.

[0037] Therefore, if a request to start the internal combustion engine 10 is made and it is determined that the hydrogen concentration in the cylinder 16 is high, motoring is performed. When motoring is performed, fresh air is introduced into the cylinder 16, thus ventilating the hydrogen gas in the cylinder 16. As a result, abnormal combustion of hydrogen during engine startup can be suppressed.

[0038] (1-2) The above determination process involves obtaining the hydrogen concentration Hc in the engine compartment 500 of the vehicle, and determining that the hydrogen concentration in the cylinder 16 is high if the obtained hydrogen concentration Hc exceeds a predetermined determination value Hcref.

[0039] If the hydrogen concentration in cylinder 16 is high, hydrogen gas in cylinder 16 may leak from the air cleaner 21 into the engine compartment 500 via the intake passage of the internal combustion engine 10. Therefore, the control device 100 acquires the hydrogen concentration Hc in the engine compartment 500. Then, in the determination process of S110, the control device 100 determines that the hydrogen concentration in cylinder 16 is high if the acquired hydrogen concentration Hc exceeds the above determination value Hcref. Thus, it is possible to appropriately determine whether or not the hydrogen concentration in cylinder 16 is high.

[0040] (1-3) If the determination process does not determine that the hydrogen concentration is high (S110: NO), the control device 100 executes the process of starting fuel injection and ignition of the internal combustion engine 10 (S130). Therefore, if the determination process in S110 does not determine that the hydrogen concentration is high, the internal combustion engine 10 can be started in accordance with the start request.

[0041] (Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the vehicle's control system will be described. As shown by the dashed line in Figure 1, the internal combustion engine 10 of this embodiment has a hydrogen concentration sensor 158 installed in the exhaust passage 90 connected to the exhaust port 70 to detect the hydrogen concentration He in the exhaust passage 90. The hydrogen concentration sensor 58 that detects the hydrogen concentration Hc in the engine compartment 500 is omitted. In addition, in order to suppress abnormal combustion of hydrogen gas during engine startup, the control device 100 performs the process shown in Figure 3 at predetermined intervals. For each process shown in Figure 3, the same step number is used for processes that are the same as those shown in Figure 2.

[0042] When the process shown in Figure 3 is started, the control device 100 determines whether or not there is a start request for the internal combustion engine 10 which is currently stopped (S100). If, during the process of S100, it is determined that there is a request to start the internal combustion engine 10 (S100: YES), the control device 100 starts motoring by driving the first motor generator 310 to rotate the crankshaft 18 (S200).

[0043] Next, the control device 100 performs a determination process (S210) to determine whether the hydrogen concentration in the cylinder 16 is high or not, based on predetermined conditions. In the determination process of S210, the control device 100 obtains the hydrogen concentration He in the exhaust passage 90, which is the value detected by the hydrogen concentration sensor 158. The control device 100 then determines that the hydrogen concentration in the cylinder 16 is high if the obtained hydrogen concentration He exceeds a predetermined determination value Heref. On the other hand, if the obtained hydrogen concentration He is less than or equal to the determination value Heref, the control device 100 determines that the hydrogen concentration in the cylinder 16 is not high. The determination value Heref is a suitable value, and for example, the minimum hydrogen concentration He at which abnormal combustion of hydrogen may occur in the cylinder 16 during engine startup is set in advance.

[0044] In the process of S210, if it is determined that the hydrogen concentration in the cylinder 16 is high because the hydrogen concentration He exceeds the determination value Here (S210: YES), the control device 100 continues the motoring started in S200 (S220). In this embodiment, the process of S220 corresponds to the ventilation process in which motoring is performed when the determination process determines that the hydrogen concentration is high. The control device 100 then executes the determination process of S210 again. Therefore, as long as the process of S210 determines that the hydrogen concentration in the cylinder 16 is high, fuel injection and ignition of the internal combustion engine 10 are not started, and the ventilation process described above is performed by continuing the motoring started in the process of S200. Note that if the hydrogen concentration He does not fall below the determination value Here even after performing motoring for a predetermined time, the motoring may be stopped.

[0045] In the determination process of S210, if it is determined that the hydrogen concentration in cylinder 16 is not high because the hydrogen concentration He is less than or equal to the determination value Here (S210: NO), the control device 100 executes the process of S130. In the process of S130, the control device 100 executes the process of starting fuel injection and ignition of the internal combustion engine 10.

[0046] Then, if the process in S130 is executed, or if the process in S100 is deemed negative, the control device 100 terminates the execution of this process for the current cycle. <Operation and Effects of This Embodiment> (2-1) The control device 100 executes the determination process in S210 and the ventilation process in S220 shown in Figure 3. The determination process is executed when there is a request to start the internal combustion engine 10, and determines whether or not the hydrogen concentration in the cylinder 16 of the internal combustion engine 10 is high based on predetermined conditions. The ventilation process is performed when the determination process determines that the hydrogen concentration is high, and involves motoring by rotating the crankshaft 18 with the first motor generator 310.

[0047] Therefore, if it is determined that the hydrogen concentration in the cylinder 16 is high when there is a request to start the internal combustion engine 10, motoring is performed. When motoring is performed, fresh air is introduced into the cylinder 16, so the hydrogen gas in the cylinder 16 is ventilated. Therefore, in this embodiment as well, abnormal combustion of hydrogen during engine startup can be suppressed.

[0048] (2-2) Before executing the determination process in S210, the control device 100 executes a process to start motoring in the process of S200. The determination process involves obtaining the hydrogen concentration He in the exhaust passage 90, and if the obtained hydrogen concentration He exceeds a predetermined determination value Heref, it is determined that the hydrogen concentration in the cylinder 16 is high.

[0049] When motoring is started in the S200 process, the gas that has been accumulating in the cylinder 16 is discharged into the exhaust passage 90. Therefore, if the hydrogen concentration in the cylinder 16 is high, the hydrogen concentration He in the exhaust passage 90 after motoring will also be high. So, the control device 100 starts motoring before executing the determination process in S210. The control device 100 then obtains the hydrogen concentration He in the exhaust passage 90. Then, in the determination process in S210, the control device 100 determines that the hydrogen concentration in the cylinder 16 is high if the obtained hydrogen concentration He exceeds the determination value Heref. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately determine whether or not the hydrogen concentration in the cylinder 16 is high.

[0050] (2-3) If the determination process does not determine that the hydrogen concentration is high (S210: NO), the control device 100 executes the process of starting fuel injection and ignition of the internal combustion engine 10 (S130). Therefore, if the determination process in S210 does not determine that the hydrogen concentration is high, the internal combustion engine 10 can be started in accordance with the start request.

[0051] (Third embodiment) Next, a third embodiment of the vehicle's control system will be described. As shown by the dashed line in Figure 1, the internal combustion engine 10 of this embodiment has a hydrogen concentration sensor 258 for detecting the hydrogen concentration Hb of the blow-by gas provided in the second communication passage 32 of the blow-by gas processing mechanism 200. The hydrogen concentration sensor 58 for detecting the hydrogen concentration Hc in the engine compartment 500 is omitted.

[0052] As shown in Figure 4, the control device 100 of this embodiment executes the determination process S300 shown in Figure 4 instead of the determination process S110 shown in Figure 2. In other words, if the control device 100 determines in the process of S100 that there is a request to start the internal combustion engine 10 which is stopped, it performs a determination process (S300) to determine whether the hydrogen concentration in the cylinder 16 is high or not based on predetermined conditions. In the determination process of S300, the control device 100 obtains the hydrogen concentration Hb of the blow-by gas, which is the value detected by the hydrogen concentration sensor 258. The control device 100 then determines that the hydrogen concentration in the cylinder 16 is high if the obtained hydrogen concentration Hb exceeds a predetermined determination value Hbref. On the other hand, if the obtained hydrogen concentration Hb is less than or equal to the determination value Hbref, the control device 100 determines that the hydrogen concentration in the cylinder 16 is not high. The determination value Hbref is a suitable value, and for example, the minimum hydrogen concentration Hb at which abnormal combustion of hydrogen may occur in the cylinder 16 during engine startup is set in advance.

[0053] In the process of S300, if the hydrogen concentration Hb exceeds the determination value Hbref, and it is determined that the hydrogen concentration in the cylinder 16 is high (S300: YES), the control device 100 sequentially executes the processes from S120 onwards, as in the first embodiment. This ventilates the cylinder 16.

[0054] On the other hand, if the determination process in S300 determines that the hydrogen concentration in the cylinder 16 is not high because the hydrogen concentration Hb is less than or equal to the determination value Hbref (S300: NO), the control device 100 executes the process in S130 in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

[0055] <Operation and Effects of This Embodiment> According to this embodiment, in addition to (1-1) and (1-3) described above, the following effects and benefits can be obtained.

[0056] (3-1) The above determination process involves obtaining the hydrogen concentration Hb of the blow-by gas and determining that the hydrogen concentration in the cylinder 16 is high if the obtained hydrogen concentration Hb exceeds a predetermined determination value Hbref.

[0057] When the internal combustion engine 10 starts cranking in response to an engine start request, blow-by gas introduced into the intake passage via the blow-by gas processing mechanism 200 flows into the cylinder 16. Here, the blow-by gas of the internal combustion engine 10, which uses hydrogen as fuel, contains hydrogen. Therefore, when cranking starts, the hydrogen concentration in the cylinder 16 increases, and there is a risk of abnormal combustion. Therefore, the control device 100 acquires the hydrogen concentration Hb of the blow-by gas. Then, in the determination process in S300, the control device 100 determines that the hydrogen concentration in the cylinder 16 is high if the acquired hydrogen concentration Hb exceeds a predetermined determination value Hbref. More precisely, it is determined that the hydrogen concentration in the cylinder 16 becomes high when blow-by gas flows into the cylinder 16 due to cranking. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately determine whether or not the hydrogen concentration in the cylinder 16 will become high.

[0058] <Example of changes> Furthermore, each of the above embodiments can be implemented with modifications as follows. Each embodiment and the following modifications can be combined with each other to the extent that they do not contradict each other technically.

[0059] The hydrogen concentration sensor 58 may be replaced with a hydrogen leak detector that outputs a signal indicating that the hydrogen concentration Hc exceeds the above-mentioned determination value Hcref. The hydrogen concentration sensor 158 may be replaced with a hydrogen leak detector that outputs a signal indicating that the hydrogen concentration He exceeds the above-mentioned threshold value Heref.

[0060] The hydrogen concentration sensor 258 may be replaced with a hydrogen leak detector that outputs a signal indicating that the hydrogen concentration Hb exceeds the above-mentioned determination value Hbref. The installation location of the hydrogen concentration sensor 258 in the second embodiment can be arbitrarily changed as long as it is a location where the hydrogen concentration Hb of the blow-by gas can be detected. For example, the hydrogen concentration sensor 258 may be installed on another component of the blow-by gas processing mechanism 200. Alternatively, the hydrogen concentration sensor 258 may be installed on the crankcase 19.

[0061] The internal combustion engine 10 does not need to be equipped with a supercharger 24. • The vehicle's hybrid system is not limited to the one shown in Figure 1; other hybrid systems may also be used.

[0062] The number of motor generators equipped in the vehicle can be changed as needed. The vehicle may be equipped only with an internal combustion engine 10 as the prime mover. In this modified example, the motoring described above can be performed, for example, by driving a starter motor that rotates the crankshaft 18 when the engine is started.

[0063] The internal combustion engine 10 may be equipped with a fuel injection valve that injects fuel into the intake port 30. The control device 100 is not limited to one that includes a CPU and memory and performs software processing. For example, the control device 100 may include a dedicated hardware circuit, such as an ASIC, that performs hardware processing for at least a portion of what is processed by software in the above embodiment. That is, the control device 100 may include a processing circuit having any of the following configurations (a) to (c): (a) A processing circuit comprising one or more processing units that perform all of the above processing according to a program, and one or more program storage devices such as ROMs that store the program. (b) A processing circuit comprising one or more processing units and one or more program storage devices that perform a portion of the above processing according to a program, and one or more dedicated hardware circuits that perform the remaining processing. (c) A processing circuit comprising one or more dedicated hardware circuits that perform all of the above processing. The program storage device, i.e., computer-readable medium, includes any available medium that can be accessed by a general-purpose or dedicated computer. [Explanation of symbols]

[0064] 10...Internal combustion engine 11...Cylinder block 12...Cylinder head 13...Head cover 15...Piston 16...Cylinder 16...Exhaust passage 17...Combustion chamber 18...Crankshaft 19...Crankcase 20...Intake pipe 20...Intake passage 21...Air cleaner 23...Spark plug 24...Supercharger 24C...Compressor wheel 24T...Turbine wheel 27...Intercooler 28...Throttle valve 29...Intake manifold 30...Intake port 31...Separator 32...Second passage 34...PCV valve 35...PCV passage 37...First passage 38...Separator 51...Air flow meter 52...Boost pressure sensor 53...Intake pressure sensor 54...Crank angle sensor 55...Accelerator pedal position sensor 56...Throttle sensor 57...Vehicle speed sensor 58...Hydrogen concentration sensor 60…Surge tank 70…Exhaust port 81…Intake valve 82…Exhaust valve 84…Fuel injector 90…Exhaust passage 100…Control unit 110…CPU 120…Memory 158…Hydrogen concentration sensor 200…Blow-by gas treatment mechanism 258…Hydrogen concentration sensor 300…Planetary gear mechanism 310…First motor generator 310a…Rotating shaft 320…Second motor generator 320a…Rotating shaft 330…Inverter 340…Inverter 350…First rotation angle sensor 360…Second rotation angle sensor 400…Drive wheel 500…Engine compartment

Claims

1. A control device for a vehicle comprising an internal combustion engine that uses hydrogen as fuel, and an electric motor that performs motoring to rotate the crankshaft of the internal combustion engine, It has a processing circuit, The processing circuit performs a determination process and a ventilation process. The aforementioned determination process is performed when there is a request to start the internal combustion engine, and is a process that determines whether or not the hydrogen concentration in the cylinder of the internal combustion engine is high, based on predetermined conditions. The ventilation process is a process in which the motoring is performed when the determination process determines that the hydrogen concentration is high. Vehicle control system.

2. The aforementioned determination process involves obtaining the hydrogen concentration in the engine compartment of the vehicle, and determining that the hydrogen concentration in the cylinder is high if the obtained hydrogen concentration exceeds a predetermined determination value. A vehicle control device according to claim 1.

3. The processing circuit executes the process of starting the motor before executing the determination process. The aforementioned determination process involves obtaining the hydrogen concentration in the exhaust passage of the internal combustion engine, and determining that the hydrogen concentration in the cylinder is high if the obtained hydrogen concentration exceeds a predetermined determination value. A vehicle control device according to claim 1.

4. The aforementioned internal combustion engine is equipped with a blow-by gas treatment mechanism that introduces blow-by gas from the crankcase into the intake passage. The aforementioned determination process involves obtaining the hydrogen concentration of the blow-by gas and determining that the hydrogen concentration in the cylinder is high if the obtained hydrogen concentration exceeds a predetermined determination value. A vehicle control device according to claim 1.

5. The aforementioned processing circuit is If the determination process does not determine that the hydrogen concentration is high, the process of initiating fuel injection and ignition of the internal combustion engine is executed. A vehicle control device according to claim 1.

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