Electric vehicle

Abstract

To prevent a function of an auto cruise control from being inhibited while allowing driving like that of an MT vehicle to be enjoyed by switching control modes.SOLUTION: An electric vehicle of the present invention includes an acceleration pedal, a shifter, a mode selection device, an ACC control device, and a motor control device. The mode selection device selects a control mode of an electric motor out of a manual shift mode, an automatic shift mode, and an EV mode according to a mode selection operation by a driver. The ACC control device executes ACC upon receipt of a request from the driver. The motor control device switches the control of the electric motor from the manual shift mode to the automatic shift mode when there is a request for the ACC while executing control by the manual shift mode.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an electric vehicle that uses an electric motor as a driving power device.

Background Art

[0002] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2021-118569 discloses an electric vehicle capable of pseudo-reproducing a manual shifting operation of a manual transmission vehicle (hereinafter referred to as an MT vehicle) by controlling motor torque.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] As a function of an automobile including an electric vehicle, auto cruise control (also referred to as adaptive cruise control) is known. However, in the electric vehicle described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2021-118569, the vehicle speed is limited according to the operation position of the shift device during a manual shifting operation, so the function of the auto cruise control is inhibited.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above problems. One object of the present disclosure is to prevent the function of the auto cruise control from being inhibited while enabling the enjoyment of driving like an MT vehicle in an electric vehicle.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The present disclosure provides an electric vehicle for achieving the above object. The electric vehicle of the present disclosure includes an accelerator pedal, a shifter, a mode selection device, an ACC control device, and a motor control device that controls an electric motor. The mode selection device is configured to select a control mode of the electric motor from a manual mode and an automatic mode according to a mode selection operation of a driver. The ACC control device is configured to execute auto cruise control in response to a request from the driver. When controlling the electric motor in the manual mode, the motor control device is configured to change the output characteristics of the electric motor with respect to the operation of the accelerator pedal according to the operation position of the shifter. Further, when controlling the electric motor in the automatic mode, the motor control device is configured to change the output of the electric motor according to the operation of the accelerator pedal regardless of the operation position of the shifter. Furthermore, when a request for auto cruise control is made during the control of the electric motor in the manual mode, the motor control device is configured to switch the control of the electric motor from the manual mode to the automatic mode.

Advantages of the Invention

[0007] According to the electric vehicle of the present disclosure, the driver can change the output characteristics of the electric motor with respect to the operation of the accelerator pedal according to the operation position of the shifter by selecting the manual mode through a mode selection operation. That is, the driver can enjoy driving like an MT vehicle by operating the shifter and the accelerator pedal. When a request for auto cruise control is made during the control of the electric motor in the manual mode, the control of the electric motor can be switched from the manual mode to the automatic mode. In the automatic mode, since the electric motor is controlled to change the output according to the operation of the accelerator pedal regardless of the operation position of the shifter, the vehicle speed is not limited according to the operation position of the shifter, and the function of the auto cruise control is not inhibited.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] 1. Configuration of Electric Vehicle FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of a power train of an electric vehicle 10 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the electric vehicle 10 includes an electric motor 2 as a driving device for traveling. A rotational speed sensor 40 for detecting the rotational speed thereof is provided on the electric motor 2. The output shaft 3 of the electric motor 2 is connected to one end of a propeller shaft 5 via a gear mechanism 4. The other end of the propeller shaft 5 is connected to a drive shaft 7 in front of the vehicle via a differential gear 6. The electric vehicle 10 includes drive wheels 8 that are front wheels and driven wheels 12 that are rear wheels. The drive wheels 8 are respectively provided at both ends of the drive shaft 7. A wheel speed sensor 30 is provided on each of the wheels 8 and 12. In FIG. 1, only the wheel speed sensor 30 of the right rear wheel is drawn as a representative. The wheel speed sensor 30 is also used as a vehicle speed sensor for detecting the vehicle speed of the electric vehicle 10.

[0010] The electric vehicle 10 includes a battery 14 and an inverter 16. The battery 14 stores electrical energy for driving the electric motor 2. That is, the electric vehicle 10 is a battery electric vehicle (BEV) that runs on the electrical energy stored in the battery 14. The inverter 16 converts the DC power input from the battery 14 during acceleration into the driving power of the electric motor 2. Also, the inverter 16 converts the regenerative power input from the electric motor 2 during deceleration into DC power and charges the battery 14.

[0011] The electric vehicle 10 includes an accelerator pedal 22 for the driver to input an acceleration request for the electric vehicle 10, and a brake pedal 24 for inputting a braking request. An accelerator position sensor 32 for detecting the accelerator opening is provided on the accelerator pedal 22. Also, a brake position sensor 34 for detecting the brake depression amount is provided on the brake pedal 24.

[0012] The electric vehicle 10 further includes a pseudo paddle shifter 26. The pseudo paddle shifter 26 is a dummy different from a genuine paddle shifter. Generally, an MT vehicle equipped with a paddle shifter is a clutch pedal-less MT vehicle without a clutch pedal. Therefore, although the electric vehicle 10 includes a pseudo paddle shifter 26, it does not include a pseudo clutch pedal imitating a clutch pedal. The pseudo paddle shifter 26 has a structure imitating the paddle shifter provided in a clutch pedal-less MT vehicle. The pseudo paddle shifter 26 is attached to the steering wheel. The pseudo paddle shifter 26 includes an upshift switch 26u and a downshift switch 26d for determining the operation position. The upshift switch 26u issues an upshift signal when pulled forward, and the downshift switch 26d issues a downshift signal when pulled forward.

[0013] The electric vehicle 10 is equipped with a mode selection device 42. The mode selection device 42 is a switch for selecting the driving mode of the electric vehicle 10. The driving modes of the electric vehicle 10 include a manual shift mode, an automatic shift mode, and an EV mode. The manual shift mode is a control mode for driving the electric vehicle 10 like an MT vehicle, and is programmed to change the output characteristics of the electric motor 2 with respect to the operation of the accelerator pedal 22 according to the operation position of the pseudo paddle shifter 26. The automatic shift mode and the EV mode are control modes for changing the output of the electric motor 2 according to the operation of the accelerator pedal 22 regardless of the operation position of the pseudo paddle shifter 26. Specifically, the automatic shift mode is a control mode for driving the electric vehicle 10 like an AT vehicle with a stepped automatic transmission, and is programmed to automatically switch a plurality of output characteristics corresponding to the operation position of the pseudo paddle shifter 26 according to the vehicle speed. The EV mode is a normal control mode for driving the electric vehicle 10 as a general electric vehicle, and is programmed to continuously change the output of the electric motor 2 according to the operation of the accelerator pedal 22. The automatic shift mode and the EV mode are collectively referred to as the automatic mode, and can be rephrased as the first automatic mode and the second automatic mode, respectively. In contrast to these, the manual shift mode can be rephrased as the manual mode.

[0014] The electric vehicle 10 is equipped with an ACC switch 44. The ACC switch 44 is a switch for activating the auto cruise control. The electric vehicle 10 is an automobile capable of being driven by the auto cruise control. To enable the auto cruise control, the electric vehicle 10 is equipped with a millimeter-wave radar 46. However, as a means for detecting the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle, a camera may be provided instead of the millimeter-wave radar 46 or together with the millimeter-wave radar 46.

[0015] The electric vehicle 10 is equipped with a vehicle control device 50. Sensors and devices to be controlled mounted on the electric vehicle 10 are connected to the vehicle control device 50 via an information communication network. The vehicle control device 50 is typically an electronic control unit (ECU) mounted on the electric vehicle 10. The vehicle control device 50 may be a combination of multiple ECUs. The vehicle control device 50 includes an interface 52, a memory 54, and a processor 56. An in-vehicle network is connected to the interface 52. The memory 54 includes a RAM for temporarily recording data and a ROM for storing programs executable by the processor 56 and various data related to the programs. The program is composed of a plurality of instructions. The processor 56 reads the program and data from the memory 54 and executes them, and generates a control signal based on the signals acquired from each sensor.

[0016] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the vehicle control device 50. The vehicle control device 50 includes an ACC control device 510 and a motor control device 520. Specifically, when the program stored in the memory 54 is executed by the processor 56, the processor 56 functions as at least the ACC control device 510 and the motor control device 520. Hereinafter, each device constituting the vehicle control device 50 will be described.

[0017] 2. Configuration of Vehicle Control Device 2-1. ACC Control Device The ACC control device 510 is a device that executes auto cruise control in response to a request from the driver. A signal from the ACC switch 44 is input to the ACC control device 510. When the ACC switch 44 is turned on, the ACC control device 510 determines the distance to the preceding vehicle using the signal from the millimeter-wave radar 46, and controls the inter-vehicle distance to follow the preceding vehicle within a range not exceeding the set speed limit. However, in one embodiment, a signal from the mode selection device 42 is input to the ACC control device 510. Then, the signal from the mode selection device 42 is used to switch the on / off of the auto cruise control in the ACC control device 510. This embodiment will be described later.

[0018] 2-2. Motor control device The motor control device 520 is a device that controls the electric motor 2 by PWM control of the inverter 16. The motor control device 520 includes a vehicle model 530, a required motor torque calculation unit 540, a motor torque command map 550, and a torque switching unit 560. Signals from the wheel speed sensor 30, the accelerator position sensor 32, the upshift switch 26u, the downshift switch 26d, the rotational speed sensor 40, the mode selection device 42, and the ACC switch 44 are input to the motor control device 520. The motor control device 520 processes these signals and calculates a motor torque command value for PWM control of the inverter 16.

[0019] There are two ways to calculate the motor torque by the motor control device 520: calculation using the vehicle model 530 and the required motor torque calculation unit 540, and calculation using the motor torque command map 550. The vehicle model 530 and the required motor torque calculation unit 540 are used for calculating the motor torque when the electric vehicle 10 is running in the manual transmission mode and when running in the automatic transmission mode. The motor torque command map 550 is used for calculating the motor torque when the electric vehicle 10 is running in the EV mode. Which motor torque to use is determined by the torque switching unit 560.

[0020] The vehicle model 530 includes a manual transmission model 530A and an automatic transmission model 530B. The manual transmission model 530A is used when controlling the electric motor 2 in the manual transmission mode. The manual transmission model 530A is a model that calculates the drive wheel torque that should be obtained by operating the accelerator pedal 22 and the pseudo paddle shifter 26 when assuming that the electric vehicle 10 is an MT vehicle. The automatic transmission model 530B is used when controlling the electric motor 2 in the automatic transmission mode. The automatic transmission model 530B is a model that calculates the drive wheel torque that should be obtained by operating the accelerator pedal 22 when assuming that the electric vehicle 10 is an AT vehicle with a stepped automatic transmission.

[0021] The switching between the manual transmission model 530A and the automatic transmission model 530B in the vehicle model 530 is performed according to a signal from the mode selection device 42. When the manual transmission mode is selected by the mode selection device 42, the vehicle model 530 uses the manual transmission model 530A. When the automatic transmission mode is selected by the mode selection device 42, the vehicle model 530 uses the automatic transmission model 530B. However, in one embodiment, a signal from the ACC switch 44 is input to the vehicle model 530. And the model switching is performed by the input of an on signal from the ACC switch 44. That embodiment will be described later.

[0022] The required motor torque calculation unit 540 converts the drive wheel torque Tw calculated by the vehicle model 530 into the required motor torque Tmt. The required motor torque Tmt is the motor torque necessary to realize the drive wheel torque Tw calculated by the vehicle model 530. For the conversion of the drive wheel torque Tw to the required motor torque Tmt, the reduction ratio from the output shaft 3 of the electric motor 2 to the drive wheels 8 is used.

[0023] The motor torque command map 550 is a map that determines the motor torque from the accelerator opening and the rotational speed of the electric motor 2. Signals from the accelerator position sensor 32 and the rotational speed sensor 40 are input to each parameter of the motor torque command map 550. From the motor torque command map 550, a motor torque Tev corresponding to these signals is output. Note that in the EV mode, even if the driver operates the pseudo paddle shifter 26, the operation is not reflected in the operation of the electric vehicle 10.

[0024] The torque switching unit 560 switches the connection destination according to the control mode of the electric motor 2. When the electric motor 2 is controlled in the EV mode, the torque switching unit 560 connects to the motor torque command map 550 and outputs the motor torque Tev as the motor torque command value Tm to the inverter 16. When the electric motor 2 is controlled in the manual shift mode and the automatic shift mode, the torque switching unit 560 switches the connection destination to the required motor torque calculation unit 540 and outputs the motor torque Tmt as the motor torque command value to the inverter 16. The switching of the connection destination of the torque switching unit 560 is performed according to a signal from the mode selection device 42. However, in one embodiment, a signal from the ACC switch 44 is input to the torque switching unit 560. And the switching of the connection destination is performed by the input of an on signal from the ACC switch 44. That embodiment will be described later.

[0025] Next, the vehicle model 530 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the vehicle model 530 includes an engine model 531, a clutch model 532, and a transmission model 533. These models 531, 532, 533 are common to the manual transmission model 530A and the automatic transmission model 530B. Note that the engine, clutch, and transmission virtually realized by the vehicle model 530 are referred to as a virtual engine, a virtual clutch, and a virtual transmission, respectively. In the engine model 531, a virtual engine is modeled. In the clutch model 532, a virtual clutch is modeled. In the transmission model 533, a virtual transmission is modeled.

[0026] For the calculation of the vehicle model 530, signals obtained by sensors are used. In the calculation of the manual transmission model 530A, the accelerator opening Pap detected by the accelerator position sensor 32 is used in the engine model 531. Also, the upshift signal Su transmitted from the upshift switch 26u and the downshift signal Sd transmitted from the downshift switch 26d are used in the transmission model 533. In the calculation of the automatic transmission model 530B, the accelerator opening Pap is used in the engine model 531. However, the upshift signal Su and the downshift signal Sd are not used in the calculation of the automatic transmission model 530B. The vehicle speed Vw detected by the wheel speed sensor 30 is used in the calculation of both the manual transmission model 530A and the automatic transmission model 530B.

[0027] The engine model 531 calculates the virtual engine rotational speed Ne and the virtual engine output torque Teout. The engine model 531 is composed of a model for calculating the virtual engine rotational speed Ne and a model for calculating the virtual engine output torque Teout. For the calculation of the virtual engine rotational speed Ne, for example, a model represented by the following equation (1) is used. In the following equation (1), the virtual engine rotational speed Ne is calculated from the rotational speed Nw of the wheel 8, the overall reduction ratio R, and the slip ratio Rslip of the virtual clutch.

Equation

[0028] In Equation (1), the rotational speed Nw of the wheel 8 is detected by the wheel speed sensor 30. The overall reduction ratio R is calculated from the gear ratio (shift ratio) r calculated by the transmission model 533 described later and a predetermined reduction ratio. The slip ratio Rslip is calculated by the clutch model 532 described later.

[0029] However, Equation (1) is a calculation formula for the virtual engine rotational speed Ne in a state where the virtual engine and the virtual transmission are connected by a virtual clutch. When the virtual clutch is disengaged, the virtual engine torque Te generated in the virtual engine can be regarded as being used for increasing the virtual engine rotational speed Ne. The virtual engine torque Te is the torque obtained by adding the torque due to the moment of inertia to the virtual engine output torque Teout. When the virtual clutch is disengaged, the virtual engine output torque Teout is zero. Therefore, when the virtual clutch is disengaged, the engine model 531 calculates the virtual engine rotational speed Ne by the following Equation (2) using the virtual engine torque Te and the moment of inertia J of the virtual engine. A map using the accelerator opening Pap as a parameter is used for the calculation of the virtual engine torque Te.

Number

[0030] The engine model 531 calculates the virtual engine output torque Teout from the virtual engine rotational speed Ne and the accelerator opening Pap. For the calculation of the virtual engine output torque Teout, for example, a map as shown in FIG. 3 is used. This map is a map that defines the relationship between the accelerator opening Pap in the steady state, the virtual engine rotational speed Ne, and the virtual engine output torque Teout. In this map, the virtual engine output torque Teout with respect to the virtual engine rotational speed Ne is given for each accelerator opening Pap. The torque characteristics shown in FIG. 3 can be set to the characteristics assuming a gasoline engine, or can be set to the characteristics assuming a diesel engine. Also, the characteristics assuming a naturally aspirated engine can be set, or the characteristics assuming a supercharged engine can be set.

[0031] The clutch model 532 calculates the torque transmission gain k. The torque transmission gain k is a gain for calculating the degree of torque transmission of the virtual clutch according to the virtual clutch opening. The virtual clutch opening is usually 0%, and is temporarily opened up to 100% in conjunction with the switching of the virtual gear stage of the virtual transmission. The clutch model 532 has, for example, a map as shown in FIG. 3. In this map, the torque transmission gain k is given for the virtual clutch opening Pc. In FIG. 3, Pc0 corresponds to the position where the virtual clutch opening Pc is 0%, and Pc3 corresponds to the position where the virtual clutch opening Pc is 100%. The ranges from CP0 to CP1 and from CP2 to CP3 are dead zones where the torque transmission gain k does not change according to the virtual clutch opening CP.

[0032] The clutch model 532 calculates the clutch output torque Tcout using the torque transmission gain k. The clutch output torque Tcout is the torque output from the virtual clutch. The clutch model 532 calculates the clutch output torque Tcout from the virtual engine output torque Teout and the torque transmission gain k, for example, according to the following formula (3).

Equation

[0033] Also, the clutch model 532 calculates the slip ratio Rslip. The slip ratio Rslip is used in the calculation of the virtual engine rotational speed Ne in the engine model 531. For the calculation of the slip ratio Rslip, a map in which the slip ratio Rslip is given for the virtual clutch opening Pc can be used, similar to the torque transmission gain k. Instead of such a map, the slip ratio Rslip may be calculated from the torque transmission gain k according to the following formula (4) representing the relationship between the slip ratio Rslip and the torque transmission gain.

Equation

[0034] The transmission model 533 calculates the gear ratio (shift ratio) r. The gear ratio r is the gear ratio determined by the virtual gear stage GP in the virtual transmission. In the calculation of the manual shift model 530A, upon receiving the input of the upshift signal Su, the virtual gear stage GP is upshifted by one stage, and upon receiving the input of the downshift signal Sd, the virtual gear stage GP is downshifted by one stage. In the calculation of the automatic shift model 530B, the virtual gear stage GP is automatically upshifted as the vehicle speed Vw increases and automatically downshifted as the vehicle speed Vw decreases. The transmission model 533 has a map as shown in, for example, FIG. 3. In this map, the gear ratio r is given for the virtual gear stage GP. As shown in FIG. 3, the larger the virtual gear stage GP, the smaller the gear ratio r. The transmission model 533 calculates the transmission output torque Tgout using the gear ratio r. The transmission output torque Tgout is the torque output from the virtual transmission. The transmission model 533 calculates the transmission output torque Tgout from the clutch output torque Tcout and the gear ratio r, for example, by the following equation (5). [Number]

[0035] As is clear from equation (5), the transmission output torque Tgout changes discontinuously in response to the switching of the gear ratio r. This discontinuous change in the transmission output torque Tgout generates a shift shock, producing the feel of a vehicle equipped with a stepped transmission. However, when calculating the transmission output torque Tgout in the automatic shift model 530B, the discontinuity of the transmission output torque Tgout may be suppressed, for example, by processing using a first-order lag filter.

[0036] The vehicle model 530 calculates the drive wheel torque Tw using a predetermined reduction ratio rr. The reduction ratio rr is a fixed value determined by the mechanical structure from the virtual transmission to the drive wheels 8. The value obtained by multiplying the reduction ratio rr by the gear ratio r is the aforementioned overall reduction ratio R. The vehicle model 530 calculates the drive wheel torque Tw from the transmission output torque Tgout and the reduction ratio rr, for example, according to the following equation (6). The calculated drive wheel torque Tw is output to the required motor torque calculation unit 540.

Number

[0037] 3. Switching of control mode linked to adaptive cruise control According to the above configuration, the driver can arbitrarily select the control mode of the electric motor 2. In particular, by selecting the manual shift mode, the driver can enjoy the shifting operation like an MT vehicle. However, in the manual shift mode, the vehicle speed is limited according to the operation position of the pseudo paddle shifter 26. For this reason, when the adaptive cruise control is executed in the manual shift mode, there is a possibility of hindering the following of the preceding vehicle. Therefore, if the driver operates the ACC switch 44 to request the adaptive cruise control, the vehicle control device 50 respects the driver's will and executes the switching of the control mode so that the function of the adaptive cruise control is not inhibited.

[0038] There are two embodiments for the switching of the control mode linked to the adaptive cruise control. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, first, in step S11, it is determined whether the current control mode is the manual shift mode. If it is not the manual shift mode, there is no problem in executing the adaptive cruise control. Therefore, when the current control mode is the automatic shift mode or the EV mode, the current control mode is maintained as it is.

[0039] When the current control mode is the manual shift mode, in step S12, it is determined whether the ACC switch 44 is turned on. If the ACC switch 44 is not turned on, that is, if the driver does not request auto cruise control, there is no problem in continuing the manual shift mode. Therefore, when the ACC switch 44 is off, the current control mode is maintained as it is.

[0040] When the current control mode is the manual shift mode and the ACC switch 44 is turned on, the procedure proceeds to step S13. In step S13, the control mode is switched from the manual shift mode to the EV mode. Specifically, the connection destination of the torque switching unit 560 is switched from the required motor torque calculation unit 540 to the motor torque command map 550. In the EV mode, the electric motor 2 is controlled to change its output according to the operation of the accelerator pedal 22 regardless of the operation position of the pseudo paddle shifter 26. Therefore, the function of the auto cruise control is prevented from being inhibited.

[0041] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a second embodiment of the control mode linked to the auto cruise control. In the second embodiment, first, in step S21, it is determined whether the current control mode is the manual shift mode. When the current control mode is the manual shift mode, in step S22, it is determined whether the ACC switch 44 is turned on.

[0042] And when the current control mode is the manual shift mode and the ACC switch 44 is turned on, the procedure proceeds to step S23. In step S23, the control mode is switched from the manual shift mode to the automatic shift mode. Specifically, the calculation in the vehicle model 530 is switched from the manual shift model 530A to the automatic shift model 530B. In the automatic shift mode, the electric motor 2 is controlled to change its output according to the operation of the accelerator pedal 22 regardless of the operation position of the pseudo paddle shifter 26. Therefore, the function of the auto cruise control is prevented from being inhibited.

[0043] During the execution of the auto cruise control, the production of shift shock in accordance with the switching of the virtual gear stage GP is stopped. That is, during the execution of the auto cruise control, before and after the switching of the virtual gear stage GP, the transmission output torque Tgout calculated by the transmission model 533 is continuously changed.

[0044] 4. ON / OFF switching of the auto cruise control linked to mode switching During the execution of the auto cruise control, the selection of the manual shift mode by the mode selection device 42 may be disabled. That is, with the highest priority given to enabling the auto cruise control, only the automatic shift mode or the EV mode may be allowed. However, on the other hand, when the driver operates the mode selection device 42 to select the manual shift mode, it can also be regarded as an indication of the driver's will to enjoy the shift operation like in an MT vehicle.

[0045] Figure 6 is a flowchart showing the ON / OFF switching of the auto cruise control linked to mode switching. First, in step S31, it is determined whether the auto cruise control is currently ON. If the auto cruise control is OFF, there is no problem even if the control mode is switched to the manual shift mode. Therefore, when the auto cruise control is OFF at the current time, the OFF state of the auto cruise control is maintained as it is.

[0046] When the auto cruise control is ON, in step S32, it is determined whether the control mode has been switched to the manual shift mode. If it is not the manual shift mode, the function of the auto cruise control is not inhibited. Therefore, when the current control mode is the automatic shift mode or the EV mode, the ON state of the auto cruise control is maintained as it is.

[0047] At present, the auto cruise control is on. When the control mode is switched to the manual transmission mode, the procedure proceeds to step S33. In step S33, the auto cruise control is switched from on to off. By releasing the auto cruise control, the driver can enjoy the shifting operation like an MT vehicle.

[0048] 4. Others In the above embodiment, a lever-type pseudo shifter may be provided instead of the paddle-type pseudo shifter. The lever-type pseudo shifter is configured to output an upshift signal by tilting the shift lever forward and output a downshift signal by tilting the shift lever backward. Also, in the above embodiment, a pseudo H-type shifter and a pseudo clutch pedal may be provided instead of the pseudo sequential shifter. In that case, in the clutch model of the vehicle model, the torque transmission gain may be calculated according to the depression amount of the pseudo clutch pedal. Also, in the transmission model of the vehicle model, the gear ratio may be calculated according to the shift position of the pseudo H-type shifter.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0049] 2 Electric motor, 10 Electric vehicle, 22 Accelerator pedal, 26 Pseudo paddle shifter, 42 Mode selection device, 44 ACC switch, 46 Millimeter wave radar, 50 Vehicle control device, 510 ACC control device, 520 Motor control device

Claims

1. An electric vehicle that uses an electric motor as a power unit for traveling, Accelerator pedal and Shifter and a mode selection device for selecting a control mode of the electric motor from among a manual mode, a first automatic mode, and a second automatic mode in response to a mode selection operation by a driver; an ACC control device that executes auto cruise control in response to a request from the driver; a motor control device for controlling the electric motor, The motor control device includes: When controlling the electric motor in the manual mode, an output characteristic of the electric motor in response to the operation of the accelerator pedal is changed in accordance with an operation position of the shifter; When controlling the electric motor in the first automatic mode, an output characteristic of the electric motor in response to the operation of the accelerator pedal is automatically switched among a plurality of output characteristics corresponding to the operation position of the shifter in accordance with a vehicle speed; When controlling the electric motor in the second automatic mode, the output of the electric motor is continuously changed in response to the operation of the accelerator pedal regardless of the operation position of the shifter. and switching control of the electric motor from the manual mode to the first automatic mode when a request for the auto cruise control is received during control of the electric motor in the manual mode. An electric vehicle characterized by

2. 2. The electric vehicle according to claim 1, The motor control device is configured to, during execution of the auto cruise control in the first automatic mode, when switching an output characteristic of the electric motor in response to operation of the accelerator pedal between a plurality of output characteristics corresponding to an operating position of the shifter, continuously change a torque of the electric motor before and after the switching. An electric vehicle characterized by

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