Electric vehicles

Abstract

To provide an electric vehicle that enables a driver to grasp a time during which the vehicle can travel in a sport mode.SOLUTION: In a sport mode, a travelable time calculating part 28 calculates, as a sport-mode travelable time that is a time at which an electric vehicle can travel in a sport mode, a minimum time of a first travelable time that is calculated based on a power storage amount of a battery 12 that supplies a motor 14 with electric power, a second travelable time that is calculated based on a temperature of the battery 12 and a third travelable time that is calculated based on a temperature of the motor 14, and a notification processing part 30 notifies a driver of the calculated sport-mode travelable time.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This specification discloses improvements to electric vehicles. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a hybrid vehicle that has a motor as a drive source and is capable of intermittently operating the motor under overload when an output greater than the rated output of the motor is required. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-144882 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Incidentally, some electric vehicles (e.g., hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles, etc.) that use a motor as a drive source have a sport mode, which is a driving mode that improves the motor's output compared to normal mode. In sport mode, advantages such as increased acceleration are obtained compared to normal mode, but this puts a strain on the battery that supplies power to the motor and on the motor itself. Therefore, if the vehicle is driven in sport mode for a long period of time, the battery and motor may deteriorate.

[0005] An object of the electric vehicle disclosed in this specification is to enable the driver to know the time for which the vehicle can be driven in sports mode. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The electric vehicle disclosed in this specification is an electric vehicle that can be driven in a sport mode in which motor output is improved compared to normal mode, and is characterized by comprising: a driveable time calculation unit that calculates, in the sport mode, the sport mode driveable time, which is the time that the vehicle can be driven in the sport mode, as the shortest time out of a first driveable time calculated based on the amount of electricity stored in a battery that supplies power to the motor, a second driveable time calculated based on the temperature of the battery, and a third driveable time calculated based on the temperature of the motor; and a notification processing unit that notifies the driver of the calculated sport mode driveable time.

[0007] According to the above configuration, the driver can know the time for which the vehicle can be driven in sport mode, which in turn suppresses deterioration of the battery or motor. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the electric vehicle disclosed in this specification, the driver can know the time for which the vehicle can be driven in sport mode. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a functional block diagram of an electric vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing by a processor. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] 1 is a functional block diagram of an electric vehicle 10 according to this embodiment. The electric vehicle 10 is a vehicle having a battery 12 as a drive source, and is, for example, a hybrid vehicle or an electric vehicle.

[0011] The battery 12 is a secondary battery such as a lithium-ion battery. The battery 12 supplies power to the motor 14. The motor 14 is a drive source for the electric vehicle 10. The motor 14 is controlled by a processor 24, which will be described later. The display 16 includes, for example, an indicator or display provided in front of the driver's seat. The SOC (State Of Charge) sensor 18 is a sensor that detects the amount of charge stored in the battery 12. The temperature sensor 20 is a sensor that detects the temperature of the battery 12. The temperature sensor 22 is a sensor that detects the temperature of the motor 14.

[0012] The processor 24 is configured by, for example, a microcomputer and may be, for example, an ECU (Electronic Control Unit). As shown in Fig. 1, the processor 24 functions as a driving control unit 26, a remaining driving time calculation unit 28, and a notification processing unit 30.

[0013] In response to an instruction from the driver, the driving control unit 26 selects a driving mode for the electric vehicle 10 from a plurality of driving modes including a normal mode and a sports mode. The sports mode is a driving mode in which the output of the motor 14 is increased compared to the normal mode.

[0014] When the electric vehicle 10 is in the sport mode, the remaining driving time calculation unit 28 calculates a sport mode remaining driving time, which is the time during which the electric vehicle 10 can be driven in the sport mode. The time during which the electric vehicle 10 can be driven in the sport mode is a time during which the battery 12 and the motor 14 are not overloaded and degradation of these components does not occur. Details of the processing by the remaining driving time calculation unit 28 will be described later with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 2.

[0015] The notification processing unit 30 notifies the driver of the calculated remaining sport mode driving time. For example, the notification processing unit 30 causes the display 16 to display the remaining sport mode driving time.

[0016] The flow of processing by the processor 24 will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

[0017] In step S10, the driving control unit 26 switches the driving mode of the electric vehicle 10 to the sports mode in accordance with an instruction from the driver.

[0018] In step S12, remaining driving time calculation unit 28 calculates first remaining driving time A_Bs based on the detection value of SOC sensor 18 (i.e., the amount of charge stored in battery 12). Specifically, remaining driving time calculation unit 28 calculates difference ΔSOC between the current amount of charge SOC_n stored in battery 12 and the minimum amount of charge SOC_min (see equation 1) determined by the deterioration state H of battery 12 (see equation 2), and inputs difference ΔSOC into a predetermined map to calculate first remaining driving time A_Bs (see equation 3). SOC_min=map(H)...(Formula 1) ΔSOC=SOC_n-SOC_min (Formula 2) A_Bs=map(ΔSOC) (Equation 3)

[0019] In step S14, remaining driving time calculation unit 28 calculates second remaining driving time A_Bt based on the detection value of temperature sensor 20 (i.e., the temperature of battery 12). Specifically, remaining driving time calculation unit 28 calculates the difference ΔBt between the current temperature BT_n of battery 12 and the upper limit temperature BT_max of battery 12 (see equation 4), and divides this by the temperature rise time per second ΔBTup (see equation 5) determined by the battery degradation state H, to calculate second remaining driving time A_Bt (see equation 6). ΔBt=BT_max-BT_n (Formula 4) ΔBTup=map(H) (Equation 5) A_Bt=ΔBt÷ΔBTup (Equation 6)

[0020] In step S16, the remaining driving time calculation unit 28 calculates the third remaining driving time A_Tt based on the detection value of the temperature sensor 22 (i.e., the temperature of the motor 14). Specifically, the remaining driving time calculation unit 28 calculates the difference ΔTt between the current temperature TT_n of the motor 14 and the upper limit temperature TT_max of the motor 14 (see equation 7), and calculates the third remaining driving time A_Tt by inputting the difference ΔTt and the oil temperature Tf_n of the motor 14 into a predetermined map (see equation 8). ΔTt=TT_max-TT_n (Equation 7) A_Tt=map(ΔTt,Tf_n) (Equation 8)

[0021] In step S18, the remaining driving time calculation unit 28 sets the minimum time among the first remaining driving time A_Bs, the second remaining driving time A_Bt, and the third remaining driving time A_Tt as the sport mode remaining driving time A_min (see equation 9). A_min=Min(A_Bs,A_Bt,A_Tt)...(Formula 9)

[0022] In step S20, the notification processing unit 30 determines whether the sport mode driving available time A_min is equal to or greater than a predetermined time threshold β. If the sport mode driving available time A_min is less than the time threshold β, the process proceeds to step S22, where the notification processing unit 30 notifies the driver of NG, i.e., that the sport mode driving available time A_min is less than the time threshold β. If the sport mode driving available time A_min is equal to or greater than the time threshold β, the process proceeds to step S24, where the notification processing unit 30 notifies the driver of the sport mode driving available time A_min.

[0023] In step S26, the driving control unit 26 determines whether the current accelerator opening Γ_n is equal to or greater than a predetermined opening threshold Γ_s. If the accelerator opening Γ_n is equal to or greater than the opening threshold Γ_s, the process proceeds to step S28, where the driving control unit 26 changes the motor power BW supplied to the motor 14 to sport mode power BW_pow. If the accelerator opening Γ_n is less than the opening threshold Γ_s, the process proceeds to step S30, where the driving control unit 26 changes the motor power BW to normal power BW_nml. Note that the sport mode power BW_pow is greater than the normal power BW_nml.

[0024] The above describes an embodiment of an electric vehicle according to the present disclosure, but the electric vehicle according to the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit thereof. [Explanation of symbols]

[0025] 10 Electric vehicle, 12 Battery, 14 Motor, 16 Display, 18 SOC sensor, 20, 22 Temperature sensors, 24 Processor, 26 Driving control unit, 28 Remaining driving time calculation unit, 30 Notification processing unit.

Claims

[Claim 1] An electric vehicle that can be driven in a sports mode in which the motor output is improved compared to a normal mode, a remaining driving time calculation unit that calculates, in the sport mode, the shortest time among a first remaining driving time calculated based on the amount of electricity stored in a battery that supplies power to the motor, a second remaining driving time calculated based on the temperature of the battery, and a third remaining driving time calculated based on the temperature of the motor, as a sports mode remaining driving time that is the time during which the vehicle can be driven in the sports mode; a notification processing unit that notifies a driver of the calculated sport mode driving remaining time; An electric vehicle comprising:

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