Driving force control device of vehicle

• US 20070255462A1
• Filed: 04/06/2007
• Published: 11/01/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/07/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Subaru Corp.
• Original Assignee: Fuji Heavy Industries Limited (Subaru Corp.)
• Inventors: Shibata, Naoki, Kobayashi, Tsuyoshi, Oishi, Hiroshi, Yamamoto, Kenichi, Nakamura, Akihisa, Fukuda, Tatsuru, Motoi, Masahito, Kaneda, Kouji, Masuda, Toshio, Satomura, Satoshi, Hijikata, Kenji, Igarashi, Katsumasa, Yuki, Minoru, Shinozuka, Junzo, Ushiki, Masayuki, Atake, Atsushi
• Granted Patent: US 7,546,197 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/1
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 11/105 characterised by the function converting demand to actuation, e.g. a map indicating relations between an accelerator pedal position and throttle valve opening or target engine torque
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 2200/604 Engine control mode selected by driver, e.g. to manually start particle filter regeneration or to select driving style
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 41/2422 Selective use of one or more tables

Abstract

The present invention provides a driving force control device which can set driving force characteristics which conform to tastes of drivers using one vehicle thus giving the easy-to-drive feeling to the drivers. An E/G_ECU possesses three modes 1 to 3 as control modes and selects one mode from these modes based on a manipulation input using a mode selection switch. Further, any one of the mode out of these modes 1 to 3 is preset in the E/G_ECU as a temporary changeover mode, and the E/G_ECU changes over a mode selected by the mode selection switch and the preset temporary changeover mode alternatively by means of the temporary changeover switch.

Claims

1. A driving force control device of a vehicle comprising:

a mode selection control means provided to select one mode out of at least three modes which differ in driving force characteristics as a control mode based on an external manipulation;

a temporary changeover mode setting means provided to set an arbitrary mode from the respective modes as an temporary changeover mode based on an external manipulation;

a temporary changeover control means for changing over the mode selected by the mode selection control means and the temporary changeover mode set by the temporary changeover mode setting means alternately based on an external manipulation; and

a driving force setting means for setting a driving force indication value based on a driving state from the driving force characteristic corresponding to the mode selected by the mode selection control means or the temporary changeover mode when temporary selected by the temporary changeover control means.

2. A driving force control device of the vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the driving force control device further comprising:

a return control means provided to return to the mode selected by the mode selection control means depending on the return conditions when the temporary changeover mode is carried out.

3. A driving force control device of the vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the return control means determines the permission of return based on at least the manipulation of an accelerator of the vehicle by a driver.

4. A driving force control device of the vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the return contrl means determines the permission of return based on the manipulation of an accelerator by a driver in the closing direction when the temporary changeover mode is a mode of higher output than the mode selected by the mode selection control means, and

the return control means determines the permission of return based on the manipulation of the accelerator by the driver in the opening direction when the temporary changeover mode is a mode of lower output than the mode selected by the mode selection control means.

5. A driving force control device of the vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the return control means forbids the return when a vehicle speed is more than a first threshold value in a state that the temporary changeover mode is a mode of higher output than the mode selected by the mode selection control means, and the return control means forbids the return when a vehicle speed is less than a second threshold value in a state that the temporary changeover mode is a mode of lower output than the mode selected by the mode selection control means.

6. A driving force control device of the vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the return control means forbids the return when a lapsed time from the start of the temporary changeover mode is shorter than a set time.

7. A driving force control device of the vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the return control means forbids the return when a lateral acceleration acting on the vehicle is larger than a threshold value.