Vehicle control system

• US 20100070121A1
• Filed: 07/23/2009
• Published: 03/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Ochiai, Kiyoe, Koga, Takehiro
• Granted Patent: US 7,813,849 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/22
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 6/48 Parallel type
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/06 including control of combustion engines
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/08 including control of electric propulsion units, e.g. motors or generators
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 20/00 Control systems specially adapted for hybrid vehicles hybrid vehicle design, B60K6/00; electric vehicles B60L
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 20/19 for achieving enhanced acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2510/0671 Engine manifold pressure
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2555/20 Ambient conditions, e.g. wind or rain
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/62 Hybrid vehicles

Abstract

In a vehicle control system, an opportunity for detecting abnormalities in an atmospheric pressure sensor using an intake pressure sensor of the engine is appropriately provided. A vehicle control system 10 includes an engine 12, rotating electric machines 14 and 16, a power supply circuit 18, an intake pressure sensor 20, an atmospheric pressure sensor 22, an IG-ON/OFF switch 70, and a control device 48. A control unit 50 of the control device 48 includes a system start/stop module 52 which starts and stops operation of the entire system, a sensor state determination module 54 which determines whether the atmospheric pressure sensor 22 is in an abnormal state based on a detection value of the intake pressure sensor 20, a boosting limit module 56 which limits the boosting voltage of the voltage converter 34 corresponding to a detection value of the atmospheric pressure sensor 22, and a power supply stop delaying module 58 which delays a stop of electric power supply from a low-voltage battery 44 for a predetermined period after the engine stopped.

Claims

1. A vehicle control system comprising:

a boosting circuit that supplies a boosting voltage to a rotating electric machine;

a boosting voltage setting unit that sets a value of the boosting voltage of the boosting circuit according to a detection result of an atmospheric pressure sensor;

an abnormality diagnosis unit that performs a diagnosis of an abnormality on the atmospheric pressure sensor or an engine intake pressure sensor, based on a comparison between a value detected by the engine intake pressure sensor and a value detected by the atmospheric pressure sensor when an engine has stopped;

a circuit unit power supply that supplies operational electric power to the abnormality diagnosis unit; and

a power supply stop delaying unit that delays a stop of the circuit unit power supply until an atmospheric pressure return period, during which an air pressure detected by the engine intake pressure sensor returns to an atmospheric pressure, has elapsed.

2. The vehicle control system according to claim 1,

wherein the abnormality diagnosis unit immediately performs, a diagnosis of an abnormality on the atmospheric pressure sensor or the engine intake pressure sensor when the operational electric power is again supplied from the circuit unit power supply after a stop of the circuit unit power supply has been delayed until the atmospheric pressure return period has elapsed.

3. The vehicle control system according to claim 1,

wherein the boosting voltage setting unit sets a value of the boosting voltage of the boosting circuit based on a result of an abnormality diagnosis.

4. The vehicle control system according to claim 3,

wherein the boosting voltage setting unit sets a value of the boosting voltage of the boosting circuit to a safe side when the atmospheric pressure sensor or the engine intake pressure sensor is diagnosed as abnormal based on a result of the abnormality diagnosis, and the set value remains until the atmospheric pressure sensor or the engine intake pressure sensor is diagnosed as normal based on a result of a next abnormality diagnosis.

5. The vehicle control system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a start-stop unit that commands a start and a stop of the entire system including the engine and the rotating electric machine; and

a return period storing unit that stores the atmospheric pressure return period beforehand as a characteristic relating to the engine intake pressure sensor,

wherein the abnormality diagnosis unit compares a period of time from a previous system stop command until a present system start command and the atmospheric pressure return period, and when the period of time from the previous system stop command until the present system start command is longer than the atmospheric pressure return period, the abnormality diagnosis unit performs a diagnosis of an abnormality on the atmospheric pressure sensor and the engine intake pressure sensor immediately after the present system start.

6. The vehicle control system according to claim 1,

wherein when a next system start command is output during the time that a stop of the circuit unit power supply has been delayed, a system starting process, including a determination of whether to start the engine, is given priority.

7. The vehicle control system according to claim 1,

wherein the abnormality diagnosis unit diagnoses that the atmospheric pressure sensor or the engine intake pressure sensor is abnormal when a state, where a deviation between an air pressure value detected by the atmospheric pressure sensor and an air pressure value detected by the engine intake pressure sensor is larger than a predetermined deviation, continues for a second predetermined period after a first predetermined period has elapsed from the time when the engine stopped.

8. The vehicle control system according to claim 1,

wherein when a time change of an air pressure value, detected by the engine intake pressure sensor immediately after the system start command, is larger than a predetermined rate of change, the abnormality diagnosis unit determines that it is not necessary to perform a diagnosis of an abnormality on the atmospheric pressure sensor and the engine intake pressure sensor, based on an assumption that the present system start command was output following the previous system stop command.

9. The vehicle control system according to claim 3,

wherein when the abnormality diagnosis unit diagnoses that the atmospheric pressure sensor or the engine intake pressure sensor is abnormal, the abnormality diagnosis unit causes the boosting voltage setting unit to set the boosting voltage to a predetermined lower limit voltage.

10. The vehicle control system according to claim 4, further comprising:

an abnormality storing unit that stores a sensor abnormality when the atmospheric pressure sensor or the engine intake pressure sensor was diagnosed as abnormal at the time of previous system stop and the boosting voltage was set to a predetermined lower limit voltage,

wherein when the abnormality storing unit stores a sensor abnormality, the abnormality diagnosis unit causes the boosting voltage setting unit to maintain the boosting voltage at the predetermined lower limit voltage at the time of present system start.