VEHICLE CONTROL APPARATUS

• US 20130289815A1
• Filed: 12/27/2011
• Published: 10/31/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/11/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Suzuki, Naoto
• Application Number:
  US13/978,767
• Publication Number:
  US 20130289815A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/22
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 6/445 Differential gearing distribution type
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/13 Maintaining the SoC within a determined range
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/26 for electrical energy, e.g. batteries or capacitors
• 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 20/12 using control strategies taking into account route information estimation or calculation of non-directly measurable driving parameters B60W40/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2510/244 Charge state
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2710/244 Charge state
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/0097 Predicting future conditions
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/62 Hybrid vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 903/903 having energy storing means, e.g. battery, capacitor

Abstract

A GPS, a map information, and a communication unit which are included in a vehicle control apparatus acquire road information on a road on which a vehicle travels, and a hybrid ECU sets a battery residual capacity target value which is a target value of residual capacity of a battery which is a power source driving the vehicle. In addition, the hybrid ECU predicts a vehicle driver'"'"'s operation, based on the road information acquired by the GPS and the like. Furthermore, the hybrid ECU modifies the battery residual capacity target value which has been set, based on the road information, according to the predicted vehicle driver'"'"'s operation. Therefore, it is possible to more appropriately set the battery residual capacity target value according to the road information on the road, and the driver'"'"'s operation performed on the road.

Claims

1. A vehicle control apparatus comprising:

a road information acquisition unit that acquires road information on a road on which a vehicle travels;

a battery residual capacity target value setting unit that sets a battery residual capacity target value which is a target value of residual capacity of a battery which is a power source driving the vehicle, based on the road information acquired by the road information acquisition unit; and

an operation prediction unit that predicts a driver'"'"'s operation of the vehicle, based on the road information acquired by the road information acquisition unit,

wherein the battery residual capacity target value setting unit modifies the battery residual capacity target value which has been set, based on the road information, according to the vehicle driver'"'"'s operation predicted by the operation prediction unit.

2. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the battery residual capacity target value setting unit sets the battery residual capacity target value, based on at least one of an elevation, a width, a curvature of a curve, a consecutive number of the curve, and a slope of the road, which are included in the road information acquired by the road information acquisition unit, and

wherein the operation prediction unit predicts the vehicle driver'"'"'s operation, based on at least one of information on a signal displayed by a traffic signal and information on a traffic volume of the road, which are included in the road information acquired by the road information acquisition unit.

3. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein, the battery residual capacity target value setting unit does not modify the battery residual capacity target value which has been set, based on the road information, in a case where the battery residual capacity target value setting unit sets the battery residual capacity target value by predicting either a regeneration using a downhill road or a regeneration using a vehicle deceleration from the road information acquired by the road information acquisition unit, when the driver'"'"'s acceleration operation is predicted from the vehicle driver'"'"'s operation predicted by the operation prediction unit before the regeneration.

4. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein, the battery residual capacity target value setting unit decreases the battery residual capacity target value which has been set, based on the road information, in a case where the battery residual capacity target value setting unit sets the battery residual capacity target value by predicting either the regeneration using the downhill road or the regeneration using the vehicle deceleration from the road information acquired by the road information acquisition unit, when the driver'"'"'s acceleration operation is not predicted from the vehicle driver'"'"'s operation predicted by the operation prediction unit before the regeneration.

5. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the battery residual capacity target value setting unit does not modify the battery residual capacity target value which has been set, based on the road information, in a case where the battery residual capacity target value setting unit sets the battery residual capacity target value by predicting either a decrement of the battery residual capacity due to a vehicle acceleration or a decrement of the battery residual capacity due to an uphill road from the road information acquired by the road information acquisition unit, when the driver'"'"'s deceleration operation is predicted before the decrement of the battery residual capacity.

6. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 5,

wherein the battery residual capacity target value setting unit increases the battery residual capacity target value which has been set, based on the road information, in a case where the battery residual capacity target value setting unit sets the battery residual capacity target value by predicting either the decrement of the battery residual capacity due to the vehicle acceleration or the decrement of the battery residual capacity due to the uphill road from the road information acquired by the road information acquisition unit, when the driver'"'"'s deceleration operation is not predicted before the decrement of the battery residual capacity.

7. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the vehicle includes an internal combustion engine and an electric motor, and is a hybrid vehicle which is capable of traveling using at least one driving force of the internal combustion engine and the electric motor.