VEHICLE CONTROL APPARATUS

• US 20140180565A1
• Filed: 09/05/2012
• Published: 06/26/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Shiogai, Akira, Taguchi, Takeshi
• Granted Patent: US 9,340,112 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/123
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/52 drive range estimation, e.g. of estimation of available travel distance
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/12 Recording operating variables ; Monitoring of operating variables
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/60 using power supplied by batteries in combination with fuel cells B60L50/75
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/00 Methods of charging batteries, specially adapted for electric vehicles; Charging stations or on-board charging equipment therefor; Exchange of energy storage elements in electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/30 for monitoring or controlling fuel cells
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/40 Application of hydrogen technology to transportation, e.g. using fuel cells

Abstract

According to a vehicle control apparatus of the invention, at a point in time when a driving mode switching part switches driving modes from any driving mode to another driving mode, a reference energy consumption amount calculation part multiplies a reference energy consumption amount by a driving mode switching coefficient which corresponds to the switching of the driving modes, whereby a reference energy consumption amount is compressed or expanded. An energy consumption rate calculation part calculates an energy consumption rate based on a reference mileage and the reference energy consumption amount.

Claims

1. A vehicle control apparatus for a vehicle which is driven to run by energy supplied from at least one energy source, comprising:

a mileage obtaining part which obtains a mileage of the vehicle;

a reference mileage calculation part which calculates a reference mileage by adding up the mileage;

an energy consumption rate obtaining part which obtains an energy consumption amount of the vehicle;

a reference energy consumption amount calculation part which calculates a reference energy consumption amount by adding up the energy consumption amount;

an energy consumption rate calculation part which calculates an energy consumption rate based on the reference mileage and the reference energy consumption amount; and

a driving mode switching part which switches a plurality of driving modes which include at least a first driving mode, a second driving mode whose system output upper limit value is set lower than that of the first driving mode, and a third driving mode whose system output upper limit value is set lower than that of the second driving mode, wherein

the reference energy consumption amount calculation part compresses or expands the reference energy consumption amount by multiplying the reference energy consumption amount by a driving mode changing coefficient at a point in time when the driving mode switching part switches the plurality of driving modes from any one driving mode to another driving mode.

2. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

at a point in time when the reference mileage reaches a predetermined mileage upper limit value, the reference mileage calculation part compresses the reference mileage to a predetermined mileage lower limit value by multiplying the reference mileage by a compression coefficient; and

when the reference mileage calculation part compresses the reference mileage, the reference energy consumption amount calculation part compresses the reference energy consumption amount by multiplying the reference energy consumption amount by the compression coefficient.

3. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an air conditioner, wherein

the reference energy consumption amount calculation part compresses or expands the reference energy consumption amount by multiplying the reference energy consumption amount by an air conditioner operating coefficient which corresponds to a change in operating states of the air conditioner.

4. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an energy residual amount obtaining part which obtains an energy residual amount which can be supplied from the energy source;

an available cruising range calculation part which calculates an available cruising range of the vehicle based on the energy residual amount and the energy consumption rate; and

a display processing part which displays the available cruising range at a display part.

5. An available cruising range display method for a vehicle which is driven to run by energy supplied from at least one energy source and which has at least two driving modes of a first driving mode and a second driving mode by which an energy consumption rate and an available cruising range are improved further than by the first mode, the method comprising:

executing at least either of;

executing a first instantaneous switching in which a value which is offset in an increasing direction based on an available cruising range in the first driving mode resulting immediately before the switching is referred to as an initial value of the available cruising range of the second driving mode, displaying the initial value after the driving modes are switched to the second driving mode and displaying the available cruising range by changing the available cruising range continuously from the initial value based on a consumed energy in the second driving mode, when the driving modes are switched from the first driving mode to the second driving mode; and

executing a second instantaneous switching in which a value which is offset in a decreasing direction based on an available cruising range in the second driving mode resulting immediately before the switching is referred to as an initial value of an available cruising range in the first driving mode, displaying the initial value after the driving mode is switched to the first driving mode and displaying the available cruising range by changing the available cruising range continuously from the initial value based on a consumed energy in the first driving mode, when the driving modes are switched from the second driving mode to the first driving mode, wherein

the available cruising range which is displayed after the first or second instantaneous change is executed approaches an available cruising range which is displayed when no instantaneous switching is executed as a mileage increases.