HYBRID VEHICLE

• US 20140288742A1
• Filed: 03/20/2014
• Published: 09/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Hokoi, Koji, Hirai, Makoto
• Granted Patent: US 9,014,900 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/22
• 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 10/26 for electrical energy, e.g. batteries or capacitors
• 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 20/13 in order to stay within battery power input or output limits; in order to prevent overcharging or battery depletion
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 20/14 in conjunction with braking regeneration
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 20/40 Controlling the engagement or disengagement of prime movers, e.g. for transition between prime movers power-up or power-down of the driveline B60W30/192
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2510/244 Charge state
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2552/20 Road profile, i.e. the change in elevation or curvature of a plurality of continuous road segments
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/62 Hybrid vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 903/93 Conjoint control of different elements

Abstract

A hybrid vehicle includes: an engine; a motor; a battery; a navigation system; and a controller configured to carry out navigation coordination traveling, the controller being configured to stop the navigation coordination traveling when a state of charge of the battery becomes lower than or equal to a first switching threshold, the controller being configured to resume the navigation coordination traveling when the state of charge of the battery becomes higher than or equal to a second switching threshold higher than the first switching threshold, the controller being configured to set a first predetermined state of charge for the first switching threshold when there is no regenerative travel section, and the controller being configured to set a second predetermined state of charge lower than the first predetermined state of charge when there is the regenerative travel section.

Claims

1. A hybrid vehicle comprising:

an engine configured to output driving power;

a motor configured to output the driving power;

a battery configured to exchange electric power with the motor;

a navigation system configured to set a travel route to a destination and carry out route guidance, the travel route including a plurality of travel sections; and

a controller configured to set a travel plan for preferentially allocating an electric traveling priority mode to each of the travel sections, the electric traveling priority mode configured to carry out electric traveling in which the vehicle travels while the engine is stopped in preference to hybrid traveling in which the vehicle travels while the engine is operated, the controller configured to carry out a navigation coordination traveling in which the vehicle travels in accordance with the travel plan, the controller being configured to stop the navigation coordination traveling when a state of charge of the battery becomes lower than or equal to a first switching threshold while the vehicle is traveling in the electric traveling priority mode in accordance with the travel plan as the navigation coordination traveling, the controller being configured to resume the navigation coordination traveling when the state of charge of the battery becomes higher than or equal to a second switching threshold higher than the first switching threshold after a stop of the navigation coordination traveling, the controller being configured to set a first predetermined state of charge for the first switching threshold when there is no regenerative travel section, in which it is predicted that the motor is driven to regenerate electric power, among the travel sections ahead of the currently traveling travel section on the travel route, and the controller being configured to set a second predetermined state of charge lower than the first predetermined state of charge for the first switching threshold when there is the regenerative travel section among the travel sections ahead.

2. The hybrid vehicle according to claim 1, wherein

the controller is configured to set the first predetermined state of charge for the first switching threshold when there is the regenerative travel section among the travel sections ahead and a remaining energy from the state of charge of the battery to the first predetermined state of charge is larger than a required energy that is predicted to be required for the hybrid vehicle to reach the regenerative travel section.

3. The hybrid vehicle according to claim 1, wherein

when the second predetermined state of charge is set for the first switching threshold, the controller is configured to switch the first switching threshold from the second predetermined state of charge to the first predetermined state of charge when the state of charge of the battery becomes lower than or equal to the first predetermined state of charge and then becomes higher than the first predetermined state of charge.

4. The hybrid vehicle according to claim 1, wherein

the controller is configured to set a third predetermined state of charge for the second switching threshold when there is no regenerative travel section among the travel sections ahead while the navigation coordination traveling is stopped, and the controller is configured to set a fourth predetermined state of charge lower than the third predetermined state of charge for the second switching threshold when there is the regenerative travel section among the travel sections ahead while the navigation coordination traveling is stopped.

5. The hybrid vehicle according to claim 4, wherein

the controller is configured to set the third predetermined state of charge for the second switching threshold when there is the regenerative travel section among the travel sections ahead while the navigation coordination traveling is stopped and when a recovered energy that is predicted to be recovered in the regenerative travel section is smaller than an energy threshold.

8. The hybrid vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising:

a generator; and

a planetary gear unit connected to a drive shaft coupled to an axle, an output shaft of the engine and a rotary shaft of the generator, wherein

the motor is connected to the drive shaft.

6. A hybrid vehicle comprising:

an engine configured to output driving power;

a motor configured to output the driving power;

a battery configured to exchange electric power with the motor;

a navigation system configured to set a travel route to a destination and carry out route guidance, the travel route including a plurality of travel sections; and

a controller configured to set a travel plan for preferentially allocating an electric traveling priority mode to each of the travel sections, the electric traveling priority mode configured to carry out electric traveling in which the vehicle travels while the engine is stopped in preference to hybrid traveling in which the vehicle travels while the engine is operated, the controller configured to carry out navigation coordination traveling in which the vehicle travels in accordance with the travel plan, the controller being configured to stop the navigation coordination traveling when a state of charge of the battery becomes lower than or equal to a first switching threshold while the vehicle is traveling in the electric traveling priority mode in accordance with the travel plan as the navigation coordination traveling, the controller being configured to resume the navigation coordination traveling when the state of charge of the battery becomes higher than or equal to a second switching threshold higher than the first switching threshold after a stop of the navigation coordination traveling, the controller being configured to set a third predetermined state of charge for the second switching threshold when there is no regenerative travel section, in which it is predicted that the motor is driven to regenerate electric power, among the travel sections ahead of the currently traveling travel section on the travel route, and the controller being configured to set a fourth predetermined state of charge lower than the third predetermined state of charge for the second switching threshold when there is the regenerative travel section among the travel sections ahead.

7. The hybrid vehicle according to claim 6, wherein

the controller is configured to set the third predetermined state of charge for the second switching threshold when there is the regenerative travel section among the travel sections ahead while the navigation coordination traveling is stopped and when a recovered energy that is predicted to be recovered in the regenerative travel section is smaller than an energy threshold.

9. The hybrid vehicle according to claim 6, further comprising:

a generator; and

a planetary gear unit connected to a drive shaft coupled to an axle, an output shaft of the engine and a rotary shaft of the generator, wherein

the motor is connected to the drive shaft.