VEHICLE CONTROL DEVICE

• US 20170015323A1
• Filed: 06/13/2016
• Published: 01/19/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: KOGANEMARU, Satoshi, MATSUNAGA, Naoya, OGURI, Haruki
• Granted Patent: US 9,981,542 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 6/445 Differential gearing distribution type
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/08 including control of electric propulsion units, e.g. motors or generators
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/184 with wheel brakes
• 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 20/14 in conjunction with braking regeneration
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0091 of control inputs
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0094 of control units
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/10 Accelerator pedal position
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2720/26 Wheel slip
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/02 Control of vehicle driving stability
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/18127 Regenerative braking
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/18172 Preventing, or responsive to skidding of wheels
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/62 Hybrid vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 903/93 Conjoint control of different elements
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 903/951 Assembly or relative location of components

Abstract

Appropriate vehicle stability control is enabled in a vehicle configured to carry out regeneration enhancement control. A predictive deceleration support control unit is configured to set a position at which the vehicle is predicted to finish deceleration as a target deceleration end position, and guide a driver to release an accelerator pedal so that the deceleration of the vehicle is finished at the target deceleration end position, to thereby carry out regeneration enhancement control under a state in which the accelerator pedal is released so as to generate a larger deceleration than in a normal state. The predictive deceleration support control unit is configured to read a vehicle stability control flag from a brake ECU and stop the regeneration enhancement control when the vehicle stability control is being carried out.

Claims

1. A vehicle control device, which is to be applied to a vehicle,

the vehicle comprising:

a regenerative braking device configured to generate electric power by a wheel rotated by an external force and to recover the generated electric power to an in-vehicle battery, to thereby apply a regenerative braking force to the wheel; and

a friction braking device configured to apply a friction braking force to the wheel through a brake hydraulic pressure,

the vehicle control device comprising;

position setting means configured to set, when the vehicle is predicted to decelerate based on position information of the vehicle, a position at which the deceleration is predicted to be finished as a target deceleration end position;

regeneration enhancement control means configured to carry out regeneration enhancement control, which is control of using the regenerative braking device to decelerate the vehicle so that electric energy recovered to the in-vehicle battery when an accelerator pedal is released increases during deceleration of the vehicle to which the target deceleration end position is set as compared to deceleration of the vehicle to which the target deceleration end position is not set;

vehicle stability control means configured to carry out vehicle stability control of controlling the brake hydraulic pressure of the friction braking device, to thereby stabilize vehicle travel; and

prioritization means configured to prioritize the vehicle stability control over the regeneration enhancement control so that the vehicle stability control by the vehicle stability control means and the regeneration enhancement control by the regeneration enhancement control means are not simultaneously carried out.

2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the prioritization means is configured to inhibit the regeneration enhancement control means from starting the regeneration enhancement control when the vehicle stability control is being carried out, and to cause the regeneration enhancement control means to finish the regeneration enhancement control when the vehicle stability control is started while the regeneration enhancement control is being carried out.

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

accelerator release guidance means configured to give a notification for prompting a driver to release the accelerator pedal so that the deceleration of the vehicle finishes at the target deceleration end position; and

guidance inhibition means configured to inhibit the accelerator release guidance means from giving the notification for prompting the driver to release the accelerator pedal when the vehicle stability control is being carried out.

4. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle stability control means is configured to carry out antilock control of suppressing a braking lock of the wheel as the vehicle stability control.

5. The vehicle control device according to claim 4, wherein the vehicle stability control means is configured to carry out vehicle travel stability control of securing stability in a turn direction of the vehicle as the vehicle stability control.

6. The vehicle control device according to claim 2, wherein the vehicle stability control means is configured to carry out traction control of suppressing an acceleration slip of the wheel as the vehicle stability control.