Driving controller for electric vehicle

• US 5,973,463 A
• Filed: 08/19/1997
• Issued: 10/26/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Okuda, Kenzo, Mizutani, Ryoji
• Primary Examiner(s): Ip, Paul
• Application Number:
  US08/914,213
• Time in Patent Office: 798 Days
• Field of Search: 318/138, 318/430-439, 318/800-811, 180/65.1-65.6, 180/282, 180/65.8, 180/197, 364/424.05, 364/424.02, 364/424.06, 364/426.01, 364/426.02, 364/426.03
• US Class Current: 318/430
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 15/2036 Electric differentials, e.g. for supporting steering vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2220/46 Wheel motors, i.e. motor connected to only one wheel
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/64 Electric machine technologies in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/72 Electric energy management in electromobility

Abstract

A driving controller of electric vehicles. An angular accelerative dimension error calculator calculates error information having a dimension of angular acceleration of a car body. A feedback torque calculator calculates the feedback torque on the basis of the error information according to the sign of a steering angle and the error information, and ON/OFF of an accelerator. A vehicle controller corrects the reference torque, determined according to an accelerator angle and braking force, by the feedback torque, and outputs the corrected reference torque toward motor controllers, thereby improving vehicle running safety.

Claims

1. A driving controller mounted onboard an electric vehicle provided with at least one driving wheel for a right side and at least one driving wheel for a left side of the electric vehicle and a vehicle running motor for every driving wheel, the driving controller comprising:

means for determining a reference torque as a reference value of output torque of the vehicle running motor for every vehicle running motor on the basis of driver'"'"'s requirements;

means for directly or indirectly detecting acceleration or angular acceleration of the electric vehicle;

means for detecting US-OS characteristics of the electric vehicle; and

reference torque correction means for correcting the reference torque for every vehicle running motor on the basis of the acceleration or the angular acceleration so that the US-OS characteristics shift toward a status of neutral steer when the US-OS characteristics show a tendency to deviate from the status of neutral steer.

2. A driving controller according to claim 1, wherein the reference torque correction means comprises;

means for determining an absolute value of a reference torque correction value such that the absolute value increases with an increase of the acceleration or the angular acceleration;

means for determining a sign of the reference torque correction value according to the US-OS characteristics so that the reference torque for an outside driving wheel relatively decreases after correction compared with the reference torque for an inside driving wheel in a case of oversteer, and on the contrary, increases in a case of understeer; and

means for adding the reference torque correction value to the reference torque.

3. A driving controller according to claim 1 further comprising:

means for halting the correction when the acceleration or the angular acceleration is sufficiently small.

4. A driving controller according to claim 1 further comprising:

means for detecting slip ratios of respective driving wheels; and

means for halting the correction when detected slip ratio of the corresponding driving wheel is not sufficiently small.