Driving control apparatus of hybrid vehicle and method thereof

• US 6,314,347 B1
• Filed: 05/16/2000
• Issued: 11/06/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Kuroda, Kouichi, Takahashi, Hiroshi, Deguchi, Yoshitaka, Muramoto, Itsuro
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuchlinski, Jr., William A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): MARC-COLEMAN, MARTHE Y
• Application Number:
  US09/571,176
• Time in Patent Office: 539 Days
• Field of Search: 701/22, 701/23, 701/25, 701/26, 701/200, 701/201, 701/202, 701/208, 701/209, 701/213, 701/54, 701/55, 701/56, 701/207, 701/210, 602/95, 602/85
• US Class Current: 701/22
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 1/02 comprising more than one electric motor
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 6/442 Series-parallel switching type
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 6/543 the transmission being a continuously variable transmission
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/62 Vehicle position
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/64 Road conditions
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/18 by enquiring driving style
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/16 with provision for separate direct mechanical propulsion
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/61 by batteries charged by engine-driven generators, e.g. series hybrid electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2220/02 Driver type; Driving style; Driver adaptive features
• 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 20/00 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 2520/10 Longitudinal speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2530/00 Input parameters relating to vehicle conditions or values, not covered by groups B60W2510/00 or B60W2520/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2530/16 Driving resistance
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/30 Driving style
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2552/05 Type of road, e.g. motorways, local streets, paved or unpaved roads
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2552/10 : Number of lanes
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/10 : Historical data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 : of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/09 : Driving style or behaviour
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/0097 : Predicting future conditions
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 2059/666 : Determining road conditions by using vehicle location or position, e.g. from global navigation systems [GPS]
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 61/66 : specially adapted for continuously variable gearings control of exclusively fluid gearing F16H61/38
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/26 : specially adapted for navigation in a road network
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/40 : Engine management systems
• 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 10/7072 : Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/72 : Electric energy management in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/84 : Data processing systems or methods, management, administration
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 903/918 : Continuously variable
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 903/947 : Characterized by control of braking, e.g. blending of regeneration, friction braking

Abstract

An apparatus and method of driving control of a hybrid vehicle in the invention divides a route into a plurality of section on the basis of a point at which start of the vehicle is predicted and a point at which stop of the vehicle is predicted or a start point of a regeneration section in which the motor continuously performs a regenerating operation for a predetermined time or longer as a border; estimates a vehicle speed pattern for each of the plurality of sections on the basis of a road condition and a driving history; and sets an operating schedule of the engine and the motor so as to minimize the fuel consumption of the engine to the destination on the basis of the vehicle speed pattern and fuel consumption characteristics of the engine.

Claims

1. A driving control apparatus of a hybrid vehicle having a battery, a motor, and an engine, in which power is supplied from the battery to the motor, power generated by driving the motor by the engine and regenerated power of the motor are supplied to the battery, and the hybrid vehicle is driven by at least one of the motor and the engine, comprising:

a route retrieving unit retrieving a route to a destination;

a road condition detecting unit detecting a road condition of the route;

a route dividing unit dividing the route into a plurality of sections on the basis of a point at which start of the hybrid vehicle is predicted and a point at which stop of the hybrid vehicle is predicted on the basis of the road condition;

a driving history recording unit recording driving history;

a vehicle speed pattern estimating unit estimating a vehicle speed pattern for each of the plurality of sections on the basis of the road condition and the driving history; and

a schedule setting unit setting an operating schedule of the engine and the motor so as to minimize the fuel consumption of the engine to the destination on the basis of the vehicle speed pattern and fuel consumption characteristics of the engine,

wherein among the plurality of sections, the schedule setting unit sets a section, in which operating efficiency of the engine is low, as a driving section in which the hybrid vehicle is driven by the motor, when the fuel consumption of the engine in the case that the hybrid vehicle is driven by the motor in the section in which the operating efficiency of the engine is low and the engine drives the motor to generate the power in another section is smaller than the fuel consumption of the engine in the case that the hybrid vehicle is driven by the engine in the section in which the operating efficiency of the engine is low.

2. A driving control apparatus of a hybrid vehicle having a battery, a motor, and an engine, in which power is supplied from the battery to the motor, power generated by driving the motor by the engine and regenerated power of the motor are supplied to the battery, and the hybrid vehicle is driven by at least one of the motor and the engine, comprising:

a route retrieving unit retrieving a route to a destination;

a road condition detecting unit detecting a road condition of the route;

a route dividing unit dividing the route into a plurality of sections by using a start point of a regeneration section, in which the motor continuously performs a regenerating operation for a predetermined time or longer, as a border on the basis of the road conditions;

a vehicle speed pattern estimating unit estimating a vehicle speed pattern for each of the plurality of sections on the basis of the road condition; and

a schedule setting unit setting an operating schedule of the engine and the motor so as to minimize the fuel consumption of the engine to the destination on the basis of the vehicle speed pattern and fuel consumption characteristics of the engine,

wherein the schedule setting unit sets the operating schedule of the engine and the motor such that the battery has a state of charge thereof at the start point of the regeneration section to store the power regenerated in the regeneration section.

3. A driving control apparatus of a hybrid vehicle according to claim 2, wherein among the plurality of sections, the schedule setting unit sets a section before the start point of the regeneration section, in which the operating efficiency of the engine is low when the hybrid vehicle is driven by the engine, as a driving section in which the hybrid vehicle is driven by the motor or by the motor and the engine, thereby consuming the battery in the driving section and setting the state of the charge of the battery at the start point of the regeneration section so that the power regenerated in the regeneration section can be collected by the battery.

4. A driving control apparatus of a hybrid vehicle having a battery, a motor, and an engine, in which power is supplied from the battery to the motor, power generated by driving the motor by the engine and regenerated power of the motor are supplied to the battery, and the hybrid vehicle is driven by at least one of the motor and the engine, comprising:

route dividing means for dividing a route to a destination into a plurality of sections on the basis of a point at which start of the vehicle is predicted and a point at which stop of the vehicle is predicted on the basis of a road condition of the route;

vehicle speed pattern estimating means for estimating a vehicle speed pattern for each of the plurality of sections on the basis of the road condition and a driving history; and

schedule setting means for setting an operating schedule of the engine and the motor so as to minimize the fuel consumption of the engine to the destination on the basis of the vehicle speed pattern and fuel consumption characteristics of the engine,

wherein among the plurality of sections, the schedule setting means sets a section, in which operating efficiency of the engine is low, as a driving section in which the hybrid vehicle is driven by the motor, when the fulel consumption of the engine in the case that the hybrid vehicle is driven by the motor in the section in which the operating efficiency of the engine is low and the engine drives the motor to generate the power in another section is smaller than the fuel consumption of the engine in the case that the hybrid vehicle is driven by the engine in the section in which the operating efficiency of the engine is low.

5. A driving control apparatus of a hybrid vehicle having a battery, a motor, and an engine, in which power is supplied from the battery to the motor, power generated by driving the motor by the engine and regenerated power of the motor are supplied to the battery, and the hybrid vehicle is driven by at least one of the motor and the engine, comprising:

route dividing means for dividing a route to a destination into a plurality of sections by using a start point of a regeneration section in which the motor continuously performs a regenerating operation for a predetermined time or longer as a border on the basis of a road condition of the route;

vehicle speed pattern estimating means for estimating a vehicle speed pattern for each of the plurality of sections on the basis of the road condition and a driving history; and

schedule setting means for setting an operating schedule of the engine and the motor so as to minimize the fuel consumption of the engine to the destination on the basis of the vehicle speed pattern and fuel consumption characteristics of the engine,

wherein among the plurality of sections, the schedule setting means sets a section, in which operating efficiency of the engine is low, as a driving section in which the hybrid vehicle is driven by the motor, when the fuel consumption of the engine in the case that the hybrid vehicle is driven by the motor in the section in which the operating efficiency of the engine is low and the engine drives the motor to generate the power in another section is smaller than the fuel consumption of the engine in the case that the hybrid vehicle is driven by the engine in the section in which the operating efficiency of the engine is low.

6. A method of driving a hybrid vehicle having a battery, a motor, and an engine, in which power is supplied from the battery to the motor, power generated by driving the motor by the engine and regenerated power of the motor are supplied to the battery, and the hybrid vehicle is driven by at least one of the motor and the engine, comprising:

dividing a route to a destination into a plurality of sections on the basis of a point at which start of the vehicle is predicted and a point at which stop of the vehicle is predicted on the basis of a road condition of the route;

estimating a vehicle speed pattern for each of the plurality of sections on the basis of the road condition and a driving history; and

setting an operating schedule of the engine and the motor so as to minimize the fuel consumption of the engine to the destination on the basis of the vehicle speed pattern and fuel consumption characteristics of the engine,

wherein among the plurality of sections, a section, in which operating efficiency of the engine is low, is set as a driving section in which the hybrid vehicle is driven by the motor, when the fuel consumption of the engine in the case that the hybrid vehicle is driven by the motor in the section in which the operating efficiency of the engine is low and the engine drives the motor to generate the power in another section is smaller than the fuel consumption of the engine in the case that the hybrid vehicle is driven by the engine in the section in which the operating efficiency of the engine is low.

7. A method of driving a hybrid vehicle having a battery, a motor, and an engine, in which power is supplied from the battery to the motor, power generated by driving the motor by the engine and regenerated power of the motor are supplied to the battery, and the hybrid vehicle is driven by at least one of the motor and the engine, comprising:

dividing a route to a destination into a plurality of sections by using a start point of a regeneration section in which the motor continuously performs a regenerating operation for a predetermined time or longer as a border on the basis of a road condition of the route;

estimating a vehicle speed pattern for each of the plurality of sections on the basis of the road condition and a driving history; and

setting an operating schedule of the engine and the motor so as to minimize the fuel consumption of the engine to the destination on the basis of the vehicle speed pattern and fuel consumption characteristics of the engine,

wherein among the plurality of sections, a section, in which operating efficiency of the engine is low, is set as a driving section in which the hybrid vehicle is driven by the motor, when the fuel consumption of the engine in the case that the hybrid vehicle is driven by the motor in the section in which the operating efficiency of the engine is low and the engine drives the motor to generate the power in another section is smaller than the fuel consumption of the engine in the case that the hybrid vehicle is driven by the engine in the section in which the operating efficiency of the engine is low.