Heating control system for vehicle

• US 8,052,066 B2
• Filed: 04/05/2005
• Issued: 11/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/10/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Shimizu, Yasuo, Watanabe, Hideto
• Primary Examiner(s): McAllister; Steven B
• Assistant Examiner(s): SAVANI, AVINASH A
• Application Number:
  US11/578,705
• Publication Number:
  US 20070246554A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,408 Days
• Field of Search: 237/2.A, 237/12.3 B, 237/34, 237/12.3 A, 237/12.3 R, 606/70, 180/65.25, 621/90, 621/32, 621/33, 622/43, 622/386, 621/75, 622/39, 123/41.1, 123/41.12, 123/41.44, 123/41.01, 123/41.02, 123/41.31, 122/26
• US Class Current: 237/12.3B
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/004 for vehicles having a combustion engine and electric drive means, e.g. hybrid electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00764 the input being a vehicle driving condition, e.g. speed B60H1/00828, B60H1/00864 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 2001/00733 Computational models modifying user-set values
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 6/445 Differential gearing distribution type
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/34 Cabin temperature
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/445 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2510/0676 Engine temperature
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/62 Hybrid vehicles
• 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

Abstract

A hybrid vehicle can be driven using both of respective driving forces from an engine and a motor. A heating mechanism of an air conditioning apparatus uses thermal energy from cooling water of the engine to heat the interior of a passenger compartment. An ECU takes into consideration engine efficiency from the standpoint of fuel economy enhancement to primarily determine the driving force share ratio between the engine and the motor. Further, the ECU calculates a preset temperature corresponding to a cooling water temperature necessary for desired heating as well as a control target temperature in which the preset temperature is reflected, and corrects the primarily determined driving force share ratio to increase the share of the driving force of the engine by an amount according to a deviation between the cooling water temperature measured by a water temperature sensor and the control target temperature. Heating performance can thus be ensured promptly without deterioration of fuel economy.

Claims

1. A heating control system for a vehicle having an internal combustion engine generating driving force of the vehicle from thermal energy generated by burning fuel, comprising:

an air conditioning apparatus using thermal energy derived from cooling water of said internal combustion engine;

a water temperature measurement unit measuring temperature of said cooling water;

control target temperature setting means for setting a control target temperature of said cooling water based on a preset temperature corresponding to a temperature of said cooling water that is necessary for performing heating by said air conditioning apparatus and based on a cooling water temperature measured by said water temperature measurement unit; and

water temperature increase means for changing, when said cooling water temperature is lower than said preset temperature, operation of said internal combustion engine to allow an amount of heat generated by said internal combustion engine to increase, according to a control amount calculated according to a deviation between said control target temperature and said cooling water temperature, wherein

said control target temperature setting means sets said control target temperature at said preset temperature when a temperature difference between said preset temperature and said cooling water temperature is at most a predetermined value and sets said control target temperature higher than said preset temperature when said temperature difference is larger than said predetermined value,

said vehicle further has an electric motor generating driving force of the vehicle from electrical energy,

said control amount is an amount of increase in output power of said internal combustion engine, and

when said cooling water temperature is lower than said preset temperature, said water temperature increase means determines a driving force share ratio that is a ratio between respective shares of driving force to be generated by said internal combustion engine and said electric motor, so that an output power demand on said internal combustion engine which is a part of an output power demand on the vehicle as a whole is higher by said amount of increase in output power calculated according to said deviation, relative to a case where said cooling water temperature is not lower than said preset temperature.

2. The heating control system for the vehicle according to claim 1, wherein

said control target temperature setting means sets a difference between said preset temperature and said control target temperature according to the temperature difference between said preset temperature and said cooling water temperature.

3. The heating control system for the vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising driving force share determination means for primarily determining said driving force share ratio in consideration of efficiency of said internal combustion engine, wherein

said water temperature increase means increases, when said cooling water temperature is lower than said preset temperature, the ratio of the share to be generated by said internal combustion engine in accordance with said amount of increase in output power according to said deviation.

4. The heating control system for the vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the control target temperature setting means sets the control target temperature of the cooling water during operation of the internal combustion engine.

5. The heating control system for the vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said preset temperature is variable based on environmental conditions and an instruction to said air conditioning apparatus.