Drive controller for hybrid vehicles

• US 8,280,571 B2
• Filed: 11/26/2008
• Issued: 10/02/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi FUSO Truck & Bus Corporation (Daimler Truck Holding AG)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi FUSO Truck & Bus Corporation (Daimler Truck Holding AG)
• Inventors: Sakata, Kunio
• Primary Examiner(s): Ilan, Ruth
• Assistant Examiner(s): GOODEN JR, BARRY J
• Application Number:
  US12/734,693
• Publication Number:
  US 20100256850A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,406 Days
• Field of Search: 701/22, 701/51, 701/53, 701/54, 701/66, 701/67, 701/68, 180/65.25, 180/65.26, 180/65.28, 903/946
• US Class Current: 701/22
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 6/365 with the gears having orbital motion
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 6/387 Actuated clutches, i.e. clutches engaged or disengaged by electric, hydraulic or mechanical actuating means
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 6/48 Parallel type
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 6/547 the transmission being a stepped gearing
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 15/2054 by controlling transmissions or clutches
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/40 DC to AC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/12 Speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/421 Speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/441 Speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2270/12 of exhaust
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/16 with provision for separate direct mechanical propulsion
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/02 including control of driveline clutches
• 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 20/00 Control systems specially adapted for hybrid vehicles hybrid vehicle design, B60K6/00; electric vehicles B60L
• 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 2510/0638 Engine speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2510/081 Speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/10 Longitudinal speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2710/0644 Engine speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2710/065 : Idle condition
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2720/10 : Longitudinal speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60Y 2300/476 : Regeneration of particle filters
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 41/022 : in relation with the clutch status
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 41/029 : the exhaust gas treating apparatus being a particulate filter
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 41/08 : for idling F02D41/06, F02D41/16 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 11/04 : the motors being associated with current generators
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/40 : Engine management systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/62 : Hybrid vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/64 : Electric machine technologies in electromobility
• 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

Abstract

A drive controller for hybrid vehicles, the hybrid vehicle comprising: an engine; a motor which is able to assist the driving force from the engine; an automatic clutch mechanism which is able to engage/disengage the transmission of the driving force between the engine and the motor; an automatic transmission disposed downstream of the motor; a filter for collecting particulates in exhaust gas; and a controller for controlling operations of these devices, wherein the controller operates in such a way that, for regenerating the filter, the idling speed while the vehicle is halted is set higher, and the predetermined rotational speed for initiating the clutch engagement is set higher than the rotational speed at the time of non-regeneration of the filter in light of increase in the engine rotational speed for the fast-idle control.

Claims

1. A drive controller for hybrid vehicles, the hybrid vehicle comprising:

a diesel engine mounted on a vehicle;

a motor generator connected in series with said diesel engine which is able to assist a driving force of said diesel engine;

an automatic clutch mechanism connected between said diesel engine and said motor generator which is able to engage/disengage a transmission of the driving force between said diesel engine and said motor generator;

an automatic transmission that varies a rotation speed of said motor generator or said diesel engine;

a filter for collecting particulates in exhaust gas from said diesel engine; and

said drive controller for controlling operations of said diesel engine, said motor generator, said automatic clutch mechanism and said automatic transmission, wherein

said drive controller operates in such a way that,

for starting off of the vehicle,

the vehicle is made to start off only by the driving force from said motor generator (2) with said automatic clutch mechanism (3) disengaged, and said automatic clutch mechanism is engaged after an engine rotational speed synchronization control is carried out, by which an engine rotational speed (Ne) is controlled to be synchronized to a target engine rotational speed (Nt′

) calculated on a basis of a clutch rotational speed (Nt), on a condition that a difference between the target engine rotational speed (Nt′

) and the engine rotational speed (Ne) is equal to or larger than a predetermined synchronization-judgement threshold when the clutch rotational speed (Nt) reaches a predetermined rotational speed (N3), and

for regenerating said filter,

a fast-idle control by which an idling speed of said diesel engine is kept higher than that at which non-regeneration of said filter is carried out while the vehicle stops and when a vehicle speed is detected, and the predetermined rotational speed (N3) is set at a rotational speed (N2) which is higher than that at non-regeneration of said filter.

2. The drive controller for hybrid vehicles, according to claim 1, wherein

a predetermined rotational frequency (N2) for the filter regeneration is set equally to or higher than the engine rotational speed during the fast-idle control.

3. The drive controller for hybrid vehicles, according to of claim 1, wherein

said drive controller ends the fast-idle control when said automatic clutch mechanism starts to be engaged after the vehicle is started off.

4. The drive controller for hybrid vehicles, according to claim 1, wherein

said drive controller (9) controls a clutch stroke speed during engagement of said automatic clutch mechanism so that the clutch stroke speed becomes lower when regenerating said filter than when not regenerating said filter.

5. The drive controller for hybrid vehicles, according to claim 1, wherein

the synchronization-judgement threshold is set smaller when regenerating said filter than when not regenerating said filter.

6. A drive controller for hybrid vehicles comprising:

a diesel engine mounted in a vehicle;

a motor generator provided in series with said diesel engine which is able to assist a driving force of said diesel engine;

an automatic clutch mechanism provided between said diesel engine and said motor generator which is able to engage/disengage a transmission of driving force between said diesel engine and said motor generator;

an automatic transmission that varies a rotation speed of said motor generator or said diesel engine;

a filter for collecting particulates in exhaust gas from said diesel engine; and

said drive controller for controlling operations of said diesel engine, said motor generator, said automatic clutch mechanism and said automatic transmission, wherein

said drive controller operates in such a way that,

for starting off of the vehicle,

the vehicle is made to start off only by the driving force from said motor generator with said automatic clutch mechanism disengaged, and said automatic clutch mechanism is engaged after an engine rotational speed synchronization control is carried out, by which an engine rotational speed (Ne) is controlled to be synchronized to a target engine rotational speed (Nt′

) calculated on a basis of a clutch rotational speed (Nt), on a condition that a difference between the target engine rotational speed (Nt′

) and the engine rotational speed (Ne) is equal to or larger than a predetermined synchronization-judgement threshold when the clutch rotational speed (Nt) reaches a predetermined rotational speed (N3), and

for regenerating said filter,

a fast-idle control by which an idling speed of said diesel engine is kept higher than that at which non-regeneration of said filter is carried out while the vehicle stops and the fast-idle control is maintained even after a vehicle speed is detected.

7. The drive controller for hybrid vehicles, according to claim 6, wherein a predetermined rotational frequency (N2) for the filter regeneration is set equally to or higher than the engine rotational speed during the fast-idle control.

8. The drive controller for hybrid vehicles, according to claim 6, wherein said drive controller ends the fast-idle control when said automatic clutch mechanism starts to be engaged after the vehicle is started off.

9. The drive controller for hybrid vehicles, according to claim 6, wherein said drive controller (9) controls a clutch stroke speed during engagement of said automatic clutch mechanism so that the clutch stroke speed becomes lower when regenerating said filter than when not regenerating said filter.

10. The drive controller for hybrid vehicles, according to claim 6, wherein the synchronization-judgement threshold is set smaller when regenerating said filter than when not regenerating said filter.