Driving force control device for hybrid vehicle and driving force control method for hybrid vehicle

• US 9,056,612 B2
• Filed: 03/13/2013
• Issued: 06/16/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/16/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Katakura, Shusaku, Hase, Takamitsu, Yamamoto, Yoshinori, Kamiya, Kohei, Kishi, Daigo, Murakami, Kenichiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Shafi, Muhammad
• Application Number:
  US14/385,200
• Publication Number:
  US 20150057860A1
• Time in Patent Office: 825 Days
• Field of Search: 701/22, 701/83, 701/84, 701/70, 701/490, 340/995.1, 340/995.19, 180 651- 658, 903/930
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 6/48 Parallel type
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 6/547 the transmission being a stepped gearing
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/423 Torque
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/44 by parameter estimation
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/16 with provision for separate direct mechanical propulsion
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 7/14 for vehicles propelled by ac motors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 7/18 Controlling the braking effect B60L7/12, B60L7/14, B60L7/16 take precedence
• 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 20/12 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 2510/244 Charge state
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2710/248 Current for loading or unloading
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 29/02 peculiar to engines driving vehicles; peculiar to engines driving variable pitch propellers
• 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: Y10S 903/93 : Conjoint control of different elements

Abstract

A driving force control device for a hybrid vehicle includes: a travel load calculation unit adapted to divide a predicted route from a current position to a predetermined distance ahead into a plurality of intervals, and to estimate a travel load in each interval; a recommended discharge amount calculation unit adapted to search for a regeneration possible interval, in which a travel condition required by a driver can be maintained even when an output of an internal combustion engine is stopped and regeneration is performed by a motor/generator, from an estimation result, and to estimate a charge amount expected value in the regeneration possible interval, and distributes the charge amount expected value preferentially to an adjacent interval to the regeneration possible interval as a recommended discharge amount in order to stop the output of the internal combustion engine; and an energy management unit that controls an operation of the motor/generator in the current position on the basis of a travel condition, a state of charge, and the recommended discharge amount in the current position.

Claims

1. A driving force control device for a hybrid vehicle that includes both an internal combustion engine and a motor/generator as drive sources, comprising:

a travel load calculation unit adapted to divide a predicted route from a current position to a predetermined distance ahead into a plurality of intervals, and to estimate a travel load in each interval;

a recommended discharge amount calculation unit adapted to search for a regeneration possible interval, in which a travel condition required by a driver can be maintained even when an output of the internal combustion engine is stopped and regeneration is performed by the motor/generator, from an estimation result obtained by the travel load calculation unit, and to estimate a charge amount expected value, which is an amount of energy that can be regenerated in the regeneration possible interval, and distributes the charge amount expected value preferentially to an adjacent interval to the regeneration possible interval as a recommended discharge amount in order to stop the output of the internal combustion engine; and

an energy management unit adapted to control an operation of the motor/generator in the current position on the basis of a travel condition, a state of charge, and the recommended discharge amount in the current position.

2. The driving force control device for a hybrid vehicle as defined in claim 1, wherein a measurement point for obtaining information indicating a road surface gradient, an altitude, and a distance to the adjacent interval is set in each interval, and the calculations of the travel load calculation unit and the recommended discharge amount calculation unit are executed every time the current position reaches the measurement point in each interval.

3. The driving force control device for a hybrid vehicle as defined in claim 1, wherein the travel load calculation unit reads topographic information and position information relating to each interval and sets a target speed therein, and estimates the travel load on the basis thereof.

4. The driving force control device for a hybrid vehicle as defined in claim 1, wherein the recommended discharge amount calculation unit distributes the charge amount expected value repeatedly in sequence until the output of the internal combustion engine reaches zero in all intervals up to the predetermined distance ahead, or until the charge amount expected value reaches zero.

5. A driving force control method for a hybrid vehicle that includes both an internal combustion engine and a motor/generator as drive sources, comprising:

dividing a predicted route from a current position to a predetermined distance ahead into a plurality of intervals, and estimating a travel load in each interval;

searching for a regeneration possible interval, in which a travel condition required by a driver can be maintained even when an output of the internal combustion engine is stopped and regeneration is performed by the motor/generator, from an estimation result of the travel load, estimating a charge amount expected value, which is an amount of energy that can be regenerated in the regeneration possible interval, and distributing the charge amount expected value preferentially to an adjacent interval to the regeneration possible interval as a recommended discharge amount in order to stop the output of the internal combustion engine; and

controlling an operation of the motor/generator in the current position on the basis of a travel condition, a state of charge, and the recommended discharge amount in the current position.