Vehicle control device

• US 9,200,917 B2
• Filed: 03/08/2012
• Issued: 12/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Ogawa, Yuki
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, TAN QUANG
• Application Number:
  US14/383,352
• Publication Number:
  US 20150066271A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,363 Days
• Field of Search: 701/22, 701/527, 701/123, 701/300, 180/65.21
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 15/2009 for braking
• 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 2240/423 Torque
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/441 Speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/443 Torque
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/622 by satellite navigation
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/642 Slope of road
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/645 Type of road
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/72 Charging station selection relying on external data
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/16 by display
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/26 by pedal actuation
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/52 drive range estimation, e.g. of estimation of available travel distance
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/54 Energy consumption estimation
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/00 Electric devices on electrically-propelled vehicles for safety purposes; Monitoring operating variables, e.g. speed, deceleration or energy consumption methods or circuit arrangements for monitoring or controlling batteries or fuel cells B60L58/00
• 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: B60W 20/00 Control systems specially adapted for hybrid vehicles hybrid vehicle design, B60K6/00; electric vehicles B60L
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/34 Route searching; Route guidance
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/36 : Input/output arrangements for on-board computers
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 : Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 : Plug-in electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 : Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles

Abstract

A vehicle control device that controls a vehicle, including a route detecting unit configured to detect a route to a destination, a travel load calculating unit configured to calculate travel load information of the route, and a travel plan calculating unit configured to calculate a travel plan including a drive mode of each section of the route based on the route and the travel load information of the route, wherein the travel load calculating unit changes a level of detail of the section which is used for calculating the travel load information according to a distance from a present location to the destination.

Claims

1. A vehicle control device that controls a vehicle, comprising:

a route detecting unit configured to detect a route to a destination;

a travel load calculating unit configured to calculate travel load information of the route; and

a travel plan calculating unit configured to calculate a travel plan including a drive mode of each section of the route based on the route and the travel load information of the route, wherein

the travel load calculating unit changes a level of detail of the section which is used for calculating the travel load information according to a distance from a present location to the destination,

at the time the distance from the present location to the destination is longer than a threshold distance, the travel load calculating unit calculates the travel load information of at least a partial section with a level of detail coarser than the level of detail in a case where the distance from the present location to the destination is shorter than the threshold distance, and

at the time the distance from the present location to the destination is longer than the threshold distance, the travel load calculating unit makes a level of detail of an intermediate section coarser than a level of detail of a section in the vicinity of the present location and in the vicinity of the destination.

2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein

at the time the distance from the present location to the destination is longer than the threshold distance, the travel load calculating unit calculates the travel load information of at least a partial section with the level of detail coarser than the level of detail in a case where the distance from the present location to the destination is shorter than the threshold distance,

the travel load calculating unit then calculates the travel load information of the at least partial section with a finer level of detail, and

at the time the travel load information is updated, the travel plan calculating unit updates the travel plan based on the updated travel load information.

3. The vehicle control device according to claim 2, further comprising:

a travel assistance unit configured to notify a driver of the travel plan calculated by the travel plan calculating unit.

4. The vehicle control device according to claim 2, wherein

the vehicle is a hybrid vehicle provided with a motor generator and an internal-combustion engine, and

the travel plan calculating unit is capable of selecting, as the drive mode, an EV mode to travel by using the motor generator as a drive source and a hybrid travel mode to travel by using the motor generator and the internal-combustion engine as drive sources.

5. The vehicle control device according to claim 2, wherein

at the time the distance from the present location to the destination is longer than a set distance, the travel load calculating unit calculates the travel load information to an intermediate point on the route to the destination.

6. The vehicle control device according to claim 2, wherein

at the time the level of detail is coarse, the travel load calculating unit makes a distance of the section longer than a distance in a case where the level of detail is fine.

7. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a travel assistance unit configured to notify a driver of the travel plan calculated by the travel plan calculating unit.

8. The vehicle control device according to claim 7, wherein

the vehicle is a hybrid vehicle provided with a motor generator and an internal-combustion engine, and

the travel plan calculating unit is capable of selecting, as the drive mode, an EV mode to travel by using the motor generator as a drive source and a hybrid travel mode to travel by using the motor generator and the internal-combustion engine as drive sources.

9. The vehicle control device according to claim 7, wherein

at the time the distance from the present location to the destination is longer than a set distance, the travel load calculating unit calculates the travel load information to an intermediate point on the route to the destination.

10. The vehicle control device according to claim 7, wherein

at the time the level of detail is coarse, the travel load calculating unit makes a distance of the section longer than a distance in a case where the level of detail is fine.

11. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein

the vehicle is a hybrid vehicle provided with a motor generator and an internal-combustion engine, and

the travel plan calculating unit is capable of selecting, as the drive mode, an EV mode to travel by using the motor generator as a drive source and a hybrid travel mode to travel by using the motor generator and the internal-combustion engine as drive sources.

12. The vehicle control device according to claim 11, wherein

the travel plan calculating unit calculates the travel plan with a condition in which the EV mode tends to be selected, at the time the travel load information with the level of detail coarser than the level of detail in a case where the distance from the present location to the destination is shorter than the threshold distance is included.

13. The vehicle control device according to claim 12, wherein

at the time the distance from the present location to the destination is longer than a set distance, the travel load calculating unit calculates the travel load information to an intermediate point on the route to the destination.

14. The vehicle control device according to claim 12, wherein

at the time the level of detail is coarse, the travel load calculating unit makes a distance of the section longer than a distance in a case where the level of detail is fine.

15. The vehicle control device according to claim 11, wherein

at the time the distance from the present location to the destination is longer than a set distance, the travel load calculating unit calculates the travel load information to an intermediate point on the route to the destination.

16. The vehicle control device according to claim 11, wherein

at the time the level of detail is coarse, the travel load calculating unit makes a distance of the section longer than a distance in a case where the level of detail is fine.

17. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein

at the time the distance from the present location to the destination is longer than a set distance, the travel load calculating unit calculates the travel load information to an intermediate point on the route to the destination.

18. The vehicle control device according to claim 17, wherein

the vehicle is the hybrid vehicle provided with the motor generator and the internal-combustion engine,

the travel plan calculating unit is capable of selecting, as the drive mode, the EV mode to travel by using the motor generator as the drive source and the hybrid travel mode to travel by using the motor generator and the internal-combustion engine as the drive sources, and

at the time the section in which the travel load information is calculated is to the intermediate point on the route to the destination, a target SOC at the time of arrival at the intermediate point is set to a high value.

19. The vehicle control device according to claim 17, wherein

at the time the level of detail is coarse, the travel load calculating unit makes a distance of the section longer than a distance in a case where the level of detail is fine.

20. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein

at the time the level of detail is coarse, the travel load calculating unit makes a distance of the section longer than a distance in a case where the level of detail is fine.