HYBRID VEHICLE AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING HYBRID VEHICLE

• US 20110276209A1
• Filed: 11/19/2009
• Published: 11/10/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.), DENSO Corporation, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.), DENSO Corporation, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Naitou, Takashi, Suganuma, Hideaki, Yamada, Kazunao, Ogawa, Fumiharu, Niwa, Toshiaki, Takahara, Masatoshi, Kuraishi, Mamoru
• Granted Patent: US 8,615,342 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/22
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/04 including control of propulsion units
• 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 2050/143 Alarm means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/146 Display means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2552/15 Road slope, i.e. the inclination of a road segment in the longitudinal direction
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2552/20 Road profile, i.e. the change in elevation or curvature of a plurality of continuous road segments
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/1882 characterised by the working point of the engine, e.g. by using engine output chart
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/0097 Predicting future conditions
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/62 Hybrid vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/72 Electric energy management in electromobility

Abstract

A hybrid vehicle includes a road condition acquisition portion (40, 41) that acquires information on an actual road condition; a storage portion (42) where road data is stored; a route setting portion (40) that sets a route to a destination, based on the road data stored in the storage portion (42); a travel pattern setting portion (30) that sets a travel pattern on the route set by the route setting portion (40), based on the road data stored in the storage portion (42); an operation schedule setting portion (30) that sets an operation schedule that is a schedule of operations of the engine and the motor, based on the travel pattern set by the travel pattern setting portion (30); and a control portion (30) that controls the operations of the engine and the motor based on the information on the actual road condition acquired by the road condition acquisition portion (40, 41) and the operation schedule set by the operation schedule setting portion (30).

Claims

1. A hybrid vehicle that includes an engine and a motor that generate drive power for driving the hybrid vehicle, comprising:

a road condition acquisition portion which is installed in the hybrid vehicle, and which acquires information on an actual road condition;

a storage portion in which road data is stored;

a route setting portion that sets a route to a destination, based on the road data stored in the storage portion;

a travel pattern setting portion that sets a travel pattern on the route set by the route setting portion, based on the road data stored in the storage portion;

an operation schedule setting portion that sets an operation schedule that is a schedule of operations of the engine and the motor, based on the travel pattern set by the travel pattern setting portion; and

a control portion that controls the operations of the engine and the motor based on the information on the actual road condition acquired by the road condition acquisition portion and the operation schedule set by the operation schedule setting portion.

2. The hybrid vehicle according to claim 1, wherein

the travel pattern setting portion sets the travel pattern based on road gradient data.

3. The hybrid vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein

the information on the actual road condition is an actual road gradient.

4. The hybrid vehicle according to claim 3, wherein

the control portion determines whether the hybrid vehicle is located near an operating state change point at which operating states of the engine and the motor are to be changed in the operation schedule;

if the control portion determines that the hybrid vehicle is located near the operating state change point, the control portion determines whether a change in the actual road gradient is equal to or larger than a threshold; and

if the control portion determines that the change in the actual road gradient is equal to or larger than the threshold, the control portion changes the operating states of the engine and the motor according to the operation schedule.

5. The hybrid vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein

the operation schedule is a schedule for changing a ratio between the drive power generated by the engine and the drive power generated by the motor.

6. The hybrid vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein

the operation schedule is a schedule for switching a travel mode between a hybrid vehicle travel mode and an electric vehicle travel mode.

7. The hybrid vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising:

an electricity storage portion in which electricity is stored; and

an electricity consumption schedule setting portion that sets an electricity consumption schedule that is a schedule relating to consumption and storage of the electricity in the electricity storage portion, wherein

the control portion determines whether an actual amount of the electricity remaining in the electricity storage portion is different from a remaining electricity amount in the electricity consumption schedule by a value equal to or larger than a difference threshold while the hybrid vehicle is traveling on the route; and

if the control portion determines that the actual amount of the electricity remaining in the electricity storage portion is different from the remaining electricity amount in the electricity consumption schedule by a value equal to or larger than the difference threshold, the control portion modifies the operation schedule and the electricity consumption schedule so that the available electricity in the electricity storage portion is used up at the destination.

8. A method of controlling a hybrid vehicle that includes an engine and a motor that generate drive power, for driving the hybrid vehicle;

and a storage portion in which road data is stored, the method comprising;

acquiring information on an actual road condition;

setting a route to a destination, based on the road data stored in the storage portion;

setting a travel pattern on the set route, based on the road data stored in the storage portion;

setting an operation schedule that is a schedule of operations of the engine and the motor, based on the set travel pattern; and

controlling the operations of the engine and the motor based on the acquired information on the actual road condition and the set operation schedule.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein

the travel pattern is set based on road gradient data.

10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein

the information on the actual road condition is an actual road gradient.

11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising:

determining whether the hybrid vehicle is located near an operating state change point at which operating states of the engine and the motor are to be changed in the operation schedule;

determining whether a change in the actual road gradient is equal to or larger than a threshold if it is determined that the hybrid vehicle is located near the operating state change point; and

changing the operating states of the engine and the motor according to the operation schedule if it is determined that the change in the actual road gradient is equal to or larger than the threshold.

12. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein

the operation schedule is a schedule for changing a ratio between the drive power generated by the engine and the drive power generated by the motor.

13. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein

the operation schedule is a schedule for switching a travel mode between a hybrid vehicle travel mode and an electric vehicle travel mode.

14. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 13, wherein

the hybrid vehicle further includes an electricity storage portion in which electricity is stored;

and

the method further comprises;

setting an electricity consumption schedule that is a schedule relating to consumption and storage of the electricity in the electricity storage portion;

determining whether an actual amount of the electricity remaining in the electricity storage portion is different from a remaining electricity amount in the electricity consumption schedule by a value equal to or larger than a difference threshold while the hybrid vehicle is traveling on the route; and

modifying the operation schedule and the electricity consumption schedule so that the available electricity in the electricity storage portion is used up at the destination if it is determined that the actual amount of the electricity remaining in the electricity storage portion is different from the remaining electricity amount in the electricity consumption schedule by a value equal to or larger than the difference threshold.