Vehicle and method of controlling the vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10060329-B2
Application number	US-201515123380-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 6, 2015
Priority date	Mar 19, 2014
Publication date	Aug 28, 2018
Grant date	Aug 28, 2018

Abstract

A vehicle has a front grille, engine, engine compartment, power storage device, temperature sensor, shutter, heater and controller. The device can be electrically charged from an external power supply. The temperature sensor detects engine coolant temperature. The shutter is disposed in a transfer pathway of air drawn into the engine compartment via the front grille, and is switched between closed and open states. The heater is able to generate heat when receiving the electric power, raising the coolant temperature. The controller starts the engine when the coolant temperature is lower than a startup threshold value, drives the heater when the coolant temperature is lower than a first threshold value equal to or higher than the startup threshold value, until the coolant temperature becomes equal to or higher than the first threshold value, and drives the shutter to place the shutter in the closed state while the heater is driven.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A vehicle comprising:
a front grille;

an engine that is a power source for moving the vehicle;
an engine compartment in which the engine is housed;
a power storage device that is a power source for a motor that moves the vehicle, the power storage device being adapted to be charged with electric power from an external power supply, the external power supply being provided outside the vehicle;
a temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature of a coolant of the engine;
a shutter that is disposed in a transfer pathway of air drawn into the engine compartment via the front grille of the vehicle, the shutter being configured to be switched between a closed state and an open state, the closed state being a state in which the transfer pathway is closed, the open state being a state in which the transfer pathway is open;
a heater configured to generate heat by receiving electric power from the external power supply so as to raise the temperature of the coolant; and
a controller configured to control drive of the shutter and the heater, wherein
the vehicle is able to move in a first mode and a second mode, the first mode being a mode in which the vehicle moves using the power storage device, when an SOC of the power storage device is higher than a reference value, the second mode being a mode in which the vehicle moves using the engine and the power storage device, so that the SOC varies within a predetermined range that is equal to or lower than the reference value, when the SOC is equal to or lower than the reference value,
the heater is controlled to be driven only by electric power from the external power supply,
the controller is configured to
start the engine when the temperature of the coolant is lower than a startup threshold value used when the engine is started, and
when charging of the power storage device with electric power from the external power supply is conducted, drive the heater by electric power from the external power supply until the temperature of the coolant becomes equal to or higher than a first threshold value when the temperature of the coolant is lower than the first threshold value, the first threshold value being equal to or higher than the startup threshold value, and drive the shutter so as to place the shutter in the closed state while the heater is driven, and
the controller configured to
keep the shutter in the closed state until the vehicle starts moving, and control the shutter to be in the closed state even while the vehicle is moving, during moving the vehicle in the first mode after the power storage device is charged with electric power from the external power supply.

2. The vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to keep the shutter in the closed state until the temperature of the coolant becomes equal to or higher than a second threshold value, when the shutter has been driven so as to be placed in the closed state, the second threshold value is higher than the first threshold value.

3. The vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to keep the shutter in the closed state until the temperature of the coolant becomes equal to or higher than the first threshold value, when the shutter has been driven so as to be placed in the closed state.

Assignees

• Toyota Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Murata Takashi
• Kato Shingo

Classifications

• F02N2200/023

  Engine temperature · CPC title

• B60Y2200/92

  Hybrid vehicles · CPC title

• F01P2050/24

  Hybrid vehicles · CPC title

• F02N2200/062

  Battery current · CPC title

• B60Y2300/194

  related to low temperature conditions, e.g. high viscosity of hydraulic fluid · CPC title