Method for controlling a drive device of a hybrid vehicle and hybrid vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10525968-B2
Application number	US-201615769439-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 3, 2016
Priority date	Nov 17, 2015
Publication date	Jan 7, 2020
Grant date	Jan 7, 2020

Abstract

In a method for controlling a drive system ( 3, 203 ) of a hybrid vehicle ( 1, 201 ), a performance-oriented mode or a consumption-oriented mode can be selected for the drive system, whereby, when the consumption-oriented mode is selected, in the case of a first condition, the method involves: controlling the drive system in a parallel boost hybrid mode of operation in which the internal combustion engine ( 5, 205 ) and additionally the first electric machine and/or the second electric machine delivers a drive torque until a criterion is met that depends on the duration of the operation and/or on the energy conversion in the parallel boost hybrid mode of operation, and if the criterion is met, changing over to a serial hybrid mode of operation in which the drive torque is delivered by means of the second electric machine ( 11, 211 ), and the internal combustion engine ( 5, 205 ) powers the first electric machine ( 9, 209 ) in order to generate electrical energy.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of controlling a drive system of a hybrid vehicle that comprises an internal combustion engine, a first electric machine, a second electric machine and a battery, whereby a performance-oriented mode or a consumption-oriented mode can be selected for the drive system,
whereby, when the consumption-oriented mode is selected, in the case of a first condition, the method involves:
controlling the drive system in a parallel boost hybrid mode of operation in which the internal combustion engine and the first electric machine and/or the second electric machine deliver a drive torque until a criterion is met that depends on a duration of an operation of the parallel boost hybrid mode of operation and/or on an energy conversion in the parallel boost hybrid mode of operation, and
if the criterion is met, changing over to a serial hybrid mode of operation in which the drive torque is delivered by means of the second electric machine, and the internal combustion engine powers the first electric machine in order to generate electrical energy,
whereby, when the performance-oriented mode is selected, in the case of the first condition, the method involves controlling the drive system in the serial hybrid mode of operation without waiting for the criterion to be met,
whereby the first condition involves a driver increasing a target drive value to an intermediate value that is between:
a threshold for the internal combustion engine, representing a maximum drive value in a parallel hybrid mode of operation in which exclusively the internal combustion engine delivers a drive torque, and
a threshold for the parallel hybrid mode of operation, representing a maximum drive value in the parallel boost hybrid mode of operation.

2. The method according to claim 1 , whereby the criterion entails:
that the duration of the operation in the parallel boost hybrid mode exceeds a time threshold, and/or
that an amount of energy drawn from the battery over the duration of the operation in the parallel boost hybrid mode exceeds an energy threshold.

3. The method according to claim 1 , whereby, when the target drive value is raised from a value below the threshold for the internal combustion engine to a value above the threshold of the internal combustion engine and when the performance-oriented mode is selected, the control of the drive system entails:
changing from the parallel hybrid mode of operation over to the serial hybrid mode of operation without waiting for the criterion to be met.

4. The method according to claim 1 ,
whereby, when the performance-oriented mode is selected, in the case of a second condition, the method involves:
controlling the drive system in the serial hybrid mode of operation until another criterion is met that depends on the duration and/or on the energy conversion of a simulated operation in the parallel boost hybrid mode, and
if the other criterion is met, changing over to the parallel boost hybrid mode of operation,

whereby, when the consumption-oriented mode is selected, in the case of the second condition, the method can involve:
controlling the drive system in the parallel boost hybrid mode of operation without waiting for the other criterion to be met,

whereby the second condition entails that the target drive value is lowered to the intermediate value.

5. The method according to claim 1 , whereby the other criterion entails:
that the period of time since the target drive value was lowered to the intermediate value exceeds another time threshold and/or
that a simulated amount of energy drawn from the battery over the duration of the simulated operation in the parallel boost hybrid mode exceeds another energy threshold.

6. The method according to claim 4 , whereby, when the target drive value is raised from a value above the threshold for the parallel hybrid mode of operation to a value below the threshold for the parallel hybrid mode of operation, the control of the drive system when the consumption-oriented mode is selected entails:
that a change be made from the serial hybrid mode of operation over to the parallel boost hybrid mode of operation without waiting for the other criterion to be met.

7. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
detecting a position of a drive lever;
determining a target drive value on the basis of the position of the drive lever in a first range of a trajectory of the drive lever as a value that is greater than the target drive value determined when the performance-oriented mode is selected; and
when the consumption-oriented mode is selected, determining the target drive value on the basis of the position of the drive lever in a second range of the trajectory of the drive lever as a value that is smaller than the target drive value determined when the performance-oriented mode is selected.

8. The method according to claim 7 , further comprising:
determining the target drive value on the basis of the position of the drive lever along the trajectory of the drive lever as a product of a total rise and the position of the drive lever along the trajectory of the drive lever.

9. The method according to claim 8 , whereby, when the consumption-oriented mode is selected, the determination of the target drive value comprises:
determining the target drive value in an initial range of the trajectory of the drive lever as a product of an initial rise and the position of the drive lever, in an intermediate range of the trajectory of the drive lever as a product of an intermediate rise and the position of the drive lever, and in an end range of the trajectory of the drive lever as a product of an end rise and the position of the drive lever,
whereby the total rise is different from the initial rise, from the end rise and from the intermediate rise.

10. A hybrid vehicle comprising:
a drive system that has an internal combustion engine, whereby the drive system assists in a selection between a performance-oriented mode and a consumption-oriented mode,
a first electric machine,
a second electric machine,
a battery, and
a drive system control unit which is configured to:
when the consumption-oriented mode is selected, in the case of a first condition,
control the drive system in a parallel boost hybrid mode of operation in which the internal combustion engine and the first electric machine and/or the second electric machine deliver a drive torque until a criterion is met that depends on a duration of an operation of the parallel boost hybrid mode of operation and/or on an energy conversion in the parallel boost hybrid mode of operation, and
if the criterion is met, change over to a serial hybrid mode of operation in which the drive torque is delivered by means of the second electric machine, and the internal combustion engine powers the first electric machine in order to generate electrical energy,
when the performance-oriented mode is selected, in the case of the first condition,
control the drive system in the serial hybrid mode of operation without waiting for the criterion to be met, whereby the first condition involves a driver increasing a target drive value to an intermediate value that is between:
a threshold for the internal combustion engine, representing a maximum drive value in a parallel hybrid mode of operation in which exclusively the internal combustion engine delivers a drive torque, and
a threshold for the parallel hybrid mode of operation, representing a maximum drive value in the parallel boost hybrid mode of operation.

11. The method according to claim 5 , whereby, when the target drive value is raised from a value above the threshold for the parallel hybrid mode

Assignees

• Volkswagen Ag

Inventors

• Felsch Christian
• Rieling Jörg
• Zillmer Michael

Classifications

• B60W2540/10

  Accelerator pedal position · CPC title

• B60W10/08

  including control of electric propulsion units, e.g. motors or generators · CPC title

• B60K6/442

  Series-parallel switching type · CPC title

• Y02T10/84

  Data processing systems or methods, management, administration · CPC title

• B60W10/06

  including control of combustion engines · CPC title