Vehicle control apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11247658-B2
Application number	US-201916719873-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 18, 2019
Priority date	Dec 20, 2018
Publication date	Feb 15, 2022
Grant date	Feb 15, 2022

Abstract

A control apparatus for a vehicle provided, with a step-variable transmission, includes: a feedback control portion; an input torque resetting control portion; a target input torque setting portion operated upon an increase of the accelerator pedal operation amount in the process of the shift-down action in a power-off state of the vehicle, to restrict an amount of increase of the input torque target value with respect to an amount of increase of an operator-required input torque value, so as to keep the target value not larger than an upper limit value until termination of the input torque resetting control; and an actual input torque increasing portion operated upon the increase of the accelerator pedal operation amount prior to initiation of the inertia phase, to implement an input torque increasing control to control the input torque so as to be larger than the target value, prior to the inertia phase initiation.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A control apparatus for a vehicle provided with a drive power source, drive wheels, and a step-variable transmission which constitutes a part of a power transmitting path between the drive power source and the drive wheels and which has a plurality of coupling devices which are selectively engaged to establish a selected one of a plurality of gear positions, the control apparatus comprising:
a feedback control portion configured to implement a feedback control of an input torque of the step-variable transmission during an inertia phase of a shift-down action of the step-variable transmission, by feedback compensation of a target value of the input torque according to an operation amount of an accelerator pedal by an operator of the vehicle, such that a value representative of a state of rotation of an input rotary member of the step-variable transmission coincides with a target value at which a rotating speed of the input rotary member changes toward a post-shifting synchronization value to be established after completion of the shift-down action;
a state determining portion configured to determine whether the rotating speed of the input rotary member is equal to the post-shifting synchronization value;
an input torque resetting control portion configured to implement an input torque resetting control to change the input torque of the step-variable transmission toward the target value, when the state determining portion determines that the rotating speed of the input rotary member is equal to the post-shifting synchronization value;
a target input torque setting portion configured to be operated when the operation amount of the accelerator pedal is increased in the process of the shift-down action implemented in a power-off state of the vehicle, the target input torque setting portion restricting an amount of increase of the target value of the input torque with respect to an amount of increase of an operator-required input torque value represented by the operation amount of the accelerator pedal, so as to keep the target value of the input torque not larger than a predetermined upper limit value until the input torque resetting control is terminated; and
an actual input torque increasing portion configured to be operated when the operation amount of the accelerator pedal is increased prior to a moment of initiation of the inertia phase of the shift-down action in the power-off state, the actual input torque increasing portion implementing an input torque increasing control to control the input torque of the step-variable transmission so as to be larger than the target value, prior to the moment of initiation of the inertia phase of the shift-down action.

2. The control apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a shifting control portion configured to be operated when the input torque increasing control is implemented by the actual input torque increasing portion, the shifting control portion controlling a torque capacity of a releasing-side coupling device of the plurality of coupling devices which is to be brought into a released state to implement the shift-down action, and a torque capacity of an engaging-side coupling device of the coupling devices which is to be brought into an engaged state to implement the shift-down action, the shifting control portion reducing the torque capacity of the releasing-side coupling device at an earlier point of time than when the shifting control portion increases the torque capacity of the engaging-side coupling device.

3. The control apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the target input torque setting portion gradually changes the target value of the input torque toward the operator-required input torque value after termination of the input torque resetting control implemented by the input torque resetting control portion.

4. The control apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising an actual input torque reducing portion configured to reduce the input torque of the step-variable transmission with a change of the rotating speed of the input rotary member of the step-variable transmission toward the post-shifting synchronization value, while the input torque during the inertia phase of the shift-down action is larger than the target value.

5. The control apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the actual input torque increasing portion implements the input torque increasing control when the operation amount of the accelerator pedal is increased by an amount not smaller than a predetermined value.

6. The control apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of coupling devices are hydraulically operated frictional coupling devices, and the actual input torque increasing portion implements the input torque increasing control when a temperature of a working fluid used to operate the hydraulically operated frictional coupling devices is not lower than a predetermined value.

7. The control apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the vehicle is a hybrid vehicle provided with: an engine functioning as the drive power source; an electrically controlled transmission mechanism having a differential mechanism to which the engine is operatively connected in a power transmittable manner and a first motor/generator to which the differential mechanism is operatively connected in a power transmittable manner such that a differential state of the differential mechanism is controlled by controlling an operating state of the first motor/generator; and a second motor/generator operatively connected to an output rotary member of the electrically controlled transmission mechanism and also functioning as the drive power source,
and wherein the step-variable transmission is a mechanically operated transmission mechanism constituting a part of a power transmitting path between the output rotary member of the electrically controlled transmission mechanism and the drive wheels,
the feedback control portion being configured to feedback-control an output torque of the first motor/generator and an output torque of the second motor/generator during the inertia phase of a shifting action of the mechanically operated transmission mechanism, on the basis of an output torque of the engine and a torque transmitted through the mechanically operated transmission mechanism, such that a value representative of a state of rotation of an input rotary member of the mechanically operated transmission mechanism and a value representative of a state of operation of the engine coincide with respective target values,
the input torque resetting control portion implementing the input torque resetting control when the rotating speed of the input rotary member of the mechanically operated transmission mechanism has become equal to the post-shifting synchronization value.

Assignees

• Toyota Motor Co Ltd
• Aisin Aw Co

Inventors

• Kumazaki Kenta
• Matsubara Tooru
• Suyama Daisuke
• Maeda Mitsuru
• Kimura Tomoyasu

Classifications

• B60W20/00 Primary

  Control systems specially adapted for hybrid vehicles {(hybrid vehicle design, B60K6/00; electric vehicles B60L)} · CPC title

• B60K6/445 Primary

  Differential gearing distribution type · CPC title

• F16D48/06

  Control by electric or electronic means, e.g. of fluid pressure · CPC title

• B60K6/26

  characterised by the motors or the generators · CPC title

• B60K6/365

  with the gears having orbital motion · CPC title