Hybrid vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9527507-B2
Application number	US-201615073975-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 18, 2016
Priority date	Mar 25, 2015
Publication date	Dec 27, 2016
Grant date	Dec 27, 2016

Abstract

An electronic control unit included in a hybrid vehicle is configured to switch between first limp home travel control and second limp home travel control based on a first temperature difference, a second temperature difference, and a state of charge when abnormality occurs to a cooler. The first temperature difference is a value that is obtained by subtracting an element temperature of a first inverter from a first load rate limit temperature at which load rate limitation is applied to a first motor. The second temperature difference is a value that is obtained by subtracting an element temperature of a second inverter from a second load rate limit temperature at which the load rate limitation is applied to a second motor.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A hybrid vehicle comprising:
an engine;
a first motor configured to be able to input and output power;
a first inverter configured to drive the first motor;
a planetary gear mechanism having three rotation elements, the three rotation elements being respectively connected to an output shaft of the engine, a rotary shaft of the first motor, and a drive shaft that is coupled to an axle shaft;
a second motor configured to be able to input power to the drive shaft and output power from the drive shaft;
a second inverter configured to drive the second motor;
a battery configured to receive electric power from the first motor via the first inverter and transmit electric power to the first motor via the first inverter, the battery configured to receive electric power from the second motor via the second inverter and transmit the electric power to the second motor via the second inverter;
a cooler configured to cool at least the first inverter and the second inverter; and
an electronic control unit configured to control the engine, the first motor, and the second motor such that the hybrid vehicle travels not by using the power from the second motor but by using the power from the engine and the first motor in first limp home travel control, the electronic control unit configured to control the engine, the first motor, and the second motor such that the hybrid vehicle travels not by using the power from the engine and the first motor but by using the power from the second motor in second limp home travel control, the electronic control unit configured to switch between the first limp home travel control and the second limp home travel control based on a first temperature difference, a second temperature difference, and a state of charge when abnormality occurs to the cooler, the first temperature difference being a value that is obtained by subtracting an element temperature of the first inverter from a first load rate limit temperature at which load rate limitation is applied to the first motor, the second temperature difference being a value that is obtained by subtracting an element temperature of the second inverter from a second load rate limit temperature at which the load rate limitation is applied to the second motor, and the state of charge is a ratio of remaining charging capacity to full charging capacity of the battery.

2. The hybrid vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the electronic control unit is configured to shut down the second inverter while the first limp home travel control is executed, and the electronic control unit is configured to shut down the first inverter while the second limp home travel control is executed.

3. The hybrid vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the electronic control unit is configured to preferentially execute the second limp home travel control over the first limp home travel control when the state of charge is larger than an upper limit value of a normal control range.

4. The hybrid vehicle according to claim 3 , wherein the electronic control unit is configured to switch between the first limp home travel control and the second limp home travel control based on condition i) and ii), when the state of charge is larger than the upper limit value of the normal control range,
i) the first limp home travel control is executed until the first temperature difference reaches a first threshold, and
ii) the second limp home travel control is executed until the second temperature difference reaches the first threshold.

5. The hybrid vehicle according to claim 4 , wherein the electronic control unit is configured to switch from the first limp home travel control to the second limp home travel control regardless of the first temperature difference, in a case where the state of charge reaches a predetermined permissible maximum value while the first limp home travel control is executed.

6. The hybrid vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the electronic control unit is configured to switch between the second limp home travel control and the first limp home travel control based on condition iii) and iv), in a case where one of the first temperature difference and the second temperature difference is larger than a second threshold when the state of charge is within the normal control range,
iii) the second limp home travel control is executed until the second temperature difference reaches the second threshold, and
iv) the first limp home travel control is executed until the first temperature difference reaches the second threshold.

7. The hybrid vehicle according to claim 6 , wherein the electronic control unit is configured to switch between the first limp home travel control and the second limp home travel control based on condition v) and vi), in a case where the first temperature difference and the second temperature difference are at most equal to the second threshold when the state of charge is within the normal control range,
v) the first limp home travel control is executed until the first temperature difference reaches a third threshold that is smaller than the second threshold, and
vi) the second limp home travel control is executed until the second temperature difference reaches the third threshold.

8. The hybrid vehicle according to claim 1 wherein the electronic control unit is configured to preferentially execute the first limp home travel control over the second limp home travel control, when the state of charge is smaller than a lower limit value of the normal control range.

9. The hybrid vehicle according to claim 8 , wherein the electronic control unit is configured to switch between the first limp home travel control and the second limp home travel control based on condition vii) and viii), when the state of charge is smaller than the lower limit value of the normal control range,
vii) the first limp home travel control is executed until the first temperature difference reaches a fourth threshold, and
viii) the second limp home travel control is executed until the second temperature difference reaches the fourth threshold.

10. The hybrid vehicle according to claim 9 , wherein the electronic control unit is configured to switch from the second limp home travel control to the first limp home travel control regardless of the second temperature difference in a case where the state of charge reaches a predetermined permissible minimum value while the second limp home travel control is executed.

Assignees

• Toyota Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Oba Tomoko
• Kaji Masaya

Classifications

• B60W20/50 Primary

  Control strategies for responding to system failures, e.g. for fault diagnosis, failsafe operation or limp mode · CPC title

• B60W10/06

  including control of combustion engines · CPC title

• B60W2510/244

  Charge state · CPC title

• B60L3/003

  relating to inverters · CPC title

• B60W10/08

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