Control device of hybrid vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9610934-B2
Application number	US-201114000706-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 21, 2011
Priority date	Feb 21, 2011
Publication date	Apr 4, 2017
Grant date	Apr 4, 2017

Abstract

It is provided a control device of a hybrid vehicle including a plurality of drive power sources for running including an electric motor driven by electric energy of an electric storage device, the hybrid vehicle configured to perform motor running or assist running using the electric motor for running, the control device being configured to divide a running road acquired from map data into a plurality of sections and stores a change amount of a charged capacity of the electric storage device for each of the divided sections, to acquire all possibly-traveled running routes within a predetermined distance from a current position of the vehicle based on the map data, to calculate a variation characteristic of the charged capacity in correlation with a distance from the current position for each of the running routes based on the change amount of the charged capacity, if it is determined from the variation characteristic of the charged capacity that the possibly-traveled running routes include at least one running route in which electric energy can be recovered to the extent exceeding a predetermined charged capacity upper limit value for permitting charging of the electric storage device, permission being given for the motor running or the assist running using a consumable amount of the electric energy based on electric energy exceeding the predetermined charged capacity upper limit value on the condition that the charged capacity does not fall below a predetermined charged capacity lower limit value for permitting discharging of the electric storage device in all the possibly-traveled running routes even when the electric energy exceeding the predetermined charged capacity upper limit value is consumed before recovery.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A control device of a hybrid vehicle including a plurality of drive power sources for running including an electric motor driven by electric energy of an electric storage device, the hybrid vehicle configured to perform motor running or assist running using the electric motor for running,
the control device being configured to divide a running road acquired from map data into a plurality of sections and stores a change amount of a charged capacity of the electric storage device for each of the divided sections,
to acquire all possibly-traveled running routes within a predetermined distance from a current position of the vehicle based on the map data, the acquired possibly-traveled running routes excluding at least one of branch destinations including a first branch destination with road information having a difference equal to or greater than a predetermined amount from a branch source, a second branch destination having past running history equal to or less than a predetermined amount, and a third branch destination in a direction taken in a case of traveling to the third branch destination causing a difference equal to or greater than a predetermined amount from a current vehicle traveling direction,
to calculate a variation characteristic of the charged capacity in correlation with a distance from the current position for each of the running routes based on the change amount of the charged capacity,
when it is determined from the variation characteristic of the charged capacity that the possibly-traveled running routes include at least one running route in which electric energy can be recovered to the extent exceeding a predetermined charged capacity upper limit value for permitting charging of the electric storage device, to determine whether the charged capacity does not fall below a predetermined charged capacity lower limit value for permitting discharging of the electric storage device in any of the possibly-traveled running routes even if electric energy exceeding the predetermined charged capacity upper limit value is consumed before recovery, such that the determination as to whether the charged capacity does not fall below the predetermined charged capacity lower limit value in any of the possibly-traveled running routes, is made prior to actual running of the hybrid vehicle along a selected one of the possibly-traveled running routes,
when it is determined that the charged capacity does not fall below the predetermined charged capacity lower limit value in any of the possibly-traveled running routes even if the electric energy exceeding the predetermined charged capacity upper limit value is consumed before the recovery, to give permission for the motor running or the assist running using a consumable amount of the electric energy based on the electric energy exceeding the predetermined charged capacity upper limit value.

2. The control device of a hybrid vehicle of claim 1 , wherein
when running is performed in a route other than the possibly-traveled running routes, the permission for the motor running or the assist running is withdrawn.

3. The control device of a hybrid vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the possibly-traveled running routes are made up of sections with a change amount of the charged capacity stored.

4. The control device of a hybrid vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the sections are divided based on a branch point at which a branched road of a running road starts.

5. The control device of a hybrid vehicle of claim 1 ,
wherein the control device is configured to determine whether the charged capacity does not fall below the predetermined charged capacity lower limit value even if the electric energy exceeding the predetermined charged capacity upper limit value is consumed before recovery, in each of the at least one running route in which the electric energy can be recovered to the extent exceeding the predetermined charged capacity upper limit value,
wherein the control device is configured to determine whether the charged capacity does not fall below the predetermined charged capacity lower limit value even if the electric energy exceeding the predetermined charged capacity upper limit value is consumed before recovery, in each of the other of the possibly-traveled running routes in which the electric energy is not be recovered to the extent exceeding the predetermined charged capacity upper limit value, and
wherein the control device is configured to determine that the charged capacity does not fall below the predetermined charged capacity lower limit value in any of the possibly-traveled running routes, when it is determined that the charged capacity does not fall below the predetermined charged capacity lower limit value not only in each of the at least one running route but also in each of the other of the possibly-traveled running routes.

6. The control device of a hybrid vehicle of claim 1 ,
wherein the control device is configured to determine whether the charged capacity does not fall below the predetermined charged capacity lower limit value even if the electric energy exceeding the predetermined charged capacity upper limit value is consumed before recovery, in one of the possibly-traveled running routes that is to be selected as an actual running route through which the vehicle actually runs,
wherein the control device is configured to determine whether the charged capacity does not fall below the predetermined charged capacity lower limit value even if the electric energy exceeding the predetermined charged capacity upper limit value is consumed before recovery, in each of the other of the possibly-traveled running routes through which the vehicle does not actually runs, and
wherein the control device is configured to determine that the charged capacity does not fall below the predetermined charged capacity lower limit value in any of the possibly-traveled running routes, when it is determined that the charged capacity does not fall below the predetermined charged capacity lower limit value not only in the one of the possibly-traveled running routes but also in each of the other of the possibly-traveled running routes.

7. The control device of a hybrid vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the determination as to whether the charged capacity does not fall below the predetermined charged capacity lower limit value in any of the possibly-traveled running routes, is made prior to selection of one of the possibly-traveled running routes that is to be selected as an actual running route through which the vehicle actually runs.

Assignees

• Uchihara Masafumi
• Usami Tomohiro
• Kanai Mariko
• Toyota Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Uchihara Masafumi
• Usami Tomohiro
• Kanai Mariko

Classifications

• B60W10/06

  including control of combustion engines · CPC title

• B60K6/48 Primary

  Parallel type · CPC title

• Y10S903/93

  Conjoint control of different elements · CPC title

• B60W2556/50

  of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data · CPC title

• B60W10/26

  for electrical energy, e.g. batteries or capacitors · CPC title