JP2010280250A - Power generation source control device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a power generation source control device which more improves practical fuel consumption. <P>SOLUTION: The power generation source control device successively compares electric power which is used for EV traveling (available electric energy) with the estimated value (estimated required electric energy) of required electric energy when traveling by an EV travel mode to the destination (S14), sets a power threshold at 7.5 kw when the estimated required electric energy is larger, and sets the power threshold at 30 kw, when the available electric energy is larger. Then the power generation source control device switches the electric travel mode in which the vehicle is travelled using motor generator MG as a power generation source travel mode supplying power from a battery 6, and an HV travel mode using an engine 2 as a power generation source, based on comparison of the sequentially decided driving power request value with the power threshold. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a power generation source control device that is used in a hybrid vehicle and controls a power generation source.

  As a power generation source that generates power for driving a drive shaft of a vehicle, a hybrid vehicle including an internal combustion engine and a rotating electric machine is known.

  In this hybrid vehicle, a technique is known in which an operation schedule of an internal combustion engine and a rotating electrical machine is set in accordance with a road condition of a route to a destination in order to reduce fuel consumption as much as possible (for example, Patent Document 1).

  The device described in Patent Document 1 predicts a route travel pattern based on road data, and sets engine and motor operation schedules from the predicted travel pattern. Furthermore, the set operation schedule can be reset.

  The reason why the resetting is possible is that it may be impossible to drive according to the set driving schedule due to unexpected traffic jams and the driving conditions of the driver that day. When the difference from the SOC included in the operation schedule is large, the operation schedule is reset.

JP 2007-50888 A

  However, when resetting the driving schedule during traveling, the driving schedule before resetting was not appropriate. That is, the driving schedule before resetting was not a sufficiently fuel-efficient driving. Moreover, the driving schedule after resetting is not necessarily an appropriate schedule. That is, even after resetting, traveling with sufficiently high fuel efficiency is not always performed.

  In addition, when it can be predicted that the destination can be reached using only the rotating electrical machine as a power generation source, it is also conceivable to set a plan for performing electric travel to the destination. Therefore, if the warm-up control is always performed without considering whether or not the internal combustion engine is used as a power generation source, fuel is consumed wastefully, and practical fuel consumption is reduced.

  The present invention has been made based on this situation, and an object of the present invention is to provide a power generation source control device capable of further improving the practical fuel consumption.

In order to achieve the object, the invention according to claim 1 is provided with an internal combustion engine and a rotating electric machine as a power generation source for generating power for driving a drive shaft of a vehicle, and electric power is supplied to the rotating electric machine. A power generation source control device for controlling the power generation source used in a hybrid vehicle including a power storage device that transfers
Drive power determination means for sequentially determining drive power generated by the power generation source;
An electric driving mode in which the internal combustion engine is stopped and electric power is supplied from the power storage device to drive the vehicle using the rotating electrical machine as a power generation source, and an internal combustion engine drive using the internal combustion engine as a power generation source The mode is to switch the mode, the driving power determined by the driving power determining means is compared with a power threshold, and the electric driving mode is set based on the fact that the driving power is less than the power threshold, and the driving power is the power threshold. Traveling mode switching means for setting the internal combustion engine drive mode based on the higher than,
Based on the available power amount of the power storage device and the remaining distance to the destination, determination means for sequentially determining whether or not the vehicle can arrive at the destination while keeping the driving mode in the electric driving mode;
When it is determined by the determining means that the vehicle can reach the destination while the driving mode remains in the electric driving mode, the power threshold is set to a predetermined low threshold, and the driving mode remains in the electric driving mode. Threshold value setting means for setting the power threshold value to a predetermined high threshold value higher than the low threshold value when it is determined that the vehicle cannot reach the destination.

  In the present invention, the travel mode is not planned in advance, but the travel mode is switched between the electric travel mode and the internal combustion engine drive mode based on the comparison between the drive power and the power threshold that are determined sequentially. Therefore, unlike the case where the travel mode is planned in advance, there can be no deviation between the driving power assumed at the time of planning and the driving power actually generated, so that the fuel consumption can be reliably improved.

  In addition, if the power threshold is constant at a high value, even if there is a low load section that is appropriate to travel in the electric travel mode after that, in the high load section before that low load section Driving in the electric driving mode and using the power of the power storage device excessively makes it impossible to drive in the electric driving mode in the low-load section where the electric driving mode can drive most efficiently, thereby sufficiently improving the fuel consumption. It may not be possible. However, in the present invention, the power threshold value used for selecting the travel mode is set to a low threshold while it is determined that the vehicle cannot reach the destination if it is in the electric travel mode. In a state where the power threshold is set to the low threshold, driving power exceeding the low threshold is often required in the high load section, and thus the vehicle is often driven in the internal combustion engine drive mode. In other words, the amount of charge suddenly decreases when traveling in the electric travel mode, and it is suppressed to select the electric travel mode in a high load section where the efficiency is worse than when traveling on a flat road in the electric travel mode. Practical fuel consumption is improved.

  Here, as described in claim 2, for example, the determination means includes an estimated electric travelable distance that is an estimated value of a travelable distance when traveling in the electric travel mode and a remaining distance to the destination. The determination is based on a comparison or a comparison between an estimated required power amount that is an estimated value of the amount of power required when traveling in the electric travel mode for the remaining distance to the destination and a usable power amount of the power storage device. It can be carried out.

Claim 3 is a hybrid vehicle in which the vehicle on which the power generation source control device is mounted is provided with external power input means for receiving electric power from an external power source outside the vehicle and charging the power storage device with the electric power. ,
The determination means compensates for at least one of the two values to be compared with the estimated error of the estimated value, and makes it easier to determine that the vehicle can arrive at the destination while the driving mode remains the electric driving mode. And performing comparison based on the corrected value.

  In this way, the correction is performed so that it is easily determined that the vehicle can reach the destination while the driving mode is kept in the electric driving mode, so that a high threshold value is easily set. As a result, since the electric travel mode is easily performed, it is possible to prevent the state where the available power is not used up when the vehicle arrives at the destination. Therefore, it is possible to increase the amount of power that can be charged using the external power source at the destination that has arrived. In addition, if the degree of the correction is large, the power threshold value is maintained at a high value. However, the correction compensates for an estimation error of the estimated value (estimated electric travelable distance or estimated required electric energy). Since the correction is of a degree, the power threshold value is not maintained at a high value.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a travel power related value storage means for sequentially storing a travel power related value for determining travel power in association with a position during travel of the vehicle;
Estimated required power amount calculating means for calculating the estimated required power amount when traveling on the route to the destination based on the travel power related value stored in association with the position by the travel power related value storage means; Prepared,
The determination unit performs the determination based on a comparison between the estimated required power amount calculated by the estimated required power amount calculation unit and the usable power amount of the power storage device.

  In this way, it is possible to accurately calculate the estimated required power amount that differs depending on the route, and the determination is performed using the estimated required power amount that has been calculated with high accuracy, so that a highly accurate determination is possible.

The invention according to claim 5 for achieving the above object is used in a hybrid vehicle including an internal combustion engine and a rotating electric machine as a power generation source for generating power for driving a drive shaft of the vehicle, A power source control device for controlling a power source,
Use of the power storage device to determine whether or not the internal combustion engine is stopped at the time of departure of the vehicle and the vehicle can be reached in the electric driving mode in which the vehicle is driven using the rotating electrical machine as a power generation source. A determination means for determining based on the available electric energy and the remaining distance to the destination;
When the determination means determines that the vehicle cannot reach the destination when the driving mode is set to the electric driving mode, the warm-up control of the internal combustion engine is performed. When it is determined that the vehicle can reach the ground, the warm-up control is not performed.

  As described above, according to the present invention, at the time of departure, it is determined whether or not the vehicle can travel to the destination while keeping the electric travel mode. When it is determined that the vehicle can be driven while in the electric travel mode, it is not necessary to drive the internal combustion engine, so the warm-up control of the internal combustion engine is not performed. Therefore, the fuel efficiency required for warm-up control of the internal combustion engine can be saved and the practical fuel efficiency can be improved.

1 is a diagram showing a configuration related to the present invention in a hybrid vehicle 1. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the warming-up necessity determination process which the vehicle 1 of this embodiment implements at the time of a departure. It is a flowchart which shows the threshold value setting process which sets the threshold value used for switching determination of driving modes. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the power threshold value set by step S15 or S16 of FIG. 3, a driving | running | working power, and driving modes with the change of SOC. It is a figure which shows notionally that the vehicle 1 of this embodiment has improved the fuel consumption compared with the conventional hybrid vehicle.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration relating to the present invention in a hybrid vehicle (hereinafter simply referred to as a vehicle) 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 1 includes an engine 2 and a motor generator MG as power generation sources.

  The engine 2 is an internal combustion engine that uses gasoline or light oil as fuel. The output shaft of the engine 2 is connected to the axle of the drive wheel via a planetary gear device, a reduction gear, and a differential gear (not shown).

  Motor generator MG is connected to inverter 4, and inverter 4 is electrically connected to battery 6. The number of motor generators MG is not limited to one and may be two.

  The motor generator MG functions as a motor to generate power when electric power from the battery 6 is supplied. On the other hand, when the rotation of the wheel or the engine 2 is transmitted, it functions as a generator and generates electric power. Electric power generated by the motor generator MG functioning as a generator is stored in the battery 6. The battery 6 corresponds to the power storage device recited in the claims, and for example, a nickel hydride secondary battery is used.

  The charge amount monitoring unit 8 detects an input / output current for the battery 6 with a current sensor (not shown), sequentially monitors the voltage of the battery 6, and sequentially calculates a storage state (hereinafter referred to as SOC) of the battery 6 based on them. To do. Then, a signal representing the SOC is sequentially supplied to the HV control unit 10 and the navigation unit 30.

  In addition, the charge amount monitoring unit 8 sequentially calculates the maximum power amount that can be charged by the battery 6 and the maximum power amount that can be discharged from the SOC and the rated capacity of the battery 6. The chargeable maximum power amount and the dischargeable maximum power amount are also transmitted to the HV control unit 10.

  The HV control unit 10 is supplied with a vehicle speed signal SSp indicating the vehicle speed and an accelerator opening signal Acc indicating the accelerator opening. In addition, signals are transmitted and received among the charge amount monitoring unit 8, the MG control unit 12, the engine control unit 14, and the navigation unit 30. Then, predetermined arithmetic processing is executed based on various supplied signals.

  The calculation process includes a calculation process of a drive power request value required by the vehicle 1. This drive power request value is calculated based on the accelerator opening and the vehicle speed. Specifically, the required drive torque is set from the accelerator opening using a required drive torque determination map stored in advance. Note that the shift position may be used in addition to the accelerator opening for determining the required drive torque. Next, the rotational speed of the axle is calculated based on the vehicle speed, and the required driving power value is calculated by multiplying the rotational speed by the required driving torque. The calculation process of the drive power request value is a process corresponding to the drive power determination means in the claims.

  And the HV control part 10 compares the said drive power request value with a power threshold value, and based on the comparison result, the driving mode switching process which switches whether it drive | works in EV driving mode or HV driving mode is performed. Sequentially while driving.

  The EV travel mode is a travel mode in which the engine 2 is stopped, electric power is supplied from the battery 6 and the vehicle 1 is traveled using the motor generator MG as a power generation source, and corresponds to the electric travel mode of the claims. . The HV traveling mode is a traveling mode in which the engine 2 is used as a power generation source, and corresponds to the internal combustion engine drive mode in the claims. In the HV traveling mode, only the engine 2 may be used as a power generation source, or two types of power generation sources, that is, the engine 2 and the motor generator MG may be used. When the SOC reaches the lower limit value, the HV travel mode is selected regardless of the magnitude of the drive power request value.

  When the EV travel mode is selected, the HV control unit 10 outputs a signal instructing to generate a drive power request value (or a torque corresponding thereto) to the MG control unit 12. On the other hand, when the HV traveling mode is selected, the HV control unit 10 generates the driving power (or torque) generated by the engine 2 and the driving power (or torque) generated by the motor generator MG based on the driving power request value. Signals that are determined and instructed to be generated are output to the engine control unit 14 and the MG control unit 12, respectively.

  As described above, the HV control unit 10 uses the power threshold value for determining whether to travel in the EV traveling mode or to travel in the HV traveling mode. This power threshold value is not constant, and is set by switching one of a low threshold value (here 7.5 kw) and a high threshold value (here 30 kw) while the vehicle is running. The threshold setting process for setting the threshold will be described later in detail with reference to FIG.

  Further, the HV control unit 10 performs a warm-up necessity determination process for determining whether or not to perform the warm-up control of the engine 2 at the time of departure. This process will be described in detail later with reference to FIG.

  The navigation unit 30 includes a position detection unit 32, a control unit 34, a map DB 36, and a learning DB 38. The position detection unit 32 includes at least one device generally used for vehicle position detection, such as a GPS receiver, and sequentially detects the current position of the vehicle 1 using the device.

  The control unit 34 displays a road map stored in the map DB 36 and a map display process for displaying a road map around the current position based on the current position sequentially detected by the position detection unit 32, and a route from the departure point to the destination. Normal processing of the navigation device, such as route search processing for searching for, is performed, and traveling power related value learning processing is sequentially performed during traveling.

  This learning process is a process of sequentially storing the driving power related value for determining the driving power in association with the position and storing it in the learning DB 38. In this embodiment, the vehicle speed and the accelerator opening are stored as the driving power related value. To do. Further, the position may be a single point or a section. Various sections can be set here. For example, a predetermined distance, a section obtained by dividing a route from the start to the stop, between the intersections, and the route to the destination into a predetermined number can be used. When it is a section, the vehicle speed and the accelerator opening store the average value of the section. This learning process corresponds to the traveling power related value storage means in the claims.

  A charger 40 corresponding to external power input means is connected to a charging connector 42 via a charging cable 41. In a state where the charging connector 42 is connected to a charging station outside the vehicle or a power supply port at home, the charger 40 acquires power from a power supply facility installed at the charging station or home, and uses the acquired power. The battery 6 is supplied. The amount of power that the charger 40 supplies to the battery 6, that is, the amount of charge, is controlled by the charger controller 44. The charger control unit 44 controls the amount of charge of the charger 40 until the battery 6 reaches a predetermined voltage or charges the battery 6 with a predetermined amount of current.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the warm-up necessity determination process that the vehicle 1 according to the present embodiment performs at the time of departure. Here, the time of departure is from when the power position of the vehicle 1 is turned off to the accessory or on until the vehicle starts running. The processing shown in FIG. 2 is performed by the HV control unit 10, but some processing may be performed by the control unit 34 of the navigation unit 30.

  First, in step S1, the travel power related value of the route from the current value (that is, the departure point) to the destination, that is, the vehicle speed and the accelerator opening are acquired from the learning DB 38, and the remaining distance to the destination is acquired. Further, the current SOC is acquired from the charge monitoring unit 8. The destination here is the destination when the destination is set by the vehicle occupant, but is not limited thereto, and may be set automatically from the current position or past travel history.

  In the subsequent step S2, the amount of power [kWh] that can be used for EV travel (hereinafter referred to as usable power amount) and the amount of power that is necessary for traveling to the destination in the EV travel mode from the information acquired in step S1. An estimated required power amount that is an estimated value of is calculated. The available electric energy is calculated based on the difference between the current SOC acquired in step S1 and a preset SOC lower limit value. For the estimated required power amount, first, drive power [kW] required when traveling in the EV travel mode on the route to the destination is calculated from the travel power related value acquired in step S1, and the calculated drive power is calculated. From [kW], the travel energy [kWh] required for traveling on the route to the destination is calculated for each predetermined section. And the sum total of the driving | running energy for every area is made into estimation required electric energy.

  The subsequent step S3 is a process corresponding to the determining means in the claims, and it is determined whether or not the available power amount calculated in step S2 is larger than the estimated required power amount calculated in step S2. If this determination is YES, that is, if the available power amount is larger than the estimated required power amount, the process proceeds to step S4, and it is determined not to perform the warm-up control. When the amount of usable electric power is larger than the estimated required electric energy, it is considered that the vehicle can run to the destination in the EV driving mode. When the electric vehicle can run to the destination in the EV driving mode, the warm-up control of the engine 2 is necessary. Absent. Therefore, in this way, it is decided not to perform the warm-up control. Thereby, the fuel consumption required for warm-up control can be saved and the practical fuel consumption can be improved.

  On the other hand, if the determination in step S3 is NO, that is, if the available power amount is equal to or less than the estimated required power amount, the process proceeds to step S5. In step S5, it is determined to perform known warm-up control.

  Next, a threshold value setting process for setting a threshold value used for determination of switching between travel modes will be described with reference to FIG. First, in step S11, it is determined whether or not the next section has been entered. If it is determined that the vehicle is not in the next section, a negative determination is made in step S11, and the process proceeds to step S17. If it is determined in step S17 that the vehicle has not arrived at the destination, the process returns to step S11. Make a decision. Therefore, step S11 determines whether or not the next section has been reached with respect to the section that was running at the time of the previous execution of step S11. It should be noted that the section here can be variously set similarly to the section in the learning process described above. The section here may be the same section as the section in the learning process, or may be a section different from the section in the learning process.

  If step S11 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S12. In step S12, as in the process of step S1 of FIG. 2, the travel power related values (ie, vehicle speed and accelerator opening) of the route from the current position to the destination, the remaining distance to the destination, and the current SOC are calculated. get. In the subsequent step S13, the estimated required power amount and the usable power amount are calculated in the same manner as in step S2 of FIG.

  Then, step S14 which is a process corresponding to the determination means in the claims is executed. In step S14, it is determined whether the available power amount calculated in step S13 is equal to or greater than the estimated required power amount calculated in step S13. If this determination is YES, that is, if the available power amount is equal to or greater than the estimated required power amount, the process proceeds to step S15, and a load higher than 30 kw is determined as a high load section by setting the power threshold to 30 kw. To do. When the power threshold is set to 30 kW in this way, the drive power request value does not exceed the power threshold unless the load is considerably high. As a result, the EV traveling mode is almost selected. Therefore, when the available power amount is greater than the estimated required power amount, the vehicle travels to the destination in principle in the EV travel mode.

  On the other hand, if the determination in step S14 is NO, that is, if the available power amount is smaller than the estimated required power amount, the process proceeds to step S16. In step S16, by setting the power threshold value to 7.5 kw, a load higher than 7.5 kw is determined as a high load section. When the power threshold is set to 7.5 kw in this way, the drive power request value exceeds the power threshold even with a relatively low load. As a result, the HV traveling mode is selected in the high load section.

  If step S15 or step S16 is executed, the process proceeds to step S17 to determine whether or not the destination has been reached. If the destination has been reached, the process is terminated. If the destination has not been reached, the process returns to step S11 to continue the process.

  FIG. 4 shows the relationship between the power threshold value set in step S15 or S16 in FIG. 3, the running power, and the running mode ((A), (B) below), and the change in SOC ((A), (B). FIG. 4 (A) shows a case where the available power amount is smaller than the estimated required power amount (when S14 is NO), and FIG. 4 (B) shows the usable power amount. This is a case where the amount is more than the estimated required power (when S14 is YES). The traveling power has the same meaning as the above-described driving power request value. Moreover, the horizontal axis of each figure is time or distance.

  As can be seen from the comparison of FIGS. 4 (A) and 4 (B), even if the same traveling power is required, the selected traveling mode is determined depending on whether the power threshold is set to 7.5 kw or 30 kw. Come different. As shown in FIG. 4B, when the power threshold is set to a high value, it is difficult to select the HV traveling mode, and as a result, the SOC is rapidly reduced. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4A, when the power threshold is set to a low value, high travel power is required, and the HV travel mode is selected in a section where efficient travel is not possible in the EV travel mode. become. As a result, a rapid decrease in SOC can be suppressed.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram conceptually showing that the vehicle 1 of the present embodiment has improved fuel efficiency over the conventional hybrid vehicle. Note that the conventional hybrid vehicle here first travels in the EV travel mode until the SOC reaches the lower limit value, regardless of the drive power requirement value, and after the SOC reaches the lower limit value. Performs traveling control for traveling in the HV traveling mode.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the conventional hybrid vehicle first travels in the EV travel mode regardless of the magnitude of the load. Therefore, when a high load section exists in a short section after the start of traveling, the high load section also travels in the EV travel mode. Since the vehicle travels in the EV travel mode in the high load section, the amount of charge rapidly decreases. As a result, electricity is cut off during the high load section.

  On the other hand, in the present invention, as described above, when the available power amount is smaller than the estimated required power amount, 7.5 kW is set as the power threshold value so that the HV traveling mode is easily selected. Therefore, the vehicle travels in the HV traveling mode in the high load section at the beginning of traveling. As a result, a sudden decrease in the amount of charge in the high load section can be suppressed, and as a result, the distance that can be traveled in the EV travel mode is longer than that in the conventional hybrid vehicle. Moreover, since the low load section that travels in the EV travel mode becomes longer, the low load section that travels in the HV travel mode becomes shorter. Since it is more efficient to travel in the HV traveling mode in the high load section than traveling in the HV traveling mode in the low load section, the present invention is also a conventional hybrid vehicle in that the low load section traveling in the HV traveling mode is shortened. More efficient.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment described above, it is determined whether the travel mode is set to the EV travel mode based on the comparison between the drive power request value determined in turn and the power threshold value instead of planning the travel mode in advance. Switch to driving mode. Therefore, unlike the case where the travel mode is planned in advance, there can be no deviation between the driving power assumed at the time of planning and the driving power actually generated, so that the fuel consumption can be reliably improved.

  In addition, if the power threshold is fixed at a high value, even if there is a low load section that is appropriate to travel in the EV travel mode thereafter, in the high load section before the low load section, Driving in the EV driving mode and using too much electric power from the battery 6 makes it impossible to drive in the EV driving mode in the low load section where the EV can be driven most efficiently in the EV driving mode, thereby sufficiently improving fuel consumption. It may not be possible. However, in the present embodiment, the power threshold value used for selecting the travel mode is set to a low threshold value (7.5 kW) while it is determined that the vehicle cannot reach the destination when the EV travel mode is maintained. In a state where the power threshold is set to the low threshold (7.5 kw), the drive power requirement value that exceeds the low threshold is often increased in the high load section, and therefore, the vehicle frequently travels in the HV travel mode. That is, when the vehicle is traveling in the EV traveling mode, the charging amount is drastically reduced, and the EV traveling mode is suppressed from being selected in a high load section where the efficiency is worse than when traveling on the flat road in the EV traveling mode. Practical fuel consumption is improved.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, it is determined at the time of departure whether the vehicle can run to the destination while keeping the EV travel mode. When it is determined that the vehicle can be run while in the EV travel mode, the engine 2 does not need to be driven, so the warm-up control of the engine 2 is not performed. Therefore, the fuel consumption required for the warm-up control of the engine 2 can be saved and the practical fuel consumption can be improved.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, The following embodiment is also contained in the technical scope of this invention, and also the summary other than the following is also included. Various modifications can be made without departing from the scope.

  For example, in step S14 of FIG. 3 of the above-described embodiment, the available power amount calculated in step S13 and the estimated required power amount calculated in step S13 are compared as they are. Correction for compensating for the estimation error of the estimated value (that is, the required electric energy required for estimation) and making it easy to set the high threshold (30 kW) may be performed, and the determination in step S14 may be performed based on the corrected value. If it does in this way, since it becomes easy to set high threshold value (30 kW) and EV driving mode is performed easily, when arriving at the destination, the state where usable electric power is not used up can be prevented. Therefore, it is possible to increase the amount of power that can be charged using the external power source at the destination that has arrived. In addition, as said correction | amendment, there exists a correction | amendment which multiplies a correction coefficient to one or both of the amount of electric power which can be used, and estimation required electric energy, for example. In this case, the correction coefficient is set so that the SOC reaches the lower limit value slightly before the destination in consideration of the estimation error of the estimation required electric energy, and the SOC reaches the lower limit value at a point far away from the destination. Do not. Therefore, although specific numerical values are set based on experiments, the correction coefficient is a numerical value close to 1. When correcting the estimated required power amount, the correction coefficient may be multiplied only for the travel energy of a part of the section (for example, only the last section) used for calculating the estimated required power amount. As described above, it is easy to prevent the SOC from reaching the lower limit value at a point far away from the destination by correcting only the traveling energy in a part of the section.

  In the above-described embodiment, the estimated required power amount and the usable power amount are compared to determine whether or not the vehicle can arrive at the destination while being in the EV travel mode. It is also possible to determine whether or not the vehicle can arrive at the destination while in the EV travel mode by comparing the travelable distance (EV travelable distance) with the remaining distance to the destination. When the EV travelable distance exceeds the remaining distance to the destination, it becomes a problem how to set the travel power related value in the section outside the route to the destination. As the travel power related value in the section outside the range, a predetermined constant value may be used, or a travel power related value near the destination may be used on the route to the destination.

  In the above-described embodiment, the travel power related value during travel of the host vehicle is stored. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the travel power related value when the other vehicle travels is obtained from the other vehicle or the center. May be acquired by wireless communication or the like.

  In the above-described embodiment, the vehicle speed and the accelerator opening are stored as the travel power related values. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the travel power itself that can be determined from the vehicle speed and the accelerator opening is stored as the travel power related values. May be. In addition to the vehicle speed and the accelerator opening, a brake signal and a shift position may be stored as travel power related values.

1: hybrid vehicle, 2: engine (internal combustion engine), 4: inverter, 6: battery (power storage device), 8: charge amount monitoring unit, 10: HV control unit, 12: MG control unit, 14: engine control unit, 30: Navigation unit, 32: Position detection unit, 34: Control unit, 36: Map DB, 36: Learning DB, 40: Charger (external power input means), 41: Charging cable, 42: Charging connector, 44: Charging Controller, MG: motor generator (rotary electric machine), S3: determination means, S14: determination means, S15 to S16: threshold setting means

Claims (5)

As a power generation source for generating power for driving the drive shaft of the vehicle, the power generation source includes an internal combustion engine and a rotating electrical machine, and is used for a hybrid vehicle including a power storage device that transfers power to and from the rotating electrical machine. A power generation source control device for controlling the power generation source,
Drive power determination means for sequentially determining drive power generated by the power generation source;
An electric driving mode in which the internal combustion engine is stopped and electric power is supplied from the power storage device to drive the vehicle using the rotating electrical machine as a power generation source, and an internal combustion engine drive using the internal combustion engine as a power generation source The mode is to switch the mode, the driving power determined by the driving power determining means is compared with a power threshold, and the electric driving mode is set based on the fact that the driving power is less than the power threshold, and the driving power is the power threshold. Traveling mode switching means for setting the internal combustion engine drive mode based on the higher than,
Based on the available power amount of the power storage device and the remaining distance to the destination, determination means for sequentially determining whether or not the vehicle can arrive at the destination while keeping the driving mode in the electric driving mode;
When it is determined by the determining means that the vehicle can reach the destination while the driving mode remains in the electric driving mode, the power threshold is set to a predetermined low threshold, and the driving mode remains in the electric driving mode. And a threshold value setting unit that sets the power threshold value to a predetermined high threshold value that is higher than the low threshold value when it is determined that the vehicle cannot reach the destination. In claim 1,
The determination means compares the estimated electric travelable distance, which is an estimated value of the travelable distance when traveling in the electric travel mode, with the remaining distance to the destination, or determines the remaining distance to the destination A power generation source control device characterized in that the determination is made based on a comparison between an estimated required power amount, which is an estimated value of an electric energy required when traveling in a travel mode, and a usable power amount of a power storage device. In claim 2,
The vehicle on which the power generation source control device is mounted is a hybrid vehicle that includes external power input means that receives power from an external power supply outside the vehicle and charges the power storage device with the power.
The determination means compensates for at least one of the two values to be compared with the estimated error of the estimated value, and makes it easier to determine that the vehicle can arrive at the destination while the driving mode remains the electric driving mode. And performing a comparison based on the corrected value. In claim 2 or 3,
Travel power related value storage means for sequentially storing a travel power related value for determining travel power in association with a position during travel of the vehicle;
Estimated required power amount calculating means for calculating the estimated required power amount when traveling on the route to the destination based on the travel power related value stored in association with the position by the travel power related value storage means; Prepared,
The power generation source control device, wherein the determination unit performs the determination based on a comparison between the estimated required power amount calculated by the estimated required power amount calculation unit and the usable power amount of the power storage device. A power generation source control device for controlling a power generation source used in a hybrid vehicle including an internal combustion engine and a rotating electrical machine as a power generation source for generating power for driving a drive shaft of the vehicle,
Use of the power storage device to determine whether or not the internal combustion engine is stopped at the time of departure of the vehicle and the vehicle can be reached in the electric driving mode in which the vehicle is driven using the rotating electrical machine as a power generation source. A determination means for determining based on the available electric energy and the remaining distance to the destination;
When the determination means determines that the vehicle cannot reach the destination when the driving mode is set to the electric driving mode, the warm-up control of the internal combustion engine is performed. The power generation source control device characterized by not performing the warm-up control when it is determined that the vehicle can reach the ground.

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