JP2015104984A - Travel control device of hybrid vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a travel control device of a hybrid vehicle capable of efficiently performing a regenerative operation of a motor when approaching a preceding vehicle during an auto-cruise control in the hybrid vehicle.SOLUTION: During an auto-cruise control of a hybrid vehicle, a preceding vehicle information gain part gains travelling information of a same traffic lane preceding vehicle V1 and an adjacent traffic lane preceding vehicle V2 (S1), a passing judgement part judges whether an own vehicle can pass through the same traffic lane preceding vehicle V1 (S2), when the passing is impossible, a speed reduction starting distance calculation part calculates a safe relative distance B and a speed reduction starting distance E are calculated (S3, S6) and, when a relative distance A between the own vehicle and the same traffic lane preceding vehicle V1 is in the range from the safe relative distance B to the speed reduction starting distance E, a speed reduction control part performs the regenerative operation by means of a motor.

Description

  The present invention relates to a travel control device for a hybrid vehicle including an engine and a motor as a travel drive source.

  In recent years, hybrid vehicles capable of executing auto-cruise control that adjusts driving forces of an engine and a motor so as to maintain a target vehicle speed set by a driver have been developed. In the auto cruise control, when there is a preceding vehicle ahead of the host vehicle, the driving force is adjusted so as to maintain a certain distance between the preceding vehicle and the vehicle. For example, when the host vehicle approaches the preceding vehicle, the vehicle is decelerated. When the motor is regenerated during the deceleration, the energy required for braking can be recovered.

  Therefore, in Patent Document 1, for example, vehicle speed information of a preceding vehicle is acquired from inter-vehicle communication or an external information collection terminal, and an expected regeneration amount is calculated based on a relative vehicle speed change calculated from the host vehicle speed and the preceding vehicle speed, A target SOC (State Of Charge) of the battery is set based on the expected regeneration amount.

JP 2009-274611 A

  In Patent Document 1, the expected SOC is calculated based on the relative vehicle speed with respect to the preceding vehicle and the target SOC is set. However, the energy obtained by the regenerative operation of the motor is different from the motor output, the vehicle weight, and the regenerative operation. The energy at the time of deceleration can be recovered more efficiently by taking these into consideration.

  On the other hand, when approaching the preceding vehicle, it is necessary to secure a minimum inter-vehicle distance that can ensure safety so that the preceding vehicle does not come into contact with the host vehicle even when the preceding vehicle suddenly decelerates. Also, on roads with two or more lanes in the same direction, even if there is a preceding vehicle in the same lane as the lane on which the vehicle is traveling, it can be overtaken by changing the traveling lane if there is no preceding lane in a different lane This is possible and eliminates the need for unnecessary deceleration.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to efficiently regenerate a motor when a hybrid vehicle approaches a preceding vehicle during auto-cruise control. An object of the present invention is to provide a travel control device for a hybrid vehicle that can perform the above-described operation.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, a travel control device for a hybrid vehicle according to the present invention is set by an engine and a motor as a travel drive source for the vehicle, a battery that supplies power to the motor, and a driver. An auto cruise control unit that performs auto cruise control that adjusts the driving force of the engine and the motor so as to maintain the target vehicle speed, and travel of the preceding lane in the same lane as the travel lane in which the host vehicle is traveling Based on the information and the information acquired by the preceding vehicle information acquisition unit, the preceding vehicle information acquisition unit that acquires the traveling information of the adjacent lane preceding vehicle on the lane adjacent to the traveling lane in which the host vehicle is traveling, and the same An overtaking determination unit that determines whether the vehicle can overtake the preceding vehicle in the same lane based on the distance between the preceding vehicle in the lane and the adjacent vehicle in the adjacent lane; When the vehicle is determined to be unable to overtake the preceding vehicle in the same lane, the safety relative distance capable of avoiding a collision between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle in the same lane, and the vehicle relative to the safety relative distance, A deceleration start distance calculation unit that calculates a deceleration start distance for starting a regenerative operation by the motor so that the battery can be charged to the maximum extent, and an auto cruise control by the auto cruise control unit, and the same vehicle and the preceding vehicle in the same lane And a deceleration control unit that performs a regenerative operation by the motor when the relative distance is within the range from the safe relative distance to the deceleration start distance.

  According to the present invention using the above means, when a hybrid vehicle approaches a preceding vehicle during auto-cruise control, the motor can be efficiently regenerated.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a hybrid vehicle including a travel control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows the deceleration control routine at the time of the preceding vehicle approach performed in the traveling control apparatus of the hybrid vehicle in one Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing (a)-(d) which showed the situation according to the relative distance with a preceding vehicle.

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing a hybrid vehicle equipped with a travel control device of the present embodiment.
The hybrid vehicle 1 is configured as a so-called parallel hybrid truck, and may be simply referred to as a vehicle or a host vehicle in the following description.

  A vehicle 1 is equipped with a diesel engine (hereinafter referred to as an engine) 2 as a driving power source and a motor 3 that can also operate as a generator such as a permanent magnet synchronous motor. A clutch 4 is connected to the output shaft of the engine 2, and an input side of the automatic transmission 5 is connected to the clutch 4 via a rotating shaft of the motor 3. A differential device 7 is connected to the output side of the automatic transmission 5 via a propeller shaft 6, and left and right drive wheels 9 are connected to the differential device 7 via a drive shaft 8.

  The automatic transmission 5 is based on a general manual transmission and automates the engagement / disengagement operation of the clutch 4 and the switching operation of the shift speed. In this embodiment, the automatic transmission 5 has a forward speed 6 speed, reverse speed 1 speed. doing. Of course, the configuration of the transmission 5 is not limited to this, and can be arbitrarily changed. For example, the transmission 5 may be embodied as a manual transmission, or a so-called dual clutch automatic transmission having two power transmission systems. It may be embodied as a machine.

  A battery 11 is connected to the motor 3 via an inverter 10. The DC power stored in the battery 11 is converted into AC power by the inverter 10 and supplied to the motor 3, and the driving force generated by the motor 3 is transmitted to the drive wheels 9 after being shifted by the automatic transmission 5. (This is called power running). For example, when the vehicle 1 decelerates or travels on a downhill road, the motor 3 operates as a generator by reverse driving from the drive wheel 9 side. The negative driving force generated by the motor 3 is transmitted to the driving wheel 9 side as a braking force, and the AC power generated by the motor 3 is converted into DC power by the inverter 10 and charged to the battery 11 (this is This is called regenerative operation). Furthermore, the motor 3 can be rotated by the driving force generated by the engine 2 to generate electric power, and the battery 11 can be charged (this is called engine power generation).

  The driving force generated by the motor 3 is transmitted to the driving wheel 9 regardless of the state of connection / disconnection of the clutch 4, and the driving force generated by the engine 2 is driven only when the clutch 4 is connected. 9 side. Therefore, when the clutch 4 is disengaged, the positive or negative driving force generated by the motor 3 as described above is transmitted to the driving wheel 9 side, and the vehicle 1 travels. When the clutch 4 is connected, the driving force of the engine 2 and the motor 3 is transmitted to the driving wheel 9 side, or only the driving force of the engine 2 is transmitted to the driving wheel side, so that the vehicle 1 travels.

  The vehicle ECU 13 is a control circuit for integrated control of the entire vehicle. For this purpose, the vehicle ECU 13 includes an accelerator sensor 15 for detecting the operation amount of the accelerator pedal 14, a brake switch 17 for detecting the depression operation of the brake pedal 16, a vehicle speed sensor 18 for detecting the speed of the vehicle 1, and the rotational speed of the engine 2. Various sensors and switches such as an engine rotation speed sensor 19 for detecting and a motor rotation speed sensor 20 for detecting the rotation speed of the motor 3 are connected.

  The vehicle ECU 13 is connected with an actuator (not shown) for connecting / disconnecting the clutch 4 and an actuator for shifting the automatic transmission 5, and an engine ECU 22 for engine control and an inverter ECU 23 for inverter control. And a battery ECU 24 for managing the battery 11 are connected.

  The vehicle ECU 13 calculates a required torque necessary for the vehicle 1 to travel based on the accelerator operation amount by the driver, and the vehicle 1 is based on the required torque, the SOC (State Of Charge) of the battery 11, and the like. Select the driving mode. In the present embodiment, as the travel mode, an engine travel mode that travels using only the driving force of the engine 2, a motor travel mode that travels using only the driving force of the motor 3, and the driving forces of the engine 2 and the motor 3 are used. A hybrid traveling mode in which the vehicle 2 travels and an engine power generation traveling mode in which power is generated by rotating the motor 3 using the driving force of the engine 2 while traveling using the driving force of the engine 2 are set. The vehicle ECU 13 selects the travel mode.

  The vehicle ECU 13 converts the required torque into a torque command value to be output by the engine 2 or the motor 3 based on the selected travel mode. For example, in the hybrid travel mode, the required torque is distributed to the engine 2 side and the motor 3 side, and torque command values for the engine 2 and the motor 3 are calculated based on the gear position at that time. In the engine travel mode, the required torque is converted into a torque command value for the engine 2 based on the gear position, and in the motor travel mode, the required torque is converted into a torque command value for the motor 3 based on the gear speed. Further, in the engine power generation travel mode, a value obtained by combining the required torque and the torque required for power generation by the motor 3 is calculated as a torque command value for the engine 2.

  Then, in order to execute the selected travel mode, the vehicle ECU 13 disconnects the clutch 4 in the motor travel mode and connects the clutch 4 in the engine travel mode, the hybrid travel mode, and the engine power travel mode, and then the engine ECU 22 and the inverter A torque command value is appropriately output to the ECU 23. While the vehicle 1 is traveling, the vehicle ECU 13 calculates a target gear position from a shift map (not shown) based on the accelerator operation amount, the vehicle speed, and the like, and the actuator 4 connects and disconnects the clutch 4 to achieve this target gear position. A gear change operation is executed.

  On the other hand, the engine ECU 22 executes injection amount control and injection timing control so as to achieve a torque command value based on the travel mode selected by the vehicle ECU 13. For example, in the engine travel mode, the hybrid travel mode, and the engine power generation travel mode, the driving force is generated in the engine 2 with respect to the positive torque command value, and the engine brake is generated with respect to the negative torque command value. In the case of the motor travel mode, the engine 2 is stopped and held by stopping the fuel injection or is set in an idle operation state.

  Further, the inverter ECU 23 drives and controls the motor 3 via the inverter 10 so as to achieve a torque command value based on the travel mode selected in the vehicle ECU 13. For example, in the motor travel mode and the hybrid travel mode, the motor 3 is power-running with respect to the positive torque command value to generate a positive drive force, and the motor 3 is regeneratively controlled with respect to the negative torque command value. Thus, a negative driving force is generated. In the case of the engine running mode, the driving force of the motor 3 is controlled to zero. Further, in the case of the engine power generation travel mode, power is generated by receiving the driving force of the engine 2.

  Further, the battery ECU 24 detects the temperature of the battery 11, the voltage of the battery 11, the current flowing between the inverter 10 and the battery 11, etc., calculates the SOC of the battery 11 from these detection results, and detects this SOC. It outputs to vehicle ECU13 with a result.

  On the other hand, the vehicle ECU 13 can execute auto-cruise control for controlling the engine 2 and the motor 3 so as to maintain the target vehicle speed set by the driver. When a target vehicle speed is set by operating an auto cruise control execution switch (not shown) by the driver, the vehicle ECU 13 controls the torque of the engine 2 and the motor 3 to accelerate and decelerate so that the vehicle speed becomes the target vehicle speed. .

  In the auto-cruise control in the present embodiment, the driving mode is selected after predicting the driving state of the vehicle 1 at any point based on road environment information (route information) on the driving route ahead of the vehicle. Therefore, a navigation device 31 and a communication device 32 are connected to the vehicle ECU 13 as shown in FIG. 1 in order to detect route information and the like ahead of the host vehicle.

  The navigation device 31 is based on the map data stored in its own storage area and the GPS information or VICS (registered trademark) information received via the antenna, Identify road gradients and curves in front of the vehicle.

  The communication device 32 performs road-to-vehicle communication with a roadside communication system of a data center that is appropriately installed on the road, and performs vehicle-to-vehicle communication with other vehicles traveling around. Information to be communicated varies widely, for example, map information that the vehicle does not have, road information (road curves, road gradients, etc.), traffic information (congestion information, accident information, construction information, etc.), or local information (tourism) Spot guidance, etc.) is acquired from the roadside communication system or other vehicles, and conversely, such information is supplied to other vehicles.

  In the auto-cruise control, the vehicle ECU 13 acquires, for example, information on the position of the host vehicle and information such as a road gradient ahead of the host vehicle from the navigation device 31 and the communication device 32, and determines a route ahead of the host vehicle based on the road gradient information. Break down. For example, in the downhill road section, the motor travel mode is set to perform the regenerative operation. In the uphill road or flat road section, the motor travel mode is set if the SOC predicted in the section is relatively large, and the engine travel mode is set if the SOC is relatively small.

  In particular, in the present embodiment, the vehicle ECU 13 determines whether or not a preceding vehicle is expected to approach the front of the host vehicle and cannot be overtaken in the auto cruise control, that is, when the vehicle needs to be decelerated. Then, deceleration control is performed to recover the energy of deceleration most efficiently while ensuring safety.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle ECU 13 includes an auto-cruise control unit 40 for executing auto-cruise control. The auto-cruise control unit 40 includes a preceding vehicle information acquisition unit 41, an overtaking determination unit. 42, an optimal deceleration start distance calculation unit 43 (deceleration start distance calculation unit), and a deceleration control unit 44 are included.

  Here, FIG. 2 shows a flowchart showing a deceleration control routine when the preceding vehicle approaches, and FIG. 3 shows explanatory views (a) to (d) showing a situation according to the relative distance from the preceding vehicle. In the following, the flow of the optimum deceleration control and the function of each part will be described along the flowchart with reference to FIG. The optimum deceleration control is performed when there is a preceding vehicle during execution of auto-cruise control, and a description of basic control such as maintaining the vehicle speed of the own vehicle in auto-cruise control is omitted.

  First, in step S1 of FIG. 2, the auto cruise control unit 40 detects the presence or absence of a preceding vehicle ahead of the host vehicle by the preceding vehicle information acquisition unit 41. If there is a preceding vehicle, the position of the preceding vehicle is detected. And information (travel information) related to travel such as vehicle speed is acquired. In particular, when the host vehicle 1 is traveling on a road having two or more lanes (two or more lanes on one side) in the same direction, at least the same lane preceding the same lane as the traveling lane on which the host vehicle 1 is traveling The travel information of the vehicle V1 and the travel information of the adjacent lane preceding vehicle V2 on the right lane of the travel lane in which the host vehicle 1 is traveling are acquired.

Next, in step S2, the overtaking determination unit 42 determines whether or not the host vehicle 1 can overtake the same lane preceding vehicle V1.
Specifically, the overtaking determination unit 42 calculates a relative distance (front two-vehicle relative distance) L2rel between the two lanes from the travel information of the same lane preceding vehicle V1 and the adjacent lane leading vehicle V2 acquired by the preceding vehicle information acquiring unit 41. To do. The front two-vehicle relative distance L2rel is based on the first same lane preceding vehicle V1 ahead of the host vehicle 1, as shown in FIG. 3A, for example, adjacent to the rear side of the same lane preceding vehicle V1. This is the inter-vehicle distance in the direction of travel with the lane leading vehicle V2. If there is no adjacent lane preceding vehicle V2 behind the same lane preceding vehicle V1, and there is an adjacent lane preceding vehicle V2 'in the vicinity of the front side of the same lane preceding vehicle V1, the distance between the two vehicles V1 and V2' in the traveling direction The distance is the front two-car relative distance L2rel.

  Then, the overtaking determination unit 42 compares the calculated forward two-vehicle relative distance L2rel with a predetermined non-overtaking inter-vehicle distance Limp to determine whether the host vehicle 1 can overtake the same lane preceding vehicle V1. To do. This non-overtaking inter-vehicle distance Limp may be set based on, for example, a map that tends to increase as the vehicle speed of the host vehicle 1 increases, or may be a constant value.

  The overtaking determination unit 42 determines that the own vehicle 1 can be overtaken because the own vehicle 1 has sufficient space to overtake the same lane preceding vehicle V1 if the forward two-vehicle relative distance L2rel is larger than the non-passable inter-vehicle distance Limp. If it is possible to overtake the same lane preceding vehicle V1, the necessity of deceleration is low, so the determination result of step S2 is false (No), and the process returns to step S1. On the other hand, when the front two-vehicle relative distance L2rel is equal to or less than the overtaking impossible inter-vehicle distance Limp, it is determined that the overtaking is impossible and the process proceeds to the next step S3.

In step S3, the optimum deceleration start distance calculation unit 43 calculates the relative distance A between the host vehicle 1 and the same lane preceding vehicle V1, and calculates the safe relative distance B from the vehicle speeds of the host vehicle 1 and the same lane leading vehicle V1.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3B, the optimum deceleration start distance calculation unit 43 calculates the relative distance A from the position information of the host vehicle 1 and the same lane preceding vehicle V1. The safe relative distance B is a minimum inter-vehicle distance required for the own vehicle 1 to avoid a collision with the preceding lane V1 and is the same lane as the vehicle speed of the own vehicle 1 stored in advance in the vehicle ECU 13. It sets based on the map according to the vehicle speed of the preceding vehicle V1. According to the map, for example, when the same lane preceding vehicle V1 suddenly stops, the own vehicle 1 can stop before the same lane leading vehicle V1, and the safe relative distance B is higher as the vehicle speed of the own vehicle 1 is higher. It tends to be set longer.

  In the following step S4, the optimum deceleration start distance calculation unit 43 calculates a difference distance C obtained by removing the safe relative distance B from the relative distance A, and determines whether the difference distance C is equal to or less than the deceleration preparation distance D. To do. The deceleration preparation distance D is a threshold value for starting preparation for deceleration control, and is set based on the map in the same manner as the safety relative distance B.

  When the difference distance C is larger than the deceleration preparation distance D, that is, when the determination result in step S4 is false (No), the optimum deceleration start distance calculation unit 43 returns to step S3 and again determines the relative distance A and the safety relative The distance B is calculated. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3C, when the difference distance C is equal to or less than the deceleration preparation distance D, the determination result in step S4 is true (Yes), and the next step S5 is performed to prepare for deceleration control. Proceed to

In step S <b> 5, the optimum deceleration start distance calculation unit 43 acquires information such as route information ahead of the host vehicle, road gradient at the current position of the host vehicle 1, total vehicle weight of the host vehicle 1 from the navigation device 31 and the communication device 32. To do.
In subsequent step S6, the optimum deceleration start distance calculation unit 43 sequentially calculates the optimum deceleration control start distance E (deceleration start distance). The optimum deceleration control start distance E is closer to the host vehicle than the safe relative distance B, and is a distance at which the regenerative operation by the motor 3 is started so that the battery 11 can be charged to the maximum. Specifically, the optimum deceleration control start distance E depends on the vehicle speed, road gradient, and total vehicle weight acquired in step S5 and the vehicle speed of the preceding vehicle acquired by the preceding vehicle information acquisition unit 41. Set based on the map. In other words, the optimum deceleration control start distance E is not only the state of the host vehicle, but also takes into account the relative vehicle speed and relative distance to the same lane preceding vehicle V1, which changes every moment, and the route state to the same lane preceding vehicle V1. This corresponds to the distance at which regenerative energy can be most efficiently obtained by deceleration to the relative distance B. Here, the optimum deceleration control start point is the end of the optimum deceleration control start distance E on the own vehicle side. In step S6, the SOC at the optimum deceleration control start point is predicted from the vehicle speed, road gradient, and total vehicle weight acquired in step S5.

  Further, in step S7, the optimum deceleration start distance calculation unit 43 calculates the increased SOC that can be obtained to the maximum by the regenerative operation of the motor 3 when the deceleration control is executed. Specifically, the increase SOC is a vehicle speed of the host vehicle 1 at the time when the deceleration control is started, and a vehicle speed (for example, target vehicle speed −α) that is at least allowable to follow the same lane preceding vehicle V1 as auto-cruise control. From the difference, a value obtained by multiplying the energy obtained by the deceleration accompanying the regenerative operation of the motor 3 by the charging efficiency of the battery 11 is obtained.

  In step S8, the optimum deceleration start distance calculation unit 43 determines that the value obtained by adding the increased SOC to the predicted SOC at the optimum deceleration control start point is equal to or greater than the upper limit SOC of the battery 11 and before the deceleration control start point. It is determined whether or not the increase can be increased. That is, in step S8, when the increased SOC obtained by the deceleration control exceeds the upper limit of the battery 11, the surplus SOC (surplus SOC) is wasted, so the motor torque is increased before the deceleration control is started. Thus, it is determined whether or not the SOC can be consumed.

If the determination result of step S8 is true (Yes), that is, if surplus SOC occurs and the motor can be driven before the deceleration control, the process proceeds to step S9.
In step S <b> 9, the deceleration control unit 44 travels by increasing the motor torque so that the excess SOC equivalent is consumed before the deceleration control is started so that the battery 11 can be charged with the increased SOC. In other words, the deceleration control unit 44 increases the motor torque instruction value and decreases the engine torque instruction value from the engine torque instruction value, thereby driving the motor 3 through the inverter ECU 23.

After the surplus SOC is consumed in step S9, or when the determination result in step S8 is false (No), that is, no surplus SOC occurs or the motor torque cannot be increased before the deceleration control start point. If so, the process proceeds to step S10.
In step S10, the deceleration control unit 44 determines whether or not the difference distance C is equal to or less than the optimum deceleration control start distance E calculated in step S6. If the determination result is false (No), that is, if the own vehicle 1 is still on the front side of the optimal deceleration control start point with respect to the same lane preceding vehicle V1, the process returns to step S5, and again from step S5. Repeat S10. On the other hand, when the determination result is true (Yes), that is, when the host vehicle 1 reaches the optimum deceleration control start point and is within the optimum deceleration control start distance E as shown in FIG. The process proceeds to the next step S11.

  In step S11, the deceleration control unit 44 executes deceleration control and exits the routine. In the deceleration control, the motor 3 is regeneratively operated in the motor travel mode. Specifically, the deceleration control unit 44 puts the clutch 4 in a disconnected state, and causes the motor 3 to perform a regenerative operation via the inverter ECU 23. When the vehicle is traveling on a downhill road and the deceleration is insufficient, the hybrid travel mode may be selected and the engine brake by the engine 2 may be used in addition to the regenerative operation of the motor 3.

  The deceleration control is executed within the range of the optimum deceleration control start distance E calculated in step S6, so that the vehicle speed, road gradient, and total vehicle weight of the host vehicle 1 and the preceding vehicle information acquisition unit 41 Since the regenerative operation by the motor 3 is performed in consideration of the acquired vehicle speed of the preceding lane preceding vehicle V1, the deceleration energy can be efficiently recovered as the SOC of the battery 11.

Further, since the deceleration control is executed only when the same lane preceding vehicle V1 cannot be overtaken by the determination in step S2, it is possible to prevent unnecessary deceleration from being performed during auto-cruise control. it can.
Furthermore, when it can be predicted that the surplus SOC is generated by the deceleration control as in steps S7 to S9, the surplus SOC is consumed before the deceleration control is started, thereby ensuring more efficient and efficient operation. Regenerative operation of the motor can be performed.

For this reason, according to the traveling control device for a hybrid vehicle according to the present embodiment, when the vehicle approaches the preceding vehicle during the auto-cruise control, an efficient regenerative operation of the motor 3 can be performed.
Although the description about the embodiment of the travel control device for a hybrid vehicle according to the present invention is finished above, the embodiment is not limited to the above embodiment.

  The adjacent lane preceding vehicle V2 in the above embodiment is a preceding vehicle on the right lane of the traveling lane in which the host vehicle 1 is traveling, but on the left lane of the traveling lane in which the host vehicle 1 is traveling. It may be a certain preceding car. Also, if the road is more than three lanes on one side, it detects the preceding vehicle in both the left and right lanes and determines whether it can be overtaken considering the distance between the preceding vehicle in the same lane and the preceding vehicle on the left and right. May be.

2 Engine 3 Motor 4 Clutch 11 Battery 13 Vehicle ECU
22 Engine ECU
23 Inverter ECU
31 navigation device 32 communication device 40 auto cruise control unit 41 preceding vehicle information acquisition unit 42 overtaking determination unit 43 optimum deceleration start distance calculation unit (deceleration start distance calculation unit)
44 Deceleration control unit

Claims (1)

An engine and a motor as driving sources for driving the vehicle;
A battery for supplying power to the motor;
An auto-cruise control unit that performs auto-cruise control that adjusts the driving force of the engine and the motor so as to maintain the target vehicle speed set by the driver;
Preceding to obtain travel information of the preceding vehicle in the same lane that is on the same lane as the travel lane in which the host vehicle is traveling, and travel information of an adjacent lane preceding vehicle in the lane adjacent to the travel lane in which the host vehicle is traveling A vehicle information acquisition unit;
Based on the information acquired by the preceding lane information acquisition unit, an overtaking determination unit that determines whether the own vehicle can pass the same lane preceding vehicle from the inter-vehicle distance between the same lane preceding vehicle and the adjacent lane preceding vehicle;
When the overtaking determination unit determines that it is impossible to overtake the preceding vehicle in the same lane, a safe relative distance that can avoid a collision between the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle in the same lane, and the vehicle relative to the safety relative distance A deceleration start distance calculation unit that calculates a deceleration start distance for starting regenerative operation by the motor so that the battery can be charged to the maximum extent;
Deceleration that performs regenerative operation by the motor when the auto cruise control is being performed by the auto cruise control unit and the relative distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle in the same lane is within the range from the safe relative distance to the deceleration start distance. A control unit;
A travel control device for a hybrid vehicle comprising:

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