CN116749945A - Vehicle control device, vehicle control method, and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

A control device for a vehicle, a control method for a vehicle, and a storage medium capable of reducing the computational load in energy management plan estimation while suppressing a decrease in computational accuracy. The vehicle includes a power source, a power storage device, and an electric motor connected to drive wheels, the electric motor being drivable by power supply from the power storage device and capable of supplying regenerative power to the power storage device, and the control device includes: an information acquisition unit that acquires information on a predetermined travel route; a first generation unit that generates first travel energy data per unit time required when traveling on a predetermined travel path; a second generation unit that calculates a change in running energy per unit time based on the first running energy data, and generates second running energy data by thinning out data representing running energy in a time period in which the change is smaller than a predetermined value from the first running energy data; and a charge/discharge planning unit that generates a charge/discharge plan for the power storage device when traveling on the predetermined travel route, based on the second travel energy data.

Description

Vehicle control device, vehicle control method, and storage medium

The present application claims priority based on japanese patent application No. 2022-038821, filed on day 14, 3, 2022, and the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

Technical Field

The application relates to a control device for a vehicle, a control method for a vehicle, and a storage medium.

Background

Hybrid vehicles having a power source such as an internal combustion engine, an electric storage device, and an electric motor are being used. The electric motor is connected to the drive wheel and can be driven by power supply from the power storage device. The regenerative power generated during the regenerative operation can be supplied to the power storage device. Conventionally, a technique related to setting of a charge/discharge schedule in an electric storage device of such a hybrid vehicle has been proposed.

In order to properly set the charge/discharge schedule, it is necessary to predict the required travel energy for each section of the travel route based on the travel route information from the departure point to the destination, and to estimate an energy management schedule in which the energy use efficiency is optimal by repeating the cyclic simulation. However, particularly in the case where the travel path is long, the calculation amount in the optimization calculation of the energy use efficiency becomes enormous, and therefore it is difficult to install it practically.

In contrast, in the vehicle control device described in japanese patent No. 5780354, when the travel route is long, the travel energy in the intermediate portion of the travel route is predicted and calculated with a relatively coarse granularity by setting the length of the section in the intermediate portion to be longer than the lengths of the sections in the vicinity of the departure point and the vicinity of the destination point. This reduces the amount of calculation in the predictive calculation of the running energy.

Disclosure of Invention

However, the vehicle control device described in japanese patent No. 5780354 has the following problems: in a case where there is an event in which the running energy greatly changes, for example, a steep upward slope, in a section set to be a middle portion of a relatively long running path, the calculation accuracy in the calculation of the prediction of the running energy is lowered.

An object of an aspect of the present application is to provide a control device for a vehicle, a control method for a vehicle, and a storage medium, which can reduce a calculation load in estimation of an energy management plan while suppressing a decrease in calculation accuracy.

The vehicle control device, the vehicle control method, and the storage medium of the present application employ the following configurations.

(1): in accordance with one aspect of the present application, there is provided a control device for a vehicle including a power source, a power storage device, and an electric motor connected to drive wheels, the electric motor being capable of being driven by power supply from the power storage device and capable of supplying regenerative power generated during a regenerative operation to the power storage device, the control device comprising: an information acquisition unit that acquires information on a predetermined travel path of the vehicle; a first generation portion that generates first running energy data representing running energy per unit time required for the vehicle to run on a predetermined running path based on information related to the predetermined running path of the vehicle; a second generation unit that calculates a change amount of running energy per unit time based on the first running energy data, and that generates second running energy data by thinning out data representing running energy for a period of time in which the change amount of running energy per unit time is smaller than a predetermined value from the first running energy data; and a charge/discharge planning unit that generates a charge/discharge plan of the power storage device when the vehicle travels on the predetermined travel path, based on the second travel energy data.

(2): in the aspect of (1) above, the control device further includes a time-series data interpolation unit that interpolates a charge/discharge plan of a time period corresponding to the travel energy data that has been thinned out by the second generation unit by linear interpolation with respect to the charge/discharge plan.

(3): in the aspect of (2) above, the control device further includes a control unit that controls charge and discharge of the power storage device based on the plan data interpolated by the time-series data interpolation unit when the vehicle is traveling.

(4): in any one of the aspects (1) to (3) above, the charge/discharge planning unit generates the charge/discharge plan in which energy use efficiency is optimal by repeatedly executing a cyclic simulation in a case where the vehicle travels on the predetermined travel path.

(5): in the aspect of (4) above, the charge/discharge planning unit repeatedly executes the cyclic simulation while adjusting a parameter value indicating a strength of a tendency of easier charging or easier discharging of the power storage device until a predetermined optimization convergence condition is satisfied.

(6): in the aspect of (5) above, the optimal convergence condition is a case where a remaining capacity of the power storage device becomes a predetermined value at a point in time when the vehicle reaches a terminal end of the predetermined travel path.

(7): in any one of the above (1) to (6), the information related to the predetermined travel path includes information indicating a vehicle speed and information indicating a road gradient.

(8): in any one of the aspects (1) to (7), the first generating unit shifts the value of each of the running energies per unit time by a predetermined value in consideration of the power consumption of the auxiliary machine.

(9): a control method of a vehicle according to another aspect of the present application is a control method of a vehicle executed by a computer mounted on the vehicle, the control method of the vehicle including: acquiring information related to a predetermined travel path of the vehicle; generating first running energy data representing running energy per unit time required for the vehicle to run on a predetermined running path based on information related to the predetermined running path of the vehicle; calculating a change amount of the running energy per unit time based on the first running energy data, and thinning out data representing the running energy for a period of time in which the change amount of the running energy per unit time is smaller than a prescribed value from the first running energy data, thereby generating second running energy data; and generating a charge-discharge plan of the power storage device when the vehicle travels on the predetermined travel path based on the second travel energy data.

(10): a storage medium according to still another aspect of the present application is a non-transitory storage medium readable by a computer, the storage medium storing a program for causing the computer mounted on a vehicle to execute: acquiring information related to a predetermined travel path of the vehicle; generating first running energy data representing running energy per unit time required for the vehicle to run on a predetermined running path based on information related to the predetermined running path of the vehicle; calculating a change amount of the running energy per unit time based on the first running energy data, and thinning out data representing the running energy for a period of time in which the change amount of the running energy per unit time is smaller than a prescribed value from the first running energy data, thereby generating second running energy data; and generating a charge-discharge plan of the power storage device when the vehicle travels on the predetermined travel path based on the second travel energy data.

According to the aspects of (1), (9) and (10) above, it is possible to eliminate travel energy data that is relatively unimportant in the energy management plan while leaving travel energy data that is relatively important in the energy management plan, and it is possible to reduce the computational load in the estimation of the energy management plan while suppressing a decrease in the computational accuracy.

According to the above-described scheme (2), the following effects can be achieved: the time intervals of the data included in the time-series energy management program can be set to the same uniform time intervals as the original traveling energy data before the thinning process is performed, and the data of the time-series energy management program can be easily used when the vehicle travels.

According to the above-described aspect (3), the following effects can be achieved: the vehicle can be driven according to the time-series energy management plan generated based on the driving energy data subjected to the thinning processing, and the vehicle can be driven with a better energy use efficiency.

According to the above-described aspect (4), the following effects can be achieved: the charge/discharge plan that optimizes the energy use efficiency can be derived, and the vehicle can be driven with the optimal energy use efficiency.

According to the above-described aspect (5), the following effects can be achieved: the charge/discharge plan that optimizes the energy use efficiency can be derived, and the vehicle can be driven with the optimal energy use efficiency.

According to the above-described aspect (6), the following effects can be achieved: the remaining capacity of the power storage device at the time when the vehicle arrives at the destination can be controlled to a predetermined value, and the remaining capacity of the power storage device provided at the next running of the vehicle can be ensured.

According to the above-described aspect (7), the following effects can be achieved: the required running energy can be calculated based on the information indicating the vehicle speed and the road gradient, which are the main causes of the required running energy, and more accurate time-series running energy data can be generated.

According to the above-described aspect (8), the following effects can be achieved: when the auxiliary machine power consumption can be considered in the calculation of the running energy, the auxiliary machine power consumption can be more easily considered by adding the auxiliary machine power consumption to the running energy required for the running of the vehicle, which is shifted by a predetermined value.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a structure of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a control device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 3 is a diagram for explaining the process of thinning out the running energy data by the control device of the vehicle in the embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 4 is a graph showing a relationship between the amount of change in the running energy per unit time and the time interval of the running energy data after the thinning-out.

Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the frequency of occurrence of the change amount per traveling energy.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing operations of the control device and the navigation device in the embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of a vehicle control device, a vehicle control method, and a storage medium according to the present application are described below with reference to the drawings.

[ integral Structure ]

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a vehicle M according to an embodiment of the present application. The vehicle M having the illustrated configuration is a hybrid vehicle that can be switched between a series system and a parallel system. The tandem system is a system in which an engine and a drive wheel are not mechanically connected, power of the engine is exclusively used for power generation by a generator, and generated power is supplied to a motor for running. The parallel system is a system in which an engine and a drive wheel can be mechanically coupled (or fluid is passed through a torque converter or the like), and power of the engine can be transmitted to the drive wheel to generate electric power. The vehicle M having the structure shown in fig. 1 can be switched between the series system and the parallel system by connecting and disconnecting the lockup clutch 14.

As shown in fig. 1, an engine (power source) 10, a first motor (generator) 12, a lockup clutch 14, a gear box 16, a second motor (motor) 18, drive wheels 25, PCU (Power Control Unit), and a battery (power storage device) 60 are mounted on a vehicle M, for example. The vehicle M includes at least an engine 10 as a power source. The vehicle M may be provided with a fuel cell stack as a power source.

The engine 10 is an internal combustion engine that outputs power by combusting fuel such as gasoline. The engine 10 is, for example, a reciprocating engine including a combustion chamber, a cylinder, a piston, an intake valve, an exhaust valve, a fuel injection device, a spark plug, a connecting rod, a crankshaft, and the like. The engine 10 may be a rotary engine.

The first motor 12 is, for example, a three-phase alternator. The first motor 12 is coupled to a rotor at an output shaft (e.g., a crankshaft) of the engine 10, and generates electric power using power output from the engine 10. The output shaft of the engine 10 and the rotor of the first motor 12 are connected to the driving wheel 25 side via a lockup clutch 14.

The lockup clutch 14 is switched between a state in which the output shaft of the engine 10 and the rotor of the first motor 12 are connected to the drive wheels 25 and a state in which the output shaft of the engine 10 and the rotor of the first motor 12 are disconnected from the drive wheels 25, in response to an instruction from the PCU 30.

The gearbox 16 is a transmission. The gear box 16 changes the speed of the power output from the engine 10 and transmits the power to the drive wheels 25. The gear ratio of the gearbox 16 is specified by the PCU 30.

The second motor 18 is, for example, a three-phase ac motor. The rotor of the second motor 18 is coupled to a drive wheel 25. The second motor 18 can be driven by electric power supply, and outputs power to the driving wheels 25. For example, the second motor 18 can be driven by the supply of electric power from the battery 60. The second motor 18 can supply regenerative power generated during a regenerative operation to the battery 60. The second motor 18 generates electric power using kinetic energy of the vehicle M when the vehicle M decelerates, and stores the generated electric power in the battery 60 via a second inverter 34 and a VCU40, which will be described later.

The PCU30 includes, for example, a first inverter 32, second inverters 34, VCU (Voltage Control Unit) 40, and a control device 50. The configuration in which these components are integrated into one unit as PCU30 is only an example, and these components may be distributed.

The first converter 32 and the second converter 34 are, for example, AC-DC converters. The dc side terminals of the first inverter 32 and the second inverter 34 are connected to the dc line DL. The battery 60 is connected to the dc line DL via the VCU 40. The first inverter 32 converts ac generated by the first motor 12 into dc and outputs the dc to the dc line DL, or converts dc supplied via the dc line DL into ac and supplies the ac to the first motor 12. Similarly, the second inverter 34 converts ac generated by the second motor 18 into dc and outputs the dc to the dc line DL, or converts dc supplied via the dc line DL into ac and supplies the ac to the second motor 18.

The VCU40 is, for example, a DC-DC converter. VCU40 boosts the electric power supplied from battery 60 and outputs the boosted electric power to dc link DL.

The function of the control device 50 will be described later. The battery 60 is a secondary battery such as a lithium ion battery, for example.

The navigation device 70 includes, for example, a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver, a navigation HMI (Human Machine Interface), and a route determining unit. The navigation device 70 holds map information in a storage device such as HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or a flash memory. The GNSS receiver determines the position of the own vehicle M based on the signals received from the GNSS satellites. The navigation HMI includes a display device, a speaker, a touch panel, keys, and the like. The route determining unit refers to, for example, map information to determine a route (hereinafter, referred to as a predetermined travel route) from the position of the host vehicle M (or an arbitrary position inputted thereto) specified by the GNSS receiver to a destination inputted by the occupant using the navigation HMI. The map information is, for example, information representing the shape of a road by a link representing the road and a node connected by the link. The map information includes, for example, road attribute information such as a road type (expressway or general road), road gradient, and the number of lanes.

The navigation device 70 may perform route guidance using the navigation HMI based on the predetermined travel route. The navigation device 70 may be realized by the functions of a terminal device such as a smart phone or a tablet terminal held by an occupant. The navigation device 70 may transmit the current position and the destination to the navigation server via the communication device 20, and acquire a route equivalent to the predetermined travel route from the navigation server.

[ Structure of control device ]

Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a control device according to an embodiment of the present application. The control device 50 includes, for example, a hybrid control unit 51, an information acquisition unit 52, a travel energy time-series calculation unit 53, a time-series data thinning unit 54, a charge/discharge planning unit 55, and a time-series data interpolation unit 56. These components are realized by executing programs (software) by a hardware processor such as CPU (Central Processing Unit) of a computer mounted on the vehicle M. Some or all of these components may be realized by hardware (including a circuit part) such as LSI (Large Scale Integration), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or by cooperation of software and hardware. The program may be stored in advance in a storage device such as HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or a flash memory (a storage device including a non-transitory storage medium), or may be stored in a removable storage medium such as a DVD or a CD-ROM (a non-transitory storage medium), and the storage medium may be mounted on a drive device. The information acquisition unit 52 is an example of an "information acquisition unit", the travel energy time series calculation unit 53 is an example of a "first generation unit", the time series data thinning unit 54 is an example of a "second generation unit", and the charge/discharge planning unit 55 is an example of a "charge/discharge planning unit".

The hybrid control unit 51 determines a running mode based on the accelerator opening degree, the vehicle speed, the brake pedal amount, and the like of the vehicle M. The control device 50 controls operations of the engine 10, the first motor 12, the lockup clutch 14, the second motor 18, and the like according to the running mode.

The following describes a running mode determined by the hybrid control unit 51. Among the travel modes, the following modes exist.

(1) Series hybrid mode of travel (ECVT)

In the series hybrid travel mode, the hybrid control unit 51 sets the lockup clutch 14 in a disengaged state, supplies fuel to the engine 10 to operate the engine 10, and supplies electric power generated by the first motor 12 to the battery 60 and the second motor 18. Then, the second motor 18 is driven using electric power supplied from the first motor 12 or the battery 60, and the vehicle M is driven by power from the second motor 18.

(2) EV travel mode (EV)

In the EV running mode, the hybrid control portion 51 sets the lockup clutch 14 in a disengaged state, drives the second motor 18 using electric power supplied from the battery 60, and runs the vehicle M by power from the second motor 18.

(3) Engine driving mode (LU)

In the engine-driven running mode, the hybrid control unit 51 sets the lockup clutch 14 in a connected state, operates the engine 10 by consuming fuel, and transmits at least a part of the power output from the engine 10 to the drive wheels 25 to run the vehicle M. In this case, the first motor 12 may or may not generate power.

(4) Regeneration of

At the time of regeneration, the hybrid control unit 51 sets the lockup clutch 14 in a disengaged state, and causes the second motor 18 to generate electric power using the kinetic energy of the vehicle M. The generated power during regeneration is stored in the battery 60 or is discarded by the waste electric control. In the waste electric control, the regenerative electric power of the second motor 18 is supplied to the first motor 12 without charging the battery 60 with the regenerative electric power of the second motor 18. In a state where the lockup clutch 14 is disengaged, the first motor 12 idles the engine 10, and thereby the regenerative electric power is discarded (i.e., the electric power is wasted).

The information acquisition unit 52 acquires information on a predetermined travel path of the vehicle M via the navigation device 70. The predetermined travel path is divided into a plurality of sections. The information acquisition unit 52 acquires information on the state of each section of the predetermined travel path as information on the predetermined travel path of the vehicle M. This information will be referred to as path-related information hereinafter. The path-related information includes, for example, vehicle speed information, road attribute information, road traffic information, and the like. The vehicle speed information is information such as a limit speed (e.g., legal speed), an average speed, and a vehicle speed distribution in each section of the predetermined travel path. The average speed is an average value of speeds of a plurality of vehicles traveling in each section. The road attribute information is information such as a road type (expressway or general road), road gradient, and the number of lanes. The road traffic information is information such as congestion, traffic signals, or temporary stops.

The travel energy time-series calculation unit 53 calculates the travel energy per unit time (for example, per second) required in the predetermined travel path based on the information related to the predetermined travel path of the vehicle M acquired by the information acquisition unit 52. The running energy is, for example, power (power) output to an axle. The information on the predetermined travel path of the vehicle M includes at least vehicle speed information and road gradient information. For example, the travel energy time series calculation unit 53 calculates travel energy (for example, at 1 second intervals) at equal intervals. The travel energy time series calculation unit 53 arranges the calculated travel energy per unit time in time series to generate time series travel energy data.

For example, the travel energy time series calculation unit 53 calculates the travel energy per time series of unit time by the following calculation. First, the running energy time series calculating unit 53 calculates the axial end driving force MF of the second motor 18 based on the following expression (1).

MF＝{(a+b·V+c·V ² )+M·g·sinθ}/TME···(1)

Here, MF is the second motor shaft end driving force, V is the vehicle speed, a, b, and c are running resistance calculation coefficients, M is the estimated weight of the vehicle M (2 rides are estimated), g is the gravitational acceleration, θ is the road gradient, and TME is the efficiency of the gear box 16. The charge/discharge planning unit 55 substitutes the average vehicle speed V0 into the vehicle speed V, and calculates the second motor shaft end driving force MF. Next, the traveling energy time-series calculation unit 53 calculates the power consumption P at the second inverter 34 based on the following expression (2).

P＝MF·V+ML···(2)

Here, P is the second inverter side power consumption, MF is the second motor shaft end driving force, V is the vehicle speed, and ML is the loss of the second motor 18. The running energy time series calculation unit 53 substitutes the average vehicle speed V0 into the vehicle speed V, and calculates the second inverter side power consumption P. The second inverter-side power consumption P is a running request power, and this value is running energy. In consideration of the air conditioner power consumption and the auxiliary power consumption, the running energy time series calculation unit 53 may shift the value of each of the running energy data per unit time by a predetermined value.

As described above, when calculating the running energy, the charge/discharge planning unit 55 substitutes the average vehicle speed V0 into the vehicle speeds V of the above-described equations (1) and (2). The average vehicle speed V0 is an average vehicle speed of a plurality of vehicles traveling in each section of the predetermined travel path of the vehicle M. Instead of substituting the average vehicle speed V0 into the vehicle speed V, a predetermined speed (for example, legal speed or the like) in each section may be substituted into the vehicle speed V.

The time-series travel energy data is used as input data for a cycle simulation repeated by the charge/discharge planning unit 55, which will be described later. However, particularly in the case where the predetermined travel path is a long distance, when travel energy data with a small granularity (for example, 1 second unit) is used, the calculation load in the cyclic simulation becomes high. Then, the time-series data thinning-out unit 54 thinly-sized time-series travel energy data thinly-sized, thinly-sized time-series travel energy data is thinned out from the data having a low importance in the charge/discharge plan, thereby reducing the information amount of the time-series travel energy data. The data of which importance is not so high in the charge-discharge plan means, for example, data of a period of time during which the vehicle is traveling at a constant speed (in an expressway or the like), data of a period of time during which the vehicle is stopped, and the like.

The time-series data thinning-out unit 54 deletes, from the time-series running energy data per unit time generated by the running energy time-series calculation unit 53, data of a time period in which the amount of change between the preceding and following time periods is small (for example, the amount of change is smaller than a predetermined threshold). The time-series data thinning-out section 54 treats the time period in which the amount of change in the running energy is small as a constant running energy, thereby reducing the information amount of the time-series running energy data per unit time.

Fig. 3 is a diagram for explaining the process of thinning out the running energy data by the control device 50 of the vehicle M in the embodiment of the present application. For example, when the travel energy data (initial data) of the time series per unit time generated by the travel energy time series calculation unit 53 is plotted on a plane with time as the X axis and the travel energy as the Y axis by circles, a graph as shown in fig. 3 is formed. The time-series data thinning-out section 54 determines a time zone having a small amount of change between the preceding and following time zones, from among the time-series travel energy data per unit time. For example, the time-series data thinning-out section 54 determines that the period from time T1 to time T2 in the graph shown in fig. 3 is a period with a small amount of change. The time-series data thinning-out section 54 deletes the traveling energy data of a period of time later than the time T1 and earlier than the time T2 (i.e., the traveling energy data of the time T satisfying T1< T2). In fig. 4, the data plotted by squares represents the travel energy data after the thinning out.

Fig. 4 is a graph showing a relationship between the amount of change in the running energy per unit time and the time interval of the running energy data after the thinning-out. The upper graph of fig. 4 shows an example of the amount of change in the travel energy per unit time in the predetermined travel route from the departure point to the destination. In the broken line graph of the upper stage of fig. 4, the X-axis represents time, and the Y-axis represents the amount of change in running energy per unit time. The period in which the amount of change in the running energy increases is, for example, a period in which the vehicle M is accelerating or a period in which the vehicle M is coming up an uphill.

In the lower graph of fig. 4, the horizontal line represents the time corresponding to the X-axis of the broken line graph of the upper graph. The vertical lines represent the travel energy data after the thinning out one by one. Therefore, the interval of the adjacent travel energy data (vertical line) becomes the time interval of the travel energy data after the thinning-out. In this way, the time intervals of the travel energy data after the thinning-out are not as uniform as the time intervals of the travel energy data (initial data) of the time series per unit time generated by the travel energy time series calculation unit 53, but are of variable lengths.

In a general vehicle travel path, there are a relatively large number of time periods in which the amount of change in the travel energy data is small. Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the frequency of occurrence of the change amount per traveling energy. The graph shown in fig. 5 shows the number of data per change amount of the traveling energy per unit time in a certain 1 traveling route. In the graph shown in fig. 4, the horizontal axis represents the amount of change in running energy, and the vertical axis represents the number of data. As shown in fig. 4, it can be seen that: the amount of change in the travel energy per unit time in a certain 1 travel route is mostly concentrated in a range of relatively small amounts of change (within a range of a rectangle of a broken line in fig. 4). Namely, it can be seen that: the time-series data thinning-out section 54 can thinning out relatively large traveling energy data per unit time.

The charge/discharge planning unit 55 estimates an energy management plan by planning charge/discharge of the battery 60 in a predetermined travel route from the departure point to the destination of the vehicle M based on the travel energy data subjected to the thinning processing by the time-series data thinning unit 54. The charge/discharge planning unit 55 repeatedly performs a cyclic simulation with the traveling energy data subjected to the thinning process as an input, thereby estimating a time-series energy management plan in which the energy use efficiency is optimal.

The charge/discharge planning unit 55 first performs initial setting of parameters used for the cyclic simulation. The parameter as referred to herein is a variable for adjusting the intensity of the tendency of the battery 60 to be more easily charged or discharged. The charge/discharge planning unit 55 repeatedly performs the cyclic simulation while adjusting the parameter value until the optimization convergence condition is satisfied. The optimal convergence condition as referred to herein means that the remaining capacity of the battery 60 becomes a predetermined value (for example, 50%) at the time point when the vehicle M reaches the destination (the terminal end of the predetermined travel route).

The method of the loop simulation is not limited to the above method, and any method can be used.

The time-series energy management plan estimated by the charge/discharge planning unit 55 is a charge/discharge plan for each variable time interval after the time-series data thinning-out unit 54 performs the thinning-out process. The time-series data interpolation unit 56 linearly interpolates the values of the charge/discharge plans in the time period after the time-series data thinning unit 54 performs the process of thinning the travel energy data, with respect to the time-series energy management plan estimated by the charge/discharge planning unit 55. Thus, the time interval of the data included in the time-series energy management plan becomes the same original uniform interval as the travel energy data estimated by the travel energy time-series calculation unit 53. Thus, the hybrid control unit 51 can easily use the time-series energy management plan data.

The hybrid control unit 51 (control unit) performs charge and discharge of the battery 60 based on the energy management plan generated by the charge and discharge planning unit 55 during actual running of the vehicle M.

[ operation of control device and navigation device ]

An example of the operation of the control device 50 and the navigation device 70 will be described below. Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing operations of the control device 50 and the navigation device 70 according to the embodiment of the present application. The operations of the control device 50 and the navigation device 70 shown in the present flowchart are started when, for example, the occupant inputs a destination to the navigation device 70 using the navigation HMI, and performs an input operation requesting route search.

The navigation device 70 receives the destination input by the occupant and the route search request (step S001). The navigation device 70 performs route search (step S002). The navigation device 70 outputs information on the retrieved route, that is, the predetermined travel path of the vehicle M, to the control device 50. As described above, the information on the predetermined travel path of the vehicle M includes at least the vehicle speed information and the road gradient information.

The information acquisition unit 52 of the control device 50 acquires information on the predetermined travel route of the vehicle M retrieved by the navigation device 70 (step S003). The travel energy time-series calculation unit 53 calculates the travel energy per unit time (for example, per second) required in the predetermined travel path based on the information related to the predetermined travel path of the vehicle M acquired by the information acquisition unit 52 (step S004). The travel energy time series calculation unit 53 arranges the calculated travel energy per unit time in time series, and generates travel energy data in time series. The information acquisition unit 52 outputs the generated time-series travel energy data to the time-series data thinning-out unit 54.

The time-series data thinning unit 54 acquires the time-series travel energy data per unit time generated by the travel energy time-series calculation unit 53. The time-series data thinning-out section 54 calculates the amount of change in the time-series running energy per unit time based on the acquired time-series running energy data (step S005). The time-series data thinning-out unit 54 sets the acquired time-series travel energy data as time-interval variable data by deleting data of a time zone having a small amount of change (for example, a smaller amount of change than a predetermined threshold value) between the preceding and following time zones (step S006). The time-series data thinning unit 54 outputs the travel energy data subjected to the thinning process to the charge/discharge planning unit 55.

The charge/discharge planning unit 55 acquires the travel energy data subjected to the thinning processing by the time-series data thinning unit 54. The charge/discharge planning unit 55 first performs initial setting of parameters used in the cyclic simulation (step S007). As described above, the parameter referred to herein is a variable for adjusting the intensity of the tendency of the battery 60 to be more easily charged or discharged.

The charge/discharge planning unit 55 receives the travel energy data subjected to the thinning process as input and executes a loop simulation (step S008). The charge/discharge planning unit 55 determines whether or not the energy management plan estimated by the cyclic simulation satisfies the optimization convergence condition (step S009). As described above, the optimal convergence condition refers to a case where the remaining capacity of the battery 60 becomes a predetermined value (for example, 50%) at the time point when the vehicle M arrives at the destination.

When it is determined that the optimization convergence condition is not satisfied (no in step S009), the charge/discharge planning unit 55 adjusts the parameter value (step S010). Then, the charge/discharge planning unit 55 repeatedly performs the cyclic simulation while adjusting the parameter value until the optimization convergence condition is satisfied (steps S008 to S010).

When it is determined that the optimization convergence condition is satisfied (yes in step S009), the charge/discharge planning unit 55 outputs the time-series data interpolation unit 56 the time-series energy management plan in which the energy use efficiency estimated by repeating the cyclic simulation is optimal. The time-series data interpolation unit 56 linearly interpolates the values of the charge/discharge plans in the time period after the time-series data thinning unit 54 performs the process of thinning the travel energy data, with respect to the time-series energy management plan estimated by the charge/discharge planning unit 55. Thus, the time interval of the data included in the time-series energy management plan becomes the same original granularity as the travel energy data estimated by the travel energy time-series calculation unit 53 (step S010).

The operations of the control device 50 and the navigation device 70 shown in the flowchart of fig. 6 are completed. In addition, some or all of the operations of steps S001 to S011 may be repeated again in response to a change in the running state of the vehicle M, occurrence of an event, or the like. Further, part or all of the operations of steps S001 to S011 may be repeated again at predetermined time intervals (for example, at 5 minute intervals).

In the present embodiment, the respective functions of the control device 50 and the respective functions of the navigation device 70 are mounted on all the vehicles M, but the present application is not limited to this configuration, and may be distributed. For example, each function unit of the control device 50 and a part of the function units of the navigation device 70 may be mounted on a server device communicatively connected to the vehicle M via a network.

According to the control device 50 for the vehicle M described above, the vehicle M includes the engine 10, the battery 60, and the second motor 18, the second motor 18 is connected to the drive wheels 25, can be driven by the supply of electric power from the battery 60, and can supply regenerative electric power generated during the regenerative operation to the battery 60, and the control device 50 for the vehicle M includes: an information acquisition unit 52 that acquires information on a predetermined travel path of the vehicle M; a travel energy time series calculation unit 53 that generates, based on information related to a predetermined travel path of the vehicle M, pre-thinning travel energy data that represents travel energy per unit time required when the vehicle M travels on the predetermined travel path; a time-series data thinning-out unit 54 that calculates a change amount of running energy per unit time based on the running energy data, and thins out, from the running energy data before thinning-out, data indicating the running energy for a period of time in which the change amount is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, thereby generating thinned-out running energy data; and a charge/discharge planning unit 55 that generates planning data representing a plan of charge/discharge of the battery 60 when the vehicle M travels on the predetermined travel route, based on the travel energy data after the thinning-out, so that the travel energy data that is relatively important in the energy management plan can be thinned out while leaving the travel energy data that is relatively unimportant in the energy management plan, and the computational load in the estimation of the energy management plan can be reduced while suppressing the reduction in computational accuracy.

The embodiments described above can be expressed as follows.

A control device for a vehicle is provided with:

a storage device storing a program; and

a hardware processor is provided with a processor that,

executing, by the hardware processor, a program stored in the storage device to perform the following processing:

acquiring information related to a predetermined travel path of the vehicle;

generating first running energy data representing running energy per unit time required for the vehicle to run on a predetermined running path based on information related to the predetermined running path of the vehicle;

calculating a change amount of the running energy per unit time based on the first running energy data, and thinning out data representing the running energy for a period of time in which the change amount of the running energy per unit time is smaller than a prescribed value from the first running energy data, thereby generating second running energy data;

a charge-discharge plan of the power storage device when the vehicle travels on the predetermined travel path is generated based on the second travel energy data.

The specific embodiments of the present application have been described above using the embodiments, but the present application is not limited to such embodiments, and various modifications and substitutions can be made without departing from the scope of the present application.

Claims (10)

1. A control device for a vehicle, the vehicle comprising a power source, a power storage device, and an electric motor connected to drive wheels, the electric motor being drivable by supply of electric power from the power storage device and capable of supplying regenerative electric power generated during a regenerative operation to the power storage device,

the control device is provided with:

an information acquisition unit that acquires information on a predetermined travel path of the vehicle;

a first generation portion that generates first running energy data representing running energy per unit time required for the vehicle to run on a predetermined running path based on information related to the predetermined running path of the vehicle;

a second generation unit that calculates a change amount of running energy per unit time based on the first running energy data, and that generates second running energy data by thinning out data representing running energy for a period of time in which the change amount of running energy per unit time is smaller than a predetermined value from the first running energy data; and

and a charge/discharge planning unit that generates a charge/discharge plan of the power storage device when the vehicle travels on the predetermined travel path, based on the second travel energy data.

2. The control device of a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein,

the control device further includes a time-series data interpolation unit that interpolates a charge/discharge plan for a period of time corresponding to the travel energy data that has been thinned out by the second generation unit by linear interpolation with respect to the charge/discharge plan.

3. The control device for a vehicle according to claim 2, wherein,

the control device further includes a control unit that controls charging and discharging of the power storage device based on the plan data interpolated by the time-series data interpolation unit when the vehicle is traveling.

4. The control device of a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein,

the charge/discharge planning unit generates the charge/discharge plan that optimizes energy use efficiency by repeatedly executing a cycle simulation when the vehicle is traveling on the predetermined travel path.

5. The control device for a vehicle according to claim 4, wherein,

the charge/discharge planning unit repeatedly executes the cyclic simulation while adjusting a parameter value indicating a strength of a tendency of the electric storage device to be more easily charged or discharged until a predetermined optimization convergence condition is satisfied.

6. The control device for a vehicle according to claim 5, wherein,

the optimal convergence condition is a case where a remaining capacity of the power storage device becomes a prescribed value at a point in time when the vehicle reaches a terminal end of the predetermined travel path.

7. The control device for a vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein,

the information related to the predetermined travel path includes information indicating a vehicle speed and information indicating a road gradient.

8. The control device for a vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein,

the first generation unit shifts the respective values of the running energy per unit time by a predetermined value in consideration of the auxiliary machine power consumption.

9. A control method of a vehicle, which is a control method of a vehicle executed by a computer mounted on the vehicle,

the control method of the vehicle includes the following processes:

acquiring information related to a predetermined travel path of the vehicle;

generating first running energy data representing running energy per unit time required for the vehicle to run on a predetermined running path based on information related to the predetermined running path of the vehicle;

calculating a change amount of the running energy per unit time based on the first running energy data, and thinning out data representing the running energy for a period of time in which the change amount of the running energy per unit time is smaller than a prescribed value from the first running energy data, thereby generating second running energy data; and

a charge-discharge plan of the power storage device when the vehicle travels on the predetermined travel path is generated based on the second travel energy data.

10. A storage medium which is a non-transitory storage medium storing a program and which can be read by a computer, wherein,

the program causes a computer mounted on a vehicle to execute:

acquiring information related to a predetermined travel path of the vehicle;

generating first running energy data representing running energy per unit time required for the vehicle to run on a predetermined running path based on information related to the predetermined running path of the vehicle;

calculating a change amount of the running energy per unit time based on the first running energy data, and thinning out data representing the running energy for a period of time in which the change amount of the running energy per unit time is smaller than a prescribed value from the first running energy data, thereby generating second running energy data; and

a charge-discharge plan of the power storage device when the vehicle travels on the predetermined travel path is generated based on the second travel energy data.