JP2006219054A - Speed change controller of hybrid vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a transmission controller of a hybrid vehicle capable of increasing the fuel economy by suppressing unnecessary increase of engine speed. <P>SOLUTION: The hybrid vehicle has an engine E capable of cutting-off some of the cylinders and a motor M capable of supplying and receiving electric power from a battery 3 as a driving source, and transmits at least one of power of the engine E or power of the motor M to a front wheel Wf via a transmission T and travels. The transmission controller of the hybrid vehicle comprises a cylinder cutting-off determining means for determining whether to cut off some of the cylinders and a motor output determining means for determining whether to perform assistance with the motor M based on the remaining capacity of the battery 3. A transmission map of the transmission is changed based on the determination result of the cylinder cutting-off determining means and the motor output determining means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a shift control device for a hybrid vehicle including an engine capable of partial cylinder deactivation.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a hybrid vehicle that uses an engine and a motor as drive sources and transmits these driving forces to wheels via a transmission such as an automatic transmission. Some of such hybrid vehicles include a shift control device that performs shift control of an automatic transmission or the like based on a shift map between a vehicle speed and an engine speed. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
JP 2003-369604 A

By the way, in recent years, some hybrid vehicles include an engine capable of partial cylinder deactivation according to the vehicle state in order to further improve fuel efficiency. When the above-described shift control device is employed in such a hybrid vehicle, the same shift map is used regardless of partial cylinder deactivation operation and all cylinder operation of the engine. Even if the engine torque is insufficient at this time, the engine torque may be secured by switching the engine to all-cylinder operation without downshifting. For this reason, there is a problem that the frequency of the partial cylinder deactivation of the engine is reduced and fuel efficiency cannot be improved.
Further, since the same shift map is used both when the motor assist is performed when the partial cylinder is deactivated and when the battery remaining amount is reduced and the motor assist is not performed, the engine is used when the former motor assist is performed. There is a problem that the number of revolutions increases unnecessarily and fuel efficiency cannot be improved.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a shift control device for a hybrid vehicle that can suppress an unnecessary increase in engine speed and improve fuel efficiency.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the invention described in claim 1 includes an engine (for example, engine E in the embodiment) capable of deactivating some cylinders and a battery (for example, battery 3 in the embodiment). A motor (for example, the motor M in the embodiment) capable of transmitting and receiving electric power to the motor as a drive source, and at least one of the engine or the power of the motor is used as a transmission (for example, the transmission T in the embodiment). In a shift control device for a hybrid vehicle that travels by transmitting to a wheel (for example, the front wheel Wf in the embodiment) via a cylinder, a cylinder deactivation determination means (for example, an embodiment) that determines whether or not to deactivate some cylinders Motor output determination for determining whether or not to assist the motor based on the remaining capacity of the battery in step S2) Stage (e.g., step S4 in the embodiment) and a, wherein the Mochikaeru the shift map of the transmission based on a determination result of said cylinder deactivation determination means and motor output determination means.
With this configuration, the optimum speed change can be achieved when the engine cylinder is deactivated based on the determination result of the cylinder deactivation determination unit and when the motor assist is performed based on the determination result of the motor output determination unit. Shift control can be performed by switching to a map.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the shift map is composed of a normal shift map and a plurality of shift maps set so as to shift at a lower vehicle speed side than the normal shift map. It is characterized by.
With this configuration, when a shift is made with a plurality of shift maps set to shift at a lower vehicle speed than the normal shift map, the shift is performed at a lower vehicle speed than the normal shift map. It can be carried out.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a plurality of shift maps set to shift at a lower vehicle speed side than the normal shift map are used when the cylinder of the engine is not deactivated, or the driving force of the engine Is switched when it can be assisted by the motor.
With this configuration, it is possible to suppress an increase in the rotational speed of the engine when cylinder deactivation of the engine that consumes a large amount of energy is not performed, or when assistance is provided by the motor.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, when the cylinder of the engine is not deactivated, the shift map is changed to a shift map set so as to shift at the lowest vehicle speed side.
By configuring in this way, it is possible to shift up at the lowest vehicle speed side when cylinder deactivation of the engine with a large fuel injection amount of the engine is not performed.

The invention described in claim 5 is characterized in that the cylinder deactivation determination means makes a cylinder deactivation determination of the engine based on at least the water temperature of the engine.
With this configuration, for example, when it is determined that the water temperature of the engine is sufficiently high, it is possible to shift to cylinder deactivation of the engine.

The invention described in claim 6 is characterized in that the assist by the motor is performed when the remaining capacity of the battery is within a predetermined range below the overcharge region.
With this configuration, when the remaining battery capacity is within a predetermined range below the overcharge region, the motor can actively assist.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, after the shift map of the transmission is changed based on the cylinder deactivation determination unit and the motor output determination unit, the determination condition of the cylinder deactivation determination unit or the motor output determination unit is changed. In this case, the shifting of the shift map is prohibited.
By configuring in this way, for example, even if the remaining battery capacity fluctuates due to cruise charging, the shift map can be maintained as it is.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, when the remaining capacity of the battery or the determination condition of the cylinder deactivation determination unit changes after changing the shift map of the transmission based on the cylinder deactivation determination unit and the motor output determination unit The shift map is changed based on the determination condition after the change.
By configuring in this way, for example, when the remaining battery capacity fluctuates during cruise charging, the shift map can be changed to improve drivability.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, at the time of cylinder deactivation of the engine performed based on the determination result of the cylinder deactivation determination unit and at the time of assist by the motor performed based on the determination result of the motor output determination unit, Since the shift control can be performed by switching to the optimal shift map, it is possible to suppress unnecessary cylinder switching of the engine and unnecessary increase in the engine speed, and to improve fuel efficiency.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, when the shift map is changed with a plurality of shift maps set to shift at a lower vehicle speed side than the normal shift map, Since the shift can be performed at a lower vehicle speed side than the shift map, there is an effect that an increase in engine speed can be suppressed and fuel consumption can be improved.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the second aspect, the engine speed increases when the cylinder of the engine that consumes a large amount of energy is not deactivated or when the assist is performed by the motor. Therefore, it is possible to improve fuel consumption.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the third aspect, when the cylinder stop of the engine having a large fuel injection amount of the engine is not performed, the upshift is performed at the lowest vehicle speed side. Therefore, there is an effect that the increase in the rotational speed can be further suppressed and the fuel consumption can be improved.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above-described effects, for example, when it is determined that the engine water temperature is sufficiently high, the engine can be shifted to cylinder deactivation. There is an effect that it is possible to make a cylinder deactivation determination.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above-described effect, the motor can be positively assisted when the remaining battery capacity is within a predetermined range that is equal to or lower than the overcharge region, so that the engine speed increases. This has the effect of suppressing fuel consumption and improving fuel efficiency.

  According to the seventh aspect of the invention, in addition to the above-described effect, for example, even if the remaining capacity of the battery fluctuates due to cruise charging, the shift map can be maintained as it is. This has the effect of suppressing fuel consumption and improving fuel efficiency.

  According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, for example, when the remaining capacity of the battery fluctuates due to cruise charging, the shift map can be changed to improve drivability, so that merchantability can be improved. effective.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a parallel hybrid vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which an engine E, a motor M, and a transmission T are directly connected in series. The driving forces of both the engine E and the motor M are transmitted to the front wheels Wf (which may be rear wheels or front and rear wheels) via the transmission (transmission) T which is an AT (automatic transmission). Further, when the driving force is transmitted from the front wheel Wf side to the motor M side during deceleration of the hybrid vehicle, the motor M functions as a generator to generate a so-called regenerative braking force and recovers the kinetic energy of the vehicle body as electric energy. .

  The drive and regenerative operation of the motor M are performed by the power drive unit (PDU) 2 in response to a control command from the control unit (ECU) 1. The power drive unit 2 is connected to a motor M and a high-voltage nickel-hydrogen battery (hereinafter simply referred to as a battery) 3 that transmits and receives electrical energy. Reference numeral 4 denotes a 12-volt auxiliary battery for driving various auxiliary machines. The auxiliary battery 4 is connected to the battery 3 through a downverter 5 which is a DC-DC converter. The downverter 5 controlled by the control unit 1 steps down the voltage of the battery 3 and charges the auxiliary battery 4. The control unit 1 protects the battery 3 and calculates its remaining capacity SOC (State of Charge).

  In addition to the downverter 5, the control unit 1 is connected to a fuel supply amount control means (not shown) for controlling the fuel supply amount to the engine E. The fuel supply amount control means controls the ignition timing and the like. The control unit 1 includes a signal from the vehicle speed sensor s1 that detects the vehicle speed (VP), a signal from the engine speed sensor s2 that detects the engine speed (NE), and a transmission T A signal from the shift position sensor s3 for detecting the shift position (SH) of the vehicle, a signal from the brake sensor s4 for detecting the operation of the brake (Br) pedal, and an accelerator pedal opening for detecting the opening (AP) of the accelerator pedal. A signal from the degree sensor s5, a signal from the throttle opening sensor s6 for detecting the throttle opening (TH), and the engine A signal from an intake air quantity sensor s7 for detecting an amount of intake air (AF), signals from the battery temperature sensor s8 for detecting the temperature of the battery 3 (TBAT) is input.

  BS indicates a braking booster linked to a brake pedal, and a negative pressure sensor s9 for detecting a negative pressure is provided in a negative pressure pipe of the braking booster BS. The negative pressure sensor s9 is also connected to the control unit 1. Further, a POIL (hydraulic pressure) sensor s10, a solenoid of the spool valve 6, and a TOIL (oil temperature) sensor s11, which will be described later, are connected to the control unit 1.

  The engine E is a so-called SOHC V-type 6-cylinder engine, in which the three cylinders in one bank have a variable valve timing mechanism VT capable of cylinder deactivation, and the three cylinders in the other bank have cylinder deactivation operation. The structure is provided with a normal valve mechanism (not shown) that does not perform the operation. In each of the three cylinders capable of cylinder deactivation, two intake valves and two exhaust valves are closed by the variable valve timing mechanism VT via the hydraulic pump 7, the spool valve 6, the cylinder deactivation side passage 8, and the cylinder deactivation release side passage 9. It has a structure that can be maintained.

  Specifically, when a part of the hydraulic oil supplied from the hydraulic pump 7 to the engine lubrication system is supplied to the cylinder deactivation side passage 8 of the bank where cylinder deactivation is possible via the spool valve 6, The cam lift rocker arm 11a (11b) and the valve drive rocker arms 12a, 12a (12b, 12b) that have been supported and driven together are separated and can be driven by the rotation of the camshaft 13. The driving force of the cam lift rocker arms 11a, 11b is not transmitted to the valve drive rocker arms 12a, 12b, and the intake valve and the exhaust valve remain closed. Thereby, the cylinder deactivation operation in which the intake valves and the exhaust valves of the three cylinders are closed can be performed. The cylinder deactivation release side passage 9 is provided with the POIL sensor s10 for detecting the oil pressure of the cylinder deactivation release side passage 9 during cylinder deactivation, and the TOIL for detecting the oil temperature in the lubrication system pipe 14 of the hydraulic pump 7. A sensor s11 is provided. Reference numeral 15 denotes an electric oil pump, and 16 denotes an electronic control throttle.

  Therefore, the engine E performs a three-cylinder operation (partial cylinder deactivation operation) in which three cylinders in one bank are deactivated and a six-cylinder operation (all cylinder operation) in which all six cylinders in both banks are driven. It will be switched.

  FIG. 3 shows changes in the remaining battery charge SOC (vertical axis) with respect to time (horizontal axis). Here, in the control unit 1 described above, four zones are set as zoning (so-called zoning) of the remaining battery capacity SOC calculated based on, for example, voltage, discharge current, temperature, and the like. Specifically, the zone A (SOC 45% to SOC 75%), which is a normal use area, is used as a base, and the zone B (SOC 25% to SOC 45%), which is a temporary use area, is provided below the zone A. C (SOC 0% to SOC 25%) is partitioned. On the other hand, on zone A, zone D (SOC 75% to SOC 100%), which is an overcharge region, is provided.

  For example, when the remaining battery capacity SOC is 80% and in the zone D, the assist amount by the motor M is increased, and the power generation amount during cruise is decreased, for example, so that the battery tends to discharge, and the normal operation is performed. It is made to be within the range of zone A, which is the use area. On the other hand, when the remaining battery capacity SOC is 20% and 30%, respectively, in the zone B and the zone C below the zone A, the assist by the motor M is limited, and the power generation amount is set to be large, The battery is controlled to have a charging tendency so as to be within the range of zone A. In other words, the control by the motor M can be actively performed by controlling the remaining battery charge SOC to be within the range of the zone A as much as possible.

  By the way, the above-described shift change of the transmission T such as AT is performed in accordance with a control command from the control unit 1. In the control unit 1, a plurality of shift maps for determining the gear stage based on the vehicle speed V and the engine speed NE are stored in advance, and the optimum shift map is changed according to the driving state described later. Yes.

Next, the shift map changing process will be described based on the flowchart of FIG.
First, in step S1, for example, based on the remaining battery capacity SOC, the vehicle speed VP, the engine speed NE, the accelerator pedal opening AP, and the shift position SH, the partial cylinder deactivation permission condition is determined, and the process proceeds to step S2. In step S2 (cylinder deactivation determination means), it is determined whether or not partial cylinder deactivation of the engine is possible. Specifically, whether or not the partial cylinder of the engine can be stopped is finally determined based on whether or not the engine coolant temperature TW is equal to or higher than a predetermined water temperature (for example, about 75 ° C.). Here, the engine cooling water temperature TW is used as a parameter for determining whether or not partial cylinder deactivation of the engine is possible. When the engine cooling water temperature TW is low, the load on the engine is large and the partial cylinder deactivation of the engine should be performed. It is not.

  If the determination result in step S2 is “YES” (partial cylinder deactivation is possible), the process proceeds to step S3. If the determination result is “NO” (partial cylinder deactivation is not possible), all cylinder operation is continued as it is. Proceed to S7. In step S3, three of the six cylinders are deactivated in order to perform partial cylinder deactivation of the engine, and the process proceeds to step S4. In step S4 (motor output determination means), it is determined whether or not the remaining battery charge SOC is within a predetermined range (zone A). If the determination result is “YES” (within a predetermined range), the process proceeds to step S5, and if the determination result is “NO”, the process proceeds to step S6. In step S5, the process shifts to the first shift map and returns. In step S6, the process shifts to the second shift map and returns. Further, in step S7, the process shifts to the third shift map and returns.

  Here, the second shift map is a normal map having the highest reference frequency. For example, the vehicle speed at which the transmission T is shifted up under the condition that the accelerator pedal opening is low is set in all the shift maps. The highest vehicle speed is set (for example, the shift-up from the third speed to the fourth speed is about 44 km / h). On the other hand, in the first shift map, for example, the vehicle speed shifted up from the second shift map is set to a low vehicle speed (for example, the shift up from the third speed to the fourth speed is about 42 km / h). Furthermore, in the third shift map, the vehicle speed shifted up from the first shift map is set to a lower vehicle speed (for example, the shift up from the third speed to the fourth speed is about 40 km / h), Upshifting is performed at the lowest vehicle speed side.

  That is, the fuel injection amount is reduced by half and the fuel consumption is improved in the three-cylinder operation that is the partial cylinder deactivation operation than in the six-cylinder operation that is the full-cylinder operation. When the assist is performed, the engine is shifted up at a lower speed than when the motor assist is not performed in the three-cylinder operation. Therefore, the engine speed when the motor assist is performed in the three-cylinder operation is lower. As a result, it is possible to actively assist the motor and reduce the fuel injection amount to each cylinder of the engine.

  In addition, since each of the shift maps is used to shift up on the lowest speed side and the engine speed is maintained at the lowest speed and the fuel injection amount to each cylinder is suppressed, six cylinders are operated. Thus, the fuel consumption reduction effect of 6 cylinders can be obtained. Therefore, the fuel consumption reduction effect can be maximized as compared with the case of using this map during the 3-cylinder operation.

  Therefore, according to the above-described embodiment, the control unit 1 can make a final determination of partial cylinder deactivation based on the engine coolant temperature TW, and therefore, the process shifts to partial cylinder deactivation of the engine E with a simple process. As a result, the frequency of shifting the engine E to the partial cylinder deactivation operation can be improved.

  When the engine coolant temperature TW is sufficiently high, three cylinders, half of the six cylinders, are deactivated, and the motor assist is performed when the remaining battery capacity SOC is in a zone B or lower region or a zone D or higher region. It is possible to control the vehicle to be driven only by the engine E that is not in use and is in partial cylinder deactivation. At this time, since the shift change of the transmission T can be performed with reference to the second shift map, the shift change can be performed on the higher rotation side than the first shift map when the motor assist is used. As shown in FIG. 3, when the remaining battery capacity SOC is decreasing (in the figure, SOC 20% in zone C or SOC 30% in zone B), the amount of power generation is increased by the amount that the engine speed becomes high. Can be increased.

  Further, when the remaining battery capacity SOC is within the range of zone A when the partial cylinder is deactivated, the motor assist can be actively performed, and at this time, the shift change of the transmission T is performed with reference to the first shift map. Therefore, it is possible to shift up earlier than when referring to the second shift map, and as a result, unnecessary increase in engine speed can be suppressed and fuel consumption can be improved.

  When the engine coolant temperature TW is low and the partial cylinder deactivation operation of the engine E is impossible, fuel is injected into all six cylinders. Therefore, the fuel consumption is the largest if the engine speed is the same. However, by shifting up the transmission T with reference to the third shift map, it is possible to shift up on the lowest speed side of each shift map, so that an unnecessary increase in engine speed is suppressed. Further fuel efficiency can be improved.

  Further, when referring to each shift map, the remaining battery capacity SOC and the engine coolant temperature TW change, for example, the state where the engine E can be partially deactivated is changed to a state where it is not possible. In addition, even if this reverse change occurs, it can be changed to a shift map according to the remaining battery capacity SOC after change and the engine coolant temperature TW, so that a decrease in drivability is prevented. Productivity can be improved.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and in addition to shifting up from the third speed to the fourth speed, shifting up from the second speed to the third speed or from the fourth speed to the fifth speed is performed on the low speed side. May be set. Further, when the remaining battery charge SOC is other than zone A, the shift map may be changed after charge / discharge control is performed so as to fall within the range of zone A.

  In the above-described embodiment, when the remaining battery capacity SOC or the engine coolant temperature TW changes, the shift map is changed according to the changed driving state. However, as another aspect, the remaining battery capacity SOC or the engine Even if the cooling water temperature TW changes, the shift map before the change may be referred to continuously. In this case, the engine speed can be maintained on the low speed side by maintaining an early shift-up, which is suitable when priority is given to improving fuel consumption.

1 is a system diagram of a hybrid vehicle in an embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart of the shift map change process in the embodiment of the present invention. It is an area | region map of the battery remaining capacity in embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

3 Battery E Engine M Motor T Transmission (Transmission)
Wf Front wheel (wheel)
Step S2 Cylinder deactivation determination means Step S4 Motor output determination means

Claims (8)

  An engine capable of deactivating some cylinders and a motor capable of transmitting and receiving electric power to a battery are provided as drive sources, and at least one of the engine or power of the motor is transmitted to wheels via a transmission. In a shift control device for a traveling hybrid vehicle, cylinder deactivation determination means for determining whether or not some cylinders are deactivated, and motor output determination means for determining whether or not to assist by the motor based on the remaining capacity of the battery A shift control device for a hybrid vehicle, wherein the shift map of the transmission is changed based on the determination results of the cylinder deactivation determination means and the motor output determination means.   2. The shift map according to claim 1, wherein the shift map includes a normal shift map and a plurality of shift maps set so as to shift at a lower vehicle speed than the normal shift map. A shift control device for a hybrid vehicle.   The plurality of shift maps set to shift at a lower vehicle speed side than the normal shift map is when the cylinder of the engine is not deactivated or when the driving force of the engine can be assisted by the motor. The shift control apparatus for a hybrid vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the shift control apparatus is switched.   4. The shift control apparatus for a hybrid vehicle according to claim 3, wherein when the cylinder is not deactivated, the engine is switched to a shift map set to shift at the lowest vehicle speed.   5. The shift control apparatus for a hybrid vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the cylinder deactivation determination unit makes a cylinder deactivation determination of the engine based on at least a water temperature of the engine.   The shift control device for a hybrid vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the motor assists when the remaining capacity of the battery is within a predetermined range equal to or less than an overcharge region.   When changing the shift map of the transmission based on the cylinder deactivation determination unit and the motor output determination unit and changing the determination condition of the cylinder deactivation determination unit or the motor output determination unit, it is prohibited to switch the shift map. The shift control apparatus for a hybrid vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: If the remaining capacity of the battery or the determination condition of the cylinder deactivation determination means changes after changing the shift map of the transmission based on the cylinder deactivation determination means and the motor output determination means, based on the determination condition after the change And changing the shift map.
The transmission for a hybrid vehicle according to claim 6.

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