JP2011168232A - Electric automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To further properly restrain a temperature rise in a battery, by controlling an electric motor and a cooling fan so that request driving force is outputted to an axle in an intake high temperature time input-output restriction range of imposing restriction severer than input restriction set while blowing air of the upper limit air volume to the battery. <P>SOLUTION: In the electric automobile, when a seat position RSp is the forefront position RSpf, the intake temperature Tc exceeds the upper limit intake temperature Tcref and the battery temperature Tb is the determining temperature Tbref or more (S100-S120), when the ordinary air volume Wn is smaller than the maximum air volume Wmax, maximum air volume control for driving the cooling fan 46 is performed so that the air of the upper limit air volume Wmax is blown and ordinary input-output restriction control is performed for driving a motor MG in a range of input-output restriction Win and Wout (S130 and S150), and when the ordinary air volume Wn is the upper limit air volume Wmax, the maximum air volume control for controlling the cooling fan 46 is performed so that the air of the upper limit air volume Wmax is blown, and high temperature time input-output restriction control is performed for driving the motor MG in a range of high temperature time input-output restriction Winh and Wouth (S130 and S160). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electric vehicle.

  Conventionally, as this type of electric vehicle, a vehicle including a battery and a cooling fan that blows air taken from an intake port provided in the vehicle compartment to the battery has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1). . In this automobile, with the above-described configuration, the battery can be sufficiently cooled using the cold air conditioned in the passenger compartment.

JP 2008-11945 A

  In the above-described electric vehicle, the battery is cooled using cold air conditioned in the passenger compartment. However, depending on the installation position of the intake port and the seat position, the intake port may be blocked to sufficiently cool the battery. Battery temperature may rise. For example, in an electric vehicle in which an air inlet is formed in the lower part of the front surface of a rear seat that can move in the front-rear direction, when the rear seat is moved from the normal seat position to the foremost position, the space in front of the air inlet is blocked by the front seat. Therefore, it may be difficult to introduce the air cooled by the air conditioner in the passenger compartment to the space in front of the intake port, and the battery may not be sufficiently cooled and the temperature of the battery may increase.

  The main object of the electric vehicle of the present invention is to more appropriately suppress an increase in battery temperature in an electric vehicle in which air taken from an air inlet provided in a vehicle compartment is blown to a battery by a cooling fan.

  The electric vehicle of the present invention employs the following means in order to achieve the main object described above.

The electric vehicle of the present invention is
An electric motor capable of outputting power to the axle; a battery that exchanges electric power with the electric motor; and a rear seat that can move to a predetermined front position in the vicinity of the front seat and that has an intake port formed in the lower portion of the front surface. An air intake duct that introduces air from the air intake of the rear seat, a cooling fan that blows air introduced into the air intake duct to the battery, and a required air volume required for the cooling fan based on the temperature of the battery And setting the input / output restriction as the maximum power that can charge and discharge the battery based on the temperature of the battery and blowing the air of the set required air volume from the cooling fan. An electric vehicle comprising: control means for controlling the electric motor and the cooling fan so that a required driving force required for traveling is output to the axle within the range of ,
A rear seat position detecting means for detecting the position of the rear seat;
When the detected position of the rear seat is the predetermined front position, the control means is configured such that when the set required air volume is less than the upper limit air volume that can be blown from the cooling fan, the air of the upper limit air volume is And the motor and the cooling fan are controlled so that the required driving force is output to the axle within the set input / output limit range, and the set required air volume is the upper limit air volume. In some cases, the required driving force is output to the axle within the range of the input / output limit at the time of high intake air temperature that imposes a stricter limit than the set input / output limit. A means for controlling the electric motor and the cooling fan;
It is characterized by that.

  In the electric vehicle of the present invention, when the detected rear seat is at a predetermined front position, when the set required air volume is less than the upper limit air volume that can be blown from the cooling fan, air of the upper limit air volume is blown to the battery. The electric motor and the cooling fan are controlled so that the required driving force is output to the axle within the set input / output limit range. When the rear seat is at the predetermined front position, the front seat closes the space in front of the air intake, so that the cool air in the passenger compartment cooled by the air conditioner or the like is hardly introduced to the space in front of the air intake. It is presumed that the battery cannot be sufficiently cooled even when the required air volume is blown from the cooling fan, and the temperature of the battery rises. In this case, when the set required air volume is less than the upper limit air volume that can be blown from the cooling fan, the air of the upper air volume is blown to the battery and the required driving force is output to the axle within the set input / output limit range. Thus, by controlling the electric motor and the cooling fan, it is possible to promote the cooling of the battery and suppress the temperature rise of the battery. When the set required air volume is the upper limit air volume, the air of the upper air volume is blown to the battery and the required driving force is within the range of the input / output limit at the time of high intake air temperature, which is more restrictive than the set input / output limit. The motor and the cooling fan are controlled so that is output to the axle. When the set required air volume is the upper limit air volume, the air volume from the cooling fan cannot be increased any more, but in this case, the limit is stricter than the input limit set while blowing the air of the upper air volume to the battery. By controlling the electric motor and the cooling fan so that the required driving force is output to the axle within the range of input / output restriction at high intake air temperature that imposes, it is possible to increase the chances that the driving of the electric motor is restricted, The electric power charged / discharged by the battery can be reduced to suppress the temperature rise of the battery. As a result, it is possible to suppress the battery temperature from rising more appropriately.

It is a block diagram which shows the outline of a structure of the electric vehicle 20 as one Example of this invention. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a drive control routine executed by an electronic control unit 50.

  Next, the form for implementing this invention is demonstrated using an Example.

  FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an outline of a configuration of an electric vehicle 20 as an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, an electric vehicle 20 according to the embodiment includes a motor configured as, for example, a PM type synchronous generator motor capable of inputting / outputting power to / from a drive shaft 32 connected to drive wheels 30a and 30b via a differential gear 31. MG, a battery 24 that is arranged behind the rear seat 40 of the vehicle and configured as, for example, a lithium ion secondary battery and exchanges electric power with the motor MG via an inverter 22 that drives the motor MG, and intake air at the lower part of the front surface A rear seat 40 in which the opening 42 is formed, an intake duct 44 for introducing air from the intake opening 42, a cooling fan 46 for blowing the air introduced from the intake duct 44 to the battery 24, and electronic control for controlling the entire vehicle. A unit 50. The rear seat 40 is configured to be moved from a position suitable for a normal occupant to a seat to a foremost position RSpf which is a position in contact with the front seat 48 in front of the vehicle.

  The electronic control unit 50 is configured as a microprocessor centered on the CPU 52, and includes a ROM 54 for storing a processing program, a RAM 56 for temporarily storing data, and an input / output port (not shown) in addition to the CPU 52. The electronic control unit 50 detects the rotational position from a rotational position detection sensor (not shown) that detects the rotational position of the motor MG, the battery temperature Tb from the temperature sensor 24b that detects the temperature of the battery 24, and the position of the rear seat 40. The seat position RSp from the position detection sensor 40b, the intake air temperature Tc from the temperature sensor 44b that is attached to the intake duct 44 and detects the temperature of the air in the intake duct 44, the ignition signal from the ignition switch 60, and the operation position of the shift lever 61 The shift position SP from the shift position sensor 62 that detects the depression, the accelerator opening Acc from the accelerator pedal position sensor 64 that detects the depression amount of the accelerator pedal 63, and the brake pedal position sensor 66 that detects the depression amount of the brake pedal 65 Brake pen Le position BP, and a vehicle speed V from a vehicle speed sensor 68 is input through the input port. From the electronic control unit 50, a switching control signal to the switching element of the inverter 22 for driving and controlling the motor MG, a driving signal for driving and controlling the cooling fan 46, and the like are output via the output port.

  The electric vehicle 20 of the embodiment basically travels by the following drive control executed by the electronic control unit 50. That is, the electronic control unit 50 first sets the required torque Tr * required for the drive shaft 32 for traveling according to the accelerator opening Acc from the accelerator pedal position sensor 64 and the vehicle speed V from the vehicle speed sensor 68. The input / output limits Win and Wout are set as the maximum power that can charge and discharge the battery 24 based on the battery temperature Tb, and the required torque Tr * is driven within the set range of the input / output limits Win and Wout. Is set as the torque command Tm * of the motor MG so that the motor 22 is driven by the torque command Tm *. The electric vehicle 20 according to the embodiment can travel by outputting the required torque Tr * from the motor MG to the drive shaft 32 within the range of the input / output limits Win and Wout of the battery 24 by such control.

  In the electric vehicle 20 of the embodiment, basically, the normal air volume Wn set based on the battery temperature Tb is set as the required air volume Wr * required for the cooling fan 46, and the air is blown from the cooling fan 46. The drive command Tf * of the cooling fan 46 is set so that the required air volume Wr * is set, and the cooling fan 46 is controlled so that the cooling fan 46 is driven by the drive command Tf *. The normal air volume Wn is set by setting an upper limit intake air temperature Tcref (for example, 34.5), which is set in advance as the upper limit temperature of the normal temperature range of the air in the vehicle interior during traveling or slightly higher than the upper limit temperature. The relationship between the coolable air volume that can cool the battery 24 well and the battery temperature Tb is stored in advance in the ROM 54 as an air volume setting map, and the battery temperature Tb. , The corresponding coolable air volume is set as the normal air volume Wn, and the higher the battery temperature Tb, the higher the battery temperature Tb. The predetermined temperature Tbcri (for example, 41) is higher than the upper limit temperature when the battery 24 is normally operated. The maximum air volume Wmax determined in advance as the air volume that can be blown from the cooling fan 46 It was assumed to set the Tsunekazeryou Wn. By such control, the battery 24 can be appropriately cooled according to the battery temperature Tb.

  Next, the operation of the electric vehicle 20 of the embodiment thus configured, particularly the operation when the cooling fan 46 and the motor MG are driven when the seat position RSp of the rear seat 40 is at the foremost position RSpf will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of a drive control routine executed by the electronic control unit 50. This routine is repeatedly executed every predetermined time (for example, every several msec).

  In the drive control routine, first, a process of checking whether or not the seat position RSp from the position detection sensor 40b for detecting the position of the rear seat 40 is at the forefront position RSpf is executed (step S100). The reason why the seat position RSp is in the forefront position RSpf is to determine whether or not the temperature of the battery 24 is estimated to rise. This is because when the seat position RSp is at the foremost position RSpf, the front seat 48 is in contact with the front seat 48 and the space in front of the air inlet 42 formed in the lower portion of the rear seat 40 is blocked by the front seat 48. Since the cold air cooled by an air conditioner (not shown) in the passenger compartment is difficult to be introduced from the air inlet 42, the battery 24 can be sufficiently cooled even if the air volume of the cooling fan 46 is set to the normal air volume Wn. Is estimated to rise.

  When the seat position RSp is not the foremost position RSpf (step S100), it is determined that the temperature of the battery 24 does not increase, and the normal air volume Wn set based on the battery temperature Tb is set as the required air volume Wr * of the cooling fan 46. Then, the drive command Tf * of the cooling fan 46 is set so that the air volume blown from the cooling fan 46 becomes the set required air volume Wr *, and the cooling fan 46 is controlled to be driven by the drive command Tf *. And the input / output set based on the battery temperature Tb by setting the required torque Tr * based on the accelerator opening degree Acc from the accelerator pedal position sensor 64 and the vehicle speed V from the vehicle speed sensor 68. The torque of the motor MG is adjusted so that the required torque Tr * is output to the drive shaft 32 within the limits of the limits Win and Wout. Run the normal output limit control for switching control of the inverter 22 to command Tm * motor MG by setting is driven by the torque command Tm * (step S140), and terminates this routine. With this control, when the seat position RSp is not the frontmost position RSpf, the required torque Tr * is applied to the drive shaft 32 within the range of the input / output limits Win and Wout of the battery 24 while appropriately cooling the battery 24 according to the battery temperature Tb. It can output and run.

  When the seat position RSp is the foremost position RSpf (step S100), it is determined that the temperature of the battery 24 is increased because the space in front of the air inlet 42 is blocked, and then the suction position RSpf is determined. The temperature Tc is compared with the upper limit intake air temperature Tcref (step S110). When the intake air temperature Tc is equal to or lower than the upper limit intake air temperature Tcref, although the temperature rise of the battery 24 is estimated, the actual intake air temperature Tc is not so high. It is determined that sufficient cooling is possible, normal air volume control and normal input / output restriction control are executed (step S140), and this routine is terminated. By such control, even when the seat position RSp is the foremost position RSpf, when the intake air temperature Tc is equal to or lower than the determination temperature Tcref, the battery 24 is appropriately cooled and requested within the range of the input / output limits Win and Wout of the battery 24. The vehicle can travel by outputting the torque Tr * to the drive shaft 32. In addition, an increase in power consumption of the cooling fan can be suppressed as compared to the case where maximum air volume control described later is performed.

  When the intake air temperature Tc exceeds the upper limit intake air temperature Tcref (step S110), since the intake air temperature Tc is actually high, the battery 24 cannot be sufficiently cooled even if the normal air volume Wn is blown from the cooling fan 46. Then, the battery temperature Tb from the temperature sensor 24b that detects the temperature of the battery 24 is compared with the determination battery temperature Tbref (step S120). The determination battery temperature Tbref is slightly higher than the upper limit temperature and the upper limit temperature when the battery 24 is normally operated, and is lower than a predetermined temperature Tbcri at which the normal air volume Wn becomes the maximum air volume Wmax (for example, 39.5 ° C., 40 ° C., 40 .5 ° C.).

  When the battery temperature Tb is equal to or higher than the determination battery temperature Tbref (step S120), it is determined that the cooling of the battery 24 should be promoted because the temperature of the battery 24 actually increases, and then the battery temperature Tb The normal air volume Wn set based on the above is examined (step S130). When the normal air volume Wn is less than the predetermined maximum air volume Wmax as the air volume that can be blown from the cooling fan 46, the maximum air volume Wmax is set to the required air volume Wr *, and the set required air volume Wr * is blown from the cooling fan 46. The cooling fan 46 drive command Tf * is set so that the cooling fan 46 is driven by the drive command Tf *, and the maximum air volume control for controlling the cooling fan 46 is executed and the normal input / output restriction control is executed ( Step S150), this routine is finished. Now, the case where the intake air temperature Tc exceeds the upper limit intake air temperature Tcref is considered. By setting the air volume of the cooling fan 46 to the maximum air volume Wmax, the air volume of the cooling fan 46 is changed to the normal air volume Wn (here, the maximum air volume). Compared with the case where the air volume is less than Wmax), the cooling of the battery 24 can be promoted, and the temperature rise of the battery 24 can be suppressed. And since such control is performed before the temperature of the battery 24 reaches high temperature (for example, predetermined temperature Tcri), the temperature rise of the battery 24 can be suppressed more appropriately. Of course, the required torque Tr * can be output to the drive shaft 32 within the range of the input / output limits Win and Wout of the battery 24 to travel.

  When the normal air volume Wn set based on the battery temperature Tb is the maximum air volume Wmax (step S130), since the air volume of the cooling fan 46 cannot be increased any more, the maximum air volume Wmax is set to the required air volume W *. Then, the drive command Tf * of the cooling fan 46 is set so that the air volume blown from the cooling fan 46 becomes the set required air volume Wr *, and the cooling fan 46 is controlled so that the cooling fan 46 is driven by the drive command Tf *. The high-temperature input / output limits Winh and Wouth are set, and the set high-temperature input / output is set by setting a stricter limit so that the absolute value becomes smaller than the set input / output limits Win and Wout. Torque command Tm of the motor MG so that the required torque Tr * is output to the drive shaft 32 within the limits of the limits Winh and Wouth. Set, the inverter 22 so that the motor MG is driven with the torque command Tm * by executing the high temperature output limit control for switching control (step S160), and terminates this routine. Thereby, the opportunity which restrict | limits the drive of motor MG and restrict | limits the electric power which charges / discharges a battery from the time of performing normal input / output restriction | limiting can be increased, and the temperature rise of the battery 24 can be suppressed.

  When the battery temperature Tb is lower than the determination battery temperature Tbref (step S120), the seat position RSp of the rear seat is the front position RSpf and the intake air temperature Tc is high, but the battery temperature Tb is Since it is not so high as to affect the service life, it is determined that the temperature rise of the battery 24 can be allowed, normal air volume control and normal input / output restriction control are executed (step S140), and this routine is terminated. By such control, even when the seat position RSp is the foremost position RSpf and the intake air temperature Tc exceeds the upper limit temperature Tcref, when the battery temperature Tb is lower than the determination battery temperature Tbref, the normal air volume control is performed to perform the maximum. The power consumption of the cooling fan 46 can be reduced as compared with the case where the air volume control is executed, and the reduction of the energy efficiency of the entire vehicle can be prevented.

  According to the electric vehicle 20 of the embodiment described above, when the seat position RSp is the foremost position RSpf, the cooling fan 46 is driven so that the air of the upper limit air volume Wmax is blown when the normal air volume Wn is smaller than the maximum air volume Wmax. Since the maximum air volume control is executed and the normal input / output restriction control for driving the motor MG with the torque command Tm * restricted by the input / output restrictions Win and Wout is executed, the cooling of the battery 24 is promoted and the temperature of the battery 24 rises. Can be suppressed. Further, when the normal air volume Wn is the upper limit air volume Wmax, the maximum air volume control for controlling the cooling fan 46 is executed so that the air of the upper air volume Wmax is blown, and the torque command Tm * limited by the high temperature input / output limits Winh and Wouth. Since the high-temperature input / output restriction control for driving the motor MG is executed, it is possible to limit the drive of the motor MG2 and limit the power for charging / discharging the battery 24, thereby increasing the temperature of the battery 24. It can suppress and it can suppress that the battery 24 reaches high temperature. Such control can suppress the battery 24 from reaching a high temperature more appropriately.

  The correspondence between the main elements of the embodiment and the main elements of the invention described in the column of means for solving the problems will be described. In the embodiment, the motor MG corresponds to the “electric motor”, the battery 24 corresponds to the “battery”, the rear seat 40 corresponds to the “rear seat”, the intake duct 44 corresponds to the “intake duct”, and the cooling fan When 46 is equivalent to a “cooling fan”, the position detection sensor 40b is equivalent to “rear seat position detection means”, and the seat position RSp is the frontmost position RSpf, the normal air volume Wn set based on the battery temperature Tb is set. When the normal air volume Wn is less than the maximum air volume Wmax determined in advance as the air volume that can be blown from the cooling fan 46, the required air volume Wr * set by setting the maximum air volume Wmax to the required air volume Wr * is blown from the cooling fan 46. When the drive command Tf * of the cooling fan 46 is set, and the maximum air flow control for controlling the cooling fan 46 so that the cooling fan 46 is driven by the drive command Tf * is executed. The normal input / output restriction control is executed, and when the normal air volume Wn set based on the battery temperature Tb is the maximum air volume Wmax, the maximum air volume Wmax is set to the required air volume W * and the air volume blown from the cooling fan 46 is set. The drive command Tf * of the cooling fan 46 is set so that the set required air volume Wr * is obtained, and the maximum air volume control is performed to control the cooling fan 46 so that the cooling fan 46 is driven by the drive command Tf *. The high temperature input / output limits Winh, Wouth are set so that the absolute value becomes smaller than the output limits Win, Wout, and the required torque Tr * is within the set high temperature input / output limits Winh, Wouth. The torque command Tm * of the motor MG is set so as to be output to the drive shaft 32 so that the motor MG is driven by the torque command Tm *. Step S100 to perform the high temperature output limit control for switching control of the inverter 22, S130, S150, the electronic control unit 50 executes processing of S160 corresponds to the "control means".

  The correspondence between the main elements of the embodiment and the main elements of the invention described in the column of means for solving the problem is the same as that of the embodiment described in the column of means for solving the problem. Therefore, the elements of the invention described in the column of means for solving the problems are not limited. That is, the interpretation of the invention described in the column of means for solving the problems should be made based on the description of the column, and the examples are those of the invention described in the column of means for solving the problems. It is only a specific example.

  As mentioned above, although the form for implementing this invention was demonstrated using the Example, this invention is not limited at all to such an Example, In the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention, it is with various forms. Of course, it can be implemented.

  The present invention can be used in the manufacturing industry of electric vehicles.

  20 Electric vehicle, 22 Inverter, 24 Battery, 24b, 44b Temperature sensor, 30a, 30b Drive wheel, 31 Differential gear, 32 Drive shaft, 40 Rear seat, 40b Position detection sensor, 42 Air intake port, 44 Air intake duct, 46 Cooling fan , 48 Front seat, 50 Electronic control unit, 52 CPU, 54 ROM, 56 RAM, 60 Ignition switch, 61 Shift lever, 62 Shift position sensor, 63 Accel pedal, 64 Accel pedal position sensor, 65 Brake pedal, 66 Brake pedal position Sensor, 68 Vehicle speed sensor, MG motor.

Claims (1)

An electric motor capable of outputting power to the axle; a battery that exchanges electric power with the electric motor; and a rear seat that can move to a predetermined front position in the vicinity of the front seat and that has an intake port formed in the lower portion of the front surface. An air intake duct that introduces air from the air intake of the rear seat, a cooling fan that blows air introduced into the air intake duct to the battery, and a required air volume required for the cooling fan based on the temperature of the battery And setting the input / output restriction as the maximum power that can charge and discharge the battery based on the temperature of the battery and blowing the air of the set required air volume from the cooling fan. An electric vehicle comprising: control means for controlling the electric motor and the cooling fan so that a required driving force required for traveling is output to the axle within the range of ,
A rear seat position detecting means for detecting the position of the rear seat;
When the detected position of the rear seat is the predetermined front position, the control means is configured such that when the set required air volume is less than the upper limit air volume that can be blown from the cooling fan, the air of the upper limit air volume is And the motor and the cooling fan are controlled so that the required driving force is output to the axle within the set input / output limit range, and the set required air volume is the upper limit air volume. In some cases, the required driving force is output to the axle within the range of the input / output limit at the time of high intake air temperature that imposes a stricter limit than the set input / output limit. A means for controlling the electric motor and the cooling fan;
Electric car.

Images