JP2011229284A - Control device of electric vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a control device of an electric vehicle in which an air conditioner in a cabin can be performed more efficiently by controlling temperature of a motor and an inverter.SOLUTION: In the control device of an electric vehicle in which temperature of the motor and the inverter 2 can be reduced by opening a grille shutter 14 and applying running wind to a radiator 8, heat of the motor and the inverter 2 is utilized for warming, while the grille shutter 14 is closed and introduction of the running wind to the radiator 8 is prohibited during heating.

Description

  The present invention relates to a control device for an electric vehicle.

  In recent years, electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles have been developed in order to reduce the environmental load. Conventionally, an apparatus described in Patent Document 1 has been proposed as a control apparatus for a hybrid vehicle.

  In the control apparatus for a hybrid vehicle described in Patent Document 1, when it is necessary to increase the engine temperature, the grille shutter is closed to prohibit the introduction of traveling wind to the radiator. In such a case, the grill shutter is closed when the cooling of the engine coolant due to the introduction of the traveling wind to the radiator is unnecessary, and the aerodynamic performance of the vehicle body is improved.

JP 2007-22297 A

  As described above, in the conventional technique, the grill shutter is opened and closed for the purpose of improving the aerodynamic performance of the vehicle body. However, depending on the opening and closing of the grill shutter, the temperature of the engine compartment can be controlled. However, in a car having an engine such as a hybrid car, there is a heat source having a very large calorific value called an engine, so that the temperature control of the engine compartment becomes complicated. That is, when the above conventional technique is implemented, when the grille shutter is closed, there is a possibility that the heat resistance reliability of each component mounted on the engine compartment may be impaired due to heat radiation from the radiator or exhaust heat. A complicated control logic based on the traveling vehicle speed is required. On the other hand, in the case of an electric vehicle, since there is no heat source that becomes high temperature, temperature control can be simplified, and there is room for further optimization of shutter control.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and the problem to be solved is an electric vehicle control device that can control the temperature of a motor or an inverter to more efficiently air-condition a vehicle interior. Is to provide.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 1 of the present application is directed to a control device for an electric vehicle capable of reducing the temperature of the motor and the inverter by opening the shutter and allowing the passage of the wind. This heat is used for air conditioning in the passenger compartment, and the opening / closing control of the shutter is performed in accordance with the request for air conditioning.

  In the above configuration, the temperature of the motor and the inverter can be controlled to some extent by opening and closing the shutter and switching between permitting and prohibiting the passage of wind. Since the heat of the motor and the inverter is used for air conditioning in the passenger compartment, the air conditioning performance is raised and lowered according to the opening and closing of the shutter. Here, in the above configuration, the shutter opening / closing control is performed in accordance with the air conditioning requirement, and therefore the temperature of the motor and the inverter can be adjusted so as to improve the air conditioning performance. Therefore, according to the said structure, the temperature of a motor or an inverter can be controlled, and a vehicle interior can be air-conditioned more efficiently.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, in the configuration in which air conditioning is performed by an air conditioner including an outdoor heat exchanger that performs heat exchange between the wind passing through the shutter and the refrigerant, the shutter is operated when there is no request for air conditioning. By closing, air conditioning can be performed efficiently.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, when heating is performed with the heat of the motor and the inverter, heating can be efficiently performed by closing the shutter when heating is required. Such a configuration can be applied to an electric vehicle equipped with a heat storage / cold storage type air conditioner that performs air conditioning with the heat stored in the cold storage heat generator.

  Incidentally, as the shutter, it is possible to use a grill shutter that prohibits and allows the intake of traveling wind as in claim 5. In addition to this, when the wind is artificially generated by a cooling fan and applied to a heat exchanger or a radiator, a radiator shutter that blocks air from the cooling fan can be used as the shutter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The schematic which shows typically the structure of the air conditioner and cooling device of an electric vehicle to which 1st Embodiment of this invention is applied. 6 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a shutter control routine employed in the embodiment. The flowchart which shows the process sequence of the grill shutter opening degree adjustment control employ | adopted as the same embodiment. The schematic diagram which shows typically the structure of the air conditioner and cooling device of an electric vehicle to which 2nd Embodiment of this invention is applied. 6 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a shutter control routine employed in the embodiment. 1 is a schematic diagram schematically showing a configuration of a radiator shutter.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of a control device for an electric vehicle according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows a configuration of an air conditioner and a cooling device for an electric vehicle to which the control device of the present embodiment is applied.

  This electric vehicle is equipped with a vapor compression type air conditioner as an air conditioner. The vapor compression type air conditioner includes a refrigerant circuit 1 in which a refrigerant for air conditioning (such as alternative chlorofluorocarbon) is circulated. As shown in the figure, the refrigerant circuit 1 is provided with a compressor 4, an air conditioning outdoor heat exchanger 5, an expansion valve 6, and an air conditioning indoor heat exchanger 7. Here, the compressor 4 compresses the refrigerant, and the air-conditioning outdoor heat exchanger 5 performs heat exchange between the outside air and the refrigerant. Further, in the expansion valve 6 that functions as a throttle, the refrigerant is depressurized in accordance with the passage thereof, and in the air conditioning indoor heat exchanger 7, heat exchange between the inside air (air blown into the vehicle compartment) and the refrigerant is performed.

  In such a vapor compression air conditioner, during cooling, the refrigerant that has been compressed by the compressor 4 and becomes high temperature and pressure is sent to the outdoor heat exchanger 5 for air conditioning. The refrigerant sent to the air-conditioning outdoor heat exchanger 5 is cooled by the outside air and becomes a low temperature and a high pressure. The refrigerant is depressurized by the expansion valve 6 to be in a low-temperature and low-pressure state that easily evaporates, and then sent to the indoor heat exchanger 7 for air conditioning. The low-temperature and low-pressure refrigerant sent to the air conditioning indoor heat exchanger 7 takes away the heat of the inside air and evaporates, and is returned to the compressor 4 again.

  Further, at the time of heating, the refrigerant that has been compressed by the compressor 4 and becomes high temperature and pressure is sent to the indoor heat exchanger 7 for air conditioning. The high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant sent to the air conditioning indoor heat exchanger 7 warms the inside air with the heat and then is decompressed by the expansion valve 6. The refrigerant that has passed through the expansion valve 6 and has become low-temperature and low-pressure is sent to the air-conditioning outdoor heat exchanger 5, where heat from the outside air is taken away by the air-conditioning outdoor heat exchanger 5 and then returned to the compressor 4.

  An electric vehicle equipped with the above-described vapor compression type air conditioner is also equipped with a cooling device for cooling the motor and the inverter 2. The cooling device includes a cooling water circuit 3 in which cooling water for cooling the motor and the inverter 2 is circulated. The cooling water circuit 3 is provided with a radiator 8 that cools the cooling water through heat exchange with the outside air.

  The electric vehicle is provided with a heat exchanger 9 for exchanging heat between the refrigerant circulating in the refrigerant circuit 1 and the cooling water circulating in the cooling water circuit 3. The cooling water circuit 3 is provided with two switching valves 10 and 11, and by these switching valves 10 and 11, the cooling water that has passed through the motor and the inverter 2 is sent to the radiator 8 or the heat exchange described above. Whether to be sent to the device 9 is selectively switched.

  Here, when the cooling water is sent to the heat exchanger 9, the refrigerant circulating in the refrigerant circuit 1 is warmed by the heat of the cooling water that has been deprived of heat from the motor and the inverter 2. That is, in the air conditioner at this time, the heat of the motor and the inverter 2 is used for air conditioning in the passenger compartment.

  The air conditioner outdoor heat exchanger 5 and the radiator 8 of the electric vehicle are installed immediately after the front grill 13 provided in the bumper 12 so that the traveling wind that has flowed in through the front grill 13 can be hit. . The electric vehicle is also provided with a grill shutter 14 that opens and closes the front grill 13.

  The opening and closing of the grill shutter 14 is controlled by the electronic control unit 15. Detection signals from an inverter temperature sensor 16 that detects the temperature of the inverter and a motor temperature sensor 17 that detects the temperature of the motor (coil temperature) are input to the electronic control unit 15. The electronic control unit 15 also receives a signal from an air conditioner control panel 18 that is an operation panel of the air conditioner.

  In the present embodiment configured as described above, the electronic control unit 15 performs opening / closing control of the grill shutter 14 in accordance with the cooling request of the motor and the inverter 2 and the air conditioning request. Specifically, the electronic control unit 15 closes the grill shutter 14 when the motor temperature and the inverter temperature are sufficiently low and there is no cooling request or heating request. In other cases, the electronic control unit 15 performs adjustment control of the grill shutter opening according to the cooling request and the air conditioning request of the motor and the inverter.

  FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of the shutter control routine employed in this embodiment. The processing of this routine is repeatedly executed periodically by the electronic control unit 15 during operation of the electric vehicle.

In this routine, the grille shutter opening is set to “0%” when all of the following conditions (A) to (D) are satisfied. Further, when any one of the following conditions (A) to (D) is not established, grill shutter opening degree adjustment control is performed.
(A) The inverter temperature is sufficiently low so as not to require cooling (S100: YES).
(B) The motor temperature is sufficiently low to not require cooling (S101: YES).
(C) There is no cooling request (S102: NO).
(D) There is no heating request (S103: NO).

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of grill shutter opening degree adjustment control that is performed when at least one of the above conditions (A) to (D) is not satisfied.
When this control is started, the electronic control unit 15 first calculates a required opening degree α of the grille shutter 14 according to the inverter temperature in step S200. The required opening degree α corresponding to the inverter temperature is calculated from the detected value of the inverter temperature at that time, and is set to a larger value as the inverter temperature is higher.

  Subsequently, in step S201, the electronic control unit 15 calculates a required opening β of the grille shutter 14 according to the motor temperature. The required opening degree β corresponding to the motor temperature is calculated from the detected value of the motor temperature at that time, and is set to a larger value as the motor temperature is higher.

  Next, in step S202, the electronic control unit 15 calculates the required opening γ of the grille shutter 14 according to the cooling request. The required opening γ corresponding to the cooling request is set to “0” when the cooling is off, and is set to a larger value as the refrigerant high pressure is higher when the cooling is on.

  Further, in the next step S203, the electronic control unit 15 calculates a required opening ε of the grille shutter 14 corresponding to the heating request. The required opening ε corresponding to the heating request is set to “0” when the heating is turned off, and the larger the refrigerant high pressure is set when the heating is turned on.

  Finally, in step S204, the electronic control unit 15 sets the maximum one of the four required opening degrees α to ε as the target opening degree of the grill shutter 14 and ends the current control. Thereafter, the electronic control unit 15 controls the opening of the grille shutter 14 so that the target opening set here is obtained.

According to the electric vehicle control device of the present embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) This embodiment is based on a control device for an electric vehicle that can lower the temperature of the motor and the inverter 2 by opening the grille shutter 14 and allowing the passage of traveling wind. Yes. In this embodiment, the heat of the motor and the inverter 2 is used for air conditioning in the passenger compartment, and the opening / closing control of the grill shutter 14 is performed according to the request for air conditioning. In this embodiment, the temperature of the motor and the inverter 2 can be controlled to some extent by switching the opening and closing of the grill shutter 14 to allow and prohibit the passage of traveling wind. Since the heat of the motor and the inverter 2 is used for air conditioning in the passenger compartment, the air conditioning performance is raised and lowered according to the opening and closing of the grill shutter 14. Here, in the present embodiment, the opening / closing control of the grille shutter 14 is performed in response to a request for air conditioning. Therefore, the temperature of the motor and the inverter 2 can be adjusted so as to improve the air conditioning performance. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the temperature of the motor and the inverter 2 can be controlled to more efficiently air-condition the vehicle interior.

  (2) In the present embodiment, variable control of the grill shutter opening is performed in accordance with the cooling request and the heating request. Therefore, the degree of cooling of the refrigerant in the air conditioning outdoor heat exchanger 5 can be adjusted according to the cooling request or the heating request, and the vehicle interior can be efficiently air-conditioned. .

(3) In the present embodiment, the grill shutter 14 is closed according to the situation, and the aerodynamic performance of the electric vehicle is improved.
(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. In addition, about the structure which is common in the above-mentioned embodiment in this Embodiment, while attaching | subjecting the same code | symbol, the detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

  This embodiment is applied to an electric vehicle equipped with a heat storage / cold storage type air conditioner. The configuration of such an electric vehicle air conditioner and cooling device is shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the electric vehicle is provided with a heating water circuit 19 through which high-temperature heating water is circulated and a cooling water circuit 20 through which low-temperature cooling water is circulated.

  In addition, the electric vehicle includes a regenerator 22 that stores either high-temperature heating water or low-temperature cooling water. The storage of the heating water / cooling water in the regenerator 22 is performed when the electric vehicle is charged by nighttime electric power or the like, and which of the heating water / cooling water is stored can be changed according to the season. That is, in the winter season, high-temperature heating water is generated by electric power and stored in the regenerator 22, and in the summer, low-temperature cooling water is generated by electric power and stored in the regenerator 22.

  The heating water circuit 19 is formed around the regenerator 22, the motor and the inverter 2, and the outdoor heat exchanger 21 for air conditioning. In such a heating water circuit 19, the high temperature heating water stored in the regenerator 22 is sent to the outdoor heat exchanger 21 for air conditioning through the motor and the inverter 2 so that the passenger compartment is heated. It has become. In such a heating water circuit 19, the heating water is further heated by the waste heat of the motor and the inverter 2. That is, in this electric vehicle, in addition to the heat of the heating water stored in the regenerator 22, the heat generated by the motor and the inverter 2 is also used for heating.

  On the other hand, the cooling water circuit 20 is formed to go around the regenerator 22 and the outdoor heat exchanger 21 for air conditioning. In such a cooling water circuit 20, the low-temperature cooling water stored in the regenerator 22 is directly sent to the outdoor heat exchanger 21 for air conditioning, thereby cooling the passenger compartment.

  Whether the heating water / cooling water stored in the regenerator 22 is circulated through the heating water circuit 19 or the cooling water circuit 20 can be switched by the two switching valves 23 and 24. Yes.

  Incidentally, in the electric vehicle of this embodiment, the motor and the inverter 2 are cooled by water cooling. For this reason, this electric vehicle is provided with a cooling water circulation path that goes around the motor and inverter 2 and the radiator 8.

  The radiator 8 provided for cooling the motor and the inverter 2 is installed immediately after the front grill 13 provided in the bumper 12 so that traveling wind that has flowed in through the front grill 13 can be hit. The electric vehicle is also provided with a grill shutter 14 that opens and closes the front grill 13. The opening and closing of the grill shutter 14 is controlled by an electronic control unit 15, and detection signals from the inverter temperature sensor 16 and the motor temperature sensor 17 and signals from the air conditioner control panel 18 are input to the electronic control unit 15. Has been.

  Also in this embodiment, the electronic control unit 15 opens and closes the grill shutter 14 according to the cooling request of the motor and the inverter 2 and the air conditioning request. Specifically, the electronic control unit 15 closes the grill shutter 14 only when the motor temperature and the inverter temperature are sufficiently low so that they do not need to be cooled and there is a heating request.

  On the other hand, in other cases, the electronic control unit 15 performs adjustment control of the grill shutter opening degree in accordance with the cooling request of the motor and the inverter 2. This adjustment control is performed based on the detected values of the motor temperature and the inverter temperature at that time. Specifically, the electronic control unit 15 calculates the required opening degree α of the grille shutter 14 according to the inverter temperature and the required opening degree β of the grille shutter 14 according to the motor temperature. The required opening degree α according to the inverter temperature is calculated from the detected value of the inverter temperature at that time, and is set to a larger value as the inverter temperature is higher. The required opening degree β corresponding to the motor temperature is calculated from the detected value of the motor temperature at that time, and is set to a larger value as the motor temperature is higher. Then, the electronic control unit 15 sets the larger one of the two required opening degrees α and β as the target opening degree of the grill shutter 14 and sets the grill shutter 14 so that the target opening degree can be obtained. Control the opening.

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of a shutter control routine employed in this embodiment. The processing of this routine is repeatedly executed periodically by the electronic control unit 15 during operation of the electric vehicle. That is, in this routine, the grille shutter opening is set to “0%” when all of the following conditions (E) to (G) are satisfied. Further, when any one of the following conditions (E) to (G) is not satisfied, the grill shutter opening degree adjustment control is performed in the above manner.
(E) The inverter temperature is sufficiently low that cooling is not required (S300: YES).
(F) The motor temperature is sufficiently low that cooling is not required (S301: YES).
(G) A heating request is made, that is, heating is in use (S302: YES).

According to the electric vehicle control apparatus of the present embodiment described above, the following effects can be further obtained in addition to the above (1) and (3).
(4) In the electric vehicle to which the present embodiment is applied, the heat of the motor and the inverter 2 is used for heating. In the present embodiment, the grill shutter 14 is closed in response to a heating request. In the present embodiment, when there is a heating request, the grill shutter 14 is closed, and the introduction of traveling wind to the radiator 8 is prohibited. When the introduction of the traveling wind is prohibited in this way, the cooling efficiency of the cooling water in the radiator 8 is lowered, and the temperature of the motor and the inverter 2 is increased. Therefore, more heat can be used for heating, and heating can be performed more efficiently.

In addition, the said embodiment can also be changed and implemented as follows.
In the above embodiment, the opening degree of the grille shutter 14 is finely adjusted according to the cooling request of the motor and the inverter, etc. However, the grille shutter is set to take either the fully open state or the fully closed state. You may make it comprise. Also in this case, if the heat of the motor and the inverter 2 is used for air conditioning in the vehicle interior and the opening / closing control of the grill shutter 14 is performed according to such air conditioning requirements, the air conditioning in the vehicle interior can be improved. is there.

  In the above embodiment, the opening / closing control of the grill shutter 14 that prohibits and permits the introduction of traveling wind has been described, but the same opening / closing control can be applied to the opening / closing control of the radiator shutter as follows. it can. In other words, as shown in FIG. 6, the radiator shutter is a structure in which wind is artificially generated by the cooling fan 25 and applied to the outdoor heat exchanger 5 for air conditioning or the radiator 8. This is the shutter 26 that allows and blocks. If such a radiator shutter is also controlled to open and close in response to air conditioning requirements, the temperature of the motor and inverter can be controlled to more efficiently air-condition the vehicle interior.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Refrigerant circuit, 2 ... Motor and inverter, 3 ... Cooling water circuit, 4 ... Compressor, 5 ... Air-conditioning outdoor heat exchanger, 6 ... Expansion valve, 7 ... Air-conditioning indoor heat exchanger, 8 ... Radiator, 9 ... Heat exchanger 10, 11 ... Switching valve, 12 ... Bumper, 13 ... Front grille, 14 ... Grill shutter, 15 ... Electronic control unit, 16 ... Inverter temperature sensor, 17 ... Motor temperature sensor, 18 ... Air conditioner control panel, 19 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS ... Heating water circuit, 20 ... Cooling water circuit, 21 ... Outdoor heat exchanger for air conditioning, 22 ... Cold storage heat exchanger, 23, 24 ... Switching valve, 25 ... Cooling fan, 26 ... Shutter (radiator shutter).

Claims (5)

In the control device for an electric vehicle that can lower the temperature of the motor and the inverter by opening the shutter and allowing the passage of wind,
A control device for an electric vehicle, wherein heat of the motor and inverter is used for air conditioning in a passenger compartment, and the opening / closing control of the shutter is performed according to the request for the air conditioning. The air conditioning is performed by an air conditioner including an outdoor heat exchanger that performs heat exchange between the wind passing through the shutter and the refrigerant,
The control apparatus for an electric vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the shutter is closed when there is no request for air conditioning. The electric vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein heating is performed by heat of the motor and the inverter, and the shutter is closed when heating is required. The control device for an electric vehicle according to claim 3, wherein the air conditioning is performed by heat stored in a regenerator. The control device for an electric vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the shutter is a grill shutter that prohibits and allows the intake of traveling wind.

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