JP2017180514A - Vehicular lubricant oil amount control device and vehicular lubricant oil amount control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform the most-appropriate control of supplying lubricant oil to a gear in response to a vehicle state.SOLUTION: A vehicular control device 200 comprises a subtraction part 212 for calculating a theoretical driving force of a vehicle in response to a driving force requested by a driver; a driving force calculating part 216 for calculating a practical driving force of a vehicle in response to a longitudinal acceleration; a driving force comparing and calculating part 218 for calculating a loss load caused by gear lubrication of lubricant oil in reference to a difference between the requested driving force and the theoretical driving force; a lubricant oil amount rate estimating part 236 for estimating a lubricant oil supply amount supplied to the gear based on the loss load; a gear oil amount calculation part 238 for calculating a requisite lubricant oil amount required for lubricating the gear on the basis of a gear speed and a load obtained from a gear torque; and a gear oil amount adjustment and calculation part 240 for calculating an adjustment for oil amount supplied to the gear on the basis of a lubricant oil supply amount and a requisite lubricant oil amount.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle lubricating oil amount control device and a vehicle lubricating oil amount control method.

  Conventionally, for example, the following Patent Document 1 relates to a method for controlling the lubrication amount of an automatic transmission of a vehicle, and describes that the lubrication amount of an automatic transmission is optimized based on input energy and oil temperature.

JP 2004-183750 A

  In order to increase the reliability and lubrication performance of gears included in vehicle gearboxes, transmissions, etc., it is conceivable to increase the amount of lubricating oil in the power system gearboxes. However, when the amount of lubricating oil is increased, resistance to gear rotation is generated, and power consumption (electricity cost) and fuel consumption (fuel consumption) are deteriorated. In addition, a large amount of oil is desired for lubrication at low speed, but the oil diffuses during high-speed rotation and the cooling performance decreases. Further, when the amount of oil is increased for lubrication and cooling, there is a problem that the pressure in the gear box rises due to oil agitation during high-speed rotation and the oil is ejected from a pressure release valve that releases the pressure to the outside. Therefore, an oil amount adjustment mechanism is required so that the oil scattering characteristics vary depending on the vehicle speed and oil temperature.

  In the technique described in Patent Document 1, the input energy to the automatic transmission is calculated based on the input torque to the automatic transmission and the input rotation speed of the automatic transmission, and the input energy, energy transmission efficiency, and lubricating oil are calculated. The amount of lubricating oil is calculated based on the temperature. However, in order to accurately determine the amount of lubricating oil supplied to the gear, it is essential to accurately estimate the amount of oil actually supplied to the gear.

  In order to estimate the amount of oil actually supplied to the gear, for example, it is assumed that the estimation is based on a measured value of an oil level gauge or the like. However, the amount of oil actually supplied to the gear varies depending on the vehicle state, and it is difficult to accurately estimate based on the measured value of an oil level gauge or the like.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is a novel and capable of optimally controlling the supply of lubricating oil to the gear according to the vehicle state. An object of the present invention is to provide an improved vehicle lubricant oil amount control device and vehicle lubricant oil amount control method.

  In order to solve the above problems, according to an aspect of the present invention, a theoretical driving force calculation unit that calculates a theoretical driving force of a vehicle based on a driver's required driving force, and an actual driving force of the vehicle based on longitudinal acceleration. An actual driving force calculating unit that calculates a loss load calculating unit that calculates a loss load due to gear lubrication of lubricating oil from a difference between the required driving force and the theoretical driving force, and a gear based on the loss load. A gear oil amount that calculates the amount of lubricating oil required to lubricate the gear based on the gear amount determined from the gear rotation speed and torque, and a lubricating oil amount estimation unit that estimates the amount of supplied lubricating oil Lubricating oil amount control for a vehicle, comprising: a calculating unit; and a gear oil amount adjustment calculating unit that performs calculation for adjusting the amount of oil supplied to the gear based on the lubricating oil supply amount and the required lubricating oil amount An apparatus is provided.

  The gear oil amount adjustment calculation unit may calculate an instruction value for controlling an oil amount adjustment valve that supplies lubricating oil to a gear in the gear box from a drain tank provided in the gear box. good.

  In addition, a maximum driving resistance value calculation unit that calculates the maximum driving resistance value of the gear when all the lubricating oil in the drain tank is supplied to the gear in the gear box based on the temperature of the lubricating oil. The lubricating oil amount estimation unit may estimate the lubricating oil supply amount based on a ratio of the loss load to the maximum drive resistance value.

  And a kinematic viscosity calculating unit that calculates the kinematic viscosity of the lubricating oil based on the oil temperature of the lubricating oil, wherein the maximum driving resistance value calculating unit is configured to calculate the maximum driving resistance value based on the rotational speed of the gear and the kinematic viscosity. It is also possible to calculate

  Further, a bearing load calculation unit that calculates a bearing load from the rotation speed and torque of the gear, a load temperature prediction calculation unit that estimates the temperature of the lubricating oil based on the gear load and the bearing load, and a gear box A lubricating oil temperature correction unit that corrects a detected value of a temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the lubricating oil with the estimated temperature of the lubricating oil, and the kinematic viscosity calculation unit has a value corrected by the lubricating oil temperature correction unit. Based on this, the kinematic viscosity may be calculated.

  Also, a required driving force calculation unit that calculates the required driving force based on the accelerator opening, a gradient resistance force calculation unit that calculates a gradient resistance force based on the longitudinal acceleration, and a running resistance force calculated based on the vehicle speed A driving resistance calculating unit that calculates the theoretical driving force by subtracting the gradient resistance and the driving resistance from the required driving force. .

  In addition, the actual driving force calculation unit may calculate the actual driving force based on the longitudinal acceleration and the mass of the vehicle.

  In order to solve the above problem, according to another aspect of the present invention, the step of calculating the theoretical driving force of the vehicle based on the driver's required driving force, and the actual driving force of the vehicle based on the longitudinal acceleration are obtained. A step of calculating, a step of calculating a loss load due to gear lubrication of the lubricating oil from a difference between the required driving force and the theoretical driving force, and estimating a supply amount of the lubricating oil supplied to the gear based on the loss load A step of calculating a required amount of lubricating oil necessary for lubricating the gear based on a gear load obtained from the rotational speed and torque of the gear, and based on the lubricating oil supply amount and the required lubricating oil amount And a step of performing a calculation for adjusting the amount of oil to be supplied to the gear.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the supply of the lubricating oil to the gear can be optimally controlled according to the vehicle state.

It is a mimetic diagram showing a vehicle concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of a motor, a gear box, a drive shaft, and its periphery. It is a schematic diagram which shows a vehicle state and the state inside a gear box. It is a schematic diagram which shows in detail the structure of the control apparatus which concerns on this embodiment, and its periphery. It is a flowchart which shows the whole process of this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the process of FIG.5 S112 in detail. 3 is a flowchart illustrating processing performed by a control device 200. It is a schematic diagram which shows the map used when calculating | requiring required driving force Freq. It is a schematic diagram which shows a gear oil viscosity map. It is a schematic diagram which shows a maximum gear oil amount drive resistance map.

  Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, in this specification and drawing, about the component which has the substantially same function structure, duplication description is abbreviate | omitted by attaching | subjecting the same code | symbol.

  First, with reference to FIG. 1, the structure of the vehicle 1000 which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a vehicle 1000 according to the present embodiment. The vehicle 1000 according to the present embodiment is, for example, a vehicle such as an HEV vehicle (hybrid vehicle) or an EV vehicle (electric vehicle) having a front and rear independent drive system. As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 1000 includes front wheels 100 and 102, rear wheels 104 and 106, front wheel 100 and 102, and driving force generators (motors) 108 and 110 that drive the rear wheels 104 and 106, and a motor 108. , 110 for transmitting the driving force of the front wheels 100, 102 and the rear wheels 104, 106, inverters 123, 124 for controlling the motors 108, 110 respectively, and driving the gear box 116 for the front wheels 100, 102, drive shaft 112 for transmitting to gear 102, drive shaft 114 for transmitting drive of gear box 118 to rear wheels 104, 106, temperature sensors 154, 156 for detecting the temperature of gear boxes 116, 118, parking brake systems 120, 122, motor Rotational speed sensors 125, 126, rear wheel 10 , 106 wheel speed sensors 127, 128 for detecting the wheel speed (vehicle speed V), steering wheel 130 for steering the front wheels 100, 102, longitudinal acceleration sensor 132, lateral acceleration sensor 134, battery 136, steering angle sensor 138 , A power steering mechanism 140, a yaw rate sensor 142, an inhibitor position sensor (IHN) 144, an accelerator opening sensor 146, and a control device (controller) 200.

  The drive of each motor 108 and 110 is controlled by controlling the inverters 123 and 124 corresponding to the motors 108 and 110 based on the command of the control device 200. The driving forces of the motors 108 and 110 are transmitted to the front wheels 100 and 102 and the rear wheels 104 and 106 via the gear boxes 116 and 118, respectively.

  The power steering mechanism 140 controls the steering angle of the front wheels 100 and 102 by torque control or angle control according to the operation of the steering wheel 130 by the driver.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the motor 108, the gear box 116, the drive shaft 112, and the periphery thereof. The configuration of the motor 110, the gear box 118, the drive shaft 114, and the periphery thereof is the same as that shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, the rotation of the motor 110 is transmitted to the differential gear 150 via gears 150 and 152, and is transmitted to the left and right drive shafts 112. Lubricating oil for lubricating these gears is stored in the gear box 116.

  In the present embodiment, the gear cooling function and the lubricating function by the lubricating oil are satisfied according to the vehicle state. Therefore, a lubricating oil drain tank 160 is provided in advance in the gear box 116, and an oil amount adjusting valve 162 is provided below the drain tank 160. The oil amount adjustment valve 162 is constituted by, for example, an electromagnetic valve. Then, by opening and closing the oil amount adjusting valve 162 according to the running conditions, the lubricating oil in the drain tank 160 is supplied for gear lubrication, and an appropriate amount of lubricating oil in the gear box 116 is ensured. Further, the drain tank 160 has a structure in which lubricating oil enters by scraping up the gear in the gear box 116 and the drain tank 160 is replenished with lubricating oil.

  Here, in order to improve the reliability performance and lubrication performance of the gears in the gearboxes 116 and 118, it is conceivable to increase the amount of lubricating oil in the gearboxes 116 and 118 of the power system. However, when the amount of the lubricating oil is increased, the lubricating oil becomes an agitation resistance against the rotation of the gear, and the power consumption (power consumption) and the fuel consumption are deteriorated particularly during high-speed traveling. In addition, it is desirable to increase the amount of oil for reliable lubrication at a low speed, but if the amount of oil is increased, the oil diffuses during high-speed rotation and the cooling performance decreases. On the other hand, if the amount of oil is reduced, the lubricating performance cannot be satisfied. Also, since the lubrication conditions of the bearings and gear teeth differ depending on the driving torque from the motor, it is necessary to adjust the optimal oil amount. For this reason, in the present embodiment, an oil amount adjusting mechanism including the drain tank 160 and the oil amount adjusting valve 162 is provided to adjust the oil amount according to the traveling state.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the vehicle state and the internal state of the gear box 116, and shows a comparison between high speed traveling and medium / low speed traveling. During high speed running, the oil amount adjustment valve 162 is closed to reduce the amount of lubricating oil and reduce the stirring resistance. Thereby, the lubricating oil scraped up by the rotation of the gear is accumulated in the drain tank 160. A vehicle such as an EV vehicle using the motors 108 and 110 as a power source is in a constant output state due to the characteristics of the motors 108 and 110 during high-speed traveling, and does not output a large torque, so loads such as gear teeth and bearings are reduced. Therefore, the gear can be sufficiently lubricated even if the amount of lubricating oil is reduced. In particular, during high-speed running, the amount of oil needs to be controlled because the lubricating oil diffuses due to the high-speed rotation of the gear.

  On the other hand, during medium and low speed traveling, the oil amount adjustment valve 162 is opened to increase the amount of lubricating oil. A vehicle such as an EV vehicle using the motors 108 and 110 as a power source can output a large torque due to the characteristics of the motors 108 and 110 when traveling at a medium to low speed. Lubrication is required. Opening the oil amount adjustment valve 162 during medium / low speed running reduces the lubricating oil in the drain tank 160 and increases the amount of lubricating oil used for gear lubrication in the gear box 116, so that sufficient lubrication is performed. Is possible.

  As described above, the lubricating oil is accumulated in the drain tank 160 by closing the oil amount adjustment valve 162 during high-speed traveling. For this reason, the amount of lubricating oil used for lubrication in the gear box 116 is reduced. As a result, the lubricating oil applied to the gear is reduced and the stirring resistance is reduced. Moreover, since the lubricating oil scooped up by the gear is reduced, oil blowing from the breather can be suppressed. The amount of oil to be scraped is reduced, but the amount necessary for lubrication is secured. Further, when traveling at a low speed, the oil amount adjustment valve 162 is opened, the oil in the drain tank 160 is drained, and supplied to the bottom of the gear box 116. For this reason, the lubricating oil used for the lubrication of the gear in the gear box 116 increases. During low-speed running, the amount of scraping oil decreases because the gear rotation speed is low, but by increasing the amount of lubricating oil used for lubrication, insufficient lubrication due to a decrease in the amount of scraping oil can be suppressed.

  When adjusting the amount of lubricating oil supplied to the gear according to the vehicle state, it is essential to accurately determine the amount of lubricating oil actually supplied to the gear. However, it is difficult to determine the amount of oil actually supplied to the gear by a method of measuring the oil surface height of the lubricating oil stored in the gear box using an oil gauge or the like. In particular, in the mechanism in which the volumes of the gear boxes 116 and 118 are small as in the present embodiment and much of the lubricating oil in the gear boxes 116 and 118 is continuously supplied to each gear without accumulating on the bottom surface, It is also difficult to estimate the amount of lubricating oil supplied to the gear based on the height.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, the theoretical driving force of the vehicle 1000 is calculated from the required driving force, the gradient resistance, and the running resistance from the vehicle model value, and compared with the actual driving force, the resistance value due to the lubricating oil is calculated. Estimate the amount of lubricating oil actually supplied. At this time, in order to calculate the maximum driving resistance value due to the lubricating oil, the driving resistance value when the oil amount adjusting valve 162 is opened at the low speed and the entire amount of the lubricating oil is in contact with the gear is determined by the lubricating oil corresponding to the oil temperature. Obtained from kinematic viscosity. Then, the amount of oil that is actually lubricating the gear is estimated from the ratio of the gear driving resistance value, which is the difference between the theoretical driving force and the actual driving force, to the maximum driving resistance value.

  Further, the gear and bearing load are calculated from the energy state of the gear obtained from the vehicle state. An appropriate gear lubricating oil amount is determined based on the calculation result of the vehicle speed V and the gear and bearing load, and the degree of opening / closing of the oil amount adjusting valve 162 is adjusted for adjusting the oil amount according to the estimated calculation result of the lubricating oil amount. The duty control. Thereby, the amount of oil used for gear lubrication in the gear box 116 can be optimally controlled. This will be described in detail below.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing in detail the configuration of the control device 200 according to the present embodiment and its periphery. The control device 200 includes an in-vehicle sensor 202, a control calculation unit 204, a required driving force calculation unit 206, a gradient resistance force calculation unit 208, a running resistance force calculation unit 210, a subtraction unit 212, an addition unit 214, a driving force calculation unit 216, a drive Force comparison calculation section (lubricant loss load calculation section) 218, gear rotation speed calculation section 220, bearing load calculation section 222, gear load calculation section 224, addition section 226, load temperature prediction calculation section 228, gear oil temperature correction calculation section (Lubricating oil temperature correction unit) 230, gear oil viscosity characteristic map processing unit (kinematic viscosity calculation unit) 232, maximum gear oil amount driving resistance map processing unit (maximum driving resistance value calculation unit) 234, gear oil amount ratio estimation calculation unit (Lubricating oil amount estimating unit) 236, gear oil amount calculating unit 238, and gear oil amount adjusting calculating unit 240. Each component shown in FIG. 4 can be composed of a circuit (hardware) or a central processing unit such as a CPU and a program (software) for causing it to function.

  In FIG. 4, the in-vehicle sensor 202 includes the above-described motor rotation speed sensors 125 and 126, wheel speed sensors 127 and 128, longitudinal acceleration sensor 132, lateral acceleration sensor 134, rudder angle sensor 138, yaw rate sensor 142, accelerator opening sensor 146. including. Motor rotation speed sensors 125 and 126 detect the rotation speeds of motors 108 and 110. Wheel speed sensors 127 and 128 detect the respective wheel speeds (vehicle speed V) of rear wheels 104 and 106. The steering angle sensor 138 detects the steering angle θh of the steering wheel 130. The yaw rate sensor 142 detects the actual yaw rate γ of the vehicle 1000. The longitudinal acceleration sensor 132 detects the longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle 1000, and the lateral acceleration sensor 134 detects the lateral acceleration of the vehicle 1000. The control calculation unit 204 calculates motor torque instruction values for the motors 108 and 110 from the control values for the inverters 123 and 124.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the overall processing of this embodiment. First, in step S100, it is determined whether or not an ignition key (ignition SW) is on. If the ignition key is turned on, the process proceeds to step S102. If the ignition key is not turned on, the process waits in step S100.

  In step S102, it is determined whether or not the inhibitor position sensor (IHN) 144 indicates the position of P (parking) or N (neutral). If it is the position of P (parking) or N (neutral), step S104 is performed. Proceed to If it is determined in step S102 that the position is not P (parking) or N (neutral), the process proceeds to step S106, where it is determined whether or not the ignition key is turned on. If the ignition key is turned on, the process returns to step S102. . If the ignition key is off in step S106, the process proceeds to step S108, the vehicle activation process is terminated, and the process returns to step S100.

  In step S104, the starting process of the vehicle 1000 is performed, and in the next step S110, it is determined whether or not the inhibitor position sensor (IHN) 144 indicates the position of D (drive) or R (reverse). When the inhibitor position sensor (IHN) 144 indicates the position of D (drive) or R (reverse), the process proceeds to step S112, and the travel control process is started. On the other hand, if the inhibitor position sensor (IHN) 144 does not indicate the position of D (drive) or R (reverse) in step S110, the process proceeds to step S113 to determine whether or not the ignition key is turned on. If the key is on, the process returns to step S110. If the ignition key is off in step S113, the process proceeds to step S108, and the vehicle activation process is terminated.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing in detail the process of step S112 of FIG. First, in step S114, the operation amount of the accelerator pedal and the operation amount of the brake pedal are acquired as input values. In the next step S116, the required driving force reqF is calculated. The required driving force reqF can be calculated based on, for example, a map that defines the relationship between the accelerator opening and the required driving force reqF. In the next step S118, processing for lubricating oil amount adjustment control by opening and closing the oil amount adjusting valve 162 is performed. In the next step S120, drive control of the oil amount adjustment valve 162 is performed based on the valve control instruction value obtained in the process of step S118. In step S122, the actual opening / closing amount of the oil amount adjusting valve 162 is acquired. After step S122, the process returns to step S114.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the process performed in step S118 of FIG. Below, based on FIG.7 and FIG.4, the process performed with the control apparatus 200 is demonstrated in detail. First, in step S10 of FIG. 7, the required driving force calculation unit 206 calculates the required driving force reqF from the accelerator pedal operation amount (accelerator opening) detected by the accelerator opening sensor 146. Specifically, the required driving force reqF is calculated from the following equation. In the following formula, Fmax changes according to the vehicle speed V as shown in FIG.
reqF = Fmax × accelerator opening (accelpedal [%]) / 100

In the next step S <b> 12, the gradient resistance force calculation unit 208 calculates the gradient resistance force Fgrad due to gradient traveling from the longitudinal acceleration detected by the longitudinal acceleration sensor 132. When calculating the gradient resistance force Fgrad, the detection value of the longitudinal acceleration sensor 132 and the detection values of the wheel speed sensors 127 and 128 of the rear wheels are used. The longitudinal acceleration sensor 132 can acquire the longitudinal acceleration with respect to the ground gradient due to the characteristic of being level with respect to the vehicle 1000. For example, when the vehicle stops on a certain road surface, the longitudinal acceleration is output from the longitudinal acceleration sensor 132. When the difference between the longitudinal acceleration value Ay_clc obtained by accelerating / decelerating the actual detected values of the wheel speed sensors 127 and 128 and the detected value Ay_sens of the longitudinal acceleration sensor 132 is acquired, the longitudinal acceleration on the gradient is acquired. From the product of the longitudinal acceleration at this gradient and the vehicle mass m, the gradient resistance force Fgrad [N] can be obtained by the following equation.
Fgrad [N] = (Ay_sens−Ay_clc) [m / s ² ] × m [kg]
In addition, when calculating the gradient resistance force Fgrad from the longitudinal acceleration, a map that defines the relationship between the two may be used.
In the next step S <b> 14, the traveling resistance calculation unit 210 calculates the traveling resistance Fre from the vehicle speed V based on the basic traveling resistance coefficient. The traveling resistance calculating unit 210 calculates a traveling resistance Fre based mainly on air resistance during traveling based on the vehicle speed V, the projected area from the front surface of the vehicle 1000, and the like. Specifically, the traveling resistance force Fre is calculated from the following formula based on the rolling resistance A [N], the air resistance coefficient C [N / (km / h) ² ], and the vehicle speed V [km / h]. It can be calculated.
Fre = A + CV ²
When calculating the running resistance force Fre from the vehicle speed V, a map that defines the relationship between the two may be used.

  In the next step S16, the gear rotation speed calculation unit 220 calculates the rotation speed of each gear in the gear box 116 from the motor rotation speed detected by the motor rotation speed sensors 125 and 126 in consideration of the gear ratio. In the next step S18, the gear load calculation unit 224 converts the motor torque instruction value calculated by the control calculation unit 204 into a gear torque value, and calculates gear energy from the gear torque value and the gear rotation number calculated in step S16. The gear load is predicted and calculated.

  In the next step S20, the bearing load calculation unit 222 converts the motor torque instruction value calculated by the control calculation unit 204 into a gear torque value, and the energy of the bearing that supports the gear from the gear torque value and the gear rotation number calculated in step S16. Is used to predict and calculate the bearing load. In the next step S22, the load temperature prediction calculation unit 228 adds the gear load and the bearing load based on the result of the addition unit 226 adding the gear load calculated in step S18 and the bearing load calculated in step S20. Thus, the gradient of the temperature rise of the lubricating oil is predicted from the temperature transfer coefficient, and the temperature of the lubricating oil is predicted. As described above, by integrating the total value (energy) of the gear load and the bearing load, the temperature of the lubricating oil can be obtained in terms of Joule heat.

  In the next step S24, the gear oil temperature correction calculation unit 230 compares the detected value of the lubricating oil temperature by the temperature sensors 154 and 156 attached to the gear boxes 116 and 118 with the temperature of the lubricating oil predicted in step S22. If the lubricating oil temperature predicted in step S22 is higher, the detected value is corrected, and the lubricating oil temperature predicted in step S22 is set as the final lubricating oil temperature. On the other hand, if the detected value of the lubricating oil temperature by the temperature sensors 154 and 156 and the temperature of the lubricating oil predicted in step S22 are similar, either one is adopted as the final lubricating oil temperature.

  Usually, the change in the detected value of the lubricating oil temperature by the temperature sensors 154 and 156 has a time constant. In particular, in a high load state, the temperature sensors 154 and 156 with respect to the temperature of the lubricating oil that actually lubricates the gears. The detection value due to rises with a delay. On the other hand, in the low load state, the temperature of the lubricating oil that actually lubricates the gear is at the same level as the values detected by the temperature sensors 154 and 156. In the present embodiment, the detected value of the lubricating oil temperature by the temperature sensors 154 and 156 is compared with the temperature of the lubricating oil predicted in step S22, and if the lubricating oil temperature predicted in step S22 is higher, in step S22. In order to set the predicted temperature of the lubricating oil as the final temperature of the lubricating oil, the lubricating oil that actually lubricates the gear without being affected by the time constant of the detected values by the temperature sensors 154 and 156, particularly in a high load state. Can be estimated with high accuracy.

  In the next step S26, the gear oil viscosity characteristic map processing unit 232 checks the gear viscosity of the gear oil viscosity characteristic map on the basis of the gear oil temperature obtained in step S24, and obtains the kinematic viscosity corresponding to the gear oil temperature. Calculate. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing a map (gear oil viscosity map) to be collated by the gear oil viscosity characteristic map processing unit 232. As shown in FIG. 9, in this map, the kinematic viscosity with respect to the oil temperature is associated. The gear oil viscosity characteristic map processing unit 232 obtains the kinematic viscosity according to the gear oil temperature from the map of FIG. Since the kinematic viscosity according to the gear oil temperature varies depending on the characteristics of the lubricating oil, a map that the gear oil viscosity characteristic map processing unit 232 collates according to the characteristics of the lubricating oil put in the gear boxes 116 and 118 is used. By switching, kinematic viscosity can be obtained with high accuracy.

  In the next step S28, the maximum gear oil amount driving resistance map processing unit 234 calculates the maximum gear driving resistance value (Foil_resMax) using the kinematic viscosity obtained by the gear rotation speed and the gear oil viscosity characteristic map processing unit 232 as input information. To do. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a map (maximum gear oil amount driving resistance map) used when the maximum gear oil amount driving resistance map processing unit 234 calculates the maximum gear driving resistance value (Foil_resMax). A plurality of maps shown in FIG. 10 are prepared according to the number of gear rotations. The maximum gear oil amount driving resistance map defines the relationship of the driving resistance value with respect to the kinematic viscosity of the lubricating oil. When the lubricating oil amount in the gearboxes 116 and 118 is all immersed in the gear and the bearing (drain tank 160 Is a map of the gear driving resistance value in a state of being empty) according to the gear rotation speed. Therefore, in step S28, the assumed maximum gear drive resistance value is obtained according to the gear rotation speed. Since the maximum gear drive resistance value calculated here is calculated based on the gear oil temperature, the maximum gear drive resistance value can be obtained with high accuracy according to the driving state of the vehicle 1000. When the characteristics of the lubricating oil supplied to the gear boxes 116 and 118 are always constant, the maximum gear drive resistance value may be calculated based on a map that directly obtains the maximum gear drive resistance value from the gear oil temperature.

  In the next step S30, the driving force comparison calculation unit 218 calculates the actual driving force calculated by the driving force calculation unit 216 from the theoretical driving force calculated from the vehicle model (value input from the subtraction unit 212) and the detected value of the longitudinal acceleration sensor 132. The difference in driving force (Foil_res) is calculated. Here, the subtraction unit 212 functions as a theoretical driving force calculation unit that calculates the theoretical driving force by subtracting the sum of the gradient resistance force Fgrad and the traveling resistance force Fre from the required driving force reqF. On the other hand, the driving force calculation unit 216 functions as an actual driving force calculation unit that calculates the driving force (actual driving force) actually generated by the vehicle 1000 based on the equation of motion from the longitudinal acceleration and the mass of the vehicle 1000. To do. The driving force comparison calculation unit 218 compares the theoretical driving force and the actual driving force, and calculates the difference between the theoretical driving force and the actual driving force as an output loss due to the lubricating oil in the gearboxes 116 and 118.

In the next step S32, the gear oil amount ratio estimation calculation unit 236 causes the loss of the lubricating oil (Foil_res) obtained from the calculation result in the driving force comparison calculation unit 218, and the maximum gear oil amount driving resistance map processing unit 234 to From the obtained maximum gear drive resistance value, a ratio [%] of the loss (Foil_res) due to the lubricant to the maximum gear drive resistance value is obtained. This ratio is calculated as the ratio of the oil amount actually used for gear lubrication to the total oil amount in the gear boxes 116 and 118. That is, the oil amount ratio is obtained from the following equation. Since the maximum gear drive resistance value is the gear drive resistance value when the amount of lubricating oil in the gearboxes 116 and 118 is all immersed in the gear and bearing (the drain tank 160 is empty), the gear oil amount ratio is estimated. The calculation unit 236 can determine the amount of oil actually used for gear lubrication from the amount of lubricant and the ratio of the amount of oil in the gearboxes 116 and 118 with the drain tank 160 empty.
Oil amount ratio = Foil_res / Foil_resMax × 100 [%]

  In the next step S34, the gear oil amount calculation unit 238 calculates the optimum oil amount corresponding to the gear load based on the vehicle speed V and the gear load calculated by the gear load calculation unit 224. The optimum oil amount calculated here is determined according to the gear load, and is a necessary oil amount according to the gear load. When the gear ratio of the gearboxes 116 and 118 is only one stage, the optimum oil amount is uniquely determined based on the gear load calculated by the gear load calculation unit 224. On the other hand, when the gear ratios of the gear boxes 116 and 118 are multistage, the gear boxes 116 and 118 are cooled in accordance with the difference in vehicle speed (running wind) due to the difference in gear ratio even if the gear load is the same. Differences occur. For this reason, the optimum oil amount can be obtained with higher accuracy by considering not only the gear load but also the vehicle speed V.

  In the next step S36, the gear oil amount adjustment calculation unit 240 calculates the optimum oil amount in the gear boxes 116 and 118 calculated by the gear oil amount calculation unit 238 and the oil amount ratio calculated by the gear oil amount ratio estimation calculation unit 236. On the basis of (the amount of oil actually used for gear lubrication), the amount of opening and closing of the oil amount adjustment valve 162 (valve control instruction value) in order to optimize the amount of gear lubricating oil in the gearboxes 116 and 118 Is calculated.

  As described above, the oil amount ratio calculated by the gear oil amount ratio calculating unit 236 corresponds to the oil amount actually used for gear lubrication in the gear boxes 116 and 118. The gear oil amount adjustment calculation unit 240 compares the oil amount actually used for gear lubrication at present with the optimum oil amount calculated from the gear load calculated by the gear oil amount calculation unit 238, and lubricates the gear. The opening / closing amount of the oil amount adjustment valve 162 is calculated so that the oil amount actually used becomes the optimum oil amount.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the drain tank 160 that holds the lubricating oil in the gear boxes 116 and 118 and the oil amount adjustment valve 162 that controls the supply of the lubricating oil from the drain tank 160 to the gear are provided. The amount of lubricating oil in the gear boxes 116 and 118 is optimized by controlling the opening and closing of the oil amount adjusting valve 162. At this time, the difference between the theoretical driving force and the actual driving force is regarded as a loss due to the lubricating oil, and the amount of the lubricating oil actually supplied to the gear can be estimated from the ratio of the loss relative to the maximum driving load. Therefore, by controlling the oil supply adjustment valve 162 so that the amount of lubricating oil actually supplied to the gear becomes the required amount of lubricating oil determined from the gear load, the required amount of lubricating oil corresponding to the gear load is highly accurate. Can be supplied to the gear. In the control of the oil amount adjusting valve 162, the vehicle driving torque becomes relatively large during low and medium speed traveling, so that the oil amount adjusting valve 162 is opened according to the gear load, and the amount of lubricating oil increases. On the other hand, since the vehicle driving torque is relatively low during high-speed traveling, the oil amount adjustment valve 162 is controlled according to the gear load in order to prevent scattering of the lubricating oil and to suppress the driving resistance. Can be adjusted optimally.

  As a result, it is possible to improve both the gearbox lubrication performance and the fuel efficiency and power consumption performance during traveling. Even if the amount of lubricating oil in the gearboxes 116 and 118 is increased, an optimal amount of lubricating oil is supplied to the gears. Therefore, by increasing the amount of lubricating oil, it is also possible to reliably suppress characteristic deterioration due to aging deterioration of the oil and increase in oil temperature due to high load.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to such examples. It is obvious that a person having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains can come up with various changes or modifications within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims. Of course, it is understood that these also belong to the technical scope of the present invention.

160 Drain tank 162 Oil amount adjustment valve 200 Control device 206 Required driving force calculation unit 208 Gradient driving force calculation unit 210 Travel resistance calculation unit 216 Driving force calculation unit 218 Driving force comparison calculation unit 222 Bearing load calculation unit 228 Load temperature prediction calculation 230 Gear oil temperature correction calculation unit 232 Gear oil viscosity characteristic map processing unit 234 Maximum gear oil amount driving resistance map processing unit 236 Gear oil amount ratio estimation calculation unit 238 Gear oil amount calculation unit 240 Gear oil amount adjustment calculation unit

Claims (8)

A theoretical driving force calculator that calculates the theoretical driving force of the vehicle based on the driver's required driving force;
An actual driving force calculator that calculates the actual driving force of the vehicle based on the longitudinal acceleration;
Lubricating oil loss load calculating unit that calculates a loss load due to gear lubrication of lubricating oil from the difference between the required driving force and the theoretical driving force;
A lubricating oil amount estimator that estimates the amount of lubricating oil supplied to the gear based on the loss load;
A gear oil amount calculation unit that calculates the amount of lubricating oil necessary to lubricate the gear based on the gear load determined from the rotational speed and torque of the gear;
A gear oil amount adjustment calculation unit for performing calculation for adjusting the amount of oil supplied to the gear based on the lubricating oil supply amount and the required lubricating oil amount;
A lubricating oil amount control device for a vehicle, comprising:   The gear oil amount adjustment calculation unit calculates an instruction value for controlling an oil amount adjustment valve for supplying lubricating oil to a gear in the gear box from a drain tank provided in the gear box. The lubricating oil amount control device for a vehicle according to claim 1. Based on the oil temperature of the lubricating oil, comprising a maximum driving resistance value calculating unit that calculates the maximum driving resistance value of the gear when all the lubricating oil in the drain tank is supplied to the gear in the gear box,
The vehicle lubricating oil amount control device according to claim 2, wherein the lubricating oil amount estimation unit estimates the lubricating oil supply amount based on a ratio of the loss load to the maximum drive resistance value. . Equipped with a kinematic viscosity calculator that calculates the kinematic viscosity of the lubricating oil based on the oil temperature of the lubricating oil,
4. The lubricating oil amount control device for a vehicle according to claim 3, wherein the maximum driving resistance value calculation unit calculates the maximum driving resistance value based on a rotational speed of the gear and the kinematic viscosity. A bearing load calculator that calculates the bearing load from the rotational speed and torque of the gear;
Based on the gear load and the bearing load, a load temperature prediction calculation unit that estimates the temperature of the lubricating oil;
A lubricating oil temperature correcting unit that corrects the detected value of the temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the lubricating oil in the gear box with the estimated temperature of the lubricating oil;
The vehicular lubricating oil amount control device according to claim 4, wherein the kinematic viscosity calculating unit calculates the kinematic viscosity based on a value corrected by the lubricating oil temperature correcting unit. A required driving force calculation unit for calculating the required driving force based on the accelerator opening;
A gradient resistance calculator that calculates the gradient resistance based on the longitudinal acceleration;
A running resistance calculation unit that calculates the running resistance based on the vehicle speed;
With
The amount of lubricating oil for a vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the theoretical driving force calculation unit calculates the theoretical driving force by subtracting the gradient resistance force and the traveling resistance force from the required driving force. Control device.   The said actual driving force calculating part calculates the said actual driving force based on the said longitudinal acceleration and the mass of a vehicle, The lubricating oil amount control apparatus of the vehicle in any one of Claims 1-6 characterized by the above-mentioned. Calculating the theoretical driving force of the vehicle based on the driving force required by the driver;
Calculating the actual driving force of the vehicle based on the longitudinal acceleration;
Calculating a loss load due to gear lubrication of lubricating oil from the difference between the required driving force and the theoretical driving force;
Estimating a lubricant supply amount being supplied to the gear based on the loss load;
Calculating a necessary amount of lubricating oil necessary for lubricating the gear based on a gear load obtained from the rotational speed and torque of the gear;
Performing a calculation for adjusting the amount of oil supplied to the gear based on the amount of lubricant supplied and the amount of lubricant required;
A vehicle lubricating oil amount control method comprising:

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