JP4061763B2 - Power output apparatus and control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten switching time when switching from an overdrive coupling to an underdrive coupling. SOLUTION: A control unit gives a switching command from an overdrive coupling to an underdrive coupling (S202). By this command, an actuator of a switching device is immediately started (S204). The control unit controls the actuator and separates a rotor shaft of an assist motor from a crankshaft of an engine (S206). The control unit controls the assist motor, accelerates rotation of the assist motor, increases the number of rotation of the rotor shaft of the assist motor and numbers of rotation are synchronized so that the number of rotation of the rotor shaft may be conformed to the number of rotation of an outer rotor shaft to be a drive shaft (S208). The control unit controls the actuator when the number of rotation of the rotor shaft coincides with the number of rotation of the outer rotor shaft and couples the rotor shaft with the outer rotor shaft (S212).

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a power output apparatus including an engine and an electric motor as a power source and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to a power output apparatus having coupling means capable of switching and coupling the electric motor to an output shaft and a drive shaft of the engine. It is about.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, hybrid vehicles equipped with a power output device that uses an engine and an electric motor as power sources have been proposed (for example, a technique described in JP-A-9-47094). One type of hybrid vehicle is a so-called parallel hybrid vehicle. In the parallel hybrid vehicle, a part of the power output from the engine by the mounted power output device is transmitted to the drive shaft by the power adjustment device, and the remaining power is regenerated as electric power. This electric power is stored in a battery or used to drive an electric motor as a power source other than the engine. Such a power output device can output the power output from the engine to the drive shaft at an arbitrary rotational speed and torque by controlling the power adjustment device and the electric motor in the power transmission process described above. Regardless of the required output to be output from the drive shaft, the engine can be operated by selecting an operating point with high driving efficiency, and therefore, the hybrid vehicle is more resource-saving than conventional vehicles that use only the engine as the drive source. Excellent exhaust purification.
[0003]
In the power output apparatus described above, there are two ways to connect the rotating shaft of the electric motor: the drive shaft and the engine output shaft. With regard to these connections, the configuration in which the rotating shaft of the electric motor is connected to the drive shaft has a characteristic that the driving efficiency is increased during an underdrive operation (under driving) where the rotational speed of the drive shaft is lower than the rotational speed of the engine. . In contrast, the configuration in which the rotating shaft of the electric motor is coupled to the output shaft of the engine has a characteristic that the driving efficiency is increased during overdrive operation (overdrive traveling) in which the rotational speed of the drive shaft is higher than the rotational speed of the engine. .
[0004]
Therefore, conventionally, a hybrid vehicle is proposed that is equipped with a power output device configured to be able to switch the coupling state of the rotating shaft of the electric motor between the drive shaft side and the engine output shaft side (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 10-2010). 75501 hybrid vehicle). In such a power output device, the rotation shaft of the motor and the drive shaft or the output shaft of the engine are coupled / disconnected using a switching device having a clutch or a switching device having a synchronized gear. Here, the synchronized gear refers to a mechanism composed of two or more gears arranged in series in the axial direction and a movable gear that can selectively mesh with these gears.
[0005]
Now, a combined state switching device in such a power output apparatus will be briefly described. Here, a case will be described as an example in which a clutch motor 30 that is a counter-rotor motor is used as the power adjustment device, and a device having a synchronized gear is used as the switching device.
[0006]
FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram showing a main part of a general power output apparatus configured to be able to switch the coupling state of the rotating shafts of the electric motor.
[0007]
As shown in FIG. 12, the hybrid unit 20 is disposed between a crankshaft 56 that is an output shaft of the engine 50 and a transmission shaft 22 that outputs power for driving the wheels 26. The hybrid unit 20 is provided with a clutch motor 30 that is a counter-rotor electric motor, an assist motor 40 that is an electric motor, and a switching device 80 that selectively switches the coupling destination of the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40. Yes.
[0008]
Among these, the clutch motor 30 includes an inner rotor 32 and an outer rotor 34, and not only the inner rotor 32 corresponding to a rotor in a normal electric motor but also the outer rotor 34 can freely rotate. An inner rotor shaft 33 is coupled to the inner rotor 32 of the clutch motor 30, and an outer rotor shaft 35 that is a drive shaft is coupled to the outer rotor 34. The inner rotor shaft 33 is coupled to the crankshaft 56 via a damper (not shown). The outer rotor shaft 35 is coupled to the transmission shaft 22 via the output gear 21 and the chain 23. The transmission shaft 22 is further coupled to an axle 26 having drive wheels 26R and 26L via a reduction gear 24 and a differential gear 25.
[0009]
The assist motor 40 includes a rotor 42 and a stator 44. Among these, the stator 44 is fixed to the case, and the rotor 42 is coupled to the hollow rotor shaft 43. The inner rotor shaft 33 coupled to the crankshaft 56 passes through the center of the hollow rotor shaft 43.
[0010]
The switching device 80 is a synchronized gear, and includes a first gear 81 coupled to the outer rotor shaft 35 of the clutch motor 30, a second gear 82 coupled to the inner rotor shaft 33, and a first gear not coupled to any shaft. 3 gears 83 and a movable member 87. A movable gear 84 that can mesh with the first to third gears 81 to 83 is provided on one side of the movable member 87, and the other side is slidable on the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40 via the spline 85. Are combined. Therefore, the movable gear 84 can move in the axial direction with respect to the rotor shaft 43 while rotating together with the rotor shaft 43. The switching device 80 is provided with an actuator 86 that drives the movable member 87 and switches the position of the movable gear 84. The actuator 86 can be realized by a motor or a solenoid and is controlled by a control unit (not shown).
[0011]
When the movable gear 84 is in the position a in FIG. 12, the first gear 81 and the movable gear 84 mesh with each other, and the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40 is connected to the outer rotor shaft 35 of the clutch motor 30 that is a drive shaft. Will be combined. As a result, the power output from the engine 50 passes through the clutch motor 30 and is output to the outer rotor shaft 35 that is a drive shaft. The assist motor 40 can exchange power with the outer rotor shaft 35. It becomes. FIG. 13 schematically shows this configuration. When the switching device 80 switches the movable gear 84 to the position a, this is equivalent to the configuration of FIG. Hereinafter, this coupling state is referred to as underdrive coupling.
[0012]
On the other hand, when the switching device 80 switches the movable gear 84 to the position c in FIG. 12, the second gear 82 and the movable gear 84 mesh, and the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40 is the inner rotor shaft of the clutch motor 30. 33, and in turn, coupled to a crankshaft 56 that is an output shaft of the engine 50. As a result, the assist motor 40 exchanges power with the inner rotor shaft 33 and the crankshaft 56 with respect to an output system of power output from the engine 50 to the outer rotor shaft 35 that is the drive shaft through the clutch motor 30. It becomes possible. FIG. 14 schematically shows this configuration. When the switching device 80 switches the movable gear 84 to the position c, it is equivalent to the configuration of FIG. Hereinafter, this coupling state is referred to as overdrive coupling.
[0013]
The switching device 80 can also switch the movable gear 84 to a position b that meshes with the third gear 83. In this position, the movable gear 84 is in a neutral state where it is not meshed with either the first gear 81 or the second gear 82. The power output from the engine 50 at this time passes through the clutch motor 30 and is directly output to the outer rotor shaft 35 which is a drive shaft.
[0014]
A control unit (not shown) controls the switching device 80 according to the traveling state of the hybrid vehicle to switch the coupling state of the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40. Basically, when the rotational speed of the engine 50 becomes larger than the rotational speed of the outer rotor shaft 35 which is a drive shaft, the switching device 80 is controlled so that the underdrive coupling (the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40 is changed). (Coupled to the outer rotor shaft 35, which is the drive shaft). On the contrary, when the rotational speed of the engine 50 becomes smaller than the rotational speed of the outer rotor shaft 35 that is the drive shaft, overdrive coupling (the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40 is connected to the crankshaft 56 that is the output shaft of the engine 50). To). In this way, highly efficient operation is realized in both the underdrive operation and the overdrive operation.
[0015]
In such a power output device capable of switching the coupling state of the rotating shaft of the electric motor, when switching the coupling state of the rotating shaft of the electric motor from overdrive coupling to underdrive coupling, conventionally, the following procedure is used. It was done in.
[0016]
FIG. 15 is a timing chart showing temporal transition of the operating state of each component when switching from overdrive coupling to underdrive coupling in a conventional power output apparatus.
[0017]
Such switching from overdrive coupling to underdrive coupling increases the output torque from the outer rotor shaft 35, which is the drive shaft, when the driver depresses the accelerator pedal, for example, when the hybrid vehicle is running steadily. This occurs when the vehicle is accelerated.
[0018]
In FIG. 15, a is a switching command issued by the control unit, b and c are control modes of the control unit, d, e and f are operating states of the switching device 80, g is an engine output, and h is the engine 50 and drive shaft. The rotation speed of the outer rotor shaft 35 and the assist motor (AM) 40, i, j, and k indicate the operating state of the clutch motor (CM) 30, and l, m, and n indicate the operating state of the assist motor (AM) 40, respectively.
It is assumed that the switching allowable speed difference range of the switching device 80 is about 300 rpm. In the switching device 80, the movable gear 84 has the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40, the second gear 82 has the crankshaft 56 of the engine 50 and the inner rotor shaft 33 of the clutch motor 30, and the first gear 81 has the clutch motor 30. Since the outer rotor shafts 35 are connected to each other, the inertia is increased. Therefore, when the movable gear 84 is coupled to the second gear 82 or the first gear 81, if the differential speed between the movable gear 84 and the second gear 82 or the first gear 81 is too large, large wear occurs between the two. End up. For this reason, the switching device 80 has a switching allowable speed range as described above.
[0019]
Now, the switching procedure will be sequentially described with reference to FIG. When the driver depresses the accelerator pedal (kick down), the control unit calculates a required output to be output from the outer rotor shaft 35 as a drive shaft from the amount of depression, and the required output satisfies a predetermined condition. In this case, a switching command is issued (procedure (1) of a).
[0020]
Next, the control unit increases the output of the engine 50 via a fuel injection control unit (not shown) (procedure (2) of g). Subsequently, the control unit determines whether or not the differential speed between the outer rotor shaft 35 that is the drive shaft and the crankshaft 56 that is the output shaft of the engine 50 is less than or equal to about 300 rpm, which is the allowable switching speed range, When the differential speed is about 300 rpm or less (procedure (3) in h), the actuator 86 of the switching device 80 is started (procedure (4) in d) to shift from the overdrive (OD) coupling state to the neutral state. In order to achieve this, the movable gear 84 is disconnected from the second gear 82. At the same time, the control unit shifts the assist motor 40 from the power generation state (see n) to a neutral state where neither power generation (regeneration) nor driving (powering) is performed, and the movable gear 84 is disconnected from the second gear 82. Is performed smoothly (procedure (5) of m).
[0021]
Next, the control unit controls the actuator 86 to couple the movable gear 84 to the third gear 83 and shift to the neutral state (procedure (6) of e). During this time, the control unit puts the assist motor 40 into a driving state (see l), and gradually increases the rotation speed of the assist motor 40 with a constant torque (see h). Then, the control unit controls the actuator 86 to disconnect the movable gear 84 from the third gear 83 (procedure (7) of e), and is coupled to the first gear 81, from the neutral state to the underdrive (UD) coupling. Transition to the state (procedure (8) of f). Then, the control unit attempts to increase the torque of the assist motor 40 (see l), and when the rotational speed of the engine 50 matches the rotational speed of the outer rotor shaft 35 that is the drive shaft (procedure 9 in h), the clutch motor 30 is shifted from the driving state to the power generation state (see i and k).
[0022]
As described above, conventionally, switching from overdrive coupling to underdrive coupling has been performed.
[0023]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the prior art, when switching from overdrive coupling to underdrive coupling, after the calculated required output satisfies a predetermined condition in the control unit, the outer rotor shaft 35 that is the drive shaft and the output shaft of the engine 50 are used. Since the actuator 86 of the switching device 80 has been started after confirming that the differential speed with the crankshaft 56 is within the switching allowable differential speed range of the switching device 80, the switching time is increased accordingly. There was a problem. For this reason, after the driver depresses the accelerator pedal, it takes a long time of 1 second or more until the torque corresponding to the depression amount is actually output from the outer rotor shaft 35 as the drive shaft. The response was bad for the person.
[0024]
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and to provide a power output apparatus and a control method thereof that can shorten the switching time when switching from overdrive coupling to underdrive coupling. There is to do.
[0025]
[Means for solving the problems and their functions and effects]
In order to achieve at least a part of the above object, a power output apparatus according to the present invention includes an engine having an output shaft, a drive shaft for outputting power, and exchange of electric power coupled to the output shaft and the drive shaft. A power adjusting device capable of increasing / decreasing the power output from the engine and transmitting it to the drive shaft, a motor having a rotary shaft, and selectively connecting the rotary shaft of the motor to the drive shaft or the output shaft. A power output device comprising coupling means capable of
When the rotating shaft of the motor is coupled to the output shaft by the coupling means, the rotating shaft of the motor is coupled to the drive shaft instead of the output shaft based on a request output requested from the outside. Determining means for determining whether or not to be;
When the determination means determines that the rotating shaft of the electric motor should be connected to the drive shaft, the connecting means controls the connecting means to disconnect the rotating shaft of the electric motor from the output shaft. Decoupling control means for starting driving,
Synchronizing means for increasing the rotational speed of the rotary shaft of the electric motor to match the rotational speed of the drive shaft when the rotary shaft of the electric motor is disconnected from the output shaft;
Coupling control means for controlling the coupling means when the rotational speed of the rotating shaft of the electric motor becomes substantially equal to the rotational speed of the driving shaft, and coupling the rotational shaft of the electric motor to the driving shaft;
Is further provided.
[0026]
Therefore, according to the power output apparatus of the present invention, when the determination means determines that the rotating shaft of the electric motor should be coupled to the drive shaft, the differential speed between the output shaft of the engine and the drive shaft is within the switching allowable differential speed range. Since the driving of the coupling means is started immediately without confirming that it is inside, the switching time for switching the coupling state of the rotating shafts of the electric motor can be shortened as compared with the prior art. In addition, when the rotating shaft of the motor is disconnected from the output shaft, the number of rotations of the rotating shaft of the motor can be increased and actively synchronized with the number of rotations of the driving shaft. Since the rotation shaft of the electric motor is coupled to the drive shaft as soon as possible, the switching time can be further shortened.
[0027]
In the power output apparatus of the present invention, when the determination means determines that the rotating shaft of the electric motor should be coupled to the drive shaft, the engine is controlled to output the power output from the engine. You may make it further provide the power raising means to raise.
[0028]
In this way, when the coupling destination of the rotating shaft of the motor is switched from the output shaft to the drive shaft, the power output from the engine is increased, and the torque obtained from the engine is directly applied to the drive shaft via the power adjustment device. By transmitting the torque, it is possible to prevent torque from being lost in the drive shaft.
[0029]
In the power output device of the present invention,
The operating region of the power output device represented by the relationship between the torque and the rotational speed is divided by a predetermined boundary, and the first region to be operated by coupling the rotating shaft of the electric motor to the output shaft, and And further comprising region setting means for setting a second region to be operated by coupling the rotating shaft of the electric motor to the drive shaft;
The determining means includes
The target operating point setting means for setting the target operating point of the drive shaft from the required power, and the rotation of the motor when the set target operating point of the drive shaft is in the second region beyond the boundary. Switching determining means for determining that a shaft should be coupled to the drive shaft instead of the output shaft;
It is preferable to provide.
[0030]
In this way, the target operating point of the drive shaft is set from the required output, and when the set target operating point is in the second region beyond the boundary, it is determined that the rotating shaft of the motor should be coupled to the driving shaft. By doing so, the rotating shaft of the electric motor can be accurately switched based on the required output.
[0031]
Various devices can be applied as the power adjustment device in the present invention.
For example, the power adjustment device may include a counter-rotor electric motor having a first rotor coupled to the output shaft and a second rotor coupled to the drive shaft.
[0032]
According to the counter-rotor motor, it is possible to transmit power from one rotor to the other rotor by electromagnetic coupling between the first rotor and the second rotor. It is also possible to regenerate part of the power as electric power by relative sliding between the two. The above-mentioned counter-rotor motor can function as a power adjustment device by these two actions.
[0033]
In addition, the power adjustment device
A generator having a rotor shaft;
It may have three rotating shafts, and the rotating shafts may include planetary gears respectively coupled to the output shaft, the drive shaft, and the rotor shaft.
[0034]
According to such a configuration, the power generated by the rotation of the output shaft can be distributed and transmitted to the drive shaft and the rotor shaft based on the general operation of the planetary gear. Accordingly, a part of the power input to the output shaft can be transmitted to the drive shaft, and the power distributed to the rotor shaft can be regenerated as electric power by the generator. The above-described device can function as a power adjustment device by these two actions.
[0035]
The present invention can also be configured as a method for controlling the power output apparatus described below.
A method for controlling a power output apparatus according to the present invention includes an engine having an output shaft, a drive shaft for outputting power, and the output shaft coupled to the output shaft and the drive shaft to increase or decrease the power output from the engine. And a power adjusting device capable of transmitting to the drive shaft, an electric motor having a rotating shaft, and a coupling means capable of selectively coupling the rotating shaft of the motor to the driving shaft or the output shaft. A control method for a power output device comprising:
(A) When the rotating shaft of the electric motor is coupled to the output shaft by the coupling means, the driving shaft is replaced with the output shaft based on a request output requested from the outside. Determining whether or not to combine with,
(B) When it is determined that the rotating shaft of the motor should be coupled to the drive shaft, the coupling means is controlled to control the coupling means so as to separate the rotating shaft of the motor from the output shaft. Starting the process,
(C) when the rotating shaft of the electric motor is disconnected from the output shaft, increasing the rotational speed of the rotating shaft of the electric motor to match the rotational speed of the drive shaft;
(D) when the rotational speed of the rotating shaft of the electric motor becomes substantially equal to the rotational speed of the driving shaft, controlling the coupling means to couple the rotating shaft of the electric motor to the driving shaft;
It is a summary to provide.
[0036]
Therefore, according to this control method, similarly to the power output apparatus of the present invention described above, it is possible to shorten the switching time when switching the coupling state of the rotating shafts of the electric motor.
[0037]
In the method for controlling the power output apparatus of the present invention,
(E) A step of controlling the engine to increase the power output from the engine when it is determined in the step (a) that the rotating shaft of the electric motor should be coupled to the drive shaft.
May be further provided.
[0038]
Therefore, according to such a control method, it is possible to prevent torque loss from occurring on the drive shaft, as in the power output apparatus of the present invention described above.
[0039]
The present invention described above is directly applied to a power output apparatus and its control method. In addition, the present invention can be configured as various devices equipped with such a power output device, for example, a hybrid vehicle.
[0040]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on examples.
(1) Configuration of the embodiment:
First, the configuration of the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of a hybrid vehicle equipped with a power output apparatus as an embodiment of the present invention. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same thing as the component shown in above-mentioned FIG.
[0041]
The power output apparatus 10 of the present embodiment mainly includes an engine 50 and a hybrid unit 20 that are power systems, a fuel injection control unit (hereinafter referred to as EFIECU) that is a control system, and a control unit 90.
[0042]
Among these, the engine 50 which is a power system is a normal gasoline engine, and rotates the crankshaft 56 which is an output shaft.
[0043]
The operation of the engine 50 is controlled by an EFIECU 70 that is a control system. The EFIECU 70 is a one-chip microcomputer having a CPU, ROM, RAM, etc. therein, and the CPU mainly controls the fuel injection amount of the engine 50, the advance control of the intake / exhaust valve, and the like according to the program recorded in the ROM. Execute control. In order to enable these controls, the EFIECU 70 includes a fuel injection valve 51, a throttle valve motor 54 that controls the opening degree of the throttle valve 53, a VVT 57 that controls opening and closing timings of intake and exhaust valves (not shown), and the like. Is provided. The EFIECU 70 is connected with various sensors that are necessary for performing these controls and that indicate the operating state of the engine 50. One of them is a rotation speed sensor 52 that detects the rotation speed of the crankshaft 56. Other sensors and switches are not shown.
[0044]
The hybrid unit 20 is disposed between the crankshaft 56 of the engine 50 and the transmission shaft 22 that outputs power for driving the wheels 26, as in FIG. The hybrid unit 20 is mainly provided with a clutch motor 30 that is a counter-rotor electric motor, an assist motor 40 that is an electric motor, and a switching device 80 that selectively switches the coupling destination of the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40. It has been.
[0045]
Among these, the clutch motor 30 is basically configured as a synchronous motor using a permanent magnet, but a member around which a three-phase coil for generating a magnetic field is wound is a so-called stator fixed to a case. It differs from a normal electric motor in that it is configured as a rotatable rotor. That is, in the clutch motor 30, as described in FIG. 12, not only the inner rotor 32 corresponding to the rotor in a normal electric motor but also the outer rotor 34 around which the three-phase coil 36 is wound can freely rotate. The electric motor configured as described above is called a counter-rotor electric motor as described above. In such a counter-rotor motor, since the outer rotor 34 provided with the three-phase coil 36 also rotates, a mechanism for supplying electric power to the rotating coil 36 is required. In this embodiment, a slip ring 38 is provided as this mechanism to supply power to the three-phase coil 36. However, instead of the slip ring 38, other configurations such as a differential transformer may be used. is there. In the clutch motor 30, both rotate relatively due to the interaction between the magnetic field generated by the permanent magnet provided in the inner rotor 32 and the magnetic field formed by the three-phase coil 36 provided in the outer rotor 34. In addition, since this effect | action is reversible, the clutch motor 30 can be operated as a generator, and the electric power according to the rotation speed difference of both rotors can also be regenerated from the clutch motor 30.
[0046]
Similarly to the case of FIG. 12, an inner rotor shaft 33 is coupled to the inner rotor 32 of the clutch motor 30, and an outer rotor shaft 35 that is a drive shaft is coupled to the outer rotor 34. The inner rotor shaft 33 is coupled to the crankshaft 56 via a damper (not shown). The outer rotor shaft 35 is coupled to the transmission shaft 22 via the output gear 21 and the chain 23. The transmission shaft 22 is further coupled to an axle 26 having drive wheels 26R and 26L via a reduction gear 24 and a differential gear 25.
[0047]
Since both the inner rotor 32 and the outer rotor 34 can rotate in the clutch motor 30, power input from one of the inner rotor shaft 33 and the outer rotor shaft 35 can be transmitted to the other. In the clutch motor 30 itself, the torque cannot be changed because of the relationship between action and reaction, but if the clutch motor 30 is operated as a motor, the number of rotations of the other shaft will increase, resulting in output from the other shaft. The power (= rotation speed × torque) becomes high. When the regenerative operation is performed using the clutch motor 30 as a generator, the rotational speed of the other shaft becomes low, and electric power (= rotational speed difference × torque) corresponding to the rotational speed difference is taken out. That is, by using the clutch motor 30, the remaining power can be transmitted while taking out a part of the power in the form of electric power. Further, if neither power running nor regenerative operation is performed, no power is transmitted. Since this state corresponds to a state in which the mechanical clutch is released, this counter-rotor electric motor is called a clutch motor.
[0048]
On the other hand, the assist motor 40 provided in the hybrid unit 20 is also configured as a synchronous motor using a permanent magnet, similar to the clutch motor 30, and in this embodiment, a permanent magnet is disposed on the rotor 42 side. Three-phase coils 46 are respectively provided on the 44 side. As in the case of FIG. 12, the stator 44 of the assist motor 40 is fixed to the case, and the rotor 42 is coupled to the hollow rotor shaft 43. The inner rotor shaft 33 coupled to the crankshaft 56 passes through the center of the hollow rotor shaft 43.
[0049]
In order to drive the clutch motor 30 and the assist motor 40 described above, a first drive circuit 91 and a second drive circuit 92 connected to the battery 94 are provided. The first drive circuit 91 is a transistor inverter having a plurality of transistors as switching elements therein, and is electrically connected to the control unit 90. When the control unit 90 performs PWM control of the ON / OFF time of the transistor of the first drive circuit 91, the battery 94 and the three-phase coil 36 wound around the outer rotor 34 of the clutch motor 30 are connected to both of them. Three-phase alternating current flows through the first drive circuit 91 and the slip ring 38 that have been made. By this three-phase alternating current, a rotating magnetic field is formed in the outer rotor 34, and the rotation of the clutch motor 30 is controlled. As a result, an operation of powering the clutch motor 30 using the electric power of the battery 94 or an operation of storing electric power regenerated from the clutch motor 30 in the battery 94 can be performed.
[0050]
On the other hand, the assist motor 40 is connected to the battery 94 via the second drive circuit 92. The second drive circuit 92 is also composed of a transistor inverter, and is connected to the control unit 90 and operates under the control thereof. When the transistor of the drive circuit 92 is switched by the control signal of the control unit 90, a three-phase alternating current flows through the three-phase coil 46 wound around the stator 44 to generate a rotating magnetic field, and the assist motor 40 rotates. Of course, the assist motor 40 can also perform a regenerative operation.
[0051]
The switching device 80 provided in the hybrid unit 20 is a synchronized gear, and the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40 is connected to any one of the outer rotor shaft 35 and the inner rotor shaft 33 of the clutch motor 30. To switch to a state where it is not connected to any axis. The configuration and operation of the switching device 80 are the same as in the case of FIG.
[0052]
As will be described later, the control unit 90 controls the switching device 80 to switch the coupling destination of the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40 according to the traveling state of the hybrid vehicle. As a result, when the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40 is coupled to the outer rotor shaft 35 of the clutch motor 30 that is the drive shaft, the underdrive coupling as shown in FIG. When coupled to the inner rotor shaft 33 of the clutch motor 30 and to the crankshaft 56 that is the output shaft of the engine 50, the overdrive coupling as shown in FIG.
[0053]
Note that the switching device 80 used in this embodiment can also be configured by a plurality of clutches. That is, instead of the combination of the first to third gears 81 to 83 and the movable gear 84, a first clutch for coupling and releasing the outer rotor shaft 35 and the rotor shaft 43 is provided, and the inner rotor shaft 33 and the rotor shaft 43 are provided. It is also possible to provide a second clutch that performs coupling and release. In this case, it is not necessary to provide the spline 85.
[0054]
In this embodiment, the operating state of the hybrid vehicle is controlled by the control unit 90. Similarly to the EFIECU 70, the control unit 90 is a one-chip microcomputer having a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like. The CPU 90 is configured to perform various control processes to be described later according to a program recorded in the ROM. In order to enable these controls, various sensors and switches are electrically connected to the control unit 90. Examples of sensors and switches connected to the control unit 90 include an accelerator pedal position sensor 65a for detecting the depression amount of the accelerator pedal 65, a shift position sensor 66a for detecting the position of the shift lever 66, and the like. There are a rotational speed sensor that detects the rotational speed of the outer rotor shaft 35 that is not shown, and a rotational speed sensor that detects the rotational speed of the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40.
[0055]
The control unit 90 is also connected to the EFIECU 70 via a communication line, and exchanges various information with the EFIECU 70 by communication. By outputting information necessary for controlling the engine 50 from the control unit 90 to the EFIECU 70, the engine 50 can be indirectly controlled. Conversely, information such as the rotational speed of the engine 50 can be input from the EFIECU 70.
[0056]
The power output apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 applies a clutch motor 30 as a power adjustment apparatus that transmits power output from the engine 150 by increasing or decreasing power exchange, and distributes power to the clutch motor 30. This is realized by sliding between the inner rotor 32 and the outer rotor 34. A part of the motive power from the engine 50 is directly output in mechanical form to the outer rotor shaft 35 as a drive shaft via the clutch motor 30, and a part of the motive power is generated by the sliding rotation of the two rotors 32 and 34. Is taken out in the form of electric power. The electrically extracted energy can be stored in the battery 94, or can be output to the assist motor 40, which is another motor, and used to increase the torque of the outer rotor shaft 35, which is a drive shaft. That is, the power output apparatus 10 outputs the power to the outer rotor shaft 35 as a drive shaft by an engine 50 that outputs power, a clutch motor 30 that exchanges power by sliding rotation, and an assist motor 40 that can be powered and regenerated. The power can be controlled freely.
[0057]
(2) General operation:
Next, as a general operation of the power output apparatus of the present embodiment, an operation of converting the power output from the engine 50 into the requested rotation speed and torque and outputting it to the outer rotor shaft 35 as a drive shaft will be described. In the power output apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, the conversion path differs depending on the magnitude relationship between the rotational speed Ne of the engine 50 and the rotational speed Nd of the outer rotor shaft 35 and the coupling state of the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40. .
[0058]
First, the case where the rotational speed Nd of the outer rotor shaft 35 serving as the drive shaft is smaller than the rotational speed Ne of the engine 50 in the underdrive coupling (FIG. 13) will be described. FIG. 2 shows how torque is converted in such a case. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the operating point Pe of the engine 50 and the operating point Pd of the outer rotor shaft 35 with the rotational speed N on the horizontal axis and the torque T on the vertical axis. A curve P in FIG. 2 is a curve with a constant power, that is, a product of the rotation speed and the torque. Consider a case where the power Pe output from the engine 50 at the rotational speed Ne and the torque Te is converted into the power Pd having a rotational speed Nd and a torque Td higher than Ne and output from the outer rotor shaft 35.
[0059]
When the conversion shown in FIG. 2 is performed, the rotational speed Nd of the outer rotor shaft 35 is smaller than the rotational speed Ne of the engine 50. In the clutch motor 40, the outer rotor rotates at the rotation speed Nd, and the inner rotor rotates at a higher rotation speed Ne. Therefore, the clutch motor 30 rotates in the reverse direction, and the rotation speed Nc of the clutch motor 30 is negative. It becomes the value of. The torque Tc of the clutch motor 30 is equal to the output torque Te of the engine 50 from the principle of action and reaction, and is a positive value. That is, the clutch motor 30 is operated in a state where a part of the power output from the engine 50 is transmitted to the outer rotor shaft 35 as a drive shaft and the rest is regenerated as electric power. At this time, the regenerated electric power is equal to the product of the rotational speed Nc of the clutch motor 130 and the torque Tc, and is equal to the area of the hatched region GU1 in FIG.
[0060]
On the other hand, the torque Td of the outer rotor shaft 35 is larger than the torque Te of the engine 50. Therefore, the assist motor 40 is operated with a positive torque and a positive rotation speed. That is, the assist motor 40 is powered by receiving power. The electric power supplied at this time is equal to the product of the rotation speed and torque of the assist motor 40, and is equal to the area of the hatched area AU1 in FIG. Assuming that the operating efficiency of both motors is 100%, the power regenerated by the clutch motor 30 and the power supplied to the assist motor 40 are equal. That is, the energy corresponding to the region GU1 is extracted in the form of electric power by the clutch motor 30 and is supplied as the energy corresponding to the region AU1, so that the power represented by the operating point Pe of the engine 50 is converted to the operating point Pd. Convert to the state. Actually, since the operation efficiency does not reach 100%, the above conversion is realized by taking out the electric power from the battery 94 or outputting extra power corresponding to the loss from the engine 50. In such conversion, electric power regenerated by the clutch motor 30 located on the upstream side is supplied to the assist motor 40 located on the downstream side.
[0061]
Next, a case where the rotational speed Nd of the outer rotor shaft 35 that is the drive shaft is higher than the rotational speed Ne of the engine 50 in the underdrive coupling will be described. The state of torque conversion in such a case is shown in FIG. When the conversion shown in FIG. 3 is performed, the rotational speed Nd of the outer rotor shaft 35 is larger than the rotational speed Ne of the engine 50. Therefore, the clutch motor 30 rotates at a positive rotational speed Nc and a positive torque Tc. That is, the clutch motor 30 is powered by receiving power. At this time, the supplied electric power is equal to the product of the rotational speed and torque of the clutch motor 30, and is equal to the area of the hatched region “GU2 + GU3” in FIG. On the other hand, the torque Td of the outer rotor shaft 35 is smaller than the torque Te of the engine 50. Therefore, the assist motor 40 is operated with a negative torque and a positive rotation speed. That is, the assist motor 40 is regeneratively operated. The electric power regenerated at this time is equal to the product of the rotation speed and torque of the assist motor 40, and is equal to the area of the hatched area “AU2 + GU3” in FIG. Assuming that the operating efficiency of both motors is 100%, the power regenerated by the assist motor 40 and the power supplied to the clutch motor 30 are equal. In such conversion, the electric power regenerated by the assist motor 40 located on the downstream side is supplied to the clutch motor 30 located on the upstream side, and the electric power supplied to the clutch motor 30 is again transmitted to the downstream side as mechanical power. Since it is supplied to the positioned assist motor 40, power circulation occurs. When the circulation of power occurs, the power transmitted from the engine 50 to the outer rotor shaft 35, which is the drive shaft, is effectively reduced, so that the operation efficiency of the power output device 10 is lowered.
[0062]
In the underdrive coupling, the operating points of the assist motor 40 and the clutch motor 30 for realizing the above-described conversion are as follows.
[0063]
Number of rotations of clutch motor 30 Nc = Nd−Ne;
Torque Tc = Te;
Number of rotations of assist motor 40 Na = Nd;
Torque Ta = Td−Te; (1)
[0064]
Next, a case where the rotational speed Nd of the outer rotor shaft 35 that is the drive shaft is smaller than the rotational speed Ne of the engine 50 in the case of overdrive coupling (FIG. 14) will be described. The state of torque conversion in such a case is shown in FIG. When the conversion shown in FIG. 4 is performed, the rotational speed Nd of the outer rotor shaft 35 is smaller than the rotational speed Ne of the engine 50. Therefore, the clutch motor 30 rotates at a negative rotational speed Nc and a positive torque Tc. That is, the clutch motor 30 is regeneratively operated. At this time, the regenerated electric power is equal to the product of the rotational speed and torque of the clutch motor 30, and is equal to the area of the hatched region “GO1 + GO2” in FIG. On the other hand, the torque Td of the outer rotor shaft 35 is larger than the torque Te of the engine 50. Therefore, the assist motor 40 is operated with a positive torque and a positive rotation speed. At this time, the supplied electric power is equal to the product of the rotational speed and torque of the clutch motor 30, and is equal to the area of the hatched area “GU2 + GU3” in FIG. On the other hand, the torque Td of the outer rotor shaft 35 is smaller than the torque Te of the engine 50. Therefore, the assist motor 40 is operated with a negative torque and a positive rotation speed. That is, the assist motor 40 is powered by receiving power. At this time, the supplied electric power is equal to the product of the rotation speed and torque of the assist motor 40, and is equal to the area of the hatched area “AU1 + GU2” in FIG. Assuming that the operating efficiency of both motors is 100%, the power regenerated by the clutch motor 30 and the power supplied to the assist motor 40 are equal. In such conversion, since the electric power regenerated by the clutch motor 30 located on the downstream side is supplied to the assist motor 40 located on the upstream side, power circulation also occurs in this case, and the operating efficiency of the power output apparatus 10 is reduced. To do.
[0065]
Next, a case where the rotational speed Nd of the outer rotor shaft 35 that is a drive shaft is higher than the rotational speed Ne of the engine 50 in the case of overdrive coupling will be described. FIG. 5 shows how torque is converted in such a case. When the conversion shown in FIG. 5 is performed, the rotational speed Nd of the outer rotor shaft 35 is larger than the rotational speed Ne of the engine 50. Therefore, the clutch motor 30 rotates at a positive rotational speed Nc and a positive torque Tc. That is, the clutch motor 30 is powered by receiving power. At this time, the supplied electric power is equal to the product of the rotational speed and torque of the clutch motor 30, and is equal to the area of the hatched region “GO3” in FIG. On the other hand, the torque Td of the outer rotor shaft 35 is smaller than the torque Te of the engine 50. Therefore, the assist motor 40 is operated with a negative torque and a positive rotation speed. That is, the assist motor 40 is regeneratively operated. The electric power regenerated at this time is equal to the product of the rotation speed and torque of the assist motor 40, and is equal to the area of the hatched area “AO2” in FIG. Assuming that the operating efficiency of both motors is 100%, the power regenerated by the assist motor 40 and the power supplied to the clutch motor 30 are equal. In such conversion, electric power regenerated by the assist motor 40 located on the upstream side is supplied to the clutch motor 30 located on the downstream side.
[0066]
In overdrive coupling, the operation points of the assist motor 40 and the clutch motor 30 for realizing the above-described conversion are as follows.
[0067]
Number of rotations of clutch motor 30 Nc = Nd−Ne;
Torque Tc = Td;
Rotation speed of assist motor 40 Na = Ne;
Torque Ta = Td−Te; (2)
[0068]
As described above, the power output apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, according to the coupled state of the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40 and the magnitude relationship between the rotational speed Nd of the outer rotor shaft 35 and the rotational speed Ne of the engine 50, The power output from the engine 50 can be converted into power having the required rotation speed and torque and output from the outer rotor shaft 35 as a drive shaft.
[0069]
However, if the operation is performed by underdrive coupling during an overdrive operation in which the rotation speed Nd of the outer rotor shaft 35 is greater than the rotation speed Ne of the engine 50, power circulation occurs and the driving efficiency of the vehicle decreases. Further, if the operation is performed by overdrive coupling during the underdrive operation in which the rotation speed Nd of the outer rotor shaft 35 is smaller than the rotation speed Ne of the engine 50, power circulation occurs in the same manner, and the driving efficiency of the vehicle decreases. Therefore, in the present embodiment, in order to improve the operation efficiency, basically, the outer rotor shaft 35 is rotated so that the outer rotor shaft 35 is overdrive coupled during overdrive operation when the rotational speed Nd is larger than the rotational speed Ne of the engine 50. During the underdrive operation in which the rotational speed Nd of the shaft 35 is smaller than the rotational speed Ne of the engine 50, the coupling state of the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40 is controlled so that the underdrive coupling is achieved.
[0070]
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation region of the power output apparatus of FIG. 1, a region for basically overdrive coupling, and a region for underdrive coupling. In FIG. 6, the vertical axis represents torque, and the horizontal axis represents rotation speed.
[0071]
Curve LIM is the maximum output line of power output device 10 of this example. Therefore, the region surrounded by the vertical axis that is the torque axis, the horizontal axis that is the rotational speed axis, and the curve LIM is the range that can be taken by the operating point of the outer rotor shaft 35 that is the drive shaft, that is, the operation of the power output device 10. It is an area. The operating point is expressed as a combination of torque and rotation speed.
[0072]
A curve L1 is an operation line used when determining a target operation point of the engine 50. The operation line L1 is an operation line that maximizes the efficiency of the engine 50. When the target operation point of the engine 50 is determined according to the operation line L1, the fuel efficiency of the engine 50 becomes optimal. Actually, this operation line is stored as a map in the ROM in the control unit 90.
[0073]
In general, the operating line of the engine 50 is a boundary where the rotational speed Ne of the engine 50 is equal to the rotational speed Nd of the outer rotor shaft 35 that is a drive shaft. Therefore, in the present embodiment, basically, in the region where the torque is lower than the operation line L1, the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40 is operated with the overdrive connection, and the torque is higher than that of the operation line L1. In the higher region, the underdrive coupling is used for operation. Hereinafter, a region with a lower torque than the operation line L1 is referred to as an overdrive region, and a region with a higher torque than the operation line L1 is referred to as an underdrive region.
[0074]
A curved line DO is a locus of an operating point of the outer rotor shaft 35 that is a drive shaft. For example, the curve DO is a trajectory when the driver depresses the accelerator and increases the output torque from the outer rotor shaft 35 that is the drive shaft to accelerate the vehicle when the vehicle is traveling steadily.
[0075]
In addition, the curve DD is a curve representing the running resistance of 0%, and the curves P1 and P2 are curves in which the power becomes a certain constant value.
[0076]
Here, a general control operation for the engine 50, the assist motor 40, and the clutch motor 30 during overdrive coupling and underdrive coupling will be briefly described.
[0077]
First, the control unit 90 shown in FIG. 1 calculates a required output to be output from the outer rotor shaft 35, which is a drive shaft, charge / discharge power, and auxiliary drive energy, and adds them to obtain the required power for the engine 50. Set. Here, the required output to be output from the outer rotor shaft 35 as the drive shaft corresponds to the power to be output from the outer rotor shaft 35 requested by the driver, and is the product of the target rotational speed of the outer rotor shaft 35 and the target torque. expressed. This required output is set based on the depression amount of the accelerator pedal 65 detected by the accelerator pedal position sensor 65a, as will be described later. The charge / discharge power is energy required for charging / discharging the battery 94, and takes a positive value when the battery 94 needs to be charged and takes a negative value when the battery 94 needs to be discharged. Auxiliary drive energy is electric power required to drive an auxiliary machine (not shown) such as an air conditioner.
[0078]
Next, the control unit 90 sets a target operating point of the engine 50 based on the required power set in this way. This target operating point is set with priority on the operating efficiency of the engine 50 according to the map corresponding to the operating line of the engine 50 described above.
[0079]
Next, the control unit 90 sets target operating points for the clutch motor 30 and the assist motor 40. These target operating points (that is, the combination of the target rotational speed and the target torque) are set according to the equations (1) and (2) shown above according to whether overdrive coupling or underdrive coupling is performed. .
[0080]
Based on the target torque and target rotational speed set as described above, the control unit 90 controls the operations of the clutch motor 30, the assist motor 40, and the engine 50. A well-known process can be applied to the motor operation control process as the synchronous motor control. In this embodiment, control by so-called proportional integral control is executed. That is, the current torque of each motor is detected, and the voltage command value to be applied to each phase is set based on the deviation from the target torque and the target rotational speed. The applied voltage value is set by the proportional term, integral term, and cumulative term of the deviation. Appropriate values are set for the proportional coefficients for each term through experiments. The voltage thus set is replaced with the switching duty of the transistor inverters constituting the drive circuits 91 and 92, and is applied to each motor by so-called PWM control.
[0081]
The control unit 90 directly controls the operations of the clutch motor 30 and the assist motor 40 as described above by controlling the switching of the drive circuits 91 and 92. On the other hand, the operation control of the engine 50 is actually a process performed by the EFIECU 70. Accordingly, the control unit 90 indirectly controls the operation of the engine 50 by outputting information on the target operating point of the engine 50 to the EFIECU 70.
[0082]
By periodically executing the above processing, the power output apparatus 10 of the present embodiment converts the power output from the engine 50 into a desired rotational speed and torque, and outputs it from the outer rotor shaft 35 that is a drive shaft. can do.
[0083]
(3) Control when switching from overdrive coupling to underdrive coupling:
Next, an operation when the coupling state of the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40 is switched from overdrive coupling to underdrive coupling will be described.
[0084]
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a control processing procedure when switching from overdrive coupling to underdrive coupling in the power output apparatus 10 of FIG. This processing routine is executed by the CPU of the control unit 90 operating according to a processing program stored in the ROM.
[0085]
Here, a case will be described as an example where the operating point of the outer rotor shaft 35 as the drive shaft is switched from overdrive coupling to underdrive coupling when moving along the curve DO in FIG. For example, it is assumed that the vehicle is traveling normally with a running resistance of 0% and the operating point of the outer rotor shaft 35 is now at a point d1 on the curve DO. Accordingly, since the operating point of the outer rotor shaft 35 is in the overdrive region, the coupling state of the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40 is overdrive coupling. The operating point of the engine 50 is assumed to be at a point e1 on the operating line L1.
[0086]
Therefore, since the coupling state of the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40 is overdrive coupling, the control unit 90 controls the engine 50, the assist motor 40, and the clutch motor 30 at the time of overdrive coupling as described above. Processing is performed (step S102).
[0087]
Subsequently, the control unit 90 obtains a required output to be output from the outer rotor shaft 35 as a drive shaft based on the depression amount of the accelerator pedal 65 detected by the accelerator pedal position sensor 65a, and further calculates the outer rotor shaft from the required output. 35 target operating points are determined (step S104).
[0088]
Next, the control unit 90 determines whether or not the determined target operating point of the outer rotor shaft 35 is in the underdrive region (step S106). Therefore, if the driver has not yet depressed the accelerator pedal 65 and the target operating point of the outer rotor shaft 35 is still in the overdrive region, the process returns to step S102 and the control unit 90 is the same as described above. Repeat the process. However, when the driver depresses the accelerator pedal 65 and the target operating point of the outer rotor shaft 35 exceeds the operating line L2 of the engine 50 and is in the underdrive region, the control unit 90 executes the processing after step S108. .
[0089]
For example, if the target operating point of the outer rotor shaft 35 determined in step S104 is the point e3, the point e3 is in the underdrive region, so the process proceeds to step S108, and the control unit 90 performs the overshoot as shown in FIG. A switching processing routine from drive coupling to underdrive coupling is started (step S108).
[0090]
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a switching processing routine from overdrive coupling to underdrive coupling in FIG. 7, and FIG. 9 is the rotation speed of the engine 50, the assist motor 40, and the outer rotor shaft 35 as a drive shaft in the power output apparatus 10 in FIG. It is a timing chart which shows the time change of. In FIG. 9, the vertical axis represents the number of rotations and the horizontal axis represents time. Further, the curve ER indicates the time change of the engine 50, the curve AR indicates the speed of the assist motor 40, and the curve DR indicates the time change of the rotation speed of the outer rotor shaft 35 serving as a drive shaft. In FIG. 9, it is assumed that the driver depresses the accelerator pedal 65 at the timing t0, and this timing t0 is the origin of the time shown on the horizontal axis. Accordingly, points e1 and d1 in FIG. 9 correspond to points e1 and d1 shown in FIG. 6, respectively.
[0091]
When the switching processing routine shown in FIG. 8 is started, the control unit 90 issues a switching command from overdrive coupling to underdrive coupling at the timing t1 shown in FIG. 9 (step S202). Immediately starts the actuator 86 of the switching device 80 (step S204). Then, the control unit 90 controls the actuator 86 to disconnect the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40 from the crankshaft 56 of the engine 50 at timing t2 (step S206). Specifically, in the switching device 80, the actuator 86 is driven to move the movable gear 84 at the position c in FIG. 1 toward the position b, and disengage the movable gear 84 from the second gear 82. Is done.
[0092]
As a result, the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40 that has been rotating at the same rotational speed as the crankshaft 56 of the engine 50 is released from the coupling with the crankshaft 56 and can be freely rotated independently.
[0093]
Therefore, next, the control unit 90 controls the assist motor 40 via the drive circuit 92 to accelerate the rotation of the assist motor 40 and increase the rotation speed of the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40. Then, the rotation speed is synchronized so that the rotation speed of the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40 matches the rotation speed of the outer rotor shaft 35 that is the drive shaft (step S208). As a result, as indicated by a curve AR in FIG. 9, the rotational speed of the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40 moves away from the rotational speed of the crankshaft 56 of the engine 50 toward the rotational speed of the outer rotor shaft 35 that is the drive shaft. Rise.
[0094]
The rotation speed is synchronized as follows, for example. The control unit 90 first sets the target operating point of the assist motor 40 (that is, the combination of the target torque and the target rotational speed) from the rotational speed sensor (not shown) to the rotational speed of the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40 and the outer rotor. The rotation speed of the shaft 35 is detected, and the target torque and the target rotation speed of the assist motor 40 are set so that the detected rotation speed of the rotor shaft 43 approaches the rotation speed of the outer rotor shaft 35. Then, the control unit 90 controls the operation of the assist motor 40 based on the set target operation point of the assist motor 40.
[0095]
Next, the control unit 90 determines whether or not the rotation speed of the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40 matches the rotation speed of the outer rotor shaft 35 that is the drive shaft (step S210). Until the rotation speed synchronization process continues.
[0096]
Thereafter, when the rotational speed of the rotor shaft 43 matches the rotational speed of the outer rotor shaft 35, the control unit 90 controls the actuator 86, and at timing t3, the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40 is the drive shaft. The outer rotor shaft 35 is coupled (step S212). Specifically, in the switching device 80, the actuator 86 is driven to move the movable gear 84 at the position b in FIG. 1 toward the position a, and the movable gear 84 is engaged with the first gear 81. Done. At this time, since the rotational speed of the rotor shaft 43 matches the rotational speed of the outer rotor shaft 35, in the switching device 80, the differential speed between the movable gear 84 and the first gear 81 is substantially zero, and naturally the switching is allowed. It is in the differential speed range, so there is no risk of significant wear between them. In this way, by coupling the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40 to the outer rotor shaft 35, the coupled state becomes underdrive coupling. In FIG. 9, the point d2 at which this coupling is performed corresponds to the point d2 on the curve DO in FIG.
[0097]
Thereafter, the control unit 90 confirms whether or not the under-coupled state is reliably established via the actuator 86 (step S214), and then outputs the target torque determined in step S104 from the outer rotor shaft 35 that is the drive shaft. Thus, the target torque of the assist motor 40 is calculated (step S216), the assist motor 40 is controlled via the drive circuit 92, and the calculated target torque is output from the assist motor 40 (step S218). Specifically, in the case of underdrive coupling, the torque Ta of the assist motor 40 is the difference between the torque Td of the outer rotor shaft 35 that is the drive shaft and the torque Ta of the engine 50, as shown in the above equation (1). Therefore (Ta = Td−Te), a value obtained by subtracting the torque of the engine 50 from the target torque of the outer rotor shaft 35 may be set as the target torque of the assist motor 40.
[0098]
As described above, the control process for the switching device 80 and the assist motor 40 by the control unit 90 is performed.
[0099]
Here, the control sequence for the assist motor 40 will be described in more detail. FIG. 10 is a timing chart showing a control sequence for the assist motor 40 at the time of switching from overdrive coupling to underdrive coupling. In FIG. 10, the vertical axis indicates the control content for the assist motor 40, and the horizontal axis indicates time. The time shown on the horizontal axis completely corresponds to that shown in FIG. 9, and the timings t0 to t3 are the same as those described in FIG.
[0100]
First, until the driver steps on the accelerator pedal 65 and the control unit 90 issues a switching command, the control unit 90 controls the assist motor 40 at the time of overdrive coupling (control content 1). Thereby, as mentioned above, the assist motor 40 is in a power generation state (regeneration state) and outputs a negative torque. Therefore, after issuing the switching command, the control unit 90 first controls the assist motor 40 so that the output torque is zero (control content 2).
[0101]
However, even if the torque from the assist motor 40 is zero, since the assist motor 40 itself has drag torque, the control unit 90 next cancels the drag torque to the assist motor 40. Then, a slight torque opposite to the drag torque is generated (control content 3). As a result, the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40 does not receive or apply any torque to the crankshaft 56 of the engine 50, so when the switching device 80 disengages the movable gear 84 from the second gear 82. Can be removed smoothly.
[0102]
Thus, when the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40 is disconnected from the crankshaft 56 of the engine 50, the control unit 90 controls the assist motor 40 to accelerate and synchronize as described above (control). Content 4). Thereafter, when the rotational speed of the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40 approaches the rotational speed of the outer rotor shaft 35 that is the drive shaft, the control unit 90 controls the assist motor 40 to output torque output from the assist motor 40. Is set to zero again (control content 5). Thus, by making the torque generated in the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40 zero, the rotational speed of the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40 then coincides with the rotational speed of the outer rotor shaft 35, and the movable gear 84 in the switching device 80. When the gear is engaged with the first gear 81, it is possible to prevent an excessive force from being applied between the two and causing damage.
[0103]
Thus, when the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40 is coupled to the outer rotor shaft 35 as the drive shaft, the control unit 90 controls the assist motor 40 at the time of underdrive coupling (control content 6).
[0104]
As described above, by controlling the assist motor 40, switching from overdrive coupling to underdrive coupling can be performed smoothly without any trouble.
[0105]
On the other hand, in parallel with the control processing for the switching device 80 and the assist motor 40 as described above, the control unit 90 also performs the following control processing for the engine 50 and the clutch motor 30.
[0106]
That is, the control unit 90 first controls the engine 50 to increase the power output from the engine 50 (step S220). Specifically, the required power for the engine 50 is increased, and the target operating point of the engine 50 is set based on the increased required power. Thus, by increasing the power from the engine 50, the engine 50 is blown up, and the rotational speed of the engine 50 is increased as shown in FIG. Finally, the rotational speed of the engine 50 exceeds the rotational speed of the outer rotor shaft 35 that is the drive shaft at the intersection ed, and is substantially in an underdrive operation state. The intersection point ed in FIG. 9 corresponds to the intersection point ed in FIG.
[0107]
Next, the control unit 90 calculates the target torque of the clutch motor 30 (step S222), controls the clutch motor 30 via the drive circuit 91, and outputs the calculated target torque from the clutch motor 30 (step S222). S224). In this case, the target torque Tc * of the clutch motor 30 is calculated according to the following equation (3).
[0108]
Tc * = Te + {(Ne−Neini) · (Te * −Tcini) / (Ndini−Neini)}; (3)
[0109]
Where Te is the current torque of the engine 50, Ne is the current rotational speed of the engine 50, Neini is the torque of the engine 50 when the switching command is generated, Te * is the target torque of the engine 50, and Tcini is the clutch when the switching command is generated. This is the torque of the motor 30.
[0110]
Thus, by calculating the target torque Tc * of the clutch motor 30 according to the equation (3), the torque Tc output from the clutch motor 30 gradually approaches the torque Te output from the engine 50, and finally, It becomes equal to the torque Te (step S226).
[0111]
Thus, when the control processing for the switching device 80 and the assist motor 40 and the control processing for the engine 50 and the clutch motor 30 performed in parallel by the control unit 90 are completed, the processing routine shown in FIG. Since the coupling state of the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40 is underdrive coupling, the control unit 90 controls the engine 50, the assist motor 40, and the clutch motor 30 during underdrive coupling as described above. Processing is performed (step S110).
[0112]
When the coupling state of the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40 is switched from overdrive coupling to underdrive coupling, the control process is performed as described above.
[0113]
Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the control unit 90 determines that the driver depresses the accelerator pedal 65 and the target operating point of the outer rotor shaft 35 that is the driving shaft exceeds the operating line L2 of the engine 50 and is in the underdrive region. The switching command from the overdrive coupling to the underdrive coupling is issued and the actuator 86 of the switching device 80 is immediately started to disconnect the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40 from the crankshaft 56 of the engine 50. Switching time can be shortened. That is, conventionally, the control unit 90 has confirmed that the differential speed between the outer rotor shaft 35 that is the drive shaft and the crankshaft 56 that is the output shaft of the engine 50 is within the switching allowable differential speed range. Although the actuator 86 of the switching device 80 has been started, in this embodiment, since the actuator 86 is started immediately without such confirmation, the switching time is shortened accordingly.
[0114]
Further, according to the present embodiment, when the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40 is separated from the crankshaft 56 of the engine 50, the control unit 90 accelerates the rotation of the assist motor 40 and sets the rotational speed of the rotor shaft 43 to the drive shaft. Since the rotation speed is synchronized so as to match the rotation speed of the outer rotor shaft 35, the switching time can be further shortened compared to the conventional case. In other words, conventionally, the control unit disconnects the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40 from the crankshaft 56 of the engine 50, then sets the assist motor 40 in a driving state, and gradually turns the assist motor 40 at a constant torque. In the present embodiment, however, the rotation of the assist motor 40 is positively accelerated to rapidly increase the rotational speed of the rotor shaft 43 as shown in FIG. Since the rotation speed of the shaft 35 is synchronized, the rotation speed of the rotor shaft 43 can be matched with the rotation speed of the outer rotor shaft 35 at an early stage, and the coupling between the rotor shaft 43 and the outer rotor shaft 35 can be accelerated. Can do. For this reason, in this embodiment, as indicated by an arrow AT in FIG. 9, the drive time of the actuator 86 of the switching device 80 can be about 0.25 seconds. Conventionally, the coupling of the rotor shaft 43 and the outer rotor shaft 35 is completed at the intersection point ed in FIG. 6, but in this embodiment, it is completed at a point d2 earlier than that.
Further, in this embodiment, when the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40 is coupled to the outer rotor shaft 35 that is the drive shaft, the rotational speed of the rotor shaft 43 and the rotational speed of the outer rotor shaft 35 are substantially the same. In the device 80, the differential speed between the movable gear 84 and the first gear 81 is substantially zero and is within the switching allowable speed range, so there is no risk of significant wear between the two.
[0115]
Further, by shortening the switching time as described above, according to the present embodiment, after the driver depresses the accelerator pedal, the torque corresponding to the depressing amount is actually output from the outer rotor shaft 35 as the drive shaft. Since the time required for the operation can be set to about 0.6 seconds, the driver can have good response.
[0116]
Furthermore, in this embodiment, when switching from overdrive coupling to underdrive coupling, the power output from the engine 50 is increased, and the torque output from the engine 50 is received by the clutch motor 30 so that the drive shaft Since torque is transmitted to a certain outer rotor shaft 35, torque loss on the drive shaft can be prevented.
[0117]
In the power output device 10 shown in FIG. 1, the clutch motor 30 is applied as a power adjustment device that transmits and receives the power output from the engine 50 by increasing or decreasing the power exchange. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a planetary gear 200 and a motor generator 210 may be applied as a power adjustment device instead of the clutch motor 30 as shown in FIG.
[0118]
FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a modification of the power output apparatus of FIG. The configuration of this modified example is basically the same as the configuration of the power output apparatus shown in FIG. 1 except that the planetary gear 200 and the motor generator 210 are used as the power adjustment apparatus. In FIG. 11, a switching device 180 having the same basic configuration as that of the switching device 80 is used in place of the switching device 80. Although not shown in FIG. 1, a damper 58 is shown in FIG.
[0119]
The planetary gear 200 includes a sun gear 201 that rotates at the center, a planetary carrier 203 that includes a planetary pinion gear that revolves while rotating on the outer periphery of the sun gear 201, and a ring gear 202 that rotates on the outer periphery thereof. The sun gear 201, the planetary carrier 203, and the ring gear 202 each have a separate rotating shaft. A sun gear shaft 204 that is a rotation shaft of the sun gear 201 is hollow and is coupled to the rotor 212 of the motor generator 210. A planetary carrier shaft 206 that is a rotation shaft of the planetary carrier 203 is coupled to a crankshaft 56 of the engine 50 via a damper 58. A ring gear shaft 205 that is a rotation shaft of the ring gear 202 is a drive shaft, and is coupled to the transmission shaft 22 via the output gear 21 and the chain 23. The transmission shaft 22 is further coupled to an axle 26 having drive wheels 26R and 26L via a reduction gear 24 and a differential gear 25.
[0120]
It is well known in terms of mechanics that the planetary gear 200 has the following relationship between the rotational speed and torque of the three axes of the sun gear shaft 204, the planetary carrier shaft 206, and the ring gear shaft 205. That is, when the power state of two of the three rotating shafts is determined, the power state of the remaining one rotating shaft is determined based on the following relational expression.
[0121]
Ns = (1 + ρ) / ρ × Nc−Nr / ρ;
Nc = ρ / (1 + ρ) × Ns + Nr / (1 + ρ);
Nr = (1 + ρ) Nc−ρNs;
Ts = Tc × ρ / (1 + ρ) = ρTr;
Tr = Tc / (1 + ρ);
ρ = the number of teeth of the sun gear 201 / the number of teeth of the ring gear 202; (4)
[0122]
here,
Ns is the rotational speed of the sun gear shaft 204;
Ts is the torque of the sun gear shaft 204;
Nc is the number of rotations of the planetary carrier shaft 206 (ie, Ne);
Tc is the torque of the planetary carrier shaft 206 (ie Te);
Nr is the rotational speed of the ring gear shaft 205 (ie, Nd);
Tr is the torque of the ring gear shaft 205 (ie, Td);
It is.
[0123]
The motor generator 210 has the same configuration as the assist motor 40. That is, the motor generator 210 is configured as a three-phase synchronous motor in which a coil is wound around a stator 214 and a permanent magnet is attached to a rotor 212. The stator 214 is fixed to the case. When a three-phase alternating current is passed through the coil wound around the stator 214, a rotating magnetic field is generated, and the rotor 212 is rotated by the interaction with the permanent magnet attached to the rotor 212. When the rotor 212 is rotated by an external force, the motor generator 210 also functions as a generator that regenerates its power as electric power. The coil wound around the stator 214 of the motor generator 210 is electrically connected to the drive circuit 91 as in the clutch motor 30 of FIG. The control unit 90 can control the operation of the motor generator 210 by turning on and off the transistor of the drive circuit 91.
[0124]
In this modification, the combination of the planetary gear 200 and the motor generator 210 can provide the same function as the clutch motor 30 shown in FIG. The planetary carrier shaft 206 corresponds to the inner rotor shaft 33 of the clutch motor 30, and the ring gear shaft 205 corresponds to the outer rotor shaft 35 that was the drive shaft. In this modification, these combinations provide a function as a power adjustment device as described below.
[0125]
When power is input from the engine 50 to the planetary carrier shaft 206, the ring gear 202 and the sun gear 201 rotate according to the above equation (4). It is also possible to stop the rotation of either the ring gear 202 or the sun gear 201. When the ring gear 202 rotates, a part of the power output from the engine 50 can be transmitted in a mechanical form to the ring gear shaft 205 which is a drive shaft. Further, as the sun gear 201 rotates, a part of the power output from the engine 50 can be regenerated as electric power by the motor generator 210. On the other hand, if the motor generator 210 is powered, the torque output from the motor generator 210 can be mechanically transmitted to the ring gear shaft 205, which is the drive shaft, via the sun gear 201, the planetary carrier 203, and the ring gear 202. . Therefore, it is possible to increase the torque output from the engine 50 and output it to the ring gear shaft 205 as a drive shaft by powering the motor generator 210. Thus, in this modification, the combination of the planetary gear 200 and the motor generator 210 can provide the same function as the clutch motor 30 shown in FIG.
[0126]
Also in this modified example, whether the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40 is coupled to the ring gear shaft 205 of the planetary gear 200 or the planetary carrier shaft 206 is determined using the first gear 111, the second gear 112, and the third gear 113. Switching is performed by a switching device 180 provided. As with the switching device 80 shown in FIG. 1, the switching device 180 is provided with a switching actuator and is connected to the control unit 90, but is not shown.
[0127]
Even in this modification, various configurations can be adopted according to the meshing state of these gears. For example, when the first gear 111 and the third gear 113 are engaged with each other, the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40 is coupled to the ring gear shaft 205 of the planetary gear 200 that is a drive shaft. Therefore, the power output from the engine 50 is transmitted to the ring gear shaft 205 which is a drive shaft through the planetary gear 200 and the assist motor 40. This is a coupling state corresponding to the underdrive coupling (FIG. 13) in the configuration of FIG.
[0128]
On the other hand, when the switching device 180 is controlled to engage the second gear 112 and the third gear 113, the rotor shaft 43 of the assist motor 40 is coupled to the planetary carrier shaft 206 of the planetary gear 200. Therefore, the power output from the engine 50 is transmitted to the drive shaft ring gear shaft 205 through the assist motor 40 and the planetary gear 200. This is a coupling state corresponding to the overdrive coupling (FIG. 14) in the configuration of FIG.
[0129]
Therefore, in the above-described configuration, the control process at the time of switching from the overdrive coupling to the underdrive coupling shown in FIGS. It is possible to achieve the same effect as the example. However, in FIG. 9, it is necessary to control the operation of the motor generator 210 instead of the clutch motor.
[0130]
The present invention can also be applied to a four-wheel drive vehicle. A power system having the configuration of the embodiment (FIG. 1) or the modified example (FIG. 11) is applied to the front wheels of the vehicle, and a hybrid vehicle capable of four-wheel drive is configured by separately providing an electric motor for driving on the rear axle. be able to. Even in such a vehicle, high-efficiency driving can be performed by switching the coupling state according to the magnitude relationship between the rotational speed of the drive shaft and the rotational speed of the engine 50. Therefore, if the present invention is applied to such switching control, the various effects described in the embodiments can be obtained.
[0131]
As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to such embodiment at all, and in the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention, it can implement with a various form. Of course. For example, in the above-described embodiment, a gasoline engine driven by gasoline is used as the engine 50. In addition to the reciprocating engine such as a diesel engine, various internal combustion engines such as a turbine engine, a jet engine, and a rotary engine are used. Alternatively, an external combustion engine can be used.
[0132]
In addition, a PM type (permanent magnet type) synchronous motor is used as the motor. However, if the regenerative operation and the power running operation are performed, the VR type (variable reluctance type; Variable Reluctance type) is also used. ) A synchronous motor, a vernier motor, a DC motor, an induction motor, a superconducting motor, or the like can be used. Further, if only the power running operation is performed, a DC motor, a step motor, or the like can be used.
[0133]
In the clutch motor 30, the relationship between the inner rotor and the outer rotor and the external rotation shaft can be reversed. Further, instead of the outer rotor and the inner rotor, disk-shaped rotors facing each other may be used.
[0134]
As the first and second drive circuits 91 and 92, transistor inverters are used. In addition, IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Mode Transistor) inverters, thyristor inverters, voltage PWM ( A pulse width modulation (Pulse Width Modulation) inverter, a square wave inverter (voltage type inverter, current type inverter), a resonant inverter, or the like can be used.
[0135]
As the battery 94 which is a secondary battery, a Pb battery, a NiMH battery, a Li battery, or the like can be used, but a capacitor can be used instead of the battery 94. In this embodiment, various control processes are realized by the CPU executing software, but such control processes can also be realized in hardware.
[0136]
In the above embodiment, the case where the power output device is mounted on the hybrid vehicle has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and traffic such as a ship or an aircraft can be used as long as it has two output shafts. It can also be mounted on various industrial machines such as means and machine tools.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of a hybrid vehicle equipped with a power output apparatus as an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in a case where power output from an engine is converted to a lower rotational speed side in an underdrive coupled state.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which power output from an engine is converted to a higher rotation speed in an underdrive coupled state.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in a case where power output from an engine is converted to a lower rotational speed side in an overdrive coupled state.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in the case where power output from an engine is converted to a higher rotational speed side in an overdrive coupled state.
6 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation region of the power output apparatus of FIG. 1, a region basically used for overdrive coupling, and a region used for underdrive coupling. FIG.
7 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of control at the time of switching from overdrive coupling to underdrive coupling in the power output apparatus 10 of FIG. 1; FIG.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a switching processing routine from overdrive coupling to underdrive coupling in FIG. 7;
9 is a timing chart showing temporal changes in the number of revolutions of an engine 50, an assist motor 40, and an outer rotor shaft 35 as a drive shaft in the power output apparatus 10 of FIG.
FIG. 10 is a timing chart showing a control sequence for the assist motor 40 at the time of switching from overdrive coupling to underdrive coupling.
FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram showing a modification of the power output device of FIG. 1;
FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram showing a main part of a general power output device configured to be able to switch a coupling state of rotating shafts of an electric motor.
13 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a power system at the time of underdrive coupling in the power output apparatus in FIG. 1 or FIG. 12. FIG.
14 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a power system in overdrive coupling in the power output apparatus in FIG. 1 or FIG. 12. FIG.
FIG. 15 is a timing chart showing the temporal transition of the operating state of each component when switching from overdrive coupling to underdrive coupling in a conventional power output apparatus.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 ... Power output device
20 ... Hybrid unit
21 ... Output gear
22 ... Transmission shaft
23 ... Chain
24. Reducer
25 ... Differential gear
26 ... Axle
26R, 26L ... Drive wheels
30 ... Clutch motor
32 ... Inner rotor
33 ... Inner rotor shaft
34 ... Outer rotor
35 ... Outer rotor shaft
36 ... Three-phase coil
38 ... Slip ring
40 ... Assist motor
42 ... Rotor
43 ... Rotor shaft
44 ... Stator
46. Three-phase coil
50 ... Engine
51 ... Fuel injection valve
52 ... Rotation speed sensor
53 ... Throttle valve
54 ... Throttle valve motor
56 ... Crankshaft
57 ... VVT
58 ... Damper
65 ... Accelerator pedal
65a ... accelerator pedal position sensor
66 ... Shift lever
66a: Shift position sensor
70 ... EFIECU
80. Switching device
81 ... 1st gear
82 ... Second gear
83. Third gear
84 ... Moveable gear
85 ... Spline
86 ... Actuator
87: Movable member
90 ... Control unit
91. First drive circuit
92 ... Second drive circuit
94 ... Battery
111 ... 1st gear
112 ... second gear
113 ... Third gear
180 ... switching device
200 ... Planetary Gear
201 ... Sungear
202 ... Ring gear
203 ... Planetary carrier
204 ... Sun gear shaft
205 ... Ring gear shaft
206 ... Planetary carrier shaft
210 ... Motor generator
212 ... Rotor
214 ... Stator

Claims (7)

An engine having an output shaft, a drive shaft for outputting power, and a power adjustment coupled to the output shaft and the drive shaft to increase or decrease the power output from the engine by exchanging electric power and transmit the power to the drive shaft A power output device comprising: a device; an electric motor having a rotating shaft; and a coupling means capable of selectively coupling the rotating shaft of the electric motor to the drive shaft or the output shaft,
When the rotating shaft of the motor is coupled to the output shaft by the coupling means, the rotating shaft of the motor is coupled to the drive shaft instead of the output shaft based on a request output requested from the outside. Determining means for determining whether or not to be;
When the determination means determines that the rotary shaft of the motor should be coupled to the drive shaft, the motor is controlled so that the rotary shaft of the motor receives and adds torque to the output shaft. while the absence immediately by controlling the coupling means, to disconnect the rotating shaft of the electric motor from the output shaft, and a disconnection control means for starting the drive of the coupling means,
Synchronizing means for increasing the rotational speed of the rotary shaft of the electric motor to match the rotational speed of the drive shaft when the rotary shaft of the electric motor is disconnected from the output shaft;
Coupling control means for controlling the coupling means when the rotational speed of the rotating shaft of the electric motor becomes substantially equal to the rotational speed of the driving shaft, and coupling the rotational shaft of the electric motor to the driving shaft;
A power output device further comprising: The power output apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
When the determination means determines that the rotating shaft of the electric motor should be coupled to the drive shaft, the power output further includes power increasing means for controlling the engine and increasing the power output from the engine apparatus. In the power output device according to claim 1 or 2,
The operating region of the power output device represented by the relationship between the torque and the rotational speed is divided by a predetermined boundary, and the first region to be operated by coupling the rotating shaft of the electric motor to the output shaft, and And further comprising region setting means for setting a second region to be operated by coupling the rotating shaft of the electric motor to the drive shaft;
The determination means includes
Target operating point setting means for setting a target operating point of the drive shaft from the required power;
Switching that determines that the rotating shaft of the motor should be coupled to the driving shaft instead of the output shaft when the set target operating point of the driving shaft is in the second region beyond the boundary A determination means;
A power output device comprising: The power output apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The power adjustment apparatus includes a counter-rotor motor having a first rotor coupled to the output shaft and a second rotor coupled to the drive shaft. The power output apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The power adjustment device is
A generator having a rotor shaft;
A planetary gear having three rotating shafts, each rotating shaft being coupled to the output shaft, the drive shaft, and the rotor shaft;
A power output apparatus comprising: An engine having an output shaft, a drive shaft for outputting power, and a power adjustment coupled to the output shaft and the drive shaft to increase or decrease the power output from the engine by exchanging electric power and transmit the power to the drive shaft A power output device control method comprising: a device; an electric motor having a rotating shaft; and a coupling means capable of selectively coupling the rotating shaft of the electric motor to the drive shaft or the output shaft,
(A) When the rotating shaft of the electric motor is coupled to the output shaft by the coupling means, the driving shaft is replaced with the output shaft based on a request output requested from the outside. Determining whether or not to combine with,
(B) When it is determined that the rotating shaft of the motor should be coupled to the drive shaft, the motor is controlled so that the rotating shaft of the motor does not receive or add torque to the output shaft. Setting the state and immediately controlling the coupling means to start driving the coupling means to disconnect the rotating shaft of the motor from the output shaft;
(C) when the rotating shaft of the electric motor is disconnected from the output shaft, increasing the rotational speed of the rotating shaft of the electric motor to match the rotational speed of the drive shaft;
(D) when the rotational speed of the rotating shaft of the electric motor becomes substantially equal to the rotational speed of the driving shaft, controlling the coupling means to couple the rotating shaft of the electric motor to the driving shaft;
A method for controlling a power output apparatus comprising: The control method according to claim 6,
(E) a step of controlling the engine to increase the power output from the engine when it is determined in the step (a) that the rotating shaft of the electric motor should be coupled to the drive shaft. A method for controlling the power output apparatus further provided.

Images