JP4123143B2 - Hybrid vehicle control device and hybrid vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To switch control mode automatically so that a vehicle travels not with the driving force of an engine but with that of a motor in a low speed traveling section. <P>SOLUTION: A navigation system is mounted on a hybrid vehicle and traveling data is sampled at a predetermined sampling period and stored when the vehicle travels actually. Traveling data thus acquired is analyzed and sections traveled at a predetermined vehicle speed Vlow or below are specified and extracted. Sections longer than a predetermined length L are specified among the extracted sections and stored as low speed traveling sections while being associated with road data. When the hybrid vehicle travels the low speed traveling section after it is specified, it is detected by the navigation system and an engine is not driven in the specified low speed traveling section but the vehicle is controlled to travel by driving a motor. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&amp;NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a hybrid vehicle control device and a hybrid vehicle, and relates to, for example, an apparatus that improves fuel efficiency by analyzing travel data from a navigation system using the host vehicle or a server device connected to a network.

The engine of a vehicle has a rotation area with high fuel efficiency and a rotation area with low fuel efficiency.
The normal engine is designed so that the fuel efficiency is low in the region where the rotational speed is relatively low, that is, the region where the vehicle starts or runs at a low vehicle speed, and the fuel efficiency is high in the region where the vehicle speed runs around 60 km / h. .
Therefore, in a region where the fuel efficiency is low, a hybrid vehicle that supplements the driving force with a motor and thereby improves the fuel efficiency has been used.

Thus, in a hybrid vehicle using both a motor and an engine, the vehicle travels by a motor when traveling at a low vehicle speed where the fuel efficiency of the engine is low, and travels by an engine in a region where the fuel efficiency of the engine is high.
When the remaining amount of charge of the battery is low, the generator is rotated by the driving force of the engine in a region where the fuel efficiency of the engine is high, and electric power is obtained and charged.
Thus, in the hybrid vehicle, the fuel efficiency is improved by combining the motor and the engine.

Further, when the vehicle is decelerated, the vehicle drive shaft and the generator are connected, the generator is rotated by the kinetic energy of the vehicle, and power is generated simultaneously with the deceleration.
By performing this so-called regeneration, energy that has conventionally been discarded as heat by a brake or the like can be recovered as electric energy, and fuel efficiency is further improved.
In addition, when the engine efficiency decreases on the high speed side, such as during acceleration, driving the engine and motor together reduces the torque that the engine should output, thereby making the engine as fuel efficient as possible. It is intended to be used in.

In the hybrid vehicle as described above, it is important for improving the fuel efficiency to increase the driving ratio of the motor as much as possible and to use the engine in an efficient rotation region as much as possible.
When switching between motor drive and engine drive (or combined drive of the engine and motor), the low vehicle speed region is determined depending on the vehicle speed and the remaining charge of the battery.
When the battery level is high, the motor speed is set to be higher so that the motor can be used actively. When the battery level is low, this speed is set lower to reduce power consumption. Set to

By the way, when switching between motor driving and engine driving depending on the vehicle speed and the remaining battery capacity in this way, when the vehicle speed changes frequently as in traffic jams, switching between motor driving and battery driving frequently occurs (hunting), and the engine There may be a case where the energy loss at the start increases and the fuel efficiency decreases.
For this reason, as shown in the following Patent Document 1, when there is a traffic jam ahead of the vehicle, the vehicle speed for switching from motor drive to engine drive is set high to reduce hunting for switching between engine and motor drive. Techniques to do this have been proposed.
JP 2000-205000 A

Furthermore, it is considered that the remaining battery level can be controlled more finely if the travel pattern on the route to be traveled can be estimated.
Therefore, as shown in the following Patent Document 2, a technique for searching for a route to a destination, estimating a vehicle speed pattern of the searched route, and setting an engine and motor operation schedule according to the estimated vehicle speed pattern It has been known.
JP 2000-333305 A

However, if the switching speed between the motor drive and the engine drive is set only by the remaining battery level, the vehicle speed will increase as soon as the engine starts exceeding the switching vehicle speed when the vehicle speed fluctuates frequently, such as in traffic jams. Hunting occurs in which the motor returns to the motor drive.
Frequent start / stop of the engine not only lowers the fuel consumption, but also has a problem of causing discomfort to the occupant due to vibration during engine start.
Moreover, since the motor / engine drive switching vehicle speed is automatically set to a low value if the remaining battery level is low, there is a problem that the engine is driven at a lower vehicle speed, that is, in a region where fuel efficiency is poor, resulting in a reduction in fuel consumption. .

On the other hand, as in Patent Document 1, whether or not the road ahead of the vehicle is congested may be obtained as traffic information by wireless communication or broadcasting from the outside of the vehicle, but traffic information is not obtained on all roads, Also, it is hard to say that traffic information is accurate.
Furthermore, as disclosed in Patent Document 2, it is difficult to accurately predict the vehicle speed pattern for future driving with the technology that sets the driving schedule of the motor and engine using the estimated vehicle speed pattern. If the vehicle speed pattern is different from the vehicle speed pattern when the vehicle actually travels, there is a problem that the engine and motor driving schedules that are initially set do not achieve the fuel efficiency improvement effect.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a hybrid vehicle control device and a hybrid vehicle that can automatically switch the control mode so as to travel with the driving force of the motor in a low-speed traveling section regardless of the driving force of the engine. Is to provide.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a control apparatus for a hybrid vehicle that travels by selectively driving a motor and an engine, and records a route traveled by the vehicle and a vehicle speed at each point of the route as travel data. The vehicle speed is a low speed traveling below a predetermined vehicle speed from the recorded traveling data, and the length of the low speed traveling section is a predetermined length or more, or the low speed traveling section A low-speed traveling section specifying means that identifies a route section in which the traveling time is equal to or longer than a predetermined time as a low-speed traveling section; and in the low-speed traveling section, the vehicle travels in a motor traveling mode that travels with the driving force of the motor; In sections other than the travel section, drive control that travels in the normal travel mode in which the motor drive force, the engine drive force, or both the motor and engine drive forces are selected and traveled is selected. And means, by provided the control apparatus for a hybrid vehicle to achieve the object.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the hybrid vehicle control device according to the first aspect, the low speed travel section specifying means is based on a predetermined number or more of travel data for the same route as the recorded route. The low-speed traveling section is specified. For example, the low speed travel section specifying means specifies a section where the average vehicle speed of the travel data is equal to or lower than a predetermined vehicle speed as the low speed travel section.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the hybrid vehicle control device according to the first or second aspect, when the vehicle speed exceeds a predetermined upper limit vehicle speed while traveling in the motor travel mode in the low speed travel section, The drive control means cancels the traveling control in the motor traveling mode, and switches to the normal traveling mode to travel.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the hybrid vehicle control device according to the first, second, or third aspect, planned route specifying means for specifying a planned route to be traveled from now on, and driving force of the engine A power generation means for generating power by part or all of the power supply means, a power storage means for supplying power to the motor and storing power by regenerative energy, and when the low speed travel section is included in the specified scheduled route, The amount of power consumed by traveling in the low-speed traveling section is estimated, and the power corresponding to the estimated power amount is stored in the power storage means for driving the motor in the sections other than the low-speed traveling section in the planned route. Charging plan means for making a plan for charging, wherein the drive control means controls driving of the engine and the power generation means according to the plan. To.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the hybrid vehicle control device according to the fourth aspect, the planned route specifying means specifies the forward and return routes of the first point and the second point as one planned route. It is characterized by that. For example, the scheduled route specifying means specifies a route from the departure point to the destination and returning from the destination to the departure point as one scheduled route.
The invention according to claim 6 is a hybrid vehicle that travels by selectively driving a motor and an engine, and the hybrid vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The control device is provided in the hybrid vehicle to achieve the object.

According to the present invention, to identify the slow travel section, during traveling of the low-speed traveling section regardless of the driving force of the engine, it is possible to automatically switch the control so that the vehicle travels by the driving force of the motor, fuel efficiency Can be improved.

(1) Outline of Embodiment A navigation device is mounted on a hybrid vehicle, and travel data (vehicle speed, position information, time, etc.) is sampled and stored at a predetermined sampling period when the vehicle actually travels.
Next, the travel data acquired in this way is analyzed, and a section traveled at a predetermined vehicle speed Vlow or less is specified and extracted. Further, of the extracted extracted sections, a section longer than a predetermined length L is specified, and this is stored as a low-speed traveling section in association with road data.

Then, after the low speed travel section is specified, when the hybrid vehicle runs in the low speed travel section, this is detected by the navigation device, and the engine is not driven in the specified low speed travel section, and control is performed so that the motor travels. To do.
In this way, by controlling the drive system based on past travel data, it is possible to control a hybrid vehicle with high fuel efficiency without requiring external traffic information or accurate vehicle speed pattern estimation.

In addition, when there are a plurality of past travel data in the travel route, the low speed travel section is specified after performing statistical processing such as averaging these.
In this way, when a low-speed travel section is specified using a plurality of past travel data for a certain route, it departs from the concept of “travel pattern”, for example, past travel on “always traveling roads” such as commuting routes. Based on the data, it is possible to specify “a section where the vehicle always travels at a low speed” and control the section to travel by driving the motor.

(2) Details of Embodiment FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the hybrid vehicle of the present embodiment.
The drive system of the hybrid vehicle includes an engine 1, a motor 2, a transmission 3, a differential gear 4 (hereinafter simply referred to as a differential 4), and the like.
The output shafts of the engine 1 and the motor 2 are connected to a transmission 3 and further connected to an axle via a differential 4.

The engine 1 is an internal combustion engine that is driven by using gasoline or light oil as fuel.
The fuel efficiency of the engine 1 varies depending on the rotation range, and is designed so that the fuel efficiency becomes the highest at a vehicle speed of about 60 km / h. Therefore, when the engine 1 is operated at a vehicle speed of about 0 to 40 km / h, the fuel efficiency becomes lower than when the vehicle is driven at a vehicle speed of 60 km / h.
The driving force (torque) generated by the engine 1 is transmitted to the differential 4 via the transmission 3.
Further, the driving force of the engine 1 can be transmitted to the motor 2 via the transmission 3 and the motor 2 can generate electric power.

The motor 2 is configured by a motor device such as an AC motor or a DC brushless motor, for example, and is used together with the engine 1 as a power source for the vehicle. The motor 2 is preferably an AC motor, and in this case, includes an inverter (not shown).
The driving force generated by the motor 2 is transmitted to the differential 4 via the transmission 3.
Further, the motor 2 functions as a generator when it is driven (rotated) by applying power from the outside, whereby the battery 5 can be charged.

When power is generated by driving the motor 2 from the outside, the driving force of the engine 1 is transmitted to the motor 2 via the transmission 3. When the hybrid vehicle decelerates, the engine 1 is disconnected from the transmission 3, and the kinetic energy of the hybrid vehicle is transmitted to the motor 2 via the differential 4 and the transmission 3.
Thus, the kinetic energy at the time of deceleration of the hybrid vehicle is recovered by the motor 2 as regenerative energy, and the battery 5 is charged with this to recover the energy dissipated as heat in the prior art. Can be reused.

The motor 2 is connected to the battery 5 and is driven by electric energy charged in the battery 5.
The battery 5 is configured by a secondary battery or the like that functions as power storage means and can be repeatedly charged and discharged, and is charged when the motor 2 functions as a generator.
Alternatively, the hybrid vehicle may be provided with a generator (not shown) and driven by the engine 1 to be charged.
As described above, when the generator is provided in addition to the motor 2, it is possible to charge the battery 5 using part or all of the driving force of the engine while outputting the driving force by the motor 2. Control with high fuel efficiency can be performed.

The battery 5 is provided with an SOC sensor (electric storage amount detecting means) for detecting the amount of electric storage (referred to as SOC), so that the vehicle controller 6 can monitor the SOC of the battery 5.
As the battery 5, for example, a secondary battery such as a lead storage battery, a nickel cadmium battery, or a nickel metal hydride battery is generally used. However, a high performance lead storage battery, a lithium ion battery, a sodium sulfur battery, or the like used for an electric vehicle or the like is used. It can also be used.

The power storage means does not necessarily have to be the battery 5, and the energy is electrically stored and discharged, such as a capacitor (capacitor) such as an electric double layer capacitor, a flywheel, a superconducting coil, and a pressure accumulator. What has the function to do can be used.
Furthermore, any of these may be used alone, or a plurality of them may be used in combination. For example, the battery 5 and the electric double layer capacitor can be combined and used as a power storage means.

The transmission 3 is a device that distributes driving force among the engine 1, the motor 2, and the differential 4.
In the present embodiment, a planetary gear is used as the transmission 3. In the planetary gear of this embodiment, the carrier shaft is connected to the engine 1, the sun gear shaft is connected to the motor 2, and the ring gear shaft is connected to the differential 4 as an output.

With this configuration, the driving force from the engine 1 is distributed to the differential 4 and the motor 2, and the driving force of the engine 1 is transmitted to the differential 4 for running the hybrid vehicle, and at the same time, a part of the driving force is a motor. 2 is driven to drive.
As a result, power can be generated by the motor 2 while the engine 1 is traveling.

Further, when the motor 2 is driven, a differential torque obtained by combining the driving force from the engine 1 and the driving force from the motor 2 is transmitted to the differential 4, so that the hybrid vehicle has a driving force larger than the driving force that can be output by the engine 1 alone. Can be run.
As a result, the hybrid vehicle mode in which the engine 1 is assisted by the motor 2 and the engine 1 and the motor 2 are used together at the time of acceleration enables the hybrid vehicle as a whole to have acceleration performance that is higher than the horsepower performance of the engine 1.

Further, when the engine 1 is stopped and the carrier shaft is fixed, the motor driving mode in which the vehicle is driven only by the motor 2 can be set.
In a region where the fuel efficiency is low when the engine is driven, such as at the time of starting or at a low vehicle speed, the fuel efficiency of the hybrid vehicle can be improved by setting the motor drive mode.

Furthermore, when the hybrid vehicle decelerates, the engine 1 is disconnected from the mission 3 and the motor 2 is driven from the differential 4 side, so that the kinetic energy lost by the deceleration is converted into electrical energy by the motor power generation, thereby effectively storing electric power. It can be done.
The electric power generated by the motor 2 is charged in the battery 5, and when the motor 2 is driven, electric power is supplied from the battery 5.

  FIG. 1 schematically shows the configuration of the drive system of the hybrid vehicle and is not shown for the sake of simplicity. In practice, however, the brake and clutch, and further for changing the gear ratio and for reverse driving A gear mechanism for inverting the output is provided.

  In addition to the method of arranging the engine 1 and the motor 2 in parallel as shown in FIG. 1, the drive system of the hybrid vehicle includes a type in which the engine output shaft and the motor shaft are the same axis, or a CVT (no transmission) There is a type in which a CVT input shaft is connected to an engine and a CVT output shaft is connected to a motor.

The vehicle controller 6 includes a calculation unit such as a CPU and an MPU (not shown), a storage unit such as a semiconductor memory and a magnetic disk, a communication interface with the navigation device 7, and the like.
The vehicle controller 6 uses a detection value input from various sensors such as a vehicle speed sensor, an accelerator sensor, an SOC sensor, and the like to determine the relationship between the operation of the engine 1 and the motor 2 and the input / output by the transmission 3 (planetary gear). Control according to.

  In the present embodiment, the vehicle controller 6 includes an engine drive mode that selectively drives the engine 1 as power for the drive system, a motor drive mode that selectively drives the motor 2, and a hybrid that uses the engine 1 and the motor 2 in combination. In addition to switching the drive mode, the drive ratio of the engine 1 and the motor 2 is controlled in the hybrid drive mode.

Note that the drive mode classification in the present embodiment includes a motor travel mode and a normal travel mode.
The motor travel mode is a mode for traveling in the motor drive mode. The motor travel mode is selected when traveling in a low speed travel section.
The normal travel mode is a normal mode in which the vehicle travels while selecting any one of the motor drive mode, the engine drive mode, and the hybrid drive mode according to conditions such as the vehicle speed and the accelerator opening. The normal travel mode is selected when traveling in a section other than the low speed travel section and in a low speed travel section when a predetermined condition is satisfied.

  The vehicle controller 6 calculates the acceleration required by the driver from the accelerator opening, and selects any one of the engine drive mode, the motor drive mode, and the hybrid drive mode from the charged amount of the battery 5, the vehicle speed, and the rotation speed of the engine 1. Thus, the target driving force is generated in the engine 1 and the motor 2.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the vehicle controller 6 is configured to operate in cooperation with the navigation device 7, and the navigation device 7 receives the motor drive command and the return command (from the motor drive mode to the normal control mode). The control of the vehicle controller 6 can be controlled by outputting various commands such as a command to return.

Therefore, when there is travel data so far, the vehicle controller 6 can control the engine 1 and the motor 2 based on the travel data.
Further, based on the motor control command from the navigation device 7, the engine 1 and the motor 2 are controlled so as to travel in the motor drive mode in the low-speed traveling section.
In this way, the vehicle controller 6 and the navigation device 7 constitute drive control means for controlling the vehicle to travel by motor drive in the low-speed traveling section.

The navigation device 7 includes arithmetic means such as a CPU and MPU (not shown), storage means such as a semiconductor memory and a magnetic disk, a communication interface with the vehicle controller 6 and the like.
The navigation device 7 includes a gyro sensor 8, a GPS sensor 9, a vehicle speed sensor 10, and a map database in order to realize a normal navigation function such as specifying the position of the vehicle and searching and guiding a route to the destination. 11 is connected.

As the map database 11, for example, a storage device such as a CD-ROM, a DVD, or a hard disk device is physically used. Or you may access a map data provision server via a radio | wireless from the navigation apparatus 7, and may acquire map data via a network.
In the map database, the road network is subdivided into sections for each short distance of 10 m to several hundreds of meters and stored as data.

  The subdivided roads are called road links (which have the same meaning as road sections or route sections), and each road link has an elevated north latitude latitude, road name, number of lanes, whether or not it is a tunnel, and elevated. Whether it is a one-way road, whether it is a highway, whether it is road data, and any of the end points of the road link is an intersection, if it is an intersection, its name, other connected to the intersection The identification number of the road link is stored.

The gyro sensor 8 is a sensor that tracks the moving direction and moving distance of the hybrid vehicle using, for example, a gyro such as a spinning gyro, a vibration gyro, and a laser gyro.
The gyro sensor 8 can sequentially detect the rotational acceleration, the longitudinal acceleration, the vehicle body inclination, etc. of the hybrid vehicle, and the current position can be calculated by calculating these values, the vehicle speed, and the coordinate value of the departure point. .
When the gyro sensor 8 is used, the current position can be calculated without receiving information from the outside, and autonomous navigation can be performed using these.

  The GPS sensor 9 receives GPS information from a plurality of GPS (Global Positioning System) satellites orbiting the orbit, and calculates the coordinate values (latitude and longitude) of the current position by analyzing the GPS information.

The navigation device 7 uses the gyro sensor 8 and the GPS sensor 9 in combination, and thereby can acquire more accurate position information.

That is, the gyro sensor 8 can always calculate the current position for autonomous navigation, but there is a possibility that the calculated value and the actual position are shifted with the elapsed time.
That is, while the GPS sensor 9 always calculates an accurate current position, the gyro sensor 8 calculates the current position in an area where GPS information cannot be received, such as an area where a building stands. Thus, by using both together, good position information can always be acquired.

The vehicle speed sensor 10 is a sensor that detects the vehicle speed of the hybrid vehicle. The navigation device 7 uses the vehicle speed sensor 10 to sample (acquire) the vehicle speed in a predetermined sampling period, for example, 100 milliseconds.
The vehicle speed sampled by the vehicle speed sensor 10 is handled as vehicle speed data and can be used as a component of travel data.

Further, the navigation device 7 is connected to a storage device 12 that temporarily stores the searched route, and stores the route traveled and travel data when traveling the route.
Specifically, a hard disk or a non-volatile memory is used as the storage device. Alternatively, these data can be transmitted to a predetermined server device wirelessly and stored in the server device.
Thus, the navigation device 7 has a function as a travel data recording unit that records travel data in the storage device 12.

  While the hybrid vehicle is traveling, the navigation device 7 periodically obtains outputs such as the vehicle speed sensor 10, the gyro sensor 8, and the GPS sensor 9 in synchronization with each other, for example, in units of 100 milliseconds. And the travel locus can be compared with the road data in the map database 11 to identify the road on which the vehicle is traveling.

The navigation device 7 stores the identified position information, the vehicle speed (vehicle speed data) when traveling on the road link, and the time as travel data in the storage device 12 as needed.
As for the position information, information specifying the road link to which the route belongs can also be stored.

  The navigation device 7 temporarily stores travel data sampled at a predetermined sampling period during travel in a temporary storage device such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), and after passing the road link to be sampled or periodically This is stored in the storage device 12.

Further, when the road link is several hundred meters, it can be divided into, for example, divided sections every 50 m, and travel data can be stored for each passage through the divided sections.
Then, the travel data stored in the RAM is deleted and new travel data is stored.
In this way, the transition of the vehicle speed while traveling on a certain road link can be recorded in the storage device 12.

Since the storage device 12 stores travel data every time it travels, when traveling on the same road link a plurality of times, a plurality of travel data is accumulated for one road link.
That is, the navigation device 7 executes a program for performing a process of specifying a road link and storing and storing travel data for each road link.

After the travel data is stored once, the navigation device 7 travels at a predetermined vehicle speed Vlow or less from the travel data, and specifies a section having a length of L or more (hereinafter referred to as a low speed travel section). Specific specific methods will be described later.
As described above, the navigation device 7 has a function as a low-speed traveling section specifying unit that specifies a predetermined route section, that is, a route section that satisfies the above two conditions as a low-speed traveling section.

Next, the procedure for the navigation device 7 to specify the low-speed travel section will be described using the flowchart of FIG.
The following information processing is performed by a CPU (MPU) arranged in the navigation device 7 according to a predetermined program.
In this process, the navigation device 7 identifies road links that have traveled at a low speed, and when road links that have traveled at a low speed are adjacent to each other, they are combined into a low-speed travel section.

First, when the hybrid vehicle travels, the navigation device 7 acquires vehicle speed data of the traveled road from the vehicle speed sensor 10 at a predetermined sampling period (step 100).
And the navigation apparatus 7 memorize | stores the acquired vehicle speed data in the memory | storage device 12 as position data and driving | running | working data with time.
In that case, the navigation apparatus 7 memorize | stores driving data as additional information of the road link on the map database which shows the road which drive | worked. That is, the travel data is stored in association with the road link on the map database.

  Next, the navigation device 7 once stores the travel data in the storage device 12 (for example, after the hybrid vehicle completes the travel), searches the storage device 12, and stores the travel data of the same road link in the past. It is determined whether it is stored in the device 12 (step 102).

If there is no past travel data (step 102; N), the average vehicle speed for the road link is calculated by averaging the vehicle speed for each road link using the current travel data (step 103).
On the other hand, if there is past travel data (step 102; Y), the past vehicle data and the current travel data are used to average the vehicle speed for each road link by a predetermined method (step 104). An average vehicle speed for the link is calculated (step 104).

As a method for averaging the vehicle speed data included in the traveling data when there are a plurality of traveling data, for example, the following methods are available.
(1) The past vehicle speed data and the current vehicle speed data are simply averaged.
This can be done by obtaining the average vehicle speed from the past to this time and then obtaining the overall average vehicle speed.
In this way, by averaging the vehicle speed data from the past to the present, it is possible to know the tendency of the vehicle speed on a road that is frequently used on a daily basis, such as a commuting road.

(2) The older vehicle speed data is averaged by multiplying by a smaller coefficient so that the older vehicle speed data has a smaller influence (so-called averaging method in which a forgetting factor is introduced).
In this way, the new vehicle speed data weights each vehicle speed data so that it has a greater influence on the average value.For example, the trend of vehicle speed more reflects the new situation, such as improved lanes and traffic conditions. Can be obtained.

(3) Besides this, it is possible to use various general averaging methods such as neighborhood weighted average method, mode method, median method, and minimum / maximum method.
Among the determination methods described above, the method (1) is adopted in the present embodiment, and vehicle speed data from the past to the present is simply averaged.

In the above, the average vehicle speed is calculated for each road link. However, when one road link reaches several hundred meters, the road link is divided into a plurality of divided sections, and the average vehicle speed is calculated for each section. You may ask for it. In this case, in a later analysis, it is determined whether or not each divided section is a section traveling at a low speed.
Even when one road link is divided into a plurality of divided sections, it is advantageous to store these divided sections as incidental information of one road link from the viewpoint of convenience of data management.

  Next, the navigation device 7 determines whether or not the road link is a section traveled at a low speed from the average vehicle speed at each road link, and specifies a road link traveled at a low speed (step 105). The navigation device 7 adds the determination result to the road link.

This determination is made, for example, when the average vehicle speed on the road link is equal to or lower than a predetermined vehicle speed Vlow, and is determined to be a section in which the road link travels at a low speed. When the average vehicle speed is higher than the predetermined vehicle speed Vlow, Judge that it is not a low-speed section.
Here, the predetermined vehicle speed Vlow can be determined as a vehicle speed at which the fuel efficiency becomes the highest through experiments or the like, and is set to Vlow = 40 km in the present embodiment, for example. Note that the value of the predetermined vehicle speed Vlow is set to an optimum value for each vehicle type.
In addition, when one road link is divided into a plurality of divided sections, a determination result as to whether or not the section is a section where low speed traveling is performed for each divided section is added.
With the above processing, a determination result is added to each road link (for each divided section when divided) whether or not the road link is a section traveling at a low speed.

Next, the navigation device 7 uses a determination result to which each road link is added, and uses a route traveled by the hybrid vehicle to select a section in which the vehicle travels at a vehicle speed lower than a predetermined vehicle speed Vlow (that is, V ≦ Vlow). Extract (step 106).
This process is performed by extracting a road link that has traveled at a low speed and a road link that has traveled at a low speed as a continuous section.
When road links that travel at low speed are not adjacent, a single road link is extracted.

Next, the navigation device 7 determines whether or not the length of the extracted extraction section is equal to or longer than a predetermined length L (step 108).
The length L can be obtained by integrating the lengths of road links included in the extracted section for each extracted section.
If the length of the extracted section is equal to or longer than the predetermined length L (step 108; Y), the extracted section is stored in the storage device 12 as a low speed traveling section (step 110).
Also in this case, it is advantageous in terms of data management to store the fact that each road link is a low-speed traveling section as incidental information of the road link.
When the length of the extracted section does not reach the predetermined set value (step 108; N), even if the average vehicle speed in the extracted section is equal to or lower than the predetermined vehicle speed Vlow, the low speed traveling section is not set.

Here, the predetermined length L does not occur so frequently that switching between the section that travels in the motor drive mode and the section that travels in the other hybrid drive mode and engine drive mode is disadvantageous in terms of fuel efficiency. The length is desirable. Specifically, it is about several hundred meters. Further, the predetermined length L can be obtained by experiments or the like as the length that provides the highest fuel efficiency.
Instead of the predetermined length L, a predetermined time T may be adopted. That is, when the vehicle travels in the extracted section for a time shorter than the predetermined time T, the low speed travel section is not set even if the average vehicle speed in the extracted section is equal to or lower than the predetermined vehicle speed Vlow.

Next, a specific example of the low-speed traveling section will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 3A is a diagram schematically showing a commuting route 23 from a driver's home 21 to the company 22.
For example, it is assumed that the driver travels on the commuting route 23 by a hybrid vehicle every day from Monday to Friday, and makes a round trip between the company and his home.

As described above, when a car is used for commuting, the commuting route usually uses almost the same road.
When the travel data is analyzed for a few days, for example, for the travel by commuting in the procedure shown in the flowchart of FIG. 2, sufficient travel data can be accumulated for specifying the low speed travel section for the entire commute route 23. .

FIG. 3B is a graph showing an example of the change in vehicle speed on the commuting route 23 on a certain day.
In this graph, the vertical axis indicates the vehicle speed, the horizontal axis indicates the distance to the company, and the transition of the vehicle speed from home to the company is shown.
This graph plots the average value of each road link constituting the commuting route 23.
Such travel of the vehicle speed can be obtained by accumulating travel data when traveling on the commuting route 23 and averaging the vehicle speed.

A similar graph can be obtained by plotting the average vehicle speed for each road link using single traveling data.
In particular, when traveling to the office in the morning, the commuting route 23 travels at approximately the same time zone, so it is predicted that traffic congestion will occur at approximately the same location on the traveling route.
Therefore, in such a route, a more accurate analysis can be performed by averaging a plurality of travel data.
When the commuting route 23 is analyzed according to the procedure shown in FIG. 2, a section that encounters this traffic jam is identified as a low vehicle speed traveling section.

  In the present embodiment, when specifying a low-speed traveling section, the average vehicle speed in the section is equal to or lower than a predetermined vehicle speed Vlow, and the length of the section is equal to or longer than a predetermined length L. Although one condition is imposed, the present invention is not limited to this, and the section may be recognized as a low speed traveling section when the average vehicle speed in the section is equal to or lower than a predetermined vehicle speed Vlow.

In the example of FIG. 3B, it can be seen that the sections A, C, and E traveled at a low vehicle speed equal to or lower than the predetermined vehicle speed Vlow.
Sections A, B, and C are all configured by connecting adjacent road links.
Since the average vehicle speed in these sections is equal to or lower than Vlow, the navigation device 7 extracts sections A, C, and E as extraction sections.

Further, the navigation device 7 calculates the lengths of the sections A, C, and E, and compares them with a predetermined length L.
Here, it is assumed that the lengths of the sections A and E are less than the predetermined length L. Then, the navigation apparatus 7 specifies the section C among the commuting routes 23 as a low vehicle speed traveling section.
In this way, the navigation device 7 can identify the section C as a low speed traveling section in the commuting route 23.

Next, the procedure for controlling the motor when the navigation device 7 travels in the low speed travel section will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
The following information processing is performed by a CPU (MPU) installed in the navigation device 7 according to a predetermined program.

First, while the hybrid vehicle is traveling, the navigation device 7 collects the travel data and stores it in the storage device 12 and identifies the currently traveling road by the navigation function (step 200).
The navigation device 7 refers to the supplementary information of the road link data of the identified road that is currently running, and determines whether or not the road link is designated as a low vehicle speed running section (step 202).

When the road link is designated as a low-speed travel section (step 202; Y), the navigation device 7 issues a motor drive command to the vehicle controller 6 (step 204).
As a result, the vehicle controller 6 switches the drive mode to the motor drive mode and is driven by the motor 2 and does not drive in the engine drive mode or the hybrid drive mode.
If the road link is not designated as a low-speed travel section (step 202; N), the navigation device 7 returns to the main routine without outputting a motor drive command. Accordingly, the vehicle controller 6 operates in a normal control mode (the vehicle controller 6 sets any one of the motor drive mode, the engine drive mode, and the hybrid drive mode as appropriate).

  Although FIG. 4 shows an example of processing for the road link of the currently running road, it is determined whether or not the road link ahead of the currently running road link is designated as the low speed running section. Thus, it is possible to determine in advance whether or not the motor drive mode is in front of the road that is currently running.

Moreover, since the time is also stored at the same time when the travel data of each road link is acquired, it is also possible to specify a route that travels in a predetermined time zone such as a commute.
Thus, at the start of traveling, it is also possible to estimate that the route to be traveled from now is the usual commuting route from the current time and the road link at the start of traveling.
In that case, the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4 can be performed at the start of traveling over the entire commuting route.

By the way, even if it is estimated from the past travel data that the road currently being traveled or the road to be traveled is a low speed travel section, it may be considered that the actual travel does not travel at a low speed as usual.
For example, a one-lane road that was congested every day until then became a two-lane road due to road renovation work, and when the morning traffic was resolved, the timing for switching the road signal was changed. There are cases where it becomes possible to smoothly pass a continuous signal.
In such a case, it is desirable to perform processing that cancels the designated control of the motor drive mode by specifying the low vehicle speed section.

Hereinafter, the motor travel command canceling process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
Each information processing in steps 300 to 304 in FIG. 5 is the same as steps 200 to 204 in the motor control process in FIG.
The navigation device 7 monitors the vehicle speed using the vehicle speed sensor 10 after issuing a motor drive command in step 304.

Then, the detected vehicle speed V is compared with a predetermined vehicle speed VLim to determine whether or not it is equal to or higher than the predetermined vehicle speed VLim (step 306).
When the vehicle speed V is lower than the predetermined vehicle speed VLim (step 306; N), the process is returned to the main routine.

On the other hand, when the vehicle speed V is equal to or higher than the predetermined vehicle speed VLim (step 306; Y), the navigation device 7 cancels the motor drive mode. That is, the navigation device 7 outputs a return command for returning to the normal control mode to the vehicle controller 6, and thereby returns to the normal control mode (step 308).
That is, once the motor drive mode is canceled (step 308), the travel data up to that point in the entire low speed travel section becomes unreliable, and thereafter, the remaining sections of the low speed travel section are in the normal travel mode. Drive on.

  The navigation device 7 determines whether or not the low-speed travel section has been completed (step 310), and returns to the main routine after completion (step 310; Y).

As described above, in the present embodiment, the vehicle speed is monitored while traveling in the motor drive mode in the low-speed traveling section, and if the predicted low-speed traveling is not performed, the vehicle speed is promptly obtained even in the low-speed traveling section. It is possible to return to the normal control mode.
Therefore, the motor 2 can travel at high speed and the battery 5 can be prevented from being consumed.

As described above, the commuting route can be specified by storing the traveling data up to the time when the vehicle has traveled, and it can be estimated that the route to be traveled will be the commuting route.
If the entire route can be estimated, it is possible to estimate the power consumed in the section as well as the section that issues the motor drive command as the low-speed traveling section.

Furthermore, in order to compensate for the estimated power consumption, it is possible to specify a section in which the battery can be efficiently charged from the travel data of the route other than the low vehicle speed travel region in the route.
For example, if it is found that there is a section that travels a certain distance at a vehicle speed of 60 km / h to 80 km / h where the fuel efficiency is the highest, power generation efficiency is highest when power is generated by the engine in that section.

If a power generation plan can be made in advance over the entire route in this way, it is possible to secure the same amount of battery charge after traveling on the route as before traveling.
That is, for example, even in daily commuting, it is possible to stably secure an appropriate amount of remaining battery power.

Here, since the commuting route runs on almost the same route and always makes a round trip, it is preferable to specify one route from the home (departure point) to the company (destination) and then back to the home from the company. It is.
If you can drive smoothly when you leave the office, you can recharge here and make up for the amount of power consumed during heavy work hours in the morning. This is because the sex becomes higher.

  For example, if there is a long uphill on the outbound road, the return road will go down the same slope, so if you know that power can be supplemented by regeneration on the downhill, the battery charge level is low when you exit the outbound road Can also be compensated on the return path. In this way, it is possible to select a more efficient power generation place by making a power generation plan as one route in a round trip.

Here, the retirement road is the first section, and the next morning is the second section following the first section, and the charging schedule is set as one section by combining the first and second sections. It is also possible to create it.
Furthermore, it may be possible to create a charging schedule by specifying a single route as a group of traveling in a certain section such as Monday to Friday.

Next, the procedure of power generation plan processing for performing power generation planning and power generation control of such a specific route will be described using the flowchart of FIG.
The following power generation planning process is performed by the CPU (MPU) of the navigation device 7 according to a predetermined program.

First, the navigation device 7 estimates a planned route to be traveled (step 400).
In this case, the navigation device 7 has a function as planned route specifying means for estimating and specifying the planned route.
The estimated route can be estimated, for example, by storing the time together at the time of travel data acquisition.
More specifically, for example, work often starts at home at the same time every morning (same starting point), so by specifying the time and place where the hybrid vehicle engine was started, It can be estimated to run.

Next, the navigation device 7 searches the storage device 12, and whether or not there is past traveling data, that is, whether or not each road link of the route is a low-speed traveling section with respect to the estimated planned route as a whole. Is determined (step 402).
If there is no travel data for the entire estimated planned route (step 402; N), the power generation planning process is not performed and the process returns to the main routine.

If there is travel data for the entire planned route (step 402; Y), the power generation planning process is continued.
When continuing the power generation planning process, the navigation device 7 first calculates and estimates the power consumed in the low-speed traveling section (step 404).
For the estimation, the power consumed by the motor 2 when traveling at the past average vehicle speed may be calculated from the past travel data, and the travel data may be calculated by the route traveled by the motor 2. Whether or not there is a section traveled by the motor 2, the consumption of the remaining amount of the battery for each road link travel (or unit time or unit distance) may be directly recorded.

Next, the navigation device 7 determines a power generation plan for the entire route using the calculated power consumption (step 406).
That is, a section for generating the amount of power consumed in the low-speed travel section (a section other than the low-speed travel section) and a power generation method (that is, whether power is generated by regeneration by decelerating travel, driving the motor 2 by the engine 1 to generate power) Decide).
Thus, the navigation apparatus 7 has a function as a charging plan means.

While the hybrid vehicle is traveling, the navigation device 7 sends a motor drive command (motor travel mode), an engine drive command (engine travel mode), a hybrid drive command (hybrid travel mode), and a power generation command to the vehicle controller 6 according to this power generation plan. Various commands such as an engine drive power generation command and a regenerative power generation command are output to control the power generation of the vehicle controller 6 (step 408).
When the engine drive power generation command is output in the power generation section, the vehicle controller 6 drives the engine 1 with an output that combines the output for driving the hybrid vehicle and the output for generating power by the motor 2. Then, the vehicle controller 6 causes the motor 2 to be driven so that the motor 1 generates electric power while the engine 1 is running and charges the battery 5.

Next, an example of the power generation plan process will be described with reference to FIG.
Fig. 7 (a) is a graph showing the vehicle speed data of the outbound route from home to the company, Fig. 7 (b) is a power generation plan (charge / discharge amount prediction), and Fig. 7 (c) is from the company to the home. FIG. 7D shows a power generation plan (charge / discharge amount prediction) corresponding to the vehicle speed data of the return path.

As shown in FIG. 7 (a), sections B and D are identified as low vehicle speed travel sections on the forward path, and section F is identified as low vehicle speed travel sections on the return path as shown in FIG. 7 (c). .
As described above, the reason that the sections are different between the outgoing route and the returning route, even though the route is the same, is that the traffic state is different between when going to work and when returning home.

The power consumption is calculated as electric energy QB in section B and QD in section D in the forward path, and calculated as QF in section F in the return path.
In the forward section A and the section C, since the vehicle travels stably at a relatively high speed, the electric power QB consumed in the section B is calculated by driving the motor 2 with the engine 1 and generating power in this section. A and C can generate electricity and be charged. That is, QB = QA + QC.

Further, since the vehicle is traveling stably at a relatively high speed in the return route section E, the power QD consumed in the forward route section D is supplemented by charging in the first half portion E1 of the return route section E. That is, when the power generation amount in the first half portion E1 is QE1, QD = QE1.
Further, it is possible to plan to supplement the power consumption in the section F with the power that can be generated in the second half portion E2 of the section E. That is, if the power generation amount in the second half portion E2 is QE2, QF = QE2.

Since commuting always makes a round trip, the route that is the target of the power generation plan can be set longer by capturing the outgoing route and the returning route as one route.
If it is possible to set a long power generation plan route, there are more sections that can be specified as power generation sections when creating a power generation plan. It becomes possible to do.

  For example, in the example of FIG. 7, if the balance of charge and discharge is adjusted only in the forward path, the power consumption QB + QD that is expected to be consumed in the sections B and D is generated in the sections A and C. The power generation amount per unit time that should be generated in the section A or C must be increased as compared with the case where the power generation plan is made as one route.

Increasing the amount of power generation per unit time means that a larger amount of engine torque is output, and the engine 1 must be operated in a region where the engine efficiency is reduced.
Furthermore, on the return route, if most of the power generation in the section E is obtained by regeneration, the necessary charge amount is only the power consumption QF in the section F, so that charging in the section E2 is sufficient, and in the section E1 Rechargeable power is unnecessary and will be discarded.

  In this way, if the section where power generation is possible becomes longer, it is possible to make a plan so that sufficient power generation can be performed only in the operation region where the fuel efficiency of the engine 1 is good. As a result, the hybrid vehicle with high fuel efficiency can be controlled. It becomes possible.

In the embodiment described above, a case has been described in which travel data is analyzed and a section longer than a predetermined length L is identified as a low speed travel section among sections traveled at a predetermined vehicle speed Vlow. Other sections may be specified as low-speed traveling sections by adding other sections.
For example, a route section in which it is estimated that one traveling time from start to stop is within a predetermined time may be specified as the low speed traveling section.
Thereby, a road link such as a congested road that repeats stopping and starting in a single time can also be specified as a low-speed traveling section, and the fuel efficiency effect can be further enhanced.

In the present embodiment described above, the following configuration is also possible.
(1) A hybrid vehicle control device that selectively drives a motor and an engine, and a travel data recording unit that records a vehicle speed at each point along the route along with a route traveled by the vehicle, Low speed travel section specifying means for specifying a section in which the vehicle speed is equal to or less than a predetermined value from the travel data, and drive control means for traveling by motor drive when traveling in the specified low speed travel section. A hybrid vehicle control device (first configuration).
(2) In the first configuration, the low-speed travel section specifying means may be configured to specify the low-speed travel section based on a plurality of past travel data on the same route (second configuration). ).
(3) The first configuration or the second configuration is a case in which the vehicle travels in the low-speed traveling section by motor driving, and when the vehicle speed exceeds a predetermined upper limit vehicle speed, the motor driving is used. It can be configured to cancel the travel control and switch to driving by the engine or a combination of the engine and the motor (third configuration).
(4) In the first configuration, the second configuration, and the third configuration, when planned route estimation means for estimating a planned route to be traveled from the past and past travel data are recorded for the entire planned route , Estimating the amount of power consumed by the motor in the low-speed travel section included in the planned route, and in the section other than the low-speed travel section in the planned route, the power corresponding to the estimated power amount by power generation or regeneration by the engine It can be configured to further include a charging plan / control unit for charging the battery (fourth configuration).
(5) In the fourth configuration, the scheduled route specifying means may be configured to specify a route from a predetermined departure point to the destination and returning from the destination to the departure point as one scheduled route. it can.

According to the embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) A section in which the vehicle speed is equal to or lower than the predetermined vehicle speed Vlow and the length of the section is equal to or greater than the predetermined length L can be specified as the low-speed travel section from the travel data of the route on which the hybrid vehicle has traveled in the past.
The vehicle controller 6 can be controlled to travel in the motor drive mode in the specified low-speed travel section.
In other words, there is no need for external traffic information or estimation of the driving pattern, and it is possible to increase the area where the motor is driven based on past driving data, thereby improving fuel efficiency.

(2) Based on an average value of a plurality of past travel data, by specifying a section where the vehicle speed is equal to or lower than the predetermined vehicle speed Vlow and the length of the section is equal to or greater than the predetermined length L as a low speed travel section, It is possible to increase the accuracy of specifying the low-speed traveling section.
This is based on the fact that a road that has traveled in the past is likely to travel in the same way when traveling next time.
For example, commuting routes and the like pass through the same route every day at the same time, so it has been experimentally known that there is a tendency to run very similar every day.

(3) Even in a low-speed traveling section, when the vehicle travels differently from usual due to some factor, it can be detected by comparing the vehicle speed with a predetermined vehicle speed VLim. In this case, it is possible to immediately return to the normal control mode by quickly canceling the motor drive mode.

(4) In the case of a route that travels frequently, such as a commuting route, since travel data is obtained for the entire route, the amount of power consumed in the low-speed traveling section is compensated by power generation in sections other than the low-speed traveling section of the commuting path. Can make plans. By controlling the vehicle controller 6 according to this power generation plan, the balance of charge / discharge can be adjusted over the entire route, and the amount of charge of the battery can be kept constant even when the route is repeated.

(6) In particular, when going to work, it always makes a round trip. By capturing the outbound and inbound routes as one route, the length of the route that is the target of the electricity generation plan can be increased, and a more efficient electricity generation plan can be set. can do.
As a result, for example, even if the battery power is consumed due to traffic congestion on the forward path, the battery can be used more effectively by supplementing the power on the return path.
That is, it is possible to enlarge the region where the motor is driven, and as a result, fuel efficiency can be improved.

1 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of a hybrid vehicle of an embodiment. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the procedure in which a navigation apparatus specifies a low-speed driving | running | working area. It is a figure for demonstrating the specific example of a low-speed driving | running | working area. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the procedure of the motor control which a navigation apparatus performs. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the procedure in which a navigation apparatus cancels motor drive mode. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the procedure in which a navigation apparatus performs a power generation plan. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of a power generation plan process.

Explanation of symbols

1 Engine 1
2 Motor 2
3 Transmission 3
4 differential 4
5 Battery 5
6 Vehicle controller 6
7 Navigation device 7
8 Gyro sensor 8
9 GPS sensor 9
10 Vehicle speed sensor 10
11 Map database 11
12 Storage device 12

Claims (6)

A control device for a hybrid vehicle that travels by selectively driving a motor and an engine,
Travel data recording means for recording the travel route of the vehicle and the vehicle speed at each point of the route as travel data;
From the recorded travel data, the vehicle speed is a low speed travel below a predetermined vehicle speed, and the length of the low speed travel section is greater than or equal to a predetermined length, or the travel time in the low speed travel section is a predetermined time. A low-speed travel section specifying means for specifying a route section that is more than time as a low-speed travel section;
In the low-speed traveling section, the vehicle travels in a motor traveling mode that travels with the driving force of the motor, and in a section other than the low-speed traveling section, the driving force of the motor, the driving force of the engine, or both driving of the motor and the engine Drive control means that travels in a normal travel mode that travels by selecting a force;
A control apparatus for a hybrid vehicle, comprising: 2. The hybrid vehicle control according to claim 1, wherein the low-speed travel section specifying unit specifies the low-speed travel section based on a predetermined number or more of travel data for the same route as the recorded route. apparatus.   If the vehicle speed exceeds a predetermined upper limit vehicle speed while traveling in the motor travel mode in the low speed travel section, the drive control means cancels the travel control in the motor travel mode and switches to the normal travel mode to travel. The hybrid vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the control device is a hybrid vehicle control device. A planned route specifying means for specifying a planned route to be driven from now on;
Power generation means for generating electric power by part or all of the driving force of the engine;
A power storage means for supplying power to the motor and storing power by regenerative energy; and when the low speed travel section is included in the specified scheduled route, an amount of power consumed by travel in the low speed travel section Charging plan means for estimating and charging a power storage means for driving the motor in a section other than the low-speed traveling section of the planned route. ,
4. The hybrid vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the drive control unit controls driving of the engine and the power generation unit according to the plan. 5.   5. The control apparatus for a hybrid vehicle according to claim 4, wherein the planned route specifying means specifies a forward route and a return route of the first point and the second point as one scheduled route.   A hybrid vehicle that travels by selectively driving a motor and an engine, comprising the hybrid vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. Hybrid vehicle.

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