JP7273360B2 - Output distribution controller - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an output distribution control device that distributes a required output to front wheels and rear wheels.

A vehicle is equipped with a single prime mover, for example an engine, and has a drive system that distributes the drive power of the prime mover to the front and rear wheels through a propeller shaft, and the transmission power that is transmitted from the prime mover to the front and rear wheels. It is known that there is a 4WD in which the transmission ratio between the front and rear wheels can be changed using an input unit for inputting a distribution ratio.
On the other hand, in a vehicle, instead of driving the front and rear wheels with a single motor, the front and rear wheels are driven by two independent motors, a front motor and a rear motor.・Development of a drive system driven by independent prime movers is under consideration (see Patent Document 1, etc.).

By the way, it is known that many 4WD vehicles can change the driving force ratio between the front and rear wheels according to road conditions.
However, 4WD, which drives the front and rear wheels independently, has a limit to the output of the front motor and rear motor, and the set distribution ratio may collapse depending on the driver's driving operation. There is no way to know.

JP 2012-16972 A

Therefore, there is a demand for a function that allows the vehicle to run while maintaining the front/rear distribution ratio set by the driver as much as possible.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an output distribution control device capable of informing the driver of the timing at which the distribution ratio cannot be maintained in order to drive the vehicle as much as possible with the set distribution ratio.

An aspect of the present invention is a vehicle that travels while distributing a required output required of the vehicle to the front wheels and the rear wheels. An input unit where the driver inputs the distribution ratio for distributing the required output to the front engine and the rear engine that drives the rear wheels, and the required output calculated based on the operation amount of the operation unit is distributed to the front and rear wheels. and the operation part has a notification means for notifying the driver of the shift when the operation amount that can maintain the distribution ratio is shifted to the operation amount that the distribution ratio cannot be maintained.

According to the present invention, when the set distribution ratio cannot be maintained due to the driver's driving operation due to the limit of the outputs of the front motor and the rear motor, the driver is notified of the timing at which the distribution ratio cannot be maintained. As a result, the driver can grasp the timing when the previously unknown distribution ratio cannot be maintained.
Therefore, the driver can drive the vehicle at the set distribution ratio as much as possible by performing the driving operation while paying attention to this timing.

1 is a configuration diagram showing the main configuration of an output distribution control device, which is a mode according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. The block diagram which shows an example of an alerting|reporting means. 4 is a flowchart for explaining control for notifying the driver of the timing at which the set distribution ratio is no longer maintained; FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing control following FIG. 3 ; FIG. The front view which shows the different alerting|reporting means used as the aspect which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

The present invention will be described below based on a first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 4. FIG.
A symbol A in FIG. 1A indicates a vehicle A, which is an electric vehicle, for example. Vehicle A has a drive system in which front wheels 1 and rear wheels 3 are driven by independent motors, for example, motors. For this reason, a front motor 5 (corresponding to the front prime mover of the present application) for driving the front wheels 1 is mounted on the front side of the vehicle body of the vehicle A, and a rear motor 7 (corresponding to the rear prime mover of the present application) is mounted on the rear side of the vehicle body to drive the rear wheels 3. ) is installed. Incidentally, the front and rear wheels 1 and 3 are driven independently.

As for the maximum output of the front motor 5 and the rear motor 7, for example, "100 kw" is used for both the front motor 5 and the rear motor 7 for the sake of clarity.
The front motor 5 and the rear motor 7 are both connected to a battery 9 mounted on the vehicle A via inverters 5a and 7a. As a result, the electric power stored in the battery 9 drives the motors 5 and 7 . That is, the vehicle A runs with the required output distributed to the front wheels 1 and the rear wheels 3 .

The inverters 5a and 7a are connected to the ECU 11, and the driver's acceleration/deceleration request obtained by the accelerator operation amount of the accelerator pedal 13 (corresponding to the operation unit of the present application) is reflected in the required output of the vehicle A. As a result, the vehicle A can travel while reflecting the acceleration/deceleration request of the driver. Reference numeral 13b in FIG. 1(a) denotes an accelerator pedal sensor that detects an accelerator operation amount (accelerator opening) of the accelerator pedal 13, which is a driver's acceleration/deceleration request.

Incidentally, reference numeral 15 in FIG. 1(a) indicates a steering wheel for turning the vehicle A, 17 indicates an instrument panel, and 19 indicates a front seat.
A vehicle A in which the required output is distributed to the front wheels 1 and the rear wheels 3 is provided with an output distribution control device 21 as shown in FIGS.
To explain the output distribution control device 21, reference numeral 23 in FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b) is an input for distributing the required output required for the vehicle A to the front motor 5 and the rear motor 7 as desired. A part, for example a dial 23, is shown.

The dial 23 is rotatably provided on the instrument panel 17, for example, and the distribution ratio is input by rotating it. Specifically, the dial 23 can be continuously and freely switched to, for example, "front wheels 0 to 10:rear wheels 10 to 0", and the desired distribution ratio is input by the driver's dial operation.
This dial 23 is combined with a control unit serving as distribution means, for example, the ECU 11 that controls vehicle A, and the requested output in which the accelerator operation amount (acceleration/deceleration request) is reflected in the distribution ratio set by the dial 23 is It is distributed to the front motor 5 and the rear motor 7 .

Specifically, for example, the ECU 11 is provided with a distribution ratio instruction unit 27 . The distribution ratio instruction unit 27 instructs the front motor 5 and the rear motor 7 to distribute the required output calculated based on the accelerator operation amount to the front motor 5 and the rear motor 7 based on the distribution ratio set with the dial 23 . As a result, the distribution ratio is maintained until the distributed required output exceeds the maximum output that can be generated by the front motor 5 or the rear motor 7 .

Incidentally, when the distributed required output exceeds the maximum output that can be generated by the front motor 5 or the rear motor 7, the distribution ratio instruction unit 27 determines that the input distribution ratio cannot be maintained, and It has a function to cancel the front-to-rear distribution ratio of and.
In other words, the distribution ratio of the required output calculated based on the accelerator operation amount may not be maintained due to the regulation of the maximum output of the front motor 5 and the rear motor 7, or the distribution ratio may not be maintained.

At the accelerator pedal 13, there is a timing when the distribution ratio cannot be maintained due to the driver's accelerator operation amount (driving operation), specifically, the accelerator operation amount at which the distribution ratio can be maintained is shifted to the accelerator operation amount at which the distribution ratio cannot be maintained. A notification means such as a detent device 30 is provided to notify the driver of the timing of the transition.
During the pedal stroke of the accelerator pedal 13, the detent device 30 increases the operation reaction force of the accelerator pedal 13 when the distribution ratio cannot be maintained compared to the operation reaction force of the accelerator pedal 13 while the distribution ratio can be maintained. It consists of a device that Then, the driver is notified of the timing of the transition by using the difference in feeling that the operation reaction force changes. More specifically, when the accelerator pedal 13 is in the depression position where the output of the front motor 5 or the rear motor 7 is the maximum output (upper limit: 100 kw), the operation reaction force of the accelerator pedal 13 is increased.

Specifically, the detent device 30 connects an actuator, for example, a piston end of a detent load generating cylinder 31 to the middle of the lever portion 13a of the accelerator pedal 13, as shown in FIG. Further, the ECU 11 is provided with a detent instructing section 33 to calculate the depression position of the accelerator pedal 13 at which either the front motor 5 or the rear motor 7 can produce the maximum output in the distribution ratio. The detent load generating cylinder 31 is operated based on this depression position, and from the difference in the operation reaction force of the accelerator pedal 13, the timing at which the distribution ratio can no longer be maintained is communicated to the driver. In other words, the driver is notified of the timing of the transition.

The symbol α in FIG. 2 indicates the accelerator depression position at which the front motor 5 or the rear motor 7 produces the maximum output, that is, the detent position.
Incidentally, the maximum output of the front motor 5 and the rear motor 7 changes from moment to moment depending on operating conditions (temperature, battery voltage, etc.). etc.) is provided, correction information is given to the detent instruction unit 33, and the detent position α is changed (corrected) every moment. That is, the detent position is defined with high accuracy under any operational conditions of the front motor 5 and the rear motor 7 .

Further, the ECU 11 is provided with a distribution ratio cancellation unit 37 . When the accelerator pedal 13 exceeds the detent position α by the distribution ratio canceling unit 37 and the required output of either the front motor 5 or the rear motor 7 exceeds the maximum output that can be generated by the one motor, It is determined that the set distribution ratio cannot be maintained. This determination is used to cancel the set distribution ratio. Incidentally, when the set distribution ratio is no longer maintained, the output exceeding the maximum output that can be generated by one motor shifts to the side of the motor that has not reached the maximum output of the other motor.

In particular, the detent device 30 produces a heavy depression feeling at the detent position α, and returns to a light depression feeling again when the detent position α is exceeded. .
The ECU 11 also has a function to respond to a steep acceleration request from the accelerator pedal 13 .

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1(a), the ECU 11 is provided with a detent canceling section 39. As shown in FIG. The detent cancellation unit 39 detects from the accelerator pedal sensor 13b that detects the amount of accelerator operation when the rate of change in accelerator operation, such as when the accelerator pedal 13 is steeply depressed, increases. Then, when the rate of change in accelerator operation is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, such as when rapid acceleration is required, the detent device 30 is deactivated. In other words, the notification to the driver by the detent device 30 is cancelled, and acceleration running using the maximum output of both the motors 5 and 7 becomes possible.

On the other hand, if the accelerator operation amount that can maintain the distribution ratio is rapidly shifted to the accelerator operation amount that cannot maintain the distribution ratio during cornering of the vehicle A, there is concern that the running attitude of the vehicle A may be affected. .
Therefore, a steering angle sensor 41 is provided in the steering wheel 15, and a correction unit 43 is provided in the ECU 11 so that, during cornering, when there is a transition from an accelerator operation amount that can maintain the distribution ratio to an accelerator operation amount that cannot maintain the distribution ratio, the maximum The output transition to the motor on the side that has not reached the output is made to change smoothly rather than steeply. Here, for example, as the steering angle of the steering wheel 15 increases, a method is used in which the output shift to the motor on the side that has not reached the maximum output is gradually changed.

Next, the operation of the output distribution control device 21 will be described with reference to the flow charts shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG.
First, the driver operates the dial 23 as in step S1 in FIG. 3 to set the front/rear distribution ratio of the vehicle A to a desired distribution ratio, for example, "front 8:rear 2". Of course, since the distribution ratio is determined by the condition of the road and the condition of the road surface, other distribution ratios may be used.

Next, as in step S3, the maximum output of the front motor 5 and the rear motor 7 at the set distribution ratio is calculated taking into consideration the operation conditions (air temperature, battery voltage, etc.) of the front motor 5 and the rear motor 7. FIG. Then, the detent position α is set by the detent instruction unit 33 during the pedal stroke of the accelerator pedal 13 .
By setting the detent position α, the detent load generating cylinder 31 operates to provide a detent feeling when the accelerator pedal 13 is depressed to a stroke corresponding to the maximum output of the front motor 5 (detent position α).

Subsequently, the driver depresses the accelerator pedal 13 to start the vehicle A as in step S5.
At this time, as shown in step S7, it is determined from the rate of change of the accelerator operation amount whether or not the accelerator has been rapidly depressed.
During normal driving, abrupt accelerator operation is not performed (the rate of change is equal to or less than a predetermined value). Therefore, in the case of normal running, the process proceeds from step S5 to step S7 and step S9 to step S11, and the acceleration/deceleration request based on the accelerator operation amount is reflected in the set distribution ratio "front 8:rear 2". , the front motor 5 and the rear motor 7 at the front and rear of the vehicle.

As a result, the vehicle A maintains the set distribution ratio of "front 8: rear 2 ” while running.
That is, the set distribution ratio of "front 8:rear 2" is maintained unless the accelerator operation amount exceeds the pedal stroke up to the detent position α.

Here, it is assumed that the accelerator pedal 13 is further depressed, and the operation amount that can maintain the distribution ratio is shifted to the operation amount that cannot maintain the distribution ratio.
At this time, the position corresponding to the maximum output that can be generated by the front motor 5 during the pedal stroke of the accelerator pedal 13 is set as the detent position α, and at this detent position α, the operation reaction force of the accelerator pedal 13 is made larger than normal. There is (due to the detent load generating cylinder 31). As a result, the driver can feel that the distribution ratio has reached the upper limit from the feeling transmitted to the foot through the accelerator pedal 13 .

From this feeling, the driver can grasp the timing at which the previously unknown distribution ratio cannot be maintained, and can know the timing at which the distribution ratio cannot be maintained (notification).
Incidentally, when the detent position α corresponding to the maximum output that can be generated by the front motor 5 is exceeded, it is determined that the distribution ratio cannot be maintained, and the process proceeds to step S13, where the front and rear distribution ratio is canceled and the maximum output of the front motor 5 is exceeded. The required output is transferred to the rear motor 7.

Upon noticing the notification that the distribution ratio cannot be maintained, the driver releases the depressed accelerator pedal 13 and operates the accelerator so as to fall below the detent position α. Running is performed with a distribution ratio of "front 8:rear 2".
Therefore, the driver can drive the vehicle A at the set distribution ratio as much as possible by performing a driving operation while considering the timing at which the distribution ratio cannot be maintained.
Of course, the same applies to other distribution ratios.

On the other hand, the timing at which the front/rear distribution ratio is canceled as in step S15 may coincide with the cornering of vehicle A as in step S14. When the required output is abruptly output to the rear motor 7, the running posture of the vehicle A is likely to be affected.
Therefore, the required output to be output to the rear motor 7 is corrected during cornering as in the subsequent step S15.

Here, for example, as in step S21 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 4, it is first determined whether the rate of change of the power transferred to the rear motor 7 is greater than a predetermined value, that is, whether the power supply to the rear motor 7 is steep.
If it is steep, the power transferred to the rear motor 7 is controlled according to the steering angle (rudder angle) of the steering wheel 15 as in step S25 during cornering of the vehicle A to smooth out the steep output.

As a result, sudden changes in output can be suppressed, and a stable running posture can be maintained.
On the other hand, when it is determined in step S7 that the rate of change in the accelerator operation is greater than or equal to the predetermined value and that the accelerator operation is sharp, i.e., the accelerator pedal 13 is stepped on vigorously, the process proceeds to step S19, and the operation of the detent load generating cylinder 31 is stopped. release is performed. That is, when the driver depresses the accelerator pedal 13 vigorously and deeply to seek acceleration, the notification by the detent device 30 is cancelled, and the system enters into a system in which the front motor 5 and the rear motor 7 can be used to the limit for acceleration.

In other words, it is possible to meet the demand for driving the vehicle A that requires acceleration.
As described above, the driver is notified of the timing of transition from the accelerator operation amount (operation amount) at which the input distribution ratio can be maintained to the operation amount at which the distribution ratio cannot be maintained. It is possible to grasp the timing when the previously unknown distribution ratio cannot be maintained.
Therefore, the driver can drive the vehicle at the set distribution ratio as much as possible by performing the driving operation of the vehicle A while considering this timing.

In addition, the notification of the timing at which the distribution ratio cannot be maintained is based on the acceleration force when the distribution ratio cannot be maintained (at the time of transition) compared to the operation reaction force of the accelerator pedal 13 (operation unit) while the distribution ratio can be maintained. Since the method of increasing the operation reaction force of the pedal 13 (operation unit) is used, the notification can be made through the foot that operates the accelerator pedal 13, which is most frequently touched by the driver. Therefore, it is possible to reliably inform the driver of the timing at which the distribution ratio cannot be maintained. Of course, it is simple because the existing accelerator pedal 13 (operation unit) is used.

In addition, when the timing at which the distribution ratio cannot be maintained coincides with the cornering of vehicle A, the transition of the output is smoothed, so the running stability of vehicle A is not impaired.
In addition, when the operation change rate of the accelerator pedal 13 (operation unit) is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, the notification due to the operation reaction force of the accelerator pedal 13 is canceled. can easily respond to

If the required output of either the front motor 5 (front prime mover) or the rear motor 7 (rear prime mover) exceeds the maximum output that can be generated by one of the motors (5 or 7), the distribution ratio cannot be maintained. By determining that, the timing at which the distribution ratio cannot be maintained can be accurately and easily detected.
FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the invention.

This embodiment uses the detent load generating cylinder 31 as in the first embodiment to notify the timing of transition from the accelerator operation amount that can maintain the distribution ratio to the accelerator operation amount that cannot maintain the distribution ratio. It uses other means.
Specifically, in this embodiment, for example, as shown in FIG. An indicator 59 is provided to indicate the output condition of the front motor 5 and the rear motor 7 with respect to the distribution ratio by a bar display, and the timing at which the distribution ratio cannot be maintained is reported visually.

Of course, the timing at which the distribution ratio cannot be maintained may be notified to the driver by other means, such as sound or difference in feeling when gripping the steering wheel.
It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications may be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, a vehicle using an independent front motor and a rear motor was used, but the present invention is not limited to this, and may be used for a vehicle equipped with an independent front engine and rear engine. It is not limited.

A vehicle 1 front wheel 3 rear wheel 5 front motor (front prime mover)
7 rear motor (rear prime mover)
11 ECU (distribution means)
13 accelerator pedal (operation part)
23 dial (input part)
30 Dentent device (notification means)

Claims (4)

A vehicle that travels while distributing the required output required for the vehicle to the front wheels and the rear wheels,
an operation unit that reflects a driver's acceleration/deceleration request in the requested output;
an input unit for a driver to input a distribution ratio for distributing the required output to a front motor that drives the front wheels and a rear motor that drives the rear wheels;
a distribution means for distributing the required output calculated based on the operation amount of the operation unit to the front wheels and the rear wheels;
The operation unit is
An output distribution control device, comprising: an informing means for informing the driver of the time of transition from an operation amount at which the distribution ratio can be maintained to an operation amount at which the distribution ratio cannot be maintained. The notification means is
2. The shift time is notified by increasing the operation reaction force of the operation unit at the time of the shift compared to the operation reaction force of the operation unit while the distribution ratio can be maintained. A power distribution control device as described. The notification means is
3. The output distribution control device according to claim 1, wherein the notification by the notification means is canceled when the rate of change in operation by the operation unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. The distribution means are
Claim 1, characterized in that it is determined that the distribution ratio cannot be maintained when a required output required of either one of the front motor and the rear motor exceeds a maximum output that can be generated by the one of the motors. 4. The output distribution control device according to any one of 3.

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