JP7655151B2 - vehicle - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle.

Conventionally, a technology of this type has been proposed for a vehicle that transmits power from the engine to the drive wheels by changing the gear of the transmission. When upshifting the transmission according to a gear shift map, the maximum driving force of the vehicle at which the gear after the upshift is maintained at the current vehicle speed is calculated, and the vehicle's running resistance at the current vehicle speed is subtracted from this maximum driving force to calculate the marginal driving force. If this marginal driving force is equal to or greater than a judgment threshold, an upshift is performed, but if the marginal driving force is less than the judgment threshold, an upshift is not performed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this vehicle, when the marginal driving force in the gear after the upshift of the transmission is small and there is a high possibility of a downshift immediately after the upshift, an upshift is not performed, thereby suppressing busy shifts. On the other hand, when the marginal driving force in the gear after the upshift is sufficiently large, an upshift is performed to reduce fuel consumption.

JP 2014-111962 A

In such vehicles, the greater the road gradient on the uphill side of the road, the smaller the vehicle's acceleration tends to be, which makes the driver feel a sluggish acceleration when he or she depresses the accelerator pedal.

The main purpose of the vehicle of the present invention is to reduce the feeling of sluggish acceleration given to the driver.

The vehicle of the present invention employs the following means to achieve the above-mentioned main objective.

The vehicle of the present invention comprises:
A driving source;
a transmission that transmits the power of the drive source to drive wheels while changing a gear ratio;
a control unit that controls the drive source and the transmission so that a gear position of the transmission becomes a target gear position based on an accelerator operation amount, a vehicle speed, and a shift line, and the vehicle travels based on a required drive force of the vehicle;
A vehicle comprising:
An acceleration acquisition unit that acquires an acceleration of the vehicle as an acquired acceleration,
The control unit is
When a deficit acceleration, which is a deficit of the acquired acceleration with respect to a reference acceleration of the vehicle when it is assumed that the vehicle runs on a flat road with an output driving force based on the required driving force, is less than a predetermined acceleration, the shift line is set to a first shift line;
When the insufficient acceleration is equal to or greater than the predetermined acceleration, the shift line is set to a second shift line that makes it easier to downshift and/or harder to upshift than the first shift line.
The gist of the present invention is as follows.

In the vehicle of the present invention, the drive source and the transmission are controlled so that the gear of the transmission becomes a target gear based on the accelerator operation amount, the vehicle speed, and the shift line, and the vehicle travels based on the required driving force. In this case, when the acceleration deficit, which is the deficit of the acquired acceleration with respect to the reference acceleration of the vehicle when it is assumed that the vehicle travels on a flat road with the output driving force based on the required driving force, is less than a predetermined acceleration, the shift line is set to a first shift line, and when the acceleration deficit is equal to or greater than the predetermined acceleration, the shift line is set to a second shift line that makes it easier to downshift and/or harder to upshift than the first shift line. The greater the road surface gradient of the road on the uphill side, the smaller the acquired acceleration is likely to be, and the larger the acceleration deficit is likely to be. Therefore, when the deficient acceleration is equal to or greater than the predetermined acceleration, the shift line is set to the second shift line, making it easier to downshift the transmission (to make it easier to increase the vehicle's output driving force) and harder to upshift (to make it harder to decrease the vehicle's output driving force), thereby preventing the driver from feeling sluggish acceleration when the driver depresses the accelerator pedal.

The vehicle of the present invention may further include a power storage device, the drive source having an engine and a motor that exchanges power with the power storage device, the control unit controls the drive source and the transmission so as to travel based on the required drive force within the range of the allowable output power of the power storage device, and further, when the acceleration deficiency is equal to or greater than the predetermined acceleration but the allowable output power is greater than the predetermined power, the shift line may be set to a first shift line.

In the vehicle of the present invention, the acceleration detection unit may perform any one of the following processes: converting the amount of change per unit time of a rotation speed slow change value obtained by applying a first slow change process to the rotation speed of the output shaft of the transmission detected by a rotation speed sensor into the acquired acceleration; calculating the amount of change per unit time of a vehicle speed slow change value obtained by applying a second slow change process to the vehicle speed detected by a vehicle speed sensor as the acquired acceleration; or performing a third slow change process on the detection value of the acceleration sensor to estimate the acquired acceleration. The first slow change process, the second slow change process, and the third slow change process are performed to ensure robustness.

In the vehicle of the present invention, the upshift line of the second shift line may be set on the higher vehicle speed side in at least a portion of the range of the accelerator operation amount compared to the upshift line of the first shift line, and/or the downshift line of the second shift line may be set on the lower vehicle speed side in at least a portion of the range of the vehicle speed compared to the downshift line of the first shift line.

1 is a diagram showing an outline of the configuration of a hybrid vehicle 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention; 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a shift line changing routine executed by an HVECU 70. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a shift line map when a shift line is a first shift line. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a shift line map when a shift line is a second shift line. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an outline of the configuration of a hybrid vehicle 120 according to a modified example.

Next, we will explain how to implement the present invention using examples.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a hybrid vehicle 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the hybrid vehicle 20 according to the embodiment includes an engine 22, an engine electronic control unit (hereinafter referred to as "engine ECU") 24, a motor 30, an inverter 32, a motor electronic control unit (hereinafter referred to as "motor ECU") 34, a clutch K0, a clutch WSC, a transmission 40, a hydraulic control unit 44, a transmission electronic control unit (hereinafter referred to as "transmission ECU") 46, a battery 50 as an electricity storage device, a battery electronic control unit (hereinafter referred to as "battery ECU") 52, and a hybrid electronic control unit (hereinafter referred to as "HVECU") 70.

The engine 22 is configured as an internal combustion engine that outputs power using fuel such as gasoline or diesel from a fuel tank. The crankshaft 23 of the engine 22 is connected to the rotating shaft 31 of the motor 30 via the clutch K0.

Although not shown, the engine ECU 24 is equipped with a microcomputer having a CPU, ROM, RAM, flash memory, input/output ports, and communication ports. Signals from various sensors are input to the engine ECU 24 via the input port. Examples of signals input to the engine ECU 24 include the crank angle θcr from the crank position sensor 23a that detects the rotational position of the crankshaft 23 of the engine 22, the cooling water temperature Tw from the water temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the cooling water of the engine 22, and the intake air amount Qa from the air flow meter that detects the intake air amount of the engine 22. Various control signals are output from the engine ECU 24 via the output port. Examples of signals output from the engine ECU 24 include a control signal to a throttle valve, a control signal to a fuel injection valve, and a control signal to an ignition plug. The engine ECU 24 is connected to the HVECU 70 via a communication port. The engine ECU 24 calculates the rotation speed Ne of the engine 22 based on the crank angle θcr of the crankshaft 23 from the crank position sensor 23a.

The motor 30 is configured as a synchronous generator motor, and has a rotor with a permanent magnet embedded in the rotor core, and a stator with a three-phase coil wound around the stator core. The rotating shaft 31 to which the rotor of the motor 30 is fixed is connected to the crankshaft 23 of the engine 22 via the clutch K0, and is also connected to the input shaft 41 of the transmission 40 via the clutch WSC. The inverter 32 is used to drive the motor 30, and is connected to the battery 50 via the power line 54. The motor 30 is rotated and driven by switching of multiple switching elements of the inverter 32.

Although not shown, the motor ECU 34 is equipped with a microcomputer having a CPU, ROM, RAM, flash memory, input/output ports, and communication ports. Signals from various sensors are input to the motor ECU 34 via the input port. Examples of signals input to the motor ECU 34 include the rotational position θm from the rotational position sensor 30a that detects the rotational position of the rotor (rotating shaft 31) of the motor 30, and the phase currents Iu and Iv from the current sensors that detect the currents of each phase of the motor 30. The motor ECU 34 outputs control signals to the inverter 32 and the like via the output port. The motor ECU 34 is connected to the HVECU 70 via the communication port. The motor ECU 34 calculates the electrical angle θe and the rotation speed Nm of the motor 30 based on the rotational position θm of the rotor (rotating shaft 31) of the motor 30 from the rotational position sensor 30a.

Clutch K0 is configured, for example, as a hydraulically driven friction clutch, and connects and disconnects the crankshaft 23 of the engine 22 and the rotating shaft 31 of the motor 30. Clutch WSC is configured, for example, as a hydraulically driven friction clutch, and connects and disconnects the rotating shaft 31 of the motor 30 and the input shaft 41 of the transmission 40. Both clutch K0 and clutch WSC have a hydraulic servo consisting of a piston, multiple friction engagement plates (friction plates and separator plates), an oil chamber to which hydraulic oil is supplied, and the like.

The transmission 40 is configured as a four-speed automatic transmission, and has an input shaft 41, an output shaft 42, multiple planetary gears, and multiple hydraulically driven friction engagement elements (clutches and brakes). The input shaft 41 is connected to the rotating shaft 31 of the motor 30 via a clutch WSC, and the output shaft 42 is connected to the drive wheels 49 via a differential gear 48. Each of the multiple friction engagement elements has a hydraulic servo consisting of a piston, multiple friction engagement plates (friction plates and separator plates), an oil chamber to which hydraulic oil is supplied, and the like. The transmission 40 forms the first to fourth forward and reverse gears by engaging or disengaging the multiple friction engagement elements, and connects the input shaft 41 and the output shaft 42 (transmits power between them) or disconnects the input shaft 41 and the output shaft 42.

The hydraulic control unit 44 has a valve body with multiple oil passages, multiple regulator valves, multiple linear solenoid valves, etc. This hydraulic control unit 44 regulates the hydraulic pressure of the hydraulic oil from the mechanical oil pump or the electric oil pump and supplies it to the clutch K0, the clutch WSC, the multiple friction engagement elements of the transmission 40, etc.

Although not shown, the transmission ECU 46 is equipped with a microcomputer having a CPU, ROM, RAM, flash memory, input/output ports, and communication ports. Signals from various sensors are input to the transmission ECU 46 via the input ports. Examples of signals input to the transmission ECU 46 include the rotation speed Ni from the rotation speed sensor 41a that detects the rotation speed of the input shaft 41 of the transmission 40, the rotation speed No from the rotation speed sensor 42a that detects the rotation speed of the output shaft 42 of the transmission 40, and the oil temperature Tho of the hydraulic oil in the hydraulic control unit 44. Control signals to the hydraulic control unit 44 are output from the transmission ECU 46 via the output ports. The transmission ECU 46 is connected to the HVECU 70 via the communication port.

The battery 50 is configured as, for example, a lithium ion secondary battery or a nickel hydrogen secondary battery, and is connected to the inverter 32 via the power line 54 as described above. The battery ECU 52 includes a microcomputer having a CPU, ROM, RAM, flash memory, input/output ports, and a communication port, although not shown. Signals from various sensors necessary for managing the battery 50 are input to the battery ECU 52 via the input port. Examples of signals input to the battery ECU 52 include a voltage Vb from a voltage sensor that detects the voltage of the battery 50, a current Ib (positive value when discharging) from a current sensor that detects the current of the battery 50, and a temperature Tb from a temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the battery 50. The battery ECU 52 is connected to the HVECU 70 via a communication port. The battery ECU 52 calculates the storage rate SOC of the battery 50 based on the integrated value of the current Ib of the battery 50 from the current sensor, and calculates the allowable output power Wout of the battery 50 based on the calculated storage rate SOC and the temperature Tb of the battery 50 from the temperature sensor. The power storage ratio SOC is the ratio of the amount of power that can be discharged from the battery 50 to the total capacity of the battery 50.

Although not shown, the HVECU 70 is equipped with a microcomputer having a CPU, ROM, RAM, flash memory, input/output ports, and communication ports. Signals from various sensors are input to the HVECU 70 via the input ports. Examples of signals input to the HVECU 70 include a start signal from a start switch 80 and a shift position SP from a shift position sensor 82 that detects the operating position of a shift lever 81. Other examples include an accelerator opening Acc from an accelerator pedal position sensor 84 that detects the amount of depression of an accelerator pedal 83, a brake pedal position BP from a brake pedal position sensor 86 that detects the amount of depression of a brake pedal 85, and a vehicle speed V from a vehicle speed sensor 87. As described above, the HVECU 70 is connected to the engine ECU 24, the motor ECU 34, the transmission ECU 46, and the battery ECU 52 via communication ports.

The hybrid vehicle 20 of the embodiment thus configured runs in hybrid driving (HV driving) mode or electric driving (EV driving) mode through cooperative control between the HVECU 70, engine ECU 24, motor ECU 34, and transmission ECU 46. The HV driving mode is a driving mode in which the clutches K0 and WSC are engaged and the engine 22 rotates. The EV driving mode is a driving mode in which the clutch K0 is released and the clutch WSC is engaged and the engine 22 does not rotate. The engagement state of the clutches K0 and WSC includes not only a fully engaged state but also a slipping engaged state.

In controlling the transmission 40 in the HV driving mode and the EV driving mode, the HVECU 70 sets the target gear M* of the transmission 40 based on the accelerator opening Acc, the vehicle speed V, and the shift line diagram, and transmits the set target gear M* to the transmission ECU 46. When the gear M of the transmission 40 matches the target gear M*, the transmission ECU 46 controls the hydraulic control unit 44 so that the gear M is maintained, and when the gear M and the target gear M* differ, the transmission ECU 46 executes shift control (upshift or downshift) to control the hydraulic control unit 44 so that the gear M matches the target gear M*. Details of the shift line diagram will be described later.

In controlling the engine 22 and motor 30 in HV driving control, the HV ECU 70 first sets the required driving force Fd* required for driving (required of the drive wheels 49) based on the accelerator opening Acc and the vehicle speed V, and then sets the required driving force Fi* of the input shaft 41 of the transmission 40 based on the set required driving force Fd*, the gear ratio Gd of the differential gear 48, and the gear stage M (gear ratio Gt) of the transmission 40. Next, the target torque Te* of the engine 22 is set by subjecting the required driving force Fi* to a gradual change process (smoothing process or rate process) that takes into account the responsiveness of the engine 22, the allowable upper limit torque Tmlim of the motor 30 is set by dividing the allowable output power Wout of the battery 50 by the rotation speed Nm of the motor 30, and the provisional torque Tmtmp obtained by subtracting the target torque Te* of the engine 22 from the required driving force Fi* is upper-limit-guarded by the allowable upper limit torque Tmlim to set the torque command Tm* of the motor 30. Then, the target torque Te* of the engine 22 is transmitted to the engine ECU 24, and the torque command Tm* of the motor 30 is transmitted to the motor ECU 34. The engine ECU 24 performs operation control of the engine 22 (intake air amount control, fuel injection control, ignition control, etc.) so that the engine 22 is operated at the target torque Te*. The motor ECU 34 controls the switching of multiple switching elements of the inverter 32 so that the motor 30 is driven by the torque command Tm*.

In controlling the motor 30 in the EV driving mode, the HVECU 70 sets the required driving force Fi* of the input shaft 41 of the transmission 40 in the same manner as in the HV driving mode, sets the torque command Tm* of the motor 30 so that the set required driving force Fi* is output to the input shaft 41 of the transmission 40 within the range of the allowable output power Wout of the battery 50, and transmits the set torque command Tm* to the motor ECU 34. The control of the inverter 32 by the motor ECU 34 has been described above.

Next, the operation of the hybrid vehicle 20 of the embodiment thus configured, particularly the operation when changing the shift line of the transmission 40, will be described. FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing an example of a shift line change routine executed by the HVECU 70. This routine is executed repeatedly. Note that when starting to travel in each trip (when starting to execute the repeated execution of this routine), the shift line of the transmission 40 is set to the normal first shift line. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a shift line diagram when the shift line is set to the first shift line. In the figure, the solid lines are the shift lines for upshifts (upshift lines), and the dashed lines are the shift lines for downshifts (downshift lines).

2 is executed, the HVECU 70 first inputs data such as the allowable output power Wout of the battery 50, the vehicle's acquired acceleration α, and the vehicle's output driving force Fd (step S100). Here, the allowable output power Wout of the battery 50 is input by communication from the battery ECU 52. The battery ECU 52 calculates the allowable output power Wout based on the battery 50's power storage percentage SOC and temperature Tb.

The acquired vehicle acceleration α is input as a value obtained by an acceleration acquisition routine (not shown) by the HVECU 70. In the acceleration acquisition routine, the HVECU 70 performs slow change processing (smoothing processing or rate processing) on the rotation speed No of the output shaft 42 of the transmission 40, which is input by communication from the rotation speed sensor 42a via the transmission ECU 46, to calculate a slow change value of the rotation speed, and converts the amount of change per unit time of the calculated slow change value of the rotation speed into the acceleration of the vehicle to obtain the acquired acceleration α. The slow change processing is performed to ensure robustness.

The output driving force Fd of the vehicle is the driving force output to the drive wheels 49, and a value estimated by a driving force estimation routine (not shown) by the HVECU 70 is input. In the driving force estimation routine, the HVECU 70 estimates the output driving force Fd of the vehicle based on the torque Te of the engine 22 input by communication from the engine ECU 24, the torque Tm of the motor 30 input by communication from the motor ECU 34, the gear stage M (gear ratio Gt) of the transmission 40 from the transmission ECU 46, and the gear ratio Gd of the differential gear 48. In the EV driving mode, the engine ECU 24 sets the torque Te of the engine 22 to a value of 0, and in the HV driving mode, the engine ECU 24 estimates the torque Te of the engine 22 by applying response delay compensation such as dead time compensation and first-order delay compensation to the target torque Te* of the engine 22. The motor ECU 34 uses the electrical angle θe of the motor 30 to perform coordinate conversion (three-phase to two-phase conversion) of the U-phase and V-phase currents Iu and Iv into d-axis and q-axis currents Id and Iq, and estimates the torque Tm of the motor 30 based on the d-axis and q-axis currents Id and Iq.

Next, the vehicle's reference acceleration αref is estimated based on the vehicle's output driving force Fd (step S110). Here, the vehicle's reference acceleration αref is the acceleration of the vehicle when it is assumed that the vehicle is traveling on a flat road with the output driving force Fd, and can be estimated, for example, by applying the vehicle's output driving force Fd to a vehicle reference acceleration estimation map that is determined in advance by experiment or analysis as the relationship between the vehicle's output driving force Fd and the vehicle's reference acceleration αref. The vehicle's reference acceleration αref is estimated to be larger as the vehicle's output driving force Fd is larger.

Next, the vehicle's acquired acceleration α is subtracted from the vehicle's reference acceleration αref to calculate the vehicle's insufficient acceleration αla, which is the insufficiency of the acquired acceleration α relative to the reference acceleration αref (step S120). For the same accelerator opening Acc, the greater the road surface gradient of the road on the uphill side, the smaller the vehicle's acquired acceleration α is likely to be, and the larger the vehicle's insufficient acceleration αla is likely to be.

Then, it is determined whether the current shift line of the transmission 40 is the first shift line (normal shift line) (step S130). When it is determined that the current shift line of the transmission 40 is the first shift line, the vehicle's insufficient acceleration αla is compared with a threshold value αlath (step S140). Here, the threshold value αlath is a threshold value used to determine whether the vehicle's insufficient acceleration αla is relatively large. When the vehicle's insufficient acceleration αla is less than the threshold value αlath in step S140, the shift line of the transmission 40 is maintained at the first shift line, and this routine ends.

When the vehicle acceleration deficit αla is equal to or greater than the threshold αlath in step S140, the allowable output power Wout of the battery 50 is compared with the threshold Woutth (step S150). Here, the threshold Woutth is a threshold used to determine whether the allowable output power Wout of the battery 50 is relatively small.

When the allowable output power Wout of the battery 50 is equal to or less than the threshold value Woutth in step S150, the shift line of the transmission 40 is changed from the first shift line to the second shift line (step S160), and this routine is terminated. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a shift line diagram when the shift line is the second shift line. In the figure, the solid lines are upshift lines, and the dashed lines are downshift lines. In addition, in FIG. 4, the upshift line and downshift in the first shift line are illustrated with dotted lines for comparison. As shown in the figure, the upshift line of the second shift line is set on the high vehicle speed side in a predetermined region of the accelerator opening Acc (specifically, a region below a predetermined opening) compared to the upshift line of the first shift line. Also, the downshift line of the second shift line is set on the low accelerator opening side in a predetermined region of the vehicle speed V compared to the downshift line of the first shift line. Therefore, when the shift line is the second shift line, the transmission 40 is more likely to downshift when the driver depresses the accelerator pedal 83 (the accelerator opening Acc increases), and the output driving force Fd of the vehicle is more likely to increase, compared to when the shift line is the first shift line. Also, when the vehicle accelerates (the vehicle speed V increases), the transmission 40 is less likely to upshift to the high vehicle speed side, and the output driving force Fd of the vehicle is less likely to decrease, and when the driver releases the accelerator pedal 83 (the accelerator opening Acc decreases), the transmission 40 is less likely to upshift, and the output driving force Fd of the vehicle is less likely to decrease. This makes it easier to ensure the acceleration performance of the vehicle. Based on this, in the embodiment, the shift line is set to the second shift line when the insufficient acceleration αla of the vehicle is equal to or greater than the threshold αlath and the allowable output power Wout of the battery 50 is equal to or less than the threshold Woutth. This makes it possible to prevent the driver from feeling sluggish acceleration when the driver depresses the accelerator pedal 83, compared to when the first shift line is used.

When the allowable output power Wout of the battery 50 is greater than the threshold value Woutth in step S150, the shift line of the transmission 40 is maintained at the first shift line, and this routine is terminated. When the driver depresses the accelerator pedal 83 to accelerate the vehicle, the acquired value (acquired acceleration α) increases with a delay relative to the actual value of the acceleration of the vehicle (actual acceleration αac). This is due to a detection delay by the rotation speed sensor 42a, a communication delay between the transmission ECU 46 and the HVECU 70, a calculation delay by the HVECU 70, and the influence of the slow change processing. For this reason, the deficiency acceleration αla obtained by subtracting the acquired acceleration α from the reference acceleration αref of the vehicle is larger than the actual deficiency acceleration αlaac obtained by subtracting the actual acceleration αac from the reference acceleration αref of the vehicle. Therefore, a predetermined event may occur in which the actual deficiency acceleration αla is less than the threshold value αlath and the deficiency acceleration αla is equal to or greater than the threshold value αlath. In the hybrid vehicle 20, the responsiveness of the motor 30 is relatively high (higher than the responsiveness of the engine 22), so that the greater the drive torque output from the motor 30, the greater the difference between the acquired acceleration α and the actual acceleration αac, and the greater the difference between the acceleration deficit αla and the actual acceleration deficit αlaac, making it more likely that a predetermined event will occur. Therefore, if the vehicle's acceleration deficit αla is equal to or greater than the threshold αlath and the allowable output power Wout of the battery 50 is greater than the threshold Woutth, when the shift line is changed to the second shift line, when the driver depresses the accelerator pedal 83, a downshift or upshift of the transmission 40 occurs at a timing different from the driver's intention, and the driver may relatively immediately perform a release operation of the accelerator pedal 83, resulting in a decrease in the ride comfort and controllability of the vehicle. Based on this, in the embodiment, when the vehicle's acceleration deficit αla is equal to or greater than the threshold αlath and the allowable output power Wout of the battery 50 is greater than the threshold Woutth, the shift line is maintained at the first shift line. This prevents the transmission 40 from downshifting or upshifting at a timing other than the driver's intention when the driver depresses the accelerator pedal 83, and prevents the driver from releasing the accelerator pedal 83 relatively soon thereafter, thereby preventing a decrease in the ride comfort and controllability of the vehicle.

When it is determined in step S130 that the current shift line of the transmission 40 is not the first shift line, i.e., the second shift line, the vehicle's insufficient acceleration αla is compared with a threshold value αlath (step S170), and the allowable output power Wout of the battery 50 is compared with a threshold value Woutth (step S180).

When the vehicle acceleration deficit αla is equal to or greater than the threshold αlath in step S170 and the allowable output power Wout of the battery 50 is equal to or less than the threshold Woutth in step S180, the shift line of the transmission 40 is maintained at the second shift line, and this routine ends.

When the vehicle's insufficient acceleration αla is less than the threshold αlath in step S170, or when the battery 50's allowable output power Wout is greater than the threshold Woutth in step S180, the shift line of the transmission 40 is changed from the second shift line to the first shift line (step S190), and this routine is terminated. In this way, the shift line can be changed from the second shift line to the first shift line.

In the hybrid vehicle 20 of the embodiment described above, when the vehicle acceleration deficit αla is equal to or greater than the threshold αlath, if the allowable output power Wout of the battery 50 is equal to or less than the threshold Woutth, the shift line of the transmission 40 is set to the second shift line, and if the allowable output power Wout of the battery 50 is greater than the threshold Woutth, the shift line of the transmission 40 is set to the first shift line. As a result, in the former case, the driver's feeling of sluggish acceleration when he or she depresses the accelerator pedal 83 can be suppressed, and in the latter case, a decrease in the ride comfort and controllability of the vehicle can be suppressed.

In the hybrid vehicle 20 of the embodiment, when the vehicle acceleration deficit αla is equal to or greater than the threshold αlath, if the allowable output power Wout of the battery 50 is equal to or less than the threshold Woutth, the shift line of the transmission 40 is the second shift line, and if the allowable output power Wout of the battery 50 is greater than the threshold Woutth, the shift line of the transmission 40 is the first shift line. However, when the vehicle acceleration deficit αla is equal to or greater than the threshold αlath, the shift line of the transmission 40 may be the second shift line regardless of the output limit Wout of the battery 50.

In the hybrid vehicle 20 of the embodiment, the upshift line of the second shift line is set to make upshifting more difficult than the upshift line of the first shift line, and the downshift line of the second shift line is set to make downshifting easier than the downshift line of the first shift line. However, the upshift line of the second shift line may be set to be the same as the upshift line of the first shift line, and the downshift line of the second shift line may be set to make downshifting easier than the downshift line of the first shift line. Also, the upshift line of the second shift line may be set to make upshifting more difficult than the upshift line of the first shift line, and the downshift line of the second shift line may be set to be the same as the downshift line of the first shift line.

In the hybrid vehicle 20 of the embodiment, the rotation speed No of the output shaft 42 of the transmission 40 detected by the rotation speed sensor 42a is subjected to a slow change process (smoothing process or rate process) to calculate the rotation speed slow change value, and the change amount per unit time of the calculated rotation speed slow change value is converted into the vehicle's acquired acceleration α. However, it is also possible to calculate the vehicle speed slow change value by performing a slow change process on the vehicle speed V detected by the vehicle speed sensor 87, and calculate the change amount per unit time of the calculated vehicle speed slow change value as the vehicle's acquired acceleration α. Also, an acceleration sensor may be provided, and the detected value of the acceleration sensor may be subjected to a slow change process to estimate the vehicle's acquired acceleration α.

In the hybrid vehicle 20 of the embodiment, the transmission 40 is configured as a four-speed automatic transmission. However, the transmission 40 may be configured as a three-speed, five-speed, six-speed, or other automatic transmission.

In the hybrid vehicle 20 of the embodiment, a battery 50 is used as the power storage device. However, a capacitor may also be used as the power storage device.

In the embodiment, the hybrid vehicle 20 includes an engine ECU 24, a motor ECU 34, a transmission ECU 46, a battery ECU 52, and an HVECU 70. However, at least two of these may be integrated into one unit.

The hybrid vehicle 20 of the embodiment includes an engine 22, a motor 30, an inverter 32, a clutch K0, a clutch WSC, a transmission 40, a hydraulic control unit 44, and a battery 50. However, as shown in the modified vehicle 120 of FIG. 5, in addition to the same configuration as the hybrid vehicle 20, a motor 60 and an inverter 62 may be included. The motor 60 has a rotating shaft 61 to which the rotor of the motor 60 is fixed, which is connected to the drive wheels 69 via a differential gear 68. The inverter 62 is used to drive the motor 60 and is connected to the power line 54 together with the inverter 32 and the battery 50. In this case, the output driving force Fd of the vehicle is the sum of the driving force output from the engine 22 and the motor 30 to the drive wheels 49 via the transmission 40 and the differential gear 48, and the driving force output from the motor 60 to the drive wheels 69 via the differential gear 68.

In the embodiment, the hybrid vehicle 20 is configured with an engine 22 and a motor 30 as a driving source. However, the hybrid vehicle 20 may be configured as an electric vehicle or a fuel cell vehicle that does not have an engine as a driving source and only has a motor, or may be configured as a general automobile that does not have a motor as a driving source and only has an engine.

The following describes the relationship between the main elements of the embodiment and the main elements of the invention described in the section on means for solving the problem. In the embodiment, the engine 22 corresponds to the "engine", the motor generator 26 corresponds to the "motor", the battery 50 corresponds to the "electricity storage device", the transmission 40 corresponds to the "transmission", and the HVECU 70 corresponds to the "controller".

The correspondence between the main elements of the Examples and the main elements of the invention described in the Means for Solving the Problem column does not limit the elements of the invention described in the Means for Solving the Problem column, since the Examples are examples for specifically explaining the form for implementing the invention described in the Means for Solving the Problem column. In other words, the interpretation of the invention described in the Means for Solving the Problem column should be based on the description in that column, and the Examples are merely a specific example of the invention described in the Means for Solving the Problem column.

The above describes the form for carrying out the present invention using examples, but the present invention is not limited to these examples in any way, and it goes without saying that the present invention can be carried out in various forms without departing from the scope of the invention.

The present invention can be used in the vehicle manufacturing industry, etc.

20,120 vehicle, 22 engine, 23 crankshaft, 23a crank position sensor, 24 engine ECU, 26 motor generator, 30,60 motor, 30a rotational position sensor, 31 rotating shaft, 32,62 inverter, 34 motor ECU, 40 transmission, 41 input shaft, 41a rotational speed sensor, 42 output shaft, 42a rotational speed sensor, 44 hydraulic control unit, 46 transmission ECU, 48 differential gear, 49 drive wheels, 50 battery, 52 battery ECU, 54 power line, 70 HV ECU, 80 start switch, 81 shift lever, 82 shift position sensor, 83 accelerator pedal, 84 accelerator pedal position sensor, 85 brake pedal, 86 brake pedal position sensor, 87 vehicle speed sensor.

Claims (3)

A driving source;
a transmission that transmits the power of the drive source to drive wheels while changing a gear ratio;
a control unit that controls the drive source and the transmission so that a gear position of the transmission becomes a target gear position based on an accelerator operation amount, a vehicle speed, and a gear shift line, and the vehicle travels based on a required drive force of the vehicle;
A vehicle comprising:
The vehicle acceleration sensor includes : an electric storage device; and an acceleration acquisition unit that acquires an acceleration of the vehicle as an acquired acceleration.
the drive source includes an engine and a motor that exchanges electric power with the power storage device;
The control unit is
When a deficit acceleration, which is a deficit of the acquired acceleration with respect to a reference acceleration of the vehicle when it is assumed that the vehicle runs on a flat road with an output driving force based on the required driving force, is less than a predetermined acceleration, the shift line is set to a first shift line;
When the insufficient acceleration is equal to or greater than the predetermined acceleration, the shift line is set to a second shift line that makes it easier to downshift and/or harder to upshift than the first shift line,
The control unit is
controlling the drive source and the transmission so that the vehicle travels based on the required drive force within a range of an allowable output power of the power storage device;
Furthermore, when the acceleration deficit is equal to or greater than the predetermined acceleration but the allowable output power is greater than a predetermined power, the shift line is set to a first shift line,
The predetermined power is a threshold value for determining whether or not a predetermined event is likely to occur in which an actual deficient acceleration, which is a deficient amount of the actual acceleration of the vehicle with respect to the reference acceleration, is less than the predetermined acceleration and the deficient acceleration is equal to or greater than the predetermined acceleration.
vehicle. 2. The vehicle of claim 1 ,
The acceleration acquisition unit is
A process of converting a change amount per unit time of a rotation speed slow change value obtained by performing a first slow change process on the rotation speed of the output shaft of the transmission detected by a rotation speed sensor into the acquired acceleration;
A process of calculating, as the acquired acceleration, a change amount per unit time of a vehicle speed slow change value obtained by performing a second slow change process on the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor;
a process of performing a third slow-change process on a detection value of the acceleration sensor to estimate the obtained acceleration;
Execute any of the following:
vehicle. 3. A vehicle according to claim 1 or 2 ,
The upshift line of the second shift line is set on the higher vehicle speed side in at least a part of the range of the accelerator operation amount compared to the upshift line of the first shift line, and/or the downshift line of the second shift line is set on the lower accelerator operation amount side in at least a part of the range of the vehicle speed compared to the downshift line of the first shift line.
vehicle.

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