JP7694535B2 - Hybrid Electric Vehicle - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to hybrid electric vehicles.

Patent Document 1 discloses a control device for a hybrid vehicle. This control device controls the vehicle's driving so that the battery remaining charge (SOC) required for electric driving in an EV driving section (specific section) included in the driving route is secured.

JP 2014-213638 A

There may be multiple "specific sections" on a driving route where operation of the internal combustion engine is restricted. For example, if there is a non-specific section sandwiched between two specific sections, there is a possibility that electric driving will be performed in the first specific section and then hybrid driving will be performed in the non-specific section. If hybrid driving is performed in such a short non-specific section, and the distance of the non-specific section is short, then electric driving will immediately return to the second specific section. This may cause a sense of discomfort to the vehicle user.

In addition, if the system has a function for notifying the user when the vehicle enters a specific section, if there is a short non-specific section between two specific sections and a notification is given when the vehicle enters each of the two specific sections, this may be annoying to the user.

The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to make it possible to suppress the discomfort felt by the user due to switching of vehicle driving modes, or the annoyance felt by the user due to notifications of entering a specific section, in a hybrid electric vehicle in which a specific section is set on the driving route.

The hybrid electric vehicle according to the first aspect of the present disclosure includes a control device that switches between electric driving by an electric motor and hybrid driving by cooperation of an electric motor and an internal combustion engine. When a first and second specific section and a non-specific section A sandwiched between the first and second specific sections exist on a driving route in which specific sections or non-specific sections in which operation of the internal combustion engine is restricted are assigned to each of a plurality of driving sections based on route information, the control device regards the non-specific section as a specific section if a first distance, which is the distance of the non-specific section A, is less than a first threshold value, and maintains the non-specific section A as a non-specific section if the first distance is equal to or greater than the first threshold value.

A hybrid electric vehicle according to a second aspect of the present disclosure is configured to be able to switch between electric running using an electric motor and hybrid running using cooperation between the electric motor and the internal combustion engine, and is equipped with a notification device that notifies a user when the hybrid electric vehicle enters a specific section where operation of the internal combustion engine is restricted. When a first and second specific section and a non-specific section A sandwiched between the first and second specific sections exist on a travel route in which specific sections or non-specific sections are assigned to each of a plurality of travel sections based on route information, the notification device notifies the user of the entry into the first specific section if the first distance, which is the distance of the non-specific section A, is less than a first threshold value, but does not notify the user of the subsequent entry into the second specific section via the non-specific section A.

According to the present disclosure, the distance of the non-specific section A between the first and second specific sections is taken into consideration, which makes it possible to reduce the discomfort felt by the user due to switching of vehicle driving or the annoyance felt by the user in response to a notification of entry into a specific section.

1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a hybrid electric vehicle according to an embodiment. 11 is a diagram showing acquisition of pre-read information and an example of section information included in the pre-read information. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining an issue and a countermeasure (first control example) regarding the identification of a specific section X, and a countermeasure (second control example) for an additional issue regarding the identification of a specific section X. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a process related to a first control example according to the embodiment. 10 is a flowchart showing a process related to a second control example according to the embodiment. 11 is a flowchart showing processes relating to first and second notification examples according to an embodiment;

The following describes an embodiment of the present disclosure with reference to the attached drawings.

1. Example of the configuration of a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) Fig. 1 is a diagram that shows a schematic configuration of a hybrid electric vehicle 1 according to an embodiment. The hybrid electric vehicle 1 includes a powertrain 10, a control device 20, and an HMI (Human Machine Interface) device 30. The control device 20 includes a vehicle control ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 22 and a navigation ECU (navigation ECU) 24.

The powertrain 10 includes an internal combustion engine 12, one or more (e.g., two) electric motors 14, and a battery 16, and is configured to perform hybrid driving (HEV driving) and power generation by cooperation between the internal combustion engine 12 and the electric motor 14, and electric driving (BEV driving) performed by the electric motor 14 without operating the internal combustion engine 12. The battery 16 exchanges electric power with the powertrain 10 (more specifically, the electric motor 14). Specifically, the battery 16 is charged by the electric power generated by the electric motor 14, and is discharged by the electric power consumed by the electric motor 14. The hybrid system of the vehicle 1 is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, a series-parallel system, a parallel system, or a series system. More specifically, the vehicle 1 is a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) that can be charged externally, but does not necessarily have to be configured to be charged externally.

The vehicle control ECU 22 includes a processor and a storage device. The vehicle control ECU 22 receives sensor signals from sensors 26 attached to the vehicle 1 and outputs operation signals to the powertrain 10. The storage device stores various control programs for controlling the powertrain 10. The processor reads and executes the control programs from the storage device, thereby realizing various controls related to the powertrain 10. The sensors 26 include various sensors used to control the powertrain 10, such as a vehicle speed sensor and a battery remaining amount sensor. The battery remaining amount sensor detects the remaining amount of the battery 16 (battery remaining amount). In the following description, the battery remaining amount is also referred to as SOC (State Of Charge).

The navigation ECU 24 includes a processor and a storage device. The navigation ECU 24 is configured to be able to communicate with an external system via a wireless communication network, and can obtain various data from the external system.

For example, the navigation ECU 24 acquires the current position of the vehicle 1 using the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). Furthermore, the navigation ECU 24 can identify the current position of the vehicle 1 on the map by acquiring map information from, for example, an external server. The map information here includes information on the specific area SA in which the vehicle 1 is restricted from traveling with the internal combustion engine 12 in operation, and geographical information (for example, speed limit, distance, and road type). The specific area SA is, for example, a low emission zone. Whether or not a certain area corresponds to the specific area SA may change depending on, for example, the time period or traffic conditions. The navigation ECU 24 can also acquire various types of traffic information, such as congestion information, regulation information, and traffic accident information, from a traffic information center. The navigation ECU 24 can notify the user of the vehicle 1 of such various information using the HMI device 30. The HMI device 30 includes, for example, an output unit and an input unit provided in the interior of the vehicle 1. The output unit includes, for example, a display unit such as a display of a navigation system or a meter installed on an instrument panel. The output unit may include a speaker. The input unit is a touch panel or switches.

The navigation ECU 24 can further receive operations by the user via the HMI device 30. For example, when the user operates the HMI device 30 to input a destination, the navigation ECU 24 creates a predicted driving route PR from the current position of the vehicle 1 to the destination and displays it on the HMI device 30. In addition, the specific area SA may be set, for example, by the user operating the HMI device 30.

The navigation ECU 24 can also calculate the required driving power PW required to travel each driving section of the predicted driving route PR based on at least one of past driving data and information such as the type of road surface or gradient contained in the map information. The navigation ECU 24 can also calculate the required energy Esum required to travel the predicted driving route PR by integrating the estimated value EP of the required driving power on the predicted driving route PR. In addition, the navigation ECU 24 can also calculate the required energy Eev required to travel a specific section X described below using BEV driving.

The navigation ECU 24 is communicatively connected to the vehicle control ECU 22, for example, by CAN (Controller Area Network) communication. This allows the vehicle control ECU 22 to obtain various information (route information) from the navigation ECU 24, including the predicted driving route PR described above and various information related to the predicted driving route PR. The route information referred to here is information related to the route ahead of the vehicle that is read in advance, and is therefore hereinafter referred to as "read-ahead information." More specifically, the read-ahead information includes information related to each driving section along the predicted driving route PR. The read-ahead information includes, for example, the map information described above, traffic information, section vehicle speed, and required driving power PW.

2. Vehicle Driving Control The control device 20 is configured to be able to execute a "driving support function F" that manages the SOC of the battery 16 while the vehicle is driving. The driving support function F includes, for example, a "specific section BEV control." The specific section BEV control is executed when a "specific section X" exists on the predicted driving route PR of the vehicle 1, and manages the SOC so that the vehicle 1 can enter the specific section X in a state in which it has an appropriate SOC required to travel the specific section X by BEV driving. The specific section X is a driving section on the predicted driving route PR that is included in the above-mentioned specific area SA (an area in which the operation of the internal combustion engine 12 is restricted).

The control device 20 (more specifically, the vehicle control ECU 22) can selectively execute a CD (charge depleting) mode and a CS (charge sustaining) mode as the driving mode of the vehicle 1. The CD mode is a mode in which the vehicle runs mainly on the power charged in the battery 16. Examples of the CD mode are a BEV mode in which only BEV running is performed until the SOC is depleted, and/or an automatic switching mode in which BEV running and HEV running are switched so that the SOC is consumed by running as much as possible in BEV running. In this automatic switching mode, when a high vehicle output is requested by the user, switching from BEV running to HEV running is performed. On the other hand, the CS mode is a mode in which the internal combustion engine 12 and the electric motor 14 are operated to maintain the target SOC. An example of the CS mode is an HEV mode in which HEV running is performed while maintaining the SOC at a target value by utilizing power generation using the power of the internal combustion engine 12. In addition to the CD mode and the CS mode, the driving modes of the vehicle 1 include, for example, a charging mode. The charging mode is a mode in which the HEV runs in order to restore the SOC to a specified value when the SOC is depleted.

Figure 2 (A) is a diagram for explaining how the vehicle control ECU 22 obtains look-ahead information from the navigation ECU 24. Figure 2 (B) is a diagram showing an example of section information included in the look-ahead information.

The look-ahead information is acquired for each travel section ahead of vehicle 1. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2(A), the look-ahead information includes section information acquired for each travel section in sequence starting from section 1 at a predetermined period (e.g., 100 msec), with the travel section to which vehicle 1's current location belongs being section 1. The look-ahead information also includes position information related to the position of vehicle 1. This position information is, for example, the remaining distance to the destination and the current position of vehicle 1, and is acquired repeatedly at a predetermined period (e.g., 1000 msec) longer than the period for acquiring section information.

As shown in FIG. 2(B), the section information includes, for example, a section number (e.g., 1 to 100) that identifies the travel section, the section length along the travel route, the section vehicle speed (average vehicle speed), the section power (the required travel power PW described above), the section road type (e.g., general road or expressway), the section congestion degree, and the section BEV flag. The section BEV flag is set based on the information of the specific area SA described above. A section BEV flag of 0 means that a non-specific section Y is assigned to the travel section, and a section BEV flag of 1 means that a specific section X is assigned to the travel section. The section BEV flag is set to 0 or 1 by the navigation ECU 24, for example, based on the look-ahead information.

The navigation ECU 24 updates the above-mentioned look-ahead information (route information) at a predetermined cycle (for example, once a minute). When the look-ahead information is updated, the navigation ECU 24 transmits the updated look-ahead information to the vehicle control ECU 22 while updating the section number of each travel section so that the travel section to which the current location of the vehicle 1 belongs at the time of the update becomes the new section 1.

In the specific section BEV control, the vehicle control ECU 22 executes a process of searching for and identifying the specific section X and the non-specific section Y based on the above-mentioned look-ahead information acquired from the navigation ECU 24 (for example, see FIG. 4 described later). The vehicle control ECU 22 then assigns the CD mode as the driving mode for the specific section X, and, for example, assigns the CS mode as the driving mode for the non-specific section Y in priority to the CD mode. As a result, if HEV driving is being performed immediately before the specific section X is reached, switching to BEV driving will be performed when entering the specific section X.

Figure 3 (A) is a diagram for explaining the issues and countermeasures (first control example) regarding the identification of specific section X. Figure 3 (A) illustrates nine sections 1 to 9 on the driving route from the current location of vehicle 1 to the destination. Based on the above-mentioned section BEV flag, sections 4, 5, 7, and 8 correspond to specific section X, and the remaining sections 1-3, 6, and 9 correspond to non-specific section Y. In a comparative example that does not involve the countermeasures of this embodiment, sections 4 and 5 are regarded as a single specific section X (for convenience, referred to as the "first specific section X1") and sections 7 and 8 are regarded as a single specific section X (second specific section X2) without any special consideration.

According to the comparative example described above, there is a non-specific section Y (Y0; corresponding to the "non-specific section A" according to the present disclosure) sandwiched between the first specific section X1 and the second specific section X2. In this case, there is a possibility that BEV driving will be performed in the first specific section X1, which arrives first, and then HEV driving will be performed in the non-specific section Y0. In this case, if HEV driving is performed in the non-specific section Y0, if the distance D1 of the non-specific section Y0 is short, then BEV driving will immediately return to the second specific section X2. As a result, there is a risk that the user of the vehicle 1 will feel uncomfortable with the switch in vehicle driving.

In consideration of the above-mentioned problems, in the first control example, when there are first and second specific sections X1, X2 and a non-specific section Y0 sandwiched between them on the driving route ahead of the vehicle 1, the following processing is executed.

That is, if the distance D1 (first distance) of the non-specific section Y0 is less than the threshold TH1 (first threshold), the control device 20 regards the non-specific section Y0 as a specific section X. More specifically, the non-specific section Y0 is regarded as a specific section IX1 that is continuous with the surrounding first and second specific sections X1 and X2. More specifically, the distance D1 is the distance along the travel route of the non-specific section Y0, but is not necessarily limited to the distance along the travel route and may be, for example, the straight-line distance between the start point and end point of the non-specific section Y0. The same applies to the distance D2 described below.

On the other hand, if the distance D1 is equal to or greater than the threshold TH1, the non-specific section Y0 is maintained as the non-specific section Y. More specifically, if the distance D1 is equal to or greater than the threshold TH1, the non-specific section Y0 is not regarded as the specific section IX1 that is continuous with the surrounding first and second specific sections X1 and X2, and remains as the non-specific section Y.

In addition, FIG. 3(A) shows an example in which the non-specific section Y0 sandwiched between the two specific sections X1 and X2 is composed of one driving section (section 6 with one section number). However, the non-specific section Y0 may also be composed of multiple driving sections whose section BEV flag is 0. The threshold value TH1 may be changed, for example, according to the road type of the non-specific section Y0. More specifically, for example, the threshold value TH1 may be determined to be larger when the non-specific section Y0 is an expressway than when the non-specific section Y0 is an ordinary road. In this way, the road type of the non-specific section Y0 can be taken into consideration, and the time required for the vehicle 1 to pass through the non-specific section Y0 can be taken into consideration, and the presence or absence of a change in the handling of the non-specific section Y0 can be appropriately determined.

2-1. First Control Example Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing processing related to a first control example according to the embodiment. The processing of this flowchart (as well as Fig. 5 described later) is executed by the control device 20, and more specifically, by the vehicle control ECU 22, but may also be executed by, for example, the navigation ECU 24. In addition, the processing of this flowchart (as well as Fig. 5) is repeatedly executed while the execution conditions for the specific section BEV control as the driving support function F are satisfied.

In step S100, the vehicle control ECU 22 (also simply referred to as "ECU 22") determines whether the look-ahead information including the section information has been updated. If the look-ahead information has been updated, the ECU 22 acquires section information in which the section to which the current location of the vehicle 1 belongs has been updated to the new section 1. Therefore, in step S102, the ECU 22 clears to 0 the start section number and end section number for identifying the specific section X and non-specific section Y for the multiple driving sections included in the acquired section information.

Next, in step S104, the ECU 22 assigns the current section number (the number of the section currently being processed) to the section number i. Then, in step S106, the ECU 22 determines whether the section i (the driving section whose section number is i) is a specific section X based on the information of the section BEV flag.

If the determination result in step S106 is Yes, the ECU 22 determines in step S108 whether the start section number (X start section number) of the specific section X currently being searched is the initial value of 0. As a result, if the determination result is Yes (i.e., if the current section i corresponds to the X start section), the ECU 22 assigns the current section number i to the X start section number in step S110.

After step S110, or if the determination result of step S108 is No, the ECU 22 clears the distance D1 of the non-specific section Y (more specifically, the non-specific section Y0) to 0 in step S112. This is because the section i currently being searched is the specific section X, not the non-specific section Y.

Next, in step S114, the ECU 22 assigns the current section number i to the "X final section number", which is the section number counted to identify the end section of the specific section X currently being searched. Next, in step S116, the ECU 22 sets the X detection flag to ON. The X detection flag is a flag that is set to ON when the current section i is determined to be the specific section X by the processing of step S106.

Next, the ECU 22 increments the section number i (i = i + 1) in step S118, and determines whether the current section number i is greater than the final section number in step S120. The "final section number" here refers to the number of the final section of multiple driving sections included in the section information (latest section information) that is the target of the search for specific section X. For example, if the section information includes information on sections 1 to 100, then 100, which is the number of final section 100, corresponds to the final section number.

When the ECU 22 has completed the processing for the final section and proceeded to step S120, the determination result in step S120 becomes Yes, and the processing proceeds to step S136 described below. On the other hand, when the ECU 22 has not yet completed the processing for the final section (i.e., there are still driving sections to be searched), the determination result becomes No, and the processing returns to step S106. As a result, the processing from step S106 onwards is repeatedly executed.

If the determination result in step S106 is No (i.e., the current section i is a non-specific section Y), the process proceeds to step S122. In step S122, the ECU 22 calculates the current value of distance D1 by adding the distance of the current section i to the previous value of distance D1 of non-specific section Y. With this calculation, even if the driving sections corresponding to the non-specific section Y are consecutive, the total distance of the consecutive driving sections can be calculated as distance D1.

Next, in step S124, the ECU 22 determines whether the distance D1 of the non-specific section Y is equal to or greater than the threshold value TH1. If the distance D1 is less than the threshold value TH1, the process proceeds to step S118. That is, the process for the current section i is terminated. On the other hand, if the distance D1 is equal to or greater than the threshold value TH1 in step S124, the ECU 22 determines in step S126 whether the X detection flag is ON.

If the process proceeds to step S126 without the determination result of step S106 becoming Yes after the start of the process of the flowchart in FIG. 4, the determination result of step S126 becomes No. In this case, the non-specific section Y to be processed this time does not correspond to the non-specific section Y0, so the process proceeds to step S118.

On the other hand, if the process proceeds to step S126 after the judgment result of step S106 becomes Yes after the process of the flowchart of FIG. 4 starts (i.e., after searching for the specific section X), the judgment result of step S126 becomes Yes. In this case, it is possible that the non-specific section Y to be processed this time corresponds to the non-specific section Y0 (i.e., the non-specific section Y sandwiched between two specific sections X), and the distance D1 is equal to or greater than the threshold value TH1. Therefore, in step S128, the ECU 22 assigns the X final section number (see step S114) to the end section number (X end section number) of the specific section X currently being searched. As a result, the traveling section having the section number most recently assigned to the X final section number in step S114 before the process proceeds to step S128 can be identified as the end section of the specific section X currently being searched. As a result, if the non-specific section Y currently being processed corresponds to the non-specific section Y0, the end section of the specific section X currently being searched can be identified without regarding the non-specific section Y0 as a specific section IX1 that is continuous with the surrounding first and second specific sections X1 and X2.

After step S128, the ECU 22 increments the section number i (i = i + 1) in step S130, and determines in step S132 whether the current section number i is greater than the last section number. If the result of this determination is Yes, the process proceeds to the end, and if the result of this determination is No, the process proceeds to step S134.

In step S134, the ECU 22 stores the X start section number and X end section number identified by the most recent search in the storage device of the ECU 22, and then clears these X start section number and X end section number to 0. Then, the process returns to step S106 to search for the next specific section X.

Also, if the determination result in step S120 is Yes, the process proceeds to step S136. In step S136, the ECU 22 determines whether the X start section number is greater than 0. If the determination result in step S106 is Yes and a search for the specific section X is performed before the process proceeds to step S136, the determination result in step S136 becomes Yes and the process proceeds to step S138. On the other hand, if the determination result in step S106 is never Yes (i.e., a search for the specific section X is not performed) and the process proceeds to step S136 from step S124 or S126, the determination result in step S136 becomes No and the process proceeds to the end.

In step S138, the ECU 22 assigns the X final section number (see step S114) to the X end section number. This allows the last travel section determined to be a specific section X during the search for the specific section X to be identified as the end section of the specific section X. Examples of cases in which the final section of the specific section X is identified in this manner include a case in which, after the search for the specific section X has been performed (step S106; Yes), the search for the specific section X is performed again in a state in which the distance D1 of the non-specific section Y calculated is less than the threshold value TH1 because the result of the determination in step S106 is No (step S106; Yes). In other words, according to the processing in step S138, when there are first and second specific sections X1, X2 and a non-specific section Y0 sandwiched between them, the end section of the specific section X can be identified so that the first and second specific sections X1, X2 and the non-specific section Y0 are regarded as a continuous specific section IX1.

As described above, according to the first control example shown in FIG. 3(A) and FIG. 4, when the first and second specific sections X1, X2 and the non-specific section Y0 sandwiched between them exist on the driving route ahead of the vehicle 1, if the distance D1 of the non-specific section Y0 is less than the threshold TH1, the non-specific section Y0 is regarded as the specific section X. As a result, BEV driving is continuously performed for the entire specific section IX1 including the non-specific section Y0. In other words, switching between BEV driving and HEV driving is not performed due to driving in the short non-specific section Y0 located between the two specific sections X. This makes it possible to suppress the discomfort felt by the user due to switching of vehicle driving.

2-2. Second control example As already described, the navigation ECU 24 updates the look-ahead information (route information) at a predetermined cycle. When the look-ahead information is updated, the predicted driving route PR may be updated (re-planned). The look-ahead information is also updated, for example, when the user (driver) operates the vehicle 1 to deviate from the predicted driving route PR during route guidance.

Here, in the case where the first and second specific sections X1 and X2 and the non-specific section Y0 are regarded as a continuous specific section IX1 as in the first control example described above, the look-ahead information may be updated while the vehicle 1 is traveling through the non-specific section Y0. In this case, if the predicted driving route PR is re-planned in association with the update, the non-specific section Y0 (for example, section 6 in FIG. 3A) in which the vehicle 1 is traveling at the time of the update will no longer be regarded as the specific section IX1. As a result, the vehicle may be changed from BEV driving to HEV driving in association with the update. If the vehicle is traveling through the specific section IX1 and the vehicle is changed to HEV driving in this way, the user may feel uncomfortable with the change in vehicle driving. In addition, the length of the driving section ahead of the current location of the vehicle 1 may change due to the re-planning associated with the update of the look-ahead information. For this reason, it is desirable to take measures against the update of the look-ahead information while traveling through the non-specific section Y0 in consideration of the change in the length of the driving section ahead of the current location.

Figure 3 (B) is a diagram for explaining a measure (second control example) to address an additional issue regarding the identification of the specific section X. Taking into consideration the above-mentioned additional issue, the following second control example may be adopted instead of the first control example. Specifically, in the second control example, if the look-ahead information is updated while traveling in the non-specific section Y0, the following process is executed.

That is, if the distance D2 (second distance) of the travel section B (non-specific section Y) from the current location of the vehicle 1 to the (starting point of) the updated second specific section X2' is less than the threshold TH2 (second threshold), the travel section B is regarded as the specific section X. More specifically, the travel section B is regarded as the specific section IX2 that is continuous with the updated second specific section X2'.

On the other hand, if the distance D2 is equal to or greater than the threshold TH2, the travel section B is maintained as a non-specific section. More specifically, if the distance D2 is equal to or greater than the threshold TH2, the travel section B is not regarded as a specific section IX2 that is continuous with the updated second specific section X2', and remains as a non-specific section Y.

In addition, the travel section B may be a non-specific section Y identified by one section number, or may be a non-specific section Y identified by multiple section numbers as in the example shown in FIG. 3(B). Furthermore, the threshold value TH2 may be changed, for example, according to the road type of the travel section B. More specifically, the threshold value TH2 may be determined to be larger, for example, when the travel section B is an expressway, than when the travel section B is an ordinary road. In this way, it is possible to appropriately determine whether or not to change the handling of the travel section B, taking into account the road type of the non-specific section Y0 and the time required for the vehicle 1 to pass through the travel section B.

Figure 5 is a flowchart showing the process for the second control example according to the embodiment. This flowchart differs from the flowchart shown in Figure 4 in that the processes of steps S200 to S212 have been added.

In FIG. 5, if the determination result in step S106 is No, steps S200 and S202 are executed prior to step S122. In step S200, it is determined whether the Y start interval number, which is the start interval number of the non-specific interval Y currently being processed, is 0. As a result, if the determination result is Yes, in step S202, the current interval number i is substituted for the Y start interval number. Then, after step S202, or if the determination result in step S200 is No, the process proceeds to step S122.

According to this process, if the look-ahead information is updated while traveling through the non-specific section Y0, in step S122, the distance D1 of the non-specific section Y to which the current location of the vehicle 1 belongs at the time of the update is calculated. Furthermore, if there are one or more non-specific sections Y adjacent to this non-specific section Y, the distance D1 is calculated to include the one or more non-specific sections Y. In other words, the distance D1 is the distance to the next specific section X (X2' in FIG. 3(B)). In FIG. 5, if a search for the specific section X is performed thereafter, the determination result in step S106 becomes Yes, and the process proceeds to step S204.

In step S204, it is determined whether the entry flag is ON. The "entry flag" here is a flag that is turned ON when vehicle 1 enters specific section IX1 (see FIG. 3(A)) while specific section BEV control is being executed, and is turned OFF when vehicle 1 exits specific section IX1. Therefore, if there is a history of the entry flag being ON, it is clear that the current position of vehicle 1 is within specific section IX1 before the most recent update of the look-ahead information.

If the entry flag is ON in step S204, the process proceeds to step S212 on condition that the determination results of the following steps S206, S208, and S210 are Yes. Note that if the determination results of steps S204, S206, S208, or S210 are No, the process proceeds to step S112.

Specifically, in step S206, it is determined whether the travel section to which the current location of the vehicle 1 belongs is a non-specific section Y. In step S208, it is determined whether the Y start section number is not 0 (i.e., whether the calculation of the distance D1 of the non-specific section Y has been performed). Then, in step S210, the above-mentioned distance D2 is calculated, and it is determined whether the distance D2 is less than the threshold value TH2. The distance D1 is the distance from the non-specific section Y to which the current location belongs to the next specific section X (the second specific section X2' after the update), while the distance D2 is the distance of the travel section B from the current location to the next specific section X (X2'). Therefore, the distance D2 is calculated by subtracting the distance from the start point of the non-specific section Y to which the current location belongs to the distance D1 to the current location. In step S212, the Y start section number set by the most recent processing in step S202 is substituted for the X start section number currently being searched.

According to the second control example shown in FIG. 3(B) and FIG. 5 described above, the same effect as the first control example described above can be obtained, and the following effect can be obtained. That is, according to the processing of steps S204 to S212 described above, when the distance D2 of the travel section B is less than the threshold value TH2, the travel section B is connected to the updated second specific section X2', and the travel section B and the updated second specific section X2' are regarded as a continuous specific section IX2. This makes it possible to suppress the switching of the vehicle travel from BEV travel to HEV travel due to the update of the look-ahead information during travel in the specific section IX1, thereby suppressing the user's discomfort. Also, when the distance D2 is equal to or greater than the threshold value TH2, the processing of step S212 is not executed. As a result, the travel section B is no longer regarded as a continuous specific section IX2 with the updated second specific section X2'. This makes it possible to avoid BEV travel in the long travel section B that is not originally a specific section X when the user may have changed the travel route of the vehicle 1 because the distance D2 is long. In this way, according to the second control example, even if the look-ahead information is updated while the BEV is traveling in the non-specific section Y0, the vehicle travel can be appropriately switched according to the distance D2.

3. Notification to the User In the present disclosure, instead of the first and second control examples described above, notification to the user may be executed as follows.

3-1. First Notification Example The HMI device 30, which corresponds to an example of the "notification device" of the present disclosure, is basically configured to notify the user of the vehicle 1 entering a specific section X every time the vehicle 1 enters the specific section X, based on a command from the control device 20 (navigation ECU 24). Here, for example, if a short non-specific section Y0 exists between the first and second specific sections X1 and X2 as shown in FIG. 3A, if a notification is given when the vehicle 1 enters each of the two specific sections X1 and X2, the notification will be given twice in a short period of time, which will be annoying to the user. In view of this problem, the notification to the user may be switched as shown in the following first notification example.

Figure 6 (A) is a flowchart showing the process for a first example of notification according to the embodiment. In step S300, the control device 20 determines whether the distance D1 is less than the threshold value TH1. The distance D1 can be obtained, for example, by the method shown in Figure 4. As a result, if the distance D1 is equal to or greater than the threshold value TH1, the HMI device 30 issues a notification when entering each of the first and second specific sections X1 and X2.

On the other hand, if the distance D1 is less than the threshold value TH1 in step S300, the HMI device 30 notifies the user of the entry into the first specific section X1, but does not notify the user of the entry into the second specific section X2 after the subsequent non-specific section Y0 (non-specific section A). This prevents notifications from being repeated in a short period of time before and after the short non-specific section Y0, thereby reducing the annoyance to the user regarding notifications.

3-2. Second Notification Example In addition to the above-mentioned first notification example, the following second notification example may be executed. FIG. 6(B) is a flowchart showing processing related to the second notification example according to the embodiment. In step S400, the control device 20 determines whether or not the route information has been updated while traveling in the non-specific section Y0 (see FIG. 3(A)). As a result, when the determination result is Yes, the processing proceeds to step S402.

In step S402, it is determined whether the above-mentioned distance D2 is less than a threshold value TH2. The distance D2 can be obtained, for example, by the method shown in FIG. 5. As a result, if the distance D2 is equal to or greater than the threshold value TH2, the HMI device 30 issues a notification when entering the updated second specific section X2' (see FIG. 3(B)). On the other hand, if the distance D2 is less than the threshold value TH2, the HMI device 30 does not issue a notification when entering the second specific section X2'.

3B, when route information is updated while traveling in the non-specific section Y0, the distance D2 from the current location at the time of the update to the next specific section X (the second specific section X2' after the update) may change depending on the content of the update. According to the above-mentioned second notification example, when the update is performed in this way, the notification of entry into the specific section X is performed taking into account the distance D2. Specifically, according to the second notification example, when the distance D2 is short, the notification of entry into the second specific section X2', which arrives in a short time from the notification of entry into the first specific section X1 before the update, can be avoided, thereby suppressing the annoyance of the user. Furthermore, when the distance D2 is long, even if a notification of entry into the second specific section X2' is performed, it is unlikely to cause annoyance to the user, and since a long time has passed since the notification of entry into the previous specific section X (X1), it can be said that it is rather preferable to perform the notification. In this way, according to the second notification example, the above-mentioned notification after the update can be appropriately performed according to the distance D2.

1 Hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), 12 Internal combustion engine, 14 Electric motor, 16 Battery, 20 Control device, 22 Vehicle control ECU, 24 Navigation ECU, 26 Sensors, 30 HMI device

Claims (4)

A hybrid electric vehicle including a control device for switching between electric running by an electric motor and hybrid running by cooperation of the electric motor and an internal combustion engine,
When a first and second specific section and a non-specific section A sandwiched between the first and second specific sections exist on a travel route in which a specific section or a non-specific section in which the operation of the internal combustion engine is restricted is assigned to each of a plurality of travel sections based on route information, the control device
If a first distance, which is the distance of the non-specific section A, is less than a first threshold, the non-specific section is regarded as a specific section;
If the first distance is equal to or greater than the first threshold, the non-specific section A is maintained as a non-specific section. When the route information is updated while the vehicle is traveling in the non-specific section A, the control device
If a second distance, which is a distance of a travel section B from a current location of the hybrid electric vehicle to the updated second specific section, is less than a second threshold, the travel section B is regarded as a specific section;
The hybrid electric vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein if the second distance is equal to or greater than the second threshold, the traveling section B is maintained as a non-specific section. A hybrid electric vehicle capable of switching between electric running by an electric motor and hybrid running by cooperation of the electric motor and an internal combustion engine,
a notification device that notifies a user of the hybrid electric vehicle's entry into a specific section where operation of the internal combustion engine is restricted,
A hybrid electric vehicle, wherein, when first and second specific sections and a non-specific section A sandwiched between the first and second specific sections exist on a driving route in which the specific section or the non-specific section is assigned to each of a plurality of driving sections based on route information, the notification device notifies the user of entry into the first specific section if a first distance, which is the distance of the non-specific section A, is less than a first threshold value, but does not notify the user of subsequent entry into the second specific section after passing through the non-specific section A. When the route information is updated while the vehicle is traveling in the non-specific section A, the notification device
If a second distance, which is a distance of a traveling section B from a current location of the hybrid electric vehicle to the updated second specific section, is less than a second threshold, not notifying the user of the entry into the updated second specific section;
The hybrid electric vehicle of claim 3 , further comprising: notifying the user of the entry into the updated second specific section if the second distance is equal to or greater than the second threshold.

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