阅读说明：本技术 混合动力车辆、其控制方法及存储介质 (Hybrid vehicle, control method thereof, and storage medium ) 是由 宫冈史滋 于 2021-03-02 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明提供一种混合动力车辆、其控制方法及存储介质,即使在要求驱动力的增加时也可抑制发动机声音及振动的变化。一种混合动力车辆,其能够进行自动地控制车辆的至少加减速的自动驾驶控制,在实施自动驾驶控制的过程中,在预测为需要增加要求驱动力的情况下,在要求驱动力的增加时机之前,维持或者减少混合动力车辆的车速同时使发动机的转速以规定上升步调依次上升,在要求驱动力的增加时机下,至少将发电机的发电电力供给至马达。(The invention provides a hybrid vehicle, a control method thereof and a storage medium, which can restrain the change of engine sound and vibration even when the required driving force is increased. A hybrid vehicle capable of automatic driving control for automatically controlling at least acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle, wherein when it is predicted that an increase in required driving force is required during execution of the automatic driving control, the rotational speed of an engine is sequentially increased at a predetermined increase step while maintaining or reducing the vehicle speed of the hybrid vehicle prior to the increase timing of the required driving force, and at least generated power of a generator is supplied to a motor at the increase timing of the required driving force.)

1. A hybrid vehicle capable of automatic driving control for automatically controlling at least acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle, comprising:

an engine;

a generator that generates electricity by rotation of the engine;

a motor that outputs a traveling driving force by at least one of generated power of the generator and stored power of a battery; and

a control device that executes the automatic driving control and controls the engine and the motor, and

the control device sequentially increases the rotation speed of the engine at a predetermined increase pitch while maintaining or reducing the vehicle speed of the hybrid vehicle before the increase timing of the required driving force when it is predicted that the required driving force needs to be increased during execution of the automatic driving control,

at the increase timing of the required driving force, at least the generated electric power of the generator is supplied to the motor.

2. The hybrid vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that the prescribed rising step is a value smaller than a difference between a current engine speed and an engine speed at the time of increase in the required driving force.

3. The hybrid vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the control device sequentially decreases the rotation speed of the engine that has increased so far at a predetermined decreasing step when the increase in the required driving force is suspended.

4. The hybrid vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that the prescribed falling pace is smaller than the prescribed rising pace.

5. The hybrid vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the control device stands by the overtaking control until the overtaking is possible in a case where the required driving force needs to be increased at the time of overtaking and there is a possibility of collision with a vehicle ahead or behind a overtaking lane when the overtaking is performed.

6. A control method of a hybrid vehicle capable of performing an automatic driving control that automatically controls at least acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle, the control method being a control method of a hybrid vehicle including an engine that generates electric power by rotation of the engine, a generator that outputs a running driving force by at least one of generated electric power of the generator and accumulated electric power of a battery, and a motor that executes the automatic driving control simultaneously with execution of the automatic driving control, the control method being characterized in that,

in the automatic driving control, when it is predicted that an increase in required driving force is required, the rotation speed of the engine is sequentially increased at a predetermined increase step while maintaining or reducing the vehicle speed of the hybrid vehicle prior to the increase timing of the required driving force,

at the increase timing of the required driving force, at least the generated electric power of the generator is supplied to the motor.

7. The control method of a hybrid vehicle according to claim 6, characterized in that the prescribed rising step is a value smaller than a difference between a current engine speed and an engine speed at the time of increase in the required driving force.

8. The control method of a hybrid vehicle according to claim 6, characterized in that, when the increase in the required driving force is suspended, the number of revolutions of the engine that has increased so far is sequentially decreased at a predetermined decreasing step.

9. The control method of the hybrid vehicle according to claim 6, characterized in that the prescribed falling pitch is smaller than the prescribed rising pitch.

10. The hybrid vehicle according to claim 6, characterized in that the required driving force needs to be increased at the time of passing, and when there is a possibility of collision with a vehicle ahead or behind a passing lane when the passing is performed, the passing control is made to stand by until the passing is possible.

11. A storage medium storing a program that enables automatic driving control that automatically controls at least acceleration and deceleration of a vehicle, and that functions as a processor in a hybrid vehicle including an engine, a generator that generates electricity by rotation of the engine, a motor that outputs a running driving force by at least one of generated power of the generator and accumulated power of a battery, and a processor that executes the automatic driving control and that simultaneously executes control of the engine and the motor, the program characterized by causing the processor to realize:

in the automatic driving control, when it is predicted that an increase in required driving force is required, the rotational speed of the engine is sequentially increased at a predetermined increase step while maintaining or reducing the vehicle speed of the hybrid vehicle before the increase timing of the required driving force; and

at the increase timing of the required driving force, at least the generated electric power of the generator is supplied to the motor.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a control technique for a vehicle that is running by autonomous driving, and more particularly, to a hybrid vehicle, a control method thereof, and a storage medium.

Background

In the autonomous vehicle, by recognizing the traveling state of the vehicle and the surrounding situation, the action to be executed next can be calculated in advance and executed. For example, when the autonomous vehicle performs overtaking travel, it is necessary to determine whether or not overtaking is possible, to calculate acceleration during overtaking, and the like, based on the surrounding situation. For example, according to the travel control device disclosed in patent document 1, when the autonomous vehicle performs overtaking travel, it is determined whether overtaking is to be performed or not based on the travel state of the rear vehicle, and when the rear vehicle approaches, it is calculated in advance what degree of acceleration travel is required, and appropriate travel control is performed.

[ Prior art documents ]

[ patent document ]

[ patent document 1] Japanese patent application laid-open No. 2019-119303

Disclosure of Invention

[ problems to be solved by the invention ]

In an HEV (Hybrid electric Vehicle), when overtaking is performed during automatic driving, a required driving force of an electric motor (hereinafter, referred to as a motor) is increased to accelerate the Vehicle. The electric power required for acceleration at this time is obtained by increasing the rotation speed NE of an internal combustion engine (hereinafter referred to as an engine) to increase the amount of power generation. However, when the engine speed NE rises greatly due to an increase in the required driving force, the occupant feels a sense of incongruity that the engine sound or vibration suddenly increases, resulting in deterioration of riding comfort.

The invention aims to provide a vehicle control method and a vehicle control device which can restrain the change of engine sound and vibration when the required driving force is increased.

[ means for solving problems ]

A hybrid vehicle according to a first embodiment of the present invention is a hybrid vehicle capable of automatic driving control that automatically controls at least acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle, and includes: an engine; a generator that generates electricity by rotation of the engine; a motor that outputs a traveling driving force by at least one of generated power of the generator and stored power of a battery; and a control device 100 that executes the automatic driving control and controls the engine and the motor, wherein the control device 100, when it is predicted that an increase in required driving force is required during execution of the automatic driving control, sequentially increases the rotation speed of the engine at a predetermined increase step while maintaining or reducing the vehicle speed of the hybrid vehicle before an increase timing of the required driving force, and supplies at least generated power of the generator to the motor at the increase timing of the required driving force.

According to the control method of the second embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to perform automatic driving control that automatically controls at least acceleration and deceleration of a vehicle, and it is a control method that executes control of an engine and a motor while executing the automatic driving control in a hybrid vehicle including the engine that generates electric power by rotation of the engine, the motor that outputs a running driving force by at least one of generated electric power of the generator and accumulated electric power of a battery, and in the case where it is predicted that an increase in required driving force is required in the course of executing the automatic driving control, the control method sequentially increases the rotation speed of the engine at a predetermined increase step while maintaining or reducing the vehicle speed of the hybrid vehicle before an increase timing of the required driving force, at the increase timing of the required driving force, at least the generated electric power of the generator is supplied to the motor.

According to a third embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a storage medium storing a program that enables automatic driving control that automatically controls at least acceleration and deceleration of a vehicle, the program causing a processor in a hybrid vehicle including an engine, a generator that generates electric power by rotation of the engine, a motor that outputs driving force for traveling by at least one of generated electric power of the generator and stored electric power of a battery, and a processor to function, the processor executing the automatic driving control and simultaneously executing control of the engine and the motor, the program causing the processor to function as: in the automatic driving control, when it is predicted that an increase in required driving force is required, the rotational speed of the engine is sequentially increased at a predetermined increase step while maintaining or reducing the vehicle speed of the hybrid vehicle before the increase timing of the required driving force; and supplying at least the generated electric power of the generator to the motor at the increase timing of the required driving force.

Accordingly, the engine speed can be increased during a period before the timing of the increase in the required driving force, and therefore, a rapid increase in the engine speed can be avoided when the required driving force is increased, and a large change in the engine sound and vibration can be suppressed.

It is desirable that the predetermined rising step is a value smaller than a difference between a current engine speed and the engine speed at the time of increase of the required driving force. Thus, the engine speed gradually increases before the increase timing of the required driving force, and therefore, it is difficult for the occupant to notice.

Preferably, the control device 100 sequentially decreases the rotation speed of the engine increased so far at a predetermined decrease pitch, which is smaller than the predetermined increase pitch, when the increase in the required driving force is suspended. When the increase in the required driving force is suspended, the engine speed gradually decreases, and it is difficult for the occupant to notice because the decreasing pitch is smaller than the increasing pitch.

It is desirable that the required driving force be increased at the time of passing, and the control device 100 waits for the passing control until the passing is possible in a case where there is a possibility of collision with a vehicle ahead or behind a passing lane when the passing is performed. Accordingly, the engine speed can be increased during a period before the start timing of the overtaking control, so that a rapid increase in the engine speed at the start of the overtaking control can be avoided, and a large change in the engine sound and vibration can be suppressed.

[ Effect of the invention ]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to suppress the variation in the engine sound and vibration when the required driving force increases.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a functional configuration diagram related to automatic driving control in a vehicle control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing an example of the internal configuration of a hybrid vehicle using a control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a procedure of the overtaking travel for explaining the control method according to the present embodiment.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the control method according to the present embodiment.

Fig. 5 (a) to 5 (f) are waveform diagrams illustrating control states during the acceleration standby time and the acceleration execution time of the hybrid vehicle based on the control method provided in the present embodiment.

Fig. 6 (a) to 6 (f) are waveform diagrams illustrating control states of the hybrid vehicle during the acceleration standby time and the acceleration suspension time based on the control method provided in the present embodiment.

[ description of symbols ]

1: vehicle with a steering wheel

100: vehicle control device

110: automatic driving control part

120: running control unit

ENG: engine (internal combustion engine)

MG 1: first motor generator

MG 2: second motor generator

BAT: battery with a battery cell

Detailed Description

1. Brief description of the embodiments

In a hybrid vehicle capable of supplying generated electric power based on rotation of an engine to a motor for driving the vehicle, when there is time before a required driving force of the motor is required during automatic driving, an engine rotation speed is gradually increased in a period before a timing of increasing the required driving force. Thus, when the driving force is actually increased, the increase width to the engine speed required for the required driving force can be reduced. In this way, by mitigating a rapid increase in the engine speed, it is possible to suppress a large change in the engine sound and vibration.

An example of the automatic driving control and the hybrid vehicle which are the premise of the present invention will be described below with reference to fig. 1 and 2, and an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below.

2. Automatic driving control

As illustrated in fig. 1, the vehicle 1 is a two-wheel, three-wheel, four-wheel, or other vehicle, and in the present embodiment, is a hybrid vehicle having both an engine (internal combustion engine) and a motor (electric motor), as will be described later. However, the application of the automatic driving control may be an automobile using a diesel engine, a gasoline engine, or the like as a driving source, or an electric automobile that drives a motor using electric power obtained from a secondary battery, a hydrogen fuel cell, a metal fuel cell, an alcohol fuel cell, or the like.

< device structure of vehicle >

The vehicle 1 is mounted with the following devices and equipment groups in addition to the vehicle control device 100 that performs vehicle control including automatic driving control.

Means for acquiring various information from outside the vehicle 1 (including the external situation acquisition unit 12, the route information acquisition unit 13, the driving state acquisition unit 14, and the like, and other buttons, dial switches, Graphical User Interface (GUI) switches, and the like),

Operating devices (an accelerator pedal 70, a brake pedal 72, a steering wheel 74, a changeover switch 80, and the like),

an operation detection sensor (an accelerator opening sensor 71 for detecting the accelerator opening of the accelerator pedal 70, a brake depression amount sensor (brake switch) 73 for detecting the depression amount of the brake pedal 72, a steering angle sensor (or steering torque sensor) 75 for detecting the steering angle of the steering wheel 74), and a control unit (a control unit) for controlling the operation of the steering wheel,

A reporting device (output unit) 82,

Devices (driving force output device (driving device) 90, steering device 92, and brake device 94) for driving or steering the vehicle 1, and

a communication line and a Network (Controller Area Network (CAN), a wireless communication Network, and the like) for connecting these devices or apparatuses.

The external situation acquisition unit 12 is configured to acquire external situations of the vehicle 1, for example, environmental information around the vehicle such as a lane of a traveling road or an object around the vehicle, and includes, for example: various cameras (monocular camera, stereo camera, infrared camera, etc.) or various radars (millimeter wave radar, microwave radar, laser radar, etc.), and the like. In addition, a fusion sensor (fusion sensor) that integrates information obtained by a camera and information obtained by a radar may also be used.

The route information acquiring unit 13 includes a navigation device. The Navigation device includes a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver, map information (Navigation map), a touch panel display device functioning as a user interface, a speaker, a microphone, and the like. The navigation device determines the position of the vehicle 1 by the GNSS receiver, and derives a route from the position to a destination specified by the user. The route derived by the navigation device is stored in the storage unit 140 as route information 144. The position of the vehicle 1 may be determined or supplemented by an Inertial Navigation System (INS) using the output of the traveling state acquiring unit 14. In addition, when the vehicle control device 100 is executing manual driving control, the navigation device guides a route to a destination by sound or navigation display. Further, the structure for determining the position of the vehicle 1 may also be provided independently of the navigation device. The navigation device may be realized by a function of a terminal device such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal held by a user. In this case, information is transmitted and received between the terminal device and the vehicle control device 100 by wireless or wired communication.

The traveling state acquisition unit 14 is configured to acquire the current traveling state of the vehicle 1. The traveling state acquisition unit 14 includes: a travel position acquisition unit 26, a vehicle speed acquisition unit 28, a yaw rate acquisition unit 30, a steering angle acquisition unit 32, and a travel track acquisition unit 34.

The traveling position acquisition unit 26 is configured to acquire a traveling position of the vehicle 1 and a posture (traveling direction) of the vehicle 1, which are one of traveling states. The travel position acquisition unit 26 includes various Positioning devices, for example, a device (a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, a GNSS receiver, a beacon (beacon) receiver, or the like) that receives electromagnetic waves transmitted from satellites or on-road devices to acquire position information (latitude, longitude, altitude, coordinates, or the like), a gyro sensor, an acceleration sensor, and the like. The traveling position of the vehicle 1 is measured with reference to a specific portion of the vehicle 1.

The vehicle speed acquisition unit 28 is configured to acquire a speed of the vehicle 1 (hereinafter, referred to as a vehicle speed) which is one of the traveling states. The vehicle speed acquisition unit 28 includes, for example, a speed sensor or the like provided on one or more wheels.

The yaw rate acquisition unit 30 is configured to acquire the yaw rate of the vehicle 1, which is one of the traveling states. The yaw rate acquisition unit 30 includes, for example, a yaw rate sensor.

The steering angle obtaining unit 32 is configured to obtain a steering angle that is one of the traveling states. The steering angle acquiring unit 32 includes, for example, a steering angle sensor provided on a steering shaft (steering shaft). Here, the steering angular velocity and the steering angular acceleration are also acquired from the acquired steering angle.

The travel track acquisition unit 34 is configured to acquire information (actual travel track) of an actual travel track of the vehicle 1, which is one of the travel states. The actual travel track includes a track (track) on which the vehicle 1 has actually traveled, and may include a predetermined track to be traveled, for example, an extension line of the front side in the traveling direction of the track (track) to be traveled. The travel track acquisition unit 34 includes a memory. The memory stores position information of a series of dot sequences included in the actual travel track. In addition, the extension line can be predicted by a computer or the like.

The accelerator opening sensor 71, the brake depression amount sensor 73, and the steering angle sensor 75, which are operation detection sensors, output the detected accelerator opening, brake depression amount, and steering angle to the vehicle control device 100.

The changeover switch 80 is a switch operated by an occupant of the vehicle 1. The changeover switch 80 receives an operation by the occupant, and switches the driving mode (for example, automatic driving control and manual driving control) according to the received operation content. The changeover switch 80 generates a driving mode designation signal that designates the driving mode of the vehicle 1 in accordance with the operation content of the occupant, and outputs it to the vehicle control device 100.

In addition, the vehicle 1 includes a shift device 60 that is operated by a driver via a shift lever (shift lever). As shown in fig. 1, the position of a shift lever (not shown) in the shifting device 60 includes, for example, P (parking), R (reverse travel), N (neutral), D (forward travel in the automatic shift mode (normal mode)), S (forward travel in the sport mode), and the like. A shift position sensor 205 is provided in the vicinity of the shifting device 60. The shift position sensor 205 detects the position of a shift lever operated by the driver. The vehicle control device 100 inputs information of the shift position detected by the shift position sensor 205.

The reporting device 82 is a device or a group of machines that can output various information. The reporting device 82 outputs information for urging a transition from the automatic driving control to the manual driving control to an occupant of the vehicle 1, for example. As the reporting device 82, for example, at least one of a speaker, a vibrator, a display device, a light-emitting device, and the like can be used.

In the hybrid vehicle 1 of the embodiment, as shown in fig. 2, the driving force output device (driving device) 90 for running includes an engine ENG, a first motor generator MG1, and a second motor generator MG2 as driving sources. In the case where the vehicle 1 is an electric vehicle using an electric motor (motor) as a drive source, the driving force output device 90 for traveling may include a motor for traveling and an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) for controlling the motor for traveling, in addition to the above-described devices. When the driving force output device 90 includes an engine and an automatic Transmission, the driving force output device may include an engine and a Fuel Injection Electronic Control Unit (FI-ECU) for controlling the engine, and an automatic Transmission Electronic Control Unit (AT-ECU) for controlling the automatic Transmission.

The steering device 92 includes, for example, an electric motor. The electric motor changes the direction of the steering wheel by applying a force to a rack and pinion (rack and pinion) mechanism, for example. The steering device 92 drives the electric motor to change the direction of the steered wheels in accordance with information input from the travel control unit 120.

The brake device 94 is, for example, an electric servo brake device including a brake caliper, a cylinder for transmitting hydraulic pressure to the brake caliper, an electric motor for generating hydraulic pressure in the cylinder, and a brake control unit. The brake control unit of the electric servo brake device controls the electric motor in accordance with the information input from the travel control unit 120, and outputs a brake torque (brake force output device) that outputs a brake force corresponding to a brake operation to each wheel. The electric servo brake device may include a mechanism that transmits hydraulic pressure generated by operation of the brake pedal 72 to the cylinder via the master cylinder as a backup element. The brake device 94 is not limited to the electric servo brake device described above, and may be an electronically controlled hydraulic brake device. The electronically controlled hydraulic brake device controls the actuator according to information input from the travel control unit 120, and transmits the hydraulic pressure of the master cylinder to the cylinder. In the case where the driving force output device for running 90 includes a motor for running, the braking device 94 may include regenerative braking using the motor for running.

< control device >

Next, the vehicle control device 100 will be explained. The vehicle control device 100 includes: an automatic driving control unit 110, a travel control unit 120, and a storage unit 140. The automatic driving control portion 110 includes: a vehicle position recognition unit 112, an external environment recognition unit 114, an action plan generation unit 116, and a target traveling state setting unit 118. Some or all of the automatic driving control Unit 110 and the travel control Unit 120 may be realized by executing a program by a processor such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU). Some or all of them may be realized by hardware such as a Large Scale Integration (LSI) or an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC). The storage unit 140 may be implemented by a Read Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a Hard Disk Drive (HDD), a flash Memory, or the like. The program executed by the processor may be stored in the storage unit 140 in advance, or may be downloaded from an external device via an in-vehicle internet device or the like. The program may be installed in the storage unit 140 by installing a portable storage medium storing the program in a drive device not shown. Further, the vehicle control device 100 may be distributed by a plurality of computer devices. Thus, the hardware functional unit described above may be implemented in cooperation with software including a program or the like for the vehicle-mounted computer of the vehicle 1 to realize various processes in the present embodiment.

The automatic driving control unit 110 can switch the driving mode in accordance with the input of the signal from the changeover switch 80. The driving modes include an automatic driving mode (automatic driving control) in which acceleration/deceleration and steering of the vehicle 1 are automatically controlled, and a manual driving mode (manual driving control) in which acceleration/deceleration of the vehicle 1 is controlled by an operation of an operation device such as the accelerator pedal 70 or the brake pedal 72, and steering is controlled by an operation of an operation device such as the steering wheel 74. As another driving mode, for example, a semi-automatic driving mode (semi-automatic driving control) may be included in which one of acceleration and deceleration and steering of the vehicle 1 is automatically controlled and the other is controlled in accordance with an operation of the operation device.

The vehicle position recognition unit 112 of the automated driving control unit 110 recognizes the lane in which the vehicle 1 is traveling (traveling lane) and the relative position of the vehicle 1 with respect to the traveling lane, based on the map information 142 stored in the storage unit 140 and the information input from the external situation acquisition unit 12, the route information acquisition unit 13, or the traveling state acquisition unit 14. The map information 142 is, for example, map information having higher accuracy than the navigation map of the route information acquisition unit 13, and includes information on the center of a lane, information on the boundary of a lane, and the like. More specifically, the map information 142 includes road information, traffic control information, address information (address/postal code), facility information, telephone number information, and the like. The road information includes information indicating the type of a road such as an expressway, a toll road, a national road, and a prefecture road, and information such as the number of lanes on the road, the width of each lane, the gradient of the road, the position of the road (including three-dimensional coordinates of longitude, latitude, and height), the curvature of a turn of the lane, the positions of merging and diverging points of the lanes, and a sign provided on the road. The traffic control information includes information such as that a lane is blocked due to a construction, a traffic accident, or a traffic jam.

The vehicle position recognition unit 112 recognizes, for example, a deviation of a reference point (for example, the center of gravity) of the vehicle 1 from the center of the traveling lane and an angle formed by the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 with respect to a line connecting the centers of the traveling lanes as the relative position of the vehicle 1 with respect to the traveling lane. Alternatively, the vehicle position recognition unit 112 may recognize the position of the reference point of the vehicle 1 with respect to either side end of the own lane, as the relative position of the vehicle 1 with respect to the traveling lane.

The environment recognition unit 114 recognizes the state of the peripheral vehicle such as the position, speed, and acceleration based on the information input from the external situation acquisition unit 12. The peripheral vehicle in the present embodiment is another vehicle that travels in the periphery of the vehicle 1, and is a vehicle that travels in the same direction as the vehicle 1. In particular, the peripheral vehicle in the present embodiment refers to a preceding vehicle that the vehicle 1 is about to pass over and a following vehicle that is about to pass over the vehicle 1. The position of the nearby vehicle may be represented by a representative point such as the center of gravity or an angle of the vehicle 1, or may be represented by a region expressed by the outline of the vehicle 1. The "state" of the nearby vehicle may include whether or not the acceleration change or the lane change of the nearby vehicle is being performed (or whether or not the lane change is being performed) based on the information of the various devices. In addition to the surrounding vehicles, the environment recognition unit 114 may recognize the position of other objects such as guard rails, utility poles, parking vehicles, and pedestrians.

The action plan generating unit 116 sets a start point of the automated driving, a scheduled end point of the automated driving, and/or a destination of the automated driving. The starting point of the automated driving may be the current position of the vehicle 1, or may be a point at which an operation for instructing the automated driving is performed by a passenger of the vehicle 1. The action plan generating unit 116 generates an action plan in a section between the start point and the predetermined end point or a section between the start point and the destination of the automated driving. The action plan generating unit 116 may generate an action plan for an arbitrary section.

The action plan includes, for example, a plurality of events that are executed in sequence. Among the events, for example, are: a deceleration event for decelerating the vehicle 1 or an acceleration event for accelerating the vehicle 1, a lane-keeping event for driving the vehicle 1 without departing from the driving lane, a lane-changing event for changing the driving lane, a passing event for passing the vehicle 1 over a preceding vehicle, a diversion event for changing the desired lane at a diversion point or driving the vehicle 1 without departing from the current driving lane, a merging event for accelerating or decelerating the vehicle 1 on a merging lane for merging with the main road and changing the driving lane, and the like. For example, when there is an intersection (diversion point) on a toll road (e.g., an expressway), the vehicle control device 100 changes the lane so as to advance the vehicle 1 in the direction of the destination or maintains the lane. Therefore, when it is determined that there is an intersection on the route with reference to the map information 142, the action plan generating unit 116 sets a lane change event for changing the lane to a desired lane that can be advanced in the direction of the destination between the position (coordinates) of the current vehicle 1 and the position (coordinates) of the intersection. The information indicating the action plan generated by the action plan generating unit 116 is stored in the storage unit 140 as action plan information 146.

The target traveling state setting unit 118 is configured as follows: the target traveling state, which is the target traveling state of the vehicle 1, is set based on the action plan determined by the action plan generating unit 116 and the various information acquired by the external situation acquiring unit 12, the route information acquiring unit 13, and the traveling state acquiring unit 14. The target travel state setting unit 118 includes a target value setting unit 52 and a target trajectory setting unit 54. The target traveling state setting unit 118 also includes the deviation acquiring unit 42 and the correcting unit 44.

The target value setting unit 52 is configured as follows: information of a traveling position (latitude, longitude, altitude, coordinates, etc.) targeted by the vehicle 1 (also simply referred to as a target position), target value information of a vehicle speed (also simply referred to as a target vehicle speed), and target value information of a yaw rate (also simply referred to as a target yaw rate) are set. The target trajectory setting unit 54 is configured as follows: information of a target track of the vehicle 1 (also simply referred to as a target track) is set based on the external situation acquired by the external situation acquisition unit 12 and the travel route information acquired by the route information acquisition unit 13. The target track contains information of the target position per unit time. The posture information (traveling direction) of the vehicle 1 is associated with each target position. In addition, target value information such as vehicle speed, acceleration, yaw rate, lateral acceleration, steering angle, steering angular velocity, and steering angular acceleration may be associated with each target position. The target position, the target vehicle speed, the target yaw rate, and the target track described above are information indicating the target running state.

The deviation acquisition unit 42 is configured as follows: the deviation of the target running state from the actual running state is acquired based on the target running state set by the target running state setting unit 118 and the actual running state acquired by the running state acquisition unit 14.

The correction unit 44 is configured to correct the target traveling state in accordance with the deviation acquired by the deviation acquisition unit 42. Specifically, the new target traveling state is set such that the target traveling state set by the target traveling state setting unit 118 is closer to the actual traveling state acquired by the traveling state acquisition unit 14 as the deviation becomes larger.

The travel control unit 120 is configured to control the travel of the vehicle 1. Specifically, the command value for the travel control is output so that the travel state of the vehicle 1 matches or approaches the target travel state set by the target travel state setting unit 118 or the new target travel state set by the correction unit 44. The travel control unit 120 includes an acceleration/deceleration command unit 56 and a steering command unit 58.

The acceleration/deceleration command unit 56 is configured to perform acceleration/deceleration control in the travel control of the vehicle 1. Specifically, the acceleration/deceleration command unit 56 calculates an acceleration/deceleration command value for matching the running state of the vehicle 1 with the target running state, based on the target running state (target acceleration/deceleration) set by the target running state setting unit 118 or the correction unit 44 and the actual running state (actual acceleration/deceleration).

The steering command unit 58 is configured to perform steering control in the running control of the vehicle 1. Specifically, the steering command unit 58 calculates a steering angular velocity command value for matching the running state of the vehicle 1 with the target running state, based on the target running state set by the target running state setting unit 118 or the correction unit 44 and the actual running state.

< Driving System and Power supply System of hybrid vehicle >

Fig. 2 schematically shows the configuration of a driving force output device (driving device) 90 for running of the vehicle 1. In general, a hybrid vehicle includes a motor generator and an engine, and travels using power of the motor generator and/or the engine according to a traveling state of the vehicle. HEVs are roughly classified into a series type and a parallel type. The series HEV runs by using power of a motor generator. The engine is mainly used for power generation, and electric power generated by another motor generator by the power of the engine is charged to a battery or supplied to the motor generator. On the other hand, a parallel HEV runs by the power of either or both of a motor generator and an engine.

The vehicle 1 according to the present embodiment is an HEV capable of switching between the series connection method and the parallel connection method. That is, the driving force output device (driving device) 90 for running of the vehicle 1 can switch the power transmission system to either the series connection system or the parallel connection system by releasing or engaging (disconnecting/connecting) the clutch according to the running state.

The driving force output device for running 90 shown in fig. 2 includes: an engine ENG, which is a motor (drive source) that outputs rotational power, a first motor generator MG1, a second motor generator MG2, a lock-up clutch (hereinafter simply referred to as "clutch") CL, a gear box (hereinafter simply referred to as "gear") GB, a vehicle speed sensor 7, a battery sensor 8, an engine speed (NE) sensor 9, a battery (power storage device) BAT, a Voltage Control Unit (Voltage Control Unit) VCU, a first inverter INV1, and a second inverter INV 2. In fig. 2, a thick solid line indicates mechanical connection, a double-dashed line indicates power wiring, and an arrow of a thin solid line indicates a control signal or a detection signal.

In a state where clutch CL is disengaged, engine ENG drives first motor generator MG1 as a generator. However, when clutch CL is engaged, the power output by engine ENG is transmitted to drive wheels WL and WR as mechanical energy for traveling of vehicle 1 via first motor generator MG1, clutch CL, gear GB, second motor generator MG2, differential mechanism 5, and drive shaft 6R and drive shaft 6L.

First motor generator MG1 is driven by the power of engine ENG and generates electric power. In addition, the first motor generator MG1 may operate as a motor at the time of braking of the vehicle 1.

The second motor generator MG2 operates as a motor by the supply of electric power from at least one of the battery BAT and the first motor generator MG1, and generates power for running of the vehicle 1. The torque generated by the second motor generator MG2 is transmitted to the drive wheels WL and WR via the differential mechanism 5, the drive shaft 6R, and the drive shaft 6L. In addition, the second motor generator MG2 may operate as a generator at the time of braking of the vehicle 1.

Clutch CL disconnects or connects (disconnects/connects) a power transmission path from engine ENG to drive wheels WL and WR in accordance with an instruction from vehicle control device 100. When clutch CL is in the disengaged state, the power output from engine ENG is not transmitted to driving wheel WR and driving wheel WL, and when clutch CL is in the engaged state, the power output from engine ENG is transmitted to driving wheel WL and driving wheel WR. Gear GB includes a gear stage or a fixed stage, and transmits power from engine ENG to drive wheels WL and WR at a predetermined gear ratio. The speed ratio of gear GB is changed in accordance with an instruction from vehicle control device 100.

The battery BAT includes a plurality of storage batteries connected in series, and supplies a high voltage of, for example, 100V to 200V. The secondary battery is, for example, a lithium ion battery or a nickel hydride battery.

The vehicle speed sensor 7 detects a running speed (vehicle speed V) of the vehicle 1. The vehicle speed V corresponds linearly to the rotational speeds of the drive wheels WL and WR. A signal indicating the vehicle speed V detected by the vehicle speed sensor 7 is transmitted to the vehicle control device 100.

The battery sensor 8 detects an output (terminal voltage, charge/discharge current) of the battery BAT. A signal indicating the terminal voltage, the Charge/discharge current, or the like detected by the battery sensor 8 is transmitted to the vehicle control device 100 as battery information (for example, (exempli gratia, e.g.) a State Of Charge (SOC) Of the remaining capacity).

The rotation speed sensor 9 detects the rotation speed NE of the engine ENG. A signal indicating the rotation speed NE detected by the rotation speed sensor 9 is sent to the vehicle control device 100.

When second motor generator MG2 operates as a motor, battery control unit VCU boosts the output voltage of battery BAT. In addition, when charging the battery BAT with regenerative power generated by the second motor generator MG2 and converted into direct current at the time of braking of the vehicle 1, the battery control unit VCU steps down the output voltage of the second motor generator MG 2. Further, battery control unit VCU steps down electric power generated by first motor generator MG1 by driving of engine ENG and converted into direct current. The electric power stepped down by the battery control unit VCU is charged to the battery BAT.

The vehicle control device 100 performs drive control of the engine ENG, output control of the first motor generator MG1 based on control of the first inverter INV1, disconnection/connection control of the clutch CL, and output control of the second motor generator MG2 based on control of the second inverter INV 2. Further, vehicle control device 100 inputs signals indicating an opening degree of an Accelerator Pedal (AP), an engine speed NE from speed sensor 9, and a vehicle speed V from vehicle speed sensor 7, and controls respective outputs of engine ENG, first motor generator MG1, and second motor generator MG2 based on a current acceleration from traveling position acquisition unit 26, a state of a nearby vehicle, an acceleration command, and an action plan.

The driving force output device 90 for running of the Vehicle 1 of the present embodiment runs the Vehicle 1 in any one of the "Electric Vehicle (EV) running mode (motor running mode)", the "series running mode", and the "engine running mode (parallel running mode)", which are different in the usage pattern of the driving sources including the engine ENG, the first motor generator MG1, and the second motor generator MG 2.

When the vehicle 1 travels in the EV travel mode, the vehicle travels using power from the first motor generator MG1 and/or the second motor generator MG 2. When the vehicle 1 travels in the series travel mode, the clutch CL is released and the vehicle travels by the power from the first motor generator MG 1. In the series traveling mode, as described later, the electric power generated by the first motor generator MG1 by the operation of the engine ENG is supplied to the second motor generator MG2 so that the second motor generator MG2 outputs the power corresponding to the required output corresponding to the vehicle speed V and the AP opening degree. The series traveling mode is selected when the required output of the vehicle 1 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value or the vehicle speed V is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. When vehicle 1 travels in the engine travel mode, clutch CL is engaged and travels using power from engine ENG.

< automatic Driving control >

In the vehicle 1, when the automated driving control is selected, the automated driving control unit 110 performs the automated driving control of the vehicle 1. In the automatic driving control, the automatic driving control unit 110 grasps the current driving state (actual driving track, driving position, etc.) of the vehicle 1 based on information acquired from the external situation acquisition unit 12, the route information acquisition unit 13, the driving state acquisition unit 14, etc., or information recognized by the own vehicle position recognition unit 112 and the external world recognition unit 114. The target traveling state setting unit 118 sets a target traveling state (target trajectory or target position) which is a target traveling state of the vehicle 1, based on the action plan generated by the action plan generating unit 116. The deviation acquisition unit 42 acquires a deviation of the actual running state from the target running state. When the deviation is acquired by the deviation acquisition unit 42, the travel control unit 120 performs travel control so that the travel state of the vehicle 1 matches or approaches the target travel state.

The correction unit 44 corrects the target track or the target position based on the travel position acquired by the travel position acquisition unit 26. The travel control unit 120 performs acceleration/deceleration control of the vehicle 1 using the driving force output device for travel 90 and the brake device 94 so that the vehicle 1 follows a new target trajectory or target position, based on the vehicle speed or the like acquired by the vehicle speed acquisition unit.

The correction unit 44 corrects the target track based on the travel position acquired by the travel position acquisition unit 26. The travel control unit 120 performs steering control by the steering device 92 so that the vehicle 1 follows a new target trajectory, based on the steering angular velocity acquired by the steering angle acquisition unit 32.

3. One embodiment of the invention

Hereinafter, a control method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. The control method according to the present embodiment can be installed in the system described above. The acceleration/driving force control at the time of the passing event is described here, but the present invention is applicable not only to the case of passing, but also to a situation where a sudden increase in driving force is expected.

3.1) overtaking control

In fig. 3, a vehicle a is the vehicle 1 to which the control method according to the present embodiment is mounted, a vehicle B is a preceding vehicle to be overtaken, and a vehicle C is a rear vehicle approaching the vehicle a to overtake the vehicle a or a preceding vehicle traveling on a passing lane. Such a nearby vehicle is identified by the outside world identification portion 114 as described above.

In the normal travel 301, when it is determined that the vehicle a passes the preceding vehicle B based on the present embodiment, the external world identification unit 114 recognizes the approach of the following vehicle C. When it is determined that the rear vehicle C is approaching to overtake the own vehicle, the vehicle control device 100 stops the acceleration for overtaking (the acceleration standby 302 and the acceleration standby 303) until the rear vehicle C overtakes. Then, after the vehicle C overtakes, when it is determined that overtaking is possible, the vehicle control device 100 changes the lane to the overtaking lane, increases the required driving force, accelerates, and executes overtaking (accelerated overtaking 304). If the preceding vehicle C traveling on the passing lane is recognized, the passing may be performed when the preceding vehicle C returns to the passing lane.

According to the present embodiment, while in the states of acceleration standby 302 and acceleration standby 303 in fig. 3, the rotation speed NE of engine ENG is gradually increased. Thus, when actually performing an acceleration overtaking, the electric power required for acceleration can be obtained only by increasing the engine speed NE at that time to the engine speed required for the required driving force. In this way, a sudden increase in the engine speed NE is suppressed, and the sense of discomfort of the occupant due to sudden changes in engine sound and vibration is alleviated.

The rate of increase or the pace of increase of the rotation speed NE during acceleration standby (hereinafter referred to as Δ NE as appropriate)_UP) Is set to such an extent that the occupant feels no discomfort. For example, the rising cadence Δ NE_UPIs a value smaller than the difference between the engine speeds NE corresponding to the current driving force and the required driving force, respectively. Specifically, the rise step Δ NE may be obtained by dividing the difference in engine speed NE corresponding to the current driving force and the required driving force by a desired number of 2 or more_UP。ΔNE_UPThe smaller the division number, the smaller the sense of discomfort of the occupant, but on the contrary, the larger the increase width of the rotation speed NE at the time of acceleration, and the greater the sense of discomfort of the occupant. Thus, Δ NE_UPThe magnitude of (b) is determined in consideration of the balance between the sense of incongruity of the occupant during the acceleration standby and the sense of incongruity at the time of acceleration. Delta NE_UPCan be fixed or variable. In addition, when the required driving force and the rising timing thereof cannot be predicted, the required driving force and the rising timing thereof may be predicted based on the predicted valuesTo calculate Δ NE_UP。

The control method according to the present embodiment is implemented by the vehicle control device 100 described above. The control function thereof may be realized by executing a program stored in a memory on a processor of the vehicle control device 100. An example of the control method according to the present embodiment will be described below with reference to fig. 4.

In fig. 4, when it is determined that the preceding vehicle B has overtaken (YES in act 401), the automatic driving control portion 110 first calculates a target acceleration/driving force (required driving force) (act 402), and then recognizes the surrounding situation based on the information from the external situation acquisition portion 12, and determines whether or not there is a following vehicle C approaching the overtaking lane (act 403). If there is a rear vehicle C (yes in act 403), the automatic driving control unit 110 waits for execution of overtaking acceleration (act 404).

When the vehicle is on standby for acceleration, vehicle control device 100 increases the rotation speed NE of engine ENG by Δ NE while maintaining the driving force of second motor generator MG2 and vehicle speed V constant_UP(act 405). The electric power generated by motor generator MG1 coupled to engine ENG is charged to battery BAT via voltage control unit VCU (act 406). By repeating the above operations 401 to 406, while the overtaking acceleration is held in standby, the vehicle speed V and the driving force are kept constant, and the engine speed NE is increased by Δ NE each time_UP(no sense of incongruity), the generated power at this time is stored in battery BAT. The vehicle speed V of the vehicle a may be reduced during the acceleration standby period so as not to excessively approach the front vehicle B or so as to allow the rear vehicle C to pass through as quickly as possible.

When it is determined that the vehicle can overtake without the rear vehicle (NO in act 403), the automatic driving control unit 110 executes the acceleration/driving force control with the target acceleration/driving force calculated in act 402 according to the action plan (act 407). Acceleration/drive force control is performed (act 407) until the end of the cut-in (act 408).

If it is determined that overtaking is not to be performed (no in act 401), the vehicle control apparatus 100 determines whether power generation for automatic driving is completed (act 409). If for automatic drivingWhen the power generation is completed (yes in act 409), vehicle control device 100 determines that the acceleration is stopped, and lowers rotation speed NE of engine ENG by Δ NE while keeping constant driving force of second motor generator MG2 and vehicle speed V_DOWN(act 410). Therefore, when the acceleration is stopped, the vehicle speed V is maintained constant, but the engine speed NE is decreased by Δ NE each time_DOWN(No sense of violation) (NO in act 401, YES in act 409, act 410). Further, it is desirable that the amplitude Δ NE when the engine speed NE is decreased_DOWNLess than amplitude Δ NE at rise_UP. The reason for this is that the engine speed NE can be slowly lowered because acceleration is suspended, and the reason for this is that the occupant does not notice a further gradual decrease than that in the case of rising. If the automatic driving power generation is not completed (no in act 409), the steps 401 and 409 are repeated until the next passing determination (no in act 401 and no in act 409).

Although the control during overtaking has been described as an example, the present invention is applicable to a situation in which a sudden increase in driving force is predicted and time has elapsed until then. Hereinafter, assuming a general case, a change in the state of the vehicle 1 when acceleration is performed after the acceleration standby will be described with reference to fig. 5 (a) to 5 (f).

3.2) accelerated Standby and accelerated execution

As illustrated in fig. 5 (a) to 5 (f), when it is determined that the vehicle is standing by for acceleration at time t1, the vehicle control device 100 calculates the required driving force in advance and sets the engine speed NE to Δ NE_UPThe amplitude gradually rises (c). Accordingly, the generated power of first motor generator MG1 increases (d), and the remaining battery level SOC of battery BAT increases (e). During this period, the driving force and the vehicle speed V are controlled to be unchanged.

At time t2, the actual driving force of the second motor generator MG2 increases for acceleration, and reaches the required driving force (b) at time t 3. As shown in fig. 5 (c), the engine speed NE has already increased during the acceleration standby from time t1 to time t 2. Therefore, when the actual driving force is increased at time t2, it is not necessary to increase the actual driving force to the engine speed required for the required driving force significantly. That is, the engine speed NE between time t2 and time t3 does not increase rapidly as shown in fig. 5 (c), but the sense of discomfort given to the occupant due to sudden changes in engine sound and vibration is alleviated.

Conventionally, the engine speed NE suddenly increases between time t2 and time t3 (broken line in fig. 5 (c)), and the engine sound and vibration suddenly change, which causes a large discomfort to the occupant. Such a sense of incongruity is significantly reduced as compared with the present embodiment.

3.3) accelerated termination

As illustrated in fig. 6 (a) to 6 (f), it is assumed that the acceleration standby is determined at time t1, but the acceleration is determined to be stopped at time t 4. In this case, since the engine rotation speed NE is increased before the time point t4, the vehicle control device 100 gradually decreases the rotation speed NE. According to the present embodiment, as described above, Δ NE at the time of the increase in ratio_UPSmall Δ NE_DOWNThe engine speed NE is decreased. As engine speed NE decreases, the generated power of motor generator MG1 also decreases (d), and the increase in the remaining battery level SOC of battery BAT is thereby slowed (e).

4. Effect

As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, when the hybrid vehicle has time before the change timing at which the required driving force is required during automatic driving, the abrupt increase in the engine speed when the driving force is actually increased can be alleviated by gradually increasing the engine speed during the period before the change timing, and large changes in the engine sound and vibration can be suppressed.