# US 2013/0158766 A1 · Hybrid-vehicle control device

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- Number: US 2013/0158766 A1
- Document ID: US20130158766A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 13/810,983
- Filed: 2011-07-20
- Published: 2013-06-20
- Earliest claimed: 2010-07-21
- Assignees: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Tadashi Okuda
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20130158766A1

## CPC

- B60W 20/20: Control strategies involving selection of hybrid configuration, e.g. selection between series or parallel configuration
- B60K 6/36: characterised by the transmission gearings
- B60K 6/48: Parallel type
- B60L 50/15: with additional electric power supply (with capacitors charged by engine-driven generators B60L50/40; with batteries charged by engine-driven generators B60L50/61)
- B60W 10/02: including control of driveline clutches
- B60W 10/06: including control of combustion engines
- B60W 10/08: including control of electric propulsion units, e.g. motors or generators
- B60W 10/10: including control of change-speed gearings
- B60W 20/00: Control systems specially adapted for hybrid vehicles {(hybrid vehicle design, B60K6/00; electric vehicles B60L)}
- B60W 20/40: Controlling the engagement or disengagement of prime movers, e.g. for transition between prime movers {(power-up or power-down of the driveline B60W30/192)}
- B60W 30/192: Mitigating problems related to power-up or power-down of the driveline, e.g. start-up of a cold engine
- F02D 29/00: Controlling engines, such controlling being peculiar to the devices driven thereby, the devices being other than parts or accessories essential to engine operation, e.g. controlling of engines by signals external thereto
- B60K 2006/268: {Electric drive motor starts the engine, i.e. used as starter motor}
- B60K 2006/4825: {Electric machine connected or connectable to gearbox input shaft}
- B60L 2240/443: Torque
- B60L 2240/486: Operating parameters
- B60L 2260/26: Transition between different drive modes
- B60W 2510/1005: Transmission ratio engaged
- B60W 2556/00: Input parameters relating to data
- B60W 2710/0644: Engine speed
- B60W 2710/105: Output torque
- F02N 11/00: Starting of engines by means of electric motors
- F02N 2200/042: Starter torque
- F02N 2200/0802: Transmission state, e.g. gear ratio or neutral state
- F02N 2300/104: Control of the starter motor torque
- F16H 2061/023: {Drive-off gear selection, i.e. optimising gear ratio for drive off of a vehicle}
- Y02T 10/62: Hybrid vehicles
- Y02T 10/7072: Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
- Y02T 10/72: Electric energy management in electromobility
- Y10S 903/93: Conjoint control of different elements
- B60W: CONJOINT CONTROL OF VEHICLE SUB-UNITS OF DIFFERENT TYPE OR DIFFERENT FUNCTION; CONTROL SYSTEMS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR HYBRID VEHICLES; ROAD VEHICLE DRIVE CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR PURPOSES NOT RELATED TO THE CONTROL OF A PARTICULAR SUB-UNIT
- B60K: ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PROPULSION UNITS OR OF TRANSMISSIONS IN VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PLURAL DIVERSE PRIME-MOVERS IN VEHICLES; AUXILIARY DRIVES FOR VEHICLES; INSTRUMENTATION OR DASHBOARDS FOR VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENTS IN CONNECTION WITH COOLING, AIR INTAKE, GAS EXHAUST OR FUEL SUPPLY OF PROPULSION UNITS IN VEHICLES
- B60L: PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (arrangements or mounting of electrical propulsion units or of plural diverse prime-movers for mutual or common propulsion in vehicles B60K1/00, B60K6/20; arrangements or mounting of electrical gearing in vehicles B60K17/12, B60K17/14; preventing wheel slip by reducing power in rail vehicles B61C15/08; dynamo-electric machines H02K; control or regulation of electric motors H02P); SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (electric coupling devices combined with mechanical couplings of vehicles B60D1/64; electric heating for vehicles B60H1/00); ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL (control or regulation of electric motors H02P); MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES
- F02D: CONTROLLING COMBUSTION ENGINES (vehicle fittings, acting on a single sub-unit only, for automatically controlling vehicle speed B60K31/00; conjoint control of vehicle sub-units of different type or different function, road vehicle drive control systems for purposes other than the control of a single sub-unit B60W)
- F02N: STARTING OF COMBUSTION ENGINES; STARTING AIDS FOR SUCH ENGINES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- F16H: GEARING
- Y02T: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION
- Y10S: TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS

## Abstract

Provided is a hybrid-vehicle control device that can continue high-speed driving, without transitioning to the HEV mode, by raising the motor torque limit during driving in the EV mode. The hybrid-vehicle control device includes: an engine; a motor that starts the engine and that drives driving wheels; a first clutch that switches between the HEV mode and the EV mode; an automatic transmission; and an electric-vehicle mode control means. The smaller the transmission ratio of the transmission is during driving in the EV mode, the smaller the value of the engine start torque, which is reserved for transitioning to the HEV mode, is made by the electric-vehicle mode control means.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A control device for a hybrid vehicle comprising:
an engine;
a motor disposed in a driveline between the engine and driving wheels;
mode switching means for selectively switching between a hybrid vehicle mode using the engine and the motor as a driving source, and an electric vehicle mode using the motor as the driving source;
a transmission disposed between the motor and the driving wheels; and
an electric vehicle mode control means configured such that:
during a travel in the electric vehicle mode when a transmission ratio is at or less than a predetermined value, an engine startup torque preserved for transition to the hybrid vehicle mode is set to a smaller torque than a required torque for engine startup;
the engine startup torque is set smaller as the transmission ratio decreases; and
a clutch engagement capacity of a clutch selectively engaged downstream of the motor is reduced by a difference between the required torque for engine startup and the set engine startup torque, thereby compensating the required torque for engine startup.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The control device for hybrid vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transmission is configured as a multi-step automatic transmission and the electric vehicle mode control means is configured to set the engine startup torque with the transmission being selected at an uppermost transmission step smaller than the engine startup torque with the transmission being selected at other than the uppermost transmission step.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The control device for hybrid vehicle as claimed in claim 2, wherein the transmission has an overdrive transmission step as an available transmission step, and the uppermost transmission step is configured to be the overdrive transmission step.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The control device for hybrid vehicle as claimed in claim 3, wherein the electric vehicle mode control means is further configured such that, during selecting the uppermost transmission step by the transmission, the engine startup torque will be set smaller as a rotational speed of the motor increases.

### Claim 5 (depends on 2)

The control device for hybrid vehicle as claimed in claim 2, wherein the electric vehicle mode control means is further configured to set—, when the transmission selecting the uppermost transmission step and a rotational speed of the motor exceeding a predetermined rotational speed, the engine startup torque to be a smaller value than the engine startup torque when the transmission selecting other than the uppermost transmission step.

### Claim 6 (depends on 4)

The control device for hybrid vehicle as claimed in claim 4, wherein the electric vehicle mode control means is further configured such that, during selecting the uppermost transmission step by the transmission, the engine startup torque will be set smaller as the rotational speed of the motor increases.

### Claim 7 (depends on 4)

The control device for hybrid vehicle as claimed in claim 4, wherein the electric vehicle mode control means is further configured to set—, when the transmission selecting the uppermost transmission step and the rotational speed of the motor exceeding a predetermined rotational speed, the engine startup torque to be a smaller value than the engine startup torque when the transmission selecting other than the uppermost transmission step.