1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to hybrid electric vehicles having a traction motor, an internal combustion engine and a traction battery that can be charged using an external electrical grid.
2. State of the Art Discussion
A known hybrid electric vehicle powertrain may have an internal combustion engine, an engine-driven generator and an electric motor wherein the energy source for the engine is a hydrocarbon-based fuel and the energy source for the electric motor is a high voltage battery and generator sub-system. The battery may be charged by the engine using fuel stored in the vehicle or from an external electric grid. In the case of a hybrid electric vehicle in which the battery is charged from an external electrical grid, an all-electric vehicle drive range is possible while the engine is off, thereby avoiding production of undesirable engine exhaust gas emissions. This feature is of particular importance for vehicles operating in an urban environment. Such vehicles, which sometimes are referred to as “plug-in” hybrid electric vehicles, are capable also of achieving improved overall fuel economy compared to the fuel economy of comparable non-hybrid vehicles.
If the range of a given vehicle driving event is limited, such vehicles can be operated with the engine off altogether. The battery, which may be depleted a moderate amount to a state-of-charge state less than a calibrated maximum charge but greater than a minimum state-of-charge, can be recharged using the electrical grid during driving off-time.
There are three general classifications for hybrid electric vehicle powertrains; i.e., series hybrid electric powertrains, parallel hybrid electric powertrains and series-parallel hybrid electric powertrains, the latter including so-called power-split hybrid electric powertrain systems. In the case of a series hybrid electric vehicle powertrain, an internal combustion engine drives a generator, which converts mechanical engine power to electrical power. A portion of the electrical power is used to drive an electric motor, which converts electrical power back to mechanical power to drive vehicle traction wheels. The power not needed by the motor is used to charge a battery.
In the case of series-parallel and parallel gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles, mechanical engine power can be delivered to the traction wheels, and electric power can be delivered from a battery to a motor, which converts the electric power to mechanical power to drive the traction wheels. Power flow from the engine to the generator will occur when the battery is being charged. Transmission gearing forms parallel power flow paths to vehicle traction wheels.
A common misconception about series-parallel and parallel hybrid electric vehicle powertrains is that vehicle propulsion using only electric power improves overall fuel economy because the vehicle uses no hydrocarbon fuel when the engine is off. However, this is not the case because losses incurred by the electric motor and the battery during discharging and subsequent battery charging will degrade overall engine fuel economy as electric power is converted to mechanical power and mechanical power is converted to electric power. Therefore, in known parallel and series-parallel hybrid electric vehicle powertrains that use a hydrocarbon-based engine and an electric motor powered by a battery, the guiding design principle for energy management software strategy is to provide as much propulsion as possible with an internal combustion engine, while selectively using the electrical system to increase average overall operating efficiency of the engine. An example of selective engine use includes engine-off electric driving during low driver demand situations, or slight battery discharging or charging to adjust engine power to achieve maximum engine thermal efficiency.
A parallel or series-parallel hybrid electric vehicle powertrain that relies upon an external powertrain grid for charging the traction battery (i.e., a plug-in vehicle) can achieve the best fuel economy using electric-only propulsion because there is an external energy source available rather than gasoline stored in the vehicle. A new energy management software strategy, therefore, is required to realize the fuel economy improvements that can be gained using a plug-in series-parallel or parallel hybrid electric vehicle powertrain.
An embodiment of the invention comprises a so-called “charge depletion” energy management strategy to maximize the use of the electrical energy stored in the battery without compromising engine efficiency. The engine will be turned off by default using the strategy of the invention so that the engine is used only in certain operating conditions. For example, the engine is prevented from starting when vehicle operation begins with a so-called “silent start” feature using electric power only. If pre-determined operating conditions do not exist (e.g., high vehicle acceleration), the engine may be kept off throughout the entire driving cycle as the vehicle operates in an electric mode only.
If the battery alone cannot provide sufficient energy to meet a driver demand for power, the engine can be turned on. For example, if the battery discharge power limit is exceeded, or if the battery operating temperature is too high, the engine can be started to supplement battery power to meet driver demand.
If the driver demand would require a motor speed that would exceed predetermined limits of motor driven components, the engine may be turned on to protect the powertrain components connected to the engine, as well as the motor and motor driven components. If the engine is required to operate together with the motor, the strategy of the invention will establish a minimum engine power that will achieve reasonable engine efficiency.
The engine will not be allowed by the strategy to operate at a power less than a predetermined minimum lest the engine efficiency would be significantly degraded. The thermal efficiency of the engine can be allowed to decrease to a pre-determined minimum, however, as the engine is operating at a power value at least as high as the calibrated minimum engine power value, although overall fuel economy may be somewhat degraded, in order to meet a driver demand for power.
a is a schematic view of hardware for a power-split hybrid electric vehicle powertrain of the type generally indicated in the block diagram of
The powertrain configuration of
In
The generator and motor are under the control of a transmission (transaxle) control module 28. The generator is drivably connected to the motor, as shown at 30, and a power output element of the planetary gearset drives the generator through a mechanical connection shown at 32. Power transfer gearing 34 drivably connects the planetary gearset power output element and the motor to a differential-and-axle assembly 36 for driving traction wheels 38.
The planetary gearset 22 of the transmission 20 is more particularly illustrated in the schematic drawing of
A battery and battery controller 54 is electrically coupled to generator 24 and motor 26. When the state-of-charge of the battery at 54 nears depletion, it can be charged using external grid charge power as shown at 56.
Both the engine and the electric motor deliver power to the traction wheels. Reference may be made to U.S. Pat. No. 6,994,360 for a description of a power delivery path from the two power sources to the wheels. This patent is assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
Both the engine and the electric motor deliver power to the driveline in the power split hybrid system of
The vehicle system controller does not issue battery power commands to the battery subsystem. Rather, a target battery power is achieved by creating a difference between the driver demanded power and the engine power available. If the driver demanded power is larger than the power available at the engine, the battery will be discharged. If the driver demanded power is less than the available engine power, the battery will be charged. The charge depletion energy management strategy of the invention uses the powertrain elements to charge and discharge the battery.
The energy management strategy of the invention will maximize the use of the electrical energy in the battery without compromising engine efficiency. This is accomplished by turning the engine off by default so that the engine can be commanded to turn on only if certain operating conditions exist. If those conditions do not exist, the engine will be kept off.
The first time the engine is turned on for any reason in a given drive cycle (e.g., to charge the battery), a cold start warm-up routine is executed to condition the engine for the best exhaust gas emission quality. If the criteria to turn the engine on are not met during a drive cycle, as described subsequently, the vehicle may operate in an electric mode only.
If the battery alone cannot provide the power required to meet a driver demand for power, the engine is turned on. If the driver demand exceeds a threshold, which is defined in part by a high voltage battery discharge power limit, by battery state-of-charge and by battery temperature, then the engine is started to meet the driver's demand. If any of these parameters falls below a defined threshold, including a hysteris value to prevent rapid cycling from one state (on or off) to the other, then the engine is turned off. These thresholds can be constant or they can be determined in real-time, based on any available software variable, by the charge depletion energy management strategy of the invention.
If the strategy requires a reduction in power to a value Pmin, a relatively minor decrease in thermal efficiency occurs, as shown by points 62 and 64 in
If the engine must be turned on regardless of driver demand,
When driver demanded power Pdriver exceeds the sum of Pmin and Pbatt, as shown at 70 in
The plot of
When the engine state (i.e., engine on or engine off) is not constrained by hardware thresholds, the relationship between Pdriver and Pengine is somewhat different than the relationship illustrated in
The charge depletion strategy of the invention is illustrated in the software flowchart of
If hardware constraints require the engine to be on, the engine is turned on, as shown at 82. It then is determined whether the engine is being turned on for the first time in a drive cycle, as shown at 86. If the engine is being turned for the first time, an engine cold start warm-up strategy is carried out, as shown at action block 88. This ensures that exhaust gas emission quality standards are met. If they are met, as indicated by the decision block 90, the routine may proceed, as shown at 92, and an engine power operating point is selected. If the cold start warm-up strategy has not ended, the engine will be kept on until the cold start mode has ended.
The engine power operating point that is selected at 92 will be a value corresponding to a thermal efficiency between the maximum thermal efficiency point 62 corresponding to engine power 60, and the reduced thermal efficiency point 64 corresponding to Pmin. When the powertrain reaches a condition that will permit the engine to be turned off, a decision is made at 94 to turn the engine off, as shown at 96. Otherwise, the routine will return to action block 92.
Although an embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, it will be apparent to persons skilled in the art that modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. All such modifications and equivalents thereof are intended to be covered by the following claims.
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