Patent Application
20170001634
The present invention relates to a drive system for a vehicle, and is particularly, but not exclusively, focused on such a drive system in motor vehicles in the form of wheeled commercial vehicles, especially heavy goods vehicles such as trucks and buses. The invention thus relates to a drive system for driving a hybrid vehicle which, generally, is a vehicle that may be powered by a primary engine, in this case a combustion engine, and a secondary engine, in this case an electrical machine. The vehicle is suitably equipped with means for storage of energy, such as a battery or a capacitor for storage of electric energy, and control equipment to control the flow of electric energy between the means and the electrical machine. The electrical machine may thus alternately operate as an engine or as a generator, depending on the vehicle's operating mode. When the vehicle decelerates, the electrical machine generates energy that may be stored, and the stored electric energy is used later for e.g. operation of the vehicle.
Using a conventional clutch mechanism, which disconnects the input shaft of the gearbox from the combustion engine during a shifting process in the gearbox, entails disadvantages, such as heating of the clutch mechanism's discs, which results in an increased fuel consumption and wear of the clutch discs. There are also large losses as a result, in particular when the vehicle is started. A conventional clutch mechanism is also relatively heavy and costly. It also occupies a relatively large space in the vehicle. Friction losses also arise at the use of a hydraulic converter/torque converter commonly used in automatic transmission. By ensuring that the vehicle has a drive system in which the output shaft of the combustion engine, the rotor of the electrical machine and the input shaft of the gearbox are connected with a planetary gear, the conventional clutch mechanism and disadvantages associated therewith may be avoided. A vehicle with a drive system of this type constitutes prior art, as set out in EP 1 319 546 and SE 1051384-4.
Although this drive system, especially the one described in SE 1051384-4, functions well and has a range of advantageous features, efforts are constantly made to improve such a drive system with respect to its behavior and function in certain operating situations.
The objective of the present invention is to show a drive system of the type defined above, which is in line with the above-mentioned efforts. This objective is achieved according to the invention by providing a drive system.
By equipping the drive system with a second electrical machine and said second locking means, an improved behavior is obtained in a range of operational situations compared to such prior art drive systems. Specifically, when braking the vehicle it becomes possible to have the first locking means in a release position, without being limited by the reaction torque with which the combustion engine may resist. It also becomes possible to start the combustion engine when the torque is transmitted through the powertrain, i.e. out of the gearbox. When the vehicle is at a standstill it also becomes possible to drive while maintaining a power balance, i.e. while supplying an energy storage means, such as a battery, and other electrical loads of the vehicle with a controlled current/power while a desired torque is maintained in the powertrain. Under most circumstances this is not achievable in prior art drive systems of this type.
“Electric energy storage”/“storage of electric energy”/“energy storage”, as used in this document, means an energy storage means with an electrical interface in relation to the first and second electrical machine of the drive system, but storage of energy does not have to be electrical. This entails that in addition to an electrical battery and capacitor, e.g. flywheels, other mechanical means and means for building up pressure, e.g. pneumatic or hydraulic, may be possible.
According to one embodiment of the invention, the output shaft of the combustion engine, the first electrical machine's rotor, the second electrical machine's rotor and the input shaft of the gearbox are rotatably arranged around a common rotation axis.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the planetary gear's sun wheel constitutes said first component and the ring gear constitutes said third component. By connecting the first electrical machine's rotor with the ring gear and the combustion engine's output shaft with the sun wheel, a compact construction is achieved, which is easy to fit into already existing spaces for powertrains (drive systems) with clutch mechanisms instead of planetary gears. A hybrid gearbox may thus be made compact and substantially no bulkier than a standard gearbox. This entails that the weight increase, which a hybridization normally involves, may be reduced considerably. Another advantage is that a connection of the first electrical machine's rotor with the ring gear provides a higher potential braking torque via the rotor, than if this were connected with the sun wheel instead.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the drive system comprises at least one control device adapted to control the fuel supply to the combustion engine, and to control exchange of electric energy between the first and second electrical machine, on the one hand, and electric energy storage means on the other hand. The control device is advantageously also adapted to control said locking means to be moved between said locked position and release position, and, in order to lock them together, to control the combustion engine and/or the first electrical machine and/or the second electrical machine to achieve the same rotational speed in the parts to be locked together by the respective locking means and, subsequently, to move the locking means to a locked position, and, in order to release them, to control the combustion engine and/or the first electrical machine and/or the second electrical machine to achieve a torque balance between the parts to be released from each other and, subsequently, for the locking means to be moved to a release position. For the second locking means, zero rotational speed is required to lock said parts together, and substantially zero torque is required to move to a release position.
Here, torque balance is achieved when the following relation between the torques applied is met for the example configuration displayed in
where
Tsun wheel and Tring gear is torque applied to the sun wheel and the ring gear, and here Tsun wheel=Tice+Tem2 and Tring gear=Tem1 with
Tice being torque applied on the combustion engine's output shaft
Tem2 is torque applied via the second electrical machine's stator to its rotor
Tem1 is torque applied via the first electrical machine's stator to its rotor,
Zs is the number of teeth of the sun wheel,
Zr is the number of teeth of the ring gear.
Accordingly, torque balance means the state where a torque acts on a ring gear arranged in the planetary gear, corresponding to the product of the torque acting on the planetary gear's planetary wheel carrier and the planetary gear's gear ratio, while simultaneously a torque acts on the planetary gear's sun wheel, corresponding to the product of the torque acting on the planetary wheel carrier and (1 minus the planetary gear's gear ratio). At such torque balance, said first locking means 34 does not transfer any torque between the components of the planetary gear.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the control device is adapted to control, when the vehicle is driven with the combustion engine shut off, the second locking means in a locked position, and the first locking means in a release position for start of the combustion engine,
Since the combustion engine may be started in this way without the gear being disengaged from the gearbox, such a start may take place while maintaining forward momentum. The second locking means may be moved to the release position with a full powertrain torque from the first electrical machine.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the control device is adapted to control, when the vehicle is driven with the combustion engine on, the first locking means in a locked position, and the second locking means in a release position for turning off the combustion engine, and transition to powering the vehicle with the electrical machines,
Accordingly, controlled stopping of the combustion engine is achieved, at which its engine speed may be controlled in such a manner that vibrations are avoided. Such a stop may be carried out without the torque in the powertrain, i.e. the torque transmitted to the input shaft of the gearbox and further downstream of the gearbox, disappearing. After the combustion engine has stopped and the second locking means has moved to a locked position, the second electrical machine may not, however, be used.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the control device is adapted to control, when the vehicle is at a standstill with the combustion engine running at idling speed, the first locking means in a release position, and the second locking means in a release position for driving of the vehicle with power balance,
As long as none of the combustion engine, the first electrical machine and the second electrical machine achieve their performance limits, both the desired torque and the desired electrical power may be achieved at such start of driving. If the torque available in the combustion engine is insufficient, the engine speed may be increased or the output target may be abandoned. If the second electrical machine reaches its limit, the output target must be abandoned. Abandoning the output target entails that the electrical energy storage means must deliver a current to the first electrical machine and to electrical loads. This is usually possible, although not desirable. Initially, the rotor rotates backwards in the first electrical machine during the start, and generates output when a positive torque must be achieved. In some cases it may be difficult for a battery to receive the output generated, e.g. at low temperatures of the battery, but in such case this output may be consumed by the second electrical machine, by way of it delivering a torque that helps the combustion engine's output shaft to rotate.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the control device is adapted to control, when the vehicle is driven with the combustion engine running, and the first and second locking means in a release position when braking the vehicle towards stop,
With two electrical machines, the desired braking torque may usually be achieved without any requirement to shift gears while braking. Since gear shifting is avoided, no braking energy is lost due to torque from an electrical machine being ramped down to prepare for a gear shift. The first locking means may be moved to the release position and kept in this position while simultaneously the desired braking torque may be maintained. Accordingly, the fraction of braking energy that may be regenerated with a hybrid system is greatly increased.
The invention also relates to a vehicle and methods with the method steps that the control device is adapted to carry out in the above-mentioned embodiments of the drive system according to the invention.
Other advantageous features and advantages of the invention are set out in the description below.
Below are descriptions of an example embodiment of the invention with reference to the enclosed drawings, in which:
The planetary gear is arranged substantially radially on the inside in relation to the electrical machine's stator 9a and rotor 9b. The planetary gear comprises, in a customary manner, a sun wheel 10, a ring gear 11 and a planetary wheel carrier 12. The planetary wheel carrier 12 supports a number of cogwheels 13, which are rotatably arranged in a radial space between the teeth of the sun wheel 10 and the ring gear 11. The sun wheel 10 is fixed on a peripheral surface of the combustion engine's output shaft 2a. The sun wheel 10 and the combustion engine's output shaft 2a rotate as one unit with a first rotational speed n1. The planetary wheel carrier 12 comprises an attachment section 12a, which is attached on a peripheral surface of the input shaft 3a of the gearbox with the help of a splines joint 14. With the help of this joint, the planetary wheel carrier 12 and the input shaft 3a of the gearbox may rotate as one unit with a second rotational speed n2. The ring gear 11 comprises an external peripheral surface on which the rotor 9b is fixedly mounted. The rotor 9b and the ring gear 11 constitute a rotatable unit that rotates with a third rotational speed n3.
The drive system comprises a first locking means, since the combustion engine's output shaft 2a is equipped with a shiftable clutch element 15. The clutch element 15 is mounted on the combustion engine's output shaft 2a with the help of a splines joint 16. The clutch element 15 is in this case arranged in a twist-fast manner on the combustion engine's output shaft 2a, and is shiftably arranged in an axial direction on the combustion engine's output shaft 2a. The clutch element 15 comprises a clutch section 15a, which is connectable with a clutch section 12b in the planetary wheel carrier 12. A schematically displayed shifting element 17 is adapted to shift the clutch element 15 between a first position where the clutch sections 15a, 12b are not in engagement with each other, corresponding to a release position in the first locking means, and a second position where the clutch sections 15a, 12b are in engagement with each other, corresponding to a locked position of the first locking means. In this locked position the combustion engine's output shaft 2a and the input shaft 3a of the gearbox will be locked together, and these, as well as the electrical machine's rotor, will thus rotate at the same rotational speed. This state may be referred to as a locked planet. The locking mechanism may, advantageously, also have the design which is described in the not yet public Swedish patent application 1250696-0, and comprise a sleeve equipped with first splines, which splines, in the release position, engage with second splines on a first component of the planetary gear and, in the locked position, engage with third splines on a second component of the planetary gear. In this case, the first component is preferably the planetary wheel carrier, and the second component is the sun wheel. The locking mechanism may then be adapted like an annular sleeve, enclosing the planetary wheel carrier substantially concentrically. The locking means may also consist of a suitable type of friction clutch.
An electric control device 18 is adapted to control the shifting element 17. The control device 18 is also adapted to determine the occasions on which the electrical machine should operate as an engine, and on which occasions it should operate as a generator. To determine this, the control device 18 may receive up-to-date information relating to suitable operating parameters. The control device 18 may be a computer with software for this purpose. The control device 18 controls a schematically displayed control equipment 19, which controls the flow of electric energy between a hybrid battery 20 and the stator windings 9a of the electrical machine. On occasions where the electrical machine 9 operates as an engine, stored electric energy is supplied from the hybrid battery 20 to the stator 9a. On occasions where the electrical machine operates as a generator, electric energy is supplied from the stator 9a to the hybrid battery 20. The hybrid battery 20 delivers and stores electric energy with a voltage in the range of 300-900 volts. Since the intermediate section 6 between the combustion engine 2 and the gearbox 3 in the vehicle is limited, the electrical machine 9 and the planetary gear must constitute a compact unit. The planetary gear's components 10, 11, 12 are arranged substantially radially inside the electrical machine's stator 9a. The rotor 9b of the electrical machine, the ring gear 11 of the planetary gear, the combustion engine's output shaft 2a, and the input shaft 3a of the gearbox, are here rotatably arranged around a common rotation axis 5. With such an embodiment, the electrical machine 9 and the planetary gear occupy a relatively small area. The vehicle 1 is equipped with an engine control function 21 with which the engine speed n1 of the combustion engine 2 may be controlled. The control device 18 thus has the possibility of activating the engine control function 21 and of creating a substantially zero torque state in the gearbox 3 at engagement and disengagement of gears in the gearbox 3. The drive system may also, instead of being controlled by one single control device 18, be controlled by several different control devices.
The part of the drive system according to the invention described thus far and displayed in
The drive system, specifically the intermediate section 6, according to the present invention also has a second electrical machine 30 with a stator 31, with stator windings and a rotor 32 connected with the output shaft 2a of the combustion engine. A second locking means 33, which may have a similar design as the first locking means 34, which is illustrated in further detail in
A range of positive features of the drive system are achieved by way of the added arrangement of the second electrical machine 30 and the second locking means 33, some of the most important of which have been described in the introduction of this document. For example, the combustion engine 2 may be started when the vehicle is operated via electric driving, without any torque in the powertrain disappearing, i.e. without any torque interruption, since this torque is achieved with the first electrical machine 9, while simultaneously zero torque is created between the parts locked together by the second locking means 33, since the second electrical machine 30 is controlled towards and to the reaction torque of the sun wheel. Likewise, at the operation of the vehicle with the combustion engine running, this may be shut off and stopped without any torque in the powertrain disappearing. The possibilities of achieving power balance are also improved considerably, thanks to the addition of the second electrical machine and the second locking means, wherein at such power balance the sum of the desired current to/from the electrical storage means and electrical loads may be both negative and positive. The term power balance relates to the fact that it is possible, within the general limitations specified for the drive system, to freely choose the charge current or discharge power from the energy storage means/hybrid battery in all operating modes.
It is especially advantageous that it is possible to start driving the vehicle equipped with the drive system, even though the batteries of the vehicle, which constitute its electrical energy storage means, are very cold and may not receive any current. At the start of the vehicle, the first electrical machine 9 rotates backwards and thus generates output when a positive torque must be achieved. The output generated may in such case not be received by the battery, but it may be consumed by the second electrical machine 30, since the latter applies a torque on the output shaft of the combustion engine and helps to rotate such output shaft.
The advantages described above are achieved also at braking of a vehicle, which initially drives at e.g. a speed of approximately 50 km/h with the combustion engine running, since the drive system according to the invention has two electrical machines. Accordingly, usually torque balance may be reached in the planetary gear, without any reduction of the total braking torque being required. The same total braking torque may then be maintained when the first locking means is moved to the release position, i.e. the planetary gear is unlocked, and the combustion engine is controlled to its idling engine speed.
Therefore, it is often advantageous to brake in one and the same gear all the way until the vehicle stops, which is facilitated in the drive system according to the invention.
The invention is obviously not limited in any way to the embodiments described above, but numerous possible modifications thereof should be obvious to a person skilled in the area, without such person departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
The first locking means may be adapted to lock together any two of said three components.
A transmission could be arranged between the rotor and the ring gear, and also between the combustion engine's output shaft and the sun wheel, such as upstream of the shaft which is displayed in
It is also conceivable that the drive system has the ring gear as the first component and the sun wheel as the third component, even if the reverse would be preferable because of the advantages mentioned above.
The drive system according to the present application may at least in some situations also be advantageously used without any energy storage means/hybrid battery comprised. In applicable situations, energy is then instead exchanged, only between the first electrical machine and the second electrical machine. One example of an application of this method is the replacement of the function of a traditional coupling device (typically, a friction coupling) or a hydraulic torque converter where such is normally exposed to high heat development and/or wear. Advantageously, a traditional friction coupling in a heavy tractor may, according to the present application, e.g. be replaced with a drive system that does not comprise any energy storage means/hybrid battery. Another example of an application where the drive system according to the present application may be used without comprising any energy storage means/hybrid battery is at the implementation of shifting, when the drive system may be used to control/adjust/regulate the torque and/or engine speed of the input shaft of the gearbox and/or of the output shaft/flywheel of the combustion engine to carry out shifting in an advantageous manner. Energy is therefore exchanged only between the first electrical machine and the second electrical machine.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1351575-4 | Dec 2013 | SE | national |
This application is a national stage application (filed under 35 §U.S.C. 371) of PCT/SE2014/051559, filed Dec. 22, 2014 of the same title, which, in turn claims priority to Swedish Application No. 1351575-4, filed Dec. 23, 2013 of the same title; the contents of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/SE2014/051559 | 12/22/2014 | WO | 00 |
