Control method of hybrid vehicle

This application is a Continuation in Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/534,777, filed Jun. 27, 2012, which claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2011-0134871 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Dec. 14, 2011, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

(a) Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a control method for a hybrid vehicle that enables a continuous shift of a transmission by using an engine, a first motor-generator, and a second motor-generator.

(b) Description of the Related Art

Generally, an automatic transmission utilizes hydraulic pressure to shift gears in multiple steps to output the appropriate amount of torque from a rotation torque of an engine/motor based on various driving conditions. Some hybrid vehicles utilize two motor/generators (MG) and one engine that are connected through a planetary gear. In particular, the motor/generator is control in order to achieve a continuously variable shifting.

The engine, the first and second motor/generators, and two planetary gear sets are used to continuously vary the output speed of a transmission according to various driving conditions. Here, the speeds of each the first and second motor/generators are controlled.

The first motor/generator is speed-controlled according to the driving conditions of the engine and the second motor/generator is torque-controlled together with the engine to control the entire torque output. Meanwhile, while the first motor-generator is being used to control a driving point control of the engine, in a flexible hybrid system (FHS4) there is still no method for effectively setting a base motor torque.

The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

The present invention has been made in an effort to provide a control method for a hybrid vehicle having advantages of effectively setting a base motor torque when a first motor-generator in a flexible hybrid system (FHS4) is used to control an operating point of an engine.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a control method of a hybrid vehicle includes i.) a first planetary gear set having a first sun gear, a first planetary gear, a first ring gear, and a first carrier, ii.) a second planetary gear set having a second sun gear, a second planetary gear, a second ring gear, and a second carrier, iii.) an engine of which an output shaft thereof is connected to the first carrier, iv.) a first motor-generator that is configured to rotate the first ring gear, v.) a second motor-generator that is connected to the second sun gear to rotate the second sun gear and the first sun gear, vi.) a first brake configured to brake the first ring gear, vii.) a second brake configured to brake the second ring gear, viii.) a first clutch that selectively connects the first ring gear with the first carrier, and ix.) a second clutch that selectively connects the first carrier with the second ring gear.

In particular, in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the second clutch is engaged and torque is output through an output shaft, outputting torque through an output shaft that is connected to the second carrier via torque supplied from engine and the first and second motor-generators. Then the speed of the engine is controlled via the first motor-generator, and the torque of the output shaft is controlled via the second motor-generator.

The rotation speed of the first motor-generator is controlled such that the engine reaches a predetermined target speed.

The target speed of the engine may be calculated by Formula 2 below.

A torque of the output shaft may be calculated by Formula 3 below.

A target torque for a speed control of the first motor-generator may be calculated by Formulas 4, 5, and 6 below.

A target torque for a torque control of the second motor-generator may be calculated by a below formula 8.

As described above, in a control method for a hybrid vehicle according to the present invention, the second motor-generator is used to control an operating point of the engine such that a base motor torque is effectively set.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a hybrid vehicle gear shifting system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a graph showing a hybrid gear shifting system as a lever type according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a graph showing a vehicle speed, an engine rotation speed, and a wheel torque according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows formulas for controlling a hybrid vehicle gear shifting system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for controlling a first motor-generator for controlling a hybrid gear shifting system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for controlling a second motor-generator for controlling a hybrid gear shifting system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 shows formulas for controlling first and second motor-generators for controlling a hybrid gear shifting system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

E: engine

MG 1 : first motor-generator

MG 2 : second motor-generator

PG 1 : first planetary gear set

R 1 : first ring gear,

S 1 : first sun gear

P 1 : first planetary gear

C 1 : first carrier

PG 2 : second planetary gear set

R 2 : second ring gear,

S 2 : second sun gear

P 2 : second planetary gear

C 2 : second carrier

BK 1 : first brake

BK 2 : second brake

CL 1 : first clutch

CL 2 : second clutch

OS 1 : first output shaft

OS 2 : second output shaft

CU: Control Unit

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention will hereinafter be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

It is understood that the term “vehicle” or “vehicular” or other similar term as used herein is inclusive of motor vehicles in general such as passenger automobiles including sports utility vehicles (SUV), buses, trucks, various commercial vehicles, watercraft including a variety of boats and ships, aircraft, and the like, and includes hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, hydrogen-powered vehicles and other alternative fuel vehicles (e.g. fuels derived from resources other than petroleum). As referred to herein, a hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that has two or more sources of power, for example both gasoline-powered and electric-powered vehicles.

Furthermore, control logic executed by a control unit of the present invention may be embodied as non-transitory computer readable media on a computer readable medium containing executable program instructions executed by a processor, controller or the like. Examples of the computer readable mediums include, but are not limited to, ROM, RAM, compact disc (CD)-ROMs, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, flash drives, smart cards and optical data storage devices. The computer readable recording medium can also be distributed in network coupled computer systems so that the computer readable media is stored and executed in a distributed fashion, e.g., by a telematics server or a Controller Area Network (CAN). The processes executed below may be executed using a plurality of units or a single unit. Thus, the illustrative embodiment is not intended to be limited as such.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a hybrid vehicle gear shifting system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1 , a hybrid vehicle includes an engine 100 , a first planetary gear set PG 1 , a second planetary gear set PG 2 , a first motor-generator MG 1 , a first brake BK 1 , a first clutch CL 1 , a second clutch CL 2 , a second brake BK 2 , and a second motor-generator MG 2 .

The first planetary gear set PG 1 includes a first sun gear S 1 , a first planetary gear P 1 , a first ring gear R 1 , and a first carrier C 1 , and an output shaft of the engine 100 is configured to rotate the first sun gear S 1 . The output shaft of the first motor-generator MG 1 is configured to rotate the first ring gear R 1 , and the first brake BK 1 selectively brakes the output shaft of the first motor-generator MG 1 and the rotation of the first ring gear R 1 .

The first clutch CL 1 selectively connects the first ring gear R 1 with the first carrier C 1 , and the second clutch CL 2 selectively connects the first carrier C 1 with the second ring gear R 2 . The second brake BK 2 is configured to brake the second ring gear R 2 , and the second carrier C 2 is connected to the output shaft. The first sun gear S 1 is directly connected to the second sun gear S 2 , and the second motor-generator MG 2 is configured to rotate the second sun gear S 2 .

In a complex divergence condition of the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the second clutch CL 2 is operated such that the first carrier C 1 is directly connected to the second carrier C 2 , and the engine 100 , the first motor-generator MG 1 , and the second motor-generator MG 2 are operated so that a torque is outputted through the second carrier C 2 .

FIG. 2 is a lever graph showing a hybrid gear shifting system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2 , the first clutch CL 1 is operated so that rotation speed of the second ring gear R 2 is equal to that of the engine 100 , and the driving point control (e.g., speed control) of the engine 100 is performed by the first motor-generator MG 1 , while the second motor-generator MG 2 is controlled by a requested output torque.

FIG. 3 is a graph showing a vehicle speed, an engine rotation speed, and a wheel torque according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The horizontal axis denotes time and the vertical axis denotes torque or speed. A vehicle speed, an engine rotation speed (target, present) and a wheel torque (target, present) are shown as well. The wheel torque is proportional to the torque of the output shaft.

FIG. 4 shows formulas for controlling a hybrid vehicle gear shifting system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The speed of the engine 100 is calculated, by e.g. a control unit installed in the vehicle, by the formulas below.

In particular, R 1 corresponds to a gear ratio of a ring gear of a first planetary gear set 1 , R 2 corresponds to a gear ratio of a ring gear of a second planetary gear set 1 , ω out corresponds to an output velocity of the second carrier gear and ω ENG corresponds to an output velocity of the engine.

Further, the output shaft torque that is outputted by the system is calculated, by e.g. a control unit installed in the vehicle, by Formula 3 below.

In particular, T MG2 corresponds to a torque of the second motor minus an inertia torque of the second motor, and T MG1 corresponds to a torque of the first motor minus an inertia torque of the first motor.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for controlling a first motor-generator for controlling a hybrid gear shifting system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart for controlling a second motor-generator for controlling a hybrid gear shifting system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 , in a complex divergence mode of FHS4 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, when the engine 100 is speed-controlled by the first motor-generator MG 1 , a PI torque is generated through an error from a target speed, and a feed-forward torque that is related to a torque of the engine 100 and a torque of the second motor-generator MG 2 is further added thereto. Simultaneously, the torque of the second motor-generator MG 2 is generated to satisfy the demand torque of the driver.

FIG. 7 shows formulas for controlling first and second motor-generators for controlling a hybrid gear shifting system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

A demand torque of the first motor-generator MG 1 is calculated, by at least one control unit installed in the vehicle, by following Formulas 4, 5, 6, and 7.

In particular, τ FIF / MG1 corresponds to a feed forward torque of the first motor generator, τ FIB/MG1 corresponds to feedback torque of the first motor generator, K EVT2 /FIF/ENG corresponds to a torque gain in a EVT 2 mode for an engine, K EVT2 /FIF/ENG corresponds to a torque gain in a EVT 2 mode for the second motor generator, τ MG2 corresponds to an output torque of the first motor generator, τ ENG corresponds to an output torque of the engine, f EVT2 corresponds to a function of the EVT 2 mode ω Target MG1 corresponds to a target velocity of the first motor generator and ω MG1 corresponds to an actual velocity of the first motor generator.

The demand torque of the second motor-generator MG 2 is calculated, likewise, by the following Formula 8.

In particular, τ Demand out corresponds to a demand torque requested to be out and τ MG1 corresponds to a torque of the first motor generator.

While this invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.