Transmission for electric vehicle and control method thereof

The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2019-0119298, filed Sep. 27, 2019, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein for all purposes by this reference.

The present invention relates to a transmission which may be mounted in an electric vehicle, and a control method thereof.

An electric vehicle, which is a vehicle in which power of an electric motor is provided as a driving force, emits no exhaust gas and thus may contribute to a reduction of environmental pollution in a major city.

A variety of technologies need to be improved to achieve popularization of the electric vehicle, and particularly, a technology capable of dramatically increasing a driving distance per charge has been required.

To increase the driving distance, a maximum hill-climbing ability and maximum speed performance required by the vehicle need to be achieved while improving energy efficiency (driving distance per unit power, km/kWh) by reducing a size and a capacity of the motor mounted in the electric vehicle. In this regard, a transmission is mounted in the electric vehicle.

It is required that the transmission mounted in the electric vehicle for such a reason has a simple configuration, no shift shock occurs, and heat generation is small.

The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and may not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.

Various aspects of the present invention are directed to providing a transmission for an electric vehicle configured for providing a plurality of gear ratios to reduce a capacity of a motor, achieving a maximum hill-climbing ability and maximum speed performance required by the vehicle, improving energy efficiency of the vehicle with a relatively simple configuration and a small weight, preventing shift shock, significantly reducing heat generation, and implementing a torque vectoring function to improve high-speed curve driving performance of the vehicle, and a control method thereof.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a transmission for an electric vehicle includes: a first planetary gear set; a first motor configured to input power to a first rotation element of the first planetary gear set; a differential configured to receive power output from a second rotation element of the first planetary gear set; a second motor configured to selectively provide power to a third rotation element of the first planetary gear set; a second planetary gear set including a first rotation element which is connected to a differential case of the differential, and a second rotation element which is configured to selectively receive power from the second motor; and a third planetary gear set including a third rotation element which is connected to a third rotation element of the second planetary gear set, a second rotation element which is fixed, and a first rotation element which is connected to a selected output shaft, the selected output shaft being any one of output shafts of the differential.

A first clutch configured to selectively connect the third rotation element of the first planetary gear set to a transmission housing, and a second clutch configured to directly connect two of the three rotation elements of the first planetary gear set to each other may be connected to the first planetary gear set.

The first planetary gear set may be constituted by a first sun gear as an input element directly connected to the first motor, a first planet carrier as an output element directly connected to the differential case, and a first ring gear connected to the first clutch, and the second clutch may couple the first sun gear and the first ring gear to each other.

The second motor may be connected to the first ring gear of the first planetary gear set through a third clutch.

The second rotation element of the second planetary gear set may be connected to the second motor through a fourth clutch.

A ratio of the number of teeth of a second sun gear of the second planetary gear set and the number of teeth of a second ring gear of the second planetary gear set, and a ratio of the number of teeth of a third sun gear of the third planetary gear set and the number of teeth of a third ring gear of the third planetary gear set may be the same as each other.

According to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, a transmission for an electric vehicle includes: a first planetary gear set; a first motor configured to input power to a first rotation element of the first planetary gear set; a differential configured to receive power output from a second rotation element of the first planetary gear set; a second motor configured to selectively provide power to a third rotation element of the first planetary gear set; and a compound planetary gear set mounted between a differential case of the differential and a selected output shaft to distribute power provided from the second motor to the differential case and the selected output shaft, and make directions of torques distributed to the differential case and the selected output shaft be opposite to each other, the selected output shaft being any one of output shafts of the differential.

The compound planetary gear set may include: a second planetary gear set including a first rotation element which is connected to the differential case of the differential, and a second rotation element which is configured to be coupled to the second motor; and a third planetary gear set including a third rotation element which is connected to a third rotation element of the second planetary gear set, a second rotation element which is fixed, and a first rotation element which is connected to the selected output shaft.

According to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, a transmission for an electric vehicle includes two or more motors, two or more clutches, and one or more planetary gear sets, and has two or more gears, wherein a first motor is connected to a first rotation element of a first planetary gear set, a third rotation element of the first planetary gear set is selectively connectable to a transmission housing by a first clutch, a second rotation element of the first planetary gear set is connected to an output shaft, a second motor is connected to the third rotation element of the first planetary gear set, a second clutch connecting any two elements of the first planetary gear set is provided, and transmission control through the second motor is allowed.

The second motor may be continuously connected to the third rotation element of the first planetary gear set through a decelerator.

According to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, a control method of the transmission for an electric vehicle includes; releasing, by a controller, the first clutch after controlling the second motor to provide, to the third rotation element of the first planetary gear set, the same torque as a torque by which the first clutch supports the third rotation element of the first planetary gear set, in a low gear driving state in which the first clutch is engaged and the first motor is driven; maintaining, by the controller, a torque of the first motor and a torque of the second motor constant while reducing a speed of the first motor and increasing a speed of the second motor to synchronize speeds of the three rotation elements of the first planetary gear set with one another; and releasing, by the controller, the torque of the second motor while maintaining the speed of the first motor after engaging the second clutch to form a high gear driving state.

The controller may engage the third clutch before the torque is provided from the second motor to the third rotation element of the first planetary gear set, and release the third clutch after engaging the second clutch.

After engaging the fourth clutch, the controller may be configured to control the second motor to apply torques in opposite directions to the differential case and the selected output shaft, to perform torque vectoring.

The control method may further include: releasing, by the controller, the second clutch after increasing the torque of the second motor to a first clutch torque while maintaining the speed of the first motor, in the high gear driving state in which the second clutch is engaged and the first motor is driven; maintaining, by the controller, the torque of the first motor and the torque of the second motor constant while reducing the speed of the second motor to 0 and increasing the speed of the first motor; and releasing, by the controller, the torque of the second motor after engaging the first clutch to form the low gear driving state.

The controller may engage the third clutch before releasing the second clutch and increasing the torque of the second motor, and release the third clutch after releasing the torque of the second motor.

After engaging the fourth clutch, the controller may be configured to control the second motor to apply torques in opposite directions to the differential case and the selected output shaft, to perform torque vectoring.

According to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, a control method of the transmission for an electric vehicle includes: releasing, by a controller, the first clutch after controlling the second motor to provide, to the third rotation element of the first planetary gear set, the same torque as a torque by which the first clutch supports the third rotation element of the first planetary gear set, in a low gear driving state in which the first clutch is engaged and the first motor is driven; maintaining, by the controller, a torque of the first motor and a torque of the second motor constant while reducing a speed of the first motor and increasing a speed of the second motor to synchronize speeds of the three rotation elements of the first planetary gear set with one another; and releasing, by the controller, the torque of the second motor while maintaining the speed of the first motor after engaging the second clutch to form a high gear driving state.

The control method may further include: releasing, by the controller, the second clutch after increasing the torque of the second motor to a first clutch torque while maintaining the speed of the first motor, in the high gear driving state in which the second clutch is engaged and the first motor is driven; maintaining, by the controller, the torque of the first motor and the torque of the second motor constant while reducing the speed of the second motor to 0 and increasing the speed of the first motor; and releasing, by the controller, the torque of the second motor after engaging the first clutch to form the low gear driving state.

The methods and apparatuses of the present invention have other features and advantages which will be apparent from or are set forth in more detail in the accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein, and the following Detailed Description, which together serve to explain certain principles of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a transmission for an electric vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a table for describing operation modes of the transmission of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a control method by which the transmission of FIG. 1 is shifted from low to high gear;

FIG. 4 is a motor characteristic graph illustrating a process in which the transmission of FIG. 1 is shifted from low to high gear;

FIG. 5 is a table showing a process in which torques of motors and clutches are changed in the shifting process of FIG. 3 ;

FIG. 6 is a graph for describing a process in which the transmission of FIG. 1 is shifted from low to high gear;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a control method by which the transmission of FIG. 1 is shifted from high to low gear;

FIG. 8 is a motor characteristic graph illustrating a process in which the transmission of FIG. 1 is shifted from high to low gear;

FIG. 9 is a table showing a process in which torques of motors and clutches are changed in the shifting process of FIG. 7 ;

FIG. 10 is a table showing a rotation speed of each portion in a state in which a fourth clutch is engaged and a second motor is stopped in the transmission of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 11 is a table showing a rotation speed of each portion in a state where the fourth clutch is engaged and the second motor is driven at a speed of 100 RPM in the transmission of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 12 is a diagram for describing a torque vectoring function by comparing the state of FIG. 10 and the state of FIG. 11 with each other by use of lever diagrams of a second planetary gear set and a third planetary gear set;

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a transmission for an electric vehicle according to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of the transmission of FIG. 13 with a decelerator added according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 15 is a graph for describing a process in which a general transmission for an electric vehicle according to the related art is shifted from low to high gear, which is provided for comparison with the graph of FIG. 6 .

It may be understood that the appended drawings are not necessarily to scale, presenting a somewhat simplified representation of various features illustrative of the basic principles of the present invention. The specific design features of the present invention as included herein, including, for example, specific dimensions, orientations, locations, and shapes will be determined in part by the particularly intended application and use environment.

In the figures, reference numbers refer to the same or equivalent portions of the present invention throughout the several figures of the drawing.

Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of the present invention(s), examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described below. While the present invention(s) will be described in conjunction with exemplary embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood that the present description is not intended to limit the present invention(s) to those exemplary embodiments. On the other hand, the present invention(s) is/are intended to cover not only the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, but also various alternatives, modifications, equivalents and other embodiments, which may be included within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

Hereinafter, a folding personal mobility vehicle according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention is described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1 , a transmission for an electric vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes: a first planetary gear set PG 1 ; a first motor MG 1 inputting power to a first rotation element of the first planetary gear set PG 1 ; a differential DF receiving power output from a second rotation element of the first planetary gear set PG 1 ; a second motor MG 2 providing power to a third rotation element of the first planetary gear set PG 1 ; and a compound planetary gear set CG mounted between a differential case of the differential DF and a selected output shaft which is any one of output shafts of the differential DF to distribute power provided from the second motor MG 2 to the differential case and the selected output shaft, and make directions of torques distributed to the differential case and the selected output shaft be opposite to each other.

That is, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, an output speed of the power input from the first motor MG 1 is changed by the first planetary gear set PG 1 and then the power may be output through the differential DF, the second motor MG 2 applies an appropriate torque to the third rotation element of the first planetary gear set PG 1 to enable smooth shifting without shift shock, and the power provided from the second motor MG 2 is distributed through the compound planetary gear set CG to implement a torque vectoring function.

Note that a right output shaft OR and a left output shaft OL are separately provided as the output shafts of the differential DF, and among these, an output shaft selected to receive the power provided from the second motor MG 2 is referred to as the “selected output shaft”. Although the case where the right output shaft OR is the selected output shaft is illustrated in FIG. 1 . According to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, it is a matter of course that the left output shaft OL may also become the selected output shaft.

A first clutch CL 1 which may fix the third rotation element to a transmission housing, and a second clutch CL 2 which may directly connect two of the three rotation elements to each other are connected to the first planetary gear set PG 1 .

That is, the first planetary gear set PG 1 includes a first sun gear S 1 as an input element directly connected to the first motor MG 1 , a first planet carrier C 1 as an output element directly connected to the differential DF, and a first ring gear R 1 connected to the first clutch CL 1 , and the second clutch CL 2 may couple the first sun gear S 1 and the first ring gear R 1 to each other.

In the first planetary gear set PG 1 , once the first sun gear S 1 is driven by the first motor MG 1 in a state in which the first clutch CL 1 is engaged to fix the first ring gear R 1 , switching between a state in which an output speed of the power is reduced by the first planet carrier C 1 and the power is output through the differential DF, and a state in which the first clutch CL 1 is released and the second clutch CL 2 is engaged to allow all the rotation elements of the first planetary gear set PG 1 to rotate together, such that the power transferred from the first motor MG 1 is output through the differential DF as it is, may be performed, and thus the input power may be output at a speed equal to or lower than a constant speed.

Meanwhile, the second motor MG 2 may be connected to the first ring gear R 1 of the first planetary gear set PG 1 through the third clutch CL 3 to selectively transfer the power to the first ring gear R 1 .

The compound planetary gear set CG includes a second planetary gear set PG 2 including a first rotation element directly connected to the differential case of the differential DF and a second rotation element receiving the power from the second motor MG 2 ; and a third planetary gear set PG 3 including a third rotation element directly connected to a third rotation element of the second planetary gear set PG 2 , a second rotation element fixed to the transmission housing CS, and a first rotation element directly connected to the selected output shaft.

That is, it may be considered that the second planetary gear set PG 2 forming the compound planetary gear set CG is configured to distribute the power provided from the second motor MG 2 to the differential case and the selected output shaft, and the third planetary gear set PG 3 is configured to reverse a direction of the power distributed to the selected output shaft to make directions of torques distributed to the differential case and the selected output shaft be opposite to each other according to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1 .

A second planet carrier C 2 , which is the second rotation element of the second planetary gear set PG 2 , is connected to the second motor MG 2 through a fourth clutch CL 4 , and a third planet carrier C 3 , which is the second rotation element of the third planetary gear set PG 3 , is fixed to the transmission housing CS.

Furthermore, a ratio of the number of teeth of a second sun gear S 2 of the second planetary gear set PG 2 and the number of teeth of a second ring gear R 2 of the second planetary gear set PG 2 , and a ratio of the number of teeth of a third sun gear S 3 of the third planetary gear set PG 3 and the number of teeth of a third ring gear R 3 of the third planetary gear set PG 3 are set to be the same as each other.

According to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the second planetary gear set PG 2 and the third planetary gear set PG 3 are implemented by substantially the same planetary gear sets of which the numbers of teeth of the gears are the same as each other.

Note that a controller CLR in FIG. 1 may control the first motor MG 1 , the second motor MG 2 , the first clutch CL 1 , the second clutch CL 2 , the third clutch CL 3 , and the fourth clutch CL 4 and may be implemented by a transmission control unit (TCU) or the like.

FIG. 13 illustrates a transmission for an electric vehicle according to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention. The transmission is a transmission for an electric vehicle including two or more motors, two or more clutches, and one or more planetary gear sets, and having two or more gears, and has a configuration in which a first motor MG 1 is connected to a first rotation element of a first planetary gear set PG 1 , a third rotation element of the first planetary gear set PG 1 is selectively connectable to a transmission housing CS by a first clutch CL 1 , a second rotation element of the first planetary gear set PG 1 is connected to an output shaft OUT, a second motor MG 2 is continuously connected to the third rotation element of the first planetary gear set PG 1 , a second clutch CL 2 connecting any two elements of the first planetary gear set PG 1 is provided, and transmission control through the second motor MG 2 is possible.

Practically, it may be considered that the configuration according to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 13 is different from the configuration according to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1 in that the compound planetary gear set CG is removed and the second motor MG 2 is directly connected to the first planetary gear set PG 1 , and the first rotation element of the first planetary gear set is a first sun gear S 1 and the second rotation element is a first planet carrier C 1 , and the third rotation element is a first ring gear R 1 .

FIG. 14 illustrates a transmission for an electric vehicle according to yet another exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Practically, a configuration according to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 14 and the configuration according to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 13 are substantially the same as each other. The configuration according to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 14 is different from the configuration according to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 13 only in that a second motor MG 2 is continuously connected to a third rotation element of the first planetary gear set PG 1 through a decelerator 10 .

The exemplary embodiments of FIG. 13 and FIG. 14 are substantially the same as the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1 except for the difference described above, and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

A process in which a transmission control of the transmission for an electric vehicle configured as in FIG. 1 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is performed will be described.

Referring to FIG. 3 , FIG. 4 , FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 , a control method by which the transmission is shifted from a low gear (first gear) to a high gear (second gear) includes releasing, by the controller CLR, the first clutch CL 1 after controlling the second motor MG 2 to provide, to the third rotation element of the first planetary gear set, the same torque as a torque by which the first clutch CL 1 supports the third rotation element of the first planetary gear set PG 1 , in a low gear driving state in which the first clutch CL 1 is engaged and the first motor MG 1 is driven (S 10 ); maintaining, by the controller CLR, a torque of the first motor MG 1 and a torque of the second motor MG 2 constant while reducing a speed of the first motor MG 1 and increasing a speed of the second motor MG 2 to synchronize speeds of the three rotation elements of the first planetary gear set PG 1 with one another (S 20 ); and releasing, by the controller CLR, the torque of the second motor MG 2 while maintaining the speed of the first motor MG 1 after engaging the second clutch CL 2 to form a high gear driving state (S 30 ).

Hereinafter, such a process will be described in more detail.

In a first-speed state corresponding to the low gear, the output speed of the power provided from the first motor MG 1 to the first sun gear S 1 is reduced and the power is output to the differential DF through the first planet carrier C 1 in the state in which the first clutch CL 1 is engaged, and thus the first clutch CL 1 fixes the first ring gear R 1 of the first planetary gear set PG 1 .

At the present time, the first motor MG 1 provides, to the first sun gear S 1 , a torque of T_MG 1 a relatively smaller than T_MG 1 b as illustrated in FIG. 4 .

A torque to be applied to the first ring gear R 1 to maintain the state in which the first ring gear R 1 is fixed even when the first clutch CL 1 is released for shifting to a second-speed state corresponding to the high gear is referred to as a “first clutch torque T_CL 1 ”. The second motor MG 2 is controlled to generate the first clutch torque T_CL 1 and then the first clutch CL 1 is released, such that a first torque phase in which the torque of the second motor MG 2 is changed but the speed of the first motor MG 1 is not changed is started.

Accordingly, an inertia phase in which the torque of the first motor MG 1 and the torque of the second motor MG 2 are maintained, the speed of the first motor MG 1 is reduced, and the speed of the second motor MG 2 is increased to synchronize the rotation speeds of all the rotation elements of the first planetary gear set PG 1 is started.

Accordingly, once the second clutch CL 2 is engaged, since all of the rotation elements of the first planetary gear set PG 1 are meshed with each other to rotate integrally, the power provided from the first motor MG 1 is output to the differential DF at a shifting ratio of 1:1, and in the present state, a second torque phase in which the speed of the first motor MG 1 and the torque of the second motor MG 2 is released is started, completing the shifting to the second-speed state corresponding to the high gear.

In the second torque phase, the speed of the first motor MG 1 is maintained and the torque of the second motor MG 2 is released as described above, such that the torque of the first motor MG 1 is increased.

The torque of the first motor MG 1 may be increased to T_MG 1 b in FIG. 4 . It may be considered that the shifting process illustrated in FIG. 4 describes a process in which shifting between two points on an iso-power curve of the first motor MG 1 as the transmission according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is shifted from a state in which T_MG 1 a which is the maximum torque in the first-speed state is output to a state in which T_MG 1 b which is the maximum torque in the second-speed state is output.

Note that a torque provided by the second clutch CL 2 to maintain a state in which all of the rotation elements of the first planetary gear set PG 1 are meshed with each other to rotate integrally is referred to as a second clutch torque T_CL 2 .

The shifting process described above may be expressed by a graph in FIG. 6 . In the general transmission according to the related art, a torque output through the differential DF is reduced in a period corresponding to the first torque phase according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention as illustrated in FIG. 15 , such that shift quality deteriorates. However, in the transmission according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, an output torque is maintained without significant change before and after the shifting as illustrated in FIG. 6 , such that it is possible to secure excellent shift quality without shift shock.

Furthermore, in the case of the transmission for an electric vehicle according to the related art, heat generation caused as the clutch takes a main role for shifting has been the biggest problem in developing the transmission. However, in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the second motor MG 2 takes a main role for shifting, such that it is possible to prevent shift shock and heat generation in the clutch, and durability of the clutch and the transmission may also be largely improved.

Meanwhile, the third clutch CL 3 is engaged before the torque is provided from the second motor MG 2 to the third rotation element of the first planetary gear set in the first torque phase, and the third clutch CL 3 is released after engaging the second clutch CL 2 in the second torque phase.

That is, the third clutch CL 3 may be engaged to provide the power of the second motor MG 2 to the first planetary gear set PG 1 to perform the action described above only at the time of shifting, and the third clutch CL 3 may be released, and if needed, the fourth clutch may be engaged to control the second motor MG 2 for the torque vectoring function.

The torque vectoring is a technology of actively controlling a driving torque output from the differential DF to opposite output shafts to effectively reduce understeer or the like at the time of high-speed curve driving of the vehicle or rough road driving in which friction coefficients of a right driving wheel and a left driving wheel with respect to the ground are different from each other, improving handling performance and stability of the vehicle. In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1 , after engaging the fourth clutch CL 4 , the controller CLR may control the second motor MG 2 to apply torques in opposite directions to the differential case and the selected output shaft, to thereby perform the torque vectoring.

Meanwhile, referring to FIGS. 7 to 9 , a control method by which the transmission is shifted from a high gear (second gear) to a low gear (first gear) includes releasing, by the controller CLR, the second clutch CL 2 after increasing the torque of the second motor MG 2 to the first clutch torque while maintaining the speed of the first motor MG 1 , in the high gear driving state in which the second clutch CL 2 is engaged and the first motor MG 1 is driven (S 50 ); maintaining, by the controller CLR, the torque of the first motor MG 1 and the torque of the second motor MG 2 constant while reducing the speed of the second motor MG 2 to 0 and increasing the speed of the first motor MG 1 (S 60 ); and releasing, by the controller CLR, the torque of the second motor MG 2 after engaging the first clutch CL 1 to form the low gear driving state (S 70 ).

Hereinafter, such a process will be described in more detail.

In the second-speed state corresponding to the high gear, the second clutch CL 2 is engaged and all of the rotation elements of the first planetary gear set PG 1 rotate at the same speed. The in the instant state, the controller CLR increases the torque of the second motor MG 2 to the first clutch torque T_CL 1 while maintaining the speed of the first motor MG 1 for shifting to the first speed.

That is, the torque of the second motor MG 2 is increased to make the second motor MG 2 provide a torque corresponding to the first clutch torque T_CL 1 which is a torque to be applied to the first ring gear R 1 to implement the first-speed state by fixing the first ring gear R 1 .

The torque of the first motor MG 1 is reduced as the torque of the second motor MG 2 is increased, such that the speed of the first motor MG 1 is maintained when the torque of the second motor MG 2 is increased as described above.

Practically, the present process corresponds to the first torque phase in the transmission control, and is expressed as a reduction in torque of the first motor MG 1 from T_MG 1 b to T_MG 1 a in FIG. 8 .

Once the torque of the second motor MG 2 is increased to the first clutch torque, the second clutch CL 2 is released.

Accordingly, an inertia phase in which the torque of the first motor MG 1 and the torque of the second motor MG 2 are maintained constant, the speed of the second motor MG 2 is reduced to 0, and the speed of the first motor MG 1 is increased is started.

Once the speed of the second motor MG 2 becomes 0, the first clutch CL 1 is engaged to fix the first ring gear R 1 , and then the torque of the second motor MG 2 is released to start a second torque phase, completing the shifting from the high gear to the low gear.

The output torque is maintained substantially constant even in the above-described shifting process, such that the shift shock does not occur and excellent shift quality may be secured, ultimately contributing to improvement of marketability of the vehicle. Furthermore, since the heat generation in the clutch involved in the shifting does not occur, improvement in durability of the clutch and the transmission is also expected.

Even in the instant case, the third clutch CL 3 is engaged before the torque is provided from the second motor MG 2 to the first ring gear R 1 in the first torque phase, and the third clutch CL 3 is released after releasing the torque of the second motor MG 2 in the second torque phase.

As described above, the transmission for an electric vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides two shifting ratios (the low gear and the high gear) to achieve the maximum hill-climbing ability requiring a relatively high torque and the maximum speed performance requiring a relatively high-speed power while improving energy efficiency by reducing a weight of the vehicle, even in the case of using the first motor MG 1 with a relatively small capacity.

Furthermore, in the case where the first clutch CL 1 and the second clutch CL 2 are engaged and released after the first clutch torque T_CL 1 or the second clutch T_CL 2 is generated by the second motor MG 2 , theoretically, a state in which friction and heat generation rarely occurs may be implemented. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the heat generation in the transmission and the clutch and improve durability.

Meanwhile, FIG. 10 , FIG. 11 , and FIG. 12 are drawings for describing implementation of the torque vectoring function by the transmission of FIG. 1 . FIG. 10 is a table showing a rotation speed of each portion in a state in which the fourth clutch CL 4 is engaged and the second motor MG 2 is stopped in the transmission of FIG. 1 .

That is, in the case where the second motor MG 2 is not driven and thus a speed thereof is 0, both of a speed of the left output shaft OL and a speed of the right output shaft OR of the differential DF are equally 3000.

Note that the rotation speed of each portion is determined under the assumption that the number of teeth of the second ring gear R 2 is 60, the number of teeth of the second sun gear S 2 is 30, the number of teeth of the third ring gear R 3 is 60, and the number of teeth of the third sun gear S 3 is 30.

FIG. 11 is a table showing a rotation speed of each portion in the case where the fourth clutch CL 4 is engaged and the second motor MG 2 is driven at a speed of 100 RPM in the transmission of FIG. 1 .

That is, in the case where the second motor MG 2 is driven at 100 RPM, the speed of the left output shaft OL of the differential DF becomes 3300, and the speed of the right output shaft OR becomes 2700. As a result, each of a speed deviation to the right side from the differential case of the differential DF and a speed deviation to the left side from the differential case of the differential DF becomes 300 RPM, implementing the torque vectoring.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for describing the torque vectoring function by comparing the state of FIG. 10 and the state of FIG. 11 with each other by use of lever diagrams of the second planetary gear set and the third planetary gear set. In FIG. 12 , a solid line indicating the state of FIG. 10 and a dotted line indicating the state of FIG. 11 shows that the torque vectoring is performed.

Note that FIG. 12 illustrates the case where a speed of the third sun gear S 3 connected to the right output shaft OR of the differential DF is reduced by 300 RPM according to a speed of the second sun gear S 2 connected to the differential case, and thus, although not illustrated, the left output shaft of the differential DF is increased by 300 RPM based on the speed of the differential case depending on a configuration and an action of the differential DF.

As described above, in the transmission according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the second motor MG 2 is involved in the shifting in a state in which the third clutch CL 3 is engaged to implement smooth shifting, and the torque vectoring function is implemented in a state in which the fourth clutch CL 4 is engaged, making it possible to improve driving stability at the time of high-speed curve driving of the vehicle.

Meanwhile, the shifting control of the transmissions of FIG. 13 and FIG. 14 according to the exemplary embodiments are substantially the same as the shifting control of the transmission of FIG. 1 except for the torque vectoring, and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a plurality of gear ratios to reduce a capacity of a motor, achieve a maximum hill-climbing ability and maximum speed performance required by a vehicle, improve energy efficiency of the vehicle with a relatively simple configuration and a small weight, increase a driving distance per charge, prevent shift shock, significantly reduce heat generation, and implement a torque vectoring are configured to improve high-speed curve driving performance of the vehicle.

For convenience in explanation and accurate definition in the appended claims, the terms “upper”, “lower”, “inner”, “outer”, “up”, “down”, “upwards”, “downwards”, “front”, “rear”, “back”, “inside”, “outside”, “inwardly”, “outwardly”, “internal”, “external”, “inner”, “outer”, “forwards”, and “backwards” are used to describe features of the exemplary embodiments with reference to the positions of such features as displayed in the figures. It will be further understood that the term “connect” or its derivatives refer both to direct and indirect connection.

The foregoing descriptions of specific exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The exemplary embodiments were chosen and described to explain certain principles of the present invention and their practical application, to enable others skilled in the art to make and utilize various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, as well as various alternatives and modifications thereof. It is intended that the scope of the present invention be defined by the Claims appended hereto and their equivalents.