JP6706116B2 - Vehicle lubricating oil amount control apparatus and vehicle lubricating oil amount control method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle lubricating oil amount control device and a vehicle lubricating oil amount control method.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, for example, Patent Document 1 below relates to a method for controlling a lubrication amount of an automatic transmission of a vehicle, and describes that a lubrication amount of an automatic transmission is optimized based on input energy and oil temperature.

JP, 2004-183750, A

In order to improve the reliability and lubrication performance of gears included in vehicle gearboxes, transmissions, etc., it is conceivable to increase the amount of lubricating oil in the power system gearbox. However, if the amount of lubricating oil is increased, the resistance to rotation of the gear is increased, and the power consumption (electricity cost) and the fuel consumption (fuel consumption) deteriorate. In addition, a large amount of oil is desired at low speed due to lubrication, but at high speed rotation, the oil diffuses and cooling performance deteriorates. Furthermore, when the amount of oil is increased for lubrication and cooling, the pressure inside the gear box rises due to stirring of the oil during high-speed rotation, and there is the problem that oil is ejected from the pressure release valve that releases the pressure to the outside. Therefore, an oil amount adjusting mechanism is required so that the oil scattering characteristics change depending on the vehicle speed and the oil temperature.

In the technique described in Patent Document 1, the input energy to the automatic transmission is calculated based on the input torque to the automatic transmission and the input rotation speed of the automatic transmission, and the input energy, the energy transfer efficiency and the lubricating oil are calculated. The amount of lubricating oil is calculated based on the temperature. However, in order to accurately determine the amount of lubricating oil supplied to the gear, it is essential to accurately estimate the amount of oil actually supplied to the gear.

In order to estimate the amount of oil that is actually supplied to the gear, it is assumed that the amount of oil that is actually supplied to the gear is estimated based on a measured value of an oil level gauge or the like. However, the amount of oil actually supplied to the gear changes according to the vehicle state, and it is difficult to accurately estimate it based on the measured value of the oil level gauge or the like.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to enable optimal control of the supply of lubricating oil to gears according to the vehicle state, which is new and An object is to provide an improved vehicle lubricating oil amount control device and a vehicle lubricating oil amount control method.

In order to solve the above problems, according to one aspect of the present invention, a theoretical driving force calculation unit that calculates a theoretical driving force of a vehicle based on a driving force required by a driver, and an actual driving force of a vehicle based on a longitudinal acceleration. An actual driving force calculation unit, a lubricating oil loss load calculation unit that calculates a loss load due to gear lubrication of lubricating oil from the difference between the actual driving force and the theoretical driving force, and a gear based on the loss load. Lubricating oil amount estimator that estimates the amount of lubricating oil that is being supplied, and the amount of gear oil that calculates the amount of lubricating oil required to lubricate the gear based on the gear load obtained from the gear speed and torque. Lubricating oil amount control for a vehicle including a computing unit, and a gear oil amount adjustment computing unit that performs a computation for adjusting the amount of oil to be supplied to a gear based on the lubricating oil supply amount and the required lubricating oil amount A device is provided.

The gear oil amount adjustment calculation unit may calculate an instruction value for controlling an oil amount adjustment valve that supplies lubricating oil from a drain tank provided in the gear box to a gear in the gear box. good.

Further, a maximum drive resistance value calculation unit for calculating the maximum drive resistance value of the gear when all the lubricant oil in the drain tank is supplied to the gears in the gear box based on the oil temperature of the lubricant oil is provided. The lubricating oil amount estimation unit may estimate the lubricating oil supply amount based on the ratio of the loss load to the maximum drive resistance value.

In addition, a kinematic viscosity calculation unit that calculates the kinematic viscosity of the lubricating oil based on the oil temperature of the lubricating oil is provided, and the maximum drive resistance value calculation unit is the maximum drive resistance value based on the rotation speed of the gear and the kinematic viscosity. May be calculated.

In addition, a bearing load calculation unit that calculates a bearing load from the rotation speed and torque of the gear, a load temperature prediction calculation unit that estimates the temperature of the lubricating oil based on the gear load and the bearing load, and A lubricating oil temperature correction unit that corrects the detected value of the temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the lubricating oil with the estimated temperature of the lubricating oil is provided, and the kinematic viscosity calculation unit has the value corrected by the lubricating oil temperature correction unit. The kinematic viscosity may be calculated based on the above.

Also, a required driving force calculation unit that calculates the required driving force based on the accelerator opening degree, a gradient resistance force calculation unit that calculates a gradient resistance force based on the longitudinal acceleration, and a traveling resistance force based on the vehicle speed. And a theoretical driving force calculating section for calculating the theoretical driving force by subtracting the gradient resistance force and the traveling resistance force from the required driving force. ..

The actual driving force calculation unit may calculate the actual driving force based on the longitudinal acceleration and the mass of the vehicle.

In order to solve the above problems, according to another aspect of the present invention, the step of calculating a theoretical driving force of the vehicle based on the driving force required by the driver, and the actual driving force of the vehicle based on the longitudinal acceleration are calculated. A step of calculating, a step of calculating a loss load due to gear lubrication of lubricating oil from a difference between the actual driving force and the theoretical driving force, and estimation of a lubricating oil supply amount supplied to the gear based on the loss load And a step of calculating a necessary lubricating oil amount necessary for lubricating the gear based on a gear load obtained from the rotation speed and torque of the gear, and based on the lubricating oil supply amount and the necessary lubricating oil amount. And a step of performing a calculation for adjusting the amount of oil to be supplied to the gear.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to optimally control the supply of the lubricating oil to the gear according to the vehicle state.

1 is a schematic diagram showing a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of a motor, a gear box, a drive shaft, and its periphery. It is a schematic diagram which shows a vehicle state and the state inside a gearbox. It is a schematic diagram which shows in detail the structure of the control apparatus and its periphery which concern on this embodiment. It is a flow chart which shows the whole processing of this embodiment. 6 is a flowchart showing in detail the process of step S112 of FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a process performed by the control device 200. It is a schematic diagram which shows the map used when calculating a required driving force Freq. It is a schematic diagram which shows a gear oil viscosity map. It is a schematic diagram which shows a maximum gear oil amount drive resistance map.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the present specification and the drawings, constituent elements having substantially the same functional configuration are designated by the same reference numerals, and a duplicate description will be omitted.

First, the configuration of a vehicle 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a vehicle 1000 according to this embodiment. The vehicle 1000 according to the present embodiment is, for example, a vehicle such as an HEV vehicle (hybrid vehicle) or an EV vehicle (electric vehicle) having a front-rear independent drive system. As shown in FIG. 1, a vehicle 1000 includes front wheels 100 and 102, rear wheels 104 and 106, driving force generators (motors) 108 and 110, and motors 108 that drive the front wheels 100 and 102 and the rear wheels 104 and 106, respectively. , 110 for transmitting the driving force of the front wheels 100, 102 and the rear wheels 104, 106 to the front wheels 100, 102, the inverters 123, 124 for controlling the motors 108, 110, respectively. 102, a drive shaft 112 that transmits the drive of the gear box 118 to the rear wheels 104 and 106, temperature sensors 154 and 156 that detect the temperatures of the gear boxes 116 and 118, parking brake systems 120 and 122, and a motor. Rotation speed sensors 125 and 126, wheel speed sensors 127 and 128 that detect the wheel speeds (vehicle speed V) of the rear wheels 104 and 106, a steering wheel 130 that steers the front wheels 100 and 102, a longitudinal acceleration sensor 132, and a lateral acceleration. The sensor 134, the battery 136, the steering angle sensor 138, the power steering mechanism 140, the yaw rate sensor 142, the inhibitor position sensor (IHN) 144, the accelerator opening sensor 146, and the control device (controller) 200 are included.

The drive of each motor 108, 110 is controlled by controlling the inverters 123, 124 corresponding to each motor 108, 110 based on a command from the control device 200. The driving force of each motor 108, 110 is transmitted to each of the front wheels 100, 102 and the rear wheels 104, 106 via each gear box 116, 118.

The power steering mechanism 140 controls the steering angle of the front wheels 100 and 102 by torque control or angle control according to the operation of the steering wheel 130 by the driver.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the motor 108, the gear box 116, the drive shaft 112, and the periphery thereof. The configurations of the motor 110, the gear box 118, the drive shaft 114, and the periphery thereof are the same as those in FIG. In FIG. 2, the rotation of the motor 110 is transmitted to the differential gear 150 via gears 150 and 152, and is transmitted to the left and right drive shafts 112. Lubricating oil for lubricating these gears is stored inside the gear box 116.

In this embodiment, the cooling function of gears and the lubricating function of lubricating oil are satisfied depending on the vehicle state. For this reason, a drain tank 160 for lubricating oil is provided in advance inside the gear box 116, and an oil amount adjusting valve 162 is provided below the drain tank 160. The oil amount adjusting valve 162 is composed of, for example, an electromagnetic valve. Then, by opening and closing the oil amount adjusting valve 162 according to the traveling condition, the lubricating oil in the drain tank 160 is supplied for lubricating the gear, and an appropriate amount of the lubricating oil in the gear box 116 is secured. In addition, the structure is such that the drain tank 160 is filled with lubricating oil by scraping up the gears in the gear box 116 during operation, and the drain tank 160 is replenished with lubricating oil.

Here, in order to improve the reliability performance and the lubrication performance of the gears in the gear boxes 116, 118, it is conceivable to increase the amount of lubricating oil in the power system gear boxes 116, 118. However, when the amount of the lubricating oil is increased, the lubricating oil becomes agitation resistance against the rotation of the gear, which deteriorates the electric power consumption (electric power consumption) and the fuel consumption especially at high speed running. Further, it is desirable to increase the amount of oil for reliable lubrication at low speed, but if the amount of oil is increased, the oil will diffuse at high speed rotation, and cooling performance will deteriorate. On the other hand, if the amount of oil is reduced, the lubricating performance cannot be satisfied. In addition, the lubrication condition of the bearings and gear teeth varies depending on the drive torque from the motor, so it is necessary to adjust the optimum amount of oil. For this reason, in the present embodiment, an oil amount adjusting mechanism including the drain tank 160 and the oil amount adjusting valve 162 is provided to adjust the oil amount according to the traveling state.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a vehicle state and an internal state of the gear box 116, showing a comparison between high speed traveling and medium and low speed traveling. During high-speed traveling, the oil amount adjustment valve 162 is closed in order to reduce the amount of lubricating oil and the stirring resistance. As a result, the lubricating oil scraped up by the rotation of the gear is collected in the drain tank 160. A vehicle such as an EV vehicle that uses the motors 108 and 110 as a power source is in a constant output state due to the characteristics of the motors 108 and 110 during high-speed traveling and does not output a large torque, so that the load on gear teeth and bearings is small. Therefore, even if the amount of lubricating oil is reduced, the gear can be sufficiently lubricated. In particular, when traveling at high speed, the lubricating oil is diffused due to the high speed rotation of the gear, so that the oil amount control is necessary.

On the other hand, at the time of traveling at medium and low speeds, the oil amount adjustment valve 162 is opened in order to increase the amount of lubricating oil. A vehicle such as an EV vehicle that uses the motors 108 and 110 as a power source can output a large torque due to the characteristics of the motors 108 and 110 at the time of traveling at medium and low speeds. Lubrication is required. By opening the oil amount adjustment valve 162 during low-speed running, the amount of lubricating oil in the drain tank 160 decreases and the amount of lubricating oil used for lubricating the gears in the gear box 116 increases, so sufficient lubrication should be performed. Is possible.

As described above, the lubricating oil is accumulated in the drain tank 160 by closing the oil amount adjustment valve 162 during high speed traveling. Therefore, the amount of lubricating oil used for lubrication in the gear box 116 is reduced. As a result, the amount of lubricating oil applied to the gear is reduced, and the stirring resistance is reduced. Further, since the lubricating oil scraped up by the gear is reduced, it is possible to suppress the oil blow from the breather. Note that the amount of oil to be scraped is reduced, but the amount required for lubrication is secured. Further, when the vehicle runs at a low speed, the oil amount adjusting valve 162 opens, and the oil in the drain tank 160 escapes and is supplied to the bottom of the gear box 116. Therefore, the amount of lubricating oil used to lubricate the gears in the gear box 116 increases. At low speeds, the gear rotation speed is low and the amount of scraping oil is small. However, by increasing the amount of lubricating oil used for lubrication, insufficient lubrication due to a decrease in scraping oil amount can be suppressed.

When adjusting the amount of lubricating oil supplied to the gear according to the vehicle state, it is essential to accurately determine the amount of lubricating oil actually supplied to the gear. However, it is difficult to determine the amount of oil actually supplied to the gear by the method of measuring the oil level of the lubricating oil stored in the gear box with, for example, an oil gauge. In particular, in the mechanism in which the gearboxes 116 and 118 have a small volume as in the present embodiment, and most of the lubricating oil in the gearboxes 116 and 118 is continuously supplied to each gear without accumulating on the bottom surface, It is also difficult to estimate the amount of lubricating oil supplied to the gear based on the height.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the theoretical driving force of the vehicle 1000 is calculated from the vehicle model value from the required driving force, the gradient resistance, and the running resistance, and compared with the actual driving force to calculate the resistance value of the lubricating oil. , Estimate the amount of lubricating oil actually supplied. At this time, in order to calculate the maximum drive resistance value due to the lubricating oil, the drive resistance value when the oil amount adjusting valve 162 is opened at low speed and the entire amount of lubricating oil is in contact with the gear is determined by the lubricating oil according to the oil temperature. Calculated from the kinematic viscosity of. Then, the amount of oil actually lubricating the gear is estimated from the ratio of the gear drive resistance value, which is the difference between the theoretical drive force and the actual drive force, to the maximum drive resistance value.

Also, the gear and bearing loads are calculated from the energy state of the gear obtained from the vehicle state. Then, an appropriate gear lubricating oil amount is determined based on the calculation result of the vehicle speed V and the gear and bearing load, and the opening/closing degree of the oil amount adjustment valve 162 for adjusting the oil amount is determined according to the estimated calculation result of the lubricating oil amount. To control the duty. As a result, the amount of oil used for lubricating the gear in the gear box 116 can be optimally controlled. The details will be described below.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing in detail the configuration of the control device 200 according to the present embodiment and its surroundings. The control device 200 includes an on-vehicle sensor 202, a control calculation unit 204, a required driving force calculation unit 206, a gradient resistance calculation unit 208, a running resistance calculation unit 210, a subtraction unit 212, an addition unit 214, a driving force calculation unit 216, and a drive. Force comparison calculation unit (lubricant oil loss load calculation unit) 218, gear rotation speed calculation unit 220, bearing load calculation unit 222, gear load calculation unit 224, addition unit 226, load temperature prediction calculation unit 228, gear oil temperature correction calculation unit (Lubricating oil temperature correction unit) 230, gear oil viscosity characteristic map processing unit (kinematic viscosity calculation unit) 232, maximum gear oil amount drive resistance map processing unit (maximum drive resistance value calculation unit) 234, gear oil amount ratio estimation calculation unit (Lubricating oil amount estimating unit) 236, gear oil amount calculating unit 238, and gear oil amount adjusting calculating unit 240. Each component shown in FIG. 4 can be composed of a circuit (hardware) or a central processing unit such as a CPU and a program (software) for causing the same to function.

4, the vehicle-mounted sensor 202 includes the above-described motor rotation speed sensors 125 and 126, wheel speed sensors 127 and 128, longitudinal acceleration sensor 132, lateral acceleration sensor 134, steering angle sensor 138, yaw rate sensor 142, accelerator opening sensor 146. including. The motor rotation speed sensors 125 and 126 detect the rotation speeds of the motors 108 and 110. The wheel speed sensors 127 and 128 detect the wheel speed (vehicle speed V) of each of the rear wheels 104 and 106. The steering angle sensor 138 detects the steering angle θh of the steering wheel 130. Further, the yaw rate sensor 142 detects the actual yaw rate γ of the vehicle 1000. The longitudinal acceleration sensor 132 detects the longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle 1000, and the lateral acceleration sensor 134 detects the lateral acceleration of the vehicle 1000. The control calculator 204 calculates the motor torque instruction value of the motors 108 and 110 from the control values to the inverters 123 and 124.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the overall processing of this embodiment. First, in step S100, it is determined whether or not the ignition key (ignition SW) is on. If the ignition key is turned on, the process proceeds to step S102, and if the ignition key is not turned on, the process waits at step S100.

In step S102, it is determined whether or not the inhibitor position sensor (IHN) 144 indicates the P (parking) or N (neutral) position, and if it is the P (parking) or N (neutral) position, step S104. Go to. If the position is not P (parking) or N (neutral) in step S102, the process proceeds to step S106, it is determined whether or not the ignition key is turned on, and if the ignition key is turned on, the process returns to step S102. .. If the ignition key is off in step S106, the process proceeds to step S108, the vehicle starting process is terminated, and the process returns to step S100.

In step S104, the vehicle 1000 is started, and in the next step S110, it is determined whether the inhibitor position sensor (IHN) 144 indicates the D (drive) or R (reverse) position. When the inhibitor position sensor (IHN) 144 indicates the D (drive) or R (reverse) position, the process proceeds to step S112, and the traveling control process is started. On the other hand, if the inhibitor position sensor (IHN) 144 does not indicate the D (drive) or R (reverse) position in step S110, the process proceeds to step S113, it is determined whether or not the ignition key is turned on, and the ignition is turned on. If the key is turned on, the process returns to step S110. If the ignition key is off in step S113, the process proceeds to step S108, and the vehicle start-up process ends.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing in detail the process of step S112 of FIG. First, in step S114, the operation amount of the accelerator pedal and the operation amount of the brake pedal are acquired as input values. In the next step S116, the required driving force reqF is calculated. The required driving force reqF can be calculated based on, for example, a map that defines the relationship between the accelerator opening and the required driving force reqF. In the next step S118, processing for lubricating oil amount adjustment control by opening/closing the oil amount adjusting valve 162 is performed. In the next step S120, drive control of the oil amount adjustment valve 162 is performed based on the valve control instruction value obtained in the process of step S118. In step S122, the actual opening/closing amount of the oil amount adjustment valve 162 is acquired. After step S122, the process returns to step S114.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the processing performed in step S118 of FIG. Hereinafter, the processing performed by the control device 200 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 7 and 4. First, in step S10 of FIG. 7, the required driving force calculation unit 206 calculates the required driving force reqF from the accelerator pedal operation amount (accelerator opening) detected by the accelerator opening sensor 146. Specifically, the required driving force reqF is calculated from the following formula. In the following equation, Fmax changes according to the vehicle speed V, as shown in FIG.
reqF=Fmax×accelerator opening (accelpedal [%])/100

In the next step S12, the gradient resistance force calculation unit 208 calculates the gradient resistance force Fgrad due to gradient running from the longitudinal acceleration detected by the longitudinal acceleration sensor 132. When calculating the gradient resistance force Fgrad, the detection values of the longitudinal acceleration sensor 132 and the wheel speed sensors 127 and 128 of the rear wheels are used. The longitudinal acceleration sensor 132 can acquire the longitudinal acceleration with respect to the gradient of the ground because it is horizontal to the vehicle 1000. For example, when the vehicle stops on a road surface having a slope, the longitudinal acceleration is output from the longitudinal acceleration sensor 132. When the difference between the longitudinal acceleration value Ay_clc obtained by performing acceleration/deceleration calculation on the actual detected values of the wheel speed sensors 127 and 128 and the detected value Ay_sens of the longitudinal acceleration sensor 132 is acquired, the longitudinal acceleration on the gradient is acquired. From the product of the longitudinal acceleration and the vehicle mass m on this gradient, the gradient resistance force Fgrad[N] can be obtained by the following equation.
Fgrad[N]=(Ay_sens−Ay_clc) [m/s ² ]×m [kg]
When calculating the gradient resistance Fgrad from the longitudinal acceleration, a map defining the relationship between the two may be used.
In next step S14, the traveling resistance calculation unit 210 calculates the traveling resistance Fre from the vehicle speed V based on the basic traveling resistance coefficient. The traveling resistance force calculation unit 210 mainly calculates the traveling resistance force Fre based on the air resistance during traveling, based on the vehicle speed V, the projected area of the vehicle 1000 from the front surface, and the like. Specifically, the running resistance force Fre is calculated from the following formula based on the rolling resistance force A [N], the air resistance coefficient C [N/(km/h) ² ], and the vehicle speed V [km/h]. Can be calculated.
Fre=A+CV ²
When calculating the running resistance force Fre from the vehicle speed V, a map defining the relationship between the two may be used.

In the next step S16, the gear rotation speed calculation unit 220 calculates the rotation speed of each gear in the gear box 116 from the motor rotation speed detected by the motor rotation speed sensors 125 and 126 in consideration of the gear ratio. In the next step S18, the gear load calculation unit 224 converts the motor torque instruction value calculated by the control calculation unit 204 into a gear torque value, and calculates gear energy from the gear torque value and the gear rotation speed calculated in step S16. Then, the gear load is predicted and calculated.

In the next step S20, the bearing load calculation unit 222 converts the motor torque instruction value calculated by the control calculation unit 204 into a gear torque value, and the energy of the bearing supporting the gear is calculated from the gear torque value and the gear rotation speed calculated in step S16. By calculating, the bearing load is predictively calculated. In the next step S22, the load temperature prediction calculation unit 228 integrates the gear load and the bearing load based on the result of the addition unit 226 adding the gear load calculated in step S18 and the bearing load calculated in step S20. Then, the slope of the temperature rise of the lubricating oil is predicted from the temperature transfer coefficient, and the temperature of the lubricating oil is predicted. As described above, the temperature of the lubricating oil can be obtained by converting it into Joule heat by integrating the total value (energy) of the gear load and the bearing load.

In the next step S24, the gear oil temperature correction calculation section 230 compares the detected value of the lubricating oil temperature by the temperature sensors 154 and 156 attached to the gear boxes 116 and 118 with the lubricating oil temperature predicted in step S22. If the lubricant temperature predicted in step S22 is higher, the detected value is corrected and the lubricant temperature predicted in step S22 is set as the final lubricant temperature. On the other hand, if the detected value of the lubricating oil temperature by the temperature sensors 154 and 156 and the temperature of the lubricating oil predicted in step S22 are approximately the same, either one is adopted as the final lubricating oil temperature.

Normally, the change in the detected value of the lubricating oil temperature by the temperature sensors 154, 156 has a time constant, and particularly in a high load state, the temperature sensors 154, 156 are different from the temperature of the lubricating oil that actually lubricates the gears. The detection value due to rises later. On the other hand, in the low load state, the temperature of the lubricating oil that actually lubricates the gear is at the same level as the values detected by the temperature sensors 154 and 156. In the present embodiment, the detected values of the lubricating oil temperature by the temperature sensors 154 and 156 are compared with the temperature of the lubricating oil predicted in step S22. If the temperature of the lubricating oil predicted in step S22 is higher, in step S22. Since the predicted lubricating oil temperature is used as the final lubricating oil temperature, the lubricating oil that actually lubricates the gear is not affected by the time constant of the detection values of the temperature sensors 154 and 156, especially under high load conditions. The temperature of can be estimated with high accuracy.

In the next step S26, the gear oil viscosity characteristic map processing unit 232 performs the map matching of the gear viscosity of the gear oil viscosity characteristic map based on the gear oil temperature obtained in step S24, and determines the kinematic viscosity according to the gear oil temperature. Calculate FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing a map (gear oil viscosity map) that the gear oil viscosity characteristic map processing section 232 collates. As shown in FIG. 9, in this map, the kinematic viscosity is associated with the oil temperature. The gear oil viscosity characteristic map processing unit 232 obtains the kinematic viscosity according to the gear oil temperature from the map of FIG. Since the kinematic viscosity according to the gear oil temperature varies depending on the characteristics of the lubricating oil, a map that the gear oil viscosity characteristic map processing unit 232 collates according to the characteristics of the lubricating oil put in the gear boxes 116, 118 is set. By switching, the kinematic viscosity can be obtained with high accuracy.

In the next step S28, the maximum gear oil amount drive resistance map processing unit 234 calculates the maximum gear drive resistance value (Foil_resMax) using the gear rotation speed and the kinematic viscosity obtained by the gear oil viscosity characteristic map processing unit 232 as input information. To do. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a map (maximum gear oil amount drive resistance map) used when the maximum gear oil amount drive resistance map processing unit 234 calculates the maximum gear drive resistance value (Foil_resMax). A plurality of maps shown in FIG. 10 are prepared according to the gear rotation speed. The maximum gear oil amount drive resistance map defines the relationship of the drive resistance value with respect to the kinematic viscosity of the lubricating oil. When the lubricating oil amount in the gearboxes 116 and 118 is completely immersed in the gear and the bearing (the drain tank 160 Is a map of the gear drive resistance value in an empty state) according to the gear rotation speed. Therefore, in step S28, the assumed maximum gear drive resistance value is obtained according to the gear rotation speed. Since the maximum gear drive resistance value calculated here is calculated based on the gear oil temperature, the maximum gear drive resistance value can be obtained with high accuracy according to the operating state of vehicle 1000. When the characteristics of the lubricating oil supplied to the gearboxes 116 and 118 are always constant, the maximum gear drive resistance value may be calculated based on a map that directly determines the maximum gear drive resistance value from the gear oil temperature.

In the next step S30, the driving force comparison calculation unit 218 calculates the actual driving force calculated by the driving force calculation unit 216 from the theoretical driving force calculated from the vehicle model (value input from the subtraction unit 212) and the detection value of the longitudinal acceleration sensor 132. The difference in driving force (Foil_res) is calculated. Here, the subtraction unit 212 functions as a theoretical driving force calculation unit that calculates the theoretical driving force by subtracting the sum of the gradient resistance force Fgrad and the traveling resistance force Fre from the required driving force reqF. On the other hand, the driving force calculation unit 216 functions as an actual driving force calculation unit that calculates the driving force (actual driving force) actually generated by the vehicle 1000 based on the equation of motion from the longitudinal acceleration and the mass of the vehicle 1000. To do. The driving force comparison calculation unit 218 compares the theoretical driving force and the actual driving force, and calculates the difference between the theoretical driving force and the actual driving force as the output loss due to the lubricating oil in the gearboxes 116 and 118.

In the next step S32, the gear oil amount ratio estimation calculation unit 236 determines that the loss (Foil_res) due to the lubricating oil obtained from the calculation result of the driving force comparison calculation unit 218 and the maximum gear oil amount drive resistance map processing unit 234 The ratio [%] of the loss (Foil_res) due to the lubricating oil to the maximum gear drive resistance value is calculated from the calculated maximum gear drive resistance value. This ratio is calculated as a ratio of the amount of oil actually used for lubricating the gear to the total amount of oil in the gearboxes 116 and 118. That is, the oil amount ratio is obtained from the following formula. Since the maximum gear drive resistance value is the gear drive resistance value when the lubricating oil amounts in the gearboxes 116 and 118 are all submerged in the gears and bearings (when the drain tank 160 is empty), the gear oil amount ratio estimation is performed. The calculation unit 236 can obtain the amount of oil actually used for lubricating the gears from the amount of lubricating oil and the ratio of the amount of lubricating oil in the gearboxes 116, 118 when the drain tank 160 is empty.
Oil amount ratio=Foil_res/Foil_resMax×100 [%]

In the next step S34, the gear oil amount calculation unit 238 calculates the optimum oil amount according to the gear load based on the vehicle speed V and the gear load calculated by the gear load calculation unit 224. The optimum oil amount calculated here is determined according to the gear load, and is the required oil amount according to the gear load. In addition, when the gear ratio of the gear boxes 116, 118 is only one stage, the optimum oil amount is uniquely obtained based on the gear load calculated by the gear load calculation unit 224. On the other hand, when the gearboxes 116 and 118 have multiple gear ratios, even if the gear loads are the same, the gearboxes 116 and 118 are cooled in accordance with the difference in vehicle speed (running wind) due to the difference in gear ratio. Differences occur. Therefore, by considering not only the gear load but also the vehicle speed V, the optimum oil amount can be obtained with higher accuracy.

In the next step S36, the gear oil amount adjustment calculation unit 240 calculates the optimum oil amount in the gearboxes 116 and 118 calculated by the gear oil amount calculation unit 238 and the oil amount ratio calculated by the gear oil amount ratio estimation calculation unit 236. Based on (the amount of oil actually used for lubricating the gear), the opening/closing amount of the oil amount adjusting valve 162 (valve control instruction value) in order to optimize the amount of gear lubricating oil in the gearboxes 116 and 118. Is calculated.

As described above, the oil amount ratio calculated by the gear oil amount ratio estimation/calculation unit 236 corresponds to the oil amount actually used for lubricating the gears in the gear boxes 116 and 118. The gear oil amount adjustment calculation unit 240 compares the amount of oil actually used to lubricate the gear at this time with the optimum oil amount calculated from the gear load calculated by the gear oil amount calculation unit 238, and lubricates the gear. The opening/closing amount of the oil amount adjustment valve 162 is calculated so that the actually used oil amount becomes the optimum oil amount.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the drain tank 160 that holds the lubricating oil in the gear boxes 116 and 118, and the oil amount adjustment valve 162 that controls the supply of the lubricating oil from the drain tank 160 to the gear are provided. By controlling the opening/closing of the oil amount adjusting valve 162, the amount of lubricating oil in the gear boxes 116, 118 is optimized. At this time, the difference between the theoretical driving force and the actual driving force is taken as the loss due to the lubricating oil, and the amount of lubricating oil actually supplied to the gear can be estimated from the ratio of the loss to the maximum driving load. Therefore, by controlling the oil adjustment valve 162 so that the amount of lubricating oil actually supplied to the gear is the required amount of lubricating oil obtained from the gear load, the required amount of lubricating oil according to the gear load can be accurately adjusted. Can be supplied to the gear. In the control of the oil amount adjustment valve 162, the vehicle drive torque becomes relatively large during low-medium speed running, so the oil amount adjustment valve 162 is opened according to the gear load, and the amount of lubricating oil increases. On the other hand, since the vehicle driving torque is relatively low during high-speed traveling, the opening/closing degree of the oil amount adjusting valve 162 is controlled according to the gear load in order to prevent the lubricating oil from scattering and to suppress the driving resistance. Can be adjusted optimally.

As a result, it is possible to improve both the gearbox lubrication performance and the fuel consumption and electric power consumption performance during traveling. Further, even if the amount of lubricating oil in the gearboxes 116, 118 is increased, an optimal amount of lubricating oil will be supplied to the gears. Therefore, by increasing the amount of lubricating oil, it becomes possible to surely prevent deterioration of characteristics due to aged deterioration of oil and increase of oil temperature under high load.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention is not limited to such examples. It is obvious that a person having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains can come up with various alterations or modifications within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims. Of course, it is understood that these also belong to the technical scope of the present invention.

160 Drain tank 162 Oil amount control valve 200 Control device 206 Required driving force calculation unit 208 Gradient driving force calculation unit 210 Running resistance calculation unit 216 Driving force calculation unit 218 Driving force comparison calculation unit 222 Bearing load calculation unit 228 Load temperature prediction calculation 230 Gear oil temperature correction calculator 232 Gear oil viscosity characteristic map processor 234 Maximum gear oil amount drive resistance map processor 236 Gear oil amount ratio estimation calculator 238 Gear oil amount calculator 240 Gear oil amount adjustment calculator

Claims (8)

A theoretical driving force calculation unit that calculates the theoretical driving force of the vehicle based on the driving force required by the driver,
An actual driving force calculation unit that calculates the actual driving force of the vehicle based on the longitudinal acceleration,
A lubricating oil loss load calculation unit that calculates a loss load due to gear lubrication of lubricating oil from the difference between the actual driving force and the theoretical driving force;
A lubricating oil amount estimation unit that estimates the amount of lubricating oil supplied to the gear based on the loss load,
A gear oil amount calculation unit that calculates the required amount of lubricating oil required to lubricate the gear, based on the gear load obtained from the rotation speed and torque of the gear,
A gear oil amount adjustment calculation unit that performs calculation for adjusting the amount of oil supplied to the gear based on the lubricating oil supply amount and the required lubricating oil amount;
A lubricating oil amount control device for a vehicle, comprising: The gear oil amount adjustment calculation unit calculates an instruction value for controlling an oil amount adjustment valve that supplies lubricating oil from a drain tank provided in the gear box to a gear in the gear box. The vehicle lubricating oil amount control device according to claim 1. A maximum drive resistance value calculation unit that calculates the maximum drive resistance value of the gear when all the lubricant oil in the drain tank is supplied to the gears in the gear box based on the oil temperature of the lubricant oil;
The lubricating oil amount control device for a vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the lubricating oil amount estimation unit estimates the lubricating oil supply amount based on a ratio of the loss load to the maximum drive resistance value. . Equipped with a kinematic viscosity calculation unit that calculates the kinematic viscosity of the lubricating oil based on the oil temperature of the lubricating oil,
4. The vehicle lubricating oil amount control device according to claim 3, wherein the maximum drive resistance value calculation unit calculates the maximum drive resistance value based on a rotation speed of a gear and the kinematic viscosity. A bearing load calculation unit that calculates the bearing load from the rotation speed and torque of the gear,
A load temperature prediction calculation unit that estimates the temperature of the lubricating oil based on the gear load and the bearing load;
A lubricating oil temperature correction unit that corrects the detected value of the temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the lubricating oil in the gear box with the estimated lubricating oil temperature;
The lubricating oil amount control device for a vehicle according to claim 4, wherein the kinematic viscosity calculation unit calculates the kinematic viscosity based on the value corrected by the lubricating oil temperature correction unit. A required driving force calculation unit that calculates the required driving force based on the accelerator opening,
A gradient resistance calculation unit that calculates the gradient resistance based on the longitudinal acceleration,
A running resistance calculation unit that calculates running resistance based on the vehicle speed,
Equipped with
The vehicle lubricating oil amount according to claim 1, wherein the theoretical driving force calculation unit calculates the theoretical driving force by subtracting the gradient resistance force and the traveling resistance force from the required driving force. Control device. 7. The lubricating oil amount control device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the actual driving force calculation unit calculates the actual driving force based on the longitudinal acceleration and the mass of the vehicle. Calculating the theoretical driving force of the vehicle based on the driving force required by the driver,
Calculating the actual driving force of the vehicle based on the longitudinal acceleration,
Calculating a loss load due to gear lubrication of lubricating oil from a difference between the actual driving force and the theoretical driving force,
Estimating a lubricating oil supply amount being supplied to the gear based on the loss load,
Calculating the necessary amount of lubricating oil required to lubricate the gear based on the gear load obtained from the gear speed and torque;
A step of performing a calculation for adjusting the amount of oil supplied to the gear based on the amount of lubricating oil supplied and the required amount of lubricating oil;
A method for controlling a lubricating oil amount of a vehicle, comprising:

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