WO2024116590A1 - Electric vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides an electric vehicle that facilitates holding a stopped state and operations for resuming travel from the stopped state, and that can also reduce electric power consumption in the stopped state.　This electric vehicle includes: a stop operation unit (3, 4) for instructing stopping of the electric vehicle; and a control device (10). In an automatic acceleration mode, the control device sets a drive standby mode in which generation of a drive force by a motor (60) is stopped when a brake operation unit (3, 4) is operated or the stop operation unit is operated, and the mode is switched to an automatic acceleration mode upon ending operation of the brake operation unit when generation of the drive force by the motor is stopped in accordance with operation of the brake operation unit, and the control device sets a drive stopped mode in which, when generation of the drive force by the motor is stopped in accordance with operation of the stop operation unit, the state of generation of the drive force by the motor being stopped is maintained even after operation of the brake operation unit ends.

Description

Electric vehicles

The present invention relates to an electric vehicle.

In recent years, efforts to realize a low-carbon or carbon-free society have become more active, and research and development into electric vehicles has been conducted in order to reduce CO2 emissions and improve energy efficiency in vehicles.
For example, a technology has been proposed for electric vehicles that generates a pseudo creep torque that is approximately inversely proportional to the amount of brake operation when the accelerator pedal is not operated, thereby allowing the vehicle to creep in the same manner as an automatic transmission vehicle (see, for example, Patent Document 1). According to this technology, the vehicle speed can be controlled by operating the brakes alone, making it easy to adjust the speed, especially when traveling at low speeds.

JP 2001-103618 A

Incidentally, in the technology relating to electric vehicles, particularly in the case of two-wheeled vehicles, it is assumed that the speed at which a user wishes to operate the vehicle will vary depending on the situation, such as when pushing the vehicle when parking or leaving a parking lot, when closing the gap with the vehicle ahead in a traffic jam, etc. In addition, when creeping, if the torque generated in the motor is set only by braking, it is difficult for the user to adjust the acceleration of the electric vehicle, so the challenge is to make it easier to maintain the vehicle in a stopped state and to resume operation of the vehicle from a stopped state, and to reduce power consumption when the vehicle is stopped.
In order to solve the above problems, the present application aims to provide an electric vehicle that can easily maintain a stopped state and resume running from a stopped state, and can reduce power consumption while stopped, thereby contributing to improving energy efficiency.

This specification includes the entire contents of Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-189244, filed on November 28, 2022.
As an aspect for achieving the above object, there is provided an electric vehicle having a motor (60), an accelerator operation unit (2), a brake operation unit (3, 4), and a control device (10) that controls a driving force generated by the motor based on an operation state of the accelerator operation unit and the brake operation unit, and further comprising a stop operation unit (3, 4) for instructing a stop of the electric vehicle, the control device having a manual acceleration mode that controls the driving force generated by the motor in accordance with the operation state of the accelerator operation unit when the accelerator operation unit is operated, and an automatic acceleration mode that generates a driving force by the motor and accelerates the electric vehicle up to a predetermined upper limit speed when the accelerator operation unit is not operated. and a drive standby mode in which the driving force generated by the motor is controlled by switching between a plurality of modes including a high-speed mode and a low-speed mode, and in the automatic acceleration mode, when the brake operation unit or the stop operation unit is operated, generation of driving force by the motor is stopped, and when generation of driving force by the motor is stopped in response to operation of the brake operation unit, a drive standby mode is entered which switches to the automatic acceleration mode when operation of the brake operation unit is completed, and a drive stop mode is entered which maintains a state in which generation of driving force by the motor is stopped even when operation of the brake operation unit is completed, when generation of driving force by the motor is stopped in response to operation of the stop operation unit.

The electric vehicle described above makes it easy to maintain a stopped state and to resume driving from a stopped state, while also reducing power consumption when the vehicle is stopped.

FIG. 1 is an external view of a two-wheeled vehicle that is an electric vehicle according to the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of the two-wheeled vehicle. FIG. 3 is a state transition diagram of the driving control in the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a state transition diagram of the driving control in the second embodiment. FIG. 5 is a state transition diagram of the auto-cruise control.

[1. Configuration of electric vehicle]
The configuration of a two-wheeled vehicle 1, which is an electric vehicle according to the present disclosure, will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 2. As shown in Figure 1, the two-wheeled vehicle 1 according to the present disclosure includes a motor 60 that operates with electric power supplied from a drive battery 63 to generate driving force. The motor 60 is, for example, an in-wheel motor.

The two-wheeled vehicle 1 also includes an accelerator grip 2, a front brake lever 3, and a rear brake lever 4 that are operated by the user (rider), a control device 10 that controls the operation of the two-wheeled vehicle 1, and a display unit 50 that displays the state of the two-wheeled vehicle 1. The accelerator grip 2 corresponds to the accelerator operation section in this disclosure, and the front brake lever 3 and rear brake lever 4 correspond to the brake operation section in this disclosure.

As shown in speech bubble B, the display unit 50 has a speed display section 51, a creeping driving display section 52, and a READY display section 53. The creeping driving display section 52 is lit when the two-wheeled vehicle 1 is controlled in an automatic acceleration mode, which will be described later. The creeping driving display section 52 corresponds to the notification section of this disclosure. The READY display section 53 is lit when the two-wheeled vehicle 1 is in a READY state, which will be described later.

Referring to FIG. 2, the two-wheeled vehicle 1 is further equipped with a main switch 40, a start switch 41, an auto-cruise switch 42, an accelerator sensor 2a, a front brake switch 3a, a rear brake switch 4a, a speed sensor 43, a rotor position sensor 61, a motor drive unit 62, a drive battery 63, a low-voltage battery 70, and a braking device 71. The main switch 40 is a switch that instructs the power supply of the two-wheeled vehicle 1 to be switched on and off. The start switch 41 is a switch that instructs the starting of the two-wheeled vehicle 1. The auto-cruise switch 42 is a switch that instructs the auto-cruise function to be switched on and off.

The front brake switch 3a switches between on and off in two stages depending on the amount of operation of the front brake lever 3. That is, when the amount of operation of the front brake lever 3 reaches a first amount of operation, the first stage of contact turns on, and when the front brake lever 3 is further operated and the amount of operation reaches a second amount of operation that is greater than the first amount of operation, the second stage of contact turns on. The same is true for the rear brake switch 4a.

The speed sensor 43 detects the traveling speed of the two-wheeled vehicle 1. The rotor position sensor 61 detects the position of the rotor of the motor 60. The motor drive unit 62 generates a drive voltage to be applied to the stator of the motor 60 based on the rotor position detected by the rotor position sensor 61. The drive battery 63 supplies the motor drive unit 62 with the power required to drive the motor 60. The low-voltage battery 70 supplies lower voltage power than the drive battery 63 to the control device 10, etc. The brake device 71 brakes the front and rear wheels of the two-wheeled vehicle 1 to decelerate the two-wheeled vehicle 1.

The control device 10 includes a processor 20, a memory 30, etc., and controls the operation of the two-wheeled vehicle 1. The processor 20 functions as a driving control unit 21 and a display control unit 22 by reading and executing a program 31 for controlling the two-wheeled vehicle 1 stored in the memory 30. The driving control unit 21 controls the operation of the motor 60 and the braking device 71 to control the driving of the two-wheeled vehicle 1. The display control unit 22 controls the display mode of the display unit 50.

The control device 10 receives operation signals from the main switch 40, start switch 41, auto-cruise switch 42, front brake switch 3a, and rear brake switch 4a, as well as detection signals from the accelerator sensor 2a and speed sensor 43. The control signals output from the control device 10 control the display mode of the display unit 50 and the operation of the motor 60 and braking device 71.

[2. First embodiment of driving control]
A first embodiment of the travel control of the two-wheeled vehicle 1 executed by the control device 10 will be described with reference to the state transition diagram shown in Fig. 3. In Fig. 3, switches are indicated as SW.

S10 in FIG. 3 is the state in which the two-wheeled vehicle 1 is stopped and the power is off (main switch 40 is off). In S10, when the main switch 40 is on and the front brake switch 3a or rear brake switch 4a is on (front brake lever 3 or rear brake lever 4 is operated), and the start switch 41 is turned on (start switch 41 is operated), the travel control unit 21 transitions the control mode to the standby state of S11. When in the standby state, the display control unit 22 lights up the READY display unit 53 of the display unit 50.

When the main switch 40 is turned off in S11, the driving control unit 21 transitions the control mode to S10. When the accelerator sensor 2a detects operation of the accelerator grip 2 at or above a specified opening in S11, the driving control unit 21 transitions the control mode to the manual acceleration mode in S14. The manual acceleration mode is a control mode in which the driving force generated by the motor 60 is increased or decreased in response to the operation of the accelerator grip 2 by the user.

In S11, when the second stage of the front brake switch 3a or rear brake switch 4a is turned on (when the front brake lever 3 or rear brake lever 4 is firmly gripped), the driving control unit 21 transitions the control mode to automatic acceleration mode - very low speed in S12. The automatic acceleration mode is a control mode in which the two-wheeled vehicle 1 is automatically accelerated up to an upper limit speed when the accelerator grip 2 is not operated, and in the automatic acceleration mode - very low speed, the upper limit speed is set to, for example, 5 km/h. When in the automatic acceleration mode, the display control unit 22 turns on the creep driving display unit 52 of the display unit 50.

When the accelerator sensor 2a detects a single operation of the accelerator grip 2 (operation of more than a specified small opening) in S12, the driving control unit 21 transitions the control mode to automatic acceleration mode - low speed in S13. In automatic acceleration mode - low speed, the upper limit speed is set to, for example, 20 km/h. In this way, the user of the two-wheeled vehicle 1 can change the upper limit speed of the two-wheeled vehicle 1 in automatic acceleration mode by operating the accelerator grip 2.

Here, the configuration that instructs a change in the upper limit speed in the automatic acceleration mode by operating the accelerator grip 2 corresponds to the upper limit speed change operation unit of the present disclosure. In this way, by sharing the upper limit speed change operation unit with the accelerator grip 2, it is not necessary to provide a dedicated upper limit speed change operation unit. In addition, the upper limit speed change operation unit may be provided as a dedicated operation unit separate from the accelerator grip 2 (corresponding to the accelerator operation unit of the present disclosure).

When the accelerator sensor 2a detects normal operation of the accelerator grip 2 (operation at or above the specified opening) in S13, the driving control unit 21 transitions the control mode to the manual acceleration mode in S14. In this way, the user of the two-wheeled vehicle 1 can switch from the automatic acceleration mode to the manual acceleration mode by operating the accelerator grip 2. When transitioning to the manual acceleration mode, the display control unit 22 turns off the creep driving display unit 52 of the display unit 50.

When the first stage of the front brake switch 3a or rear brake switch 4a is turned on (when the front brake lever 3 or rear brake lever 4 is weakly gripped) in the automatic acceleration mode-very low speed of S12, the automatic acceleration mode-low speed of S13, and the manual acceleration mode of S14, the driving control unit 21 transitions the control mode to the driving force cut mode of S15. The driving force cut mode is a control mode that stops the generation of driving force by the motor 60 and reduces the power consumption by the motor 60.

If the driving force cut mode is entered and the first or second stage of the front brake switch 3a or the rear brake switch 4a remains on, the driving control unit 21 transitions the control mode to S16. S16 is the state in which the user releases the front brake lever 3 and the rear brake lever 4, the driving force cut mode ends, the generation of driving force from the motor 60 resumes, and the two-wheeled vehicle 1 travels. In S16, when the traveling speed V of the two-wheeled vehicle 1 detected by the speed sensor 43 exceeds 0 km/h (corresponding to the first determination speed in this disclosure) and both the front brake switch 3a and the rear brake switch 4a are turned off (when the front brake lever 3 and the rear brake lever 4 are not being operated), the driving control unit 21 transitions the control mode to S12.

In S16, when the first or second stage of the front brake switch 3a or rear brake switch 4a remains on for a certain period of time and the traveling speed V of the two-wheeled vehicle 1 detected by the speed sensor 43 becomes 0 km/m (corresponding to the second judgment speed in this disclosure) (when the two-wheeled vehicle 1 stops), the traveling control unit 21 transitions the control mode to S17. S17 is a control mode that keeps the two-wheeled vehicle 1 stopped even if the user releases the front brake lever 3 and rear brake lever 4. The judgment speeds of S16 and S17 may be set to different speeds.

In S17, the driving control unit 21 activates the braking device 71, and the display control unit 22 turns off the creep driving display unit 52 of the display unit 50. The driving control unit 21 maintains the two-wheeled vehicle 1 in a stopped state and transitions the control mode to S11.

[3. Second embodiment of driving control]
A second embodiment of the travel control of the two-wheeled vehicle 1 executed by the control device 10 will be described according to the state transition diagram shown in Fig. 4. In Fig. 4, switches are indicated as SW, as in Fig. 3. Furthermore, the processing in each control mode with the same name as in Fig. 3 is the same as in the first embodiment, and therefore detailed description thereof will be omitted below.

S20 in FIG. 4 is the state in which the two-wheeled vehicle 1 is stopped and the power is off. In S20, when the front brake switch 3a or rear brake switch 4a is on (the front brake lever 3 or rear brake lever 4 is operated) and the start switch 41 is turned on (the start switch 41 is operated), the travel control unit 21 transitions the control mode to the standby state of S21. When in the standby state, the display control unit 22 lights up the READY display unit 53 of the display unit 50.

When the main switch 40 is turned off in S21, the driving control unit 21 transitions the control mode to S20. When the front brake switch 3a and rear brake switch 4a are both turned off (brake released) in S21, the driving control unit 21 transitions the control mode to automatic acceleration mode - very low speed in S22. When in automatic acceleration mode, the display control unit 22 turns on the creep driving display unit 52 of the display unit 50.

When the accelerator sensor 2a detects a single operation of the accelerator grip 2 (operation of more than a specified small opening) in S22, the driving control unit 21 transitions the control mode to automatic acceleration mode - low speed in S23. When the accelerator sensor 2a detects a normal operation of the accelerator grip 2 (operation of more than a specified opening) in S23, the driving control unit 21 transitions the control mode to manual acceleration mode in S24. When transitioning to manual acceleration mode, the display control unit 22 turns off the creep driving display unit 52 of the display unit 50.

In S22, when the second stage of the front brake switch 3a or the rear brake switch 4a is turned on, the driving control unit 21 transitions the control mode to the drive stop mode in S25. The drive stop mode is a control mode in which the two-wheeled vehicle 1 is maintained in a stopped state even if the user releases the front brake lever 3 and the rear brake lever 4. In S25, the driving control unit 21 transitions to a drive force cut state in which no drive force is generated by the motor 60, and activates the braking device 71 to maintain the two-wheeled vehicle 1 in a stopped state. The display control unit 22 turns off the creep drive display unit 52 of the display unit 50. In S25, when the second stage of the front brake switch 3a or the rear brake switch 4a is turned on, the driving control unit 21 transitions the control mode to S22.

In S23, when the accelerator sensor 2a detects that the accelerator grip 2 is not being operated (the accelerator is released) and the second stage of the front brake switch 3a or the rear brake switch 4a is turned on, the driving control unit 21 transitions the control mode to the drive stop mode in S25. In S24, when the accelerator sensor 2a detects that the accelerator grip 2 is not being operated (the accelerator is released) and the second stage of the front brake switch 3a or the rear brake switch 4a is turned on, the driving control unit 21 transitions the control mode to the drive stop mode in S25.

In S22, when the first stage of the front brake switch 3a or the rear brake switch 4a is turned on, the driving control unit 21 transitions the control mode to the drive standby mode (drive force cut mode) of S26. The drive standby mode is a control mode in which, when both the front brake switch 3a and the rear brake switch 4a are turned off, the motor 60 generates drive force to drive the two-wheeled vehicle 1. When in the drive standby mode, the display control unit 22 turns on the creep drive display section 52 of the display unit 50. In S26, when both the front brake switch 3a and the rear brake switch 4a are turned off, the driving control unit 21 transitions the control mode to S22, which was the state before the transition.

In S23, when the first stage of the front brake switch 3a or the rear brake switch 4a is turned on, the driving control unit 21 transitions the control mode to the drive standby mode in S26. In S26, when both the front brake switch 3a and the rear brake switch 4a are turned off, the driving control unit 21 transitions the control mode to S23, which was the state before the transition.

In S24, when the first stage of the front brake switch 3a or the rear brake switch 4a is turned on, the driving control unit 21 transitions the control mode to the drive standby mode in S26. In S26, when both the front brake switch 3a and the rear brake switch 4a are turned off, the driving control unit 21 transitions the control mode to S24, which was the state before the transition.

In S26, when the first stage of the front brake switch 3a or the rear brake switch 4a remains on and the traveling speed of the two-wheeled vehicle 1 detected by the speed sensor 43 becomes 0 km/h, the traveling control unit 21 transitions to the control mode S27. In S27, the display control unit 22 turns off the creep traveling display unit 52 of the display unit 50.

In S27, when the second stage of the front brake switch 3a or the rear brake switch 4a is turned on, or when both the front brake switch 3a and the rear brake switch 4a are turned off (when the brake operation is released), the driving control unit 21 transitions the control mode to S22.

Here, in S22 and S23, when the control mode is the automatic acceleration mode, the configuration for instructing a transition to the drive stop mode by operating the front brake switch 3a of the front brake lever 3 until the second stage is turned on, or by operating the rear brake switch 4a of the rear brake lever 4 until the second stage is turned on corresponds to the stop operation unit of the present disclosure. In this way, by combining the stop operation unit with the front brake lever 3 and the rear brake lever 4 (corresponding to the brake operation unit of the present disclosure), it is not necessary to provide a dedicated stop operation unit.

In addition, the stop operation unit may be provided as a dedicated operation unit, separate from the combined front brake lever 3 and rear brake lever 4. When a dedicated stop operation unit is provided, the manner in which transitions to each control mode are made by operating the brake operation unit and the stop operation unit may be set as in (1) and (2) below. (1) When the brake operation unit is operated to stop the vehicle (the stop operation unit is not operated) → transition to drive standby mode. (2) When the brake operation unit is operated to stop the vehicle and then the stop operation unit (dedicated operation unit) is operated → transition to drive stop mode.

[4. Auto Cruise Control]
The auto-cruise control executed by the control device 10 will be described with reference to the state transition diagram shown in Fig. 5. Auto-cruise is a control for maintaining the traveling speed of the two-wheeled vehicle 1 at a constant speed, and the traveling control unit 21 controls the driving force of the motor 60 and the braking force of the brake device 71 so that the traveling speed of the two-wheeled vehicle 1 detected by the speed sensor 43 is maintained at a set speed. The traveling control unit 21 executes the auto-cruise control when the auto-cruise function is set to be enabled by the auto-cruise switch 42.

S30 in FIG. 5 is the state of auto-cruise mode in which the cruise control unit 21 is executing auto-cruise control, and S31 is the state of the manual acceleration mode described above. In S31, when the front brake switch 3a and rear brake switch 4a are both off and the operation amount of the accelerator grip 2 detected by the accelerator sensor 2a is at a specified opening amount, the cruise control unit 21 sets auto-cruise with the speed at that time as the set speed, and transitions the control mode to S30.

In S30, when the first or second stage of the front brake switch 3a or rear brake switch 4a is turned on, or when the accelerator sensor 2a detects that the accelerator grip 2 is operated to a specified opening degree or greater, the speed control unit 22 ends the auto-cruise control and transitions to the control mode in S31.

5. Other embodiments
In the above embodiment, an electric two-wheeled vehicle 1 has been shown as an electric vehicle of the present disclosure, however, the electric vehicle of the present disclosure is not limited to this and may be a three-wheeled (one wheel in front and two wheels in the rear, or two wheels in front and one wheel in the rear) or four-wheeled vehicle classified as an ATV (all-terrain vehicle) in which a user straddles the body and rides, or an electric vehicle in which a user rides inside the vehicle cabin.

In the above embodiment, the front brake switch 3a and the rear brake switch 4a are configured to be turned on in two stages depending on the strength of the operation (the amount of operation), but to make it easier for the user to recognize the two-stage operation status, a configuration may be adopted in which the user is made aware of the switch between the first and second stages by a clicking sensation, light emission, an alarm sound, etc.

In the above embodiment, the upper speed limit in the automatic acceleration mode is changed to two levels (very slow 5 km/h and slow 20 km/h), but it may be changed to three or more levels. Also, the upper speed limit may be freely set by the user.

Note that Figures 1 and 2 are schematic diagrams showing the functional configuration of the electric vehicle of the present disclosure divided according to the main processing content in order to facilitate understanding of the invention of the present disclosure, and the functional configuration of the electric vehicle may be divided in other ways. Furthermore, the processing of each component may be executed by one hardware unit or by multiple hardware units. Furthermore, the processing according to the state transition diagrams shown in Figures 3 to 5 may be executed by one program or by multiple programs.

6. Configurations supported by the above embodiment
The above embodiment is a specific example of the following configuration.

(Configuration 1) An electric vehicle having a motor (60), an accelerator operation unit (2), a brake operation unit (3, 4), and a control device (10) that controls a driving force generated by the motor based on operation states of the accelerator operation unit and the brake operation unit, and further comprising a stop operation unit (3, 4) for instructing the electric vehicle to stop. The control device has a manual acceleration mode in which, when the accelerator operation unit is operated, the driving force generated by the motor is controlled according to the operation state of the accelerator operation unit, and an automatic acceleration mode in which, when the accelerator operation unit is not operated, the motor generates a driving force to accelerate the electric vehicle up to a predetermined upper limit speed. and controlling the driving force generated by the motor by switching between a plurality of modes including: in the automatic acceleration mode, when the brake operation unit or the stop operation unit is operated, generation of the driving force by the motor is stopped; and, when the generation of the driving force by the motor is stopped in response to the operation of the brake operation unit, a drive standby mode is entered in which the vehicle is switched to the automatic acceleration mode when the operation of the brake operation unit is terminated; and, when the generation of the driving force by the motor is stopped in response to the operation of the stop operation unit, a drive stop mode is entered in which the generation of the driving force by the motor is maintained in a stopped state even after the operation of the brake operation unit is terminated.
According to the electric vehicle of configuration 1, in the automatic acceleration mode, the electric vehicle is stopped by operating the brake operation unit to enter the drive standby mode, and traveling can be easily resumed by ending the operation of the brake operation unit. Also, in the automatic acceleration mode, the electric vehicle is stopped by operating the stop operation unit to enter the drive stop mode, so that the electric vehicle can be maintained in a stopped state even when the brake operation unit is not being operated, and the generation of drive force by the motor is stopped, thereby reducing power consumption.

(Configuration 2) The electric vehicle described in Configuration 1, wherein the brake operation unit includes the function of the stop operation unit, and when the brake operation unit is operated less than a first predetermined operation amount in the automatic acceleration mode, the control device stops the generation of driving force by the motor and switches to the drive standby mode, and when the brake operation unit is operated equal to or greater than the first predetermined operation amount, the control device stops the generation of driving force by the motor and switches to the drive stop mode.
According to the electric vehicle of configuration 2, the instruction operation for the drive standby mode and the drive stop mode can be distinguished depending on the difference in the operation amount of the brake operation unit, and the brake operation unit is made to include the function of the stop control unit, thereby making it unnecessary to provide a dedicated stop control unit.

(Configuration 3) The electric vehicle according to configuration 1 or 2, wherein the control device switches the mode to the automatic acceleration mode when the brake operation unit is operated by a second predetermined operation amount or more in the drive stop mode.
According to the electric vehicle of configuration 3, a user of the electric vehicle can easily switch to the automatic acceleration mode by canceling the drive stop mode by operating the brake operation unit.

(Configuration 4) The electric vehicle according to any one of configurations 1 to 3, wherein the control device, in the automatic acceleration mode, changes the upper limit speed in a plurality of stages in response to operation of the accelerator operation unit.
According to the electric vehicle of configuration 4, a user of the electric vehicle can change the upper limit speed in the automatic acceleration mode by operating the accelerator operation unit depending on the usage situation of the electric vehicle, etc.

(Configuration 5) The electric vehicle according to configuration 4, wherein the control device switches to the manual acceleration mode when the accelerator operation unit is operated in a state in which the upper limit speed is set to the fastest of the multiple stages in the automatic acceleration mode.
According to the electric vehicle of configuration 5, by enabling switching from the automatic acceleration mode to the manual acceleration mode by operating the accelerator operating unit, it is possible to eliminate the need to provide a dedicated operating unit for instructing switching from the automatic acceleration mode to the manual acceleration mode.

(Configuration 6) The electric vehicle according to any one of configurations 1 to 5, further comprising an alarm unit, wherein the control device issues an alarm by the alarm unit when in the automatic acceleration mode.
According to the electric vehicle of configuration 6, it is possible to make the user of the electric vehicle aware that the automatic acceleration mode has been set.

The electric vehicle disclosed herein can be used to facilitate operations to maintain a stopped state and resume driving from a stopped state, as well as to reduce power consumption while stopped.

1...electric vehicle, 2...accelerator grip (accelerator operation section), 2a...accelerator sensor, 3...front brake lever (brake operation section), 3a...front brake switch, 4...rear brake lever (brake operation section), 4a...rear brake switch, 10...control device, 20...processor, 21...driving control section, 22...display control section, 30...memory, 31...program, 40...main switch, 41...start switch, 42...auto-cruise switch, 43...speed sensor, 50...display unit, 51...speed display section, 52...creep driving display section, 53...READY display section, 60...motor, 61...rotor position sensor, 62...motor drive unit, 63...driving battery, 70...low-voltage battery, 71...braking device.

Claims (6)

An electric vehicle having a motor (60), an accelerator operation unit (2), a brake operation unit (3, 4), and a control device (10) that controls a driving force generated by the motor based on an operation state of the accelerator operation unit and the brake operation unit,
A stop operation unit (3, 4) is provided for instructing the electric vehicle to stop,
The control device includes:
a manual acceleration mode in which the driving force generated by the motor is controlled in accordance with an operation state of the accelerator operation unit when the accelerator operation unit is operated, and an automatic acceleration mode in which the driving force is generated by the motor and the electric vehicle is accelerated up to a predetermined upper limit speed when the accelerator operation unit is not operated, by switching between a plurality of modes,
An electric vehicle in which, in the automatic acceleration mode, when the brake operation unit or the stop operation unit is operated, generation of driving force by the motor is stopped, and when the generation of driving force by the motor is stopped in response to the operation of the brake operation unit, a drive standby mode is entered which switches to the automatic acceleration mode when the operation of the brake operation unit is terminated, and when the generation of driving force by the motor is stopped in response to the operation of the stop operation unit, a drive stop mode is entered which maintains a state in which generation of driving force by the motor is stopped even when the operation of the brake operation unit is terminated. The brake operation unit includes a function of the stop operation unit,
2. The electric vehicle according to claim 1, wherein, in the automatic acceleration mode, when the brake operation unit is operated less than a first predetermined operation amount, the control device stops generation of drive force by the motor and switches to the drive standby mode, and when the brake operation unit is operated equal to or greater than the first predetermined operation amount, the control device stops generation of drive force by the motor and switches to the drive stop mode. The electric vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control device switches the mode to the automatic acceleration mode when the brake operation unit is operated by a second predetermined operation amount or more in the drive stop mode. The electric vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control device is configured to change the upper limit speed in a plurality of stages in response to operation of the accelerator operation unit in the automatic acceleration mode. The electric vehicle according to claim 4 , wherein the control device switches to the manual acceleration mode when the accelerator operation unit is operated in a state in which the upper limit speed is set to the fastest of the plurality of speed levels in the automatic acceleration mode. Equipped with an alarm unit,
The electric vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control device performs a notification by the notification unit when the automatic acceleration mode is selected.

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