Nissan Motor Company Limited

Kazuhiko Okino

Naoki Yamamoto

Atsushi Takano

Takashi Iimori

Hisashi Niioka

Shinsuke Higuchi

Tsutomu Soga

Takuya Kinoshita

Hayato Nagakura

Tetsuya Shinohara

Junji Miyachi

Yuki Takanezawa

Ryuzou Noguchi

Takashi Limori

A fuel economy display control method for a hybrid vehicle includes driving electric power supplied to a travel motor from a battery is generated by an electric power generation device that generates electric power by consuming fuel. The fuel economy display control method includes an electric power economy computation step in which instantaneous electric power economy according to an output of the travel motor is computed, a fuel economy computation step in which instantaneous fuel economy corresponding to the above instantaneous electric power economy is computed in accordance with an operating state set for the electric power generation device, and a display step in which the instantaneous fuel economy is displayed on a display device arranged inside a vehicle cabin.

Fuel economy display control method and fuel economy display control system

Provided is a battery temperature control device configured to automatically heat a battery with a battery-driven heater so that the battery does not freeze at a minimum electric power consumption when the battery is out of use. The battery temperature control device predicts, based on a combination of a battery temperature and an outside air temperature, a predictive time that the battery temperature is likely to be less than a first set temperature, while the battery temperature is higher than or equal to the first set temperature at which there is no risk of freezing, and sets the predictive time as the next controller startup time, and determines whether or not the battery temperature has fallen to below the first set temperature with a control program wakeup when the predictive time has expired, and battery-drives the heater when the battery temperature fall has occurred, to heat the battery.

Battery temperature control device

When completion of timer charge before elapse of a designated time is designated by a timer charge reservation means for allowing a user to designate a predetermined charge time zone and a target amount of electric power to be charged to the battery, a timer charge start time is determined. Upon carrying out the timer charge, when it is predicted that the timer charge and battery heating are simultaneously carried out, a required amount of extension of a charge time period is determined so as to complete charge of the battery by the designated time, and starts charge of the battery at a time advanced relative to the timer charge start time by the required amount of extension of a charge time period. With this control, charge of the battery can be completed at a predetermined time without unnecessary enhancement in a required capacity of a battery heater.

Charge control apparatus for vehicle

At a timing of time tbattery temperature Tbat lowers to Tbat_start and a warm-up request occurs, SOC at this time is a level, like time t, which allows a vehicle to travel by itself up to a battery charging facility and allows a battery charger to be connected to the battery charging facility. Since a warm-up permission judging value is set to SOCs_low that is substantially 0 at time t, in response to judgment of 'SOC&#x2267;SOCs_low (&#x2248;0)', warm-up of the battery is carried out from time tas shown by a solid line, then Tbat can be increased from time t. A battery charge time can be thus shortened. With this, in order that the battery does not freeze while the battery is unused, a control that warms up the battery by a battery-driven heater is performed while shortening the battery charge time.

Even when temperature sensors () used in a device for warming a battery () being not in use by using a battery-driven heater () have failed, the battery () is prevented from freezing. Based on a battery temperature (Tb) and an outside air temperature (Ta), times (&#x394;tto &#x394;t) during which Tb will decrease down to a warming start temperature (Tb_start) are each set to the next controller startup time (&#x394;t). A controller () is started up every &#x394;t, at t, t, and t, and checks whether Tb&#x3c;Tb_start is satisfied or not. At twhen Tb&#x3c;Tb_start is satisfied, a heater () is battery-driven to warm the battery (). After twhen the outside air temperature sensor () fails, the outside air temperature (Ta) is set to a fixed value (Ta_const) and based on this Ta=Ta_const and the battery temperature (Tb), the above control is repeated. Accordingly, it is unlikely that the temperature information (Ta) from the outside air temperature sensor () that is at fault causes &#x394;t to become extremely long like &#x221e;, so that it is avoided that the heater () cannot be operated because the controller () cannot be started up and the battery () freezes.

When a timer charge time zone is set by a timer charge reservation means for allowing a user to designate a predetermined timer charge time zone and a target charge amount, and timer charge is carried out from a timer charge start time previously designated, it is judged whether or not the timer charge start time should be advanced, at a time earlier by a predetermined time period than the timer charge start time. Owing to the judgment, charge of a battery can be completed at a predetermined time without enhancing a required capacity of a heater.

A charge control device is configured to delay a charge suspension time if a battery is being heated by a battery heater when carrying out a timed charge in a charge time slot specified by a user via an interface device. This enables the battery to be charged to a target charge amount without increasing a required capacity of the battery heater.

Charge control device for vehicle

When warming-up of a battery is in progress (S), a battery charge state at the warming-up start time of the battery is set to a battery hold capacity SOC(S, S), and a charge power for the battery is controlled so that a battery charge state SOC is kept at SOC. When a present time is in a timer charge reservation time (S), the charge power for the battery is controlled so that SOC becomes a full charge state SOC(S). Even if SOC has a tendency to temporarily decrease due to a rapid increase of heater consumption power just after start of warming-up of the battery, by keeping SOC at SOC(SOC=SOC), SOC can reach a full charge state as intended during the timer charge reservation time. A proportion of charge using low-priced midnight power is increased to a maximum then running cost can be suppressed.

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Yokohama, Japan

Kazuhiko Okino