Hybrid electric vehicle controller and method of controlling a hybrid electric vehicle

摘要

Embodiments of the invention provide a controller for a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) having an engine and an electric machine, the controller being configured upon start-up to control an electric machine to provide torque to drive a vehicle with an engine off if a state of charge (SoC) of an energy storage device is above an EV-start SoC threshold and to start an engine if a SoC of an energy storage device is below the EV-start SoC threshold, wherein the EV-start SoC threshold is determined to be one selected from amongst a value sufficient to allow a vehicle to travel a prescribed distance before a SoC falls below a SoC minimum level at which an engine is started and a value sufficient to allow a vehicle to operate for a prescribed time period before a SoC falls below the SoC minimum level.

主权项

1. A controller for a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) having an engine, an electric machine, and an energy storage device, the controller being configured to upon startup:
control the electric machine to provide torque to drive the vehicle with the engine off if a state of charge (SoC) of the energy storage device is above an EV-start threshold (SoCEV-start) and to start the engine if the SoC of the energy storage device is below SoCEV-start, wherein SoCEV-start comprises at least one of:
a value sufficient to allow the vehicle to travel a prescribed distance before the SoC falls below a SoC minimum level (SoCmin) at which the engine is started; anda value sufficient to allow the vehicle to operate for a prescribed time period before the SoC falls below SoCmin; wherein the controller is operable to determine the SOCEV-start in dependence on historical data in respect of a journey conducted by the vehicle; and wherein the controller is operable to determine the SoCEV-start in dependence on energy consumption data in respect of at least a portion of a previous journey made by the vehicle.