US 11,904,833 B2
Vehicle control device
Daiki Yokoyama, Gotemba (JP); Hiroya Chiba, Susono (JP); Yoshiyuki Kageura, Shizuoka-ken (JP); Masanori Shimada, Susono (JP); Yoshihiro Sakayanagi, Mishima (JP); Sui Kurihashi, Shizuoka-ken (JP); Hiroki Morita, Hiratsuka (JP); and Makoto Ogiso, Mishima (JP)
Assigned to TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, Aichi-Ken (JP)
Filed by TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, Aichi-ken (JP)
Filed on Nov. 19, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/530,482.
Claims priority of application No. 2020-211480 (JP), filed on Dec. 21, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2022/0194353 A1, Jun. 23, 2022
Int. Cl. B60W 10/08 (2006.01); B60W 20/12 (2016.01); B60W 10/06 (2006.01); B60W 10/30 (2006.01)
CPC B60W 20/12 (2016.01) [B60W 10/06 (2013.01); B60W 10/08 (2013.01); B60W 10/30 (2013.01); B60W 2510/0676 (2013.01); B60W 2710/0688 (2013.01)] 11 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A vehicle control device of a hybrid vehicle driven by only an electric motor or by both of the electric motor and an internal combustion engine, wherein a boundary is set between an inside of an engine drive restricted zone where operation of the internal combustion engine is restricted and an outside of the engine drive restricted zone, said vehicle control device comprising:
an adjusting device configured to perform at least one adjustment among adjustment of a temperature inside a cabin performed using electric power, adjustment of a humidity inside the cabin performed using electric power, and adjustment of an air pollution degree inside the cabin performed using electric power;
a navigation device configured to search for a running route up to a destination upon input of the destination;
an information acquiring unit configured to acquire position information of the hybrid vehicle and information relating to said boundary;
a judging unit configured to judge whether a time period required for the hybrid vehicle to reach said boundary is within a preset time period or whether a distance between the hybrid vehicle and said boundary is within a preset distance in response to (i) judging, based on the information acquired by the information acquiring unit that the hybrid vehicle is positioned at the outside of the engine drive restricted zone and (ii) predicting, based on search results by the navigation device that the hybrid vehicle will enter the inside of the engine drive restricted zone; and
an internal cabin environment control unit configured to change, in response to judging by said judging unit (a) that the time period required for the hybrid vehicle to reach said boundary is within the preset time period or (b) that the distance between the hybrid vehicle and said boundary is within the preset distance, a value of at least one of a temperature inside the cabin, a humidity inside the cabin, or an air pollution degree inside the cabin from a current value to a value closer to a preset set value than an intermediate value of the current value and the preset set value before the hybrid vehicle enters the engine drive restricted zone,
wherein
said adjusting device includes a cooling device having a refrigerant-use compressor, and
the internal cabin environment control unit is configured to control the refrigerant-use compressor to cause, in response to judging by said judging unit that (a) the time period required for the hybrid vehicle to reach said boundary is within the preset time period or (b) that the distance between the hybrid vehicle and said boundary is within the preset distance, the temperature inside the cabin to change from a current temperature to a cooling temperature closer to a preset set cooling temperature than an intermediate value of the current temperature and the preset set cooling temperature before the hybrid vehicle enters the inside of the engine drive restricted zone.