INDUSTRIAL OR COMMERCIAL VEHICLE "

Technical field of the invention

The invention relates to the field of vehicle drivelines, in particular the ones comprising a manual, automatic or robotized gearbox and an electric drivetrain directly or indirectly associated with the main drive shaft.

This type of driveline is used in the field of industrial or commercial vehicles.

State of the art

Hybrid vehicles can operate in at least three different modes :

a pure electric mode, in which the sole electric drivetrain moves the vehicle,

- a pure thermal mode, in which the thermal drivetrain moves the vehicle,

- a hybrid mode, in which both the aforesaid drivetrains are active and connected to the driveline.

Commercial and industrial vehicles are well-known to have a significant mass, especially when they are loaded. In recent year, car manufacturers have started using hybrid or multimode drivelines, which though are not suitable for industrial applications.

Electric motors used in the industrial field are particularly heavy and large, so as to be capable of moving the vehicle even when it is completely loaded.

The vehicle can run with the electric drivetrain active both in the pure thermal mode, namely with the electric drivetrain detached from the driveline, and in the hybrid mode, in which both drivetrains cooperate to move the vehicle .

While the electric drivetrain has a high degree of elasticity, to the extent that it can be directly connected to the vehicle driveline downstream of the gearbox, the thermal drivetrain needs a gearbox, which, in commercial and industrial vehicles, has discrete transmission ratios. During gear changes, while the vehicle is accelerating, there are evident drive gaps. When the vehicle is operating with a full load and the gears are very low (first, second, third gear) , the time needed to select a higher gear negatively affects the dynamics of the vehicle.

Summary of the invention

The object of the invention is to provide a driveline of a hybrid vehicle, in particular of an industrial or commercial vehicle, which is designed to improve the dynamic behaviour of the vehicle during the acceleration phases in which the thermal drivetrain is operating.

The driveline according to the invention implements a manual, automatic or robotized gearbox having discrete transmission ratios. The idea on which the invention is based is that of connecting the electric drivetrain to the driveline at least during the vehicle acceleration phases, so as to guide the driveline during gear changes, i.e. when the thermal drivetrain is disconnected from the driveline.

According to a preferred variant of the invention, a processing unit is designed to acquire a plurality of signals and to control said electric drivetrain so as to make the acceleration of the vehicle smooth through the action of the electric drivetrain activated during gear changes .

According to a further preferred variant of the invention, said processing unit is configured to

- acquire a first torque value delivered by the thermal drivetrain before the opening of the main clutch,

- calculating a second value of a torque delivered by the thermal drivetrain after engagement of the higher ratio based on a delivery curve of the thermal drivetrain, previously stored in a memory of the processing unit, and

- delivering a third torque by means of said electric drivetrain, which is limited to a mean value between said first and said second torque value.

According to the invention, a driveline of a hybrid vehicle is provided, in particular an industrial or commercial vehicle, according to claim 1.

According to the invention, a method for controlling a driveline of a hybrid vehicle is also provided.

The claims describe preferred embodiments of the invention, thus forming an integral part of the description.

Brief description of the figures

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be best understood upon perusal of the following detailed description of an embodiment thereof (and of relative variants) with reference to the accompanying drawings merely showing non-limiting examples, wherein:

figure 1 shows an example of a driveline according to the invention;

figure 2 shows a time diagram of electric signals that intervene in the control of said electric drivetrain,

figure 3 shows a development of the torque offered to the drive axle of the vehicle according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the figures, the same numbers and the same reference letters indicate the same elements or components.

For the purposes of the invention, the term "second" component does not imply the presence of a "first" component. As a matter of fact, these terms are only used for greater clarity and should not be interpreted in a limiting manner. Detailed description of embodiments

Figure 1 shows a preferred example of a vehicle driveline of a hybrid vehicle according to the invention.

On the left of the figure you can see a schematic representation of a thermal drivetrain E with four inline cylinders/pistons. Evidently, the thermal drivetrain can also have a different number or a different arrangement of the cylinders.

The thermal drivetrain E comprises a crankshaft CS, to which the pistons are connected.

The crankshaft of the thermal drivetrain is connected to the gearbox GR, usually by means of a main coupling device MC, which preferably is a clutch with packable discs, both when the gearbox is manual and when the gearbox is robotized.

The gearbox GR comprises an input shaft GRIN, usually called "primary shaft", connected to the thermal drivetrain E and an output shaft GROUT, generally called "secondary shaft", connected to the vehicle drive axle DS . Between the input shaft and the output shaft there are interposed a plurality of gears to obtain different discrete transmission ratios in known manners.

The gearbox GR preferably comprises a processing unit GRUN configured to identify or select an optimal transmission ratio of the gearbox based on a signal of a first speed sensor SPS1, which, according to a preferred variant of the invention, is connected to the main drive shaft MS, which is operatively interposed between the output shaft GROUT and the drive axle DS of the vehicle.

The main drive shaft MS has a first end MSI and a second end MS2, which is opposite the first one. The first end MSI is adapted to be coupled to the output shaft GROUT by means of a first auxiliary clutch PSC, the second end MS2 is connected to the differential DF of the drive axle DS .

The main drive shaft MS can be coupled to an electric drivetrain E, preferably in an intermediate point between the first end and the second end of the main drive shaft MS or, anyway, in such a way that the interaction between the main drive shaft and the electric drivetrain is independent/irrespective of the opening or closing condition of the first auxiliary clutch PSC and/or of the opening or closing condition of the main clutch, if present. According to a preferred variant of the invention, the interconnection among the main drive shaft, the secondary shaft of the gearbox and the electric drivetrain EE is preferably carried out by means of a so-called transfer case TB, which contains, in a casing, the interconnection organs between the main drive shaft, an electric drivetrain EE and the output shaft of the gearbox. These organs preferably comprise a pair of gears to connect the rotor of the electric drivetrain to the main drive shaft, a second auxiliary clutch SSC to disconnect the rotor of the electric drivetrain from the main drive shaft MS, and the aforesaid first auxiliary clutch PSC, which, as mentioned above, interconnects the secondary shaft of the gearbox to the main drive shaft.

According to the invention, a vehicle processing unit, preferably the so-called Vehicle Control Unit (VCU) , during an acceleration phase (B) in which the thermal drivetrain E is active and associated with the driveline, is configured to

- acquire a first signal indicative of an opening condition of the main clutch MC,

- acquire a second signal indicative of an expected variation of the transmission ratio of the gearbox,

- acquire a third signal indicative of a effectively implemented variation of the transmission ratio of the gearbox,

- determining a limit torque to be delivered by the electric drivetrain and a relative delivery time interval ,

- control the torque delivered by the electric drivetrain based on said limit torque and said delivery time interval .

Hence, according to the invention, the electric drivetrain is activated to guide the driveline

- during a gear change (A) ,

- while the vehicle is accelerating (B) .

The detection of a gear change indicates, in an unmistakable manner, that the vehicle currently is in thermal mode, as the electric drivetrain EE is connected to the driveline downstream of the gearbox, namely between the gearbox and the drive axle.

Furthermore, in any vehicle provided with a clutch between the gearbox and the engine, the clutch must implicitly be open during gear changes.

Therefore, according to the invention, the electric drivetrain is activated when the aforesaid conditions A and B occur simultaneously.

Figure 2 shows a time diagram of the signals involved in the aforesaid control. In the figure, said signals are shown from the top to the bottom according to the same order indicated above.

Hence, the first signal indicates the opening or closing condition of the main clutch MC . The signal is high when the clutch is open and, vice versa, it is low when the clutch is closed.

The second signal, with the shape of steps at different levels, indicates an expected sequence of engagement of transmission ratios, namely of the optimal transmission ratios, during the aforesaid acceleration phase of the vehicle .

The third signal, which also has the shape of steps at different levels, indicates the transmission ratios actually engaged in an automatic manner by the gear box, if it is robotized, or in a manual manner by the driver of the vehicle .

Thus, there is an evident time difference between the ideal time for a gear change and the actual one.

The fourth step-shaped signal, unlike the first signal, does not necessarily switch between two extreme positions - high or low - but it can have a variable amplitude depending on the torque value to be delivered by the electric drivetrain to the driveline.

From the point of view of time, each step of the fourth signal begins when the main clutch is open and at the same time there is - second signal - the engagement of a higher gear .

The height of each step of the fourth signal, namely the limit torque to be delivered by the electric drivetrain, can be

-proportional to a position of the accelerator pedal, - proportional to or coinciding with a mean value between a first torque value delivered by the thermal drivetrain before opening of the main clutch and a second value of a torque delivered by the thermal drivetrain after engagement of the higher ratio based on a delivery curve of the thermal drivetrain, previously stored in a memory of the processing unit, -a predefined settable torque value.

According to a preferred variant of the invention, which can be combined with the previous ones, a step of the fourth signal has a negative front, namely ends, in response to a closing of the main clutch or upon expiry of a time-out. Said time-out has a duration that is preferably shorter than the mean reaction time of a human being, which usually is ½ second.

As to the fifth signal, it represents the control carried out by the power supply unit on the electric drivetrain. Said unit (not shown) supplies power to the electric drivetrain according to a ramp that can have a fixed or variable slope depending on other parameters, namely at least one among:

- SOC (state of charge of the batteries)

- Limit torque value expressed by the corresponding step of the fourth signal,

-Temperature of the electric drivetrain.

When the electric drivetrain EE can be disconnected from the driveline, as shown in figure 1, then, in order to implement the invention, it is necessary to close the second secondary clutch, housed in the transfer case, so as to allow the electric drivetrain to deliver the torque to the drive axle DS .

It should be pointed out that processing units capable of estimating the correct transmission ratio and, if necessary, controlling the engagement thereof are known. If there is a manual gearbox, the processing unit GRUN of the gearbox simply indicates to the driver, on the dashboard, the transmission ratio to be engaged.

When the driveline operates in pure electric mode, the VCU is configured to maintain the second auxiliary clutch SSC steadily closed at least when the electric drivetrain is active .

It should be pointed out that the processing units GRUN, VCU and ECU are mutually interfaced by means of a CAN bus and, therefore, even though some sensors are connected to one of the processing units, the relative measured values are made public on the CAN network by the processing units. Therefore, the VCU is allowed to learn the speed the of secondary shaft GROUT of the gearbox by means of the sensor SPS2, which is directly connected to it, and the speed of the main drive shaft MS indirectly through the GRUN. Among the different items of information made public on the CAN network, there are the speed of the thermal drivetrain, the torque delivered by the electric drivetrain and by the thermal drivetrain, the speed of the main drive shaft and of the secondary shaft of the gearbox, besides the opening (disengagement) and closing (engagement) states of the clutches and the currently engaged gear of the gearbox. During an acceleration of the vehicle, the power supplied to the wheels increases and, when dealing with a gear change, it is approximately unchanged an instant before and an instant after the gear change. Therefore, the torque delivered by the engine an instant before the gear change is evidently smaller than the torque delivered by the engine after the gear change. As a matter of fact, power results the product between the delivered torque and the number of revolutions of the engine. Therefore, if the system detects that the vehicle is in an acceleration phase, for example based on the monitoring of a derivative of the speed of the vehicle, the engagement of a higher transmission ratio evidently leads to the delivery of a greater torque compared to the previously engaged transmission ratio.

In addition, given that torque limiting curves of engines, especially gasoline engine, are decreasing with increasing rotation speeds, than the aforesaid phenomena is heightened .

Indeed, figure 3 shows the decreasing time development of the torque delivered by the internal combustion engine for the transmission ratio n-1 and, subsequently, for the transmission ratio n.

You can clearly see that the torque delivered an instant after the gear change is greater than the torque delivered before the gear change.

Between the two torque signals there is the intervention of the electric drivetrain, which, according to a preferred variant of the invention, delivers a mean torque between the torque value delivered by the thermal engine immediately before the opening of the main clutch MC and immediately after its closing.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the delivery of torque by the electric drivetrain is made smoother in order to avoid uncomfortable tugs, with a delivery hump passing through the aforesaid mean value.

According to a preferred variant of the invention, which can be combined with any of the previous variants, the acceleration phase of the vehicle can be determined based on the derivative of the position of the accelerator pedal calculated in sampling time intervals of some tens of ms, for example 100 ms .

Each sampling, to avoid noises, preferably lasts 10 ms . Since the gear change interrupts the acceleration of the vehicle, the acceleration state of the vehicle is evidently considered as such even during the releasing of the accelerator pedal and the consequent opening of the clutch, if the vehicle is provided with a manual gearbox.

In particular, when the system detects that the pedal is subjected to an increasing angle in a predetermined time interval, followed by the opening of the main clutch with the brake pedal completely released, it can definitely establish that the electric drivetrain needs to be activated as described above.

Preferably, when the vehicle is provided with a manual gearbox, it can also occur that the accelerator pedal is completely released during the gear change, whereas, when the vehicle is provided with an automatic gearbox, you need to control that the accelerator pedal is not released, hence it maintains the same angle or is pressed further. This invention can be advantageously implemented by means of a computer program comprising coding means for carrying out one or more steps of the method, when the program is run on a computer. Therefore, the scope of protection is extended to said computer program and, furthermore, to means that can be read by a computer and comprise a recorded message, said means that can be read by a computer comprising program coding means for carrying out one or more steps of the method, when the program is run on a computer .

Hence, the invention also relates to a computer program comprising program coding means for carrying out the steps described above, when said program is run on a computer, and to means that can be read by a computer and comprise a recorded program, said means that can be read by a computer comprising program coding means for carrying out said steps, when the program is run on a computer.

The non-limiting example described above can be subjected to variations, without for this reason going beyond the scope of protection of the invention, comprising all equivalent embodiments for a person skilled in the art. When reading the description above, a skilled person can carry out the sub ect-matter of the invention without introducing further manufacturing details. The elements and features contained in the different preferred embodiments, drawings included, can be combined with one another, without for this reason going beyond the scope of protection of this patent application. The information contained in the part concerning the state of art only serves the purpose of better understanding the invention and does not represent a declaration of existence of the items described. Furthermore, if not specifically excluded by the detailed description, the information contained in the part concerning the state of art should be considered as an integral part of the invention.