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EP-4303424-B1 - VEHICLE CONTROLLER, VEHICLE CONTROL METHOD, AND STORAGE MEDIUM

EP4303424B1EP 4303424 B1EP4303424 B1EP 4303424B1EP-4303424-B1

Inventors

  • TABATA, ATSUSHI
  • OKUDA, KOICHI
  • NAKANO, MASATO
  • SEKIGUCHI, Yoshito
  • SATAKE, Nobuhiko

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20230616

Claims (7)

  1. A controller for a vehicle (90), the controller comprising a control circuit (100), wherein the controller (100) is configured to execute a hydrogen concentration calculating process (S10) that calculates a hydrogen concentration (J) in a specific portion of a target region based on an operating state of an internal combustion engine (10), the internal combustion engine (10) using hydrogen as a fuel, a downstream passage (3A) being a portion of an intake passage (3) of the internal combustion engine (10) that is downstream of a throttle valve (29), a connecting passage (51) connecting a crank chamber (11) of the internal combustion engine (10) to the downstream passage (3A), and the target region being a region including the crank chamber (11) and the connecting passage (51), and a pressure reduction process (S40; S110), when a condition is met (S20: YES), in which the hydrogen concentration (JS) is greater than or equal to a predetermined determination value (JS) (N1), causes a pressure in the downstream passage (3A) to be lower than that at a point in time when the condition is met (S20: YES), wherein the internal combustion engine (10) including a compressor wheel (41) that performs forced induction of intake air on an upstream side of the throttle valve (29) in the intake passage (3), the pressure reduction process is a process (S110) that causes a rotation speed of the compressor wheel (41) to be lower than that at the point in time when the condition is met (S20: YES).
  2. The controller for the vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the pressure reduction process is a process (S40; S110) that causes an opening degree of the throttle valve (29) to be smaller than that at the point in time when the condition is met (S20: YES).
  3. The controller for the vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the pressure reduction process is a process (S110) that stops forced induction of the intake air by the compressor wheel (41) and causes an opening degree of the throttle valve (29) to be smaller than a fully open state.
  4. The controller for the vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the vehicle (90) includes a motor (82) capable of applying torque to an axle (73) for transmitting driving force to a wheel (72), and the control circuit (100) is configured to cause, when executing the pressure reduction process (S40; S110), the torque input to the axle (73) from the motor (82) to be greater than that at the point in time when the condition is met (S20; YES).
  5. The controller for the vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle (90) includes a motor (82) capable of applying torque to a crankshaft (7) of the internal combustion engine (10), and when a drive mode of the vehicle (90) can be switched to a motoring mode at the point in time when the specific condition is met, the pressure reduction process is a process (S40) that rotates the crankshaft (7) with the torque of the motor (82) and causes an opening degree of the throttle valve (29) to be smaller than that at the point in time when the condition is met (S20: YES), and when the drive mode of the vehicle (90) cannot be switched to the motoring mode at the point in time when a specific condition is met, the pressure reduction process is a process (110) that causes a rotation speed of the compressor wheel (41) to be lower than at the point in time when the condition is met (S20: YES).
  6. A control method for a vehicle (90), the method being executed by a controller including a control circuit (100), the method comprising: calculating a hydrogen concentration (J) in a specific portion of a target region based on an operating state of an internal combustion engine (10) (S10), the internal combustion engine (10) using hydrogen as a fuel, a downstream passage (3A) being a portion of an intake passage (3) of the internal combustion engine (10) that is downstream of a throttle valve (29), the internal combustion engine (10) including a compressor wheel (41) that performs forced induction of intake air on an upstream side of the throttle valve (29) in the intake passage (3), a connecting passage (51) connecting a crank chamber (11) of the internal combustion engine (10) to the downstream passage (3A), and the target region being a region including the crank chamber (11) and the connecting passage (51), and when a condition is met (S20: YES), in which the hydrogen concentration (JS) is greater than or equal to a predetermined determination value (JS) (N1), causing a pressure in the downstream passage (3A) to be lower than that at a point in time when the condition is met (S20: YES) (S40; S110) by causing a rotation speed of the compressor wheel (41) to be lower than that at a point in time when the condition is met.
  7. A non-transitory computer readable medium that stores a program that causes a processor (111) to execute a control process, the processor (111) forming part of the controller (100), wherein the control process includes: calculating a hydrogen concentration (J) in a specific portion of a target region based on an operating state of an internal combustion engine (10) (S10), the internal combustion engine (10) using hydrogen as a fuel, a downstream passage (3A) being a portion of an intake passage (3) of the internal combustion engine (10) that is downstream of a throttle valve (29), the internal combustion engine (10) including a compressor wheel (41) that performs forced induction of intake air on an upstream side of the throttle valve (29) in the intake passage (3), a connecting passage (51) connecting a crank chamber (11) of the internal combustion engine (10) to the downstream passage (3A), and the target region being a region including the crank chamber (11) and the connecting passage (51), and when a condition is met (S20: YES), in which the hydrogen concentration (JS) is greater than or equal to a predetermined determination value (JS) (N1), causing a pressure in the downstream passage (3A) to be lower than that at a point in time when the condition is met (S20: YES) (S40; S110) by causing a rotation speed of the compressor wheel (41) to be lower than that at a point in time when the condition is met.

Description

BACKGROUND 1. Field The present disclosure relates to a vehicle controller, a vehicle control method, and a storage medium. 2. Description of Related Art Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2021-127704 discloses an internal combustion engine using hydrogen as fuel and a controller for the internal combustion engine. The internal combustion engine includes a crank chamber, a ventilation passage, and a ventilation fan. The ventilation passage connects the crank chamber to the outside of the internal combustion engine. The ventilation fan is located in the ventilation passage. Hydrogen gas leaking from the cylinder accumulates in the crank chamber. The controller drives the ventilation fan when the hydrogen concentration in the crank chamber becomes high. Then, hydrogen gas is discharged from the crank chamber. EP 2 4 10 155 A1 discloses a system having a pressure reduction target section for supplying working gas to an engine, and a control means that reduces pressure within the target section by releasing the gas to the outside. JP 2021 127704 A discloses a four-stroke engine to be operated with a fuel containing hydrogen gas and a method for preventing ignition of the gas inside the crankcase of the engine, wherein hydrogen can be released to the atmosphere. SUMMARY This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. According to the invention, a controller for a vehicle according to claim 1 is provided. In the above-described configuration, when the pressure reduction process is executed, the pressure in the downstream passage decreases. When the pressure in the downstream passage decreases, the hydrogen gas accumulated in the crank chamber is discharged to the intake passage through the connecting passage together with other gases. This lowers the hydrogen concentration in the crank chamber. In this manner, the above-described configuration reduces the hydrogen concentration in the crank chamber without providing a ventilation fan. If a ventilation fan is provided to discharge hydrogen gas as in the technique disclosed in the above-described document, a space is required around the ventilation fan to mount various components related to the ventilation fan on the internal combustion engine. Mounting such various components on the internal combustion engine adds to spatial restrictions when the internal combustion engine is mounted on a vehicle. Therefore, there is a demand for a technique capable of reducing the hydrogen concentration in the crank chamber without providing such a ventilation fan. The above-described configuration provides such a technique. The control circuit may include a storage device and an execution device. The storage device stores in advance map data defining a map pre-trained through machine learning. The map outputs a variable indicating the hydrogen concentration as an output variable when multiple input variables are input to the map. The map includes, as one of the input variables, a variable indicating a pressure in the downstream passage. The execution device is configured to execute the following as the hydrogen concentration calculating process: an obtaining process that obtains values of the input variables; and a calculating process that calculates a value of the output variable by inputting the values of the input variables, which are obtained by the obtaining process, to the map. Other aspects of the present invention provide a vehicle control method according to claim 6 and a non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 7. Other features and aspects will be apparent from the following detailed description, the drawings, and the claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure.Fig. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure of a hydrogen concentration calculating process according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure.Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of an internal combustion engine mounted on the vehicle shown in Fig. 1.Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure of an avoidance process in the internal combustion engine shown in Fig. 3. Throughout the drawings and the detailed description, the same reference numerals refer to the same elements. The drawings may not be to scale, and the relative size, proportions, and depiction of elements in the drawings may be exaggerated for clarity, illustration, and convenience. DETAILED DESCRIPTION This description provides a comprehensive understanding of the methods, apparatuses, and/or systems described. Modifications and equivalents of the methods, a