Patent ID: 9188054
Filing Date: 2015-11-17
Classification: F01P,G05D

Abstract:
1. A control device for a vehicle, the vehicle including a thermowax switching valve, which includes a heating section for heating thermowax and is selectively opened and closed by melting and solidification of the thermowax, the control device comprising: a target value setting section, which sets a target value of the temperature of the thermowax; a wax temperature estimating section, which computes the amount of heat received by the thermowax based on the amount of heat transferred from the heating section to the thermowax and the amount of heat transferred from the thermowax to a fluid around the switching valve, and which estimates the temperature of the thermowax based on the amount of heat received and the thermal capacity of the thermowax; and a control section for controlling the heating section such that the estimated temperature of the thermowax becomes equal to the target value, wherein the wax temperature estimating section changes the value of the thermal capacity in accordance with variation of the estimate temperature of the thermowax across phase transition points of the thermowax.