JP4756322B2 - Vehicle shift control device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle shift control device that performs shift control of an automatic transmission mechanism based on road information in the traveling direction of the vehicle.

  As a technique for performing shift control of an automatic transmission mechanism based on road information provided in a navigation apparatus, for example, the following Patent Document 1 discloses a technique related to a vehicle shift control apparatus as described below. The vehicle shift control device includes: an automatic transmission mechanism that includes an input shaft that is drivingly connected to a drive source; an output shaft that shifts and outputs an input of the input shaft; and the road information and vehicle state information. An automatic transmission mechanism control device for controlling the automatic transmission mechanism. The automatic transmission mechanism control device calculates the necessary deceleration acceleration based on the shape of the curve, the distance from the vehicle position to the curve, and the like. Then, by calculating the recommended input shaft rotational speed for the corner according to the required deceleration acceleration and the vehicle speed, etc., and determining the gear ratio, the automatic transmission mechanism can be decelerated according to the required deceleration acceleration. Shift control is performed. At this time, the automatic transmission mechanism control device executes a road gradient estimation process, and corrects the recommended input shaft rotation speed for the corner based on the estimated road gradient. Here, the road gradient is estimated based on the accelerator opening, the vehicle speed, the actual acceleration of the vehicle, and the like.

JP 2003-194202 A (pages 7-8, FIG. 10)

  The shift control device for a vehicle described in Patent Document 1 basically has a constant deceleration acceleration toward the curve in accordance with the required deceleration acceleration calculated based on the shape of the curve, the distance from the vehicle position to the curve, and the like. The shift control of the automatic transmission mechanism is performed so that the vehicle is decelerated, and this is corrected based on the road gradient. Therefore, for example, even when there is a slope switching point where the slope changes from an upward slope to a downward slope between the vehicle position and the curve, the deceleration control is performed even on the upward slope according to the required deceleration acceleration.

  However, since the vehicle decelerates due to the influence of gravity even if there is no deceleration control of the automatic transmission mechanism on the uphill, performing a large deceleration control on the uphill may not match the driver's feeling. For example, if there is a descending slope after an ascending slope, and there is a target deceleration point such as a curve in the middle of the descending slope, entering a large deceleration control in the ascending slope area does not match the driver's feeling. There are many. In addition, when such an ascending region is long, the vehicle speed is likely to change due to the driver's braking operation or the effect of ascending during that time, so it is far away from the point where deceleration is required. It is not appropriate to perform deceleration control of the automatic transmission mechanism from the position. On the other hand, since it is necessary to appropriately decelerate at a point where deceleration such as a curve is necessary, it is not appropriate not to uniformly perform deceleration control on an uphill slope.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and its object is to perform a deceleration operation by the automatic transmission mechanism when the road gradient from the vehicle position to the gradient switching point is an upward gradient. It is an object of the present invention to provide a shift control device for a vehicle capable of appropriately performing shift control so as not to give a sense of discomfort to the vehicle.

In order to achieve the above object, the vehicle speed change control device according to the present invention includes a road information acquisition means for acquiring road information of a traveling direction of a vehicle, and a search range of the traveling direction based on the road information. A target deceleration point determining means for determining a target deceleration point that is a target point for deceleration control according to the road shape and a gradient switching point between the target deceleration point and the target deceleration point are included in the gradient switching point. Based on the recommended vehicle speed determining means for determining the recommended vehicle speed, the deceleration control means for performing a deceleration operation by controlling the automatic transmission mechanism with the recommended vehicle speed as the target vehicle speed , the recommended vehicle speed at the gradient switching point and a predetermined deceleration amount , and the point recommended vehicle speed calculating means for calculating a point recommended vehicle speed of the vehicle speed at each point between the vehicle position to the gradient switching point than the point recommended vehicle speed at said each point A vehicle speed calculating means for calculating a vehicle speed for determining a control with a larger difference from the recommended vehicle speed as the distance to the slope switching point is longer, and a road slope to the slope switching point is an upward slope. When the actual vehicle speed at each point is equal to or lower than the control determination vehicle speed at each point, a deceleration limiting unit that limits the deceleration operation of the automatic transmission mechanism under the control of the deceleration control unit ; It is in the point provided with.

According to this feature configuration, when there is a road gradient switching point in the traveling direction of the vehicle, and the road gradient to the gradient switching point is an upward gradient, the longer the distance to the gradient switching point is, According to the control determination vehicle speed having a large difference from the point recommended vehicle speed, the deceleration operation of the automatic transmission mechanism is limited when the vehicle speed is equal to or lower than the control determination vehicle speed. In other words, the longer the uphill distance from the vehicle position to the slope switching point, the longer the up-gradient distance from the vehicle to the recommended vehicle speed at the slope switching point, even if the difference in actual vehicle speed from the point recommended vehicle speed at each point is large. The deceleration operation is limited. Therefore, the deceleration operation of the automatic transmission mechanism is appropriately limited so as to match the driver's feeling on the upward gradient up to the gradient switching point, and it is possible to prevent the driver from feeling uncomfortable.
On the other hand, as the vehicle position gets closer to the slope switching point, the automatic speed change mechanism is allowed to decelerate even if there is a small difference in the actual vehicle speed from the point recommended vehicle speed at each point. Thus, the automatic transmission mechanism can be appropriately decelerated so as to be close to.
Further, according to this configuration, when a road gradient switching point exists in the traveling direction of the vehicle, the target deceleration point is determined according to the road shape ahead of the gradient switching point. And since the above control is performed based on the recommended vehicle speed at the slope change point, automatic shifting until the slope change point is reached so that the vehicle can be appropriately decelerated according to the road shape ahead of the slope change point. Shift control of the mechanism can be performed. Therefore, appropriate shift control of the automatic transmission mechanism can be performed in the vicinity of the gradient switching point in consideration of the gradient switching.

Here, the deceleration control means is configured so that the actual vehicle speed at each point is the control at each point when the road gradient to the gradient switching point is a downward gradient, or even if the gradient is an upward gradient. is higher than the determination vehicle speed, the line UTO suitably deceleration by controlling the automatic transmission mechanism so that the speed ratio corresponding to the magnitude of the deceleration required to become the recommended vehicle speed at the gradient switching point It is.

As a result, if the difference between the actual vehicle speed and the recommended vehicle speed at each point is large, and the actual vehicle speed is higher than the control judgment vehicle speed, depending on the amount of deceleration acceleration required to become the recommended vehicle speed at the point where the slope changes Since the automatic transmission mechanism is controlled, the automatic transmission mechanism can be appropriately decelerated so that the actual vehicle speed approaches the recommended vehicle speed at the gradient switching point.
In addition, when the road gradient to the gradient switching point is a downward gradient, the deceleration operation of the automatic transmission mechanism is not limited, and according to the magnitude of the deceleration acceleration necessary to achieve the recommended vehicle speed at the gradient switching point. Since the automatic transmission mechanism is controlled, the automatic transmission mechanism can be appropriately decelerated so that the actual vehicle speed approaches the recommended vehicle speed at the gradient switching point.

  The point recommended vehicle speed calculation means is a line for defining a vehicle speed at each point between a vehicle position and the gradient switching point, and coincides with the recommended vehicle speed at the gradient switching point, and at each point. Calculating a recommended deceleration line where the deceleration amount of the vehicle is equal to or less than a predetermined recommended deceleration amount, determining the recommended vehicle speed at the point based on the recommended deceleration line, and the control determination vehicle speed calculating means is a vehicle speed higher than the recommended deceleration line. A control determination deceleration line having a larger vehicle speed difference from the recommended deceleration line is calculated as the distance to the slope switching point is longer, and the control determination vehicle speed is determined based on the control determination deceleration line. It is preferable to adopt a configuration to do so.

  Thereby, the point recommended vehicle speed at each point can be appropriately determined while the amount of deceleration at each point between the vehicle position and the slope switching point is equal to or less than the predetermined recommended deceleration amount. Further, the control determination vehicle speed can be appropriately determined such that the longer the distance to the gradient switching point, the greater the difference from the recommended vehicle speed.

The recommended deceleration line may be a line that defines a vehicle speed at which the deceleration acceleration of the vehicle at each point becomes a predetermined recommended deceleration acceleration.
In this way, when the vehicle is decelerated at a predetermined recommended deceleration to achieve the recommended vehicle speed at the gradient switching point, the ideal vehicle speed at each point between the vehicle position and the gradient switching point is appropriately determined. Can do.

In this case, the control determination deceleration line may be a line that defines a vehicle speed at which the deceleration acceleration is larger than the recommended deceleration acceleration.
Accordingly, it is possible to appropriately determine a control determination deceleration line that has a larger vehicle speed difference from the recommended deceleration line as the distance to the slope switching point is longer with the recommended deceleration acceleration as a reference.

The recommended deceleration line may be a line that defines a vehicle speed at which a vehicle speed reduction rate at each point becomes a predetermined recommended speed reduction rate.
As a result, when the vehicle is decelerated at a predetermined recommended speed reduction rate so that it becomes the recommended vehicle speed at the gradient switching point, the ideal vehicle speed at each point between the vehicle position and the gradient switching point is appropriately determined. be able to.

The control determination deceleration line may be preferably configured by adding a vehicle speed width proportional to a distance to the slope switching point to a vehicle speed at each of the points defined by the recommended deceleration line.
As a result, with reference to the vehicle speed width with respect to the vehicle speed defined by the recommended deceleration line, it is possible to appropriately determine a control determination deceleration line that has a larger vehicle speed difference from the recommended deceleration line as the distance to the slope switching point is longer.

Also includes a first recommended vehicle speed determining means to determine the first recommended vehicle speed is recommended vehicle speed at the previous SL target deceleration point, the recommended vehicle speed at the gradient switching point and the second recommended vehicle speed, said second recommended vehicle speed The recommended vehicle speed determining means for determining the second recommended vehicle speed determining means is based on the first recommended vehicle speed and the distance from the slope switching point to the target deceleration point based on the first recommended vehicle speed. It is preferable that the two recommended vehicle speeds are determined.

  According to this configuration, when there is a road gradient switching point in the traveling direction of the vehicle, the target deceleration point is determined according to the road shape ahead of the gradient switching point, and at the recommended vehicle speed at the target deceleration point. A certain first recommended vehicle speed is determined. Further, a second recommended vehicle speed at a gradient switching point for achieving the first recommended vehicle speed at the target deceleration point is determined. And since the above control is performed based on the second recommended vehicle speed at the slope switching point, it is possible to appropriately decelerate according to the road shape ahead of the slope switching point until reaching the slope switching point. Shift control of the automatic transmission mechanism can be performed. Therefore, appropriate shift control of the automatic transmission mechanism can be performed in the vicinity of the gradient switching point in consideration of the gradient switching.

  Further, it is preferable that the road information acquisition means is configured to acquire information on a switching point between an upward slope and a downward slope as information on the slope switching point.

  At this time, if the slope of the road up to the slope switching point is an upward slope, the road ahead of the slope switching point is a downward slope, and in the upward slope until reaching such a slope switching point, The deceleration operation of the automatic transmission mechanism is appropriately limited. Therefore, when there is a descending slope after the ascending slope and deceleration is required according to the road shape of the descending slope, it is possible to prevent a large deceleration control from entering in the ascending slope area, and to give the driver a sense of incongruity. Can be prevented.

Further, the vehicle includes position information acquisition means for acquiring position information of the vehicle, and a road information database in which road information including gradient information of each point on the road is stored, and the road information acquisition means includes the position information acquisition It is preferable that the road information within a certain distance in the traveling direction is acquired from the road information database from the position indicated by the position information acquired by the means.
Thereby, road information can be acquired appropriately, reducing the calculation processing load for acquiring road information.

  The characteristic configuration of the vehicle according to the present invention is that it includes a transmission control device having the above-described characteristic configuration and an automatic transmission mechanism that is controlled so as to achieve a transmission ratio determined by the transmission control device.

  According to this characteristic configuration, the recommended deceleration line that is an ideal deceleration line for the vehicle to reach the recommended vehicle speed at the slope switching point as the distance of the upward slope from the vehicle position to the slope switching point becomes longer. Even if there is a large difference between the actual vehicle speed and the vehicle speed specified in the above, the deceleration operation of the automatic transmission mechanism is limited. Therefore, the deceleration operation of the vehicle is appropriately limited so as to match the driver's feeling on the upward gradient up to the gradient switching point, and it is possible to prevent the driver from feeling uncomfortable. On the other hand, as the vehicle position gets closer to the slope switching point, the automatic transmission mechanism will be allowed to decelerate even if the difference between the actual vehicle speed and the vehicle speed specified in the recommended deceleration line is small. The vehicle can be decelerated appropriately so as to approach the vehicle speed.

According to the present invention, there is provided a road information acquisition step for acquiring road information in a traveling direction of a vehicle, and deceleration control according to a road shape within a search range of the traveling direction based on the road information. A target deceleration point determining step for determining a target deceleration point, and a recommended vehicle speed for determining a recommended vehicle speed at the gradient switching point when a gradient switching point is included between the target deceleration point and the target deceleration point. A point recommended vehicle speed calculating step of calculating a vehicle speed at each point between a vehicle position and the gradient switching point as a point recommended vehicle speed based on a determining step and a recommended vehicle speed at the gradient switching point and a predetermined deceleration amount; the a higher speed than the point recommended vehicle speed at the each point, the control determination vehicle speed difference is large between the longer distance to the gradient switching point the point recommended vehicle speed And control determination vehicle speed calculating step of calculation for the slope of the road to the gradient switching point is an ascending slope, if the actual vehicle speed at the each point is equal to or less than the control determination vehicle speed in the respective points, the recommended And a deceleration limiting step for limiting the deceleration operation of the automatic transmission mechanism by the deceleration control step of performing the deceleration operation by controlling the automatic transmission mechanism with the vehicle speed as the target vehicle speed .

According to this feature configuration, the longer the uphill distance from the vehicle position to the slope switching point, the greater the difference in the actual vehicle speed from the point recommended vehicle speed at each point for the recommended vehicle speed at the slope switching point. However, the deceleration operation of the automatic transmission mechanism is limited. Therefore, the deceleration operation of the automatic transmission mechanism is appropriately limited so as to match the driver's feeling on the upward gradient up to the gradient switching point, and it is possible to prevent the driver from feeling uncomfortable.
On the other hand, as the vehicle position gets closer to the slope switching point, the automatic speed change mechanism is allowed to decelerate even if there is a small difference in the actual vehicle speed from the point recommended vehicle speed at each point. Thus, the automatic transmission mechanism can be appropriately decelerated so as to be close to.
Further, according to this configuration, when a road gradient switching point exists in the traveling direction of the vehicle, the target deceleration point is determined according to the road shape ahead of the gradient switching point. And since the above control is performed based on the recommended vehicle speed at the slope change point, automatic shifting until the slope change point is reached so that the vehicle can be appropriately decelerated according to the road shape ahead of the slope change point. Shift control of the mechanism can be performed. Therefore, appropriate shift control of the automatic transmission mechanism can be performed in the vicinity of the gradient switching point in consideration of the gradient switching.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a shift control device 1 according to the present embodiment and a vehicle 2 in which the shift control device 1 is mounted. A shift control device 1 according to the present embodiment is mounted on a vehicle 2 and performs shift control of an automatic transmission mechanism 3. Below, according to this FIG. 1, the structure of each part of the transmission control apparatus 1 which concerns on this embodiment is demonstrated. Note that each function unit of the speed change control device 1 includes a hardware or software (program) or a function unit for performing various processes on input data with an arithmetic processing unit such as a CPU as a core member. Both are implemented and configured.

The location unit 4 acquires information from the GPS receiver 5, the direction sensor 6, and the distance sensor 7. Here, the GPS receiver 5 is a device that receives a signal from a GPS satellite (not shown), and acquires various information such as the position (latitude and longitude) of the GPS receiver 5 and the date and time based on the received signal. The direction sensor 6 includes a geomagnetic sensor, a gyro sensor, or an optical rotation sensor attached to the rotating part of the handle, a rotational resistance volume, an angle sensor attached to the wheel part, and the like, and detects the direction of the host vehicle. . The distance sensor 7 includes a combination of a vehicle speed sensor that detects the number of rotations of the wheel, a yaw / G sensor that detects the acceleration of the host vehicle, and a circuit that integrates the detected acceleration twice. Detect distance. And the location part 4 performs the calculation which pinpoints the position and direction of the own vehicle by a well-known method based on the information acquired from these GPS receiver 5, the direction sensor 6, and the distance sensor 7. FIG. The position and direction of the host vehicle specified by the location unit 4 are output to the road information acquisition unit 8 and the navigation processing unit 9 as host vehicle position information and host vehicle direction information.
In the present embodiment, the location unit 4 constitutes “position information acquisition means” in the present invention.

  The road information acquisition unit 8 acquires the vehicle position information and the vehicle direction information output from the location unit 4, and performs processing for acquiring the road information D1 from the map database 10 based on these information. That is, the road information acquisition unit 8 acquires, from the map database 10, road information D1 in the traveling direction of the vehicle 2, which is road information D1 within a search range set in advance from the position indicated by the own vehicle position information. Here, the search range is defined by the distance from the vehicle position, and the distance can be set to 200 [m] or 1 [km], for example.

The map database 10 stores map information including road information D1. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of the map information stored in the map database 10. As shown in this figure, here, a road network layer X1, a road information layer X2, and a background layer X3 are stored as map information. The map database 10 is a hard disk drive, a DVD drive equipped with a DVD-ROM, a CD drive equipped with a CD-ROM, and a device having a recording medium capable of storing information and its drive means. It is provided as a wear configuration.
In the present embodiment, this map database 10 constitutes a “road information database” in the present invention.

The road network layer X1 is a layer indicating connection information between roads. Specifically, it has information on a large number of nodes N having position information on a map expressed by latitude and longitude, and information on a large number of links K that connect the two nodes N to form a road. It is configured. Each link K has information such as the type of road (type of highway, toll road, national road, prefectural road, etc.) and link length as the link information.
The road information layer X2 is a layer that is stored in association with the road network layer X1 and shows detailed information on the road. Specifically, there are a large number of information on each node N associated with the road network layer X1, and position information on the map that is arranged between the two nodes N (on the link K) and expressed in latitude and longitude. The shape complementing point S is included. The information on each node N and each shape complement point S stored in the road information layer X2 includes road gradient information D2 and width information at the position of each node N and each shape complement point S. . In addition to this, in this road information layer X2, various information such as a road cant (bank) and the number of lanes is stored in association with each node N and each shape complement point S. In the following description, in order to avoid complication, both the node N and the shape complement point S are referred to as a node N, and unless otherwise specified, the node N includes the shape complement point S.
The background layer X3 is a layer that is stored in association with the road network layer X1 and the road information layer X2, and indicates information such as various features and backgrounds provided on the road and its surroundings. The information stored in the background layer X3 is used for map display by the navigation processing unit 9.

The road information acquisition unit 8 includes position information of each node N included in the search range from the map database 10, road gradient information D2 stored in association with each node N, road type, width, and the like. Road characteristic information and the like are acquired as road information D1. In addition, the road information acquisition unit 8 has map information necessary for the navigation calculation processing unit 9 to perform processing as a navigation device such as map matching, guidance route search, vehicle position display, map display, route guidance, and the like. Is also acquired from the map database 10. The road information D1 acquired by the road information acquisition unit 8 and the map information including the road information D1 are output to the navigation calculation processing unit 9.
In the present embodiment, the road information acquisition unit 8 constitutes “road information acquisition means” in the present invention.

  As described above, the navigation calculation processing unit 9 acquires the vehicle position information and the vehicle direction information from the location unit 4, and the map is acquired by the road information acquisition unit 8 based on the vehicle position information and the vehicle direction information. Map information including road information D1 is acquired from the database 10. Then, the navigation processing unit 9 performs map matching by a known method based on the acquired map information, and the vehicle position information output from the location unit 4 is located on the road included in the map information. The vehicle direction information is corrected so as to be in the direction along the road. In addition, the navigation calculation processing unit 9 uses the own vehicle position information and own vehicle direction information corrected by map matching, and the acquired map information, and displays the own vehicle mark superimposed on the map. Calculation processing is performed for performing display guidance, map display, route guidance for searching and guiding a guidance route connecting the vehicle position and the destination. Here, the navigation arithmetic processing unit 9 is connected to a display device 11 such as a liquid crystal monitor, a sound output device 12 such as a speaker and an amplifier, and the like. It has become. Input operations such as destination setting and search are performed by a touch panel provided integrally with the display device 11, a remote controller (not shown), or the like.

  In addition, the navigation calculation processing unit 9 includes a gradient switching point information acquisition unit 13. The gradient switching point information acquisition unit 13 performs processing for acquiring information on the presence / absence of the gradient switching point and the position of the gradient switching point based on the road information D1 acquired by the road information acquisition unit 8. In the present embodiment, information on a switching point between an uphill slope and a downhill slope is acquired as the slope switching point information. Specifically, the slope switching point information acquisition unit 13 sequentially sets each node N included in the road information D1 within a predetermined search range from the own vehicle position acquired by the road information acquisition unit 8 as a specific node. Road gradient information D2 associated with two nodes N adjacent to the node in the forward and backward directions of the vehicle 2 is acquired. If one of the gradient information D2 of two nodes N adjacent to the front and rear of the specific node indicates an upward gradient and the other indicates a downward gradient, the specific node sandwiched between those nodes N Is recognized as a slope switching point. Further, the position information of this specific node becomes the position information of the slope switching point. Information on the slope switching point is output to the transmission mechanism control unit 14.

  Note that the method of recognizing the gradient switching point by the gradient switching point information acquisition unit 13 is not limited to the above. That is, for example, the road gradient information D2 associated with the two nodes N adjacent to each other before and after the traveling direction of the vehicle 2 is acquired. If one of the gradient information D2 of these two adjacent nodes N indicates an upward gradient and the other indicates a downward gradient, there is no node N that is an intermediate point between those nodes N. It is also possible to recognize the position as a slope switching point. Further, as road information D1 stored in the map database 10, information indicating that the specific node is a slope switching point is also stored in advance, and the slope switching point information acquisition unit 13 extracts this information. It is good also as composition which recognizes a slope change point by acquiring.

  The transmission mechanism control unit 14 is a control unit that performs shift control of the automatic transmission mechanism. Here, the transmission mechanism control unit 14 includes a target deceleration point determination unit 15, a first recommended vehicle speed determination unit 16, a second recommended vehicle speed determination unit 17, a point recommended vehicle speed calculation unit 29, a control determination vehicle speed calculation unit 30, and a deceleration restriction unit. 31 and a gear ratio determining unit 18. In addition, an input shaft rotational speed sensor 19, a vehicle speed sensor 20, an accelerator sensor 21, and a brake sensor 22 are connected to the transmission mechanism control unit 14. Then, the speed change mechanism control unit 14 is based on the road information D1 output from the navigation processing unit 9 and the information output from the input shaft speed sensor 19, the vehicle speed sensor 20, the accelerator sensor 21, and the brake sensor 22. Thus, the shift control is performed so that the automatic transmission mechanism 3 has an appropriate gear ratio. The shift control of the automatic transmission mechanism 3 by the transmission mechanism control unit 14 will be described in detail later according to a specific example.

  In the present embodiment, the transmission ratio determining unit 18 and the transmission mechanism control unit 14 constitute the “deceleration control means” in the present invention. The target deceleration point determination unit 15 of the transmission mechanism control unit 14 constitutes a “target deceleration point determination unit” in the present invention, and the first recommended vehicle speed determination unit 16 functions as the “first recommended vehicle speed determination unit” in the present invention. Constitute. The second recommended vehicle speed determining unit 17 of the speed change mechanism control unit 14 constitutes “recommended vehicle speed determining means (second recommended vehicle speed determining means)” in the present invention, and the point recommended vehicle speed calculating unit 29 in the present invention “point” The “recommended vehicle speed calculation means” is configured, the control determination vehicle speed calculation unit 30 is configured as “control determination vehicle speed calculation unit” in the present invention, and the deceleration limiting unit 31 is configured as “deceleration limiting unit” in the present invention.

The automatic transmission mechanism 3 has an input shaft 3a connected to the engine 24 via a driving force transmission mechanism 23 such as a torque converter or a clutch. Further, the output shaft 3 b of the automatic transmission mechanism 3 is connected to the drive wheel 26 via the differential gear 25. Therefore, the rotation of the input shaft 3 a that is rotationally driven by the engine 24 via the driving force transmission mechanism 23 is shifted by the automatic transmission mechanism 3 and output from the output shaft 3 b, and is transmitted to the driving wheels 26 via the differential gear 25. Is done.
In the present embodiment, a continuously variable transmission mechanism is used as the automatic transmission mechanism 3. As this continuously variable transmission mechanism, for example, a belt type CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission), a toroidal type CVT, or the like is used.

  The input shaft rotation speed sensor 19 is a sensor that detects the rotation speed of the input shaft 3 a of the automatic transmission mechanism 3. The vehicle speed sensor 20 is a sensor that detects the rotation speed of the output shaft 3b of the automatic transmission mechanism 3 and detects the vehicle speed based on the rotation speed. The accelerator sensor 21 is a sensor that detects the opening degree of the accelerator pedal 27. The brake sensor 22 is a sensor that detects the depression force of the brake pedal 28.

  Next, the operation of the shift control device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described based on a specific example. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the overall control operation of the transmission control device 1 according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the deceleration limiting operation of the automatic transmission mechanism 3 by the transmission control device 1 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the shift control operation of the automatic transmission mechanism 3 by the shift control device 1 according to the present embodiment. Here, as shown in FIG. 6, there is an example in which there is a slope switching point Pa where the slope of the road R switches from an upward slope to a downward slope in the traveling direction of the vehicle 2, and there is a curve C ahead of the slope switching point Pa. Will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the shift control device 1 according to the present embodiment first determines whether or not the vehicle position information is corrected by map matching in the navigation processing unit 9, that is, whether or not the map matching state is in progress. to decide. If the vehicle position information is not in map matching (step # 01: NO), the road information D1 in the traveling direction of the vehicle cannot be acquired, and the subsequent processing is not performed. When the vehicle position information is being map-matched (step # 01: YES), the navigation calculation processing unit 9 acquires the vehicle position information (step # 02).

  Then, the navigation processing unit 9 acquires road information D1 within a predetermined search range from the vehicle position by the road information acquisition unit 8 (step # 03). The road information D1 acquired here is output to the transmission mechanism control unit 14. Then, the transmission mechanism control unit 14 determines a target deceleration point Pb, which is a target point for deceleration control with the vehicle position as a base point, in the target deceleration point determination unit 15 (step # 04).

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a method of determining the target deceleration point Pb. As shown in this figure, when determining the target deceleration point Pb based on the vehicle position, first, the recommended vehicle speed vbi (i is the natural number) at each node Ni (i is a natural number) included in the road information D1 within the search range. Natural number). Here, the recommended vehicle speed vbi is determined to be a vehicle speed at which the turning lateral acceleration acting on the vehicle 2 becomes a predetermined recommended lateral acceleration based on the shape of the road R at each node Ni, specifically, the radius of curvature of the road R. . Here, the recommended lateral acceleration is determined on the basis that the vehicle 2 can turn stably and does not give the driver unpleasant feeling, for example, 0.2 [G] (G is gravitational acceleration). This is preferable. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a map showing the relationship between the radius of curvature of the road R and the recommended vehicle speed. In this map, a constant low vehicle speed is defined in an area where the curvature radius of the road R is very small, and in other areas, the turning lateral acceleration is the recommended lateral acceleration (here, 0) according to the curvature radius of the road R. .2 [G]) is specified. The recommended vehicle speed vbi at each node Ni is determined according to the map shown in FIG. Here, the curvature radius of the road R at each node Ni is calculated by calculating a circle passing through the position of each node Ni and the position of the adjacent node N before and after the node Ni, and the radius of the circle is calculated as the radius of the road R at each node Ni. Calculated by taking the radius of curvature.

Further, the actual vehicle speed V at the vehicle position can be detected by the vehicle speed sensor 20. Based on the actual vehicle speed V, the distance Li from the vehicle position to each node Ni (i is a natural number), and the recommended vehicle speed vbi at each node Ni, the necessary deceleration acceleration Gi (i is a natural number) for each node Ni. ) Is calculated. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, the necessary deceleration acceleration Gi necessary for decelerating from the actual vehicle speed V to the recommended vehicle speed vbi at each node Ni during the distance Li from the own vehicle position to each node Ni is obtained. It calculates by following Formula (1).
Gi = (V ² −vbi ² ) / (2 × Li) (1)
The distance Li from the vehicle position to each node Ni is a direction along the road R from the vehicle position to each node Ni based on the position information of each node N included in the road information D1 within the search range. This is obtained by calculating the distance (the distance along the road).

  Then, the node Ni at which the value of the required deceleration acceleration Gi is the maximum among the nodes Ni within the search range is determined as the target deceleration point Pb. In the example shown in FIG. 7, the change in vehicle speed from the vehicle position to each of the nodes N1, N2, and N3 (see FIG. 6) is shown by three deceleration acceleration curves. Here, each deceleration acceleration curve corresponds to the required deceleration acceleration G1, G2, and G3, and indicates that the greater the curvature of the deceleration acceleration curve, that is, the tighter the bending, the greater the required deceleration acceleration. Therefore, in the example shown in FIG. 7, the necessary deceleration acceleration G2 with respect to the node N2 is the maximum, and thus the node N2 becomes the target deceleration point Pb. In the example shown in FIG. 7, the calculation is performed only for the three nodes N <b> 1 to N <b> 3, but actually, the number of nodes Ni more than this is often the calculation target.

  Next, the first recommended vehicle speed V1 that is the recommended vehicle speed at the target deceleration point Pb is determined by the first recommended vehicle speed determination unit 16 of the transmission mechanism control unit 14 (step # 05). Here, the first recommended vehicle speed V1 is determined to be a vehicle speed at which the turning lateral acceleration acting on the vehicle 2 becomes a predetermined recommended lateral acceleration based on the curvature radius of the road R at the target deceleration point Pb. Therefore, the value of the first recommended vehicle speed V1 is equal to that for the target deceleration point Pb among the recommended vehicle speeds vbi at each node Ni determined according to the map shown in FIG. Therefore, in the example shown in FIG. 7, since the node N2 is the target deceleration point Pb, the first recommended vehicle speed V1 is equal to the recommended vehicle speed vb2.

  Next, the gradient switching point information acquisition unit 13 of the navigation processing unit 9 acquires information on the presence or absence of the gradient switching point Pa between the vehicle position and the target deceleration point Pb based on the acquired road information D1. (Step # 06). In the present embodiment, as described above, the switching point between the upward gradient and the downward gradient is defined as the gradient switching point Pa based on the road gradient information D2 in the nodes N before and after each node N. Therefore, in the example illustrated in FIG. 6, a point where the vehicle 2 is switched from an upward gradient to a downward gradient in the traveling direction is the gradient switching point Pa.

  If the road information D1 within the search range includes the gradient switching point Pa (step # 07: YES), the position information of the gradient switching point Pa is acquired (step # 08). The acquired position information of the slope switching point Pa is output to the transmission mechanism control unit 14.

  Next, in the second recommended vehicle speed determination unit 17 of the transmission mechanism control unit 14, the gradient switching point Pa based on the first recommended vehicle speed V1 and the distance Lc (see FIG. 6) from the gradient switching point Pa to the target deceleration point Pb. The second recommended vehicle speed V2 that is the recommended vehicle speed at is determined (step # 09). In the present embodiment, the second recommended vehicle speed V2 becomes the first recommended vehicle speed V1 at the target deceleration point Pb when the distance Lc from the gradient switching point Pa to the target deceleration point Pb is decelerated at a predetermined recommended deceleration acceleration. Decide on vehicle speed. Here, as shown in FIG. 6, the distance Lc is along the road R from the gradient switching point Pa to the target deceleration point Pb based on the position information of each node N included in the road information D1 within the search range. It is obtained by calculating the distance in the direction (distance on the road). The recommended deceleration acceleration is determined based on the fact that the vehicle 2 can decelerate stably and does not cause discomfort to the driver. For example, 0.2 [G] (G is gravitational acceleration). Is preferred.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a map representing the relationship between the section distance and the vehicle speed when the vehicle is decelerated at the recommended deceleration (here, 0.2 [G]). The second recommended vehicle speed V2 can be determined using this map. That is, the first recommended vehicle speed V1 and the distance Lc from the gradient switching point Pa to the target deceleration point Pb are already determined. Therefore, a point on the horizontal axis representing the section distance corresponding to the first recommended vehicle speed V1 on the map shown in FIG. 9 is set as the target deceleration point Pb, and a point returned from the point by the distance Lc is the gradient switching point Pa. And the vehicle speed corresponding to this gradient switching point Pa becomes the 2nd recommended vehicle speed V2. Therefore, the shorter the distance Lc from the gradient switching point Pa to the target deceleration point Pb, the smaller the difference between the first recommended vehicle speed V1 and the second recommended vehicle speed V2.

  Next, in the navigation processing unit 9, the road gradient of the vehicle position is increased based on the vehicle position information and the gradient information D2 of each node N included in the road information D1 acquired by the road information acquisition unit 8. Whether or not (step # 10). Information on whether or not the road gradient at the vehicle position is an uphill gradient is output to the transmission mechanism control unit 14.

  If the road gradient at the vehicle position is an uphill gradient (step # 10: YES), the point recommended vehicle speed calculation unit 29 of the transmission mechanism control unit 14 uses the second recommended vehicle speed V2 at the gradient switching point Pa and Based on the predetermined deceleration amount, the recommended vehicle speed at each point between the vehicle position and the gradient switching point Pa is calculated as the point recommended vehicle speed (step # 11). Here, the point recommended vehicle speed calculation unit 29 calculates a recommended deceleration line M1 that defines a point recommended vehicle speed at each point between the vehicle position and the slope switching point Pa. That is, the vehicle speed defined by the recommended deceleration line M1 is set as the recommended vehicle speed at each point. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a calculation result of the deceleration control line M1. The recommended deceleration line M1 is a line that regulates the vehicle speed at each point between the vehicle position and the gradient switching point Pa, and coincides with the second recommended vehicle speed V2 at the gradient switching point Pa. This is a deceleration line where the deceleration amount at each point up to the slope switching point Pa is equal to or less than a predetermined recommended deceleration amount. In the present embodiment, deceleration acceleration is used as the deceleration amount. That is, the recommended deceleration line M1 is a line that defines the vehicle speed at which the deceleration acceleration at each point between the vehicle position and the gradient switching point Pa is equal to or less than a predetermined recommended deceleration acceleration. Here, the recommended deceleration acceleration is determined on the basis that the vehicle 2 can stably decelerate and does not give the driver unpleasant feeling. For example, 0.2 [G] (G is gravitational acceleration). This is preferable. Here, the point recommended vehicle speed at the current position defined by the deceleration control line M1 is V0.

  Next, in the control determination vehicle speed calculation unit 30 of the transmission mechanism control unit 14, the control determination vehicle speed that is higher than the point recommended vehicle speed and has a larger difference from the point recommended vehicle speed as the distance to the gradient switching point Pa is longer. Calculate (step # 12). Here, the control determination vehicle speed calculation unit 30 calculates a control determination deceleration line M2 that defines the control determination vehicle speed at each point between the vehicle position and the gradient switching point Pa. That is, the vehicle speed defined by the control determination deceleration line M2 is set as the control determination vehicle speed at each point. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a calculation result of the control determination deceleration line M2. The control determination deceleration line M2 is a line that defines a higher vehicle speed than the recommended deceleration line M1, and is a deceleration line that has a larger vehicle speed difference from the recommended deceleration line M1 as the distance to the gradient switching point Pa is longer. In the present embodiment, the control determination deceleration line M2 is a line that defines a vehicle speed that is a second deceleration acceleration that is greater than the recommended deceleration line acceleration for defining the recommended deceleration line M1. Here, the control determination vehicle speed at the current position defined by the control determination deceleration line M2 is Vx. The vehicle speed range below the control determination deceleration line M2 is a deceleration operation restriction region A1 where the deceleration operation by the automatic transmission mechanism 3 is restricted. In FIG. 11, the deceleration operation restriction area A1 is hatched. On the other hand, a vehicle speed range higher than the control determination deceleration line M2 is a deceleration control range A2 in which a deceleration operation by the automatic transmission mechanism 3 is performed. Therefore, the second deceleration acceleration is determined on the basis that the deceleration operation restriction area A1 for restricting the deceleration operation of the automatic transmission mechanism 3 is appropriate. In this example, since the recommended deceleration linear acceleration is 0.2 [G], the second deceleration acceleration larger than this can be set to, for example, 0.25 [G].

The second deceleration acceleration can be set to an arbitrary value larger than the recommended deceleration linear acceleration according to the range in which the deceleration operation of the automatic transmission mechanism 3 is desired to be limited. In the example shown in FIG. 11, the control determination deceleration line M2 is defined so as to coincide with the vehicle speed V2 at the gradient switching point Pa. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It is also a preferred embodiment that the vehicle speed is specified to be high.
It is also one preferred embodiment that the second deceleration acceleration that defines the control determination deceleration line M2 is a value that changes based on the gradient angle of the road R, for example. That is, the possibility that the driver's braking operation is performed during the upward gradient, the degree of deceleration due to the influence of the upward gradient, and the like vary depending on the angle of the upward gradient. By defining the above, it is possible to achieve a control that more closely matches the driver's feeling.

  Next, in the deceleration limiting unit 31 of the transmission mechanism control unit 14, whether or not the actual vehicle speed V at the current position of the vehicle 2 is equal to or lower than the control determination vehicle speed Vx at the current position defined by the control determination deceleration line M2. (Step # 13). When the actual vehicle speed V is equal to or lower than the control determination vehicle speed Vx at the current position defined by the control determination deceleration line M2, that is, when the actual vehicle speed V is within the deceleration operation restriction area A1 in FIG. (# 13: YES), the deceleration limiting unit 31 performs a process for limiting the deceleration operation of the automatic transmission mechanism 3 (step # 14).

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing specific contents of the process of limiting the deceleration operation of the automatic transmission mechanism 3 in step # 14. As shown in this figure, the deceleration limiting unit 31 first determines whether or not the accelerator opening detected by the accelerator sensor 21 is closed (step # 21). When the accelerator opening is in the closed state (step # 21: YES), the deceleration limiting unit 31 determines to limit the deceleration operation of the automatic transmission mechanism 3, and the transmission mechanism control unit 14 determines the automatic transmission mechanism 3. Is controlled to be fixed at the current gear ratio (step # 22). On the other hand, when the accelerator opening is not closed, that is, when the accelerator pedal 27 is depressed by the driver (step # 21: NO), it can be determined that the driver does not intend to decelerate. The transmission mechanism control unit 14 performs normal traveling control for the automatic transmission mechanism 3 (step # 23). And after the process of this step # 14 is complete | finished, it returns to step # 01.

  On the other hand, when the road gradient of the vehicle position is not an upward gradient (step # 10: NO), or when the actual vehicle speed V is higher than the control determination vehicle speed Vx at the current position defined by the control determination deceleration line M2, that is, the actual vehicle speed. When V is within the deceleration control area A2 of FIG. 11 (step # 13: NO), the deceleration limiting unit 31 determines that it is necessary to cause the automatic transmission mechanism 3 to perform a deceleration operation, and the transmission mechanism control unit 14 performs shift control of the automatic transmission mechanism 3 with the second recommended vehicle speed V2 as the target vehicle speed (step # 15). The shift control of the automatic transmission mechanism 3 is “shift control (1)” and will be described in detail later based on the flowchart shown in FIG. Thereafter, the process returns to step # 01.

  If the road information D1 within the search range does not include the slope switching point Pa (step # 07: NO), the transmission mechanism control unit 14 determines the first recommended vehicle speed V1 target determined in step # 05. Shift control of the automatic transmission mechanism 3 is performed as the vehicle speed (step # 16). Here, when the road information D1 does not include the gradient switching point Pa, the road information D1 within the search range from the beginning includes the gradient switching point Pa when the vehicle position has already passed the gradient switching point Pa. Both cases are not included. The shift control of the automatic transmission mechanism 3 in step # 16 is “shift control (2)” and will be described in detail later based on the flowchart shown in FIG. Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the vehicle position indicated in the vehicle position information has passed the target deceleration point Pb (step # 17). If the vehicle position has not passed the target deceleration point Pb (step # 17: NO), the process returns to step # 01. And a process is complete | finished when the own vehicle position passes the target deceleration point Pb (step # 17: YES).

Next, the shift control of the automatic transmission mechanism 3 will be described based on the flowchart shown in FIG. As shown in this figure, in “transmission control (1)” in step # 15, the transmission ratio determination unit 18 of the transmission mechanism control unit 14 first sets the second recommended vehicle speed V2 as the target vehicle speed to the gradient switching point Pa. Necessary deceleration acceleration Ga is calculated (step # 31). Specifically, a distance La (see FIG. 6) from the vehicle position to the gradient switching point Pa indicated in the vehicle position information, a second recommended vehicle speed V2 that is a recommended vehicle speed at the gradient switching point Pa, and the own vehicle Necessary in order to change from the actual speed V to the second recommended vehicle speed V2 during the distance La from the vehicle position to the gradient switching point Pa based on the actual vehicle speed V (see FIG. 6) which is the vehicle speed at the position. The deceleration acceleration Ga is calculated by the following equation (2).
Ga = (V ² −V ^{2 2} ) / (2 × La) (2)
As shown in FIG. 6, the distance La from the vehicle position to the gradient switching point Pa is based on the position information of each node N included in the road information D1, and the road from the vehicle position to the gradient switching point Pa. It is obtained by calculating the distance in the direction along R (the distance along the road).

  Next, the gear ratio determining unit 18 recommends the recommended input shaft rotational speed that is the recommended rotational speed of the input shaft 3a of the automatic transmission mechanism 3 from the actual vehicle speed V at the vehicle position and the necessary deceleration acceleration Ga to the gradient switching point Pa. Is determined (step # 32). FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a map for determining the recommended input shaft rotational speed. In this map, the straight line γmax indicates the relationship between the input shaft speed of the automatic transmission mechanism 3 and the vehicle speed when the transmission gear ratio of the automatic transmission mechanism 3 is set to the maximum (when the transmission gear ratio is set to the lowest speed). The straight line γmin indicates the relationship between the input shaft speed of the automatic transmission mechanism 3 and the vehicle speed when the transmission gear ratio of the automatic transmission mechanism 3 is set to the minimum (when the transmission gear ratio is set to the highest speed side). Line γ1 shows the relationship between the vehicle speed and the recommended input shaft speed when the required deceleration acceleration is 1 [G], and line γ2 shows the vehicle speed when the required deceleration acceleration is 0.2 [G]. And the recommended input shaft speed. When the required deceleration acceleration is between 0.2 [G] and 1 [G], a value between the line γ1 and the line γ2 is appropriately selected. Therefore, according to this map, the recommended input shaft speed according to the actual vehicle speed V at the vehicle position and the necessary deceleration acceleration Ga to the gradient switching point Pa is determined. At this time, the recommended input shaft speed increases as the required deceleration acceleration increases. As the recommended input shaft rotational speed is higher, the gear ratio of the automatic transmission mechanism 3 is increased as will be described later, and the engine brake in the accelerator closed state acts more strongly and decelerates. Here, the vehicle speed is proportional to the rotation speed of the output shaft 3 b of the automatic transmission mechanism 3 and is detected by the vehicle speed sensor 20. In the map of FIG. 12, the numerical values shown as the vehicle speed on the horizontal axis and the recommended input shaft rotation speed on the vertical axis are examples, and can be changed as appropriate.

Next, it is determined whether or not the accelerator opening detected by the accelerator sensor 21 is closed (step # 33). When the accelerator opening is not closed, that is, when the accelerator pedal 27 is depressed by the driver (step # 33: NO), it can be determined that the driver does not intend to decelerate. The mechanism control unit 14 controls the automatic transmission mechanism 3 for normal traveling (step # 34). On the other hand, when the accelerator opening is in the closed state (step # 33: YES), it can be determined that the driver has an intention to decelerate. Therefore, the gear ratio determination unit 18 determines the recommended input shaft rotation speed determined in step # 32 and the automatic transmission mechanism 3 detected by the vehicle speed sensor 20 to perform deceleration by engine braking in accordance with the required deceleration acceleration Ga. A target gear ratio is determined from the actual output shaft rotational speed that is the rotational speed of the output shaft 3b (step # 35). Specifically, it is calculated by the following equation (3).
(Target gear ratio) = (Recommended input shaft speed) / (Actual output shaft speed) (3)

  Then, the gear ratio determination unit 18 performs gear shift control of the automatic transmission mechanism 3 so that the gear ratio of the automatic transmission mechanism 3 matches the target gear ratio according to the target gear ratio determined in step # 35 (step # 36). . Thus, the process ends.

  In the “speed change control (1)”, the higher the recommended input shaft speed, the larger the target speed ratio, and the higher the target speed ratio, the stronger the engine brake acts, so the vehicle decelerates with a large deceleration acceleration. As described above, the recommended input shaft speed is determined according to the required deceleration acceleration, and the required deceleration acceleration is determined by setting the second recommended vehicle speed V2 as the target vehicle speed. By performing the shift control so that the ratio matches the target gear ratio, it is possible to obtain a deceleration acceleration that decelerates the actual vehicle speed V of the vehicle 2 so as to approach the second recommended vehicle speed V2 at the gradient switching point Pa.

On the other hand, in “transmission control (2)” in step # 16, the transmission ratio determination unit 18 of the transmission mechanism control unit 14 first sets the required deceleration acceleration Gb to the target deceleration point Pb with the first recommended vehicle speed V1 as the target vehicle speed. Calculate (step # 37). Specifically, the distance Lb (see FIG. 6) from the vehicle position to the target deceleration point Pb indicated in the vehicle position information, the first recommended vehicle speed V1 that is the recommended vehicle speed at the target deceleration point Pb, and the own vehicle Necessary in order to change from the actual speed V to the first recommended vehicle speed V1 during the distance Lb from the vehicle position to the target deceleration point Pb based on the actual vehicle speed V (see FIG. 6) which is the vehicle speed at the position. The deceleration acceleration Gb is calculated by the following equation (4).
Gb = (V ² −V ^{1 2} ) / (2 × Lb) (4)
As shown in FIG. 6, the distance Lb from the vehicle position to the target deceleration point Pb is a road from the vehicle position to the target deceleration point Pb based on the position information of each node N included in the road information D1. It is obtained by calculating the distance in the direction along R (the distance along the road).

  Thereafter, the process proceeds to step # 32, and thereafter, the same process as the above "shift control (1)" is performed. That is, the gear ratio determination unit 18 determines a recommended input shaft rotational speed that is a recommended rotational speed of the input shaft 3a of the automatic transmission mechanism 3 from the actual vehicle speed V at the vehicle position and the necessary deceleration acceleration Gb up to the target deceleration point Pb. Determine (step # 32). The recommended input shaft speed is determined according to the map shown in FIG. Next, it is determined whether or not the accelerator opening detected by the accelerator sensor 21 is in a closed state (step # 33). If the accelerator opening is not in a closed state (step # 33: NO), a transmission mechanism control unit. 14 performs normal traveling control for the automatic transmission mechanism 3 (step # 34). On the other hand, when the accelerator opening is in the closed state (step # 33: YES), the gear ratio determination unit 18 is determined in step # 32 to perform deceleration by engine braking in accordance with the required deceleration acceleration Gb. A target gear ratio is determined from the recommended input shaft rotational speed and the actual output shaft rotational speed that is the rotational speed of the output shaft 3b of the automatic transmission mechanism 3 detected by the vehicle speed sensor 20 (step # 35). This target gear ratio is calculated by the above equation (3). Then, the gear ratio determination unit 18 performs gear shift control of the automatic transmission mechanism 3 so that the gear ratio of the automatic transmission mechanism 3 matches the target gear ratio in accordance with the determined target gear ratio (step # 36). Thus, the process ends.

  The processes shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 3 to 5 are repeatedly performed at predetermined time intervals. Therefore, except for the case where the slope switching point Pa is not included in the road information D1 within the search range from the beginning, steps # 08 to # 15 are repeated until the vehicle 2 passes through the slope switching point Pa. Will be. Then, when the road gradient of the vehicle position is an upward gradient (step # 10: YES), and the actual vehicle speed V is equal to or lower than the control determination vehicle speed Vx at the current position defined by the control determination deceleration line M2 in FIG. In (Step # 13: YES), the deceleration operation of the automatic transmission mechanism 3 is restricted (Step # 14), so the vehicle 2 is not decelerated and travels with inertia. On the other hand, when the road gradient of the vehicle position is a downward gradient (step # 10: NO), or when the actual vehicle speed V is higher than the control determination vehicle speed Vx at the current position defined by the control determination deceleration line M2 (step #). 13: NO), the shift control of the automatic transmission mechanism 3 is performed with the second recommended vehicle speed V2 that is the recommended vehicle speed at the gradient switching point Pa as the target vehicle speed, and the vehicle 2 is decelerated.

  Here, when the actual vehicle speed V is higher than the control determination vehicle speed Vx at the current position defined by the control determination deceleration line M2 (step # 13: NO), the result of the deceleration operation of the automatic transmission mechanism 3 being limited ( As the vehicle 2 approaches the gradient switching point Pa without being decelerated as step # 14), as shown in FIG. 11, the control determination vehicle speed Vx at the current position defined by the control determination deceleration line M2 becomes a low value, The case where the actual vehicle speed V exceeds the control determination vehicle speed Vx at the current position is also included. That is, the control determination deceleration line M2 is set so that the vehicle speed difference from the recommended deceleration line M1 becomes smaller as the distance to the gradient switching point Pa becomes shorter. Even when the deceleration operation of the vehicle is limited, when the vehicle approaches the gradient switching point Pa without being decelerated due to the influence of an upward gradient or a brake operation, the deceleration operation is finally performed with the second recommended vehicle speed V2 as the target vehicle speed. It will be. Therefore, the vehicle 2 is finally controlled to have an appropriate vehicle speed while preventing the driver from feeling uncomfortable.

  When the vehicle 2 passes the gradient switching point Pa, the gradient switching point Pa is not included in the road information D1 within the search range (step # 07: NO). Therefore, the shift control of the automatic transmission mechanism 3 is performed with the first recommended vehicle speed V1 that is the recommended vehicle speed at the target deceleration point Pb as the target vehicle speed, and the vehicle 2 is decelerated so as to have an appropriate vehicle speed at the target deceleration point Pb. . Further, even when the road information D1 within the search range does not include the slope switching point Pa from the beginning, the shift of the automatic transmission mechanism 3 is performed using the first recommended vehicle speed V1 that is the recommended vehicle speed at the target deceleration point Pb as the target vehicle speed. Control is performed, and the vehicle 2 is decelerated so as to have an appropriate vehicle speed at the target deceleration point Pb. The time interval at which the processes shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 3 to 5 are repeatedly performed can be set to, for example, about 10 to 50 ms.

  Also, since the processing shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 3 to 5 is repeatedly performed at predetermined time intervals, “shift control (1)” in step # 15 or “shift control (2)” in step # 16. Even when the degree of deceleration of the vehicle 2 with respect to the shift control of the automatic transmission mechanism 3 differs depending on the gradient angle of the road R, the actual vehicle speed V and the target vehicle speed are varied according to the actual degree of deceleration of the vehicle 2. The relationship between the difference between the first recommended vehicle speed V1 or the second recommended vehicle speed V2 and the distance between the vehicle position and the gradient switching point Pa or the target deceleration point Pb changes, and the necessary deceleration acceleration Ga or Gb is changed accordingly. Also changes. Therefore, depending on the degree of deceleration of the vehicle 2 that varies depending on the gradient angle, it is automatically and appropriately adjusted so that the target vehicle speed becomes the first recommended vehicle speed V1 or the second recommended vehicle speed V2 at the gradient switching point Pa or the target deceleration point Pb. The shift control of the transmission mechanism 3 is performed. In the present embodiment, since the degree of deceleration of the vehicle with respect to the shift control of the automatic transmission mechanism differs greatly between the ascending slope and the descending slope, the control is performed with the switching point between the ascending slope and the descending slope as the slope switching point Pa. I am going to do that.

[Other Embodiments]
(1) Although the case where the deceleration amount of the recommended deceleration line M1 is set as the deceleration acceleration has been described in the above embodiment, the application range of the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the recommended deceleration line M1 may be a line that defines the point recommended vehicle speed at each point for decelerating so as to become the second recommended vehicle speed V2 that is the recommended vehicle speed at the point at the gradient switching point Pa. Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 13, the recommended deceleration line M1 is defined as a vehicle speed at which the speed reduction rate of the vehicle 2 at each point from the vehicle position to the slope switching point Pa becomes a predetermined recommended speed reduction rate. One preferred embodiment is a line. Here, the recommended speed reduction rate is determined on the basis that the vehicle 2 can decelerate stably and does not give the driver unpleasant feeling. For example, every time the vehicle 2 travels 1 meter, 1 [km / hour] It is preferable to use a rate of decrease in speed for deceleration.

(2) Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the case where the control determination deceleration line M2 was prescribed | regulated by deceleration acceleration was demonstrated, the application range of this invention is not limited to this. That is, the control determination deceleration line M2 may be any deceleration line that defines a higher vehicle speed than the recommended deceleration line M1 and has a larger vehicle speed difference from the recommended deceleration line M1 as the distance to the slope switching point Pa is longer. Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 14, the control determination deceleration line M2 is added to the recommended vehicle speed at each point defined by the recommended deceleration line M1 with a vehicle speed width proportional to the distance to the slope switching point Pa. It is also a preferred embodiment to form a line. Here, the vehicle speed width proportional to the distance to the gradient switching point Pa is determined based on the fact that the deceleration operation restriction area A1 for limiting the deceleration operation of the automatic transmission mechanism 3 is appropriate, for example, up to the gradient switching point Pa. It is preferable that the speed range increases by 0.4 [km / hour] per 1 m of the distance.
In the example shown in FIG. 14, the case where the recommended deceleration line M1 with the deceleration amount as the speed reduction rate is used as a reference, but the recommended deceleration line M1 with the deceleration amount as the deceleration acceleration as shown in FIG. And a line formed by adding a vehicle speed width proportional to the distance to the slope switching point Pa to the recommended point vehicle speed at each point defined by the recommended deceleration line M1 is also used as the control determination deceleration line M2. one of.

(3) In the above embodiment, the case where the speed ratio of the automatic transmission mechanism 3 is fixed as the process of limiting the deceleration operation of the automatic transmission mechanism 3 has been described. However, the method of limiting the deceleration operation is limited to this. It is not a thing. Therefore, as a process for limiting the deceleration operation of the automatic transmission mechanism 3, for example, it is prohibited to change the automatic transmission mechanism 3 to the side where the gear ratio becomes larger (low speed side) and the side where the gear ratio becomes smaller (high speed side). It is one of the preferred embodiments that the control is allowed to be changed to (). Further, for example, it is possible to control the change of the automatic transmission mechanism 3 to the side where the gear ratio becomes larger (low speed side) while allowing the change within the certain range and prohibiting the change beyond the range. .

(4) In the above-described embodiment, the case where the switching point between the ascending slope and the descending slope is set as the slope switching point has been described, but the slope switching point according to the present invention is not limited to this. In other words, the gradient switching point according to the present invention is a point at which the shift control of the automatic transmission mechanism changes due to the road gradient switching. Therefore, for example, it is also a preferred embodiment that a point where the road gradient changes by a predetermined angle or more is set as the gradient switching point.

(5) In the above embodiment, the case where the continuously variable transmission mechanism is used as the automatic transmission mechanism 3 has been described. However, the configuration of the automatic transmission mechanism 3 is not limited to this, and a stepped transmission mechanism is used. Is also one of the preferred embodiments.

The block diagram which shows the structure of the transmission control apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention, and a vehicle in which this is mounted Explanatory drawing which shows the content of the map information stored in the map database of the transmission control apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention The flowchart which shows the whole control operation | movement of the transmission control apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows the deceleration restriction | limiting operation | movement of the automatic transmission mechanism by the transmission control apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows the operation | movement of the shift control of the automatic transmission mechanism by the shift control apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the state of the road of the advancing direction of the vehicle for description of the control action of the transmission control apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the determination method of the target deceleration point by the transmission control apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the map showing the relationship between the curvature radius of the road used for the transmission control apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention, and recommended vehicle speed. The figure which shows the map for determining the 2nd recommended vehicle speed used for the transmission control apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the calculation result of the deceleration control line by the transmission control apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention (1st example) The figure which shows an example of the calculation result of the control determination deceleration line by the transmission control apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention (1st example) The figure which shows the map for determining the recommended input shaft rotational speed used for the transmission control apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the calculation result of the deceleration control line by the transmission control apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention (2nd example) The figure which shows an example of the calculation result of the control determination deceleration line by the transmission control apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention (2nd example).

Explanation of symbols

1: Transmission control device 2: Vehicle 3: Automatic transmission mechanism 4: Location part (position information acquisition means)
8: Road information acquisition unit (road information acquisition means)
10: Map database (road information database)
13: Gradient switching point information acquisition unit 14: Transmission mechanism control unit (deceleration control means)
15: Target deceleration point determination unit (target deceleration point determination means)
16: First recommended vehicle speed determining unit (first recommended vehicle speed determining means)
17: Second recommended vehicle speed determining unit (recommended vehicle speed determining means / second recommended vehicle speed determining means)
18: Transmission ratio determining unit (deceleration control means)
29: Recommended deceleration line calculation unit (recommended point vehicle speed calculation means)
30: Control determination deceleration line calculation unit (control determination vehicle speed calculation means)
31: Deceleration limiting unit (deceleration limiting means)
D1: Road information Lc: Distance from the gradient switching point to the target deceleration point M1: Recommended deceleration line M2: Control determination deceleration line Pa: Gradient switching point Pb: Target deceleration point V0: Point recommended vehicle speed V1: first position Recommended vehicle speed V2: Second recommended vehicle speed Vx: Control judgment vehicle speed at the current position

Claims (12)

Road information acquisition means for acquiring road information in the traveling direction of the vehicle;
Target deceleration point determination means for determining a target deceleration point that is a target point of deceleration control according to the road shape within the search range of the traveling direction based on the road information;
When a slope switching point is included between the target deceleration point and a recommended vehicle speed determining means for determining a recommended vehicle speed at the slope switching point;
Deceleration control means for controlling the automatic transmission mechanism with the recommended vehicle speed as a target vehicle speed to perform a deceleration operation;
Based on the recommended vehicle speed at the gradient switching point and a predetermined deceleration amount, point recommended vehicle speed calculation means for calculating the vehicle speed at each point between the vehicle position and the gradient switching point as the point recommended vehicle speed,
A control determination vehicle speed calculation means for calculating a control determination vehicle speed that is higher than the recommended vehicle speed at each point and has a larger difference from the recommended vehicle speed as the distance to the gradient switching point is longer;
When the road gradient to the gradient switching point is an uphill gradient and the actual vehicle speed at each point is equal to or lower than the control determination vehicle speed at each point, the automatic shift by the control of the deceleration control means Deceleration limiting means for limiting the deceleration operation of the mechanism;
A vehicle shift control apparatus comprising: The deceleration control means is configured so that the actual vehicle speed at each point is higher than the control determination vehicle speed at each point when the road gradient to the gradient switching point is a downward gradient, or even if the gradient is an upward gradient. when high, the cormorants rows deceleration of the automatic speed change mechanism is controlled to such a gradient switching point the gear ratio corresponding to the magnitude of the deceleration required to become the recommended vehicle speed 請 Motomeko 1 The gear shift control device for a vehicle according to 1. The point recommended vehicle speed calculation means is a line that defines a vehicle speed at each point between a vehicle position and the gradient switching point, and coincides with the recommended vehicle speed at the gradient switching point, and is decelerated at each point. Calculate a recommended deceleration line whose amount is equal to or less than a predetermined recommended deceleration amount, determine the recommended vehicle speed at the point based on the recommended deceleration line,
The control determination vehicle speed calculation means is a line that defines a vehicle speed higher than the recommended deceleration line, and calculates a control determination deceleration line that has a larger vehicle speed difference from the recommended deceleration line as the distance to the gradient switching point is longer. The vehicle shift control device according to claim 1, wherein the control determination vehicle speed is determined based on the control determination deceleration line.   4. The vehicle shift control device according to claim 3, wherein the recommended deceleration line is a line that defines a vehicle speed at which a deceleration acceleration of the vehicle at each point becomes a predetermined recommended deceleration acceleration. 5.   4. The vehicle shift control device according to claim 3, wherein the recommended deceleration line is a line that defines a vehicle speed at which a vehicle speed reduction rate at each point becomes a predetermined recommended speed reduction rate. 5.   The vehicle shift control device according to claim 4, wherein the control determination deceleration line is a line that defines a vehicle speed at which the deceleration acceleration is greater than the recommended deceleration acceleration.   6. The control determination deceleration line according to claim 3, wherein a vehicle speed width proportional to a distance to the slope switching point is added to a vehicle speed at each point defined by the recommended deceleration line. The vehicle transmission control device according to claim. Comprising a first recommended vehicle speed determining means to determine the first recommended vehicle speed is recommended vehicle speed at the previous SL target deceleration point,
The recommended vehicle speed at the slope switching point is a second recommended vehicle speed, the recommended vehicle speed determining means for determining the second recommended vehicle speed is a second recommended vehicle speed determining means, and the second recommended vehicle speed determining means is the first recommended vehicle speed The vehicle shift control device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the second recommended vehicle speed is determined based on a vehicle speed and a distance from the gradient switching point to the target deceleration point.   9. The shift control device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the road information acquisition unit acquires information on a switching point between an ascending slope and a descending slope as information on the slope switching point. 10. A position information acquisition means for acquiring the position information of the vehicle, and a road information database storing road information including gradient information of each point on the road,
The road information acquisition unit acquires road information within a certain distance in the traveling direction from the road information database from the position indicated by the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit. The transmission control device for a vehicle according to the item.   A vehicle comprising: the speed change control device according to any one of claims 1 to 10; and an automatic speed change mechanism that is controlled to achieve a speed change ratio determined by the speed change control device. A road information acquisition step for acquiring road information in the traveling direction of the vehicle;
A target deceleration point determination step of determining a target deceleration point that is a target point of deceleration control according to a road shape within the search range of the traveling direction based on the road information;
A recommended vehicle speed determining step for determining a recommended vehicle speed at the gradient switching point when a gradient switching point is included between the target deceleration point and
Based on the recommended vehicle speed at the gradient switching point and a predetermined deceleration amount, a point recommended vehicle speed calculation step for calculating the vehicle speed at each point between the vehicle position and the gradient switching point as the point recommended vehicle speed;
A control determination vehicle speed calculation step of calculating a control determination vehicle speed that is higher than the recommended vehicle speed at each point and has a larger difference from the recommended vehicle speed as the distance to the gradient switching point is longer;
When the slope of the road to the slope switching point is an upward slope and the actual vehicle speed at each point is equal to or lower than the control determination vehicle speed at each point, an automatic transmission mechanism is set with the recommended vehicle speed as a target vehicle speed. A deceleration limiting step for limiting the deceleration operation of the automatic transmission mechanism by a deceleration control step of controlling and performing a deceleration operation;
A vehicle shift control method comprising:

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