JP6790703B2 - Vehicle control device and vehicle control system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle control device and a vehicle control system.

Traditionally used torque converters in vehicles transmit engine power to the transmission via oil. Specifically, the torque converter includes an impeller provided on the output shaft of the engine and a turbine provided on the input shaft of the transmission. The rotation of the impeller is transmitted to the turbine via oil. By rotating the turbine, the power of the engine is transmitted to the transmission and further to the wheels.

Further, some torque converters are provided with a lockup clutch mechanism that directly connects the engine side and the transmission side (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In Patent Document 1, it is possible to switch between direct power transmission between the engine and the transmission and indirect power transmission via oil by operating and releasing the lockup clutch mechanism.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-20927

By the way, when the lockup clutch mechanism is released, the impeller and the turbine are not directly connected as described above, so that the rotation of the impeller is transmitted to the turbine via oil. In this case, depending on the rotation speed of the impeller or the turbine, a difference in the rotation speed may occur between the impeller and the turbine. In particular, when the brake operation is performed by the occupant, the difference in the rotation speed between the impeller and the turbine becomes large because the rotation speed on the wheel (transmission) side, that is, the turbine decreases. As a result, the vehicle may vibrate (shock).

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and one of the objects of the present invention is to provide a vehicle control device and a vehicle control system capable of suppressing vehicle vibration caused by a torque converter.

The vehicle control device according to the present invention is a vehicle control device including a torque converter that transmits the output of an engine to a transmission via oil and an auxiliary machine that drives the output of the engine as a power source. It is characterized in that the drive of the auxiliary machine is restricted when the brake operation is performed by the above.

The vehicle control system according to the present invention includes a torque converter that transmits the output of an engine to a transmission via oil, an auxiliary machine that drives the output of the engine as a power source, and a control device that controls the drive of the auxiliary machine. The control device is characterized in that the drive of the auxiliary machine is restricted when the brake operation is performed by the occupant.

According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress the vibration of the vehicle caused by the torque converter.

It is a conceptual diagram which shows the whole structure of the vehicle control system which concerns on 1st Embodiment. In the first embodiment, it is a figure which shows the time chart at the time of controlling the drive of an air conditioner compressor. It is a figure which shows the drive control flow of the air conditioner compressor which concerns on 1st Embodiment. In the second embodiment, it is a figure which shows the time chart when controlling the drive of an air conditioner compressor. It is a figure which shows the drive control flow of the air conditioner compressor which concerns on 2nd Embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following, an example in which the vehicle control device and the vehicle control system according to the present invention are applied to a motorcycle will be described, but the application target is not limited to this and can be changed. For example, the vehicle control device and vehicle control system according to the present invention can be applied to other types of vehicles (for example, motorcycles). In each of the following figures, some configurations are omitted for convenience of explanation.

The schematic configuration of the vehicle control device and the control system according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an overall configuration of a vehicle control system according to the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, it is assumed that the vehicle (for example, a four-wheeled vehicle) usually has a configuration, and the description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle control system 1 according to the first embodiment is configured to control the drive of an auxiliary machine (air conditioner compressor 6 in the first embodiment) in response to an occupant's brake operation. ing. Specifically, the vehicle control system 1 includes an engine 2, a torque converter 3, a transmission 4, a brake system 5, an air conditioner compressor 6 (A / C compressor), an ECU 7 (Electronic Control Unit), and the like.

The engine 2 as an internal combustion engine is composed of, for example, a gasoline engine. The engine 2 is not limited to a gasoline engine, and may be composed of other types of engines such as a diesel engine.

The transmission 4 is composed of, for example, a multi-stage automatic transmission. The transmission 4 is not limited to the above configuration, and may be configured by other types of transmissions such as a CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) and a manual transmission.

The torque converter 3 is a type of fluid coupling that transmits the output of the engine 2 to the transmission 4 via oil. Specifically, the torque converter 3 includes an impeller 30 provided on the output shaft 20 of the engine 2 and a turbine 31 provided on the input shaft 40 of the transmission 4. The rotation of the impeller 30 is transmitted to the turbine 31 via oil.

Further, the torque converter 3 has a lockup clutch mechanism 32 capable of switching the connection between the output shaft 20 of the engine 2 and the input shaft 40 of the transmission 4. While the lockup clutch mechanism 32 is operating, the output shaft 20 of the engine 2 and the input shaft 40 of the transmission 4 are directly connected. On the other hand, when the lockup clutch mechanism 32 is released, the connection between the output shaft 20 of the engine 2 and the input shaft 40 of the transmission 4 is released. In this case, as described above, the rotation of the impeller 30 is transmitted to the turbine 31 via oil.

The output shaft 20 of the engine 2 is provided with a drive unit rotation speed detecting means 21 that detects the rotation speed of the output shaft 20 (the rotation speed of the impeller 30). Further, the input shaft 40 of the transmission 4 is provided with a driven unit rotation speed detecting means 41 for detecting the rotation speed of the input shaft 40 (rotational speed of the turbine 31). The detection values of the driving unit rotation speed detecting means 21 and the driven unit rotation speed detecting means 41 are input to the ECU 7. Although the details will be described later, the ECU 7 calculates the rotation speed ratio from the detection values of the driving unit rotation speed detecting means 21 and the driven unit rotation speed detecting means 41.

The brake system 5 is configured to decelerate the vehicle in response to the occupant's braking operation. Specifically, the brake system includes a braking device (for example, a disc brake or a drum brake) and a brake pedal (both not shown). A master cylinder is connected between the brake device and the brake pedal via a brake hose (both not shown). When the occupant operates the brake pedal, oil is generated in the master cylinder, and the generated oil is transmitted to the brake device via the brake hose. As a result, the braking device is activated and the wheels (not shown) are braked.

The air conditioner compressor 6 as an auxiliary machine functions as a component of the air conditioning equipment of the vehicle, and is driven by the output of the engine 2 as a power source. In the first embodiment, the air conditioner compressor 6 will be described as an example of the auxiliary machine, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration. The auxiliary machine may be composed of, for example, an alternator driven by the output of the engine 2 as a power source.

The ECU 7 controls various configurations in the vehicle in an integrated manner, and is composed of a processor, a memory, and the like that execute various processes in the vehicle. The memory is composed of a storage medium such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) or a RAM (Random Access Memory) depending on the application. A control program or the like that controls each part in the vehicle is stored in the memory. Although the details will be described later, the ECU 7 stores various predetermined values used for driving control of the air conditioner compressor 6.

The ECU 7 controls the operations of the engine 2, the torque converter 3, the transmission 4, the brake system 5, the air conditioner compressor 6, and the like. In particular, the ECU 7 includes an air conditioner cut determination unit 70 (A / C cut determination unit) for determining the drive or stop of the air conditioner compressor 6.

The air conditioner cut determination means 70 determines whether to drive or stop the air conditioner compressor 6 based on the gear stage, vehicle speed, brake switch, brake master pressure, rotation speed ratio between the impeller 30 and the turbine 31, and the like. Although the details will be described later, the ECU 7 controls the drive of the air conditioner compressor 6 based on the determination result of the air conditioner cut determination means 70.

By the way, in a torque converter provided with a lockup clutch mechanism, the engine and the transmission are directly connected by operating the lockup clutch mechanism under predetermined conditions. This makes it possible to suppress a decrease in power transmission efficiency due to fluid slip in the torque converter.

However, it is assumed that the vibration of the engine is directly transmitted to the transmission by directly connecting the engine and the transmission. Further, when the air conditioner compressor using the power of the engine is operating, the driving force (rotational speed) of the engine is increased, so that the vibration may be further increased.

On the other hand, when the lockup clutch mechanism is released and the direct connection between the engine and the transmission is released, when the vehicle is decelerated due to the braking operation, the rotation speed of the turbine is reduced as compared with the rotation speed of the impeller. As a result, the difference in the number of revolutions between the impeller and the turbine becomes large, so that vibration (shock) different from the vibration peculiar to the engine may occur.

Therefore, the present inventor came up with the present invention by paying attention to the driving state of the auxiliary machine (air conditioner compressor) whose drive source is the output of the engine and the operating state of the lockup clutch mechanism. That is, the gist of the present invention is to limit the driving of the auxiliary machine when the occupant's braking operation is being performed. According to this configuration, when the vehicle is decelerating with the braking operation of the occupant, the driving of the auxiliary machine is stopped. As a result, the driving force (load) of the engine 2 can be reduced, and the vibration of the vehicle generated by the driving force of the engine 2 being transmitted to the torque converter 3 can be suppressed.

Further, the present inventor has noted that the load of the torque converter 3 correlates with the ratio (or the difference in rotation speed) between the rotation speed of the impeller 30 and the rotation speed of the turbine 31. More specifically, when the vehicle is decelerated when the lockup clutch mechanism 32 is released, a difference occurs between the rotation speed of the impeller 30 and the rotation speed of the turbine 31. The ECU 7 limits the drive of the air conditioner compressor 6 based on the difference in rotation speed between the impeller 30 and the turbine 31. In this case, even if the load of the torque converter 3 increases due to the difference in the number of revolutions, the driving force (load) of the engine 2 can be reduced by limiting the driving of the air conditioner compressor 6. .. As a result, it is possible to suppress the vibration of the vehicle caused by the torque converter 3.

Next, the drive control of the auxiliary machine according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a time chart when controlling the drive of the air conditioner compressor in the first embodiment. Specifically, FIG. 2A is a time chart of various parameters of the vehicle, and FIG. 2B is a time chart showing the driving state of the air conditioner compressor. Further, in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the time axis (horizontal axis) corresponds (matches). FIG. 2 describes the control of the air conditioner compressor when the vehicle decelerates due to the brake operation of the occupant. In FIG. 2, it is assumed that the lockup clutch mechanism is released.

FIG. 2A shows the time course of the eight parameters. Specifically, L1 indicates the on / off of the brake switch, L2 indicates the engine speed, L3 indicates the target rotation speed, L4 indicates the turbine rotation speed, L5 indicates the vehicle speed, and L6 indicates the rotation speed ratio. L7 indicates the load of the torque converter 3 (see FIG. 1), and L8 indicates the engine load. This engine load can be obtained from, for example, the intake air amount of the engine. Here, the rotation speed ratio represents the ratio of the engine rotation speed (impeller rotation speed) to the turbine rotation speed, and more specifically, the turbine rotation speed / engine rotation speed. In particular, L8A indicates the engine load when the air conditioner (air conditioner compressor 6 (see FIG. 1)) is turned off, and L8B indicates the engine load when the air conditioner is not turned off. Further, in FIG. 2B, L9 indicates a driving state (on / off) of the air conditioner (air conditioner compressor 6).

For example, consider the case where the occupant operates the brake between T1 and T4. As shown in FIG. 2A, when the brake switch is turned on at the timing of T1, the brake device actually operates at the timing of T2 after a predetermined time. As shown in L5, after T2, the vehicle speed gradually decreases due to the operation of the brake device, and the vehicle speed becomes zero at the timing of T3, that is, the vehicle stops.

As shown in L2 and L4, after T2, the turbine speed decreases as compared with the engine speed as the vehicle speed decreases. That is, there is a difference between the turbine speed and the engine speed (impeller speed). In this case, as shown in L7, the load of the torque converter 3 starts to rise at the boundary of T2.

In the first embodiment, the operation of the air conditioner compressor 6 is controlled to be stopped at the timing of T2 when the brake starts to work. Therefore, as shown in L8A, the engine load is maintained at a constant value without increasing, and the engine speed shown in L2 settles in the vicinity of the target speed L3.

On the other hand, when the drive of the air conditioner compressor 6 is not stopped at the timing of T2, the engine load increases at the boundary of T2 as shown in L8B. This is because the ECU 7 increases the engine driving force in order to secure the driving force of the air conditioner compressor 6 from the driving force of the engine 2. As a result, the engine is more than when the driving of the air conditioner compressor 6 is stopped. The vibration of 2 becomes large.

On the other hand, in the first embodiment, as described above, the air conditioner is air-conditioned at the timing T2 when the vehicle decelerates, a difference in rotation speed occurs between the impeller 30 and the turbine 31, and the load of the torque converter 3 increases. The drive of the compressor 6 is stopped. As a result, it is possible to suppress an increase in the engine speed, that is, an increase in the engine load. Therefore, even if the load of the torque converter 3 increases as the vehicle decelerates, the increase in the engine load can be suppressed by that amount, and as a result, the vibration of the vehicle can be suppressed.

Next, the drive control flow (air conditioner cut determination flow) of the air conditioner compressor according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a drive control flow of the air conditioner compressor according to the first embodiment. In each of the following flows, the main body of the determination is the ECU 7 (air conditioner cut determination means 70) unless otherwise specified. Further, it is assumed that the air conditioner compressor is driven at the start of control.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the control is started, it is determined in step ST101 whether or not the lockup clutch mechanism 32 is released and the vehicle is decelerating. The ECU 7 can determine the operating state of the lockup clutch mechanism 32. Whether or not the vehicle is decelerating can be determined by the ECU 7 from the output of the vehicle speed sensor or the like provided on the wheel side.

When the lockup clutch mechanism 32 is released and the vehicle is decelerating (step ST101: YES), the process proceeds to step ST102. When the lockup clutch mechanism 32 is released and the vehicle is not decelerating (step ST101: NO), the control ends while the air conditioner compressor 6 continues to be driven.

In step ST102, it is determined whether or not the occupant has operated the brake. The presence or absence of a brake operation (for example, the timing of T1 in FIG. 2) can be determined by the ECU 7 in the brake system 5 based on the on / off of the brake switch.

When there is a brake operation (step ST102: YES), the air conditioner compressor 6 is stopped in step ST103, and the control ends. If there is no brake operation (step ST102: NO), the control ends while the air conditioner compressor 6 continues to be driven.

Note that step ST102 is not limited to the case where the presence or absence of a brake operation is determined by turning the brake switch on and off, and can be changed as appropriate. For example, it may be determined whether or not the brake device actually operates and the brake starts to work (for example, the timing of T2 in FIG. 2). In this case, the ECU 7 can determine whether or not the brake has begun to work, depending on whether or not the brake master pressure exceeds a predetermined value.

As described above, in the first embodiment, the on / off of the air conditioner compressor 6 is controlled based on the presence or absence of the brake operation when the vehicle is decelerating in consideration of the operating state of the lockup clutch mechanism. For example, if the brake is operated, it is possible to predict that the load on the torque converter 3 will increase due to a difference in the number of rotations between the impeller 30 and the turbine 31 as the vehicle decelerates. In this case, the increase in engine load can be suppressed by stopping the driving of the air conditioner compressor 6. On the other hand, if there is no operation of the brake, there is no difference in the number of revolutions between the impeller 30 and the turbine 31, and it can be predicted that the load of the torque converter 3 is not large enough to affect the vibration.

In this way, the load of the torque converter 3 is predicted from the presence or absence of the brake operation, and when it is considered that the load may affect the vibration, the air conditioner compressor 6 is stopped to increase the engine load. As a result, it is possible to suppress the vibration of the vehicle caused by the torque converter 3.

Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a time chart when controlling the drive of the air conditioner compressor in the second embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a drive control flow of the air conditioner compressor according to the second embodiment.

In the first embodiment, the case where the air conditioner compressor is stopped when the brake is operated or when the brake starts to be applied has been described. In the second embodiment, in addition to these, a case where the drive of the air conditioner compressor is controlled based on the rotation speed ratio of the impeller and the turbine will be described. Since the configuration of the control system in the second embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 4, in the second embodiment, the timing at which the brake starts to be applied from T2 and the rotation speed ratio becomes a predetermined value or more (the timing at which the difference between the engine rotation speed and the turbine rotation speed becomes a predetermined difference or more). ) Stop driving the air conditioner compressor 6 at T5. Then, after a lapse of a predetermined time, for example, at the timing T3 when the vehicle speed becomes zero, the driving of the air conditioner compressor 6 is started again. In this case, since the air conditioner compressor 6 is stopped only during the period when the load of the torque converter 3 is expected to increase, the stop period of the air conditioner can be minimized. The timing at which the operation of the air conditioner compressor 6 is restarted is not limited to T3 and can be changed as appropriate.

Specifically, between T2 and T5, as shown in L8A, the engine load gradually increases as the vehicle decelerates. Further, between T5 and T3, the drive of the air conditioner compressor 6 is stopped, so that the engine load is reduced. After the vehicle stops and T3 or later, the driving of the air conditioner compressor 6 is started again, so that the engine load increases slightly.

On the other hand, when the drive of the air conditioner compressor 6 is not stopped between T5 and T3, the engine load shown in L8B further increases from L8A and settles at a constant value as in FIG. Therefore, the vibration of the engine 2 becomes large, which may further affect the vibration of the vehicle.

On the other hand, in the second embodiment, as described above, the air conditioner compressor 6 is stopped only during the period when the load of the torque converter 3 is expected to be large, so that the stop period of the air conditioner is kept to the minimum necessary. However, it is possible to effectively reduce the engine load and suppress the vibration of the vehicle.

A specific control flow will be described with reference to FIG. Since step ST201, step ST202, and step ST204 in FIG. 5 correspond to step ST101, step ST102, and step ST103 in FIG. 3, description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 5, when there is a brake operation (step ST202: YES), the process proceeds to step ST203. In step ST203, it is determined whether or not the rotation speed ratio (turbine speed / engine speed (impeller speed)) is equal to or higher than a predetermined value. Specifically, the ECU 7 calculates the rotation speed ratio from the detection values of the driving unit rotation speed detecting means 21 and the driven unit rotation speed detecting means 41. Then, the ECU 7 compares the rotation speed ratio with a predetermined value stored in advance.

When the rotation speed ratio is equal to or higher than a predetermined value (step ST203: YES), the air conditioner compressor 6 is stopped in step ST204, and the control ends. When the rotation speed ratio is smaller than a predetermined value (step ST203: NO), the control ends while the air conditioner compressor 6 continues to be driven.

As described above, in the second embodiment, when the vehicle is decelerating in consideration of the operating state of the lockup clutch mechanism, the air conditioner is based on the rotation speed ratio of the impeller and the turbine in addition to the presence or absence of the brake. Controls the on / off of the compressor 6. As described above, the rotation speed ratio has a correlation with the load of the torque converter 3.

For example, if the rotation speed ratio is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, it is possible to predict that the load on the torque converter 3 will increase. In this case, the increase in engine load can be suppressed by stopping the driving of the air conditioner compressor 6. On the other hand, if the rotation speed ratio is smaller than the predetermined value, it can be predicted that the load of the torque converter 3 is not large enough to affect the vibration.

As described above, also in the second embodiment, the load of the torque converter 3 is predicted from the rotation speed ratio, and the air conditioner compressor 6 is stopped when it is considered that the load may affect the vibration. Therefore, it is possible to suppress an increase in the engine load and, as a result, suppress the vibration of the vehicle caused by the torque converter 3.

In the above embodiment, the size and shape of each configuration shown in the accompanying drawings are not limited to this, and can be appropriately changed within the range in which the effects of the present invention are exhibited. In addition, the present invention can be appropriately modified and implemented as long as it does not deviate from the scope of the object.

For example, in the above embodiment, the drive of the air conditioner compressor 6 is restricted by turning on / off the air conditioner compressor 6, but the configuration is not limited to this configuration. For example, the driving force of the air conditioner compressor 6 may be controlled to be changed stepwise.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the rotation speed ratio is used when determining that a difference has occurred between the rotation speed of the impeller 30 and the rotation speed of the turbine 31 has been described, but this is limited to this case. Not done. For example, the difference in rotation speed between the impeller 30 and the turbine 31 may be used.

The present invention has the effect of suppressing vehicle vibration caused by a torque converter, and is useful for, for example, a vehicle control device and a vehicle control system.

1 Control system 2 Engine 20 Engine output shaft 3 Torque converter 30 Impeller 31 Turbine 32 Lockup clutch mechanism 4 Transmission 40 Transmission input shaft 6 Air conditioner compressor (auxiliary machine)
7 ECU (control device)

Claims (3)

A vehicle control device including a torque converter that transmits the output of an engine to a transmission via oil and an auxiliary machine that drives the output of the engine as a power source.
The torque converter has an impeller provided on the output shaft of the engine and a turbine provided on the input shaft of the transmission.
The rotation of the impeller is transmitted to the turbine via oil.
A vehicle characterized in that the drive of the auxiliary machine is restricted based on the difference between the rotation speed of the impeller and the rotation speed of the turbine when the brake operation is performed by the occupant. Control device. The torque converter further includes a lockup clutch mechanism capable of switching the connection between the output shaft of the engine and the input shaft of the transmission.
The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the drive of the auxiliary machine is restricted when the lockup clutch mechanism is released. A torque converter that transmits the output of the engine to the transmission via oil,
It is provided with an auxiliary machine that is driven by the output of the engine as a power source and a control device that controls the driving of the auxiliary machine.
The torque converter has an impeller provided on the output shaft of the engine and a turbine provided on the input shaft of the transmission.
The rotation of the impeller is transmitted to the turbine via oil.
The control device limits the drive of the auxiliary machine based on the difference between the rotation speed of the impeller and the rotation speed of the turbine when the brake operation is performed by the occupant. A characteristic vehicle control system.

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