JP2000198374A - Constant speed travel device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily accelerate according to a driver's preference during automatic cruise, in a vehicle with an automatic transmission additionally installed in a mounted engine. SOLUTION: In a vehicle with an automatic transmission additionally installed in a mounted engine, an automatic cruise electronic control unit 1 is provided with a resume first stage switch 5 and a resume second stage switch 6. In the case of the resume first stage switch 5 being closed, the value close to the upper limit of accelerator opening for maintaining the present shift stage without an automatic transmission being kicked down by an automatic transmission electronic control unit 9 at the vehicle speed and engine load at that time point is instructed to an engine electronic control unit 8 from the automatic cruise electronic control unit 1, and when the resume second stage switch 6 is closed, large accelerator opening is set by the automatic cruise electronic control unit 1 to kick down the automatic transmission.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a constant-speed traveling device for a vehicle, and more particularly to a constant-speed traveling device for a vehicle in which an automatic transmission is attached to a mounted engine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a constant-speed traveling device for a vehicle having an automatic transmission attached to an on-board engine, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
As exemplified in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 526, when the resume switch is pressed after the vehicle is decelerated, the vehicle speed increases to near the target speed due to the increase in the opening degree of the intake throttle valve, and the throttle valve opening degree increases. If the vehicle is being slowly accelerated in the vicinity of the opening, even if a downshift operation is performed according to the shift control of the automatic transmission, the downshift operation is prohibited and unnecessary shift shocks are generated. It has been proposed to ensure a comfortable riding comfort by eliminating the vehicle speed, and to make the automatic transmission perform a downshift operation when the difference between the vehicle speed and the target speed is large or when the acceleration of the vehicle is large.

[0003] However, the preferences of the vehicle driver are diverse, and the above-described control is not always felt as desirable. For example, a shift-down operation contrary to the preference of the driver may be performed. However, the above control is intended to increase the vehicle speed to the target speed, and is intended only for resuming (returning) the vehicle speed. Therefore, when the vehicle is accelerated using the auto cruise switch, the inconvenience which cannot be originally applied is not applicable. There is.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a constant-speed traveling apparatus which can easily perform acceleration according to the driver's preference during auto cruise control in a vehicle having an automatic transmission attached to an on-board engine. It is intended to provide.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, a constant-speed traveling apparatus for a vehicle according to the present invention uses the vehicle speed and the accelerator opening of the engine based on a shift map of an automatic transmission attached to an on-board engine. Shift control means for setting an optimal shift speed of the transmission; and, when the resume switch is closed, the accelerator opening is set near an upper limit at which the vehicle can run at the shift speed of the automatic transmission at that time from the shift map. Acceleration control means for increasing the

That is, when the resume switch is closed, the acceleration control means determines whether the decelerated vehicle returns to the target vehicle speed or accelerates the vehicle at a constant speed. Since the accelerator opening of the engine is increased near the upper limit at which the vehicle can travel at the speed of the automatic transmission from the shift map, the vehicle can be appropriately accelerated by increasing the output of the engine. Since the gear is maintained as it is without being changed by the shift control means, there is no shift shock, so that the vehicle can be accelerated smoothly.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. As shown in FIG. 1, in a heavy commercial vehicle having a seven-speed automatic transmission attached to an on-board engine, an auto cruise electronic control unit 1 includes an auto cruise main switch 2, a brake switch 3, and a set switch 4. An electric signal is input from the resume first-stage switch 5, the resume second-stage switch 6, the vehicle speed sensor 7, etc., and engine load information, that is, accelerator opening information is input from the engine electronic control unit 8, The speed information of the automatic transmission is input from the electronic control unit 9 of the automatic transmission.

FIG. 2 shows the auto cruise control by the above device.
And the flowchart of FIG. The main switch 2 for auto cruise is closed, and normal auto cruise control for maintaining the target speed set by the driver is performed in a main routine (not shown), and the resume first stage switch 5 or the resume second switch 5 is performed in the main routine. When the operation of the step switch 6 is detected, the control according to this flowchart is started. That is, step S1
In step S2, it is checked whether or not normal auto cruise control is being performed. If normal auto cruise control is not being performed and auto cruise control has been interrupted, an ON signal is output from the resume second stage switch 6 in step S2. It is checked whether or not the signal is output, and if the ON signal is not output from the resume second stage switch 6, the process proceeds to step S3.

In step S3, it is checked whether an ON signal has been output from the resume first-stage switch 5. If no resume signal has been output from the resume first-stage switch 5, the process returns to step S2. When the ON signal is output from the switch 5, the process proceeds to step S4, and based on the shift map of the automatic transmission,
The automatic transmission electronic control unit 9 does not kick down the automatic transmission at the vehicle speed and the engine load at that time, and the current gear position in the automatic transmission is maintained as it is. The value near the upper limit is returned from the automatic transmission electronic control unit 9 to the automatic cruise electronic control unit 1 in response to the inquiry from the automatic cruise electronic control unit 1.

For example, as shown in the shift map of FIG.
h, the automatic transmission is set to the seventh speed, and the vehicle is decelerated by the operation of the brake while the vehicle is running. When the vehicle speed is reduced to 65 km / h and the accelerator opening is 0 at the point A where the automatic cruise control is stopped and the ON signal is output from the resume first stage switch 5, the automatic cruise control is performed. The control device 1 restarts the auto cruise control and sends an electric signal to the engine electronic control device 8 so that the vehicle speed is increased to the original target speed of 90 km / h by increasing the accelerator opening, or the set switch 4 is used. At the set speed of 65 km / h and the automatic transmission
When the ON signal is output from the resume first-stage switch 5 at a point B where the vehicle is traveling at a constant speed in the shift speed, the auto cruise electronic control unit 1 sends an electric signal to the engine electronic control unit 8 to open the accelerator. In either case, the vehicle speed is increased by increasing the vehicle speed. In each case, at the initial vehicle speed of 65 km / h, the automatic transmission is point C immediately below the kickdown line I from the seventh speed to the sixth speed. Of the automatic transmission electronic control unit 9
And the answer is sent to the automatic cruise electronic control unit 1.

In the next step S5, the automatic cruise electronic control unit 1 prompts the engine electronic control unit 8 to quickly increase the accelerator opening to 65% and to release the accelerator in the direction a substantially parallel to the kickdown line I. An instruction is issued to further increase the opening degree, to maintain the accelerator opening degree 65% in the b direction, or to further increase the accelerator opening degree in an appropriate direction between the a direction and the b direction. The engine electronic control unit 8 increases the accelerator opening of the engine based on the instruction to increase the vehicle speed, and the process proceeds to step S6.

In step S6, it is checked whether or not the vehicle speed has increased to the target speed set by the set switch 4. If the vehicle speed has not increased to the target speed, the flow proceeds to step S7 to resume in the second stage of resume. It is checked again whether or not the ON signal has been output from the switch 6, and if the ON signal has not been output from the resume second stage switch 6, the process returns to step S4. However, if the vehicle speed increases to the target speed in step S6, the process proceeds to step S6.
Then, the routine proceeds to step 8, where the automatic cruise control is performed by the auto cruise electronic control unit 1 to maintain the existing target speed.

On the other hand, if the resume second-stage switch 6 is closed in step S2, or
If the resume second-stage switch 6 outputs an ON signal in step 7, that is, if the driver's feelings change and the driver wants to accelerate rapidly, the process proceeds to step S9. In step S9, for example, the shift map shown in FIG. 90 km / h set by the set switch 4
When the automatic transmission is set to the seventh shift speed and the vehicle is running, the brake is decelerated by the operation of the brake, and the electronic signal from the brake switch 3 causes the auto cruise electronic control unit 1 to operate the vehicle automatically. When the vehicle speed is reduced to 65 km / h and the accelerator opening is zero at point A when the cruise control is stopped and the ON signal is output from the resume second stage switch 6, the automatic cruise electronic control is performed. The device 1 restarts the auto cruise control and sends an electric signal to the engine electronic control unit 8 to increase the vehicle speed to the original target speed of 90 km / h by increasing the accelerator opening, provided that the engine does not overrun. ,
D which rises across the kick down line I from the seventh speed to the sixth speed and the kick down line II from the sixth speed to the fifth speed of the automatic transmission at the initial vehicle speed of 65 km / h. The accelerator opening 90% at the point is controlled by the automatic transmission electronic control unit 9 in response to an inquiry from the automatic cruise electronic control unit 1.
And the answer is sent to the automatic cruise electronic control unit 1.

In the next step S10, an instruction to increase the accelerator opening to 90% is sent from the auto cruise electronic control unit 1 to the engine electronic control unit 8, and based on the instruction, the engine electronic control unit 8 opens the accelerator of the engine. Since the degree is quickly increased to 90%, the automatic transmission electronic control unit 9 causes the automatic transmission to shift from the previous seventh gear to D
The vehicle is kicked down to the fifth gear position where the point is located, the vehicle speed is rapidly increased, and the process proceeds to step S11.

In step S11, it is checked whether the vehicle speed has increased to the target speed set by the set switch 4. If the vehicle speed has not increased to the target speed, the process returns to step S9. When the speed increases to the target speed, the process proceeds to step S8, and the normal auto cruise control for maintaining the existing target speed is performed by the auto cruise electronic control device 1.

Next, if normal auto cruise control is being performed in step S1, the process proceeds to step S12.
It is checked whether or not the resume second-stage switch 6 is continuously turned on. If the resume second-stage switch 6 is not continuously turned on, step S is executed.
Proceed to 13.

In step S13, it is checked whether or not the resume first-stage switch 5 is continuously turned on. If the resume first-stage switch 5 is not continuously turned on, the process proceeds to step S12. Returning to the above, when the first-stage switch 5 is continuously turned on, the process sequentially proceeds to steps S14 and S15, and the automatic transmission is not kicked down as in the case of steps S4 and S5. The accelerator opening is increased to the upper limit.

In the next step S16, it is checked again whether or not the resume second stage switch 6 has been turned on.
If the resume second-stage switch 6 is not turned on, the process proceeds to step S17, where it is checked whether or not the resume first-stage switch 5 is off.
If is not off, return to step S14,
If the resume first-stage switch 5 is off, normal auto-cruise control for maintaining the newly set target speed is performed.

On the other hand, if the resume second-stage switch 6 is continuously turned on in step S12, or the resume second-stage switch 6 is turned on in step S16, that is, the driver's feelings change and sudden acceleration occurs. If it is necessary to go to step S18 and step S19, respectively,
As in the case of 0, the kickdown is permitted and the vehicle speed is quickly increased to the vehicle speed desired by the driver.

In the next step S20, it is checked whether or not the resume second stage switch 6 has been turned off. If the resume second stage switch 6 has not been turned off, the process returns to step S18, but the resume second stage switch 6 is turned off. If so, the process proceeds to step S8, where normal auto cruise control for maintaining the newly set target speed by turning off the resume second stage switch 6 is performed.

As described above, when the resume first stage switch 5 is closed as the auto cruise control, the automatic transmission is kicked down by the automatic transmission electronic control unit 9 with the vehicle speed and the engine load at that time. The accelerator opening is increased and maintained at a value near the upper limit where the current gear is maintained as it is, and the vehicle can be moderately accelerated by increasing the engine output,
The automatic transmission has the advantage that the driving speed of the vehicle can be maintained satisfactorily since no shift shock occurs because the original gear is maintained and not changed.

Also, by increasing the accelerator opening of the engine to such an extent that the automatic transmission does not kick down,
Since the speed of the automatic transmission is set relatively high to suppress an increase in the engine speed, there is an advantage that fuel efficiency can be easily improved.

Further, when the resume second stage switch 6 is closed as the auto cruise control, the accelerator opening increases to the point D across each kick down line I, II in FIG. The vehicle speed can be rapidly increased by the kick down of the vehicle. Therefore, the acceleration control without the kick down by operating the resume first stage switch 5,
By appropriately selecting either acceleration control with kick-down by operating the resume second-stage switch 6, the vehicle can be smoothly controlled as desired by the driver.
Alternatively, it can be accelerated strongly.

Further, unlike the above-mentioned prior art, the present invention is also applicable to a case where the resume first stage switch 5 and the resume second stage switch 6 are each used as an acceleration switch in the auto cruise control by the auto cruise electronic control device 1. This is very convenient for driving the vehicle.

[0025]

In the constant speed traveling apparatus for a vehicle according to the present invention, when the resume switch is turned on, the acceleration control means determines from the shift map the upper limit at which the vehicle can travel at the speed of the automatic transmission at that time. By increasing the accelerator opening of the engine in the vicinity, the vehicle can be accelerated appropriately by increasing the output of the engine, while in the automatic transmission, the shift speed is maintained without being changed by the shift control means. Therefore, since the vehicle can be smoothly accelerated, the driving feeling of the vehicle can be maintained in a good condition, and the present invention can be applied to the case where the resume switch is used as an acceleration switch in the auto cruise control. It is very convenient for driving the vehicle.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a control flowchart in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a control flowchart in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the control flowchart.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Auto cruise electronic control unit 5 Resume first stage switch 6 Resume second stage switch 8 Engine electronic control unit 9 Automatic transmission electronic control unit

Continued on the front page F-term (reference) 3D041 AA32 AA41 AB02 AC15 AC18 AD10 AD50 AD51 AE04 AE32 AF01 3D044 AA14 AB01 AC03 AC26 AC39 AD04 AE21 3G093 AA01 BA23 CB13 DA06 DB05 EA09 EB03 FA05 3J052 AA04 BB02 EA03 GC46 GC61 GC64 HA01 LA01

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A shift control means for setting an optimum shift stage of the automatic transmission from a vehicle speed and an accelerator opening of the engine based on a shift map of an automatic transmission attached to an on-board engine, and a resume switch closed. A constant-speed traveling device for a vehicle, comprising: acceleration control means for increasing the accelerator opening near an upper limit at which the vehicle can travel at the speed of the automatic transmission at that time from the shift map. 2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the resume switch comprises a first-stage switch and a second-stage switch, and when the first-stage switch is closed, the acceleration control means determines whether or not the acceleration control is to be performed. Increasing the accelerator opening near an upper limit at which the vehicle can travel at the speed of the automatic transmission, and when the second-stage switch is closed, the acceleration control means adjusts the accelerator opening according to a target speed. A constant-speed traveling device for vehicles that increases the size of the vehicle.