JP2006248394A - Sloping road lowering speed controlling device of vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To stably maintain postures of a driver or other occupants in view of unstable postures of the driver and the other occupants when a vehicle runs on a downslope or travels on rough and uneven roads or the like. <P>SOLUTION: This downslope running speed controlling device 10 controls a vehicle speed when a vehicle 100 lowers on an inclined face. At the time of controlling the vehicle speed, when a control switch 14 is turned from an OFF condition to an ON condition or an inclined angle of the road becomes more than a predetermined value or other predetermined conditions are satisfied, a tension adjusting mechanism 108 of a seat belt of a vehicle is actuated to adjust the tension of seat belts 106 of the driver or the other occupants of the vehicle. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a travel control device for a vehicle such as an automobile, and more particularly to a slope descent speed control device that performs speed control when a vehicle descends a slope.

  In the field of driving control of vehicles such as automobiles, in order to reduce the driving operation of the driver when the vehicle travels on a slope, the vehicle speed is automatically adjusted using information on the driving state such as the inclination angle of the road surface. There is known a slope traveling speed control device that controls to an appropriate value. According to this control device, for example, even when the vehicle travels on a steep slope, a slippery slope, or an uneven slope, the tire can be stably lowered without being locked. . Since the vehicle speed is automatically controlled to an appropriate value, the driver can concentrate on steering the vehicle without paying attention to braking or driving operation. Get better. Examples of such a control device are disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 below. For example, in the control device of Patent Document 1, means for detecting the lock state of each wheel of the vehicle is provided, and an automatic brake fluid pressure control system is operated to prevent each wheel from locking. The braking force is controlled. Further, in Patent Document 2, there is a control device that operates a brake hydraulic pressure automatic control system so as to relieve vehicle slippage (particularly during climbing) when a driver switches from a brake pedal to an accelerator pedal. It is disclosed.

It is preferable that the speed control at the time of running on the slope as described above is executed only when the driver requests the speed control (the speed control is a control for running on the slope, and is executed unnecessarily during the normal running. That should be avoided.) Therefore, in general, the speed control device as described above is provided with a control operation switch that can be switched by the driver, and speed control is executed in response to the switch being turned on. The control that automatically controls the speed and assists the driver's maneuvering executed when the vehicle descends in response to the driver's request is called downhill assist control.
Japanese National Patent Publication No. 10-507145 JP 2002-264784 A JP 2004-230976 A JP 2004-42694 A

  By the way, when the vehicle descends a steep slope or travels on a saddle or uneven road, the body of the driver or other occupant (passenger seat or rear seat occupant) is separated from the seat by gravity or the swing of the vehicle. As a result, the buttocks slide forward or to the left and right with respect to the seat, and the driver or other occupants may feel instability or poor riding comfort. In that case, the driver and other occupants may balance their body postures by stretching their legs or clinging to the handle to prevent their bodies from slipping. In particular, while the downhill assist control as described above is being executed, the vehicle speed is automatically controlled, so that the driver does not have to perform a braking operation such as depressing a brake pedal (or an accelerator pedal). However, if the operation of the foot of stepping on the pedal is eliminated, the driver's body becomes even easier to slide forward with respect to the seat. Further, in the slope traveling speed control apparatus as described above, if the speed control is insufficient, the driver may perform a sudden braking (the control operation switch is not used until the actual speed control becomes effective). It takes some time after the vehicle is turned on or the vehicle starts to descend the slope, but if the slope angle is large, the speed control execution may not be in time.) In that case, on a flat road The driver or other occupant's body can be more slippery forward than when braking suddenly.

  As already described, the slope traveling speed control device reduces the burden of driving operation of the driver when the vehicle travels on a slope, and provides comfortable driving performance (ease of driving) and good riding comfort. However, in the conventional control device, no consideration is given to the posture of the driver or other occupants who are executing the speed control as described above. If the slope running speed control device takes into account the slipping of the body of the driver and other occupants when the vehicle is descending, etc., and the posture of the driver and other occupants can be maintained stably. Therefore, it will be possible to provide more comfortable driving performance and better riding comfort than before.

  Thus, one of the problems to be solved by the present invention is that the vehicle or the occupant's posture is inadequate when the vehicle descends a slope or travels on an uneven road. In view of becoming stable, it is an object to provide a slope traveling speed control device that keeps the posture of a driver or other occupants stable.

  Another problem to be solved by the present invention is to use the above-described vehicle slope speed control device when performing speed control such as downhill assist control when the vehicle descends. It is another object of the present invention to provide a speed control device that makes it possible to maintain a stable posture of a driver or other occupant.

  Yet another problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a more comfortable and better vehicle in consideration of the posture of the driver when the vehicle is going downhill in the vehicle slope speed control apparatus as described above. Providing drivability or maneuverability.

  The above-described problem is a slope down speed control device for controlling the vehicle speed when the vehicle descends the inclined surface, and when a predetermined condition is satisfied when the vehicle speed is controlled, This is achieved by a slope descending speed control device configured to actuate a seat belt tension adjusting mechanism of the vehicle so as to adjust a seat belt tension of a passenger or another passenger.

  As described above, the conventional speed control device controls the vehicle speed so that the driver can easily drive and the ride comfort of other occupants is comfortable. And the driving state such as prevention of the wheel lock state, and the occupant's posture was not considered. However, according to the slope descending speed control device of the present invention described above, when the vehicle descends, by adjusting the tension of the seat belt of the driver or other occupant in association with the speed control, Not only the movement or running state of the vehicle, but also the posture of the occupant in the vehicle can be stabilized, thus providing better and more comfortable driving and riding comfort than before. .

  The device of the present invention described above mainly prevents the driver or other occupant's body from slipping forward due to gravity on each seat when the vehicle descends, and stably maintains the posture of each occupant. With the goal. Therefore, in the operation of the apparatus of the present invention, when the vehicle descends, the tension of the seat belt is adjusted to be high, and thus the occupant's body does not fall off the seat (the vehicle travels on a flat road). It will be tightly bound to the sheet. The operation of the seat belt tension adjusting mechanism according to the device of the present invention is not limited to when the occupant's body swings from side to side, such as when the vehicle travels on a saddle or an uneven road, not only when the vehicle descends. It should be understood that the present invention may be executed in order to prevent an unstable state such as sliding from side to side so that the driving operation can be performed smoothly and stably. It should be understood that it belongs to.

  The slope descending speed control may always be executable after the vehicle is started or during traveling, but as described above, it is normally performed only when the driver requests control. It is configured. In this case, the speed control device includes a control switch that is switched between the ON state and the OFF state by the driver, and is configured to execute vehicle speed control when the control switch is in the ON state. When the driver turns on the control switch and requests automatic speed control, it is usually when the driver goes down the slope. Therefore, in the apparatus of the present invention, the seat belt tension adjusting mechanism may be operated in response to the control switch being changed from the OFF state to the ON state. According to this configuration, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the tension of the seat belt becomes high although the driver does not request it. That is, the time when the predetermined condition is satisfied may be when the control switch is changed from the OFF state to the ON state.

  Further, when the presence or absence of speed control is switched by the control switch, the tension of the seat belt may be increased to a certain constant value in response to the control switch being turned on. Although it is good, it is advantageous to be able to adjust according to the degree of inclination of the vehicle, that is, the ease of slipping of the occupant forward. Therefore, in the above-described present invention, when the means for monitoring the road surface inclination angle is provided, the tension adjustment mechanism for the vehicle seat belt so as to adjust the tension of the seat belt based on the value of the road surface inclination angle. May be activated. In this case, it is possible to prevent the tension from tightening the occupant to the seat more than necessary when the vehicle is not inclined greatly.

  Regardless of the presence or absence of the control switch as described above, when the road inclination angle of the vehicle exceeds a predetermined value or when the fluctuation of the road inclination angle is severe (such as when driving on a ridge or uneven road), It should be understood that the controller may be configured to operate a vehicle seat belt tension adjustment mechanism to adjust the tension of the seat belt to maintain occupant posture stability. In this case, even if the driver forgets to turn on the control switch, if the control switch is not provided in the first place, or if the vehicle behavior is such that the occupant unexpectedly slips off the seat, the occupant is firmly restrained on the seat. Safe because it can. In addition, for those skilled in the art, it is preferable to increase the tension of the seat belt and stabilize the posture of the occupant in order to make the occupant's driving ease or riding comfort while driving the vehicle. It is to be understood that the control device of the present invention may operate the seat belt tension adjusting mechanism when the predetermined condition is satisfied.

  By the way, in a vehicle such as an ordinary automobile, the seat belt of the driver's seat has a shoulder belt portion that restrains from the shoulder on one side of the driver to the side of the waist on the other side, and the waist is left and right. And the waist belt part to restrain. In this regard, since the driver operates the steering wheel and other operations by hand during driving, it is preferable that the upper body of the driver can move relatively freely even when the vehicle is traveling downboard. . Therefore, in the above apparatus, when the vehicle speed is controlled and a predetermined condition is established and the vehicle seat belt tension adjustment mechanism is operated, the tension of the waist belt portion of the driver's seat belt is mainly increased. The vehicle seat belt tension adjusting mechanism may be actuated (therefore, in this case, the seat belt tension adjusting mechanism such as a pretensioner is provided respectively at the end of the shoulder belt portion and the end of the waist belt portion. May be provided). Thus, the driver is safe because the driver is firmly restrained by the seat belt at the waist without taking away the freedom of the upper body. For the seat belt of the passenger seat or the rear seat, the tension may be adjusted over the entire belt in order to ensure the stability of the posture of the occupant.

  Regarding the control of the seat belt tension adjustment mechanism, in vehicles such as automobiles in recent years, as disclosed in Patent Documents 3 and 4 described above, when the collision of the vehicle or the danger thereof is detected, There is a case where a control device dedicated to the tension adjusting mechanism for increasing the tension is provided. In such a case, the speed control device of the present invention may operate a seat belt tension adjusting mechanism of the vehicle by giving a control signal to the seat belt tension control device. At that time, preferably, a control signal for generating a predetermined tension is suitably given to the seat belt tension control device, and the seat belt tension control device controls the seat belt tension to have the strength indicated by the control signal. To do. On the other hand, the seat belt tension control device that controls the tension adjusting mechanism of the seat belt of the vehicle so as to adjust the tension of the seat belt of the driver or other occupant of the vehicle is performed when the slope descending speed control device executes the speed control. The vehicle may be configured to adjust the tension of the seat belt of the driver or other occupant of the vehicle in response to the command of the downhill speed control device. According to such a configuration, the control of the seat belt tension can be related to the hill descending speed control such as the downhill assist control by simply modifying the existing seat belt tension control device as it is or with a slight modification. However, it should be understood that the speed control device of the present invention may directly control a tension adjusting mechanism such as a pretensioner regardless of the presence or absence of the seat belt tension control device.

  In the seat belt tension control device that controls the tension adjustment mechanism of the seat belt, a means for monitoring the road surface inclination angle is provided, and the tension of the seat belt of the driver or other occupant is adjusted based on the road surface inclination angle. It should be understood that it may come to do. As disclosed in Patent Documents 3 and 4 above, the conventional seat belt tension control device increases the tension of the seat belt only when a vehicle collision is detected or when the danger of the collision is detected. It is configured for the purpose of. However, according to the above-described configuration of the present invention, during the normal traveling of the vehicle, the posture of the occupant is maintained according to the road surface inclination angle or the variation rate thereof, thereby providing comfortable driving performance and riding comfort. be able to.

  As described above, the conventional speed control device controls the vehicle speed, the behavior of the vehicle, and the traveling state, and little consideration has been given to the stability of the occupant's posture. On the other hand, the conventional seat belt tension control device is exclusively configured to increase the tension of the seat belt at the time of a vehicle collision (or when a collision risk is detected) and to ensure the safety of the occupant. However, according to the present invention, in the so-called vehicle speed control device, a configuration is provided that cooperates with a seat belt tension adjusting mechanism such as a pretensioner, and the posture of the occupant during normal traveling is changed to the traveling state at that time. By maintaining the stability on the basis, it is possible to provide better driving easiness and safety than before and to give the passengers a sense of security.

  The adjustment operation of the seat belt tension by the speed control device of the present invention is particularly useful when automatic control of the vehicle speed is performed without the driver's braking operation, such as downhill assist control. As described above, while the automatic control of the vehicle speed is being executed, the driver can concentrate on the steering wheel operation, but does not need to step on the brake or the accelerator pedal himself, so the body easily falls off the seat, and the driver himself Because the vehicle is accelerated and decelerated regardless of the operation, the instability of its own posture can be felt. However, according to the present invention, the seat belt is raised higher than usual and the body is firmly restrained by the seat belt. Therefore, the feeling of instability of the posture is reduced, and it becomes possible to concentrate more on the steering wheel operation. In addition, when the speed control is insufficient, the driver may suddenly perform braking, but even in such a case, if the tension of the seat belt is increased in advance, the occupant's body can be separated from the seat. The safety is reduced. That is, according to the present invention, it can be said that assistance to the driver by speed control such as downhill assist control is made more effective (when the vehicle travels on a slope or an uneven road, the occupant keeps the posture). This reduces the effort of stretching the legs and clinging to the handle.)

  Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments of the present invention.

  The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to a few preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the figure, the same reference numerals indicate the same parts.

  FIG. 1A schematically shows a preferred embodiment of a vehicle hill descending speed control device 10 according to the present invention, a seat belt tension control device 12 and other related devices communicating with the speed control device 10, and FIG. The schematic diagram of the vehicle 100 incorporating the slope descending speed control apparatus of this invention of this invention is shown.

In FIG. 1A, the speed control device 10 is a known slope descent speed control device that executes downhill assist control, as described in, for example, Patent Document 1 or 2, except as described in detail below. It may be. When the downhill assist control switch 14 that is switched to the ON-OFF state is manually turned ON by the driver, the speed control device 10 processes signals from a series of sensors shown in the figure, and tires of each wheel of the vehicle So-called downhill assist control is executed to automatically control the vehicle speed while controlling the wheel speed (ABS control) so that the vehicle does not fall into the locked state. According to this downhill assist control, when the vehicle descends a steep slope or travels on a saddle or uneven road, the driver does not have to perform a braking operation. The course can be changed easily. Moreover, if the driving becomes easier, the riding comfort of all the passengers will be improved. In other words, it can be said that the downhill assist control improves the drivability and ride comfort of the vehicle by assisting the driving operation of the driver.

  More specifically, the speed control device 10 includes, for example, a microcomputer and a drive circuit (not shown) having a general configuration including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and an input / output port device connected to each other by a bidirectional common bus. May be an electronic control device. The control device 10 includes, for example, a wheel speed sensor 16FL-RR that detects wheel speed of each wheel of the vehicle, and a wheel cylinder 18 that is provided in each wheel. A pressure sensor 20FL-RR that detects the brake pressure, a brake pedal sensor 22 that detects the amount of depression of the brake pedal 21, a longitudinal acceleration sensor 24 that detects the longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle, a road surface inclination angle sensor 26 that detects the inclination angle of the road surface, etc. A known brake actuator (hydraulic circuit) connected to a master cylinder that determines a brake pressure target value for each wheel and generates a brake pressure corresponding to the amount of depression of the brake pedal 21. 28 is controlled to adjust the brake pressure, and thus the vehicle speed is controlled. Regarding the speed control described above, other control modes may be arbitrarily selected by those skilled in the art, and it is understood that any state quantity of the vehicle other than that illustrated may be used for the speed control. Should.

  The seat belt tension control device 12 uses the detection signals of the longitudinal acceleration sensor 24, the seat belt pretensioner sensor (tension sensor) 30, and the like, and the driver seat 102, the passenger seat 104, and the rear seat (shown in FIG. 1B). The seat belt tension adjusting mechanism 108 for adjusting the tension of each seat belt 106 (not shown) is controlled. The seat belt tension control device 12 may be of a known type, except as described in detail below. Like the speed control device 10, the seat belt tension control device 12 is connected to each other by a bidirectional common bus. It may be an electronic control device including a microcomputer having a general configuration having a RAM and an input / output port device and a drive circuit (not shown). The seat belt tension adjusting mechanism 108 may be of a known type, for example, configured such that the end of the seat belt is wound by a winding device that is rotationally driven by a motor (not shown). It may be. The seat belt tension controller 12 refers to the detection value of the seat belt pretensioner sensor 30 and adjusts the driving force (winding force or winding amount) of the motor so that an appropriate tension is generated on the seat belt. In addition to the seat belt tension adjustment control according to the present invention, which will be described in detail below, the seat belt tension control device 12 is similar to a known seat belt tension control device, when a vehicle collision or a collision risk is detected. In this case, the motor is driven to increase the seat belt tension so that the occupant is firmly restrained on the seat, thereby ensuring the safety of the occupant.

  Referring to FIG. 1B, in the vehicle of the illustrated embodiment, the seat belts 106A and B for the driver seat and the passenger seat are preferably a single web belt of a known type inserted into the tongue plate 110. The occupant's body is restrained by the seat belt by fitting the tongue plate 110 to the buckle 111 provided inside each seat. Thus, the seat belts 106A and 106B include the shoulder belt portion 112 extending from the shoulder on one side of the occupant to the waist on the other side of the tongue plate 110, and the waist belt portion passed to both sides of the occupant's waist. 114. The seat belt tension adjustment mechanism 108 may be provided at either the end 112a of the shoulder belt portion 112 or the end 114a of the waist belt portion 114 for the passenger seat belt 106B. Further, the seat belt of the rear seat may be only the waist belt portion that is passed to both sides of the occupant's waist, and the seat belt tension adjusting mechanism may be provided at one end of the belt. On the other hand, for the seat belt 106A of the driver's seat, the seat belt tension adjusting mechanism 108 is preferably provided at both end portions 112a and 114a of the shoulder belt portion 112 and the waist belt portion 114. The adjustment of the seat belt tension by the device of the present invention is performed only on the waist belt part so that the driver's upper body movement (handle operation, etc.) is not obstructed for the driver's seat belt. Only the seat belt tension adjusting mechanism provided at the end 114a of the waist belt portion 114 is driven.

  The seat belt tension control device 12 may be provided for each seat belt adjustment mechanism, or a single control device 12 may be provided for the vehicle to control all the seat belt adjustment mechanisms. Good. As is well known, an appropriate tension (pre-tension) is applied to each seat belt by the seat belt tension adjusting mechanism 108 in a normal state. The seat belt tension control device 12 operates to increase the tension of all seat belts when a collision of the vehicle or the risk of a collision is detected based on the detection value of the longitudinal acceleration sensor 24 or the like.

  Referring again to FIG. 1A, in the embodiment of the present invention, in addition to the above-described configuration, the speed control device 10 is configured to communicate with the seat belt tension control device 12. When a predetermined condition is satisfied when the vehicle speed control is executed, the speed control device 10 controls the seat belt tension control device 12 so as to adjust the tension of the seat belt 106 of the driver or other passengers. A command 32 is provided to activate the adjustment mechanism. In particular, as will be described below, when the tension is changed based on the road surface inclination angle or the rate of change thereof, the magnitude of the tension detected by the seat belt pretensioner sensor 30 is input to the speed control device 10. (Alternatively, seat belt tension information may be given from the seat belt tension control device 12).

  FIG. 2 shows an example of speed control and seat belt tension control operation of the speed control apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention in the form of a flowchart.

  Referring to the main routine of control in FIG. 2A, the control operation of the present invention is started when the downhill assist control switch 14 is turned on by the driver as already described (step 10). Normally, the downhill assist control switch 14 is switched to the ON state when the vehicle descends at the top of the hill, but it may be switched to the ON state when descending or traveling on a saddle or uneven road. Good. Thus, so-called downhill assist control is started, and in a known manner, the target vehicle speed is obtained using information such as the vehicle speed (may be estimated from the wheel speed), the road surface inclination angle, etc. The vehicle speed is controlled and adjusted so that the tire does not fall into a locked state (step 20).

  Further, in the speed control device of the present invention, the downhill assist control switch is turned on, and the speed control is started. At the same time, a command is sent to the seat belt tension control device 12 to control the seat belt tension adjustment. Is executed (step 30). Next, at step 40, when it is detected that the vehicle has reached the descending point of the slope or the downhill assist control switch is turned off, the speed control and the seat belt tension control are finished (steps 50, 60). ). On the other hand, in step 40, if the vehicle has not reached the descending point of the slope or if the downhill assist control switch remains in the ON state, steps 20 and 30 are repeated.

  FIG. 2B shows a first embodiment of a subroutine of seat belt tension adjustment control executed in step 30. In this subroutine, it is first determined whether or not tension adjustment control has already been started (step 32). When this subroutine is executed for the first time after the downhill assist control switch is turned on, in step 34, the adjustment of the seat belt tension is executed as it is. Here, a target value of the seat belt tension is determined on the basis of the road surface inclination angle by a map as shown in FIG. 3, and a command is issued to the seat belt tension control device 12 to generate the tension of the target value. Thus, the tension of the seat belt is adjusted. The tension may be adjusted under any type of feedback control in the speed controller 10 or the seat belt tension controller 12. In the example of the map of FIG. 3, the tension is set to increase with the inclination angle after the inclination angle becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined value. This is to prevent the occupant from feeling excessive tightening or pressure when the inclination angle is not large enough to make the occupant's posture unstable. The map curve does not start from tension = 0 because the belt is pre-tensioned if no adjustment is made.

  On the other hand, if the seat belt tension adjustment control has already been executed, after step 32, in step 36, the variation rate of the road surface inclination angle or the vehicle swing, that is, the pitch angle or roll angle of the vehicle is determined. The magnitude of the change is determined. Here, when the fluctuation rate of the road surface inclination angle is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the above-described step 34 is executed to readjust the seat belt tension in accordance with the current running state of the vehicle. The adjustment is re-executed. At that time, the seat belt tension may be determined in consideration of a variation rate of the road surface inclination angle, a change in the pitch angle of the vehicle, or a roll angle. On the other hand, if the variation rate of the road surface inclination angle or the like is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value, the subroutine is terminated without adjusting the seat belt tension. This is because if the tension of the seat belt frequently fluctuates, the passenger may feel uncomfortable.

  Thus, according to the control routine described in the flowcharts of FIGS. 2A and 2B, the adjustment control of the tension of the occupant's seat belt is executed along with the execution of the downhill assist control (normally, compared with the case of traveling on a flat road). As a result, the occupant is stably restrained by the seat belt, and various functions and effects described in the disclosure section of the invention can be obtained. As described above, the seat belt tension adjustment control performed together with the downhill assist control is preferably performed by the seat belt tension adjusting mechanism attached to the end of the waist belt portion for the driver's seat. Only executed.

  In the subroutine of FIG. 2B, the tension is changed only when the fluctuation rate of the road surface inclination angle is equal to or greater than a predetermined value during execution of the seat belt tension control. The tension may be changed based on the variation rate or the like (steps 32 and 36 are omitted in FIG. 2B). In this case, the occupant is restrained with a more appropriate tension according to the state of the vehicle. Conversely, the seat belt tension may be maintained at a constant value regardless of the road surface inclination angle or the variation rate thereof (in FIG. 2B, steps 32 and 36 are omitted, In step 34, the target value of tension is determined without using the map of FIG. In this case, the occupant can easily predict the magnitude of the tension, and will be given a sense of security.

  Furthermore, in the flowchart of FIG. 2A, the seat belt tension control is executed only during the execution of the downhill assist control, but the tension control is performed regardless of whether or not the downhill assist control is executed. It may be executed at any time (the routine of the flowchart of FIG. 2B or its modified routine as described above is executed independently of the speed control). In that case, without worrying about ON / OFF of the downhill assist control switch, when the road surface inclination angle or the swing of the vehicle becomes large, the tension of the seat belt is automatically adjusted and the occupant's body is firmly secured. It is safe because it is fixed.

  By the way, in the configuration of the control device illustrated in FIG. 1A, the speed control device 10 and the seat belt tension control device 12 are depicted as separate control devices, but the configuration of these control devices is one electronic device. It may be realized in the control device. Further, the seat belt tension control during downhill traveling according to the present invention may be executed in the seat belt tension control device 12 based on the road surface inclination angle or the vehicle swing information, or the speed control device 10. However, the seat belt tension control mechanism 12 may be driven without the seat belt tension control device 12 being driven. Which configuration is selected can be appropriately determined by those skilled in the art depending on the cost of manufacturing and setting the control device and other circumstances.

  Although the above description has been made in relation to the embodiment of the present invention, many modifications and changes can be easily made by those skilled in the art, and the present invention is limited to the embodiment exemplified above. It will be apparent that the invention is not limited and applies to various devices without departing from the inventive concept.

FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of a preferred embodiment of a vehicle slope descending speed control device 10 according to the present invention, a seat belt tension control device 12 and other related devices communicating with the speed control device 10, and FIG. It is a typical front view in the vehicle of the vehicle 100 incorporating the slope descending speed control apparatus of this invention. FIG. 2A is a flowchart of a main routine of downhill assist control including seat belt tension adjustment control in the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2B is a flowchart of a subroutine executed in step 30 of FIG. 2A. . 2B is a map of road surface inclination angle and seat belt tension used in step 34 of FIG. 2B.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Speed control device 12 ... Seat belt tension control device 100 ... Vehicle 102 ... Driver's seat 104 ... Passenger seat 106A, B ... Seat belt 108 ... Seat belt tension adjustment mechanism 110 ... Tongue plate 112 ... Shoulder belt part 114 ... Waist belt part

Claims (8)

  A slope descending speed control device for controlling a vehicle speed when a vehicle descends an inclined surface, and when a predetermined condition is satisfied when the vehicle speed is controlled, the driver of the vehicle or other occupant An apparatus for controlling a descending speed of a hill, wherein the tension adjusting mechanism for the seat belt of the vehicle is operated so as to adjust the tension of the seat belt.   2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the driver's seat belt includes a shoulder belt portion and a waist belt portion, and the vehicle speed control is executed and a predetermined condition is established, whereby a tension adjustment mechanism for the seat belt of the vehicle is established. When the vehicle is operated, a tension adjustment mechanism for the seat belt of the vehicle is operated so that a tension of a waist belt portion of the driver's seat belt becomes high.   The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a control switch, wherein the control of the vehicle speed is executed when the control switch is in an ON state, and the control switch is turned off when the predetermined condition is satisfied. A device characterized by being in the ON state from the state.   4. The apparatus of claim 3, further comprising means for monitoring a road surface inclination angle, wherein the vehicle's driver or other occupant seat belt tension is adjusted based on the value of the road surface inclination angle. An apparatus for operating a tension adjustment mechanism of a seat belt.   2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for monitoring a road surface inclination angle, wherein the predetermined condition is satisfied when the road surface inclination angle is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.   2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the vehicle includes a seat belt tension control device that controls a tension adjustment mechanism of the seat belt, and a tension is applied to the seat belt of the vehicle by providing a control signal to the seat belt tension control device. An apparatus configured to actuate an adjustment mechanism.   A seat belt tension control device that controls a tension adjustment mechanism of a seat belt of the vehicle so as to adjust a tension of a seat belt of a driver or other occupant of the vehicle, wherein a vehicle speed when the vehicle descends an inclined surface is adjusted. In response to a command of the slope descending speed control device for controlling, the vehicle so as to adjust the tension of the seat belt of the driver or other occupant of the vehicle when the slope descending speed control device executes speed control. To control the tension adjustment mechanism of the seat belt. A seat belt tension control device for controlling a tension adjustment mechanism of a seat belt of a vehicle so as to adjust a tension of a seat belt of a driver or other occupant of the vehicle, comprising means for monitoring a road surface inclination angle, and the road surface An apparatus for adjusting a tension of a seat belt of the driver or other passengers based on an inclination angle.

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