JP2006306289A - Driving auxiliary device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a driving auxiliary device for achieving the retreat traveling or emergency stop of a vehicle by an operation lever even when a main driving system for driving a brake accelerator or an accelerator pedal breaks down. <P>SOLUTION: This driving auxiliary device is provided with an operation part 10 to be manually operated by a driver for instructing the driving quantity of an accelerator pedal 90 and a brake pedal 80 of a vehicle, main driving systems 60 and 70 for driving the accelerator pedal 90 and the brake pedal 80, a controller 50 for controlling the driving quantity of main driving systems according to the manipulated variables of the operation part 10 and an auxiliary driving system 100 for driving the accelerator pedal 90 and the brake pedal 80 instead of the main driving systems. Thus, it is possible to achieve the retreat traveling or emergency stop of the vehicle by operating the operation part 10 even when the main driving systems break down. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a driving assistance device that can drive a brake pedal and an accelerator pedal of a vehicle by a driving force of a driving source.

As an apparatus for assisting driving of the vehicle by a physically handicapped person with lower limbs, an operation unit including an operation lever that is manually operated by the driver to indicate the driving amount of the brake pedal and the accelerator pedal of the vehicle, 2. Description of the Related Art A driving assistance device is known that includes a brake actuator that drives a brake pedal, an accelerator actuator that drives an accelerator pedal, a control device that controls the drive amount of the brake actuator and the brake pedal according to the operation amount of the operation lever, and the like. (See Patent Document 1).
JP-A-8-216737

By the way, in the driving assistance apparatus as described above, if the actuator that drives the brake pedal or the accelerator pedal fails, the vehicle becomes uncontrollable, and some safety measures are necessary. For this reason, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique such as maintaining the brake pedal in a normal state or notifying the occurrence of an abnormality before the brake pedal becomes inoperable when an abnormality occurs in an actuator or the like. ing.
However, in the above technique, there is a problem that when the brake actuator or the accelerator actuator is broken and cannot be operated completely, the vehicle cannot be retracted or urgently stopped by the operation lever.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to operate an operation lever even when a main drive system that drives a brake pedal or an accelerator pedal fails. An object of the present invention is to provide a driving assistance device that makes it possible to retreat the vehicle or to make an emergency stop.

The manual driving device according to the present invention is an operation unit that is manually operated by a driver to indicate a driving amount of an accelerator pedal and / or a brake pedal of a vehicle, and a main drive that drives the accelerator pedal and / or the brake pedal. A driving assistance device comprising a system and a control means for controlling the drive amount of the main drive system in accordance with the operation amount of the operation unit, and an auxiliary device capable of driving an accelerator pedal and / or a brake pedal in place of the main drive system It has a drive system.
According to this configuration, even when the main drive system does not operate completely due to a failure, the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal are driven by the auxiliary drive system, so that the vehicle can be evacuated and stopped urgently.

In the above configuration, the control unit may employ a configuration that drives the auxiliary drive system when an abnormality of the main drive system is detected.
According to this configuration, even when an abnormality occurs in the main drive system, the vehicle can be evacuated or urgently stopped by operating the operation unit.

In the above configuration, the auxiliary drive system can employ a configuration commonly used for driving the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal.
According to this configuration, the auxiliary drive system can be made compact.

In the above-described configuration, the control unit can adopt a configuration that performs processing for limiting the maximum speed of the vehicle regardless of the operation amount of the operation unit when an abnormality of the main drive system is detected.
According to this configuration, safety when the vehicle is being driven by the auxiliary drive system can be enhanced.

  According to the present invention, even when the main drive system that drives the brake pedal or the accelerator pedal is broken during operation, it is possible to perform retreat travel and emergency stop by operating the operation unit.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
1 and 2 show an embodiment of a driving assistance device of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of the driving assistance device, and FIG. 2 illustrates a basic function of the driving assistance device applied to a vehicle. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the relationship between various devices provided in the vehicle and the control device.
As shown in FIG. 1, the driving assist device includes an operation unit 10, a control device 50 as a control means, a brake drive system 60 that drives a brake pedal 80, an accelerator drive system 70 that drives an accelerator pedal 90, and an auxiliary drive system. 100 etc. The brake drive system 60 and the accelerator drive system 70 constitute a main drive system.

The operation unit 10 is provided to indicate the driving amounts of the accelerator pedal 90 and the brake pedal 80 of the vehicle by being manually operated by the driver, and includes an operation lever 20 and an angle detector 30.
The operation lever 20 is swingably supported by a support mechanism (not shown) toward the brake region side and the accelerator region side. The operation lever 20 is biased from both the brake region side and the accelerator region side by a biasing means such as a spring (not shown), and is held in a neutral region between the brake region and the accelerator region when not operated.
The angle detector 30 changes the operation amount (tilt angle) of the operation lever 20 to an electric signal and outputs it to the control device 50. The drive amounts of the accelerator pedal 90 and the brake pedal 80 are determined according to the operation amount of the operation lever 20 detected by the angle detector 30.

As shown in FIG. 1, the brake drive system 60 includes a motor 61, a rotation amount detection sensor 62 that detects the rotation amount of the motor 61, a drive circuit 63 that drives the motor 61, an output shaft of the motor 61, and a brake pedal 80. A connecting member 64 to be connected is provided.
The motor 61 rotates the connecting member 64 to drive the brake pedal 80.
The drive circuit 63 feedback-controls the motor 61 based on a command from the control device 50 and information from the rotation amount detection sensor 62, and when an abnormality such as disconnection or overcurrent occurs in the motor 61 or a rotation amount detection sensor. When an abnormality occurs in the detection amount 62, this abnormality is detected and output to the control device 50.

As shown in FIG. 1, the accelerator drive system 70 includes a motor 71, a rotation amount detection sensor 72 that detects the rotation amount of the motor 71, a drive circuit 73 that drives the motor 71, an output shaft of the motor 71, and an accelerator pedal 90. A connecting member 74 to be connected is provided.
The motor 71 rotates the connecting member 74 to drive the accelerator pedal 90.
The drive circuit 73 performs feedback control of the motor 71 based on a command from the control device 50 and information from the rotation amount detection sensor 72, and when abnormality such as disconnection or overcurrent occurs in the motor 71 or a rotation amount detection sensor. When an abnormality occurs in the detection amount 72, this abnormality is detected and output to the control device 50.

  As shown in FIG. 2, an accelerator opening sensor 310 is connected to the accelerator pedal 90, and the driving amount of the accelerator pedal 90 is detected by the accelerator opening sensor 310, and the detected driving amount is an engine control device. 300 is output.

  Here, the vehicle engine is provided in a cylinder 320, a piston 321 fitted in the cylinder 320, a crankshaft 322 connected to the piston 321 and an intake passage 323 above the cylinder 320, as shown in FIG. A throttle valve 324 for adjusting the intake amount, a drive system 327 for driving the throttle valve 324, an injector 350 for injecting fuel, an intake valve 326 for opening and closing the intake passage 323, and an ignition plug disposed above the piston 321 340, an exhaust valve 331 provided in the exhaust passage 330 above the cylinder 320 to open and close the exhaust passage 330, and the like. Then, the engine control device 300 adjusts the intake air amount by driving the drive system 327 in accordance with the drive amount of the accelerator pedal 90. Thereby, the output of the engine is controlled according to the driving amount of the accelerator pedal 90.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a brake cylinder 440 of a vehicle brake system 400 is connected to the brake pedal 80. The vehicle brake system 400 includes a plurality of cylinders 410 connected to a brake cylinder 440 by pipes, a plurality of brake pads 420 driven by the cylinders 410, and a vehicle wheel (not shown) disposed between the plurality of brake pads 420. A brake disc 430 and the like are provided. When the brake pedal 80 is driven by the motor 61, the brake pad 420 is driven by the hydraulic pressure generated in the brake cylinder 440 and a braking force is applied to the brake disc 430.

As shown in FIG. 1, the auxiliary drive system 100 includes a motor 101 as an actuator, a rotation amount detector 102 for detecting the rotation amount of the motor 101, a crankshaft 104 connected to the output shaft of the motor 101, a crankshaft 104, Connecting members 105, 106 and the like for connecting the brake pedal 80 and the accelerator pedal 90 are provided.
The motor 101 drives the brake pedal 80 and the accelerator pedal 90 by rotating the crankshaft 104. Further, the motor 101 can be commonly used for driving the accelerator pedal 90 and the brake pedal 80.
The drive circuit 103 performs feedback control of the motor 101 based on a command from the control device 50 and information from the rotation amount detection sensor 102, and when abnormality such as disconnection or overcurrent occurs in the motor 101 or a rotation amount detection sensor. When an abnormality occurs in the detection amount 102, this abnormality is detected and output to the control device 50.
The crankshaft 104 is connected to the motor 101 and is connected to the accelerator pedal 90 and the brake pedal 80 by connecting members 105 and 106 so that the phases are different from each other. And the brake pedal 80 is selectively driven.

The control device 50 includes hardware such as a processor and a memory, and necessary software. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the brake driving system 60 is controlled according to the lever operation amount 10 s from the operation unit 10. In addition, the driving amount of the accelerator driving system 70 is controlled, and when the abnormality of the brake driving system 60 and the accelerator driving system 70 is detected, the auxiliary driving system 100 is driven and controlled instead of the brake driving system 60 and the accelerator driving system 70. It is possible.
Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the control device 50 includes various devices mounted on the vehicle, such as an engine control device 300, an ABS (anti-lock braking system) control device 500, a navigation control device 600, and the like. Various vehicle information such as vehicle speed and road information can be received, and various instructions can be output to various devices.

Next, an example of control by the control device 50 when an abnormality occurs in the main drive system will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.
4 is a flowchart showing an example of processing of the control device 50, and FIG. 5 is an example of a control map that relates the operation amount of the operation lever 20 and the driving amount of the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal in the control device 50. It is a graph to show.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the control device 50 constantly monitors whether or not a failure (abnormality) has occurred in the main drive system (step ST1). Then, the auxiliary drive system 100 is activated (step ST2). Thereby, since the auxiliary drive system 100 drives the accelerator pedal 90 and the brake pedal 80 instead of the main drive system, even if a failure occurs in the main drive system, the operation can be continued by the operation lever 20, and the vehicle Evacuation and emergency stop are possible.

Next, the control device 50 determines whether the detected abnormality is in the brake drive system 60 or the accelerator drive system 70 (step ST3).
Here, before the abnormality occurs, the control device 50 determines the drive amount of the brake pedal 80 or the accelerator pedal 90 with respect to the lever operation amount received from the operation unit 10, for example, a normal-time control map (1) shown in FIG. )
If the control device 50 determines that an abnormality has occurred in the accelerator drive system 70, the control device 50 selects the control map (2) for the accelerator drive system failure shown in FIG. 5 instead of the control map (1). (Step ST4).
In the control map (2), the maximum drive amount of the accelerator pedal 90 with respect to the lever operation amount is limited to 80% as compared with the control map (1). For this reason, when the control map (2) is selected, the maximum speed of the vehicle is limited to 80% compared to the normal time regardless of the operation amount of the operation lever 20. That is, even if the operation amount of the operation lever 20 is maximized on the accelerator side, the maximum speed of the vehicle is 80% of the normal maximum speed.
Thus, by limiting the maximum speed of the vehicle when the accelerator driving system 70 fails, the safety of driving the vehicle by the auxiliary driving system 100 can be enhanced.

When determining that the abnormality is in the brake drive system 80, the control device 50 selects the control map (3) for brake drive system failure shown in FIG. 5 instead of the control map (1) (step) ST5).
In the control map (3), the maximum drive amount of the accelerator pedal 90 with respect to the lever operation amount is limited to 50% and the inclination of the drive amount of the brake pedal 80 with respect to the lever operation amount is smaller than that in the control map (1). It is steeper. For this reason, when the control map (3) is selected, the maximum speed of the vehicle is limited to 50% compared to the normal time regardless of the operation amount of the operation lever 20, and the normal operation is performed with a smaller lever operation amount. The same braking force can be obtained, and the safety is further improved as compared with the case where the accelerator driving system 70 breaks down.

Next, after the control device 50 selects a control map corresponding to the abnormality content of the main drive system, the current vehicle speed obtained from the speed detector or the like is the highest specified in the control map (2) or (3). It is determined whether it is within the speed (step ST6).
When the control device 50 determines that the current vehicle speed is not within the maximum speed specified by the control map (2) or (3), the control device 50 controls the ABS control device 500 shown in FIG. A deceleration instruction is issued (step ST7). As a result, the ABS control device 500 receives a deceleration instruction, drives the ABS actuator 510, and operates the brake system 400, thereby decelerating the vehicle and enabling safe traveling.
When determining that the current vehicle speed is within the maximum speed specified by the control map (2) or (3), the control device 50 ends the process.

In addition to the above processing, the control device 50 can also perform processing as shown in FIG. 6 in order to notify the surrounding vehicle and driver of the occurrence of the failure and stop it safely.
Specifically, when detecting a failure of the main drive system (step ST11), the control device 50 issues an instruction to blink a hazard lamp or a brake lamp in order to avoid a rear-end collision with a following vehicle (step ST12). .

Next, the control device 50 notifies the driver of the occurrence of the failure and issues a warning prompting the vehicle to stop so that the driver can safely stop the vehicle (step ST13). For example, the navigation control device 600 shown in FIG. 3 is instructed, and the navigation control device 600 gives a warning such as “the main drive system is faulty. Please stop the vehicle” by the display unit 610 and the speaker 620. To the driver.
The control device 50 determines whether or not the vehicle continues to travel even after a predetermined time has elapsed (step ST14). A warning such as “Masu” is again given to the driver (step ST15).

Then, after a predetermined time has elapsed after the warning, the control device 50 determines whether or not the vehicle continues to travel (step ST16). If it is determined that the vehicle is traveling, a stop instruction is sent to the engine control device 300. (Step ST17).
In this way, the vehicle surroundings and the driver are informed that a failure has occurred, and the driver is instructed to stop the vehicle, so that the vehicle can be operated more safely when a failure occurs in the main drive system. In addition to being able to stop, if the driver does not stop the vehicle, the vehicle can be forcibly stopped to prevent an accident from occurring.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the maximum speed of the vehicle is limited by switching the control map when a failure occurs in the main drive system has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and instead of the method of switching the control map. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, a maximum speed limit instruction is given to the engine control device 300, and the engine control device 300 that receives this command throttles the opening of the throttle valve or limits the upper limit value of the fuel injection amount. It is also possible to adopt a method of limiting the maximum speed by, for example.

  In the above embodiment, the maximum speed of the vehicle is defined by the control map, but it is also possible to limit the maximum speed of the vehicle in consideration of a traveling environment such as a general road or an expressway. That is, it is dangerous if the maximum speed of the vehicle is limited too low while traveling on the highway, and therefore it is safer to limit the maximum speed of the vehicle according to the driving environment. The determination of the travel environment can be made based on, for example, road information obtained from the navigation control device 600 shown in FIG.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the vehicle is decelerated by outputting a deceleration command to the ABS control device 500 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the control device 50 instructs the engine control device 300 to decelerate. It is also possible to decelerate the vehicle by decelerating the vehicle, or to decelerate the vehicle by issuing an instruction to shift down the control device of the automatic transmission to apply the engine brake.

In the above embodiment, the case where the motor is used as the actuator for the main drive system and the auxiliary drive system has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other actuators can also be used.
In the above embodiment, the case where the operation lever and the angle detector are used in the operation unit has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal of the vehicle are manually operated by the driver. Any configuration can be used as long as the control device can instruct the drive amount to the control device.

In the above embodiment, the case where the auxiliary drive system can be commonly used for driving the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the auxiliary drive system is separately provided for the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal. It is also possible to provide.
In the above embodiment, the case where the main drive system and the auxiliary drive system for driving the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal are provided has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and only one of the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal is provided. A configuration including a main drive system and an auxiliary drive system is also possible.

  In the above embodiment, the case of a vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the vehicle includes a means for acceleration and braking, such as an electric vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, and a fuel cell vehicle. It goes without saying that the present invention can be applied if there is any.

It is a block diagram of the driving assistance device which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the basic function of the driving assistance device applied to the vehicle. It is a functional block diagram which shows an example of the relationship between the various apparatuses with which a vehicle is equipped, and a control apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows an example of a process of a control apparatus. It is a graph which shows the example of the control map which relates the operation amount of the operation lever in a control apparatus, and the drive amount of an accelerator pedal and a brake pedal. It is a flowchart which shows the other process example by a control apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Operation part 20 ... Operation lever 30 ... Angle detector 50 ... Control apparatus (control means)
60 ... Brake drive system (main drive system)
61 ... motor 62 ... rotation amount detector 63 ... drive circuit 64 ... connecting member 70 ... accelerator drive system (main drive system)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 71 ... Motor 72 ... Rotation amount detector 73 ... Drive circuit 74 ... Connection member 80 ... Brake pedal 90 ... Accelerator pedal 100 ... Auxiliary drive system 101 ... Motor 102 ... Rotation amount detector 103 ... Drive circuit 104 ... Connection member 300 ... Engine Control device 400 ... Brake system 500 ... ABS control device 600 ... Navigation control device

Claims (4)

An operation unit that is manually operated by a driver to instruct a driving amount of an accelerator pedal and / or a brake pedal of a vehicle, a main drive system that drives the accelerator pedal and / or a brake pedal, and an operation of the operation unit A driving assistance device comprising a control means for controlling the drive amount of the main drive system according to the amount,
A driving assistance device comprising an auxiliary driving system capable of driving the accelerator pedal and / or the brake pedal in place of the main driving system.   The driving assist device according to claim 1, wherein the control means drives the auxiliary drive system when an abnormality of the main drive system is detected.   The driving assistance device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the auxiliary driving system is commonly used for driving the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal. 4. The control device according to claim 1, wherein when the abnormality of the main drive system is detected, the control unit performs a process of limiting a maximum speed of the vehicle regardless of an operation amount of the operation unit. The driving assistance device according to 1.

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