JP2007302055A - Mode switching device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To accurately achieve the switching of various control modes without disturbing vehicle behaviors. <P>SOLUTION: Among an economy mode, a snow mode, a normal mode, a sport mode and a race mode which are different in the attenuating forces of the damper of a suspension device, the switching of the race mode to the sport mode making a vehicle behavior become stable according as the attenuating force is deteriorated and the switching of the race mode to the normal mode are made always available so that convenience can be maintained, and the other switching making the vehicle behavior become unstable with high possibility is permitted under such conditions that the vehicle status is stable so that it is possible to prevent the vehicle behavior from becoming unstable due to the switching of the mode. This invention may be applied to not only a suspension device which can be switched to a plurality of modes which are different in the attenuating forces of the damper but also a steering device which can be switched to a plurality of modes which are different in steering reaction forces or a vehicle stabilizing device which can be switched to a plurality of modes which are different in the amounts of intervention. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle mode switching device for accurately switching various control modes of a vehicle without disturbing vehicle behavior.

A mode switch can be used to switch between a first mode in which the first control value is changed by a relatively large value in accordance with the vehicle speed and a second mode in which the second control value is changed by a relatively small value in accordance with the vehicle speed. Patent Document 1 below discloses a vehicle steering control apparatus that prevents sudden changes in vehicle behavior by gradually switching from one mode control value to the other mode control value when the mode is switched. is there.
JP-A-63-41279

  By the way, there are two types of mode switching, one is to switch the direction that stabilizes the vehicle behavior, and the other is to switch the state to be unstable. In addition, it may be difficult to prevent a sudden change in the vehicle behavior even if the switching speed is slowed down when switching the direction in which the vehicle behavior becomes unstable.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to accurately switch various control modes so as not to disturb the vehicle behavior.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the damper has a plurality of modes in which the damping force of the damper of the suspension device is different, and the damping force of the damper from the normal mode that is the mode at the time of engine start. A mode switching device for a vehicle is proposed in which switching to a mode in which the vehicle speed increases is permitted on condition that the vehicle state is stable.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the switching from the normal mode, which is the mode at the time of starting the engine, to the mode in which the steering reaction force increases has a plurality of modes in which the steering reaction force of the steering device is different. A vehicular mode switching device is proposed that permits the vehicle condition to be stable.

  According to the invention described in claim 3, the vehicle stabilizer has a plurality of modes with different intervention amounts, and switching from the normal mode, which is a mode at the time of starting the engine, to a mode in which the intervention amount is reduced, A vehicular mode switching device is proposed, which permits a condition that the state is stable.

  According to the invention described in claim 4, the drive force distribution device has a plurality of modes with different drive force distribution amounts, and the drive force distribution amount increases from the normal mode which is the mode at the time of engine start. A mode switching device for a vehicle is proposed in which switching to a mode is permitted on condition that the vehicle state is stable.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the switching from the normal mode to the mode in which the damping force of the damper increases among a plurality of modes in which the damping force of the damper of the suspension device is different is based on the condition that the vehicle state is stable. Since the permission is allowed, it is possible to prevent the behavior of the vehicle from becoming unstable due to the mode switching, and the switching in the opposite direction to the above is always permitted, so the convenience of the mode switching is not impaired.

  According to the second aspect of the invention, switching from the normal mode to the mode in which the steering reaction force of the steering device increases among a plurality of modes having different steering reaction forces of the steering device indicates that the vehicle state is stable. Since the conditions are permitted, it is possible to prevent the vehicle behavior from becoming unstable due to the mode switching, and the switching in the opposite direction to the above is always permitted, so the convenience of the mode switching is not impaired.

  According to the third aspect of the invention, switching from the normal mode to the mode in which the intervention amount of the vehicle stabilizer decreases is selected from among a plurality of modes having different intervention amounts of the vehicle stabilizer. Since the conditions are permitted, it is possible to prevent the vehicle behavior from becoming unstable due to the mode switching, and the switching in the opposite direction to the above is always permitted, so the convenience of the mode switching is not impaired.

  According to the fourth aspect of the invention, switching from the normal mode to the mode in which the driving force distribution amount increases among a plurality of modes having different driving force distribution amounts of the driving force distribution device stabilizes the vehicle state. Is allowed on condition that the vehicle behavior can be prevented from becoming unstable due to mode switching, and the switching in the opposite direction to the above is always permitted, so the convenience of mode switching is impaired. There is no.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  1 to 3 show a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a mode changeover switch and each device switched by the switch, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing switching conditions in each mode. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the mode change-over switch Sm provided on the instrument panel Pi of the automobile is composed of a rotary switch operated by a cylindrical dial, and is in economy mode, snow mode, normal mode, sports mode and race mode. It has five stop positions corresponding to five modes. On the instrument panel Pi to which the mode change switch Sm is connected, the mode selected by the mode change switch Sm is displayed in LED. The mode change information of the mode change switch Sm is connected to a plurality of devices whose modes can be changed via the in-vehicle LAN (CAN).

  Table 1 shows a plurality of devices whose modes are switched by the mode switch Sm.

  The variable damping force damper changes the damping force of the damper of the suspension device. The damping force is set to an intermediate value in the normal mode, and gradually decreases toward the snow mode and economy mode. And gradually get bigger towards the race mode.

  The yaw control device with front / rear / left / right braking force distribution generates a yaw moment that assists turning or suppresses turning by individually controlling the braking force of front / rear / right / left wheels. Is set to an intermediate value in the normal mode and gradually increases toward the snow mode and the economy mode, and conversely decreases toward the sport mode and the race mode.

  The electric power steering device generates assist torque that assists the steering operation of the driver, and the steering reaction force indicating the weight of the steering wheel is set to an intermediate value in the normal mode. It gradually decreases toward the mode, and conversely increases toward the sport mode and the race mode.

  In the case of an electric power steering device, the steering reaction force is controlled by increasing or decreasing the assist torque. However, when a steer-by-wire device is used instead of the electric power steering device, virtual steering is applied to the steering wheel. The steering reaction force is controlled by controlling the reaction force motor that applies the reaction force.

  The four-wheel drive mechanism that can distribute front / rear / left / right torque distributes the engine's driving force not only to the front / rear wheels but also to the left / right wheels. In normal mode, the front / rear / left / right driving force distribution ratio is changed, and in snow mode, the front wheels rotate. The acceleration of the rear wheel speed with respect to the number is stopped, the right / left driving force distribution of the rear wheels is stopped in the economy mode, and the driving force distribution is focused on the slide control in the race mode. In the sport mode, the front / rear / left / right driving force distribution amount is larger than that in the normal mode, and is further increased in the race mode.

  In normal mode, the transmission is controlled based on the clutch connection / disconnection speed and shift map. In the snow mode and economy mode, the second speed is started to reduce fuel consumption. I do. In the sport mode, the clutch connecting / disconnecting speed is made faster than in the normal mode, and the shift map is also changed.

  The fuel injection / drive-by-wire system is used in the normal mode and the snow mode to limit the engine power and to change the drive-by-wire characteristics, and in the economy mode, the cylinder deactivation is frequently used to reduce fuel consumption. In the sport mode, the cylinder deactivation is stopped, and in the race mode, the cylinder deactivation is performed so that the deactivation of the cylinder can be stopped or the vehicle can start suddenly.

  As shown in FIG. 2, among the five modes, the switching from the race mode to the sports mode and the switching from the sports mode to the normal mode are always permitted in order to always act in the direction of stabilizing the vehicle behavior. The On the other hand, since switching other than the above two cases may make the vehicle behavior unstable, switching is permitted after the stable state of the vehicle is determined.

  That is, as shown in Table 2, the economy mode number is “1”, the snow mode number is “2”, the normal mode number is “3”, the sport mode number is “4”, When the mode number is “5”, switching from “5” → “4” and “4” → “3” is an O condition (unconditionally permitted), and other “3” → “2”, “ 2 ”→“ 1 ”,“ 1 ”→“ 2 ”,“ 2 ”→“ 3 ”,“ 3 ”→“ 4 ”and“ 4 ”→“ 5 ”are switched with the Z condition (conditionally permitted) Become.

  The Z condition consists of four conditions where the vehicle speed is less than a predetermined value, the steering angle is less than a predetermined value, the lateral acceleration is less than a predetermined value, and the absolute value of the longitudinal acceleration is less than a predetermined value, and these four conditions are all satisfied. Sometimes, it is determined that there is no risk of disturbing the vehicle behavior even if the vehicle is in a stable state and mode switching is performed, and mode switching is permitted. On the other hand, when one of the four conditions is not satisfied, it is determined that the vehicle is not in a stable state and there is a risk of disturbing the vehicle behavior when mode switching is performed, and mode switching is prohibited.

  Next, the above operation will be further described based on the flowchart of FIG.

  When the ignition switch is turned on, the normal mode is selected in step S1, and the characters “NORMAL” are displayed on the instrument panel Pi. In step S2, the instruction mode of the mode changeover switch Sm operated by the driver is read. In step S3, if different from the previous instruction mode, the stability determination map shown in Table 2 is read in step S4. In subsequent step S5, the determination value of the stability determination map is referred to. For example, if the previous mode is the normal mode “3” and the current mode is the sports mode “4”, the “Z condition” at the intersection of the “SPORT” column and the “previous M <current M” column. Becomes the judgment value. Alternatively, for example, if the previous mode is the sports mode “4” and the current mode is the normal mode “3”, the “NORMAL” column and the “previous M> current M” column intersect “O”. “Condition” is the judgment value.

  If the determination value is the Z condition in step S5, it is determined whether or not the Z condition (see Table 2) is satisfied in step S6. If the determination value is not satisfied, the instrument panel Pi is not satisfied in step S7. The mode display is blinked to notify the driver, and the rotation of the mode selector switch Sm is restricted. If the Z condition changes from not established to established while the mode display is blinking, the mode change switch Sm is allowed to rotate at that time, and the mode display is turned on to execute the mode change. On the other hand, if the determination value is “O condition” in step S5 or the Z condition is satisfied in step S6, it is determined that there is no possibility of disturbing the vehicle behavior even if the mode is switched, and step S8. In step S9, the mode display of the instrument panel Pi is updated and turned on. In step S9, the mode information is transmitted to the target device via the LAN to switch the mode.

  As described above, mode switching from the normal mode to the direction that makes the vehicle unstable is permitted on condition that the vehicle state is stable, among the plurality of modes of various vehicle control devices. Can prevent the vehicle behavior from becoming unstable. Further, since mode switching from the normal mode to the direction in which the vehicle is stabilized is always permitted, the convenience of mode switching is not impaired. Regardless of the mode when the ignition switch is turned off, the normal mode is always restored when the ignition switch is turned on, so it is possible to avoid a situation where the vehicle suddenly starts in the race mode when there is snow during the stoppage. can do.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  In the first embodiment, the mode change-over switch Sm is a rotary switch. In the second embodiment, the mode change-over switch Sm is a seesaw type switch biased to the neutral position. Each time you defeat, it is switched one step at a time from the economy mode side to the race mode side. When you reach the race mode, even if you defeat it forward, it is ignored and fixed to the race mode. Each time the vehicle is tilted backward, it is switched one step at a time from the race mode side to the economy mode side. When the economy mode is reached, even if it is tilted backward, it is ignored and fixed to the economy mode.

  Also according to the second embodiment, it is possible to achieve the same operational effects as those of the first embodiment described above.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was explained in full detail, this invention can perform a various design change in the range which does not deviate from the summary.

  For example, the device capable of switching modes includes the variable damping force damper according to the embodiment, the yaw control device by distributing left and right braking force, the electric power steering device, the four-wheel drive mechanism capable of distributing left and right torque, the transmission, and the fuel injection / drive by -It is not limited to a wire apparatus.

  The mode types are not limited to the economy mode, snow mode, normal mode, sports mode and race mode of the embodiment.

The figure which shows the mode switch of 1st Embodiment, and each apparatus switched by it Diagram showing switching conditions for each mode Flow chart explaining operation The figure which shows the mode switch of 2nd Embodiment

Explanation of symbols

Sm Mode switch Pi Instrument panel

Claims (4)

  Switching from the normal mode, which is the mode at the time of engine start, to the mode in which the damping force of the damper increases is provided on condition that the vehicle state is stable A mode switching device for a vehicle characterized by permitting.   Switching from the normal mode, which is the mode at the time of engine start, to the mode in which the steering reaction force increases is permitted under the condition that the vehicle state is stable. A vehicle mode switching device.   The vehicle stabilizer has multiple modes with different amounts of intervention, and switching from the normal mode, which is the mode at the time of engine start, to the mode in which the amount of intervention decreases is permitted on condition that the vehicle state is stable A vehicle mode switching device. Switching from the normal mode, which is the mode when starting the engine, to the mode in which the amount of distribution of the driving force increases has a stable vehicle state. A vehicle mode switching device characterized in that the above condition is permitted.

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