JP2009012696A - Vehicle control device, and vehicle control method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle control device capable of easily parking even a vehicle having the low-down specifications or equipped with aero parts such as a side skirt a parking lot with an delivery preventive means such as a locking plate being installed therein, and enhancing the effect of preventing any damage of the vehicle caused by an erecting (raising) motion of the delivery preventive means. <P>SOLUTION: The vehicle control device comprises an image pickup data acquisition means for acquiring the image pickup data around a periphery of a bottom part of a one's own vehicle when the one's own vehicle is parked in a parking space, a computation means for computing information indicating the relationship between the operation of an delivery preventive means installed in the parking space for preventing any illegal delivery of the parked vehicle and the bottom part of the one's own vehicle based on the acquired image pickup data, and a vehicle height control means for controlling the adjustment of the vehicle height of the one's own vehicle so that the bottom part of the one's own vehicle is not damaged by the motion of the delivery preventive means based on the information obtained by the computation. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle control device and a vehicle control method, and more specifically, a store-off prevention means such as a movable lock plate (also referred to as a flap plate) installed in an unmanned parking lot hits the bottom of a parked vehicle, The present invention relates to a vehicle control device and a vehicle control method that can prevent a phenomenon that a vehicle is damaged.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a coin parking system that combines an automatic settlement machine and a vehicle lock device has been introduced in relatively small paid parking lots. In such a coin parking system, for example, in each parking space, a vehicle locking device including a lock plate (movable wing) that can be tilted toward the bottom of a vehicle body of a parked vehicle is provided between a front wheel and a rear wheel of the parked vehicle. If the sensor is detected that the vehicle is parked in the parking space, the lock plate is raised to the bottom of the parked vehicle to prevent unauthorized parking of the parked vehicle. When the car parking state is settled by the automatic settlement machine after that, the vehicle is controlled so that the vehicle can be carved by falling down to the original position. Such a vehicle locking device is disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 below.

The above-described vehicle locking device uses an air cylinder as a driving force for raising and lowering the lock plate, uses an electric motor through a reduction mechanism composed of many gears, or uses a hydraulic cylinder Various types of devices have been proposed.

In addition, as a control for raising (raising) the lock plate of the vehicle lock device, there is a mechanism for detecting that the lock plate is in contact with the vehicle body with a limit switch or the like and then stopping the raising operation of the lock plate. Proposed. However, in the control mechanism of the lock plate, there is an effect of the limit switch mounting position and sensitivity deterioration due to aging, etc., it is not easy to always perform control to stop the lock plate standing operation at an appropriate timing, In some cases, the standing operation continues with the lock plate in contact with the vehicle body, and the bottom of the parked vehicle may be damaged.

In addition, there are various types of vehicles that use parking lots.In recent years, many vehicles have been fitted with aerodynamic parts such as side skirts at the bottom of both sides of the vehicle. When these low-down and aero parts-equipped vehicles are parked, it is difficult to stop the lock plate at an appropriate position without damaging the bottom or side skirt of the vehicle body with conventional vehicle locking devices. In addition, there is a concern that the bottom surface and the side skirt of the vehicle body may be greatly damaged by the lock plate, and it has become difficult to sufficiently cope with the vehicle damage only by the countermeasures on the parking facility side.
JP 2000-213197 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-62302

Means for solving the problems and their effects

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and even if the vehicle is equipped with aero parts such as a low-down specification or a side skirt, it can be parked safely in a parking lot where an exit prevention means such as a lock plate is installed. An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle control device and a vehicle control method that can increase the effect of preventing damage to the vehicle due to the standing (raising) operation of the warehousing prevention means.

In order to achieve the above object, a vehicle control apparatus (1) according to the present invention includes an imaging data acquisition unit that acquires imaging data around the bottom of the host vehicle when the host vehicle is parked in a parking space; Based on the acquired imaging data, a computing means for computing information indicating the relationship between the operation of the exit prevention means installed in the parking space to prevent unauthorized exit of the parked vehicle and the bottom of the own vehicle, Vehicle height control means for performing control for adjusting the vehicle height of the host vehicle so that the bottom of the host vehicle is not damaged by the operation of the exit prevention unit based on the information obtained by the calculation unit; It is characterized by having.

According to the vehicle control device (1), when the host vehicle is parked in a parking space, the imaging data around the bottom of the host vehicle is acquired, and unauthorized parking of the parked vehicle is performed based on the acquired imaging data. Information indicating the relationship between the operation of the exit prevention means installed in the parking space and the bottom of the host vehicle is calculated, and based on the calculated information, the bottom of the host vehicle is Since the control of adjusting the vehicle height of the host vehicle is performed so as not to be damaged by the operation of the exit prevention means, the effect of preventing the vehicle from being damaged due to the operation of the exit prevention means (that is, the standing and raising operation). If it is a vehicle equipped with the vehicle control device,
Even a vehicle equipped with an aero part such as a low-down specification or a side skirt can be parked in a safe place in a parking lot in which the exit prevention means is installed.

In addition, the vehicle control method (1) according to the present invention, when the host vehicle is parked in the parking space,
An imaging data acquisition step for acquiring imaging data around the bottom of the host vehicle, and an operation of the exit prevention means installed in the parking space to prevent unauthorized exit of the parked vehicle based on the acquired imaging data; A calculation step of calculating information indicating a relationship with the bottom of the host vehicle;
A vehicle height control step for performing control to adjust the vehicle height of the host vehicle based on the information obtained by the calculation so that the bottom of the host vehicle is not damaged by the operation of the exit prevention means; It is characterized by including.

According to the vehicle control method (1), it is possible to perform control for adjusting the vehicle height of the own vehicle so that the bottom of the own vehicle is not damaged by the operation of the leaving prevention means, Vehicles equipped with aero parts such as low-down specifications and side skirts can be used as long as the effect of preventing vehicle damage due to the operation of the means (ie, standing up and moving up) can be enhanced and the vehicle control method is adopted. Even if it is etc., it can be made to park safely in the parking lot in which the said leaving prevention means was installed.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of a vehicle control device and a vehicle control method according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing a main part of an in-vehicle system in which the vehicle control device according to the embodiment (1) is employed.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an in-vehicle camera installed inside the rear bumper of the vehicle. The in-vehicle camera 1 is movable so that the rear of the vehicle and the periphery of the bottom of the vehicle can be photographed, and the camera body 2 including the lens and the direction of the body 2 (that is, the photographing direction). ) And the drive unit 3 for changing.

The in-vehicle camera 1 is connected to a vehicle control device 10 configured to include a microcomputer (microcomputer) 11 and the like. The vehicle control device 10 is connected to the drive unit 3 of the in-vehicle camera 1 at a predetermined timing described later. Control for sending a drive signal and changing the shooting direction by the main body 2 (that is, from the state of shooting the rear of the vehicle to the state of shooting the periphery of the vehicle bottom (between the vehicle bottom surface and the road surface) or vice versa), predetermined At the time interval, control for acquiring captured (image) data captured by the in-vehicle camera 1 and processing for analyzing the acquired captured data are also performed.

The vehicle control device 10 is connected to a suspension control device 20 having a vehicle height adjustment function via a communication line L, and the vehicle height adjustment is performed with respect to the suspension control device 20 at a predetermined timing described later. The suspension control device 20 performs vehicle height adjustment (up / down) control based on the control signal.

Various components constituting an air suspension system are connected to the suspension control device 20, and the air suspension system includes an air spring (air suspension) 23, a height control valve 22, a vehicle height sensor 23 provided on each front and rear wheel, Further, it is configured to include an air supply valve 25, an air tank 26, an exhaust valve 27, an air compressor 28 and the like provided in the path of the air pipe 24. Each air spring 23 is equipped with a hydraulic shock absorber, an air chamber (both not shown), and the like, and via an air pipe 24, an air supply valve 25, an air tank 26 for storing air, and an air intake The air compressor 28 and the exhaust valve 27 are connected.

The suspension control device 20 includes a microcomputer (not shown), performs opening / closing control of the height control valve 22, the air supply valve 25, and the exhaust valve 27, drive control of the air compressor 28, and the like. It has a function to adjust the height.

That is, at the time of adjusting the vehicle height, the air supply valve 25 and the height control valve 22 are controlled to open, and the compressed air in the air tank 26 is supplied into the air spring 23 (air chamber thereof), and then a predetermined amount is supplied. When the air supply stop condition is satisfied, the air supply valve 25 and the height control valve 22 are closed. Thereby, since compressed air is confined in the air spring 23, the vehicle height at that time is maintained.

Further, when the vehicle height is lowered (returned to the original position), the exhaust valve 27 and the height control valve 22 are controlled to open, and the compressed air in the air spring 23 (air chamber) is discharged into the atmosphere. Thereafter, when a predetermined exhaust stop condition is satisfied, the exhaust valve 27 and the height control valve 22 are controlled to be closed. Thereby, the vehicle height is returned to the normal height.

In addition, shift levers (parking P, reverse R,
A shift lever position switch 31 and an ignition switch 32 indicating the position of the neutral N, drive D, etc.) are connected to the vehicle control device 10, and the vehicle control device 10
The shift lever position switch 31 can capture a signal indicating the position of the shift lever, an on / off signal of the ignition switch 32, and the like.

In addition, a navigation control device 33 that controls a navigation device mounted on the vehicle is connected to the vehicle control device 10, and in the vehicle control device 10, various signals and information output from the navigation control device 33, for example, A signal indicating that the vehicle is located in the parking lot registered in the map data, information on the parking lot, and the like can be taken in. The parking lot information includes the type of parking lot, for example, whether it is a toll parking lot, in the case of a toll parking lot, the presence or absence of a parking lock device, and if there is a flip type, gate type, those Information on the installation device such as the standard size is included.

Based on these signals and information, the vehicle control device 10 determines whether or not the host vehicle is parked in the toll parking lot, and based on the determination, changes the direction of the in-vehicle camera 1 to change the bottom of the host vehicle. Control for acquiring surrounding imaging data, operation of the lock plate 41 (see FIG. 4) installed in the parking space to prevent unauthorized parking of the parked vehicle based on the acquired imaging data, and the bottom of the host vehicle Based on the processing for calculating the information indicating the relationship between the vehicle and the information obtained by the calculation, the suspension control device 20 is used to prevent the bottom of the vehicle from being damaged by the operation of the lock plate 41. Control for adjusting the height of the vehicle is performed.

The vehicle control device 10 is connected to an engine control device 34 that performs engine control via a communication line L. In the vehicle control device 10, the shift lever is set to parking (P), and the own vehicle is charged. If it is determined that the vehicle is located in the parking lot,
A control signal for continuing the state in which the engine is operated is output to the engine control device 34. Thus, even when the ignition switch 32 is turned off after the shift lever is set to parking (P), the power of the alternator (not shown) that generates power with the power of the engine is supplied to each part. It continues for a predetermined time.

The predetermined time may be a fixed value, but information on the parking lot acquired from the navigation control device 33 (for example, the time from when a car is detected in the parking space until the lock plate 41 starts to operate, etc. It is also possible to adopt a configuration that is set based on (information).

In addition, a display unit 35 composed of a liquid crystal panel or the like is connected to the vehicle control device 10, and the suspension control device 20 is operated through a setting screen displayed on the display unit 35 by operating an operation unit (not shown). Various conditions can be set when the vehicle height adjustment control is performed via the control, and a display example of the condition setting screen is shown in FIG.

In the setting screen shown in FIG. 2, the processing time Ts required until the vehicle control apparatus 10 outputs a control signal instructing the vehicle height adjustment to the suspension control apparatus 20 and the vehicle height actually starts to move (rise). Is displayed, and a safety factor Z for taking into account variations in the required processing time Ts, and a sampling interval Δt for acquiring imaging data from the in-vehicle camera 1 can be set. Further, a control start determination time T0 (= Ts × Z) in which the necessary processing time Ts and the set safety factor Z are taken into consideration is also displayed, and these data are stored in the vehicle control device 10. Is stored in a non-volatile memory (not shown). If no setting is made on this condition setting screen, a default value stored in advance as an initial value is used. Such a dedicated application is stored in a ROM (not shown) in the microcomputer 11 of the vehicle control device 10.

Next, processing operations performed by the microcomputer 11 in the vehicle control apparatus 10 according to the embodiment (1) will be described based on the flowcharts shown in FIGS. The required processing time T
For s, safety factor Z, control start determination time T0 (= Ts × Z), and imaging data sampling interval Δt, values set on the condition setting screen shown in FIG. 2 or default values are used. It has become. This processing operation is started when a signal set to parking (P) is acquired from the shift lever position switch 31 and is executed for a predetermined time (even after the ignition switch 32 is turned off). ing.

First, in step S1, parking (P) is started from the shift lever position switch 31.
If it is determined whether or not the signal set in (P) is acquired, and if it is determined that the signal set in parking (P) is not acquired, then the process ends, while the signal set in parking (P) is If it is determined that it has been acquired, the process proceeds to step S2.

In step S2, the own vehicle is parked from the navigation control device 33 (parking lock device 4
If it is determined whether the signal located in the parking lot where 0 is installed) is acquired (that is, whether the vehicle position is a parking lot), and the vehicle position is not a parking lot Then, after finishing the process, if it is determined that the vehicle position is a parking lot, the process proceeds to step S3. In step S3, a process of outputting a control signal for continuing the engine operating state for a predetermined time to the engine control device 34 is performed, and then the process proceeds to step S4.

In the engine control device 34 that has taken in the control signal, even when the ignition switch 32 is turned off, control for continuing the operation of the engine is performed, and power of an alternator that generates power with the power of the engine is supplied to each part. This state is continued for a predetermined time.

In subsequent step S4, control for changing the direction (photographing direction) of the in-vehicle camera 1, that is, from the state of photographing the direction of the in-vehicle camera 1 from the rear of the vehicle, the vicinity of the bottom of the vehicle (between the vehicle bottom and the road surface).
Is performed to output a drive signal for changing to a state of photographing to the drive unit 3 of the in-vehicle camera 1, and then the process proceeds to step S5.

In the in-vehicle camera 1 that has captured the driving signal, the driving unit 3 is driven based on the driving signal, and the direction of the main body unit 2 is rotated from the state of photographing the rear of the vehicle to the state of photographing the periphery of the bottom of the vehicle. The FIG. 4 is a side view schematically showing a state in which the orientation of the in-vehicle camera 1 is changed to a state in which the periphery of the vehicle bottom can be photographed. FIG. 5 shows an example of an image captured by the in-vehicle camera 1 after the orientation of the in-vehicle camera 1 is changed to a state in which the periphery of the vehicle bottom can be captured.

Reference numeral 40 in FIG. 4 indicates a vehicle locking device for preventing the vehicle 50 from being illegally issued, and reference numeral 42 in the drawing indicates a vehicle stop. The vehicle lock device 40 is equipped with a movable (tilting) type lock plate (also called a flip plate) 41, and by raising the lock plate 41,
The vehicle 50 is configured to prevent unauthorized shipment. Side skirts 51 are attached to lower portions on both sides of the vehicle 50.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, a part of the bottom surface 52 of the vehicle body and the side skirt 51 are projected on the upper part in the photographing frame of the in-vehicle camera 1, and the upper side of the photographing frame and the boundary line of the bottom surface 52 of the vehicle body The direction of the in-vehicle camera 1 is set so as to be substantially parallel to each other, and the up and down movement of the lock plate 41 installed on the road surface of the parking space is projected from the center to the lower part in the photographing frame. The shooting range and orientation are set.

In the subsequent step S5, the sampling count n of the imaging data is cleared (0), and then the imaging data is captured from the in-vehicle camera 1 (step S6), and the sampling count n
1 is added to (step S7).

In subsequent step S8, image analysis of the acquired imaging data is started, and first, processing for extracting an edge (contour) of an object included in the captured image data is performed, and then the process proceeds to step S9.

In step S9, processing for recognizing the bottom of the vehicle (the vehicle body bottom surface 52 and the side skirt 51) and the lock plate 41 installed on the road surface is performed based on the extracted edge shape, position in the imaging frame, and the like. That is, an object whose edge is detected in the substantially horizontal direction at the upper part of the photographing frame is recognized as the vehicle body bottom surface 52, and an object whose edge is detected in a convex shape at the upper right part of the photographing frame is defined as a side skirt. 51, a process of recognizing an object whose edge is detected in a substantially horizontal direction near the center of the photographing frame as the lock plate 41 is performed, and then the process proceeds to step S10.

In step S10, based on the recognition result, the number of pixels (Ah) from the upper side of the shooting frame to the lower end of the side skirt 51 (see FIG. 4), and the number of pixels from the right side of the shooting frame to the left end of the side skirt 51 (Aw). ) And then the process proceeds to step S11.

In step S11, the number of pixels (B) from the upper side of the photographing frame to the upper part of the lock plate 41 is calculated, and then the process proceeds to step S12. In step S12, the pixels from the upper part of the lock plate 41 to the lower end of the side skirt 51 are processed. A process of calculating the number C (= B−Ah) is performed, and then the process proceeds to step S13.

In step S13 (see FIG. 3-2), it is determined whether or not the sampling count n is 1. If it is determined that the sampling count n is 1, the process proceeds to step S20, while the sampling count n is not 1. That is, if it is determined that n ≧ 2, the process proceeds to step S14. In step S14, a process of calculating the moving speed V = (C _n −C _n−1 ) / Δt of the lock plate 41 is performed, and then the process proceeds to step S15. Note that (C _n −C _n−1 ) is the difference between the current (sampling count n) pixel count C and the previous (sampling count n−1) pixel count C, and Δt is the imaging data sampling interval. Show.

In step S15, it is determined whether or not the moving speed V of the lock plate 41 is 0 (that is, the lock plate 41 is stopped). If it is determined that the moving speed V is not 0, the process proceeds to step S16. In step S16, when the lock plate 41 moves at a constant speed at the moving speed V, the lock plate 4
1 is performed to calculate a predicted time until 1 comes into contact with the side skirt, that is, a time T1 (= C _n / V) until the number of pixels C from the lock plate 41 to the side skirt 51 becomes zero. Proceed to S17.

In step S17, it is determined whether or not the calculated predicted time T1 is equal to or less than the control start determination time T0 for starting the vehicle height adjustment control. If it is determined that the predicted time T1 is equal to or less than the determination time T0, step S18 is performed. Proceed to In step S18, the suspension control device 20 performs a process of outputting a control signal so as to start control for raising the vehicle height, and then sets 1 to a flag F indicating that vehicle height adjustment control is being performed ( The process proceeds to step S19) and step S20.

Suspension control device 20 that has acquired a control signal for starting vehicle height adjustment from vehicle control device 10
Then, the air supply valve 25 and the height control valve 22 are opened, the compressed air in the air tank 26 is supplied into the air spring 23 (air chamber thereof), and the vehicle height is raised.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S17 that the predicted time T1 is greater than the control start determination time T0, the process proceeds to step S21. In step S21, it is determined whether or not the flag F is 1. If it is determined that the flag F is 1, that is, the vehicle height control is currently being performed, step S2 is performed.
Proceed to 2. In step S22, a process of outputting a control signal for stopping the control for raising the vehicle height to the suspension control device 20 is performed, and then the flag F is set to 0 (step S).
23), it progresses to step S20. In step S20, the sampling interval Δ of the imaging data
It is determined whether t has elapsed, and if it is determined that the sampling interval Δt has elapsed, the process returns to step S6 and the process is repeated.

Suspension control device 20 that has acquired a vehicle height adjustment stop control signal from vehicle control device 10
Then, the control which closes the air supply valve 25 and the height control valve 22 is performed, and the process which stops the raise control of a vehicle height is performed.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S15 that the moving speed V of the lock plate 41 is 0, the process proceeds to step S24. In step S24, it is determined whether or not the previous moving speed V is also 0. If it is determined that the previous moving speed V is also 0, that is, the state before the lock plate 41 moves, the process proceeds to step S20. If it is determined that the previous movement speed V is not 0, that is, the lock plate 41 has stopped after moving, the process proceeds to step S25.

In step S25, it is determined whether or not the flag F is 1. If it is determined that the flag F is not 1, that is, the flag F is 0 and the vehicle height control is not currently being performed, the subsequent processing ends. On the other hand, if it is determined that the flag F is 1, that is, the vehicle height control is currently being performed, the process proceeds to step S26, and a process of outputting a control signal for stopping the control for raising the vehicle height to the suspension control device 20 is performed. After that, the flag F is set to 0 (step S27), and the process ends.

Next, another processing operation performed by the microcomputer 11 in the vehicle control apparatus 10 according to the embodiment (1) will be described based on the flowchart shown in FIG. This processing operation is shown in FIG.
This is executed when the ignition switch 32 is turned on after the processing described with reference to FIG. That is, the processing operation when leaving the parking space is shown.

First, in step S31, it is determined whether or not the ignition switch 32 is turned on. If it is determined that the ignition switch 32 is turned on, the process proceeds to step S32. In step S32, a process for acquiring imaging data captured by the in-vehicle camera 1 in a state in which the periphery of the bottom of the vehicle is set to be photographed is started at a predetermined sampling interval, and then step S3 is performed.
Proceed to step 3.

In step S33, image analysis of the acquired imaging data is started, processing for recognizing the lock plate 41 is performed based on the extracted edge data and the like, and then the process proceeds to step S34. In step S34, based on the movement state of the upper edge of the lock plate 41, the lock plate 41 is moved.
If it is determined whether or not the lock plate 41 is in the original position, and if it is determined that the lock plate 41 is not in the original position, the process returns to step S32 and repeats the process, while the lock plate 41 is in the original position. If it is determined that the user has fallen, the process proceeds to step S35.

In step S35, a process of outputting a control signal instructing the suspension control device 20 to lower the vehicle height to the original position is performed. In subsequent step S36, the direction of the in-vehicle camera 1 (shooting direction) is determined. That is, a process of outputting a drive signal for changing the direction of the vehicle-mounted camera 1 from a state of photographing the periphery of the bottom of the vehicle to a state of photographing the rear of the vehicle to the drive unit 3 of the vehicle-mounted camera 1. And then finish the process.

In the suspension control device 20, based on the control signal from the vehicle control device 10,
When the exhaust valve 27 and the height control valve 22 are opened to discharge the compressed air in the air spring 23 (air chamber thereof) into the atmosphere, and then the value of the vehicle height sensor 23 becomes the original reference value, Control is performed to close the exhaust valve 27 and the height control valve 22, and the vehicle height is returned to the normal height. In the in-vehicle camera 1, the direction of the main body 2 is set to a position where the rear of the vehicle can be photographed by the driving unit 3 based on the driving signal from the vehicle control device 10.

According to the vehicle control device 10 according to the embodiment (1), the host vehicle is the parking lock device 4.
When the vehicle is parked in the parking space where 0 is installed, the lock plate is installed to acquire imaging data around the bottom of the host vehicle and to prevent unauthorized parking of the parked vehicle based on the acquired imaging data. 41 (calculation time T1 until contact, etc.) indicating the relationship between the operation 41 and the bottom of the host vehicle (the vehicle body 52 and the side skirt 51) is calculated, and based on the calculated information, the bottom of the host vehicle Since the vehicle height of the host vehicle is adjusted via the suspension control device 20 so that the vehicle is not damaged by the operation of the lock plate 41, the vehicle body 52 and the side skirt 51 of the lock plate 41 are raised. If it is a vehicle equipped with the vehicle control device 10 that can prevent damage, even if it is a vehicle equipped with aero parts such as low-down specifications and side skirts, Click plate 41 is able to park with confidence to the installed parking lot.

In the in-vehicle system, the in-vehicle camera 1 is used for both the rear monitoring and the vehicle bottom monitoring. However, in another embodiment, the in-vehicle camera dedicated to the vehicle bottom monitoring is connected to the front portion of the vehicle. And / or in the rear part. Further, the function performed by the microcomputer 11 in the vehicle control device 10 may be configured to be incorporated in the microcomputer of the suspension control device 20.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram schematically showing a main part of an in-vehicle system in which the vehicle control device according to the embodiment (2) is employed. However, the same reference numerals are given to components having the same functions as the in-vehicle system shown in FIG. 1, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In the in-vehicle system in which the vehicle control device 10A according to the embodiment (2) is employed, a vehicle protection plate 36 disposed on the bottom surface portion (between the front wheel and the rear wheel) of the vehicle, and the vehicle protection plate 36
And a lift drive unit 37 for lifting and lowering the vehicle, and the vehicle control device 10A controls the lifting operation of the vehicle protection plate 36 according to the embodiment (
This is different from the vehicle control device 10 according to 1).

The vehicle protection plate 36 is for preventing damage to the side skirt 51 (see FIG. 4) at the bottom of the vehicle due to the lock plate 41 of the vehicle lock device 40 so that the rise of the lock plate 41 can be suppressed. It is arranged. Depending on the parking facility, the distance from the vehicle stop in the parking space to the lock plate 41 may be different, so the vehicle protection plate 36 is arranged vertically in the vehicle front-rear direction between the front wheels and the rear wheels. It is preferable to install.

In the vehicle control device 10A according to the embodiment (2), after the vehicle height adjustment by the suspension control device 20 is started, the lock plate 4 of the vehicle lock device 40 is faster than the speed at which the vehicle height is raised.
1 is fast, the lock plate 41 approaches the vehicle bottom, and the vehicle bottom is the lock plate 41.
Or when it is determined that the lock plate 41 of the vehicle lock device 40 is raised and the bottom of the vehicle is in contact with the lock plate 41 even after the vehicle height is raised to the upper limit value of the adjustment range. In addition, a drive signal for lowering the vehicle protection plate 36 is output to the lift drive unit 37, the vehicle protection plate 36 is lowered, the vehicle protection plate 36 is brought into contact with the lock plate 41, and the bottom of the side skirt or the like. Control is performed to prevent the lock plate 41 from coming into contact.

Next, processing operations performed by the microcomputer 11A in the vehicle control apparatus 10A according to the embodiment (2) will be described based on the flowchart shown in FIG. This processing operation is executed after setting 1 to a flag F indicating that the vehicle height adjustment control is being performed in step S19 shown in FIG. 3-2.

First, in step S41, a process of taking in the detection value h of the vehicle height sensor 23 from the suspension control device 20 every predetermined time Δth is started, and in the subsequent step S42, the acquired detection value h of the vehicle height sensor 23 is obtained from the vehicle height. It is determined whether or not the upper limit value Hmax of the adjustment (rise) range has been reached, and if it is determined that the detected value h of the vehicle height sensor 23 has not reached the upper limit value Hmax, step S
Proceed to 43.

In step S43, the vehicle height increasing speed Vh = (h _n −h _n−1 ) / from the acquired detection value h.
A process of calculating Δth is performed, and then the process proceeds to step S44. Note that h _n represents the current (newest) detection value, and h _n−1 represents the previous detection value.

In step S44, it is determined whether the vehicle height increasing speed Vh is equal to or higher than the moving speed V of the lock plate 41, and the vehicle height increasing speed Vh is not equal to or higher than the moving speed V of the lock plate 41. If it is determined that the vehicle height increasing speed Vh is smaller than the moving speed V of the lock plate 41, the process proceeds to step S45.

In step S45, the estimated time T until the lock plate 41 contacts the side skirt 51.
It is determined whether 1 (= C _n / V) is equal to or shorter than the plate driving determination time Tp, and the predicted time T
If it is determined that 1 is equal to or shorter than the plate drive determination time Tp, the process proceeds to step S46. The plate drive determination time Tp is set in consideration of the processing time required to lower the vehicle protection plate 36 to a position below the lower end of the side skirt 51.

In step S46, a process of outputting a control signal for starting the lowering of the vehicle protection plate 36 is performed on the elevating drive unit 37 that drives the vehicle protection plate 36, and the process ends thereafter. Note that the vehicle protection plate 36 is lowered to a position below the lower end of the side skirt 51.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S42 that the detected value h of the vehicle height sensor 23 has reached the upper limit value Hmax, the process proceeds to step S45. In step S45, the estimated time T1 (=
C _n / V) is determined whether it is equal to or shorter than the plate drive determination time Tp. If it is determined that the predicted time T1 is equal to or shorter than the plate drive determination time Tp, the process proceeds to step S46, and the vehicle protection plate 36 is lowered. A process of outputting a control signal to be started is performed, and then the process ends.

In step S44, when it is determined that the vehicle height increasing speed Vh is equal to or higher than the moving speed V of the lock plate 41, or in step S45, it is determined that the predicted time T1 is not less than the plate drive determination time Tp. If so, the process proceeds to step S47. In step S47, it is determined whether or not the moving speed V of the lock plate 41 has become 0 (a state in which the lock plate 41 is stopped). If it is determined that the moving speed V has not become 0, the process returns to step S41 to perform the processing. On the other hand, if it is determined that the moving speed V has become 0, then the process ends.

According to the vehicle control device 10 according to the above embodiment (2), the contact of the lock plate 41 with the bottom portion (the vehicle body 52 and the side skirt 51) of the host vehicle is avoided only by the control for adjusting the vehicle height of the host vehicle. If it is determined that the vehicle protection plate 36 can be moved up and down at the bottom of the host vehicle, the vehicle protection plate 36 is lowered to a lower position where the vehicle body 52 and the side skirt 51 are not damaged.
By bringing the vehicle protection plate 36 and the lock plate 41 into contact with each other, the phenomenon that the vehicle body 52 and the side skirt 51 are in contact with the lock plate 41 and are damaged can be prevented more reliably.

1 is a block diagram showing a schematic outline of an in-vehicle system in which a vehicle control device according to an embodiment (1) of the present invention is adopted. It is a display example of a screen for setting various conditions when performing vehicle height adjustment control displayed on the display unit. It is the flowchart which showed the processing operation which the microcomputer in the vehicle control apparatus which concerns on embodiment (1) performs. It is the flowchart which showed the processing operation which the microcomputer in the vehicle control apparatus which concerns on embodiment (1) performs. It is the side view which showed typically the state by which the direction of the vehicle-mounted camera was changed into the state which can image | photograph the bottom part periphery of a vehicle. It is an example of the image image | photographed with the vehicle-mounted camera 1 after the direction of the vehicle-mounted camera was changed to the state which can image | photograph the bottom part periphery of a vehicle. It is the flowchart which showed another processing operation which the microcomputer in the vehicle control apparatus which concerns on embodiment (1) performs. It is the block diagram which showed the schematic outline of the vehicle-mounted system by which the vehicle control apparatus which concerns on embodiment (2) was employ | adopted. It is the flowchart which showed the processing operation which the microcomputer in the vehicle control apparatus which concerns on embodiment (2) performs.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Car-mounted camera 10, 10A Vehicle control apparatus 11, 11A Microcomputer 20 Suspension control apparatus 21 Air spring 22 Height control valve 23 Vehicle height sensor

Claims (5)

When the host vehicle is parked in a parking space, imaging data acquisition means for acquiring imaging data around the bottom of the host vehicle;
Based on the acquired imaging data, calculation means for calculating information indicating the relationship between the operation of the exit prevention means installed in the parking space to prevent unauthorized exit of the parked vehicle and the bottom of the own vehicle,
Vehicle height control means for performing control to adjust the vehicle height of the own vehicle based on the information obtained by the calculation means so that the bottom of the own vehicle is not damaged by the operation of the exit prevention means; A vehicle control device comprising: The calculation means calculates a predicted time until the exit prevention means contacts the bottom of the host vehicle;
The vehicle height control means has the predicted time and a control start determination time in which a processing time required until the vehicle height starts to rise from a vehicle height control instruction to a vehicle height adjustment means capable of adjusting the vehicle height is
2. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when a predetermined relationship is satisfied, vehicle height control for the vehicle height adjusting means is started. It is provided with a raising / lowering control means for performing raising / lowering control of the vehicle bottom part protecting means disposed on the bottom part of the own vehicle so as to be able to be raised / lowered so as not to contact the exit prevention means with the bottom part of the own vehicle. The vehicle control device according to claim 1 or 2. When it is determined that only the control for adjusting the vehicle height of the host vehicle by the vehicle height control unit cannot avoid the contact of the exit prevention unit with the bottom of the host vehicle,
4. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the elevating control means performs elevating control of the vehicle bottom protecting means. When the host vehicle is parked in a parking space, an imaging data acquisition step for acquiring imaging data around the bottom of the host vehicle;
Based on the acquired imaging data, a calculation step of calculating information indicating the relationship between the operation of the exit prevention means installed in the parking space to prevent unauthorized exit of the parked vehicle and the bottom of the host vehicle,
A vehicle height control step for performing control to adjust the vehicle height of the host vehicle based on the information obtained by the calculation so that the bottom of the host vehicle is not damaged by the operation of the exit prevention means; The vehicle control method characterized by including.

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