JP2010095046A - Vehicle controller - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a controller for suppressing false recognition of an occupant due to a false report of a vehicle running state, in vehicle running control to control the vehicle running state regardless of an accelerator operation in a vehicle in which the vehicle running state is determined. <P>SOLUTION: The vehicle electronic controller executes cruise control automatically controlling a vehicle speed of a vehicle not depending on an operation of an accelerator pedal. The electronic controller determines whether the vehicle shows a high energy efficiency on the basis of an accelerator operation amount, and notifies an occupant of the vehicle of the result obtained from determination processing by turning on or off an eco-indicator (S140). During cruise control (YES in S110), the controller prohibits the notification (S120). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a control device that determines a traveling state of a vehicle.

  It is a control device mounted on a vehicle, and whether or not the traveling state of the vehicle is in an energy efficient state (whether or not it is a traveling state with a low carbon dioxide emission amount and a fuel-efficient state) ) Is known.

  For example, in the control device described in Patent Document 1, determination processing related to the running state of the vehicle is performed based on the accelerator operation amount detected from the accelerator sensor. Specifically, if the accelerator operation amount detected from the accelerator sensor is less than a predetermined amount, it is determined that the vehicle is traveling with good energy efficiency, while if the accelerator operation amount is greater than or equal to the predetermined amount, It is determined that the running state of the vehicle is not good energy efficiency.

  Furthermore, in the control device of Patent Document 1, the vehicle running state is in an energy efficient state by turning on or off the eco indicator provided in the vehicle interior based on the above-described traveling state determination result. In addition, a traveling state notifying process is also performed, such as notifying the occupant of whether or not the vehicle is present.

On the other hand, vehicle traveling control that automatically controls the traveling state of the vehicle is known. In this vehicle travel control, for example, in cruise control, the opening of the throttle valve is controlled so that the vehicle speed is constant. In such vehicle travel control, the engine output is basically controlled regardless of the accelerator operation amount unless the control is canceled.
JP 2008-57352 A

  By the way, when the vehicle traveling control is also performed in a vehicle in which the traveling state determination process and the traveling state notification process are performed as in Patent Document 1, the amount of accelerator operation is performed even during the vehicle traveling control. The eco-indicator is turned on or off according to the situation.

  However, since the traveling state of the vehicle during the execution of the vehicle traveling control is automatically controlled regardless of the accelerator operation amount, the operation of the accelerator is not reflected in the actual traveling state of the vehicle. Therefore, the lighting or extinguishing of the eco indicator performed based on the accelerator operation amount may not correspond to the actual traveling state of the vehicle. For example, the eco-indicator may be lit if the accelerator operation amount is less than a predetermined amount even though the vehicle is not in a good energy efficiency state.

Thus, if the eco indicator that does not correspond to the actual driving state of the vehicle is turned on or off, the occupant may erroneously recognize the driving state of the vehicle.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is a vehicle in which a determination process for determining the traveling state of the vehicle is performed, and the vehicle traveling state that controls the traveling state of the vehicle regardless of the accelerator operation. An object of the present invention is to provide a control device that can suppress an erroneous recognition of an occupant due to an erroneous notification of a running state of a vehicle when control is performed.

In the following, means for achieving the above object and its effects are described.
The invention according to claim 1 executes vehicle travel control for automatically controlling the travel state of the vehicle regardless of the operation of the accelerator pedal, and whether or not the travel state of the vehicle is in a state of good energy efficiency. In the vehicle control device that executes the determination process for determining the vehicle operation amount based on the accelerator operation amount and the notification process for notifying the vehicle occupant of the determination result of the determination process, the notification process is executed during the vehicle travel control. The gist is to provide a notification prohibiting means for prohibiting the above.

  According to the above configuration, it is determined based on the accelerator operation amount whether or not the traveling state of the vehicle is in a state of good energy efficiency. Here, when vehicle travel control is performed in which the travel state of the vehicle is controlled regardless of the accelerator operation amount, execution of the notification process for notifying the passenger of the determination result relating to the travel state of the vehicle is prohibited. . Therefore, when the vehicle travel control is executed and the accelerator operation by the vehicle occupant is not reflected in the actual travel state of the vehicle, it is possible to prevent the determination result regarding the travel state of the vehicle from being notified. Therefore, it is possible to suppress occupant misrecognition due to an erroneous notification of the traveling state of the vehicle.

As the vehicle travel control, cruise control or the like that controls the opening degree of the throttle valve so that the vehicle speed is constant can be adopted as in the invention described in claim 2.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle control device according to the second aspect of the present invention, the cruise control is being executed, and the throttle valve opening corresponding to the accelerator operation amount is set by the cruise control. The gist is to permit the execution of the notification process when the valve opening is larger than the valve opening.

  When the throttle valve opening corresponding to the accelerator operation amount is larger than the opening set by the cruise control during the cruise control, in the case of so-called override, instead of the opening set by the cruise control. The opening of the throttle valve is controlled so that the opening corresponds to the accelerator operation amount. Therefore, at the time of such override, the traveling state of the vehicle is controlled according to the accelerator operation amount.

  Therefore, in the above configuration, at the time of such override, the execution of the notification process is permitted. Therefore, even during cruise control, when the vehicle running state determined based on the accelerator operation amount matches the actual vehicle running state, the running state can be notified, The occupant can recognize the running state.

  Further, as the vehicle travel control, as in the invention according to claim 4, posture stabilization control for stabilizing the posture by adjusting the engine output when the posture of the traveling vehicle becomes unstable. Can be adopted. In this case, when there is a request for adjusting the engine output by the posture stabilization control, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which the execution of the notification process is prohibited, assuming that the vehicle travel control is being executed.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when the attitude stabilization control is adopted as the vehicle travel control, the engine output adjustment request by the attitude stabilization control is determined by the engine output corresponding to the accelerator operation amount. When priority is given over the adjustment request, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which execution of the notification process is prohibited, assuming that the vehicle travel control is being executed.

  According to the above configuration, when the engine output adjustment request by the posture stabilization control is prioritized over the engine output adjustment request according to the accelerator operation amount, the notification process is prohibited. Therefore, when the engine output adjustment request according to the accelerator operation amount has priority over the engine output adjustment request by the attitude stabilization control, the notification process is executed. Therefore, even when the posture stabilization control is being executed, when the vehicle running state determined based on the accelerator operation amount matches the actual vehicle running state, the running state can be notified, It is possible to make the occupant recognize the actual running state of the vehicle.

  In a vehicle, vehicle speed limit control may be performed in which an occupant arbitrarily sets an upper limit of the vehicle speed and limits the vehicle speed so that the vehicle does not exceed the set speed. Further, in many cases, execution or non-execution of the vehicle speed limiting control can be selected by the occupant. In such vehicle speed limiting control, when the vehicle is less than the set speed, the vehicle speed of the vehicle is adjusted by opening / closing a throttle valve in accordance with the accelerator operation amount. On the other hand, when the vehicle exceeds the set speed, the throttle valve opening and the like are determined regardless of the accelerator operation amount, and the vehicle speed is adjusted to be less than the set speed.

  Therefore, as the vehicle travel control, such a vehicle speed limit control can be employed as in the sixth aspect of the invention. In this case, when the execution of the vehicle speed restriction control is selected, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which the execution of the notification process is prohibited, assuming that the vehicle travel control is being executed. According to such a configuration, it is possible to suppress erroneous recognition of the occupant due to erroneous notification of the vehicle running state even when the vehicle speed restriction control is executed.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, when the vehicle speed limit control is employed as the vehicle travel control, the vehicle travel control is executed when the actual vehicle speed is limited by the vehicle speed limit control. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the execution of the notification process is prohibited as being in the middle.

(First embodiment)
A first embodiment of a vehicle control device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of a vehicle in which the vehicle control device of this embodiment is embodied.
As shown in FIG. 1, an engine 10 is mounted on a vehicle 100, and a crankshaft of the engine 10 is connected to an input shaft of a torque converter 20 that is a fluid coupling. The output shaft of the torque converter 20 is connected to the input shaft of the automatic transmission 30 having a plurality of shift stages. The output shaft of the automatic transmission 30 is connected to the propeller shaft 40 and is connected to the differential gear 50 via the propeller shaft 40. The output shaft of the differential gear 50 is connected to the right rear wheel 70RR and the left rear wheel 70RL of the vehicle 100, respectively. Each of the right front wheel 60FR, the left front wheel 60FL, the right rear wheel 70RR, and the left rear wheel 70RL, which are the wheels of the vehicle 100, is provided with a brake 80.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a throttle valve 12 for adjusting the intake air amount is provided in the intake passage 11 of the engine 10. In the engine 10, the engine output is adjusted by supplying fuel corresponding to the intake air amount from the fuel injection valve.

  The state of the vehicle 100, the driver's request, and the like are detected by various sensors, switches, and the like. For example, the accelerator operation amount ACCP that is the operation amount of the accelerator pedal 21 is detected by the accelerator sensor 75. Further, the engine speed NE is detected by the crank angle sensor 300, and the intake air amount GA is detected by the intake air amount sensor 310. Further, a throttle opening degree TA, which is the opening degree of the throttle valve 12, is detected by the throttle opening degree sensor 320. The coolant temperature THW of the engine 10 is detected by the water temperature sensor 330, and the vehicle speed SP of the vehicle 100 is detected by the vehicle speed sensor 340. The shift lever sensor 350 detects the shift lever operating position SFP. Further, the brake sensor 360 detects whether or not the brake pedal is depressed by an occupant of the vehicle 100. The acceleration G of the vehicle 100 is detected by the acceleration sensor 370, and the yaw rate (rotational angular velocity in the turning direction of the vehicle 100) YR is detected by the yaw rate sensor 380. In addition, a steering operation amount STE, which is an operation amount of the steering wheel by the occupant of the vehicle 100, is detected by the steering sensor 390. The right front wheel sensor 400, the left front wheel sensor 410, the right rear wheel sensor 420, and the left rear wheel sensor 430 detect the wheel speeds of the right front wheel 60FR, the left front wheel 60FL, the right rear wheel 70RR, and the left rear wheel 70RL, respectively. The Further, by operating the cruise switch 440, it is selected whether or not to execute cruise control for maintaining the vehicle speed constant.

  Signals from the various sensors and switches described above are input to the electronic control device 200. The electronic control unit 200 controls various types of engine control such as control of the vehicle 100, for example, fuel injection control of the engine 10, ignition timing control, and the like based on signals input from various sensors and switches. Shift control and the like are performed.

The electronic control device 200 also executes various controls and processes as described below.
For example, the rotational speed difference between the front wheels and the rear wheels is always calculated based on the right front wheel 60FR, the left front wheel 60FL, the right rear wheel 70RR, and the left rear wheel 70RL, and the wheel slip ratio is calculated based on the rotational speed difference. To do. Then, when the slip ratio exceeds a threshold value when the vehicle 100 starts or accelerates, it is determined that driving wheels such as the right rear wheel 70RR and the left rear wheel 70RL are slipping due to excessive driving force. . When slipping of the drive wheel is detected in this way, the brake 80 of the drive wheel that is slipping is activated to increase the braking force, and the opening of the throttle valve 12 is decreased to reduce the engine output. Thus, the driving force is reduced, and traction control (hereinafter referred to as TRC) for suppressing slip is performed.

  Further, when a side slip of the vehicle 100 is detected based on the yaw rate YR, the steering operation amount STE, etc., a side slip suppression control (hereinafter referred to as VSC) is executed. In this VSC, the braking force of the brakes 80 provided on the respective wheels is controlled, and the engine output is automatically controlled through the opening degree control of the throttle valve 12, whereby the side slip of the vehicle 100 is suppressed. During the execution of TRC and VSC, the traveling state of the vehicle 100 is automatically controlled regardless of the operation of the accelerator pedal 21. In the present embodiment, the above-described control such as TRC and VSC is referred to as attitude stabilization control that stabilizes the attitude by adjusting the engine output when the attitude of the traveling vehicle 100 becomes unstable. Further, this posture stabilization control constitutes one type of vehicle travel control in which the travel state of the vehicle 100 is automatically controlled regardless of the operation of the accelerator pedal 21.

  An example of the engine output control by such attitude stabilization control will be described. For example, when there is a request for a reduction in engine output, among the output reduction request values corresponding to TRC, VSC, and accelerator operation amount ACCP, respectively. Then, the smallest output reduction request value is adopted, and the throttle opening corresponding to the adopted output reduction request value is set. On the other hand, when there is a request for increase in engine output, the largest output increase request value is adopted among the output increase request values corresponding to TRC, VSC, and accelerator operation amount ACCP, and the adopted output is used. A throttle opening corresponding to the increase request value is set.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, as described above, when the cruise switch 440 is turned on by an occupant of the vehicle 100 and an arbitrary vehicle speed is set, the vehicle speed of the vehicle 100 is set to the arbitrarily set vehicle speed. The cruise control for controlling the engine output is executed. During the execution of the cruise control, the travel state of the vehicle 100 is automatically controlled by automatically controlling the opening degree of the throttle valve 12 regardless of the operation of the accelerator pedal 21. In the present embodiment, such cruise control also constitutes one of the vehicle travel controls.

  Further, based on the accelerator operation amount ACCP, whether or not the traveling state of the vehicle 100 is in an energy efficient state, that is, whether or not the traveling state is a state where the amount of carbon dioxide emission is small and the fuel consumption is good. A traveling state determination process is performed to determine the above. In this determination process, when the accelerator operation amount ACCP is less than the predetermined amount, it is determined that the traveling state of the vehicle 100 is in a state of good energy efficiency.

  Further, a notification process for notifying the passenger of the vehicle 100 of the determination result by the determination process is also performed. Specifically, an eco-indicator 90 is provided in the passenger compartment of the vehicle 100, and when it is determined in the determination process that the traveling state of the vehicle 100 is in a state of good energy efficiency, the eco-indicator When 90 is turned on and it is determined that the energy efficiency is not good, the eco indicator 90 is turned off.

  By the way, when the vehicle traveling control such as the cruise control is also performed in the vehicle 100 in which the traveling state determination process and the traveling state notification process are performed as in the present embodiment, the following inconvenience occurs. Concerned.

  That is, the running state of the vehicle 100 during execution of the vehicle running control, more specifically, the engine output is automatically controlled regardless of the accelerator operation amount ACCP. It is not reflected in the driving state. Therefore, the lighting or extinguishing of the eco indicator 90 performed based on the accelerator operation amount ACCP may not correspond to the actual traveling state of the vehicle 100. For example, the eco-indicator 90 may be lit if the accelerator operation amount ACCP is less than a predetermined amount even though the traveling state of the vehicle 100 is not a good energy efficiency state.

Thus, if the eco-indicator 90 that does not correspond to the actual traveling state of the vehicle 100 is turned on or off, the occupant may erroneously recognize the traveling state of the vehicle 100.
In view of this, in the electronic control device 200 according to the present embodiment, in order to suppress an erroneous recognition of the occupant due to an erroneous notification of the traveling state of the vehicle 100, a notification processing execution determination to determine whether the notification processing can be executed is performed. The process is executed. The execution availability determination process will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 2 shows a processing procedure of the notification process execution determination process.
As shown in FIG. 2, in the determination process availability determination process, it is first determined whether cruise control is being performed (step S <b> 110). Here, when the cruise switch 440 is turned on and the vehicle speed is set by the occupant, it is determined that the cruise control is being executed.

  If it is determined that cruise control is being performed (step S110: YES), the execution of the notification process is prohibited (step S120). Then, the eco indicator 90 is turned off or maintained to be turned off (step S130), and this process is temporarily terminated. Such processing of step S110, step S120, and step S130 corresponds to the notification prohibiting means.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S110 that the cruise control is not being performed (step S110: NO), it is determined that the opening degree of the throttle valve 12 is adjusted according to the accelerator operation amount ACCP, and the notification process is performed. It is executed (step S140).

  FIG. 3 shows a processing procedure of the notification processing. As shown in FIG. 3, in this notification process, it is first determined whether or not the accelerator operation amount ACCP detected by the accelerator sensor 75 is less than a predetermined amount (step S142). Here, if it is determined that the accelerator operation amount ACCP is less than the predetermined amount (step S142: YES), it is determined that the traveling state of the vehicle 100 is in a state of good energy efficiency (step S144), and the eco indicator 90 Is turned on (step S146). And this process is once complete | finished. The predetermined amount is a value by which it can be determined that the vehicle is traveling with good energy efficiency, and is calculated by a prior experiment or the like.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that accelerator operation amount ACCP is equal to or greater than the predetermined amount (step S142: NO), it is determined that the traveling state of vehicle 100 is not in a state of good energy efficiency (step S148). Then, by executing the process of step S130 shown in FIG. 2, the eco indicator 90 is turned off or kept off. Step S142 and step S144 or step S148 correspond to the determination process.

According to the embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) Whether or not the traveling state of the vehicle 100 is in a state of good energy efficiency is determined based on the accelerator operation amount ACCP. Here, when the cruise control corresponding to the vehicle travel control in which the travel state of the vehicle is controlled regardless of the accelerator operation amount is performed, the notification process for notifying the occupant of the determination result regarding the travel state of the vehicle 100 is performed. Execution is prohibited. Therefore, when the cruise control is being performed and the accelerator operation by the occupant of the vehicle 100 is not reflected in the actual traveling state of the vehicle 100, the determination result regarding the traveling state of the vehicle 100 can be prevented from being notified. Therefore, it is possible to suppress occupant misrecognition due to erroneous notification of the traveling state of vehicle 100.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the present embodiment and the first embodiment differ only in a part of the notification process execution determination process shown in FIG. Therefore, in the following, the vehicle control apparatus in the present embodiment will be described focusing on such differences.

  As shown in FIG. 4, in the notification process feasibility determination process in the present embodiment, it is first determined whether or not cruise control is being performed (step S110), as in the first embodiment described above, and cruise control is performed. If it is determined that it is not in the middle (step S110: NO), the notification process shown in FIG. 3 is executed (step S140), and this process is temporarily terminated.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the cruise control is being performed (step S110: YES), it is determined whether or not the throttle opening corresponding to the accelerator operation amount ACCP is equal to or less than the throttle opening set by the cruise control ( Step S115).

  Here, when the cruise control is being executed and the opening of the throttle valve 12 corresponding to the accelerator operation amount ACCP is larger than the opening set by the cruise control. Instead of the opening, the opening of the throttle valve 12 is controlled so that the opening corresponds to the accelerator operation amount ACCP. Therefore, at the time of such override, the traveling state of vehicle 100 is controlled in accordance with accelerator operation amount ACCP.

  When the throttle opening corresponding to the accelerator operation amount ACCP is larger than the throttle opening set by the cruise control (step S115: NO), the notification shown in FIG. The execution of the process is permitted, the notification process is executed (step S140), and the process is temporarily terminated.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the throttle opening corresponding to the accelerator operation amount ACCP is equal to or smaller than the throttle opening set by the cruise control (step S115: YES), the opening set by the cruise control is obtained. As described above, assuming that the opening degree of the throttle valve 12 is controlled, the execution of the notification process is prohibited (step S120). Then, as in the first embodiment described above, the eco indicator 90 is turned off or kept off (step S130), and this process is temporarily terminated. Thus, in this embodiment, the point which performs the process of said step S115 is a difference with 1st Embodiment. Moreover, the process of step S110, step S115, step S120, and step S130 is equivalent to the said notification prohibition means in this embodiment.

According to the present embodiment described above, the following effect can be obtained in addition to the effect (1) in the first embodiment.
(2) At the time of overriding, execution of the notification process is permitted. Therefore, even during cruise control, when the traveling state of the vehicle 100 determined based on the accelerator operation amount ACCP matches the actual traveling state of the vehicle 100, the traveling state can be notified. The occupant can recognize the traveling state of the vehicle 100.

(Third embodiment)
Next, a third embodiment of the vehicle control device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the present embodiment and the first embodiment differ only in a part of the notification process execution determination process shown in FIG. Therefore, in the following, the vehicle control apparatus in the present embodiment will be described focusing on such differences.

  As shown in FIG. 5, in the notification process feasibility determination process in the present embodiment, it is first determined whether or not there is an engine output adjustment request by posture stabilization control (step S220). Here, an affirmative determination is made when an output decrease request value or an output increase request value is output from the TRC or VSC. If there is no request for adjusting the engine output by the attitude stabilization control (step S220: NO), it is assumed that the opening degree of the throttle valve 12 is adjusted according to the accelerator operation amount ACCP, and is the same as in step S140. The process, that is, the notification process shown in FIG. 3 is executed (step S250), and this process is temporarily terminated.

  On the other hand, when there is a request for adjusting the engine output by the attitude stabilization control (step S220: YES), the vehicle running control is being executed. More specifically, from the TRC or VSC constituting the attitude stabilization control. There is a possibility that the output reduction request value or the output increase request value may be adopted, and it is determined that the opening degree of the throttle valve 12 may be controlled to be the opening degree set by the attitude stabilization control. The execution of the notification process is prohibited (step S230). Then, similarly to the process of step S130 in the first embodiment described above, the eco indicator 90 is turned off or kept off (step S240), and this process is temporarily terminated. Each process of step S220, step S230, and step S240 corresponds to the notification prohibiting unit in the present embodiment.

According to the embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained.
(3) Whether or not the traveling state of the vehicle 100 is in a state of good energy efficiency is determined based on the accelerator operation amount ACCP. Here, when the attitude stabilization control corresponding to the vehicle travel control in which the travel state of the vehicle is controlled regardless of the accelerator operation amount, more specifically, the engine output adjustment request by the attitude stabilization control is executed. When there is, the execution of the notification process for notifying the occupant of the determination result regarding the traveling state of the vehicle 100 is prohibited. Therefore, when there is a possibility that the accelerator operation by the occupant of the vehicle 100 may not be reflected in the actual traveling state of the vehicle 100 due to the execution of the posture stabilization control, the determination result regarding the traveling state of the vehicle 100 is not notified. be able to. Therefore, it is possible to suppress occupant misrecognition due to erroneous notification of the traveling state of vehicle 100.

(Fourth embodiment)
Next, a fourth embodiment of the vehicle control device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the present embodiment and the third embodiment described above only perform step S320 shown in FIG. 6 instead of step S220 in the notification processing execution determination process shown in FIG. Is different. Therefore, in the following, the vehicle control apparatus in the present embodiment will be described focusing on such differences.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in the determination processing availability determination process in the present embodiment, first, the engine output adjustment request by the attitude stabilization control has priority over the engine output adjustment request according to the accelerator operation amount ACCP. It is determined whether or not (step S320). Here, among the output decrease request values corresponding to TRC, VSC, accelerator operation amount ACCP, etc., when the output decrease request value from TRC or VSC is the smallest, or TRC, VSC, accelerator operation amount ACCP, etc. Affirmative determination is made when the output increase request value from TRC or VSC is the largest among the corresponding output increase request values.

  When it is determined that the engine output adjustment request by the posture stabilization control is not prioritized over the adjustment request according to the accelerator operation amount ACCP (step S320: NO), the throttle valve 12 according to the accelerator operation amount ACCP is determined. The opening degree control is performed. Therefore, the same process as step S140, that is, the notification process shown in FIG. 3 is executed (step S250), and this process is temporarily terminated.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the engine output adjustment request by the attitude stabilization control is prioritized over the adjustment request according to the accelerator operation amount ACCP (step S320: YES), it is set by the attitude stabilization control. Since the opening degree of the throttle valve 12 is controlled so as to be the opening degree, the execution of the notification process is prohibited (step S230). And by performing the process of step S240 mentioned above, the eco-indicator 90 is turned off or kept off (step S240), and this process is once ended. Each process of step S320, step S230, and step S240 corresponds to the notification prohibiting unit in the present embodiment.

According to the present embodiment described above, the following effect can be obtained in addition to the effect according to the effect (3) in the third embodiment described above.
(4) When the engine output adjustment request by the attitude stabilization control has priority over the engine output adjustment request according to the accelerator operation amount ACCP, the notification process is prohibited. Therefore, when the engine output adjustment request according to the accelerator operation amount ACCP is prioritized over the engine output adjustment request by the attitude stabilization control, the notification process is executed. Therefore, even when the posture stabilization control is being executed, when the engine output is adjusted based on the accelerator operation amount ACCP, that is, the traveling state of the vehicle 100 determined based on the accelerator operation amount ACCP and the actual vehicle When the traveling state of 100 matches, the traveling state can be notified, and the actual traveling state of the vehicle 100 can be recognized by the occupant.

(Fifth embodiment)
Next, a fifth embodiment of the vehicle control device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the present embodiment and the first embodiment are partially different in the notification process execution determination process shown in FIG. 2 and shown by a dashed line in FIG. As described above, the vehicle speed limit switch 450 is connected to the electronic control device 200. Therefore, in the following, the vehicle control apparatus in the present embodiment will be described focusing on such differences.

  In the present embodiment, vehicle speed restriction control that enables adjustment of the upper limit of the vehicle speed of the vehicle 100 is executed. This vehicle speed limit control is a control in which the occupant arbitrarily sets an upper limit of the vehicle speed and limits the vehicle speed by adjusting the opening of the throttle valve 12 so that the vehicle 100 does not exceed the set speed. Execution and non-execution of the vehicle speed restriction control are selected by operating the vehicle speed restriction switch 450 by the occupant. In the present embodiment, the vehicle speed limit control corresponds to vehicle travel control in which the travel state of the vehicle 100 is automatically controlled regardless of the operation of the accelerator pedal 21.

  As shown in FIG. 7, in the notification process execution determination process in the present embodiment, it is first determined whether or not the execution of the vehicle speed restriction control is selected (step S410). Here, an affirmative determination is made when the vehicle speed limit switch 450 is turned on by an occupant of the vehicle 100.

  If it is determined that the execution of the vehicle speed limit control is not selected (step S410: NO), it is determined that the opening degree of the throttle valve 12 is adjusted according to the accelerator operation amount ACCP. Similar processing, that is, the notification processing shown in FIG. 3 is executed (step S440), and this processing is temporarily terminated.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the execution of the vehicle speed limit control is selected (step S410: YES), the vehicle travel control is being executed, more specifically, the vehicle speed limit control is executable. Since there is a possibility that the opening degree of the throttle valve 12 may be controlled to be the opening degree set by the vehicle speed limit control, the execution of the notification process is prohibited (step S420). Then, similarly to the process of step S130 in the first embodiment described above, the eco indicator 90 is turned off or kept off (step S430), and this process is temporarily terminated. Each process of step S410, step S420, and step S430 corresponds to the notification prohibiting unit in the present embodiment.

According to the embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained.
(5) Whether or not the traveling state of the vehicle 100 is in a state of good energy efficiency is determined based on the accelerator operation amount ACCP. Here, when the execution is selected for the vehicle speed limit control corresponding to the vehicle travel control in which the travel state of the vehicle is controlled regardless of the accelerator operation amount, the determination result regarding the travel state of the vehicle 100 is notified to the occupant. Execution of the notification process is prohibited. Therefore, when there is a possibility that the accelerator operation by the occupant of the vehicle 100 may not be reflected in the actual traveling state of the vehicle 100 due to the execution of the vehicle speed limiting control, the determination result regarding the traveling state of the vehicle 100 is not notified. Can do. Therefore, it is possible to suppress occupant misrecognition due to erroneous notification of the traveling state of vehicle 100.

(Sixth embodiment)
Next, a sixth embodiment of the vehicle control device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Note that this embodiment and the fifth embodiment described above only perform step S510 shown in FIG. 8 instead of step S410 in the notification processing execution determination process shown in FIG. Is different. Therefore, in the following, the vehicle control apparatus in the present embodiment will be described focusing on such differences.

  As shown in FIG. 8, in the determination processing availability determination process in the present embodiment, it is first determined whether or not the actual vehicle speed is limited by the vehicle speed limit control (step S510). Here, when the vehicle speed of the vehicle 100 exceeds the upper limit of the vehicle speed set by the occupant, the opening of the throttle valve 12 is adjusted by the vehicle speed restriction control, and the vehicle speed of the vehicle 100 and the upper limit of the vehicle speed set above are adjusted. And are made equal. Therefore, in step S510, when the vehicle speed SP of the vehicle 100 detected by the vehicle speed sensor 340 is equal to the upper limit of the vehicle speed set by the occupant, it is determined that the actual vehicle speed is restricted by the vehicle speed restriction control. .

  If it is determined that the actual vehicle speed is not restricted by the vehicle speed restriction control (step S510: NO), it is assumed that the opening degree of the throttle valve 12 is adjusted according to the accelerator operation amount ACCP. The process of S440, that is, the notification process is executed (step S440), and this process is temporarily terminated.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the actual vehicle speed is restricted by the vehicle speed restriction control (step S510: YES), the opening degree of the throttle valve 12 is controlled to be the opening degree set by the vehicle speed restriction control. The notification process is prohibited (step S420). Then, the process of step S430, that is, the eco indicator 90 is turned off or maintained to be turned off (step S430), and this process is temporarily terminated. Each process of step S510, step S420, and step S430 corresponds to the notification prohibiting unit in the present embodiment.

According to this embodiment described above, in addition to the effect according to the effect (5) in the fifth embodiment described above, the following effect can be obtained.
(6) When the actual vehicle speed is restricted by the vehicle speed restriction control, the execution of the notification process is prohibited. Therefore, when the accelerator operation by the occupant of the vehicle 100 is not reflected in the actual traveling state of the vehicle 100 due to the execution of the vehicle speed restriction control, the determination result regarding the traveling state of the vehicle 100 can be prevented from being notified. Therefore, it is possible to more reliably suppress an occupant's erroneous recognition due to an erroneous notification of the traveling state of the vehicle 100.

In addition, each said embodiment can also be implemented with the following forms which changed this suitably.
The cruise control is executed when the cruise switch 440 is turned on, but the cruise control may be executed when a member other than the cruise switch 440 is operated.

  In the first and second embodiments, the vehicle speed of the vehicle 100 controlled by the cruise control is the set vehicle speed set by the occupant. However, the cruise control may automatically control the vehicle speed of the vehicle to a target vehicle speed calculated based on the traveling state of the vehicle such as an inter-vehicle distance from the vehicle preceding the host vehicle.

The first, second, fifth, and sixth embodiments can be applied to a vehicle that does not perform the posture stabilization control described above.
-When controlling the engine output by the above attitude stabilization control, an appropriate output request value is selected from each output request value corresponding to TRC, VSC, and accelerator operation amount ACCP. It is also possible to take into account the required output value, for example, the required output value during the shifting operation of the automatic transmission 30.

  The posture stabilization control is to automatically control the running state of the vehicle 100 by performing integrated control of each control such as VSC and TRC. However, as the posture stabilization control, one that executes one of VSC and TRC, or another control that automatically controls the running state of the vehicle 100 regardless of the operation of the accelerator pedal. It may be.

  In the fifth embodiment, the vehicle speed limit control is executed by turning on the vehicle speed limit switch 450, but the vehicle speed limit control is controlled by operating members other than the vehicle speed limit switch 450. May be executed.

  -Vehicle speed restriction | limiting control in the said 5th and 6th embodiment WHEREIN: The passenger | crew of the vehicle 100 sets the upper limit of a vehicle speed. In addition, the upper limit of the vehicle speed may be automatically set. About such a modification, for example, based on information from a navigation system mounted on a vehicle, an aspect is adopted in which an upper limit speed according to laws and regulations at the current vehicle travel position is read and the read upper limit speed is set. Can do.

  In the first to sixth embodiments, the eco indicator 90 is turned on when it is determined that the traveling state of the vehicle 100 is efficiently good, and the eco indicator 90 is turned off when it is determined that the vehicle 100 is not good. I was trying to let them. However, on the contrary, the eco indicator may be turned off when it is determined that the running state of the vehicle is efficiently good, and the eco indicator may be turned on when it is determined that the vehicle is not good.

  In the first to sixth embodiments, the eco-indicator 90 is employed as a notification unit that notifies the occupant of the vehicle 100 whether or not the traveling state of the vehicle is in an energy efficient state. . In addition to such notification by light, notification means other than the eco indicator 90, such as notification by sound or vibration, may be employed.

  The present invention can be similarly applied to a front wheel drive vehicle and a four wheel drive vehicle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is 1st Embodiment which actualized the control apparatus concerning this invention, Comprising: The schematic which shows the structure of the vehicle to which this is applied. The flowchart which shows the process sequence of the notification process execution decision processing in the embodiment. The flowchart which shows the process sequence of the alerting | reporting process in the embodiment. The flowchart which shows the process sequence of the notification process execution decision processing in 2nd Embodiment. The flowchart which shows the process sequence of the notification process execution decision processing in 3rd Embodiment. The flowchart which shows the process sequence of the notification process execution decision processing in 4th Embodiment. The flowchart which shows the process sequence of the notification process execution decision processing in 5th Embodiment. The flowchart which shows the process sequence of the notification process execution decision processing in 6th Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Engine, 11 ... Intake passage, 12 ... Throttle valve, 20 ... Torque converter, 21 ... Accelerator pedal, 30 ... Automatic transmission, 40 ... Propeller shaft, 50 ... Differential gear, 60FL ... Left front wheel, 60FR ... Right front wheel, 70RL: left rear wheel, 70RR: right rear wheel, 75: accelerator sensor, 80 ... brake, 90 ... eco-indicator, 100 ... vehicle, 200 ... electronic control unit, 300 ... crank angle sensor, 310 ... intake air amount sensor, 320 ... throttle opening sensor, 330 ... water temperature sensor, 340 ... vehicle speed sensor, 350 ... shift position sensor, 360 ... brake sensor, 370 ... acceleration sensor, 380 ... yaw rate sensor, 390 ... steering sensor, 400 ... right front wheel sensor, 410 ... Left front wheel sensor, 420 ... right rear wheel sensor, 43 ... left rear wheel sensor, 440 ... cruise switch, 450 ... the vehicle speed limit switch.

Claims (7)

Based on the amount of accelerator operation, the vehicle travel control is performed to automatically control the travel state of the vehicle regardless of the operation of the accelerator pedal, and whether the travel state of the vehicle is in an energy efficient state or not is determined. In a vehicle control device that executes a determination process and a notification process for notifying a passenger of the vehicle of the determination result of the determination process,
A vehicle control apparatus comprising: a notification prohibiting unit that prohibits execution of the notification process during execution of the vehicle travel control. The vehicle control device according to claim 1,
The vehicle travel control is a cruise control that controls an opening of a throttle valve so that a vehicle speed is constant. The vehicle control device according to claim 2,
When the cruise control is being executed and the throttle valve opening corresponding to the accelerator operation amount is greater than the throttle valve opening set by the cruise control, the execution of the notification process is permitted. A control device for a vehicle. The vehicle control device according to claim 1,
The vehicle traveling control is posture stabilization control that stabilizes the posture by adjusting the engine output when the posture of the vehicle during traveling becomes unstable.
The control device for a vehicle, wherein the notification prohibiting unit prohibits the execution of the notification processing when there is an engine output adjustment request by the posture stabilization control. The vehicle control device according to claim 1,
The vehicle traveling control is posture stabilization control that stabilizes the posture by adjusting the engine output when the posture of the vehicle during traveling becomes unstable.
The notification prohibiting means prohibits execution of the notification processing when an engine output adjustment request by the posture stabilization control is prioritized over an engine output adjustment request according to the accelerator operation amount. A vehicle control device. The vehicle control device according to claim 1,
The vehicle travel control is a vehicle speed limit control that allows an upper limit of the vehicle speed to be adjusted, and the vehicle speed limit control can be selected to be executed or not executed by the occupant.
The vehicle control device, wherein the notification prohibiting unit prohibits execution of the notification processing when execution of the vehicle speed restriction control is selected. The vehicle control device according to claim 1,
The vehicle travel control is a vehicle speed limit control that allows an upper limit of the vehicle speed to be adjusted,
The control device for a vehicle, wherein the notification prohibiting unit prohibits execution of the notification processing when an actual vehicle speed is limited by the vehicle speed limiting control.

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