JP2011245908A - Alarm sound emitting apparatus of vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To unfailingly transmit information by switching an engine from static operation to operation causing large engine sound when the engine sound transmits vehicle information together with the alarm sound or instead of it.SOLUTION: As shown in (a), when starting and accelerating, an vehicle exterior speaker is turned ON when completion of start preparation t1 to emit an alarm sound. When a predetermined time ΔTON elapses t3 from engine start t2, the alarm sound is stopped by tuning OFF the vehicle exterior speaker. During a time from t2 to a failure in alarm sound generating conditions t4, engine speed Ne is increased by ΔNe from the engine speed in normal (static) operation to make the engine sound larger. As shown in (b), when stopping and decelerating, an alarm sound is emitted by turning ON the vehicle exterior speaker at the request of engine stop t6, the engine operation is stopped by execution of engine stop request when elapse t7 of the predetermined time ΔTOFF. During a time from the establishment of the alarm sound generating conditions t5 to engine stop t7, the engine speed Ne is increased by ΔNe from the normal (static) operation to make the engine sound larger.

Description

  The present invention alerts the vehicle information such as the presence of the vehicle, the driver's intention by the shift operation, the accelerator operation, the brake operation, etc., the traveling direction of the vehicle, and the driving state including the vehicle speed to people around the vehicle. In particular, the present invention relates to an alarm sound generating device for a hybrid vehicle that can travel using energy from an engine and an electric motor.

Vehicles with quiet driving and running noise (including vehicles equipped with internal combustion engines), especially electric vehicles that run only on electric motors (running on EVs)
A parallel hybrid vehicle that uses an electric drive (EV) mode that runs only with an electric motor and a hybrid drive (HEV) mode that runs with power from the engine and electric motor,
In an electric vehicle such as a series type hybrid vehicle that uses an electric motor driven by electric power generated by an engine as a power source,
Under certain conditions, such as when driving at low speed in urban areas where there are many people around the vehicle in order to pursue quietness of driving noise and driving noise, the vehicle's intention, the driver's intention due to shift operation, etc. In some cases, vehicle information such as the direction (forward or backward) and the driving state including the vehicle speed must be emitted as a warning sound outside the vehicle, and the vehicle information may be warned to people outside the vehicle.

As described above, conventionally, for example, a device as described in Patent Document 1 is known as a warning sound generating device that emits a warning sound toward people outside the vehicle.
This proposed technology provides an alarm sound source such as a speaker or buzzer, and activates the alarm sound source while a predetermined condition for generating the alarm sound is established, thereby alerting people around the vehicle. It emits sound.

JP 07-322403 A

By the way, in a hybrid vehicle such as a series type hybrid vehicle or a parallel type hybrid vehicle that can travel using energy from an engine and an electric motor,
Although it may be necessary to operate the engine at high speed (or large torque) depending on the driving situation, basically, the hybrid vehicle is pursued to be as quiet as possible in consideration of exhaust and sound vibration in pursuit of environmental and quietness. The engine is often operated using the area.
Therefore, when the above-described conventional alarm sound generating device is used as it is for a hybrid vehicle that can travel using energy from the engine and the electric motor, there remains room for further improvement as described below.

In other words, the above-mentioned predetermined condition for generating an alarm sound (alarm sound generation condition) is a case where an alarm for transmitting vehicle information is requested, and while this alarm sound generation condition is satisfied, It is necessary to be sure that alarms are transmitted to the people around you.
When the engine is operated while the alarm sound generation condition is satisfied, persons around the vehicle obtain vehicle information from both the alarm sound and the engine sound.

However, as described above, in hybrid vehicles, the engine is often operated at the quietest possible point while considering exhaust and sound vibration.
And in driving conditions where the alarm sound generation condition is satisfied, the engine is operated at a driving point as quiet as possible in most cases.
While the warning sound generation condition is satisfied, people around the vehicle cannot expect much vehicle information from the engine sound.

In particular, when engine noise is generated by the operation of the engine and it can be used as an alarm sound that conveys vehicle information, the alarm is based on the idea that it is not necessary to operate the alarm sound generator and generate an alarm sound. By switching the alarm sound to the engine sound by disabling the sound generator and preventing the alarm sound from being generated,
Since the alarm sound is not generated even when the alarm sound generation condition is established, the above problem cannot be overlooked.

On the other hand, the above-described quietest engine quiet operation point in a hybrid vehicle is an operation point with a lower fuel consumption than the optimum fuel consumption rate at least with the best fuel consumption rate, although the engine rotation speed is low and the silent operation is possible. Many things,
At the engine optimum fuel consumption operating point, the engine speed is higher than the rotational speed at the quiet operating point, and the engine sound is larger than the engine sound at the silent operating point.

Therefore, if the engine operation state is changed so that the engine speed increases from the operation at the silent engine operation point while the alarm sound generation condition is established,
In addition to being able to reliably obtain vehicle information for people around the vehicle due to the increased engine sound,
The engine operating point approaches the engine optimal fuel efficiency operating point from the engine silent operating point, and the engine fuel efficiency becomes better than when operating at the engine silent operating point,
There is room for improvement in these respects.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle alarm sound generation device that can realize the above-described room for improvement by changing the engine operating state while the alarm sound generation condition is established.

For this purpose, the vehicle alarm sound generating apparatus according to the present invention is configured as follows.
The alarm sound generation device of the present invention is used for a vehicle that can travel using energy from an engine and an electric motor,
An alarm sound generator that can generate an alarm sound and transmit vehicle information to people around the vehicle while a predetermined alarm sound generation condition is satisfied is a basic premise of the gist configuration.

The present invention provides an alarm sound generating device for such a vehicle,
The engine operating state changing means is provided to change the operating state of the engine so that the engine sound becomes louder while the alarm sound generating condition is satisfied, compared to when the alarm sound generating condition is not satisfied. It can be characterized.

According to the alarm sound generation device of the present invention, while the alarm sound generation condition is satisfied, the alarm sound can be generated and the vehicle information can be transmitted to people around the vehicle.
If the engine is operating during this time, people around the vehicle can obtain vehicle information from engine sound.

By the way, in order to change the operating state of the engine so that the engine sound becomes louder while the warning sound generation condition is satisfied, compared to the time when the warning sound generation condition is not satisfied,
While the warning sound generation condition is satisfied, the engine sound that has become louder allows people around the vehicle to reliably obtain vehicle information, and the engine has an operating point with better fuel efficiency than the engine's quiet operating point. It is possible to improve fuel efficiency.

It is a control system figure of a speaker outside a vehicle showing an alarm sound generating device of a vehicle which becomes one example of the present invention. 3 is a flowchart showing an alarm sound control program executed by an alarm sound controller shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram used to explain the engine operation state change process in the alarm sound control program in FIG. 2, (a) is an engine performance diagram showing the relationship between the generated power to be generated by the engine and the silent operation line; (B) is the amount of increase in the engine speed that should be increased in the engine operating state change process, that is, the change characteristic chart of the additional engine speed, and (c) is the increase in generated power when the same engine speed is increased. It is a change characteristic figure of the additional generation power in the case of making it. FIG. 2 is an operation time chart according to the alarm sound control program of FIG. 2, (a) is an operation time chart during start acceleration without engine start, and (b) is an operation time chart during stop deceleration without engine stop. . FIG. 3 is an operation time chart according to the alarm sound control program of FIG. 2, in which (a) is an operation time chart at the time of starting acceleration accompanied by engine start, and (b) is an operation time chart at a time of stopping deceleration accompanying engine stop. FIG. 2 is a change characteristic diagram related to a predetermined time for delaying the ON / OFF speaker outside the vehicle and a predetermined time for delaying the engine stop in FIG. 2, (a) is a change characteristic diagram related to the predetermined time for delaying the ON / OFF speaker outside the vehicle; b) is a change characteristic diagram related to a predetermined time for engine stop delay.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on examples shown in the drawings.
<Configuration>
FIG. 1 shows a vehicle alarm sound generating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and is a control system diagram of an outside speaker 1 that is an alarm sound source.

In this embodiment, the vehicle using the alarm sound generating device stores electric power from a generator (not shown) driven by the engine 2 in a battery (not shown) and is driven by electric power from the battery. This is a series hybrid vehicle (electric generator-mounted electric vehicle) that uses the electric motor 3 as the driving power source.
Thus, instead of dedicating the engine 2 to power generation, a system is constructed so that it can be used as a driving power source together with the electric motor 3, and the electric driving (EV) mode in which the electric motor 3 runs alone, the engine 2 and the electric motor It may be a parallel hybrid vehicle that selectively uses a hybrid traveling (HEV) mode that travels with the power from the motor 3.

  However, as in this embodiment, when the vehicle using the alarm sound generating device is a series hybrid vehicle (generator-mounted electric vehicle) such as the former, the battery is basically charged anyway. The engine 2 is stopped under an unnecessary state or an unchargeable state, and the engine 2 is operated when the battery can be charged and the battery has to be charged. Shall.

The engine 2 is drive-controlled by an engine operation control system 4, and the electric motor 3 is drive-controlled by a motor travel control system 5,
Each of these control systems 4 and 5 is assumed to be activated while the driver is turning on the ignition switch 6.

  During this startup state, the motor drive control system 5 rotates according to the driving operation of the driver when the operating conditions of the electric motor 3 are met, such as releasing the brake pedal and depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle is driven in the direction and with a torque corresponding to the driving operation, and the motor torque is transmitted to the wheels.

While the engine operation control system 4 is in the start-up state, it checks whether the battery is in a state where charging is not necessary or impossible, and checks whether the battery is in a chargeable state and is in a charge request state. To do.
When the engine operation control system 4 determines that the battery is not required to be charged or is incapable of charging, the engine 2 is stopped and the battery is determined to be in a chargeable state and in a charge request state. When it does, it functions to drive the engine 2.

The outside speaker 1 is controlled by an alarm sound controller 11.
For this reason, the alarm sound controller 11 responds to a shift (range select) operation performed by the driver to command parking and driving directions, and the selected range is set to the parking (P) range, reverse (R) range, neutral ( N) Input a signal from the range sensor 12 for detecting whether the range or the forward (D) range.

In addition to the alarm sound controller 11,
A signal from the vehicle speed sensor 13 for detecting the vehicle speed VSP;
A signal from the brake switch 14 that is turned on when the brake pedal is depressed and turned off when the brake pedal is released and not braked,
An alarm sound that is operated by the driver to command the on / off control of the outside speaker 1 by the alarm sound controller 11 or to keep the outside speaker 1 inactive so that no alarm sound is generated. A signal from the controller switch 15,
A signal from the ignition switch 6 that activates the engine operation control system 4 and the motor travel control system 5 is input.

<ON / OFF control of alarm sound>
The alarm sound controller 11 in FIG. 1 repeatedly executes the control program in FIG. 2 by a scheduled interrupt every 10 msec after the ignition switch 6 is turned on. The vehicle information such as the driver's intention by the operation, the brake operation, etc., the traveling direction of the vehicle, and the running state including the vehicle speed is warned.

First, in step S11, it is checked whether or not the driver desires to perform ON / OFF control of the outside speaker 1 by the alarm sound controller 11 depending on whether or not the alarm sound controller switch 15 is ON.
If the alarm sound controller switch 15 is not ON, the driver does not want to generate an alarm sound from the speaker 1 outside the vehicle due to traveling in a residential area, etc., so that the control is sequentially performed to satisfy this request in steps S31 and S31. The process proceeds to S12, step S13, and step S14.

In step S31, this is set to 0 so that the engine operation state change command from the alarm sound controller 11 shown in FIG. 1 to the engine operation control system 4 is not generated.
Thus, when there is no engine operation state change command from the alarm sound controller 11 to the engine operation control system 4, the engine operation control system 4 performs the operation control as follows in the operation control of the engine 2 as usual.

  The dashed-dotted line in FIG. 3 (a) is a combination of the engine speed Ne and the engine torque Te that realizes the generated power required according to the battery storage rate (only two examples of Pw1 and Pw2 are shown in the figure). An isoelectric power line is shown, and a solid line in the figure shows a quiet operation line that is a combination of the engine speed Ne and the engine torque Te that realizes the generated power most quietly.

When the generated power is, for example, Pw1, the engine operation control system 4 uses the combination of the engine speed Ne1 and the engine torque Te1 at the intersection A1 of the equal generated power line and the silent operation line of the Pw1 as the engine operating point. The engine 2 is controlled to operate silently.
When the generated power is, for example, Pw2, the engine operation control system 4 uses the intersection A2 between the Pw2 iso-generated power line and the silent operation line as an engine operating point, and controls the engine 2 to operate silently at this point A2.

The above-mentioned engine silent operation point is an operation point with a lower fuel consumption than the optimum fuel consumption rate with the best fuel consumption rate, although it can surely perform a silent operation with a low rotational speed.
At the engine optimum fuel consumption operating point, the engine speed is higher than the rotational speed at the quiet operating point, and the engine sound is larger than the engine sound at the silent operating point.
Therefore, if the engine speed is increased from the operation at the engine quiet operation point, it becomes easier for people around the vehicle to obtain vehicle information from the increased engine sound, and the engine operation point is the engine optimum fuel consumption operation point. The fuel economy can be improved by approaching.

In the next step S12 in FIG. 2, an engine off timer TENGOFF used for ON / OFF control of the outside speaker 1 described later is reset to zero.
The engine off timer TENGOFF is a timer that measures the elapsed time from the engine 2 stop request.

In the next step S13, an upper limit value is set in an engine on timer TENGON used for ON / OFF control of the outside speaker 1 described later.
The engine-on timer TENGON is a timer that is reset to 0 when the engine 2 is started and measures an elapsed time since the engine is started.

  Next, in step S14, the vehicle exterior speaker 1 is turned off to prohibit the generation of an alarm sound, and the request that the driver does not desire the alarm sound from the vehicle exterior speaker 1 by turning off the alarm sound controller switch 15 is fulfilled.

  When it is determined in step S11 that the driver desires to generate an alarm sound from the vehicle exterior speaker 1 by turning on the alarm sound controller switch 15, the control proceeds to step S15, and the vehicle exterior speaker 1 is Perform ON / OFF control.

However, in this embodiment, the alarm sound is generated when the outside speaker 1 is turned on. Basically, the time between the instants t1 to t4 in FIG. As shown in the chart of FIG. 4 (b) between instants t5 and t8, the vehicle speed VSP corresponding to traveling in the city is only during the period of less than 30 km / h.
The reason for this is that when driving in suburbs where the vehicle speed VSP is 30 km / h or higher, an alarm sound from the outside speaker 1 is practically unnecessary, and it is probable that this alarm sound will be an engine sound similar to the engine sound. This is because if this continues to occur during traveling, the passenger cannot enjoy the merits even though the vehicle is capable of silent traveling.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the alarm sound is generated by turning on the outside speaker 1 only while the vehicle speed VSP is less than 30 km / h as shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b) between the instants t1 and t4 and between the instants t5 and t8. So that it can be generated,
As shown in Figs. 4 (a) and 4 (b) after the instant t4 and before the instant t5, while the vehicle speed VSP is 30km / h or more, and before the instant t1 and after the instant t8 in Figs. 4 (a) and (b). While the vehicle speed VSP is 0 km / h and the vehicle is not ready for starting, a warning sound is not generated by turning off the vehicle exterior speaker 1.

However, at the instant t1 in FIG. 4 (a), it is not preferable for safety to sound an alarm after the vehicle starts, so even if the vehicle speed VSP is still 0 km / h, the brake switch 14 is When the vehicle is turned off due to release, it is determined that the start preparation is complete, and an alarm sound is preferably generated when the vehicle exterior speaker 1 is turned on.
In addition, at the stop instant t8 in Fig. 4 (b), it is not preferable for safety if the warning sound is immediately extinguished at the time of stop, so even if the vehicle speed VSP becomes 0km / h, the outside speaker It is better to continue turning on 1 and then turn off the outside speaker 1 to make the alarm sound disappear.

  In order to realize the basic alarm ON / OFF control described above with reference to FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b), whether or not the vehicle speed VSP is between 0 km / h and 30 km / h in step S15. Is checked (whether or not the alarm sound generation condition is satisfied), and it is determined that the vehicle speed is not between 0 km / h and 30 km / h (the alarm sound generation condition is not satisfied), step S31, step S12 Then, step S13 and step S14 are sequentially executed, and the generation of the alarm sound is prohibited by turning off the vehicle exterior speaker 1.

When it is determined in step S15 that the vehicle speed VSP is in the range of 0 km / h <VSP <30 km / h (the alarm sound generation condition is satisfied), in step S32 corresponding to the engine operating state changing means in the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, this is set to 1 so that an engine operation state change command is transmitted from the alarm sound controller 11 to the engine operation control system 4, and the engine operation state targeted by the present invention is changed.
Thus, when the engine operation state change command is transmitted from the alarm sound controller 11 to the engine operation control system 4, the engine operation control system 4 performs the operation control of the engine 2, and the engine operation state is the normal operation state described above. The operation control is performed as follows so as to be different.

In this case, the engine operation control system 4 realizes the required power generation power according to the battery storage rate most silently as described above with reference to FIG. 3 (a), for example, engine quiet operation indicated by A1 in FIG. The point is calculated, but the engine 2 is not operated at the silent operation point A1,
For example, the engine 2 is controlled to operate at an engine speed Ne2 higher than the engine speed Ne1 at the quiet operation point A1 by ΔNe in FIG. To do.

  In order to operate the engine 2 at an engine speed higher by ΔNe in this way, the engine torque Te is decreased to the point A3 in FIG. 3 (a) on the Pw1 equal power line, and this point A3 is reduced to the engine operating point. This is preferable because the engine can be operated at a high speed while maintaining the generated power Pw1.

However, in any case, the above engine speed increase ΔNe is the amount of increase in engine rotation necessary to ensure that the engine sound increased by this can be heard by people around the vehicle. The higher the vehicle speed, the higher the engine speed. Since the degree of tolerance is high with respect to the loudness of the sound, the additional engine speed ΔNe is preferably increased as the vehicle speed VSP is higher as shown in FIG. 3 (b), for example.
By the way, the above-mentioned additional engine speed ΔNe is larger than the fuel efficiency at the engine quiet operation point A1 before the change because the new engine operating point changed due to the increase in the engine rotational speed Ne approaches the optimal engine fuel efficiency operating point. It also leads to improved fuel economy.

When operating the engine 2 at an engine speed higher by ΔNe, instead of the above method, as shown in FIG. 3 (a), the generated power is increased from Pw1 by ΔPw without changing the engine torque Te, and Pw2 By doing so, the intended purpose can be achieved.
In this case as well, the above-mentioned additional power generation power ΔPw is the amount of power generation power increase necessary to ensure that the engine sound increased by the increase in engine speed ΔNe can be heard by people around the vehicle, The higher the vehicle speed, the higher the tolerance for the loudness of the engine sound. Therefore, the added power generation power ΔPw should be increased as the vehicle speed VSP increases as shown in FIG. 3 (c), for example.

After changing the engine operating state in step S32 in FIG. 2, the control proceeds to step S16 and thereafter, and the ON / OFF control of the outside speaker 1 is performed as follows in relation to the operating state of the engine 2. .
In step S16, based on the engine operation control information from the engine operation control system 4 to the alarm sound controller 11 in FIG. 1, it is checked whether or not the engine operation condition is satisfied due to a decrease in the battery storage rate or the like.
The engine operation control system 4 immediately starts the engine 2 to enter the engine operation state when the engine operation condition is satisfied.

While it is determined in step S16 that the engine operating condition is not satisfied (the engine 2 is stopped), the first time after the engine operating condition is not satisfied (the engine 2 stop request is output) in step S17. Check whether or not
Of step S18 and step S19 executed only once at the first time, the engine stop permission flag is set to 0 in step S18, the engine off timer TENGOFF is reset to 0 in step S19, and then control is passed to step S20. If it is not the first time, step S18 and step S19 are not executed, and the control proceeds directly to step S20.

The engine stop permission flag in step S18 determines whether or not to output an engine stop permission signal from the alarm sound controller 11 of FIG. 1 to the engine operation control system 4.
While the engine stop permission flag is 0, the engine sound control controller 4 does not output an engine stop permission signal from the alarm sound controller 11 to the engine operation control system 4, and during this time, the engine operation control system 4 It is assumed that the engine 2 is kept running without executing the stop request 2 and ignoring the engine stop request.

In step S20, it is checked whether the engine off timer TENGOFF reset to 0 in step S19 is less than a predetermined value ΔTOFF.
Initially, since TENGOFF = 0 and TENGOFF is less than the predetermined value ΔTOFF, step S21 and step S22 are sequentially selected.

In step S21, the engine off timer TENGOFF is incremented (stepped).
Therefore, the engine off timer TENGOFF measures the elapsed time since the engine operating condition is no longer satisfied (the engine 2 stop request is output), and whether or not the engine off timer TENGOFF is less than the predetermined value ΔTOFF in step S20. This is an agreement to determine whether or not the engine operation condition is no longer satisfied (a request to stop the engine 2 is output) and during a predetermined time ΔTOFF.

In step S22, an alarm sound is generated when the outside speaker 1 is turned on.
When it is determined in step S20 that the engine off timer TENGOFF is equal to or greater than the predetermined value ΔTOFF, that is, when the predetermined time ΔTOFF has elapsed since the engine operating condition is not satisfied (the engine 2 stop request is output), Control proceeds to step S23, step S24 and step S22 in sequence.
In step S23, the engine stop permission flag is set to 1, and in step S24, an upper limit value is set to the engine off timer TENGOFF.
Next, in step S22, the alarm sound generation control described above with reference to FIG. 4 is realized by continuously generating the alarm sound by turning on the vehicle exterior speaker 1.

When the engine stop permission flag is set to 1 in step S23 as described above, an engine stop permission signal is output from the alarm sound controller 11 to the engine operation control system 4 as shown in FIG.
At this time, the engine operation control system 4 stops the operation of the engine 2 by executing an engine stop request corresponding to the failure of the engine operation condition.

While it is determined in step S16 that the engine operating condition is satisfied (engine 2 is operating), in step S26, it is determined whether or not it is the first time after the engine operating condition is satisfied (engine 2 is operated). Check
In step S27, which is executed only once when it is the first time, after resetting the engine on timer TENGON to 0, the control proceeds to step S28, and if it is not the first time, step S27 is not executed and the control is directly passed to step S28. Proceed.

In step S28, it is checked whether the engine-on timer TENGON reset to 0 in step S27 is less than a predetermined value ΔTON.
Initially, since TENGON = 0 and TENGON is less than the predetermined value ΔTON, step S29 and step S22 are sequentially selected.

In step S29, the engine-on timer TENGON is incremented (incremented).
Therefore, the engine on timer TENGON measures the elapsed time from when the engine operating condition is satisfied (when the engine 2 starts operating), and determines whether or not the engine on timer TENGON is less than a predetermined value ΔTON in step S28. That is, it is agreed to determine whether or not the predetermined time ΔTON has elapsed from when the engine operating condition is satisfied (when the engine 2 starts operating).

In step S22, an alarm sound is generated when the outside speaker 1 is turned on.
When the engine-on timer TENGON is determined to be greater than or equal to the predetermined value ΔTON in step S28, that is, when the predetermined time ΔTON has elapsed since the engine operating condition was established (when the engine 2 started operating), the control is sequentially performed in step S13. In step S14, an upper limit value is set in the engine-on timer TENGON in step S13. In step S14, an alarm sound is not generated when the vehicle exterior speaker 1 is turned off.

<Effect>
FIG. 5 (a) is an operation time chart at the time of start acceleration and stop deceleration as in the case of FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b). , (b) will be described in detail below.
The control program of FIG. 2 performs step S11, step S15, step S32, step S16, step S17, step S20, step S21, and step S22 at the instant t1 when the preparation for start of FIG. 1 is executed, the engine operating state change command in FIG. 1 is set to 1 by execution in step S32, and the outside speaker 1 is turned on by execution of step S22 to generate an alarm sound.

This alarm sound allows persons around the vehicle to obtain vehicle information even when the engine 2 is stopped and no engine operation sound is generated.
Since the engine-off timer TENGOFF was reset to 0 in step S12 until the instant t1, step S21 for incrementing the engine-off timer TENGOFF sets the elapsed time from the instant t1 to the lowest level in FIG. 5 (a). Although the measurement is performed as shown, the engine off timer TENGOFF is not used at the time of starting acceleration in FIG. 5 (a).

When the engine operation condition is satisfied at the instant t2 in FIG. 5 (a) due to a decrease in the battery storage rate, the engine operation control system 4 in FIG. 1 immediately starts the engine 2 with the engine operation command in FIG. 5 (a). .
Thus, by immediately starting the engine 2 at the time t2 when the engine operating condition is satisfied, the energy requirement for the engine 2 can be satisfied immediately, which is advantageous in terms of energy response.

At the time t2 when the engine operating condition is satisfied, the control program of FIG. 2 selects a loop including step S11, step S15, step S32, step S16, step S26, step S27, step S28, step S29, and step S22 for the first time. ,
After the second time, a loop including step S11, step S15, step S32, step S16, step S26, step S28, step S29, and step S22 is selected.

Therefore, even after the engine start instant t2 in FIG. 5 (a), the vehicle exterior speaker 1 is kept ON by the execution of step S22, and the alarm sound is continuously generated.
During this time, the engine on timer TENGON that was reset to 0 in step S27 for the first time is incremented in step S29 from the second time onwards, so this engine on timer TENGON is determined from the engine start instant t2 as shown in FIG. 5 (a). Measure the elapsed time.

Then, at the instant t3 when the engine on timer TENGON reaches the predetermined value ΔTON, that is, at the instant t3 when the predetermined time ΔTON has elapsed from the engine start instant t2, the control proceeds to step S13.
The control program in FIG. 2 selects a loop including step S11, step S15, step S32, step S16, step S26, step S28, step S13, and step S14.

At this instant t3, the engine on timer TENGON is set to the upper limit value as shown in FIG.
By executing step S14, the vehicle exterior speaker 1 is turned off so that no alarm sound is generated.
Thus, even if the outside speaker 1 is turned off so that no warning sound is generated, the engine 2 generates a driving sound due to the driving after the instant t2, so the people around the vehicle can obtain vehicle information from this engine sound. Obtainable.

  By the way, since the engine operating state change command is set to 1 in step S32 from the instant t1, the engine 2 started at the instant t2 is usually (as shown in FIG. 5 (a) hatched). Quiet) The engine is operated at a high speed, which is higher than the engine speed by the additional engine speed ΔNe described above with reference to FIG.

This change from the engine operating state to the high-speed operating state increases the engine sound, so that people outside the vehicle can reliably hear this engine sound, and even if there is no warning sound from the speaker 1 outside the vehicle, it can be confirmed only from the engine sound. Vehicle information can be obtained.
As described above with reference to FIG. 3 (a), the engine operation state is changed to the high-speed operation state, and the engine 2 is operated at a fuel-operating point that is more fuel-efficient than the above-described silent driving point. be able to.
Since the tolerance for engine noise is high at high vehicle speeds, the above engine speed ΔNe is increased as the vehicle speed VSP is higher as described above with reference to FIGS. 3 (b) and 3 (c). Since the sound is increased, the above-described effects can be made more remarkable without giving a sense of incongruity when traveling at high vehicle speeds.

The control program in FIG. 2 includes step S11, step S15, step S31, step S12, step S13, and step S14 at the instant t4 when the warning sound generation condition is not satisfied in FIG. 5 (a) when the vehicle speed VSP is 30 km / h. Select the loop,
By executing step S31, the engine operating state change command is reset to 0,
By executing step S12, the engine off timer TENGOFF is reset to 0 as shown in FIG.
By executing step S14, the vehicle exterior speaker 1 is continuously turned off so as not to generate an alarm sound.

At the instant t4 when the warning sound generation condition is not satisfied in FIG. 5 (a), the engine operating state change command is set to 0 in step S31 as described above, so that the engine 2 is returned from the high speed operating state to the normal operation. Then, the engine speed Ne decreases by ΔNe and returns to the normal (quiet) operation speed.
In this way, the engine speed Ne returns to the normal (quiet) operating speed at the instant t4 when the alarm sound generation condition is not satisfied, thereby avoiding the uncomfortable feeling that the engine sound remains high when the alarm sound generation condition is not satisfied. Can do.

  As shown in FIG. 5 (a), when the engine rotational speed Ne is returned to the normal operating rotational speed, the engine rotational speed Ne immediately changes from the time change α of the engine rotational speed Ne immediately after the instant t4 when the alarm sound generation condition is not satisfied. Ne is gradually lowered to the normal operation speed at a predetermined time change rate, thereby preventing a sense of incongruity due to a sudden change in the engine speed Ne and the engine sound.

Further, according to the ON / OFF control of the outside speaker 1 (alarm sound) according to FIG. 2, as shown in FIG. 5 (a), the outside speaker 1 from the engine start t2 to the instant t3 when a predetermined time ΔTON elapses. Since the alarm sound is continuously generated by continuing ON,
Even if the engine sound is generated by the engine start at the instant t2, the alarm sound is continuously generated, and both the engine sound and the alarm sound are generated within the predetermined time ΔTON.

Therefore, before the engine sound is generated, there is no phenomenon that the speaker outside the vehicle 1 is turned off and the alarm sound is not generated, and there is a silent period in which neither the engine sound nor the alarm sound is generated. It is possible to reliably avoid the occurrence.
Accordingly, it is possible to solve the problem that it becomes difficult to grasp the vehicle information due to the generation of the silent period and the person around the outside of the vehicle feels uncomfortable that the vehicle has once moved away.
In addition, the movement of the vehicle due to the preceding warning sound and the movement of the vehicle due to the subsequent engine sound coincide with each other, so that people around the vehicle can continuously obtain vehicle information without feeling uncomfortable.

The control program shown in FIG. 2 is a loop including step S11, step S31, step S12, step S13, and step S14 at the instant t5 when the warning sound generation condition is met when the vehicle speed VSP is less than 30 km / h due to deceleration shown in FIG. 5 (b). Is selected, a loop including step S11, step S15, step S32, step S16, step S26, step S28, step S13, and step S14 is selected, and by continuing to execute step S14, The external speaker 1 is kept off and the alarm sound is not continuously generated.
Since the engine operation control system 4 in FIG. 1 still operates the engine 2 in accordance with the engine operation command in FIG. 5 (b), people around the vehicle can obtain vehicle information by the engine sound.

Before the warning sound generation condition establishment instant t5, in step S31, the engine sound condition change command from the warning sound controller 11 to the engine operation control system 4 shown in FIG. 2 is not in the high-speed operation state described above, but is controlled as usual.
However, when the alarm sound generation condition establishment instant t5 is reached, step S32 is executed by switching the loop, and an engine operation state change command is transmitted from the alarm sound controller 11 to the engine operation control system 4 as shown in FIG. Therefore, the state of the engine 2 is switched from the normal operation state to the high speed operation state.

Therefore, the engine 2 is operated at a high speed, which is higher by the additional engine speed ΔNe described above with reference to FIG. 3 than the normal (quiet) operating speed, as indicated by hatching in FIG. 5 (b). Is done.
In increasing the engine speed Ne, as is apparent from the time series change β of the engine speed Ne immediately after the instant t5 in FIG. 5 (b), the engine speed Ne is gradually increased at a predetermined time change rate. As a result, the uncomfortable feeling due to sudden changes in the engine speed Ne and engine sound is prevented.

This change from the engine operating state to the high-speed operating state increases the engine sound, so that people outside the vehicle can reliably hear this engine sound, and even if there is no warning sound from the speaker 1 outside the vehicle, it can be confirmed only from the engine sound. Vehicle information can be obtained.
As described above with reference to FIG. 3 (a), the engine operation state is changed to the high-speed operation state, and the engine 2 is operated at a fuel-operating point that is more fuel-efficient than the above-described silent driving point. be able to.
Since the tolerance for engine noise is high at high vehicle speeds, the above engine speed ΔNe is increased as the vehicle speed VSP is higher as described above with reference to FIGS. 3 (b) and 3 (c). Since the sound is increased, the above-described effects can be made more remarkable without giving a sense of incongruity when traveling at high vehicle speeds.

If the engine operation condition is not satisfied at the instant t6 in FIG. 5 (b) due to the recovery of the battery storage rate, the engine operation control system 4 in FIG. 1 immediately gives the engine operation command with the broken line in FIG. 5 (b). Issue an engine stop request to turn OFF as shown.
At this time, the control program of FIG. 2 selects a loop including step S11, step S15, step S32, step S16, step S17, step S18, step S19, step S20, step S21, and step S22 for the first time,
After the second time, a loop including step S11, step S15, step S32, step S16, step S17, step S20, step S21, and step S22 is selected.

Therefore, from the engine stop request instant t6 in FIG. 5 (b), the vehicle exterior speaker 1 is turned on by the execution of step S22 to generate an alarm sound.
During this time, the engine stop permission flag is reset to 0 in step S18 for the first time, and this reset state continues thereafter. Therefore, the engine stop permission signal is not output from the alarm sound controller 11 of FIG. 1 to the engine operation control system 4.
For this reason, the engine operation control system 4 does not execute the engine stop command to turn OFF the engine operation command as shown by the broken line at the instant t6 in FIG. Keep ON and keep engine 2 running.

On the other hand, since the engine off timer TENGOFF reset to 0 in step S19 for the first time until the engine stop request instant t6 in FIG. 5 (b) is incremented in step S21 after the second time,
The engine off timer TENGOFF measures the elapsed time from the engine stop request instant t6 as shown in FIG. 5 (b).

Then, at the instant t7 when the engine off timer TENGOFF becomes the predetermined value ΔTOFF, that is, at the instant t7 when the predetermined time ΔTOFF has elapsed from the engine stop request instant t6, the step S20 advances the control to the step S23.
The control program in FIG. 2 selects a loop including step S11, step S15, step S32, step S16, step S17, step S20, step S23, step S24, and step S22.

At this instant t7, the engine stop permission flag is set to 1 by the execution of step S23, so that the engine stop permission signal is output from the alarm sound controller 11 of FIG. 1 to the engine operation control system 4.
For this reason, the engine operation control system 4 executes the engine stop request with the engine operation command turned OFF as shown by the solid line at the instant t7 in FIG. 5 (b), and the engine 2 operation stop in response to the stop request at the instant t6. For the first time until t7, and the engine speed Ne is set to zero.

Even when the operation of the engine 2 is stopped at the instant t7, a warning sound is generated by turning on the speaker 1 outside the vehicle from the instant t6, so that people around the vehicle can obtain vehicle information from this warning sound. Can do.
At the instant t7, the engine off timer TENGOFF is further set to the upper limit value as shown in FIG. 5B by executing step S24.
In the case of FIG. 5 (b), the engine-on timer TENGON does not change after being set to the upper limit value in step S13, and therefore remains at the upper limit value as shown.

At the instant t8 in FIG. 5 (b) when the vehicle speed VSP becomes 0 km / h, the control program in FIG. 2 selects a loop including step S11, step S15, step S31, step S12, step S13, and step S14.
By executing step S31, the engine operating state change command is reset to 0,
By executing step S12, the engine off timer TENGOFF is reset to 0 as shown in FIG.
By executing step S14, the vehicle exterior speaker 1 is turned off so as not to generate an alarm sound.

Further, according to the ON / OFF control of the outside speaker 1 (alarm sound) according to FIG. 2, as shown in FIG. 5 (b), the alarm sound is generated immediately by turning on the outside speaker 1 at the engine stop request time t6. The engine 2 is kept running by delaying the execution of the engine stop request until the instant t7 when the predetermined time ΔTOFF elapses from the stop request time t6.
Even if an alarm sound is emitted when the outside speaker 1 is turned on, the engine 2 is continuously operated, and both the engine sound and the alarm sound are generated during the predetermined time ΔTOFF.

For this reason, after the engine sound is no longer generated, there is no phenomenon that the outside speaker 1 is turned on and an alarm sound is generated, and a silent period in which neither the engine sound nor the alarm sound occurs is generated. Can be reliably avoided.
Therefore, it is possible to reliably solve the above-mentioned problem that it becomes difficult to grasp the vehicle information due to the generation of the silent period and gives a person around the vehicle a sense of incongruity once the vehicle has moved away.
Further, the movement of the vehicle due to the preceding engine sound matches the movement of the vehicle due to the subsequent warning sound, so that people around the vehicle can continuously obtain vehicle information without feeling uncomfortable.

<About the predetermined time ΔTON, ΔTOFF>
Here, the predetermined time ΔTON for delaying the outside speaker ON → OFF described above with reference to FIG. 5A and the predetermined time ΔTOFF for delaying the engine stop described above with reference to FIG. 5B will be described.

In order to achieve the action and effect described above with reference to FIG. 5 (a), the engine 2 is started at the instant t2 in FIG. 5 (a), and during the time until the engine sound can be recognized by people outside the vehicle, It is necessary to continuously generate an alarm sound by continuing the speaker ON, and this time is determined as a predetermined time ΔTON for delaying the speaker outside the vehicle from ON to OFF.
Therefore, the predetermined time ΔTON for delaying the speaker ON → OFF outside the vehicle can be set to a constant value unrelated to the vehicle speed VSP, for example, as indicated by a broken line in FIG.

However, the time from when the engine 2 is started at the instant t2 in FIG. 5 (a) until the person around the vehicle can recognize the engine sound becomes longer as the vehicle speed VSP, which is the ground speed of the vehicle, is higher. Tend to
Preferably, the predetermined time ΔTON for delaying ON / OFF of the speaker outside the vehicle is set to be longer as the vehicle speed VSP is higher, as indicated by a solid line in FIG. 6 (a), for example.

In order to achieve the operation and effect described above with reference to FIG. 5 (b), the vehicle exterior speaker 1 is turned ON at the instant t6 in FIG. 5 (b), and the alarm sound from now on until the person around the vehicle can recognize it. During the time, it is necessary to continue to operate the engine 2 without executing the engine stop request, and this time is determined as a predetermined time ΔTOFF for engine stop delay.
Therefore, the predetermined time ΔTOFF for delaying the engine stop can be set to a constant value unrelated to the vehicle speed VSP, for example, as indicated by a broken line in FIG. 6 (b).

However, the vehicle speed VSP, which is the ground speed of the vehicle, is high until the outside speaker 1 is turned ON at the instant t6 in FIG. Tend to be longer,
Preferably, the predetermined time ΔTOFF for delaying the engine stop is set to a longer time as the vehicle speed VSP is higher, as indicated by a solid line in FIG. 6 (b), for example.

<Other examples>
In the illustrated example, as is clear from FIG. 5, while the alarm sound generation condition is satisfied, an alarm sound is generated from the speaker 1 to transmit vehicle information to people around the vehicle, but during operation of the engine 2, The present invention is applied to a warning sound generating device that prevents the warning sound from being generated due to the non-operation of the speaker 1 and transmits vehicle information to people around the vehicle by the engine sound instead of the warning sound. But
While the alarm sound generation condition is satisfied, the present invention can also be applied to an alarm sound generator that operates the speaker 1 during operation of the engine 2 to generate an alarm sound from now on. Of course, the same effects as described above can be obtained.

Further, when the engine speed Ne is increased by ΔNe and the engine sound is increased while the alarm sound generation condition is satisfied, the engine rotation increase amount ΔNe may be controlled so as to increase or decrease the engine sound.
In this case, the strength of the engine sound makes it easier for people around the vehicle to recognize the presence of the vehicle, which is advantageous for safety.

Further, in the illustrated example, the case where the vehicle is a series type hybrid vehicle has been described.
The present invention also applies to a case where the vehicle is a parallel type hybrid vehicle that selectively uses an electric travel (EV) mode that travels only by the electric motor 3 and a hybrid travel (HEV) mode that travels by the power from the engine 2 and the electric motor 3. The above idea can be applied as it is, and it goes without saying that a similar effect can be obtained even in a parallel hybrid vehicle.

1 Outside speaker
2 Engine
3 Electric motor
4 Engine operation control system
5 Motor drive control system
6 Ignition switch
11 Alarm sound controller
12 Range sensor
13 Vehicle speed sensor
14 Brake switch
15 Alarm sound controller switch

Claims (10)

Used in vehicles that can run using energy from the engine and electric motor,
In a vehicle alarm sound generating device that is capable of generating an alarm sound and transmitting vehicle information to people around the vehicle while a predetermined alarm sound generation condition is established,
Engine operating state changing means is provided for changing the operating state of the engine so that the engine sound becomes louder while the warning sound generation condition is satisfied than when the warning sound generation condition is not satisfied. A vehicle warning sound generator characterized by the above. In the vehicle alarm sound generator according to claim 1,
The warning sound generation device generates a warning sound and transmits vehicle information to people around the vehicle while the warning sound generation condition is satisfied, and replaces the warning sound with the engine sound while the engine is running. A vehicle alarm sound generating device characterized in that vehicle information is transmitted to a person around the vehicle by the vehicle. In the vehicle alarm sound generating device according to claim 1 or 2,
The engine operating state changing means is configured to gradually change the engine operating state and return from the changed state with a predetermined time change gradient. In the vehicle alarm sound generating device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The engine operating state changing means determines the difference between the loudness of the engine sound when the warning sound generation condition is satisfied and the loudness of the engine sound when the warning sound generation condition is not satisfied as the vehicle speed increases. An alarm sound generating device for a vehicle characterized by being enlarged. In the vehicle alarm sound generator according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The engine operating state change means adds or decreases the engine sound while the alarm sound generating condition is satisfied. In the alarm device for a vehicle according to any one of claims 2 to 5,
Overlap period setting means is provided so that both the engine sound and the warning sound can be heard during a predetermined time when switching between the generation and disappearance of the warning sound according to whether the engine is stopped or operating. An alarm sound generating device for a vehicle. In the vehicle alarm sound generator according to claim 6,
The overlap period setting means delays the disappearance of the alarm sound for a predetermined time from the transition when the engine is stopped to the engine operating state. Generator. In the vehicle alarm sound generating device according to claim 6 or 7,
The overlap period setting means immediately generates the alarm sound at the time of a request for transition from the engine operation state to the engine stop state, but from the engine operation state to the engine stop state for the predetermined time from the transition request time. A warning sound generator for a vehicle characterized by delaying the transition of the vehicle. In the vehicle alarm sound generating device according to any one of claims 6 to 8,
The vehicle alarm sound generating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined time is a time required for a person around the vehicle to recognize a subsequent sound of the engine sound and the alarm sound. In the vehicle alarm sound generating device according to any one of claims 6 to 9,
The vehicle alarm sound generating device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined time is longer as the ground speed of the vehicle is higher.

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