JP2012056431A - Vehicle travel control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle travel control device which can appropriately link switching of a transmission control mode with an operation state of an auto cruise control accordingly when switching to a manual transmission mode is commanded during the auto cruise control in which the automatic transmission mode is selected and thus achieving appropriate vehicle travel reflecting an intention of a driver.SOLUTION: When a switching operation to a manual transmission range (A/M range, +-range) during the auto cruise control (Yes in S24) is regarded as an acceleration/deceleration request of the driver, an optional manual transmission is enabled by canceling the auto cruise and selecting the manual transmission mode (S26, 28) while when the switching operation to an N range during the auto cruise control is regarded as a wrong operation(No in S24), an inappropriate transmission is prevented by canceling the auto cruise and selecting the auto transmission mode (S14, 16).

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicular travel control device, and more particularly, a vehicular travel control having a shift control function capable of switching between an automatic shift mode and a manual shift mode, and a constant speed travel function for maintaining a vehicle speed set by a driver. Relates to the device.

In recent years, not only passenger cars but also large vehicles such as trucks and buses are widely used in automatic transmissions that automatically switch gears based on a target gear obtained from the amount of accelerator operation by a driver, vehicle speed, and the like.
As this type of automatic transmission, for example, an automatic transmission in which a planetary gear mechanism is combined with a torque converter or a continuously variable transmission such as a belt type, a conventional manual transmission is used as a base for shifting operation and shifting. There are also automatic transmissions and the like in which the clutch operation associated with is automated by an actuator.

  In any type of automatic transmission, in recent years, in order to realize a shifting operation more in line with the driver's wishes, an automatic shifting mode in which a manual shifting mode capable of manually switching the gear stage is added in addition to the automatic shifting mode. The machine has been put into practical use. In this type of automatic transmission, when the driver wants to change the gear stage arbitrarily regardless of the target gear stage in the automatic transmission mode, for example, sudden acceleration is performed to overtake the preceding vehicle while driving on the highway in the automatic transmission mode. Switch to manual shift mode when necessary. By switching to the manual shift mode, it is possible to select an arbitrary shift stage on the low gear side, so that the vehicle can be accelerated quickly and the preceding vehicle can be overtaken in a short time.

On the other hand, constant speed driving (auto cruise) that automatically maintains the set vehicle speed arbitrarily set by the driver for the purpose of reducing driver fatigue when driving over long distances along with the development of the highway network in recent years Equipment is widespread.
In this type of auto-cruise device, for example, when the vehicle approaches a slope from a flat road and the vehicle speed temporarily decreases, the engine output is increased, and accordingly, the automatic transmission side appropriately downshifts the vehicle driving torque. Is increased to increase the reduced vehicle speed to the set vehicle speed. Further, when the vehicle speed temporarily increases from the uphill road to the flat road, the engine output is reduced and an upshift is performed to reduce the increased vehicle speed to the set vehicle speed.
By repeating such control, the vehicle speed that fluctuates according to the traveling road can be always maintained at the set vehicle speed, and fatigue caused by the driver's accelerator operation is reduced.

By the way, in order to make a vehicle run smoothly according to the driver's intention, it is important how to link the shift control on the automatic transmission side and the auto cruise control on the auto cruise device side according to the operation of the driver. .
As a proposal from such a viewpoint, the technique of Patent Document 1 can be cited. In the vehicular travel control apparatus described in Patent Document 1, when an upshift signal or a downshift signal is input from the shift unit during the autocruise control in which the automatic transmission mode is selected, the autocruise control is continued. The upshift or downshift is executed by switching to the manual shift mode.

JP-A-8-193656

However, it is difficult to say that the control performed by the vehicle travel control device of Patent Document 1 is appropriate for the operation of the driver.
That is, during the auto cruise control with the automatic shift mode selected, the vehicle speed is adjusted with the set vehicle speed as the target while appropriately switching the gear position according to the road surface gradient as described above. An upshift operation or a downshift operation of the shift unit can be regarded as an intention display for accelerating or decelerating the vehicle under auto-cruise control.

In such a case, in the vehicle travel control device of Patent Document 1, the transmission is upshifted or downshifted according to the upshift signal or the downshift signal, while the automatic cruise control targeting the set vehicle speed is continued. ing. For this reason, the engine speed decreases at the time of upshift and increases at the time of downshift, and the drive torque of the vehicle increases or decreases accordingly.However, since the vehicle speed is maintained at the set vehicle speed, the important acceleration / deceleration intended by the driver is achieved. There is a contradiction that is not done. Therefore, in such a situation, there is a problem that it is not possible to realize an appropriate vehicle traveling reflecting the driver's will.
The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and the object of the present invention is to command the driver to switch to the manual shift mode during auto-cruise control with the automatic shift mode selected. Depending on the situation, the shift of the shift control mode and the operating state of the auto-cruise control can be appropriately linked, and thus the vehicle traveling that can realize an appropriate vehicle traveling reflecting the driver's will It is to provide a control device.

  In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention is a mode switching means for switching a transmission between an automatic transmission mode and a manual transmission mode in accordance with a switching operation between an automatic transmission range and a manual transmission range of a change lever. And a vehicle travel control device having constant speed travel means capable of executing constant speed travel control for maintaining the vehicle speed set by the driver, the constant speed when a preset condition for starting the constant speed travel control is satisfied. A constant speed traveling control starting means for causing the traveling means to start constant speed traveling control and causing the mode switching means to select an automatic transmission mode regardless of a change lever switching operation, and an automatic shift based on an instruction from the constant speed traveling control starting means. During the execution of the constant speed running control with the mode selected, the constant speed running means controls the constant speed running when the change lever is switched to the manual shift range by the driver. By releasing causes return to normal running, in which a linkage control means for selecting the manual shift mode to the mode switching means.

Therefore, when the start condition for the constant speed travel control is satisfied, the constant speed travel control is started based on an instruction from the constant speed travel control starting means, and the automatic transmission mode is selected regardless of the change lever switching operation. For this reason, the vehicle speed is maintained at the vehicle speed set by the driver by the constant speed traveling control while the gear position is automatically switched by the automatic transmission mode, and the vehicle travels. When the change lever is switched to the manual shift range in such a situation, the linkage control means switches to the manual shift mode, and the constant speed travel control is canceled to return to normal travel.
The switching operation of the change lever to the manual shift range can be regarded as an intention display for arbitrarily switching the shift speed and accelerating / decelerating the vehicle. Even if the gear position is manually switched only by switching to the manual shift mode according to the change lever switching operation, the constant speed traveling control is continued, so that the driver does not perform the desired acceleration / deceleration. In the present invention, since the constant speed traveling control is canceled and the vehicle returns to the normal traveling, the vehicle can be accelerated / decelerated according to the accelerator operation.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, when the linkage control means is executing the constant speed traveling control in which the automatic transmission mode is selected, the constant speed traveling is performed when the change lever is switched to the neutral range by the driver. The constant speed running control is canceled by the means to return to the normal running, and the automatic speed change mode is selected by the mode switching means.
Therefore, when the change lever is switched to the neutral range during execution of the constant speed traveling control in which the automatic transmission mode is selected, the constant speed traveling control is canceled and the normal traveling is resumed, and the automatic transmission mode is continued. Switching to the neutral range during constant-speed traveling control may cause a driver's erroneous operation, but since it can be assumed that the vehicle is intended to accelerate or decelerate, the operator notices the erroneous operation when the constant-speed traveling control is canceled. After the driver switches to the drive range, the vehicle can be arbitrarily accelerated / decelerated according to the accelerator operation.

  And the driver who noticed the erroneous operation switches the change lever from the neutral range to another range, but at this point the vehicle speed may fluctuate greatly due to acceleration / deceleration of the vehicle according to the road surface gradient, etc. When the operation is switched to the manual shift range as another range, there is a problem that the travel cannot be continued due to an inappropriate shift speed, or the engine is excessively rotated. At this time, in the present invention, since the automatic shift mode is continued, the speed is switched to an appropriate shift stage according to the vehicle speed, and the above-described problem is avoided.

  As described above, according to the vehicle travel control apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention, when the constant speed travel control is started based on the establishment of the constant speed travel control start condition, regardless of the change lever switching operation. Select the automatic shift mode and drive the vehicle while automatically switching the shift speed and maintaining the vehicle speed at the set vehicle speed.On the other hand, if the change lever is switched to the manual shift range in this situation, the manual shift mode is Since not only the selection but also the constant speed traveling control is canceled and the vehicle returns to the normal traveling, the driving force of the vehicle increases or decreases according to the manual switching of the shift stage, and the driver responds to the accelerator operation by the driving force. The vehicle can be arbitrarily accelerated / decelerated, and thus the vehicle can travel appropriately reflecting the driver's will.

  According to the vehicle travel control apparatus of the invention of claim 2, in addition to claim 1, when the change lever is switched to the neutral range during execution of the constant speed travel control in which the automatic speed change mode is selected, the automatic speed change mode Since the constant speed running control is canceled and the normal running is resumed while continuing, even if the driver who notices the wrong operation switches the change lever from the neutral range to another range, it will respond to the vehicle speed with the automatic shift mode. Thus, it is possible to switch to an appropriate shift stage, and to avoid problems such as inability to continue running and engine overspeed due to the inappropriate shift stage.

It is a whole lineblock diagram showing the drive system of the truck to which the change lever device of the transmission for vehicles of an embodiment was applied. It is a schematic diagram which shows the range arrangement | positioning of a change lever. It is a flowchart which shows the auto-cruise control start routine which ECU performs. It is a flowchart which shows the linkage control routine which ECU performs.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a change lever device for a vehicle transmission embodying the present invention will be described.
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing a drive system of a truck to which a change lever device for a vehicle transmission according to this embodiment is applied. However, the application target of the change lever device for a vehicle transmission according to the present invention is not limited to a truck, and may be applied to, for example, a bus or a passenger car.

A vehicle is equipped with a diesel engine (hereinafter referred to as an engine) 1 as a driving power source. The engine 1 is configured as a so-called common rail type engine that supplies high-pressure fuel accumulated in a common rail by a pressurizing pump to the fuel injection valve of each cylinder and injects the fuel into the cylinder as the fuel injection valve opens.
The type of the engine 1 is not limited to this, and may be a conventional type diesel engine that controls fuel injection to each cylinder according to the operation of the control rack, or may be a gasoline engine.

  An input shaft 3a of an automatic transmission (hereinafter simply referred to as a transmission) 3 is connected to an output shaft 1b of the engine 1 via a clutch device 2. The rotation of the engine 1 is transmitted to the transmission 3 when the clutch device 2 is connected. It has come to be. The transmission 3 is based on a manual transmission having 12 forward speeds (1st to 12th speeds) and 1 reverse speed. As described below, the transmission 3 is associated with the speed change operation and the speed change. The connection / disconnection operation of the clutch device 2 is automated. Needless to say, the gear position of the transmission 3 is not limited to the above and can be arbitrarily changed.

The clutch device 2 is configured as a friction clutch that is connected to the flywheel 4 by press-contacting the clutch plate 5 with a pressure spring 6 and is disconnected by separating the clutch plate 5 from the flywheel 4. An air cylinder 8 is connected to the clutch plate 5 via an outer lever 7, and an air tank 11 filled with compressed air is connected to the air cylinder 8 via an air passage 10 in which an electromagnetic valve 9 is interposed.
When the electromagnetic valve 9 is opened, compressed air is supplied from the air tank 11 to the air cylinder 8 via the air passage 10, and the air cylinder 8 is activated to separate the clutch plate 5 from the flywheel 4 via the outer lever 7. Thus, the clutch device 2 is switched from the connected state to the disconnected state. On the other hand, when the solenoid valve 9 is closed, the air cylinder 8 stops operating due to the stop of the supply of compressed air, so that the clutch plate 5 is pressed against the flywheel 4 by the pressure spring 6, and thereby the clutch device 2 is released from the disconnected state. Switch to connected state. As described above, the air cylinder 8 is operated in accordance with the opening and closing of the electromagnetic valve 9 so that the clutch device 2 can be automatically connected and disconnected.

A change lever 13 is provided in the driver's seat of the vehicle, and the range arrangement of the change lever 13 will be described with reference to FIG. The P range (parking range), N range (neutral range), and R range (reverse range) are arranged in a straight line in the front-rear direction, and a D range (drive range) is provided on the left side of the N range. The change lever 13 can be arbitrarily moved between the P range, N range, R range, and D range, and is held in the range after the movement operation.
Note that the engine can be started only in the P range and the N range as in a general change lever device.

  A + range (upshift range) is provided on the front side of the D range, a -range (downshift range) is provided on the rear side of the D range, and an A / M range (mode switching range) is provided on the left side of the D range. Is provided. These + range, -range, and A / M range can be tilted with the D range as the return position by the spring, and automatically return to the D range by the biasing force of the spring after the tilting operation. It has become.

As will be described in detail later, the A / M range functions as a mode switching range for switching between the automatic transmission mode and the manual transmission mode, and every time the change lever 13 is tilted from the D range to the A / M range, automatic transmission is performed. Switching between the mode and the manual transmission mode is performed. The + range and -range are ranges for upshifting and downshifting in the manual shift mode, and each time the change lever 13 is tilted from the D range to the + range or -range, the range changes from the current shift stage to 1. The stage is upshifted or downshifted by one stage.
Here, in the present embodiment, the tilting operation of the change lever 13 from the D range to the A / M range and the tilting operation from the D range to the + range or −range are performed between the automatic shift range and the manual shift range of the present invention. This corresponds to the switching operation.

  The transmission 3 is provided with a gear shift unit 14 for switching the gear stage. Although not shown, the gear shift unit 14 includes a plurality of air cylinders that operate shift forks corresponding to the respective gear stages in the transmission 3, and It incorporates multiple solenoid valves that actuate the air cylinder. The gear shift unit 14 is connected to the above-described air tank 11 through the air passage 12, and compressed air from the air tank 11 is supplied to the corresponding air cylinder according to opening and closing of each solenoid valve, and the air cylinder is operated. When the corresponding shift fork is switched, the gear position of the transmission 3 is switched according to the switching operation. As described above, the air cylinder is operated in accordance with the opening / closing of the electromagnetic valve of the gear shift unit 14, and the transmission 3 can be automatically operated for shifting.

In the passenger compartment, an input / output device (not shown), a storage device (ROM, RAM, etc.) for storing control programs and control maps, an ECU (control unit) equipped with a central processing unit (CPU), a timer counter, etc. 21 is installed, and comprehensive control of the engine 1, the clutch device 2, and the transmission 3 is performed.
On the input side of the ECU 21 are an engine rotation speed sensor 22 that detects the rotation speed Ne of the engine 1, a clutch rotation speed sensor 23 that detects the rotation speed (clutch rotation speed) of the input shaft 3 a of the transmission 3, and a change lever 13. A lever position sensor 24 for detecting the switching position, a gear position sensor 25 for detecting the gear position of the transmission 3, an accelerator sensor 27 for detecting the operation amount Acc of the accelerator pedal 26, and an output shaft 3b of the transmission 3 are provided on the vehicle speed. A vehicle speed sensor 28 for detecting V and sensors such as an auto cruise switch 29 provided on the steering wheel are connected.

Further, the electromagnetic valve 9 of the clutch device 2 and the electromagnetic valves of the gear shift unit 14 are connected to the output side of the ECU 21, and although not shown, a pressure pump for common rail pressure accumulation and fuel for each cylinder are not shown. An injection valve is connected.
In addition, you may make it provide ECU for engine control separately from ECU21, for example, without controlling comprehensively by single ECU21 in this way.

For example, the ECU 21 determines the rail pressure of the common rail accumulated by the pressure pump from a map (not shown) based on the engine speed Ne detected by the engine speed sensor 22 and the accelerator operation amount Acc detected by the accelerator sensor 27. The fuel injection amount to each cylinder is calculated, and the fuel injection timing is calculated from a map (not shown) based on the engine speed Ne and the fuel injection amount Q. The pressurizing pump is driven and controlled based on these calculated values, and the engine 1 is operated while driving and controlling the fuel injection valves of the respective cylinders.
Further, when the change of the change lever 13 to the D range is detected by the lever position sensor 24, the ECU 21 determines a target shift from a shift map (not shown) based on the accelerator operation amount Acc and the vehicle speed V detected by the vehicle speed sensor 28. The stage tgtG is calculated. Then, while opening and closing the electromagnetic valve of the clutch device 2 and connecting and disconnecting the clutch device with the air cylinder 11, the target electromagnetic valve of the gear shift unit 14 is opened and closed and the corresponding shift fork is switched and operated with the air cylinder. The gear stage tgtG is achieved, and thus the vehicle is always driven with an appropriate gear stage.

When the lever position sensor 24 detects that the change lever 13 is switched from the D range to the A / M range, the ECU 21 switches the shift control mode between the automatic shift mode and the manual shift mode for each detection. . In the present embodiment, the ECU 21 that executes the shift control mode switching process in accordance with the switching to the A / M range functions as a mode switching control means. In the automatic shift mode, the shift control is executed based on the target shift stage tgtG as described above. In the manual shift mode, the current shift stage achieved in the D range is maintained regardless of the shift map.
Further, when the change of the change lever 13 from the D range to the + range or −range is detected by the lever position sensor 24, the ECU 21 upshifts or downshifts from the current shift stage for each detection.

Further, the ECU 21 starts the auto-cruise control when the set vehicle speed is set by the auto-cruise switch 29 and is turned on, and adjusts the output of the engine 1 to maintain the vehicle speed V at the driver's set vehicle speed, and the shift control. The mode is switched to the automatic shift mode, and shift control based on the target shift stage tgtG is performed. On the other hand, when the auto cruise switch 26 is turned off or the brake pedal is depressed, the ECU 21 cancels the auto cruise control and returns to normal running.
In this embodiment, ECU21 when performing the auto-cruise control which maintains this vehicle speed V at a setting vehicle speed functions as a constant speed travel means.

By the way, as described in [Problems to be Solved by the Invention], in the vehicle travel control device of Patent Document 1, when an upshift operation or a downshift operation is performed during auto-cruise control in which the automatic transmission mode is selected. There was a problem of falling into an inappropriate control state. Therefore, in this embodiment, switching of the shift control mode and the operating state of the auto cruise control are optimally controlled according to the operation of the driver during the auto cruise control, and the countermeasures will be described in detail below.
FIG. 3 shows an auto-cruise control start routine executed by the ECU 21. The ECU 21 starts executing the routine at a predetermined control interval as the vehicle starts to travel.
First, in step S2, based on the input information from the auto cruise switch 29, it is determined whether or not an auto cruise control start condition is satisfied. The auto-cruise control start condition is satisfied when all the following requirements 1) to 5) are satisfied.

1) Auto cruise switch 29 is on.
2) Change lever 13 is in D range.
3) The accelerator pedal 26 is off.
4) Foot brake is off.
5) The vehicle speed V is greater than or equal to the threshold value.
When the determination in step S2 is No (negative), the process proceeds to step S4, and after switching to the shift control mode selected by the change lever 13, the routine is temporarily terminated.
When the determination in step S2 is Yes (positive), the routine proceeds to step S6 to start the auto cruise control, and in the subsequent step S8, the shift control mode is switched to the automatic shift mode regardless of the change lever 13 switching operation. Exit.

When the automatic cruise control start condition is satisfied, the change lever 13 is positioned in the D range based on the requirement 2), but the shift control mode is the automatic shift mode in accordance with the switching to the A / M range. In addition, there may be a manual shift mode. In such a case, switching to the automatic transmission mode is performed by the process of step S8.
As a result of the above-described processing of the ECU 21, when the auto-cruise control start condition is not satisfied, the auto-cruise control is not started, so that the normal traveling according to the driver's accelerator operation is performed and the change lever 13 is operated. To change the shift control mode. On the other hand, when the auto-cruise control start condition is satisfied, the auto-cruise control is started and the vehicle speed V is maintained at the set vehicle speed, and the shift control mode is switched to the automatic shift mode and the shift control based on the shift map is performed. Is called.

In the present embodiment, the ECU 21 when starting the auto-cruise control based on the establishment of the start condition functions as a constant speed traveling control starting means.
On the other hand, when the auto-cruise control is started in this way, the ECU 21 starts executing the linkage control routine shown in FIG. 4 at a predetermined control interval. This routine appropriately controls the switching of the shift control mode and the operating state (on / off) of the auto cruise control according to the operation of the driver performed during the auto cruise control.
First, in step S12, it is determined whether or not a condition for canceling the automatic cruise control is satisfied. The cancellation condition of the auto cruise control is satisfied when any one of the above requirements 1) to 5) is not satisfied. When the determination of Yes is made in step S12, the auto-cruise control is canceled in step S14, and after the shift control mode is switched to the automatic shift mode in step S16, the routine is once ended.

Further, when the condition for canceling the auto-cruise control is not satisfied and the determination of No is made in step S12, the process proceeds to step S18 to determine whether or not the change lever 13 has been operated from the D range to any other range. judge. The following a) to c) can be considered as possible operation states.
a) Tilt operation to + range or -range.
b) Tilt operation to A / M range.
c) Moving to the N range.
Of these, the lever operations a) and b) are cases where the driver intends to switch to the manual shift mode, and the lever operation c) is a meaningless operation during traveling with the auto cruise control functioning. Therefore, it can be considered that there is a possibility of erroneous operation.

When the ECU 21 determines that the change lever 13 is not operated and makes a No determination in step S18, the ECU 21 proceeds to step S20 and continues the auto-cruise control, and then switches the shift control mode to the automatic shift mode in step S22.
On the other hand, if the change lever 13 is operated and the determination of Yes is made in step S18, the process proceeds to step S24 to determine whether or not the operation of the change lever corresponds to a) or b). . When the determination is Yes, the process proceeds to step S26 to cancel the auto-cruise control, and in step S28, the shift control mode is switched to the manual shift mode.
If the change lever operation corresponds to c) and the determination of No is made in step S24, the auto-cruise control is canceled in step S14, and the shift control mode is changed to the automatic shift mode in step S16. Switch.

In this embodiment, the automatic cruise control is canceled and switched to the manual shift mode (steps S26, 28) or the automatic cruise control is canceled and switched to the automatic shift mode (steps S14, 16) according to the operation of the change lever. ) Functions as linkage control means.
When the change lever is switched from the D range to another range by the driver during the auto cruise control in which the automatic shift mode is selected by the processing of the ECU 21, the shift control mode is switched and the auto cruise control is activated. Is controlled as follows.

First, when the conditions for canceling the automatic cruise control are not satisfied and the change lever is not operated, the automatic cruise control is continued in step S20 through steps S12 and 18, and the automatic transmission mode is continued in step S22. . Therefore, at this time, the state from the beginning of the automatic cruise control is maintained, and the shift control in the automatic shift mode is performed while maintaining the vehicle speed V at the set vehicle speed.
When the conditions for canceling the automatic cruise control are satisfied, the automatic cruise control is canceled in step S14 through step S12, and the automatic transmission mode is continued in step S16. Accordingly, the vehicle returns to normal traveling, and the vehicle travels according to the driver's accelerator operation. The two types of control states described above are no different from those performed by a normal travel control device.

On the other hand, the release condition of the auto cruise control is not satisfied, and either the a) tilt operation to the A / M range or the b) tilt operation to the + range or − range is performed as the change lever operation. When this occurs, the auto-cruise control is canceled in step S26 through steps S12, 18, 24, and the manual shift mode is switched in step S28.
As described above, the lever operations a) and b) are intended to be switched to the manual shift mode. As a result, the driver's intention to accelerate or decelerate the vehicle by arbitrarily switching the shift stage in the manual shift mode. Can be considered. In order to meet this requirement, not only switching to the manual shift mode but also returning to normal driving and not allowing the vehicle to be accelerated or decelerated according to the accelerator operation, for example, in this situation, auto cruise control As in the technique of Patent Document 1 that continues this, a contradiction arises in that the essential acceleration / deceleration intended by the driver is not performed.

In the present embodiment, since the automatic cruise control is canceled together with the switching to the manual shift mode as described above, the vehicle can be accelerated and decelerated according to the accelerator operation after returning to the normal traveling. Therefore, for example, the driving force of the vehicle not only increases / decreases by upshifting or downshifting according to lever operation to + range or -range, but the driver arbitrarily accelerates / decelerates the vehicle according to accelerator operation by the driving force. Thus, it is possible to realize appropriate vehicle travel reflecting the driver's will.
Further, when the release condition of the auto cruise control is not satisfied and the movement operation to the N range of c) is performed as the operation of the change lever, the auto cruise control is performed in step S14 through steps S12, 18, and 24. At the same time, the automatic transmission mode is continued in step S16.

As described above, the lever operation c) has no meaning during traveling under auto-cruise control, and can be regarded as a possibility of erroneous operation. However, even if it is an erroneous operation, it can be assumed that the driver intends to accelerate and decelerate the vehicle as in the case of the lever operations a) and b). At this time, since the auto-cruise control is canceled and the vehicle returns to normal driving, the vehicle can be arbitrarily accelerated or decelerated according to the accelerator operation after the driver who noticed the erroneous operation switches to the D range.
When the driver notices an erroneous operation, the driver returns the change lever from the N range to the D range. At this time, the vehicle speed is increased from the time when the erroneous operation to the N range is performed as a result of the acceleration / deceleration of the vehicle according to the road surface gradient. V may fluctuate greatly. If the manual shift mode is selected at this time, the shift to an inappropriate shift stage is performed simultaneously with the return to the D range, and the vehicle cannot run continuously or the engine 1 is excessively rotated. A malfunction occurs.

Therefore, in consideration of these points, when the lever operation c) is performed, the automatic transmission mode is continued unlike a) and b). Therefore, upon returning to the D range, the gear is switched to an appropriate gear position according to the vehicle speed V based on the automatic gear shift mode, and the driver's will is determined after avoiding problems such as the inability to travel and the excessive rotation of the engine 1. Therefore, it is possible to realize an appropriate vehicle traveling reflecting the above.
This is the end of the description of the embodiment, but the aspect of the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. For example, in the above embodiment, the transmission 3 is used in which the shifting operation and the connecting / disconnecting operation of the clutch device 2 associated with the shifting are automated based on the manual transmission, but the type of the transmission 3 is not limited thereto. . For example, the present invention may be applied to a so-called dual clutch transmission, an automatic transmission in which a planetary gear mechanism is combined with a torque converter, or a continuously variable transmission such as a belt type.

  The dual-clutch transmission is configured by connecting the gear mechanisms divided into odd-numbered stages and even-numbered stages to the engine side via clutches, and transmits power by connecting the clutch of one gear mechanism. When the clutch of the other gear mechanism is disconnected and switched to the next predicted gear stage in advance, the power transmission by the other gear mechanism is started by reversing the connection / disengagement state of both clutches at the shift timing. It is. Also in these transmissions, when the shift control function capable of switching between the automatic shift mode and the manual shift mode and the auto cruise function for maintaining the vehicle speed set by the driver are provided, the configuration of the present embodiment is used. Similar effects can be obtained by application.

3 Transmission 13 Change lever 21 ECU (constant speed traveling means, transmission control means, constant speed traveling control start means, linkage control means)

Claims (2)

Mode switching means for switching the transmission between the automatic transmission mode and the manual transmission mode in accordance with the switching operation between the automatic transmission range and the manual transmission range of the change lever, and constant speed traveling control for maintaining the vehicle speed set by the driver In the vehicle travel control device provided with the constant speed travel means capable of executing
When the preset start condition for the constant speed traveling control is satisfied, the constant speed traveling means starts constant speed traveling control, and the mode switching means is set to the automatic transmission mode regardless of the change lever switching operation. Constant speed running control starting means to be selected;
During execution of constant speed traveling control in which the automatic transmission mode is selected based on an instruction from the constant speed traveling control starting means, when the change lever is switched to the manual shift range by the driver, the constant speed traveling means is A vehicle travel control device comprising: linkage control means for canceling constant speed travel control to return to normal travel and causing the mode switching means to select a manual shift mode.   The linkage control means releases the constant speed running control to the constant speed running means when the change lever is switched to the neutral range by the driver during execution of the constant speed running control in which the automatic transmission mode is selected. 2. The vehicle travel control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle travel control device causes the mode switching means to select an automatic transmission mode while returning to normal travel.

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