JP2013019275A - Vehicle control system, vehicle, control method of vehicle, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To remove the stress of a driver or to eliminate a mistake the driver thinks a vehicle is in failure, during eco-running control.SOLUTION: A control device 1 includes a display control unit 14 that displays on a display unit 15 both a current accelerator opening which is achieved as a result of adjustment by an accelerator-opening calculation unit 10 and an estimated accelerator opening from an current amount of pressing an accelerator pedal in the vehicle. The control device 1 is preferably mounted to the vehicle.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle control device, a vehicle, a vehicle control method, and a program.

  In order to achieve vehicle fuel efficiency, when the actual acceleration exceeds the preset target acceleration corresponding to the vehicle speed, the accelerator opening is adjusted so that the actual acceleration approaches the target acceleration. Control (hereinafter, such control is referred to as eco-run control) is performed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2008-297903 A

  During the execution of the eco-run control as described above, for example, even if the driver depresses the accelerator pedal to the maximum depth in order to obtain a large acceleration, the actual accelerator opening does not become as required by the driver. This is because the actual accelerator opening is set by the control device of the eco-run control, and a steep increase in acceleration is not performed, but a conservative increase in acceleration occurs. Such vehicle behavior is stressful for drivers who are unfamiliar with eco-run control because the vehicle behavior cannot be obtained as required. Furthermore, a driver who has little knowledge about eco-run control may mistakenly recognize that the vehicle cannot perform as expected because the eco-run control is not the cause of the failure.

  The present invention has been made under such a background, and is a vehicle control device, a vehicle, and a vehicle control capable of eliminating misrecognition of a driver's stress or failure during eco-run control. It is an object to provide a method and a program.

  One aspect of the present invention is a viewpoint as a vehicle control device. The vehicle control apparatus of the present invention performs control to adjust the accelerator opening so that the actual acceleration approaches the target acceleration when the actual acceleration exceeds the target acceleration set in advance corresponding to the vehicle speed of the vehicle. Display means for displaying both the current accelerator opening realized as a result of adjustment by the control means and the accelerator opening estimated from the current depression amount of the accelerator pedal of the vehicle It is what has.

  Another aspect of the present invention is a viewpoint as a vehicle. The vehicle of the present invention includes the vehicle control device of the present invention.

  Still another aspect of the present invention is a viewpoint as a vehicle control method. According to the vehicle control method of the present invention, when the actual acceleration exceeds a preset target acceleration corresponding to the vehicle speed of the vehicle, the accelerator opening is adjusted so that the actual acceleration approaches the target acceleration. In a vehicle control method having a step, both the current accelerator opening realized as a result adjusted by the processing of the control step and the accelerator opening estimated from the current accelerator pedal depression amount of the vehicle are both displayed. A display step to display.

  Still another aspect of the present invention is a viewpoint as a program. The program of the present invention is a control for adjusting the accelerator opening so that the actual acceleration approaches the target acceleration when the actual acceleration exceeds the target acceleration set in advance corresponding to the vehicle speed of the vehicle. In the program for realizing the function of the vehicle control device having the means, the current accelerator opening realized as a result of adjustment by the control means and the accelerator opening estimated from the current depression amount of the accelerator pedal of the vehicle The function of the display means for displaying both is realized.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the misrecognition that the driver | operator's stress under eco-run control or it failed can be eliminated.

It is a block block diagram of the control apparatus of the vehicle of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the relationship between the vehicle speed memorize | stored in the target acceleration memory | storage part of FIG. 1, and a target acceleration. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the request | requirement accelerator opening and control accelerator opening which are displayed on the display apparatus of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement of the accelerator opening calculation part of FIG. It is a figure which shows the control result by the control apparatus of FIG. 1, and is a relationship between an engine rotation speed, request | requirement accelerator opening, the amount of accelerator opening reduction by eco-run control, actual accelerator opening, vehicle speed, and the application period of control accelerator opening It is a figure which shows this with progress of time. It is a figure which shows another example of a display different from FIG. 2 of the example of a display of the request | requirement accelerator opening displayed on the display apparatus of FIG. 1, and a control accelerator opening. It is a figure which shows another example of a display different from FIG. 2, FIG. 6 of the example of a display of the request | requirement accelerator opening displayed on the display apparatus of FIG. 1, and a control accelerator opening.

(Overview)
The control device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention adjusts the accelerator opening so that the actual acceleration approaches the target acceleration when the actual acceleration exceeds a preset target acceleration corresponding to the vehicle speed of the vehicle. I do. Such control of the control device 1 is referred to herein as “eco-run control”. In the control device 1, during the eco-run control, the accelerator opening required for the vehicle by the driver depressing the accelerator pedal (hereinafter referred to as the requested accelerator opening) and the eco-run control are set. Both the accelerator opening (hereinafter referred to as the control accelerator opening) are displayed on the display screen of the display unit 15.

(Constitution)
The control device 1 is a computer, and includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a microprocessor (microcomputer), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), and the like. And an I / O (Input / Output) port. The program executed by the control device 1 can be stored in advance in a non-volatile memory inside the control device 1 and installed in the control device 1 that is a computer in advance. When the control device 1 executes the program, the accelerator opening calculation unit (executes a part of the control step of the control method by a part of the control means in the claims) 10, the acceleration comparison unit (one of the control means in the claims). Part of the control method of the control method is executed by the part 11, the acceleration calculation part (part of the control means of the control method is executed by part of the claims) 12, the target acceleration storage part (in the claim) A part of the control means executes a part of the control method control step) 13 and a display control unit (execution of the control method display step by the display means in claims) 14 is realized.

  The accelerator opening calculation unit 10 includes accelerator pedal operation information such as an accelerator pedal depression amount output from an accelerator pedal sensor (not shown), difference information between actual acceleration and target acceleration output from the acceleration comparison unit 11, In accordance with the ON / OFF information of eco-run control, an accelerator opening degree control instruction is given to the engine ECU (Electric Control Unit) 16.

  The acceleration comparison unit 11 compares the actual acceleration information output from the acceleration calculation unit 12 with the target acceleration information obtained by referring to the memory of the target acceleration storage unit 13, and indicates how much the difference is. The difference information is transmitted to the accelerator opening calculation unit 10.

  The acceleration calculation unit 12 calculates vehicle acceleration by differentiating vehicle speed information output from a vehicle speed sensor (not shown). The acceleration information calculated by the acceleration calculation unit 12 is transmitted to the acceleration comparison unit 11.

  As shown in FIG. 2, target acceleration information corresponding to the vehicle speed is stored in the target acceleration storage unit 13 in advance. As shown in FIG. 2, since the target acceleration requires a relatively large acceleration when the vehicle starts, the target acceleration is set larger as the vehicle speed is lower. The target acceleration is conservatively set so as not to suddenly accelerate on the assumption that the vehicle travels with low fuel consumption. The target acceleration is determined by the vehicle manufacturer for each vehicle type by performing a test run or a simulation, and this value is stored in the memory of the target acceleration storage unit 13 as the target acceleration. As this memory, a part of a non-volatile memory included in the control device 1 which is a computer can be used. Thereby, the target acceleration memory | storage part 13 can hold | maintain the memory content, even if the power supply of the control apparatus 1 is an OFF state.

  The display control unit 14 inputs accelerator pedal operation information such as an accelerator pedal depression amount output from an accelerator pedal sensor (not shown) and control accelerator opening information output from the accelerator opening calculation unit 10, and requests the accelerator. An opening display instruction and a control accelerator opening display instruction are given to the display unit 15. The display control unit 14 estimates the accelerator opening required by the driver based on the information on the accelerator pedal depression amount, and requests the estimated result as the requested accelerator opening for the requested accelerator opening display instruction. An accelerator opening display instruction is generated.

  The display unit 15 has a display screen configured by, for example, a liquid crystal display panel, an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display panel, or the like. Thereby, the display unit 15 displays the required accelerator opening on the display screen of the display unit 15 as shown in FIG. 3 based on the required accelerator opening display instruction and the control accelerator opening display instruction from the display control unit 14. Both the display 17 and the display 18 of the control accelerator opening can be displayed.

  As a method of estimating the accelerator opening required by the driver based on the information on the accelerator pedal depression amount, for example, a table in which the accelerator opening corresponding to the accelerator pedal depression amount is recorded is displayed. Pre-stored in a memory in the control unit 14. Thereby, the display control part 14 can estimate the accelerator opening which the driver | operator has requested | required based on the information of the depression amount of an accelerator pedal with reference to this table.

  Further, the engine ECU 16 shown in FIG. 1 together with the control device 1 is a computer, and controls the fuel injection amount and valve timing of an engine (not shown). For example, the engine ECU 16 includes a CPU, an ASIC, a microprocessor (microcomputer), a DSP, and the like, and includes a calculation unit, a memory, an I / O port, and the like. The engine ECU 16 controls the accelerator opening of an engine (not shown) based on the accelerator opening control instruction of the accelerator opening calculation unit 10 in accordance with the accelerator opening control instruction.

(Operation)
Next, operation | movement of the control apparatus 1 is demonstrated with reference to FIGS.

  The basic control of the accelerator opening calculation unit 10 which is a main component of the control device 1 is to detect the accelerator opening required by the driver from the accelerator pedal operation information and to send the accelerator opening to the engine ECU 16. Is to instruct. At this time, if the eco-run control is in the ON state (that is, the eco-run control switch (not shown) is in the ON state), the accelerator opening calculation unit 10 calculates the actual acceleration information output from the acceleration comparison unit 11 and the target acceleration storage unit. Control is performed so that there is no difference on the plus side from the target acceleration information obtained by referring to 13 (that is, the actual acceleration exceeds the target acceleration).

  Further, when the eco-run control is in the OFF state (that is, the accelerator control switch (not shown) is in the OFF state), the accelerator opening calculation unit 10 directly determines the accelerator opening requested by the driver detected from the accelerator pedal operation information. It outputs to engine ECU16 as an opening degree control instruction.

  Here, the operation of the accelerator opening calculation unit 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When the key switch of the vehicle is in the ON state, the functions of the accelerator opening calculation unit 10 and other units are realized in the control device 1 that is a computer. Furthermore, the START condition is satisfied when the eco-run control of the control device 1 is also in the ON state. Note that the processing from START to END in the flowchart of FIG. 4 is processing for one cycle. If the above-mentioned START conditions are satisfied, the processing is repeatedly executed.

  Step S1: The accelerator opening calculation unit 10 acquires accelerator pedal operation information and proceeds to the procedure of Step S2.

  Step S2: The accelerator opening calculation unit 10 calculates the required accelerator opening based on the acquired accelerator pedal operation information, and proceeds to the procedure of step S3. As a method for calculating the required opening degree of the accelerator based on the operation information of the accelerator pedal, there is a method using a table in which the required opening degree of the accelerator corresponding to the depression amount of the accelerator pedal is recorded.

  Step S3: The accelerator opening calculation unit 10 acquires difference information between the actual acceleration and the target acceleration transmitted from the acceleration comparison unit 11, and proceeds to the procedure of step S4.

  Step S4: The accelerator opening calculation unit 10 determines whether or not the difference information transmitted from the acceleration comparison unit 11 is positive. If it is determined in step S4 that the difference information is positive, the procedure proceeds to step S5. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S4 that the difference information is equal to or less than zero, the procedure proceeds to step S7.

  Step S5: The accelerator opening calculation unit 10 sets the instruction opening in the accelerator control instruction to the engine ECU 16 to be less than the required opening, and proceeds to the procedure of step S6.

  Step S6: The accelerator opening calculation unit 10 determines whether or not the difference information transmitted from the acceleration comparison unit 11 is equal to or less than zero. If it is determined in step S6 that the difference information is equal to or less than zero, the process for one cycle is terminated (END). On the other hand, if it is determined in step S6 that the difference information is not less than or equal to zero (ie, plus), the procedure proceeds to step S8.

  Step S7: The accelerator opening calculation unit 10 leaves the instruction opening in the accelerator control instruction to the engine ECU 16 as the required opening, and ends the process for one cycle (END).

  Step S8: The accelerator opening calculation unit 10 further reduces the instruction opening in the accelerator control instruction to the engine ECU 16, and returns to the procedure of step S6.

  Next, as a control result by the control device 1, FIG. 5 shows the engine speed as a broken line 20, the required accelerator opening as a broken line 21, the accelerator opening decrease due to the eco-run control as indicated by an arrow 22, and the actual accelerator opening as a solid line. 23, the vehicle speed is indicated by an alternate long and short dash line 24, and the relationship between the engine speed, the required accelerator opening, the amount of decrease in the accelerator opening by the eco-run control, the actual accelerator opening, the vehicle speed, and the application period T of the control accelerator opening is expressed in time. Shown with progress.

  In the example of FIG. 5, the operation of the accelerator pedal is started at time t1, and the actual accelerator opening (solid line 23) starts to rise from 0 °. In the example of FIG. 5, the case where the driver depresses the accelerator pedal to the maximum depth is illustrated, and the actual accelerator opening (solid line 23) reaches the substantially fully opened position at time t2.

  When the actual accelerator opening (solid line 23) reaches a substantially fully opened position at time t2, the fuel injection amount to the engine becomes maximum, and the acceleration (not shown) of the vehicle increases. For this reason, both the engine speed (dashed line 20) and the vehicle speed (dashed line 24) start to rise. The accelerator opening calculation unit 10 performs eco-run control with respect to an increase in acceleration. As a result, an accelerator opening decrease (arrow 22) due to eco-run control occurs between the required accelerator opening (broken line 21) and the actual accelerator opening (solid line 23).

  Since the accelerator opening is throttled by the eco-run control started from time t2, the acceleration of the vehicle decreases. As a result, the engine rotation speed (dashed line 20) and the vehicle speed (one-dot chain line 24) gradually increase toward time t3.

  From time t3 to time t4, both the engine speed (dashed line 20) and the vehicle speed (dashed line 24) tend to decrease. This is a behavior seen when, for example, a vehicle approaches an ascending slope.

  After the time t4, the acceleration of the vehicle decreases to a level substantially equal to the target acceleration, so that the difference between the actual accelerator opening (solid line 23) and the required accelerator opening (broken line 21) becomes small. As a result, the fuel injection amount of the engine increases, so that the engine speed (dashed line 20) and the vehicle speed (dashed line 24) increase.

  At time t5, since the acceleration of the vehicle decreases to less than the target acceleration, the difference between the actual accelerator opening (solid line 23) and the required accelerator opening (broken line 21) disappears. As a result, the accelerator opening calculation unit 10 ends the eco-run control. As a result, the accelerator opening becomes the required accelerator opening itself, and the fuel injection amount of the engine increases, so that the engine speed (dashed line 20) and the vehicle speed (one-dot chain line 24) further increase.

  At time t6, since the accelerator pedal is released, the actual accelerator opening (solid line 23) suddenly decreases. Along with this, the engine speed (broken line 20) and the vehicle speed (dashed line 24) also decrease with a slight delay.

  As shown in FIG. 5, among the actual accelerator opening (solid line 23), for the application period T of the control accelerator opening, the required accelerator opening (broken line 21) and the actual accelerator opening (solid line 23) There is a difference between them. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, the display 17 of the required accelerator opening and the display 18 of the control accelerator opening displayed on the display screen of the display unit 15 display different accelerator openings. The required accelerator opening display 17 and the control accelerator opening display 18 may be displayed in different colors.

(effect)
Since the control device 1 displays both the control accelerator opening and the required accelerator opening on the display unit 15, the driver can recognize the actual accelerator opening with respect to the depression operation of the accelerator pedal. As a result, the driver's stress during eco-run control or misrecognition of a failure can be eliminated.

  In addition, the driver knows the control accelerator opening with respect to the required accelerator opening, and adjusts the amount of operation of his own accelerator pedal so that the required accelerator opening approaches the control accelerator opening, which is effective for fuel saving. The acceleration of the vehicle can be learned. According to this, it is possible to carry out the operation of the accelerator pedal so that the acceleration of the vehicle that is effective for fuel saving can be obtained even when the driver gets on another vehicle that does not have the control device 1. become.

  In addition, according to the eco-run control of the accelerator opening calculation unit 10, for example, even when the driver performs a wavy accelerator pedal operation or an excessive accelerator pedal operation, a wavy acceleration change or an excessively rapid acceleration And fuel consumption can be kept low.

  Moreover, the control mentioned above by the control apparatus 1 is performed based on the acceleration calculated from the vehicle speed. Therefore, it is not necessary to install various sensors other than the vehicle speed sensor in the vehicle, and neither data calculation processing nor storage of vehicle specification data is necessary. Thus, since sensors, data calculation processing, and specification data storage can be omitted, the cost of the control device 1 can be reduced and the reliability can be improved. In addition, this can reduce the cost of the vehicle and improve the reliability.

(Other embodiments)
Another display example on the display screen of the display unit 15A is shown in FIG. The display screen of the display unit 15A has a difference display area 30 that displays a difference from the display 17 of the required accelerator opening as the display 18A of the control accelerator opening. In the display 18A of the control accelerator opening, it is preferable that the color of the difference display area 30 is different from the color of the control accelerator opening display area. According to this, the driver can know the magnitude of the difference between the control accelerator opening and the required accelerator opening based on the size of the area of the difference display area 30. Thus, for example, the driver knows the magnitude of the difference between the required accelerator opening and the control accelerator opening by looking only at the display 18A of the control accelerator opening without looking at the display 17 of the requested accelerator opening. be able to.

  Furthermore, another display example on the display screen of the display unit 15B is shown in FIG. On the display screen of the display unit 15B, the control accelerator opening and the required accelerator opening are displayed in an overlapping manner as the display 19 of the control accelerator opening and the required accelerator opening. However, since the control accelerator opening does not become larger than the required accelerator opening, an amount larger than the control accelerator opening appears as the difference display area 31 in the required accelerator opening. According to this, since the display area of the display unit 15B can be approximately halved compared to the display units 15 and 15A, the display unit 15B can be reduced in size and cost. Further, the driver can know the magnitude of the difference between the required accelerator opening and the control accelerator opening by looking at only one display 19. In addition, the display color of the difference display area 31 can be changed with respect to the display of the control accelerator opening. Thereby, the display of the difference display area 31 can be made conspicuous.

  In addition, in the block configuration shown in FIG. 1, the target acceleration storage unit 13 is provided outside the acceleration comparison unit 11 for easy understanding, but the target acceleration information stored in the target acceleration storage unit 13 is stored. If the acceleration comparison unit 11 stores the target acceleration storage unit 13, the target acceleration storage unit 13 may be omitted. Thereby, the block configuration of the control apparatus 1 can be simplified.

  Further, even when the eco-run control is in the ON state, the accelerator opening calculation unit 10 performs these operations or controls according to information such as a direction indicator operation, an auto cruise operation, or an ABS control. The accelerator opening required by the driver detected from the accelerator pedal operation information may be directly output to the engine ECU 16 as an accelerator opening control instruction.

  For example, the situation where the direction indicator is operated is a situation where the driver is requesting a large acceleration from the vehicle, such as a lane change for overtaking. Under such circumstances, the vehicle can be accelerated at an acceleration as required by the driver while ignoring the target acceleration. Further, during the period when the auto cruise is working, neither acceleration nor deceleration is performed, so that the vehicle can be driven as required by the auto cruise while ignoring the target acceleration. Further, when the ABS or the like detects a slip of the wheel, it is necessary to increase the engine rotation speed in order to escape from the slip. Therefore, the accelerator opening degree as required by the driver can be obtained by ignoring the target acceleration. Thereby, drivability can be made favorable.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 4, the accelerator opening calculation unit 10 sets “difference is positive?” In step S4 and “is the difference zero or less?” In step S6, and is actually transmitted from the acceleration comparison unit 11. The control was switched at a boundary point where the difference between the acceleration of the target and the target acceleration is zero. On the other hand, when the difference goes up and down across the boundary points, in order to prevent frequent switching of control, for example, “is the difference +0.5?” In step S4, and “difference” in step S6. May be provided with a hysteresis (hysteresis) at the boundary point. Thereby, mode hunting in which control switching frequently occurs can be prevented.

  Further, in the eco-run control by the control device 1, a certain period may be provided until the eco-run control is started from the rise of the engine speed. According to this, the eco-run control is not yet started at the rise of the engine rotation speed, and the drivability of the rise of the engine rotation speed can be made as required by the driver. As a result, the situation in which the driver feels uncomfortable with the drivability of acceleration can be alleviated. Alternatively, during the operation of the direction indicator, it may be determined that the lane has been changed for overtaking and the eco-run control may be canceled in order to realize acceleration as requested by the driver.

  Further, as the required accelerator opening approaches the control accelerator opening, the display color of the display 17 of the required accelerator opening and the display color of the display 18 of the control accelerator opening gradually change from the different colors to the same color. Also good. For example, when the display 18 of the control accelerator opening is a green display color and the difference between the required accelerator opening and the control accelerator opening is relatively large, the display color of the display 17 of the required accelerator opening is red and the required accelerator As the difference between the opening and the control accelerator opening decreases, the display color of the required accelerator opening display 17 gradually changes from red to orange through yellow, yellow, and the like. According to this, when the driver learns the acceleration of the vehicle effective for fuel saving by adjusting the amount of operation of the accelerator pedal so that the required accelerator opening approaches the control accelerator opening, It is possible to know that the required accelerator opening has approached the control accelerator opening by the color change without paying attention to the indicated values on the displays 17 and 18. Thereby, the convenience and efficiency at the time of a driver learning the acceleration of the vehicle effective for fuel saving can be improved.

  Further, the program executed by the control device 1 has been described as being installed in the control device 1 in advance. However, a removable medium in which the program is recorded (a program is stored) is attached to a drive or the like (not shown). The program read from the removable medium is stored in a non-volatile memory inside the control device 1, or the program transmitted via a wired or wireless transmission medium is received by a communication unit (not shown). By storing it in a nonvolatile memory inside the control device 1, it can be installed in the control device 1 which is a computer. According to this, a process of changing a part or all of the program, such as a program update operation, can be easily performed.

  The program executed by the computer may be a program that is processed in time series in the order described in this specification, or in parallel or at a necessary timing such as when a call is made. It may be a program for processing.

  The embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, in addition to the display described above, the display unit 15 may be used for other displays such as a navigation map. Moreover, although the control apparatus 1 can be mounted in various motor vehicles, such as a four-wheel motor vehicle and a two-wheeled motor vehicle, it can also be mounted in vehicles other than a motor vehicle, for example, a train. Furthermore, it can be applied to ships, airplanes and the like in addition to vehicles.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Control apparatus, 10 ... Accelerator opening calculation part (part of control means), 11 ... Acceleration comparison part (part of control means), 12 ... Acceleration calculation part (part of control means), 13 ... Target acceleration Storage unit (part of control unit), 14 ... display control unit (display unit), 15 ... display unit (part of display unit)

Claims (4)

In a vehicle control device having control means for adjusting an accelerator opening so that an actual acceleration approaches the target acceleration when the actual acceleration exceeds a preset target acceleration corresponding to the vehicle speed of the vehicle ,
Display means for displaying both the current accelerator opening realized as a result of adjustment by the control means and the accelerator opening estimated from the current accelerator pedal depression amount of the vehicle;
A control apparatus for a vehicle.   A vehicle comprising the vehicle control device according to claim 1. In a vehicle control method including a control step of adjusting an accelerator opening so that the actual acceleration approaches the target acceleration when the actual acceleration exceeds a preset target acceleration corresponding to the vehicle speed of the vehicle ,
A display step for displaying both the current accelerator opening realized as a result of adjustment by the process of the control step and the accelerator opening estimated from the current accelerator pedal depression amount of the vehicle,
A method for controlling a vehicle. On the computer,
A control device for a vehicle having control means for adjusting an accelerator opening so that the actual acceleration approaches the target acceleration when the actual acceleration exceeds a target acceleration set in advance corresponding to the vehicle speed of the vehicle. In the program that realizes the function,
Realizing the function of the display means for displaying both the current accelerator opening realized as a result of adjustment by the control means and the accelerator opening estimated from the current accelerator pedal depression amount of the vehicle;
A program characterized by that.

Images