JP2013151993A - Vehicle control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle control device that can achieve constant speed control of a vehicle more properly.SOLUTION: A vehicle control device 1 includes: an obtaining means 2a for obtaining information including a starting point and a gradient of a downhill existing in a traveling direction of a vehicle; a selecting means 2b for selecting a corresponding shift position in correspondence with the gradient; a calculating means 2c for calculating a change time required for a change from a current shift position to the corresponding shift position; and a changing means 2d for starting the change so that the change is terminated at the starting point.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle control apparatus suitable for being applied to vehicles such as passenger cars, trucks, buses and the like.

  In recent vehicles, as described in Patent Document 1, for example, a device that performs constant-speed traveling for controlling the vehicle to a set speed has been proposed. At that time, taking into account that the road surface on which the vehicle travels switches from a flat road to a slope, obtain uphill information from the map information, change the set vehicle speed, correct or shift engine control based on the uphill information Making changes is disclosed.

JP 2000-306200 A

  However, in such prior art, especially when the hill is downhill, if the vehicle decelerates from before the downhill, the driver feels uncomfortable, and if the driver performs acceleration operation there, Incurs driving at a higher speed on the downhill. On the other hand, if the vehicle decelerates after going downhill, the vehicle speed near the entrance becomes too high. That is, there arises a problem that the vehicle cannot be kept at a constant speed more appropriately.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle control device that can more appropriately realize constant speed control of a vehicle.

In order to solve the above problem, a vehicle control device according to the present invention provides:
An acquisition means for acquiring information including a start point and a slope of a downhill existing in the traveling direction of the vehicle; a selection means for selecting a corresponding shift position corresponding to the slope; and a change from the current shift position to the corresponding shift position. It includes a calculation means for calculating a necessary change time and a change means for starting the change so as to end the change at the starting point.

Here, in the vehicle control device,
Predicting means for predicting an engine speed when the vehicle travels on the downhill at the corresponding shift position, and when the engine speed exceeds a predetermined speed, the selecting means determines the corresponding shift position. It is good also as correcting.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the vehicle control apparatus which can implement | achieve the constant speed control of a vehicle more appropriately, even when a downhill exists can be provided.

It is a block diagram showing one embodiment of vehicle control device 1 of the example concerning the present invention. It is the 1st map which derives corresponding shift position PT from vehicle speed V and gradient theta used in one embodiment of vehicle control device 1 of an example. It is a 2nd map for estimating the engine speed N from the vehicle speed V and corresponding shift position PT used in one Embodiment of the vehicle control apparatus 1 of an Example. It is a 3rd map for calculating change time T from present shift position PP and corresponding shift position PT used in one embodiment of vehicle control device 1 of an example. It is a flowchart which shows the control content of the vehicle control apparatus 1 of an Example. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the application aspect of the vehicle control apparatus 1 of an Example. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the application aspect of the vehicle control apparatus 1 of an Example. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the application aspect of the vehicle control apparatus 1 of an Example.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle control device 1 of this embodiment includes an inter-vehicle control ECU 2 (Electronic Control Unit), a GPS device 3, and an inter-vehicle communication device 4. An engine / AT control ECU 5 is connected to the inter-vehicle control ECU 2 via a communication standard such as CAN (Controller Area Network), and the engine / AT control ECU 5 controls an AT 6 (Automatic Transmission) and a throttle actuator 7.

  The GPS device 3 holds a map database, and a steering sensor 8, a yaw sensor 9, and a G sensor 10 are connected with or without a CAN. A radar sensor 11, a stop lamp switch 12, and a cruise setting switch 13 are connected to the inter-vehicle control ECU 2. Furthermore, a brake control ECU 14 is connected to the inter-vehicle control ECU 2 via a CAN, a vehicle speed sensor 15 is connected to the brake control ECU 14, and a brake actuator 16 is connected.

  The inter-vehicle control ECU 2 includes, for example, a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, a data bus for connecting them to each other, and an input / output interface, and an acquisition unit 2a for performing each control described below according to a program stored in the ROM It functions as means 2b, computing means 2c, changing means 2d, and predicting means 2e. The inter-vehicle control ECU 2 periodically detects the current shift position PP (current gear stage) from the engine / AT control ECU 5 via CAN.

  The inter-vehicle control ECU 2 executes cruise control for controlling the engine / AT control ECU 5 and the brake control ECU 14 based on the inter-vehicle distance acquired from the radar sensor 11 and the set speed set by the cruise setting switch 13. The inter-vehicle control ECU 2 cancels the cruise control when a manual brake operation by the driver is detected by the stop lamp switch 12.

  Here, the GPS device 3 receives radio waves from a predetermined number of satellites launched over the earth, and the steering sensor 8 detects and detects the steering angle of the vehicle steering device. The result is output to the GPS device 3. The yaw rate sensor 9 detects the yaw rate of the vehicle and outputs the detection result to the GPS device 3, and the G sensor 10 detects the acceleration of the vehicle and outputs the detection result to the GPS device 3.

  In addition, the map database is stored in the GPS device 3 or a recording medium such as a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM (not shown) connected to the GPS device 3 as appropriate, and stores map information for display and map information for search. doing.

  Further, the vehicle speed sensor 15 detects each wheel speed from a wheel speed sensor provided corresponding to each wheel, obtains the vehicle speed V from the average of each wheel speed, and outputs the vehicle speed V to the CAN. The inter-vehicle control ECU 2 and the GPS device 3 acquire the vehicle speed V on the CAN.

  The GPS device 3 measures the position P of the vehicle, that is, the longitude, latitude, and altitude, based on radio waves received from a plurality of satellites, for example, by the principle of triangulation. In addition, the GPS device 3 determines the vehicle speed V obtained from the CAN, the steering angle detected by the steering sensor 8, the yaw rate detected by the yaw sensor 9, the acceleration detected by the G sensor 10, and the moving distance and direction of the vehicle. When the position of the vehicle is calculated and measured by autonomous navigation and the GPS device 3 cannot receive radio waves from the satellite, the data of the position P of the vehicle is complemented.

  In this way, the GPS device 3 supplements the data using the position P by autonomous navigation when the current position P of the vehicle based on radio wave reception cannot be measured, so that the current position P of the total vehicle is calculated. The accuracy of measurement is increased.

  The inter-vehicle communication device 4 performs inter-vehicle communication with a preceding vehicle traveling ahead of the road on which the vehicle is traveling, and detects the longitude, latitude, and altitude of the preceding vehicle detected in the preceding vehicle in the same manner as described above. The preceding vehicle information is acquired.

  The acquisition means 2a of the inter-vehicle control ECU 2 acquires the slope θ of the downhill on which the preceding vehicle travels and the starting point DS of the downhill using the preceding vehicle information. Note that, in addition to or instead of the preceding vehicle information, the acquisition unit 2a may acquire the gradient θ and the starting point DS using the map information for search in the map database and the current position P of the vehicle.

  The selection means 2b of the inter-vehicle control ECU 2 is, for example, a first corresponding shift position PT (optimum gear stage) suitable for a downhill determined based on “vehicle speed V (km / h) and gradient θ (%)” shown in FIG. The corresponding shift position PT is selected from the “map”, the gradient θ and the vehicle speed V described above.

  The predicting means 2e of the inter-vehicle control ECU 2 is, for example, “a second map of the engine speed N on the downhill obtained based on the vehicle speed V and the corresponding shift position PT” shown in FIG. 3 and the above-described vehicle speed V and the corresponding shift position PT. From this, the engine speed N is calculated.

  The selection means 2b of the inter-vehicle control ECU 2 may cause the calculated engine speed N to be high enough to cause anxiety to the driver, or the acceleration / deceleration gain may be too high and the speed may become unstable. When the engine speed N is greater than a certain predetermined engine speed NL, the corresponding shift position PT once selected by the selector 2b is set to the larger side using FIG. 3 so that the engine speed N calculated by the calculator 2c is NL or less. to correct.

  For example, the calculation means 2c of the inter-vehicle distance control ECU 2 displays a "third map of a change time T (longer as the gear difference is larger) determined based on the current shift position PP and the corresponding shift position PT" shown in FIG. The change time T is calculated from the position PP and the corresponding shift position PT.

  The change means 2d of the inter-vehicle control ECU 2 calculates the distance required for the change from the vehicle speed V and the change time T, calculates the change start point CS by subtracting the calculated distance from the start point DS, and the vehicle position P starts to change. When the point CS is reached, it starts changing the current shift position PP to the corresponding shift position PT. Thereafter, when passing the starting point DS, the inter-vehicle distance control ECU 2 appropriately controls the brake control ECU 14 to apply a braking force when the engine speed N is corrected.

  The control content of the inter-vehicle control ECU 2 described above will be described with reference to a flowchart. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the control contents of the vehicle control apparatus according to the present invention.

  In step S1, the inter-vehicle control ECU 2 detects the position P, the vehicle speed V, and the current shift position PP of the vehicle. In step S2, the acquisition unit 2a of the inter-vehicle control ECU 2 has a downhill located in front of the vehicle. In addition, the starting point DS of the downhill and the gradient θ are acquired.

  In step S3, the selecting means 2b selects the corresponding shift position PT (optimum gear stage) from the gradient θ and the vehicle speed V using the first map of FIG. 2, and in step S4, using the second map of FIG. The engine speed N is predicted.

  In step S5, the selection unit 2b determines whether or not the engine speed N is greater than the predetermined speed NL. If the answer is negative, the process proceeds to step S7. If the answer is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S6. The corresponding shift position PT is again selected and corrected so that the engine speed N in the running is equal to or less than the predetermined speed NL. In this case, the braking force that compensates for the insufficient braking force is also calculated.

  In step S7, the calculation means 2c calculates a change time T necessary for changing the current shift position PP to the corresponding shift position PT using the third map of FIG. 4, and in step S8, the change start point DS ( (Gradient change point) is calculated.

  In step S9, the changing unit 2d determines whether or not the position P of the vehicle has reached the change start point DS. If the result is negative, the process returns to step S9. If the result is positive, the process proceeds to step S10. When the downshift control is performed and the correction in step S6 is performed, a command for causing the brake control ECU 14 to exert the braking force calculated in step S6 is output.

  According to the vehicle control device 1 of the present embodiment realized by the control contents described above, the following operational effects can be obtained. That is, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, when the current shift position PP is “8”, the corresponding shift position PT is “7”, and the change time T is Tg87 = 0.1 seconds (from FIG. 4). In addition, the downshift control can be terminated at the gradient change point (change start point DS). As a result, the end of the downshift control and the passing time of the gradient change point are matched, and the time when the engine brake is enabled and the passing time are matched, thereby preventing unnecessary acceleration operation by the driver. It is also possible to prevent giving anxiety. In FIG. 6, the vehicle speed is exemplary.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the current shift position PP is “8”, the corresponding shift position PT is “5”, and the change time T is Tg85 = 0.6 seconds (from FIG. 4). Even if it is long, the downshift control can be terminated at the gradient change point (change start point DS).

  Further, when the engine speed N is greater than the predetermined speed NL when the corresponding shift position PT is changed, as shown in FIG. 8, for example, the shift down control is performed with the corresponding shift position PT and the current shift position PP. Is not performed (cancelled), and the brake control ECU 14 compensates for the insufficient braking amount of the engine brake, thereby preventing the driver from feeling uneasy or unstable.

  Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and substitutions are made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention. be able to.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the inter-vehicle control ECU 2 acquires information including the slope of the downhill ahead and the starting point from the inter-vehicle communication and the GPS device 3, but other information such as road-to-vehicle communication and communication using the center is used. It can also be obtained using means. Further, the second map shown in FIG. 4 may be learned during normal traveling.

  According to the present invention, even when there is a downhill ahead of the vehicle, the change time can be obtained in advance based on the current shift position and the corresponding shift position, and the shift can be completed at the starting point of the downhill. The constant speed control of the vehicle can be realized more appropriately. That is, the vehicle control device of the present invention is useful when applied to various vehicles such as passenger cars, trucks, and buses.

1 Vehicle control device 2 Inter-vehicle control ECU
2a acquisition means 2b selection means 2c calculation means 2d change means 2e prediction means 3 GPS device 4 inter-vehicle communication device 5 engine / AT control ECU
6 AT
7 Throttle actuator 8 Steering sensor 9 Yaw sensor 10 G sensor 11 Radar sensor 12 Stop lamp switch 13 Cruise setting switch 14 Brake control ECU
15 Vehicle speed sensor 16 Brake actuator

Claims (2)

  An acquisition means for acquiring information including a start point and a slope of a downhill existing in the traveling direction of the vehicle; a selection means for selecting a corresponding shift position corresponding to the slope; and a change from the current shift position to the corresponding shift position. A vehicle control apparatus comprising: a calculation means for calculating a required change time; and a change means for starting the change so as to end the change at the starting point.   Predicting means for predicting an engine speed when the vehicle travels on the downhill at the corresponding shift position, and when the engine speed exceeds a predetermined speed, the selecting means determines the corresponding shift position. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein correction is performed.

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