JP2016005933A - Steering device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a steering device capable of enhancing safety during the traveling of a vehicle by limiting course change of the vehicle due to an unintended operation when a driver sneezes.SOLUTION: A steering device 1 for steering wheels 40, 40 according to a rotation operation of a steering wheel 2 of a vehicle comprises: a sound detection device 51 for detecting sneezing sound of a driver; a determination device 6 for determining whether or not the steering wheel 2 has performed a predetermined rotation amount of rotation operation when the sneezing sound was detected by the sound detection device 51; and a steering control device 7 for limiting the steering of the wheels 40, 40 according to the predetermined rotation amount of rotation operation when the determination device 6 has determined that the steering wheel 2 performed the predetermined rotation amount of rotation operation.

Description

  The present invention relates to a steering device that steers wheels according to a rotation operation of a steering member of a vehicle.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an in-vehicle device for realizing safe traveling of a vehicle is known. For example, in Patent Document 1, if a driver who suffers from hay fever or the like deteriorates during driving and frequently sneezes, smooth driving may be hindered. A driving support device that suppresses the above has been proposed.

  The driving support device of Patent Literature 1 includes sneezing detection means for detecting that the driver sneezes, and processing execution means for executing suppression processing for suppressing the driver's sneezing. In such a driving support device, when it is detected that the driver sneezes, the driver's sneeze is suppressed by executing a suppression process such as air purification in the vehicle, so that the driver sneezes smoothly. Can be prevented from being disturbed.

JP 2013-52784 A

  However, when the driver sneezes during driving, his eyes may be closed unexpectedly, and the steering wheel may be operated unintentionally. If such an unintended operation is performed, the course of the vehicle is changed in an undesired direction, and there is a risk of danger such as a collision. The driving support device described in Patent Document 1 does not consider the case where the driver sneezes and performs an unintended operation, and therefore cannot limit the course change of the vehicle due to the unintended operation.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to limit a change in the course of the vehicle due to an unintended operation when the driver sneezes and to ensure safety during traveling of the vehicle. An object of the present invention is to provide a steering device that can improve the performance.

  The steering device according to the present invention is a steering device that steers a wheel in response to a rotation operation of a steering member of a vehicle. Sound detection means for detecting a sneezing sound of a driver, and sneezing sound is detected by the sound detection means. A determination means for determining whether or not the steering member has been rotated by a predetermined amount of rotation; and when the determination means determines that the steering member has been rotated by a predetermined amount of rotation, And limiting means for limiting the turning of the wheel according to the rotation operation of a predetermined rotation amount.

  In the present invention, the sound detection means detects whether or not the driver sneezes, and the determination means detects that the driver sneezes by the sound detection means and the steering member performs a rotation operation with a predetermined rotation amount. It is determined whether or not. For this reason, it is possible to determine whether or not the rotation operation of the steering member is an operation not intended by the driver. The restricting means restricts the turning of the wheel when the determining means determines that the steering member has been rotated by a predetermined amount. For this reason, when the steering member performs an operation not intended by the driver, it is possible to limit a change in the course of the vehicle due to the operation.

  The steering apparatus according to the present invention includes in-vehicle image detecting means for detecting an image of a driver's sneezing, and the judging means detects a sneezing sound by the sound detecting means, and the driving image by the in-vehicle image detecting means. When an image of a person sneezing is detected, it is determined whether or not the steering member has been rotated by a predetermined amount of rotation.

  In the present invention, the determination means determines whether or not the steering member has been rotated by a predetermined rotation amount when it is detected that the sound detection means and the vehicle interior image detection means are sneezed. For this reason, it is possible to more accurately determine an operation not intended by the driver.

  The steering apparatus according to the present invention includes obstacle detection means for detecting an obstacle in the course of the vehicle, and the limiting means is determined by the determination means that the steering member has been rotated by a predetermined amount of rotation, In addition, when no obstacle is detected by the obstacle detection means, the steering of the wheel according to the rotation operation of the predetermined rotation amount is limited.

  In the present invention, when it is determined by the determining means that the steering member has been rotated by a predetermined amount, and the obstacle detecting means does not detect that an obstacle exists in the course of the vehicle, the limiting means is Limit wheel steering. As described above, since the restriction on the steering of the wheel is performed only when there is no obstacle in the course of the vehicle, the wheel is steered as necessary when there is an obstacle in the course of the vehicle. be able to.

  The steering apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that the predetermined rotation amount is set to be small / large according to the vehicle speed high / low.

  In the present invention, the determination means is determined according to the vehicle speed. When the vehicle speed is high, the amount of rotation of the steering member, which is the determination reference, is small. Accordingly, it can be determined whether or not the rotation operation of the steering member is an operation not intended by the driver.

  The steering apparatus according to the present invention includes a reaction force generation unit that generates a reaction force with respect to the rotation operation of the steering member, and the limiting unit has a reaction force against the rotation operation of the steering member. The steering of the wheel is limited by generating the above.

  In the present invention, the restricting means restricts the turning of the wheel by causing the reaction force generating means to generate a reaction force with respect to the rotation operation of the steering member. For this reason, when the rotation operation of the steering member is an operation not intended by the driver, the rotation operation of the steering member can be immediately prevented by applying a reaction force to the steering member.

  The steering device according to the present invention includes a rotation amount detection unit that detects a rotation amount of the steering member, a drive unit that drives the steering of the wheel, and a rotation amount detected by the rotation amount detection unit. Output means for outputting a command signal to the driving means so as to steer the wheel, and the limiting means cancels the command signal of the output means according to the rotation operation of the predetermined rotation amount, thereby It is characterized by restricting the steering of the vehicle.

  In the present invention, the limiting means limits the wheel turning by canceling the command signal to be output from the output means to the driving means. For this reason, when the rotation operation of the steering member is an operation not intended by the driver, the wheel is not steered.

  According to the present invention, when an operation that the vehicle does not intend to the driver is performed, the change of the course of the vehicle due to the operation that is not intended by the driver can be limited by limiting the steering of the wheel according to the operation. It is possible to improve safety while the vehicle is running.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the steering device which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a judgment apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the judgment process which the control part of a judgment apparatus performs. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the steering device which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a steering apparatus 1 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the steering device 1 includes a steering wheel (steering member) 2, a steering mechanism 4, a sound detection device 51, an in-vehicle image detection device 52, an obstacle detection device 53, a vehicle speed sensor 54, a determination device 6, And a steering control device 7 and the like. The steering device 1 employs a steering by wire system in which the steering wheel 2 and the steering mechanism 4 are mechanically separated.

  The steering wheel 2 can be rotated around its rotation axis. A steering angle sensor 21 that detects a rotation angle around the rotation axis of the steering wheel 2 is provided on the rotation axis of the steering wheel 2. When the rotation angle of the steering wheel 2 is detected, the steering angle sensor 21 transmits a detection value to the determination device 6 and the steering control device 7 via a CAN (Controller Area Network) bus 30.

  The steering mechanism 4 is connected to steering wheels 40, 40 provided on the left and right sides of the vehicle. The steering mechanism 4 is provided with a drive motor 41 that drives the steering mechanism 4 in accordance with an instruction from the steering control device 7. The steering mechanism 4 performs a steering operation for turning the wheels 40 and 40 by driving of the drive motor 41.

  The sound detection device 51 is a device that detects sneezing based on the sound in the vehicle. In the sound detection device 51, for example, a microphone provided near the driver's seat of the vehicle acquires voice data in the vehicle, analyzes the voice data, and identifies a feature amount of the sneeze sound, thereby sneezing sound. Is detected. The sound detection device 51 outputs a notification signal to the determination device 6 when detecting a sneezing sound.

  The in-vehicle image detection device 52 is a device that detects sneezing based on the driver's face image. In the in-vehicle image detection device 52, for example, a driver's face is photographed by a camera provided in the vehicle facing the driver's seat, image data indicating the driver's face image is analyzed, and, for example, a pupil in the face image is analyzed. The open / closed state of the driver's eyes is detected by a known method of determining the presence or absence of the driver. The vehicle interior image detection device 52 outputs a notification signal to the determination device 6 when detecting that the driver's eyes are closed.

  The obstacle detection device 53 is a device that detects the presence of an obstacle that prevents the vehicle from traveling on the path of the vehicle. In the obstacle detection device 53, for example, a camera provided at the front end of the vehicle is used to take an image outside the vehicle in the course of the vehicle, and for example, a known method of pattern matching the image data is used to detect obstacles in the vehicle course. Determine presence or absence. The obstacle detection device 53 outputs a notification signal to the determination device 6 when detecting the presence of an obstacle in the vehicle path. The vehicle speed sensor 54 detects the traveling speed of the vehicle. The vehicle speed sensor 54 is provided, for example, on the axle of the vehicle, detects the rotational speed of the axle, and outputs the detected value to the determination device 6.

  The determination device 6 is, for example, an ECU or a domain controller. As will be described later, the determination device 6 determines that the steering wheel 2 is based on signals from the steering angle sensor 21, the vehicle speed sensor 54, the sound detection device 51, the vehicle interior image detection device 52, and the obstacle detection device 53. It is determined whether an unintended operation has been performed.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the determination device 6. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the determination device 6 includes a control unit 61, a ROM 62, a RAM 63, a storage unit 64, a CAN communication unit 65, and an input unit 66.

  Specifically, the control unit 61 is configured by a CPU, MPU, or the like, and performs various control processes and arithmetic processes by reading and executing programs and data stored in advance in the ROM 62. .

  The ROM 62 is configured by a non-volatile memory element such as a mask ROM, EEPROM, or flash memory, and various software programs necessary for the operation of the determination device 6 are stored in advance. The RAM 63 stores temporary data generated when the control unit 61 performs control processing, arithmetic processing, or the like, and includes a rewritable memory element such as SRAM or DRAM.

  The storage unit 64 includes a rewritable nonvolatile memory element such as an EEPROM or a flash memory, and stores parameters for determining the vehicle state. Here, the parameters for determining the vehicle state include, for example, a plurality of threshold values for determining whether or not the rotational angular velocity of the steering wheel 2 is greater than the threshold value. Here, the plurality of threshold values are stored in association with a plurality of vehicle speeds, and are set to be smaller as the vehicle speed is higher.

  The CAN communication unit 65 is connected to the CAN bus 30 and transmits and receives signals to and from other in-vehicle devices in accordance with a CAN (Controller Area Network) protocol.

  The input unit 66 receives, for example, signals from the sound detection device 51, the vehicle interior image detection device 52, the obstacle detection device 53, and the vehicle speed sensor 54 via signal lines, and these signals are input to the control unit 61. Output.

  In the determination device 6, the control unit 61 calculates the rotational angular velocity around the rotational axis of the steering wheel 2 based on the detection value from the steering angle sensor 21. Further, the control unit 61 specifies a threshold corresponding to the vehicle speed among the plurality of thresholds stored in the storage unit 64 based on the vehicle speed from the vehicle speed sensor 54, and specifies the calculated rotation angular velocity. It is determined whether or not the rotation operation of the steering wheel 2 has suddenly changed compared to the threshold value.

  In the determination device 6, the control unit 61 determines whether notification signals from the sound detection device 51, the vehicle interior image detection device 52, and the obstacle detection device 53 have been input. The control unit 61 determines that the notification signal from each of the sound detection device 51 and the in-vehicle image detection device 52 is input, the notification signal from the obstacle detection device 53 is not input, and the rotation operation of the steering wheel 2 has suddenly changed. In this case, it is determined that the vehicle has performed an operation not intended by the driver, and a notification signal is transmitted to the steering control device 7 via the CAN communication unit 65.

  The steering control device 7 controls the turning of the wheels 40 and 40 by controlling the drive of the drive motor 41. The steering control device 7 receives the detection value from the steering angle sensor 21 via the CAN bus 30, calculates the target wheel angle of the wheels 40, 40 based on the detection value, and the wheels 40, 40 are the target. A command signal is output to the drive motor 41 so that the wheel angle is obtained. Here, as a method of controlling the drive operation by the drive motor 41, for example, a sensor (not shown) for detecting the wheel angle of the wheels 40, 40 is provided, and the steering control device 7 uses the detected value of the wheel angle from the sensor. A method for controlling the drive operation of the drive motor 41 based on the above is mentioned. Thus, the steering mechanism 4 can perform a steering operation in accordance with the rotation operation of the steering wheel 2.

  Further, when the steering control device 7 receives the notification signal from the determination device 6, the steering control device 7 cancels the output of the command signal to the drive motor 41. Thus, when the steering wheel 2 is operated not intended by the driver, the steering mechanism 4 does not perform a steering operation according to the operation. Therefore, the steering of the wheels 40 and 40 according to the unintended operation is limited.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of determination processing executed by the control unit 61 of the determination device 6. The determination process executed by the control unit 61 of the determination device 6 is executed, for example, when the IG switch of the vehicle is turned on.

  The controller 61 determines whether or not there is a notification signal from the sound detection device 51 (step S1). When it is determined that there is a notification signal from the sound detection device 51 (step S1: YES), the control unit 61 determines whether there is a notification signal from the in-vehicle image detection device 52 (step S2).

  When it is determined that there is a notification signal from the in-vehicle image detection device 52 (step S2: YES), the control unit 61 determines whether or not a change in the rotation angle is detected by the steering angle sensor 21 (step S3).

  When it is determined that a change in the rotation angle has been detected by the steering angle sensor 21 (step S3: YES), the control unit 61 calculates the rotation angular velocity (step S4) and sets a plurality of threshold values stored in the storage unit 64. Among these, the threshold value corresponding to the vehicle speed from the vehicle speed sensor 54 is specified (step S5).

  Next, the controller 61 determines whether or not the rotational angular velocity calculated in step S4 is greater than the threshold value specified in step S5 (step S6). When it is determined that the calculated rotational angular velocity is greater than the threshold (step S6: YES), the control unit 61 determines whether there is a notification signal from the obstacle detection device 53 (step S7).

  When determining that there is no notification signal from the obstacle detection device 53 (step S7: NO), the control unit 61 transmits the notification signal to the steering control device 7 via the CAN communication unit 65 (step S8).

  Then, the control unit 61 determines whether or not the IG switch is turned off (step S9). When it is determined that the IG switch is not turned off (step S9: NO), the control unit 61 returns the process to step S1. When it is determined that the IG switch is turned off (step S9: YES), the control unit 61 ends the process.

  The control unit 61 determines that there is no notification signal from the sound detection device 51 (step S1: NO), and determines that there is no notification signal from the in-vehicle image detection device 52 (step S2: NO). When it is determined that the change of the rotation angle is not detected by the steering angle sensor 21 (step S3: NO), when it is determined that the rotation angular velocity of the steering wheel 2 is not larger than the threshold value (step S6: NO), or an obstacle If it is determined that there is a notification signal from the detection device 53 (step S7: YES), the process proceeds to step S9.

  In the first embodiment, the steering control device 7 controls the steering operation of the steering mechanism 4 in accordance with the rotation operation of the steering wheel 2 to steer the wheels 40 and 40. When it is detected by the sound detection device 51 that the sneeze is detected, and the determination device 6 determines that the rotation operation of the steering wheel 2 has suddenly changed, the steering control device 7 sends a command signal corresponding to the rotation operation to the drive motor. No output to 41. Thereby, the course change of the vehicle due to an operation unintended by the driver can be prevented, and the risk of a collision or the like can be reduced.

  Further, in the first embodiment, the vehicle interior image detection device 52 detects that sneezing based on image data indicating a driver's face image. When it is detected that the sound detection device 51 and the vehicle interior image detection device 52 sneeze, the determination device 6 determines whether or not the rotation operation of the steering wheel 2 has suddenly changed. As a result, an operation unintended by the driver can be determined more accurately.

  In the first embodiment, the obstacle detection device 53 detects the presence or absence of an obstacle in the course of the vehicle. When the obstacle detection device 53 detects that an obstacle exists in the course of the vehicle, the steering control device 7 does not limit the turning of the wheels. Thereby, when an obstacle exists in the course of the vehicle, the steering wheel 2 can be rotated, and the safety during traveling of the vehicle can be enhanced.

  In the first embodiment, the threshold value of the rotational angular speed for determining whether or not the rotation operation of the steering wheel 2 has changed suddenly differs depending on the vehicle speed. When the vehicle speed is high, even a small rotation operation of the steering wheel 2 has a great influence on the running of the vehicle. For this reason, it is possible to further increase the safety during traveling of the vehicle by setting a determination criterion according to the vehicle speed and determining the rotation operation of the steering wheel 2.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the steering device 10 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. In the second embodiment, the steering device 10 is mechanically coupled to the steering wheel 2 and the steering mechanism 40. In the following description, the same configuration as that of the first embodiment is referred to, and the description thereof is omitted.

  A reaction force motor 22 that generates a reaction force with respect to an operation of rotating the steering wheel 2 is provided on the rotation shaft of the steering wheel 2. As will be described later, the reaction force motor 22 applies a reaction force to the rotating shaft of the steering wheel 2 in accordance with an instruction from the steering control device 70.

  The steering mechanism 40 is, for example, a rack and pinion type, and the rotation of the steering wheel 2 is converted into movement in the axial direction of the rack shaft by the pinion shaft, and the steering operation is performed by movement of the rack shaft. Compared to the steering mechanism 4 of the first embodiment, the steering mechanism 40 is not provided with a drive motor.

  The steering control device 70 controls the reaction force motor 22. When the steering control device 70 receives the notification signal from the determination device 6, the steering control device 70 calculates a reaction force value corresponding to the rotation angle based on the rotation angle detected by the steering angle sensor 21, and rotates the steering wheel 2. A command signal is output to the reaction force motor 22 so as to generate a reaction force. In this way, when the steering wheel 2 is operated not intended by the driver, the steering wheel 2 is immediately prevented from rotating due to the reaction force, and returned to the position immediately before the operation is performed.

  In the second embodiment, when the determination device 6 determines that an operation unintended by the driver is performed, the steering control device 70 controls the reaction force motor 22 to prevent the rotation operation of the steering wheel 2. The steering wheel 2 is returned to the position immediately before the unintended operation is performed. In this way, the turning of the wheels 40, 40 according to the unintended operation is limited, and the course change of the vehicle is corrected. Thereby, dangers, such as a collision of a vehicle, can be reduced.

  Further, the steer-by-wire steering device of the first embodiment may be configured to provide the reaction force motor 22 on the rotating shaft of the steering wheel 2, as in the second embodiment. In this case, the steering control device 7 may control the reaction force motor 22 based on the rotation angle detected by the steering angle sensor 21 as in the steering control device 70 of the second embodiment.

  In Embodiment 1, although the steering control apparatus 7 demonstrated the example which restrict | limits steering of the wheels 40 and 40 by canceling the output of the command signal to the drive motor 41 according to the notification signal from the judgment apparatus 6, The steering control device 7 may be applied to control of an actuator of an electric power steering device that assists in steering the vehicle. In this case, the steering control device 7 may limit the turning of the wheels 40 and 40 by canceling the output of the command signal to the actuator in accordance with the notification signal from the determination device 6.

  The embodiment disclosed this time is to be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the meanings described above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Steering device 10 Steering device 2 Steering wheel (steering member)
21 Steering angle sensor (rotation amount detection means)
22 Reaction force motor (Reaction force generation means)
4 Steering mechanism 41 Drive motor (drive means)
51 Sound detection device (sound detection means)
52 Vehicle interior image detection device (vehicle interior image detection means)
53 Obstacle detection device (obstacle detection means)
54 Vehicle speed sensor 6 Judgment device (judgment means)
7 Steering control device (limitation means, output means)
70 Steering control device (limitation means)

Claims (6)

In a steering device that steers wheels according to a rotation operation of a steering member of a vehicle,
Sound detection means for detecting the driver's sneezing sound;
A determination unit that determines whether or not the steering member has been rotated by a predetermined amount when a sneezing sound is detected by the sound detection unit;
And a limiting means for limiting the turning of the wheel according to the rotation operation of the predetermined rotation amount when it is determined by the determination means that the rotation operation of the steering member has been performed by the predetermined rotation amount. apparatus. In-vehicle image detection means for detecting an image of a driver's sneeze,
The judging means detects a sneezing sound by the sound detecting means, and when the in-vehicle image detecting means detects an image of a driver's sneezing, the steering member is rotated by a predetermined amount of rotation. The steering apparatus according to claim 1, wherein it is determined whether or not the vehicle has been operated. An obstacle detection means for detecting an obstacle in the course of the vehicle,
The limiting means determines that the steering member has been rotated by a predetermined amount of rotation when it is determined that the steering member has been rotated by a predetermined amount of rotation and no obstacle has been detected by the obstacle detecting means. The steering apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the steering of the wheels to be responded is limited.   The steering apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the predetermined rotation amount is set to be small / large according to high / low of a vehicle speed. A reaction force generating means for generating a reaction force with respect to the rotation operation of the steering member;
The said restriction | limiting means restrict | limits the steering of the said wheel by making a reaction force generation | occurrence | production means generate | occur | produce a reaction force with respect to rotation operation of the said steering member, The Claim 1 characterized by the above-mentioned. 5. The steering device according to any one of 4. A rotation amount detecting means for detecting a rotation amount of the steering member;
Drive means for driving the wheel steering;
Output means for outputting a command signal to the drive means so as to steer the wheel according to the rotation amount detected by the rotation amount detection means,
The said restriction | limiting means limits the steering of the said wheel by canceling the command signal of the said output means according to the rotation operation of the said predetermined amount of rotations, The Claims 1-5 characterized by the above-mentioned. The steering apparatus as described in any one.

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