JP2018090185A - Vehicular control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicular control device that can set reaction force characteristics of an accelerator pedal on the basis of a protagonist suitable for a driving situation, so that operability of the accelerator pedal by a driver can be improved.SOLUTION: A vehicular control device 1 comprises a three-dimensional map M which has forward characteristics FA and FB and return characteristics FC and FD and has F-S characteristics of an accelerator pedal 3 set, and a reaction force setting part 24 that sets reaction force of the accelerator pedal 3 on the basis of the three-dimensional map M. The vehicular control device further comprises a muscle activity estimating part 23 that estimates whether a protagonist of a lower limb of a human body to be set as a subject of action is either a single articular muscle or a biarticular muscle on the basis of a driving situation. The reaction force estimating part 24, when the protagonist to be set as the subject of action is estimated to be the single articular muscle, corrects the forward characteristic FB in a reaction force decreasing direction, and when the protagonist is estimated to be the biarticular muscle, corrects the forward characteristic FB in a reaction force increasing direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle control device capable of controlling a reaction force value of an accelerator pedal in accordance with a driver's muscle activity.

Conventionally, in the case of a vehicle equipped with a drive-by-wire engine, the accelerator pedal and the output control device such as the throttle valve and the fuel injection device are not connected by a cable. The reaction force value is given to the driver.
Since the accelerator pedal depression amount and the reaction force value are set to have a substantially proportional relationship, the driver generally recognizes the accelerator pedal depression amount based on the reaction force value given from the accelerator pedal. It is. Therefore, there has been proposed a reaction force control device that guides the driver to depress the accelerator pedal in accordance with the driver's preference and driving environment by changing the reaction force value of the accelerator pedal.

The vehicle driving operation assisting device of Patent Document 1 dynamically generates a driving intention sequence of a plurality of virtual drivers in a past predetermined time interval including the present time, and the driving operation amount of the virtual driver for each driving intention sequence. Estimate the actual driver's driving intention by calculating the driving operation amount series approximation degree that represents the degree of series approximation between the actual driving amount of the driver and the actual driving amount, and comparing multiple driving operation amount series approximation degrees The actual driver's state is estimated based on the estimated driving intention.
When the accelerator pedal is depressed, the longer the elapsed time from the driver's intention to change lanes to the driver's intention to drive is to change lanes, the faster the accelerator pedal reaction force command value is It is decreasing.

In addition, a technique for setting a reaction force characteristic of an accelerator pedal in consideration of human perceptual characteristics has been proposed by the present applicant.
The accelerator pedal control device for a vehicle disclosed in Patent Document 2 includes a reaction force setting means having a three-dimensional map defined by a depression amount of an accelerator pedal, a depression speed of the accelerator pedal, and a reaction force value given to a driver, and an accelerator pedal. The reaction force setting means sets the reaction force characteristics so that the accelerator pedal reaction force value is smaller when the depression speed is slow than when the depression speed is slow. doing.
As a result, it is possible to set reaction force characteristics suitable for the driving environment and driving intention while reducing the burden on the driver and a sense of discomfort.

From the viewpoint of muscle activity, the accelerator pedal depressing and stepping back movements by the driver can be regarded as sole flexion and dorsiflexion.
As shown in FIG. 16, the operation of the accelerator pedal by the ankle joint mainly involves the anterior tibial muscle t, the soleus s and the gastrocnemius g.
The anterior tibial muscle t is a single (one) joint muscle that performs dorsiflexion movement of the ankle joint, and the soleus s is a single joint muscle that performs plantar flexion movement of the ankle joint. The gastrocnemius g is a bi-articular muscle that performs ankle plantar flexion motion and knee joint flexion motion. Among these skeletal muscles, the single-joint muscles depend on the mechanical force ratio, have anti-gravity properties that lift the body against gravity, and the bi-articular muscles suppress mechanical energy consumption And, it has a propulsive property that controls the direction of external force, that is, the so-called body is propelled and moved in a specific direction.
Since skeletal muscle has viscoelastic properties as mechanical properties, it can be represented by a two-element model consisting of a series elastic element and a contraction element, and the elastic modulus of the series elastic element increases as the muscle tension increases. It is known that the relationship is such that the contraction element load and speed are hyperbolic, and that the overall muscle stiffness is linear with muscle activity.

Japanese Patent No. 5293784 JP, 2006-000581, A

The accelerator pedal control device of Patent Literature 2 can determine the driver's driving intention using the accelerator pedal depression speed as a parameter, and can set a reaction force characteristic suitable for the driving intention.
However, although the technique of Patent Document 2 can obtain the reaction force value of the accelerator pedal that is suitable for the driver's driving intention, the improvement in operability viewed from the side of the skeletal muscle related to the driver's movement is further described. There is room for improvement.

That is, the accelerator pedal control device of Patent Document 2 has a low reaction force from the accelerator pedal when the accelerator pedal is depressed at a high speed. The contribution rate is higher than the contribution rate), and the single joint muscle becomes the driving muscle.
Therefore, it is not possible to secure sufficient pedaling force for the operation of the accelerator pedal in spite of the driving situation where the operation speed is required rather than the operation accuracy of the accelerator pedal, such as sudden acceleration. There is a possibility that the operation cannot be executed.
On the contrary, when the accelerator pedal is depressed slowly, the reaction force from the accelerator pedal is high, so that the muscle activity of the driver's ankle joint is a bi-articular muscle movement, and the single joint muscle is the driving muscle.
Therefore, there is a possibility that an accelerator pedal operation with fine and high accuracy cannot be executed in spite of a driving situation in which the operation accuracy is required more than the operation speed of the accelerator pedal, such as slow acceleration.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicular control device that can set a reaction force characteristic of an accelerator pedal based on main muscles suitable for driving conditions, and a vehicular control device that can improve the operability of a driver's accelerator pedal. Etc. is to provide.

  The control device for a vehicle according to claim 1 has a control map having a forward characteristic and a reverse characteristic and setting a correlation between a depression amount of the accelerator pedal and a reaction force value, and a reaction force value of the accelerator pedal based on the control map. In a vehicle control device comprising a reaction force setting means for setting a muscular activity for estimating whether a main muscle of a lower limb of a human body to be an active subject is a monoarticular muscle or a biarticular muscle based on a driving situation The reaction force setting means corrects the inclination angle of the main travel characteristic or the reaction force value of the main travel characteristic excluding the depression start and depression end areas based on the main muscle estimated by the muscle activity estimation means. It is characterized by that.

  This vehicle control device includes muscle activity estimation means for estimating whether the main muscle of the lower limb of the human body, which should be the active body based on the driving situation, is a single joint muscle or a biarticular muscle. In the driving situation, it is possible to estimate the main muscle that should be the active subject from the viewpoint of the driver's operability. Suitable for driving conditions because the reaction force setting means corrects the inclination angle of the main advance characteristic or the reaction force value of the main advance characteristic excluding the depression start and depression end areas based on the main muscle estimated by the muscle activity estimation means. Thus, the skeletal muscle having the high performance can be appropriately used as the main muscle, and the operability of the driver's accelerator pedal can be improved.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the reaction force setting means determines that the main force characteristic is a reaction force decreasing direction when the main active muscle to be the active subject is estimated to be a single joint muscle. When the main muscle is estimated to be a biarticular muscle, the main characteristic is corrected in the reaction force increasing direction.
According to this configuration, when it is estimated that the main active muscle to be the active subject is a single joint muscle, the contribution ratio of the single joint muscle is made higher than the contribution ratio of the biarticular muscle through the reaction force of the accelerator pedal. When it is estimated that the main muscle to be active is a single joint muscle, the contribution rate of the biarticular muscle can be made higher than the contribution rate of the single joint muscle through the reaction force of the accelerator pedal. it can.

The invention of claim 3 is characterized in that, in the invention of claim 1 or 2, the reaction force setting means corrects the whole main characteristic in an offset manner.
According to this configuration, the contribution rate of skeletal muscle can be adjusted with a simple configuration in terms of control processing.

The invention of claim 4 is the invention of any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a stepping speed detecting means for detecting a stepping speed of the accelerator pedal, and the muscle activity estimating means is provided by the stepping speed detecting means. The main muscle is estimated based on the detected depression speed of the accelerator pedal at the initial stage of the depression.
According to this configuration, the contribution rate of the skeletal muscle can be adjusted following the change in the driving situation.

  According to the vehicle control device of the present invention, it is possible to set the reaction force characteristic of the accelerator pedal based on the main muscles suitable for the driving situation, thereby improving the operability of the driver's accelerator pedal.

1 is a block diagram of a vehicle control device according to a first embodiment. It is the schematic of an accelerator pedal and a reaction force control mechanism. It is a figure which shows a three-dimensional map. It is a figure explaining the FS characteristic of a three-dimensional map, Comprising: (a) is a graph of FS characteristic at the time of low depression speed, (b) is a graph of FS characteristic at the time of high depression speed. Show. It is a figure explaining PF characteristic, (a) is a graph of the PF characteristic at the time of low depression speed, (b) has shown the graph of the PF characteristic at the time of high depression speed. It is a figure explaining the relationship between a driver | operator's knee angle and a seat height position, Comprising: (a) is the state in which the seat was set to the high position, (b) is the state in which the seat was set to the middle position, (C) has shown the state by which the sheet | seat was set to the low position. It is a figure explaining the relationship between a driver | operator's knee angle and a seat slide position, Comprising: (a) is the state in which the seat was set to the front side position, (b) is the state in which the seat was set to the intermediate position, c) shows a state in which the seat is set at the rear position. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of a control apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of attitude | position correction coefficient calculation. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of main characteristic correction coefficient calculation. It is a graph of the FS characteristic at the time of start and rapid acceleration operation. It is a graph of the FS characteristic at the time of rapid acceleration operation. It is a graph of the FS characteristic at the time of slow acceleration operation. It is a graph of the FS characteristic at the time of middle acceleration operation when the main muscle of the pre-operation is biarticular muscle. It is a graph of the FS characteristic at the time of middle acceleration operation when the main muscle of pre-operation is a single joint muscle. It is explanatory drawing of the skeletal muscle at the time of accelerator pedal operation.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
The following description is an example in which the present invention is applied to a vehicle control device, and does not limit the present invention, its application, or its use.

Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
The vehicle control device 1 is configured to be able to impart operation linearity to the driver regardless of the stepping speed by controlling the reaction force value of the accelerator pedal 3 in accordance with the driver's muscle activity.
As shown in FIG. 1, the control device 1 includes an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 2. The ECU 2 is an electronic control unit including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like, and performs various arithmetic processes by loading an application program stored in the ROM into the RAM and executing it by the CPU.

  The ECU 2 includes a depression amount sensor 4 that detects a depression or depression operation amount (hereinafter referred to as a depression amount) S of the accelerator pedal 3, and a depression speed sensor 5 (depression speed detection means) that detects a depression speed V of the accelerator pedal 3. ), A speed sensor 6 for detecting the traveling speed of the vehicle, a yaw rate sensor 7 for detecting the yaw rate acting on the vehicle, an acceleration sensor 8 for detecting the traveling acceleration of the vehicle, and a seat position for detecting the seat position of the driver. The sensor 9 (seat position detecting means), the vehicle traveling unit 10, the reaction force control mechanism 11, the navigation system 12 and the like are electrically connected.

As shown in FIG. 2, the accelerator pedal 3 is held so as to be rotatable with respect to the vehicle body, and an intention to increase or decrease the engine output by the driver is input by the stepping operation.
The depression amount sensor 4 is provided on the accelerator pedal 3 or the rotation shaft 31 and detects a depression stroke of the accelerator pedal 3, that is, a so-called depression amount S from the rotation amount. The depression amount S of the accelerator pedal 3 detected by the depression amount sensor 4 is output to the ECU 2. Note that when the pedaling force due to the driver's stepping is not applied, the accelerator pedal 3 is biased by the return spring 32 connected to the accelerator pedal 3 so as to return to the initial position where the stepping amount S is zero.
The depression speed sensor 5 is provided on the rotation shaft 31 of the accelerator pedal 3 and detects the depression speed V of the accelerator pedal 3 from the rotation speed. The depression speed V of the accelerator pedal 3 detected by the depression speed sensor 5 is output to the ECU 2.

The seat position sensor 9 detects the separation distance in the vertical (vertical) direction from the center position of the seat cushion to the floor panel as the seat height T (T1, T2, T3) (see FIG. 6). The seat position sensor 9 detects the distance in the front-rear (horizontal) direction from the rear end position of the slide rail to the center position of the seat cushion as the slide amount L (L1, L2, L3) (FIG. 7). reference). The seat height T and the slide amount L detected by the seat position sensor 9 are output to the ECU 2.
The speed sensor 6, the yaw rate sensor 7, and the acceleration sensor 8 output the detection results to the ECU 2.

The vehicle travel unit 10 is a drive mechanism or a steering mechanism for executing travel control of the vehicle.
The vehicle traveling unit 10 includes an engine control unit, a steering actuator, a brake actuator, a shift actuator (all not shown), and the like.
The vehicle traveling unit 10 executes vehicle traveling control based on an output signal from the ECU 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, the reaction force control mechanism 11 includes first and second friction members 41 and 42, an electromagnetic actuator 43, and the like.
The first friction member 41 is fixed to one end of the rotating shaft 31, and the second friction member 42 is disposed in a state of facing the first friction member 41. The second friction member 42 is held so as to be non-rotatable and relatively movable in the axial direction with respect to a holding shaft 44 disposed on an extension of the axis of the rotation shaft 31.
The actuator 43 is configured to change the relative positional relationship between the first and second friction members 41 and 42 between the pressed state and the separated state, and to adjust the pressing force at the time of pressing.

The navigation system 12 is a system that provides vehicle route guidance.
As shown in FIG. 1, the navigation system 12 is electrically connected to a GPS receiver 13 for detecting the current position of the vehicle. The GPS receiver 13 detects the current position of the vehicle by receiving signals from a plurality of GPS satellites.
The navigation system 12 includes a map database that stores road map data and a traffic rule database that stores traffic rule data.
The navigation system 12 performs route guidance to the driver using the current position data of the vehicle, the road map data in the map database, and the traffic rule data in the traffic rule database by the GPS receiver 13.
Thereby, the navigation system 12 outputs the vehicle current position data, road map data, and traffic rule data to the ECU 2.

Next, the ECU 2 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, the ECU 2 includes a travel control unit 21, a storage unit 22, a muscle activity estimation unit 23 (muscle activity estimation unit), a reaction force setting unit 24 (reaction force setting unit), and the like. .
The travel control unit 21 controls the output of the engine based on the depression amount S of the accelerator pedal 3 and the vehicle speed detected by the speed sensor 6, and sets the transmission gear ratio based on the vehicle travel state and the engine operating state. It is configured to be selectable.
The output of the engine decelerated by the transmission is transmitted to drive wheels via a drive shaft (not shown).

The storage unit 22 is a three-dimensional stipulated by a depression amount S of the accelerator pedal 3 by the driver, a depression speed V, and a reaction force F corresponding to a physical reaction force value acting on the driver from the accelerator pedal 3. A map M is stored in advance.
As shown in FIG. 3, the three-dimensional map M includes an S axis (vertical axis) corresponding to the depression amount S (Sa to Sd) of the accelerator pedal 3 and a V axis (horizontal axis) corresponding to the depression speed V of the accelerator pedal 3. Axis) and three axes of F axis (height axis) corresponding to reaction force F (Fa to Ff) applied to the driver via the accelerator pedal 3 are formed in a three-dimensional shape.
The basic characteristics of the three-dimensional map M are formed for a standard driver, and a predetermined operation of the accelerator pedal 3 by the driver, so-called stepping-in and step-back operations (bottom flexion and dorsiflexion of ankle joint). , Biarticular muscles (for example, gastrocnemius muscle) and monoarticular muscles (for example, anterior tibial muscle and soleus muscle) have a predetermined balance range (for example, the contribution rate of the biarticular muscle is 40% or more and less than 60%) It is set as a precondition that it is operated within. The balance range is obtained in advance by experiments or the like.

In the correlation characteristic (hereinafter referred to as FS characteristic) between the reaction force F and the stepping amount S in the three-dimensional map M, the stepping side characteristic is an initial forward characteristic from the stepping start corresponding to the stepping start region to the initial stepping amount Sa. FA (FAa) and main characteristic FB (FBa to FBf) from the initial depression amount Sa to the maximum depression amount Sb are configured. Further, the step-return characteristics include a main recovery characteristic FC (FCa to FCf) from the maximum depression amount Sb to the initial depression amount Sa, and an initial restoration characteristic FD (from the initial depression amount Sa corresponding to the depression completion region to the completion of the depression. FDa).
Unless otherwise specified, for the sake of convenience, the depression amount S (Sa to Sd), reaction force F (Fa to Ff), characteristics FA (FAa), FB (FBa to FBf), FC (FCa to FCf), FD The following description will be made using the stepping amount S, the reaction force F, the characteristics FA, FB, FC, and FD as symbols representing (FDa).

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4A, the initial forward characteristic FA is set so as to increase in a linear shape in accordance with the increase in the stepping amount S, and the main forward characteristic FB is set in accordance with the increase in the stepping amount S. And is set to protrude downward.
The reverse characteristic FC is set so as to decrease in a linear shape in accordance with a decrease in the stepping amount S, and the final recovery characteristic FD is set so as to decrease in a linear shape with a decreasing tendency larger than that of the main recovery characteristic FC. .

The reaction force perception amount P (sensory strength) perceived as a driver's sense is proportional to the logarithm of the reaction force F (stimulus strength) (Weber-Fechner's law). The value and tendency of the reaction force F can be obtained based on the reaction force perception amount P including
P = klog (F) + K (1)
K is an integral constant.

As shown in FIG. 5A, by setting the correlation characteristic between the reaction force perception amount P and the reaction force F (hereinafter referred to as PF characteristic) to an upward convex logarithmic function shape, Thus, the reaction force perception amount P having linear continuity indicated by a broken line can be perceived (experienced). Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4A, in the FS characteristic at a low depression speed, the main characteristic corresponding to the position of the maximum depression amount Sb and the reaction force Fb from the position of the initial depression amount Sa and the reaction force Fa. FB is set to a downward convex exponential function shape obtained by inverting the upward convex logarithmic function shape shown in FIG.
This main forward characteristic FB is such that the rate of change in the tangential angle of the main forward characteristic FB becomes smaller as it approaches an intermediate step amount Sc (reaction force Fc) that is an intermediate point between the initial step amount Sa and the maximum step amount Sb. Is set.

Further, the three-dimensional map M is set so that the nonlinear degree of the main forward characteristic FB becomes smaller as the depression speed V of the accelerator pedal 3 is larger.
As shown in FIG. 5 (b), the PF characteristic in the high depression speed region is a change in the tangential angle on the PF characteristic as compared with the PF characteristic in the low depression speed region shown in FIG. 5 (a). An upward convex logarithmic function shape formed so as to reduce the rate is set. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4B, in the FS characteristic at a high depression speed, the main characteristic corresponding to the position of the maximum depression amount Sb and the reaction force Fe from the position of the initial depression amount Sa and the reaction force Fd. FBa is set to a downward convex exponential function shape having a smaller change rate of the tangent angle than the main forward characteristic FB shown in FIG.
This is because, in the low stepping speed region where the stimulus recognition ability is higher than the high stepping speed region where the stimulus recognition ability is low, the driver perceives linear continuity strongly, so that the operation linearity can be improved regardless of the stepping speed V. This is to provide a sensory and experiential experience.
Further, the main forward characteristic FBa is tangent to the main forward characteristic FBa as the main forward characteristic FBa approaches the intermediate stepping amount Sc (reaction force Ff) that is an intermediate point between the initial stepping amount Sa and the maximum stepping amount Sb. The angle change rate is set to be small.
Note that the degree of nonlinearity may be adjusted using the reciprocal of the radius of curvature in the specific region instead of the rate of change of the tangential angle described above.

Next, the muscle activity estimation unit 23 will be described.
The muscle activity estimation unit 23 is configured to estimate the contribution rate of the biarticular muscle to the operation of the accelerator pedal 3 based on the posture state of the driver.
Biarticular muscles have characteristics that are higher in energy efficiency and faster in operating speed than single joint muscles. Therefore, when operating the accelerator pedal 3, if the driver's driving posture is a posture where the contribution rate of the biarticular muscle is small, by increasing the reaction force F of the accelerator pedal 3, the skeletal muscle around the ankle joint is increased. Among them, the activity ratio of the biarticular muscle is increased, and the contribution rate to the muscle activity of the biarticular muscle is increased when the driver depresses the accelerator pedal 3 and moves back.
The muscle activity estimating unit 23 determines the posture state of the driver using the seat position detected by the seat position sensor 9 as a parameter.

As shown in FIG. 6A, when the seat height T adjusted by the driver is T1, the knee of the driver is bent and the knee angle θ1 is reduced, so that the ankle is bent and dorsiflexed. The contribution rate of the biarticular muscle is reduced (the contribution rate of the monoarticular muscle is increased).
As shown in FIG. 6B, when the seat height T adjusted by the driver is T2 (T2 <T1), the knee angle θ2 of the driver is larger than the knee angle θ1, so the knee angle θ2 The contribution rate of the biarticular muscle increases more than the contribution rate of the biarticular muscle at the knee angle θ1.
As shown in FIG. 6 (c), when the seat height T adjusted by the driver is T3 (T3 <T2), the knee angle θ3 of the driver is larger than the knee angle θ2, so the knee angle θ3 The contribution rate of the biarticular muscle is greater than the contribution rate of the biarticular muscle at the knee angle θ2.
Thereby, the increase in the contribution rate of the biarticular muscle is estimated as the seat height T is low.

As shown in FIG. 7A, when the slide amount L adjusted by the driver is L1 (female or physique is small), the knee angle θ4 of the driver becomes small, so that the ankle flexion and dorsiflexion motion The contribution rate of biarticular muscle in
As shown in FIG. 7B, when the slide amount L adjusted by the driver is L2 (physical physique) (L2 <L1), the knee angle θ5 is larger than the knee angle θ4. The contribution rate of the bi-articular muscles at is greater than the contribution rate of the bi-articular muscles at the knee angle θ4.
As shown in FIG. 7C, when the slide amount L adjusted by the driver is L3 (large physique) (L3 <L2), the knee angle θ6 is larger than the knee angle θ5. The contribution rate of the bi-articular muscles at is greater than the contribution rate of the bi-articular muscles at the knee angle θ5.
Thereby, the increase of the contribution rate of the biarticular muscle is estimated, so that the slide amount L is short.

When the addition value T + L obtained by adding the seat height T and the slide amount L is smaller than the threshold A, the muscular activity estimation unit 23 increases the contribution rate of the biarticular muscle, and the addition value T + L is greater than or equal to the threshold A and the threshold B When (A <B) or less, it is estimated that the contribution rate of the biarticular muscle is medium, and when the added value T + L is larger than the threshold value B, the contribution rate of the biarticular muscle is small.
The thresholds A and B are obtained in advance through experiments or the like based on human joint viscoelastic characteristics.

Further, the muscle activity estimation unit 23 determines that the main muscles of the lower limbs in the human body to be the active body based on the running state during driving, specifically, the depression speed V at the initial depression of the accelerator pedal 3 are the single joint muscles. It is configured to estimate which of the joint muscles.
During sudden acceleration (for example, a scene that can be stepped quickly and smoothly, and an acceleration operation with a large stepping speed V is less than 1 second), a biarticular muscle with a high operating speed and a large operating force is suitable for the main muscle. (For example, in a scene where the stepping speed V is smaller than the sudden acceleration and the acceleration operation is 1 to 3 seconds), the single joint muscle and the biarticular muscle are balanced (balance range). Is suitable for slow acceleration (for example, a scene that can be stepped while adjusting tightly, and the stepping speed V is lower than medium acceleration and acceleration operation is 3 seconds or more). Monoarticular muscle is suitable for the main muscle. Therefore, when the accelerator pedal 3 is operated, if a sudden acceleration operation is detected, the main muscle that should be the active body of the biarticular muscle, and if the middle acceleration operation is detected, the single joint muscle and the biarticular muscle cooperate. When a slow acceleration operation is detected, the single joint muscle is estimated as the main active muscle that should be the active body.
The muscle activity estimation unit 23 determines the driving situation based on the stepping speed V detected by the stepping speed sensor 5 and the operation time of the accelerator pedal 3.

Next, the reaction force setting unit 24 will be described.
The reaction force setting unit 24 is configured to correct the reaction force F in the main forward characteristic FB based on the contribution rate to the muscle activity of the biarticular muscle estimated by the muscle activity estimation unit 23.
The reaction force setting unit 24 sets posture correction coefficients K1 for correcting the reaction force F of the main forward characteristic FB according to the estimated contribution rate of the biarticular muscles based on the posture state of the driver. Yes.
In this embodiment, since the biarticular muscle is sufficiently active when the contribution rate of the biarticular muscle is large, the posture correction coefficient K1 is set to zero so that the basic characteristics of the three-dimensional map M are maintained. When the contribution rate of the articular muscle is medium, the posture correction coefficient K1 is set to K1a (0 <K1a) so as to increase the reaction force F in order to increase the contribution rate of the biarticular muscle, and the contribution rate of the biarticular muscle is When it is small, the posture correction coefficient K1 is set to K1b larger than K1a in order to further increase the contribution rate of the biarticular muscle.

The reaction force setting unit 24 is configured to correct the reaction force F of the main advance characteristic FB based on the main muscle estimated by the muscle activity estimation unit 23.
The reaction force setting unit 24 sets a main characteristic correction coefficient K2 for correcting the reaction force F of the main characteristic FB according to the estimated main muscle to be the active subject based on the driving situation. Yes.
In this embodiment, when the stepping speed V is 0 or less, the main forward characteristic correction coefficient K2 is set to zero so that the basic characteristic is maintained. When the stepping speed V is slow acceleration, the reaction force F of the main forward characteristic FB is set. So that the main force characteristic correction coefficient K2 is set to K2a (K2a <0) so that the main muscle of the previous operation is biarticular and the stepping speed V is medium acceleration, the reaction force F is decreased. When the main characteristic correction coefficient K2 is set to K2b (K2a <K2b <0), the main characteristic is such that the reaction force F increases when the main muscle of the previous operation is a single joint muscle and the stepping speed V is medium acceleration. The correction coefficient K2 is set to K2c (0 <Kc), and when the stepping speed V is sudden acceleration, the main characteristic correction coefficient K2 is set to K2d larger than K2c so that the reaction force F is further increased. Yes.

  In order to make the contribution ratio of the biarticular muscle less than approximately 40% corresponding to the lower limit value of the balance range described above, the main characteristic correction coefficient K2a makes the reaction force F of the main characteristic FB in the basic characteristic the contribution of the single joint muscle. The coefficient is corrected to a predetermined reaction force F having a rate of approximately 60% or more. Main force characteristic correction coefficients K2b and K2c are predetermined values within the range where the contribution rate of the biarticular muscle is within the balance range (the contribution rate of the biarticular muscle is 40% or more and less than 60%). Is a coefficient to be corrected to the reaction force F. The main characteristic correction coefficient K2d is set so that the contribution rate of the biarticular muscle is larger than approximately 60% corresponding to the upper limit value of the balance range. Is a coefficient for correcting to a predetermined reaction force F of approximately 60% or more. The main characteristic correction coefficients K2a to K2d are not necessarily set based on the upper limit value and the lower limit value of the balance range, and may be arbitrarily set based on the design conditions.

Further, the reaction force setting unit 24 corrects the initial forward characteristic FA and the final return characteristic FD in a region smaller than the initial stepping amount Sa in the direction in which the reaction force is increased by a predetermined amount when a sudden acceleration operation is performed when the vehicle starts. Initial characteristics (initial forward characteristics FAa and final return characteristics FDa) are calculated, and initial characteristic correction is performed based on these initial characteristics.
When the initial characteristic correction is performed, the reaction force setting unit 24 corrects the entire FS characteristic for the main forward characteristic FB and the main / reverse characteristic FC in the direction of increasing the reaction force based on the following equation (2). Yes.
Fx = (1 + α × K1 + β × K2) × F (2)
Fx is a corrected reaction force value, and α and β are coefficients.

The reaction force setting unit 24 corrects the FS characteristic according to the driving condition based on the following equation (3) when the initial forward characteristic correction is not performed (except when sudden acceleration starts).
Fx = F + (γ × K1 + δ × K2) × S (3)
γ and δ are coefficients.
The reaction force setting unit 24 outputs a command signal related to the reaction force F based on the corrected FS characteristic to the reaction force control mechanism 11.

Next, a control processing procedure of the control device 1 will be described based on the flowcharts of FIGS.
Si (i = 1, 2,...) Indicates a step for each process.
As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 8, first, in S1, it is determined whether or not the ignition (Ig) is turned on.
When the ignition is turned on as a result of the determination in S1, information input from the various sensors 4 to 9 and the navigation system 12 is read (S2), and the process proceeds to S3.
In S3, it is determined whether or not the vehicle is starting.
If the result of the determination in S3 is that the vehicle is starting, an attitude correction coefficient K1 is calculated (S4), and the process proceeds to S5.

In S5, it is determined whether or not the driver has started by a rapid acceleration operation.
As a result of the determination in S5, when the driver performs a rapid acceleration operation, initial characteristics are calculated for the initial forward characteristic FA and the final return characteristic FD (S6), and the process proceeds to S7.
In S7, the main characteristic correction coefficient K2 is calculated, and the process proceeds to S8.
In S8, the presence / absence of initial characteristic correction is determined.
If the initial characteristics are corrected as a result of the determination in S8, the corrected reaction force Fx is calculated based on the equation (2) (S9), and the process proceeds to S10.
In S10, the reaction force control mechanism 11 is activated based on the FS characteristic reflecting the corrected reaction force Fx, and the process returns.

If the initial characteristic is not corrected as a result of the determination in S8, the corrected reaction force Fx is calculated based on the equation (3) (S11), and the process proceeds to S10.
If the result of determination in S5 is that the driver has not performed a rapid acceleration operation, the process proceeds to S7.
As a result of the determination in S3, when the vehicle is not at the time of starting, the process proceeds to S12 to determine whether or not the vehicle is traveling in an area corresponding to the main travel characteristic FB.
If the result of determination in S12 is that the vehicle is traveling in an area corresponding to the main forward characteristic FB, the process proceeds to S7. As a result of the determination in S12, if the vehicle does not travel in the area corresponding to the main travel characteristic FB, the process returns.

Next, the posture correction coefficient calculation process in S4 will be described.
As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 9, in the posture correction coefficient calculation process, first, it is determined whether or not an added value T + L obtained by adding the seat height T and the slide amount L is equal to or greater than a threshold A (S21).
If the addition value T + L is equal to or greater than the threshold value A as a result of the determination in S21, the process proceeds to S22, and it is determined whether or not the addition value T + L is equal to or less than the threshold value B.

As a result of the determination in S22, when the added value T + L is equal to or less than the threshold value B, since the contribution state to the muscle activity of the biarticular muscle is low, K1a is substituted for the posture correction coefficient K1 (S23), and the process is terminated.
If the addition value T + L is larger than the threshold value B as a result of the determination in S22, the contribution ratio to the muscle activity of the biarticular muscle is a lower posture state, so K1b is substituted for the posture correction coefficient K1 (S24), and the process ends. To do.
If the addition value T + L is less than the threshold value A as a result of the determination in S21, the posture state has a high contribution rate to the muscular activity of the biarticular muscle, so zero is substituted for the posture correction coefficient K1 (S24), and the process ends.

Next, the main characteristic correction coefficient calculation process of S7 will be described.
As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 10, in the main characteristic correction coefficient calculation process, first, it is determined whether or not the stepping speed V of the accelerator pedal 3 is higher than zero (stepping operation is present) (S31).
As a result of the determination in S31, when the depression speed V of the accelerator pedal 3 is larger than zero, the process proceeds to S32 and it is determined whether or not the acceleration is slow.
As a result of the determination in S32, in the case of slow acceleration, in order to increase the operation accuracy of the operation, K2a is substituted for the main characteristic correction coefficient K2 (S33), and the process ends.

If the result of determination in S <b> 32 is not slow acceleration, the process proceeds to S <b> 34 to determine whether it is medium acceleration.
As a result of the determination in S34, in the case of medium acceleration, the process proceeds to S35, and it is determined whether or not the main muscle of the previous operation is a biarticular muscle.
As a result of the determination in S35, if the main muscle of the previous operation is a biarticular muscle, K2b is substituted into the main characteristic correction coefficient K2 in order to correct from the biarticular muscle main movement state to the balance range state (S36). ),finish.

As a result of the determination in S35, if the main muscle of the previous operation is not a biarticular muscle, K2c is substituted into the main characteristic correction coefficient K2 in order to correct the single joint dominant state or the balance state to a state within the balance range. (S37), the process ends.
If the result of determination in S34 is not medium acceleration, it is rapid acceleration, so K2d is substituted into the main characteristic correction coefficient K2 in order to increase the operating speed and increase the operating force (S37), and the process ends.
If the result of determination in S31 is that the depression speed V of the accelerator pedal 3 is less than or equal to zero, zero is substituted for the main characteristic correction coefficient K2 (S39), and the process ends.

Based on FIGS. 11-15, the FS characteristic at the time of each operation is demonstrated concretely.
11 to 15, for ease of understanding, the main forward characteristic FB having a downward convex shape is displayed in a line shape parallel to the main recovery characteristic FC for convenience, and the FS characteristic is modeled. It shows.
As shown in FIG. 11, when starting and suddenly accelerating, it is presumed that the main muscle to be active is a biarticular muscle. The initial characteristics are corrected to the forward characteristics FAb and the final recovery characteristics FDb, and the main characteristics FB and main recovery characteristics FC are similarly corrected to the main characteristics FBb and main recovery characteristics FCb shifted upward. As a result, the entire FS characteristic before correction is shifted upward in an offset manner so that the reaction force F of the main advance characteristic FB is the main advance characteristic composed of the reaction force Fx with a biarticular muscle contribution ratio of 60% or more. Correction to FBb. Further, in the case of a posture state in which the estimated contribution rate to the muscle activity of the biarticular muscle is low, the offset amount is further increased.

  As shown in FIG. 12, when a sudden acceleration operation is performed from the point of the depression amount Sd (for example, main road merge or interruption on the highway), it is estimated that the active muscle to be active is a biarticular muscle. The characteristic FBc is corrected from the depression amount Sd so that the inclination angle is larger and the reaction force value is higher than the main forward characteristic FB. The main recovery characteristic FCc is also corrected in the same manner as the main forward characteristic FBc. Thereby, the reaction force F of the main advance characteristic FB is corrected to the main advance characteristic FBc composed of the reaction force Fx having a contribution rate of the biarticular muscle of 60% or more. Further, in the case of a posture state in which the estimated contribution rate to the muscle activity of the biarticular muscle is low, the increasing tendency of the inclination angle and the reaction force value from the point of the depression amount Sd is further expanded.

As shown in FIG. 13, when a slow acceleration operation (for example, running on a flat road) is performed from the point of the stepping amount Sd, it is estimated that the main muscle to be active is a single joint muscle. The amount Sd is corrected so that the inclination angle is smaller than the main forward characteristic FB and the reaction force value is lowered. The main recovery characteristic FCd is also corrected in the same manner as the main forward characteristic FBd. As a result, the reaction force F of the main advance characteristic FB is corrected to a main advance characteristic FBd composed of a reaction force Fx having a biarticular muscle contribution rate of less than 40%. Further, in the case of a posture state where the estimated contribution rate to the muscle activity of the biarticular muscle is low, the decreasing tendency of the inclination angle and the reaction force value from the point of the depression amount Sd is reduced.
If the difference between the inclination angles of the main characteristic FB before correction and the main characteristic FBc after correction (main characteristic FBd) is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the driver feels uncomfortable with the characteristic change. Correction is performed to smoothly connect the end of the forward characteristic FB (the area immediately before the stepping amount Sd) and the start end of the corrected main forward characteristic FBc (the area immediately after the stepping amount Sd).

As shown in FIG. 14, when a middle acceleration operation is performed during an operation in which the main muscle is a biarticular muscle (for example, a transition from an acceleration lane on a highway to a flat road), the cooperative state of the biarticular muscle and the single joint muscle Therefore, the main travel characteristic FBe is corrected so that the inclination angle (tangential angle) is smaller than the main travel characteristic FB from the depression amount Sd. The main recovery characteristic FCe is corrected in the same manner as the main forward characteristic FBe. Further, in the case of a posture state in which the contribution rate to the estimated muscular activity of the biarticular muscle is low, the inclination of the inclination angle from the point of the depression amount Sd is reduced.
As shown in FIG. 15, when a middle acceleration operation is performed during an operation in which the main muscle is a single joint muscle (such as a transition from a flat road to an acceleration lane on a highway), the cooperative state of the biarticular muscle and the single joint muscle is suitable. Therefore, the main travel characteristic FBf is corrected from the depression amount Sd so that the inclination angle is larger than the main travel characteristic FB. The main recovery characteristic FCf is also corrected in the same manner as the main forward characteristic FBf. Further, in the case of a posture state in which the contribution rate of the estimated biarticular muscle to the muscle activity is low, the increasing tendency of the inclination angle from the point of the depression amount Sd is expanded. In the case of the medium acceleration operation, the upper limit value and the lower limit value are adjusted so that the reaction force Fx after the correction including the posture correction is within the balance range.

Next, operations and effects of the vehicle control device 1 will be described.
According to the present control device 1, since the muscle activity estimation unit 23 that estimates whether the main muscle of the lower limb of the human body to be the active subject based on the driving situation is the monoarticular muscle or the biarticular muscle, In the actual driving situation, it is possible to estimate the main muscles that should be active from the viewpoint of the driver's operability. Since the reaction force setting unit 24 corrects the inclination angle of the main travel characteristic FB or the reaction force F of the main travel characteristic FB based on the main muscle estimated by the muscle activity estimation unit 3, the skeleton has performance suitable for the driving situation. The muscle can be appropriately used as the main muscle, and the operability of the driver's accelerator pedal 3 can be improved.

  When the reaction force setting unit 24 estimates that the main muscle to be the active subject is a single joint muscle, the reaction force setting unit 24 corrects the main force characteristic FB in the reaction force decreasing direction, and the main force muscle is estimated to be a biarticular muscle. The main forward characteristic FB is corrected in the reaction force increasing direction. According to this, when it is estimated that the main active muscle to be the active subject is a single joint muscle, the contribution rate of the single joint muscle is higher than the contribution rate of the biarticular muscle through the reaction force F of the accelerator pedal 3. When it is estimated that the main muscle that should be the active body is a single joint muscle, the contribution rate of the biarticular muscle is higher than the contribution rate of the single joint muscle through the reaction force F of the accelerator pedal 3. can do.

Since the reaction force setting unit 24 corrects the entire main forward characteristic FB in an offset manner, the contribution rate of skeletal muscle can be adjusted with a simple configuration in terms of control processing.
A depression speed sensor 5 that detects the depression speed V of the accelerator pedal 3 is provided, and the muscle activity estimation unit 23 estimates the main muscle based on the depression speed V at the initial depression of the accelerator pedal 3 detected by the depression speed sensor 5. Therefore, the contribution rate of the skeletal muscle can be adjusted following the change of the driving situation.

Next, a modified example in which the embodiment is partially changed will be described.
1] In the above embodiment, an example using a reaction force control mechanism constituted by an actuator and a friction member has been described. However, an accelerator-by-wire mechanism including a reaction force motor may be used.

2] In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the driving situation is detected by the depression speed sensor has been described. However, the driving situation may be predicted based on the current position data, road map data, and traffic rule data of the navigation system. In this case, the main muscle is estimated according to the predicted driving situation.

3) In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the entire FS characteristic is corrected in the direction of increasing the reaction force in an offset manner at the time of sudden acceleration start. However, only the initial forward characteristic and the final backward characteristic may be increased.
In addition, it is possible to correct only the initial forward characteristic and the final backward characteristic, and to make correction so that the biarticular muscle predominates until the middle stepping amount, and to correct so that the single joint muscle predominates after the middle stage.

4) In the above embodiment, an example in which the acceleration state is classified into four types of slow acceleration, medium acceleration after biarticular muscle main action, medium acceleration after single joint muscle main action, and sudden acceleration has been described. The following classification may be used, and five or more classifications and linear correction according to the acceleration value may be performed.
Moreover, although the example which increases or decreases an inclination angle and a reaction force value according to the driving | running condition was demonstrated, you may correct | amend only any one.

5] In addition, those skilled in the art can implement the present invention in a form in which various modifications are added to the above-described embodiment or in a form in which each embodiment is combined without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Various modifications are also included.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Control apparatus 3 Accelerator pedal 4 Depression amount sensor 5 Depression speed sensor 23 Muscle activity estimation part 24 Reaction force setting part S Depression amount V Depression speed F Reaction force M Three-dimensional map FB Main characteristic

Claims (5)

A control map having a forward characteristic and a reverse characteristic and setting a correlation between the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal and the reaction force value, and a reaction force setting means for setting the reaction force value of the accelerator pedal based on the control map In a vehicle control device,
A muscle activity estimation means for estimating whether the main muscle of the lower limb of the human body to be the active body based on the driving situation is a monoarticular muscle or a biarticular muscle,
The reaction force setting means corrects the inclination angle of the main advance characteristic or the reaction force value of the main advance characteristic excluding the depression start and depression end areas based on the main muscle estimated by the muscle activity estimation means. Vehicle control device.   The reaction force setting means corrects the main characteristic in a reaction force decreasing direction when the main muscle to be the active subject is estimated to be a single joint muscle, and estimates that the main muscle is a biarticular muscle 2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein when the operation is performed, the main forward characteristic is corrected in a reaction force increasing direction.   The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the reaction force setting unit smoothly connects the end of the main forward characteristic before correction and the start end of the main forward characteristic after correction.   The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the reaction force setting unit corrects the entire main forward characteristic in an offset manner. A depression speed detecting means for detecting a depression speed of the accelerator pedal;
The said muscle activity estimation means estimates a main muscle based on the depression speed of the depression initial stage of the accelerator pedal detected by the said depression speed detection means, The any one of Claims 1-3 characterized by the above-mentioned. Vehicle control device.