JP2019127083A - Reaction force control device of accelerator pedal - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a reaction force control device of an accelerator pedal capable of suppressing deterioration of operability of an accelerator pedal.SOLUTION: A stroke amount of an accelerator pedal 2 in a foot resting load in a state that a driver 3 is simply placing his or her foot on the accelerator pedal 2 is detected (Step S2). When the detected stroke amount of the accelerator pedal 2 in the foot resting load is larger (or smaller) than a predetermined stroke amount of the accelerator pedal 2, reaction force based on the difference is added to (or subtracted from) reaction force for the predetermined operation of the accelerator pedal 2, and the reaction force for the operation of the accelerator pedal 2 of the driver 3 is controlled (Steps S3 and S4).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to an accelerator pedal reaction force control device for controlling a reaction force against a pedaling force of an accelerator pedal.

  Conventionally, in order to change the pedaling force when the driver depresses the accelerator pedal, and to improve the operability of the accelerator pedal, the reaction force is controlled while generating the reaction force. Devices that do this are known. An example of such a device is described in Patent Documents 1 to 5.

  In Patent Document 1, an operation of a driving operation device configured to adjust (control) an operation force in consideration of a parameter that affects an operation force (for example, reaction force) of each pedal of an accelerator pedal and a brake pedal. A force adjustment device is described. Specifically, in the device described in Patent Document 1, the above-described operating force is applied according to physical factors such as the height and weight of the driver and mental factors inferred from the number of times the brake pedal is depressed per unit time. Is configured to control.

  Patent Document 2 describes a vehicle pedal device capable of changing the positions of the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal with respect to the lateral direction, the longitudinal direction, and the vertical direction of the vehicle. The device described in Patent Document 2 is configured to change the position of the accelerator pedal according to the physique and posture of the driver.

  Patent Document 3 describes a pedal reaction force control device configured to improve the operability of an accelerator pedal and a brake pedal during traveling by automatic driving. In the control device described in Patent Document 3, for example, while the vehicle is traveling by automatic driving, in the state where the foot is only put on the accelerator pedal or the brake pedal (the state of the footrest where the foot rests), The accelerator pedal and the brake pedal are configured to be held so as not to accelerate or decelerate by increasing the reaction force.

  Patent Document 4 describes a pedal device configured to control a so-called footrest force. The device described in Patent Document 4 is configured to restrict the rotation of the brake pedal (that is, to control the footrest force) when the driver does not intend to brake and the foot is placed on the brake pedal. ing.

  Patent Document 5 describes a vehicular travel control device that is configured to increase the reaction force and to make the accelerator pedal a footrest when the driver's accelerator pedal operation amount reaches a predetermined operation amount. Has been. Further, the control device described in Patent Document 5 is configured to be able to control the reference value for making the footless according to the operation amount of the accelerator pedal, and for example, the reference value can be changed according to each user. Has been.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-040101 Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 3-042336 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-054860 JP 2002-053018 A JP 2006-132388 A

  According to the device described in Patent Document 1 described above, it is possible to reduce the operation load on the accelerator pedal in order to control the operation force in accordance with physical factors such as the height and weight of the driver. On the other hand, the operation load when operating the accelerator pedal is determined by the difference between the weight (load) of the driver's foot and the reaction force acting in the direction opposite to the direction in which the accelerator pedal is depressed. For example, when the weight of the driver's foot is balanced with the reaction force, the operation load is small. On the other hand, the operation load increases when the accelerator pedal is depressed or returned from that state.

  The reaction force characteristic or operation load described above is a case where physical factors such as height and weight are taken into consideration, as in the device described in Patent Document 1, although it varies depending on the physique of each driver. However, if the above operating force is not adjusted or controlled based on the relationship between the weight of the foot and the reaction force, there is a possibility that the operability of the accelerator pedal corresponding to each driver having a different physique cannot be obtained. For example, even if the reaction force characteristics are designed or set according to height and weight so that the operation load is reduced, the reaction force feels light for a driver with large (heavy) legs, on the contrary There are variations in operability (feeling) such as a reaction force felt heavy for a driver with small (light) feet. Therefore, as in the devices described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 above, the reaction force characteristics are controlled or corrected in consideration of the height and weight of the driver or the posture of the driver, and the accelerator pedal There is still room for improvement in order to obtain good operability of the accelerator pedal in each driver even when the position of the vehicle is changed.

  The present invention has been conceived by paying attention to the above technical problem, and an object thereof is to provide an accelerator pedal reaction force control device capable of suppressing a decrease in operability of the accelerator pedal. It is.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes an accelerator pedal that is depressed and depressed by a driver, a reaction force imparting mechanism that generates a reaction force against the depression of the driver's accelerator pedal, And a controller for controlling a reaction force application mechanism, wherein the reaction force control device for an accelerator pedal is capable of adjusting the reaction force by controlling the reaction force application mechanism, wherein the controller is configured so that the driver simply When the stroke amount of the accelerator pedal of the foot load when the foot is put on the accelerator pedal is detected, and the stroke amount of the accelerator pedal at the detected foot load is larger than a predetermined stroke amount of the predetermined accelerator pedal The reaction force based on the difference is added to the reaction force for the predetermined accelerator pedal operation. Control the reaction force against the driver's operation of the accelerator pedal, and when the stroke amount of the accelerator pedal at the detected foot load is smaller than the predetermined accelerator pedal stroke amount, The reaction force based on the predetermined accelerator pedal is subtracted from the reaction force for the operation of the predetermined accelerator pedal to control the reaction force for the driver's operation of the accelerator pedal.

  According to the present invention, the stroke amount of the accelerator pedal when the driver simply puts his / her foot on the accelerator pedal (so-called footrest) is detected, and the detected stroke amount and a predetermined stroke amount (for example, design) Value) and the reaction force is corrected (controlled) according to the difference. Therefore, even when there is variation in the stroke amount of the accelerator pedal of the foot load in the state where the foot is placed for each driver, the reaction force characteristics in each driver are corrected by correcting the reaction force as described above. Is in accordance with the design value. Therefore, it can suppress or avoid that the operability (feeling) of the accelerator pedal in each driver | operator falls.

It is a figure which shows an example of the mechanism regarding the accelerator pedal made into object by this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the example of control in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the relationship between the stroke amount and acceleration of an accelerator pedal in the case of performing the control example of FIG. 2, and the relationship between the stroke amount of an accelerator pedal and a load (reaction force).

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiment described below is merely an example when the present invention is embodied, and does not limit the present invention.

  FIG. 1 schematically shows an example of an accelerator pedal targeted by the present invention and a mechanism (accelerator pedal device) 1 including the accelerator pedal. The accelerator pedal 2 includes a tread surface 4 that receives the treading force of the driver 3 and a pedal arm 5 that supports the tread surface 4, and when the driver 3 steps on the accelerator pedal 2, the pedal arm 5 moves in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. It is configured to rotate (rotate) at The accelerator pedal device 1 also includes a reaction force applying mechanism 6 that returns the rotated accelerator pedal 2 to the origin position and generates a reaction force against the pedaling force of the driver 3. In the example shown in FIG. 1, an accelerator position sensor 7 and a controller (ECU) 8 are provided as other main components. The details will be described below.

  First, the accelerator pedal 2 is an operation device that is depressed or depressed by the driver 3 in order to control the driving force of the vehicle. The accelerator pedal 2 is operated according to the operation amount or the depression amount (stroke amount) of the accelerator pedal 2. The driving force generated by the driving force source, that is, the engine torque or the motor torque is adjusted. The accelerator pedal 2 has the tread surface 4 and the pedal arm 5 as described above. The pedal arm 5 is suspended so as to rotate around a predetermined fulcrum (shaft) 9 and extends to the floor side (not shown). A tread surface 4 is provided at the lower end of the pedal arm 5 extending to the floor side. The accelerator pedal 2 is a so-called haptic pedal that gives some kind of feedback information to the driver by giving vibration or force.

  Further, the accelerator pedal 2 is provided with an accelerator position sensor 7 for detecting an operation amount (accelerator opening degree) of the accelerator pedal 2 and an operation speed of the accelerator pedal 2. The accelerator position sensor 7 detects an angle from the home position when the pedal arm 5 is rotated by, for example, the driver 3 stepping on the tread 4 or reducing the stepping force.

  The reaction force application mechanism 6 is a device that generates a reaction force to the stepping force of the driver 3, and in the example shown in FIG. 1, it is configured to be able to control (adjustable) the magnitude of the reaction force. Yes. Specifically, the reaction force application mechanism 6 includes an actuator (for example, a motor), generates a reaction force corresponding to the operation position of the accelerator pedal 2 by controlling the actuator, and the magnitude of the reaction force It is configured to control. The reaction force application mechanism 6 includes a return spring for returning the rotated accelerator pedal 2 to the home position.

  The controller 8 is an electronic control unit (ECU) that receives signals from various sensors and controls a driving force source (not shown) such as an engine or the above-described reaction force applying mechanism 6. The controller 8 is composed mainly of a microcomputer, for example, and performs an operation using data stored in advance such as input data, and outputs a control command signal based on the operation result. It is configured. The input data includes, for example, the operation amount (accelerator opening) ACC of the accelerator pedal 2 detected by the accelerator position sensor 7 described above, the vehicle speed V, and a brake signal Br output when the brake pedal is depressed. Detection data. The output control command signal is, for example, a torque of a driving force source, or an actuator control command signal in the reaction force applying mechanism 6 described above. The control amount of the actuator is appropriately controlled according to the operation amount of the accelerator pedal 2 described above.

  In the accelerator pedal device 1 configured as described above, when the driver 3 depresses the accelerator pedal 2, the pedal arm 5 rotates in accordance with the amount of depression operation. Further, the rotation angle of the pedal arm 5 (i.e., the operation amount of the accelerator pedal 2) is detected by the accelerator position sensor 7, and the driving force and the reaction force for the stepping operation are determined based on the detected data. Has been. The driving force and the operation reaction force change according to the operation amount of the accelerator pedal 2, that is, the larger the depression amount of the accelerator pedal 2 by the driver 3, the above-mentioned driving force and the operation reaction force increase.

  On the other hand, the characteristics of the reaction force differ depending on the physique of the driver 3 as described above, and if the characteristics of the reaction force are determined uniformly, the operability (feeling) of the accelerator pedal 2 may be degraded by the driver 3. is there. So, in embodiment of this invention, it is comprised so that the operativity of the accelerator pedal 2 may decline. Below, an example of the control example performed by the controller 8 is demonstrated. The physique of the driver 3 includes various parameters that should be considered when operating the accelerator pedal 2 such as the size of the foot and the weight of the foot, in addition to the height and weight of each driver.

  FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing an example of the control example, in which the reaction force is controlled (corrected) to improve the operability of the accelerator pedal 2 as described above. Note that this control example is executed, for example, when the driver 3 gets on the vehicle, or when the vehicle is not traveling, for example, while the vehicle is stopped.

  First, it is determined whether or not a learning command (or input command) has been operated (step S1). This is whether or not the driver 3 performs the operation to detect the stroke amount of the accelerator pedal 2 in a state where the driver 3 simply puts his foot on the accelerator pedal 2 (that is, the state of the footrest with no operation load). It is a step to make a decision. More specifically, for example, the accelerator pedal 2 is operated by operating a dial provided in a vehicle interior such as an instrument panel or a touch panel for inputting selection items displayed on a display shared with the navigation system with a finger. It is determined whether to detect the operation amount of the accelerator pedal 2 in a state in which the foot is simply placed (hereinafter also referred to as a foot placed state). Note that the state of the footrest without the above operation load is, for example, a state where the weight of the driver's 3 foot and the reaction force of the accelerator pedal 2 are balanced, or the above-mentioned footrest load and the reaction force of the accelerator pedal 2. Means a state where the feet are balanced, that is, a state where the feet are comfortable.

  Therefore, if a negative determination is made in step S1, that is, if the learning command is not operated by the driver 3, the process is temporarily ended without executing the subsequent control. On the contrary, if the answer of this step S1 is YES, that is, if the learning command is operated by the operation of the touch panel etc., then the current stroke amount of the accelerator pedal 2 of the driver 3 is detected (measured (Step S2).

  As described above, the size and weight of the foot are different for each driver 3, and the reaction force characteristics are different. Therefore, the driver 3 is simply put his / her foot on the accelerator pedal 2 and the stroke amount of the accelerator pedal 2 at that time is detected. That is, the stroke amount in the above-described footrest state is measured. The stroke amount of the accelerator pedal 2 is detected by the accelerator position sensor 7 described above.

  And if the stroke amount of the accelerator pedal 2 in the state of a footrest is detected in this way, then a load (reaction force) to be corrected so as to obtain an operation feeling corresponding to the driver 3 is calculated. Specifically, the load amount to be corrected is determined by comparing the stroke amount of the accelerator pedal 2 in the foot-mounted state of the driver 3 detected in step S2 with the stroke amount of the accelerator pedal 2 in the foot-mounted state of the standard driver. Calculate (step S3). The characteristic of the reaction force of the accelerator pedal 2 is a predetermined predetermined design value. Therefore, in this step S3, the predetermined design value (stroke amount in the footrest state in the standard driver) and the stroke amount of the accelerator pedal 2 detected in step S2 are compared and corrected based on the difference The load to be calculated is calculated. Then, the reaction force is controlled by adding the correction load to the design value (step S4).

  Here, the above-mentioned correction load is explained concretely. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the relationship between the stroke amount of the accelerator pedal 2 (accelerator opening) and the acceleration of the vehicle, and the relationship between the stroke amount of the accelerator pedal 2 and the reaction force, and in particular the characteristics of the reaction force. Is the above-described predetermined design value (that is, the reaction force characteristic of the standard driver). More specifically, the stroke amount of the accelerator pedal 2 in the footrest state in the design value is α%, that is, the footrest is in the state when the accelerator opening is α%. Further, since the footrest is in the design value when the accelerator opening degree is α%, the acceleration of the vehicle at that time is zero.

On the other hand, the stroke amount of the accelerator pedal 2 in the footrest state of the driver 3 described in step S2 described above is β% where the accelerator opening is larger than the α%. That is, when the characteristic of the reaction force shown by the solid line is applied to the driver 3 in the embodiment of the present invention, the acceleration is increased despite the footrest state (that is, the state of the footrest). In other words, when the vehicle travels in a steady state where the acceleration is zero, the stroke amount of the accelerator pedal 2 is loosened, and the operability of the accelerator pedal 2 is reduced. Therefore, in the embodiment of the present invention, the stroke amount of the accelerator pedal 2 in the footrest state in the case of the design value (that is, the standard driver) so that the reaction force characteristic of the driver 3 is the same as the design value, A load to be corrected is calculated based on the difference from the stroke amount of the accelerator pedal 2 in the footrest state of the driver 3. When the correction load is shown by a specific mathematical formula,
Correction load = Stroke difference x Reaction force change rate (gradient)
It becomes. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the correction load is indicated by an arrow. Further, the characteristics of the reaction force on the stepping side reflecting the correction load are indicated by a one-dot chain line. That is, the reaction force characteristic of the driver 3 indicated by the one-dot chain line is a characteristic obtained by adding the correction load. The rate of change of the reaction force is the same rate of change as the design value.

  Thus, in the embodiment of the present invention, the stroke amount of the accelerator pedal 2 in a state where the foot is simply put on the accelerator pedal 2 is detected, and the detected stroke amount is compared with a predetermined design value, The load to be corrected is determined according to the difference. And it is comprised so that reaction force may be controlled in consideration of the correction load. Therefore, even if there is a variation in footrest load for each driver 3, by adding the correction load, the characteristics of the reaction force in each driver 3 become the same as the design value. Therefore, for example, in the state of the footrest of each driver 3, the acceleration becomes 0 as in the case of the design value, and the accelerator work at the time of steady traveling becomes easy. In other words, the operability of the accelerator pedal 2 in a region where the use frequency of the accelerator pedal 2 is high (a range including the steady traveling region) is improved.

  Further, as described above, since the reaction force is corrected based on the footrest load of the driver 3, it is possible to obtain the operability (feeling) of the accelerator pedal 2 as designed. It is possible to suppress or avoid the decrease in the operability of 2.

  Further, even when the control example shown in FIG. 2 is applied to a vehicle having a plurality of travel modes such as a so-called sports mode and an eco mode, the above control example is executed in the selected travel mode, that is, Even if the footrest load deviates from the design value, it is possible to obtain the same operation and effect as the above-described example by calculating the correction load and controlling the reaction force based on the correction load. it can.

  Note that, as described above, when a plurality of people use a predetermined vehicle, the correction load differs depending on the driver 3, so that the correction value (or the learning value) is associated with each driver 3 and stored. It is preferable to configure so as to. For example, a storage unit such as a non-volatile memory or the like whose stored contents are not erased even when ignition is off, and a user identification unit identifying each driver 3 are associated with the driver 3 identified by the user identification unit The above correction value is configured to be called from the storage unit. Based on the called correction value, the characteristic of the predetermined reaction force is corrected (controlled). This correction load information or learned value information is used together with the seat position (front / rear, up / down, reclining angle, etc.), steering wheel position (tilt mechanism or telescopic mechanism), mirror angle (door mirror, room mirror), etc. It is preferable that the memory function (driving position memory) is used when driving. The user identification unit described above identifies or identifies which user the driver 3 is by operating, for example, a registration button or the like provided in the car and assigned to each user. Alternatively, the driver 3 is identified by a key number or various biometric authentications.

  As mentioned above, although several embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the example mentioned above, Comprising: You may change suitably in the range which achieves the objective of this invention. In the above-described example, the accelerator pedal 2 targeted by the present invention has been described as the so-called suspension type accelerator pedal 2, but is not limited to this, for example, a so-called organ-type accelerator pedal that is conventionally known may be used. Good.

  In the embodiment described above, although the correction load is calculated in a state where the footrest load of the driver 3 is β% larger than the set value α% and the correction load is added to the design value to control the reaction force, This control example may be applied, for example, when the footrest load of the driver 3 is smaller than the design value α. In such a case, the correction load may be calculated as in the example described above, and the calculated correction load may be subtracted from the design value to control the reaction force.

  1 ... accelerator pedal device, 2 ... accelerator pedal, 3 ... driver, 4 ... tread surface, 5 ... pedal arm, 6 ... reaction force application mechanism, 7 ... accelerator position sensor, 8 ... controller (ECU), 9 ... fulcrum.

Claims (1)

The accelerator pedal which is depressed and depressed again by the driver, a reaction force application mechanism which generates a reaction force to the driver's depression operation of the accelerator pedal, and a controller which controls the reaction force application mechanism, In an accelerator pedal reaction force control apparatus capable of adjusting the reaction force by controlling a reaction force application mechanism,
The controller
Detecting the stroke amount of the accelerator pedal of the foot load when the driver simply puts the foot on the accelerator pedal,
If the stroke amount of the accelerator pedal in the detected foot load is larger than the predetermined stroke amount of the accelerator pedal, the reaction force based on the difference is added to the reaction force for the operation of the predetermined accelerator pedal. Control the reaction force against the driver's accelerator pedal operation,
When the stroke amount of the accelerator pedal in the detected foot load is smaller than the stroke amount of the predetermined accelerator pedal, the reaction force based on the difference is subtracted from the reaction force for the operation of the predetermined accelerator pedal. The accelerator pedal reaction force control apparatus is configured to control a reaction force against the driver's operation of the accelerator pedal.

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