JP2019137243A - Vehicle control system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a vehicle control system capable of avoiding as possible, such a situation in which failure occurs in an operation of vehicle equipment due to an update program.SOLUTION: A vehicle control system comprises: a planning part (S160) for planning a control schedule plan for controlling a plurality of pieces of vehicle equipment mounted on a vehicle; and determination parts (S230, S240) for, based on the control schedule plan, grasping a control for which change is scheduled, then determining whether or not the control can be normally executed by a control execution part (S260). The control execution part (S260) executes change of the control according to an original control schedule plan only when it is confirmed that, the control can be executed normally.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle control system that makes a control schedule plan for vehicle equipment mounted on a vehicle and enables control of the vehicle equipment according to the control schedule plan.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, when the planned travel route is determined, the amount of power consumed for traveling on the planned travel route is estimated and compared with the amount of power supplied based on the charge amount of the vehicle battery. A destination arrival estimation device for a vehicle that estimates whether it is possible to travel on a planned travel route with a supplied power amount is disclosed. In order to improve the estimation accuracy of the power consumption, the device of Patent Document 1 sequentially acquires the acceleration when the vehicle speed is reached for each vehicle speed, and according to the road surface condition (slope and curve) as the speed / acceleration histogram, respectively. Separate and accumulate. Further, in association with each speed range on a flat road and acceleration information when the speed range is reached, the flat road travel power consumption per unit distance based on the actual value is stored as a travel power consumption map.

  In the device of Patent Document 1, when the planned travel route is set, first, the entire planned travel route is regarded as a flat road, and the flat road speed / acceleration histogram and the travel power consumption map are used. The power consumption value corresponding to the flat road running per unit distance is calculated. Further, by calculating the power consumption value corresponding to the flat road traveling per unit distance calculated by multiplying the travel distance of the planned travel route, a predicted power consumption value required for traveling the planned travel route regarded as a flat road is calculated. . Based on the estimated power consumption when the road is assumed to be a flat road, the amount of uplink power consumption corrected by the additive correction coefficient based on the uphill gradient information and the downhill correction corrected by the regeneration correction coefficient based on the downgradient information. The amount of road regenerative power is added to calculate the predicted travel power consumption for all travel routes.

JP 2014-202643 A

  However, after all, the destination arrival estimation device of Patent Document 1 described above is based on the predicted value of the travel power consumption consumed for traveling on the planned travel route to the destination and the charge level information of the vehicle battery. It is only what determines whether the destination can be reached by comparing with the calculated predicted value of the suppliable electric energy.

  In recent years, various functions for driving support using vehicle equipment such as a collision damage reduction brake function, a lane departure warning function, and a blind spot monitoring function have been realized. Furthermore, automatic driving functions corresponding to so-called level 3 are being put into practical use on automobile-only roads such as highways. For this reason, for example, when a scheduled travel route to a destination is set, when traveling along the planned travel route, which function is used depending on the shape of each road, the number of lanes, the road type, etc. It is possible to determine a control schedule plan for vehicle equipment to determine and perform these functions in advance.

  On the other hand, as a recent trend, some control programs for controlling vehicle equipment mounted on the vehicle at the time of inspection at a dealer or online at any time after the vehicle is put on the market, It may be updated to improve performance or add new functionality. However, when only some of the control programs are updated in this way, the vehicle equipment for demonstrating the various functions described above due to inconsistencies with the remaining control programs or problems caused by the update program itself, etc. The possibility of malfunctioning cannot be denied.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described points, and is applied to a vehicle in which a control program for controlling at least one vehicle equipment is updated from the originally used initial control program to another control program. An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle control system capable of avoiding malfunctions of vehicle equipment caused by an update program as much as possible by using a scheduled control plan for controlling vehicle equipment. To do.

In order to achieve the above object, in a vehicle control system according to the present invention, a control program for controlling at least one vehicle equipment mounted on a vehicle is updated from the originally used initial control program to another control program. Applied to the vehicle to be used,
When the vehicle is used, a planning unit (S160) for planning a control plan for controlling a plurality of vehicle equipment mounted on the vehicle in advance,
A control execution unit (S260) for controlling a plurality of vehicle equipment according to a control plan planned by the planning unit;
When the control change is scheduled in the control schedule plan, the determination unit that determines whether or not the control execution unit can normally execute the control after the scheduled change before the control is actually changed. (S230, S240)
The control execution unit is configured to change the control according to the scheduled control plan on the condition that the determination unit determines that it can be normally executed.

  As described above, the vehicle control system according to the present invention includes a planning unit that drafts a control schedule plan for controlling a plurality of vehicle equipment mounted on the vehicle. Further, the vehicle control system according to the present invention includes a determination unit that grasps a control that is scheduled to be changed based on a control plan and determines whether the control execution unit can normally execute the control. I have. By providing the planning unit and the determination unit, it is possible to determine whether or not the planned control after the change is normally executed before the control is actually changed based on the control plan. Then, only when it is confirmed that the control can be normally executed, the control execution unit changes the control according to the original control plan. In other words, the control execution unit does not execute the control after the change in the original control schedule plan without confirming that the control execution unit can be normally executed. Therefore, if an update program is included in the control program that performs the post-change control, and the control that is scheduled for change cannot be executed normally due to the update program, the post-change Therefore, it is possible to prevent the operation of the vehicle equipment from malfunctioning due to the update program as much as possible.

  The reference numerals in the parentheses merely show an example of a correspondence relationship with a specific configuration in an embodiment described later in order to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and are intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Not intended.

  Further, the technical features described in the claims of the claims other than the features described above will become apparent from the description of embodiments and the accompanying drawings described later.

It is the block diagram which showed the whole structure of the control system for vehicles by embodiment as a block diagram. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the vehicle-mounted unit mounted in each vehicle. It is a flowchart which shows the process performed in order to make a control plan plan in a vehicle-mounted unit. It is a flowchart which shows the process performed when a control plan plan is drawn up in a vehicle-mounted unit. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the abnormality determination process which determines whether the control by which change is scheduled can be normally performed based on the planned control plan in an in-vehicle unit. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the abnormality sign monitoring process in the abnormality determination process of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows another example of an abnormality determination process. It is a flowchart which shows the process performed in an information management center.

  Hereinafter, a vehicle control system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the vehicle control system as a block diagram.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle control system according to the present embodiment includes in-vehicle units 10 a and 20 a mounted on the vehicles 10 and 20, and an information management center 100. The in-vehicle units 10 a and 20 a obtain information from the information management center 100 such as actual traffic conditions and weather related to the candidate travel route. Based on the information acquired from the information management center 100, the driver of the vehicles 10 and 20 determines whether or not the corresponding planned travel route is a planned travel route that is actually used. Then, the in-vehicle units 10a and 20a formulate a control schedule plan for controlling the vehicle equipment of the vehicles 10 and 20 based on the determined planned travel route, and provide an outline of the planned control schedule plan for the vehicles 10 and 20 The vehicle equipment of the vehicles 10 and 20 is controlled in accordance with the control schedule plan.

  In the following, as the control schedule plan, various driving support functions for supporting the driving of the vehicle, which are realized by various vehicle equipments when the vehicle 10 travels on the planned travel route for reaching the destination, A case will be described in which a vehicle equipment control schedule plan for demonstrating an automatic driving function on an automobile-only road is developed. However, the control plan is not limited to this. For example, the control schedule plan may be a control schedule plan for other vehicle equipment (for example, a control schedule for a wiper or an air conditioner) in addition to or instead of the control schedule plan for a vehicle equipment for exhibiting a driving support function or an automatic driving function. Plan).

  The in-vehicle unit 10 a mounted on the vehicle 10 is configured to be able to communicate with the information management center 100 via the communication network 110. The communication network 110 includes a public communication network provided by a telecommunication carrier such as a mobile phone network or the Internet.

  The information management center 100 periodically collects information indicating the actual traffic volume of each road and stores the information in association with each road. The traffic volume on each road is updated each time new information is acquired. In addition, the information management center 100 divides a range covering each road into a plurality of areas, and periodically collects and stores weather information (such as weather, temperature, and humidity) of each area. The weather information for each area is also updated each time new information is acquired. However, the information stored in the information management center 100 is not limited to the information described above. For example, the information management center 100 may collect and store accident occurrence information on each road, regulation information due to construction, and the like. Furthermore, the information management center 100 may be configured to be able to distribute an update control program that updates a control program for controlling at least one vehicle equipment of the vehicle 10. Note that the update mode of the control program includes addition of an update control program to the previous control program, replacement of a part of the previous control program with the update control program, and the like.

  When the information management center 100 receives the information indicating the planned travel route transmitted from the vehicle 10, the information management center 100 determines whether to permit or prohibit the passage of the planned travel route based on the traffic condition of each road included in the planned travel route. . For example, the information management center 100 may determine that the scheduled travel route is not allowed when the traffic volume of each road included in the planned travel route is equal to or greater than a threshold value. Furthermore, the information management center 100 refers to the accident information and the regulation information, and if the planned travel route includes a road where an accident has occurred or is restricted, the planned travel route is not allowed to pass. You may judge. The information management center 100 returns a determination result relating to whether or not the scheduled travel route is allowed to pass to the vehicle 10.

  When the information management center 100 returns the determination result permitting the passage of the planned travel route to the vehicle 10, the information management center 100 continues to transmit the stored information. Specifically, the information management center 100 transmits stored traffic information, weather information, and the like. However, the information management center 100 does not transmit all the stored information, but selects and transmits only information related to the planned travel routes of the vehicles 10 and 20. For example, for the traffic volume information, only the traffic volume of each road included in the planned travel route is selected and transmitted. As for the weather information, only the weather information of the area including the planned travel route is selected and transmitted.

  Next, an example of the configuration of the in-vehicle unit 10a mounted on the vehicle 10 will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, in-vehicle units 10a and 20a having the same configuration are mounted on the vehicles 10 and 20 shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the in-vehicle unit 10 a includes a communication unit 30, a periphery monitoring unit 31, a map database 32, a sensor group 33, an operation input unit 34, a display device 35, a driving force control device 36, a braking force control device 37, A steering control device 38 and a main controller 39 are provided. The communication unit 30 is for performing data communication with the information management center 100 via the communication network 110. Furthermore, you may comprise the communication part 30 so that what is called a vehicle-to-vehicle communication with the communication part of the vehicle-mounted unit mounted in the other vehicle may be performed. The surroundings monitoring unit 31 includes sensors (cameras, millimeter wave sensors, laser sensors, ultrasonic sensors, etc.) provided in various places of the vehicle 10, and obstacles around the vehicle 10 (automobiles, motorcycles, pedestrians, other An object) or a travel lane (division line) of the vehicle 10 is detected. Furthermore, the periphery monitoring unit 31 detects other vehicles that travel in the vicinity of the vehicle 10, such as front vehicles, rear vehicles, and side vehicles.

  The map database 32 stores road map data including road shape, road width, number of lanes, speed limit, position of temporary stop line, traffic signal position, road type, location of various facilities, name, and the like. For example, the sensor group 33 detects information related to actual behavior of the vehicle 10 such as travel speed, longitudinal acceleration, steering angle, and lateral acceleration in addition to information related to the current position of the vehicle 10. The operation input unit 34 is used to perform an input for setting a departure point, a destination, and a departure time of the vehicle 10, an input for determining a scheduled travel route reaching the destination from the departure point, and the like. .

  The main controller 39 of the in-vehicle unit 10a uses the map database 32 and the operation input unit 34 to set a scheduled travel route. When the information management center 100 permits the passage of the planned travel route and, further, the main controller 39 determines that the planned travel route to be actually used by the driver of the vehicle 10 is based on the planned travel route, the vehicle A control schedule plan for various vehicle equipment when 10 travels on the planned travel route is created. For example, when the vehicle 10 goes straight on a one-lane road on a general road, it is possible to formulate a control schedule plan for the vehicle equipment so as to exhibit a collision damage reduction brake function and a lane departure warning function as driving support functions. it can. In addition, when the vehicle 10 travels on a multi-lane road on a general road, in addition to both of these functions, a vehicle control plan is planned so as to exhibit a blind spot monitoring function for monitoring an approaching vehicle behind the diagonal. You can plan. Furthermore, when the vehicle 10 travels on an automobile-only road, it is possible to make a control schedule plan for vehicle equipment so as to exhibit an automatic driving function.

  The planned control plan for demonstrating the driving support function includes at least the planned driving route, the driving support function to be exhibited in each section obtained by dividing the planned driving route, and the operating state for exhibiting each driving support function. Vehicle devices (periphery monitoring unit, travel drive source, brake device, control unit thereof, and the like) to be (or operable) are included. Further, the control schedule plan for demonstrating the automatic driving function includes at least a travel schedule route, a section in which the automatic driving function is exhibited in each section obtained by dividing the travel schedule route, and the vehicle 10 at the time of automatic driving. The target travel speed and vehicle equipment (for example, a peripheral monitoring unit, a travel drive source, a brake device, a steering device, and a control unit thereof) that should be in an activated state (or an operable state) are included.

  When the main controller 39 makes the control schedule plan in this way, the main controller 39 stores the control schedule plan in the built-in volatile or nonvolatile memory 40. Then, the main controller 39 presents an outline of the control schedule plan to the occupant of the vehicle 10 using the display device 35 based on the control schedule plan stored in the memory 40, or controls the vehicle equipment of the vehicle 10 according to the control schedule plan. To perform driving support functions and automatic driving functions.

  The vehicle 10 is configured to be able to perform automatic driving regardless of manual driving by the driver in order to realize the automatic driving function described above. A configuration for enabling automatic operation will be described below.

  The driving force control device 36 controls the output of a traveling drive source that causes the vehicle 10 to travel in accordance with a control signal from the main controller 39. For example, when the driving force control device 36 receives a control signal for instructing the vehicle 10 to travel at the target travel speed included in the planned control plan of the vehicle 10 from the main controller 39, the travel speed of the vehicle 10 becomes the target. The output of the travel drive source is controlled so as to match the travel speed. Further, when the driving force control device 36 receives from the main controller 39 a control signal (including target acceleration) instructing the vehicle 10 to accelerate, the driving force control device 36 drives to drive so that the acceleration of the vehicle 10 matches the target acceleration. Control the output of the source. The traveling drive source may be any of a normal internal combustion engine, an electric motor, or a combination of an internal combustion engine and an electric motor.

  The braking force control device 37 controls the braking force generated in the vehicle using the brake device, regardless of the operation of the brake pedal by the driver, according to the control signal from the main controller 39. For example, when the braking force control device 37 receives a control signal (including a target deceleration) for instructing the vehicle 10 to decelerate from the main controller 39, the deceleration of the vehicle 10 matches the target deceleration. The braking force by the brake device is controlled. The steering control device 38 controls the angle of the steered wheels by rotating the steering shaft of the steering device in response to a control signal from the main controller 39. For example, when the road of the planned travel route is a curved road, or when it becomes necessary to avoid a sudden obstacle, the main controller 39 instructs the steering control device 38 to set the target steering angle and the target steering angle. A control signal for instructing the steering angular velocity when changing the steering angle to the steering angle is output. The steering control device 38 controls the steering angle of the steering device according to the control signal.

  In this way, the main controller 39 outputs control signals to the driving force control device 36, the braking force control device 37, and the steering control device 38 in accordance with the scheduled control plan, whereby the travel drive source, the brake device, the steering device, etc. Control vehicle equipment. Thereby, the vehicle 10 is automatically driven. When the vehicle 10 is automatically driven, objects around the vehicle 10 are monitored by the periphery monitoring unit 31 and detected by the road map data stored in the map database 32 and the position detection sensor of the sensor group 33. The current position of the vehicle 10 and the relative position with surrounding objects are grasped based on the vehicle position. When the main controller 39 determines that the vehicle 10 cannot be driven at the target travel speed from the surrounding situation, the main controller 39 controls the movement of the vehicle 10 so as to correspond to the surrounding situation at that time.

  Further, when the main controller 39 performs the driving support function, the surroundings monitoring unit 31 monitors the front and oblique rear of the vehicle 10 and detects the traveling lane, and decelerates the vehicle 10 as necessary. Control signals are output to the braking force control device 37 and the steering control device 38 for steering.

  The main controller 39 stores various control programs for exerting the various functions described above by controlling the vehicle equipment, for example, in a nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory. That is, the memory 40 includes a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory. The various control programs stored in the memory 40 add performance improvements and new functions at any time after inspection of the dealer or communication with the information management center 100 after the vehicle is put on the market. May be updated for.

  For example, when the vehicle 10 is automatically driven on an automobile-only road and travels on a slight downhill road, it is possible to travel in the coasting travel mode in order to reduce fuel consumption. Thus, it is conceivable that the control program for controlling the drive source including the clutch is updated. The coasting travel mode is a travel mode in which speed reduction due to engine braking does not occur by disengaging the clutch while the vehicle 10 is traveling. When such a control program is updated, when the vehicle 10 starts traveling in a section suitable for the coasting traveling mode during automatic driving, the vehicle equipment of the vehicle 10 is coasted by the update control program. It is possible to control the mode. In this case, before and after the execution of the update control program, that is, when the control is changed from the control in which the update control program is not executed to the control in which the update control program is executed, the vehicle equipment to be controlled is the clutch Although there is no change in the drive source including the brake device, the brake device, the steering device, etc., the control content for those vehicle equipment is changed.

  It is also conceivable that the control program is updated so that the vehicle 10 does not always travel independently on the automobile exclusive road at the target travel speed but forms a vehicle group with other vehicles. If the vehicle 10 can travel with another vehicle forming a vehicle group, air resistance during traveling can be reduced, and fuel efficiency can be improved. Before the vehicle 10 forms a vehicle group, the vehicle 10 travels alone at the target travel speed. However, when at least one other vehicle capable of forming a vehicle group is found, the vehicle 10 forms a vehicle group with the at least one other vehicle and travels. In this case, before the update control program is executed, the vehicle is driven along the planned travel route while maintaining the vehicle travel speed at the target travel speed. , Brake devices, steering devices, and the like. On the other hand, after execution of the update control program, the communication unit 30 that communicates with other vehicles is included in the vehicle equipment to be controlled in order to grasp the situation of other vehicles forming the vehicle group. In other words, after the update control program is executed, the communication unit 30 is added to the vehicle equipment to be controlled.

  As another example in which the vehicle equipment to be controlled is changed and added after execution of the update control program, for example, a case where a control program that exhibits the function of changing the vehicle line by operating the turn signal switch is added. When the lane change function determines that the lane change is instructed by the turn signal switch operation, it confirms the existence of other vehicles traveling in the lane after the change, and there is no other vehicle on the side or behind the own vehicle This is a function of automatically steering the steering device to change the lane to the target lane. When the planned travel route is determined and the right / left turn point is determined, the blind spot monitoring function is validated as a driving support function when the vehicle is traveling straight toward the right / left turn point. In this case, by this blind spot monitor function, the side and rear of the vehicle 10 are monitored by the periphery monitoring unit 31, and a warning is given to the driver of the vehicle 10 when another vehicle is detected. Then, when approaching the right / left turn point, the vehicle line changing function is activated according to the planned control plan. In this case, when the in-vehicle unit 10a determines that the lane change is instructed by the blinker switch operation, the in-vehicle unit 10a automatically changes the lane to the target lane after confirming that there is no other vehicle in the target lane. Therefore, after changing the control so that the vehicle line changing function is activated, in addition to the periphery monitoring unit 31, a turn signal switch, a steering device, and the like are added to the vehicle equipment to be controlled.

  When the control program is updated, the main controller 39 stores the update control program in an area different from the area in the memory 40 where the previous control program was stored. Further, the main controller 39 also acquires and stores update information indicating the function of the updated control program. Then, the main controller 39 draws up a control schedule plan so as to utilize the functions of the updated control program based on the acquired update information. That is, the program for drafting a control schedule plan in the main controller 39 is configured so that a control schedule plan corresponding to the functions that can be exhibited by the vehicle equipment of each vehicle can be drafted. When a function that is not assumed by the program for planning the control schedule is added, the program for planning the control schedule may be updated together.

  As an example of preparing a control schedule plan so as to utilize the function of the updated control program, for example, when the travel in the coasting travel mode becomes possible by updating the control program, the main controller 39 Based on the road type and gradient information in the planned route, it is conceivable to determine a section in which the vehicle travels in the coasting travel mode, and to include the determined content in the planned control plan. In addition, when it becomes possible to use the lane change function by updating the control program, for example, the vehicle equipment for activating the lane change function is activated before a predetermined distance to reach the right or left turn point on the general road. It may be possible to incorporate this into the planned control plan.

  Next, an example of specific processing executed in the in-vehicle unit 10a and the information management center 100 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. The flowchart of FIGS. 3-7 shows the process performed in the vehicle-mounted unit 10a, and the flowchart of FIG. 8 has shown the process performed in the information management center 100. FIG. However, the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 3 may be processed not by the in-vehicle unit 10a but by a portable terminal held by a passenger of the vehicle 10 and the planned control plan may be transferred to the in-vehicle unit 10a.

  In step S100 of FIG. 3, when the occupant of the vehicle 10 performs input for setting a departure place, a destination, etc., the main controller 39 refers to the road map data in the map database 32 to determine the travel schedule route. Select a candidate and present it to the passenger. The travel schedule route of the vehicle 10 is set by approving the travel schedule route presented by the occupant. Note that if the departure place setting input is not performed by the occupant, the departure place is set to the current location.

  In the subsequent step S110, the set travel schedule route is transmitted to the information management center 100. In step S120, a response from the information management center 100 (passage determination result) is received. In step S <b> 130, it is determined whether the received determination result indicates that the travel plan route is permitted to pass or is not allowed to pass. If the passage is permitted, the process proceeds to step S140. If the vehicle cannot pass, the process proceeds to step S170.

  In step S140, information such as traffic information and weather information related to the planned travel route is received from the information management center 100. In step S150, the received information is presented to the occupant of the vehicle 10, and it is determined whether or not the occupant of the vehicle 10 has finally decided as the planned travel route to be actually used in consideration of the information. . That is, in step S150, it is determined whether or not an operation for determining a travel schedule route to be actually used by an occupant of the vehicle 10 has been performed. If it is determined that an operation for determining the planned travel route to be actually used has been performed, the process proceeds to step S160. If it is determined that such an operation has not been performed, the process illustrated in the flowchart of FIG. In step S160, a planned control plan for controlling each vehicle equipment is drawn up based on the determined planned travel route.

  On the other hand, in step S170, which is executed when a determination result indicating that the scheduled travel route is not passable is received from the information management center 100, it is determined whether or not another route from the departure point to the destination can be set. For example, when one or more different routes different from the set travel planned route are presented to the vehicle 10 occupant and one of the other routes is approved by the occupant, it is determined that another route can be set and approved. If not, it can be determined that another route cannot be set. If it is determined that another route can be set, the process proceeds to step S180. If it is determined that another route cannot be set, the process proceeds to step S190.

  In step S180, another route approved by the occupant is set as the planned travel route, and then the processing from step S110 is repeated. On the other hand, in step S190, after waiting for a predetermined time, the process proceeds to step S110, and the planned travel route determined to be impassable is transmitted again to the information management center 100.

  The flowchart of FIG. 4 shows processing executed by the in-vehicle unit 10a when a control plan is drawn up in step S160 of the flowchart of FIG.

  In first step S200, it is determined whether or not traveling has started. If it determines with having started driving | running | working, it will progress to the process of step S210. In step S210, the main controller 39 of the in-vehicle unit 10a instructs the display device 35 to present an outline of the control schedule plan. That is, the main controller 39 transmits data for presenting an outline of the control schedule plan to the display device 35. By presenting the outline of the control schedule plan on the display device 35, what kind of driving support function the driver of the vehicle 10 can receive on each road scheduled to travel, or automatic operation by the automatic driving function You can see if you plan to use driving. Note that the control schedule plan may be modified so that the driver of the vehicle 10 matches his / her preference / preference.

  In step S220, the main controller 39 refers to the control schedule plan and determines whether or not there is a plan to change the control within a predetermined time or while traveling a predetermined distance. As described above, there is no change in the vehicle equipment to be controlled in the control change, but the control content for the vehicle equipment is changed, and the vehicle equipment to be controlled is changed or added. Is included. If it is determined that the control change is scheduled, the process proceeds to step S230. If it is determined that the control change is not scheduled, the process proceeds to step S260. In step S230, an abnormality determination process is executed. In this abnormality determination process, there is a possibility that the scheduled control cannot be executed properly due to a shortage of resources of the main controller 39 of the in-vehicle unit 10a when trying to execute the control scheduled to be changed. Determine whether or not. A specific example of the abnormality determination process will be described in detail later with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

  The reason for executing such an abnormality determination process is that the control program for controlling the vehicle equipment may be updated as described above. When some of the control programs are updated, for example, when the updated control program is actually used to control the vehicle equipment, an unexpected combination with another control program occurs, and the main unit of the in-vehicle unit 10a A resource shortage of the controller 39 may occur. When there is a shortage of resources in the main controller 39, specifically, a shortage of CPU processing capacity, a shortage of memory capacity, a communication delay, an increase in power consumption, etc., the main controller 39 appropriately executes the scheduled control. The possibility of impossibility arises. Therefore, in this embodiment, based on the control schedule plan, before the control is actually changed, it is determined whether the scheduled control after the change is normally executed by the in-vehicle unit 10a.

  In step S240, based on the determination result of the abnormality determination process in step S230, the in-vehicle unit 10a determines whether the control after the change can be executed normally or whether there is a possibility that an abnormality will occur in the control. . In this determination process, if it is determined that there is a possibility of abnormality in the control, the process proceeds to step S250. On the other hand, if it determines with the vehicle-mounted unit 10a being able to perform control normally, it will progress to the process of step S260.

  In step S250, if the control after the change is executed as it is, an abnormality may occur. Therefore, a countermeasure is taken to avoid the occurrence of the abnormality. For example, if the control after the change is skipped and the current control is continued, or the control after the change has a multi-stage function (for example, basic function and extended function), the function to be used is basically Modify the control plan so that it is restricted to only certain functions. In addition, when the main controller 39 of the in-vehicle unit 10a includes a plurality of CPUs and an excessive temperature rise of the specific CPU is expected by executing the control after the change, a part of the processing in the specific CPU is changed to another The CPU is allocated or the specific CPU is not used.

  In step S260, the vehicle equipment is controlled in accordance with the scheduled control plan. As described above, when it is determined that the control after the change can be normally executed, the control of the vehicle equipment is executed according to the original control plan. However, if it is determined that there is a possibility of abnormality in the control, a countermeasure such as correction of the control plan is taken. Thus, if it cannot be confirmed that the control can be normally executed, the control after the change is not executed as it is. Therefore, an update program is included in the control program that performs the control after the planned change, and it is expected that the control scheduled for the change cannot be executed normally due to the update program. Since the control after the change is not executed as it is, it is possible to avoid as much as possible the malfunction of the vehicle equipment due to the update program.

  In step S270, it is determined whether the vehicle 10 has reached the destination and the planned control plan has been completed. If the control schedule plan has not been completed, the process returns to step S210. On the other hand, when the scheduled control plan is completed, the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG.

  Next, a specific example of the abnormality determination process will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. The flowchart in FIG. 5 shows an example of the abnormality determination process.

  In FIG. 5, in the first step S300, for example, whether or not there is a processing margin that allows the main controller 39 to execute the rehearsal processing of the control after the change based on the current usage rate of the CPU, the usage amount of the memory 40, and the like. Determine whether. Note that the rehearsal process refers to actually running the control program for the control after the change and executing the arithmetic process according to the control program. If it is determined in step S300 that there is no processing margin capable of executing the rehearsal process for the control after the change, the process proceeds to step S310. If it is determined that there is a processing margin capable of executing the rehearsal process, the process proceeds to step S350.

  In step S310, the processing load in the main controller 39 of the in-vehicle unit 10a is estimated based on the program amount (code amount) of the control program after the change and the control cycle. For the estimation of the processing load, each control program includes data indicating an increase in the processing load due to the execution of the control program, and the main controller 39 reads and integrates the load increase data from each control program. You may calculate by.

  In subsequent step S320, it is determined whether or not the calculated processing load is equal to or greater than a predetermined reference value. If it is determined that the processing load is less than the predetermined reference value, the process proceeds to step S330, and it is determined that the process after the change can be normally executed. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S320 that the processing load is equal to or greater than the predetermined reference value, the process proceeds to step S340, and it may be determined that there is an abnormality because the process after the change may not be normally executed.

  In step S300, the main controller 39 executes rehearsal processing of the changed control in step S350 which is executed when it is determined that there is a processing margin. Next, in step S360, while the rehearsal process is being performed, it is monitored whether an abnormal sign indicating a shortage of resources of the main controller 39 has occurred. An example of the abnormality sign monitoring process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  In FIG. 6, in the first step S400, processing of at least one control program among a plurality of control programs for executing control after change is executed with a delay from a scheduled cycle. It is determined whether or not a delay has occurred. If it is determined that a processing delay has occurred, the process proceeds to step S460, and abnormality determination is performed. On the other hand, if it is determined that no processing delay has occurred, the process proceeds to step S410.

  In step S410, it is determined whether or not an abnormality has occurred in the CPU of the main controller 39. CPU abnormalities include, for example, continuation of a state in which the CPU usage rate exceeds a reference value, an increase in CPU temperature above the reference value, and the like. This CPU abnormality is detected individually for each CPU when the main controller 39 has a plurality of CPUs. If it is determined that an abnormality has occurred in the CPU, the process proceeds to step S460, and abnormality determination is performed. On the other hand, if it is determined that no abnormality has occurred in the CPU, the process proceeds to step S420.

  In step S420, it is determined whether or not an abnormality has occurred in the work memory (RAM, register, etc.) of the CPU. An abnormality in the working memory of the CPU includes an increase in the usage amount of the working memory by a predetermined value or more. If it is determined that an abnormality has occurred in the work memory, the process proceeds to step S460, and abnormality determination is performed. On the other hand, if it is determined that no abnormality has occurred in the working memory, the process proceeds to step S430.

  In step S430, the main controller 39 determines whether or not an abnormality has occurred in the communication interface for performing communication with an internal circuit or an external circuit. An abnormality in the communication interface includes an increase in the amount of communication over the communication interface over a reference value, the occurrence of a communication delay, and the like. When it is determined that an abnormality has occurred in the communication interface, the process proceeds to step S460, and abnormality determination is performed. On the other hand, if it is determined that no abnormality has occurred in the communication interface, the process proceeds to step S440.

  In step S440, it is determined whether or not an abnormality has occurred in the power supply of the main controller 39. The abnormality of the power supply of the main controller 39 includes an increase of the power consumption in the main controller 39 over a reference value. If it is determined that an abnormality has occurred in the power supply of the main controller 39, the process proceeds to step S460, and abnormality determination is performed. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no abnormality in the power supply of the main controller 39, the process proceeds to step S450, and normality is determined.

  In this way, during execution of the rehearsal process that actually runs the control program of the control after the change, by monitoring whether there is an abnormal sign indicating a resource shortage of the main controller 39, due to the shortage of resources, It is possible to determine with higher accuracy whether or not the scheduled control after the change can be normally executed. In the above-described example, it is determined whether or not there is an abnormality sign for each of the CPU, the working memory, the communication interface, and the power supply. However, at least one item may be determined.

  Returning to the description of the flowchart of FIG. In step S370 executed after the abnormal sign monitoring process in step S360 described above, it is determined whether or not a control signal for controlling the vehicle equipment as a control target is calculated by the control program actually executed by the rehearsal process. judge. If it is determined that the control signal has not been calculated, the process returns to step S350 and the rehearsal process is continued. On the other hand, if it is determined that the control signal has been calculated, the process proceeds to step S380. In step S380, the calculation processing result including the above-described control signal by the rehearsal-processed control program is discarded. This is because the rehearsal process is not for actually controlling the vehicle equipment but for checking whether the main controller 39 of the in-vehicle unit 10a can normally execute the scheduled control.

  In the abnormality determination process described above, the method for determining whether or not the scheduled control after the change can be normally executed is switched according to whether or not the main controller 39 has a processing margin. However, it may be determined whether or not the scheduled control after the change can be normally executed based on the estimation of the processing load regardless of whether or not there is a processing margin. In addition, regardless of whether there is a processing margin, rehearsal processing may be performed to determine whether or not scheduled control after change can be normally executed. However, when rehearsal processing is performed regardless of whether or not there is a processing margin, if the control program for the control after the change can exhibit, for example, the basic function and at least one extended function, the rehearsal processing is performed in order from the basic function. It is preferable to carry out. More specifically, when executing the rehearsal process, first execute the control program part that performs the basic function, and when there is no sign of abnormality due to lack of resources during the execution. Execute the control program part that exhibits the extended function. As a result, it is possible to prevent the main controller 39 from affecting the control being executed to control the vehicle equipment as much as possible.

  Further, as another example of the abnormality determination process, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 7, instead of determining whether there is a processing margin of the main controller 39, the changed control changes the vehicle equipment to be controlled. The method for determining whether or not the control after the change can be normally executed may be switched depending on whether the control is added or not. When vehicle equipment to be controlled is changed or added before and after the control change, the degree of change in the executed control program is expected to be relatively large. For this reason, it is preferable to perform a rehearsal process to determine whether or not the control after the change can be normally executed by a more accurate determination method.

  Next, processing executed in the information management center 100 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  In the first step S500, the information management center 100 determines whether or not the information indicating the planned travel route transmitted from the in-vehicle unit of each vehicle has been received. If it is determined that the information indicating the planned travel route has been received, the process proceeds to step S510. In step S510, the traffic status of each road included in the received scheduled travel route is confirmed. In step S520, the traffic volume of each road included in the planned travel route is equal to or greater than a threshold based on the confirmation result. It is determined whether or not. And when it determines with the traffic volume of each road contained in a driving plan route being more than a threshold value, it progresses to the process of step S550 and transmits that a driving plan route is impassable to a vehicle-mounted unit. On the other hand, if it is determined that the traffic volume is less than the threshold value, the process proceeds to step S530. The information management center 100 refers to the accident information and regulation information, and if the planned travel route includes a road where an accident has occurred or is restricted, the planned travel route is not allowed to pass. You may judge.

  In step S530, the information management center 100 transmits to the in-vehicle unit that permission to travel the scheduled travel route. In the subsequent step S540, the stored information is transmitted. Specifically, the information management center 100 transmits traffic information, weather information, and the like to the in-vehicle unit. However, the information management center 100 does not transmit all the stored information, but selects and transmits only information related to the planned travel route of each vehicle.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. It is.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, when a control change is scheduled in the control schedule plan, the abnormality determination process is performed in advance regarding the scheduled control after the change, and the control after the change is normally executed. It was to confirm whether or not. However, once it is determined that the main controller 39 of the in-vehicle unit 10a can normally execute the control after the change, the execution of the abnormality determination process is omitted for the same control change in the control plan. May be. Further, the abnormality determination process may be limited only when the update control program is included in the control program for performing the control after the change.

  In the above-described embodiment, as the control plan, when the vehicle travels on the planned travel route, various driving support functions for assisting the driving of the vehicle, an automatic driving function on the automobile exclusive road, and the like are exhibited. An example of creating a planned control plan for vehicle equipment has been described. However, the contents of the scheduled control plan and the vehicle equipment to be controlled are not limited to the examples described above. In short, the vehicle control system according to the present invention is applicable when a control schedule plan is prepared and vehicle equipment is controlled according to the control schedule plan.

  For example, when the vehicle 10 includes an engine and a drive motor as a travel drive source and is automatically driven, the travel drive source including the engine and the drive motor is a control target, and the travel drive source is generated as a control plan. A control plan related to the driving force may be made. As a result, the in-vehicle unit 10a controls the travel drive source based on the control plan so that the drive force corresponding to the shape, gradient, speed limit, traffic conditions, etc. of the planned travel route can be efficiently generated. Is possible. In this case, when a sudden disturbance such as an interrupted vehicle or a road parked vehicle occurs on the planned travel route, the in-vehicle unit 10a controls the driving force to deal with the disturbance. For example, when an interruption vehicle occurs, the driving force is controlled so as to secure a distance between the interruption vehicle and the vehicle. In addition, when there are road parked vehicles, driving driving is performed so that the lane is changed to the adjacent lane while confirming safety, or the oncoming lane is temporarily driven to bypass the road parked vehicle. The driving force by the power source and the steering amount by the steering device are controlled. When it becomes possible to return to the control according to the control plan after the space between the interrupted vehicle and the vehicle parked on the road can be detoured, the in-vehicle unit 10a resumes the driving force control according to the control plan. .

  In this case, as an example of the update of the control program, it is conceivable to add a control program that enables the vehicle 10 to travel in the above-described coasting travel mode.

  Further, the in-vehicle unit 10a may make a control schedule plan related to the control of the air conditioner with the air conditioner as a control target, and control the air conditioner according to the planned control schedule plan. It is possible to formulate a control plan so that the control status of the air conditioner is in a state suitable for the status of the planned route to travel by obtaining weather information about the temperature and weather over the entire planned route from an external server etc. it can. And by controlling the air conditioner according to the planned control plan, even if there is a change in temperature or weather at each point on the planned travel route, a comfortable cabin environment can be created for the passenger without bothering the passenger. Can be provided.

  As for the control of the air conditioner, when a sudden disturbance such as a sudden change in weather or a temporary temperature change in a tunnel occurs, the in-vehicle unit 10a turns on the air conditioner to cope with the disturbance. Control. For example, for sudden changes in weather such as guerrilla heavy rain, the air conditioner is controlled to cope with a decrease in outside air temperature or an increase in humidity.

  In this case, as an example of updating the control program, it is conceivable to update the control program in order to improve control accuracy related to temperature and humidity.

  In the embodiment and the modification described above, an example in which, when a travel schedule route is determined, a control schedule plan for vehicle equipment is developed according to the status of the travel schedule route has been described. However, even if the planned travel route is not determined, it is possible to devise a planned control plan for specific vehicle equipment if the planned use of the vehicle is determined. For example, it is also possible to determine to use the vehicle overnight as a scheduled use content or to use a vehicle battery as an emergency power source. Then, when the overnight stay is determined as the scheduled use content, for example, the control plan for the air conditioner is formulated so that the interior of the vehicle is suitable for the overnight stay over the time period during which the overnight trip is performed. In addition, in order to secure an operating power supply for the air conditioner, it is possible to devise a schedule for controlling the engine and the motor for power generation. In addition, when it is determined that the use of a vehicle battery as an emergency power supply is planned to be used, the engine and power generation motor are controlled so that power can be supplied from the battery over the period of use of the emergency power supply. You can make a planned plan.

10: Vehicle, 10a: In-vehicle unit, 20: Vehicle, 20a: In-vehicle unit, 30: Communication unit, 31: Perimeter monitoring unit, 32: Map database, 33: Sensor group, 34: Operation input unit, 35: Display device, 36: Driving force control device, 37: Braking force control device, 38: Steering control device, 39: Main controller, 40: Memory, 100: Information management center, 110: Communication network

Claims (11)

A control system for a vehicle applied to a vehicle in which a control program for controlling at least one vehicle equipment mounted on the vehicle is updated from the originally used initial control program to another control program,
When the vehicle is used, a planning unit (S160) for planning a control plan for controlling a plurality of vehicle equipment mounted on the vehicle in advance,
A control execution unit (S260) for controlling the plurality of vehicle equipments according to the control schedule planned by the planning unit;
When the control change is scheduled in the control schedule plan, it is determined whether or not the control execution unit can normally execute the control after the scheduled change before the control is actually changed. Determination unit (S230, S240),
The vehicle control system, wherein the control execution unit changes the control according to the scheduled control plan on the condition that the determination unit determines that the control execution unit can be normally executed.   The determination unit determines whether the control execution unit has an abnormality caused by a shortage of resources held by the control execution unit due to execution of the control scheduled to be changed in the control execution unit. The vehicle control system according to claim 1, wherein it is determined whether or not the control scheduled to be changed can be normally executed.   The vehicle control system according to claim 2, wherein the resource includes at least one of a CPU, a memory, a communication interface, and a power source.   The determination unit executes a rehearsal process that actually processes a control program for a control that is scheduled to be changed, and an occurrence of an abnormality caused by a shortage of the resource is detected based on a usage status of the resource during the execution of the rehearsal process. The vehicle control system according to claim 2, wherein the presence or absence of the vehicle is determined.   The determination unit estimates a processing load of the control execution unit based on a program amount and a control cycle of a control program of a control that is scheduled to be changed, and from the estimated result, the control after the change is scheduled. The vehicle control system according to claim 1, wherein the control execution unit determines whether it can be normally executed.   The determination unit determines whether or not there is a processing margin based on the processing status in the control execution unit. If there is a processing margin, the rehearsal that actually processes the control program for the control that is scheduled to be changed. Control, the presence or absence of an abnormality due to the resource shortage is determined from the usage status of the resource during execution of the rehearsal process, and if there is no processing margin, the control that is scheduled to be changed Whether or not the control execution unit can normally execute the control after the change based on the estimated result based on the estimated program load and the control cycle of the control program. The control system for vehicles according to claim 2 or 3 which judges.   The determination unit determines whether or not the change in control in the scheduled control plan is a change or addition of vehicle equipment to be controlled. If the change is an addition or change in vehicle equipment, the change is scheduled. A rehearsal process that actually processes the control program of the control being executed, and from the usage status of the resource during the execution of the rehearsal process, it is determined whether or not an abnormality has occurred due to the lack of the resource. If it is not changed or added, the processing load of the control execution unit is estimated based on the program amount and the control cycle of the control program of the control that is scheduled to be changed, and the estimated change 4. The vehicle control system according to claim 2, wherein it is determined whether or not the control execution unit can normally execute control.   The vehicle control system according to claim 4, wherein the determination unit discards a processing result calculated by executing the rehearsal process. The control program for the control scheduled to be changed has at least a basic function and an extended function as control functions.
When executing the rehearsal process, the determination unit first executes a control program part that exhibits a basic function, and during the execution, there is no indication of occurrence of an abnormality due to lack of the resource The vehicle control system according to claim 4, wherein a control program portion that exhibits an extended function is executed.   The vehicle control system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the control change in the scheduled control plan includes a change or addition of vehicle equipment to be controlled.   The vehicle control system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the control change in the control schedule plan includes a change in a control content for the vehicle equipment, although the vehicle equipment to be controlled is the same. .

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