JP2021043147A - Weight estimation device and vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a vehicle weight estimation device and vehicle capable of performing appropriate drive control and brake control corresponding to a weight of the vehicle immediately after the vehicle starts traveling.SOLUTION: A weight estimation device estimates a weight of a vehicle 1 where at least rear wheels 4 are connected to a vehicle body 2 by swing arm type rear wheel suspensions 4S. The weight estimation device includes: a vehicle control section 12 for driving the rear wheels 4 of the vehicle 1 while keeping a stop state of the vehicle 1; and a weight estimation section 13 for estimating a weight of the vehicle 1 based on a change amount of detection values of stroke sensors 5 which detects stroke amount of the rear wheel suspensions 4S before/after the rear wheels 4 are driven and also based on an energy amount which has been used in driving the rear wheels 4.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present disclosure relates to a weight estimation device and a vehicle that estimate the weight of a vehicle.

The vehicle weight is estimated, and the estimated weight is used to correct the driving force according to the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal by the driver and the braking force according to the amount of depression of the brake pedal. Vehicles are being developed that are controlled to apply the appropriate driving and braking forces. The correction made here is particularly useful for vehicles such as trucks, which are heavy and whose weight varies greatly depending on the load.

As a method for estimating the weight of a vehicle, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a method of estimating the weight of a vehicle based on the magnitude of engine torque and the amount of change in acceleration of the vehicle.

Jikkenhei No. 5-84834

However, in the estimation method disclosed in Patent Document 1, since the acceleration of the vehicle is required to estimate the weight of the vehicle, the weight of the vehicle cannot be estimated unless the vehicle is driven. Therefore, even when the vehicle starts to travel, appropriate drive control and braking control according to the weight of the vehicle cannot be performed until the estimation of the vehicle weight is completed.

It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a vehicle weight estimation device and a vehicle capable of performing appropriate drive control and braking control according to the weight of the vehicle immediately after the vehicle starts to travel.

The vehicle weight estimation device according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a weight estimation device that estimates the weight of a vehicle in which at least the drive wheels are connected to the vehicle body by a swing arm type suspension, and maintains the stopped state of the vehicle. At the same time, when the vehicle control unit for driving the drive wheels of the vehicle, the amount of change in the detection value of the stroke sensor for detecting the stroke amount of the suspension before and after the drive wheels are driven, and the drive wheels are driven. It includes a weight estimation unit that estimates the weight of the vehicle based on the amount of energy used.

The vehicle according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes the above-mentioned vehicle weight estimation device.

Immediately after the vehicle starts running, appropriate drive control and braking control can be performed according to the weight of the vehicle.

The figure which schematically illustrates the vehicle which concerns on embodiment A block diagram illustrating the configuration of a vehicle including the weight estimation device according to the embodiment. Flow chart explaining vehicle weight estimation processing by weight estimation device The figure which illustrates the map display of the data which the weight estimator refers to when performing a vehicle weight estimation process.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The embodiments described below are examples, and the present disclosure is not limited to these embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating the vehicle 1 according to the embodiment. FIG. 1 shows a state in which the vehicle 1 is stopped on a flat ground, and the downward direction corresponds to the direction in which gravity acts (gravity direction). In the following description, the right side and the left side when the driver sits in the driver's seat and sees the direction in which the vehicle 1 moves forward (forward direction) are referred to as the right side and the left side of the vehicle 1, respectively. The direction opposite to the forward direction is the reverse direction.

The vehicle 1 includes a vehicle body 2, front wheels 3, and rear wheels 4. The vehicle 1 is an electric vehicle.

The front wheels 3 are connected to the right and left sides of the vehicle body 2 by front wheel suspensions (not shown). The rear wheels 4 are connected to the right side and the left side of the vehicle body 2 by the rear wheel suspension 4S, respectively. Specifically, one end of the rear wheel suspension 4S is connected to a support member that rotatably supports the rotation axis of the rear wheel 4, and the other end of the rear wheel suspension 4S is connected to a predetermined portion of the vehicle body 2. Has been done. The rear wheel suspension 4S is a swing arm type suspension. The rear wheel suspension 4S can swing at a connection point with the rear wheel 4 and a connection point with the vehicle body 2.

The front wheels 3 are non-driving wheels, and the rear wheels 4 are driving wheels. The vehicle 1 moves forward by applying a driving force in the positive direction to the rear wheels 4 from the motor 20 (see FIG. 2) described later, and moves backward by applying a driving force in the negative direction to the rear wheels 4.

CB in FIG. 1 is a loading platform on which a load is loaded. The weight of the vehicle 1 when the load is not loaded is, for example, 3 tons. The maximum load capacity of the vehicle 1 is, for example, 3 tons. That is, the weight of the vehicle 1 varies between 3 tons and 6 tons, depending on the load capacity of the load. The weight of the vehicle 1 when the load is not loaded does not necessarily have to be 3 tons, and the maximum load capacity of the vehicle 1 does not have to be 3 tons.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the vehicle 1 including the weight estimation device according to the embodiment. The vehicle 1 includes two stroke sensors 5, an estimation start button 6, a gradient sensor 7, an ECU 10, a motor 20, an inverter 21, a battery 22, a rear wheel 4, a braking unit 30, and a front wheel 3.

One of the two stroke sensors 5 (referred to as a right stroke sensor) detects the stroke amount of the rear wheel suspension 4S connected to the right side of the vehicle body 2 and outputs the detected value to the ECU 10. Further, the remaining one of the two stroke sensors 5 (referred to as a left stroke sensor) detects the stroke amount of the rear wheel suspension 4S connected to the left side of the vehicle body 2 and outputs the detected value to the ECU 10. To do.

The estimation start button 6 is provided near the driver's seat. When the estimation start button 6 is pressed, a press detection signal indicating that the button 6 has been pressed is output to the ECU 10. The ECU 10 triggers the pressing of the estimation start button 6 (that is, the detection of the pressing detection signal) to perform the weight estimation process described later. The ECU 10 may perform the weight estimation process in conjunction with the start of the vehicle 1.

The gradient sensor 7 is a sensor that detects the gradient of the road surface on which the vehicle 1 is located and outputs the detected value to the ECU 10.

The ECU 10 controls the entire vehicle 1 (for example, motor control, battery (not shown) control, electrical component (air conditioner, etc.) control). The ECU 10 is a microprocessor provided with a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like.

In the present embodiment, the ECU 10 controls the entire vehicle 1, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, the unit that controls the motor, the unit that controls the battery, and the unit that controls the electrical components may be independent of each other.

In this embodiment, the ECU 10 functions as a weight estimation device. That is, the ECU 10 functions as the vehicle control unit 12 and the weight estimation unit 13 by having the CPU read the weight estimation program stored in the ROM, expand it in the RAM, and execute the expanded weight control program. .. The storage unit 11 is composed of a RAM, a ROM, and the like.

The storage unit 11 stores data that is referred to when the ECU 10 performs a process of estimating the vehicle weight. The data referred to is the amount of change in the stroke amount of the rear wheel suspension S4 when the vehicle 1 is located on a flat ground, the amount of energy used to drive the rear wheel 4, and the rear wheel 4. The correspondence with the weight of the vehicle 1 is shown. The data showing this correspondence will be described in detail later.

The vehicle control unit 12 performs drive control and braking control of the vehicle 1.

First, drive control will be described. The vehicle control unit 12 rotates the motor 20 using the electric power supplied from the battery 22 and outputs the drive torque. The drive torque output by the motor 20 is transmitted to the rear wheels 4 via the propeller shaft and the differential gear. At this time, the vehicle control unit 12 causes the motor 20 to output a drive torque using an electric power amount corresponding to a predetermined energy amount. Here, the predetermined amount of energy may be predetermined, or may be an arbitrary value within a predetermined range. In the following description, a predetermined energy amount (hereinafter, energy amount Ec) will be used as the predetermined energy amount.

When the ECU 10 requests the motor 20 to be driven, the inverter 21 converts the DC power of the battery 22 into three-phase AC power and supplies it to the motor 20.

Next, braking control will be described. The vehicle control unit 12 applies a braking force to the front wheels 3 by controlling the braking unit 30. Here, the vehicle control unit 12 can maintain a size in which the vehicle 1 does not move forward or backward due to the driving force applied to the rear wheels 4, that is, a state in which the vehicle 1 is stopped (hereinafter, referred to as a stopped state). Apply a possible amount of braking force to the front wheels 3. When the ECU 10 is not executing the process of estimating the weight of the vehicle 1, the braking unit 30 also applies a braking force to the rear wheels 4 under the control of the ECU 10.

The weight estimation unit 13 refers to the data stored in the storage unit 11 based on the amount of energy used to drive the rear wheel 4 and the amount of change in the detected value of the stroke sensor 5, thereby referring to the vehicle 1 Estimate the weight of. Details of the estimation method will be described later.

The configuration of the vehicle 1 provided with the weight estimation device has been described above. Hereinafter, the operation of the ECU 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. In the following description, it is assumed that the weight estimation process is performed with the vehicle 1 stopped on a flat ground. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a weight estimation process by the ECU 10 (that is, a weight estimation device).

First, the ECU 10 determines whether or not the pressing detection signal from the estimation start button 6 has been received (step S1). When the press detection signal is not received from the estimation start button 6 (NO in step S1), the ECU 10 steps until the press detection signal is received without starting the weight estimation process, that is, the processes of steps S2 to S6. The process of S1 is repeated. When the ECU 10 performs the weight estimation process in conjunction with the start of the vehicle 1, a screen (for example, a screen showing the state in which the vehicle 1 can travel is displayed on a display (not shown) in the vehicle interior during the process of starting the vehicle 1 (for example). Before the Ready screen) is displayed, it is detected that the vehicle 1 has been started instead of the step S1. Then, when it is detected that the vehicle 1 has been started, the process proceeds to step S2.

When the press detection signal is received from the estimation start button 6 (YES in step S1), the ECU 10 acquires the detection value of each stroke sensor 5 (step S2).

Next, the vehicle control unit 12 drives the rear wheels 4 and brakes the front wheels 3 (step S3). Here, the vehicle control unit 12 applies a driving force for advancing the vehicle 1, that is, a driving force in the positive direction, to the rear wheels 4 by rotating the motor 20 using a predetermined amount of energy Ec. Details of driving the rear wheels 4 and braking the front wheels 3 are as described above.

When step S3 is being performed, the posture of the vehicle 1 changes while the stopped state of the vehicle 1 is maintained. Explaining the change in posture in detail, when the process of step S3 is performed, a force of a magnitude corresponding to the driving force applied to the rear wheels 4 acts on the vehicle body 2, so that the process of step S3 is performed. The vehicle height is higher than before. Further, the wheelbase of the vehicle 1 is shorter than that before the process of step S3 is performed. Further, the stroke amount of the rear wheel suspension 4S changes as compared with before the processing of step S3 is performed. The vehicle height, wheelbase, and stroke amount are less likely to change as the weight of the vehicle 1 is heavier.

In step S3, the vehicle control unit 12 may apply a driving force for moving the vehicle 1 backward, that is, a driving force in a negative direction to the rear wheels 4. When the driving force in the negative direction is applied to the rear wheels 4, the vehicle height is lower and the wheelbase of the vehicle 1 is longer than before the driving force in the negative direction is applied.

Next, the ECU 10 acquires the detected value of each stroke sensor 5 (step S4). Then, the weight estimation unit 13 calculates the amount of change in the stroke amount based on the detected values of the stroke sensors 5 before and after the driving force is applied to the rear wheels 4 (step S5). Here, the weight estimation unit 13 calculates the amount of change in the stroke amount detected by the right stroke sensor and the amount of change in the stroke amount detected by the left stroke sensor, respectively.

Subsequently, the weight estimation unit 13 estimates the weight of the vehicle 1 based on the amount of change in the stroke amount calculated in step S5 (step S6).

In step S6, first, the weight estimation unit 13 calculates the amount of energy used when the rear wheel 4 is driven. The amount of energy used corresponds to a predetermined amount of energy Ec. Since the vehicle 1 of the present embodiment drives a pair of rear wheels 4 with one motor 20, half of the amount of energy used when the motor 20 is rotated by the weight estimation unit 13 is on the right side. It is calculated assuming that it was used to drive the rear wheel 4 and the other half was used to drive the left rear wheel 4. That is, the weight estimation unit 13 calculates that the energy of Ec / 2 is used to drive the rear wheels 4 on the right side and the left side, respectively.

If the amount of energy used to drive the rear wheels 4 is not predetermined, the amount of energy used may be calculated based on the amount of electric power used when the motor 20 is rotated.

Next, the weight estimation unit 13 refers to the data stored in the storage unit 11. The data referenced here can be represented as a map, for example, as shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a map display of data referred to when the ECU 10 executes the vehicle weight estimation process. The horizontal axis of the map is the amount of change in the stroke amount of the rear wheel suspension 4S, and the vertical axis is the amount of energy used when driving the rear wheel 4. R1 to R7 on the map are regions corresponding to a predetermined weight. It should be noted that the regions on the map need only be divided into a number according to the required weight estimation accuracy, and do not necessarily have to be seven regions (seven stages).

As the amount of energy used when driving the rear wheels 4 increases, the driving force applied to the rear wheels 4 increases, so that the force acting on the vehicle body 2 increases, and the stroke amount of the rear wheel suspension 4S changes significantly. Therefore, the boundary line of each region R1 to R7 (broken line in FIG. 4) rises to the right in the map.

On the other hand, the heavier the weight of the vehicle 1, the less likely the stroke amount changes, and the lighter the weight of the vehicle 1, the more likely the stroke amount changes. Therefore, when paying attention to a certain amount of energy (for example, Ec / 2), a region showing a large weight value is located on the left side.

As described above, the map shown in FIG. 4 shows the correspondence between the amount of energy used when driving the rear wheels 4, the amount of change in the stroke amount, and the weight of the vehicle 1 on the rear wheels 4. There is. The data constituting this map has been experimentally obtained in advance.

The weight estimation unit 13 refers to the map and determines in which region on the map the point indicating the amount of change in the detected stroke amount and the amount of energy used is located. In FIG. 4, the OR point indicating the amount of change in the stroke amount calculated from the amount of change in the detected value of the right stroke sensor and the amount of energy (Ec / 2) used to drive the rear wheel 4 on the right side is the region R5. It is exemplified that it is located in. Further, in FIG. 4, an OL point showing the amount of change in the stroke amount calculated from the amount of change in the detected value of the left stroke sensor and the amount of energy (Ec / 2) used to drive the left rear wheel 4 is a region. It is shown to be located at R6.

The weight estimation unit 13 has a weight value of M5 on the rear wheel 4 on the right side of the vehicle 1 and a weight value of M6 on the rear wheel 4 on the left side of the vehicle 1 based on, for example, the positions on the map of the OR point and the OL point. Is determined to be. Then, the weight estimation unit 13 estimates that the weight value of the vehicle 1 is M5 + M6 by summing the weight values of the rear wheels 4 on the right side and the left side of the vehicle 1.

The ECU 10 stores in advance the weight value of the front side (that is, the driver's seat side) of the vehicle 1, that is, the weight value of the front wheels 3 on the right side and the left side of the vehicle 1, and the rear wheels 4 on the right side and the left side. The value obtained by adding the weight values of the front wheels 3 on the right side and the left side of the vehicle 1 to the total value of the weight values may be estimated as the weight value of the vehicle 1.

When the process of step S6 is completed, the ECU 10 ends the weight estimation process.

The weight value obtained by the weight estimation process is used for drive control and braking control by the ECU 10 after the vehicle 1 has traveled.

The heavier the weight of the vehicle 1, the more difficult it is for the vehicle 1 to accelerate and decelerate, and the lighter the weight of the vehicle 1, the easier it is for the vehicle 1 to accelerate and decelerate. Therefore, when the ECU 10 applies a driving force of a magnitude corresponding to the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal by the driver to the rear wheels 4, the vehicle 1 is not always accelerated at the same acceleration according to the amount of depression. Similarly, when the ECU 10 applies a braking force to the wheels having a magnitude corresponding to the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal and the amount of depression of the brake pedal by the driver, the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal and the amount of depression of the brake pedal are not necessarily the same. Therefore, the vehicle 1 is not always decelerated at the same acceleration.

The ECU 10 corrects the value of the driving force according to the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal by the driver based on the weight value estimated by the weight estimation process, and the motor 20 and the motor 10 so that the corrected driving force is applied to the rear wheels 4. Controls the inverter 21.

Further, the ECU 10 controls the braking force by controlling the motor 20 based on the weight value estimated by the weight estimation process. Further, the ECU 10 corrects the value of the braking force according to the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal by the driver or the amount of depression of the brake pedal based on the weight value estimated by the weight estimation process, and is corrected. The braking unit 30 is controlled so that power is applied to the wheels.

After the vehicle 1 has traveled, the ECU 10 estimates the weight based on, for example, a value detected by an acceleration sensor. That is, the weight value estimated by the above-mentioned weight estimation process is sequentially corrected as the vehicle 1 travels. Then, the ECU 10 performs the above-mentioned drive control and braking control based on the corrected weight value.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the weight estimation device brakes the front wheels 3 and drives the rear wheels 4, and the amount of energy used to drive the rear wheels 4 and the rear wheels 4 are driven. The weight of the vehicle 1 is estimated based on the amount of change in the stroke amount of the front and rear rear wheel suspensions 4S. Therefore, the weight of the vehicle 1 can be estimated without running the vehicle 1. Therefore, immediately after the vehicle 1 starts to travel, braking control including appropriate drive control and regenerative braking force control according to the weight of the vehicle 1 can be performed.

Further, since the data showing the correspondence relationship between the amount of change in the stroke amount of the rear wheel suspension 4S and the amount of energy used to drive the drive wheels and the weight is stored in advance, the weight estimation device calculates the weight estimation. In addition, the weight of the vehicle 1 can be estimated based on the data. That is, the weight estimation device can estimate the weight of the vehicle 1 without requiring complicated calculations.

Further, in the present embodiment, since the amount of energy used to drive the drive wheels is predetermined or calculated from the amount of electric power used when the motor 20 is rotated, the amount of energy used is more accurate. Can be calculated. Therefore, the weight of the vehicle 1 can be estimated more accurately.

(Modification example)
Hereinafter, a modified example will be described. Hereinafter, the points different from the above-described embodiment will be mainly described.

As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle 1 according to the modified example has the same configuration as the vehicle 1 of the above-described embodiment. The ECU 10 according to the modified example corrects the stroke amount detected by the stroke sensor 5 based on the detection value output from the gradient sensor 7 so as to be the stroke amount when the vehicle 1 is stopped on a flat ground. The functions and configurations of the ECU 10 according to the other modifications are the same as those of the ECU 10 of the above-described embodiment.

Next, the weight estimation process of the ECU 10 according to the modified example will be described. The weight estimation process of the ECU 10 according to the modification other than the points described below is the same as the weight estimation process of the ECU 10 according to the above-described embodiment.

The ECU 10 according to the modified example acquires the detected value of the stroke sensor 5 in step S2 shown in FIG. 3, and then acquires the detected value of the gradient sensor 7. Then, the ECU 10 uses the acquired detection value of the gradient sensor 7 to correct the detection value of the stroke sensor 5 acquired in step S2 so as to be the detection value when the vehicle 1 is stopped on a flat ground. The ECU 10 corrects the detected value of the stroke sensor 5 and then performs the process of step S3. Further, the ECU 10 acquires the detection value of the stroke sensor 5 in step S4 and then acquires it in step S4 using the detection value of the gradient sensor acquired before driving the rear wheel 4 (that is, before step S3). The detected value of the stroke sensor 5 is corrected so as to be the detected value when the vehicle 1 is stopped on a flat ground. The ECU 10 corrects the detected value of the stroke sensor 5 and then performs the process of step S5. The process of step S5 is performed based on the detected value (that is, the stroke amount) of the stroke sensor 5 corrected by using the detected value of the gradient sensor 7.

As described above, according to the modified example, the effect of the above-described embodiment can be obtained. In addition, according to the modified example, since the stroke amount of the stroke sensor 5 is corrected based on the detection value of the gradient sensor 7, even when the vehicle 1 is stopped on the road surface where the vehicle 1 is inclined, the vehicle 1 When estimating the weight, the error due to gravity can be removed. Therefore, the weight of the vehicle 1 can be estimated more accurately. The inclined road surface referred to here is a road surface that is inclined with respect to a plane perpendicular to the direction of gravity.

In the above-described embodiment and modification, the rear wheel 4 is a driving wheel and the front wheel 3 is a non-driving wheel. However, the rear wheel 4 and the front wheel 3, that is, all the wheels are driving wheels. You may.

When the rear wheels 4 and the front wheels 3 are drive wheels, in step S3 of the weight estimation process, if the ECU 10 drives the drive wheels of the vehicle 1 while maintaining the stopped state of the vehicle 1, the braking force is applied to the front wheels 3. , And control other than the control of applying the driving force to the rear wheels 4 may be performed. For example, the ECU 10 may control the front wheels 3 and the rear wheels 4 as shown in the following (a) to (c).
(A) A positive driving force is applied to the front wheels 3 and a negative driving force is applied to the rear wheels 4.
(B) A negative driving force is applied to the front wheels 3 and a positive driving force is applied to the rear wheels 4.
(C) A positive or negative driving force is applied to the front wheels 3, and a braking force is applied to the rear wheels 4.

However, when the control shown in at least (c) is performed, the front wheel suspension that connects the front wheels 3 and the vehicle body 2 is a swing arm type suspension, and the stroke sensor 5 detects the stroke amount of the front wheel suspension. To do. Then, the ECU 10 refers to the data stored in the storage unit 11 based on the amount of change in the stroke amount of the front wheel suspension before and after the front wheel 3 is driven and the amount of energy used when the front wheel 3 is driven. Estimate the weight of vehicle 1. The data referred to at this time is the correspondence between the amount of energy used to drive the front wheels 3, the amount of change in the stroke amount of the front and rear wheel suspensions driven by the front wheels 3, and the weight of the vehicle 1 on the front wheels 3. Is shown.

In any of the cases shown in (a) to (c), when the weight of the vehicle 1 is heavy, the amount of change in the stroke amount is small, and when the weight of the vehicle 1 is light, the amount of change in the stroke amount is small. Is big.

In the above-described embodiment and modification, the vehicle 1 drives a pair of rear wheels 4 with one motor 20, but the vehicle 1 has a front wheel 3 on the right side, a front wheel 3 on the left side, and a rear wheel on the right side. A plurality of motors that transmit a driving force to each of the 4 and the left rear wheel 4 may be provided. That is, the vehicle 1 may include as many motors as the number of wheels for driving one wheel. As described above, when the weight estimation device is provided in the multi-motor vehicle 1, the weight estimation device can control all the wheels separately. Therefore, in step S3 of the weight estimation process, the weight estimation device has, for example, a positive driving force on the front wheel 3 on the right side, a negative driving force on the front wheel 3 on the left side, a negative driving force on the rear wheel 4 on the right side, and a negative driving force on the rear wheel 4 on the left side. A positive driving force may be applied to the rear wheels 4.

In the above-described embodiments and modifications, the vehicle 1 has been described as an electric vehicle, but the vehicle 1 may be a hybrid vehicle.

Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately modified and implemented without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure.

The present disclosure can be applied to a vehicle weight estimation device that suitably estimates the weight of a vehicle.

1 Vehicle 2 Body 3 Front wheels 4 Rear wheels 4S Rear wheel suspension 5 Stroke sensor 6 Estimate start button 7 Gradient sensor 10 ECU
11 Storage unit 12 Vehicle control unit 13 Weight estimation unit 20 Motor 21 Inverter 22 Battery 30 Braking unit CB Loading platform

Claims (6)

It is a weight estimation device that estimates the weight of a vehicle in which at least the drive wheels are connected to the vehicle body by a swing arm type suspension.
A vehicle control unit that drives the driving wheels of the vehicle while maintaining the stopped state of the vehicle.
The weight of the vehicle is estimated based on the amount of change in the detected value before and after the drive wheels of the stroke sensor that detects the stroke amount of the suspension and the amount of energy used when driving the drive wheels. Equipped with a weight estimation unit,
Weight estimator. The weight estimation unit corrects the detection value of the stroke sensor based on the detection value of the gradient sensor that detects the slope of the road surface on which the vehicle is located, and the corrected detection value before and after the driving wheel is driven. The weight is estimated based on the amount of change and the amount of energy.
The weight estimation device according to claim 1. A storage unit for storing the correspondence between the amount of change in the detected value of the stroke sensor, the amount of energy, and the weight of the vehicle is provided.
The weight estimation unit estimates the weight of the vehicle based on the correspondence.
The weight estimation device according to claim 1. The vehicle control unit drives the driving wheels and brakes the non-driving wheels of the vehicle.
The weight estimation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The drive wheels include drive front wheels and drive rear wheels.
The vehicle control unit applies a driving force for moving the vehicle forward to one of the driving front wheel and the driving rear wheel, and applies a driving force for moving the vehicle backward to the other of the driving front wheel and the driving rear wheel.
The weight estimation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. A vehicle including the weight estimation device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

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