JP2589314B2 - Vehicle constant speed traveling device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an automobile traveling control device for causing a vehicle to travel at a constant speed.

[Summary of the Invention]

In the present invention, information that can confirm occurrence of a malfunction is stored in the memory.

(Background technology)

Recently, the number of vehicles equipped with a constant speed device has been increasing. This is because when the setting switch is operated while traveling at a speed equal to or higher than a predetermined value, the speed at that time is set as a reference speed, and thereafter, the vehicle travels at the reference speed without operating the accelerator pedal. is there. Since this device is convenient when traveling on a highway, it has been rapidly spreading recently.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, an automobile having a constant-speed traveling device may run out of control when the constant-speed traveling device malfunctions due to noise or the like, resulting in an accident. An accident also occurs due to a driver's operational mistake, such as, for example, an accidental depression of the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal. Conventionally, when an accident occurs, it is often unclear whether the cause is due to a malfunction of the device or a driving operation error.

In view of the above, the present invention is intended to store information for confirming the occurrence of a malfunction in a predetermined memory so that the cause of the accident can be clarified. further,
The malfunction is quickly recovered, and an accident caused by the malfunction is prevented.

[Means for solving the problem]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, in an automobile traveling control device, a first storage means (for example, a memory 41 in FIG. 1) for storing a predetermined reference speed, and a detection means for detecting a speed of the vehicle (for example, a detection in FIG. 1) Means 7) and a constant-speed running control means (for example, blocks 8 and 9 in FIG. 1) for comparing the reference speed with the speed of the vehicle and controlling the vehicle to run at a constant speed in accordance with the comparison result. ), First information indicating that the vehicle is traveling at a constant speed so that a malfunction of the constant speed traveling control means can be confirmed, and conditions for performing the constant speed traveling. A second storage unit (for example, the first information) that stores the second information related to the first information and the third information generated by the first information and the second information so that the second information can be read out thereafter.
Memory 82).

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a constant-speed traveling control means (for example, blocks 8 and 9 in FIG. 1) for controlling the traveling state so that the vehicle travels at a constant speed is operated when braking the traveling of the vehicle. Operating means (for example, the brake pedal 11 in FIG. 1) and corresponding to the operation of the operating means while the vehicle is traveling at a constant speed,
Power supply control means (for example, switches 101 and 102 in FIG. 1) for controlling the supply of power to the constant-speed traveling control means.

[Action]

In the first invention, a first signal corresponding to the stroke of the accelerator pedal, which is normally output by the first detection means, is supplied to the actuator, and for example, a throttle for adjusting the fuel of the vehicle is controlled. On the other hand, the first memory stores the set reference speed, the second detecting means detects the speed of the vehicle, and the comparing circuit outputs a second signal corresponding to the difference between the two. At the time of traveling at a constant speed, the second signal is supplied to the actuator via the switch together with the first signal as needed.

The second memory stores predetermined information that can confirm occurrence of a malfunction. The information necessary for confirming the malfunction is the first information and the second information, or the third information generated by them. The first information is information indicating that the vehicle is traveling at a constant speed, and is, for example, information on a state of whether the reference speed is stored in the first memory or information on a switching state of the switch. The second information is information relating to conditions for performing constant speed traveling, for example, information relating to the absolute speed and relative speed of the vehicle or the shift position of the transmission change lever. The third information is, for example, information on whether the first information and the second information have occurred at the same time, or information on the number of occurrences.

By reading out the information stored in the second memory later, it is possible to know whether or not a malfunction has occurred. In the second invention, when the brake pedal 11 is operated over a stroke equal to or more than a predetermined value, the switches 101, 10
2 is turned off, the power supply to blocks 8 and 9 is cut off,
The malfunction is recovered.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a vehicle constant speed traveling apparatus according to the present invention. When the engine key (not shown) is pulled out or turned off from the vehicle, each switch of the power supply block 14 is turned off.
101 to 110 are turned off. Therefore, power from the battery 15 is not supplied to the illustrated blocks, means, and the like. As a result, the actuator 24 of the block 4 cannot drive the throttle 5.

When the engine key is turned on and an engine (not shown) is started, the switches 103 to 110 are turned on by a drive circuit (not shown), but the switches 101 and 102 are not turned on.

When the switches 103 to 110 are turned on, the blocks 2 to 4, 6, 7, 10, 12, and 13 supply predetermined power (voltage) V _{1 to}
V _5, V ₈ to V ₁₀ are supplied respectively, these blocks become operational.

When the accelerator pedal 1 is operated, the operation amount (stroke) is detected by the detecting means 21 of the block 2. The detecting means 21 generates an electric signal corresponding to the stroke of the accelerator pedal 1. The output of the detection means 21 is input to the drive circuit 23 of the block 4 via the addition circuit 22 of the block 3. The drive circuit 23 drives the actuator 24 in response to the signal from the detection circuit 21, and the actuator 24 drives the throttle 5. The throttle 5 adjusts the amount of fuel (gasoline) supplied to the engine. By operating the accelerator pedal 1 in this manner, it is possible to control the rotation of the engine and therefore the running speed of the vehicle.

Next, when the vehicle is driven at a constant speed, the switch 54 of the block 6 is first turned on, and the T-type flip-flop 55 is triggered. The flip-flop 55 is set by this trigger because it is configured to be reset when power is supplied. When the switching control signal of logic 1 is input from the flip-flop 55, the switch 10 of the block 14
1, 102 are turned on. As a result, electric power (voltage) V ₆ , V ₇ is supplied to the blocks 8 and 9, and these blocks become operable.

The driver operates the accelerator pedal 1 to accelerate the vehicle to a speed at which the vehicle is to travel at a constant speed (reference speed). When the speed of the vehicle reaches the reference speed, the driver turns on the switch 52 further. The detecting means 56 of the block 7 detects the running speed of the vehicle from the rotation speed of the tire or the like, and outputs a signal corresponding to the speed. The detecting means 46 of the block 8 monitors the output of the detecting means 56. When the vehicle speed is equal to or higher than a predetermined minimum speed (for example, 40 km / h) and equal to or less than the maximum speed (for example, 100 km / h), the logic 1 is set. And outputs logical 0 when the maximum speed is exceeded. As a result, when the reference speed is less than the minimum speed or exceeds the maximum speed, the AND gate 61
Does not conduct and the reference speed is not set. When the reference speed is within the range between the minimum speed and the maximum speed, the AND gate 61 is turned on at the timing when the switch 52 is turned on, and the RS flip-flop is connected via the OR gate 65 of the block 9.
63 is set (the flip-flop 63 is configured to be reset when power is supplied). As a result, a switching control signal of logic 1 is output from the flip-flop 63, and the switch 67 is turned on.

On the other hand, the pulse output from the AND gate 61 is stored in the memory 41.
Is input to The memory 41 stores the output of the detecting means 56 at the timing when the pulse is input from the AND gate 61, that is, the reference speed. The comparing circuit 42 compares the traveling speed of the vehicle output by the detecting means 56 with the reference speed stored in the memory 41, and outputs a signal corresponding to the error. This signal is input to the addition circuit 22 via the addition circuit 43 and the switch 67, and is added to the output of the detection means 21. This added value is supplied to the drive circuit 23, and the vehicle runs at a constant speed at the reference speed.

When the brake pedal 11 is operated relatively lightly (relatively short stroke) during traveling at a constant speed, the rotation of the tire is braked by means (not shown),
71 detects this (detection means 72 does not detect short strokes). When the detection pulse output from the detection means 71 is input via the OR gate 64, the flip-flop 63 is reset. Therefore, the switch 67 is turned off, and the constant speed traveling is stopped. Thereafter, the vehicle runs again in response to the operation of the accelerator pedal 1.

However, at this time, the reference speed of the memory 41 has not been reset yet. Memory 41 AND gates logic 1 when reference speed is stored and logic 0 when reset
Output to 62. Therefore, after the constant speed traveling is canceled, before the reference speed of the memory 41 is reset (before the vehicle speed falls outside the range between the minimum speed and the maximum speed, and before the difference between the reference speed becomes a predetermined value or more, as described later). If the switch 53 is operated before the brake pedal 11 is operated for a long stroke), a trigger pulse is input via the AND gate 62 and the OR gate 65, and the flip-flop 63 is set again. As a result, the switch 67 is turned on, and the constant speed running is resumed.

When the speed during the constant speed running becomes lower than the minimum speed or exceeds the maximum speed, the output of the detecting means 46 changes from logic 1 to logic 0, and the output of the inverter 47 changes from logic 0 to logic 1.
When the difference between the speed during the constant speed running and the reference speed is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (for example, 25 km / h), the comparison circuit is activated.
Detection means 45 monitoring the output of 42 inverts the output from logic 0 to logic 1. When an output of logic 1 is input from the inverter 47 and the detection means 45 via the OR gate 64 or 66, the flip-flop 63 and the memory 41 are reset. As a result, the cruising is canceled and the memory 41
Since the reference speed is also cleared, it is necessary to operate the switch 52 again to set a new reference speed when running at the constant speed again.

When the constant speed traveling switch 51 is operated from the neutral position to the upper side in the figure, a positive predetermined value corresponding to the operation time is output from the generation circuit 44. When the operation is performed on the lower side in the figure, a negative predetermined value corresponding to the operation time is similarly output. The output of the generation circuit 44 is input to the addition circuit 43 and is added to the output of the comparison circuit 42. That is, since the predetermined value is added (subtracted) to the difference between the actual speed of the vehicle and the reference speed, the actual speed increases or decreases by that amount. When the switch 51 is returned to the neutral position when a desired speed is reached, the switch 52 is turned on in conjunction therewith. As a result, the speed of the vehicle at that time is stored in the memory 41 as a new reference speed, and the constant speed traveling is continued.

The output of the flip-flop 63 corresponds to the switching state of the switch 67, and the flip-flop 63 also functions as detecting means for detecting the switching state of the switch 67. When switch 67 is on (flip-flop
When the output of 63 is logic 1), it means that the vehicle is traveling at a constant speed. As described above, the constant speed traveling is not performed at a speed lower than the minimum speed or higher than the maximum speed. When the difference (relative speed) between the speed (absolute speed) and the reference speed at that time is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the vehicle does not travel at a constant speed. Further, it is configured such that the vehicle cannot travel at a constant speed while the vehicle is stopped or moving backward. Therefore, the outputs of the detecting means 46 (inverter 47) and the detecting means 45 are input to the AND gate 93 via the OR gate 92. The detecting means 81 of the block 12 detects a shift position of a transmission change lever (not shown), and the shift position is a park (P) position, a reverse (R) position, a neutral (N) position, and a low (L) position. , And outputs a logic 0 when in the drive (D) position and the second (2) position, and this output is also input to the AND gate 93 via the OR gate 92. I have. The other input of the AND gate 93 is supplied with the output of the flip-flop 63. That is, the AND gate 93 conducts and outputs a logic 1 at the block 8 or 9
Are malfunctioning, and the AND gate 93 constitutes detection means for detecting malfunctions. If the block 8 malfunctions, the output of the detection means 46 is no longer reliable. Therefore, a detecting means 91 is provided in the block 13 separately from the block 8 so that when the speed becomes lower than the minimum speed or higher than the maximum speed, a logical 1 is output and the logical 1 is output to the AND gate 93 via the OR gate 92. Can be

Also, although the predetermined reference speed is stored in the memory 41, the speed of the vehicle is out of the range between the minimum speed and the maximum speed, the relative speed is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, or the vehicle retreats. This is impossible except in the case of malfunction. Therefore, in order to detect such a case as a malfunction, the output corresponding to the storage state of the memory 41 and the OR gate 92 are output.
Is input to an AND gate 95 as a detecting means.

The logic 1 signal output by the AND gate 93 is an OR gate.
The signal is input to the clear terminal of the flip-flop 55 via 94. As a result, the flip-flop 55 is reset.
As a result, the switches 101 and 102 are turned off, and the supply of power to the blocks 8 and 9 is cut off. Therefore, the switch 67 is turned off.

At least a part of the blocks 8 and 9 can be constituted by, for example, a microcomputer or the like. However, when these blocks malfunction, it is general to stop the malfunction quickly by inputting a predetermined signal or the like. Difficult. The most effective and reliable method for stopping the malfunction is to cut off the power supply (electric power). When the power of the computer that malfunctioned due to static electricity, high frequency noise, or the like is once turned off and then turned on again, all the operations are initialized, so that there is a high probability that the computer will operate normally thereafter.

The malfunction is electrically detected by the block 13, and the supply of power to the malfunctioning block is cut off. Therefore, when the malfunction occurs, the malfunction is immediately released. However, the detection means 72 can be further provided in the block 10 for safety.

When the brake pedal 11 is operated over a stroke equal to or greater than a predetermined value set in advance (when it is strongly operated), the detecting means 72 detects this. Such a brake operation is performed in an emergency (for example, when the car runs away due to a malfunction or the like). Therefore, the logic 1
Is output, the OR gate 94 is output in the same manner as described above.
To clear the flip-flop 55, and cut off the supply of power to a predetermined block.

When an output is generated from the OR gate 94, the supply of power to the blocks 2 to 4 can be cut off. However, in such a case, the engine may be stopped. Therefore, it is preferable not to cut off the power to the blocks 2 to 4 that control the stottle 5 in response to the operation of the accelerator pedal 1.

Unfortunately, when a vehicle runs away and an accident occurs, it is often not always clear whether the cause is due to a driver's operational mistake or a malfunction of the device. Therefore, the outputs of the detecting means 21, 71, and 72 are input to the memory 82 together with the output of the timer 83 that performs a time counting operation, and these outputs from the time before a predetermined time (for example, 30 minutes) to the current time correspond to the time. And sequentially update and store them. In this way, it is possible to determine whether or not the accelerator pedal 1 and the brake pedal 11 are malfunctioning by reading the data stored in the memory 82 when an accident occurs.

Similarly, outputs of flip-flops 55 and 63, and gate
The outputs of 61, 93 and 95, the stored value or storage state of the memory 41, the speed data output by the detecting means 56 (or 91), the switch 52
Can be stored in the memory 82.

As described above, the logic 1 is output from the AND gate 93 or 95 because the flip-flop 63 is set or the reference speed is stored in the memory 41 despite the state in which the constant speed traveling is prohibited. This is the case when they are set, and all are due to malfunctions. Therefore, if the information output by each of the circuits, means, and the like described above is stored in the memory 82, it is determined whether a malfunction has occurred by reading out the information later.
In addition, it is possible to determine which circuit, means, or the like has malfunctioned.

The outputs of the AND circuits 93 and 95 are input to the counter 97 via the OR gate 96. The counter 97 counts the number of times a signal is input from the OR gate 96 (that is, the number of times a malfunction has occurred). This count value is also stored in the memory 82. For example, the data stored in the memory 82 is read out at the time of regular inspection, for example, every six months or one year, and a device with a large number of malfunctions may be replaced with a new device to prevent the occurrence of an accident. it can.

FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, only one switch 52 is provided in the block 6, and when this switch 52 is operated at the reference speed, the flip-flop 55 is set, the switches 101 and 102 are turned on, and power is supplied to the blocks 8 and 9. You. The pulse output from the AND gate 61 at the same time
Is set, and the reference speed is stored in the memory 41.

When the brake pedal 11 is operated, the detecting means 71 detects this. The output of the detecting means 71 resets the flip-flop 63 and the memory 41 via the OR gates 64 and 66, and resets (clears) the flip-flop 55 via the OR gate 94. Therefore, in this embodiment, when the brake pedal 11 is operated even slightly, the constant speed traveling is released, and when the constant speed traveling is started again, it is necessary to operate the switch 52 again to store the new reference speed. .

In the above description, the switch 54 (or 52) is electrically held by the flip-flop 55. However, the switch 54 (or 52) may be held mechanically. In this case, the mechanical holding is released by the output of the OR gate 94.

〔effect〕

As described above, the first aspect of the present invention provides the first information indicating that the constant-speed traveling is being performed and the second information relating to the condition for performing the constant-speed traveling (or the third information generated by these).
Is stored, so that it is possible to confirm whether or not a malfunction has occurred by reading out the information later. Therefore, when an accident occurs, not only can the cause and responsibilities be clarified, but also take measures such as replacing the equipment with other equipment in which a relatively large number of malfunctions occur even if no accident occurs. It is possible to prevent accidents from occurring. According to the second aspect, the supply of electric power to the constant-speed traveling control means is cut off in response to the operation of the operation means. Therefore, even if the constant-speed traveling control means malfunctions, this is reliably recovered. It is possible to prevent an accident caused by a malfunction beforehand.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a constant-speed traveling device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of another embodiment. 1 Accelerator pedals 2 to 4 Block 5 Throttle 6 to 10 Block 11 Brake pedals 12, 13, 14 Block 15 Battery 21 Detection means 22 Addition circuit 23 ... Drive circuit 24 ... Actuator 41 ... Memory 42 ... Comparison circuit 43 ... Addition circuit 44 ... Generation circuit 45,46 ... Detection means 47 ... Inverters 51 to 54 ... Switch 55 ... T-type flip-flop 56 detecting means 61, 62 AND gate 63 RS flip-flops 64 to 66 AND gate 67 switches 71, 72 detecting means 81 detecting means 82 memory 83 Timer 91 Detecting means 92 OR gate 93 AND gate 94 OR gate 95 AND gate 96 OR gate 97 Counter 101 to 110 Switch

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] A first storage unit for storing a predetermined reference speed; a detection unit for detecting a speed of the vehicle; a comparison between the reference speed and the speed of the vehicle; A constant speed traveling control means for controlling the vehicle to travel at a constant speed; and a first signal indicating that the vehicle is traveling at a constant speed so that a malfunction of the constant speed traveling control means can be confirmed.
And the second information relating to the condition for performing the constant speed traveling, or the third information generated by the first information and the second information are stored so that they can be read out thereafter. And a second storage unit that performs the following. 2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the first information is information relating to a storage state of the reference speed in the first storage means, and the second information is an absolute or relative speed of the vehicle or a transmission of the vehicle. The vehicle travel control device according to claim 1, wherein the information is information on at least one of shift positions of the change lever. 3. A constant speed traveling control means for controlling a traveling state of the vehicle so that the vehicle travels at a constant speed; an operating means operated when traveling the traveling of the vehicle; And a power supply control means for controlling power supply to the constant speed traveling control means in response to the operation of the operation means. 4. The constant-speed cruise control means further includes a malfunction detection means for detecting a malfunction of the constant-speed cruise control means, and the power supply control means further controls the constant-speed cruise control means in response to an output of the malfunction detection means. The vehicle running control device according to claim 3, wherein the supply of electric power is controlled.