JP2686990B2 - Vehicle constant speed driving control device - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle constant-speed traveling control device configured to perform constant-speed traveling control by throttle opening control and shift-stage switching control. is there.

(Prior Art) A constant speed traveling control device is a device for maintaining a vehicle speed at a predetermined set vehicle speed, and generally performs throttle opening control in accordance with a difference between a target vehicle speed and an actual vehicle speed. When the actual vehicle speed cannot be converged to the target vehicle speed only by the throttle opening control, a predetermined gear shift control means performs gear shift control (that is, shift speed switching control) to converge to the target vehicle speed. The shift control is performed by downshifting by inputting a shiftdown signal from a predetermined vehicle speed determination means when the actual vehicle speed falls below a predetermined value by more than a predetermined value, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 62-36889. After that, when the vehicle speed deviation returns to less than a predetermined value, the upshift is often performed by canceling the input of the downshift signal from the vehicle speed determining means.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in such a constant speed traveling control device, even after the vehicle speed determination means malfunctions due to a failure or the like, and the vehicle speed deviation returns to less than a predetermined value, If the shift-down signal continues to be output, the vehicle will continue to run at a low speed without being upshifted by the shift control means, resulting in deterioration of fuel consumption and deterioration of riding comfort.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is a vehicle constant speed traveling control capable of performing a required shift-up even when an abnormality occurs in the operation of the vehicle speed determination means. The purpose is to provide a device.

(Means for Solving the Problem) The constant speed traveling control device for a vehicle according to the present invention is a shift control when the throttle opening is equal to or less than a predetermined value set according to the vehicle speed (that is, when the engine torque has a margin). The means is provided with a torque allowance determination means for outputting a shift up signal, and the shift control means receives a shift up signal from the torque allowance determination means and a shift down signal from the vehicle speed determination means at the same time for a predetermined period. In such a case, the vehicle speed determination means is configured to perform an upshift on the assumption that an abnormality has occurred in the operation of the vehicle speed determination means, thereby achieving the above object. That is, a vehicle in which constant speed traveling control is performed by the throttle opening control means (A) for controlling the throttle opening according to the difference between the target vehicle speed and the actual vehicle speed, and the shift control means (B) for controlling the switching of the shift speed. In the constant-speed traveling control device, the vehicle speed determination means (C) for outputting a downshift signal to the shift control device (B) when the actual vehicle speed is lower than the target vehicle speed by a predetermined value or more, and the throttle opening The gear shift control means (B) is provided with a torque allowance determination means (D) that outputs a shift-up signal to the gear shift control means (B) when the value is equal to or less than a predetermined value set according to the vehicle speed. Even when the shift down signal from the vehicle speed determination means (C) is received, the vehicle speed determination is performed when the state of receiving the shift up signal from the torque margin determination means (D) continues for a predetermined period. And it is characterized in that it is configured to perform upshift determining means to be abnormal.

The "predetermined period" is a predetermined time (or a predetermined distance) from the moment when the shift control means (B) receives the shift-up signal from the torque margin determination means (D) (or from the position at this moment). Time (or point)
Up to. Further, during the "predetermined period", the engine torque is reduced due to the shift-up and the vehicle speed is accordingly reduced. However, it is possible to prevent the shift-down from being performed in a short period due to the vehicle speed reduction. It means a sufficient period for the vehicle speed to increase (that is, to the extent that gear shift hunting does not occur).

(Operation) As shown in the above configuration, the shift control means (B) shifts up from the torque allowance determination means (D) even when receiving the shift down signal from the vehicle speed determination means (C). Since the shift-up is performed when the signal is continuously received for a predetermined period, even if an abnormality occurs in the operation of the vehicle speed determination means (C), the required shift-up is performed without causing shift hunting. Can be executed.

(Effect of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, not only when the operation of the vehicle speed determination means (C) is normal, but also when the operation of the vehicle speed determination means (C) is abnormal, the operation is abnormal. Even if it does, the required shift-up can be performed without causing shift hunting. Therefore, due to the above abnormality, the shift-up is not performed and the vehicle continues to run at a low speed, resulting in deterioration of fuel efficiency and riding comfort. The badness of can be eliminated.

(Examples) Examples of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 2 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a vehicle constant speed traveling control device according to the present invention.

A throttle valve 3 for adjusting the amount of intake air is interposed in an intake passage 2 of the engine 1, and the throttle valve 3 is opened and closed by a throttle actuator 4 such as a DC motor. The automatic transmission 5 includes a plurality of shift solenoids 6a to
6c and the lock-up solenoid 7, and the hydraulic circuits are switched by a combination of ON and OFF of the shift solenoids 6a to 6c to selectively fasten a plurality of hydraulic fastening elements, thereby providing a plurality of shift mechanisms. The operation is switched to the gear position of Further, a lock-up clutch (not shown) in the torque converter is engaged or released by turning on and off the lock-up solenoid 7.

A throttle control controller 8A serving as throttle opening control means for outputting a throttle control signal a to the throttle actuator 4 is provided, and a shift control signal for each solenoid 6a-6c, 7 of the automatic transmission 5 is provided. There is provided a shift control controller 8B which is shift control means for outputting b and the lockup control signal c.

The throttle control controller 8A includes a vehicle speed signal Vn from a vehicle speed sensor 9 for detecting a vehicle speed and an accelerator pedal 10
Accelerator sensor that detects the amount of depression (accelerator opening)
The accelerator opening signal α from 11, the brake signal BR from the brake switch 12 that detects the brake operation, the throttle opening signal TH from the throttle sensor 13 that detects the opening of the throttle valve 3, and the transmission 5 Gear position signal GP from gear position sensor 14 to detect gear position
And the speed change mode signal M from the mode switch 15 are input respectively, and the operation signals (ON, OFF) from the main switch 16, the set switch 17, the resume switch 18, and the coast switch 19 as the constant speed traveling operation switches are input. Each is entered. The throttle control controller 8A also functions as a vehicle speed determination means and a torque margin determination means, as will be described later.

On the other hand, the shift control controller 8B includes a vehicle speed signal Vn from the vehicle speed sensor 9, an accelerator opening signal α from the accelerator sensor 11, a throttle opening signal TH from the throttle sensor 13, and a mode switch 15 from the mode switch 15. A shift mode signal M and a shift command signal (which will be described later) from the throttle opening control controller 8A are input.

Next, the processing of the controllers 8A and 8B will be described according to a flowchart.

FIG. 3 is a main routine of the throttle control controller 8A. This controller 8A performs a predetermined system initialization (step S1) at the start of operation, reads the detection signals from the various sensors, and controls them from these. Input various information (S2).

Step S3 is automatic speed control (AS
It is determined whether or not the condition for starting C) is satisfied. The start condition for this automatic speed control is that the main switch 16 is on, the shift position is in the D range, and the vehicle speed is the set value ( For example, 40 km / h) or more. The condition for canceling the automatic speed control is when the start condition is not satisfied or when the brake is operated.

When the conditions for the automatic speed control are satisfied, the operation shifts to the automatic speed control, and the set switch 17 and the resume switch 1
8. Mode setting control such as a vehicle speed feedback control mode and an acceleration mode is performed in response to the operation of the coast switch 19, the accelerator operation and the brake operation (S4), and the setting control of the target throttle opening To corresponding to each mode is performed (S4). S5).
If the automatic speed control condition is not satisfied, the routine shifts to the normal throttle control, and the throttle opening To is set and controlled based on the accelerator operation amount (S6).

The throttle control signal a corresponding to the target throttle opening To set in step S5 or S6 as described above is output to the throttle actuator 4 (S7), and the throttle valve 3 is operated to the target opening To. Further, the step S4
Corresponding to the mode setting in step S8, a shift command (command for setting a shift stage) during automatic speed control is output to the shift control controller 8B in step S8. Further, the acceleration timer Tac for performing the delay processing described later is counted up (S
9) The above routine is executed every predetermined time (for example, 30 msec).

FIG. 4 is a mode setting subroutine for automatic speed control in step S4 of the main routine.

In step S10 (corresponding to step S3 of the main routine), it is determined whether or not the automatic speed control start condition is satisfied. When this automatic speed control condition is satisfied, the set switch 17 is turned on in S11 to S16. At the same time, set the start flag SF, reset the acceleration timer Tac, brake release flag BF
Is reset, the target vehicle speed Vo is updated with the actual vehicle speed Vn, and the vehicle speed when the set switch 17 is turned off becomes the set target vehicle speed Vo.

When the target vehicle speed Vo is set as described above, the automatic speed control is performed (S17), the brake and the accelerator are not operated (S18, S19), the set switch 17, the coast switch 19 and the resume switch 18 are turned on. If it is not operated, the process proceeds to vehicle speed feedback control mode III (throttle opening control for constant speed running) by the NO determination in steps S20 to S24. In this vehicle speed feedback control mode III, the throttle opening Tv necessary for achieving the target vehicle speed Vo is calculated by PI-PD calculation based on the deviation between the actual vehicle speed Vn and the target vehicle speed Vo, and the target throttle opening Tv is calculated. Set the opening To.

If the brake is operated during the above-mentioned vehicle speed feedback control (S18), the brake release flag BF is set (S18).
25), and shifts to the normal throttle control mode I (throttle opening control performed based on the accelerator operation amount). Even when the automatic speed control conditions are not satisfied, the respective flags are reset (S27), and also when the target vehicle speed Vo is not set (S17), the normal throttle control mode I is entered. In the normal throttle control mode I, a basic throttle opening map corresponding to the accelerator opening α and the shift mode M (economy, normal, power) and the like is selected, and the basic throttle opening Tb is read with respect to the detected accelerator opening α. The throttle control for performing the necessary correction and setting the target throttle opening To is performed.

On the other hand, if the accelerator operation is performed, the determination in step S19 is YES, and if the brake is not being released (S26), the process shifts to the accelerator acceleration mode II. Accelerator acceleration mode II
The target throttle opening To is set by the sum of the target throttle opening Tv and the throttle opening Tb corresponding to the depressed accelerator opening α.

When the set switch 17 is operated, step S2
When the determination result is 0, the set switch operation process A is performed. In this set switch operation processing, when the acceleration timer Tac exceeds the set value (delay time) and an acceleration request is made, a shift flag for issuing a 4th speed inhibition command is set and the mode is shifted to the acceleration mode. In this acceleration mode, a load-compensation opening corresponding to a slope running state or the like is obtained, and a target throttle opening To is set so that the vehicle is accelerated at a constant acceleration by a throttle opening for constant acceleration on level ground. .

Further, when the coast switch 19 is turned on for deceleration, the coast switch operation process B is performed by the YES determination in step S21. This coast switch operation processing B
Updates the target vehicle speed Vo and shifts to coast mode.
In this coast mode, the target throttle opening To is set to 0 during the coast switch operation, the throttle valve 3 is fully closed to decelerate, and the actual vehicle speed Vn when off is set to the target vehicle speed Vo to control the vehicle speed feedback. Return to.

Further, if the resume switch 18 is turned on to reset the target vehicle speed Vo to the original set value in a state where the automatic speed control is released by the brake operation, YES in step S22
The process proceeds to the resume switch operation C according to the determination, and the resume operation is held while accelerating to the original target vehicle speed Vo (S2
3) The process proceeds to resume switch operation C. When the deviation between the target vehicle speed Vo and the actual vehicle speed Vn has not converged, this resume switch operation is performed so that the target throttle opening To changes to the acceleration mode and accelerates at a constant acceleration up to the target vehicle speed Vo. Set.

The gear shift command in step S8 of the main routine shown in FIG. 3 corresponds to the above control mode setting, and in the acceleration mode, the gear shift command is output so as to shift down the gear stage,
Also in the coast mode, similarly, a gear shift command is output to shift down the gear and raise the engine brake.
Further, even during the resume operation, if the vehicle speed deviation is large, the shift command is output to shift down the shift stage.

On the other hand, in the vehicle speed feedback mode III, the shift command based on the vehicle speed deviation and the shift command based on the throttle opening are output to the shift control controller 8B. That is,
As shown in FIG. 5, the vehicle speed deviation (Vo-Vn) is a predetermined value (8K
m / h) or higher, a shift command to the 3rd speed (3rd) is issued,
When returning to a value less than a predetermined value (2 km / h), a shift command to the 4th speed (4th) is issued. That is, during this period, the shift control controller 8B receives the downshift signal from the throttle opening control controller 8A. Further, the shift command based on the throttle opening is issued according to a map as shown in FIG. 6, and when the throttle opening becomes less than or equal to a predetermined value set according to the vehicle speed (when the throttle opening is below the solid line in the figure). When the gear ratio is changed, a shift command from the third speed to the fourth speed is issued. That is, when this shift command is issued, the shift control controller 8B receives the shift-up signal from the throttle opening control controller 8A. In addition,
The above-mentioned predetermined value of the throttle opening is set so that a sufficient engine torque can be obtained even after shifting the fourth speed.

As described above, the throttle control controller 8A functions as a vehicle speed determination unit that outputs a downshift signal to the shift control controller 8B when the actual vehicle speed is lower than the target vehicle speed by a predetermined value or more, and the throttle opening degree. Is also a torque margin determination means for outputting a shift-up signal to the shift control controller 8B when is less than or equal to a predetermined value set according to the vehicle speed. Then, in the vehicle speed feedback mode III, the shift control controller 8B is configured to perform shift control between the third speed and the fourth speed based on the both shift commands.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the content of the shift control performed by the shift control controller 8B in the vehicle speed feedback control III.

The controller 8B performs predetermined system initialization (step S31) at the start of operation, reads detection signals from the various sensors, and inputs various information necessary for control (S32).

Next, it is determined whether or not the SD flag (which is set when the shift down from the 4th speed to the 3rd speed is performed) is set (S33), and if it is set, the process proceeds to S38 and is set. If not, it is determined whether or not the downshift signal from the throttle control controller 8A is received (S34). If it is not received, the vehicle continues to run at the fourth speed, and if it is received, it is determined whether or not the holding flag (which is set when it is necessary to hold at the fourth speed) is set. (S35), if set, continue running in 4th speed, if not set, shift down from 4th to 3rd speed (S36), SD
Set the flag (S37).

In step S38, it is determined whether or not the timer flag A (which is set when the timer A is set) is set. If the flag is set, the process proceeds to S41, and if not set, the downshift signal is sent. It is determined whether or not it has been received (S39). If it has been received, the third speed is set as the vehicle speed deviation corresponding shift speed Ss and then the process proceeds to (S44) S46. If not, the timer A is set and the timer flag A is set.
Set (S40). Then, the timer A is incremented (S41), and it is determined whether 20 seconds have passed since the timer A was set (S42).
The speed is set as the vehicle speed deviation corresponding shift stage Ss (S43), and if the time has not elapsed, the third speed is set as the vehicle speed deviation corresponding shift stage Ss (S45). It is to be noted that a delay time of 20 seconds is provided before setting the fourth speed to the vehicle speed deviation corresponding shift speed Ss in S43 after it is determined in S39 that the shift down signal is received. This is to prevent hunting.

Next, in step S46, it is determined whether or not the shift-up signal from the throttle control controller 8A is received. If not received, the holding flag is reset (S47) and the process proceeds to S32 (that is, the third speed running is continued even if the vehicle speed deviation corresponding shift speed Ss is set to the fourth speed), If so, it is determined whether or not the shift speed Ss corresponding to the vehicle speed deviation is the fourth speed (S48). If YES, shift up from 3rd to 4th (S4
9), then SD flag, timer A flag and timer B
Reset the flag (S59) and move to S32. On the other hand, S4
If the determination of 8 is NO (that is, the shift speed Ss corresponding to the vehicle speed deviation)
If it is the third speed), it is determined whether or not the timer flag B (which is set when the timer B is set) is set (S51), and if it is set, the process proceeds to S53 and is set. If not, the timer B is set and the timer flag B is set (S52). And timer B
Is counted up (S53), and timer B is set to 3
If 0 second has elapsed (S54), if the time has elapsed, the holding flag is set (S55) and then 3rd to 4th speed is reached.
Shift up to speed (S49), and if not elapsed, shift to S32 (that is, continue the third speed). As a result, even if the vehicle speed deviation-corresponding shift speed Ss is set to the third speed, the shift-up is performed when the shift-up signal based on the shift command based on the throttle opening is received for 30 consecutive seconds. It should be noted that a delay time of 30 seconds is provided before the shift-up is performed in S49 after it is determined in S48 that the shift speed Ss corresponding to the vehicle speed deviation is the third speed, which prevents hunting during the shift-up. This is because

Thus, in the shift control controller 8B,
When the shift down signal input is canceled by the shift command based on the vehicle speed deviation, the cancellation state continues for 20 seconds or more, and the shift up signal is input when the shift up signal is input by the shift command based on the throttle opening. Even if the shift-down signal is not released, the shift-up is performed when the input state continues for 30 seconds after the shift-up signal is input. Therefore, the controller 8A for controlling the throttle opening can function as a vehicle speed determining means due to a failure or the like (the function of canceling the shift-down signal input to the speed change controller 8B when the vehicle speed deviation becomes less than a predetermined value). Even if it disappears, shift up from the third speed to the fourth speed is performed without causing shift hunting.

In the present embodiment, the input of the shift-up signal by the shift command based on the throttle opening is a necessary condition for the shift-up for the following reason. That is, in the case where the condition for the shift up is only to determine whether or not the shift down signal is input by the shift command based on the vehicle speed deviation, for example,
If the vehicle starts to go uphill during constant-speed running control and starts to run uphill, the vehicle speed decreases due to an increase in running load, and as a result, downshifting is performed and then the engine The gear will be shifted up in response to the vehicle speed deviation returning to less than the predetermined value due to the increase in torque.However, when traveling uphill, it may already be at full throttle before shifting up. For this reason, the throttle opening cannot be increased further even after the shift-up.Therefore, the vehicle speed immediately decreases due to insufficient torque and the gear is downshifted. As a result, gear shift hunting occurs in which gear shifts are repeated within a short period of time, such as shifting down immediately. Is control accuracy may be degraded. Therefore, in order to eliminate such an inconvenience, in addition to determining whether the vehicle speed deviation is less than a predetermined value, it is determined whether the throttle opening is equal to or less than a predetermined value (that is, whether the engine speed is less than a predetermined value). It is determined whether or not there is a margin in torque), and shift control is performed so as to perform upshifting only when both conditions are met.

However, even when both of these conditions are met, hunting during upshifting may occur depending on the driving conditions.Therefore, from release of the downshift signal based on the shift command based on the vehicle speed deviation to upshifting, The delay time is set in seconds. In addition, the delay time of 20 seconds is meaningless when shifting up by the shift command based on the throttle opening when the input of the shift down signal is no longer canceled due to an abnormality, so a delay of 30 seconds is required separately. The time is set.

In this embodiment, timer A or timer B is used.
Although the delay time of 20 seconds or 30 seconds is set by counting up, the travel distance may be measured by a trip meter or the like and the distance corresponding to the delay time may be set.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram corresponding to the scope of the claims showing the configuration of a vehicle constant speed traveling control device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the device, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the throttle control controller in the example, FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a part of the flowchart in more detail, and FIGS. 5 and 6 are the operation of the throttle control controller as a vehicle speed determination means and the torque margin. FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing the operation as the determination means, and FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the shift control controller in the above embodiment. A ... Throttle opening control means B ... Shift control means, C ... Vehicle speed determination means D ... Torque allowance determination means 1 ... Engine, 3 ... Throttle valve 4 ... Throttle actuator 6a, 6b, 6c ... ... Shift solenoid 8A ... Throttle control controller (throttle opening control means, vehicle speed determination means, torque margin determination means) 8B ... Shift control controller (shift control means)

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-62-241734 (JP, A) JP-A-2-3539 (JP, A) JP-A-1-114544 (JP, A)

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A constant speed of a vehicle for which constant speed traveling control is performed by a throttle opening control means for controlling a throttle opening according to a difference between a target vehicle speed and an actual vehicle speed and a shift control means for switching control of a shift speed. In the travel control device, when the actual vehicle speed is lower than the target vehicle speed by a predetermined value or more, a vehicle speed determination means that outputs a downshift signal to the shift control means, and a predetermined value that the throttle opening is set according to the vehicle speed. A torque margin determining means for outputting a shift-up signal to the shift control means when
Even when the shift control means receives the downshift signal from the vehicle speed determination means, the speed change determination means receives the shift up signal from the torque margin determination means for a predetermined period of time. A vehicle constant-speed traveling control device, which is configured to determine that the vehicle is abnormal and perform an upshift.