JP3775287B2 - Speed limiter - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a speed limiting device, and more particularly to a speed control device that limits a vehicle speed so as not to exceed a predetermined speed.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, for example, as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-1444078, when the vehicle speed is detected and a predetermined speed (restricted vehicle speed) is reached, the engine control unit is prevented from reaching a higher speed. Thus, there is a speed limiting device that controls to reduce the engine output. Some engine control devices have similar functions.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In a vehicle equipped with the speed limiting device as described above, the engine output is rapidly reduced regardless of the driver's accelerator operation. Therefore, if the speed limiter operates while the vehicle is accelerating, the acceleration is suddenly lost, and depending on the situation, the vehicle may temporarily decelerate.
[0004]
If the driver inadvertently starts an overtaking operation while traveling at a vehicle speed close to the limit vehicle speed, it is predicted that the speed limiter of the own vehicle will operate during overtaking acceleration and acceleration will be lost. In this case, there is a possibility that the following vehicle also follows and the overtaking operation is started with a short inter-vehicle distance, and there is a possibility that an accident such as a rear-end collision may be caused without being able to cope with a sudden stall.
[0005]
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to enable an acceleration operation to be performed more safely in a speed control device that limits a vehicle speed so as not to exceed a predetermined speed.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, a speed limiting device according to the present invention includes a vehicle speed detection unit that detects the speed of the host vehicle, an acceleration detection unit that detects an acceleration of the host vehicle, and the vehicle speed detection unit detected by the vehicle speed detection unit. A vehicle speed limit signal is output so that the vehicle speed is lower than a predetermined limit vehicle speed, and the vehicle speed limit signal is output at a plurality of alert levels corresponding to a memory map area defined by a preset speed and acceleration. A calculation unit that outputs a warning signal for warning the output of the vehicle, a warning unit that issues a warning different for each warning level to the driver based on the warning signal, and traveling of the host vehicle based on the vehicle speed limit signal And a vehicle speed limiter for limiting the speed.
[0007]
That is, the calculation unit outputs a vehicle speed limit signal so that the speed of the host vehicle detected by the vehicle speed detection unit is lower than a predetermined limit vehicle speed, and the vehicle speed control unit determines the speed of the host vehicle based on the vehicle speed limit signal. Restrict.
Further, the calculation unit is configured to output the vehicle speed at a plurality of alert levels corresponding to a memory map area defined by a preset vehicle speed and acceleration based on the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed detection unit and the acceleration detected by the acceleration detection unit. A warning signal for notifying the output of the limit signal is output, and based on the warning signal, the warning unit issues a different warning to the driver for each warning level.
[0008]
Therefore, before the vehicle speed limit signal is output from the calculation unit and the vehicle speed control unit starts the operation of limiting the vehicle speed, a warning of a plurality of alert levels is issued from the warning unit according to the vehicle speed and acceleration. The start of the speed limit can be detected in advance, and for example, an excessive overtaking operation can be prevented from starting.
[0009]
Thus, according to the present invention, it is possible to perform the acceleration operation more safely.
The memory map area may be obtained by dividing an area defined by the vehicle speed, acceleration, and the predetermined limit vehicle speed in accordance with the alert level.
[0010]
The warning unit may be any unit that issues a warning by an audio signal or display.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 shows the configuration of an embodiment of a speed limiting device according to the present invention. The automatic steering apparatus according to this embodiment includes a vehicle speed detection unit 1, an acceleration detection unit 2, a calculation unit 3, a vehicle speed control unit 4, and a warning unit 5.
[0012]
The vehicle speed detection unit 1 detects a wheel speed, for example, and outputs a vehicle speed signal.
The acceleration detection unit 2 detects an acceleration state of the vehicle and outputs an acceleration signal. Since the acceleration can be obtained from the rate of change of the vehicle speed signal output from the vehicle speed detection unit 1, the vehicle speed detection unit 1 and the acceleration detection unit 2 may be integrated.
[0013]
The calculation unit 3 relates to an input unit 31 that reads the vehicle speed signal from the vehicle speed detection unit 1 and the acceleration signal from the acceleration detection unit 2, and uses the output signal of the input unit 31 to control the speed limit and notify the start of the speed limit. CPU32 for calculation and judgment, RAM33 used by CPU32 for calculation, ROM34 for storing control programs and control parameters, and output to vehicle speed control unit 4 and warning unit 5 according to output data obtained by CPU32 The output unit 35 and a power source unit 36 for supplying necessary power from the vehicle power source to these units.
[0014]
The vehicle speed control unit 4 may use a known device that reduces engine output by the output from the output unit 35 or prevents an excessive speed by using an electronic control brake (not shown).
The warning unit 5 may use a known device that issues a warning by an audio signal or a display expressing a plurality of arousal levels by the output from the output unit 35.
[0015]
FIG. 2 shows the flow of the control program stored in the ROM 34 in the arithmetic unit 3 shown in FIG. 1, and the operation of the embodiment of FIG. 1 will be described below with reference to FIG. Note that this flowchart is started at predetermined time intervals, and only the part related to the control of the control device is described, but initial processing at the time of starting up the hardware such as the CPU is omitted.
[0016]
First, the CPU 32 reads the vehicle speed signal from the vehicle speed detection unit 1 and the acceleration signal from the acceleration detection unit 2 via the input unit 31 (step S1), and calculates the vehicle speed and acceleration from the vehicle speed signal and the acceleration signal, respectively (S2 And S3).
Next, the CPU 32 refers to the warning action map that associates the vehicle speed, acceleration, and alert level stored in advance as a memory map in the ROM 34, and the vehicle speed and acceleration calculated in steps S2 and S3 are displayed on the warning action map. It is determined which of the areas corresponds to (S4), and it is determined which of the areas A to C the current vehicle status corresponds to (S5).
[0017]
The CPU 32 performs the following processes (1) to (3) according to the determination result of step S5.
(1) When it is determined that the vehicle is in area A, the vehicle speed limit has not been reached and no advance notice is given. That is, both the first stage and the second stage are set to OFF (S6 and S7), and the warning signal is not output to the warning unit 5.
[0018]
(2) When it is determined that the vehicle is in the area B, the vehicle is approaching the limit vehicle speed, so the first stage notice with a low alert level is given. That is, the first stage of the notice is turned on (S8), and the second stage of the notice is turned off (S9). Accordingly, a warning signal with a low alerting level corresponding to the first stage of the warning is output to the warning unit 5 via the output unit 35.
[0019]
(3) If it is determined that the vehicle is in area C, it can be determined that the speed limit will be reached soon, so a second stage notice with a high alert level is given. That is, the first stage of the notice is turned off (S10), and the second stage of the notice is turned on (S11). Therefore, a warning signal having a high alerting level corresponding to the second stage of warning is output to the warning unit 5 via the output unit 35.
[0020]
After the above processes (1) to (3), the CPU 32 compares the vehicle speed obtained in step S2 with a preset vehicle speed limit (S12). The speed limit output is turned ON so that the vehicle speed is less than (S13), and the process ends. Therefore, the engine control unit 4 reduces the engine output based on the vehicle speed limit signal output from the CPU 32 via the output unit 35.
[0021]
If vehicle speed <restricted vehicle speed in step S12, since the vehicle is traveling at a vehicle speed lower than the limited vehicle speed, the speed limit output from the output unit 35 is turned OFF (S7), and the process ends.
In the present embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the level of alerting (notice level) is two stages, but it is also possible to make multiple stages.
[0022]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the speed control device of the present invention, the calculation unit outputs the vehicle speed limit signal so that the speed of the host vehicle detected by the vehicle speed detection unit is lower than the predetermined limit vehicle speed, A warning signal for notifying the output of the vehicle speed limit signal at a plurality of alert levels corresponding to a memory map area defined by a preset speed and acceleration is output, and a warning unit is operated based on the warning signal. A different warning is issued for each alert level, and the vehicle speed control unit is configured to limit the traveling speed of the host vehicle based on the vehicle speed limit signal, so that the acceleration operation can be performed more safely. Is possible.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a speed control device according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a control program used in the embodiment of the speed control apparatus according to the present invention shown in FIG. 1;
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Vehicle speed detector
2 Acceleration detector
3 Calculation unit
4 Vehicle speed control section
5 In the warning section diagram, the same symbols indicate the same or corresponding parts.

Claims (1)

A vehicle speed detector for detecting the speed of the host vehicle;
An acceleration detector for detecting the acceleration of the host vehicle;
A vehicle speed limit signal is output so that the speed of the host vehicle detected by the vehicle speed detection unit is lower than a predetermined limit vehicle speed, and a plurality of memory map areas corresponding to a predetermined speed and acceleration are provided. An arithmetic unit for outputting a warning signal for warning the output of the vehicle speed limit signal at the warning level of
A warning unit that issues a different warning for each warning level to the driver based on the warning signal;
A speed limiting device comprising a vehicle speed control unit that limits the traveling speed of the host vehicle based on the vehicle speed limiting signal.

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