JP5303185B2 - Body flow restraint device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle body flow suppressing device that suppresses the flow of a vehicle body with respect to a lateral slope of a road surface.

  In some cases, roads are provided with a lateral slope so that rain does not collect on the road surface for the purpose of safe driving in rainy weather. When the vehicle is traveling on a road surface having such a lateral slope, the vehicle is caused to flow in a lower direction of the road surface. Hereinafter, this phenomenon is referred to as “body flow”.

  Thus, when the vehicle body flow occurs, the driver is forced to perform a correction operation via the steering wheel in order to make the vehicle go straight so that the vehicle does not flow in the low direction of the road surface, so the driving load on the driver increases.

In view of this, a vehicle body flow suppressing device that suppresses the vehicle body flow while reducing the driving load on the driver has been developed. For example, an electric power steering device is known that controls the amount of steering assist to be increased when a vehicle body flow is detected as compared to when no vehicle body flow occurs (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2007-168617 A

In the conventional vehicle body flow suppression device, a steering assist correction amount (vehicle body flow suppression control amount) for vehicle body flow suppression is set according to the magnitude of the steering torque detected by the steering torque sensor.
By the way, for example, when the vehicle is turned to the left or right or the lane is changed while the vehicle body flow suppression control is being performed, the steering is performed in the direction opposite to the direction in which the driver operated the steering wheel to suppress the vehicle body flow. There are times when the wheel rotates. In this case, since the steering assist is performed so that the vehicle moves straight unless the vehicle body flow suppression control is released, the driver feels that the steering wheel is heavier than usual when the steering wheel starts to rotate in the reverse direction. There is a problem that there is a sense of incongruity.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a vehicle body flow restraint device in which the driver does not feel uncomfortable.

The vehicle body flow restraint device according to the present invention employs the following means in order to solve the above problems.
The invention according to claim 1 includes an actuator section (for example, an actuator section 31 in an embodiment to be described later) and a vehicle body flow suppression control section (for example, a vehicle body in an embodiment to be described later) that controls the actuator section to suppress the body flow. A flow suppression control unit 32), a steering torque detecting means for detecting a steering torque (for example, a steering torque sensor 4 in an embodiment described later), and a yaw rate detecting means for detecting a yaw rate of a vehicle body (for example, a yaw rate in an embodiment described later). The vehicle body flow suppression control unit determines the vehicle body flow suppression steering state based on at least the steering torque and the yaw rate, and determines the lateral gradient of the road surface based on at least the steering torque. Limiting means for limiting the vehicle body flow suppression control amount for suppressing flow (for example, an embodiment described later) A steering torque differential calculation unit 14, a control amount upper limit value calculation unit 15, a vehicle body flow suppression control amount setting unit 16, and a gradual processing unit 18), and the limiting unit is configured to control the steering torque detected by the steering torque detection unit. When the direction is the direction of increasing the gradient, the absolute value of the limit amount of the vehicle body flow suppression control amount is smaller when the direction of the steering torque is different from the direction of the differential value of the steering torque than when the direction is the same. When the direction of the steering torque detected by the steering torque detecting means is a direction in which the gradient is lowered, the direction of the steering torque and the direction of the differential value of the steering torque are different from the same case. Is a vehicle body flow restraint device (for example, a vehicle body flow restraint device 1 in an embodiment to be described later) characterized in that the absolute value of the limit amount of the vehicle body flow restraint control amount is set large .

  Also, depending on how to set the control amount differently, the steering operation when leaving the vehicle body flow suppression control, for example, the steering wheel in the direction opposite to the direction in which the driver operated the steering wheel to suppress the vehicle body flow control When the vehicle body flow restraint steering state is shifted to the right / left turn or lane change steering state, the vehicle body flow restraint control amount can be reduced, and the driver does not feel the steering wheel too heavy. As a result, the driver can easily shift from the vehicle body flow suppression control state to the steering state of a left / right turn or lane change.

The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention according to claim 1, the restricting means severely restricts the vehicle body flow suppression control amount when the vehicle direction indicator is operating. To do.
With this configuration, since the driver intends to steer when the direction indicator is operating, the vehicle body flow suppression control amount is reduced by tightening the restriction on the vehicle body flow suppression control amount.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the limiting means gradually tightens the limit of the vehicle body flow suppression control amount when the vehicle direction indicator is operating. Features.
With this configuration, the driver intends to steer when the direction indicator is operating. Therefore, by gradually tightening the limit of the vehicle body flow suppression control amount, the vehicle body flow suppression control amount is gradually increased. To reduce.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the limiter firstly calculates an absolute value of the limit amount of the vehicle body flow suppression control amount as the steering torque in the direction of increasing the gradient increases. It is characterized by increasing functionally.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the limiter sets a limit amount of the vehicle body flow suppression control amount based on a steering torque (for example, in an embodiment described later). C map or F map) and a second map (for example, an A map, a B map, a D map, or an E map in an embodiment described later), and the limiting means has a first steering torque differential value of zero. In the case of a differential value (for example, in the case of dSTRT / dt = 0 in an embodiment described later), the limit amount of the vehicle body flow suppression control amount according to the steering torque is set based on the first map, and the steering torque In the case of the second differential value in which the absolute value of the differential value is in a range equal to or greater than a predetermined value (for example, in the case of dSTRT / dt ≧ α and dSTRT / dt ≦ β in the embodiments described later), it depends on the steering torque. When the limit amount of the vehicle body flow suppression control amount is set based on the second map, the absolute value of the differential value of the steering torque is a third differential value in a range greater than 0 and less than a predetermined value (for example, In the case of 0 <dSTRT / dt <α and β <dSTRT / dt <0) in the embodiment described later, two limit amounts (for example, described later) according to the steering torque based on the first map and the second map. The upper limit values MAX_A, MAX_C) in the embodiment are obtained, and based on the two limiting amounts and the interpolation coefficient calculated according to the third differential value (for example, the interpolation coefficient k in the embodiment described later) A limiting amount of the vehicle body flow suppression control amount is set.

  According to the first aspect of the invention, it is possible to optimize the steering feel at the time of vehicle body flow suppression control, so that the driver does not feel uncomfortable. In addition, depending on how the control amount is set differently, the steering operation can be performed smoothly when leaving the vehicle body flow suppression control, and the driver feels uncomfortable from the vehicle body flow suppression control state to the right / left turn or lane change steering state. Can be migrated without.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the vehicle body flow suppression control amount can be reduced when the direction indicator is operating, the driver can turn the vehicle from the vehicle body flow suppression control state to the right / left turn or lane change steering state. You can make a transition without feeling uncomfortable.
According to the invention of claim 3, since the vehicle body flow suppression control amount can be gradually reduced when the direction indicator is operating, the driver can make a right / left turn or lane change from the vehicle body flow suppression control state. It is possible to smoothly and smoothly shift to the steering state.

Embodiments of a vehicle body flow restraint device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings of FIGS.
As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 1, the vehicle body flow restraint device 1 is applied to a steering shaft by a driver, a yaw rate sensor 2 that detects the yaw rate of the vehicle, a steering angle sensor 3 that detects the steering angle of the steering shaft of the vehicle. A steering torque sensor (steering torque detecting means) 4 for detecting a steering torque, a winker switch (winker operation determining means) 5 which is turned on when a winker of the vehicle is operated, an electronic control unit (ECU) 10, It is configured with.
The yaw rate sensor 2, the steering angle sensor 3, and the steering torque sensor 4 output output signals YAW, STR, and STRT corresponding to the detected values to the ECU 10, respectively, and the blinker switch 5 outputs an output signal WINK_SW corresponding to its ON / OFF state. Is output to the ECU 10.

The ECU 10 includes a main control unit 11, a vehicle body flow determination unit 12, a vehicle body flow suppression base control amount calculation unit 13, a steering torque differential calculation unit 14, a control amount upper limit value calculation unit 15, a vehicle body flow suppression control amount setting unit 16, and a gradual process. A portion 18 and the like are provided.
The main control unit 11 is a control unit that is executed regardless of whether or not the vehicle body flow suppression control is executed. The main control unit 11 is capable of changing the yaw angle of the vehicle. By correcting the main base control amount (CNT_Base) output from the main control unit 11 by the vehicle body flow suppression control amount (SNY_Hosei), the vehicle body flow is suppressed. That is, the vehicle body flow is suppressed by correcting the control amount of the main control unit 11.

  For example, the main control unit 11 can be configured by steering assist control in an electric power steering device (hereinafter abbreviated as EPS), and the main base control amount (CNT_Base) in that case is a target steering assist torque. Alternatively, the main control unit 11 can be configured by rear rudder angle control in a four-wheel steering device (hereinafter abbreviated as 4WS), and the main base control amount (CNT_Base) in that case becomes the target rear rudder angle. Alternatively, the main control unit 11 can be configured by drive torque control in a four-wheel drive device (hereinafter abbreviated as 4WD), and the main base control amount (CNT_Base) in that case is the target left-right drive torque.

The vehicle body flow determination unit 12 is based on output signals from the yaw rate sensor 2, the steering angle sensor 3, and the steering torque sensor 4 in a steering state in which the vehicle goes straight against the vehicle body flow (hereinafter referred to as a vehicle body flow suppression steering state). It is determined whether or not there is.
More specifically, the vehicle body flow determination unit 12 has an absolute value of the yaw rate YAW detected by the yaw rate sensor 2 equal to or less than a predetermined value Y1, and an absolute value of the steering angle STR detected by the steering angle sensor 3 is a predetermined value S1. When the absolute value of the steering torque STRT detected by the steering torque sensor 4 is equal to or greater than the predetermined value T1, it is determined that the vehicle body flow suppression steering state is set, and the vehicle body flow suppression flag SN_F is set to “1”. When the absolute value of the yaw rate YAW is larger than the predetermined value Y1, the absolute value of the steering angle STR is smaller than the predetermined value S1, or the absolute value of the steering torque STRT is smaller than the predetermined value T1. Therefore, it is determined that the vehicle body flow suppression steering state is not set, and the vehicle body flow suppression flag SN_F is set to “0”.
The vehicle body flow determination unit 12 then outputs a vehicle body flow suppression flag signal SN_F to the vehicle body flow suppression control ON / OFF switch 17.

The vehicle body flow suppression base control amount calculation unit 13 calculates a vehicle body flow suppression base control amount (hereinafter abbreviated as a base control amount) CAL_SNY based on the output signal STRT of the steering torque sensor 4 and the vehicle body flow suppression flag SN_F signal.
The base control amount calculation process executed in the vehicle body flow suppression base control amount calculation unit 13 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The base control amount calculation routine shown in the flowchart of FIG. 2 is repeatedly executed by the ECU 10.

First, in step S101, it is determined whether or not the vehicle body flow suppression flag SN_F is “1”.
If the determination result in step S101 is “NO”, the vehicle is not in the vehicle body flow restraint steering state, so the process proceeds to step S102, where the base control amount CAL_SNYn is set to the initial value = 0 (CAL_SNYn = 0), and further step Proceeding to S103, the high load timer and the low load timer are reset, and the process returns.

If the determination result in step S101 is “YES” (vehicle body flow restraint steering state), the process proceeds to step S104, and whether or not the absolute value of the steering torque STRT detected by the steering torque sensor 4 is greater than or equal to a predetermined value A. judge.
If the determination result in step S104 is “YES” (| STRT | ≧ A), the process proceeds to step S105, and the high load timer is incremented by one.

Next, it progresses to step S106 and it is determined whether the timer value at the time of high load is more than predetermined value t1.
If the determination result in step S106 is “NO” (<t1), the process directly returns.
If the determination result in step S106 is “YES” (≧ t1), the process proceeds to step S107, and a predetermined amount Δh1 set in advance is added to the previous value CAL_SNYn− ₁ of the base control amount, and this time of the base control amount. The value CAL_SNYn is calculated (CAL_SNYn = CAL_SNYn ₋₁ + Δh1), and the process further proceeds to step S103 to reset the high load timer and return.

  That is, when the vehicle is in the vehicle body flow restraint steering state and the high load state in which the absolute value of the steering torque STRT is equal to or greater than the predetermined value A continues for the predetermined time t1, the base control amount is increased by a certain amount Δh, When the absolute value of the steering torque STRT is in a high load state where the absolute value of the steering torque STRT is equal to or greater than the predetermined value A but the duration of the high load state has not reached the predetermined time t1, the base control amount is maintained until it reaches. When the base control amount is increased by a certain amount Δh1, the high load timer is reset.

On the other hand, if the determination result in step S104 is “NO” (| STRT | <A), the process proceeds to step S108 to determine whether or not the previous value CAL_SNYn− ₁ of the base control amount is equal to or greater than Δh1.
When the determination result in step S108 is “NO” (CAL_SNYn ₋₁ <Δh1), the process proceeds to step S103, the high load timer and the low load timer are reset, and the process returns. That is, in this case, the base control amount is maintained at the initial value “0”.

When the determination result in step S108 is “YES” (CAL_SNYn ₋₁ ≧ Δh1), the process proceeds to step S109, and it is determined whether or not the absolute value of the steering torque STRT detected by the steering torque sensor 4 is equal to or less than a predetermined value B. judge. The predetermined value B is smaller than the predetermined value A (A> B).
If the determination result in step S109 is “YES” (| STRT | ≦ B), the process proceeds to step S110 to increment the low load timer by one.
Next, it progresses to step S111 and it is determined whether the timer value at the time of low load is more than predetermined value t2. The predetermined value t2 and the predetermined value t1 may be the same value or different values.
If the determination result in step S111 is “NO” (<t2), the process directly returns.

If the determination result in step S111 is “YES” (≧ t2), the process proceeds to step S112, in which the predetermined amount Δh2 set in advance is subtracted from the previous value CAL_SNYn− _{1 of} the base control amount. The value CAL_SNYn is calculated (CAL_SNYn = CAL_SNYn− ₁₋ Δh2), and the process further proceeds to step S103 to reset the low load timer and return. Note that Δh2 may be the same value as Δh1 or a different value.

  That is, when the vehicle is in the vehicle body flow restraint steering state and the low load state where the absolute value of the steering torque STRT is equal to or less than the predetermined value B continues for the predetermined time t2, the base control amount is decreased by a certain amount Δh, If the absolute value of the steering torque STRT is a low load state where the absolute value of the steering torque STRT is equal to or less than the predetermined value B, but the duration of the low load state has not reached the predetermined time t2, the base control amount is maintained until it reaches. When the base control amount is decreased by a certain amount Δh2, the low load timer is reset.

When the determination result in step S109 is “NO” (| STRT |> B), the absolute value of the steering torque STRT is a medium load state that is larger than the predetermined value B but smaller than the predetermined value A. In step S103, the low load timer and the high load timer are reset, and the process returns. That is, when the steering torque STRT is in the medium load state, the base control amount is not increased or decreased and the current state is maintained.
Then, the vehicle body flow suppression base control amount calculation unit 13 outputs the calculated base control amount CAL_SNY (current value) to the vehicle body flow suppression control amount setting unit 16.

The steering torque differential calculation unit 14 calculates a time differential value (hereinafter abbreviated as a steering torque differential value) of the steering torque based on the output signal STRT of the steering torque sensor 4 and outputs it to the control amount upper limit value calculation unit 15.
The control amount upper limit calculation unit 15 calculates the control amount upper limit value based on the output signal STRT of the steering torque sensor 4 and the steering torque differential value input from the steering torque differential calculation unit 14. In the vehicle body flow suppressing device 1 in this embodiment, even if the steering torque is the same, the control amount upper limit value is set to a different value depending on whether the steering torque is increasing, decreasing, or not.

A control amount upper limit calculation process executed in the control amount upper limit calculation unit 15 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 3 and 4 and the upper limit value map of FIG.
The control amount upper limit calculation routine shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 3 and 4 is repeatedly executed by the ECU 10. Note that the upper limit map in FIG. 5 is a left downward inclination upper limit value map ML that is applied to a road surface that is inclined downward on the left side, and the lower map is a right that is applied to a road surface that is inclined downward on the right side. This is a downward slope upper limit value map MR. In this upper limit value map, the steering torque in the right rotation direction is expressed as plus and the steering torque in the left rotation direction is expressed as minus with respect to the steering wheel, and the upper limit value is the control in the right turn direction. The amount is positive, and the control amount in the left turn direction is negative. The same applies to the sign of the steering torque and the sign of the upper limit of the control amount in the description of the flowchart below.

First, in step S201, it is determined whether or not the road surface has a leftward slope. As the determination method, for example, when the vehicle body flow determination unit 12 determines that the vehicle body flow suppression steering state is set (SN_F = 1) and the direction of the steering torque STRT is positive, the road surface lateral gradient is left. A method for determining that the slope is a downward slope can be exemplified.
When the determination result in step S201 is “YES” (left downward inclination), the process proceeds to step S202, and the left downward inclination upper limit value map ML is selected.

Next, it progresses to step S203 and it is determined whether steering torque differential value dSTRT / dt is zero.
If the determination result in step S203 is “YES” (dSTRT / dt = 0), the process proceeds to step S204 to select a C map in the left downward slope upper limit map ML in FIG. 5 and refer to the C map. An upper limit value MAX_SNY corresponding to the output signal STRT of the steering torque sensor 4 is calculated. Here, the steering torque differential value dSTRT / dt being 0 means that the steering torque STRT is constant with no increase / decrease, that is, in a steered state.

  In the C map in the left downward inclination upper limit value map ML of FIG. 5, when the steering torque STRT is X1 or more, the upper limit value in the right turn direction is constant at Y3, and when the steering torque STRT is -X1 or less, the upper limit value is When Y1 is constant and the steering torque STRT is between -X1 and X1, the upper limit value is set to increase linearly as the steering torque STRT in the clockwise direction increases.

If the determination result in step S203 is “NO” (dSTRT / dt ≠ 0), the process proceeds to step S205 to determine whether or not the steering torque differential value dSTRT / dt is equal to or greater than a predetermined value α. Α is a positive value (α> 0).
If the determination result in step S205 is “YES” (dSTRT / dt ≧ α), the process proceeds to step S206 to select an A map in the left downward inclination upper limit map ML in FIG. 5 and refer to the A map. An upper limit value MAX_SNY corresponding to the output signal STRT of the steering torque sensor 4 is calculated.
Here, the fact that the steering torque STRT is smaller than 0 and the steering torque differential value dSTRT / dt is larger than 0 means that the steering torque STRT in the left rotation direction is decreasing, and the steering torque STRT is 0. The larger value and the steering torque differential value dSTRT / dt being greater than 0 mean that the steering torque STRT in the clockwise direction is increasing.

  The A map in the left downward inclination upper limit value map ML of FIG. 5 indicates that when the steering torque STRT is 0 or more, the upper limit value in the right turn direction is constant at Y3, and when the steering torque STRT is −X2 or less, the upper limit value. Is constant at Y1, and when the steering torque STRT is between -X2 and 0, the upper limit value is set to increase linearly as the steering torque STRT increases.

If the determination result in step S205 is “NO” (dSTRT / dt <α), the process proceeds to step S207 to determine whether the steering torque differential value dSTRT / dt is greater than zero.
If the determination result in step S207 is “YES” (dSTRT / dt> 0), the steering torque differential value dSTRT / dt is between 0 and α (0 <dSTRT / dt <α), so step S208. Then, the upper limit MAX_SNY corresponding to the steering torque STRT is calculated by linearly interpolating the A map and the C map. For example, the interpolation coefficient k corresponding to the steering torque differential value dSTRT / dt is calculated from the interpolation coefficient map shown in FIG. 6, and the interpolation coefficient k and the upper limit value MAX_A obtained according to the steering torque STRT based on the A map are calculated. The upper limit value MAX_SNY is calculated from the upper limit value MAX_C determined according to the steering torque STRT based on the C map by the following equation.
MAX_SNY = (MAX_A) · k + (MAX_C) · (1-k)

If the determination result in step S207 is “NO” (dSTRT / dt <0), the process proceeds to step S209 to determine whether the steering torque differential value dSTRT / dt is equal to or less than a predetermined value β. Note that β is a negative value (β <0).
If the determination result in step S209 is “YES” (dSTRT / dt ≦ β), the process proceeds to step S210 to select a B map in the left downward inclination upper limit map ML in FIG. 5 and refer to the B map. An upper limit value MAX_SNY corresponding to the output signal STRT of the steering torque sensor 4 is calculated.
Here, the fact that the steering torque STRT is larger than 0 and the steering torque differential value dSTRT / dt is smaller than 0 means that the steering torque STRT in the clockwise direction is decreasing, and the steering torque STRT is 0. The smaller value and the steering torque differential value dSTRT / dt being smaller than 0 means that the steering torque STRT in the left rotation direction is increasing.

  In the B map in the left downhill upper limit value map ML of FIG. 5, when the steering torque STRT is X2 or more, the upper limit value in the right turn direction is constant at Y3, and when the steering torque STRT is 0 or less, the upper limit value is When Y1 is constant and the steering torque STRT is between 0 and X2, the upper limit value is set to decrease linearly as the steering torque STRT decreases.

  If the determination result in step S209 is “NO” (dSTRT / dt> β), since the steering torque differential value dSTRT / dt is between β and 0 (β <dSTRT / dt <0), step S211 is performed. Then, the upper limit MAX_SNY corresponding to the steering torque STRT is calculated by linearly interpolating the C map and the B map. Since the interpolation method at this time is the same as the interpolation method for the A map and the C map described above, description thereof will be omitted.

  Here, when the plus and minus signs of the steering torque STRT and the plus and minus signs of the steering torque differential value dSTRT / dt are the same sign, the steering torque direction and the steering torque differential direction are the same. In the case where the direction of the steering torque is different from the direction of the differentiation of the steering torque, the direction of the steering torque is different from the direction of the steering torque STRT when the steering torque STRT is 0 or more. When the direction of the steering torque differential value dSTRT / dt is different, the upper limit value is set more severely than when the direction is the same. When the steering torque STRT is smaller than 0, the direction of the steering torque STRT and the steering torque differential value are set. If the direction of dSTRT / dt is the same, the limit by the upper limit is set more severely than when the direction is different Obtain.

On the other hand, when the determination result in step S201 is “NO” (right downward inclination), the process proceeds to step S212, and the right downward inclination upper limit value map MR is selected.
Next, it progresses to step S213 and it is determined whether steering torque differential value dSTRT / dt is zero.
If the decision result in the step S213 is “YES” (dSTRT / dt = 0), the process proceeds to a step S214 to select the F map in the right downward inclination upper limit map MR of FIG. 5 and steer with reference to the F map. An upper limit value MAX_SNY corresponding to the output signal STRT of the torque sensor 4 is calculated. Here, the steering torque differential value dSTRT / dt being 0 means that the steering torque STRT is constant with no increase / decrease, that is, in a steered state.

The F map in the lower right slope upper limit value map MR of FIG. 5 shows that when the steering torque STRT is X1 or more, the upper limit value in the left turn direction is constant at -Y1, and when the steering torque STRT is less than -X1, the upper limit value is When -Y3 is constant and the steering torque STRT is between -X1 and X1, the upper limit value is primary as the steering torque STRT in the counterclockwise direction increases (in other words, as X1 approaches -X1). It is set so as to increase functionally (in other words, from -Y1 to -Y3).
If the determination result in step S213 is “NO” (dSTRT / dt ≠ 0), the process proceeds to step S215 to determine whether the steering torque differential value dSTRT / dt is equal to or less than β (β <0).

If the determination result in step S215 is “YES” (dSTRT / dt ≦ β), the process proceeds to step S1216 to select the D map in the right downward inclination upper limit map MR in FIG. 5 and refer to the D map. An upper limit value MAX_SNY corresponding to the output signal STRT of the steering torque sensor 4 is calculated.
Here, the fact that the steering torque STRT is larger than 0 and the steering torque differential value dSTRT / dt is smaller than 0 means that the steering torque STRT in the clockwise direction is decreasing, and the steering torque STRT is 0. The smaller value and the steering torque differential value dSTRT / dt being smaller than 0 means that the steering torque STRT in the left rotation direction is increasing.

  The D map in the lower right slope upper limit value map MR of FIG. 5 shows that when the steering torque STRT is X2 or more, the upper limit value in the left turn direction is constant at -Y1, and when the steering torque STRT is 0 or less, the upper limit value is When the steering torque STRT is between X2 and 0, the upper limit value increases linearly as the steering torque STRT decreases (in other words, as the steering torque STRT approaches 0 from 0). (In other words, approach from -Y1 to -Y3).

If the determination result in step S215 is “NO” (dSTRT / dt> β), the process proceeds to step S217 to determine whether the steering torque differential value dSTRT / dt is smaller than zero.
If the determination result in step S217 is “YES” (dSTRT / dt <0), the steering torque differential value dSTRT / dt is between β and 0 (β <dSTRT / dt <0), so step S218. Then, the upper limit MAX_SNY corresponding to the steering torque STRT is calculated by linearly interpolating the D map and the F map. Since the interpolation method at this time is the same as the interpolation method for the A map and the C map described above, description thereof will be omitted.

If the determination result in step S217 is “NO” (dSTRT / dt> 0), the process proceeds to step S219 to determine whether the steering torque differential value dSTRT / dt is greater than or equal to α (α> 0).
If the decision result in the step S219 is “YES” (dSTRT / dt ≧ α), the process proceeds to a step S220 to select the E map in the right downward inclination upper limit map MR of FIG. 5 and refer to the E map. An upper limit value MAX_SNY corresponding to the output signal STRT of the steering torque sensor 4 is calculated.
Here, the fact that the steering torque STRT is smaller than 0 and the steering torque differential value dSTRT / dt is larger than 0 means that the steering torque STRT in the left rotation direction is decreasing, and the steering torque STRT is 0. The larger value and the steering torque differential value dSTRT / dt being greater than 0 mean that the steering torque STRT in the clockwise direction is increasing.

  The E map in the lower right slope upper limit value map MR of FIG. 5 shows that when the steering torque STRT is 0 or more, the upper limit value in the left turn direction is constant at −Y1, and when the steering torque STRT is −X2 or less, the upper limit value. Is constant at -Y3, and when the steering torque STRT is between -X2 and 0, as the steering torque STRT in the counterclockwise direction decreases (in other words, as the steering torque STRT approaches 0 from -X2), the upper limit value is It is set to decrease linearly (in other words, from -Y3 to -Y1).

  If the determination result in step S219 is “NO” (dSTRT / dt <α), the steering torque differential value dSTRT / dt is between 0 and α (0 <dSTRT / dt <α), so step S221 is performed. Then, the upper limit MAX_SNY corresponding to the steering torque STRT is calculated by linearly interpolating the E map and the F map. Since the interpolation method at this time is the same as the interpolation method for the A map and the C map described above, description thereof will be omitted.

  Therefore, in the lower right slope upper limit map MR, when the steering torque STRT is smaller than 0, the limit due to the upper limit is greater when the direction of the steering torque STRT and the direction of the steering torque differential value dSTRT / dt are different than when the steering torque STRT is the same. When the steering torque STRT is greater than or equal to 0, the upper limit is more strictly set when the direction of the steering torque STRT and the direction of the steering torque differential value dSTRT / dt are the same than when the direction is different. It can be said that.

The control amount upper limit calculation unit 15 gradually outputs the control amount upper limit value MAX_SNY calculated in this way to the processing unit 18.
The output signal WINK_SW of the blinker switch 5 is input to the gradual processing unit 18. When the output signal WINK_SW of the winker switch 5 input to the gradual processing unit 18 is an ON signal (that is, when the winker is operating), the control amount upper limit value MAX_SNY input from the control amount upper limit calculation unit 15 The control amount upper limit value MAX_SNY is adjusted so as to gradually decrease by executing the gradual processing, and the control amount upper limit value MAX_SNY after the gradual processing is output to the vehicle body flow suppression control amount setting unit 16.

  On the other hand, when the output signal WINK_SW of the blinker switch 5 input to the gradual processing unit 18 is an OFF signal (that is, when the blinker is not operating), the gradual processing is not executed and the control amount upper limit value is calculated. The control amount upper limit MAX_SNY input from the unit 15 is output to the vehicle body flow suppression control amount setting unit 16 as it is.

  The vehicle body flow suppression control amount setting unit 16 compares the base control amount CAL_SNY input from the vehicle body flow suppression base control amount calculation unit 13 with the control amount upper limit MAX_SNY input from the gradual processing unit 18, and the base control amount CAL_SNY is determined. When the control amount upper limit value MAX_SNY is equal to or less than the control amount upper limit value MAX_SNY, the base control amount CAL_SNY is output to the multiplier 19 as the vehicle body flow suppression control amount SNY. Is output to the multiplier 19 as the vehicle body flow suppression control amount SNY.

  Then, the vehicle body flow suppression control amount SNY is multiplied by a coefficient K in the multiplier 19 to calculate a correction amount SNY_Hosei (SNY_Hosei = SNY × K). Here, the coefficient K is a conversion coefficient determined by the control target of the main control unit 11, and when the main control unit 11 is configured by steering assist control in EPS, the steering torque conversion coefficient K1 is adopted, and the main control unit When 11 is configured by rear steering angle control at 4WS, the steering angle conversion coefficient K2 is employed, and when the main control unit 11 is configured by drive torque control at 4WD, the driving torque conversion coefficient K3 is employed.

The vehicle body flow suppression control ON / OFF switch 17 is turned on when the vehicle body flow suppression flag SN_F input from the vehicle body flow determination unit 12 is “1”, and is turned off when the vehicle body flow suppression flag SN_F is “0”. The
When the vehicle body flow suppression control ON / OFF switch 15 is ON, the main base control amount CNT_Base of the main control unit 11 and the correction amount SNY_Hosei input to the adder 20 are added to obtain the control amount CNT_V of the main control unit 11. Calculate and output to a drive circuit (not shown) (CNT_V = CNT_Base + SNY_Hosei).

When the vehicle body flow suppression control ON / OFF switch 17 is OFF, the correction amount SNYn_Hosei is not input to the adder 20 and only the main base control amount CNT_Base of the main control unit 11 is input. CNT_Base is output as the control amount CNT_V of the main control unit 11 (CNT_V = CNT_Base).
In this embodiment, the main control unit 11 constitutes an actuator unit 31, and includes a vehicle body flow determination unit 12, a vehicle body flow suppression base control amount calculation unit 13, a steering torque differential calculation unit 14, a control amount upper limit value calculation unit 15, The vehicle body flow suppression control amount setting unit 16 and the gradual processing unit 18 constitute a vehicle body flow suppression control unit 32. Further, the steering torque differential calculation unit 14, the control amount upper limit value calculation unit 15, the vehicle body flow suppression control amount setting unit 16, and the gradual processing unit 18 constitute a limiting unit, and the limiting unit is detected by the steering torque sensor 4. It can be said that the amount of correction for the control amount of the actuator unit 31 is limited in accordance with the steering torque.

  As described above, according to the vehicle body flow restraint device 1 of this embodiment, when the direction of the steering torque and the direction of differentiation of the steering torque are the same direction (in other words, the steering torque is increased in the direction of increasing the steering torque). When the steering torque is different from the direction in which the steering torque is differentiated (in other words, when the steering torque is being reduced), the vehicle body flow suppression control amount Since the control amount upper limit value (limit amount) MAX_SNY of SNY is varied, the steering feel at the time of vehicle body flow suppression control can be optimized, and the driver can be prevented from feeling uncomfortable.

  In particular, in this embodiment, when the steering torque is 0 or more in the left downward inclination upper limit map ML, the upper limit is higher than the case of the same direction when the direction of the steering torque is different from the direction of differentiation of the steering torque. When the steering torque is smaller than 0, the steering torque direction is different from the steering torque differential direction when the steering torque is smaller than 0 in the right downward inclination upper limit value map MR. Since the limit by the upper limit value is set strictly, the steering operation when leaving the vehicle body flow suppression control can be performed smoothly. For example, when the driver rotates the steering wheel in the direction opposite to the direction in which the driver operated the steering wheel to suppress the vehicle body flow, and shifts from the vehicle body flow suppression steering state to the left / right turn or lane change steering state, The vehicle body flow suppression control amount SNY can be reduced, and the driver does not feel the steering wheel too heavy. As a result, the driver can easily shift from the vehicle body flow restraint steering state to the steering state of the left / right turn or lane change.

  Further, since it is considered that the driver intends to steer when the driver operates the winker, in this embodiment, when the winker switch 5 is turned on, the control amount upper limit MAX_SNY is gradually decreased. The limit of the vehicle body flow suppression control amount SNY is gradually tightened. As a result, the vehicle body flow suppression control amount SNY can be gradually reduced when the blinker switch 5 is turned on. As a result, the driver feels uncomfortable from the vehicle body flow suppression steering state to the steering state of the left / right turn or lane change. There is no and smooth transition.

[Other Examples]
The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the control amount upper limit MAX_SNY is gradually decreased by the ON signal of the blinker switch 5 in the gradual processing unit 18, but it is not gradually decreased, but the ON signal of the blinker switch 5 is not gradually decreased. Thus, the control amount upper limit value MAX_SNY may be reduced to a constant value.
Further, the present invention is established even if there is no reduction control of the control amount upper limit value MAX_SNY by the ON signal of the blinker switch 5.
The upper limit map shown in FIG. 5 is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this.

It is a block diagram in the Example of the vehicle body flow suppression apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the base control amount calculation process in the vehicle body flow suppression control of the vehicle body flow suppression apparatus in the said Example. It is a flowchart (the 1) which shows the control amount upper limit calculation process in the vehicle body flow suppression apparatus of the said Example. It is a flowchart (the 2) which shows the said control amount upper limit calculation process. It is a figure which shows an example of the upper limit map used in the control amount upper limit calculation process of the said Example. It is an interpolation coefficient map used in the control amount upper limit calculation process of the embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle body flow suppression apparatus 4 Steering torque sensor (steering torque detection means)
5 Blinker switch (Blinker operation judging means)
14 Steering torque differential calculation unit (limitation means)
15 Control amount upper limit calculation part (limitation means)
16 Body flow suppression control amount setting unit (limitation means)
18 Gradually processing part (limitation means)
31 Actuator part 32 Car body flow suppression control part

Claims (5)

An actuator unit, a vehicle body flow suppression control unit that controls the actuator unit to suppress vehicle body flow, a steering torque detection unit that detects steering torque, and a yaw rate detection unit that detects the yaw rate of the vehicle body ,
The vehicle body flow suppression control unit determines a vehicle body flow suppression steering state based on at least the steering torque and the yaw rate, and determines a lateral gradient of the road surface based on at least the steering torque to suppress the vehicle body flow. With limiting means to limit the amount,
The limiting means is
When the direction of the steering torque detected by the steering torque detection means is a direction that increases the gradient, the direction of the steering torque and the direction of the differential value of the steering torque are different from each other than the same case. Set the absolute value of the limit amount of the flow suppression control amount to a small value,
When the direction of the steering torque detected by the steering torque detection means is the direction of decreasing the gradient, the case where the direction of the steering torque and the direction of the differential value of the steering torque are different from the case where the direction is the same. A vehicle body flow restraint device characterized in that the absolute value of the limit amount of the flow restraint control amount is set large .   2. The vehicle body flow restraint device according to claim 1, wherein the restricting unit severely restricts the vehicle body flow restraint control amount when a vehicle direction indicator is operating. 3.   2. The vehicle body flow restraint device according to claim 1, wherein the restricting unit gradually restricts the vehicle body flow restraint control amount when the vehicle direction indicator is operating. 3. 2. The vehicle body flow according to claim 1, wherein the limiting means increases the absolute value of the limiting amount of the vehicle body flow suppression control amount in a linear function as the steering torque in the direction of increasing the gradient increases. Suppression device.   The limiting means includes a first map and a second map that set a limiting amount of the vehicle body flow suppression control amount based on a steering torque,
  The limiting means is
    When the differential value of the steering torque is a first differential value of 0, a limit amount of the vehicle body flow suppression control amount corresponding to the steering torque is set based on the first map,
    When the absolute value of the differential value of the steering torque is a second differential value in a range equal to or greater than a predetermined value, a limit amount of the vehicle body flow suppression control amount according to the steering torque is set based on the second map,
    When the absolute value of the steering torque differential value is a third differential value in the range of greater than 0 and less than the predetermined value,
      Based on the first map and the second map, two limit amounts corresponding to the steering torque are obtained,
      The vehicle body flow suppression according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle body flow suppression control amount is set based on the two limiting amounts and an interpolation coefficient calculated according to the third differential value. apparatus.

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