JP5342203B2 - Vehicle information recording device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle information recording apparatus having a function as an event data recorder that records vehicle information before and after the occurrence of a vehicle accident in time series when a vehicle accident occurs.

  Conventionally, in an information recording apparatus mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile, for example, information collection for education for a driver, information collection for managing operation of a commercial vehicle, information for performing diagnosis of a vehicle system According to the purpose of collection or the like, there has been proposed one having a function of appropriately recording various kinds of vehicle information required at a predetermined timing.

Further, an information recording apparatus has been proposed that has a function as an event data recorder (EDR) that records vehicle information for a certain period of time before and after the collision when a vehicle collision occurs. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
JP 2007-126041 A

  Incidentally, in recent years, in EDR, there is an increasing demand for recording vehicle information in a standardized predetermined format. And when the recording format for EDR is standardized, for example, various items such as acceleration and speed changes, accelerator pedal and brake pedal depression amount, engine throttle opening, airbag operation status, etc. It is predicted that a large amount of information may be imposed, such as recording vehicle information for a predetermined time every short sampling period (for example, 30 msec).

  On the other hand, each vehicle information provided for driver education, vehicle diagnosis, etc. often does not match the recording format (information items to be recorded, sampling period, etc.) for EDR. This is particularly noticeable when the recording format is standardized. Therefore, in order to make the information recording apparatus compatible with a plurality of uses, the necessity of recording vehicle information in an individual format for each use is increased, and a large amount of recording capacity is required in a nonvolatile memory or the like. There was a risk of cost increases.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a vehicle information recording apparatus capable of efficiently recording necessary vehicle information with a small recording capacity.

A vehicle information recording apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention sequentially updates a vehicle collision determination unit that performs vehicle collision determination and various vehicle information when an ignition switch is turned on for each set sampling period over a set time. a volatile recording means for chronologically recording while a nonvolatile recording means for recording predetermined vehicle information extracted from the vehicle information stored in the volatile memory means, said nonvolatile from the volatile storage means Recording control means for controlling the recording of the vehicle information to the sex recording means, the recording control means in the first form when the ignition switch is turned off after the normal traveling where the vehicle collision is not determined. extracting vehicle information recorded in the volatile memory means, the vehicle information when a collision of the vehicle is determined to have been recorded in the volatile storage means in the second format Extracted, the extracted vehicle information is selectively recorded in the nonvolatile recording means, wherein the first format over the vehicle information of various items that are recorded in the volatile storage means in the past set time The second format is to extract vehicle information of a specific item recorded in the volatile recording means over a set time before and after the collision, and to extract at every cycle longer than the set sampling cycle. Extraction is performed at the same period as the set sampling period.

  According to the vehicle information recording apparatus of the present invention, necessary vehicle information can be efficiently recorded with a small recording capacity.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The drawings relate to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information recording apparatus, and FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a vehicle information recording control routine.

  In FIG. 1, the code | symbol 1 shows the information recording device mounted in a vehicle. In the present embodiment, the information recording apparatus 1 is incorporated in an occupant protection system that protects an occupant from an impact at the time of a vehicle collision, for example, and a main part is configured. Specifically, the information recording apparatus 1 is incorporated in, for example, an airbag system 50 to constitute a main part.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the airbag system 50 includes, for example, a plurality of airbag bodies (for example, a driver seat airbag body 51a, a passenger seat airbag body 51b, a right side airbag body 51c, and a left side airbag). A main body 51d) 51 and an airbag control unit 52 for controlling the operation of the airbag main body 51 are provided.

  Each airbag body 51 has a drive circuit (not shown). When a drive signal is input from the control unit 52, the drive circuit drives an inflator (not shown) to deploy the airbag (activates the occupant protection device). ). In the present embodiment, each airbag body 51 can deploy the airbag stepwise in accordance with a drive signal input from the control unit 52.

  The airbag control unit 52 includes, for example, a front acceleration sensor 55a that detects an impact force from the front of the vehicle, a central acceleration sensor 55b that detects an impact force from each direction in the approximate center of the vehicle, and an impact force from the right side of the vehicle. Various acceleration sensors 55 such as a right acceleration sensor 55c to detect and a left acceleration sensor 55d to detect impact force from the left side of the vehicle are connected, and detection signals from these sensors are input as vehicle information.

  Furthermore, various control units 60 such as an engine control unit (EGI) 60a, a transmission control unit (TCU) 60b, and an integrated unit (integrated ECU) 60c are connected to the airbag control unit 52 via a line 61 such as CAN. Various vehicle information is input through these control units 60. Specifically, the airbag control unit 52 receives detection signals from various switches and sensors such as a vehicle speed sensor, a throttle opening sensor, an accelerator pedal sensor, and a brake pedal sensor (none of which are shown). Is entered through. In addition, the airbag control unit 52 receives a diagnosis result of each system calculated by each control unit 60.

  The airbag control unit 52 sequentially generates various vehicle information in time series when the ignition switch 20 is turned on, and the airbag control unit 5 that generates a drive signal for each airbag body 51 based on a signal from each acceleration sensor 55 or the like. A volatile memory 6 as a volatile recording means for recording in the vehicle; a nonvolatile memory 7 as a nonvolatile recording means for recording predetermined vehicle information from the vehicle information recorded in the volatile memory 6; The main part includes a recording control unit 8 as a recording control unit that controls recording of vehicle information from the memory 6 to the nonvolatile memory 7.

  Here, the airbag control unit 52 incorporates a backup power source 9 composed of, for example, a large capacitor. The built-in backup power supply 9 allows the airbag to be used for a predetermined period of time not only when the ignition switch 20 is turned off but also when the power supply from the battery 21 is interrupted in the event of a vehicle collision or the like. Electric power is supplied to each part in the control unit 52. That is, even after the energization from the battery 21 is cut off, the volatile memory 6 holds the recorded vehicle information for a predetermined time, and the recording control unit 8 can perform recording control on the nonvolatile memory 7 and the like. It is possible.

  The airbag control unit 5 has a function as a collision determination unit, and vehicle information such as acceleration detected by each acceleration sensor 55 is input to the airbag control unit 5 via the volatile memory 6. The The airbag control unit 5 calculates a collision determination value Cv based on, for example, the vector sum of accelerations detected by the respective acceleration sensors 55, and the collision determination value Cv is set to a preset threshold value (first threshold value Cv1). ) When it is above, the collision of the vehicle is determined. And the airbag control part 5 will produce | generate the drive signal with respect to each airbag main body 51, if the collision of a vehicle is determined. In that case, the airbag control part 5 produces | generates a drive signal which changes in steps according to the collision determination value Cv, and, thereby, each airbag main body 51 expands an airbag in steps.

  A signal from each acceleration sensor 55 or the like is directly input to the volatile memory 6. Further, the volatile memory 6 is indirectly input with signals from various switches and sensors connected to each control unit 60, and signals such as diagnosis results of failure diagnosis appropriately performed by each control unit 60. Entered. Further, a signal such as control information for each airbag body 51 is input to the volatile memory 6 from the airbag controller 5. The volatile memory 6 is composed of a recording medium having a plurality of recording areas corresponding to various input signals, and records various input signals as vehicle information in the corresponding recording areas. In the present embodiment, when the ignition switch 20 is turned on, the volatile memory 6 stores vehicle information of all items input to the airbag control unit 52, for example, in accordance with a control signal from the recording control unit 8. Over the past set time T, recording is performed in time series while sequentially updating every preset sampling period C0 (for example, 30 msec).

  The nonvolatile memory 7 records vehicle information extracted from the volatile memory 6 in a predetermined format in accordance with a control signal from the recording control unit 8.

  This nonvolatile memory 7 basically stores predetermined vehicle information according to a preset first format from vehicle information recorded in the volatile memory 6 when the ignition switch 20 is turned off. Extract and record. Specifically, when the ignition switch 20 is turned off, for example, the nonvolatile memory 7 obtains vehicle information of all items from the vehicle information data group recorded in the volatile memory 6, for example, the past set time T1 (for example, , T1 <T0), and extracted and recorded every set sampling period C1 (for example, C1> C0). Further, for example, even when the non-volatile memory 7 is before the ignition switch 20 is turned off, when an impact that is less than an impact that can be determined as a collision and is greater than a preset impact is detected (ie, When sudden acceleration / deceleration of a vehicle more than a predetermined value is detected), vehicle information of all items at the timing is extracted from the vehicle information data group recorded in the volatile memory 6 and recorded. As described above, in the present embodiment, when the ignition switch 20 is turned off without a collision being determined, for example, vehicle information effective for driver education, operation management, vehicle system diagnosis, etc. should be recorded without omission. In the non-volatile memory 7, vehicle information of all items recorded in the volatile memory 6 is extracted and recorded for each relatively long sampling period C1.

  On the other hand, if a collision is determined in the airbag control unit 5 while the ignition switch 20 is turned on, the nonvolatile memory 7 erases the currently recorded vehicle information and the volatile memory 6. The predetermined vehicle information is extracted from the vehicle information recorded in accordance with the preset second format and recorded. Specifically, the non-volatile memory 7 is necessary, for example, for investigating the cause of the collision, for example, from the vehicle information data group recorded in the volatile memory 6 when the collision of the vehicle is determined. The vehicle information of the item is extracted and recorded every set sampling period C2 (for example, C2 = C0) over the set time T2 before and after the collision (for example, T2 <T0). That is, when a vehicle collision is determined, in order to record detailed vehicle information specialized for the collision analysis, the nonvolatile memory 7 stores vehicle information data of each item recorded in the volatile memory 6. For example, the vehicle information of each item relating to acceleration, speed change, accelerator pedal or brake pedal depression amount, engine throttle opening, airbag operation status, etc. within a set time before and after the collision is short in the group. Every time it is extracted and recorded.

  Next, the vehicle information recording control performed in the recording control unit 8 will be described according to the flowchart of the information recording control routine shown in FIG.

  This routine is started when the ignition switch 20 is turned on. When the routine starts, the recording control unit 8 first records in the nonvolatile memory 7 in step S101 so as to secure a new recording area. Delete the vehicle information that is being used.

  In subsequent step S <b> 102, the recording control unit 8 records all vehicle information currently input to the airbag control unit 52 in the volatile memory 6. Here, the vehicle information at each timing is recorded in the volatile memory 6 in time series. When the recording capacity of the volatile memory 6 is exceeded, the recording control unit 8 is the oldest. Erase vehicle information and record new vehicle information.

  In step S103, the recording control unit 8 inputs the collision determination value Cv from the airbag control unit 5. In the subsequent step S104, it is determined whether or not the collision determination value Cv is equal to or greater than the first threshold value Cv1. Check out. Here, as described above, the first threshold value Cv1 is a threshold value for determining whether or not the vehicle has collided. When the collision determination value Cv is equal to or greater than the first threshold value Cv1, It is determined that there is a collision.

  In step S104, when the collision determination value Cv is less than the first threshold value Cv1 and it is determined that the vehicle is not colliding, the recording control unit 8 proceeds to step S105, and the collision determination value Cv is set to a second threshold value set in advance. It is checked whether Cv2 (Cv2 <Cv1) or more. Here, the second threshold value Cv2 is, for example, a threshold value for determining whether or not an impact that may induce a system abnormality of the vehicle has acted on the vehicle body, even if it is not determined that the vehicle has collided. Yes, when the collision determination value Cv is equal to or greater than the second threshold, it is determined that a predetermined impact has acted on the vehicle.

  If it is determined in step S105 that the collision determination value Cv is equal to or greater than the second threshold value Cv2, the recording control unit 8 proceeds to step S106, and from the vehicle information data group recorded in the volatile memory 6, the current control value is determined. After the vehicle information of all items at the timing is extracted and the extracted vehicle information is recorded in the nonvolatile memory 7, the process proceeds to step S108.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S105 that the collision determination value Cv is less than the second threshold value Cv2, the recording control unit 8 proceeds to step S107 and checks whether or not the ignition switch 20 is turned off.

  If it is determined in step S107 that the ignition switch 20 has been turned off, the recording control unit 8 proceeds to step S108.

  When the process proceeds from step S106 or step S107 to step S108, the recording control unit 8 checks whether or not the set time t has elapsed since the latest vehicle information was recorded in step S102 described above, and the set time t has yet to elapse. If it is determined that it is not, it waits as it is.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S108 that the set time t has elapsed, the recording control unit 8 returns to step S102. Here, the set time t (that is, the standby time) is set to, for example, 30 msec, whereby new vehicle information is sequentially and time-sequentially stored in the volatile memory 6 every sampling cycle C0 of 30 msec. To be recorded.

  If it is determined in step SS107 that the ignition switch 20 has been turned off, the recording control unit 8 proceeds to step S109, and the vehicle information of all items is obtained from the vehicle information data group recorded in the volatile memory 6. Then, the sample is extracted every set sampling period C1 over the past set time T1 and recorded in the nonvolatile memory 7, and then the routine is terminated.

  In Step S104, if it is determined that the collision determination value Cv is equal to or greater than the first threshold value Cv1 and the vehicle has collided, the recording control unit 8 proceeds to Step S110, and the vehicle information recorded in the nonvolatile memory 7 ( That is, after the vehicle information etc. recorded in step S106 is deleted, the process proceeds to step S111.

  In step S111, the recording control unit 8 uses the vehicle information data group recorded in the volatile memory 6 to obtain the vehicle information of the items necessary for investigating the cause of the collision and the like before and after the collision setting time T2. After that, the data is extracted every set sampling period C2 and recorded in the nonvolatile memory 7, and then the routine is terminated.

  Thereby, when the ignition switch 20 is turned off without determining that the vehicle has collided, the vehicle information of all items extracted for each sampling period C1 over the past set time T1 is recorded in the nonvolatile memory 7. The Further, when an impact of a predetermined level or more is applied to the vehicle body before it is determined to be a collision, vehicle information of all items at the timing is additionally recorded in the nonvolatile memory 7 as appropriate. On the other hand, when it is determined that the vehicle has collided while the ignition switch 20 is on, the nonvolatile memory 7 stores the set time before and after the collision instead of the vehicle information extracted in the above-described format (first format). Detailed vehicle information of specific items extracted every sampling period C2 over T2 is recorded.

  According to such an embodiment, various vehicle information recorded in the volatile memory 6 is determined based on whether the ignition switch 20 is turned off after the normal traveling where the vehicle collision has not been determined and when the vehicle collision has occurred. The required vehicle information can be efficiently recorded without using the large-capacity nonvolatile memory 7 by selectively extracting the extracted vehicle information in the nonvolatile memory 7 and extracting the extracted vehicle information in a different format. Can do. In particular, even when it is necessary to record vehicle information at the time of a collision in a standardized predetermined format, useful vehicle information corresponding to each scene can be accurately recorded with a small recording capacity.

  It should be noted that the items, format, and the like of the vehicle information recorded in the information recording device 1 in each scene are not limited to those described above, and can be changed as appropriate according to the application.

Functional block diagram showing schematic configuration of information recording apparatus Flowchart showing vehicle information recording control routine

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Information recording apparatus 5 ... Airbag control part (collision determination means)
6 ... Volatile memory (volatile recording means)
7: Non-volatile memory (non-volatile recording means)
8: Recording control unit (recording control means)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 9 ... Backup power supply 20 ... Ignition switch 21 ... Battery 50 ... Airbag system 51 ... Airbag main body 51a ... Driver's seat air bag main body 51b ... Passenger seat air bag main body 51c ... Right side air bag main body 51d ... Left side air bag main body 52 ... Abag control unit 52 ... Control unit 52 ... Airbag control unit 55 ... Various acceleration sensors 55a ... Front acceleration sensor 55b ... Center acceleration sensor 55c ... Right acceleration sensor 55d ... Left acceleration sensor 60 ... Kind control unit 61 ... Line

Claims (2)

A collision determination means for performing a vehicle collision determination;
Volatile recording means for recording various vehicle information when the ignition switch is turned on over time for a set time and sequentially updating every set sampling period ,
Nonvolatile recording means for recording predetermined vehicle information extracted from vehicle information stored in the volatile storage means;
Recording control means for controlling recording of vehicle information from the volatile recording means to the nonvolatile recording means,
The recording control means extracts the vehicle information recorded in the volatile storage means in the first format when the ignition switch is turned off after the normal traveling where the collision of the vehicle is not determined ,
When vehicle collision is determined, the vehicle information recorded in the volatile recording means is extracted in the second format ,
Selectively to record the extracted vehicle information to the nonvolatile recording means,
The first format is to extract vehicle information of various items recorded in the volatile recording means for each period longer than the set sampling period over the past set time,
In the second format, vehicle information of a specific item recorded in the volatile recording means is extracted at the same period as the set sampling period over a set time before and after the collision. An information recording apparatus for a vehicle.   The recording control unit extracts vehicle information at the timing from the volatile recording unit when the impact is less than an impact that can be determined as a collision and more than a preset impact is detected, and the nonvolatile control unit 2. The vehicle information recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information is recorded by a recording means.

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