JP5398603B2 - Left / right center of gravity position estimation device, left / right center of gravity position estimation method, and towing vehicle - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a left / right center-of-gravity position estimation device, a left / right center-of-gravity position estimation method, and a towing vehicle.

  In a coupled vehicle, a tow vehicle pulls a towed vehicle to carry cargo. In such a connected vehicle, generally, the towed vehicle is a vehicle owned by a shipper, and the towed vehicle is a vehicle owned by a carrier. Normally, cargo loading on a towed vehicle is not performed under the supervision of a carrier that owns the towed vehicle. Furthermore, the towed vehicle is sealed by the shipper. For this reason, a third party other than the shipper cannot open the towed vehicle. Therefore, it is difficult for the carrier side to recognize the cargo loading status in the towed vehicle by visual confirmation.

  On the other hand, when the tow vehicle pulls the towed vehicle, the load deviation of the towed vehicle greatly affects the driving. For example, when the load in the towed vehicle is largely biased to either the left or right with respect to the traveling direction (hereinafter, simply “left and right” is “left and right” with respect to the traveling direction). The center of gravity position of the towed vehicle is also largely biased to either the left or right. In this case, the driver of the tow vehicle needs to drive while carefully considering that the tilt angle in the left-right direction of the towed vehicle does not increase when turning to the side where the position of the center of gravity of the towed vehicle is biased. .

  For example, in Patent Document 1, a vehicle height sensor provided on the left and right sides of a tow vehicle detects a change in posture of the tow vehicle when the tow vehicle is connected to the tow vehicle (left and right inclination). Accordingly, the magnitude of the left-right bias of the center of gravity position of the towed vehicle is determined. And when the right-and-left bias | inclination has arisen in the load of a towed vehicle, this is judged and a driver | operator is warned or the tow vehicle is decelerated.

JP 2002-166745 A

  The load bias on the towed vehicle influences the load applied to the towed vehicle (hereinafter, simply referred to as “front and back” is “front and back” with respect to the traveling direction). For example, when the center of gravity is greatly deviated behind the towed vehicle, the load applied to the towed vehicle is reduced because the wheel of the towed vehicle itself supports much of the load. In such a state, the change in the posture of the tow vehicle when the tow vehicle is connected to the tow vehicle is small, and the deviation of the center of gravity of the left and right of the actual towed vehicle cannot be estimated correctly.

  The present invention has been made under such a background, and can correctly estimate the deviation of the left and right center of gravity of the towed vehicle without being affected by the deviation of the center of gravity of the towed vehicle before and after. It is an object of the present invention to provide a left / right center of gravity position estimation device, a left / right center of gravity position estimation method, and a towing vehicle.

  One aspect of the present invention is a viewpoint as a left / right center-of-gravity position estimation device. That is, the left and right center-of-gravity position estimation device of the present invention is mounted on a tow vehicle that pulls the towed vehicle, and in the left-right center of gravity position estimation device that estimates the left-right center of gravity position with respect to the traveling direction of the towed vehicle. A front-rear center-of-gravity position estimation unit that estimates a front-rear center-of-gravity position estimation unit that estimates a front-rear center-of-gravity position estimation unit with respect to a traveling direction; It is.

  For example, the weight obtained by subtracting the weight of the towed vehicle from the total weight of the connected vehicle in which the towed vehicle is connected to the towed vehicle is used as the towed vehicle axle load, and the number of wheel shafts of the towed vehicle is N (N is 1 or more). The result obtained by dividing the towed axle load by N times the fifth wheel load of the towing vehicle is used as a correction coefficient, and the left / right center of gravity position correcting means calculates the estimation result of the left / right center of gravity position before correction. The correction result of the center of gravity position in the left-right direction corrected by multiplying the correction coefficient by can be output.

  Another aspect of the present invention is a viewpoint as a method for estimating the center of gravity position. That is, the left-right center-of-gravity position estimation method of the present invention is mounted on a tow vehicle that pulls the towed vehicle, and the left-right center-of-gravity position estimating device that executes the left-right center-of-gravity position estimating device that estimates the left-right center of gravity position with respect to the traveling direction of the towed vehicle. In the estimation method, the estimation result of the center-of-gravity position in the left-right direction is corrected based on the estimation result by the processing in the front-rear center-of-gravity position estimation step for estimating the front-rear center-of-gravity position relative to the traveling direction of the towed vehicle. Left and right barycentric position correction step.

  For example, the weight obtained by subtracting the weight of the towed vehicle from the total weight of the connected vehicle in which the towed vehicle is connected to the towed vehicle is used as the towed vehicle axle load, and the number of wheel shafts of the towed vehicle is N (N is 1 or more). (Integer), the result of dividing the towed axle load by N times the fifth wheel load of the towed vehicle is used as a correction coefficient. And a step of outputting an estimation result of the center of gravity position corrected by multiplying the estimation result by a correction coefficient.

  Still another aspect of the present invention is a viewpoint as a towing vehicle. That is, the tow vehicle of the present invention has a left-right center-of-gravity position estimating unit that estimates the center-of-gravity position in the left-right direction with respect to the traveling direction of the towed vehicle in the tow vehicle towing the towed vehicle, Front-rear center-of-gravity position estimating means for estimating the front-rear center-of-gravity position estimating means for estimating the front-rear center-of-gravity position with respect to the traveling direction of the towed vehicle; , Has.

  For example, the weight obtained by subtracting the weight of the towed vehicle from the total weight of the connected vehicle in which the towed vehicle is connected to the towed vehicle is used as the towed vehicle axle load, and the number of wheel shafts of the towed vehicle is N (N is 1 or more). The result obtained by dividing the towed axle load by N times the fifth wheel load of the towing vehicle is used as a correction coefficient, and the left / right center of gravity position correcting means calculates the estimation result of the left / right center of gravity position before correction. The correction result of the center of gravity position in the left-right direction corrected by multiplying the correction coefficient by can be output.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to correctly estimate the deviation of the left and right center of gravity of the towed vehicle without being affected by the deviation of the center of gravity of the towed vehicle before and after.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of a connecting vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block block diagram of the left-right gravity center position estimation apparatus mounted in the tow vehicle of FIG. It is a figure which shows the principal part structure of the tow vehicle of FIG. 1, and a towed vehicle. It is a figure which shows the correspondence of the air bellows pressure and 5th wheel load which are used in the left-right center-of-gravity position estimation part and front-back center-of-gravity position estimation part of FIG. It is an estimation result which the right-and-left center-of-gravity position estimation part of Drawing 2 outputs, and is a figure showing an estimation result in the case of preload, uniform product, and afterload. It is a figure which shows the result of having actually measured the correspondence relationship of the gravity center position of a towed vehicle, vehicle connection gross weight, 5th wheel load, towed axle load, distance (L2) from a 5th wheel load point to a gravity center point, and a coefficient. . It is a figure shown with the graph which took the 5th wheel load on the horizontal axis of the actual measurement result of FIG. 6, and took the coefficient on the vertical axis. It is a flowchart which shows the left-right gravity center position estimation process of a left-right gravity center position estimation apparatus. It is a figure which shows the example of a display (text display) of the display part of FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of a display (graphic display) of the display part of FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of a display (text display + figure display) of the display part of FIG.

(About the connecting vehicle 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention)
(Overview)
As shown in FIG. 1, the connecting vehicle 1 is a vehicle in which a tow vehicle 2 and a towed vehicle 3 are connected via a coupler 4. The state of the load loaded on the towed vehicle 3 cannot be visually confirmed from the outside. For this reason, the connected vehicle 1 detects the fifth wheel load, which is the load applied to the coupler 4, and the deviation of the load applied to the left and right of the tow vehicle front wheel 5 and the tow vehicle rear wheel 6 to thereby determine the left and right center of gravity of the towed vehicle 3. Estimate the position bias. Further, the connecting vehicle 1 corrects the estimation result of the deviation of the left and right center of gravity positions by estimating the deviation of the center of gravity position before and after the towed vehicle 3. The correction result is displayed on the instrument panel of the driver's seat so that the user (such as the driver) of the connected vehicle 1 can recognize it.

(Constitution)
The articulated vehicle 1 includes a tow vehicle 2 and a towed vehicle 3. The tow vehicle 2 illustrates the coupler 4, the tow vehicle front wheel 5, the tow vehicle rear wheel 6, and the tow vehicle chassis 7 for easy understanding. In addition, the towed vehicle 3 illustrates the towed wheels 8 and 9 and the towed vehicle chassis 10 for easy understanding. The tow vehicle 2 is equipped with a left / right center of gravity position estimating device 20.

  The tow vehicle 2 is equipped with an engine (not shown), is connected to the towed vehicle 3 through the coupler 4, and travels using the tow vehicle rear wheel 6 as a driving wheel. The tow vehicle 2 is equipped with a left / right center-of-gravity position estimation device 20. Here, as described above, the tow vehicle 2 is generally owned by a carrier.

  The towed vehicle 3 has a space for loading luggage, and is connected to the towed vehicle 2 via a coupler 4. The towed vehicle 3 has towed wheels 8 and 9. The towed vehicle 3 shown in FIG. 1 has two axes (having two sets of towed wheels 8 and 9), but there are also three axes. Here, as described above, the towed vehicle 3 is generally owned by the shipper. When the towed vehicle 3 is not connected to the towed vehicle 2, the towed vehicle 3 can be kept horizontal and stand by a landing gear (not shown). The center of the coupler 4 (the fifth wheel load point) to the center of the towed wheels 8 and 9 (the center of the two axes) is the wheel base of the towed vehicle 3.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the left / right center-of-gravity position estimation device 20 includes displacement sensors 21R, 21L, pressure sensors 22R, 22L, left-right center-of-gravity position estimation unit 23, front-rear center-of-gravity position estimation unit 24. ), A correction calculation unit 25 (right and left center-of-gravity position correcting means), a display unit 26, and a mass estimation unit 27.

  The displacement sensors 21R and 21L detect the displacement of the stabilizer 30 (described later in FIG. 3) of the towing vehicle rear wheel 6.

  The pressure sensors 22R and 22L detect air pressures of air bellows 31 and 31L (described later in FIG. 3) of the air suspension of the towing vehicle 2.

  The left / right center-of-gravity position estimation unit 23 estimates the left / right center-of-gravity positions of the towed vehicle 3 using the detection results of the displacement sensors 21R, 21L and the pressure sensors 22R, 22L as inputs.

  The front-rear center-of-gravity position estimation unit 24 estimates the front-rear center-of-gravity position of the towed vehicle 3 using the detection results of the pressure sensors 22R and 22L and the estimation result of the mass estimation unit 27 as inputs.

  The correction calculation unit 25 inputs the estimation result of the left / right center of gravity position estimation unit 23 and the estimation result of the front / rear center of gravity position estimation unit 24, and uses the estimation result of the left / right center of gravity position estimation unit 23 as the estimation result of the front / rear center of gravity position estimation unit 24. Correct accordingly.

  Specifically, the display unit 26 includes a display control unit and a display screen. In the following description, the display control unit and the display screen are collectively referred to as the display unit 26. The display unit 26 displays on the display screen the estimation result of the left / right center of gravity position corrected by the correction calculation unit 25. The display screen of the display unit 26 is arranged on an instrument panel of the driver's seat of the tow vehicle 2 or the like.

  The mass estimation unit 27 calculates the total weight of the connected vehicle 1 (this is referred to as the vehicle connected total weight) using a method described in JP 2000-74727 A or the like.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the main configuration of the tow vehicle 2 and the towed vehicle 3. As shown in FIG. 3, the towing vehicle 2 includes a stabilizer 30, air bellows 31 </ b> R and 31 </ b> L, and chassis support portions 32 </ b> R and 32 </ b> L. The towed vehicle has a kingpin 33. When the king pin 33 of the towed vehicle 3 is inserted into the hole at the center of the coupler 4 of the towed vehicle 2, the towed vehicle 2 and the towed vehicle 3 are connected. Reference numeral 40 denotes a mark indicating the position of the center of gravity. This mark is shown for explanation, and is not attached to the vehicle itself. Reference numeral 50 denotes a load loaded on the towed vehicle 3. Further, the right side with respect to the traveling direction of the tow vehicle rear wheel 6 is the tow vehicle rear wheel 6R, and the left side is the tow vehicle rear wheel 6L.

(Operation)
Next, the operation of the left / right center-of-gravity position estimation device 20 will be described.

The left / right center-of-gravity position estimating unit 23 calculates an estimated value of the bias according to the following equation by the following method. In the equation, X represents the deviation of the center of gravity position in the left-right direction, Fb represents the fifth wheel load, F _S1 represents the deviation load of the towing vehicle rear wheel 6, and F _S2 represents the towing vehicle front wheel 5. L1 indicates a bias load, and L1 indicates a distance (rear tread) between the tow vehicle rear wheel 6R and the tow vehicle rear wheel 6L. At this time, the deviation X of the center of gravity in the left-right direction is
X = [(F _S1 + F _S2 ) / Fb] · L1 / 2
Is required.

  The left / right center-of-gravity position estimation unit 23 acquires the fifth wheel load Fb from the detection results of the pressure sensors 22R and 22L. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the correspondence between the air bellows pressure and the fifth wheel load can be obtained in advance. Therefore, the left / right center-of-gravity position estimating unit 23 stores, for example, the correspondence between the air bellows pressure and the fifth wheel load in FIG. 4 in a memory (not shown) in advance and adds the detection results of the pressure sensors 22R and 22L. The fifth wheel load Fb can be acquired from the air bellows pressure obtained in this way. The acquisition of the fifth wheel load Fb from the air bellows pressure is the same in the front / rear center-of-gravity position estimation unit 24 described later. That is, the front-rear center-of-gravity position estimation unit 24, which will be described later, also stores in advance a correspondence relationship between the air bellows pressure and the fifth wheel load in FIG.

Further, the left / right center-of-gravity position estimation unit 23 acquires the bias load F _S1 of the towing vehicle rear wheel 6 based on a difference between detection results of the displacement sensor 21R and the displacement sensor 21L attached to the stabilizer 30. Further, the left / right center-of-gravity position estimation unit 23 _assumes that the bias load F _S2 of the tow vehicle front wheel 5 is equal to the bias load F _S1 of the tow vehicle rear wheel 6 or uses the bias load F _S2 of the tow vehicle front wheel 5 as the tow vehicle rear wheel. A value obtained by multiplying the biased load F _{S1 of} 6 by a predetermined coefficient can be used. Since the rear tread L1 is a fixed value, the rear tread L1 is stored in advance in the memory of the left and right centroid position estimating unit 23, and the left and right centroid position estimating unit 23 reads and acquires it from the memory.

  FIG. 5 shows an estimated value (vertical axis) and a true value (horizontal axis) of the bias when the loaded state of the load in the towed vehicle 3 in the left / right center-of-gravity position estimation unit 23 is a front load, a uniform load, and a rear load. ). In the case of a preload and a uniform product, as shown by the alternate long and short dash line, the estimated value of the bias and the true value of the bias are substantially equal. On the other hand, in the case of afterload, as shown by a two-dot chain line, the estimated value of the deviation is significantly smaller than the true value of the deviation. Therefore, in the case of afterload, there is a problem in adopting this as it is as a result of estimating the left and right center of gravity position. Therefore, the left / right center-of-gravity position estimation device 20 estimates the front / rear center-of-gravity position of the towed vehicle 3 by the front / rear center-of-gravity position estimation unit 24, and corrects the estimation result of the deviation of the left / right center-of-gravity position based on the estimation result.

  The front-rear center-of-gravity position estimation unit 24 determines whether the load loaded on the towed vehicle 3 is a back load as described below.

Assuming that the total weight of the connected vehicle 1 (referred to as the vehicle connected total weight) is A (t), the weight of the towing vehicle 2 is B (t), and the fifth wheel load is C (t), the towed wheels 8, 9 The load applied to the vehicle (referred to as a towed axle load) is (ABC). Here, if the load of the towed vehicle 3 is evenly stacked, the towed wheels 8 and 9 are biaxial, so the fifth wheel load: the load on the towed wheels 8 and 9 = 1: 2.
It becomes. If you generalize this,
Fifth wheel load: towed axle load = 1: N (N is the number of axes)
It becomes. For example, for three axes, the fifth wheel load: towed axle load = 1: 3.

  Therefore, in the case of two axes, the load applied to the towed wheels 8 and 9 is divided by a value obtained by doubling the fifth wheel load, and if the division result exceeds a predetermined value, the towed vehicle 3 It can be determined that the package is a late package.

  FIG. 6 shows the relationship between the position of the center of gravity in the front-rear direction, the fifth wheel load, and the value (hereinafter referred to as a coefficient) obtained as a result of dividing the load applied to the towed wheels 8 and 9 by the fifth wheel load. . L2 is the distance between the fifth wheel load point and the center of gravity as shown in FIG. In this example, it is assumed that the total vehicle connection weight is 22.2 t, the weight of the tow vehicle 2 is 6.5 t, and the wheel base of the towed vehicle 3 is 9 m. FIG. 7 is a graph showing the relationship of FIG. 6, with the horizontal axis representing the fifth wheel load and the vertical axis representing the coefficient.

  In the example of FIG. 6, when the center of gravity position is “equal product” (L2 = 6 m), the coefficient value is “ 2.4 "(= towed axle load (13.0 t) / [fifth wheel load (2.7 t) x 2])). Therefore, the front / rear center-of-gravity position estimation unit 24 determines whether or not the towed vehicle 3 is a rear load (that is, a state where the center of gravity position is behind) depending on whether or not the value of the coefficient is larger than “2.4”. to decide.

  Note that the weight of the towing vehicle 2 is substantially constant although some fluctuations occur depending on the remaining amount of fuel, and in the example of FIG. 6, it can be considered to be fixed at 6.5 t. On the other hand, the weight of the towed vehicle 3 varies variously depending on the load status of the load. Therefore, the mass estimation unit 27 measures the vehicle connection total weight including the weight of the towed vehicle 3 each time by a method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-74727 or the like in order to obtain the vehicle connection total weight. This method is briefly described as follows.

The driving force of the towing vehicle 2 is F, the vehicle mass of the connected vehicle 1 (that is, the total vehicle connection weight) is W, the road gradient is θ, the vehicle acceleration of the connected vehicle 1 is α, the acceleration of gravity is g, and the vehicle travels by the connected vehicle 1. When the resistance is μ _r W, the wind pressure resistance of the connecting vehicle 1 is μ _c SV ² , and the rotating portion equivalent mass of the connecting vehicle 1 is W _r ,
α = g [F− (μ _r W + μ _c SV ² + W sin θ)] / (W + W _r )
Further, for the two gear ratios A and B, when the driving forces are F _A and F _B , the accelerations are α _A and α _B , respectively, and the rotating portion equivalent masses are W _rA and W _rB , respectively, Mass W is
W = [g (F _A −F _B ) −α _A W _rA + α _B W _Rb ] / (α _A −α _B )
It is. At this time, the driving force F of the towing vehicle 2, the road surface gradient θ, the vehicle acceleration α of the connecting vehicle 1, the vehicle running resistance μ _r W of the connecting vehicle 1, and the wind pressure resistance μ _c SV ² of the connecting vehicle 1 are on the towing vehicle 2 side. It can be measured only by Further, the rotation portion equivalent mass W _r of the connected vehicle 1 can be easily obtained from the tire type of the towed wheels 8 and 9.

  In this way, the mass estimation unit 27 can estimate the vehicle connection gross weight without having to directly acquire parameters related to the towed vehicle 3 from the towed vehicle 3.

  As described above, the front / rear center-of-gravity position estimation unit 24 determines whether or not the vehicle is afterload, and if it is determined that the vehicle is afterload, the correction calculation unit 25 displays the estimation result estimated by the left / right center-of-gravity position estimation unit 23. to correct. Specifically, a result obtained by dividing the towed axle load by N times the fifth wheel load of the towed vehicle 2 (N is the number of wheels of the towed vehicle 3) is used as a correction coefficient. The estimation result of the center of gravity position in the left-right direction corrected by multiplying the previous estimation result of the center of gravity position in the left-right direction by a correction coefficient is output.

  Next, the left and right centroid position estimating process of the left and right centroid position estimating apparatus 20 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  START: When the left / right center-of-gravity position estimation device 20 is activated by a driver's key operation or the like, the left / right center-of-gravity position estimation device 20 proceeds to the process of step S1.

  Step S1: The left / right center-of-gravity position estimation unit 23 corrects the displacement sensors 21R and 21L by 0 points, and proceeds to the process of step S2.

  Step S2: The left / right center-of-gravity position estimating unit 23 acquires the displacement values of the displacement sensors 21R and 21L and the pressure values of the pressure sensors 22R and 22L, and proceeds to the process of step S3.

  Step S3: The left and right center-of-gravity position estimating unit 23 calculates the shared loads of the left and right tow vehicle front wheels 5 and the tow vehicle rear wheel 6 of the tow vehicle 2 and proceeds to the processing of step S4.

Step S4: The left / right center-of-gravity position estimation unit 23 performs the left / right center-of-gravity position estimation (X = [(F _S1 + F _S2 ) / Fb] · L1 / 2) before correction based on the various values acquired in steps S2 and S3. The estimation result is output to the correction calculation unit 25, and the process proceeds to step S5.

  Step S5: The front-rear center-of-gravity position estimation unit 24 acquires the vehicle connection gross weight from the mass estimation unit 27, and determines whether or not the fifth wheel load is acquired from the detection results of the pressure sensors 22R and 22L. When the front-rear center-of-gravity position estimation unit 24 acquires the total vehicle connection weight and the fifth wheel load (Yes in step S5), the process proceeds to step S6. On the other hand, the front-rear center-of-gravity position estimation unit 24 repeats the process of step S5 when the vehicle connection gross weight and the fifth wheel load have not yet been acquired (No in step S5).

  In step S5, when the vehicle connection total weight and the fifth wheel load are acquired, the front / rear center-of-gravity position estimation unit 24 calculates the towed axle load (= vehicle connection total weight−towed vehicle weight−fifth) from these values. Calculate the wheel load.

  Step S6: The front / rear center-of-gravity position estimation unit 24 determines whether or not a value obtained by dividing the towed axle load by twice the fifth wheel load is less than “2.4” as the afterload determination coefficient. When the value obtained by dividing the towed axle load by twice the fifth wheel load is less than “2.4” as the afterload determination coefficient (Yes in step S6), the front / rear center-of-gravity position estimation unit 24 performs step S7. Move on to processing. On the other hand, when the value obtained by dividing the towed axle load by twice the fifth wheel load is equal to or greater than “2.4” which is the afterload determination coefficient (No in step S6), The process proceeds to step S8.

  Step S7: The front / rear center-of-gravity position estimation unit 24 outputs “correction coefficient = 1” to the correction calculation unit 25 without any correction, and proceeds to the process of step S9.

  Step S8: The front / rear center-of-gravity position estimation unit 24 outputs a value obtained by dividing the towed axle load by a value obtained by doubling the fifth wheel load to the correction calculation unit 25 as a correction coefficient, and proceeds to the process of step S9.

  Step S9: The correction calculation unit 25 multiplies the correction coefficient output from the front / rear centroid position estimation unit 24 by the uncorrected left / right centroid position estimation value output from the left / right centroid position estimation unit 23, and calculates the multiplication result. It outputs to the display part 26 and transfers to the process of step S10.

  Step S10: The display unit 26 displays the corrected left / right center-of-gravity position estimation result output from the correction calculation unit 25 on the display screen and ends the processing (END).

  Display examples of the display unit 26 are shown in FIGS. In the display example of FIG. 9, the deviation of the left / right center of gravity position is displayed as a numerical value (L + 400 mm) on the display screen of the display unit 26. In the example of FIG. 9, the gravity center position is shifted by 40 cm from the center to the left side. Further, in the display example of FIG. 10, the deviation of the left / right center of gravity position is displayed as a graphic on the display screen of the display unit 26. In the example of FIG. 10, it is visually represented that the position of the center of gravity is slightly shifted from the center to the left side. Further, in the display example of FIG. 11, the deviation of the left / right center of gravity position is displayed on the display screen of the display unit 26 as both a numerical value and a figure.

(effect)
As described above, the position of the center of gravity in the front-rear direction of the towed vehicle 3 is estimated, and the estimation result of the position of the center of gravity in the left-right direction is corrected based on this estimation result. The deviation of the left and right center of gravity of the towed vehicle 3 can be correctly estimated without being affected.

  In addition, since the total vehicle connection weight of the connected vehicle 1 can be measured by the mass estimation unit 27 without directly measuring the weight of the towed vehicle 3, the vehicle connection can be performed regardless of what the towed vehicle 3 is. The total weight can be calculated.

  In addition, the result obtained by dividing the towed axle load by N times the fifth wheel load of the towed vehicle (N is the number of shafts of the towed vehicle 3) is used as a correction coefficient. Thus, the estimated result of the center of gravity position in the left-right direction corrected by multiplying the correction coefficient is output, so that it is possible to cope with any number of axes of the towed vehicle 3.

(About the embodiment using the program)
Also, each part of the left / right center-of-gravity position estimation device 20 (left / right center-of-gravity position estimation unit 23, front / rear center-of-gravity position estimation unit 24, correction calculation unit 25, mass estimation unit 27, etc.) is It may be configured. For example, a general-purpose information processing apparatus includes a memory, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an input / output port, and the like. The CPU of the general-purpose information processing apparatus reads and executes a control program as a predetermined program from a memory or the like. Thereby, the function of each part of the right-and-left center-of-gravity position estimation device 20 is realized in the general-purpose information processing device. As for other functions, functions that can be realized by software can be realized by a general-purpose information processing apparatus and a program. Note that an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a microprocessor (microcomputer), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), or the like may be used instead of the CPU described above.

  Even if the control program executed by the general-purpose information processing apparatus is stored in the memory or the like of the general-purpose information processing apparatus before the left-right center-of-gravity position estimation apparatus 20 is shipped, It may be stored in a memory of a general-purpose information processing apparatus after shipment. Further, a part of the control program may be stored in a memory or the like of a general-purpose information processing device after the left / right center-of-gravity position estimation device 20 is shipped. The control program stored in the memory or the like of a general-purpose information processing apparatus after the left / right center-of-gravity position estimation apparatus 20 is shipped is an installation of a program stored in a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM. Even if it exists, what was downloaded via transmission media, such as the internet, may be installed.

  The control program includes not only a program that can be directly executed by a general-purpose information processing apparatus, but also a program that can be executed by being installed on a hard disk or the like. Also included are those that are compressed or encrypted.

  As described above, by realizing the function of the left / right center-of-gravity position estimation device 20 using a general-purpose information processing device and a program, it becomes possible to flexibly cope with mass production and specification change (or design change).

(Other embodiments)
Various modifications can be made to the embodiment of the present invention without departing from the gist thereof. For example, the method of estimating the left / right center-of-gravity position by the left / right center-of-gravity position estimating unit 23 is not limited to the method of estimating by X = [(F _S1 + F _S2 ) / Fb] · L1 / 2 as described above, for example, Various methods such as the method described in Patent Document 1 can be applied.

  Various methods other than the method described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-74727 can be applied to the mass estimation method of the mass estimation unit 27. Alternatively, the mass estimation unit 27 may be omitted, a simple weight measurement device may be placed under the towed wheels 8 and 9, and the longitudinal center-of-gravity position estimation unit 22 may directly measure the towed axle load.

  For the measurement of the left and right shared loads of the tow vehicle front wheel 5 and the tow vehicle rear wheel 6, vehicle height sensors may be used in place of the displacement sensors 21R and 21L. Alternatively, the displacement sensors 21R and 21L may be omitted, and the left and right shared loads of the tow vehicle front wheel 5 and the tow vehicle rear wheel 6 may be measured based on the pressure difference between the pressure sensors 22R and 22L. Alternatively, the pressure sensors 22R and 22L do not measure the pressure of the air bellows 31R and 31L, but measure the air pressure of the towing vehicle front wheel 5 and / or the towing vehicle rear wheel 6 to thereby determine the fifth wheel load and the towing vehicle front wheel. 5 and / or the left and right shared loads of the tow vehicle rear wheel 6 may be measured.

  Further, in step S6 of the flowchart of FIG. 8, when [towed axle load / (fifth wheel load × 2)] is less than “2.4”, the process proceeds to step S7, and the towed axle load / (fifth When the wheel load × 2)] is “2.4” or more, it is explained that the process proceeds to step S8. This is because the [towed axle load / (fifth wheel load × 2)] is “2.4” or less. At this time, the process may proceed to step S7, and when the towed axle load / (fifth wheel load × 2)] exceeds “2.4”, the process may proceed to step S8.

  Further, when the mass estimation unit 27 calculates the vehicle connection gross weight in step S5 of the flowchart of FIG. 8, if the method described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-74727 is applied, measurement of acceleration or the like is required. It is. For this reason, the mass estimation unit 27 cannot calculate the total vehicle connection weight after the connected vehicle 1 has traveled to some extent. In this case, the display unit 26 displays, on the display screen, the left and right center-of-gravity position estimation result before correction in step S4 for the time being, so that a rough warning is given to the driver before the connected vehicle 1 starts traveling. Also good. After that, when the connected vehicle 1 travels to some extent, the mass estimation unit 27 calculates the vehicle connection gross weight, and when the flowchart of FIG. 8 reaches step S10, the display unit 26 displays the corrected right and left center of gravity position. The estimation result may be displayed on the display screen.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Connection vehicle, 2 ... Towing vehicle, 3 ... Towed vehicle, 20 ... Left-right center-of-gravity position estimation unit, 23 ... Left-right center-of-gravity position estimation unit, 24 ... Front-rear center-of-gravity position estimation unit (front-rear center-of-gravity position estimation means) Calculation unit (right / left center of gravity position correcting means), 26 ... display unit, 27 ... mass estimation unit

Claims (6)

In a left-right center-of-gravity position estimation device that is mounted on a tow vehicle that pulls a towed vehicle and estimates the center-of-gravity position in the left-right direction with respect to the traveling direction of the towed vehicle,
Front / rear center-of-gravity position estimating means for estimating a front / rear center-of-gravity position relative to the traveling direction of the towed vehicle;
Left and right centroid position correcting means for correcting the estimated result of the centroid position in the left and right direction based on the estimation result of the front and rear centroid position estimating means;
Having
A left-right center-of-gravity position estimation device. The left and right center-of-gravity position estimating apparatus according to claim 1,
The weight obtained by subtracting the weight of the towed vehicle from the total weight of the connected vehicle in which the towed vehicle is connected to the towed vehicle is used as the towed axle load, and the number of wheel shafts of the towed vehicle is N (N is (The integer greater than or equal to 1), the result obtained by dividing the towed axle load by N times the fifth wheel load of the towing vehicle is a correction coefficient,
The left / right center-of-gravity position correcting means outputs an estimation result of the left / right center-of-gravity position corrected by multiplying the estimation result of the left / right center-of-gravity position before correction by the correction coefficient,
A left-right center-of-gravity position estimation device. In a left-right center-of-gravity position estimation method that is mounted on a tow vehicle that pulls a towed vehicle and that estimates the center-of-gravity position in the left-right direction with respect to the traveling direction of the towed vehicle,
A front-rear center-of-gravity position estimation step for estimating a front-rear center-of-gravity position relative to the traveling direction of the towed vehicle;
A left-right center-of-gravity position correction step for correcting the estimation result of the center-of-gravity position in the left-right direction based on an estimation result obtained by the processing of the front-rear center-of-gravity position estimation step;
Having
A left-right center-of-gravity position estimation method. A left and right center-of-gravity position estimation method according to claim 3,
The weight obtained by subtracting the weight of the towed vehicle from the total weight of the connected vehicle in which the towed vehicle is connected to the towed vehicle is used as the towed axle load, and the number of wheel shafts of the towed vehicle is N (N is (The integer greater than or equal to 1), the result obtained by dividing the towed axle load by N times the fifth wheel load of the towing vehicle is a correction coefficient,
The left and right center of gravity position correcting step includes a step of outputting a left and right center of gravity position estimation result corrected by multiplying the left and right center of gravity position estimation result before correction by the correction coefficient. ,
A left-right center-of-gravity position estimation method. In towing vehicles that pull towed vehicles,
Left and right center-of-gravity position estimating means for estimating the center-of-gravity position in the left-right direction with respect to the traveling direction of the towed vehicle,
The left and right center of gravity position estimating means
Front / rear center-of-gravity position estimating means for estimating a front / rear center-of-gravity position relative to the traveling direction of the towed vehicle;
Left and right centroid position correcting means for correcting the estimated result of the centroid position in the left and right direction based on the estimation result of the front and rear centroid position estimating means;
Having
A towing vehicle characterized by that. The towing vehicle according to claim 5,
The weight obtained by subtracting the weight of the towed vehicle from the total weight of the connected vehicle in which the towed vehicle is connected to the towed vehicle is used as the towed axle load, and the number of wheel shafts of the towed vehicle is N (N is (The integer greater than or equal to 1), the result obtained by dividing the towed axle load by N times the fifth wheel load of the towing vehicle is a correction coefficient,
The left / right center-of-gravity position correcting means outputs an estimation result of the left / right center-of-gravity position corrected by multiplying the estimation result of the left / right center-of-gravity position before correction by the correction coefficient,
A towing vehicle characterized by that.

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