JP5496303B2 - Vehicle control system and vehicle control method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle control system or the like that appropriately switches a plurality of ECUs connected to a bus network to a power saving state.

  As a result of the advent of HEV (hybrid vehicles) / EV (electric vehicles) and the electrification of vehicles, reduction of power consumption (power saving) of in-vehicle devices is being demanded. In order to realize power savings for in-vehicle devices, not only the power saving of individual parts that make up in-vehicle devices but also the power management function of ECU (electronic control unit) that controls the in-vehicle devices is necessary. Become. Here, the power management function of the ECU refers to a function of controlling power supply to the ECU in accordance with the situation of the vehicle. By controlling the power supply to the ECU, it is possible to reduce power consumption in the ECU that does not need to be in an activated state (a state in which power is supplied but can be operated at any time), thus saving power be able to.

  In a vehicle control system in which a plurality of ECUs are connected to a bus-type network, a system that can reduce power consumption is disclosed in Patent Document 1 below. In this system, the ECU identification information contained in the received signal is used to determine whether or not to supply power to the microcomputer using the CAN transceiver of the ECU. When it is determined that power is supplied, power supply from the battery is permitted, and when it is determined that power is not supplied, power supply to the microcomputer is maintained in a stopped state.

JP 2012-121453 A

  However, when it is determined whether or not to supply power according to only the identification information of the ECU included in the received signal using the technology of Patent Document 1, the power consumption may rather increase. For example, since the power saving state can be maintained only for a short period, the power consumption required for restarting may be larger than the reduced power consumption. In Patent Document 1, a method that takes such a situation into consideration is not posted.

  An object of this invention is to provide the vehicle control system etc. which perform more efficient power saving.

The present invention includes a plurality of ECUs that respectively control in-vehicle devices, a power saving state switching processing unit that is provided in one of the plurality of ECUs and performs a switching process of each ECU to a power saving state, and the plurality of ECUs Navigation for acquiring a bus-type network for communicating between ECUs, own vehicle navigation information including at least the current location and planned destination of the own vehicle, and traffic environment information including at least one of traffic jam information, time information, and weather information And the power saving state switching processing unit includes traffic at a scheduled destination including at least one of traffic jam information, time information, and weather information determined by the navigation device from the own vehicle navigation information. Target for selecting a traffic environment information acquisition unit that acquires environment information and an ECU that can be switched to a power saving state according to the traffic environment information of the planned destination A CU selection unit, a traffic environment prediction unit that predicts the duration of the traffic environment based on the traffic environment information of the planned destination for the selected ECU, the ECU based on the traffic environment prediction result and the ECU selection result The power consumption calculation unit that calculates the power consumption that can be reduced, and the calculated power consumption that can be reduced by the ECU and the power consumption that is required at the time of restarting are compared, and the ECU is put into a power saving state. A power saving state switching determination unit that determines whether or not to switch, and a power saving state switching instruction unit that sends a signal to the ECU to switch to the power saving state according to the determination result via the bus network. It is in the vehicle control system etc. which are the features.

  In the present invention, efficient energy saving can be performed by avoiding switching of the ECU to a power saving state that is not effective for power saving.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the vehicle control system by Embodiment 1 and 2 of this invention. It is an operation | movement flowchart of the power saving state switching process part in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is an operation | movement flowchart of object ECU selection part of Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the correspondence table with ECU which can be switched to the power saving state with respect to each traffic environment information and the acquired traffic environment information in this invention. It is an operation | movement flowchart of the traffic environment estimation part of Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the acquired traffic environment information in the operation example 1 of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the determination operation | movement of the power saving state switching determination part in the operation example 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the acquired traffic environment information in the operation example 2 of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the determination operation | movement of the power saving state switching determination part in the operation example 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the acquired traffic environment information in the operation example 3 of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the determination operation | movement of the power saving state switching determination part in the operation example 3 of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the determination operation | movement of the power saving state switching determination part in the operation example 3 of this invention. It is an operation | movement flowchart of the power saving state switching process part in Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is an operation | movement flowchart of the traffic environment estimation part of Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the determination operation | movement of the power saving state switching determination part in the operation example 4 of this invention.

  A vehicle control system and the like according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings according to each embodiment. In each embodiment, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle control system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the vehicle control system controls the in-vehicle devices, which are themselves in-vehicle devices ECU1, ECU2 (engine control ECU), ECU3 (seat control ECU), ECU4 (headlight control ECU), ECU5 (night vision). Control ECU), ECU 6 (wiper control ECU), ECU 7 (power window control ECU), and bus type network 8 (CAN) for transmitting and receiving signals between these ECUs 1-7. Each ECU1-7 has the communication parts 11,21,31,41,51,61,71. Among the plurality of ECUs, the ECU 1 includes a power saving state switching processing unit 10 that performs processing related to switching of the power saving state of the ECU. The power saving state switching processing unit 10 may be provided in any of the other ECUs 2 to 7.
The navigation device CN acquires the traffic environment information 9 including at least one of the traffic jam information 90, the time information 91, and the weather information 92. As an acquisition method, for example, it is assumed to be performed via a wireless communication unit (not shown) including an antenna or the like. In addition, the navigation device CN acquires host vehicle information (host vehicle navigation information) including at least the current location of the host vehicle and a planned travel destination (scheduled travel section). Then, the navigation device CN selects only the traffic environment information 9 related to the planned travel destination from the acquired traffic environment information 9 based on the traffic environment information 9 and the own vehicle information, and the selection result (the traffic environment information related to the planned travel destination). 9) is transmitted to the traffic environment information acquisition unit 101 described later.
The sorting process includes a process for calculating the distance from the current location to each traffic environment section (congestion section, rain section, etc.).
That is, the traffic environment information 9 relating to the planned travel destination transmitted from the navigation device CN to the traffic environment information acquisition unit 101 includes the planned travel destination (scheduled travel section) of the host vehicle as shown in FIGS. ) And the traffic environment section (congestion section, rain section, etc.), the distance of the traffic environment section, the position of each traffic environment section (the distance from the current location of the vehicle to the front end of each traffic environment section) A certain traffic environment section position, time information (sunset time, etc.) are included. The traffic environment section distance, the traffic environment section position, and the like are calculated in advance by the navigation device CN.

In the power saving state switching processing unit 10, the traffic environment information acquisition unit 101 includes, for example, a traffic jam through a wireless communication unit (not shown) including an antenna or the like, a wired communication unit (not shown), and the navigation device CN. The traffic environment information 9 relating to the planned destination is input, including at least one of information 90, time information 91, and weather information 92.
The target ECU selection unit 102 selects an ECU that can be switched to the power saving state from the traffic environment information 9 acquired by the traffic environment information acquisition unit 101.
The traffic environment prediction unit 103 predicts how long the current traffic environment will continue from the traffic environment information 9 of the traffic environment information acquisition unit 101.
The power consumption calculation unit 104 calculates the power consumption that can be reduced by the ECU selected from the ECU selection result of the target ECU selection unit 102 and the traffic environment continuation prediction result of the traffic environment prediction unit 103.
The power saving state switching determination unit 105 compares the magnitude of the power consumption that can be reduced by the ECU selected by the target ECU selection unit 102 and the power consumption necessary for restarting, and determines the selected ECU in the power saving state. It is determined whether or not to switch to.
The power saving state switching instruction unit 106 sends a signal for switching to the power saving state to the selected ECU via the bus network 8 according to the determination result of the power saving state switching determination unit 105.
The ECU operation state monitoring unit 107 of the power saving state switching processing unit 10 and the ON / OFF switch 42 connected to the ECU 4 (headlight control ECU) will be described in the second embodiment.

  FIG. 2 shows an operation flowchart of the power saving state switching processing unit 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The processing flow of the power saving state switching processing unit 10 will be described below using the flowchart of FIG. The processing illustrated in FIG. 2 of the power saving state switching processing unit 10 is periodically started. For example, since weather information and the like are updated once an hour, the information is set to be activated at least once an hour.

  When the power saving state switching processing unit 10 starts processing, the traffic environment information acquisition unit 101 confirms whether the traffic environment information 9 has been acquired (step S1001). If it is not acquired, the traffic environment cannot be predicted, and the process is terminated. If it has been acquired, the process proceeds to the next step S1002.

  In step S1002, the target ECU selection unit 102 selects an ECU that can be switched to the power saving state based on the traffic environment information 9 acquired by the traffic environment information acquisition unit 101. A method for selecting the switchable ECU will be described later. After the process of step S1002 is completed, the process proceeds to step S1003.

  In step S1003, in the target ECU selection unit 102, if there is no ECU that can be switched to the power saving state in step S1002, the process is terminated. If there is an ECU that can be switched to the power saving state, the process proceeds to step S1004.

  In step S1004, the traffic environment prediction unit 103 predicts how long the current traffic environment will continue based on the acquired traffic environment information 9. The processing contents of the traffic environment prediction in step S1004 will be described later. After the process of step S1004 is completed, the process proceeds to step S1005.

  In step S1005, the power consumption calculation unit 104 uses the selection result of the target ECU selection unit 102 and the prediction result of the traffic environment prediction unit 103 to reduce the power consumption that can be reduced by the selected ECU (hereinafter referred to as Pr). ) Is calculated. After the process of step S1005 is completed, the process proceeds to step S1006.

  In step S1006, the power saving state switching determination unit 105 compares the Pr calculated by the power consumption calculation unit 104 with the power consumption necessary for restarting from the power saving state (hereinafter referred to as Pb). Then, it is determined whether or not a power saving effect is obtained when the selected ECU is switched to the power saving state. When the value of Pr is less than or equal to the value of Pb, the power saving effect cannot be obtained. Therefore, the process is terminated without switching the selected ECU to the power saving state. Conversely, when the value of Pr is higher than the value of Pb, a power saving effect is obtained. Therefore, in order to instruct the selected ECU to switch to the power saving state, the process proceeds to step S1007.

  In step S1007, the power saving state switching instruction unit 106 sends a signal instructing the selected ECU to switch to the power saving state. Specifically, a signal including an instruction content for switching to the power saving state is transmitted to the target ECU via the bus network 8 using the communication unit 11. The target ECU that has received the signal is switched to the power saving state in accordance with the contents of the instruction (details of the mechanism for switching to the power saving state in each ECU are omitted).

  FIG. 3 shows an operation flowchart of the target ECU selection unit 102. After being called from step S1001 of the power saving state switching processing unit 10, that is, when the traffic environment information acquisition unit 101 confirms the acquisition of the traffic environment information 9 related to the planned traveling destination of the host vehicle, the acquired traffic environment information 9 is displayed. Based on this, an ECU that can be switched to the power saving state is selected (step S1021). Specifically, the selection is made based on the correspondence table 1020 shown in FIG.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of a correspondence table between the acquired traffic environment information (acquired information) and the ECU that can be switched to the power saving state for each traffic environment information. This correspondence table 1020 is stored in advance in a storage unit (not shown) of the ECU 1, for example. According to FIG. 4, for example, if the traffic information 90 includes traffic distance, traffic position, etc., the time information 91 includes the engine control ECU 2 and the seat control ECU 3, the current time, the sunset time (further omitted although not shown), and the like. If the weather information 92 includes the headlight control ECU 4 and the night vision control ECU 5, the distance of the rain section, and the position of the rain section, the wiper control ECU 6 and the power window control ECU 7 are selected as the ECUs to be switched to the power saving state. . After the processing of step S1021 is completed, the process proceeds to step S1022.

  In step S1022, the selection result is notified to the power consumption calculation unit 104. After the notification is completed, the processing of the target ECU selection unit 102 is terminated.

  As described above, only the traffic environment information of the planned travel destination of the host vehicle is determined in advance by the navigation device CN, and the position, distance, etc. of each traffic environment section are calculated to save power as the traffic environment information 9 of the planned travel destination. It is sent to the state switching processing unit 10.

  FIG. 5 shows an operation flowchart of the traffic environment prediction unit 103. After being called from step S1003 of the power saving state switching processing unit 10, that is, when the target ECU is selected by the target ECU selection unit 102, it is determined whether or not the acquired traffic environment information 9 is traffic jam information 90 ( Step S10301). If it is traffic jam information 90, the process proceeds to step S10302. If it is not traffic jam information 90, the process proceeds to step S10304.

  In step S10302, based on the acquired traffic jam information 90, the time required to pass through the traffic jam section and the time required to reach the traffic jam section are predicted. After the process of step S10302 is completed, the process proceeds to step S10303.

The time required to pass through the traffic jam section is obtained from the traffic jam distance that is the distance between the travel destination (scheduled travel section) of the host vehicle information and the traffic jam section and the predetermined average travel speed of the vehicle.
The time required to reach the traffic jam section is obtained from the position of the traffic jam section (the distance from the current location of the vehicle to the front end of the traffic jam section) and a predetermined average traveling speed of the vehicle.
The traffic congestion distance, which is the distance between the planned travel destination (scheduled travel section) of the host vehicle information and the traffic jam section, and the position of the traffic jam section (the distance from the current location of the host vehicle to the front end of the traffic jam section) are sent to the navigation device CN. Is calculated and sent as traffic environment information 9.

  In step S10303, the prediction result is notified to the power consumption calculation unit 104. After the notification is completed, the process proceeds to step S10304.

  In step S10304, it is determined whether the acquired traffic environment information 9 is time information 91 or not. When it is time information 91, it progresses to step S10305, and when it is not time information 91, it progresses to step S10307.

In step S10305, the remaining time until sunset (sunset) and the remaining time until dawn (sunrise) are predicted based on the acquired time information 91. After the process of step S10305 is completed, the process proceeds to step S10306.
The remaining time until sunset and the remaining time until sunrise are obtained from the difference between the sunset time and the current time and the difference between the sunrise time and the current time, respectively. The current time may be included in the traffic environment information 9 from the navigation device CN and obtained from the traffic environment information 9.

  In step S10306, the prediction result is notified to the power consumption calculation unit 104. After the notification is completed, the process proceeds to step S10307.

  In step S10307, it is determined whether the acquired traffic environment information 9 is weather information 92 or not. If it is the weather information 92, the process proceeds to step S10308. Here, if the weather information 92 is not detected, there is no traffic environment that can be predicted using the acquired traffic environment information 9, and therefore the process is terminated without predicting anything.

  In step S10308, based on the acquired weather information 92, the time required to pass through the rainy section and the time required to reach the rainy section are predicted. After the process of step S10308 is completed, the process proceeds to step S10309.

The time required to pass through the rainy section is the distance of the rain section, which is the distance between the travel destination (scheduled travel section) of the vehicle information and the route of the rain section, and the predetermined average of the vehicle. Calculated from the running speed.
The time required to reach the rainy section is determined from the position of the rain section (the distance from the current location of the vehicle to the front end of the rain section) and a predetermined average traveling speed of the vehicle.
The distance of the rain section that is the section where the route of the section where it is raining (the scheduled section of travel) and the section of the rain is overlapping, and the position of the rain section (the distance from the current location of the vehicle to the front end of the rain section) are navigational It is calculated by the device CN and sent as traffic environment information 9.

  In step S10309, the prediction result is notified to the power consumption calculation unit 104. After the notification is completed in step S10309, the processing of the traffic environment prediction unit 103 is terminated.

[Operation example 1]
First, the initial conditions of Operation Example 1 will be described. The vehicle used for explaining the operation example 1 is assumed to be a hybrid vehicle (a strong hybrid vehicle that can run only by a motor). The hybrid vehicle is assumed to stop the engine when traveling with only the motor. The state in which the engine is stopped is an activated state in which power is supplied although the engine control ECU 2 is not operating. The vehicle control system for the hybrid vehicle is the same as that shown in FIG.
Although this hybrid vehicle has necessary devices in addition to the components listed above, the description thereof is omitted because it is not directly related to this operation example.

  Next, the state immediately before the operation example 1 will be described. In the hybrid vehicle, when traveling on a highway in a high speed range, only the traffic environment information 9 related to the planned travel destination is selected by the navigation device CN that has received the traffic environment information 9 from outside the vehicle, and the selection result is received. The power saving state switching processing unit 10 is activated. At this time, the received traffic environment information 9 is traffic jam information 90 as shown in FIG. 6, and is composed of information indicating the traffic jam distance in the planned travel destination section.

  Congestion information is, for example, "~ kilometer post (or ~ junction) at the beginning of a highway" or even a general road "~ how many kilometers at the intersection (or address)" There are many things that can be understood, and in this case, as described above, the distance is the distance of the section that overlaps the planned travel destination (scheduled travel section) of the host vehicle information in the traffic congestion distance section of FIG.

  Further, the target ECU selection unit 102 in the operation example 1 uses the correspondence table 1020 of the target ECU that can be switched to the power saving state corresponding to the acquired traffic environment information 9 shown in FIG. The above is the initial condition of Operation Example 1.

  Next, the flow of processing in Operation Example 1 will be described. The hybrid vehicle that has acquired the traffic environment information 9 shown in FIG. 6 from outside the vehicle proceeds to step S1001 shown in FIG. 2 when the power saving state switching processing unit 10 is activated. Since the traffic environment information acquisition unit 101 has acquired the traffic environment information 9 including the traffic jam information 90, the process proceeds to step S1002. In step S1002, the process of the target ECU selection unit 102 is called, and the process proceeds to step S1021 shown in FIG.

  In step S1021 of FIG. 3, since the traffic environment information 9 including the traffic jam distance is related to the engine control ECU 2 from the acquired traffic environment information 9 and the correspondence table 1020 of FIG. The control ECU 2 is selected. After selection, the process proceeds to step S1022.

  In step S1022, the selection result is notified to the power consumption calculation unit 104.

  Next, it progresses to step S1003 shown in FIG. 2, and it is determined from the acquired traffic environment information 9 whether target ECU exists. In the operation example 1, since the acquired traffic environment information 9 is related to the engine control ECU 2, the target ECU exists. Accordingly, the process proceeds to step S1004 in FIG.

  In step S1004, the traffic environment prediction unit 103 predicts how long the current traffic environment will continue. Therefore, the process proceeds to step S10301 in FIG.

  In step S10301, it is determined whether the acquired traffic environment information 9 is traffic jam information 90 or not. Since the acquired traffic environment information 9 is the traffic jam information 90, the process proceeds to step S10302.

  In step S10302, the acquired traffic environment information 9 includes information related to the traffic jam distance as shown in FIG. 6, so the time T1 required to pass through the traffic jam section is predicted. After the prediction process is completed, the process proceeds to step S10303.

  It should be noted that the time T1 required to pass through the traffic jam section is determined by (the traffic jam section required time T1 = the traffic jam distance ÷ the average vehicle traveling speed). As the vehicle average travel speed, for example, a predetermined vehicle average travel speed is stored in a storage unit (not shown) of the ECU 1. If the traffic congestion information includes information such as the area classification that allows the type of road, the average vehicle traveling speed may be set for each type of road, such as an urban area, a general road, or an automobile road.

  In step S10303, the predicted result is notified to the power consumption calculation unit 104. After the notification to the power consumption calculation unit 104 is completed, the process proceeds to step S10304.

  In step S10304, it is determined whether the acquired traffic environment information 9 is time information 91 or not. Since the acquired traffic environment information 9 includes only the traffic jam information 90, the process proceeds to step S10307.

  Similarly, in step S10307, it is determined whether the acquired traffic environment information 9 is weather information 92 or not. Since the acquired traffic environment information 9 includes only the traffic jam information 90, the processing of the traffic environment prediction unit 103 ends.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S1005 shown in FIG. 2, and the power consumption calculation unit 104 calculates Pr. Specifically, the total amount of power consumption that can be reduced during the period (hereinafter simply referred to as power consumption Pr1) is calculated from the time T1 required to exit the traffic jam section predicted by the traffic environment prediction unit 103.

  The power consumption Pr1 is obtained by the following formula: power consumption Pr1 = power consumption per unit time × time T1. The power consumption per unit time is stored in advance in, for example, a storage unit (not shown) of the ECU 1 for each ECU (may be shared by each ECU).

  Next, the process proceeds to step S1006 shown in FIG. In the power saving state switching determination unit 105, is Pr1 calculated by the power consumption calculation unit 104 larger than the power consumption (hereinafter referred to as Pb1) required when the engine control ECU 2 is restarted in this operation example 1? Compare whether or not.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the power saving state switching determination unit 105. (a) is a power consumption (Pr0, Pr1) that can be reduced [an integrated amount that is the total amount of power consumption] and restart. (B) is the relationship between the time T1 required to pass through the traffic jam section and the power consumption, and (c) is the relationship between the power consumption of the conventional method and the method of the present invention. , Indicate.

  FIG. 7A shows the relationship between Pr1 and Pb1. As shown in FIG. 7A, when the engine control ECU 2 is kept in the power saving state for the time T1 required to exit the traffic jam section, it can be seen that Pr1 is larger than Pb1. Therefore, since the power saving effect can be obtained by switching the engine control ECU 2 to the power saving state while exiting the traffic jam section, the process proceeds to step S1007 shown in FIG.

  Note that the power consumption (Pb1) required at the time of restart is also stored in advance in each storage unit (not shown) of the ECU 1 for each ECU (may be shared by each ECU).

  In step S1007, the power saving state switching instruction unit 106 instructs the engine control ECU 2 to switch to the power saving state. Specifically, a signal including the content of switching to the power saving state is transmitted from the power saving state switching instruction unit 106 to the engine control ECU 2 using the communication unit 11 via the bus network 8 (CAN). . The transmission timing is preferably the time when it reaches the traffic jam section. The engine control ECU 2 receives the signal and switches to the power saving state. For the time required to reach the traffic jam section, the method described later in the operation example 2 can be used.

  FIG. 7B shows a case where the vehicle control system for switching the power saving state in the present embodiment is provided (with power saving control indicated by a solid line) and a case where the vehicle control system is not provided based on the conditions of the operation example 1 ( The relationship of power consumption (without power saving control indicated by a dotted line) is shown. From FIG. 7B, it can be seen that the power consumption amount in the non-congested section does not change, but that the power consumption amount is smaller in the congested section if the power saving state switching control of the present embodiment is performed. Further, even if the power consumption required at the time of restart is taken into consideration, it can be understood that the power consumption is smaller when the switching control of the power saving state according to the present embodiment is performed in the traffic jam section.

  Here, in order to compare with the conventional method which performs power saving control according to the surrounding traffic environment, consider the case of time T0 shorter than T1. It is assumed that the power consumption that can be reduced at this time (hereinafter referred to as Pr0) is smaller than Pb1 (see (a) of FIG. 7).

  In the conventional method, if the surrounding traffic environment satisfies a predetermined condition, even if the time for switching to the power saving state is T0, switching to the power saving state is performed. Therefore, since Pr0 is smaller than Pb1, power consumption increases as a whole, and a power saving effect cannot be obtained (see FIG. 7C: the conventional method is a solid line, and the method of the present invention is a dotted line) Show).

  However, according to the method of this operation example (proposed method), the time that can be switched to the power saving state is predicted, and the power consumption that can be reduced calculated from the predicted time is compared with the power consumption required for restarting. In addition, since switching to the power saving state is performed, switching when the power saving effect cannot be obtained can be prevented. As a result, power consumption can be suppressed.

[Effect of Operation Example 1]
According to the operation example 1, it is possible to predict the time required for passing through the traffic jam section by acquiring information related to the traffic jam distance from outside the vehicle. By doing in this way, ECU which does not need to be in an activation state in a traffic jam section can be effectively switched to a power saving state.

[Operation example 2]
The initial conditions of the operation example 2 will be described. The initial condition of the operation example 2 is the same as that of the operation example 1.

  Next, the state immediately before the operation example 2 will be described. The hybrid vehicle of the operation example 2 is in a state where the power saving state switching processing unit 10 is activated by receiving the traffic environment information 9 from outside the vehicle while traveling on the highway in a high speed range. At this time, the received traffic environment information 9 is traffic jam information 90 as shown in FIG. 8, and is composed of information related to the traffic jam position, which is the distance to the traffic jam section occurring at the planned travel destination. Further, the target ECU selection unit 102 in the operation example 2 uses a correspondence table 1020 of the target ECU that can be switched to the power saving state corresponding to the acquired traffic environment information 9 shown in FIG. The above is the initial condition of the operation example 2.

  Next, the flow of processing in Operation Example 2 will be described. The hybrid vehicle that has acquired the traffic environment information 9 shown in FIG. 8 from outside the vehicle proceeds to step S1001 shown in FIG. 2 when the power saving state switching processing unit 10 is activated. Since the traffic environment information acquisition unit 101 has acquired the traffic environment information 9 including the traffic jam information 90, the process proceeds to step S1002. In step S1002, the process of the target ECU selection unit 102 is called, and the process proceeds to step S1021 shown in FIG.

  In step S1021 in FIG. 3, the traffic environment information 9 including the traffic jam position is related to the seat control ECU 3 from the traffic environment information 9 acquired in the target ECU selection unit 102 and the correspondence table 1020 in FIG. The seat control ECU 3 is selected. After selection, the process proceeds to step S1022.

  In step S1022, the selection result is notified to the power consumption calculation unit 104.

  Next, it progresses to step S1003 shown in FIG. 2, and it is determined from the acquired traffic environment information 9 whether target ECU exists. In the operation example 2, since the acquired traffic environment information 9 is related to the seat control ECU 3, the target ECU exists. Accordingly, the process proceeds to step S1004 in FIG.

  In step S1004, the traffic environment prediction unit 103 predicts how long the current traffic environment will continue. Therefore, the process proceeds to step S10301 in FIG.

  In step S10301, it is determined whether or not the acquired traffic environment information 9 is traffic jam information. Since the acquired traffic environment information 9 is the traffic jam information 90, the process proceeds to step S10302.

  In step S10302, since the acquired traffic environment information 9 includes information on the traffic jam position as shown in FIG. 8, the time T2 required to reach the traffic jam section is predicted. After the prediction process is completed, the process proceeds to step S10303.

  Note that the time T2 required to reach the traffic jam section is obtained by the traffic jam section required time T2 = the traffic jam position (the distance from the current location of the vehicle to the front end of the traffic jam section) ÷ the average travel speed of the vehicle.

  In step S10303, the prediction result is notified to the power consumption calculation unit 104. After the notification is completed, the process proceeds to step S10304.

  Since the processing after step S10304 is the same as that of the operation example 1, the description thereof is omitted.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S1005 shown in FIG. 2, and the power consumption calculation unit 104 calculates Pr. Specifically, the total amount of power consumption that can be reduced during the period (hereinafter simply referred to as power consumption Pr2) is calculated from the time T2 until reaching the traffic jam section predicted by the traffic environment prediction unit 103.

  The power consumption Pr2 is obtained by the following formula: power consumption Pr2 = power consumption per unit time × time T2.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S1006 shown in FIG. In the power saving state switching determination unit 105, is Pr2 calculated by the power consumption calculation unit 104 larger than the power consumption required when the seat control ECU 3 is restarted in the second operation example (hereinafter referred to as Pb2)? Compare whether or not.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the power saving state switching determination unit 105. (a) is a power consumption (Pr2) that can be reduced (an integrated amount that is a total amount of power consumption) and necessary at the time of restart. The relationship between the power consumption (Pb2) and (b) shows the relationship between the time T2 until reaching the traffic jam section and the power consumption.

  FIG. 9A shows the relationship between Pr2 and Pb2. As shown in FIG. 9A, when the seat control ECU 3 is kept in the power saving state for the time T2 required to reach the traffic jam section, it can be seen that Pr2 is larger than Pb2. Therefore, since the power saving effect can be obtained by keeping the seat control ECU 3 in the power saving state before reaching the traffic jam section, the process proceeds to step S1007 shown in FIG.

  In step S1007, the power saving state switching instruction unit 106 instructs the seat control ECU 3 to switch to the power saving state. Specifically, the power saving state switching instruction unit 106 uses the communication unit 11 to transmit a signal including the content of switching to the power saving state to the seat control ECU 3 via the bus network 8 (CAN). . The seat control ECU 3 receives the signal and switches to the power saving state before starting the next processing of itself.

  FIG. 9B shows a case where a vehicle control system for switching the power saving state according to the present embodiment is provided (with power saving control indicated by a solid line) and a case where it is not provided based on the conditions of the operation example 2 ( The relationship of power consumption (without power saving control indicated by a dotted line) is shown. From FIG. 9B, it can be seen that the power consumption in the traffic jam section does not change, but the power consumption is smaller in the non-traffic zone if the power saving state switching control of the present embodiment is performed. Further, even if the power consumption Pb2 required at the time of restart is taken into consideration, it can be understood that the power consumption is smaller when the power saving state switching control of the present embodiment is performed in the non-congested section.

[Effect of Operation Example 2]
According to the operation example 2, the time required to reach the traffic jam section can be predicted by acquiring information related to the traffic jam position from outside the vehicle. By doing so, the target ECU can be effectively switched to the power saving state even in the non-congested section.

[Operation example 3]
The initial conditions of the operation example 3 will be described. The initial conditions of Operation Example 3 are the same as those of Operation Example 1.

  Next, the state immediately before the operation example 3 will be described. The hybrid vehicle of the operation example 3 receives the traffic environment information 9 from the outside of the vehicle while traveling, and the power saving state switching processing unit 10 is activated. At this time, the received traffic environment information 9 is time information 91 and weather information 92 as shown in FIG. The time information 91 includes information on the current time (15:00) and sunset (sunset) time (18:00). The weather information 92 is composed of information about the distance (about 100 km) of the section that is the rain of the planned destination and the position of the rain section (about 20 km ahead).

  The target ECU selection unit 102 in the operation example 3 uses the ECU correspondence table 1020 that can be switched to the power saving state based on the acquired traffic environment information 9 and the acquired traffic environment information 9 shown in FIG. The above is the initial condition of the operation example 3.

  Next, the flow of processing in Operation Example 3 will be described. The vehicle that has acquired the traffic environment information 9 shown in FIG. 10 from outside the vehicle proceeds to step S1001 shown in FIG. 2 when the power saving state switching processing unit 10 is activated. Since the traffic environment information acquisition unit 101 has acquired the traffic environment information 9, the process advances to step S1002. In step S1002, the process of the target ECU selection unit 102 is called, and the process proceeds to step S1021 shown in FIG.

  In step S1021 in FIG. 3, the target ECU selection unit 102 obtains time information 91 including the current time and sunset time from the traffic environment information 9 acquired and the correspondence table 1020 in FIG. The vision control ECU 5 knows that the weather information 92 including the rain section distance and the rain section position is related to the power window control ECU 7 and the wiper control ECU 6. Therefore, the headlight control ECU 4, the night vision control ECU 5, the wiper control ECU 6, and the power window control ECU 7 are selected. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S1022, and the selection result is notified to the power consumption calculation unit 104.

  Next, it progresses to step S1003 shown in FIG. 2, and it is determined from the acquired traffic environment information 9 whether target ECU exists. In the operation example 3, since the acquired traffic environment information 9 is related to the headlight control ECU 4, the night vision control ECU 5, the wiper control ECU 6, and the power window control ECU 7, the target ECU exists. Accordingly, the process proceeds to step S1004 in FIG.

  In step S1004, the traffic environment prediction unit 103 predicts how long the current traffic environment will continue. Therefore, the process proceeds to step S10301 in FIG.

  First, in step S10301 of FIG. 5, it is determined whether or not the acquired traffic environment information 9 is traffic jam information 90. Since the acquired traffic environment information 9 does not include the traffic jam information 90, the process proceeds to step S10304.

  In step S10304, it is determined whether the acquired traffic environment information 9 is time information 91 or not. Since the acquired traffic environment information 9 includes time information 91 as shown in FIG. 10, the process proceeds to step S10305.

In step S10305, a time T3 until sunset is predicted. After the prediction process is completed, the process proceeds to step S10306.
Time T3 until sunset is obtained by (time T3 until sunset = sunset (sunset) time−current time).

  In step S10306, the predicted result is notified to the power consumption calculation unit 104. After the notification to the power consumption calculation unit 104 is completed, the process proceeds to step S10307.

  In step S10307, it is determined whether the acquired traffic environment information 9 is weather information 92 or not. Since the acquired traffic environment information 9 includes weather information 92 as shown in FIG. 10, the process proceeds to step S10308.

In step S10308, the rain (road) section required time T5 that is the time to reach the rainy (road) section and the rain (road) that is the time required to pass through the rainy (road) section. The section required time T6 is predicted. After the prediction process is completed, the process proceeds to step S10309.
Rain (road) section arrival time T5 is rain (road) section arrival time T5 = rain (road) section position (distance from the current position of the vehicle to the front edge of the rain (road) section) / average travel speed Ask for.
The rain (road) section passage time T6 is obtained from the following: rain (road) section passage time T6 = rain (road) section distance ÷ average traveling speed.

  In step S10309, the predicted result is notified to the power consumption calculation unit 104. After the notification to the power consumption calculation unit 104 is completed, the processing of the traffic environment prediction unit 103 is terminated.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S1005 shown in FIG. 2, and the power consumption calculation unit 104 calculates a reducible power consumption. Specifically, from the time T3 until sunset predicted by the traffic environment prediction unit 103, the time T5 until reaching the rainy section, and the time T6 required to pass through the rainy section, this operation example 3, the total amount of power consumption that the headlight control ECU 4 can reduce during the period (hereinafter simply referred to as power consumption Pr3), and the total amount of power consumption that the night vision control ECU 5 can reduce during the period (hereinafter simply referred to as power consumption). Consumption power Pr4), the total amount of power consumption that the wiper control ECU 6 can reduce during that period (hereinafter simply referred to as power consumption Pr5), and the total amount of power consumption that the power window control ECU 7 can reduce during that period (hereinafter referred to as power consumption Pr4). Simply referred to as power consumption Pr6). In addition, Pr3 and Pr4 are calculated based on T3, Pr5 is calculated based on T5, and Pr6 is calculated based on T6. Each power consumption is calculated by multiplying each time by the power consumption per unit time stored in the storage unit (not shown) of the ECU 1. After calculating the power consumption, the process proceeds to step S1006 shown in FIG.

  In step S1006 in FIG. 2, the calculated Pr3, Pr4, Pr5, and Pr6 by the power saving state switching determination unit 105 are the power consumption (hereinafter referred to as Pb3) required when the headlight control ECU 4 is restarted in this operation example 3. The night vision control ECU 5 requires power consumption (hereinafter referred to as Pb4), the wiper control ECU 6 requires power consumption (hereinafter referred to as Pb5), and the power window control ECU 7 It is compared whether or not it is larger than the power consumption required at the time of restart (hereinafter referred to as Pb6).

  First, the relationship between the time T3 until sunset and the power consumption of the headlight control ECU 4 and the night vision control ECU 5 will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the power saving state switching determination unit 105. (a) is a power consumption (Pr3, Pr4) that can be reduced [an integrated amount that is the total amount of power consumption] and restart. The relationship between the power consumption (Pb3, Pb4) that is sometimes required, and (b) shows the relationship between the time T3 until sunset and the power consumption.

  As shown in FIG. 11A, Pr3 and Pr4 that can be reduced by setting the headlight control ECU 4 and the night vision control ECU 5 in the power saving state during the time T3 until sunset is more than Pb3 and Pb4. I know it's big.

  Therefore, since the power saving effect can be obtained by setting the headlight control ECU 4 and the night vision control ECU 5 in the power saving state until the sunset time comes, the process proceeds to step S1007 shown in FIG. The switching instruction unit 106 instructs the headlight control ECU 4 and the night vision control ECU 5 to switch to the power saving state. Specifically, the power saving state switching instructing unit 106 uses the communication unit 11 to send a signal including contents for switching the headlight control ECU 4 and the night vision control ECU 5 to the power saving state to the bus network 8 (CAN ) To send via. The transmission timing is preferably immediately after the completion of the processing of the headlight control ECU 4 and the night vision control ECU 5. The headlight control ECU 4 and the night vision control ECU 5 receive the signal and switch to the power saving state.

  FIG. 11B shows a case where the vehicle control system for switching the power saving state in the present embodiment is provided (with power saving control indicated by a solid line) and a case where it is not provided based on the conditions of the operation example 3 ( The relationship of power consumption (without power saving control indicated by a dotted line) is shown. From (b) of FIG. 11, the power consumption after sunset (sunset) does not change, but in the section up to sunset, the power consumption is better when the power saving state switching control of this embodiment is performed. I understand that there are few. Further, even if Pb3 and Pb4 are taken into account, it can be understood that the power consumption is smaller when the power saving state switching control of the present embodiment is performed in the section until sunset.

  Next, the relationship between the time T5 required to reach the rainy section and the wiper control ECU 6 and the relationship between the time T6 required to pass the rainy section and the power window control ECU 7 will be described with reference to FIG. .

  FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the power saving state switching determination unit 105. (a) is a power consumption (Pr5, Pr6) that can be reduced [an integrated amount that is a total amount of power consumption] and restart. (B) is the relationship between time T5 to reach the rainy section and power consumption, (c) is the time T6 to pass through the rainy section and power consumption The relationship of quantity.

  As shown in FIG. 12A, it can be seen that Pr6 by the power window control ECU 7 is larger than Pb6 during the time T6 required to pass through the rainy section.

  Therefore, since the power window control ECU 7 is switched to the power saving state until it passes through the rainy section, the power saving effect can be obtained, and the process proceeds to step S1007 shown in FIG.

  In step S1007, the power saving state switching instruction unit 106 instructs the power window control ECU 7 to switch to the power saving state. Specifically, the power saving state switching instruction unit 106 uses the communication unit 11 to transmit a signal including the content to be switched to the power saving state to the power window control ECU 7 via the bus network 8 (CAN). To do. The transmission timing is preferably the time to reach the rainy section. The power window control ECU 7 receives the signal and switches to the power saving state.

  FIG. 12C shows a case where the vehicle control system for switching the power saving state in the present embodiment is provided (with power saving control indicated by a solid line) and a case where it is not provided based on the conditions of the operation example 3 ( The relationship of power consumption (without power saving control indicated by a dotted line) is shown. From FIG. 12C, it can be seen that the power consumption in the non-rainy section does not change, but the power consumption is smaller in the rainy section when the power saving state switching control of the present embodiment is performed. Even in consideration of Pb6, it can be seen that the power consumption is smaller when the power saving state switching control of the present embodiment is performed in the rainy section.

  On the other hand, it can be seen from FIG. 12A that Pr5 by the wiper control ECU 6 is smaller than Pb5 during the time T5 until reaching the rainy section. That is, it can be said that the effect of power saving cannot be obtained.

  Therefore, even if the wiper control ECU 6 is switched to the power saving state before reaching the rainy section, the power saving effect cannot be obtained, so the process is terminated without giving any instruction.

  FIG. 12B shows a case where the vehicle control system for switching the power saving state in this embodiment is provided (with power saving control indicated by a solid line) and a case where it is not provided based on the conditions of the operation example 3 ( The relationship of power consumption (without power saving control indicated by a dotted line) is shown. From FIG. 12B, it can be seen that the power consumption is smaller when the power saving state switching control of the present embodiment is performed until the rain section is reached. However, considering the power consumption required at the time of restart, it can be seen that the power consumption is larger when the power saving state switching control of the present embodiment is performed until the rain section is reached.

[Effect of Operation Example 3]
According to the operation example 3, by acquiring time information or information on weather information from outside the vehicle, the time until sunset, the time required to pass through the rainy section, or the time until the rainy section is reached Can be predicted. In this way, the target ECU can be effectively switched to the power saving state even during the daytime or in sunny weather.

[Effect of Embodiment 1]
According to the vehicle control system of the first embodiment, it is predicted how long the current traffic environment will continue from traffic environment information (at least one of traffic jam information, time information, and weather information) received from outside the vehicle. Based on the prediction result, by selecting the ECU in the activated state that can be switched to the power saving state, calculating the power consumption that can be reduced by the ECU, and comparing it with the power consumption required at the time of restarting It is possible to determine whether or not a power saving effect can be obtained by switching to the power saving state. From the determination result, if the power saving effect is obtained, the ECU is instructed to switch to the power saving state. If the power saving effect is not obtained even if the power saving state is obtained, the ECU is instructed. On the other hand, it is possible to prevent the switching instruction to the power saving state from being performed. In this way, by using the traffic environment predicted from the traffic environment information, it is possible to reduce power consumption by determining whether to appropriately switch the power supply state of the ECU that does not need to be in the activated state to the power saving state. Can do.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
The configuration of the vehicle control system according to the second embodiment of the present invention includes an ECU operation state monitoring unit 107 of the power saving state switching processing unit 10 and an ON / OFF switch 42 connected to the ECU 4 (headlight control ECU) in FIG. It is added. The ECU 4 includes an ON / OFF switch 42 that can be operated by a user including a driver (hereinafter referred to as a user). By switching the state of the ON / OFF switch 42, the function of the headlight control ECU 4 that is the connection destination can be used (headlight on / off).
Note that the ON / OFF switch 42 of the ECU 4 is an example, and the ON / OFF switch 42 is provided in each of the ECUs 3 to 7 that is not necessarily required for traveling. The ON / OFF switch 42 is a switch that controls an in-vehicle device that is controlled by a connected ECU.
For example, by turning the ON / OFF switch from OFF to ON, the ECU changes from an operation stop state (including a sleep state) or an activation state (a state where power is supplied but not in operation), The in-vehicle device starts operation. Further, by turning the ON / OFF switch from ON to OFF, the ECU changes from an operating state to an activated state (a state where power is supplied but not operating), and the in-vehicle device stops operating.
In addition, the ECU sends an operation state signal indicating the operation state changed by switching the ON / OFF switch to the power saving state switching processing unit 10 via the bus network 8. The ECU operation state monitoring unit 107 monitors the operation state of each ECU from the operation state signal.

  FIG. 13 shows an operation flowchart of the power saving state switching processing unit 10 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 13, a determination processing flow for determining whether or not to switch the ECU that has been activated through the operating state from the power saving state (for example, the sleep state) to the power saving state again by a user operation. explain.

In this process, when the user switches the ON / OFF switch from OFF to ON, the ECU, which has been in the power saving state, enters the operating state, and performs operation control to provide the function requested by the user. This is a process that is performed when the ECU that has been operating is changed to an activated state because the switch state is switched from ON to OFF by an operation.
For example, in the case of the headlight control ECU 4, since the vehicle that the user is driving has entered the tunnel and it has become dark, the headlight control ECU 4 switches the ON / OFF switch 42 from OFF to ON (headlight control ECU 4). Switches from a power saving state to an operating state). Since the vehicle that the user is driving has passed through the tunnel, the headlight control ECU 4 switches the ON / OFF switch 42 from ON to OFF (the headlight control ECU 4 switches from the operating state to the activated state). The power saving state switching process for the target is executed.
Therefore, the combined use with the processing flow shown in FIG. 2 used in the first embodiment is a precondition.

The activation timing of this processing is when the operation state signal from the ECU restarted by the operation of the ON / OFF switch 42 is received by the communication unit 11 of the ECU 1 via the bus network 8.
Therefore, in this embodiment, it is assumed that the ECU 1 starts this processing after receiving information that the ON / OFF switch 42 has been switched from ON to OFF.

  In the communication unit 11, the process started when the operation state signal is received from the ECU that has been restarted by the switch operation (returned to the start state), proceeds to step S 1008.

In step S1008, the ECU operation state monitoring unit 107 selects a target ECU. The ECU determination here is a process for determining which ECU is the restarted ECU. After the restarted ECU selection process is completed, the process proceeds to step S1009.
As described above, each ECU is in an operation stop state (including a sleep state), a start state (a state in which power is supplied but not in operation), a state in operation, apart from a signal indicating the end of the above-described processing. In such a state, an operation state signal including at least a signal indicating that it has been activated by the operation of the ON / OFF switch 42 is transmitted to at least the ECU 1 via the bus network 8 (CAN). Thus, the operation state monitoring unit 107 of the ECU 1 can grasp the operation state of each ECU.

  In step S1009, the target ECU selection unit 102 determines whether the selected ECU exists in the correspondence table 1020 in FIG. 4 based on the determination result in step S1008. If the selected ECU exists in the correspondence table 1020 of FIG. 4, the process proceeds to step S1010. If it does not exist, the process ends.

  In step S1010, the traffic environment prediction unit 103 predicts how long the current traffic environment (when the vehicle is activated) will continue again. The details of the prediction process will be described later. After the prediction process is completed, the process proceeds to step S1011.

  In step S1011, the power consumption calculation unit 104 calculates the total amount of power consumption that can be reduced from the current time again (hereinafter simply referred to as power consumption Pr) based on the prediction result in step S1010. After completion of the calculation, the process proceeds to step S1012.

  In step S1012, the power saving state switching determination unit 105 determines whether Pr is larger than the power consumption required for restarting (hereinafter referred to as Pb). When Pr is larger than Pb, the power saving effect can be obtained by switching to the power saving state, and the process proceeds to step S1013. When Pr is equal to or less than Pb, the power saving effect cannot be obtained by switching to the power saving state, so the process is terminated without giving any instruction.

  In step S1013, the power saving state switching instruction unit 106 instructs the restarted ECU (becomes activated by operating the ON / OFF switch 42) to switch back to the power saving state (sleep state). To do.

  Specifically, as in the first embodiment, the communication unit 11 is used to transmit a signal including an instruction content for switching to the power saving state to the restarted ECU via the bus network 8. The restarted ECU that has received the signal switches to the power saving state again in accordance with the contents of the instruction.

  FIG. 14 shows an operation flowchart of the traffic environment prediction unit 103. The flow of processing of the traffic environment prediction unit 103 when activated by a user operation will be described using the flowchart of FIG.

  After being called from step S1009 in FIG. 13, it is determined whether the restarted ECU is the headlight control ECU 4 or the night vision control ECU 5 (step S10310). If it is the headlight control ECU 4 or the night vision control ECU 5, the process proceeds to step S10311. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S10312.

  In step S10311, the remaining time until sunset (sunset) and the remaining time until dawn (sunrise) relating to the headlight control ECU 4 or the night vision control ECU 5 are predicted again (the time calculation method is as described above. According to Form 1). After the process of step S10311 is completed, the process proceeds to step S10316.

  In step S10312, it is determined whether or not the restarted ECU is the power window control ECU 7. When it is power window control ECU7, it progresses to step S10313, and when that is not right, it progresses to step S10314.

  In step S10313, the time required to pass through the rainy section related to the power window control ECU 7 is predicted again (the time calculation method is the same as that in the first embodiment). After the process of step S10313 is completed, it progresses to step S10316.

  In step S10314, it is determined whether or not the restarted ECU is the wiper control ECU 6. If it is the wiper control ECU 6, the process proceeds to step S10315. If not, the process is terminated without predicting anything because the ECU does not correspond to the ECU to be restarted in the present embodiment.

  In step S10315, the time required to reach the rainy section related to the wiper control ECU 6 is predicted again (the time calculation method is the same as that in the first embodiment). After the process of step S10315 is completed, the process proceeds to step S10316.

  In step S10316, the power consumption calculation unit 104 is notified of the results predicted in step S10311, step S10313, and step S10315. After the notification process is completed, the process of the traffic environment prediction unit 103 is terminated.

[Operation example 4]
The initial conditions of the operation example 4 will be described. The vehicle used for explaining the operation example 4 has basically the same configuration as that of the operation example 3, but the headlight control ECU 4 has an ON / OFF switch 42 that can be activated by a user operation. By operating the ON / OFF switch 42, the user can turn on / off the headlight at an arbitrary timing.

  Next, the environment of the operation example 4 will be described. In the operation example 4, the processing of the operation example 3 of the first embodiment is performed, and the headlight control ECU 4 which has been in the power saving state is brought into the activated state through the operating state by the user's operation on the ON / OFF switch 42. Suppose that it has switched. The above is the initial condition of the operation example 4.

  Next, the process flow of the operation example 4 will be described. The ECU 1 having the power saving state switching processing unit 10 receives information through the bus network 8 that the communication unit 11 has completed switching of the ON / OFF switch 42 of the headlight control ECU 4 from ON to OFF. In response to the reception of the signal, this process is started, and the process proceeds to step S1008.

  In step S1008, the ECU operation state monitoring unit 107 determines which ECU is the restarted ECU. A method for determining which ECU has been restarted is that the operation state signal includes the identifier of the ECU of the transmission source, a message, and the like, and is determined based on the identifier or message content of the received operation state signal. To do. Here, it is assumed that the restarted ECU is the headlight control ECU 4. After completion of the determination process, the process proceeds to step S1009.

  In step S1009, the target ECU selection unit 102 determines whether there is a target ECU. It can be seen from the correspondence table 1020 in FIG. 4 that the headlight control ECU 4 is included in the target ECU. Therefore, in order to predict again the traffic environment relevant to headlight control ECU4, it progresses to step S1010.

  In step S1010, the traffic environment prediction unit 103 performs the process shown in FIG.

  First, in step S10310, it is determined whether the restarted ECU is the headlight control ECU 4 or the night vision control ECU 5. Since the ECU restarted this time is the headlight control ECU 4, the process proceeds to step S10311.

  In step S10311, the remaining time T7 until sunset is predicted again (the time calculation method conforms to that of the first embodiment described above). After the prediction process is completed, the process proceeds to step S10316.

  In step S10316, the power consumption calculation unit 104 is notified of the result predicted in step S10311. After the notification is completed, the processing of the traffic environment prediction unit 103 is terminated.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S1011 shown in FIG. 13, and a reducible power consumption (hereinafter referred to as Pr7) is calculated based on the remaining time T7 until sunset (the calculation method is the above-described first embodiment). According to the above). After the calculation, the process proceeds to step S1012 shown in FIG.

  In step S1012, whether or not Pr7 calculated by the power saving state switching determination unit 105 is larger than the power consumption (hereinafter referred to as Pb7) required when the headlight control ECU 4 is restarted in the fourth operation example is determined. Compare.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the power saving state switching determination unit 105. (a) is a power consumption (Pr4, Pr7) that can be reduced [an integrated amount that is a total amount of power consumption] and restart. The relationship between the power consumption (Pb7) required sometimes and (b) shows the relationship between the time T7 until sunset and the power consumption.

  FIG. 15A shows the relationship between Pr4, Pr7, and Pb7. As shown in FIG. 15A, the power consumption Pr7 that can be reduced by keeping the headlight control ECU 4 in the power saving state during the remaining time T7 until sunset is found to be Pb7 or less. . Therefore, after the time when the activation state is entered by the user's operation, the power saving effect cannot be obtained even if the headlight control ECU 4 is switched to the power saving state. Therefore, the process is terminated without proceeding to step S1013 shown in FIG.

  FIG. 15B shows the relationship between the power consumption when the re-prediction result indicated by the dotted line is not considered and the power consumption when the consideration indicated by the solid line is taken into consideration based on the conditions of the operation example 4. From FIG. 15B, it can be seen that the power consumption when the re-prediction result is not taken into account is activated once during the period of switching to the power saving state, so that the power saving effect is not obtained as a whole. . On the other hand, the power consumption when the re-prediction result is taken into consideration determines whether or not to switch to the power saving state by considering again the power consumption necessary for the restart, and therefore the power saving effect as a whole. It turns out that it is obtained. That is, since the power consumption required for the second restart that is larger than the reduced power obtained by switching to the second power saving state is avoided, the power saving effect is obtained as a whole.

[Effect of Operation Example 4]
According to the operation example 2, even when the ECU that is in the power saving state is activated by the user's operation and enters the activated state, the headlight control ECU 4 can save power by predicting the time until sunset again. It is determined whether the power saving effect is actually obtained by switching to the state. In this way, even when the power saving state of the ECU is interrupted by a user operation, the target ECU can be effectively switched to the power saving control.

[Effect of Embodiment 2]
According to the vehicle control system of the second embodiment described above, traffic environment information (at least one of traffic jam information, time information, and weather information) is received from outside the vehicle, and the user is in a power saving state by a switch operation. Even when the ECU switches to the start-up state through the operating state, the power consumption that can be reduced from that point is calculated, and compared with the power consumption required at the time of restart, switching to the power-saving state and power-saving It can be determined whether or not an effect can be obtained. From the determination result, if the power saving effect is obtained, the ECU is instructed to switch to the power saving state. If the power saving effect is not obtained even if the power saving state is obtained, the ECU is instructed. On the other hand, it is possible to prevent the switching instruction to the power saving state from being performed. In this way, even when the power saving state of the ECU is interrupted by the user's operation, every time it is interrupted, the traffic environment is predicted again from the acquired traffic environment information and switched to the activated state through the operating state. By determining whether or not to switch the power supply state of the ECU to the power saving state, the power consumption can be suppressed.

Needless to say, the use of the vehicle control system according to the present invention is not limited to highways.
In addition, the weather information is not limited to rain, and may be other weather such as snow, clear weather, and cloudy weather.

  Furthermore, in the first embodiment, for example, the ECU that has been activated from the operation stop state may not be immediately switched to the power saving state before completing the target operation control.

  In this case, in the first embodiment, the ECUs 2 to 7 that do not have the power saving state switching processing unit 10 are supplied with the operation stopped state (including the sleep state) and the activated state (not operating but supplied with power). A power saving state switching processing unit that generates an operation state signal similar to that of the second embodiment showing the operation state of the ECU including at least the operating state (including an identifier of the transmission source ECU, a message, and the like). 10 is transmitted. However, information on the operation state of the ON / OFF switch is not included.

  The power saving state switching processing unit 10 includes an ECU operation state monitoring unit (for example, the ECU operation state monitoring unit 107 of the second embodiment) that monitors the operation state of each ECU from the operation state signal. The ECU operation state monitoring unit (107) monitors an ECU that has been activated from an operating state and an ECU that has been activated for a predetermined time or more. Then, the target ECU selection unit 102 selects an ECU that can be switched to the power saving state for the ECU that has been activated from the operating state and the ECU that has been in the activated state for a predetermined time or longer. Is processed in the same manner as described above.

  Further, in the second embodiment, the operation stop state (including the sleep state) generated by the ECU, the start state (the state in which power is supplied but not in operation), and the operation in the case of the first embodiment are being performed. The ECU operation state monitoring unit 107 includes the operation state of the ON / OFF switch as described above in the operation state signal indicating the operation state of the ECU including at least the state (including the identifier of the transmission source ECU, a message, and the like) You may make it monitor by. As a result, the target ECU selection unit 102 selects an ECU that can be switched to the power saving state for the ECU that has been in the activated state from the operating state and the ECU that has been in the activated state for a predetermined time or longer. The ECU performs the same processing as described above, and the traffic environment prediction unit 103 enters the activated state for the ECU that has been activated from the operating state due to the ON / OFF switch 42 being turned from ON to OFF. Predict the duration of the traffic environment from the moment.

  1 ECU, 2 engine control ECU, 3 seat control ECU, 4 headlight control ECU, 5 night vision control ECU, 6 wiper control ECU, 7 power window control ECU, 8 bus type network, 9 traffic environment information, 10 power saving state Switching processing unit, 11, 21, 31, 41, 51, 61, 71, CN1 communication unit, 42 ON / OFF switch, 90 traffic jam information, 91 time information, 92 weather information, 101 traffic environment information acquisition unit, 102 target ECU Selection unit, 103 traffic environment prediction unit, 104 power consumption calculation unit, 105 power saving state switching determination unit, 106 power saving state switching instruction unit, 107 ECU operation state monitoring unit, 1020 correspondence table, CN navigation device.

Claims (10)

A plurality of ECUs for controlling in-vehicle devices,
A power saving state switching processing unit that is provided in one of the plurality of ECUs and performs processing for switching each ECU to a power saving state;
A bus network for communication between the plurality of ECUs;
A navigation apparatus for acquiring own vehicle navigation information including at least the current location of the own vehicle and a planned destination and traffic environment information including at least one of traffic jam information, time information, and weather information;
With
The power saving state switching processing unit
A traffic environment information acquisition unit that acquires the traffic environment information of the planned travel destination including at least one of traffic congestion information, time information, and weather information of the planned travel destination determined by the navigation device from the own vehicle navigation information;
A target ECU selection unit that selects an ECU that can be switched to a power-saving state according to the traffic environment information of the planned travel destination;
A traffic environment prediction unit that predicts the duration of the traffic environment based on the traffic environment information of the planned destination for the selected ECU ;
A power consumption calculation unit that calculates a power consumption that can be reduced by the ECU from the traffic environment prediction result and the ECU selection result;
A power saving state switching determination unit that determines whether to switch the ECU to a power saving state by comparing the calculated power consumption that can be reduced by the ECU and the power consumption required at the time of restart;
A power saving state switching instruction unit that sends a signal to the ECU to switch to a power saving state according to the determination result via the bus network,
A vehicle control system comprising: The ECU that does not have the power saving state switching processing unit has an ON / OFF switch that is operated by a user to control an in-vehicle device controlled by the ECU,
The ECU switches the operation state by switching the ON / OFF switch and sends an operation state signal indicating the operation state to the power saving state switching processing unit.
The power saving state switching processing unit includes an ECU operation state monitoring unit that monitors the activation state of each ECU from the operation state signal,
The traffic environment prediction unit predicts the duration of the traffic environment from the time when the ECU enters the activated state when the ECU changes from the activated state to the activated state due to the ON / OFF switch being turned from ON to OFF. The vehicle control system according to claim 1, wherein: The ECU not having the power saving state switching processing unit sends an operation state signal indicating an operating state to the power saving state switching processing unit,
The power saving state switching processing unit includes an ECU operation state monitoring unit that monitors an operation state of each ECU from the operation state signal,
According to claim 1, wherein the target ECU selecting section is characterized by selecting the ECU can be switched to the power saving state to a subject the ECU in the operation in the state to start state ECU and a predetermined time or more were the activation state Vehicle control system. The target ECU selecting unit, according to claim 2, characterized in that selecting the ECU can be switched to the power saving state to a subject the ECU in the operation in the state to start state ECU and a predetermined time or more were the activation state Vehicle control system. The traffic information includes the traffic distance of the traffic section,
5. The vehicle control system according to claim 1, wherein the traffic environment prediction unit predicts a time required to pass through the traffic jam section with respect to the traffic jam information of a planned travel destination. The traffic information includes the traffic position of the traffic section,
5. The vehicle control system according to claim 1, wherein the traffic environment prediction unit predicts a time required to reach the traffic jam section with respect to the traffic jam information of a planned travel destination. The time information includes a sunset time,
The vehicle control system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the traffic environment prediction unit predicts a time until sunset with respect to the time information of a scheduled destination. The weather information includes road section weather and section distance,
The said traffic environment prediction part estimates the passage required time of the road section of the weather by the said weather information regarding the said weather information of a driving plan destination, The any one of Claim 1 to 4 characterized by the above-mentioned. Vehicle control system. The weather information includes road section weather and section position,
The said traffic environment prediction part estimates the arrival required time to the road section of the weather by the said weather information regarding the said weather information of a driving plan destination, The any one of Claim 1 to 4 characterized by the above-mentioned. Vehicle control system. A plurality of ECUs for controlling the in-vehicle devices are connected to each other by a bus network, and at least one of own vehicle navigation information including at least the current location of the own vehicle and a planned destination, traffic information, time information, and weather information. In a vehicle control system provided with a navigation device for acquiring traffic environment information including
A step of acquiring traffic environment information of the planned destination including at least one of traffic information, time information, and weather information of the planned destination determined from the navigation information by the navigation device;
Selecting an ECU that can be switched to a power saving state according to the traffic environment information of the planned destination;
Predicting the duration of the traffic environment based on the traffic environment information of the planned destination for the selected ECU;
Calculating the power consumption that can be reduced by the ECU from the traffic environment prediction result and the ECU selection result;
Comparing the calculated reducible power consumption of the ECU with the power consumption required at the time of restart, and determining whether to switch the ECU to a power saving state;
Switching the ECU to a power saving state in accordance with the determination result via the bus network;
The vehicle control method characterized by including .

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