JP5796708B2 - Vehicle control device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle control device that controls stopping of an engine.

  In recent years, with the spread of electronic key systems using wireless communication, a vehicle is provided with a push-type engine switch. By operating this engine switch, the engine can be started and stopped without using the electronic key directly. At the beginning of the popularization of this engine switch, the engine switch was arranged on the vehicle door side following the conventional mechanical key. However, it is gradually being arranged in the central part of the instrument panel.

  By attaching an engine switch located on the vehicle door side to the center of the instrument panel, the driver can operate the shift switching operation with one hand from the engine start operation (operation to start the engine with the engine switch) and start the vehicle. The operation up to is smooth. Also, by operating the engine start and the shift switching with one hand, the engine start operation and the shift switching operation are inevitably performed separately, and cranking failure (engine start operation and shift switch operation) At the same time can prevent cranking failure). Furthermore, even if the driver loses consciousness while traveling, the passenger can reach the engine switch, so that the vehicle can be stopped urgently.

  On the other hand, since the passenger's hand reaches the engine switch, a child or the like may operate the engine switch with mischief and stop the vehicle urgently. Therefore, an engine control system is disclosed in which the operator of an engine switch is limited to only a driver using a human body communication device (Patent Document 1).

JP 2010-59887 A

  However, if the operator of the engine switch is limited to the driver by the human body communication device, if the driver loses consciousness while the vehicle is traveling, the passenger cannot stop the vehicle urgently.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle control device that can prevent an emergency stop of an engine due to mischief and can stop the engine in an emergency.

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention

In order to solve the above-described problems, the vehicle control device of the present invention includes:
Stop operation detecting means for detecting a stop operation for stopping the engine of the vehicle;
Consciousness state determining means for determining the consciousness state of the driver of the vehicle;
Operator determination means for determining whether the operator of the stop operation is a driver or a passenger, and
Based on the determination results of the consciousness state determination means and the operator determination means, an emergency situation determination means that determines whether the vehicle is in an emergency situation or an emergency situation in which the vehicle is urgently stopped,
An engine control means for stopping the engine in an emergency situation and continuing the engine operation in a non-emergency situation;
Equipped with a,
The stop operation has a normal stop operation for stopping the engine while the vehicle is stopped, and an emergency stop operation that has a larger operation burden on the operator than a normal stop operation for stopping the engine while the vehicle is running,
The stop operation has a fail-safe stop operation that places a greater burden on the operator than the emergency stop operation,
Emergency situation decision unit, on condition that the stop operation is a stop operation for fail-safe, characterized that you determined emergency conditions irrespective of the determination result.

  According to the configuration of the present invention, based on the determination results of the consciousness state determination means and the operator determination means, it is determined whether to stop the traveling vehicle urgently. Specifically, it is determined whether or not the traveling vehicle is to be urgently stopped based on a combination of the driver's consciousness state and the stop operation operator (driver or passenger). That is, by determining the driver's consciousness state, it can be determined whether or not the passenger is in a situation where the vehicle should be stopped urgently. Further, in addition to the driver's consciousness state, in order to determine the operator (driver or passenger) of the stop operation, the stop operation is performed based on the combination of the driver's consciousness state and the operator of the stop operation. It is possible to determine (estimate) the status of the vehicle. Then, by operating or stopping the engine according to the situation of the vehicle, the emergency stop of the engine due to mischief can be prevented, while the emergency stop can be performed in an emergency.

  Specifically, the emergency situation determination means can determine the non-emergency situation on the condition that the conscious state is an awake state and the operator is a passenger.

  In other words, since the driver is awake, it is not necessary for the passenger to stop the vehicle urgently (the driver can stop the vehicle urgently), so if the operator of the stop operation is a passenger, the stop operation is mischievous for the passenger and the situation of the vehicle Is determined to be a non-emergency situation. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the engine from being stopped urgently due to mischief.

  Moreover, the emergency situation determination means can determine that the driver's consciousness state is an emergency situation on the condition that the driver is in a sleep state and the operator is a passenger.

  Since the driver's consciousness is a sleep state, it is necessary for the passenger to stop the vehicle urgently, so if the operator of the stop operation is a passenger, the vehicle stops driving the engine as an emergency situation, so driving while the vehicle is running If the passenger loses consciousness, the passenger can stop the vehicle urgently.

  Furthermore, the emergency situation determination means can determine that the driver's consciousness state is an awake state and the operator is in an emergency situation on the condition of the driver.

  Even if the driver is in an awake state and the driver's consciousness state is determined not to interfere with driving, driving the vehicle by respecting the driver's intention to operate the vehicle (willingness to stop the engine) Unforeseen troubles (for example, troubles in which the vehicle cannot be stopped due to an accelerator failure) can be avoided.

  In addition, the stop operation includes a normal stop operation for stopping the engine while the vehicle is stopped, and an emergency stop operation that places a greater operational burden on the operator than the normal stop operation for stopping the engine while the vehicle is traveling.

  The emergency stop operation is more burdensome for the operator than the normal stop operation, so even if you accidentally touch the engine switch while driving, the possibility of the emergency stop operation being operated can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the engine from stopping.

Furthermore, the stop operation has a fail-safe stop operation that places a greater burden on the operator than the emergency stop operation,
The emergency situation determination means can determine an emergency situation regardless of the determination result on the condition that the stop operation is a fail-safe stop operation.

  When the operator's determination is different from the actual operator due to a failure of the operator determination means for determining the operator, in particular, when the determination of the operator determination means is a passenger and the actual operator is a driver, If the driver is in an awake state, the engine will continue to operate even if a stop operation with mischief is performed. That is, the engine continues to run against the driver's own intention. Therefore, in consideration of the failure of the operator determination means, the failure operation of the failsafe is increased by making the operation burden on the operator larger than that of the emergency stop operation. The driver can stop the engine.

The block diagram which shows an example of the vehicle using the control apparatus for vehicles of this invention. The principle figure which shows the principle which determines an operator with the human body communication apparatus of FIG. Explanatory drawing which shows the instrument panel periphery of the vehicle using the vehicle control apparatus of FIG. The table which judges the situation of a vehicle from the combination of a consciousness state and an operator. The flowchart which shows a series of flows which control an engine.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a vehicle control apparatus 1 of the present invention. The outline | summary of the control apparatus 1 for vehicles is demonstrated using FIG. When the stop operation for stopping the engine is detected while the vehicle 2 is traveling, the vehicle control device 1 of the present invention detects the operator 3 (driver 3a or passenger 3b) and the driver 3a's consciousness state. The state of the vehicle 2 in which the stop operation has been performed is determined based on the above, and the engine is stopped or the engine is continued from the determined state.

  Specifically, as shown in the block diagram of the vehicle control device 1 in FIG. 1, the vehicle control device 1 includes a consciousness state determination unit that determines the consciousness state of the driver 3a and an operator who has performed a stop operation. 3 and an ECU 4 (ECU: Electronic Control Unit) for controlling the engine based on the determination results of the consciousness state determination means and the operator determination means.

  The consciousness state determination means is a well-known sleep detection sensor 5 that determines whether the consciousness state of the driver 3a is an awakening state or a sleeping state (a state of losing consciousness). As the sleep detection sensor 5, for example, the eyes of the driver 3 a are photographed by a camera (not shown) provided in the vehicle 2, and it is determined whether the driver 3 a is awake or sleep based on the opening of the eyes. Or a sensor that measures the heartbeat or pulse of the driver 3a from the seat seat or steering of the vehicle 2 and determines whether the driver 3a is awake or sleep based on the transition of the heartbeat or pulse.

  The operator determination means is a well-known human body communication device 6 that determines whether the operator 3 who has stopped the engine of the vehicle 2 is the driver 3a or the passenger 3b. FIG. 2 is a principle diagram for determining the operator 3 by the human body communication device 6. The human body communication device 6 includes a main body 6a that transmits and receives signals for performing human body communication, a human body communication terminal 6b that transmits signals to the human body, and a human body communication terminal 6c that transmits signals transmitted to the human body to the main body 6a. Have human body communication. Specifically, a signal is transmitted from the main body 6a of the human body communication device 6 to the human body via the human body communication terminal 6b. The transmitted signal is transmitted from the human body to the main body 6a via the human body communication terminal 6c, and human body communication is performed when the main body 6a receives the signal. For this reason, if the main body 6a can receive the signal transmitted by the main body 6a after a predetermined time, the human body communication is successful.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a front portion in the vehicle 2 provided with such a human body communication device 6, and the human body communication terminal 6 b is provided on the steering 7 held by the driver 3 a and the center of the instrument panel (instrument panel) 8. By providing the human body communication terminal 6c on the engine button 9 for operating the engine to be operated and stopped, the operator 3 who has performed the stop operation is determined. Specifically, when the operator 3 who operates the engine button 9 is the driver 3a, as shown in FIG. 2 (A), a signal transmitted from the main body 6a of the human body communication device 6 causes the steering 7 to move. To the human body of the driver 3a. The transmitted signal is transmitted to the main body 6a via the engine button 9 when the driver 3a touches the engine button 9 when operating the engine button 9. Therefore, the main body 6a determines that the human body communication is established by receiving the signal transmitted by itself and that the operator 3 is the driver 3a. That is, when the operator 3 is the driver 3a, the communication path 6d is configured by the steering 7, the driver's 3a human body, the engine switch 9, and the main body 6a, so that human body communication is established (signal transmission / reception is established). When it does, it determines with the operator 3 being the driver | operator 3a.

  On the other hand, when the operator 3 of the engine button is the passenger 3b, as shown in FIG. 2B, the passenger 3b touches only the engine switch 9, so that the communication path for communicating signals in the human body communication device 6 Since 6d is interrupted midway, the main body 6a cannot receive the transmitted signal. For this reason, the main body 6a cannot receive the transmitted signal even after a predetermined time, and human body communication is not established, and it is determined that the operator 3 is the passenger 3b. That is, when the operator 3 is the passenger 3b, the communication path 6d is cut off between the human body of the passenger 3b and the steering wheel 7, so that when the human body communication is not established (signal transmission / reception is not established), the operator 3 is determined to be a passenger 3b.

  As described above, the sleep detection sensor 5 determines the conscious state of the driver 3a (whether it is a sleep state or an awake state), and the human body communication device 6 operates the operator 3 (whether the driver 3a or the passenger 3b). The control ECU 4 controls the engine of the vehicle 2 based on the combination of the conscious state and the operator 3.

  The control ECU 4 has a structure similar to that of a normal computer and is not shown in FIG. 1, but a CPU that controls various calculations and information processing, a RAM that is a temporary storage unit as a work area of the CPU, and various information Is provided with a non-volatile memory.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the control ECU 4 performs a vehicle travel determination unit (vehicle travel determination means) 4 a that determines whether or not the vehicle 2 is traveling and a stop operation for stopping the engine of the vehicle 2. Stop operation detection unit (stop operation detection means) 4b to detect, stop operation determination unit (stop operation determination means) 4c for determining a stop operation to stop the engine, and the operator 3a's consciousness state and stop operation operator 3 An emergency situation determination unit (emergency situation determination unit) 4d that determines the situation of the vehicle 2 that has been operated to stop, and an engine control unit (engine control unit) that controls the engine from the situation determined by the emergency situation determination unit 4d 4e.

  The stop operation detection unit 4 b detects a stop operation for stopping the engine of the vehicle 2. The stop operation includes a normal stop operation for stopping the engine while the vehicle 2 is stopped, and an emergency stop operation for stopping the engine while the vehicle 2 is traveling. The emergency stop operation is performed by the operator 3 rather than the normal stop operation. For example, if the normal stop operation is a stop operation in which the engine switch 9 is pressed once, the emergency stop operation is an emergency stop operation in which the engine switch 9 is long-pressed or continuously pressed. Further, the stop operation includes a fail-safe stop operation, and the fail-safe stop operation has a larger operation burden on the operator 3 than the emergency operation. For example, if the emergency stop operation is a stop operation in which the engine switch 9 is long-pressed or continuously pressed, the fail-safe stop operation is a fail-safe stop operation that is twice as long as the emergency stop operation or twice as long as the emergency stop operation. It becomes operation. Therefore, when the fail-safe stop operation is operated, it is determined as an emergency situation and the engine stops.

  The stop operation determination unit 4c determines whether the operation in which the operator 3 operates the engine button 9 corresponds to one of a normal stop operation, an emergency stop operation, and a fail-safe stop operation.

  When the stop operation detecting means 4b detects such a stop operation, the emergency situation determining means 4d drives the driver 3a's consciousness state by the sleep detection sensor 5 and the success or failure of communication by the human body communication device 6 (if the communication is established, the operator 3 is driven. It is determined whether the vehicle 2 is in an emergency state or a non-emergency state according to the result of determination that the vehicle 3 is a passenger 3a. That is, it is determined whether the vehicle 2 is in an emergency state or a non-emergency state according to a total of four patterns, whether the conscious state is an awake state or a sleep state, and whether the operator 3 is a driver 3a or a passenger 3b.

  FIG. 4 is a table showing whether the vehicle 2 is in an emergency situation or a non-emergency situation depending on the combination of the conscious state and the operator 3. This will be specifically described below. When the driver 3a is in the awake state and the operator 3 who performs the stop operation is the passenger 3b, the driver 3a of the traveling vehicle 2 is normal and the emergency stop of the traveling vehicle 2 is performed. There is no need. Therefore, it is determined that the stop operation by the passenger 3b is prank, and the situation of the vehicle 2 is a non-emergency situation.

  Further, if the driver 3a is in a sleep state and the operator 3 is a passenger 3b, the situation of the traveling vehicle 2 is determined to be an emergency situation. When the driver 3a loses consciousness, the passenger 3b needs to urgently stop the traveling vehicle 2. Therefore, it is determined that the stop operation by the passenger 3b is an emergency stop operation, and the situation of the vehicle 2 is determined to be an emergency situation.

  Further, when the driver 3a is in an awake state and the operator 3 is the driver 3a, the driver 3a is normal in the traveling vehicle 2 but the driver 3a is in trouble due to an unexpected trouble such as an accelerator failure. Since 3a itself may perform stop operation, it determines with it being an emergency situation. In addition, the driver 3a is in a sleep state and the operator 3 cannot be in the driver 3a state, but the trouble of the sleep detection sensor 5 is taken into consideration (a case where the driver 3a is actually in an awake state). In consideration), it is determined that the driver 3a is in an emergency situation in which the driver 3a performs a stop operation.

  However, when the fail-safe stop operation is operated, the emergency situation determination unit 4d determines that the situation is an emergency situation regardless of the consciousness state of the driver 3a and the operator 3. The determination of the operator 3 is made based on the success or failure of the human body communication of the human body communication device 6. However, since the human body communication device 6 communicates a signal by contact between the human body and the human body communication terminal portions 6b and 6c, the signal can be reliably detected. In some cases, there is a possibility that although the driver 3a is the operator 3, the human body communication is not established and the operator 3 is determined to be the passenger 3b. In particular, when the operator 3 is determined to be the passenger 3b but the actual operator 3 is the driver 3a, the engine may continue to run against the driver 3a's intention to stop the vehicle 2. Therefore, the engine is stopped as a measure for fail-safe. When the normal stop operation is operated during traveling, the emergency situation determination unit 4d determines that the emergency situation is not involved regardless of the consciousness of the driver 3a and the operator 3.

  The engine control unit 4e controls the engine according to the determination result (emergency status or non-emergency status) of the emergency status determination unit 4d. Specifically, if the determination result of the emergency situation determination unit 4c is an emergency situation, the engine is stopped, and if it is a non-emergency situation, the engine operation is continued.

  With the above configuration, the vehicle control apparatus 1 according to the present invention executes a process capable of urgently stopping the engine in an emergency while preventing an emergency stop of the engine due to mischief. The processing procedure is shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5. This control processing procedure is programmed in advance and stored in, for example, the memory of the control ECU 4, and is automatically called and executed by the control ECU 4.

  A process for controlling the engine by the stop operation of the engine button 9 will be described with reference to FIG. First, in the process of FIG. 5, after stopping the engine with the engine button 9 provided in the center of the instrument panel 8, the engine is stopped or the continuation of operation is controlled by determining the state of the vehicle 2. Specifically, the engine is controlled based on the consciousness state of the driver 3a and the operator 3 of the stop operation.

  First, when the stop operation detection unit 4b of the control ECU 4 detects a stop operation by the engine button 9, in S1, the stop operation determination unit 4c of the control ECU 4 determines whether or not the stop operation is a fail-safe stop operation. Specifically, when the stop operation is not a fail-safe stop operation (S1: NO), the process proceeds to S2. On the other hand, when the stop operation is a fail-safe stop operation (S1: YES), the emergency situation determination unit 4d determines the emergency situation regardless of the consciousness state of the driver 3a and the operator 3, and the engine control unit The engine is stopped by 4e. Therefore, even when the malfunction of the human body communication apparatus 6 or the sleep detection sensor 5 arises, the engine of the vehicle 2 can be stopped.

  In S2, the vehicle travel determination unit 4a of the control ECU 4 determines whether or not the vehicle 2 is traveling. When the vehicle 2 is not traveling due to stopping or the like (S2: NO), the process proceeds to S3, and when the vehicle 2 is traveling (S2: YES), the process proceeds to S4.

  In S3, the stop operation determination unit 4c of the control ECU 4 determines whether or not the stop operation is a normal stop operation. Specifically, when the stop operation is not a normal stop operation (S3: NO), the control process for controlling the engine by the stop operation is exited. On the other hand, when the stop operation is a normal stop operation (S3: YES), the engine is stopped by the engine control unit 4e, and the control process for controlling the engine by the stop operation is finished. In S3, it seems that the case where the stop operation is an emergency stop operation is not considered. However, the emergency stop operation has a larger operation burden on the operator 3 than the normal stop operation, and the normal stop operation is performed. Since the operation to add the operation (the normal stop operation is a stop operation in which the engine switch 9 is pressed once), the emergency stop operation is an operation in which the engine switch 9 is long-pressed or continuously pressed), the emergency stop operation is operated. In this case, since the normal stop operation is performed, the emergency stop operation is not described in S3 of FIG.

  In S4, the stop operation determination unit 4c of the control ECU 4 determines whether or not the stop operation is an emergency stop operation. Specifically, when the stop operation is not an emergency stop operation (S4: NO), the stop operation is determined to be mischief, and the control process for controlling the engine by the stop operation is exited. On the other hand, when the stop operation is an emergency stop operation (S4: YES), the process proceeds to S5.

  In S5, the sleep detection sensor 5 determines whether or not the driver 3a is normal. Specifically, it is determined whether or not the driver 3a is awake or sleep. When the driver 3a is in a sleep state (S5: NO), the emergency situation determination unit 4d determines that the situation is an emergency situation, the engine control unit 4e stops the engine, and the engine is controlled by a stop operation. Finish the process. Therefore, even if the driver 3a loses consciousness while the vehicle 2 is traveling, the passenger 3b can stop the vehicle 2 in an emergency. On the other hand, if the driver 3a is in the awake state (S5: YES), the process proceeds to S6.

  In S6, the human body communication device 6 determines whether or not human body communication using the engine button 9 as a terminal is established. Specifically, when human body communication is not established (when determining that the operator 3 of the engine button 9 is the passenger 3b) (S6: NO), the human body communication device 6 determines that the stop operation is mischievous and stops. Exit the control process to control the engine by operation. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the engine from being stopped urgently due to mischief. Further, when the human body communication is established (when the operator 3 of the engine button 9 is determined as the driver 3a) (S6: YES), the human body communication device 6 determines that the emergency situation determination unit 4d determines the emergency situation. Then, the engine control unit 4e stops the engine, and the control process for controlling the engine by the stop operation is finished. Therefore, even when the driver 3a is awake, the driver's intention to operate can be respected and the engine can be stopped.

  With the above configuration, the vehicle control device 1 executes a process that allows the passenger to stop the engine in an emergency while preventing an emergency stop of the engine due to mischief. Further, by providing the engine button 9 in the central portion of the instrument panel 8, it is possible to ensure advantages such as smooth start operation of the vehicle while preventing an emergency stop of the engine due to mischief.

  As mentioned above, although the Example of this invention was described, this is only an illustration, this invention is not limited to this, Based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art, unless it deviates from the meaning of a claim Various changes are possible.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Control apparatus for vehicles 2 Vehicle 3 Operator 3a Driver 3b Passenger 4 Control ECU
4a Vehicle travel determination unit (vehicle travel determination means)
4b Stop operation detection unit (stop operation detection means)
4c Stop operation determination unit (stop operation determination means)
4d Emergency situation determination unit (emergency situation determination means)
4e Engine control unit (engine control means)
5 Sleep detection sensor (consciousness determination means)
6 Human body communication device (operator determination means)
6a body part 6b human body communication terminal part 6c human body communication terminal part 7 steering 8 instrument panel 9 engine switch

Claims (4)

Stop operation detecting means for detecting a stop operation for stopping the engine of the vehicle;
Consciousness state determining means for determining the consciousness state of the driver of the vehicle;
Operator determination means for determining whether the operator of the stop operation is the driver or a passenger,
Based on the determination results of the consciousness state determination unit and the operator determination unit, an emergency state determination unit that determines whether the vehicle is in an emergency state or a non-emergency state for emergency stop;
Engine control means for stopping the engine if the emergency situation, and continuing operation of the engine if the emergency situation;
Equipped with a,
The stop operation includes an emergency stop operation that stops the engine while the vehicle is stopped, and an emergency stop that has a larger operation burden on the operator than the normal stop operation that stops the engine while the vehicle is running. Operation,
The stop operation has a fail-safe stop operation with a greater operation burden on the operator than the emergency stop operation,
The emergency situation decision means, the stop operation in a condition that said is for fail-safe stop operation, the judgment result regardless the vehicle control apparatus characterized that you determined to emergency situations. The emergency situation decision unit, said awareness state of the driver is awake, the operator conditions the passenger, the vehicle control system according to 請 Motomeko 1 you determines that the non-emergency situations. The emergency situation decision means, the state of consciousness sleep state of the driver, the operator is subject to the passenger, the vehicle control system according to 請 Motomeko 1 or 2 you determines that the emergency situation. The emergency situation decision means, the state of consciousness awakening state of the driver, the operator conditions the driver, according to any one of 3 to 請 Motomeko 1 to you determines that the emergency situation Vehicle control device.

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