JP7095300B2 - Vehicle control system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle control system that formulates a control schedule for vehicle equipment mounted on a vehicle and enables control of the vehicle equipment according to the control schedule.

For example, in Patent Document 1, when the planned travel route is determined, the power consumption for traveling on the planned travel route is estimated and then compared with the power supply amount based on the charge amount of the vehicle battery. Disclosed is a vehicle destination arrival estimation device that estimates whether or not a vehicle can travel on a planned travel route based on the amount of power supplied. In order to improve the estimation accuracy of the power consumption, the device of Patent Document 1 sequentially acquires the acceleration when the vehicle speed is reached for each vehicle speed, and obtains the acceleration as a speed / acceleration histogram according to the road surface condition (slope or curve), respectively. Divide and accumulate. Further, the flat road running power consumption per unit distance based on the actual value is saved as a running power consumption map in association with each speed range on the flat road and the acceleration information when the speed range is reached.

Then, in the device of Patent Document 1, when the planned travel route is set, first, the entire planned travel route is regarded as a flat road, and the speed / acceleration histogram for the flat road and the travel power consumption map are used. , Calculate the power consumption value equivalent to running on a flat road per unit distance. Furthermore, by multiplying the calculated power consumption value equivalent to flat road travel per unit distance by the travel distance of the planned travel route, the predicted power consumption value required for travel on the planned travel route regarded as a flat road is calculated. .. On top of that, the predicted power consumption when regarded as a flat road, the uphill power consumption corrected by the addition compensation coefficient based on the uphill slope information, and the downhill corrected by the regeneration correction coefficient based on the downhill slope information. The estimated value of running power consumption on all running roads is calculated by adding the amount of road regeneration power.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-202643

However, the destination arrival estimation device of Patent Document 1 described above is, after all, based on the predicted value of the traveling power consumption consumed for traveling the planned traveling route to the destination and the charge level information of the vehicle battery. It is merely a judgment as to whether or not it is possible to reach the destination by comparing it with the calculated predicted value of the amount of power that can be supplied.

Here, in recent years, various functions for driving support using vehicle equipment such as a collision damage mitigation braking function, a lane departure warning function, and a blind spot monitoring function have been realized. Further, on motorways such as expressways, an automatic driving function corresponding to so-called level 3 is being put into practical use. Therefore, for example, when a planned travel route to the destination is set, which function is used according to the shape of each road, the number of lanes, the road type, etc. when traveling on the planned travel route. It is possible to make a decision and formulate a control schedule for vehicle equipment in advance to bring out those functions.

On the other hand, as a recent trend, some control programs for controlling the vehicle equipment installed in the vehicle at the time of inspection at the dealer or online at any time after the vehicle is put on the market are also available. May be updated to improve performance or add new features. However, when only a part of the control programs are updated in this way, due to inconsistencies with the remaining control programs and problems caused by the update program itself, the vehicle equipment for exerting the above-mentioned various functions is provided. It cannot be denied that there is a possibility that the operation will be malfunctioning.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and is applied to a vehicle in which a control program for controlling at least one vehicle equipment is updated from an originally used initial control program to another control program. By utilizing a control schedule for controlling vehicle equipment, the purpose is to provide a vehicle control system that can avoid malfunction of vehicle equipment due to an update program as much as possible. do.

In order to achieve the above object, in the vehicle control system according to the present invention, the control program for controlling at least one vehicle equipment mounted on the vehicle is updated from the initial control program originally used to another control program. It is applied to the vehicle to be used
When the vehicle is used, the planning department (S160) that formulates a control schedule for controlling multiple vehicle equipment mounted on the vehicle in advance,
In the control schedule plan, there is no change in the vehicle equipment to be controlled, but the control change including the case where the control content for the vehicle equipment is changed and the case where the vehicle equipment to be controlled is changed or added. Is included,
A control execution unit (S260) that controls a plurality of vehicle equipment according to a control schedule plan formulated by the planning unit, and
When a control change is scheduled in the control schedule plan, a judgment unit that determines whether the control execution unit can normally execute the scheduled changed control before the control is actually changed. (S230, S240) and
The control execution unit is configured to change the control according to the control schedule plan on condition that the determination unit determines that the execution can be performed normally.

As described above, the vehicle control system according to the present invention includes a planning unit for formulating a control schedule for controlling a plurality of vehicle equipment mounted on the vehicle. Further, the vehicle control system according to the present invention has a determination unit for grasping the control scheduled to be changed based on the control schedule plan and determining whether or not the control execution unit can normally execute the control. I have. By providing these a planning unit and a determination unit, it is possible to determine whether or not the scheduled changed control is normally executed before the control is actually changed based on the control schedule plan. Then, only when it is confirmed that the control can be executed normally, the control execution unit implements the control change according to the initial control schedule plan. In other words, the control execution unit does not execute the changed control in the original control schedule plan as it is unless it can be confirmed that the control execution unit can be executed normally. Therefore, if an update is included in the control program that controls the scheduled change, and the control that is scheduled to be changed cannot be executed normally due to the update, the control after the change cannot be executed normally. Since it is possible to prevent the control of the vehicle from being executed as it is, it is possible to avoid the malfunction of the vehicle equipment due to the update program as much as possible.

The reference numbers in parentheses are merely examples of the correspondence with the specific configuration in the embodiment described later in order to facilitate the understanding of the present invention, and limit the scope of the present invention in any way. Not intended.

Further, the technical features described in each claim of the claims other than the above-mentioned features will be clarified from the description of the embodiment described later and the attached drawings.

It is a block diagram which showed the whole structure of the control system for a vehicle by an embodiment as a block diagram. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the structure of the vehicle-mounted unit mounted on each vehicle. It is a flowchart which shows the process executed for making a control schedule plan in an in-vehicle unit. It is a flowchart which shows the process which is executed when the control schedule plan is made in the in-vehicle unit. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the abnormality determination process which determines whether or not the control which is scheduled to change can be executed normally based on the control schedule plan which devised in an in-vehicle unit. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the abnormality sign monitoring processing in the abnormality determination processing of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows another example of abnormality determination processing. It is a flowchart which shows the process executed in the information management center.

Hereinafter, the vehicle control system according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a vehicle control system as a block diagram.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle control system according to the present embodiment includes vehicle-mounted units 10a and 20a mounted on the vehicles 10 and 20, and an information management center 100. The in-vehicle units 10a and 20a acquire information such as actual traffic conditions and weather regarding the candidate of the planned travel route from the information management center 100. Based on the information acquired from the information management center 100, the drivers of the vehicles 10 and 20 determine whether or not the corresponding planned travel route is to be the actual travel schedule route to be used. Then, the in-vehicle units 10a and 20a formulate a control schedule plan for controlling the vehicle equipment of the vehicles 10 and 20 based on the determined travel schedule route, and outline the drafted control schedule plan of the vehicles 10 and 20. It is presented to the occupants and the vehicle equipment of the vehicles 10 and 20 is controlled according to the control schedule.

In the following, as a control schedule plan, various driving support functions for supporting the driving of the vehicle, which are realized by various vehicle equipments when the vehicle 10 travels on the planned travel route to reach the destination, and the like. , I will explain the case of making a control schedule plan of vehicle equipment to exert the automatic driving function on the motorway. However, the control schedule is not limited to this. For example, a control schedule may be a control schedule for other vehicle equipment in addition to or in place of a control schedule for vehicle equipment for exerting a driving support function or an automated driving function (for example, a control schedule for a wiper or an air conditioner). Plan) may be included.

The vehicle-mounted unit 10a mounted on the vehicle 10 is configured to be able to communicate with the information management center 100 via the communication network 110. The communication network 110 includes a public communication network provided by a telecommunications carrier such as a mobile phone network or the Internet.

The information management center 100 periodically collects information indicating the actual traffic volume of each road and stores it in association with each road. The traffic volume on each of these roads is updated as new information is acquired. Further, the information management center 100 divides the range covering each road into a plurality of areas, and periodically collects and stores the weather information (weather, temperature, humidity, etc.) of each area. The weather information for each area is also updated each time new information is acquired. However, the information stored by the information management center 100 is not limited to the above-mentioned information. For example, the information management center 100 may collect and store information on the occurrence of accidents on each road, information on regulations due to construction work, and the like. Further, the information management center 100 may be configured to be able to deliver an update control program that updates the control program for controlling at least one vehicle equipment of the vehicle 10. The mode of updating the control program includes addition of an update control program to the previous control program, replacement of a part of the previous control program with the update control program, and the like.

When the information management center 100 receives the information indicating the planned travel route transmitted from the vehicle 10, the information management center 100 determines whether to allow or prohibit the passage of the planned travel route based on the traffic conditions of each road included in the planned travel route. .. For example, the information management center 100 may determine that the planned travel route is impassable when the traffic volume of each road included in the planned travel route is equal to or greater than the threshold value. Further, the information management center 100 refers to the accident information and the regulation information, and if the planned travel route includes a road where an accident has occurred or is restricted, the planned travel route cannot be passed. You may judge. The information management center 100 returns the determination result regarding the passability of the planned travel route to the vehicle 10.

When the information management center 100 returns the determination result of permitting the passage of the planned travel route to the vehicle 10, the information management center 100 continues to transmit the stored information. Specifically, the information management center 100 transmits stored traffic volume information, weather information, and the like. However, the information management center 100 does not transmit all the stored information, but selects and transmits only the information related to the planned travel route of each vehicle 10 and 20. For example, as for traffic volume information, only the traffic volume of each road included in the planned travel route is selected and transmitted. As for the weather information, only the weather information of the area including the planned travel route is selected and transmitted.

Next, an example of the configuration of the vehicle-mounted unit 10a mounted on the vehicle 10 will be described with reference to FIG. In-vehicle units 10a and 20a having the same configuration are mounted on the vehicles 10 and 20 shown in FIG. 1, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 2, the in-vehicle unit 10a includes a communication unit 30, a peripheral monitoring unit 31, a map database 32, a sensor group 33, an operation input unit 34, a display device 35, a driving force control device 36, and a braking force control device 37. It includes a steering control device 38 and a main controller 39. The communication unit 30 is for performing data communication with the information management center 100 via the communication network 110. Further, the communication unit 30 may be configured to enable so-called inter-vehicle communication with the communication unit of the vehicle-mounted unit mounted on another vehicle. The peripheral monitoring unit 31 includes sensors (cameras, millimeter wave sensors, laser sensors, ultrasonic sensors, etc.) provided in various parts of the vehicle 10, and obstacles (automobiles, two-wheeled vehicles, pedestrians, and others) around the vehicle 10. (Object) is detected, and the traveling lane (section line) of the vehicle 10 is detected. Further, the peripheral monitoring unit 31 detects other vehicles traveling in the vicinity of the vehicle 10, such as a front vehicle, a rear vehicle, and a side vehicle.

The map database 32 stores road map data including the shape of the road, the width of the road, the number of lanes, the speed limit, the position of the temporary stop line, the position of the traffic light, the type of the road, the location of various facilities, the name, and the like. The sensor group 33 detects, for example, information on the actual behavior of the vehicle 10, such as traveling speed, forward / backward acceleration, steering angle, and lateral acceleration, in addition to information on the current position of the vehicle 10. The operation input unit 34 is for inputting input for setting the departure place, destination, and departure time of the vehicle 10, input for determining the planned travel route from the departure place to the destination, and the like. ..

The main controller 39 of the vehicle-mounted unit 10a sets a planned travel route by using the map database 32 and the operation input unit 34. When the information management center 100 permits the passage of this planned travel route and the driver of the vehicle 10 determines the planned travel route to be actually used, the main controller 39 uses the vehicle based on the planned travel route. 10 formulates a control schedule plan for various vehicle equipment when traveling on the planned travel route. For example, when the vehicle 10 goes straight on a one-lane road on a general road, it is possible to formulate a control schedule plan for vehicle equipment so as to exert a collision damage mitigation braking function and a lane departure warning function as driving support functions. can. In addition, when the vehicle 10 travels on a multi-lane road on a general road, a control schedule plan for vehicle equipment is planned so as to exert a blind spot monitoring function for monitoring an approaching vehicle diagonally behind in addition to both of these functions. Can be planned. Further, when the vehicle 10 travels on the motorway, it is possible to formulate a control schedule plan for the vehicle equipment so as to exert the automatic driving function.

In addition, the control schedule plan for exerting the driving support function includes at least the planned driving route, the driving support function to be exerted in each section divided by the planned driving route, and the operating state for exerting each driving support function. (Or operable state) vehicle devices (peripheral monitoring unit, driving drive source, braking device, and their control units, etc.) are included. Further, in the control schedule plan for exerting the automatic driving function, at least the planned traveling route, the section in which the automatic driving function is exerted in each section divided by the planned traveling route, and the vehicle 10 at the time of automatic driving are included. It includes a target traveling speed, vehicle equipment that should be in an operating state (or operable state) at that time (for example, a peripheral monitoring unit, a traveling drive source, a braking device, a steering device, and their control units, etc.).

When the control schedule is drawn up in this way, the main controller 39 stores the control schedule in the built-in volatile or non-volatile memory 40. Then, the main controller 39 presents the outline of the control schedule plan to the occupants of the vehicle 10 using the display device 35 based on the control schedule plan stored in the memory 40, and controls the vehicle equipment of the vehicle 10 according to the control schedule plan. To exert the driving support function and the automatic driving function.

In order to realize the above-mentioned automatic driving function, the vehicle 10 is configured to be able to perform automatic driving without manual driving by the driver. The configuration for enabling automatic operation will be described below.

The driving force control device 36 controls the output of the traveling drive source that drives the vehicle 10 in response to the control signal from the main controller 39. For example, when the driving force control device 36 receives a control signal from the main controller 39 instructing the vehicle 10 to travel at the target traveling speed included in the control schedule of the vehicle 10, the traveling speed of the vehicle 10 is the target. The output of the driving drive source is controlled so as to match the traveling speed. Further, when the driving force control device 36 receives a control signal (including a target acceleration) instructing the vehicle 10 to accelerate, the driving force control device 36 drives the vehicle 10 so that the acceleration of the vehicle 10 matches the target acceleration. Control the output of the source. The traveling drive source may be a normal internal combustion engine, an electric motor, or a combination of an internal combustion engine and an electric motor.

The braking force control device 37 controls the braking force generated in the vehicle by using the braking device according to the control signal from the main controller 39, regardless of the operation of the brake pedal by the driver. For example, when the braking force control device 37 receives a control signal (including a target deceleration) instructing the vehicle 10 to decelerate from the main controller 39, the deceleration of the vehicle 10 coincides with the target deceleration. , Control the braking force by the braking device. The steering control device 38 rotates the steering shaft of the steering device in response to a control signal from the main controller 39 to control the angle of the steering wheel. For example, when the road of the planned travel route is a curved road, or when it becomes necessary to avoid a sudden obstacle, the main controller 39 refers to the steering control device 38 with respect to the target steering angle and its target. It outputs a control signal that indicates the steering angular velocity when the steering angle is changed to the steering angle. The steering control device 38 controls the steering angle of the steering device according to the control signal.

As described above, the main controller 39 outputs a control signal to the driving force control device 36, the braking force control device 37, and the steering control device 38 according to the control schedule plan, thereby causing the traveling drive source, the braking device, the steering device, and the like. Control vehicle equipment. As a result, the vehicle 10 is automatically driven. When the vehicle 10 is automatically driven, the peripheral monitoring unit 31 monitors the objects around the vehicle 10, and the road map data stored in the map database 32 and the position detection sensor of the sensor group 33 detect it. The current position of the vehicle 10 and the relative position with the surrounding objects are grasped based on the vehicle position. Then, when the main controller 39 determines from the surrounding conditions that the vehicle 10 cannot be driven at the target traveling speed, the main controller 39 controls the movement of the vehicle 10 so as to correspond to the surrounding conditions at that time.

Further, when the main controller 39 exerts the driving support function, the peripheral monitoring unit 31 monitors the front and diagonally rear of the vehicle 10 and detects the traveling lane while decelerating the vehicle 10 as necessary. A control signal is output to the braking force control device 37 and the steering control device 38 for steering or steering.

The main controller 39 stores various control programs for exerting the various functions described above by controlling the vehicle equipment in a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory. That is, the memory 40 includes a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory. Various control programs stored in the memory 40 add performance improvements and new functions at the time of inspection at the dealer or communication with the information management center 100 after the vehicle is put on the market. May be updated for.

For example, when the vehicle 10 is automatically driven on a motorway and is traveling on a slightly downhill road, it is possible to drive in the coasting driving mode in order to reduce fuel consumption. As such, it is conceivable that the control program for controlling the drive source including the clutch will be updated. The coasting running mode is a running mode in which the clutch is disengaged while the vehicle 10 is running so that the speed is not reduced due to the engine brake. When such a control program is updated, when the vehicle 10 starts traveling in a section suitable for the coasting driving mode during automatic driving, the vehicle equipment of the vehicle 10 is coasted by the update control program. It is possible to control the mode. In this case, before and after the execution of the update control program, that is, when the control is changed from the control in which the update control program is not executed to the control in which the update control program is executed, the vehicle equipment to be controlled is the clutch. There is no difference in the drive source, the brake device, the steering device, etc. including the above, but the control contents for those vehicle equipment will be changed.

It is also conceivable that the control program will be updated so that the vehicle 10 does not always travel alone on the motorway at the target traveling speed, but forms a vehicle group with other vehicles. If the vehicle 10 can travel by forming a vehicle group with another vehicle, the air resistance during traveling can be reduced and the fuel efficiency can be improved. Before the vehicle 10 forms a group of vehicles, the vehicle 10 travels independently at the target traveling speed. However, when at least one other vehicle capable of forming a vehicle group is found, the vehicle 10 travels by forming a vehicle group with the at least one other vehicle. In this case, before the update control program is executed, the vehicle is driven along the planned traveling route while maintaining the traveling speed of the vehicle at the target traveling speed. Therefore, the vehicle equipment to be controlled is the peripheral monitoring unit 31, the drive source. , Brake device, steering device, etc. On the other hand, after the update control program is executed, the communication unit 30 that communicates with the other vehicle is also included in the vehicle equipment to be controlled in order to grasp the situation of the other vehicle forming the vehicle group. In other words, after the update control program is executed, the communication unit 30 is added to the vehicle equipment to be controlled.

As another example in which the vehicle equipment to be controlled is changed or added after the execution of the update control program, for example, the case where the control program that exerts the lane change function by operating the turn signal switch is added by the update is also applicable. When the lane change function determines that a lane change is instructed by operating the turn signal switch, it confirms the existence of other vehicles traveling in the changed lane, and if there are no other vehicles on the side or rear of the own vehicle. , It is a function that automatically steers the steering device to change lanes to the target lane. When the planned driving route is determined and the right / left turn point is determined, the blind spot monitor function is enabled as a driving support function when the vehicle is going straight toward the right / left turn point. In this case, the blind spot monitor function monitors the sides and the rear of the vehicle 10 by the peripheral monitoring unit 31, and when another vehicle is detected, the driver of the vehicle 10 is warned. Then, when approaching the right / left turn point, the lane change function is activated according to the control schedule. In this case, when it is determined that the vehicle-mounted unit 10a is instructed to change lanes by operating the turn signal switch, the vehicle-mounted unit 10a automatically changes lanes to the target lane after confirming that there are no other vehicles in the target lane. Therefore, after the control is changed so that the lane change function is activated, the turn signal switch, the steering device, and the like are added to the vehicle equipment to be controlled in addition to the peripheral monitoring unit 31.

When the control program is updated, the main controller 39 stores the update control program in an area in the memory 40 different from the area in which the previous control program was stored. Further, the main controller 39 also acquires and stores update information indicating the function of the control program after the update. Then, the main controller 39 formulates a control schedule plan so as to utilize the function of the updated control program based on the acquired update information. That is, the program for formulating the control schedule in the main controller 39 is configured so that the control schedule can be formulated according to the functions that can be exhibited by the vehicle equipment of each vehicle. If a function not expected by the program for planning the control schedule is added, the program for formulating the control schedule may also be updated.

As an example of formulating a control schedule plan so as to utilize the function of the updated control program, for example, when the update of the control program enables driving in the coasting driving mode, the main controller 39 is driven. Based on the road type and slope information on the planned route, it is conceivable to determine the section to be traveled in the coasting driving mode and include the determined content in the control schedule plan. In addition, when the lane change function can be used by updating the control program, for example, the vehicle equipment for demonstrating the lane change function is activated before reaching a predetermined distance to the right / left turn point on a general road. It is conceivable to incorporate what to do into the control schedule plan.

Next, an example of specific processing executed in the vehicle-mounted unit 10a and the information management center 100 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 3 to 8. The flowcharts of FIGS. 3 to 7 show the processes executed in the vehicle-mounted unit 10a, and the flowcharts of FIG. 8 show the processes executed in the information management center 100. However, the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 3 may be performed not by the vehicle-mounted unit 10a but by a mobile terminal or the like owned by the occupant of the vehicle 10, and the planned control schedule may be transferred to the vehicle-mounted unit 10a.

In step S100 of FIG. 3, when the occupant of the vehicle 10 inputs an input for setting a departure place, a destination, etc., the main controller 39 refers to the road map data of the map database 32 and sets the planned travel route. Select a candidate and present it to the crew. By approving the planned travel route presented by the occupant, the planned travel route of the vehicle 10 is set. If the occupant does not input the setting of the departure place, the departure place is set to the current location.

In the following step S110, the set planned travel route is transmitted to the information management center 100. Then, in step S120, a response (passability determination result) from the information management center 100 is received. In step S130, it is determined whether the received determination result is permitted or impassable for the planned travel route. If the passage is permitted, the process proceeds to step S140. If it is impassable, the process proceeds to step S170.

In step S140, information such as traffic information and weather information related to the planned travel route is received from the information management center 100. In step S150, the received information is presented to the occupant of the vehicle 10, and it is determined whether or not the occupant of the vehicle 10 finally decides as the planned travel route to be actually used after considering the information. .. That is, in step S150, it is determined whether or not the occupant of the vehicle 10 has performed an operation for determining the planned travel route to be actually used. If it is determined that the operation for determining the planned travel route to be actually used has been performed, the process proceeds to step S160, and if it is determined that such an operation has not been performed, the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 3 is terminated. In step S160, a control schedule plan for controlling each vehicle equipment is created based on the determined travel schedule route.

On the other hand, in step S170, which is executed when the determination result that the planned travel route is impassable is received from the information management center 100, it is determined whether or not another route from the departure place to the destination can be set. For example, if one or more different routes different from the set planned travel route are presented to the 10 occupants of the vehicle and one of the other routes is approved by the occupants, it is determined that the other route can be set and the route is approved. If not, it can be determined that another route cannot be set. If it is determined that another route can be set, the process proceeds to step S180, and if it is determined that another route cannot be set, the process proceeds to step S190.

In step S180, another route approved by the occupant is set as the planned travel route, and then the process from step S110 is repeated. On the other hand, in step S190, after waiting for a predetermined time, the process proceeds to step S110, and the planned travel route determined to be impassable is transmitted to the information management center 100 again.

The flowchart of FIG. 4 shows a process executed by the vehicle-mounted unit 10a when a control schedule plan is drafted in step S160 of the flowchart of FIG.

In the first step S200, it is determined whether or not the traveling has started. If it is determined that the traveling has started, the process proceeds to step S210. In step S210, the main controller 39 of the vehicle-mounted unit 10a instructs the display device 35 to present the outline of the control schedule plan. That is, the main controller 39 transmits data for presenting the outline of the control schedule plan to the display device 35. By presenting the outline of the control schedule plan to the display device 35, the occupants of the vehicle 10 can receive driving support by what kind of driving support function on each road where they are planning to drive, or automatically by the automatic driving function. You can know if you plan to use driving. The control schedule may be modified so that the driver of the vehicle 10 can match his / her own taste / preference.

In step S220, the main controller 39 refers to the control schedule plan and determines whether or not there is a plan to change the control within a predetermined time or while traveling a predetermined distance. As described above, the control change does not change the vehicle equipment to be controlled, but the control content for the vehicle equipment is changed, and the vehicle equipment to be controlled is changed or added. Is included. If it is determined that there is a control change schedule, the process proceeds to step S230, and if it is determined that there is no control change schedule, the process proceeds to step S260. In step S230, the abnormality determination process is executed. In this abnormality determination process, when an attempt is made to execute a control scheduled to be changed, there is a possibility that the scheduled control cannot be properly executed mainly due to a lack of resources of the main controller 39 of the vehicle-mounted unit 10a. Determine if. A specific example of this abnormality determination process will be described in detail later with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 5 to 7.

The reason for executing such an abnormality determination process is that the control program for controlling the vehicle equipment may be updated as described above. When a part of the control program is updated, for example, when the update control program is actually used for controlling the vehicle equipment, an unexpected combination with another control program occurs, and the main of the in-vehicle unit 10a is used. A resource shortage of the controller 39 may occur. When a resource shortage of the main controller 39, specifically, a CPU processing capacity shortage, a memory capacity shortage, a communication delay, an increase in power consumption of the power supply, etc. occurs, the main controller 39 appropriately executes the scheduled control. There is a possibility that it cannot be done. Therefore, in the present embodiment, based on the control schedule plan, it is determined whether or not the scheduled changed control is normally executed by the in-vehicle unit 10a before the control is actually changed.

In step S240, based on the determination result of the abnormality determination process in step S230, it is determined whether the vehicle-mounted unit 10a can normally execute the changed control or whether an abnormality may occur in the control. .. If it is determined in this determination process that there is a possibility that an abnormality may occur in the control, the process proceeds to step S250. On the other hand, if the vehicle-mounted unit 10a determines that the control can be normally executed, the process proceeds to step S260.

In step S250, if the changed control is executed as it is, an abnormality may occur. Therefore, a countermeasure is taken to avoid the occurrence of the abnormality. For example, if the changed control is skipped and the current control is continued, or if the changed control has multiple stages of functions (for example, basic functions and extended functions), the functions to be used are basic. Modify the control schedule so that it is limited to only the functions. Further, when the main controller 39 of the in-vehicle unit 10a is provided with a plurality of CPUs and an excessive temperature rise of a specific CPU is expected due to execution of the changed control, a part of the processing in the specific CPU is performed by another CPU. Allocate to a CPU or avoid using that particular CPU.

Then, in step S260, the control of the vehicle equipment is executed according to the control schedule plan. As described above, when it is determined that the changed control can be normally executed, the control of the vehicle equipment is executed according to the original control schedule. However, if it is determined that there is a possibility that an abnormality will occur in the control, countermeasures such as correction of the control schedule plan will be taken. In this way, unless it can be confirmed that the control can be executed normally, the changed control will not be executed as it is. Therefore, when an update is included in the control program that controls the scheduled change, and it is expected that the control for which the change is scheduled cannot be executed normally due to the update. Since the control after the change is not executed as it is, it is possible to avoid the malfunction of the vehicle equipment due to the update program as much as possible.

In step S270, it is determined whether or not the vehicle 10 has reached the destination and the control schedule has been completed. If the control schedule has not been completed yet, the process returns to the process of step S210. On the other hand, when the control schedule plan is completed, the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4 is terminated.

Next, a specific example of the abnormality determination process will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 5 to 7. The flowchart of FIG. 5 shows an example of abnormality determination processing.

In FIG. 5, in the first step S300, whether or not the main controller 39 can execute the rehearsal process of the changed control based on, for example, the current CPU usage rate and the memory 40 usage amount. Is determined. The rehearsal process actually means running a control program for the changed control and executing arithmetic processing according to the control program. In step S300, if it is determined that there is no processing margin that can execute the rehearsal processing of the changed control, the process proceeds to step S310, and if it is determined that there is a processing margin that can execute the rehearsal processing, the process proceeds to step S350.

In step S310, the processing load in the main controller 39 of the vehicle-mounted unit 10a is estimated based on the program amount (code amount) and the control cycle of the changed control program. For the estimation of the processing load, each control program includes data indicating the increase in the processing load due to the execution of the control program, and the main controller 39 reads the load increase data from each control program and integrates the data. It may be calculated by.

In the following step S320, it is determined whether or not the calculated processing load is equal to or greater than a predetermined reference value. If it is determined that the processing load is less than a predetermined reference value, the process proceeds to step S330, and it is determined that the changed process can be normally executed. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S320 that the processing load is equal to or greater than a predetermined reference value, the process proceeds to step S340, and the changed process may not be normally executed. Therefore, it is determined to be abnormal.

In step S300, which is executed when it is determined that the main controller 39 has a processing margin in step S300, the rehearsal process of the changed control is executed. Next, in step S360, while the rehearsal process is being executed, it is monitored whether or not an abnormal sign indicating a resource shortage of the main controller 39 has occurred. An example of this abnormality sign monitoring process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In FIG. 6, in the first step S400, among the plurality of control programs for executing the changed control, the processing of at least one control program is executed later than the scheduled cycle. Determine if there is a delay. If it is determined that a processing delay has occurred, the process proceeds to step S460 to perform an abnormality determination. On the other hand, if it is determined that the processing delay has not occurred, the process proceeds to step S410.

In step S410, it is determined whether or not an abnormality has occurred in the CPU of the main controller 39. The CPU abnormality includes, for example, continuation of a state in which the CPU usage rate exceeds the reference value, an increase in the CPU temperature above the reference value, and the like. When the main controller 39 has a plurality of CPUs, this CPU abnormality is detected individually for each CPU. If it is determined that an abnormality has occurred in the CPU, the process proceeds to step S460 to determine the abnormality. On the other hand, if it is determined that no abnormality has occurred in the CPU, the process proceeds to step S420.

In step S420, it is determined whether or not an abnormality has occurred in the working memory (RAM, register, etc.) of the CPU. The abnormality of the working memory of the CPU includes an increase of the usage amount of the working memory by a predetermined value or more. If it is determined that an abnormality has occurred in the working memory, the process proceeds to step S460 to determine the abnormality. On the other hand, if it is determined that no abnormality has occurred in the working memory, the process proceeds to step S430.

In step S430, the main controller 39 determines whether or not an abnormality has occurred in the communication interface for communicating with the internal circuit or the external circuit. Abnormalities in the communication interface include an increase in the amount of communication via the communication interface above the reference value and the occurrence of communication delay. If it is determined that an abnormality has occurred in the communication interface, the process proceeds to step S460 to determine the abnormality. On the other hand, if it is determined that no abnormality has occurred in the communication interface, the process proceeds to step S440.

In step S440, it is determined whether or not an abnormality has occurred in the power supply of the main controller 39. The abnormality of the power supply of the main controller 39 includes an increase of power consumption in the main controller 39 or more by a reference value or more. If it is determined that an abnormality has occurred in the power supply of the main controller 39, the process proceeds to step S460 to determine the abnormality. On the other hand, if it is determined that no abnormality has occurred in the power supply of the main controller 39, the process proceeds to step S450 to perform a normal determination.

In this way, by monitoring whether there is an abnormal sign indicating a resource shortage of the main controller 39 during the rehearsal process in which the control program of the changed control is actually executed, the resource shortage is caused. It is possible to determine with higher accuracy whether or not the scheduled changed control can be executed normally. In the above-mentioned example, it is determined whether or not there is a sign of abnormality for each of the CPU, the working memory, the communication interface, and the power supply, but at least one item may be determined.

Returning to the explanation of the flowchart of FIG. 5 again. In step S370 executed after the abnormality sign monitoring process of step S360 described above, it is determined whether or not the control signal for controlling the vehicle equipment as the control target is calculated by the control program actually executed by the rehearsal process. judge. If it is determined that the control signal has not been calculated, the process returns to step S350 and the rehearsal process is continued. On the other hand, if it is determined that the control signal has been calculated, the process proceeds to step S380. In step S380, the calculation processing result including the above-mentioned control signal by the rehearsed control program is discarded. This is because the rehearsal process is not for actually controlling the vehicle equipment, but for confirming whether or not the main controller 39 of the vehicle-mounted unit 10a can normally execute the scheduled control.

In the above-mentioned abnormality determination processing, the method of determining whether or not the scheduled changed control can be normally executed is switched according to the presence or absence of the processing margin of the main controller 39. However, regardless of whether or not there is a processing margin, it may be determined whether or not the scheduled changed control can be normally executed based on the estimation of the processing load. Further, regardless of whether or not there is a processing margin, the rehearsal processing may be performed to determine whether or not the scheduled changed control can be normally executed. However, when performing rehearsal processing regardless of whether or not there is a processing margin, if the control program for the changed control can exhibit, for example, a basic function and at least one extended function, the rehearsal processing is performed in order from the basic function. It is preferable to do. More specifically, when executing the rehearsal process, first, the control program part that performs the basic function is executed, and during the execution, there is no sign of an abnormality due to lack of resources. , Executes the control program part that exerts the extended function. As a result, it is possible to prevent the main controller 39 from affecting the control being executed for controlling the vehicle equipment as much as possible.

Further, as another example of the abnormality determination process, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 7, instead of determining whether or not there is a processing margin of the main controller 39, the changed control may change the vehicle equipment to be controlled. , The method of determining whether or not the changed control can be normally executed may be switched depending on whether or not it is added. If the vehicle equipment to be controlled is changed or added before and after the control change, it is expected that the degree of change in the executed control program will be relatively large. For this reason, it is preferable to perform the rehearsal process and determine whether or not the changed control can be normally executed by a more accurate determination method.

Next, the process executed in the information management center 100 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In the first step S500, the information management center 100 determines whether or not the information indicating the planned travel route transmitted from the vehicle-mounted unit of each vehicle has been received. If it is determined that the information indicating the planned travel route has been received, the process proceeds to step S510. In step S510, the traffic condition of each road included in the received planned travel route is confirmed, and in step S520, the traffic volume of each road included in the planned travel route is equal to or more than the threshold value based on the confirmation result. Judge whether or not. Then, when it is determined that the traffic volume of each road included in the planned travel route is equal to or higher than the threshold value, the process proceeds to step S550, and the in-vehicle unit is notified that the planned travel route is impassable. On the other hand, if it is determined that the traffic volume is less than the threshold value, the process proceeds to step S530. The information management center 100 refers to accident information and regulation information, and if the planned travel route includes a road where an accident has occurred or is restricted, the planned travel route cannot be passed. You may judge.

In step S530, the information management center 100 transmits to the in-vehicle unit that the route to be traveled is permitted to pass. In the following step S540, the stored information is transmitted. Specifically, the information management center 100 transmits traffic volume information, weather information, and the like to the in-vehicle unit. However, the information management center 100 does not transmit all the stored information, but selects and transmits only the information related to the planned travel route of each vehicle.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention can be variously modified and carried out without being limited to the above-described embodiments and within a range not deviating from the gist of the present invention. Is.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, when a control change is scheduled in the control schedule plan, an abnormality determination process is performed in advance for the scheduled changed control, and the changed control is normally executed. It was to confirm whether or not it could be obtained. However, once it is determined that the main controller 39 of the vehicle-mounted unit 10a can normally execute the changed control, the execution of the abnormality determination process is omitted for the same control change in the control schedule plan thereafter. You may. Further, the abnormality determination process may be performed only when the update control program is included in the control program for performing the changed control.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, as a control schedule plan, various driving support functions for supporting the driving of the vehicle and an automatic driving function on a motorway are exhibited when the vehicle travels on the planned travel route. An example of making a control schedule plan for vehicle equipment for the purpose was explained. However, the contents of the control schedule plan and the vehicle equipment to be controlled are not limited to the above-mentioned examples. In short, the vehicle control system according to the present invention is applicable when a control schedule is formulated and vehicle equipment is controlled according to the control schedule.

For example, when the vehicle 10 is provided with an engine and a drive motor as a travel drive source and is automatically operated, the travel drive source including the engine and the drive motor is targeted for control, and the travel drive source is generated as a control schedule plan. A control plan for driving force may be drawn up. As a result, the in-vehicle unit 10a controls the traveling drive source so that the driving force corresponding to the shape, gradient, speed limit, traffic condition, etc. of the planned traveling route can be efficiently generated based on the control plan. Will be possible. In this case, when a sudden disturbance such as an interrupt vehicle or a vehicle parked on the road occurs on the planned traveling route, the in-vehicle unit 10a controls the driving force in order to cope with the disturbance. For example, when an interrupt vehicle is generated, the driving force is controlled so as to secure the inter-vehicle distance from the interrupt vehicle. In addition, if there is a vehicle parked on the road, the vehicle is driven to change lanes to the adjacent lane while confirming safety, or to temporarily drive in the oncoming lane so as to bypass the vehicle parked on the road. It controls the driving force by the source and the steering amount by the steering device. When it becomes possible to return to the control according to the control plan after the distance between the vehicle and the interrupted vehicle can be secured or the vehicle parked on the road is detoured, the in-vehicle unit 10a resumes the driving force control according to the control plan. ..

In this case, as an example of updating the control program, it is conceivable to add a control program that enables the vehicle 10 to run in the coasting running mode described above.

Further, the vehicle-mounted unit 10a may formulate a control schedule plan for controlling the air conditioner with the air conditioner as a control target, and control the air conditioner according to the drafted control schedule plan. By obtaining weather information related to the temperature and weather over the entire planned travel route from an external server, etc., it is possible to formulate a control schedule plan so that the control state of the air conditioner is suitable for the condition of the planned travel route. can. By controlling the air conditioner according to the planned control schedule, even if the temperature or weather changes at each point on the planned travel route, the occupant can have a comfortable cabin environment without bothering the occupants. Can be provided.

As for the control of the air conditioner, when a sudden disturbance such as a sudden change in the weather or a temporary temperature change in a tunnel occurs, the in-vehicle unit 10a uses the air conditioner to cope with the disturbance. Control. For example, in response to sudden changes in the weather such as guerrilla rainstorms, the air conditioner is controlled to respond to the decrease in outside temperature and the increase in humidity.

In this case, as an example of updating the control program, it is conceivable to update the control program in order to improve the control accuracy regarding temperature and humidity.

In the above-described embodiment and modification, an example of formulating a control schedule plan for vehicle equipment according to the situation of the planned travel route when the planned travel route is determined has been described. However, even if the planned travel route is not determined, if the planned use content of the vehicle is determined, it is possible to formulate a control schedule plan for specific vehicle equipment. For example, it is possible to decide to stay in the car or to use the battery of the vehicle as an emergency power source as the planned use content. Then, when the van-dwelling is decided as the content to be used, for example, a control schedule plan for the air conditioner is formulated so that the environment inside the vehicle becomes an environment suitable for the van-dwelling over the time of the van-dwelling. At the same time, it is possible to formulate a control schedule plan for the engine and the power generation motor in order to secure the operating power source of the air conditioner. If it is decided that the vehicle battery will be used as an emergency power source, the engine and power generation motor will be controlled so that power can be supplied from the battery over the period of use of the emergency power source. You can make a schedule plan.

10: Vehicle, 10a: In-vehicle unit, 20: Vehicle, 20a: In-vehicle unit, 30: Communication unit, 31: Peripheral monitoring unit, 32: Map database, 33: Sensor group, 34: Operation input unit, 35: Display device, 36: Driving force control device, 37: Braking force control device, 38: Steering control device, 39: Main controller, 40: Memory, 100: Information management center, 110: Communication network

Claims (11)

A control system for a vehicle in which a control program that controls at least one vehicle equipment mounted on a vehicle is applied to a vehicle that is updated from the originally used initial control program to another control program.
When the vehicle is used, the planning department (S160) that formulates a control schedule for controlling multiple vehicle equipment mounted on the vehicle in advance,
The control schedule plan does not change the vehicle equipment to be controlled, but the control includes the case where the control content for the vehicle equipment is changed and the case where the vehicle equipment to be controlled is changed or added. Changes are included,
A control execution unit (S260) that controls the plurality of vehicle equipment according to the control schedule plan drafted by the planning unit, and
When a control change is scheduled in the control schedule plan, it is determined whether or not the control execution unit can normally execute the scheduled changed control before the control is actually changed. A determination unit (S230, S240) is provided.
The control execution unit is a vehicle control system that changes control according to the control schedule plan on condition that the determination unit determines that the control can be executed normally. The determination unit is based on whether or not an abnormality due to a shortage of resources possessed by the control execution unit occurs due to the execution of the control scheduled to be changed in the control execution unit. , The vehicle control system according to claim 1, wherein it is determined whether or not the control scheduled to be changed can be normally executed. The vehicle control system according to claim 2, wherein the resource includes at least one of a CPU, a memory, a communication interface, and a power supply. The determination unit executes a rehearsal process for actually processing the control program of the control scheduled to be changed, and an abnormality due to the shortage of the resource occurs from the usage status of the resource during the execution of the rehearsal process. The vehicle control system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the presence or absence of the vehicle is determined. The determination unit estimates the processing load of the control execution unit based on the program amount and the control cycle of the control program of the control scheduled to be changed, and from the estimation result, the scheduled control after the change is described. The vehicle control system according to claim 1, wherein the control execution unit determines whether or not the control execution unit can execute normally. The determination unit determines whether or not there is a processing margin based on the processing status in the control execution unit, and if there is a processing margin, the rehearsal that actually processes the control program of the control scheduled to be changed. Control that executes processing, determines whether or not an abnormality has occurred due to a shortage of the resource from the usage status of the resource during the execution of the rehearsal processing, and if there is no processing margin, is scheduled to be changed. The processing load of the control execution unit is estimated based on the program amount and the control cycle of the control program, and whether or not the control execution unit can normally execute the scheduled changed control based on the estimation result. The vehicle control system according to claim 2 or 3. The determination unit determines whether or not the change in control in the control schedule plan is a change or addition of vehicle equipment to be controlled, and if it is a change or addition of vehicle equipment, the change is scheduled. The rehearsal process that actually processes the control program of the control is executed, and from the usage status of the resource during the execution of the rehearsal process, it is determined whether or not an abnormality has occurred due to the lack of the resource, and the vehicle equipment is equipped. If it is not changed or added, the processing load of the control execution unit is estimated based on the program amount and control cycle of the control program of the control scheduled to be changed, and the estimated result is used after the planned change. The vehicle control system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein it is determined whether or not the control execution unit can normally execute control. The vehicle control system according to any one of claims 4, 6 and 7, wherein the determination unit discards the processing result calculated by executing the rehearsal processing. The control program of the control that is scheduled to be changed has at least basic functions and extended functions as control functions.
When the determination unit executes the rehearsal process, the control program portion that exerts the basic function is first executed, and during the execution, there is no sign of occurrence of an abnormality due to the lack of the resource. The vehicle control system according to any one of claims 4, 6 and 7, which executes a control program portion that exerts an extended function. The vehicle control system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the control change in the control schedule plan includes a change or addition of vehicle equipment to be controlled. The vehicle control system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the control change in the control schedule plan includes the same change of the vehicle equipment to be controlled, but the control content for the vehicle equipment is changed. ..

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