JP7177684B2 - vehicle controller - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle control device mounted on a moving object such as a railway vehicle.

2. Description of the Related Art In moving vehicles such as railway vehicles on which passengers board, it is necessary to appropriately control the light environment and thermal environment inside the vehicle in order to ensure the comfort of the passengers. In addition, in recent years, there has been a demand for energy conservation through the appropriate control of lighting and air conditioning systems inside vehicles. is necessary.

As a technique for controlling incident sunlight, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a control device that detects light incident on a vehicle and outputs an instruction to control the light transmittance of the window glass. .

In addition, Patent Document 2 describes a control device that calculates the position and direction of a window and the incidence of sunlight at that date and time, and outputs a control instruction to reduce the light transmittance of a light control glass window during the time when the incidence is expected. It is shown.

Furthermore, as an example of controlling the light transmittance of the window glass in a moving object, when the vehicle reaches a specific point, the arrival at that point is used as a trigger to reduce the light transmittance of the window glass. There is a control device that outputs a control instruction to lower.

JP-A-3-42633 JP-A-2005-282106

In the technology disclosed in Patent Literature 1, the control conditions are limited to when sunlight enters the vehicle or when the temperature of the window glass reaches a predetermined condition. However, there is a problem that the light transmittance of the film cannot be controlled.

In addition, the technology disclosed in Patent Document 2 has a problem that it is not possible to cope with the incidence of sunlight that relatively changes according to the moving direction of the vehicle in a moving body such as a vehicle.

A vehicle control device according to the present invention includes a control section for controlling on-vehicle equipment mounted on a vehicle, and an operation section for outputting a control instruction to the on-board equipment based on a control signal from the control section. , the on-board equipment is a plurality of window members capable of controlling light transmittance, and the control unit includes environment information, position information and speed information of the vehicle, route information regarding the direction and distance of the route on which the vehicle travels, A control signal that determines whether or not sunlight is incident on the window member based on celestial body information related to the position and altitude of the sun on the route, and controls the transmittance of the window member if the sunlight is incident. and transmits the control signal to the operation unit via the transmission line. After determining whether to use the received control signal or the previously received control signal, light transmission is performed using either the operation instruction content or the control signal to be used according to the operation instruction content received from the outside . It is characterized by creating a control instruction that controls the rate.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the light transmittance control which was not conventionally possible before sunlight injects into the vehicle of a mobile body is attained, and it can contribute to the improvement of passenger's comfort.
In addition, according to the present invention, energy is saved by limiting the timing at which the light transmittance control is performed, such as when sunlight is incident, and further, by issuing a control instruction linked to the air conditioner and the light control device in the vehicle. It is possible to improve the performance.

It is a figure showing an example of composition of a vehicle control device concerning an example of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a format of a control signal for an operation unit; FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the first half of a flowchart showing the flow of processing until the computing unit outputs a control signal to the operating unit; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the second half of the flow chart showing the flow of processing until the computing unit outputs a control signal to the operation unit; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the first half of a flowchart showing the flow of processing until the operation unit outputs a control instruction to the control target device; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the second half of the flowchart showing the flow of processing until the operation unit outputs a control instruction to the control target device;

Hereinafter, as a mode for carrying out the present invention, examples will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a vehicle control system according to an embodiment of the invention.
A vehicle control device is a device mounted on a railroad vehicle to control various on-board equipment such as an inverter device, an automatic train control device, or an air conditioner provided on the railroad vehicle. Note that FIG. 1 omits descriptions of components that are not directly related to the mainly explained light transmittance control.

The vehicle control device is a device having at least a control unit 1 and a plurality of operation units 10 mounted on each car of the vehicle. connected.

The control unit 1 transmits control signals to the operation unit 10 to control the devices 13 to 15 that are connected to the operation unit 10 and are the control targets.

The operation unit 10 outputs control instructions to the window member 13, the lighting device 14, and the air conditioner 15, which are the objects to be controlled, according to the content of the control signal received from the control unit 1. FIG.

Here, the window member 13 means a window glass of a vehicle having a function of controlling light transmittance (light transmittance control function, not shown). Although it is assumed that the light transmittance control is performed by varying the voltage applied to the light transmittance control function, the light transmittance control method is not limited to this.

The control unit 1 also has a measurement unit 2, a recording unit 7, a calculation unit 8, and an output unit 9, as shown in FIG.
The measurement unit 2 has a function of acquiring various types of information (temperature information 3, illuminance information 4, position information 5, and speed information 6) about the vehicle through communication from sensors or external devices, and inputting these information to the control unit 1. .

The recording unit 7 records route information such as the direction and distance that the vehicle travels, celestial information including the position and height of the sun in that region, season, and time, and the like. is read out and input to the control unit 1. The recording unit 7 is composed of a storage device such as a hard disk or a semiconductor memory.

Based on the information obtained from the measurement unit 2 and the information read from the recording unit 7, the calculation unit 8 determines whether or not to perform light transmittance control on the target operation unit 10, It has a function of creating a control signal for the control target devices 13 to 15 connected to the operation unit 10 as follows. The computing unit 8 is configured by, for example, a CPU.

The output unit 9 transmits the control signal generated by the calculation unit 8 at regular intervals of T [seconds] to a plurality of operation units 10 mounted on each car of the vehicle. That is, the output unit 9 has a function of receiving the control signal generated by the calculation unit 8 from the calculation unit 8 and transmitting the data having the format shown in FIG. The output unit 9 is configured by a CPU together with the calculation unit 8, for example, or is configured by a single interface.

The operation unit 10 is a device mounted on each car of a vehicle, and includes a first reception unit 11 that receives operations from crew members, a second reception unit 12 that receives operations from passengers, and a light transmittance control function. It is connected to the window member 13, the lighting device 14 of each car number of the vehicle, and the air conditioning device 15 of each car number of the vehicle. Note that the first and second reception units are configured by, for example, an input device having a display function.
The operation unit 10 also has a function of stepwise outputting an instruction to control the light transmittance of the window member 13, and the control of the light transmittance of the window member 13 by the lighting device 14 and the air conditioner. 15 to output an instruction to notify in advance. The operation unit 10 is configured by, for example, a CPU.

Assuming that there are M left and right window members 13 connected to the operation unit 10 (window member 1, . and accepts operations from passengers. Specific contents of the instructions acquired from the first reception unit 11 that receives operations from crew members and the second reception unit 12 that receives operations from passengers include “always perform control to lower the light transmittance”, “always There is "do not lower the transmittance" or "perform the transmittance control of the plane of control symmetry". The operation unit 10 determines whether or not to output a control signal based on these instructions by operations from crew members and passengers. A specific operation mode of the operation unit 10 will be described later.

Next, the control signal shown in FIG. 2 will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the format of the control signal for the operation unit 10. As shown in FIG.
The control signal is a signal transmitted from the output section 9 of the control section 1 to the operation section 10 mounted on each car of the vehicle. As an example of a specific format, the operation unit number 20 targeted by the control signal, the difference flag 21 from the previous signal that is set when there is a difference from the previous control signal, and the devices 13 to 15 to be controlled. each control instruction 22 to, the current time and control start time 23, and an error detection code 24 for the content of the control signal.

The operation unit 10 is installed for each car number of the vehicle, and each has an operation unit number 20. - 特許庁The operation unit number 20 included in the control signal transmitted from the output unit 9 of the control unit 1 indicates the operation unit number to be controlled, and the operation unit 10 receiving the control signal thereby transmits the control signal to itself. It determines whether it is a control signal.

The difference flag 21 from the previous signal is set by the calculation unit 8 of the control unit 1 when there is a difference from the previous control signal. That is, when the difference flag 21 is set to '0', it indicates that the control instruction 22 in the previous control signal transmitted from the output section 9 of the control section 1 has changed.

The control instruction 22 for each device 13 to 15 to be controlled is a dimming instruction for light transmittance control for the window member 13 and a dimming rate control for the lighting device 14 for the devices 13 to 15 to be controlled. It is information that stores information such as whether or not to issue a light control instruction and a control instruction related to temperature control to the air conditioner 15, and if the control instruction is issued, the intensity of the control instruction.

The current time and the control start time 23 are information indicating the current time given by the calculation unit 8 as time information or the time (control start time) when control is started by the control instruction 22 .
The error detection code 24 is a code for detecting an error when the contents of the control signal are changed by communication means.

Next, control signal generation processing executed by the calculation unit 8 of the control unit 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. In each of FIGS. 3 to 6, the letter "S" attached before the reference number means "step".

3 and 4 are flow charts showing the flow of processing up to output of control signals to the operation unit 10 by the calculation unit 8 of the control unit 1. FIG.
The calculation unit 8 of the control unit 1 periodically executes steps 101 to 112 in FIGS. 3 and 4, and repeats these steps by the number of operation units 10 for each vehicle. Further, instead of repeating for all the operation units 10, one or more specific operation unit numbers may be designated to repeat for the number of specific operation units 10. FIG. , window member M-1, and window member M can be designated as necessary, and specific window members 1, . . . , window member M-1, and window member M can be specified for each vehicle. It can also be a flow chart for M.

The processing contents of steps 101 to 112 for one operation unit 10 will be described below with reference to the flow charts shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG.
At step 101 ( S<b>101 ), the calculation unit 8 acquires information acquired by the measurement unit 2 from the measurement unit 2 . This information includes illuminance information and temperature information inside and outside the vehicle, position information where the vehicle is currently traveling, and current speed information of the vehicle.

At step 102 ( S<b>102 ), the computing section 8 acquires the course information and the celestial body information from the recording section 7 . First, the route information includes the slope, curvature, etc. of the traveling route and the traveling direction for each distance from the reference point. The route information that the calculation unit 8 acquires from the recording unit 7 in this step acquires route information up to a point that is expected to travel after Tb [seconds] based on the current running distance and speed. Next, the celestial body information has information on the direction and altitude of the sun and the presence or absence of the sun in the region and season where the train runs for each time. The control unit 1 acquires celestial body information from the recording unit 7 for Tb [seconds] after the current time.

At step 103 (S103), the calculation unit 8 determines whether or not there is solar radiation from the sun at the current time based on the obtained celestial body information. Here, if the determination is YES, the process proceeds to step 104 (S104), and if the determination is NO, the process proceeds to step 109 (S109, FIG. 4) assuming that light transmittance control is not performed.

At step 104 (S104), the calculation unit 8 refers to the illuminance information 4 acquired by the measurement unit 2, and determines whether or not the current illuminance is equal to or greater than L0 [Lx]. If it is determined that the illuminance is L0 [Lx] or more (YES), the process proceeds to step 105 (S105), and if it is determined that the illuminance is less than L0 [Lx], that is, there is no or little solar radiation due to the weather etc. ( NO) transitions to step 109 (S109, FIG. 4).

At step 105 (S105), the calculation unit 8 obtains the route information of the point where the train will run after Ta [seconds] based on the speed information 6 acquired from the measurement unit 2, and the window member 13 of the vehicle faces. A direction is calculated, and the angular difference between that direction and the direction of the sun at that time is calculated. If the angular difference is less than θ [°], it is determined that the window member 13 is exposed to sunlight from the sunlight (YES in S105), and the window member 13 is instructed to perform light transmittance control. is created in step 108 (S108, FIG. 4). Here, Ta is a value determined based on the transmission time of various signals and the response time of each control unit.
On the other hand, when the determination in S105 is NO, the process transitions to step 106 (S106).

At step 106 (S106), the calculation unit 8 refers to the control signal generated in the previous process, and determines whether or not the light transmittance control is currently (currently) being performed. If the light transmittance control is not performed (NO), the process proceeds to step 109 (S109, FIG. 4), but if the light transmittance control is currently performed (YES), the process proceeds to step 107 (S107). .

At step 107 (S107), the calculation unit 8 determines whether sunlight is incident on the window member 13 up to the position where the train runs after Tb [seconds]. This criterion is the same as the criterion used in step 105 (S105). Here, if it is determined that there is no incidence after Tb [seconds] (NO), it is assumed that the light transmittance control will not be necessary for a while, and the process proceeds to step 109 (S109, FIG. 4). On the other hand, if it is determined that the light will be incident after Tb [seconds] (YES), it is determined that the light transmittance control will need to be performed for a while, and the process proceeds to step 108 (S108, FIG. 4). Here, Tb is a value determined by human (particularly passenger) factors when passing through tunnels, stations, and the like.

Moving to FIG. 4, at step 108 (S108), the calculation unit 8 creates control data for instructing the operation unit 10 on the intensity of light transmittance control for the window member 13. FIG.
The strength of the light transmittance control for the window member 13 is set stepwise according to the current illuminance indicated by the illuminance information 4 acquired from the measurement unit 2 . Specifically, when the current illuminance is the minimum illuminance L0 [Lx] or more and less than L1 [Lx] for transmissivity control, the weakest control level 1 is indicated, and L1 [Lx] or more L2 [Lx] If less, then direct control 1, then weak control level 2. In this way, the strength of the light transmittance control performed on the window member 13 is changed according to the intensity of the current illuminance.

On the other hand, at step 109 (S109), the calculation unit 8 creates control data so as not to control the light transmittance of the window member 13. FIG.

At step 110 (S110), the calculation unit 8 instructs the lighting device 14 and the air conditioning device 15 to transmit transparency to the control target surface 13 according to the control data created at steps 108 (S108) and 109 (S109). Set whether or not to perform light rate control. For example, '1' is set when transmissivity control is performed, and '0' is set when not performed.

Subsequently, at step 111 (S111), the calculation unit 8 creates a control signal for the operation unit 10 to be processed. The control data created up to step 110 (S110) is used as the data to be stored in the control signal, and the target operation unit number 20, the difference flag 21 from the previous signal, the current time and the control start time 23 are created, Finally, an error detection code 24 is added.

At step 112 (S112), the calculation unit 8 instructs the output unit 9 to transmit the control signal generated at step 111 (S111) to the target operation unit 10. FIG.
A series of processing by the calculation unit 8 is completed by the above steps 101 (S101) to 112 (S112).
Further, the control unit 1 may transmit the control signal created based on the above flowchart to each operation unit 10 of each vehicle at different timings.

Next, FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 show the flow of processing until the operation unit 10 executes a control instruction to the controlled devices 13 to 15 in accordance with the control signal received from the output unit 9 of the control unit 1. will be used to explain.
5 and 6 are flowcharts showing the flow of processing until the operation unit 10 outputs control instructions to the controlled devices 13-15. Here, the operation unit 10 periodically repeats the processing of steps 201 to 212 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 every T [seconds].

At step 201 ( S<b>201 ), the operation unit 10 acquires the control signal transmitted from the output unit 9 of the control unit 1 .

At step 202 (S202), the operation unit 10 determines whether or not the control signal has been received (acquired), and if received (YES), transitions to step 203 (S203).

At step 203 (S203), the operation unit 10 compares the error detection code 24 added to the control signal and the error detection code calculated based on the received control signal. If (YES), the received control signal is adopted, and the process proceeds to step 204 (S204).

At step 204 (S204), the operation unit 10 determines whether or not the target operation unit number 20 stored in the control signal matches the operation unit number assigned to itself. If they match (YES), the process proceeds to step 205 (S205).

At step 205 (S205), the operation unit 10 refers to the difference flag 21 from the previous signal stored in the control signal, and if the difference flag 21 is '0' (there is a difference from the previous control signal) (YES). adopts the control instruction 22 stored in the control signal received this time.

Here, in each of the above steps 202 (S202) to step 205 (S205), if the determination is NO, as shown in step 207 (S207), the operation unit 10 receives the control instruction 22 received last time. adopt.

Subsequently, the control data received from the control unit 1 is compared with the operation contents of the operations by the passengers and the crew, and the processing (from step 208 onwards) for creating control instructions for the respective controlled devices 13 to 15 is shown in FIG. explain.

In step 208 (S208), the operation unit 10 specifies that the operation content by the crew member who operated the first reception unit 11 is "always control to lower the light transmittance" or "always not lower the light transmittance". (when the determination is YES), the process proceeds to step 209 (S209).

At step 209 (S209), the operation unit 10 sets control instructions for all the window members 13 according to the details of the operation by the crew member obtained at step 208 (S208).

On the other hand, when the details of the operation by the crew member obtained in step 208 (S208) are "to control the light transmittance of the window member 13" or when there is no operation by the crew member (when determined NO), the operating unit 10 prompts the passenger to Starts comparison processing with the operation contents from . It should be noted that the series of processes in steps 210 to 212 below are repeated processes for the number of window members 13 to be connected.

In step 210 (S210), the operation unit 10 determines whether the operation content by the passenger who operated the second reception unit 12 attached to the target window member 13 is "always perform control to lower the light transmittance" or "always If the content is specific such as "not lowering the light transmittance" (when the determination is YES), the process transitions to step 212 (S212).

At step 212 (S212), the operation unit 10 sets a control instruction according to the passenger's operation details obtained at step 210 (S210) to the target window member 13, as in step 208 (S208). do.

On the other hand, when the operation content by the passenger in step 210 (S210) is "to control the light transmittance of the window member 13" or when there is no operation by the passenger (when determined as NO), the operation unit 10 controls the control unit A control instruction is created according to the control data instructed from 1.

After creating the control instructions for the target window member 13 in the above steps, the operation unit 10 creates control instructions for the lighting device 14 and the air conditioning device 15 in step 213 (S213). Here, when a control instruction for controlling the light transmittance of the window member 13 is created, the operation unit 10 controls the light transmittance of the window member 13 with respect to the corresponding lighting device 14 and air conditioner 15 . Create a signal that tells you what to do.

At step 214 (S214), the operation unit 10 outputs a control instruction to the controlled devices 13-15.

The vehicle control device according to the present embodiment has the above-described configuration and functions, and determines whether or not sunlight is incident on the window member 13 in the running section of the train. It is possible to output a control instruction to lower the light transmittance of the window member 13 before. Thereby, passenger comfort in the vehicle cabin can be improved.
Here, the process of comparing the operation from the passenger and the control data is realized by software logic, but it is also possible to configure it by contact logic by a switch or the like.

Although the embodiment according to the present invention has been described above, the specific configuration is not limited to the configuration shown as the embodiment. It is included in the invention.

For example, the present embodiment is an embodiment in which the control unit 1 is incorporated into the vehicle control device as a component included in the vehicle control device. An embodiment may be adopted in which a device having a control function is separately provided as an interface device, and a transmittance control signal is transmitted to an existing vehicle control device.

In this embodiment, the control unit 1 is configured to perform light transmittance control when sunlight is incident and the illuminance is equal to or higher than a certain value. In some cases, a control mode such as outputting a control instruction to increase the illuminance of the lighting device in the passenger compartment of the vehicle may be adopted. In addition, it is not an environmental element such as sunlight, but rather a translucent material to ensure good visibility of recent in-vehicle advertisement displays (due to the placement of screens on the side of the vehicle and the ceiling of the vehicle). A control mode in which rate control is interlocked may be adopted.

In addition, when the light transmittance control of the window member 13 (window glass) is being performed, the light transmittance control is continued even if the illuminance decreases. It may be configured to release the control.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the light transmittance control is performed only when sunlight is incident. A process may be added to enable light transmittance control in .

Furthermore, the control instruction for the window member 13 (window glass) having the light transmittance control means in this embodiment realizes stepwise light transmittance control by varying the voltage applied to the light transmittance control means. Although a control mode is adopted, in the case where such a stepwise control means is not provided, a mode in which the light transmittance is controlled stepwise by a method other than voltage may be used.

1 control unit, 2 measurement unit, 3 temperature information, 4 illuminance information, 5 position information, 6 speed information, 7 recording unit, 8 calculation unit, 9 output unit, 10 operation unit, 11 first reception unit,
12 second reception unit, 13 window member (window member 1, ..., window member M-1, window member M),
14 lighting device, 15 air conditioner, 20 operation unit number, 21 difference flag,
22 each control instruction, 23 current time and control start time, 24 error detection code

Claims (8)

a control unit that controls on-board equipment mounted on the vehicle;
an operation unit that outputs a control instruction to the onboard equipment based on a control signal from the control unit;
A vehicle control device comprising:
The onboard equipment is a plurality of window members capable of controlling light transmittance,
Based on the environment information, position information and speed information of the vehicle, route information regarding the direction and distance of the route on which the vehicle travels, and celestial body information regarding the position and altitude of the sun on the route, Determining whether or not sunlight is incident on the window member, creating a control signal for controlling the light transmittance of the window member when the sunlight is incident, and transmitting the control signal through a transmission line Send to the operation unit,
The operation unit is provided for each vehicle, and uses either the control signal received this time or the control signal received last time from the control unit for each of the plurality of window members mounted on each vehicle. After making a determination as to whether to control the light transmittance, a control instruction for controlling the light transmittance is created based on the content of the operation instruction received from the outside or the control signal used according to the determination . A vehicle control device characterized by: The vehicle control device according to claim 1,
The vehicle control device, wherein the environment information of the vehicle is illuminance information and temperature information of the vehicle. The vehicle control device according to claim 1 or 2,
Based on the environment information, position information and speed information of the vehicle, the route information, and the celestial body information, the control unit determines that the current illuminance due to the sunlight incident is a predetermined threshold or more, and a first and generating the control signal for controlling the light transmittance when it is determined that the sunlight is incident after a predetermined time. The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The control unit is characterized in that the intensity signal of the light transmittance included in the control signal for controlling the light transmittance is set in stages according to the current illuminance information in the environment information. Vehicle controller. The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The onboard equipment further includes a lighting device and an air conditioner,
The vehicle control device, wherein the operation unit notifies the lighting device and the air conditioner of a control instruction for controlling the light transmittance. The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The vehicle control device, wherein the control unit outputs the control signal at different timings to the operation units provided for each vehicle. The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The vehicle control device, wherein the operation instruction content is a content regarding whether or not to control the light transmittance of the window member received from an input by at least one of a crew member and a passenger of the vehicle. The vehicle control device according to claim 3 and any one of claims 4 to 7 citing claim 3 ,
If the control unit determines that the sunlight does not enter after the first predetermined time and that the sunlight enters after a second predetermined time longer than the first predetermined time, the light transmittance A vehicle control device that generates the control signal for controlling the

Images