JPH0219294Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Field of industrial application) This invention detects obstacles in the direction of travel of the vehicle when starting the vehicle, and prevents the vehicle from starting regardless of the driver's intention to start. The present invention relates to a vehicle transmission equipped with a stopping device.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, in a car equipped with a manual transmission or an automatic transmission, the forward or reverse position of the vehicle is selected by operating a shift lever or select lever, and the clutch pedal and accelerator pedal are operated. However, when driving in reverse, the driver may start the vehicle without noticing even if there is an obstacle within the driver's blind spot, resulting in an accident resulting in collision with the obstacle. Particularly in the case of vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions, there are cases where the above-mentioned accidents are caused by incorrectly shifting the select lever. Vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions that can select the position have appeared, and in such vehicles, accidents such as collision with an obstacle behind the vehicle are likely to occur due to accidentally operating the reverse switch while intending to go forward.

On the other hand, in order to deal with the above problem, we are considering equipping the vehicle body with a sensor that detects obstacles that exist in the direction in which the vehicle starts, and sending a warning signal to the driver to notify the driver that there is an obstacle within a certain distance. However, relying solely on warning signals is dangerous, and there is a risk that, for example, an inexperienced driver may start the vehicle without noticing the warning signals. That cannot be said.

(Purpose of the invention) The purpose of the invention is to prevent the above-mentioned conventional accidents when starting a vehicle and to obtain a vehicle transmission with improved safety. The object of the present invention is to obtain a device that is equipped with a mechanism that does not allow the vehicle to start if a vehicle exists.

(Structure and operation of the invention) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a transmission that achieves a plurality of gears in response to the running state of a vehicle, and an actuator that drives and controls the speed change state of the transmission. , a control unit that controls the operation of the actuator, and a shift position signal input terminal that determines the shift position of the transmission as an input signal to the control unit, and a vehicle speed that detects the vehicle speed. a sensor, and an obstacle detection sensor that detects an obstacle existing within a certain distance in the starting direction of the vehicle, and when a signal is input from the obstacle detection sensor, a signal that stops the shift drive state of the transmission. The object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle transmission equipped with an obstacle detection means, characterized in that the control unit issues a signal to an actuator to prevent the vehicle from moving toward the obstacle.

(Example) An example of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings. In this embodiment, the present invention is applied to an automatic transmission that does not require a conventional select lever and allows the gear shift position to be selected by simply operating a forward switch or a reverse switch. This example shows the case where That is, FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the outline of the entire apparatus. In the figure, 1 indicates an engine, and a torque converter 3 is connected to a crankshaft 2 of the engine 1. Reference numeral 4 denotes an input shaft of the transmission 5, which is coupled to the torque converter 3. A known gear transmission mechanism is incorporated inside the transmission 5 and is driven and controlled by hydraulic pressure. An output shaft 6 of the transmission 5 is connected to a final gear 7 and rotates drive wheels 10 and 11 via axle shafts 8 and 9 that protrude from the final gear 7.

On the other hand, numeral 12 indicates a control unit, which operates an actuator 13 to control the operating state of the transmission 5. The control unit 12 is provided with a forward switch 14 and a reverse switch 15 for inputting the driver's intention to go forward or backward, and further includes an accelerator pedal sensor 16 for detecting the operating state of the accelerator pedal by the driver, and a brake pedal sensor 16 for detecting the operating state of the accelerator pedal by the driver. A brake pedal sensor 17 is provided to detect the operating state. A vehicle speed sensor 18 detects the vehicle speed from the rotational speed of the output shaft 6, and a detection signal from the vehicle speed sensor 18 is input to the control unit 12. Obstacle sensors 19 are installed at the front and rear positions of the vehicle and have a function of detecting obstacles existing within a certain distance in the vehicle starting direction. Reference numeral 20 denotes an alarm device, which is provided to issue an alarm based on the signal from the obstacle sensor 19.

The forward switch 14 and reverse switch 15 are momentary type switches, which issue an ON signal when operated and an OFF signal otherwise. The accelerator pedal sensor 16 is a potentiometer that emits a voltage signal proportional to the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal, and the brake pedal sensor 17 detects whether or not the brake pedal is depressed, and inputs the respective signals to the control unit 12.

The obstacle sensor 19 is an ultrasonic microphone that generates ultrasonic waves based on the pulsed drive signal U from the control unit 12, and when the ultrasonic waves are reflected from the obstacle and return, the obstacle sensor 19 outputs an output pulse. occurs. The control unit 12 can calculate the distance to the obstacle by comparing the drive signal U of the obstacle sensor 19 with the output pulse.

The forward switch 14 and the reverse switch 15 are disposed in the vehicle near the steering column or on the steering pad at a position where they can be easily operated by a senior driver.

Next, an example of the rotational configuration of the control unit 12 will be explained based on FIG. 2. In the figure, reference numeral 21 denotes a signal shaping circuit, which inputs various signals from the forward switch 14, reverse switch 15, accelerator pedal sensor 16, brake pedal sensor 17, vehicle speed sensor 18, and obstacle sensor 19, and converts these various input signals. It performs noise removal and surge absorption, and also amplifies and converts various input signals and sends them to the input interface circuit 22. The input interface circuit 22 converts various input signals shaped by the signal shaping circuit 21 from analog to digital, or counts pulses, and converts the signals into digital codes so that they can be used as input data to a central processing unit (CPU) 23. Convert it to a signal and store it in a built-in register.

The CPU 23 operates in synchronization with a clock signal based on the oscillation signal of the crystal oscillator 24, is connected to various parts via the bus 25, and executes programs stored in the mask ROM 27 and PROM 28 in the memory 26. It also reads various input data from the registers in the input interface circuit 22, performs arithmetic processing to calculate various output data, and sends the output data to the registers in the output interface circuit 29 at a predetermined timing. memory 26
is outside the mask ROM27 and PROM28,
It has a RAM 30 and a storage memory 31.
The mask ROM 27 permanently stores the program executed by the CPU 23 and the data used when executing the program during IC manufacturing, and the PROM 28
is a mask ROM2 that can be changed depending on the car model, engine, and transmission type.
A program or data similar to 7 is written and stored. The RAM 30 is a readable and writable memory, and stores data during arithmetic processing and result data that are temporarily stored before being sent to the output interface circuit 29. , turn on the ignition switch
If the main power supply 32 is turned off as OFF, it will not be retained.
Furthermore, the storage memory 31 stores data as a result of arithmetic processing or intermediate data when the ignition switch is activated.
It has a memory retention function even when turned off.

33 is an arithmetic timer circuit that enhances the function of the CPU 23, and is a multiplication circuit for increasing the speed of arithmetic processing.
An interval timer that sends an interrupt signal to 3.
The CPU 23 has a free run counter and the like for knowing the elapsed time from a predetermined event to the next event and the event occurrence event. The output interface circuit 29 receives output data from the CPU 23 into an internal register, and outputs the data at a predetermined timing and time width.
Alternatively, it is converted into a pulse signal having a predetermined period and duty ratio, or converted into a switching signal of "1" or "0" and sent to the drive circuit 34.
The drive circuit 34 is a power amplification circuit, which amplifies voltage and current using transistors etc. upon receiving the signal from the output interface circuit 29, and drives various actuators, performs display, or diagnoses the control system. A data output signal 35 for rows is output.

36 is a backup circuit, which receives the signal from the signal shaping circuit 21 and changes the control output signal to a switching circuit 37.
emanates from. As a result, when the CPU 23, memory 26, etc. breaks down and does not operate normally,
It receives part of the signal from the signal shaping circuit 21 and issues the minimum necessary control output to continue driving the vehicle. The switching circuit 37 receives the signal from the backup circuit 36, cuts off the signal from the output interface circuit 29, and passes the signal from the backup circuit 36.

Among the above circuits, input interface circuit 2
2, CPU 23, crystal oscillator 24, memory 26,
The arithmetic timer circuit 33 and the output interface circuit 29 constitute a main control circuit, the backup circuit 36 constitutes an auxiliary control circuit, and the signal shaping circuit 2
1. The drive circuit 34 and the switching circuit 37 constitute an input/output signal processing circuit common to the main control circuit and the auxiliary control circuit. 38 is a power supply circuit that connects the line of the main power supply 32 to the input interface circuit 22, CPU 23,
To memory 26 and output interface circuit 29
A 5V constant voltage (V _CC ) 39 is applied, a 5V constant voltage V _CC 40 is applied to the backup circuit 36, a voltage 41 is applied to turn the ignition switch ON/OFF, a reset voltage 42 is applied, and a voltage 42 is applied to the operation of the CPU 23. The signal voltage 43 to be stopped is applied to the input interface circuit 22.
The 8V constant voltage A _VCC 44 for the DA conversion circuit in the signal shaping circuit 21, drive circuit 34 and switching circuit 37
Constant voltage to each common input/output signal processing circuit
V _ADD 45 is supplied respectively. Also, constantly energized power supply 46
From there, a constant voltage of 5V is applied to the storage memory 31 _.
47 is sent.

Based on the action of the control unit 12 explained above, the actuator 13 shown in FIG. 1 operates to control the gear change state of the transmission 5 such as forward, reverse, neutral, and parking. The operation mode of the above-mentioned speed change control will be explained based on the chart.

First, step 52 starts operation in response to the start signal 51, and in step 52, each input signal of the forward switch 14, reverse switch 15, accelerator pedal sensor 16, brake pedal sensor 17, vehicle speed sensor 18, and obstacle sensor 19 is detected. Load. Next, the determination circuit 53 determines the vehicle speed V calculated based on the signal input from the vehicle speed sensor 18 and the reference vehicle speed V _S stored in advance in the PROM 28.
Compare. For example, about 10 km/h is selected as V _S. If V<V _S , the process proceeds to the determination circuit 54, and if V>V _S , the process proceeds to step 6 as described later.
Proceed to step 3. Now, assume that V<V _S , that is, the vehicle is traveling at a speed lower than the reference vehicle speed. The determination circuit 54 determines whether the driver has turned on the forward switch 14 or the reverse switch 15. If either switch is in the ON state, the next stage determination circuit 55 determines whether the vehicle speed is zero or not, and if the vehicle speed is not zero, the next stage determination circuit 56 determines whether the vehicle speed is zero or not.
The output signal of the brake pedal sensor 17 is
Determine whether it is OFF. If the brake pedal is OFF based on the output signal of the brake pedal sensor 17, the output signal of the accelerator pedal sensor 16 is further determined by the determination circuit 57.
It is determined whether the accelerator pedal is ON or not, and if the accelerator pedal is not depressed, the process proceeds to step 58. In other words, the determination circuits 56 and 57 determine whether or not the driver, who is traveling at low speed, has the intention to stop, based on the operating states of the brake pedal and the accelerator pedal. From the result, it can be determined whether the operation that turned on either the forward or reverse switch obtained by the determination circuit 54 was a normal operation or an erroneous operation. Therefore, if the operation is based on a normal operation, the forward or reverse switch operation signal is stored in the storage memory 31 in step 58 so that the next gear change state can be quickly obtained after the vehicle has stopped. Then, in step 59, a control signal is output to the actuator 13 to change the gear shift state to neutral.

On the other hand, when the determination circuit 55 detects that the vehicle speed is zero, that is, the vehicle is stopped, it immediately stores in the storage memory 31 in step 60 whether the forward or reverse switch has been operated. Then, in the next step 70, it is determined whether there is an obstacle or not, and if there is an obstacle, it is determined whether the distance is smaller than a preset reference distance (stored in PROM 28). Assuming that the reference distance is 0.5 m, if there is no obstacle or if the obstacle is 0.5 m or more away, in step 61, the actuator 13 is actuated so that the speed change state based on the operation of the switch can be achieved. emit a signal. or,
If there is an obstacle within 0.5 m, a warning signal is output in step 71, and the alarm device 20 is activated to warn the driver that there is an obstacle. Cancel the switch operation input, and then proceed to step 59.
A control signal is issued to the actuator 13 to achieve a neutral state of the transmission.

Furthermore, when the judgment circuit 54 confirms that either the forward switch or the reverse switch is OFF, the judgment circuit 62 judges whether the vehicle speed is zero or not. If so, the existence and distance of the obstacle are determined in step 70 as described above, and the process proceeds to either step 61 or step 71. Further, when the result of the determination circuit 62 indicates that the vehicle speed is not zero, the process proceeds to step 63 along the route indicated by the signal x.

In step 63, the determination circuit 53 determines that V>V _S ,
In other words, the operation is shown when the vehicle is running at a medium or high speed, and a gear change state that has been set in advance and stored in the PROM 28 is selected according to the detected vehicle speed and the accelerator pedal depression angle, and then the determination circuit 64 The above-mentioned speed change state and the current speed change state (stored in RAM 30) are compared, and if the two are the same, the process immediately returns to step 52, and if the two are not the same, the process proceeds to step 65. A control signal for achieving the newly determined shift state is output to the actuator 13, and subsequently, in step 66, this new shift state is stored in the RAM 30, and the process returns to step 52.

On the other hand, when the driver is depressing the accelerator pedal, the determination circuit 57 determines that the operation of the forward or reverse switch determined by the determination circuit 54 is due to an operational error by the driver. This will be canceled and the process will proceed to step 63.

The control unit 12 described in detail above
The gear change control operation of the transmission 5 based on the operation is summarized as follows. That is, as input data signals to the control unit 12, in addition to the forward switch 14 and the reverse switch 15, the accelerator pedal sensor 16 and the brake pedal sensor 1 are used.
7. A vehicle speed sensor 18 and an obstacle sensor 19 are attached, and when the driver operates the forward switch 14 or the reverse switch 15 while the vehicle speed is lower than the reference vehicle speed and the vehicle is traveling without stopping, It determines whether the operation is normal based on the driver's intention or erroneous operation due to carelessness, and if the operation is normal, the control signal is sent to the actuator to switch the transmission to the neutral position. , forward or reverse switch operation signals are stored, and if the operation is erroneous, an operation mode is obtained in which the input signal to the switch is canceled.

On the other hand, when the vehicle is traveling at a higher speed than the reference vehicle speed, a gear change state can be achieved in accordance with the vehicle speed and the operating state of the accelerator pedal, regardless of the operating signal of the forward or reverse switch. In the end, the automatic transmission 5 is controlled by the forward switch 14 or the reverse switch 15.
This can be done by simply operating a switch, and even if there is an erroneous operation, it can be canceled.

Furthermore, in addition to the above operations, the present invention detects an obstacle within a certain distance in the direction in which the vehicle starts, and the obstacle sensor 19 senses this and notifies the control unit 12 of the obstacle. Control unit 12
After confirming that the vehicle is at a standstill and whether a switch has been operated to signal forward or reverse, cancel the memory of such switch input and stop driving the transmission, or Or change the transmission position to neutral position,
An operating mode is obtained in which the vehicle cannot be started.

(Effect of the invention) By applying the invention explained above,
The following effects can be obtained. In other words, when starting the vehicle, mainly when reversing, the driver is at risk of death, so there are many cases where the driver does not notice even if there is an obstacle.
Furthermore, relying on the activation of a simple alarm based on an obstacle sensor lacks safety, whereas the present invention either stops the shifting drive state of the transmission based on the signal from the obstacle sensor, or Alternatively, by setting the gear shift position to neutral, the vehicle is virtually unable to start, so safety is ensured. Particularly in the case of a vehicle equipped with an automatic transmission that can control the driving state of the vehicle simply by operating the forward switch and reverse switch as disclosed in the embodiment, the ease of operation increases, but at the same time the risk of erroneous operation also increases. Therefore, even if an inexperienced driver mistakenly operates the reverse switch with the intention of going forward and attempts to start, he will not be able to start as long as there is an obstacle behind him, thereby eliminating unexpected accidents such as collisions. Therefore, the features of the present invention are more fully exhibited in vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions as described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned vehicles, and can also be applied to vehicles equipped with transmissions based on normal manual operation. Needless to say, it is applicable.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an overview of the entire apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the circuit configuration of a control unit, and FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the mode of operation. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Engine, 4... Input shaft, 5... Transmission, 12... Control unit, 13... Actuator, 14... Forward switch, 15...
Reverse switch, 16... accelerator pedal sensor,
17... Brake pedal sensor, 18... Vehicle speed sensor, 19... Obstacle sensor, 20... Alarm device, 21... Signal shaping circuit, 22... Input interface circuit, 23... CPU, 26... Memory , 32...Main power supply, 34...Drive circuit.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] (1) A transmission that achieves a plurality of gears in response to the driving state of a vehicle, an actuator that drives and controls the gear shifting state of the transmission, and a system that controls the operation of the actuator. In a vehicle transmission comprising a control unit, input signals to the control unit include a shift position signal input terminal for determining the shift position of the transmission, a vehicle speed sensor for detecting the vehicle speed, and a vehicle speed sensor for detecting the vehicle starting direction. and an obstacle detection sensor that detects an obstacle existing within a certain distance, and when a signal is input from the obstacle detection sensor, the control unit issues a signal to the actuator to stop the shift driving state of the transmission. 1. A vehicular transmission equipped with an obstacle detection means, characterized in that the vehicle is configured to prevent the vehicle from starting in the direction of the obstacle. (2) When a signal is input from the obstacle detection sensor, the control unit operates an actuator so that the shift position of the transmission becomes a neutral position. A vehicular transmission equipped with the obstacle detection means described in 1. (3) Obstacle detection means according to claim 1 of the utility model registration claim, comprising an alarm device that operates in response to an alarm signal from the control unit when a signal is input from the obstacle detection sensor. transmission for vehicles.