JPH06270715A - Cruise controlling device mainly for automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily follow cars by providing a manually operated means for adjusting an inter-car distance while directly or indirectly adjusting the number of distance pulses corresponding to the quantity to correct the relative car position to the ahead car to the number or pulses retained in a servo setting means when the driven gives indication to change a relative car position to the ahead car after setting an initial value. CONSTITUTION:In a first system, this device operated according to the information not from the outside but from a pace maker in the car. A two phase incremental encoder 18 and the main operation dial 19 of the first system during operation are finely adjusted to a proper car speed, interlocked with each other by inputting the corrected value for the distance between two cars going in the same direction. Optional dials 20 and 21 are used to independently adjust the distance between two cars going in the same direction and car speed. In the case where the traveling pace of the ahead car does not change and only the following car slightly reduce its speed due to an obstacle, it is convenient to use the dial 20 to adjust only the distance between the cars.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention makes it easy for a driver to easily operate a vehicle when it follows a preceding vehicle, mainly on a highway by using a cruise control device (hereinafter abbreviated as "cruise"). It is intended to provide a means to

Further, since the fuel consumption is better than that in the manual driving and there is no feeling of discomfort in feeling, if the above is used as a legal speed maintaining device, it is possible to prevent the runaway and to save fuel consumption and safety.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art A cruise currently in practical use is intended for a case where a leading vehicle runs at a constant speed at its own pace, and is difficult to use when following a following vehicle. In other words, in order to carry out follow-up running, first of all, the appropriate inter-vehicle distance is set by manual operation, and the cruise set button is pressed to match the vehicle speed with the previous vehicle, but whether the speed is completely equal to the previous vehicle or not I'm not sure, so I have to run for a while and see how the distance between cars has gone crazy, and I have to correct it.

At this time, it is necessary to both correct the inter-vehicle distance and finely adjust the vehicle speed, and the correction work is complicated and complicated.
And it's difficult.

Considering first the case where the inter-vehicle distance decreases, first hold the cruise, release the accelerator pedal, reduce the speed accordingly, wait for the inter-vehicle distance to increase to an appropriate value, and press the return button. , Return to the original set speed. At this time, the vehicle speed is lower than the set speed by more than the normal control range, so the cruise instructs the accelerator to be fully opened, and the automatic transmission kicks down to perform rapid acceleration. Then, when the acceleration is completed and the speed becomes stable, the cruise is released this time and a new cruise is set when the speed slightly decreases. Complicated procedure is required. Moreover, since the pointer of the speedometer does not have the resolution to measure such a slight deceleration, the slight deceleration depends on the feeling, so there is no guarantee that this minute deceleration is just the proper amount, and it is necessary to readjust it again. Is coming. If you dislike this procedure and cancel the cruise to increase the inter-vehicle distance, you will not be able to use the previous set value as a base, and the speed control accuracy will return to the start.

On the other hand, if the inter-vehicle distance is too wide, the accelerator is released by manually depressing the accelerator pedal to return the inter-vehicle distance to the target value, and then the accelerator is released. Therefore, fully closed deceleration starts, and after this returns to the normal equilibrium state, the cruise speed increasing button is pushed little by little to slightly increase the control target speed.

The above-mentioned operation is not impossible, but it is unrealistic. Therefore, with the increase in the running density of the expressway and the decrease in the chances of running at my own pace, the cruise goes against the rapid increase in high-tech equipment for automobiles. Then, except for some variations of luxury cars, they disappeared from the catalog of new cars.

There are two causes of the above-mentioned unrealistic. The first is
When performing follow-up operation by manual operation, you can always correct the vehicle speed, but when you follow the track on a cruise, you need to make at least one tens of times the time at manual operation with one correction. I am in trouble. For that purpose, it is necessary to detect a few tenths of minute speed. However, analog systems such as humans do not have such resolution, and it is impossible without relying on a digital computer with a tracking program. The second is that the correction of the inter-vehicle distance and the slight correction of the speed are related to each other. Therefore, it is necessary to receive one operation input and automatically perform the sequential digestion.

As a fundamental measure against this, means for directly measuring the inter-vehicle distance with a radar or the like and performing automatic control is known in principle, but it is still difficult to use it alone as described below.

In an active radar of the type that emits radio waves, laser light, etc. from the own vehicle side, a pulse is emitted from the swaying own vehicle, and it is applied only to the front vehicle on the own lane in front of hundreds of meters. It is technically very difficult to identify and receive only the reflection. Also, lasers and radio waves for radar are harmful to the human body. Furthermore, since automobiles have a high running density, if the number of vehicles equipped with them increases, there are many opportunities to be exposed to direct waves from other vehicles, and it is difficult to prevent malfunctions due to this, so active radar is virtually impossible in automobiles. is there.

On the other hand, a passive radar, which relies on external light as a light source for distance measurement through image processing, can be used as a part of the system of the present invention because it does not have the above-mentioned problems. At present, it is virtually impossible to cover the bad weather, which is difficult to recognize even if it has the function of human eyes such as fog and a curve with poor visibility, and it cannot be established alone.

In a current, speed-targeted cruise,
If the speed deviates from the set value due to changes in running resistance, etc., the speed will automatically recover, but the erratic time will not be recovered during that time, so the amplitude of the speed error at each moment and the accumulation of the recovery time , It appears as an error in the arrival time at the destination. Further, in the internal combustion engine, the output is reduced quickly, but there is a delay in increasing the output. Therefore, in many cases, the accelerator pedal is opened and closed more frequently than during manual driving, which causes deterioration of fuel efficiency.

[0013] In addition, in a vehicle equipped with an automatic transmission, even on an uphill road which can be driven by top gear in the case of manual traveling, unnecessary kickdown is often caused during cruise traveling, impairing the feeling.

When a vehicle equipped with an automatic transmission travels on an ascending road just near the gear shift point, there may be frequent downshifts and upshifts even during manual traveling. For manuals,
Although changing the speed a little to prevent this, changing the set on a cruise is troublesome, and if you change the set speed you will not be able to follow.

In the current cruise, once stopped, it is inconvenient that the original value adjusted for the turning angle cannot be recalled. This comes from the simple idea that if the original high speed set value is stored while the vehicle is stopped or running at low speed, it may be dangerous to recover and run out of control by careless operation.

[0016]

As described above, the cruise is disliked by the inconvenience, and is simply attached as a decoration to a higher-grade specification of a luxury vehicle. It has been done.

The present invention provides a cruise that enables easy follow-up running not only in the case of the leading vehicle but also in the case of the following vehicles, with a continuous operation method, and reduces driver fatigue.
It aims to improve safety, comfort, and fuel efficiency, and to provide an effective means for suppressing runaway.

[0018]

The cruise of the present invention is divided into three types of systems, first, second and third, and can be used alone or in any combination, but mainly The system will be the base.

The first system operates by the pacemaker in the vehicle without obtaining external information. For this reason, intermittent manual correction operation is necessary. However, the input is only the correction of the inter-vehicle distance that can be easily recognized by the driver, and the dimension is a direct distance, which is incremental and proportional, so that it is easy and practical.

The second system is a system for receiving a marker signal intermittently installed on the road and using it as a synchronization signal for a pacemaker in the own vehicle. No modification is necessary. Of course, if there is no marker, the first system will automatically back up.

The third system uses a radar or the like to measure an inter-vehicle distance from a preceding vehicle and perform tracking traveling.
Although it is known in principle by itself, since there are situations where it is difficult to use such as the weather as described above, it will be put to practical use by automatic backup of the first system.

First, regarding the first system using the digital position servo device, more detailed means will be described. First, the driver follows the preceding vehicle as in the conventional case, and the inter-vehicle distance is appropriate for the traveling environment. At the time when it is determined that the change in inter-vehicle distance has become almost zero, if the cruise set button is pressed as the initial pulse rate setting means, the pacemaker, which is the servo instruction device, stores the pulse rate corresponding to the vehicle speed at that time. , And then sends an instruction pulse at that rate. This is used as a pacemaker that virtualizes the relationship between the time of the preceding vehicle and the mileage, and this is multiplied by the feedback pulse from the wheel of the own vehicle that is the feedback pulse supply means to the sum difference calculator to calculate the number of accumulated pulses. ,
The configuration is the same as that of a known digital position servomotor, and the number of accumulated pulses is set as a deviation value. I. D. The servomotor, step motor, etc. are driven via, and the accelerator pedal is automatically operated to perform displacement follow-up type automatic control.
P. I. All or part of D can be replaced by fuzzy determinant calculation or a lookup table.

After that, when the difference between the virtual value of the pacemaker and the actual traveling distance of the preceding vehicle becomes apparent as the deviation of the inter-vehicle distance, the driver determines the inter-vehicle distance, that is, the relative position of the own vehicle to the preceding vehicle. As a means for instructing the change, the two-phase incremental encoder is manually rotated, the reversible counter is counted, and the inter-vehicle distance is corrected by adding and subtracting the accumulated pulse.

At the same time, the pace fine-tuning means of the present invention considers that the inter-vehicle distance corrected above has changed from the time of the last correction on average, and divides the corrected value of the inter-vehicle distance by the running distance. Only by changing the pacemaker rate, the virtual value will be adjusted to the actual value of the preceding vehicle. However, as described in the examples, necessary measures will be taken under nonstandard operating conditions.

In addition, when the above-mentioned automatic shift frequently occurs, the cruise side requests and changes the shift point. In the case of manual driving, the shift-down position is set to a position where there is still a little extra acceleration power remaining, but in the case of a cruise, it is possible to lower it from the time of manual operation because the extra acceleration power is small. On the other hand, the cruise does not operate the accelerator excessively during the torque change operation of the automatic transmission, so the transmission side receives the information that the cruise is in use, so a constant with less shift shock can be set. You can choose.

In the second system, ground markers are provided mainly on expressways so as to cross the road at regular intervals and at right angles to the direction of travel, mainly by beam radio waves, road surface embedded loops, infrared rays, ultrasonic waves, and the like. .

This is received on the vehicle and the speedometer display is corrected for the error in the effective radius of the tire before the cruise is set.

A vehicle running using the second system lights a blue sign light on its rear surface. The settable speed is mainly 5 km / h. If the speedometer of the own vehicle is 98 km / h when the vehicle is following the sign-lit vehicle and the inter-vehicle distance is almost stable, as the second system, the front vehicle is set to 100 km / h,
The pacemaker determines that the vehicle is running, and the pacemaker 10
It will be set to 0km and the message "100km cruise, standby" will appear. Then, press the set button to start automatic driving. There is also a case where the set speed information of the cruise of the preceding vehicle is modulated and entered in the rear lamp to notify the tracking vehicle to synchronize.

Information such as the friction coefficient when the road surface freezes is modulated and entered in the signal of the ground marker, which is received and stored in the vehicle side and displayed in the vehicle, and the safe speed according to the performance of the vehicle is displayed. If the driver has a license, the interlock may be applied.Directly instruct the ground to correct the speed limit, and if the vehicle is running at a speed higher than that, the hazard lamp will be turned on automatically. In some cases, it may warn nearby vehicles or may automatically interrupt the cruise.

Regarding the error of the above-mentioned second system, the error of time is first, but the accuracy of the crystal oscillator is at least 1.
There is no actual damage because 0 minus 6th power, that is, 1 km or less after traveling 1000 km. Secondly, there are variations in the detection positions of the ground markers of both vehicles in the traveling direction of the vehicle and accumulated pulses, but the sum of these can be suppressed to about 10 m, and the cumulative increase increases depending on the traveling distance. There is no.

On the other hand, it is said that the following distance is sufficient for a minimum of 2 seconds when the preceding vehicle stops using the brakes during following travel, but when the preceding vehicle stops due to a collision, In order to avoid a pool, 100 m or more is required at 100 km / h on a Japanese highway, and about 150 m is required for a relaxed driving with less fatigue. Therefore, the control error in the previous section does not give the occupant a feeling of strangeness.

In place of the ground marker, a navigation system that relies on in-vehicle information such as satellite and / or acceleration may be used. At this time, the set value of the cruise along the road, the passing time at each point, etc. are recorded, and before the next run, call up the table and scroll to check, and check the scheduled time for one of the points. The timetable is automatically shifted and created, and the pacemaker is automatically set along with it, and if you can not run as planned because of the tracking run, to the present point and future points The estimated arrival time is displayed and, if possible, the set value is automatically corrected so as to recover the delay. When scrolling, display the start and end data at the top and bottom of the screen and scroll only the intermediate value.

As described above, in the third system, the practical means is passive radar, and the principle is known for autofocus cameras and the like, but in the case of this case, a long distance of about 150 m is measured. Therefore, it is necessary to provide an image receiver in the right and left corners of the front window to fill the vehicle width, which is also known, and this method is mainly used. Since there is a case where cars of the same type and same color run on multiple lanes or curved roads, the only reliable identification of each car is the number plate, so when using this system, mainly on flat straight roads, autofocus The image of the front vehicle is captured with and the preliminary zoom is performed based on the speed of the vehicle, assuming the inter-vehicle distance that the driver may have currently secured for manual driving. Enlarged and projected on the lower part of the windshield, etc. to let the driver check it, and the number plate part on the screen by the automatic number plate reading device that is put into practical use for parking lot management etc. Automatically recognizes, and encloses it in a frame, presents to the driver that the plate part has been cut out correctly, reads and displays the number, and thereafter tracks this license plate.

While the third system is operating, the first system is also made to stand by as described above, and in case of doubt about the performance of the radar, the data at that time is automatically taken over and the first system runs. Then, when the radar information is recovered, if the continuity with the previous data is recognized, it is automatically restored. For example, if the high frequency disappears from the image signal,
Judged as bad weather such as heavy rain and fog. If the inter-vehicle distance changes discontinuously, it is considered to be a failure or a detection error. However,
If the inter-vehicle distance decreases and the license plate changes, it is an interruption, so immediately turn off the cruise light on the rear face and adjust the inter-vehicle distance. If the license plate being set moves laterally, if the steering wheel of your vehicle is turned in the same direction after the delay time calculated from the vehicle speed and the distance between vehicles, it will follow the curve as it is, but it will wait. However, if the steering wheel cannot be turned, it is judged that the lane has changed and the car is set straight ahead.

The system of the present invention can be further provided with an automatic start mode. In this case, unlike the conventional case, the set value of the cruise before the stop is stored without being erased even after the stop, and the cruise is in the standby state in the set state. At this time, the accelerator pedal is in the upper limit regulation mode, which is the reverse of the conventional cruise. That is, the manual pedal opening determines the upper limit of the cruise automatic opening. Therefore, even if the cruise is set, it will not start unless the accelerator is depressed. In the case of a vehicle with an automatic transmission, the most comfortable start is a constant rotation start for maintaining the engine speed at the cruise target speed from the start time. Therefore, if you start as the first car in the first system,
When the accelerator is fully opened, automatic acceleration is performed at a constant engine speed up to the set speed. After the set speed is reached, once the accelerator is returned, it may be returned to the conventional system, may not be returned during the setting of the cruise, and two accelerator pedals may be provided. If there is a car in front and the path is blocked, the automatic side cannot exceed the accelerator opening for manual operation if you step gently. If the route is open, it may be fully opened at that time. The pacemaker is provided with a starting pace, speed control is performed only when starting, I. D. In some cases, you may just start.

In the third system, while waiting as a signal or the like, the preceding vehicle is started while it is stopped as a succeeding vehicle, and if the set button is pressed within a certain distance, the appropriate inter-vehicle distance according to the vehicle speed at each time point can be obtained. You can also take an automatic tracking start.
To prevent danger, the vehicle will not start even if the button is pressed except at the above timing. In place of the button, if you manually depress the accelerator as described above, there are cases where automatic tracking start is performed with that as the upper limit.

[0037]

In the cruise configured as described above, the tracking run can be easily performed by directly inputting the deviation of the inter-vehicle distance, which can be easily recognized by the driver, proportionally. Furthermore, even if a short-term speed fluctuation is allowed as described above, it does not affect the long-term position accuracy, so fuel efficiency is improved, unnecessary kickdown does not occur, and a large speed fluctuation range is recognized to improve fuel efficiency. It is possible to measure and introduce fluctuations.

In the second system, the above correction is not necessary because the position information is received from the ground.

The third system enables a consistent and automatic operation from the traffic jam guard to the automatic start acceleration by backing up the first and second systems.

[0040]

EXAMPLES Examples will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the system, 1 is a computer device, 2 is a non-volatile memory for storing past driving data, 3 is a pulsar which is transmitted mainly in response to rotation of non-driving wheels, and 4 is a speedometer. Electronically driven by the wheel pulse 5 from the pulsar, the ratio is constantly instructed by the computer 1. Wheel pulse 5
Is also supplied to the computer 1 in parallel with the speedometer. 6 is a clock device having a crystal oscillator having the above-mentioned accuracy, and 7 is used in the above-mentioned second system,
A ground marker transmitter, which is mainly installed along the highway, 8 is a beam-shaped radio wave, and 9 is a receiver. When this signal is used to measure the effective tire radius in a timely manner, it is also reflected in the 4 speedometer display. To be done. 10 and 11 are
A drip-proof CCD camera used for the third system, which is installed at the left and right ends of the car facing forward. Reference numeral 12 is a cruise setting button, 13 is a button for temporarily holding the cruise operation and returning to the manual operation, and operates in series even when the brake pedal is depressed. Reference numeral 14 is a button for returning from the hold, and 15 is a button for canceling and ending the operation of the cruise, and the integrated value of the pacemaker is also cleared. Reference numeral 16 is a switch for selecting the fuel saving mode described above.

Reference numeral 17 denotes an input / output interface connected to the automatic transmission. As described above, the cruise side requests the gear shifting characteristics suitable for the setting at the time of setting.
From the transmission side, we will receive the data necessary for excellent control of the number of gears, engine speed, etc. In the case of the local area network type, 17 is a slave.

Reference numeral 18 is the aforementioned two-phase incremental encoder, and 19 is the main operation dial of the first system while the vehicle is running. By inputting a correction value for the inter-vehicle distance, as will be described later, an appropriate speed is linked. Let the fine adjustment of. 20, 21
Is an optional dial and is used when you want to adjust the inter-vehicle distance or speed independently.

22 is the analog type P. I. D. so,
23 is a D / A converter for inputting the accumulated pulse value to 22 and 24 is an A for returning data to the computer 1.
/ D. 1 through D / A 25, 26, 27 through 2
The gains of the three elements of P, I, and D of 2 are adjusted. The input from 1 to 23 may set a virtual target in a transient state, and combined with this, 25, 26, and 27 are used to improve the feeling and fuel consumption by using four degrees of freedom.

Reference numeral 29 is a step motor for operating the accelerator pedal via the electromagnetic clutch 30, 28 is its driver, and 31 is an emergency rescue button for responding to all the electronic system failures of the cruise. Then, disengage the clutch 30. Other operations may be linked to the operation of the main brake and side brakes. Digital circuit failures often occur suddenly and have a large effect on high performance only in normal times. Therefore, even for general users, an automatic device with a power unit needs an emergency button for soft landing in case of failure. Automobiles also have power steering, power brakes, etc., so it is not always safe to turn off the key switch in an emergency, and the purpose of the key switch is also a changeover switch, so it can be operated smoothly. Because there is no.

32 is the above-mentioned navigation system,
Reference numeral 33 is an antenna for receiving satellite radio waves, and 34 is an in-vehicle measuring device for navigation such as a gyro, which is used in a place where radio waves cannot reach, such as a valley of a building, when a resolution that cannot be covered by satellite is required. The display 35 has an input function such as a numeric keypad.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram around the pacemaker. In the figure, parts other than 3, 5 and 6 show a part of the computer device of FIG. 1, and 36 to 46 are independent microcomputers, integrated circuits for counters, etc. is there. The shaft of the pulsar 3 in FIG. 2 rotates 637 revolutions per km, and 5 pulses produce 32 pulses per revolution and 203 revolutions per km.
Outputs 84 pulses. Before setting the cruise, the counter 36 constantly counts the gate for 1 second and puts it in the register 37. This value is set to W, the quotient obtained by dividing W by 8 is written as Ka in the register 38 as the initial coefficient, and the same value is written in the register 47 as Kb. 37, 38 when the cruise set button is pressed
The intervals are separated, the values of Ka and Kb are fixed, the time T in seconds after setting from the clock 6 enters the register 39, and the pace calculator 40 calculates the product C of Ka and T. On the other hand, the pulse 5 is also guided to the frequency divider 41 after being set, divided into ⅛, and the counted value S is stored in the integrated distance register 42. The difference D between C and S is calculated by the sum difference calculator 43 and output as the accumulated pulse 44, and the displacement follow-up control described above is performed.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing this relationship, in which the time of setting is the first origin 48, the time axis of the coordinate system is 49, and the distance axis is 50. A line 51 is a pace value C calculated according to the above calculation, and a line 52 is an actual running pulse S. 53 is n seconds after the set, 54 is the calculated value at that time, 55 is the actual running value, 54 and 5
The difference of 5 is the accumulated pulse D. 56 indicates after m seconds,
57 is a pace value and 58 is an actual running value. On the other hand, 59
Indicates the actual running path of the preceding vehicle.

When the vehicle was set at the first origin 48 following the preceding vehicle at a constant speed, the preceding vehicle was faster and the inter-vehicle distance increased by the interval between 57 and 60 after m seconds. When the person senses this, the dial 19 in FIG. 1 is turned to generate a pulse corresponding to the increased distance in the encoder 19, and the reversible counter 46 is counted through 45 in FIG. 2 to detect the completion of the pulse transmission. Count value A to 43
And add it to the D value. At the same time, the quotient obtained by dividing the value of A by m seconds is added to the Ka of the register 38 as a new Ka, and the T value and the S value of the registers 39 and 42 are returned to zero. After that, the pacemaker C depends on the new Ka. Calculate. If this relationship is explained in FIG. 3, 60 is the second origin,
61 is the second time axis, 62 is the second distance axis, the extension line 63 of the pace 59 of the preceding vehicle is the pace of the new following vehicle,
Since the difference between 60 and 58 becomes the accumulated pulse at the second origin,
Acceleration is performed to correct the inter-vehicle distance, catching up with the pacemaker at 64 near n2 seconds from the second origin, and thereafter, it is possible to run without correction operation for a considerable period. Further, even if re-correction is required due to a mistake in estimating the increase in the inter-vehicle distance, the operation is easy as described above, and the convergence is gradually reduced, so that the correction amount is reduced and the period until the correction is extended. In particular, if the leading car uses the pacemaker of the present invention, it will be more stable. For the drift accumulation due to analog elements such as the relationship between the tire and the road surface, a correction calculation may be introduced in consideration of effects such as an increase in effective diameter due to the centrifugal force of the tire and a decrease due to the load.

In order to stabilize the inter-vehicle distance by this system, it is necessary to secure the dynamic range of the control system. As described above, the count value of W while traveling at 100 km / h is about 566, and the absolute value of the quantization error is half of that value.
In order to change the distance between cars, it is necessary to drive about 17 km,
There is no problem in feeling. T value and S value register 3
Nos. 9 and 42 can run uncorrected for 1000 km or more if 24 bits are used, and there is no problem because this distance generally exceeds the capacity of the fuel tank. Make sure to secure the necessary number of significant digits in the subsequent calculation units. The gate time and the frequency division ratio of the frequency divider may be changed depending on the calculation speed of the computer.

In the above system, it is good to correct the inter-vehicle distance, check the result of the correction after some time, and then perform the next correction. Repeated corrections in time may cause divergence.
As a countermeasure against this, when the Ka value of the register 38 is rewritten according to the operation of the encoder 19, the T value and the S value immediately before that are stored as Tp and Sp, and at the time of recorrection, the T and S for the new origin are stored. Ka is calculated by adding weighted values to Tp and Sp, respectively. FIG. 4 is a membership function showing these weights. The horizontal axis 65 is the cumulative distance register value S at the time of re-correction, the vertical axis 66 is the weight, and 67 is 0%, 6
8 is 100%, and 69 is a function indicating weight. In the case of re-correction from the left end to 70, it is judged to be an early re-correction due to insufficient visibility of the previous correction, and Tp and Sp are added 100% to T and S. The horizontal axis may use T or may use a two-dimensional function of S and T.
Also, to prepare for re-correction immediately after the first set,
When Ka is fixed for the first time, the ratio of Tp of appropriate size
And Sp may be memorized and set, or a limit may be set so that Ka cannot change by several percent or more with respect to Kb, and there is also a combination of these. Further, in order to suppress runaway at the time of failure, Ka may be converted into analog to control the speed or a speed limiter may be provided.

In the above means, the controlled object having two degrees of freedom such as the vehicle speed and the inter-vehicle distance is controlled with one degree of freedom, so that it may be inconvenient for a skilled driver. For example, if the speed of the preceding vehicle changes for some reason and it starts to run at a constant speed again, the above system can be used.Also, there is a method of removing the set once and adjusting it manually. In the invention, as shown in 21 of FIG. 1, a dial for adjusting the speed independently by a digital or proportional adjusting means may be added as an option. The input of 21 causes the Ka value of 38 and the Kb value of 47 of FIG. 2 to be added or subtracted. Further, if the pace of the front vehicle does not change and only the tracking vehicle is disturbed and slightly delayed, the adjustment dial for only the inter-vehicle distance 20 in FIG. 1 is also convenient. In this case, 43 is added or subtracted in FIG.
Also, the dial 20 may be abolished, and when the dial 19 is slowly turned, only the inter-vehicle distance is changed, and when the dial 19 is normally turned, fine adjustment of the speed may be performed. The dial rotation speed and the final rotation angle may be adjusted. 2D, distance from the last revision,
A multi-dimensional fuzzy calculation with time added, or a lookup table may be used.

The output value A of the reversible counter 46 shown in FIG. 2 is added or subtracted to or from the value of the accumulated pulse D as shown in the figure, or is added or subtracted to or from the C value or the S value, or is input to the pulsers 36 and 41. In some cases, the D value may be indirectly added or subtracted via a route such as temporarily changing the rate of one of the generated pulses.

FIG. 5 shows an example in which the operating buttons used in the first system are attached to the steering wheel portion, FIG. 5 shows the right end portion when the steering wheel is viewed from the driver's seat side, and 71 is the wheel. A ring, 72 is a spoke, 73 is a horn button, 12, 13, 14, and 15 are the set, hold, return, and release buttons shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is the back side, and 19, 20, and 21 are the same as in FIG.
Each of the dials for vehicle distance + fine speed adjustment, vehicle distance adjustment only, and speed adjustment only is a cylindrical dial that rotates around an axis parallel to the spoke axis, and a flat knurl for non-slip parallel to the axis is cut on the outer circumference. Has been.

Reference numeral 74 in FIG. 7 is a cruise speedometer according to the present invention, which is mainly installed in addition to a conventional speedometer. The pacemaker set speed is displayed in a frame 75, and 78 is a unit display. 100.0 in the illustrated example
It is 23 km / h, which is much more accurate than the conventional display. However, while the conventional product displays the current speed, this display is a long-term speed, so as described above. This is because the accuracy and resolution of the crystal oscillator can be used. To transmit the pulse of this set value, an analog oscillator that is digitally controlled is required to be accurate, but in practice, a digital oscillator is used, and indivisible fractions are decimated and the display is Even if the target value is displayed, there is no actual harm because it approaches the target value infinitely as time goes by. Reference numerals 76 and 77 denote the above-mentioned accumulated pulse display, which are displayed in a bar graph form from the center to the left and right in an analog manner. 76 indicates that the pacemaker is behind in terms of distance, and 77 indicates the leading side. In some cases, the deviation of the speed is displayed concentrically with this, or in some cases only the speed is displayed. It is also possible to drive without using the 19 and 20 dials by operating the speed adjustment dial 21 while looking at this meter while the first system is operating. 79,
Reference numerals 80 and 81 are operation indicator lights, and 79 is a light source switch (not shown) that is turned off when the cruise is not in use, and is orange when the vehicle is traveling by the first system, and the second and third systems. It is displayed in green during standby as a backup.
Reference numeral 80 indicates a marker signal or a satellite signal, which is green when the second system is usable, and is orange when the second system is used and is selected by a switch (not shown). Blinks. Reference numeral 81 indicates green when the radar signal is normally received, orange when the third system is running, and blinking when the reception is poor.

When the cruise is not set, FIG.
When the W value of the register 37 of exceeds the speed limit, the information is sent to the engine system and the output is regulated by thinning out the ignition or the like. Traveling just above the upper speed limit is virtually difficult without cruise and should not be allowed.

As an example of the second system, the ground marker 7 of FIG. 1 is installed mainly on a highway in two types, a long pitch and a short pitch. Short pitches will be installed about 100m apart after the approach road, and long pitches will be installed at 1km intervals, but if they cannot be installed due to interchanges etc., they will be expanded or contracted in 100m units. When the receiver 9 on the vehicle receives the first marker signal, the gate of the counter 82 (not shown) opens and the wheel pulse 5 is counted as Wa. Wa is 10
The gate of the receiver 9 opens in the vicinity of an integer multiple of 0 m, and if a marker signal is received, it is determined from the value of Wa at the time of reception that it is a marker of hundreds of meters, and the corrective action is taken. Converted to the number of pulses Wb per 1 km, the above-mentioned 2038
Divide by 4 pulses to obtain the error rate and correct the indicated value on the speedometer. After that, if you set the cruise by tracking the previous vehicle that is using this system as described above, you can get 5K of the previous vehicle.
The vehicle speed in m steps is estimated, and the Ka value of 38 in FIG. 2 is set. After that, the time counter 83 (not shown) is started by the marker signal received for the first time, and the marker signal is received by opening the gate in the vicinity of the time when the vehicle travels about 1 km calculated from the set speed. Judge whether the distance between the markers is exactly 1 km or whether it is expanded or contracted in 100 m units, calculate the time required to travel that distance at the set speed, divide the running time by the calculation time, and calculate the tire diameter, etc. The error rate according to the analog part is calculated, and Ka of 38 in FIG. 2 is corrected mainly in proportion to this error rate, and the pacemaker distance is synchronized with the marker on the ground by repeating the same operation for the subsequent markers. .

When the satellite is used, the traveling route on the map is traced by using the in-vehicle information such as the gyro and the steering angle, and the same is used as the above ground marker at intervals according to the measurement accuracy.

The third system uses the passive radar cameras 10 and 11 shown in FIG. 1 to directly measure the inter-vehicle distance and displays it on the instrument panel, and the set value is stored in the register 84 (not shown). The difference from the measured value of is calculated at 43 in FIG. If the radar becomes unmeasurable, the sequence automatically shifts to the case where the button of the first system is pressed, and if the radar recovers, the value in the register 84 is used again to restore it.

FIG. 8 and below show an embodiment around the accelerator pedal which enables the above-mentioned upper limit regulation mode. FIG. 8 shows a state in which the accelerator pedal is fully closed in the manual operation mode, and the accelerator pedal 85 is fixed to the vehicle body. It is rotatably supported by a pin 86, and 87 is fixed to the vehicle body by an outer of an accelerator cable for performing a conventional control, 88 is an inner of the same, a hook 89 is joined at the left end, and a hook 90 is provided in a groove 90 of 89. A pawl 92 of 91 is engaged, 91 is rotatably connected to a pin 93 connected to an accelerator pedal 85, and a pawl 92 is pressed downward by a spring 94. Reference numeral 95 denotes an upper end of an upper limit control cable fixed to the vehicle body, 96 denotes an inner thereof, a left end metal fitting 97 rotatably coupled to a pin 98 coupled to an accelerator pedal 85, and a claw 99 fixed to the vehicle body. The lower end 101 of the pawl 99 is rotatably supported by 100, and the lower end 101 of the pawl 99 is on the pawl 10 on 91.
Touching 2. 103 is a solenoid fixed to the vehicle body, and the right end of the plunger 104 is rotatably connected to a pin 105 fixed to the pawl 99.

If the accelerator pedal is depressed by manual operation from this state, the conventional control inner 88 is pulled through the claw 92 and the groove 90 as shown in FIG. At the same time, the inner 96 is also pulled by half of the stroke of the inner 88, but as will be described later, the stroke of 96 does not work in this case.

When the cruise is set for automatic start when the accelerator is fully closed and the vehicle is mainly stopped, the result is as shown in FIG.
The solenoid 103 is energized, the plunger 104 is pulled, the pawl 99 rotates to the right, the pawl 92 rises, and the upper limit regulation mode is set. If the accelerator is depressed in this state, only the upper limit regulating inner 96 is pulled.

FIG. 11 shows an intermediate link in a state corresponding to FIG. 87a and 88a are 8 of the conventional type cable of FIG.
At the output side end corresponding to 7, 88, 106 is a gable outer connected to an engine output control device such as a carburetor, and 107 is an inner, which penetrates a pin 109 rotatably connected to a free arm 108 and is a stopper. 110
Is connected to 88a through. Reference numeral 111 is an outer of a cable for transmitting the output of the motor 29 via the clutch 30 of FIG. 1, fixed to the vehicle body, 112 is an inner, and the left end is a pin 113 rotatably connected to the arm 108.
Is bound to. 114 is fixed to the vehicle body at one end of the rotary electromagnetic brake, and 115 is a shaft at the other end, which is prevented from rotating when energized. Reference numeral 116 denotes an arm fixed to 115, and a pin 118 connected to the arm 108 is inserted into the elongated hole 117. 95a and 96a are output side ends corresponding to 95 and 96 of the upper limit control type cable of FIG.
The right end of the inner 96a passes through a sliding hole of a pin 119 that is rotatably connected to the arm 116, and the stopper 1
Twenty are connected. Each arm may be held in the positions shown in FIGS. 8 and 11 by a spring or the like (not shown).

In the state shown in FIG. 11, if the target speed for automatic start is entered from the ten keys and the cruise set button is pressed,
The pin 113 is pulled by the motor and moves to the right, and reaches the fully open position 121. However, the pin 118 only moves to the right end of the slot 117, and the pin 109 does not move. Even if you press the return button and recall the set speed last time,
Even if a full-open command is issued due to a malfunction, there is no danger of runaway. At this time, since the pedal side is as shown in FIG. 10, if the pedal is gradually depressed from this state, the length of the inner 96 is pulled, and the slot 117 of FIG. 11 also gradually moves to the right. The pin 109 moves to the left by a factor of 2 and the engine speed increases to start via the torque converter.

If the pedal is fully depressed to reach the target speed, or the target engine speed is reached during the acceleration, and the automatic cruise control is in the equilibrium state,
As shown in FIG. 12, the pin 113 is located in the middle of the stroke, the right end of the elongated hole 117 serves as a fulcrum, the pin 118 serves as a swing shaft, and the pin 109 is held at the required accelerator opening position.

When the set speed is reached in the state of FIG. 12, the brake 114 is energized and the shaft 115 and arm 116 are energized.
Is locked in the position shown in the figure, the arm 116 does not return even if the accelerator pedal is released and the pedal returns to the fully closed position. At the same time, the solenoid 103 in FIG. 10 is de-energized,
In order to return from the upper limit regulation mode of FIG. 10 to the conventional mode of FIG. 8, if the pedal is manually depressed, the pin 10 of FIG.
9 moves further to the left from the position shown in the figure, and the speed can be increased from the set speed.

However, the set speed is the legal maximum speed, or from the information such as road freezing obtained through a land marker, etc.,
When the maximum speed determined by looking up the look-up table of the performance of the vehicle, the driver's skill, etc. is selected by force or by a maximum speed automatic designation switch (not shown), the solenoid 103 of FIG. Since the energization of is not released, the manual speed-up operation cannot be performed. In place of the brake 114, a one-way method such as a cam or a digital method such as a ratchet may be used.

The brake 114 shown in FIG. 12 is opened mainly when the vehicle is stopped, the emergency button, the cruise release button, and the side brake are operated.

The pins 93 and 98 shown in FIG. 8 may be connected to dedicated pedals. Especially for AT vehicles, the left foot brake system has higher safety because the pedal delay time is shorter and there is no failure mode in which the pedal is misstepped. In this case, since there is a space on the right side, it is easy to install two pedals in parallel.

The cruise of the present invention is, for example, Va, Vb,
When Vb and Vc are caught in a signal and stopped while three vehicles of Vc are running in a line in series, the distance between Va and Vb greatly increases, but the distance between Vb and Vc decreases. , Vb, Vc cars will not stop, so
After canceling the stop signal, the original inter-vehicle distance can be easily restored by the accelerator device, which contributes to effective use of the road area. In this case, D / A 25, 2 in FIG.
6, 27, P. I. D. It is necessary to adjust the gain characteristic of. However, the accumulated pulse at that time is 76 in FIG.
In order to easily exceed the display frame of No. 3, a digital delay distance display frame (not shown) is provided near the display frame 76 to display the distance to the Va vehicle that has been lost in front, and the navigation display of the Vb vehicle shown in FIG. By displaying the position of the Va vehicle in addition to the Vb vehicle on the 35, it is possible to prevent the driver of the Vb vehicle from rushing into dangerous driving to search for the lost Va vehicle. Of course, it is preferable in terms of performance to directly exchange the position information via a local area network or the like provided in the satellite, but considering the line usage fee and the like, the offline system of the present invention is also highly useful.

Since the present invention is constructed as described above, it has the following effects.

The current manual accelerator pedal is not suitable for use for a long period of time, such as on a highway, where the accelerator is depressed by a certain amount. This is because if it is held at a constant value, the accelerator side does not consume energy, but humans use energy and nerves and get tired. Since the cruise introduced as a countermeasure against this is not easy to use during follow-up driving, it has almost never been used as described above.
The present invention improves these points, enables easy driving again with less fatigue, and contributes to improved safety.

The amount of work for moving an object is proportional to the product of the distance and the load. Air resistance is the main cause of running resistance during high-speed running, and this is proportional to the square of the speed, so if the time required to reach the destination is the same, if there are variations in speed during manual running,
Fuel consumption is worse than cruise driving. As described above, the cruise of the present invention has high long-term accuracy and further fuel saving by suppressing nervous delicate accelerator operation like the conventional cruise and unnecessary kickdown.

From the viewpoint of safety and use efficiency, it is antisocial to drive faster or slower than the legal maximum speed even on ordinary roads from the viewpoint of safety, and the range of low speed limit is quite narrow in foreign countries. There are also examples. However, since there is a signal stop on a general road, it is necessary to be able to easily return to the legal speed by automatic start even when the signal is stopped, as in the present invention.

A car in which there is only a way to enjoy it because it is a runaway is dangerous. With the method of the present invention, the satisfaction that the machine provides a rational operation service rather than manual driving can be expected to have the effect of suppressing dangerous manual operation. Especially in the first system, robots and humans are sharing their specialty fields, and there are many degrees of freedom in higher dimension than conventional, which is to control automatic control, and finer control than manual is possible. It is a product that can be made and will not get tired even by experts.

Since the device of the present invention is superior in fuel consumption to manual operation and does not cause any uncomfortable person to feel uncomfortable, there is no reason to object to using this device to comply with the legal maximum speed in terms of hardware.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a detailed view around a pacemaker in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a time history diagram for explaining the operation of the pacemaker.

FIG. 4 is a membership function diagram of a circuit for preventing divergence of the first system.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the steering wheel of the first system.

FIG. 6 is a rear view of the same.

FIG. 7 is a board view of a speedometer for the present system.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a state in which the accelerator pedal is not operated and is fully closed.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an operating state of a conventional mode of an accelerator pedal.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an operating state of an accelerator pedal upper limit regulation mode.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a state when the intermediate link is not operated.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a state of the intermediate link during cruise operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 Pulsar 7 Grand marker Transmitter 9 Same as the receiver 10, 11 CCD camera 19 Distance between cars + Speed fine adjustment dial 31 Emergency button 38, 47 Coefficient register 63 New tracker pace 69 Function indicating weight 74 Cruise speedometer 96 Upper limit Control cable inner 103 Solenoid for upper limit control mode 114, 115 Brake for upper limit control mode

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A cruise control device using a digital position servo device, wherein a servo setting means for giving an instruction pulse to the digital position servo device and a distance pulse according to the traveling distance of the vehicle are fed back to the digital position servo device. A means for supplying as a pulse, an initial pulse rate setting means set by a driver's operation for setting a pulse rate at a certain moment of the servo setting means,
When the driver gives an instruction to change the position of the vehicle with respect to the preceding vehicle at a certain moment after the initial setting, the number of distance pulses according to this correction amount is directly or indirectly adjusted to the accumulated pulse of the servo setting means. A manually operated inter-vehicle distance adjusting means,
A cruise control device for an automobile, which is mainly used in follow-up running, characterized in that it has a pace fine-adjusting means which responds to this. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pace fine adjustment means is adapted to further change the output pulse rate of the servo setting means according to a function including a traveling history set / corrected in the past. 3. A road having the ground marker for the cruise control device. 4. A cruise control device having a mode in which an amount of depression of an accelerator pedal by a driver regulates an upper limit of automatic operation of the cruise control device.