JPH0752680A - Accelerator controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent contact with an obstacle so as to enhance safety by providing obstacle detection means for detecting any obstacles in front of and behind the vehicle, and controlling the operation of an accelerator pedal if some obstacle is detected while the vehicle is running. CONSTITUTION:A forward distance sensor and a backward distance sensor are provided on the front and rear of the body of an automatic vehicle 1 to detect any obstacles in front of and behind the vehicle body and detect their distances to the vehicle body. If some obstacle ahead is detected and its distance to the vehicle body decreases below a predetermined value, a geared motor for controlling an accelerator stopper 30 is driven in the normal direction to project a stopper piston 32 so as to control the amount by which an accelerator pedal 21 is operated to less than a relative velocity Vbkm/h; then it is determined whether or not the absolute value (a) of vehicle velocity is less than e.g. 1km/h, and when the absolute value (a) is at or less than 1km/h, the rotary operating drum of a direction-selecting control is disengaged and allowed to automatically return to an N/P position, and a transmission is automatically set to a parking position.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to accelerator control when an obstacle is detected.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Regarding control when an obstacle is detected in front of or behind a vehicle, there is an example described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 2-7021. In this example, when proximity sensors provided in the front and rear of the vehicle detect an obstacle at the time of engine start, control is performed so as to prevent a shift change to a range in which the obstacle advances in a certain direction. Therefore, an erroneous operation at the time of starting can be prevented.

[0003]

However, in this conventional example, since the shift operation at the time of starting the engine is controlled, it does not function when the engine restarts after the vehicle is stopped or while the engine is running, and the vehicle does not function. There is no automatic avoidance of contact with objects.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and its object is to prevent the accelerator from contacting with an obstacle by restricting the depression of the accelerator pedal when an obstacle is detected during traveling. The point is to provide a control device.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an obstacle detecting means for detecting obstacles in front of and behind the vehicle, and a stepping-down regulating means for regulating the depression of an accelerator pedal. The accelerator control device is provided with: control means for controlling the depression regulating means to reduce the depression amount of the accelerator pedal which can be easily depressed when there is a detection signal from the obstacle detecting means.

When the obstacle is detected, the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal, which can be easily depressed, is controlled to be small, so that the driver recognizes the existence of the obstacle by the resistance of the accelerator pedal, and the acceleration of the vehicle is restricted. Can be avoided.

Further, when the vehicle approaches the obstacle to a predetermined distance, the transmission gear control means changes the gear position to parking, so that the contact with the obstacle can be surely prevented.

[0008]

EXAMPLES An example of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 to 8 will be described below. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a state in front of a driver's seat 2 of an automatic vehicle 1 according to this embodiment. A gear shift lever 6 projects from the steering column of the pivot portion of the steering wheel 3 to the passenger seat side separately from the wiper operation lever 5.

On the other hand, a supporting member 8 is provided on the inner surface of the door 7 on the driver's seat 2 side, and a traveling direction selecting operation device 9 is provided on the supporting member 8. A position indicator lamp 11 is arranged on the instrument panel 10 in front of the steering wheel 3 together with other meters, and an audio device 13 and the like are arranged above the center console 12. A brake pedal 20 is provided on the left side and an accelerator pedal 21 is provided on the right side below the instrument panel 10 at the feet of the driver.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the accelerator pedal 21 and an accelerator stopper 30 that regulates the movement of the accelerator pedal 21.

A base end portion is pivotally attached to a pivot shaft 22, an arm portion 23 extends downward and bends midway, and an accelerator pedal 21 is provided at a tip end. The accelerator pedal 21 is swingable back and forth together with the arm portion 23. The position shown by the phantom line in FIG. 2 is a position where the accelerator is fully closed and is stopped by a stopper (not shown).

A support member 24 for supporting the accelerator pedal 21 from the back side has a convex portion 25 projecting to the opposite side of the accelerator pedal 21.
have. An accelerator stopper 30 is provided in front of the convex portion 25. Accelerator stopper 30
, A cylindrical stopper cylinder 31 is fixed in a tilted posture with the rear part raised a little, and a rod-shaped stopper piston 32 is telescopically inserted into the stopper cylinder 31 from a rear opening thereof. There is a convex portion 25 of the support member 24 in the extending direction.

As shown in FIG. 3, the stopper piston 32 has a long rectangular shape with its inside oriented in the longitudinal direction, and a rack 34 is formed on the ceiling surface of the hollowed space 33. Then, the drive shaft 37 of the control geared motor 36 disposed on the side of the accelerator stopper 30 penetrates inward from the side surface of the stopper cylinder 31 of the accelerator stopper 30 to drive the pinion to the tip in the hollow space 33 of the stopper piston 32. Gear 35 is fitted.

Since the drive pinion gear 35 is meshed with the rack 34 of the stopper piston 32, the control geared motor 36 is driven in the normal rotation (clockwise in FIG. 3) to drive the stopper piston via the drive pinion gear 35 and the rack 34. The stopper piston 32 can be retracted by extending 32 and conversely driving the control geared motor 36 in reverse.

By the control of the control geared motor 36, the stopper piston 32 can be stopped at an appropriate position intermediate between the most retracted position and the fully extended position, and the same position can be maintained. It is not firmly maintained, and if a large amount of pressing force is applied to the stopper piston 32, it is possible to retract the stopper piston 32 against the force that tries to stop the stopper piston 32 of the control geared motor 36. is there.

FIG. 2 shows the case where the stopper piston 32 of the accelerator stopper 30 is at the most retracted position, and the accelerator pedal 21 is stepped on from a posture without any depression shown by a phantom line and the support member 24 on the back side is depressed. The figure shows a normal unregulated state in which the convex portion 25 can swing to the posture shown by the solid line in which it abuts on the head of the stopper piston 32 at the most retracted position and is stopped with the largest depression amount.

FIG. 4 shows a state in which the stopper piston 32 is extended by about half and stopped by the normal rotation of the control geared motor 36. Therefore, the accelerator pedal 21 is regulated to about half the normal depression amount and accelerated. Is limited.

FIG. 5 shows a state in which the stopper piston 32 is extended most, and the head portion of the stopper piston 32 is in contact with the convex portion 25 of the support member 24 on the back side of the accelerator pedal 21 which is not depressed, There is no room to step on.

4 and 5, the range in which the driver can easily depress the accelerator pedal 21 is restricted by the control geared motor 36. The stopper piston 32 is pushed against the control geared motor 36, and the accelerator pedal 21 can swing.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the traveling direction selecting operation device 9 is located slightly forward of the steering wheel 3 at the height of the steering column 4 in the right door 7 so that the driver can normally seat on the driver's seat 2. Then, the right hand is within a range that the right hand can reach sufficiently, and as shown in FIG. 6, the traveling direction selection operation device 9 is fitted into the rectangular opening 8a of the support member 8 and screwed by the screw 16.
The support member 8 itself is laterally fixed to the door 7 with screws 18 via brackets 17.

The advancing direction selecting operation device 9 is provided with a rotary operation drum 41 which is exposed from a rectangular opening of a base plate 40 so that a part thereof is exposed upward and is swingable. Has a protruding ridge portion 42 that also serves as a pointer in the center of the ridge portion.
On the rear side, N means neutral and parking
And P are displayed side by side on the left and right, and the display of D meaning forward is further written on the rear side.

The rotary operation drum 41 is urged in the central N / P position direction by a return spring (not shown). When the electromagnetic solenoid 45 provided inside is turned on and the rod is projected, the rotary operation drum 41 is rotated. Can be held in the D position rotated forward and the R position rotated backward.

Therefore, when the rotary operation drum 41 is set and held at the D position or the R position and the transmission gear position is set to drive or reverse, when the electromagnetic solenoid 45 is turned off, the rotary operation drum 41 is held. It is released and returned to the N / P position by the return spring, and the transmission gear position is also set to neutral or parking.

The gear position of the transmission gear can be changed by the transmission drive motor 46, and the rotation of the transmission drive motor 46 is detected by the motor position sensor 47 and feedback-controlled.

The transmission driving motor 46, the electromagnetic solenoid 45, the geared motor 36 for controlling the accelerator stopper 30, and the like are controlled by a microcomputer, and FIG. 7 shows a schematic system configuration. The automatic vehicle 1 is provided with a front distance sensor 49 and a rear distance sensor 50 at the front and rear of the vehicle body, respectively, so that the distance to the vehicle body can be detected by detecting obstacles in front of and behind the vehicle body. There is. Further, the automatic vehicle 1 includes a vehicle speed sensor 51 with forward / backward movement determination.

That is, the ECU 48, which is the control center of the microcomputer, receives detection signals from the motor position sensor 47, the front distance sensor 49, the rear distance sensor 50, and the forward / backward traveling speed sensor 51, and the ECU 48 controls the control signals. Geared motor 36, electromagnetic solenoid 45,
It is output to and controlled by the transmission drive motor 46. The control procedure in the system configuration of FIG. 7 will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In this routine, the transmission is started in a mode other than parking and neutral, and it is first determined whether the vehicle speed V is higher than S (step 1). If the vehicle speed is greater than S, the routine proceeds to step 2, It is determined whether or not the rotary operation drum 41 of the traveling direction selection operation device 9 is in the D position, and if it is in the D position, the process proceeds to step 3 and the signal from the front distance sensor 49 causes the distance to the front obstacle to be Bm or less. If there is no obstacle ahead, or if it is not below Bm even if it is traveling normally forward, proceed to step 4 and set the stopper piston 32 of the accelerator stopper 30. Completely retract the accelerator pedal 21 and release the pedal, and then return to step 1. That is, when the vehicle is normally traveling forward, steps 1, 2, 3 and 4 are repeated, and the accelerator pedal 21 is in a state where it is not regulated at all.

When an obstacle is detected ahead and the distance to the vehicle body becomes Bm or less, the process proceeds from step 3 to step 5 to drive the control geared motor 36 of the accelerator stopper 30 in the normal direction to cause the stopper piston 32 to project. Relative speed V
_The amount of depression of the accelerator pedal 21 is restricted to less than _b km / h. That is, the depressed accelerator pedal 21 is returned to the state shown in FIG. 4, the depression beyond the same position is restricted, and the relative speed with respect to the front obstacle is suppressed to less than V _b km / h.

Then, the process proceeds to the next step 6, and it is determined whether or not the distance to the obstacle ahead is C (<B) m or less. When the rotation operation drum 41 of the traveling direction selection operation device 9 is not in the D position in step 2, that is, when the vehicle travels forward at the vehicle speed V of S or more, but the traveling direction selection operation device 9 is not in the D position. Skip steps 3 and 5 and proceed directly to step 6.

If the distance to the front obstacle is not less than Cm in step 6, the process returns to step 1, but if it is less than Cm, the process proceeds to step 7 and the rotating operation drum 41 of the traveling direction selection operation device 9 is in the D position. If it is in the D position and is going to move forward further, proceed to step 8 to drive the control geared motor 36 of the accelerator stopper 30 to further project the stopper piston 32, that is, to fully close the accelerator, that is, The stopper piston 32 shown in FIG. 5 is completely extended to the extent that there is no stepping margin, and preparations for stopping are made, and the routine proceeds to step 9.

In step 9, the absolute value of vehicle speed | V |
(For example, 1 km / h) or less is determined, and the process returns to step 1 until it becomes a or less, and if it becomes a or less, the process proceeds to step 10 and the electromagnetic solenoid 45 is turned off and the traveling direction selection operation device 9
Release of the rotation operation drum 41 of the
After automatically returning to the position, in step 11, the transmission driving motor 46 is driven to automatically set the transmission to parking.

That is, the distance to the obstacle is C while traveling forward.
When it becomes m or less, the stopper piston 32 of the accelerator stopper 30 is extended most greatly to completely regulate the depression of the accelerator pedal 21, and when the vehicle speed becomes a or less, the transmission is automatically set to parking and stopped, and an obstacle is detected. Prevent contact.

When the distance to the obstacle is Cm or less in forward traveling but the traveling direction selection operation device 9 is not in the D position (step 7), the accelerator pedal 21 of step 8 is not regulated and the step is immediately performed. Fly to 9 and absolute vehicle speed ｜ V ｜
Is a or less, the electromagnetic solenoid 45 is turned off (step
10) Set the transmission to parking (step 11).

On the other hand, when the vehicle speed V is not higher than S in step 1, it is judged in step 21 whether the vehicle speed V is lower than -S, that is, the reverse vehicle speed is S or more and the vehicle is moving backward. Step 1 when retreating at low speed
Returning to step S22, when the vehicle is traveling at a backward vehicle speed equal to or higher than S, the process proceeds to step 22 and it is determined whether or not the rotary operation drum 41 of the traveling direction selection operation device 9 is in the R position.

From step 22 to step 28, substantially the same control as that of step 2 to step 8 is performed, though the traveling direction of the vehicle is different. That is, the reverse vehicle speed is S
As described above (step 21), the traveling direction selection operation device 9 is at the R position (step 22), and the rear obstacle is not detected by the signal from the rear distance sensor 50 or the rear obstacle is normally retracted by Dm or more. When (Step
23), the stopper piston 32 of the accelerator stopper 30 is retracted, the depression regulation of the accelerator pedal 21 is released, and the process returns to step 1 to repeat steps 1, 21, 22, 23 and 24.

When a rear obstacle is detected and the distance to the vehicle body becomes Dm or less (step 23), the control geared motor 36 of the accelerator stopper 30 is driven in the forward direction to cause the stopper piston 32 to project and the relative speed -V _d. When the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal 21 is restricted to less than km / h and the distance to the rear obstacle becomes E (<D) m or less (step 26),
When the traveling direction selection operation device 9 is in the R position and is about to move backward (step 27), the stopper piston 32 of the accelerator stopper 30 is fully extended (step 28), and the depression of the accelerator pedal 21 is completely restricted. When the reverse force is lost and the absolute vehicle speed becomes a or less (step 9), the electromagnetic solenoid 45 is turned off (step 10), the transmission is set to parking (step 11), and the vehicle is stopped to prevent an obstacle. It is possible to prevent contact with objects.

As described above, when the obstacle approaches B (D) m or less while traveling in either the forward or reverse direction, the stopper piston 32 of the accelerator stopper 30 is extended to some extent and the accelerator pedal 21 is released. and it depresses fully extended the stopper piston 32 when the relative velocity V _b (-V _d) km / set to less than h to reduce the speed further obstacle is close to or less C (E) m The accelerator pedal 21 is returned to a state where it is not depressed and the vehicle is stopped to avoid contact with an obstacle. When the vehicle speed becomes equal to or lower than a, parking is automatically set and the vehicle is stopped.

The driver can detect that the accelerator pedal 21 is being depressed with normal force, and the accelerator piston 21 is returned by the protrusion of the stopper piston 32 of the accelerator stopper 30 so that the accelerator is regulated. Yes You can know the approach of obstacles and usually brake. If you still try to run and almost come into contact with an obstacle, the stopper piston 32 will fully extend and you will not be able to depress the accelerator pedal 21 with normal force and it will be decelerated,
When the speed is lower than a predetermined speed, the vehicle is automatically parked and stopped to prevent contact with an obstacle.

When the traveling direction of the vehicle does not match the selected speed gear, the accelerator is not controlled and the distance to the obstacle is C (E) m or less and the vehicle speed is a or less. It is sometimes set to a parking state and stopped.

Therefore, to give a concrete example in which a particularly effective effect can be expected, first of all, it is possible to prevent a sudden start in the traveling direction, especially at a place where there is an obstacle, such as a wall or a vehicle. In addition, it is possible to prevent unintentional contact such that the brake is loosened and comes into contact with a vehicle in front of or behind the vehicle during traffic jam or temporary stop. It is possible to prevent erroneous acceleration when the vehicle distance is short during tracking.

In addition, since it is possible to sense that the vehicle is under accelerator regulation by the feeling of stepping on the foot, it is possible to take a pre-contact step before the contact, so that the contact can be easily avoided.

Even when the accelerator is restricted, the accelerator pedal 21 swings if the vehicle is stepped on with a force larger than usual, so that the requirement can be satisfied even when the vehicle is desired to be brought as close as possible to a wall or when it is desired to be brought into contact with an object and moved. It is also possible.

[0043]

According to the present invention, the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal, which can be easily depressed when an obstacle is detected, is controlled to be small. Therefore, the driver feels resistance to the accelerator pedal and recognizes an abnormality, and the acceleration of the vehicle is restricted. Avoid contact with obstacles.

Further, when the vehicle approaches the obstacle to a predetermined distance, the transmission gear control means changes the gear position to parking, so that the contact with the obstacle can be surely prevented.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a state in front of a driver's seat of an automatic vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of essential parts showing an accelerator pedal of the automatic vehicle and its vicinity.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing the structure of an accelerator stopper.

FIG. 4 is a side view of an essential part showing another state of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the main part showing still another state.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a traveling direction selection operation device.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a control system system of the present embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a control procedure by the control system.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Automatic car, 2 ... Driver's seat, 3 ... Steering wheel, 5 ... Wiper control lever, 6 ... Gear shift lever,
7 ... Door, 8 ... Supporting member, 9 ... Traveling direction selection operation device, 10
… Instrument panel, 11… Position indicator, 12
… Center console, 13… Audio device, 16… Screw, 17… Bracket, 18… Screw, 20… Brake pedal,
21 ... Accelerator pedal, 22 ... Axis, 23 ... Arm part, 24 ... Support member, 25 ... Convex part, 30 ... Accelerator stopper, 31 ... Stopper cylinder, 32 ... Stopper piston, 33 ... Hollow-out space, 34 ... Rack, 35 ... Drive pinion gear, 36 ...
Control geared motor, 37 ... Drive shaft, 40 ... Base, 41 ... Rotation operation drum, 42 ... Ridge portion, 45 ... Electromagnetic solenoid, 46 ...
Transmission drive motor, 47 ... Motor position sensor,
48 ... ECU, 49 ... Front distance sensor, 50 ... Rear distance sensor, 51 ... Forward / backward traveling speed sensor.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An obstacle detection means for detecting obstacles in front of and behind a vehicle, a stepping regulation means for regulating depression of an accelerator pedal, and a stepping regulation means for detecting a detection signal from the obstacle detection means. An accelerator control device comprising: control means for reducing a depression amount of an accelerator pedal that can be controlled and easily depressed. 2. A gear changing means for changing the gear position of the transmission to parking, and a gear changing means for driving the gear changing means to change the gear position to parking when the obstacle detecting means detects an obstacle at a predetermined distance. The accelerator control device according to claim 1, further comprising a gear control means.