JPH09240321A - Controller for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve drivability in a traveling zone just before a traffic jam by executing control for suppressing the driving force of a vehicle when a detecting means detects a traffic jam ahead of a vehicle. SOLUTION: Determination is made as to whether a traffic jam exists or not ahead of a vehicle by the GPS antenna 15 of a first position detecting part 7 and a second position detecting part of a navigation system B and an antenna 18 for receiving a radio wave, and if a traffic jam is determined, shift control is executed based on a basic shift pattern if a driver tries to detour the traffic jam. A distance to a vehicle ahead is detected by a distance sensor 14, determination is made as to whether the vehicle is traveling at a speed for smoothly moving to the entrance of the traffic jam or not and based on the result of this determination, control is performed by an electronic controller 4 for suppressing the driving force of the vehicle. Thus, drivability in a traveling zone just before the traffic jam is improved.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle control device for controlling the driving force of a vehicle based on the road condition of a planned road, and more particularly to the control of a vehicle for controlling the driving force of a vehicle based on congestion. It relates to the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, when a vehicle travels in a traffic jam, the vehicle is frequently stopped and started, so that not only the riding comfort and drivability are deteriorated but also the fuel consumption rate is increased, which is economical. There is a problem that the burden becomes large.
On the other hand, in recent years, due to the development of various sensor technologies, it is possible to detect the road condition on which the vehicle is traveling. Therefore, these sensors detect traffic congestion, and the driving force of the vehicle is detected based on the detection results. Attempts have been made to address the above problems by controlling the.

An example of a vehicle control device that copes with traffic congestion using the above-mentioned sensor is, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-5054.
No. 9 discloses this. A control device for an automatic transmission for a vehicle described in this publication includes an accelerator opening detection means for detecting an accelerator opening of an engine combined with an automatic transmission, a vehicle speed detection means for detecting a traveling speed of a vehicle, and a detection means. The traffic congestion detection means for detecting traffic congestion by referring to the accelerator opening and vehicle speed in time series, and the automatic transmission when the traffic congestion detection means detects traffic traveling in traffic congestion And a control means for controlling the automatic speed change operation of the automatic transmission according to the set speed change pattern. There is.

According to the control device described in the above publication,
When the vehicle is traveling on a general road, the shift control of the automatic transmission is performed based on the shift pattern for traveling on the general road, while the traffic congestion detection means detects that the vehicle is traveling in a traffic jam. In this case, the shift pattern for traveling on the general road is switched to the shift pattern for congestion, and the shift control of the automatic transmission is performed according to the shift pattern for congestion.

[0005] Here, the gear shift pattern for congestion is selected as a gear position having a smaller gear ratio than the gear shift pattern for traveling on a general road, so that the driving force of the vehicle becomes low, and the accelerator pedal is depressed when traveling in a congestion. Even if the vehicle is operated roughly, sudden acceleration / deceleration of the vehicle is prevented, and good ride comfort and drivability can be maintained.

[0006]

However, in the control device described in the above publication, the traffic congestion detection means detects traffic congestion by referring to the accelerator opening and the vehicle speed in chronological order. After actually entering the traffic jam, the driving force control can be executed, but the driving force control cannot be executed in the traveling section from the current position of the vehicle until the traffic jam is reached. For this reason, for example, if there is a traffic jam immediately after turning a curve or an intersection with poor visibility,
There is a problem that the drivability in the traveling section before the traffic jam is deteriorated because the vehicle speed has to be sharply reduced and the distance between the vehicle and the vehicle in front is shortened or the riding comfort is deteriorated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a control device for a vehicle capable of improving drivability in a traveling section before traffic congestion. This object is achieved by executing control for suppressing the driving force of the vehicle on the basis of the detected traffic jam information when traveling in a section of the planned road ahead of the traffic jam.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention described in claim 1 is a control device for a vehicle equipped with a detection means for detecting the road condition of a road on which the vehicle is to travel. In the above, it is characterized in that it is provided with a driving force control means for executing control for suppressing the driving force of the vehicle when the detecting means detects a traffic jam in front of the vehicle.

Therefore, according to the first aspect of the present invention, when the traffic jam ahead of the vehicle on the planned road is detected, the driving force of the vehicle in the travel section from the current position of the vehicle until the traffic jam is reached. The control that suppresses is executed.
Therefore, the increase in vehicle speed in the traveling section until reaching the traffic congestion is suppressed, and even when there is traffic congestion immediately after turning a straight road or a curve or an intersection with poor visibility, for example, the Good inter-vehicle distance and riding comfort, and improved drivability.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided judging means for judging whether or not the vehicle enters the traffic jam, and the judging means detects that the vehicle enters the traffic jam. In this case, the driving force control means executes control for suppressing the driving force.

Therefore, according to the invention described in claim 2, in addition to the same effect as that of claim 1, when the vehicle enters a traffic jam, the control for suppressing the driving force of the vehicle is executed. On the other hand, when the vehicle bypasses the traffic jam, the control for suppressing the driving force of the vehicle is not executed. Therefore, the vehicle speed is controlled according to the realistic road condition, and the riding comfort and drivability are not reduced.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Next, the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing an embodiment of the present invention, which includes a drive control unit A for generating a drive torque of a vehicle and a navigation system B for detecting road conditions. First, the drive control unit A
The drive control unit A is provided with an engine 1, a fuel injection device 2, and an automatic transmission 3, and an electronic control for controlling the engine 1, the fuel injection device 2, and the automatic transmission 3 is provided. A device (ECU) 4 is provided. The engine 1 has a known structure including a combustion chamber, a piston, a crankshaft, an intake / exhaust device, and the like.

The fuel injection device 2 for supplying fuel to the combustion chamber of the engine 1 has a known structure including a fuel injection pump, an injection nozzle and the like. further,
The automatic transmission 3 that converts the torque output from the crankshaft of the engine 1 includes a torque converter, a lockup clutch, a planetary gear mechanism, a friction engagement device such as a brake and a clutch, and engagement / disengagement of the friction engagement device. A well-known structure having a shift solenoid valve for controlling the motor is used.

The electronic control unit 4 is a microcomputer mainly composed of a central processing unit (CPU), a storage unit (RAM, ROM) and an input / output interface, and is selected by a driver or automatically set. Various shift modes corresponding to various driving modes such as a normal mode, an economy mode, a power mode, a sports mode, a snow mode, etc. are stored. Then, the electronic control unit 4 detects a traveling state such as the throttle opening of the engine 1 and the vehicle speed, and controls the automatic transmission 3 based on each shift pattern.

Further, the electronic control unit 4 determines the engine 1, the fuel injection device 2 and the automatic transmission 3 on the basis of the road condition of the planned traveling road detected by the navigation system B.
Control to control the driving force of the vehicle. Examples of modes for controlling the driving force of the vehicle include adjustment of the output torque of the engine 1, generation of engine braking force, switching of the number of cylinders of the engine 1, bank switching, adjustment of the fuel injection amount of the fuel injection device 2, automatic gear shifting. Change of the gear change pattern of the machine 3, change of the gear ratio (gear ratio) itself, automatic transmission 3
The adjustment of the engagement / disengagement timing of the lock-up clutch, known neutral control, etc.

Therefore, the electronic control unit 4 controls the electronic control unit 4, the fuel injection unit 2, and the automatic transmission 3 to use data for controlling the reference vehicle speed, for example, the reference vehicle speed corresponding to the distance to the vehicle ahead and the reference acceleration of the vehicle. The upper and lower limits of the throttle opening corresponding to the vehicle speed, the reference number of times of neutral control, and the like are stored in advance.

Next, the navigation system B will be described. In the navigation system B, an information recording medium C such as an optical disk or a magnetic disk is loaded, and a changer 5 for reading the information stored in the information recording medium C and a changer 5. The multi-display 6 for displaying the information read by the image, the first position detecting unit 7 and the second position detecting unit 8 for detecting the current position of the vehicle and the road condition, and the driver driving the road condition by voice. And a speaker 9 for informing the user.

The changer 5, the multi-display 6, the first position detector 7 and the second position detector 8, and the speaker 9 are controlled by the electronic control unit 10. The electronic control unit 10 is composed of a central processing unit (CPU), a storage unit (RAM, ROM), and a microcomputer mainly including an input / output interface.

The information recording medium C stores information necessary for traveling of the vehicle, such as a map, a place name, a road, main buildings around the road, and a concrete condition of the road, that is, a straight road. , Curve, uphill, downhill, ordinary road,
The highways are stored.

Further, the first position detecting section 7 includes a geomagnetic sensor 11 for detecting a traveling direction of the vehicle, a wheel sensor 12 for detecting a vehicle speed, a steering sensor 13 for detecting a steering wheel steering angle, and a distance between the front vehicle and the vehicle. A distance sensor 14 for detecting the distance is provided.

Further, the second position detecting section 8 comprises a GPS antenna 15 for receiving radio waves from an artificial satellite, an amplifier 16 connected to the GPS antenna 15, and a GPS receiver 17 connected to the amplifier 16. There is. In addition, the second position detection unit 8 is a beacon or a sign post installed on the roadside, a VICS (Vehicle Information & Communication System), or an SSV.
Antenna 18 for receiving radio waves obtained from S (super smart vehicle system) and the like, and antenna 1
The amplifier 19 is connected to the amplifier 8 and the receiver 20 is connected to the amplifier.

Next, a control example of the vehicle control device shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to the flow charts shown in FIGS. First, in the control example of FIG. 2, the shift control of the automatic transmission 3 is performed based on a basic shift pattern, for example, a normal pattern, which corresponds to the drive mode in which the driver selects or automatically sets the drive mode (step). 1).

Navigation system B while the vehicle is traveling
As a result, the planned road to the destination input by the driver is displayed on the multi-display 6, and the current position of the vehicle is determined based on the signal obtained by at least one of the first detection unit 7 and the second detection unit 8. Is detected and the current position is displayed on the multi-display 6.

Further, the navigation system B determines whether or not there is a traffic jam ahead of the road on which the vehicle is traveling, and when the traffic jam is detected, it is determined whether the vehicle enters the traffic jam. (Step 2).

If the result of the determination in step 2 is "no", that is, if the traffic jam is not detected, or even if the traffic jam is detected, it is detected that the driver bypasses the traffic jam, the process returns to step 1 The shift control according to the shift pattern is continued. If the result of the determination in step 2 is "yes", the navigation system B detects the distance S to the vehicle ahead and whether or not the current vehicle speed V is less than the reference vehicle speed Va, that is, the traffic congestion. It is determined whether the vehicle speed is such that the vehicle can smoothly enter the entrance (step 3).

Here, the reference vehicle speed Va is a function of the distance S and is determined from the braking distance or drivability.
Therefore, the reference vehicle speed Va may be different depending on the weather and road conditions, for example, when the vehicle travels on a general road and when it travels on a highway.

If the result of the determination in step 3 is "yes", it means that the vehicle speed has been sufficiently reduced, and it is determined whether or not the current vehicle speed V is substantially 0 (step 4). If the result of the determination in step 4 is "no", it is possible to smoothly enter the traffic jam by returning to step 1 and traveling at the same vehicle speed as before until the traffic jam. If the result of the determination in step 3 is "no", it may not be possible to smoothly enter the traffic jam at the current vehicle speed. Therefore, the electronic control unit 4 executes control for suppressing the driving force of the vehicle. In this embodiment, the vehicle speed is reduced by increasing the engine braking force by changing the gear ratio of the automatic transmission 3 to the low speed side (step 5).

After step 5, the electronic control unit 4 determines whether or not the vehicle speed is reduced to a vehicle speed at which traffic congestion can be smoothly entered (step 6). In this determination, the value obtained by subtracting the vehicle speed V ′ after deceleration from the vehicle speed V before deceleration is divided by the time t,
It is performed based on whether the value is less than the reference longitudinal acceleration K (K is a negative acceleration). Where time t
Indicates the time from the start of deceleration until the vehicle speed V ′ after deceleration is detected. K is determined from the relationship between V and Va (s).

If the result of the determination in step 6 is "yes", the process returns to step 1 and the result of the determination in step 6 is "no".
In this case, that is, when it is necessary to further suppress the driving force to decelerate, the electronic control unit 4 determines whether the throttle opening θ is less than the upper limit throttle opening θa (step 7).

That is, even if it is necessary to further reduce the vehicle speed, the throttle opening θ becomes the upper limit throttle opening θ.
This is because if the gear ratio is reduced while the value is larger than a, the vehicle speed will increase, which is to prevent this.

If the result of the determination in step 7 is "yes", the process returns to step 5 to further reduce the gear ratio to suppress the driving force. However, if the result of the determination in step 7 is "no", the process proceeds to the past. It is determined whether or not the number N of times of the neutral control is less than the reference number Na (step 8), and if the result of the determination in step 8 is "yes", the electronic control unit 4 performs neutral control or engine fuel injection control. A warning is issued to urge driving force suppression and deceleration (step 9).

In this neutral control, the clutch of the automatic transmission 3 may be kept in a semi-disengaged state so that torque is not transmitted, or by intermittently repeating the semi-disengaged state and the engaged state, further deceleration. You may give a warning to encourage. After step 9, the process returns to step 2.

If the result of the determination in step 8 is "NO", the drivability may be impaired if the neutral control is repeated the reference number of times Na or more. Therefore, when the driver depresses the accelerator pedal despite the necessity of deceleration, the fuel injection is cut to warn the driver by the shock or vibration of the engine 1 or the fuel injection amount is changed. The control is performed such that the output torque is reduced to suppress the output torque to decelerate (step 10), and the process returns to step 2. The above step 2 corresponds to the detecting means and the judging means of the present invention, and the above step 5, step 6, step 7, step 8, step 9, and step 10 correspond to the driving force control means of the present invention.

As described above, according to the present invention, when the traffic ahead of the vehicle on the planned road is detected in advance,
In the running section from the current position of the vehicle to the time when traffic congestion is reached, changes in the gear ratio, engine braking force generation, neutral control, fuel injection amount control, and other driving force suppression controls are executed to suppress an increase in vehicle speed. It Therefore, not only straight roads but also roads immediately after turning a curve or an intersection with poor visibility are congested, the inter-vehicle distance to the preceding vehicle and the riding comfort are maintained well, and the drivability is improved. .

Further, in this control example, even if a traffic jam is detected in front of the vehicle, when the vehicle bypasses the traffic jam, the vehicle travels with the driving force as it is, so that the actual road condition is met. The vehicle speed is maintained and the riding comfort and drivability are not reduced.

On the other hand, the judgment result of step 4 is "yes".
In this case, for example, the control shown in FIG. 3 or 4 can be performed. First, the control example of FIG. 3 will be described. The electronic control unit 10 determines whether or not the vehicle is entering a traffic jam or is already located within the traffic jam vehicle row length L (step 11). If the result of the determination in step 11 is "yes", the electronic control unit 4 changes the gear ratio set to the first speed in the forward range to, for example, the second speed (step 12). This change is performed with the shift pattern unchanged.

If the gear ratio of the automatic transmission 3 is changed to the second speed, the driving force becomes smaller than that in the first speed even if the vehicle is repeatedly started and stopped while traveling in a traffic jam. The sudden start is prevented and the distance between the vehicle and the vehicle in front can be properly maintained, and sudden acceleration and deceleration are prevented, and the ride comfort and drivability in traffic jams are improved. When the transmission uses a continuously variable transmission (not shown) including a pulley having a V-shaped groove and a belt, it is high geared, in other words, the width of the groove on the speed increasing side. The same effect as described above can be obtained by adjusting.

After step 12, the electronic control unit 10 determines whether or not the vehicle will come out of the traffic jam, more specifically, whether the vehicle will exit from the traffic jam exit or deviate to the side road without traffic jam (step 13). ), If the result of the determination in step 13 is "yes", the original gear ratio and the first speed are restored (step 14). Therefore, sufficient acceleration performance can be obtained when the vehicle starts. If the result of the determination in step 11 is “no”, the process proceeds to step 13 and step 1
3 If the judgment result is "no", the process returns to step 1 in FIG.

On the other hand, the control example of FIG. 4 will be explained.
If the result of the determination in step 11 is "yes", the basic shift pattern is changed to another shift pattern, for example, the economy pattern or the traffic congestion exclusive pattern (step 21).

The economy pattern or the traffic jam-dedicated pattern is lower in vehicle speed than the basic shift pattern, and
The control content is such that shift up is performed at a low throttle opening, and the shift pattern emphasizes the fuel consumption rate rather than the output torque of the engine 1. Therefore, even when the vehicle is repeatedly started and stopped due to congestion, sudden start is prevented, the inter-vehicle distance and the riding comfort are maintained, the drivability is improved, and the fuel consumption is saved.

Then, the electronic control unit 4 controls the vehicle speed to zero.
It is determined whether or not, that is, whether or not the vehicle is not expected to run due to traffic congestion (step 22), step 22
If the result of the determination is “Yes”, the electronic control unit 4 controls the neutral control of the automatic transmission 3 (similar to FIG. 2),
Alternatively, a known stop control of the engine 1 is performed (step 23). If the engine stop control is performed in this manner, fuel consumption can be suppressed correspondingly, which is more economical. Of course, after stopping, the engine 1 is restarted by an operation such as depressing the accelerator pedal.

Thereafter, the electronic control unit 10 determines whether or not the vehicle is out of traffic (step 24). If the determination result in step 24 is "yes", the shift pattern is a basic shift pattern, for example, a normal pattern. Alternatively, it is returned to the power pattern and the acceleration performance is secured (step 25).

If the result of the determination in step 11 or step 22 is "no", the process proceeds to step 24,
If the result of the determination in step 24 is "no", the process returns to step 1 in FIG.

In the control examples shown in FIGS. 2 to 4,
It is also possible to suppress the increase in vehicle speed by executing control control of the driving force by bank switching of the engine 1, switching of the number of cylinders, adjustment of engagement / disengagement timing of the lockup clutch of the automatic transmission 3. In the case where a manual type transmission in which the shift stage is switched by the driver's operation is used as the transmission, the electronic control unit 10 is used.
Thus, when a traffic jam is detected, it is possible to display an instruction signal and give a warning to the driver to urge him to decelerate. Further, since the navigation system B detects road conditions other than traffic jams, such as flat roads, mountainous areas, uphill roads, straight roads, and curves, control for suppressing the driving force on the traffic jam road and the traveling section before this is performed. At the time of execution, the electronic control unit 4 uses the electronic control unit 4 to reduce the driving force when the vehicle is in a deceleration state suitable for road gradient resistance or turning resistance, for example, when the vehicle is congested on an uphill road. It is possible to perform control to set a large force suppression ratio.

[0045]

As described above, according to the invention described in claim 1, when the traffic jam ahead of the vehicle on the planned road is detected, the traveling section from the current position of the vehicle until the traffic jam is reached. Control for suppressing the driving force of the vehicle is executed. Therefore, the increase in vehicle speed in the traveling section until reaching the traffic congestion is suppressed, and even when there is traffic congestion immediately after turning a straight road or a curve or an intersection with poor visibility, for example, the Good inter-vehicle distance and riding comfort, and improved drivability.

According to the invention described in claim 2, in addition to the same effect as in claim 1, the control for suppressing the driving force of the vehicle is executed when the vehicle enters the traffic jam. When the vehicle bypasses the traffic jam, the control for suppressing the driving force of the vehicle is not executed. Therefore, the vehicle speed is controlled according to the realistic road condition, and the riding comfort and drivability are not deteriorated.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing an embodiment of a vehicle control device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a control example of the vehicle control device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a control example of the vehicle control device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a control example of the vehicle control device of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 engine 3 automatic transmission 4,5 electronic control unit A drive control unit B navigation system

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A control device for a vehicle, comprising: a detecting means for detecting a road condition of a road on which the vehicle is to travel; when the detecting means detects a traffic jam ahead of the vehicle, the driving force of the vehicle. A control device for a vehicle, comprising: a driving force control means for executing control for suppressing the above. 2. A determination means for determining whether or not the vehicle enters the traffic jam is provided, and the driving force control means is provided when the determination means detects that the vehicle enters the traffic jam. The control device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the control device executes control for suppressing the driving force.