JPH10148151A - Vehiclar driving force control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the driving force characteristic from being changed during the period of vehicle traveling in a traffic jam in a device for controlling the driving force of a vehicle, when the driving force characteristic is changed in response to the attribute of a region where the vehicle travels. SOLUTION: The vehicular driving force control device detects the present position of its own vehicle by means of a present position detecting means 2, and detects the attribute of a region where a vehicle ravels. When the regional attribute is changed, the vehicular driving force characteristic is changed by means of a driving force characteristic switching means 4, and when it is detected that its own vehicle travels in a traffic jam, by a traffic jam travel detecting means 5, switching of the driving force characteristic is prohibited by driving force characteristic switching prohibiting means 6. Thus, the driving force characteristic is not changed during the period of vehicle-traveling in the traffic jam.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for controlling a driving force of a vehicle, and more particularly, to an apparatus for appropriately controlling the driving force of a vehicle in order to enhance the operability and drivability of the vehicle in accordance with the attributes of a running region. The present invention relates to a control device for controlling.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a vehicle is provided with various driving characteristic adjusting means for matching the driving characteristics of the vehicle with the road conditions and the driving characteristics of the driver.

[0003] Such running characteristics adjusting means include a power steering system for adjusting the weight of the steering, an electronically controlled throttle for adjusting the throttle target opening with respect to the opening of the accelerator pedal, an electronically controlled transmission for controlling the shift, and traction. Traction control system that controls the rear wheel steering angle with respect to the front wheel steering angle, such as 4WS is known.
The vehicle driver selects the mode by appropriately operating the operation switch for setting the mode of each of the driving characteristic adjusting means provided in the driver's seat, manually changing the driving characteristics, and performing driving adapted to road conditions. I'm trying to do it.

However, with the recent diversification of traveling preferences and various technological innovations, the traveling characteristic adjusting means has also been diversified and the traveling characteristics to be set have been increased, and as a result, the number of operation switches for setting the traveling characteristics has also increased. I am doing it. For this reason,
The operation of all these operation switches is very complicated for the driver, and it is difficult to operate these switches while traveling. The fact is that they are not able to fully demonstrate.

[0005] In view of this, there has been proposed a driving force control device for a vehicle that obtains the state of the road on which the vehicle is currently traveling from a navigation device and automatically controls the output of the engine in accordance with the road condition (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-157556). JP-A-5-180023). In this device, for example, when the navigation device detects that the vehicle is traveling on a backstreet or a narrow bend in a residential area other than the main road, the engine output is controlled to be small according to the road conditions. Is done.
As a result, the acceleration force of the vehicle is limited, so that the driver can appropriately drive the vehicle according to road conditions other than the main road.

[0006]

However, when the area attribute where the vehicle travels is changed, for example, when the vehicle travels on a road condition such as a back road or a curved road other than the main road, the driving force characteristics are automatically changed. In such a configuration, the traffic congestion situation is not sufficiently reflected.For example, when the driving force characteristics are switched while the road is congested, the driving force of the vehicle suddenly increases and the driving becomes difficult. Could be.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and a vehicle driving force control device capable of appropriately controlling the driving force characteristics of a vehicle in accordance with the attributes of a running region and the congestion of a road. It is intended to provide.

[0008]

A first aspect of the present invention is a vehicle driving force control device for controlling a driving force of a vehicle, wherein a local attribute detecting means for detecting a local attribute in which the own vehicle is traveling, A driving force characteristic switching unit that switches a driving force of the vehicle based on a region attribute detected by the region attribute detecting unit; a congestion traveling determination unit that determines whether the host vehicle is traveling in congestion; A switch prohibition unit for prohibiting the driving force characteristic switching unit from switching the driving force when the congestion traveling judgment unit determines that the vehicle is traveling in congestion.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the local attribute detecting means is used for obtaining a current position of the own vehicle and a local attribute storing means for storing a local attribute relating to a main road in advance. A position information detecting means for detecting the position information to be obtained, a current position calculating means for calculating and determining a current position of the own vehicle based on a detection result of the position information detecting means, A detection means for comparing a regional attribute with a result of calculation by the current position calculating means to detect a regional attribute in which the host vehicle is traveling is provided.

A third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the second aspect of the present invention, the area attribute storage means stores area attributes related to a predetermined area on a map in advance.

Here, the predetermined area is, for example, an area including many uphills and downhills, an area including a lot of traffic lights, an area including many sideways and narrow roads, and an area where the vehicle is required to be responsive to accelerator operation. That means.

[0012] The invention of claim 4 is the invention of claim 1, 2, or 3.
In the invention, the traffic congestion determination means recognizes, as image information, the presence of another vehicle in front of the vehicle, and determines whether or not the vehicle is traveling in traffic based on the recognition result. Image recognition congestion determining means for determining, accelerator operation frequency congestion determining means for measuring an accelerator operation frequency with respect to the speed of the own vehicle, and determining whether the own vehicle is running in congestion based on the measurement result, The brake operation frequency of the own vehicle is measured, and the brake operation frequency congestion determination means for determining whether the own vehicle is running in congestion based on the measurement result, and VICS information are received, and the own vehicle The vehicle is provided with at least one of VICS traffic congestion determining means for judging whether or not the vehicle is traveling in a traffic jam. Is characterized in that it is determined that the in-line.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the first to fourth aspects of the present invention, there is provided means for setting a driving force characteristic corresponding to traffic congestion traveling, and the switching prohibiting means is provided by the traffic congestion traveling determining means during traffic congestion traveling. When it is determined that there is a driving force, the switching of the driving force is prohibited after the driving force is switched by the driving force characteristic switching means to the driving force corresponding to traffic congestion.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the first to fifth aspects of the present invention, the driving force characteristic switching means changes a gain of a throttle valve opening degree with respect to an operation amount of the accelerator according to the regional attribute. It is characterized by comprising changing means.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the first to fifth aspects of the present invention, the driving force characteristic switching means comprises a pattern changing means for changing a shift pattern of the automatic transmission according to the regional attribute. It is assumed that.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the first to fifth aspects of the present invention, the driving force characteristic switching means comprises an air-fuel ratio switching means for switching a target air-fuel ratio of the engine according to the regional attribute. Is what you do.

[0017]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the area attribute of the own vehicle is detected by the area attribute detecting means, and whether or not the own vehicle is traveling in the congested state is determined by the congested traveling determining means. Is determined. The driving force characteristic switching means switches the driving force of the vehicle based on the detection result by the area attribute detecting means, but when it is detected that the own vehicle is traveling in congested traffic, the driving force of the driving force is changed even if the area attribute is changed. Inhibit switching. For this reason, even if the area attribute is changed during traffic congestion, the driving force of the vehicle cannot be switched. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the driving force characteristic from becoming unharmonious, ignoring the traffic congestion, and to perform the driving according to the road condition without troublesome driving operation.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the current position of the own vehicle is detected by the position information detecting means, and the detection result is compared with the local attribute stored in the local attribute storing means. It is determined whether the vehicle is traveling. Here, if the area information relating to the predetermined area is stored in advance in the area attribute storage means as in the invention of claim 3, the own vehicle travels based on the area information and the detection result by the position information detection means. Is detected. The driving force characteristic changing means switches the driving force characteristics so as to be suitable for the attribute of the area where the vehicle is traveling. As a result, it is possible to perform driving according to the road condition by using both driving characteristics according to the area attribute. Also, compared to the case of judging the surrounding situation from the correlation between the accelerator operation amount and the vehicle acceleration, it is possible to judge the local attribute faster and more accurately, and to select the gear suitable for city driving, such as driving performance characteristics. Changes can be made easily.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, at least one of the image recognition congestion determining means, the accelerator operation frequency congestion determining means, the brake operation frequency congestion determining means, and the VICS congestion determining means determines that the vehicle is traveling in congestion. It is determined whether there is. As a result, it is possible to automatically recognize whether or not the vehicle is traveling in congested traffic, so that the driver does not need to input information related to congested traveling.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when it is determined that the vehicle is traveling in a traffic jam, the driving force characteristic switching means is switched to the driving force characteristic corresponding to the traffic jam and switching of the driving force is prohibited. Is done. For this reason, the driving force characteristic is automatically switched to the driving force characteristic suitable for traffic congestion traveling, so that it is possible to perform driving according to the road condition even during traffic congestion traveling.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the gain of the throttle valve opening is changed by the gain changing means in accordance with the area attribute in which the host vehicle travels. Therefore, even if the accelerator operation amount is the same, the engine is adjusted in accordance with the area attribute. Can be changed, and operation can be performed according to the regional attributes. Therefore, by appropriately setting the accelerator opening according to the regional attribute, the driver can surely make the magnitude of the driving force correspond to the regional attribute without paying attention to the accelerator work. In addition, when the vehicle is running in traffic, the gain of the throttle valve opening is not changed, so that the engine output is prevented from being changed, and the vehicle can be operated without feeling uncomfortable even during traffic.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the shift pattern of the automatic transmission is changed in accordance with the region attribute in which the host vehicle travels. Therefore, even if the accelerator operation amount and the vehicle speed are the same, the gear position can be changed in accordance with the region attribute. By changing the pattern, it is possible to drive according to the attribute of the area. Therefore, depending on the accelerator operation amount and the vehicle speed as on an uphill road, even when the margin of the driving force according to the gear position becomes small, the gear position biased to the low speed side so that the driving force becomes large in advance is increased. By appropriately setting the shift pattern according to the regional attribute, such as a pattern, the driver can drive without feeling a shift problem. Further, the shift pattern is not changed when the vehicle is traveling in a traffic jam, so that a shift is prevented from being performed against the driver's intention, and the driver can perform a comfortable driving even during the traffic jam. .

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the target air-fuel ratio of the engine, that is, the ratio of the fuel injection amount to the intake air amount of the engine is changed in accordance with the attribute of the region in which the vehicle travels. Even if the number is the same, the fuel consumption rate characteristic can be changed according to the regional attribute, and the operation can be performed with the fuel consumption rate according to the regional attribute. Therefore, by appropriately setting the target air-fuel ratio according to the regional attribute, the driver can drive without paying attention to the fuel consumption rate. In addition, when the vehicle is running in congested traffic, the target air-fuel ratio is not changed, so that the engine output is prevented from being changed against the driver's intention, and the vehicle is driven without discomfort even during traffic congestion. be able to.

[0024]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle driving force control device according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, a vehicle driving force control device according to the present embodiment includes a position information detecting unit 1 that detects position information used for obtaining a current position of the host vehicle, and a position information detection unit. Means 1
Current position detecting means 2 such as a navigation device for calculating and determining the current position of the vehicle based on the detection result of the vehicle, a local attribute storing means 3 storing in advance a local attribute relating to a local attribute in which the vehicle travels, and a local attribute storing means A driving force characteristic switching unit for switching the driving force characteristics of the vehicle based on the area attribute stored in the storage unit and a detection result of the current position detecting unit; and determining whether the vehicle is traveling in a traffic jam. The vehicle includes a traffic congestion determining means 5 and a driving force characteristic switching prohibiting means 6 for prohibiting the driving force characteristic switching means 4 from switching the driving force characteristic when the traffic congestion determining means 5 determines that the vehicle is traveling in congestion. .

That is, the vehicle driving force control device according to the present embodiment has such a configuration, and detects the current running position of the vehicle by the current position calculating means 2 such as a navigation device, and the CD-ROM of the navigation device. The local attribute stored in the ROM or the like is compared with the current traveling position of the vehicle, and the driving force characteristic is switched to the most suitable driving force characteristic according to the regional attribute in which the vehicle is currently traveling. On this occasion,
When it is determined by the congestion traveling determining means 5 that the vehicle is traveling in congestion, the driving force characteristic switching prohibiting means 6 prohibits the driving force characteristic switching means 4 from switching the driving force characteristics.

Hereinafter, a specific configuration of the present embodiment will be described.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle to which the vehicle driving force control device according to the present embodiment is applied. The output of engine 101 is supplied to driving wheels via an automatic transmission 103 with a built-in torque converter. (Not shown).

An electronically controlled throttle valve 102, which is opened and closed by a motor or the like, is interposed in an intake passage of the engine 101. The intake air amount of the engine 101 is adjusted according to the opening of the electronically controlled throttle valve 102. Thus, the output torque of the engine 101 is controlled. The electronically controlled throttle valve 102 is operated by a control signal from a throttle control module (TCM) 51.

The TCM 51 has a power train
An opening command signal indicating the opening of the electronically controlled throttle valve 102 is transmitted from a control module (hereinafter referred to as PCM) 50, and the TCM 51 converts the opening command signal into a motor drive voltage and calculates the actual throttle valve 102.
The electronic control throttle valve 102 is feedback-controlled so that the opening of the electronic control throttle valve 102 becomes the opening obtained by the opening command signal from the PCM 50.

The PCM 50 includes an accelerator pedal opening from an accelerator pedal opening sensor 105, a brake operation signal from a brake operation switch 106, and an automatic transmission 103.
A select range signal from the range selection lever 107 is input to control the fuel supply amount to the engine 101, the ignition timing, the gear position control or the hydraulic control of the automatic transmission 103, the brake actuator 1
In step 04, hydraulic control of each wheel brake is performed.

On the other hand, above the windshield of the vehicle,
Camera 1 for capturing the situation in front of the vehicle as a video
11 are provided. The image captured by the camera 111 is input to the image processing device 53 and processed as a road condition, a vehicle condition, obstacle information, and the like in front. The processing result is transmitted to the external environment information processing module 52.

A GPS antenna 113 for receiving a signal from a satellite is provided at the rear of the vehicle. GPS
Information obtained from the antenna 113 is input to the position information processing device 54. The position information processing device 54 is a CD-R storing map information in which geographical attributes are incorporated in advance.
A storage medium such as an OM is stored.
Based on the signal from PS antenna 113, the position where the vehicle is currently traveling is detected. Then, the detection result is transmitted to the external environment information processing module 52. Further, a signal from the position information processing device 54 is also displayed on a monitor 112 provided in the driver's seat.

The external environment information processing module 52 converts a signal representing the current vehicle environment into a PC based on the signals input from the image processing device 53 and the position information processing device 54.
Send to M50. The PCM 50 receives this signal and controls the output of the engine 101, the shift of the automatic transmission 103, and the like. Conversely, the PCM 50 transmits output torque information of the engine 101, gear position information of the automatic transmission 103, signals from the accelerator pedal opening sensor 105 and the brake operation switch 106, and the like to the external environment information processing module 52. The external environment information processing module 52 may receive this signal to increase the accuracy of determining the external environment or estimate the driver's mental state.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of a process performed in the vehicle driving force control device according to the present embodiment.

First, in step S1, the external environment information processing module 52 determines the attribute of the area where the vehicle is currently traveling.

FIG. 4 shows the external environment information processing module 52.
5 showing a region attribute determination process in FIG.
7A and 7B are diagrams illustrating images displayed on a monitor 112. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4, first, at step S11
, The position coordinates C (x, y) of the vehicle on the map are detected based on the satellite reception information from the GPS antenna 113. In addition, as shown in FIG. 5A, determination on which road on the surrounding road the vehicle is located is also performed on the map.

In the next step S12, it is determined to which of the regional attributes (city area, non-city area, etc.) the position coordinates C (x, y) detected in step S11 belong. For example, the vehicle is shown in FIG.
When the vehicle exists at the position of the coordinates C (x, y) shown in FIG. 5A, it is determined that the own vehicle belongs to the attribute A (for example, an urban area) in the attributes on the map as shown in FIG. Is done.

Then, in step S13, information relating to the attribute of the current position of the own vehicle determined in step S12 is transmitted to PCM 50, and the process ends.

Returning to FIG. 3, in the next step S2, the PCM 50 performs a region attribute switching process. FIG.
Is a flowchart showing a region attribute switching process. The region attribute switching process according to the present embodiment is executed, for example, at a rate of one task every 10 msec. First, in step S21, the area attribute (KANKYO) where the vehicle is currently running, which is obtained in step S1, is input from the external environment information processing module 52, and the area attribute is stored in the memory R0 ( (Not shown).

Next, in step S22, it is determined whether or not the area attribute information stored in step S21 is the same as the area attribute information stored in the previous processing. When step S22 is denied, it is determined that the regional attribute has been changed, and the process proceeds to step S23. When step S22 is affirmed, the regional attribute has not been changed, and the process proceeds to step S25.

In step S23, it is determined whether or not the vehicle is traveling in congestion based on the signal from the traffic congestion determining means 5. If the vehicle is traveling in congestion, the process proceeds to step S25 on the assumption that the area attribute may be newly set. Conversely, when the vehicle is not traveling in traffic congestion, the process proceeds to step S24, where the area attributes stored in the previous process are maintained and stored in the memory R0. In step S25, the local attribute information stored in the memory R0 is stored in the driving force characteristic change memory KANKYOT in the PCM 50, and the process ends.

Here, the processing for determining whether or not the vehicle is traveling in traffic congestion performed in step S23 will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the congestion traveling determination process.
The congestion traveling determination processing in the present embodiment is executed, for example, at a rate of one task every 10 msec.

First, in step S31, it is determined whether or not another vehicle exists in front of the host vehicle. This is performed in the image processing device 53 using an image captured by the camera 111. FIG. 8 shows an image captured by the camera 111. 8A shows an image in a state where a vehicle is present in front, FIG. 8B shows an image in a state where no vehicle is present in front, and FIG. 8C shows a luminance image in a state where a vehicle is present in front. FIG. 8D shows a luminance image in a state where no vehicle is present ahead. FIG.
As shown in (a), when a vehicle is present ahead, the white line W
As shown in FIG. 8 (c), a change in luminance occurs in a region sandwiched between the pixels. On the other hand, if there is no vehicle in front as shown in FIG. 8B, no change in luminance occurs in the region between the white lines W as shown in FIG. 8D. Therefore, when a change in luminance occurs in an area sandwiched by the white lines W, it is recognized that a vehicle is present in front and that the vehicle is traveling in congestion. The range sandwiched by the white lines W is changed in accordance with the vehicle speed, and the accuracy of the detection of traffic congestion is improved by, for example, limiting the range to the vehicle closer to the host vehicle (for example, the lower area of the image) as the vehicle speed decreases. Can be.

When the result in step S31 is affirmative, it is determined that the vehicle is traveling in congested traffic, and the flag FJAM indicating that the vehicle is traveling in congested traffic is set to 1 in step S36.

If step S31 is negative, the process proceeds to step S32, where it is determined whether or not the accelerator operation frequency is equal to or higher than a predetermined value. This accelerator operation frequency is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 9, the number of times the accelerator is turned on and off per unit time is measured. If the measurement result and the vehicle speed are within the diagonal lines in FIG. 9, it is determined that the vehicle is not congested. Things. That is, since the accelerator operation frequency is higher than usual during traffic congestion, it is possible to determine whether the vehicle is congested by detecting the accelerator operation frequency.

If the accelerator operation frequency is equal to or more than the predetermined value, the result of the determination in step S32 is affirmative, and the flag FJAM indicating that the vehicle is running in congestion is set to 1 in step S36.

If step S32 is denied, the process proceeds to step S33, where it is determined whether the brake operation frequency is equal to or higher than a predetermined value. This brake operation frequency is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 10, the number of brake ON / OFF operations per unit time is measured. If the measurement result and the vehicle speed are within the diagonal lines in FIG. 10, the traffic is not congested. Is what you do. In other words, since the frequency of brake operation is higher than usual during traffic congestion, it is possible to determine whether or not the vehicle is congested by detecting the frequency of brake operation.

If the brake operation frequency is equal to or higher than the predetermined value, step S33 is affirmed, and in step S36, the flag FJAM indicating that the vehicle is congested is set to 1.

If step S33 is denied, the process proceeds to step S34, where it is determined from the VICS information whether or not there is congestion. That is, information related to traffic congestion is received by the GPS antenna 113 as VICS information, and it is determined whether or not the road on which the vehicle is currently traveling is congested. When step S34 is affirmed, the flag FJAM indicating that the vehicle is running in congestion is set to 1 in step S36.

On the other hand, if step S34 is denied, it is determined that the vehicle is not traveling in congestion, and the flag FJAM indicating that traffic is traveling is set to 0 in step S35, and the process ends.

Returning to FIG. 3, in the next step S3, the vehicle is driven by the driving force characteristics according to the regional attribute information stored in the memory KANKYOT.

As described above, in the present embodiment, even if the regional attribute is changed in step S22, if it is determined in step S23 that the vehicle is traveling in congestion, the local attribute in the previous process is maintained and the local attribute is maintained. The vehicle is driven by the driving force according to the regional attribute stored in the previous processing without changing the attribute. Therefore, the driving force does not suddenly change against the driver's intention during traffic congestion, and the vehicle speed does not suddenly change. This makes it possible to drive without discomfort even during traffic congestion. Conversely, when the vehicle gets out of congestion, the driving force characteristics of the vehicle are changed in accordance with the current regional attribute, and thus the vehicle can be driven with a driving force suitable for the regional attribute.

Hereinafter, a specific example of the driving force characteristic change performed in step S3 will be described.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the processing performed in the first example of the driving force characteristic change.
In the flowchart shown in FIG. 7, when the regional attribute is changed and the vehicle is not traveling in a traffic jam, the process is performed, for example, in the background. In the first example, the gain of the opening of the throttle valve 102 is adjusted in accordance with the attribute of the area.

That is, in the first example, in step S 41, the magnification TVOG of the throttle valve opening signal with respect to the signal of the accelerator pedal opening sensor 105 according to the regional attribute information stored in the memory KANKYOT.
To change. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, when the attribute A corresponding to the city area is set, the ratio TVOG of the throttle valve opening with respect to the accelerator opening is set to be larger than the attribute B corresponding to the area other than the city area. Increase the output torque sensitivity. This allows
When driving in a city area, the vehicle can drive responsively with high output.Therefore, even in an urban area where it is often necessary to avoid obstacles due to a sudden jump from a side road or to require engine braking, sufficient driving force and Driving can be performed comfortably with the braking force, and the emergency avoidance performance of the vehicle can be improved.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the processing performed in the second example of the driving force characteristic change.
Similarly to the example, in the flowchart shown in FIG. 6, the process is performed, for example, in the background when the regional attribute is changed and the vehicle is not traveling in traffic. In the second example, the shift pattern of the automatic transmission 103 is changed according to the area attribute.

That is, in the second example, in step S 42, the automatic transmission 10 based on the relationship between the vehicle speed and the signal of the accelerator pedal opening sensor 105 according to the regional attribute information stored in the memory KANKYOT.
Change the shift pattern of No. 3. For example, as shown in FIG. 14, when the attribute C corresponds to a mountain road, a lower gear is selected even at the same vehicle speed and the same accelerator opening than when the attribute A corresponds to an urban area. By setting the shift pattern, the marginal driving force for each gear is larger in the case of the attribute C than in the case of the attribute A, and the shift pattern is suitable for traveling on an uphill or downhill.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the processing performed in the third example of the driving force characteristic change.
Similarly to the second example, in the flowchart shown in FIG. 6, when the regional attribute is changed and the vehicle is not traveling in congestion, the operation is performed in the background, for example. In the third example, the target air-fuel ratio of the engine is switched according to the area attribute.

That is, in the third example, step S
At 33, the target air-fuel ratio at the time of combustion in the engine 101 is changed in accordance with the regional attribute information stored in the memory KANKYOT. For example, as shown in FIG. 16, by changing the target air-fuel ratio so that the region in which the lean burn is performed in the attribute B corresponding to the area other than the city area is wider than the attribute A corresponding to the city area, the same operation state is obtained. Also, when traveling outside the city, the vehicle can travel with a low fuel consumption rate.

In the above embodiment, the area attribute switching process in step S2 of FIG. 3 is performed by the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the flowchart of FIG. May be performed by the processing shown in FIG. Hereinafter, the processing illustrated in the flowchart of FIG. 17 will be described.

First, in step S51, similarly to step S21 in FIG.
, The area attribute (KANKYO) in which the vehicle is currently running determined in step S1 is input, and this area attribute is stored in the memory R0 provided in the PCM 50.
(Not shown).

Next, in step S52, as in step S23 of FIG. 6, it is determined whether or not the vehicle is traveling in congestion based on the signal from the congestion traveling determining means 5. If the vehicle is traveling in congestion, in step S53, the memory R0
The traffic congestion attribute is stored in the area attribute stored in. If step S52 is denied, the process proceeds to step S54. In step S54, the local attribute information stored in the memory R0 is stored in the driving force characteristic changing memory KANKYOT in the PCM 50, and the process ends.

Then, in step S3 of FIG.
In step S61 of the both-drive characteristic changing process shown in FIG. 18, the ratio TVOG of the throttle valve opening signal to the signal of the accelerator pedal opening sensor 105 in accordance with the regional attribute information stored in the memory KANKYOT.
Since the traffic jam attribute is stored in the memory KANKYOT, the ratio TVOG of the throttle valve opening to the accelerator opening is set to be smaller than the attribute B as shown in FIG. As a result, when the vehicle is traveling in a traffic jam, the engine output with respect to the accelerator opening becomes smaller, so that even during the traffic jam, an operation suitable for the traffic jam can be performed.

In the flowchart shown in FIG. 18, the throttle valve opening is changed according to the congestion attribute, but the shift pattern of the automatic transmission 103 is changed so that the driving force is reduced according to the congestion attribute. Alternatively, the target air-fuel ratio may be changed so that the fuel consumption rate is reduced according to the traffic congestion attribute.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle to which the vehicle driving force control device according to the embodiment is applied;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing processing performed in the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a region attribute determination process.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a map displayed on a monitor.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a region attribute switching process.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a traffic jam traveling determination process.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an image captured by a camera and luminance information of the captured image.

FIG. 9 is a graph showing a relationship between vehicle speed and accelerator operation frequency.

FIG. 10 is a graph showing the relationship between vehicle speed and brake operation frequency.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a driving force characteristic changing process (part 1).

FIG. 12 is a graph showing the relationship between the throttle opening and the accelerator opening.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a driving force characteristic changing process (part 2);

FIG. 14 is a graph showing a shift pattern in a relationship between a vehicle speed and an accelerator pedal opening.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a driving force characteristic changing process (part 3).

FIG. 16 is a graph showing a relationship between an engine speed and an engine load.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing another example of the area attribute switching process.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing another example of the driving force characteristic changing process.

FIG. 19 is a graph showing a relationship between an accelerator opening and a throttle opening.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Position information detecting means 2 Current position detecting means 3 Regional attribute storing means 4 Driving force characteristic switching means 5 Traffic congestion traveling judging means 6 Driving force characteristic switching prohibiting means 50 PCM 51 TCM 52 External environment information processing module 54 Position information processing device 101 Engine 102 Electronically controlled throttle valve 103 Automatic transmission 111 Camera

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Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A vehicle driving force control device for controlling a driving force of a vehicle, comprising: a region attribute detecting means for detecting a region attribute in which the own vehicle is traveling; and a region attribute detected by the region attribute detecting device. Based on the driving force characteristic switching means for switching the driving force of the vehicle, traffic congestion determination means for determining whether or not the vehicle is traveling in congestion. A vehicle driving force control device comprising: switching prohibition means for prohibiting the switching of the driving force by the driving force characteristic switching means when the judgment is made. 2. The local attribute detecting unit includes: a local attribute storing unit that stores a local attribute of a main road in advance; and a positional information detecting unit that detects positional information used to determine a current position of the host vehicle. Means, a current position calculating means for calculating and determining a current position of the own vehicle based on a detection result of the position information detecting means, a regional attribute in the local attribute storing means, and a calculation result by the current position calculating means 2. The vehicle driving force control device according to claim 1, further comprising: a detection unit configured to detect an area attribute in which the host vehicle is traveling by comparing 3. The vehicle driving force control device according to claim 2, wherein the area attribute storage means stores area attributes related to a predetermined area on a map in advance. 4. The traffic congestion determination means recognizes, as image information, the presence of another vehicle in front of the vehicle, and determines whether the vehicle is traveling in traffic based on the recognition result. Image recognition congestion determination means to determine, the accelerator operation frequency with respect to the speed of the vehicle,
Accelerator operation frequency traffic congestion determining means for determining whether or not the host vehicle is traveling in congestion based on the measurement result; measuring the brake operation frequency of the host vehicle; At least one of a brake operation frequency congestion determining means for determining whether or not the vehicle is traveling and VICS congestion determining means for receiving VICS information and determining whether or not the vehicle is traveling in congestion. The vehicle according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein when at least one of the respective means determines that the vehicle is traveling in a traffic jam, the vehicle is determined to be traveling in a traffic jam. Vehicle driving force control device. 5. A driving force characteristic switching means for setting a driving force characteristic corresponding to the traffic congestion traveling, wherein said switching prohibition means is provided when said congestion traveling judging means determines that the vehicle is traveling in congestion. The vehicle driving force control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the switching of the driving force is prohibited after the driving force is switched to the driving force corresponding to traffic congestion. 6. The driving force characteristic switching means comprises a gain changing means for changing a gain of a throttle valve opening degree with respect to an operation amount of the accelerator according to the regional attribute. The vehicle driving force control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. 7. The driving force characteristic switching unit according to claim 1, wherein the driving force characteristic switching unit includes a pattern changing unit that changes a shift pattern of the automatic transmission according to the regional attribute. Vehicle driving force control device. 8. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said driving force characteristic switching means comprises air-fuel ratio switching means for switching a target air-fuel ratio of an engine in accordance with said regional attribute. Driving force control device.