WO2006114977A1

WO2006114977A1 - Control device, ground speed measurement device, and vehicle

Info

Publication number: WO2006114977A1
Application number: PCT/JP2006/306580
Authority: WO
Inventors: Nobuaki Miki; Munehisa Horiguchi; Takafumi Miyake; Susumu Okawa; Sadayuki Tsugawa; Kihachi Hayashida; Kazuaki Sawada; Seiichi Takeda
Original assignee: Equos Research Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2005-04-20
Filing date: 2006-03-29
Publication date: 2006-11-02

Abstract

A control device capable of increasing braking force or drive force of a wheel, and a vehicle. The control device performs a first steering operation for steering a wheel (2) by a first angle θ1 from an initial position P0 to a first steering direction, and a second steering operation for steering the wheel (2) by a second angle θ2 to a second steering direction which is the opposite direction to the first steering direction. By this, ground contact conditions between a road surface and a ground contact surface of the wheel (2) is improved to increase braking force or drive force of the wheel (2). For example, in driving on a snow-covered road, a water film produced between the road surface and the ground contact surface of the wheel (2) can be pushed away to the outside by steering the wheel (2) to the left and right, so that the degree of contact between the road surface and the ground contact surface of the wheel (2) is increased, which in turn improves braking force or drive force of the wheel.

Description

Specification

Control device and vehicle

Technical field

[0001] The present invention relates to a control device that controls a steering operation of a wheel by operating the actuator device with respect to a vehicle having a wheel configured to be steerable and an actuator device that steering-drives the wheel. A control device that controls the steering state of a plurality of wheels by operating the actuator device for a vehicle having a plurality of wheels configured and an actuator device that steering-drives the plurality of wheels. The present invention relates to a control device that controls the rotational speed of the wheel by operating the wheel drive device for a vehicle having a wheel to be driven and a wheel drive device that rotationally drives the wheel. A control device that can improve the braking power or driving force, a control device that can measure the ground speed using the existing configuration of the vehicle, and control the steering state of the wheels Thus, the control device that can generate resistance to the external force in the vehicle, the friction coefficient between the wheels and the road surface can be increased, and the vehicle start, braking or turning performance can be improved. And the vehicle.

Background art

[0002] For example, anti-lock control and traction control control exist as technologies for controlling wheels and increasing their braking force and driving force (that is, improving vehicle starting performance and braking performance). . In a conventional example of anti-lock control, when the vehicle is braked, the slip ratio of the wheel is controlled to prevent the wheel from being locked, so that the wheel is caused by an excessive braking force (for example, brake pressure). A reduction in braking force is prevented (for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] In addition, in a conventional example of traction control technology, in a structure in which driving force is transmitted to the left and right wheels (driving wheels) via a differential mechanism, one slip (sliding) of the driving wheels is excessive. In this case, the slipping drive wheel is braked to destroy the drive torque, thereby preventing the drive torque from being transmitted to the other drive wheel (for example, Patent Document 2). ).

[0004] As a technique for accurately measuring the ground speed of a vehicle, for example, the fifth wheel is installed in the rear of the vehicle. The technology to determine the vehicle ground speed from the rotation speed and outer diameter of the fifth wheel by measuring the rotation speed of the fifth wheel when the vehicle is running, Known! / Speak (for example, Patent Document 3).

[0005] Further, a technique is known in which an optical sensor is attached to the bottom surface of a vehicle and ground speed is measured from light transmitted to the road surface and reflected light reflected from the road surface force (for example, Patent Document 4). ). Also known is a technique of measuring the ground speed using a radio wave type sensor, that is, a radio wave having a wavelength sufficiently larger than that of light instead of an optical sensor (for example, Patent Document 5).

[0006] Here, an automobile is generally provided with two types of a main brake used for lowering the traveling speed of the vehicle and a parking brake for preventing the stopped vehicle from moving. In addition to the type of parking brake that is operated by pulling up the brake lever, there is also a type that is operated by depressing the brake pedal (Patent Document 6).

[0007] When the brake lever or pedal of the parking brake is operated by the driver, the wire is pulled in conjunction with the operation, and the brake devices provided on the left and right rear wheels are activated. At the same time, the brake lever or pedal is fixed by the pawl of the ratchet mechanism. As a result, the braking force acting on the left and right rear wheels is maintained, and the parking brake is applied.

On the other hand, when a button or knob provided on the brake lever or pedal is operated, the pawl of the ratchet mechanism is released, so that the brake lever or pedal is returned to the original position. At the same time, the tension of the wire is released and the braking force acting on the left and right rear wheels is removed. Thereby, the parking brake is released.

Patent Document 1: JP-A-5-155325

Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-123084

Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-52710

Patent Document 4: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-315630

Patent Document 5: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-231460

Patent Document 6: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 999819

Disclosure of the invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

[0009] While braking, as in the prior art described above, braking by suppressing wheel slip The technique for improving the force or driving force has a problem that there is a limit to the improvement of the braking force or driving force. In other words, since the braking force or driving force depends on the road surface state (for example, the friction coefficient) on which the wheel travels, the conventional technology cannot exceed the maximum braking force or driving force determined by the road surface state.

[0010] Further, according to the technique for measuring the ground speed of the vehicle described above, in the technique using the fifth wheel like the former, it is necessary to separately provide the fifth wheel on the vehicle body. There was a problem that the number of parts increased and the parts cost and assembly cost increased. In addition, there was a problem that the fuel efficiency and driving performance deteriorated due to the increase in vehicle weight, and the reliability decreased due to the complicated structure! Furthermore, there was a problem that the appearance of the vehicle was damaged by the fifth wheel. Therefore, it was difficult to apply to general commercial vehicles.

[0011] On the other hand, in the latter technique using the reflected wave of road surface force, there is a large variation in measurement due to the road surface condition, so that high-precision measurement cannot be stably performed on general public roads. In addition to the points, there was a problem that the measurement itself was impossible when the road surface was wet, such as in rainy weather. In addition, since it is necessary to install a bellows device that detects reflected waves from the road surface at the bottom of the vehicle body, there is a problem that measurement becomes impossible due to dirt on the light receiving lens or damage due to stepping stones.

[0012] Here, the conventional parking brake is configured to maintain the state of the brake lever or the pedal operation force transmitted to the brake device by a wire so that the stopped vehicle does not move.

[0013] For this reason, there is a problem that regular adjustment work is required because the play of the brake lever or the pedal, in which the wire is easily stretched, gradually increases. When the parking brake is configured by the hydraulic system, if the parking brake is applied, the brake hydraulic pressure gradually decreases due to internal leakage, so that the braking force on the wheels cannot be maintained for a long time.

[0014] Further, the conventional parking brake described above has a problem that if the vehicle is driven without returning the brake lever or pedal, so-called brake dragging occurs, and the brake device is damaged by frictional heat. For this reason, there is a notification mechanism that turns on the warning light when the brake lever or pedal is not returned. There was a problem of inviting ascension.

[0015] In addition, the above-described conventional parking brake is configured such that a braking force can be generated by operating the brake lever or the pedal even when the vehicle is traveling, so that the driver or the like does not use the brake lever or the pedal. If it was operated in advance, the behavior of the vehicle became unstable, causing a problem of reduced safety.

[0016] Further, the above-described conventional parking brake has a problem that it is difficult to provide a fail-safe function for maintaining safety in the event of a failure and is unreliable. For example, when a vehicle is stopped on a slope and a parking brake is applied, if the wire reaches the end of its life and breaks, the vehicle will start to move under its own weight.

[0017] In addition, when the vehicle starts on a slope, the force with which the parking brake is used. In the conventional parking brake described above, the accelerator pedal and the clutch pedal are depressed and the parking brake is released. Since it is necessary to perform the operation in conjunction with each other, advanced operation techniques are required. For beginners, there is a problem that the engine stall and the vehicle move backward, or a sudden start occurs.

[0018] By the way, the above-described conventional technique (a technique for increasing braking force and driving force) controls braking by controlling the slip ratio of the wheel so that the wheel is not locked or excessively slipped. This is a technique for securing a force or driving force. In other words, between the slip ratio of the wheel and the friction coefficient between the wheel and the road surface, when the slip ratio increases from 0, the friction coefficient decreases rapidly after passing through a non-slip region where the friction coefficient increases monotonously. There is a relationship of transition to the slip region. For this reason, the conventional technology increases the slip ratio within the non-slip region, thereby bringing the friction coefficient closer to the peak value and ensuring the braking force or driving force of the wheel.

On the other hand, the present inventor has developed a new method for increasing the coefficient of friction between the wheel and the road surface. Specifically, the slip ratio of the wheel (in other words, the slip speed of the wheel with respect to the road surface) is sufficiently small (for example, 1 to 2 orders of magnitude less than the slip ratio when the non-slip region force also shifts to the slip region). Value) is based on the knowledge that a friction coefficient more than twice that obtained by the conventional technology described above can be obtained (not known at the time of this application). [0020] The present invention provides a new method for wheel control technology or parking brake or a new method for increasing the coefficient of friction between the wheel and the road surface against the background described above. In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, it is possible to measure the ground speed using a control device that can improve the braking force or driving force of the wheel and the existing configuration of the vehicle. Control device, control device that can increase the coefficient of friction between the wheel and the road surface, and improve the start, braking or turning performance of the vehicle, control the steering state of the wheel, the resistance force against the external force It is an object to provide a control device and a vehicle that can be generated in a vehicle.

Means for solving the problem

In order to achieve this object, a control device according to claim 1 is provided for a vehicle having a wheel configured to be steerable and an actuator device for steering and driving the wheel. A first steering operation for controlling the steering operation of the wheel by operating the actuator device and steering the wheel by a first angle in a first steering direction; And an actuator actuating means for performing a second steering operation for steering by a second angle in a second steering direction opposite to the first steering direction after the steering operation.

[0022] The control device according to claim 2 is the control device according to claim 1, further comprising a braking determination means for determining whether or not the wheel is in a braking state, and the actuator operating means is the braking determination means. When it is determined that the wheel is in a braking state, the actuator device is operated.

[0023] The control device according to claim 3 is the control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein ground speed detection means for detecting a ground speed of the vehicle, and a rotational speed for detecting a rotational speed of the wheel. Detecting means; slip ratio calculating means for calculating the slip ratio of the wheel based on the ground speed and the rotational speed detected by the ground speed detecting means and the rotational speed detecting means; and a slip corresponding to the slip region of the wheel Slip area storage means for storing the rate, whether or not the wheel is in the slip area based on the slip ratio stored in the slip area storage means and the slip ratio calculated by the slip ratio calculation means. State judging means for judging, and the actuator actuating means comprises the state judging means. The actuator device is activated when it is determined by the disconnecting means that the wheel is in the slip region.

[0024] The control device according to claim 4 is the control device according to claim 3, further comprising angle determination means for determining the first and second angles, respectively, and the angle determination means includes the slip ratio. The first and second angles are determined based on the wheel slip ratio value calculated by the calculation means.

[0025] The control device according to claim 5 is the control device according to claim 3, further comprising time determining means for determining times required for the first and second steering operations, respectively. The means is based on at least one of the value of the ground speed of the vehicle detected by the ground speed detection means or the value of the slip ratio of the wheel calculated by the slip ratio calculation means. The time required for the steering operation is determined.

[0026] The control device according to claim 6 is the control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the vehicle includes a plurality of the wheels, and the actuator device independently provides the plurality of wheels. The actuator is configured to be steerable, and the actuator operating means operates the actuator device so that the first and second steering operations are performed independently for each of the plurality of wheels.

[0027] The control device according to claim 7 operates the actuator device on a vehicle having a wheel configured to be steerable and an actuator device that steering-drives the wheel to perform a steering operation of the wheel. State determining means for determining whether or not the wheel is in a slip region, and steering the wheel when the state determining means determines that the wheel is in the slip region. Therefore, regardless of the operation state of the operation unit operated by the driver, the actuator device is operated and the wheel is steered. The first actuator operating means for steering the wheel and the state determining means determine that the wheel is not in the slip region. In this case, the wheel steered by the first actuator actuating means is steered to the steering position corresponding to the operation state of the operation unit. , And a second Akuchiyueta actuating means for actuating the Akuchu eta device.

[0028] The control device according to claim 8 is the control device according to claim 3, wherein the ground speed detection means calculates a peripheral speed when the wheel freely rolls. And so Based on the peripheral speed of the free-rolling wheel calculated by the peripheral speed calculation means

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[0029] The control device according to claim 9 is the control device according to claim 8, wherein the rotational driving force is applied to the wheel to the wheel driving device that imparts the rotational driving force to the wheel. And a rotational driving force releasing means for freely rolling the wheel, the rotational driving force releasing means gradually decreasing the value of the rotational driving force applied to the wheel from the wheel driving device. .

[0030] The control device according to claim 10 is the control device according to claim 9, wherein when a plurality of the wheels are provided in the vehicle, the rotation driving force is applied from the wheel driving device. Release wheel selection means for selecting a wheel to be released by the driving force release means from among the plurality of wheels, and the release wheel selection means selects a left-right symmetric or diagonal wheel among the plurality of wheels. To do.

[0031] The control device according to claim 11 is the control device according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the peripheral speed calculation means calculates a peripheral speed of at least two free-rolling wheels. Then, the ground speed calculation means calculates the ground speed of the vehicle based on the peripheral speed of at least two wheels calculated by the peripheral speed calculation means.

[0032] A vehicle according to claim 12 includes the control device according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

[0033] The control device according to claim 13 is for a vehicle having a plurality of wheels configured to be steerable and an actuator device for steering and driving at least one of the plurality of wheels. And controlling the steering state of the plurality of wheels. The actuator device is operated so that at least one of the plurality of wheels has resistance against the rotation direction of the other wheels. An actuator actuating means for steering and driving the parking brake arrangement that can occur is provided.

[0034] The control device according to claim 14 is the control device according to claim 13, wherein the actuator determination unit determines whether or not the actuator device is to be operated by the actuator operation unit, and the operation determination unit. When it is determined that the actuator device is operated by the actuator operating means, the steering state of the wheel before the operation is determined. From the state where the operation of the actuator device by the actuator operating means is executed, and the steering state of the wheel is restored to the stop-time arrangement stored by the arrangement storing means. When it is determined by the return determination means that determines whether or not the vehicle is to be moved and the return determination means to return the steering state of the wheel to the stop-time arrangement, the actuator device is operated to Return means for returning the steering state of the wheel to the arrangement.

[0035] A control device according to claim 15 is the control device according to claim 13, wherein a speed storage means for storing a reference speed value of the vehicle, a ground speed detection means for detecting a ground speed of the vehicle, and Speed judgment means for judging whether or not the value of the ground speed detected by the ground speed detection means is smaller than the reference speed value, and the actuator actuating means is configured to detect the ground speed by the speed judgment means. When it is determined that the value is smaller than the reference speed value, the actuator device is operated to steer the steering state of the wheel to the parking brake arrangement.

[0036] The control device according to claim 16 is the control device according to claim 15, wherein the actuator operating means changes the steering state of the plurality of wheels as the parking brake as the value of the ground speed decreases. On the other hand, as the value of the ground speed increases, the steering state of the plurality of wheels is made closer to the steering position according to the operation state of the operation unit that the driver operates to steer the wheels as the value of the ground speed increases. The actuator device is operated.

[0037] A control device according to claim 17 is the control device according to claim 15 or 16, wherein an angle storage means for storing a reference angle value, an inclination angle detection means for detecting an inclination angle of the road surface, Angle determination means for determining whether or not the value of the inclination angle detected by the inclination angle detection means is larger than the reference angle value, and the actuator operating means is configured to detect the inclination angle by the angle determination means. Is determined to be larger than the reference angle value, and when the speed determination means determines that the ground speed value is smaller than the reference speed value, the actuator device is operated to steer the wheel. Steering is driven to the parking brake arrangement.

[0038] The control device according to claim 18 is the control device according to claim 13, wherein the reference angle value is An angle storage means for storing the inclination angle, an inclination angle detection means for detecting the inclination angle of the road surface, and an angle for determining whether or not the value of the inclination angle detected by the inclination angle detection means is larger than the reference angle value. And the actuator actuating means includes at least a case where the angle determination means determines that the value of the inclination angle is larger than the reference angle value and a case where the angle is determined to be small! The wheels are steered to different parking brake arrangements.

[0039] A vehicle according to claim 19 includes the control device according to any of claims 13 to 18.

[0040] The control device according to claim 20 operates the wheel drive device on a vehicle having a wheel configured to be able to roll and a wheel drive device that rotationally drives the wheel, and the wheel. A slip speed calculating means for calculating the slip speed of the wheel with respect to the road surface, and a slip speed for maximizing the friction coefficient between the road surface and the wheel. A storage means for storing as a slip speed, and a wheel slip speed calculated by the slip speed calculating means by controlling the rotational speed of the wheel, and a value of a target slip speed stored in the storage means And a wheel drive device operating means for operating the wheel drive device.

[0041] The control device according to claim 21 is the control device according to claim 20, wherein the vehicle includes a plurality of wheels that are rotationally driven by the wheel driving device, and the wheel driving device is configured by an electric motor. In addition, the electric motor is provided for each of the plurality of wheels, and the wheel driving device operating means respectively operates the plurality of electric motors so that the rotation speeds of the plurality of wheels can be independently controlled. It is configured.

[0042] A control device according to claim 22 is the control device according to claim 20 or 21, wherein a peripheral speed calculation means for calculating a peripheral speed of the wheel and a ground speed for calculating the ground speed of the vehicle. And a slip speed calculating means based on the peripheral speed of the wheel calculated by the peripheral speed calculating means and the ground speed of the vehicle calculated by the ground speed calculating means. The slip speed of the wheel is calculated.

[0043] The control device according to claim 23 is the control device according to any one of claims 20 to 22, wherein the wheel drive device operating means is instructed to accelerate the vehicle, The wheel rotational speed is controlled so that the value of the peripheral speed of the wheel is larger than the value of the ground speed of the vehicle, and the slip speed of the wheel becomes the target slip speed. When the vehicle is instructed to decelerate the vehicle while operating the wheel drive device, the rotational speed of the wheel is controlled so that the value of the peripheral speed of the wheel becomes smaller than the value of the ground speed of the vehicle, And the said wheel drive device is operated so that the sliding speed of the said wheel may turn into the said target sliding speed.

[0044] A vehicle according to claim 24 includes the control device according to any one of claims 20 to 23.

The invention's effect

According to the control device of the first aspect, the actuator operating means is provided, and the wheel can be steered by operating the actuator device by the actuator operating means. Thus, by steering the wheel, there is an effect that the ground contact state between the road surface and the ground contact surface of the wheel can be improved, and the braking force or driving force of the wheel can be improved.

That is, according to the present invention, by steering the wheel, an object on the road surface that hinders braking or driving can be pushed outside from between the road surface and the ground contact surface of the wheel. In addition, the degree of adhesion between the road surface and the ground contact surface of the wheel can be increased (the ground contact state can be improved), and the braking force or driving force can be improved.

[0047] As a specific example, for example, traveling on a snowy road is exemplified. In this case, since the water film generated between the road surface and the ground contact surface of the wheel can be pushed outside by steering the wheel, the degree of adhesion between the road surface and the ground contact surface of the wheel is improved. The braking force or driving force can be improved accordingly.

[0048] Further, according to the present invention, by steering the wheel, the surface of the road surface can be destroyed to expose a new road surface, and the ground contact surface of the wheel can be brought into contact with a fresh road surface. In addition, the degree of adhesion between the road surface and the ground contact surface of the wheel can be increased (improve the ground contact state), and the braking force or driving force can be improved.

[0049] As a specific example, for example, a case of traveling on an unpaved road surface is exemplified. In this case, it is possible to destroy the road surface unevenness by steering the wheel, to expose a new road surface from the lower layer, or to level the road surface. of The degree of adhesion can be increased, and the braking force or driving force can be improved accordingly.

[0050] Further, according to the present invention, by steering the wheel, the ground contact surface of the wheel can be deformed in the steering direction, and the contact area with the road surface can be increased (improvement of the ground contact state). Therefore, the braking power or driving force can be improved accordingly.

[0051] Further, according to the present invention, as described above, the force by which the object on the road surface can be pushed outward from between the road surface and the ground contact surface of the wheel by steering the wheel. Since a resistance force for pushing away the object is generated, the resistance force applied can be used as a braking force or a driving force, and the braking force or the driving force can be improved accordingly.

[0052] According to the control device according to claim 2, in addition to the effect produced by the control device according to claim 1, the brake determination means for determining whether or not the wheel is in a braking state is provided. When it is determined that the wheel is in a braking state, the actuator actuating means activates the actuator device, that is, when the wheel enters the braking state, the wheel is steered in the first direction and the second direction. Since the ground contact state between the road surface and the ground contact surface of the wheel is improved, there is an effect that the braking force of the wheel can be efficiently improved.

[0053] Further, in this case, since it is possible to simplify the process that does not need to determine whether or not the wheel is in the slip region, the control load of the control device can be reduced, and quick control is possible. There is an effect of becoming.

[0054] According to the control device according to claim 3, in addition to the effect of the control device according to claim 1 or 2, the slip rate calculation means for calculating the slip ratio of the wheel, and the slip region of the wheel Based on the slip ratio stored in the slip area storage means and the slip ratio calculated by the slip ratio calculation means. State determining means for determining whether or not the actuator device is operated by the actuator operating means when the state determining means determines that the motion characteristic of the wheel is in the slip region. There is an effect that the power or driving force can be improved efficiently.

[0055] That is, the fact that the motion characteristics of the wheels are in a non-slip state means that the braking force or driving force acting on the ground contact surface of the wheels increases as the slip ratio increases. Without adjusting the wheel control (steering control) of the present invention, The braking force or driving force of the wheel at the time of speed can be maximized.

[0056] On the other hand, the fact that the wheel motion characteristics are in the slip state means that the braking force or driving force acting on the ground contact surface of the wheel from the road surface decreases as the slip ratio increases. If acceleration / deceleration is performed in the state, the slip ratio further increases, leading to a decrease in braking force or driving force acting on the ground contact surface of the wheel from the road surface.

[0057] Therefore, as in the present invention, when the actuator device is actuated by the actuator actuating means when it is determined that the wheel motion characteristic force S is in the slip state, the ground contact state between the road surface and the wheel ground contact surface To improve the braking force or driving force efficiently by improving the wheel and restoring the grip of the wheel (the slip state force also transitions to the non-slip state)

[0058] According to the control device of claim 4, in addition to the effect produced by the control device of claim 3, the control device further includes angle determination means for determining the first and second angles, respectively. Since the first and second angles are determined based on the value of the wheel slip ratio calculated by the slip ratio calculating means, there is an effect that the braking force or the driving force can be appropriately improved.

[0059] For example, in the case where the value of the slip ratio of the wheel is large, the first and second angles are increased as the value of the slip ratio of the wheel is larger based on the knowledge that the wheel grip needs to be largely recovered. By determining so as to be larger, the grip recovery effect can be exerted more greatly. As a result, the braking force or driving force can be further improved.

[0060] On the other hand, for example, when determining that the first and second angles become smaller as the value of the wheel slip ratio increases, the value of the slip ratio increases and the behavior of the vehicle becomes unstable. As the result, the wheel can be steered at a smaller angle. As a result, for example, a state force with a large slip ratio value Even if the grip of the wheel suddenly recovers, it is possible to suppress a sudden increase in the turning force of the vehicle to the left and right. If you can make the steering smaller and perform steering control safely (braking force or driving force safely), there will be an effect!

[0061] According to the control device of claim 5, in addition to the effect of the control device of claim 3, And a time determining means for determining the time required for each of the first and second steering operations. The time determining means is determined by a ground speed value of the vehicle detected by the ground speed detecting means or a slip ratio calculating means. Since the time required for the first and second steering operations is determined based on at least one of the calculated wheel slip ratio values, the braking force or driving force can be appropriately improved.

[0062] For example, when the value of the ground speed of the vehicle is large (fast), the amount of obstacles on the road surface through which the wheel passes per unit time increases, so that the steering operation of the wheel depends on the unit time. As is often done, based on the knowledge that the operation cycle needs to be a short time, by determining that the time is shorter as the value of the ground speed of the vehicle is larger, More obstacles can be pushed away from the ground plane, and as a result, the braking / driving force can be further improved.

[0063] On the other hand, for example, by determining that the time is shortened as the value of the slip ratio of the wheel increases, the value of the slip ratio increases, and as the vehicle behavior becomes unstable, the wheel is moved. It can be steered in a shorter time. As a result, the grip of the wheel can be recovered in a shorter time as the slip ratio value increases (the slip region force is also shifted to the non-slip region), and as a result, the vehicle is shifted earlier in a stable state. It has the effect of being able to

[0064] When determining that the time is shortened as the value of the slip ratio of the wheel is larger, in a region where the value of the slip ratio is relatively small, it takes a longer time to steer the wheel. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the burden on the actuator device and control, and to reduce the control cost of the device cost. This is particularly effective when the first and second angles are determined to increase as the wheel slip ratio decreases.

[0065] According to the control device according to claim 6, in addition to the effect of the control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, the vehicle includes a plurality of wheels, and the actuator device independently includes the plurality of wheels. The actuator actuating means can actuate the actuator device so that the first and second steering operations are performed independently for each of the plurality of wheels. Normally, when the vehicle is running, the ground contact state between the road surface and the ground contact surface of each wheel is different for each wheel. In addition, there is an effect that the ground contact state can be appropriately improved for each wheel, and the braking force or driving force of the vehicle as a whole can be efficiently improved.

[0066] According to the control device of claim 7, the first actuator actuating means is provided, and the wheel can be steered by actuating the actuator device by the first actuator actuating means. The same effects as the described control device are obtained. That is, by steering the wheel, there is an effect that the ground contact state between the road surface and the ground contact surface of the wheel can be improved, and the braking force or driving force of the wheel can be improved.

[0067] In addition, since the first actuator operating means operates the actuator apparatus when the state determining means determines that the wheel is in the slip region, the same effect as the control apparatus according to claim 4 is achieved. . That is, there is an effect that it is possible to efficiently improve the braking force or driving force of the wheels.

[0068] Further, the first actuator actuating means steers the wheel regardless of the operation state of the operation unit operated by the driver to steer the wheel, so that the vehicle running state (straight or turning) It is possible to improve the ground contact state between the road surface and the ground contact surface of the wheel and to restore the grip of the wheel.

[0069] Further, in the second actuator operating means, when the state determining means determines that the wheel is not in the slip region, the wheel steered by the first actuator operating means indicates that the operating state of the operating unit by the driver is Since the actuator device is operated so that the vehicle is steered (returned) to the steering position corresponding to the vehicle position, there is an effect that the behavior of the vehicle can be stabilized.

It should be noted that the steering of the wheel by the first actuator actuating means according to claim 7 is a period until the wheel steering by the second actuator actuating means is started, that is, the wheel slips by the state judging means. This means an operation that is repeatedly executed while it is determined that the vehicle is in a state. On the other hand, the steering of the wheel by the second actuator actuating means is the steering when the state determining means determines that the wheel is not slipping. The position force also means the operation to return to the steering position according to the operation state of the operation unit.

[0071] According to the control device of claim 8, in addition to the effect produced by the control device of claim 3, the peripheral speed of the freely rolling wheel is calculated by the peripheral speed calculation means, and the peripheral speed Since the ground speed detection means is configured to calculate the ground speed of the vehicle based on the peripheral speed of the free-rolling wheel calculated by the calculation means, the ground speed is calculated using the existing configuration. There is an effect that measurement can be performed stably at low cost.

That is, according to the present invention, the ground speed can be measured using existing wheels in the vehicle, and there is no need to separately provide a device such as a fifth wheel or an optical sensor as in the conventional product. Therefore, there is an effect that the ground speed can be measured at a low cost by reducing the parts cost and the preparation cost.

[0073] Further, according to the present invention, it is not necessary to separately provide a device such as a fifth wheel or an optical sensor. Therefore, the fuel efficiency due to the increase in the vehicle weight, the poor driving performance, and the complicated structure. There is an effect that it is possible to avoid a decrease in reliability and to prevent the appearance of the vehicle from being damaged.

[0074] Furthermore, according to the present invention, the ground speed of the vehicle is measured (calculated) based on the peripheral speed of the free-rolling wheel, so the peripheral speed force of the drive wheel to which the rotational driving force is applied is Compared to measuring ground speed, the effect of slipping between the wheel and the road surface can be minimized, and as a result, the ground speed of the vehicle can be measured with high accuracy. is there.

[0075] Further, in this way, if the configuration is such that the ground speed of the vehicle is measured (calculated) based on the peripheral speed of the free-rolling wheel, it is compared with the conventional technique using reflected light from the road surface. There is an effect that it is possible to reduce the measurement variation caused by the road surface condition.

[0076] Similarly, in the conventional technique using reflected light from the road surface, when the road surface is wet or when the light receiving lens is soiled or damaged by a stepping stone, the measurement itself becomes impossible. As a result, according to the present invention, there is an effect that these problems can be avoided in advance.

[0077] According to the control device according to claim 9, in addition to the effect of the control device according to claim 8, the application of the rotational driving force from the wheel driving device to the wheel can be canceled by the rotational driving force releasing means. In other words, at least one wheel is always free-rolled while the vehicle is running in order to measure the ground speed. There is an effect that it can be made unnecessary. As a result, it is possible to improve the driving force by using more of the plurality of wheels (for example, all the wheels) as driving wheels.

[0078] Furthermore, according to the present invention, when the rotational driving force applied to the wheel is released, the rotational driving force applied to the wheel is gradually reduced rather than released all at once. This has the effect of reducing the influence of the inertial force acting on the road surface and improving the following characteristics with respect to the road surface. As a result, the rotational speed of the wheel can be synchronized with the road surface at an early stage, and as a result, the ground speed of the vehicle can be measured with high efficiency and high accuracy.

[0079] According to the control device according to claim 10, in addition to the effect produced by the control device according to claim 9, the wheel to which the rotation driving force is applied by the rotation driving force releasing means is released. Since there is provided a release wheel selection means for selecting from among a plurality of wheels, and the release wheel selection means is configured to select a symmetrical wheel or a diagonal wheel among the plurality of wheels, the vehicle There is an effect that the wheel can freely roll while keeping the behavior stable.

That is, when a plurality of (for example, all) wheels are provided with a rotational driving force as a wheel driving device force, only one of the wheels is freely rolled (ie, rotational driving force). ), The driving force acting on the vehicle becomes uneven as a whole, resulting in a poor balance (for example, a rotational moment to rotate the vehicle occurs) and the behavior of the vehicle. Causes anxiety.

[0081] On the other hand, if the configuration is such that the left-right symmetric wheels or the diagonal wheels freely roll as in the present invention, the driving force acting on the vehicle is made more uniform and the balance is secured (vehicle The occurrence of a rotational moment that attempts to rotate the vehicle can be suppressed), so that the movement of the vehicle can be kept stable.

[0082] Note that if the vehicle has a total of six wheels, for example, two front wheels, two intermediate wheels, and two rear wheels, the left-right symmetric wheels described above are the two front wheels. Either a wheel, two middle wheels, or two rear wheels may be used. Examples of the diagonal wheels described above include, for example, two wheels, a left front wheel and a right intermediate wheel or a rear wheel, and a left intermediate wheel and a right front wheel. It may be either two wheels with a wheel or a rear wheel, or two wheels with a left rear wheel and a right front wheel or an intermediate wheel. Any of these can provide the above-described effects.

[0083] According to the control device of claim 11, in addition to the effect produced by the control device according to any of claims 8 to 10, the peripheral speed calculation means has at least two peripheral wheels of the free-rolling wheel. In addition to calculating the speed, the ground speed calculator is configured to calculate the ground speed of the vehicle based on the peripheral speed of at least two wheels calculated by the peripheral speed calculator. Thus, the ground speed of the vehicle can be calculated based on more information, and as a result, the ground speed of the vehicle can be calculated with higher accuracy.

[0084] According to the vehicle of the twelfth aspect, the control device according to any one of the first to eleventh aspects is provided, and the same effect as that of the vehicle is obtained.

[0085] According to the control device of claim 13, the parking brake arrangement capable of operating the actuator device and generating at least one of the plurality of wheels in the direction of rotation of the other wheels. Since the actuator actuating means for steering is provided, the vehicle can be fixed at the stop position by using a resistance force generated by setting a plurality of wheels as a stop brake arrangement as a so-called parking brake. There is.

As a result, in the conventional parking brake, it is necessary to periodically adjust the play of the brake lever or the like generated due to the elongation of the wire, whereas the present invention does not require such adjustment work. As a result, it is possible to improve the maintainability.

[0087] Further, when the conventional parking brake is configured by a hydraulic system, the braking force applied to the wheels cannot be maintained for a long time due to an internal leak of the brake hydraulic pressure. In the present invention, since the actuator device can be configured as a mechanical type, there is an effect that the state of the parking brake arrangement, that is, the state where the parking brake is applied can be stably maintained for a long time.

[0088] In addition, the conventional parking brake has a problem that it is difficult to provide a fail-safe function for maintaining safety in the event of a failure, such as when a wire is cut in parking on a slope, and lacks reliability. On the other hand, in the present invention, the resistance generated by the wheel steering state (parking braking arrangement) is used as a parking brake. In addition to this, a brake device can be further provided on the wheel, so that the fail-safe function can be secured and the reliability can be improved.

[0089] Note that in the parking braking arrangement according to claim 13, at least one of the plurality of wheels has a resistance force with respect to the rotation direction of any of the plurality of wheels. The arrangement is preferably such that it can occur. As a result, even if an external force is applied to the vehicle in any direction (all directions) on the parking plane, a resistance force against the external force can be generated, so that the antitheft effect of the vehicle can be improved. This has the effect of being able to

[0090] According to the control device of claim 14, in addition to the effect produced by the control device of claim 13, the return means can return the steering state of the plurality of wheels to the parking braking arrangement force stop arrangement. Yes, that is, the steering state of multiple wheels can be restored to the state before the transition to the parking braking arrangement, so that the driver's steering wheel operation etc. can be simplified and the vehicle can smoothly restart after parking. There is an effect that can be.

[0091] For example, when parking in parallel in a space where the distance between the front and rear vehicles is narrow, a large rudder angle is given to the wheel (steering wheel) so that the vehicle enters the parking space. The same rudder angle must be given to the wheels. Therefore, as in the present invention, if the wheel can be returned to the parking position after shifting to the parking braking arrangement, even from a narrow parking space where the driver does not perform the steering operation again. The vehicle can be restarted smoothly.

[0092] According to the control device according to claim 15, in addition to the effect achieved by the control device according to claim 13, the actuator actuating means determines that the value of the ground speed is smaller than the reference speed by the speed determination means. In this case, the actuator device is operated and the wheels are steered to the parking brake arrangement, so that the burden on the driver can be reduced and safety can be ensured.

[0093] According to the control device of claim 16, in addition to the effect of the control device of claim 15, the actuator actuating means performs parking braking on the steering state of the wheel as the value of the ground speed of the vehicle decreases. The operation of the operating unit that allows the driver to steer the wheel to steer the wheel as the ground speed value of the vehicle increases while approaching the arrangement It is possible to approach the steering position according to the state.

Therefore, for example, when the vehicle stops on a downhill, the steering state of the wheels is gradually brought closer to the parking brake arrangement according to the ground speed of the vehicle, so that the vehicle can be stopped smoothly. There is an effect that can be. At the same time, because the wheels are placed in the stop braking arrangement, resistance can be generated in all directions on the stop plane, so there is an effect that the vehicle can be safely stopped at the stop position.

[0095] Further, in this case, the driver stops the vehicle and applies the parking brake only by performing a deceleration operation (for example, returning the accelerator pedal or depressing the brake pedal as the main brake). You can do two actions at once. As a result, there is no need to pull up the brake lever separately when parking, which is required for conventional products, and it is possible to reduce the burden on the driver.

[0096] On the other hand, for example, in a slope start where the vehicle is stopped on an uphill and then started again, an operation in which the driver steers the wheel according to the ground speed of the vehicle according to the ground speed of the vehicle. Since the steering position can be brought close to the steering position (for example, if the steering wheel is in the operation state instructing straight travel) according to the operation state of the part (for example, the steering wheel), the hill can be started smoothly. There is an effect that can be done.

[0097] That is, in the conventional product, since it was necessary to perform the release operation of the parking brake separately in conjunction with the operation of the accelerator pedal or the like, an advanced operation technique was required, whereas according to the present invention, Since such an operation technique becomes unnecessary, even a beginner can smoothly start a slope without causing problems such as an engine stall, backward movement of the vehicle, or sudden start.

[0098] At the same time, since the wheels are in the stop braking arrangement, it is possible to generate a resistance force in all directions on the stop plane, so that it is possible to safely start the hill.

[0099] In addition, the conventional product has a problem in that if the driver or the like carelessly operates the brake lever or pedal while traveling, the behavior of the vehicle becomes unstable and the safety is lowered. On the other hand, in the present invention, as the vehicle ground speed value decreases, the steering state of the wheel is brought closer to the parking brake arrangement, thereby avoiding a decrease in safety due to careless operation by the driver or the like. There is an effect that can be. [0100] In addition, with the conventional product, if the vehicle is driven without the brake lever, etc., the so-called brake bow I scratches occur and the brake device is damaged by frictional heat, there is a problem. On the other hand, in the present invention, for example, the parking brake is released simply by depressing the accelerator pedal and starting the vehicle travel (the wheel approaches the steering position corresponding to the operation state of the operation unit from the parking brake arrangement). This reduces the burden on the driver and at the same time prevents the brake device from being damaged.

[0101] Therefore, in the present invention, it is not necessary to attach a notification mechanism for informing the vehicle when the brake lever or the like required for the conventional product is returned, and accordingly, the product code is reduced accordingly. If the strike can be reduced, there is a positive effect.

[0102] According to the control device according to claim 17, in addition to the effect produced by the control device according to claim 15 or 16, the angle storage means for storing the reference angle value, and the inclination for detecting the inclination angle of the road surface An angle detection means, and an angle determination means for determining whether or not the value of the inclination angle detected by the inclination angle detection means is larger than a reference angle value. The actuator actuating means is an inclination angle with respect to the road surface of the vehicle. When the value of is greater than the reference angle value and the ground speed value is determined to be smaller than the reference speed value, the actuator device is operated to steer the wheel steering state to the parking brake arrangement. When parked and parked on a slope where the transition to the parking braking arrangement is effective, the parking brake arrangement is shifted, while the parking and parking is parked on a flat road where the transition to the parking braking arrangement is relatively unnecessary. Parking braking There is an effect that it is possible to limit the shift to the position and to suppress the wear of the wheel.

[0103] Furthermore, when parked on a slope with a slope exceeding the reference angle value, it is possible to automatically shift to a parking brake arrangement together with a reduction in ground speed, thus reducing the driver's operational burden. It is also possible to park and stop the vehicle safely and reliably! For example, with conventional products, if the driver inadvertently leaves the vehicle without inadvertently applying the parking brake, the vehicle will run under its own weight, which is extremely dangerous. According to this, it is not necessary for the driver to perform a separate operation to activate the parking brake when parked, so that the burden on the driver is reduced and the vehicle is securely fixed at the parked position even on slopes. Can be kept. [0104] According to the control device of claim 18, in addition to the effect produced by the control device of claim 13, the angle storage means for storing the reference angle value of the vehicle and the inclination angle of the vehicle with respect to the road surface are detected. A tilt angle detection unit; and an angle determination unit that determines whether or not the value of the tilt angle detected by the tilt angle detection unit is larger than a reference angle value. Since the wheel steering state is steered to different parking brake arrangements depending on whether the value is determined to be larger than the reference angle value or smaller! / ヽ, the vehicle is surely fixed. And the reduction of wheel wear can be achieved.

[0105] For example, when parking and stopping on a slope, the influence of gravity is greater than when parking and stopping on a flat road surface. By adopting, the vehicle can be more securely fixed at the parking / stopping position. On the other hand, when parking on a flat road, compared to parking on a slope, the resistance required as a parking brake can be set relatively small, so the steering amount of the wheels By adopting a parking braking arrangement that reduces the size and eliminating unnecessary steering drive, it is possible to suppress the wear of the wheel.

[0106] According to the vehicle described in claim 19, the same effect as the vehicle provided with the control device according to any one of claims 13 to 18 can be obtained.

[0107] According to the control device of claim 20, the wheel drive device is operated by the wheel drive device actuating means, so that the wheel rotation speed is controlled so that the wheel slip speed becomes the target slip speed. can do. Here, the target slip speed stored in the storage means of the present invention is a friction coefficient obtained at other slip speeds, that is, a friction coefficient more than twice that obtained by the above-described conventional technology. Since the resulting sliding speed is higher than that of the conventional technology, the coefficient of friction between the wheel and the road surface can be increased to greatly improve the start, braking or turning performance of the vehicle. There is an effect that can be done.

[0108] According to the control device according to claim 21, in addition to the effect achieved by the control device according to claim 20, the wheel drive device is constituted by an electric motor. There is an effect that it is possible to control the rotation speed of the machine with extremely high responsiveness and high accuracy. As a result, the wheel slip speed is controlled to be the target slip speed. Thus, the coefficient of friction between the wheel and the road surface can be increased, and as a result, the vehicle start, braking or turning performance can be greatly improved.

That is, the target slip speed of the present invention is an extremely small value (for example, about lOcmZs), and thus it is impossible for a conventional internal combustion engine to control the wheel to such a slip speed. The wheel drive device can be controlled for the first time by configuring it with an electric motor as in the present invention. As a result, it is possible to control so that the slipping speed of the wheel becomes the target slipping speed. As a result, the friction coefficient between the wheel and the road surface is increased, and the start, braking or turning performance of the vehicle is greatly increased. Improvements can be made.

[0110] Further, in the present invention, since the electric motor is provided for each of the plurality of wheels, there is an effect that the rotational speeds of the plurality of wheels can be independently controlled. Normally, when the vehicle is running, the ground contact state between the road surface and each wheel is different for each wheel, so if the same rotational driving force is applied to each wheel, the sliding speed of each wheel will vary. .

[0111] On the other hand, if each wheel can be controlled independently as in the present invention, each wheel can be controlled with high accuracy so that the sliding speed of each wheel becomes the target sliding speed. There is an effect that the friction coefficient of each wheel can be improved efficiently. As a result, the starting, braking or turning performance of the entire vehicle can be further improved.

[0112] According to the control device according to claim 22, in addition to the effect of the control device according to claim 20 or 21, the peripheral speed calculation means and the ground speed calculation means are provided, and these peripheral speed calculation means The wheel slip speed is calculated by the slip speed calculation means on the basis of the wheel peripheral speed and the vehicle ground speed calculated by the ground speed calculation means. Therefore, the slip speed of the wheel is calculated with high accuracy. There is an effect that can be.

[0113] According to the control device according to claim 23, in addition to the effect exerted by the control device according to any of claims 20 to 22, the wheel drive device actuating means is capable of, for example, accelerating the vehicle. When directed, regardless of the driver's operation or regardless of the driver's operation, the wheel's peripheral speed value will be greater than the vehicle's ground speed value, and the wheel slip speed will be the target slip speed. In addition, the vehicle is instructed to accelerate the vehicle In spite of this, it is possible to increase the friction coefficient between the road surface and the wheel while avoiding the vehicle being decelerated.

[0114] On the other hand, when deceleration of the vehicle is instructed, for example, by the driver's operation or independently of the driver's operation, the wheel drive device operating means has a wheel peripheral speed value of the vehicle. Since the wheel drive system is operated so that the wheel speed becomes smaller than the ground speed value and the wheel slip speed becomes the target slip speed, the vehicle accelerates even though the vehicle is instructed to decelerate. It is possible to increase the coefficient of friction between the road surface and the wheel while avoiding this!

[0115] According to the vehicle of claim 24, the same effect as that of the vehicle including the control device according to any of claims 20 to 23 can be obtained.

Brief Description of Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram schematically showing a vehicle on which a control device according to a first embodiment of the present invention is mounted.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a control device.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a steering control process.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram schematically showing the contents of a friction force table.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram schematically showing the contents of an amplitude angle and operation cycle table.

[FIG. 6] (a) is a schematic diagram schematically showing the relationship between the amplitude angle and the grip recovery effect, and (b) is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between the operation period and the grip recovery effect.

[FIG. 7] (a) is a top view of the wheel, and (b) and (c) are side views of the wheel.

[FIG. 8] (a) is a schematic diagram schematically illustrating the contents of an amplitude angle table in the second embodiment, and (b) is a schematic diagram illustrating the contents of an operation cycle table in the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram schematically showing a vehicle on which a control device according to a third embodiment of the present invention is mounted.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a control device.

FIG. 11 is a graph showing the relationship between the sliding speed and the friction coefficient.

[FIG. 12] (a) and (b) are schematic views schematically showing the contents of a drive release table and a drive return table. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing rotation control processing.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing ground speed calculation processing.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing drive release and return processing.

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram schematically showing a vehicle equipped with a control device in a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the control device.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing parking control processing.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing a parking control process in the fifth embodiment.

[FIG. 20] (a) to (c) are schematic views for explaining parking braking arrangements in sixth to eighth embodiments.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a control device according to a ninth embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing parking control processing.

[FIG. 23] (a) is a top view of the vehicle, and (b) is a side view of the vehicle.

[FIG. 24] (a) is a top view of the vehicle, and (b) is a side view of the vehicle.

FIG. 25 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a control device in a tenth embodiment.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing parking control processing.

FIG. 27 is a schematic diagram schematically showing a vehicle equipped with a control device in an eleventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 28 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a control device.

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing a relationship between a sliding speed and a friction coefficient.

FIGS. 30 (a) and 30 (b) are schematic views schematically showing the contents of a drive release table and a drive return table.

FIG. 31 is a flowchart showing rotation control processing.

FIG. 32 is a flowchart showing ground speed calculation processing.

FIG. 33 is a flowchart showing drive release and return processing.

Explanation of symbols

100, 3100, 4100, 9600, 10700, 11100 Controller

1, 3001, 4001, 11001 Vehicle 2 wheels

2FL front wheel (wheel, left wheel)

2FR front wheel (wheel, right wheel)

2RL Rear wheel (wheel, left wheel)

2RR Rear wheel (wheel, right wheel)

3 Wheel drive

3FL to 3RR FL to RR motor (wheel drive device)

4 Actuator device

4FL-4RR FL-RR Actuator (actuator device)

32 Vehicle speed sensor device (Ground speed detection means)

32a Longitudinal acceleration sensor (part of ground speed detection means)

32b Lateral acceleration sensor (part of ground speed detection means)

33 Wheel rotation speed sensor (rotation speed detection means)

33FL to 33RR FL to RR rotational speed sensor (rotational speed detection means)

51 Handle (control unit)

72 ROM (speed storage means, angle storage means)

72a Friction force table (slip area storage means)

72a Sliding speed table (memory means)

73a Stop memory memory (location memory)

134 Vehicle inclination sensor device (Inclination angle detection means)

θ 1 First angle (or second angle)

Θ 2 Second angle (or first angle)

T1 time (operation time required for the first or second steering operation)

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram schematically showing a vehicle 1 on which a control device 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is mounted. The arrow FWD in FIG. 1 indicates the forward direction of the vehicle 1. Further, FIG. 1 shows a state where a predetermined rudder angle is given to all the wheels 2. First, the schematic configuration of the vehicle 1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 1 includes a vehicle body frame BF, a plurality of (in this embodiment, four) wheels 2 supported by the vehicle body frame BF, and each of these wheels 2 is driven to rotate independently. The vehicle is mainly provided with a wheel drive device 3 for driving and an actuator device 4 for steering and driving each wheel 2 independently.

[0120] When the vehicle 1 according to the present invention is braked or driven, the control device 100 described later monitors the motion characteristics of the wheels 2, and the wheels 2 in a predetermined state (slip region in the present embodiment) are detected. By steering left and right, the ground contact state between the road surface and the ground contact surface of the wheel 2 is improved, and an improvement in braking force or driving force can be achieved.

[0121] Next, a detailed configuration of each unit will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the wheel 2 has four wheels, left and right front wheels 2FL and 2FR located on the front side in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1, and left and right rear wheels 2RL and 2RR located on the rear side in the traveling direction. These front and rear wheels 2FL to 2RR are configured to be steerable by steering devices 20, 30.

[0122] Steering devices 20, 30 are steering devices for steering each wheel 2. As shown in Fig. 1, the king pin 21 that supports each wheel 2 so as to be swingable and the knuckle of each wheel 2 are provided. A tie rod 22 connected to an arm (not shown) and a transmission mechanism 23 for transmitting the driving force of the actuator device 4 to the tie rod 22 are mainly provided.

[0123] As described above, the actuator device 4 is a steering drive device for independently driving the wheels 2 and, as shown in FIG. ). When the driver operates the handle 51, a part of the actuator device 4 (for example, only the front wheels 2FL, 2FR) or the whole is driven, and a steering angle corresponding to the amount of operation of the handle 51 is given.

[0124] In addition, even if the steering wheel operation is performed by the driver, even if the wheel 2 transits to the slip region during braking or driving, the actuator device corresponding to the wheel 2 is used. 4 (FL to RR Actuator 4FL to 4RR) is driven to steer the wheel 2 left and right. As a result, the ground contact state between the road surface and the ground contact surface of the wheel 2 is improved, and the braking force or driving force is improved.

[0125] In this way, the steering drive of the wheel 2 by the actuator device 4 is caused by the operation of the handle 51, and is controlled for the purpose of turning and whether or not the handle 51 is operated. There are two types, that is, for the purpose of improving power or driving force. In the present embodiment, the former is referred to as turning control and the latter is referred to as steering control. Details of the steering control will be described later (see Fig. 3).

[0126] Here, in the present embodiment, FL to RR actuators 4FL to 4RR are constituted by electric motors, and transmission mechanism portion 23 is constituted by a screw mechanism. When the electric motor is rotated, the rotational motion is converted to a linear motion by the transmission mechanism 23 and transmitted to the tie rod 22. As a result, each wheel 2 is driven to swing around the king pin 21 as a swing center, and a predetermined steering angle is given to each wheel 2.

[0127] The wheel driving device 3 is a rotation driving device for independently rotating and driving each wheel 2. As shown in Fig. 1, four electric motors (FL to RR motors 3FL to 3RR) are connected to each wheel. It is configured to be arranged every two (that is, as an in-wheel motor). When the driver operates the accelerator pedal 53, a rotational driving force is applied to each wheel 2 from each wheel drive device 3, and each wheel 2 is rotated at a rotational speed corresponding to the operation amount of the accelerator pedal 53. The

[0128] The control device 100 is a control device for controlling each part of the vehicle 1 configured as described above. For example, when the accelerator pedal 53 is operated, the wheel drive device 3 is driven. On the other hand, when the handle 51 and the pedals 52 and 53 are operated, the actuator device 4 is driven (turning control, steering control).

[0129] Further, as described above, the control device 100 monitors the slip rate of each wheel 2 so that if there is a wheel 2 that has transitioned to the slip region, the wheel 2 is steered left and right. Then, drive control (steering control) of the actuator device 4 is performed. Here, the detailed configuration of the control device 100 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of control device 100. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the control device 100 includes a CPU 71, a ROM 72, and a RAM 73, which are connected to an input / output port 75 via a bus line 74. The input / output port 75 is connected to a plurality of devices such as the wheel drive device 3.

The CPU 71 is an arithmetic device that controls each unit connected by the bus line 74. The ROM 72 stores a control program executed by the CPU 71 (for example, a flowchart of the steering control process shown in FIG. 3), a non-rewritable nonvolatile memory storing fixed value data, and the like. The RAM 73 is a memory for storing various data in a rewritable manner when the control program is executed.

Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the ROM 72 is provided with a frictional force table 72a and an amplitude angle working period table 72b. The frictional force table 72a is a table that stores the relationship between the slip rate s of the wheel 2 and the vehicle traveling direction frictional force T (see FIG. 4). The CPU 71 determines that the wheel 2 is based on the content of the frictional force table 72a. Determine whether the force is in the slip region.

[0133] The amplitude angle / operation cycle table 72b is a table that stores the relationship between the slip ratio s of the wheel 2, the amplitude angle Θ, and the operation cycle T (see FIG. 5). The CPU 71 controls the steering control described later. In the processing (see FIG. 3), the steering angle and the operation cycle for steering the wheel 2 to the left and right are determined based on the contents of the amplitude angle / operation cycle table 72b.

[0134] As described above, the wheel drive device 3 is a device for rotationally driving each wheel 2 (see Fig. 1), and four FLs ~: RR that apply rotational drive force to each wheel 2 are provided. Motors 3FL to 3RR and a drive circuit (not shown) for driving and controlling the motors 3FL to 3RR based on a command from the CPU 71 are provided.

[0135] Further, as described above, the actuator device 4 is a device for steering and driving each wheel 2, and the four FL to RR actuators 4FL to 4 RR for applying a steering driving force to each wheel 2 are provided. And a drive circuit (not shown) for controlling the drive of each of these actuators 4FL to 4RR based on a command from the CPU 71 !.

[0136] The rudder angle sensor device 31 is a device for detecting the rudder angle of each wheel 2 and outputting the detection result to the CPU 71. The four FLs for detecting the rudder angle of each wheel 2 respectively. ~ RR Rudder angle sensors 31FL ~ 31RR and a processing circuit (not shown) that processes the detection results of these rudder angle sensors 31FL ~ 31RR and outputs them to the CPU 71!

[0137] In the present embodiment, each steering angle sensor 31FL to 31RR is provided in each transmission mechanism 23, and the rotational speed when the rotational motion is converted into linear motion in the transmission mechanism 23. It is comprised as a non-contact-type rotation angle sensor which detects this. Since this rotational speed is proportional to the amount of displacement of the tie rod 22, the CPU 71 can obtain the steering angle of each wheel 2 based on the detection result (rotational speed) input from the steering angle sensor device 31. [0138] Here, the rudder angle detected by the rudder angle sensor device 31 is an angle formed by the center line of each wheel 2 and the reference line (both lines not shown) of the vehicle 1 (body frame BF). The angle is determined independently of the traveling direction of vehicle 1.

[0139] The vehicle speed sensor device 32 is a device for detecting the ground speed (absolute value and traveling direction) of the vehicle 1 with respect to the road surface and outputting the detection result to the CPU 71. 32a, 32b and a processing circuit (not shown) for processing the detection results of the respective acceleration sensors 32a, 32b and outputting them to the CPU 71.

[0140] The longitudinal acceleration sensor 32a is a sensor that detects acceleration in the longitudinal direction (upward and downward in Fig. 1) of the vehicle 1 (body frame BF), and the lateral acceleration sensor 32b is the vehicle 1 (body frame BF). This sensor detects the acceleration in the left-right direction (left-right direction in FIG. 1). In this embodiment, each of these acceleration sensors 32a and 32b is configured as a piezoelectric sensor using a piezoelectric element! RU

[0141] The CPU 71 time-integrates the detection results (acceleration values) of the respective acceleration sensors 32a and 32b input from the vehicle speed sensor device 32, and calculates speeds in two directions (front and rear and left and right directions), respectively. At the same time, the ground speed (absolute value and traveling direction) of the vehicle 1 can be obtained by combining these two direction components.

[0142] The wheel rotation speed sensor device 33 is a device for detecting the rotation speed of each wheel 2 and outputting the detection result to the CPU 71. The four FLs for detecting the rotation speed of each wheel 2 respectively. To RR rotational speed sensors 33FL to 33RR, and a processing circuit (not shown) for processing the detection results of the rotational speed sensors 33FL to 33RR and outputting them to the CPU 71.

[0143] In the present embodiment, each rotation sensor 33FL to 33RR is provided on each wheel 2, and the angular velocity of each wheel 2 is detected as the rotation velocity. That is, each rotation sensor 33FL to 33RR is an electromagnetic pickup provided with a rotating body that rotates in conjunction with each wheel 2 and a pickup that electromagnetically detects the presence or absence of teeth formed in the circumferential direction of the rotating body. It is configured as a sensor of the type.

The CPU 71 calculates the actual peripheral speed of each wheel 2 from the rotational speed of each wheel 2 input from the wheel rotational speed sensor device 33 and the outer diameter of each wheel 2 stored in the ROM 72 in advance. Each can be obtained.

[0145] The ground load sensor device 34 is a device for detecting the ground load generated between each wheel 2 and the road surface and outputting the detection result to the CPU 71. It includes FL to RR load sensors 34FL to 34RR to be detected, and a processing circuit (not shown) that processes the detection results of the load sensors 34FL to 34RR and outputs them to the CPU 71.

In the present embodiment, each of the load sensors 34FL to 34RR is configured as a piezoresistive triaxial load sensor. Each of these load sensors 34FL to 34RR is disposed on a suspension shaft (not shown) of each wheel 2 and detects the above-described ground load in the front-rear direction, left-right direction, and vertical direction of the vehicle 1.

[0147] The CPU 71 can obtain the friction coefficient z of the road surface on the ground contact surface of each wheel 2 from the detection result (ground load) of each load sensor 34FL to 34RR input from the ground load sensor device 34. .

[0148] For example, when focusing on the front wheel 2FL, if the loads in the front-rear direction, left-right direction, and vertical direction of the vehicle 1 detected by the FL load sensor 34FL are Fx, Fy, and Fz, respectively, the contact of the front wheel 2FL The friction coefficient of the road surface corresponding to the ground is calculated by FxZFz for the friction coefficient X in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 and FyZFz for the friction coefficient / zy in the left-right direction of the vehicle 1, respectively.

[0149] Other input / output devices 35 shown in Fig. 2 include, for example, operating states of the handle 51, the brake pedal 52, and the accelerator pedal 53 (all of which are shown in Fig. 1) (rotation angle, stepping amount, operating speed, etc.) An operation state detection sensor device (not shown) for detecting the above is exemplified.

Next, steering control of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As described above, the steering control is a control for steering and driving the wheel 2 to the left and right for the purpose of improving the braking force or the driving force, and is described above for the purpose of turning the vehicle 1. Distinct from turning control.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the steering control process. This process is a process that is repeatedly executed by the CPU 71 (for example, at intervals of 0.5 seconds) while the control device 100 is powered on. [0152] Regarding the steering control process, the CPU 71 first detects the current ground speed of the vehicle 1 and the rotational speed of each wheel 2 (SI, S2), and determines the detected ground speed and rotational speed. Based on this, the slip ratio s of each wheel 2 is calculated (S3).

[0153] As described above, the ground speed of the vehicle 1 is adjusted by the vehicle speed sensor device 32 to each wheel.

The rotation speed of 2 is detected by the wheel rotation speed sensor device 33 (see FIG. 2 for both), and input to the CPU 71 from each of the devices 32 and 33.

[0154] Further, the slip rate s of each wheel 2 is obtained by using the peripheral speed Vrf at the time of free rolling of the wheel 2 and the actual peripheral speed Vr of the wheel 2, and when Vrf> Vr, s = (Vr-Vrf) ZVrf, Vr>

In the case of Vrf, it is expressed as s = (Vr−Vrf) ZVr.

[0155] Note that Vrf is a peripheral speed at the time of free rolling of the wheel 2 (that is, assuming that the wheel 2 and the road surface roll without slip), and Vrf = Vc / cos Θ. Here, Vc is the ground speed of the vehicle 1, and Θ is the slip angle of the wheel 2 (the angle formed by the center line of the wheel 2 and the traveling direction of the vehicle 1).

[0156] Further, Vr is the actual peripheral speed of the wheel 2, and as described above, the rotational speed of the wheel 2 detected by the wheel rotational speed sensor device 33 (see Fig. 2) and the ROM 72 are stored in advance. It is calculated from the outer diameter of the wheel 2 that is on.

[0157] After calculating the slip ratio s of each wheel 2 in the process of S3, based on the slip ratio s and the content of the friction force table 72a (see Fig. 2) provided in the ROM 72, Then, it is determined whether or not each wheel 2 is in the slip region (S4). Here, the contents of the friction force table 72a will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram schematically showing the contents of the friction force table 72a. As shown in FIG. 4, the frictional force table 72a stores the relationship between the slip rate s of the wheel 2 and the frictional force F in the vehicle traveling direction. The vehicle traveling direction frictional force F is a frictional force in the vehicle traveling direction that acts on the ground contact surface of the wheel 2 from the road surface.

[0159] As shown in FIG. 4, when the slip ratio s is in the range from 0 to sb, the force in which the vehicle traveling direction friction force F increases as the slip ratio s increases. The range in which the slip ratio s is greater than or equal to sb. In this case, the frictional force F in the vehicle traveling direction decreases as the slip ratio s increases, and the wheel 2 transitions to the slip region. Therefore, the CPU 71 monitors the slip rate s of each wheel 2 and checks whether or not each wheel 2 is in the slip region by checking whether the slip rate s is greater than or equal to sb. Can be judged.

[0161] As a result, in the process of S4, when it is determined that none of the wheels 2 are in the slip region, that is, all the wheels 2 are in the non-slip region (S4: No), the slip rate is determined. This means that the vehicle traveling direction frictional force F (braking force or driving force) increases as s increases.

[0162] Therefore, in this case (S4: No), the braking force or driving force of each wheel 2 during acceleration / deceleration can be maximized without applying the steering control of the present invention. To S7, and the steering control process is terminated.

[0163] On the other hand, if it is determined that the wheel 2 in the slip region is also a wheel during the process of S4 (S4: Yes), the wheel 2 in the slip region has a slip ratio s. As the vehicle speed increases, the vehicle frictional force F (braking force or driving force) is in a state of decreasing. When acceleration / deceleration is continued in this state, the slip ratio s further increases, The braking force or driving force acting on the ground contact surface of wheel 2 from the road surface is reduced.

[0164] Therefore, in this case (S4: Yes), the process shifts from S5 to S7 to improve the braking force or driving force of the wheel 2 determined to be in the slip region, and the steering operation described above is performed. Execute control.

Here, as will be described later, the steering control is performed after the first steering operation for steering the wheel 2 by the first angle θ 1 in the first steering direction, and after the first steering operation, At least a second steering operation is performed in which the wheel 2 is steered by a second angle Θ 2 in a second steering direction opposite to the first steering direction (see FIG. 7 (a)). .

[0166] Thereby, the ground contact state between the wheel 2 and the road surface can be improved, and the grip of the wheel 2 can be recovered (the slip state force also transitions to the non-slip state). The driving force can be improved.

[0167] In the steering control, the first and second steering operations are executed independently for each of a plurality of wheels (four in this embodiment). Normally, when the vehicle 1 is running, the ground contact state between the road surface and the ground contact surface of each wheel 2 is a different ground contact state for each wheel 2. If the ground condition can be improved for each wheel 2, it is possible to efficiently improve the braking force or driving force of the vehicle 1 as a whole.

[0168] In the steering control, first, the processing of S5 and Fig. 6 is executed, and the amplitude angle 0 and 2 of the wheel 2 are determined based on the contents of the amplitude angle / operation cycle table 72b (see Fig. 2) provided in the ROM 72. Determine the operating period T. Here, with reference to FIG. 5, the contents of the amplitude angle 'operation cycle table 72b will be described.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram schematically showing the contents of the amplitude angle / operation cycle table 72b.

In the amplitude angle / operation cycle table 72b, the amplitude angle Θ and the operation cycle T are stored in association with the slip ratio s of the wheel 2 and the ground speed of the vehicle 1, respectively. In order to facilitate understanding, FIG. 5 shows a case where the amplitude angle / operation cycle table 72b is divided into 3 rows and 3 columns and 9 sections with equal vertical and horizontal intervals.

[0170] For example, if the minimum value sb of the slip rate s is 0.25 (that is, the steering control is performed when the slip rate s is greater than or equal to sb), the lower row of FIG. The range of 0.25 or more and less than 0.5, the middle row in Fig. 5 has a slip ratio s of 0.5 or more and less than 0.75, and the upper row of Fig. 5 has a slip ratio s of 0. Each range is 75 or more and 1 or less.

[0171] Similarly, for example, if the ground speed range for steering control is from Okm / h to 100km / h, the left column in Fig. 5 indicates the range where the ground speed is Okm / h and less than 34km / h. The center column shows the range where the ground speed is 34 km / h or more and less than 67 km / h, and the right column in Fig. 5 shows the range where the ground speed is 67 km / h or more and 100 or less h / h.

Further, in this embodiment, “90 °, 45 °, 10 °” is applied to “large, medium, small” of the amplitude angle Θ, and “0. “20 seconds, 0.15 seconds, and 0.10 seconds” correspond respectively.

Here, in the present embodiment, the amplitude angle Θ is the sum of the first and second angles θ 1 and Θ 2 in the steering control (θ = Θ 1 + Θ 2), and the operation period T is the steering It is defined as the total value of the times Tl and T2 required for the first and second steering operations in the control. Also. The absolute values of the first and second angles θ 1 and Θ 2 are the same, and the times Tl and T2 required for the first and second steering operations are also the same.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the amplitude angle is Θ force ^ large (or medium, small), the first The second angle 0 1, 0 2 is “0 1 = 0 2 = 45 ° (or 22.5 °, 5 °;)”. Similarly, when the operation cycle T is “long (or medium, short)”, the times Tl and T2 are “T1 = T2 = 0.10 less (or 0.075 less, 0 05)) ”.

Based on the contents of the amplitude angle / operation cycle table 72b configured as described above, the CPU 71 determines the amplitude angle Θ and the operation cycle T in the processing of S5 and S6. That is, the current slip rate s of the wheel 2 has already been calculated in the above-described processing of S3, and the ground speed of the vehicle 1 is detected by the vehicle speed sensor device 32 (see FIG. 2) and is transmitted to the CP U71. Have been entered.

[0176] Therefore, the CPU 71 determines the amplitude angle Θ and the operation cycle T corresponding to the current slip ratio s calculated in the process of S3 and the ground speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor device 32 as the amplitude angle · the operation cycle. By reading the contents of the table 72b, the amplitude angle Θ and the operation period T of each wheel 2 can be determined (S5, S6).

In the present embodiment, when the slip rate s calculated in the process of S3 is a negative value, the absolute value of the slip rate s is evaluated. However, a different table (amplitude angle, operation cycle table) may be used when the slip ratio s is positive (ie, during driving) and negative (ie, during braking).

Here, in the process of S5, as shown in FIG. 5, the larger the slip ratio s of the wheel 2 (the higher the slip ratio), the larger the amplitude angle Θ (the first and second angles θ). 1, Θ 2) is determined as a large angle. As shown in FIG. 6 (a), when steering control is performed, the grip recovery effect increases as the amplitude angle Θ (that is, the first and second angles θ1, Θ2) becomes larger. This is based on the knowledge that the price increases.

[0179] That is, the slip ratio s of the wheel 2 is a large value (the slip ratio is high), the slip of the wheel 2 with respect to the road surface is more remarkable, and it is difficult to recover the grip of the wheel 2. It can be said that it is in a state. Therefore, in this case, since the grip needs to be greatly recovered, the amplitude angle Θ is set to a large angle so that a greater grip recovery effect can be obtained (see FIGS. 5 and 6 (a)).

On the other hand, in the process of S5, as shown in FIG. 5, the operation period T (time Tl, T2) is determined to be shorter as the ground speed of the vehicle 1 is larger. This is shown in Figure 6 (b). Thus, when steering control is performed, it is based on the knowledge that, as the operation cycle T (i.e., time Tl, T2) becomes shorter, the inclination becomes smaller and converges, but the grip recovery effect increases. .

That is, the fact that the ground speed of the vehicle 1 is a large value means that the amount of obstacles on the road surface through which the wheel 2 passes per unit time is large. Therefore, in this case, it is necessary to push away more obstacles than the force between the road surface and the ground contact surface of the wheel 2. Therefore, the operation cycle T should be shortened so that more steering operations can be performed per unit time. (See Fig. 5 and Fig. 6 (b)).

[0182] When the slip ratio s is a large value (the slip ratio is high) and the ground speed of the vehicle 1 is large, the amplitude angle Θ is a large angle, but the operation cycle Θ is a short time. Become. Therefore, since the wheel 2 can be returned to the initial position PO (see Fig. 7 (a)) in a shorter time, even if the grip of the wheel 2 suddenly recovers, the turning force of the vehicle 1 to the left and right suddenly increases. Can be prevented from rising. As a result, the behavior change of the vehicle 1 can be reduced and the steering control can be performed safely.

[0183] After determining the amplitude angle Θ and operation cycle T of wheel 2 in the processing of S5 and S6, the process then proceeds to processing of S7, and the amplitude angle Θ and operation determined in the processing of S5 and S6. The wheel 2 is steered left and right at a cycle T (S7), and this steering control process is terminated. Here, with reference to FIG. 7, the operation executed in the processing of S7 will be described.

FIG. 7 (a) is a top view of the wheel 2, and FIG. 7 (b) and FIG. 7 (c) are side views of the wheel 2. FIG. In the process of S7, the first and second steering operations described above are executed at the steering angle 0 (01, Θ2) and the operation cycle T (T1, Τ2).

That is, as shown in FIG. 7 (a), first, the wheel 2 is steered from the initial position PO by the first angle Θ 1 in the first steering direction (right direction in the present embodiment). Steering operation 1 is performed at time T1, and then wheel 2 is steered by a second angle Θ 2 in a second steering direction (leftward in this embodiment) that is opposite to the first steering direction. The second steering operation is performed at time T2.

[0186] The initial position PO corresponds to the direction of the center line of the wheel 2 at a predetermined timing during the processing of S7 (in this embodiment, the timing of starting the processing of S7). That is, the driver operates the handle 51 for the purpose of turning the vehicle 1. Therefore, when a predetermined rudder angle is given to the wheel 2, the center line of the wheel 2 in the state where the rudder angle is given becomes the initial position PO.

[0187] Here, in the present embodiment, a case will be described in which the wheel 2 is steered in the first steering direction and then steered by the second angle Θ2 in the second steering direction. However, the steering of the wheel 2 in the second steering direction is not necessarily performed by the second angle Θ2, and is performed by an angle larger than the second angle Θ2 (for example, Θ2 + α). It can be done, or it can be done only by an angle smaller than the second angle Θ 2 (for example, 0 2− α).

[0188] For example, during the process of S7, the steering wheel 51 is further operated by the driver, and at least before the second steering operation is completed, the direction of the center line of the wheel 2 is moved by an angle from the initial position ΡΟ. If the wheel 2 is steered by the first steering operation in the first steering direction by the first angle 0 1, the steering position corresponding to the operating state of the handle 51 by the driver (ie, the initial position) To the second steering direction in the second steering direction by the angle α (ie, Θ 2+ α or the angle Θ 2− α). You may comprise so that it may perform. As a result, the steering control can be performed according to the operating state of the handle 51 by the driver, so that the behavior of the vehicle 1 can be stabilized.

Note that, as described above, the CPU 71 can obtain the steering angle of each wheel 2 based on the detection result input from the steering angle sensor device 31 (see FIG. 2), so that at least the second By calculating the angle α (that is, the amount of movement from the initial position ΡΟ) before the steering operation is completed, the wheel 2 is moved to the steering position corresponding to the operation state of the handle 51 by the driver. Return operation).

[0190] Further, when it is determined that the wheel 2 is in the slip region, regardless of the operation state of the handle 51, means for repeatedly executing the steering drive of the wheel 2 (first actuator operating means), and the wheel 2 When the wheel 2 is determined not to be in the slip region, the wheel 2 driven by the first actuator actuating means is steered (returned) to the steering position corresponding to the operation state of the handle 51. Further, means for operating the actuator device 4 (second actuator operating means) may be provided.

[0191] By executing the process of S7, the contact state between the road surface and the contact surface of the wheel 2 is improved. The braking force or driving force of the wheel 2 can be improved. Specifically, for example, when traveling on a snowy road, steering the wheel 2 can push the water film generated between the road surface and the ground contact surface of the wheel 2 to the outside. The contact between the wheel and the ground contact surface of the wheel 2 can be increased, and the braking force or driving force can be improved accordingly.

[0192] Also, for example, as shown in Fig. 7 (b), when traveling on an unpaved road surface 60, by driving the wheel 2, the unevenness of the road surface 60a is destroyed, and a new road surface is started from the lower layer. 60b is exposed, in other words, since the road surface 60a can be leveled to a flat road surface 60b, the degree of adhesion between the road surface 60b and the ground contact surface of the wheel 2 is increased, and the braking force or driving force is improved accordingly. be able to.

[0193] Also, for example, by steering the wheel 2, the ground contact surface of the wheel 2 can be deformed in the left-right direction (steering direction), and the ground contact area with the road surface can be increased. The braking force or driving force can be improved.

[0194] Further, for example, as shown in Fig. 7 (c), when an object 80 such as a pebble exists on the road surface 70, the object 80 on the road surface 70 is steered by steering the wheel 2 left and right. When the vehicle is pushed outward from between the road surface 70 and the ground contact surface of the wheel 2, a resistance force to push the object 80 can be applied to the wheel 2. Therefore, by using the strong resistance force as the braking force or the driving force, the braking force or the driving force can be improved accordingly.

[0195] Here, in the process of S7, only the two operations of the first steering operation and the second steering operation are performed. Therefore, when the wheel 2 is steered and driven (steering control) while the vehicle 1 is traveling, Even in this case, the left / right turning force generated in the vehicle 1 by the steering drive can be canceled as a whole, and as a result, the behavior of the vehicle 1 can be prevented from becoming unstable during steering control.

[0196] Further, by controlling so that only the above-mentioned two movements and only the minimum movement are performed in this way, the steering drive to the left and right of the wheel 2 is performed even after the grip of the wheel 2 is restored. As a result, unnecessary operations can be suppressed.

[0197] That is, in this processing of S7, even if the grip of the wheel 2 is recovered only by the above two operations (the wheel 2 cannot recover the slip region force to the non-slip region), it is shown in FIG. Since the steering control process is repeatedly executed every predetermined time while the power of the control device 100 is turned on, the steering drive can be executed again in the next S7 process. wear. In this case, since the steering drive is performed based on the slip ratio s of the wheel 2 and the ground speed of the vehicle 1 at that time, the grip of the wheel 2 can be recovered more efficiently.

[0198] It should be noted that the number of left and right steering driving of the wheel 2 in the processing of S7 is not limited to the two operations of the first steering operation and the second steering operation, and is less than this. Or may be a large number of times.

[0199] However, it is preferable that two operations of the first steering operation and the second steering operation are the minimum unit operations, and the minimum unit operations are executed an integer number of times. Here, the integers are 1, 2, 3, .... As a result, the left and right turning force generated in the vehicle 1 by steering and driving the wheels 2 is canceled as a whole, and the behavior of the vehicle 1 during braking or driving can be stabilized.

[0200] The first and second steering directions may be changed in opposite directions each time the processing of S7 is executed. Specifically, for example, in the first processing of S7, when the first steering direction (second steering direction) is set to the right (left), the second processing of S7 Contrary to the first processing, the first steering direction (second steering direction) is set to the left (right), and in the third processing of S7, the second processing is Conversely, the first steering direction (second steering direction) is set to the right (left). As a result, the stability of the behavior of the vehicle 1 during braking or driving can be further improved.

[0201] Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. In the first embodiment, the amplitude angle Θ and the operation period T are associated with the slip ratio s of the wheel 2 and the ground speed of the vehicle 1, but in the second embodiment, the amplitude angle Θ and the operation period T Is associated only with the slip ratio s. The same parts as those in the first embodiment described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

[0202] Figs. 8 (a) and 8 (b) are diagrams schematically showing the contents of the amplitude angle table and the operation cycle table in the second embodiment, and these amplitude angle table and operation cycle table. The bull corresponds to the amplitude angle / operation cycle table in the first embodiment described above, and is provided in the ROM 72.

[0203] In the second embodiment, when the wheel 2 is in the slip region in the steering control process of FIG. If it is determined (S4: Yes), the amplitude angle Θ of the wheel 2 is determined based on the contents of the amplitude angle table shown in FIG. 8 (a) (S5). In this amplitude angle table, the amplitude angle Θ is stored in association with the slip ratio s of the wheel 2.

That is, as shown in FIG. 8 (a), in the range where the slip rate s is from 0 to sb, the value SO of the amplitude angle Θ is defined, while the slip rate s is greater than or equal to sb ( In the slip region), the amplitude angle Θ is linearly decreased from the maximum angle 0 b (eg, 90 °) to the minimum angle Θ a (eg, 10 °) as the slip ratio s increases.

[0205] Since the current slip ratio s of wheel 2 has already been calculated in the process of S3, the CPU 71 determines the current slip ratio s calculated in the process of S3 and the contents of the amplitude angle table. Based on the above, the value of the amplitude angle Θ of the wheel 2 (that is, the first and second angles θ1, Θ2) is determined. When the slip ratio s calculated in the process of S3 is a negative value, the absolute value of the slip ratio s is evaluated.

Here, in the process of S5, as shown in FIG. 8 (a), the larger the slip ratio s of the wheel 2, the larger the amplitude angle Θ (the first and second angles θ 1, Θ 2) is determined as a small angle. That is, in the slip region, as the slip ratio s increases and the behavior of the vehicle 1 becomes unstable, the steering drive of the wheels 2 to the left and right can be performed at a smaller angle.

[0207] As a result, even when the grip of the wheel 2 suddenly recovers, the turning force of the vehicle 1 to the left and right can be suppressed from rapidly increasing, and the change in behavior of the vehicle 1 can be reduced. Steering control can be performed safely.

In the second embodiment, after determining the amplitude angle Θ of the wheel 2 in the process of S5, the operation period T of the wheel 2 is the operation period table shown in FIG. Determined based on the contents of In this operation cycle table, the operation cycle T is stored in association with the slip rate s of the wheel 2.

That is, as shown in FIG. 8 (b), in the range where the slip rate s is from 0 to sb, the value of the operating cycle is defined as 0, while the range in which the slip rate s is equal to or greater than sb ( In the slip region), the operating cycle T is linearly decreased from the maximum cycle Tb (for example, 0.2 seconds) to the minimum cycle Ta (for example, 0.10 seconds) by increasing the slip ratio s.

[0210] As with the processing of S5, the current slip rate s of wheel 2 is Since it has already been calculated in the process, the CPU 71 determines the value of the operation cycle T of the wheel 2 (i.e., the first cycle) based on the current slip rate s calculated in the process of S3 and the content of the operation cycle table. And the time Tl, T2) required for the second steering operation can be determined (S6). When the slip rate s calculated in the process of S3 is a negative value, the absolute value of the slip rate s is evaluated.

Here, in the process of S6, as shown in FIG. 8 (b), the greater the slip ratio of the wheel 2, the shorter the operation cycle T (time Tl, T2) is determined. That is, in the slip region, the wheel 2 can be steered in a shorter time as the slip ratio s increases and the behavior of the vehicle 1 becomes unstable.

[0212] Thereby, as the slip ratio s increases, the grip of the wheel 2 can be recovered in a shorter time, so that the vehicle 1 can be shifted from an unstable state to a stable state earlier. it can.

[0213] In the flowchart (steering control process) shown in FIG. 3, the process of S7 is performed as the actuator actuating means according to claim 1, and the process of S1 is rotated as the ground speed detection means according to claim 3. The processing force of S2 as the speed detection means The processing of S3 as the slip ratio detection means, the processing of S4 as the state determination means, and the processing of S5 as the angle determination means according to claim 4 The time determination means described is the processing power of S6. The state determination means described in claim 7 is the processing power of S4. The first actuator activation means is the processing of S7.

[0214] Although the present invention has been described based on the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Something can be easily guessed.

[0215] For example, the numerical values given in the first and second embodiments are merely examples, and other numerical values can naturally be adopted.

[0216] In the first and second embodiments, the amplitude angle Θ and the operation cycle T of the wheel 2 are determined based on both or one of the slip ratio s of the wheel 2 and the ground speed of the vehicle 1. Although the case has been described (see FIG. 5 and FIG. 8), it is naturally possible to determine the amplitude angle Θ and the operation period T of the wheel 2 based on other state quantities that are not necessarily limited to this. Here, as other state quantities, for example, the operating state of the brake pedal 52 and the accelerator pedal 53 (operating speed, the amount of depression, etc.), the friction coefficient μ of the road surface, and the like are exemplified.

[0218] For example, even if the depression amount, slip ratio s, and ground speed of each pedal 52, 53 are the same, if the operation speed is fast (slow), the amplitude angle Θ is made larger (smaller), In addition, the operation cycle T may be controlled to be shorter (longer).

[0219] Or, for example, even if the operation state of each pedal 52, 53, slip rate s, ground speed, etc. are the same, if the friction coefficient of the road surface is small (large), the amplitude angle Θ is larger ( It is also possible to control the operation cycle T to be shorter (longer) and smaller (smaller).

[0220] Furthermore, the steering control (the processing from S5 to S7) is executed only when the friction coefficient of the road surface; z is equal to or smaller than a predetermined reference value. It is also possible to control so as to omit the process.

[0221] Each of these state quantities may be used alone or in combination as a reference value for determining the amplitude angle Θ and the operation cycle T. As a result, the operation state of the driver is accurately reflected in the steering control, so that the operational feeling can be improved and the steering control can be performed in a state where the behavior of the vehicle 1 is further stabilized.

[0222] In the first and second embodiments, the case where the steering control (first and second steering operations) is performed when the wheel 2 is in the slip region has been described (S4 in Fig. 3 is performed). It is of course possible to configure the steering control based on other criteria that are not necessarily limited to this.

[0223] Here, as another criterion, for example, a case where the force based on whether or not the wheel 2 is in a braking state is used as a criterion is exemplified. Specifically, a braking judgment means for judging whether or not the wheel 2 is in a braking state is provided, and the steering control is started when the braking judgment means judges that the wheel 2 is in a braking state. . This eliminates the need to determine whether or not the wheel 2 is in the slip region, thus simplifying the process and reducing the control load on the control device 100 (CPU 71) accordingly. As a result, quick control is possible.

[0224] It should be noted that whether or not the wheel 2 is in a braking state may be determined based on the acceleration of the vehicle 1 detected by the vehicle speed sensor device 32 (see Fig. 2) or the brake pedal 52 You may judge based on an operation state. Moreover, you may combine the said reference | standard. Immediately That is, it may be configured to start the steering control when it is determined that the wheel 2 is in the slip region and is in a braking state.

[0225] Further, in the first and second embodiments described above, the force described in the case where the steering control of each wheel 2 is performed independently is not necessarily limited to this. For example, the left and right wheels 2 have the same amplitude angle. The steering control may be performed simultaneously with Θ and the operation cycle T, or all the wheels 2 may be simultaneously controlled with the same amplitude angle Θ and the operation cycle T. As a result, the control burden on the control device 100 can be reduced.

In this case, it is preferable to perform steering control simultaneously with the steering directions of the left and right wheels 2 being opposite to each other so that the left and right wheels 2 are toe-in and toe-out. For example, if the left wheel 2 is steered in the left direction and then steered in the right direction, the right wheel 2 is steered in the right direction and then steered in the left direction. As a result, by turning the wheel 2 to the left and right, the turning force generated in the vehicle 1 can be canceled as a whole, and the behavior of the vehicle 1 during steering control can be made more stable.

[0227] In the first and second embodiments, the case where the steering control is performed regardless of whether or not the vehicle 1 is turning is described. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited to this. It may be configured so that the steering control is performed only when both 1 are traveling straight ahead. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the behavior of the vehicle 1 from becoming unstable.

In the first and second embodiments, the frictional force table 72a is configured to have a relationship between the slip ratio s and the vehicle traveling direction frictional force F in order to facilitate understanding. Although the case has been described, it is sufficient that at least only the value sb described above is stored in the frictional force table 72a (ROM 72).

The same applies to the amplitude angle table and the operation cycle table in the second embodiment, and it is sufficient that at least the maximum values Θ b and Tb and the minimum values Θ a and Ta described above are stored.

[0230] The relationship between the slip ratio s and the frictional force F in the vehicle traveling direction in the friction force table 72a depends on the friction coefficient μ of the portion of the road surface on which the wheel 2 travels that corresponds to the ground contact surface of the wheel 2. Change. Therefore, a plurality of friction force tables 72a corresponding to the friction coefficient of the road surface are provided in the ROM 72, and according to the friction coefficient of the portion corresponding to the ground contact surface of the wheel 2. The frictional force table 72a to be used may be changed. The friction coefficient of the road surface on the ground contact surface of each wheel 2 can be obtained for each wheel 2 from the detection result of the ground load sensor device 34 as described above.

[0231] In the first and second embodiments, the case where the absolute values of the first and second angles θ1, Θ2 (see Fig. 7 (a)) are set to the same value has been described. However, the first and second angles θ 1 and Θ 2 that are not necessarily limited to this can naturally be set to different values. The same applies to the times Tl and T2.

[0232] For example, when the steering angle is given to the wheel 2 in order to turn the vehicle 1, one of the first and second angles θ1, Θ2 is set to a larger value than the other. The steering control of the wheel 2 may be performed by the first and second angles θ1, Θ2. The same applies to times Tl and T2.

[0233] In the first and second embodiments, the case where the wheel 2 is steered left and right as steering control has been described, that is, the first and second steering operations for steering the wheel 2 left and right. Although the case where (2 motions) is set as the minimum unit motion has been described, the steering motion (1 motion) to the left (or right), which is not necessarily limited to this, can naturally be set as the minimum unit motion.

[0234] In the case of repeatedly executing one powerful operation (minimum unit operation), different directions (for example, left direction) in which only the steering operation in the same direction (for example, left direction) may be repeatedly performed. And rightward steering operations may be performed alternately or in combination.

[0235] In the first and second embodiments, the case where the actuator device 4 is configured by an electric motor and the transmission mechanism unit 23 is configured by a screw mechanism has been described. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto. For example, the actuator device 4 may be composed of a hydraulic / pneumatic cylinder. Thereby, since the transmission mechanism part 23 can be omitted, the structure can be simplified, and the weight can be reduced and the parts cost can be reduced.

[0236] In the first and second embodiments, the description of the brake device (for example, a drum brake or a disc brake using frictional force) is omitted, but such a brake device is provided in the vehicle 1. Is of course possible. Further, the wheel drive device 3 may be configured as a regenerative brake and used as a brake device. [0237] Next, a third embodiment will be described. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram schematically showing a vehicle 3001 on which a control device 3100 according to the third embodiment of the present invention is mounted. The arrow FWD in FIG. 9 indicates the forward direction of the vehicle 3001. In addition, FIG. 9 shows a state in which a predetermined rudder angle is given to all wheels 2! Speak.

[0238] First, a schematic configuration of the vehicle 3001 will be described. As shown in FIG. 9, a vehicle 3001 includes a vehicle body frame BF, a plurality of (four wheels in this embodiment) wheels 2 supported by the vehicle body frame BF, and wheels that rotate and drive these wheels 2 independently. It is mainly provided with a drive device 3 and an actuator device 4 that independently drives each wheel 2 to control the slip speed of the wheel 2 with respect to the road surface by a control device 3100 to be described later. It is configured to increase the coefficient of friction with the road surface and improve the starting performance, braking performance, and turning performance! RU

[0239] Next, a detailed configuration of each unit will be described. As shown in FIG. 9, the wheel 2 has four wheels, left and right front wheels 2FL, 2FR located on the front side in the traveling direction of the vehicle 3011, and left and right rear wheels 2RL, 2RR located on the rear side in the traveling direction. These front and rear wheels 2FL to 2RR are configured to be steerable by the steering devices 20, 30.

[0240] The wheel 2 includes a tire mainly composed of a rubber material, and a wheel that holds the tire and also includes a metal material force such as steel, aluminum alloy, or magnesium alloy. The wheel is connected to the drive shaft of the wheel drive device 3, and the rotational drive force is transmitted from the wheel drive device 3 to the wheel (wheel 2) via the drive shaft.

[0241] Steering devices 20 and 30 are steering devices for steering each wheel 2. As shown in FIG. 9, a king pin 21 that supports each wheel 2 in a swingable manner and a knuckle of each wheel 2 are provided. A tie rod 22 connected to an arm (not shown) and a transmission mechanism 23 for transmitting the driving force of the actuator device 4 to the tie rod 22 are mainly provided.

[0242] As described above, the actuator device 4 is a steering drive device for independently steering driving each wheel 2, and as shown in FIG. ). When the driver operates the handle 51, a part of the actuator device 4 (for example, only the front wheels 2FL, 2FR) or the whole is driven, and a steering angle corresponding to the amount of operation of the handle 51 is given. [0243] Here, in the present embodiment, FL to RR actuators 4FL to 4RR are configured by electric motors, and transmission mechanism portion 23 is configured by a screw mechanism. When the electric motor is rotated, the rotational motion is converted to a linear motion by the transmission mechanism 23 and transmitted to the tie rod 22. As a result, each wheel 2 is driven to swing around the king pin 21 as a swing center, and a predetermined steering angle is given to each wheel 2.

[0244] The wheel drive device 3 is a rotation drive device for independently rotating and driving each wheel 2. As shown in Fig. 9, four electric motors (FL to RR motors 3FL to 3RR) are connected to each wheel. It is configured to be arranged every two (that is, as an in-wheel motor). As a result, the rotational speed of each wheel 2 can be controlled independently.

[0245] When the driver operates the accelerator pedal 53, a rotational driving force is applied to each wheel 2 from the wheel driving device 3, and each wheel 2 is rotated at a rotational speed corresponding to the operation amount of the accelerator pedal 53. The In the present invention, in this case, rotation control is performed so that the sliding speed of each wheel 2 with respect to the road surface approaches a target slip speed described later. Details of the rotation control will be described later.

[0246] The control device 3100 is a control device for controlling each part of the vehicle 3001 configured as described above. For example, the wheel drive device 3 and the actuator device 4 are operated to rotate the rotation speed of the wheel 2. Rotation control of wheel 2 is performed by controlling. Here, a detailed configuration of the control device 3100 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of control device 3100. As shown in FIG. 10, the control device 3100 includes a CPU 71, a ROM 72, and a RAM 73, which are connected to an input / output port 75 via a bus line 74. The input / output port 75 is connected to a plurality of devices such as a wheel drive motor 3.

The CPU 71 is an arithmetic device that controls each unit connected by the bus line 74. The ROM 72 is a non-rewritable nonvolatile memory storing a control program executed by the CPU 71 (for example, flowcharts of each process shown in FIGS. 13 to 15) and fixed value data, and the RAM 73 is a control memory. This memory is used to store various work data and flags in a rewritable manner during program execution.

[0249] As shown in FIG. 10, the ROM 72 is provided with a sliding speed table 72a. The The sliding speed table 72a is a table that stores values of target sliding speeds. The target slip speed is a target value when the rotation control of the wheel 2 is performed. The CPU 71 keeps the slip speed on the road surface of each wheel 2 close to the target slip speed while the vehicle 301 is traveling. In addition, the rotational speed of each wheel 2 is controlled.

[0250] Here, the relationship between the sliding speed and the friction coefficient will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the relationship between the sliding speed and the friction coefficient, and illustrates the result of measurement using the physical properties of the wheel 2 (tire) in the present embodiment. In FIG. 11, the horizontal axis indicates the sliding speed of the wheel 2 with respect to the road surface, and the vertical axis indicates the friction coefficient between the wheel 2 and the road surface.

[0251] As shown in FIG. 11, the coefficient of friction between the wheel 2 and the road surface changes according to the value of the sliding speed, and is the maximum value at a predetermined sliding speed (in this embodiment, lcmZs). Have

[0252] Therefore, in the present invention, the slip speed at which the friction coefficient is maximized is measured in advance, and this measured value is stored in the ROM 72 (slip speed table 72a) as the target slip speed, and the road surface of the wheel 2 is stored. The rotation speed of wheel 2 is controlled so that the slip speed with respect to approaches the target slip speed value. As a result, the friction coefficient between the wheel 2 and the road surface can be increased, so that the braking / acceleration performance and the turning performance can be improved.

[0253] In the conventional anti-lock control, as described above, the force for controlling the slip rate of the wheel 2 to take a value just before the transition from the non-slip region to the slip region. In this case, the target slip rate Is usually about 0.2 to 0.3. On the other hand, the target slip speed in the rotation control of the present invention is equivalent to a value that is 1 to 2 digits smaller than the conventional target slip ratio in terms of the slip ratio. When the rotational speed (sliding speed) of the wheel 2 is controlled in such a region to increase the friction coefficient, the technique is novel.

[0254] Returning to FIG. As shown in FIG. 10, the ROM 72 is provided with a drive release table 72b and a drive return table 72c.

[0255] Here, in the present invention, while the vehicle 3001 is traveling, any wheel 2 freely rolls, and the circumferential speed force of the wheel 2 calculates the ground speed of the vehicle 3001. Therefore, it is necessary to release the rotational driving force applied from the beg wheel driving device 3 that freely rolls the wheel 2. [0256] Therefore, in the drive release table 72b, a release speed for releasing the rotational driving force applied to the wheel 2 from the Veg wheel drive device 3 that measures the ground speed of the vehicle 3001 is defined. On the other hand, the drive return table 72c defines the applied speed when the measurement of the ground speed of the vehicle 3001 is completed and the application of the rotational driving force from the wheel drive device 3 to the wheel 2 is resumed.

Details of the drive release table 72b and the drive return table 72c will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 (a) is a schematic diagram schematically illustrating the contents of the drive release table 72b, and FIG. 12 (b) is a schematic diagram schematically illustrating the contents of the drive return table 72c.

In FIG. 12 (a) and FIG. 12 (b), the horizontal axis indicates the elapsed time from the start of the release or application of the rotational driving force, and the vertical axis indicates from the wheel driving device 3. The magnitude of the rotational driving force applied to wheel 2 is shown.

[0259] For example, when releasing the rotational driving force applied to the wheel 2, the CPU 71 determines the release speed (that is, the rate of change of the rotational driving force with respect to the elapsed time) from the drive release table 72b shown in FIG. ), And the wheel driving device 3 is controlled based on the read release speed, thereby gradually reducing the rotational driving force applied to the wheel 2.

[0260] As described above, when the rotational driving force already applied to the wheel 2 is released, the inertial force acting on the wheel 2 is reduced by gradually reducing the rotational driving force rather than releasing it at once. It is possible to reduce the influence of force and improve the follow-up characteristics with respect to the road surface. As a result, the synchronization between the wheel 2 and the road surface can be stabilized and accelerated, and as a result, the ground speed of the vehicle 3001 can be measured with high efficiency and high accuracy.

[0261] On the other hand, when the application of the rotational driving force to the wheel 2 is resumed, the CPU 71 determines the applied speed (ie, the rate of change of the rotational driving force with respect to the elapsed time) from the drive return table 72c shown in Fig. 12 (b). ) And the wheel driving device 3 is controlled based on the read application speed, thereby gradually increasing the rotational driving force applied to the wheel 2.

[0262] As described above, when resuming the application of the rotational driving force to the wheel 2, the rotational driving force is gradually increased rather than applied all at once, as in the case described above. Reduce the influence of inertial force acting on 2 and improve the following characteristics to the road surface Can do. As a result, the behavior of the vehicle 3001 can be stabilized. In addition, since it is not necessary for the wheel drive device 3 to exert an excessive rotational driving force, it is possible to suppress the driving load and improve durability, and to reduce the size of the wheel drive device 3. it can.

[0263] Returning to FIG. As described above, the wheel driving device 3 is a device for rotationally driving each wheel 2 (see FIG. 9), and includes four FL to RR motors 3FL to 3RR for applying a rotational driving force to each wheel 2. And a drive circuit (not shown) for driving and controlling each of the motors 3FL to 3RR based on a command from the CPU 71.

Further, as described above, the actuator device 4 is a device for steering and driving each wheel 2, and the four FL to RR actuators 4FL to 4 RR for applying a steering driving force to each wheel 2 are provided. And a drive circuit (not shown) for controlling the drive of each of these actuators 4FL to 4RR based on a command from the CPU 71 !.

[0265] The rudder angle sensor device 31 is a device for detecting the rudder angle of each wheel 2 and outputting the detection result to the CPU 71. The four FLs for detecting the rudder angle of each wheel 2 respectively. ~ RR Rudder angle sensors 31FL ~ 31RR and a processing circuit (not shown) that processes the detection results of these rudder angle sensors 31FL ~ 31RR and outputs them to the CPU 71!

[0266] In the present embodiment, each steering angle sensor 31FL to 31RR is provided in each transmission mechanism 23, and the rotational speed when the rotational motion is converted into linear motion in the transmission mechanism 23. It is comprised as a non-contact-type rotation angle sensor which detects this. Since this rotational speed is proportional to the amount of displacement of the tie rod 22, the CPU 71 can obtain the steering angle of each wheel 2 based on the detection result (rotational speed) input from the steering angle sensor device 31.

[0267] Here, the rudder angle detected by the rudder angle sensor device 31 is an angle formed by the center line of each wheel 2 and the reference line of the vehicle 30 01 (body frame BF), and the traveling direction of the vehicle 3001 Is an unrelated angle.

[0268] The wheel rotation speed sensor device 33 is a device for detecting the rotation speed of each wheel 2 and outputting the detection result to the CPU 71. The four FLs for detecting the rotation speed of each wheel 2 respectively. To RR rotational speed sensors 33FL to 33RR, and a processing circuit (not shown) for processing the detection results of the rotational speed sensors 33FL to 33RR and outputting them to the CPU 71. [0269] In the present embodiment, each rotation sensor 33FL to 33RR is provided in each wheel 2, and the angular velocity of each wheel 2 is detected as the rotation velocity. That is, each rotation sensor 33FL to 33RR is an electromagnetic pickup provided with a rotating body that rotates in conjunction with each wheel 2 and a pickup that electromagnetically detects the presence or absence of teeth formed in the circumferential direction of the rotating body. It is configured as a sensor of the type.

The CPU 71 can obtain the peripheral speed of each wheel 2 from the rotational speed of each wheel 2 input from the wheel rotational speed sensor device 33 and the outer diameter of each wheel 2. In the present invention, the ground speed of the vehicle 3001 is calculated based on the peripheral speed of the wheel 2 as described later. A method for calculating the ground speed of the vehicle 3001 will be described later.

[0271] As another input / output device 35 shown in FIG. 10, for example, the steering wheel 51, the brake pedal 52, and the accelerator pedal 53 (V, see also FIG. 9 for the operating state) (rotation angle, stepping amount, operating speed). For example, an operation state detection sensor device (not shown).

[0272] For example, when the accelerator pedal 53 is operated, the operation state amount is detected by the operation state detection sensor device and output to the CPU 71. The CPU 71 drives the wheel drive device 3 to control the rotation speed of each wheel 2.

[0273] Next, processing executed by the control device 3100 will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the rotation control process. This process is repeatedly executed by the CPU 71 (for example, at intervals of 0.2 ms) while the power of the control device 3100 is turned on, and the slip speed of the wheel 2 with respect to the road surface is brought close to the target slip speed. As a result, the coefficient of friction between the wheel 2 and the road surface is increased to improve the starting / braking performance and turning performance.

[0274] Regarding the rotation control process, the CPU 71 first executes a ground speed calculation process for calculating the ground speed of the vehicle 3001 (S3001). Here, the ground speed calculation processing will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the ground speed calculation process. In relation to the ground speed calculation process (S3001), the CPU 71 first determines whether or not the vehicle 3001 is in power (S3011). As a result, when it is determined that the vehicle 3001 is not traveling (S3011: No), the vehicle 3001 is stopped (the ground speed is 0), and it is not necessary to calculate the ground speed. This ground speed calculation process is terminated.

[0276] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S3011 that the vehicle 3001 is traveling (S3011: Yes), then, among the plurality (four in this embodiment) of wheels 2, freewheeling is performed. It is determined whether or not there is a moving wheel, that is, a force with the wheel 2 to which no rotational driving force is applied from the wheel driving device 3 (S3012).

[0277] That is, in the present invention, as described above, the ground speed of the vehicle 3001 is calculated from the peripheral speed of the wheel 2 by freely rolling any of the wheels 2 while the vehicle 3001 is traveling. . Therefore, if it is determined in S3012 that there is a free-rolling wheel 2 (for example, only the left and right rear wheels 2RL and 2RR are driven as drive wheels, and the left and right front wheels 2FL and 2FR are free) When rolling! / Speaking) Soko (S3012: Yes), using the wheel 2 that has already been rolling freely (ie, the left and right front wheels 2FL, 2FR), the ground speed of the vehicle 3001 Can be calculated.

Therefore, in this case (S3012: Yes), the S 3013 force, which is a process for freely rolling the wheel 2, also skips the process of S3015 and proceeds to the process of S3016.

[0279] On the other hand, in the processing of S3012, when it is determined that all the wheels 2 are rotationally driven by the wheel driving device 3 and there is no free-wheeling wheel 2 (S3012: No), First, the steering angle of each wheel 2 is detected (S3013), and then the wheel 2 to be freely rolled is determined based on the detection result (S3014).

That is, when the vehicle 3001 is turning, each wheel 2 has a slip angle (sliding with respect to the road surface), so in this embodiment, the influence of the slip angle of the wheel 2 is minimized. If there is a wheel 2 to which no steering angle is given as a result of the processing of S3013, the wheel 2 is determined as a wheel that freely rolls (S3014). On the other hand, as a result of the processing of S3013, if there is no wheel 2 to which no steering angle is assigned, that is, if all wheels 2 have steering angles, the absolute value of the assigned steering angle is The small wheel 2 is determined as a wheel that freely rolls (S3014).

[0281] For example, in the turning mode force of the vehicle 3001, if the driver turns the steering wheel 51 by turning the steering wheel 51, only the front wheels 2FL, 2FR are given a steering angle, the rear wheels are more than the front wheels 2FL, 2FR. 2RL and 2RR are judged to be less affected by slip angle, and rear wheels 2RL and 2RR Is determined as a wheel to be freely rolled (S3014).

[0282] Further, in the turning mode force of the vehicle 3001, if the driver turns the steering wheel 51 to give a steering angle to all the front and rear wheels 2FL to 2RR, the front and rear wheels 2FL to 2RR Among them, a wheel having a small absolute value of the rudder angle is determined as a wheel to freely roll (S3014). Thereby, the ground speed of the vehicle 3001 can be calculated with higher accuracy.

[0283] In the processing of S3014, the wheel 2 determined as the wheel to be freely rolled is assumed to be two wheels, and these two wheels are the left and right wheels 2 (the left and right front wheels 2FL, 2FR, or the left and right rear wheels). Wheels 2RL, 2RR) are preferable. When all the wheels 2 are provided with steering angles, it is preferable that the left and right wheels include the wheels 2 having the smallest absolute value of the steering angle.

That is, when all the wheels 2 are rotationally driven by the wheel driving device 3 (S3012:

No), if only one of the wheels 2 is freely rolled (ie, the rotational driving force is released), the driving force acting on the vehicle 3001 becomes uneven as a whole, and the balance is When the vehicle 3001 is rotated (a rotating moment is generated to cause the vehicle 3001 to rotate), the behavior of the vehicle 3001 becomes unstable. This is a force that can be secured (suppressing the generation of a rotational moment to rotate the vehicle 3001) and keep the behavior of the vehicle 3001 stable.

[0285] After the wheels to be freely rolled are determined in the processing of S3014, veg drive release and return processing (S3015) for freely rolling these determined wheels 2 is executed, and the wheel drive device 3 Release the applied rotational driving force. Here, the drive release and return processing will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing drive release and return processing. In this drive release and return processing (S3015), release of the rotational drive force applied to the wheel 2 and restart of application of the rotational drive force to the wheel 2 are performed.

[0287] Regarding the drive release and return processing (S3015), the CPU 71 first determines whether or not the drive release force is present (S3021). That is, it is determined whether to release the rotational driving force applied to the wheel 2 or to restart the application of the rotational driving force to the wheel 2.

[0288] This time, the process is executed after the process of S3014, and the rotation driving force applied to the wheel 2 that freely rolls the wheel 2 determined in the process of S3014 is applied. Since this is a process for releasing, it is determined that the drive is released (S3021: Yes).

[0289] Therefore, in this case (S3021: Yes), the process proceeds to S3022, and first, the release speed is read from the drive release table 72b, and then given to the wheel 2 at the read release speed. The wheel drive device 3 is controlled so that the rotational driving force gradually decreases (S 3022), and the drive release and return processing ends.

As a result, the application of the rotational driving force to the wheel 2 is released, and the wheel 2 rolls (free rolling) without sliding on the road surface. In addition, by gradually reducing the rotational driving force in this way, as described above, the follow-up characteristics of the free-wheeling wheel 2 with respect to the road surface are improved, so that the synchronization between the wheel 2 and the road surface is stabilized. And the ground speed of the vehicle 3001 can be measured with high efficiency and high accuracy.

[0291] Returning to FIG. After free-rolling wheel 2 by drive release and return processing (S3015), or when there is already free-rolling wheel 2 (S3012: Yes), first, the free-rolling wheel 2 is detected (S3016), and then the ground speed of the vehicle 3001 is calculated based on the detected rotational speed of the wheel 2 (S3017).

[0292] Specifically, the rotational speed of the wheel 2 is detected by the wheel rotational speed sensor device 33 (S301).

6) From the detected rotational speed of the wheel 2 and the outer diameter of the wheel 2 stored in advance in the ROM 72, the peripheral speed of the wheel 2, that is, the ground speed of the vehicle 3001 is calculated (S3017).

[0293] When there are two free rolling wheels, it is preferable to calculate the ground speed of the vehicle 3001 based on the peripheral speed (for example, an average value) of the two wheels. If the freely rolling wheel 2 has a steering angle, the slip angle is estimated and the peripheral speed of the wheel 2 is corrected based on the slip angle to calculate the ground speed of the vehicle 3001. It is preferable.

[0294] After the ground speed of the vehicle 3001 is calculated by the processing of S3017, the vehicle 2 is driven to resume the application of the rotational driving force to the wheel 2 for which the rotational driving force is released for free rolling. The release and return processing (S3018) is executed, and the ground speed calculation processing (S3001) is terminated.

[0295] This will be described with reference to FIG. Regarding the drive release and return processing (S 3018), the CPU 71 first determines whether or not the drive release force is present (S 3021). This time, it is a process executed after the process of S3017, and for the wheel 2 for which the free rotational driving force for free rolling is released, Since this is a process for restarting the application of the rotational driving force, it is determined that the driving is not released (S3 021: No).

[0296] Therefore, in this case (S3021: No), the process proceeds to S3023. First, the return speed is read from the drive return table 72c, and then the rotation applied to the wheel 2 at the read return speed. The wheel drive device 3 is controlled so that the driving force gradually increases (S302 3), and this drive release and return processing is terminated.

[0297] If the rotational driving force is not released by the processing of S3015 (that is, S3012: Yes), it is not necessary to execute the processing for resuming the application of the rotational driving force. The process of S3023 is skipped, and this drive release and return process ends.

[0298] By the processing of S3023, the application of the rotational driving force to the wheel 2 is resumed, and the wheel 2 functions as a driving wheel. In this way, by gradually increasing the rotational driving force, as described above, the behavior of the vehicle 3001 can be stabilized, and the driving load of the wheel driving device 3 can be suppressed. Thus, the durability can be improved and the wheel drive device 3 can be reduced in size.

[0299] Returning to FIG. After executing the ground speed calculation process (S3001) and calculating the ground speed of the vehicle 3001, the sliding speed of the wheel 2 is then calculated based on the calculated ground speed of the vehicle 3001 (S3002). .

Specifically, as described above, the peripheral speed of the wheel 2 can be obtained from the rotational speed of the wheel 2 detected by the wheel rotational speed sensor device 33 and the outer diameter of the wheel 2 stored in the ROM 72 in advance. Therefore, by calculating the difference between the peripheral speed and the ground speed of the vehicle 3001, the sliding speed of the wheel 2 can be calculated.

[0301] Next, after reading the target slip speed from the slip speed table 72a (S3003) and detecting the operation state of the accelerator pedal 53 (S3004), the slip speed of the wheel 2 that is the drive wheel is the target. The wheel drive device 3 is controlled so as to achieve the sliding speed (S3005), and this rotation control process is terminated.

[0302] Thus, the coefficient of friction between the wheel 2 and the road surface can be increased, and the start performance, braking performance, or turning performance of the vehicle 3001 can be improved.

[0303] As a result of detecting the operating state of accelerator pedal 53 (S3004), acceleration of vehicle 3001 Is instructed, the wheel drive device 3 is controlled so that the peripheral speed of the wheel 2 is larger than the ground speed of the vehicle 3001 (S3005). Thus, it is possible to increase the coefficient of friction between the road surface and the wheel 2 while avoiding that the vehicle 3001 is decelerated even though the acceleration of the vehicle 3001 is instructed.

[0304] On the other hand, as a result of detecting the operation state of accelerator pedal 53 (S3004), when the deceleration of vehicle 3001 is instructed, the peripheral speed of wheel 2 is made smaller than the ground speed of vehicle 3001. The wheel drive device 3 is controlled (S3005). Thus, it is possible to increase the coefficient of friction between the road surface and the wheel 2 while avoiding the vehicle 3001 being accelerated despite the fact that the vehicle 3001 has been decelerated.

In the flowchart shown in FIG. 14 (ground speed calculation process), the processing speed of S3016 is used as the circumferential speed calculation means according to claim 8. The processing power of S3017 is canceled as the ground speed calculation means. As wheel selection means, the processing power of S3014 In the flow chart (drive release and return processing) shown in FIG. 15, the rotational driving force release means according to claim 9 corresponds to the processing power of S3022, respectively.

[0306] While the present invention has been described based on the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Something can be easily guessed.

[0307] For example, the numerical values given in the third embodiment are merely examples, and other numerical values can naturally be adopted.

[0308] Further, in the third embodiment, the slip of the wheel 2 occurs regardless of the traveling state of the vehicle 3001, that is, whether the vehicle 3001 is traveling at a constant speed or accelerating / decelerating. Although the case where the rotation control that approximates the speed to the speed is executed has been described, the rotation control may be executed only when a predetermined condition that is not necessarily limited to this is satisfied. good. Examples of the case where the predetermined condition is satisfied include a case where the acceleration or deceleration of the vehicle 3001 exceeds a predetermined value or a case where the vehicle 3001 is turning.

[0309] In the third embodiment, the ground speed of the vehicle 3001 is calculated regardless of the traveling state of the vehicle 3001, that is, whether the vehicle 3001 is traveling straight or turning. Ni However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it is naturally possible to calculate the ground speed only when the vehicle 3001 is traveling straight ahead. Whether the vehicle 3001 is traveling straight may be determined based on the steering angle of the wheel 2 as described above, or an acceleration sensor device (for example, a piezoelectric sensor using a piezoelectric element). ) May be used.

[0310] Further, in the third embodiment, it has been described that it is preferable to use two wheels on the left and right as the wheels 2 to be freely rolled in order to calculate the ground speed of the vehicle 3001, but the wheels are freely rolled. The number of wheels 2 is not necessarily limited to this. For example, it is naturally possible to freely roll only one wheel or three or more wheels. Similarly, the wheels 2 to be freely rolled are not necessarily left and right wheels. For example, the front and rear wheels may be two.

[0311] Further, in the third embodiment, it is possible to rewrite the fixed value data, such as EEPROM, which is hard to explain the case where the outer diameter of each wheel 2 is stored in advance in the ROM 72 as fixed value data. It may be configured so that it can be stored in a non-volatile memory and the value of the fixed value data can be arbitrarily changed by the driver.

[0312] Alternatively, correction means for correcting the value of the fixed value data (that is, reducing the outer diameter by the amount of wear) according to the cumulative number of rotations of the wheel 2 (that is, the degree of wear) may be provided. With these configurations, even if the wheel 2 is changed (so-called inch up) or the tread of the wheel 2 is worn, the peripheral speed of the wheel 2 (that is, the ground speed of the vehicle 3001) is calculated with higher accuracy. can do.

[0313] In the third embodiment, the case where only one type of target slip speed is stored in the slip speed table 72a has been described. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited to this. It is possible to store the slip speed and control the slip speed of the wheel 2 so that the target slip speed read in the processing of S 3003 is appropriately changed. As a result, the coefficient of friction between the wheel 2 and the road surface can be increased more efficiently, and the starting performance and the like can be further improved.

[0314] For example, a plurality of types of target slip speeds are stored in the slip speed table 72a according to the temperature of the road surface or wheels (tires) 2, and the surface temperature of the road surface or wheels 2 is measured while the vehicle 3001 is traveling. While reading the target slip speed corresponding to the surface temperature, The sliding speed may be controlled. The surface temperature may be estimated from the outside air temperature, or may be measured by a non-contact temperature sensor (such as an infrared sensor).

[0315] Also, multiple types of target slip speeds are stored in the slip speed table 72a according to the presence / absence of rainfall and the amount of rainfall, while measuring the amount of rainfall while the vehicle 3001 is traveling, A configuration may be adopted in which the target slip speed corresponding to the rainfall is read and the slip speed of the wheel 2 is controlled. The rainfall amount can be measured by a known rainfall sensor.

[0316] Also, a plurality of types of target slip speeds are stored in the slip speed table 72a for each type of road surface (for example, asphalt physical properties), and the type of road surface is monitored while the vehicle 3001 is traveling. It is also possible to read the target slip speed corresponding to the type of road surface and control the slip speed of wheel 2.

[0317] The road surface type may be estimated using a non-contact optical sensor device, or the road surface type information is stored in advance in the navigation system in association with the position information. It is also possible to obtain the position information of the vehicle 3001 to be obtained, and obtain the road surface type information corresponding to the position information as well as the navigation system power.

[0318] Further, a plurality of types of target slip speeds are stored in the slip speed table 72a for each type of wheel (tire) 2 (for example, for each physical property of the rubber material constituting the tread of the tire). The target slip speed corresponding to the wheel 2 mounted on the vehicle 3001 may be read and the slip speed of the wheel 2 may be controlled. The type of wheel 2 is preferably configured to be input by the driver.

[0319] The various target slip speeds described above may be used alone or in combination.

[0320] In the third embodiment, the release speed and the return speed (that is, the slope of the straight line shown in Fig. 12) stored in the drive release table 72b and the drive return table 72c are set to constant values. Although described above, it is naturally possible to change the release speed and the return speed, which are not necessarily limited to this.

[0321] Examples include a case where the vehicle 3001 is changed according to the acceleration / deceleration and a case where the vehicle 3001 is changed according to the road surface condition. Specifically, for example, the greater the acceleration / deceleration of the vehicle 3001, the greater the influence of the inertial force acting on the wheel 2 when the rotational driving force is released. By setting the release speed or the like slower, the influence of inertial force is reduced. Similarly, the greater the frictional resistance of the road surface, the greater the influence of the inertial force that acts on the wheel 2 when the rotational driving force is released, etc. Reduce.

[0322] In the third embodiment, the case where the vehicle 3001 is configured to include four front and rear wheels 2FL to 2RR has been described. However, the number of wheels 2 is not necessarily limited to this. For example, it may be 3 wheels or 5 wheels or more.

In the third embodiment, the case where the actuator device 4 is configured by an electric motor and the transmission mechanism unit 23 is configured by a screw mechanism has been described. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto. The actuator device 4 may be composed of a hydraulic 'pneumatic cylinder. As a result, the transmission mechanism portion 23 can be omitted, so that the structure can be simplified, and the weight reduction and the part cost can be reduced.

[0324] In the third embodiment, the brake device that applies force is described in the case where the vehicle 3001 is not provided with a brake device (for example, a drum brake or a disc brake that uses frictional force). Of course, it is possible to provide it.

[0325] The wheel drive device 3 (FL to RR motors 3FL to 3RR) may be configured as a so-called regenerative brake. The electric power generated by operating the regenerative brake may be configured to be charged in a battery device (not shown) for driving the wheel drive device 3.

[0326] Next, a fourth embodiment will be described. FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram schematically showing a vehicle 4001 equipped with a control device 4100 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. Note that arrow FWD in FIG. 16 indicates the forward direction of vehicle 4001. FIG. 16 shows a state in which a predetermined rudder angle is given to all wheels 2!

First, a schematic configuration of the vehicle 4001 will be described. As shown in FIG. 16, the vehicle 4001 includes a vehicle body frame BF, a plurality of (four wheels in this embodiment) wheels 2 supported by the vehicle body frame BF, and wheels that rotate and drive these wheels 2 independently. A drive device 3 and an actuator device 4 for steering and driving each wheel 2 independently are mainly provided.

[0328] The vehicle 4001 according to the fourth embodiment is configured so that a parking brake can be applied by setting the steering state of the plurality of wheels 2 to the parking braking arrangement shown in FIG.

That is, when the driver turns on the parking brake switch 4033, the actuator device 4 is The wheels 2 are steered to shift the steering state of the plurality of wheels 2 to the parking brake arrangement. As a result, a resistance force is generated in all directions on the plane including the ground contact surface of each wheel 2. Therefore, the vehicle 4001 is not moved from the stop position by using the generated resistance force as a parking brake. Can be fixed, and so on.

[0330] Next, a detailed configuration of each unit will be described. As shown in FIG. 16, the wheel 2 includes four wheels, left and right front wheels 2FL and 2FR positioned on the front side in the traveling direction of the vehicle 4001, and left and right rear wheels 2RL and 2RR positioned on the rear side in the traveling direction. These front and rear wheels 2FL to 2RR are configured to be steerable by steering devices 20 and 30.

[0331] Steering devices 20, 30 are steering devices for steering each wheel 2. As shown in Fig. 16, the king pin 21 that supports each wheel 2 so as to be swingable and the knuckle of each wheel 2 are provided. A tie rod 22 connected to an arm (not shown) and a transmission mechanism 23 for transmitting the driving force of the actuator device 4 to the tie rod 22 are mainly provided.

[0332] As described above, the actuator device 4 is a steering drive device for steering and driving each wheel 2 independently. As shown in Fig. 16, the four actuators (FL to RR actuator unit 4FL) are provided. ~ 4RR). When the driver operates the handle 51, a part of the actuator device 4 (for example, only the front wheels 2FL, 2FR) or the whole is driven, and a steering angle corresponding to the amount of operation of the handle 51 is given.

[0333] Further, even if the steering operation by the driver is performed, for example, when the parking brake switch 4033 is turned on, the actuator device 4 (FL ~ RR actuators 4FL to 4RR) are driven, and the steering state of wheel 2 is shifted to the parking control arrangement.

[0334] As described above, the steering drive of the wheel 2 by the actuator device 4 is caused by the operation of the handle 51, and the steering of the wheel 2 is performed regardless of whether the handle 51 is operated or not. In this embodiment, the former is referred to as turning control and the latter is referred to as parking control. Call it. Details of parking control will be described later (see FIG. 18).

[0335] Here, in the present embodiment, FL to RR actuators 4FL to 4RR are constituted by electric motors, and transmission mechanism portion 23 is constituted by a screw mechanism. When the electric motor is rotated The rotational motion is converted into a linear motion by the transmission mechanism 23 and transmitted to the tie rod 22. As a result, each wheel 2 is driven to swing around the king pin 21 as a swing center, and a predetermined steering angle is given to each wheel 2.

[0336] The wheel drive device 3 is a rotation drive device for independently rotating and driving each wheel 2. As shown in Fig. 16, four electric motors (FL to RR motors 3FL to 3RR) are connected to each wheel. Every two (ie, as in-wheel motors) are arranged. When the driver operates the accelerator pedal 53, a rotational driving force is applied to each wheel 2 from each wheel drive device 3, and each wheel 2 is rotated at a rotational speed corresponding to the operation amount of the accelerator pedal 53. The

[0337] The control device 4100 is a control device for controlling each part of the vehicle 4001 configured as described above. For example, when the accelerator pedal 53 or the brake pedal 53 is operated, a wheel is used. While driving control of the driving device 3 is performed, driving control (turning control, parking control) of the actuator device 4 is performed when the handle 51 or the parking brake switch 4033 is operated.

[0338] Next, the detailed configuration of the control device 4100 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of control device 4100.

As shown in FIG. 17, the control device 4100 includes a CPU 71, a ROM 72, and a RAM 73, which are connected to the input / output port 75 via the bus line 74. In addition, a plurality of devices such as the wheel drive device 3 are connected to the input / output port 75.

The CPU 71 is an arithmetic device that controls each unit connected by the bus line 74. The ROM 72 is a non-rewritable nonvolatile memory storing a control program executed by the CPU 71 (for example, the flowchart of the parking control process illustrated in FIG. 18) and fixed value data, and the RAM 73 is a control memory. This memory is used to store rewritable work data and flags when the program is executed.

Here, the ROM 72 is provided with a parking brake arrangement table 72a as shown in FIG. The parking braking arrangement table 72a is a table that stores the steering state (steering angle) of each wheel 2 at the time of parking braking arrangement. When the parking brake switch 4033 is turned on by the driver, the CPU 71 shifts the steering state of each wheel 2 to the parking brake arrangement based on the contents of the parking brake arrangement table 72a. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 17, the RAM 73 is provided with a stop-time placement memory 73a and a brake flag 73b. The stop-time arrangement memory 73a is a memory for storing the steering state (steering angle) of each wheel 2 before the shift to the parking brake arrangement (that is, before the parking brake is applied) as the stop-time arrangement. When the parking brake switch 4033 is turned off by the driver, the CPU 71 reads out the stop-time arrangement from the stop-time arrangement memory 73a, and returns the steering state of each wheel 2 to the parking brake arrangement force stop-time arrangement.

[0343] The brake flag 73b is a flag for indicating whether or not the steering state of each wheel 2 is in the parking braking arrangement (that is, whether or not the parking brake is applied). It is set to “1” when the steering state is shifted to the parking brake arrangement (see FIG. 18S4008), and “0” when the parking brake arrangement is released (that is, when the movement is stopped). (Refer to Figure 18S4012).

[0344] As described above, the wheel drive device 3 is a device for rotationally driving each wheel 2 (see Fig. 16), and the four FL ~: RR for applying rotational drive force to each wheel 2 are provided. Motors 3FL to 3RR and a drive circuit (not shown) for driving and controlling the motors 3FL to 3RR based on a command from the CPU 71 are provided.

[0346] The rudder angle sensor device 31 is a device for detecting the rudder angle of each wheel 2 and outputting the detection result to the CPU 71. The four FLs for detecting the rudder angle of each wheel 2 respectively. ~ RR Rudder angle sensors 31FL ~ 31RR and a processing circuit (not shown) that processes the detection results of these rudder angle sensors 31FL ~ 31RR and outputs them to the CPU 71!

[0347] In the present embodiment, each steering angle sensor 31FL to 31RR is provided in each transmission mechanism 23, and the rotational speed when the rotational motion is converted into linear motion in the transmission mechanism 23. It is comprised as a non-contact-type rotation angle sensor which detects this. Since this rotational speed is proportional to the amount of displacement of the tie rod 22, the CPU 71 can obtain the steering angle of each wheel 2 based on the detection result (rotational speed) input from the steering angle sensor device 31. [0348] Here, the rudder angle detected by the rudder angle sensor device 31 is an angle formed by the center line of each wheel 2 and the reference line (both lines not shown) of the vehicle 40 01 (body frame BF). Yes, the angle is determined independently of the traveling direction of the vehicle 401.

[0349] The vehicle speed sensor device 32 is a device for detecting the ground speed (absolute value and traveling direction) of the vehicle 4001 with respect to the road surface, and outputting the detection result to the CPU 71. 32a, 32b and a processing circuit (not shown) for processing the detection results of the respective acceleration sensors 32a, 32b and outputting them to the CPU 71! /.

[0350] The longitudinal acceleration sensor 32a is a sensor that detects the acceleration in the longitudinal direction (upward and downward in Fig. 16) of the vehicle 4001 (body frame BF), and the lateral acceleration sensor 32b is the vehicle 40 01 (body frame BF). ) In the left-right direction (Fig. 16 left-right direction). In the present embodiment, each of the acceleration sensors 32a and 32b is configured as a piezoelectric sensor using a piezoelectric element.

[0351] The CPU 71 time-integrates the detection results (acceleration values) of the acceleration sensors 32a and 32b input from the vehicle speed sensor device 32, and calculates speeds in two directions (front and rear and left and right directions), respectively. At the same time, the ground speed (absolute value and traveling direction) of the vehicle 4001 can be obtained by synthesizing these two direction components.

[0352] The parking brake switch 4033 is a switch for instructing the transition to the parking brake arrangement and the release thereof, and the CPU 71 switches to the parking brake arrangement when the parking brake switch 4033 is turned on by the driver. While it is determined that the shift (braking by the parking brake) has been instructed, it is determined that the release of the parking brake arrangement has been instructed when the switch is turned off (see FIG. 18S402).

[0353] Parking brake switch 4033 is configured by a lock-type switch that can maintain the on and off states. For example, when the driver switches from the off state to the on state, the on state is maintained until the next switching to the off state, and the input / output port 75 maintains the on state.

[0354] Other input / output devices 35 shown in FIG. 17 include, for example, the operating state (rotation angle, stepping amount, operating speed) of the handle 51, the brake pedal 52, and the accelerator pedal 53 (see FIG. 16 for V and displacement). For example, an operation state detection sensor device (not shown). [0355] Next, parking control according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. As described above, the parking control means that the vehicle 2 is placed in the parking braking arrangement (that is, the parking brake is applied) so that the vehicle 4001 does not move even when the vehicle is stopped. This control is for steering driving, and is distinguished from the turning control described above for the purpose of turning the vehicle 4001.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the parking control process. This process is a process repeatedly executed by the CPU 71 (for example, at intervals of 0.5 seconds) while the control device 4100 is powered on.

[0357] Regarding the parking control process, the CPU 71 first determines whether or not the vehicle 4001 is stopped (S4001). As a result, if it is determined that the vehicle is not stopped (S4001: No), the vehicle 4001 is in a running state and the steering state of each wheel 2 is shifted to the parking brake arrangement (ie, the parking brake is applied). Since this is not possible, the parking control process is terminated.

[0358] Whether the vehicle 4001 is stationary or not can be determined based on the detection result (ground speed) of the vehicle speed sensor device 32 (see Fig. 17) described above.

On the other hand, if it is determined in the process of S4001 that the vehicle 4001 is stopped (S4001: Yes), it is then determined whether the parking brake switch 4033 is turned on (S4002). As described above, the parking brake switch 4033 is turned on when the driver instructs to shift to the parking brake arrangement (that is, to apply the parking brake). When the driver is off, the driver gives an instruction to release the parking brake arrangement (that is, release the parking brake)! /, And! /.

[0360] If it is determined that the parking brake switch 4033 is turned on during the processing of S4002 (S4002: Yes), then the value of the brake flag 73b is "0"? It is determined whether or not (S4003). As described above, when the brake flag 73b is “1”, it means that the steering state of each wheel 2 is shifted to the parking brake arrangement, and when it is “0”, the parking flag 73b is parked. This means that the braking arrangement has already been released (that is, the braking arrangement has been restored).

[0361] Therefore, in the processing of S4002 and S4003, when it is determined that the parking brake switch 4033 is turned on and the brake flag 73b is not "0" (that is, "1"). (S4002: Yes, S4003: No), the driver is instructed to shift to the parking brake arrangement (that is, to apply the parking brake), but the transition to the parking brake arrangement has already been completed ( That is, the parking brake is already applied), and the parking control process is terminated.

[0362] On the other hand, when the parking brake switch 4033 is turned on and the brake flag 73b is determined to be "0" in the processing of S4002 and S4003 (S4002: Yes, S4003: Yes) The driver is instructed to shift to the parking brake arrangement (ie to apply the parking brake) The transition to the parking brake arrangement has not yet been completed (that is, the parking brake has not yet been applied) Therefore, execute the processing from S4004 onwards to shift to parking braking arrangement.

[0363] In this case (S4002: Yes, S4003: Yes), the current steering angle of each wheel 2 is first detected (S4004) before the transition to the parking braking arrangement. The current steering angle (steering state) of each wheel 2 is stored in the stop-time placement memory 73a as the stop-time placement (S4005).

[0364] Thus, as will be described later, when the driver is instructed to cancel the parking brake arrangement (that is, release the parking brake), the parking brake arrangement is changed based on the contents of the stop-time arrangement memory 73a. The steering state of each wheel 2 can be returned to the state before shifting (arranged when the vehicle is stopped) (see S4010 and S4011).

[0365] After the processing of S4005 is executed, the parking brake arrangement (that is, the steering state of each wheel 2) is read from the parking brake arrangement table 72a in the next !, and each wheel 2 is read based on the read contents. The steering state (steering angle) is determined (S4006). Then, by controlling the actuator device 4 using the rudder angle determined in the processing of S4006 as a target value, the steering state of each wheel 2 is shifted to the parking brake arrangement (S4007).

Here, as shown in FIG. 16, the parking braking arrangement in the present embodiment is set so that the front wheels 2FL, 2 FR tend to toe out, while the rear wheels 2RL, 2RR tend to toe in. Yes. In the present embodiment, the absolute values of the steering angles of the wheels 2 are all the same angle (for example, 45 degrees).

[0367] Thus, for example, the vehicle 4001 has a front-rear direction or a left-right direction (FIG. When an external force is applied in the right direction), the left and right front wheels 2FL and 2FR tend to toe out, and the left and right rear wheels 2RL and 2RR have a toe-in tendency. Thus, a resistance force against the external force can be generated.

[0368] For example, when an external force is applied to the vehicle 4001 in an oblique direction (for example, a direction connecting the left front wheel 2FL and the right rear wheel 2RR), the right front wheel 2fR and the left rear wheel 2RL When and are in a non-free rolling state, resistance to the external force can be generated.

Thus, according to the present invention, by setting the steering state of each wheel 2 to the parking braking arrangement, it is possible to generate a resistance force in all directions on a plane including the ground contact surface of the wheel 2. Therefore, the resistance force can be used as a so-called parking brake to securely fix the vehicle 4001 at the stop position (do not start moving).

[0370] As a result, in the conventional parking brake, it is necessary to periodically adjust the play of the brake lever or the like caused by the elongation of the wire, whereas the present invention does not require such adjustment work. As a result, it is possible to improve maintainability.

[0371] In addition, when the conventional parking brake is configured with a hydraulic system, the braking force applied to the wheels cannot be maintained for a long time due to the internal leak of the brake hydraulic pressure. In the present invention, since the actuator device 4 is configured as a mechanical type, the state of the parking brake arrangement, that is, the state where the parking brake is applied can be stably maintained for a long time.

[0372] In addition, the conventional parking brake has a problem that it is difficult to provide a fail-safe function to maintain safety at the time of failure, such as when the wire is cut in parking on a slope, and it is not reliable. On the other hand, in the present invention, a brake device (for example, one that uses frictional force such as a disc brake or a drum brake) can be further provided on each wheel 2 separately from the parking brake (parking braking arrangement). If the parking brake arrangement cannot be maintained, the brake device functions as a parking brake. If the brake device is damaged, the parking brake arrangement functions as a parking brake. Reliability can be improved.

[0373] Furthermore, in the present invention, the above-described communication is performed by setting the steering state of each wheel 2 to the parking brake arrangement. Since resistance can be generated in any direction (all directions) on the plane,

4001 anti-theft effect can be improved.

[0374] In the processing of S4007, after the steering state of each wheel 2 is shifted to the parking brake arrangement, the shift to the parking brake arrangement is already completed (that is, the parking brake is already applied). In order to indicate this, the value of the brake flag 73b is set to “1” (S4008), and the parking control process is terminated.

[0375] On the other hand, if it is determined that the parking brake switch 4033 is turned on !, and !! / な (that is, off) (S4002: No), It is determined whether or not the value of the brake flag 73b is “1” (S4009).

[0376] In the processing of S4002 and S4009, when it is determined that the parking brake switch 4033 is turned off and the brake flag 73b is not "1" (that is, "0") (S4002: No S4009: No), the driver has instructed to cancel the parking brake arrangement (that is, release the parking brake), but the release of the parking brake arrangement has already been completed (that is, the parking brake has already been released). This parking control process is terminated.

[0377] On the other hand, when it is determined that the parking brake switch 4033 is turned off and the brake flag 73b is "1" in the processing of S4002 and S4009 (S4002: No, S4009: Yes) The driver is instructed to release the parking brake arrangement (that is, release the parking brake), but the parking brake arrangement has not yet been released (that is, the parking brake has not yet been released). Therefore, the processing after S4010 for canceling the parking braking arrangement is executed.

[0378] In this case (S4002: No, S4009: Yes), the parking braking arrangement is canceled by first setting the stopping arrangement (the steering angle of each wheel 2) memorized in the processing of S4004 and S4005. The data is read from the memory 73a (S4010), and the actuator device 4 is controlled using the read steering angle as a target value to return the steering state of each wheel 2 to the stop-time arrangement (S40l).

[0379] Thus, the driver can smoothly perform the restart after parking without performing a complicated steering wheel operation. [0380] For example, when parallel parking is performed in a space where the distance between the front and rear vehicles is narrow, a large rudder angle (for example, up to a full state) is given to wheel 2 and vehicle 4001 enters the parking space. Therefore, it is necessary to give the same rudder angle to wheel 2 even when restarting.

[0381] Therefore, when the parking braking arrangement is released, for example, if each wheel 2 is returned to the straight traveling state, the driver needs to largely operate the handle 51 again when exiting the parking space cover. It will occur. Therefore, if each wheel 2 can be returned to the stop position as in the present invention, the vehicle 4001 can be smoothly restarted even from a narrow parking space without allowing the driver to perform the steering operation again. Can do.

[0382] In the process of S4011, after the parking brake state is released, the brake flag 73b is used to indicate that the release of the parking brake arrangement has already been completed (ie, the parking brake is released). Is set to “0” (S4012), and the parking control process is terminated.

[0383] Next, a fifth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing a parking control process in the fifth embodiment.

[0384] In the fourth embodiment, the transition to the parking brake arrangement is started after the vehicle 4001 stops. In the fifth embodiment, even if the vehicle 4001 is running, If the speed is equal to or lower than the reference speed value, for example, the steering state of each wheel 2 is gradually changed as the ground speed is reduced, and the vehicle 4001 is completely shifted to the parking brake arrangement when the vehicle 4001 stops. The same parts as those in the above-described fourth embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

[0385] Regarding the parking control process, the CPU 71 first determines whether or not the parking brake mode is on (S5021). Here, on / off of the parking brake mode indicates whether or not to perform the parking control for shifting the steering state of each wheel 2 to the parking brake arrangement. If it is on (off), the parking control is performed. Means to do (don't do! / ヽ).

[0386] In the present embodiment, on / off of the parking brake mode can be arbitrarily selected by the driver. The vehicle 4001 is provided with a lock type switch (not shown) for setting the parking brake mode on / off. When the driver turns on / off the lock type switch, the operation state is changed by the CPU 71. It is detected and it is judged whether the parking brake mode is on or off.

[0387] In the processing of S5021, if the parking brake mode is not on (ie, off) If it is determined (S5021: NO), the driver selects a mode in which parking control is not performed!

[0388] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S5021 that the parking brake mode is on (S5021: Yes), it means that the driver has selected the mode for parking control.

The parking control is performed. The processing after S5022 is executed.

[0389] First, the ground speed of the vehicle 4001 is detected (S5022), and it is determined whether or not the detected ground speed is below a reference speed (5 km / h in this embodiment) (S5023). As a result, if the detected ground speed is larger than the reference speed value (S5023: No), vehicle 4001 has not been decelerated to a speed at which parking control can be performed, or vehicle 4001 has Since this means that the vehicle has already been accelerated to a speed exceeding the value and it is not necessary to perform parking control, this parking control process is terminated.

Note that the ground speed of the vehicle 4001 can be detected by the vehicle speed sensor device 32 (see FIG. 17) as described above. The reference speed value is stored in advance in ROM 72 as fixed value data.

[0391] On the other hand, if it is determined in S5023 that the ground speed of vehicle 4001 is below the reference speed (S5023: Yes), has vehicle 4001 been decelerated to a speed at which parking control can be performed? The vehicle 4001 has not yet reached a speed exceeding the reference speed value, and it is necessary to perform parking control.

[0392] Therefore, in this case (S5023: Yes), first, each wheel is based on the detected ground speed.

2 is determined (S5024), and then the steering device of each wheel 2 is changed by controlling the actuator device 4 using the determined steering angle as a target value (S5025). The process ends.

[0393] Here, in the processing of S5024, if the vehicle 4001 is in a deceleration state, the steering state (steering angle) of each wheel 2 is parked from the current steering state as the value of the ground speed of the vehicle 4001 decreases. The steering angle of each wheel 2 is determined so that the steering state of each wheel 2 coincides with the parking braking arrangement when the ground speed becomes 0 (that is, when the vehicle 4001 stops) while approaching the vehicle braking arrangement. Is done.

[0394] If the vehicle 4001 is in an accelerated state, the ground speed value of the vehicle 4001 increases. Therefore, the steering state of each wheel 2 is brought closer to the steering position corresponding to the operation state of the handle 51 from the current steering state, and the steering state of each wheel 2 is changed to the steering position of the handle 51 when the ground speed reaches the reference speed value. The steering angle of each wheel 2 is determined so as to coincide with the steering position according to the operation state.

[0395] Thus, for example, when the vehicle 4001 stops on a downhill, the steering state of each wheel 2 can be gradually brought closer to the parking brake arrangement according to the ground speed of the vehicle 4001. The vehicle 4001 can be stopped smoothly. At the same time, since each wheel 2 is in a stop braking arrangement (see Fig. 16), resistance force can be generated in all directions on the stop plane, so that the vehicle 4001 can be safely stopped at the stop position. .

[0396] Further, in this case, the driver simply stops the vehicle 4001 and applies the parking brake only by performing a deceleration operation (for example, an operation of returning the accelerator pedal 53 or an operation of depressing the brake pedal 52). You can do two actions at once. That is, it is not necessary to perform a separate operation such as lifting the brake lever after the vehicle 4001 stops, and the operation burden on the driver can be reduced.

[0397] On the other hand, for example, in a slope start where the vehicle 4001 is stopped on an uphill and then started again, the steering state of each wheel is determined according to the ground speed of the vehicle 4001 and the steering position according to the operation state of the handle 51. (For example, if the steering wheel 51 is in an operation state instructing straight travel, each wheel 2 can be moved straight), so that the hill can be started smoothly.

[0398] In other words, with conventional products, especially manual vehicles, it is necessary to further perform the parking brake release operation (operation to return the brake lever) in conjunction with the operation of the accelerator pedal and clutch pedal. Technology was needed. On the other hand, according to the present invention, since such an advanced operation technique is not required, even a beginner can start a slope on the back or back of the vehicle 4001 or suddenly start. This can be done smoothly without causing problems.

[0399] In addition, the conventional product has a problem in that if the vehicle is driven without the brake lever or the like being returned, a so-called brake bow I is generated and the brake device is damaged by frictional heat. On the other hand, in the present invention, for example, the parking brake is released by simply depressing the accelerator pedal 53 and starting the vehicle 4001 (that is, the parking brake disposition force of the wheel 2 is also increased). The steering position according to the operating state of the dollar 51).

[0400] Therefore, it is possible to reduce the operation burden on the driver and to avoid breakage of the brake device. Furthermore, it is not necessary to attach a notification mechanism to the vehicle 4001 to notify that the brake lever or the like required for the conventional product has not returned, and the product cost can be reduced accordingly.

[0401] Next, sixth to eighth embodiments will be described with reference to FIG. FIGS. 20 (a) to 20 (c) are schematic diagrams for explaining the parking brake arrangements in the sixth to eighth embodiments, respectively, and correspond to FIG. 16 described above.

[0402] The parking brake arrangements in the sixth and seventh embodiments are based on the same technical idea as the parking brake arrangement in the fourth embodiment described above. As shown in (b), the center line directions of the wheels 2 adjacent to each other in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction of the vehicle 4001 are set so as to be orthogonal to each other. For example, in the case of the left front wheel 2FL, the center line direction is perpendicular to the left rear wheel 2RL adjacent in the vertical direction of the vehicle 4001 and the right front wheel 2FR adjacent in the horizontal direction of the vehicle 4001. Yes.

[0403] On the other hand, the parking brake arrangement in the eighth embodiment is set so that the center line directions of the wheels 2 adjacent to each other in the diagonal direction of the vehicle 4001 are orthogonal to each other, as shown in FIG. 20 (c). ing. For example, in the case of the left front wheel 2FL, the center line direction is perpendicular to the right rear wheel 2RR adjacent to the vehicle 4001 in the oblique direction.

[0404] Thus, even when an external force is applied to the vehicle 4001 in any direction on the plane including the ground contact surface of each wheel 2, at least one of the wheels 2 is in a non-free rolling state. Therefore, a resistance force against the external force can be generated. Therefore, by using this resistance force as a parking brake, the vehicle 4001 can be reliably fixed so that the stopping position force does not start to move.

[0405] Each of these parking braking arrangements is an example of the most preferable form in the case of a few power wheels of wheels 2 arranged in vehicle 4001. Therefore, it is naturally possible to adopt different arrangements depending on the number of wheels 2 arranged in the vehicle 4001. Further, even if the number of wheels 2 arranged on the vehicle 4001 is four, it is naturally possible to adopt an arrangement different from these. That is, even when an external force is applied to the vehicle 4001 in any direction on the plane including the ground contact surface of each wheel 2, at least one of the wheels 2 is in a non-free rolling state. That is, any arrangement that can generate a resistance force to the external force is sufficient.

[0407] However, the parking brake arrangement does not matter the steering angle of each wheel 2, but the front wheels 2FL, 2FR tend to toe in like the parking brake arrangement in the sixth and seventh embodiments, and It is preferable that the rear wheels 2R L and 2RR have a toe-out tendency, or the front wheels 2FL and 2FR have a toe-out tendency and the rear wheels 2RL and 2RR have a toe-in tendency. This is because the resistance force against the external force can be generated more reliably.

[0408] For the same reason, the parking braking arrangement does not matter the steering angle of each wheel 2, but the front wheels 2FL, 2FR tend to toe-in and the rear braking arrangement is similar to the parking braking arrangement in the eighth embodiment. It is preferable that the wheels 2RL and 2RR have a toe-in tendency, or the front wheels 2FL and 2FR have a toe-out tendency, and the rear wheels 2RL and 2RR also have a toe-out tendency.

[0409] Next, a ninth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 21 to 24. FIG. FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a control device 9600 according to the ninth embodiment.

[0410] In the fourth and fifth embodiments, the transition to the parking brake arrangement is executed regardless of the slope state of the road surface. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the part same as each above-mentioned embodiment, and the description is abbreviate | omitted.

[0411] As in the case of the fourth embodiment, the control device 9600 in the ninth embodiment includes a CPU 71, a ROM 72, and a RAM 73, which are connected to the input / output port 75 via the bus line 74. Yes. In addition, a plurality of devices such as the wheel drive device 3 are connected to the input / output port 75.

[0412] The ROM 72 is provided with a parking brake arrangement table 172a as shown in FIG. The parking brake arrangement table 172a is a table that stores the steering state (steering angle) of each wheel 2 at the time of parking brake arrangement, as in the case of the fourth embodiment.

[0413] However, the parking braking arrangement table 172a of the present embodiment stores a plurality of steering states (steering angles) of each wheel 2 using the road surface inclination state as a parameter. The CPU 71 determines the inclination of the road surface as well as the detection result force of the vehicle inclination sensor device 134 described later. The steering state of each wheel 2 is determined based on the inclination state of the road surface and the contents of the parking brake arrangement table 172a (see FIGS. 23 and 24).

[0414] The vehicle inclination sensor device 134 is a sensor device for detecting the inclination state of the road surface and outputting the detection result to the CPU 71. The vehicle inclination sensor 134a detects the inclination of the road surface in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle 4001. And a left and right direction inclination sensor 134b that detects the inclination of the road surface in the left and right direction of the vehicle 4001, and a processing circuit (not shown) that processes the detection results of the respective inclination sensors 134a and 134b and outputs the result to the CPU 71. /!

[0415] Here, in the present embodiment, each of the tilt sensors 134a and 134b is configured by a liquid-filled capacitance-type tilt angle sensor that detects a change in electrostatic capacitance accompanying a tilt of the sealed liquid as an angle change. . Each inclination sensor 134a, 134b is set to the initial level when the vehicle 4001 is arranged on a flat road surface without inclination, and the CPU 71 is set from the initial level of each inclination sensor 134a, 134b. The increase / decrease value is estimated as the slope of the road surface.

[0416] Note that the vehicle 4001 front-rear direction inclination described above refers to an inclination in a direction in which the front of the vehicle 4001 is lifted with respect to the rear (or vice versa) (see FIG. 23). On the other hand, the left-right inclination of the vehicle 4001 means an inclination in a direction in which the left side of the vehicle 4001 is lifted with respect to the right side (or vice versa).

[0417] FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing the parking control process. In the description of the parking control process, refer to FIGS. 23 and 24 as appropriate. FIG. 23 (a) is a top view of the vehicle 4001, and FIG. 23 (b) is a side view of the vehicle 4001. FIG. FIG. 24 (a) is a top view of the vehicle 4001, and FIG. 24 (b) is a rear view of the vehicle 4001.

[0418] This process is repeated by the CPU 71 while the control device 4100 is powered on.

A process to be executed (for example, at intervals of 0.5 seconds).

[0419] Regarding the parking control process in the ninth embodiment, the CPU 71 first detects the ground speed of the vehicle 4001 (S5022), and the detected ground speed is the reference speed (in this embodiment, 5 km / h). It is determined whether or not the force is the following (S5023). As a result, if the detected ground speed is larger than the reference speed value (S5023: No), the vehicle 4001 has not been decelerated to a speed at which parking control can be performed, or the vehicle 4001 has This means that the vehicle has already been accelerated to a speed exceeding the value and there is no need to perform parking control. The vehicle control process is terminated.

[0420] On the other hand, if it is determined in S5023 that the ground speed of vehicle 4001 is below the reference speed (S5023: Yes), is vehicle 4001 decelerated to a speed at which parking control can be performed? The vehicle 4001 still reaches the speed exceeding the reference speed value.

[0421] Therefore, in this case (S5023: Yes), the current inclination state of the vehicle 4001, that is, the inclination state (inclination direction and inclination angle) of the road surface is further detected by the vehicle inclination sensor device 134 (see FIG. 21). It is detected (S9063), and it is determined whether or not the detected inclination angle is greater than or equal to a reference angle value (3 degrees in the present embodiment) (S9064). The reference angle value is stored in advance in the ROM 72 (see FIG. 21).

[0422] As a result, when the detected inclination angle does not reach the reference angle value (S9064: No), it is said that the inclination of the road surface is sufficiently gentle or flat and it is not necessary to perform parking control. Therefore, after executing the processing of S9066, the parking control processing is terminated.

[0423] In the process of S9066, the steering device of each wheel 2 is currently controlled by controlling the actuator device 4 using the steering angle according to the operating state of the node 51 (see Fig. 16) as a target value. The steering position is returned to the steering position corresponding to the operating state of the handle 51.

[0424] On the other hand, in the processing of S9064, if the detected inclination angle is greater than or equal to the reference angle value (S9064: Yes), it is necessary to perform parking control in which the inclination angle of the road surface is large. Therefore, in this case (S9064: Yes), the steering angle of each wheel 2 is determined based on the detected ground speed and inclination angle (S9065), and then the determined steering angle is set as the target value. Then, by controlling the actuator device 4, the steering state of each wheel 2 is changed (S5025), and this parking control process is terminated.

[0425] Thus, in this embodiment, the transition to the parking brake arrangement is performed only when the road surface has a predetermined inclination angle, that is, when the transition to the parking brake arrangement is particularly effective. Therefore, when the road surface has a small inclination angle (when the reference angle value is not reached), that is, on a flat road surface where the transition to the parking brake arrangement is relatively unnecessary. When parking and stopping, the transition to parking brake arrangement can be restricted (prohibited). Therefore, it is possible to suppress the unnecessary steering operation of the wheel 2 and to suppress the progress of wear of the wheel 2 correspondingly. it can.

[0426] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, since the shift to the parking brake arrangement is automatically performed together with the deceleration of the ground speed, the operation burden on the driver can be reduced, and The vehicle 4001 can be parked and stopped safely and securely.

[0427] For example, in the conventional product, when the driver inadvertently leaves the vehicle without inadvertently applying the parking brake, the vehicle runs under its own weight, which is extremely dangerous. According to the vehicle 4001 in the present embodiment, it is not necessary for the driver to separately perform an operation for operating the parking brake. Therefore, the burden on the driver is reduced correspondingly, and the vehicle 4001 is also mounted on a slope. It can be securely fixed at the parking / stopping position.

Here, in the processing of S9065, if the vehicle 4001 is in a deceleration state, the steering state (steering angle) of each wheel 2 is parked from the current steering state as the value of the ground speed of the vehicle 4001 decreases. The steering angle of each wheel 2 is determined so that the steering state of each wheel 2 coincides with the parking braking arrangement when the ground speed becomes 0 (that is, when the vehicle 4001 stops) while approaching the vehicle braking arrangement. Is done.

[0429] On the other hand, if the vehicle 4001 is in the acceleration state, the ground speed value of the vehicle 4001 increases, so that the steering state of each wheel 2 is changed from the current steering state to the steering position corresponding to the operation state of the handle 51. At the same time, the steering angle of each wheel 2 is determined so that the steering state of each wheel 2 coincides with the steering position corresponding to the operation state of the handle 51 when the ground speed reaches the reference speed value.

[0430] Further, as described above, in the parking braking arrangement, a plurality of patterns are stored in the parking braking arrangement table 172a, and in the processing of S9065, the parking braking arrangement corresponding to the inclination state of the road surface is selected. .

[0431] For example, when the road surface is inclined in the front-rear direction of the vehicle 4001 as shown in FIG. 23 (b), the road surface is inclined downward as shown in FIG. 23 (a). The rudder angle of wheel 2 (rear wheels 2RR, 2RL) is made larger than the rudder angle of wheel 2 (front wheels 2FR, 2FL) on the rising slope side. On the other hand, when the road surface is inclined in the left-right direction as shown in FIG. 24 (b), the wheel 2 on the downward slope side of the road surface as shown in FIG. 24 (a). It is the rudder angle of wheel 2 (left front and rear wheels 2FL, 2RL) where the rudder angle of the right front wheels (2FR, 2RR) is on the rising slope side It will be bigger.

[0432] In addition, the difference between the steering angle of wheel 2 on the downward slope side (for example, rear wheels 2RL and 2RR in Fig. 23) and the steering angle of wheel 2 on the upward slope side (front wheels 2FL and 2FR in Fig. 23) Is proportional to the value of the road surface inclination angle. The larger the road surface inclination angle, the larger the difference in rudder angle (for example, the road surface inclination angle is 60 degrees and the rudder angle difference is 45 degrees). The smaller the angle, the smaller the difference in rudder angle, and the difference in rudder angle becomes zero when the road inclination angle reaches the reference angle value (Fig. 23 (a) and Fig. 24 (a) show the difference in rudder angle). The state of zero is schematically shown by a two-dot chain line).

[0433] Thus, in the present embodiment, when parking on a sloped road surface, the wheel 2 is steered to a parking brake arrangement of a different form from the parking brake arrangement when parking on a flat road surface. Since the state can be shifted, the vehicle 4001 can be reliably fixed at the parking / stopping position, and wear of the wheels 2 can be suppressed.

[0434] That is, when parked on a slope, the influence of gravity is greater than when parked on a flat road. Therefore, as described above, it is possible to more securely fix the vehicle 4001 to the parking / stopping position by adopting the parking braking arrangement in which the resistance force in the direction of gravity is greater.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 23 and FIG. 24, the steering angle of the wheel 2 on the downward inclination side is increased (the center line of the wheel 2 on the downward inclination side and the downward inclination direction (FIG. 23 (a ) And Fig. 24 (a) (left and right direction)), and the vehicle 4001 tries to move in the downward inclination direction due to gravity, the wheel on the downward inclination side 2 can be made more difficult to roll in the downward inclination direction (that is, the resistance force as a parking brake is exerted more), and accordingly, the vehicle 4001 can be securely fixed at the parking / stopping position.

Further, as shown in FIG. 23 and FIG. 24, by increasing the rudder angle of only the wheel 2 on the descending slope side, unnecessary steering drive as the wheel 2 as a whole can be eliminated. The wear of wheel 2 can be suppressed.

[0437] Next, a tenth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 25 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of control apparatus 10700 in the tenth embodiment.

[0438] In the ninth embodiment, based on the ground speed of the vehicle 4001, the transition to the parking braking arrangement is performed. In the tenth embodiment, when the driver performs a predetermined operation, the transition to the parking brake arrangement is executed. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the part same as each embodiment mentioned above, and the description is abbreviate | omitted.

As in the case of the ninth embodiment, the control device 10700 in the tenth embodiment includes a CPU 71, a ROM 72, and a RAM 73, which are connected to the input / output port 75 via the bus line 74. Yes. In addition, a plurality of devices such as the wheel drive device 3 are connected to the input / output port 75.

[0440] The operation mode selection means 133 is a device for selecting the connection state between the wheel drive device 3 and the wheel 2 (both see Fig. 16), an operation lever operated by the driver, and its operation lever. Mainly includes a position sensor for detecting the operation position and a processing circuit (not shown) for processing the detection result of the position sensor and outputting the result to the CPU 71. The CPU 71 controls the connection state between the wheel driving device 3 and the wheel 2 in accordance with the operation position of the operation lever.

[0442] Here, the drive range is a range for selecting a state in which the wheel driving device 3 and the wheel 2 are connected. In this range, the rotational driving force is transmitted from the wheel driving device 3 to the wheel 2. It is possible. Therefore, when the vehicle 4001 is driven, the driver can drive the vehicle 4001 by depressing the accelerator pedal 53 (see FIG. 16) after placing the operation lever in the drive range. it can.

[0443] On the other hand, the parking range is a range for selecting a state in which the connection between the wheel driving device 3 and the wheel 2 is released. In this range, the rotational driving force is transmitted from the wheel driving device 3 to the wheel 2. Is prohibited.

[0444] In the present embodiment, when the parking range is operated, the shift to the parking brake arrangement is executed, and when the drive range is operated, the parking brake arrangement is released. Is done.

[0445] Also, the present embodiment is configured such that the main key for starting and stopping the wheel drive device 3 can be inserted and removed only in the parking range. Therefore, when the driver is away from the vehicle 4001, the operation lever is positioned in the parking range. The main key can be removed and the vehicle 4001 can be removed.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing the parking control process. This process is a process that is repeatedly executed by the CPU 71 (for example, at intervals of 0.5 seconds) while the control device 10700 is powered on. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the part same as each embodiment mentioned above, and the description is abbreviate | omitted.

[0447] In the processing of S4001, when it is determined that the vehicle 4001 is stopped (S400 1: Yes), it is determined whether or not the driving mode selection device 133 is within the parking range (S100 71), Next, when it is determined that the operation mode selection device 133 is turned on (S1 0071: Yes), it is determined whether or not the value of the brake flag 73b is “0” (S4003).

In the process of S4003, when the brake flag 73b is “1” (S4003: No), as described above, the force instructed to shift to the parking brake arrangement is changed to the parking brake arrangement. This is the end of this parking control process.

[0449] On the other hand, if it is determined that the brake flag 73b is "0" in the process of S4003 (S4003: Yes), the force instructed to shift to the parking brake arrangement? Since the transition to the parking control arrangement has not yet been completed, the process after S4004 for executing the transition to the parking brake arrangement is executed.

[0450] In the processing of S4004 and S4005, as described above, the current steering angle of each wheel 2 is detected (S4004), and the detected steering angle of each wheel 2 (steering state) is set as a stop-time arrangement. Stored in stop memory 73a (S4005).

[0451] After the processing of S4005 is executed, the current inclination state of the vehicle 4001, that is, the inclination state (inclination direction and inclination angle) of the road surface is detected by the vehicle inclination sensor device 134 (see FIG. 25). (S10072), the parking braking arrangement corresponding to the detected inclination state is read from the parking braking arrangement table 172a (see FIG. 25), and the steering state (steering angle) of each wheel 2 is determined based on the read contents. (S 10073).

[0452] Then, by controlling the actuator device 4 with the rudder angle determined in the processing of S10073 as a target value, the steering state of each wheel 2 is shifted to the parking brake arrangement (S4007). Since the parking brake arrangement in the present embodiment is the same as that in the ninth embodiment described above, description thereof is omitted. [0453] As described above, in the present embodiment, by operating the operation mode selection device 133 to the parking range, the transition to the parking brake arrangement can be automatically performed. In other words, by performing the necessary operations when removing the main key, it is possible to simultaneously shift to the parking brake arrangement. As a result, it is possible to avoid problems such as leaving the vehicle force without the driver inadvertently applying the parking brake and reducing the burden on the driver.

In the flowchart shown in FIG. 18 (parking control process), the actuator operating means according to claim 13 has the processing power of S4006 and S4007. The operation determining means according to claim 14 has the operating power of S4002 and S4003. The processing power arrangement storage means corresponds to the processing power return of S4004 and S4005. The processing power recovery judgment means of S4002 and S4009 corresponds to the processing of S4010 and S4011, respectively.

Further, in the flowchart (parking control process) shown in FIG. 19, the processing speed of S5022 is the ground speed detection means according to claim 15. The processing of S5023 is the speed judgment means, and S5024 and S5025 are the actuator operation means. The processing power of S5024 and S5025 corresponds to the actuator actuating means described in claim 16, respectively.

[0456] Further, in the flowchart (parking control process) shown in FIG. 22, the process of S9064 corresponds to the angle determination means according to claim 17.

[0457] Although the present invention has been described based on the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Something can be easily guessed.

[0458] For example, the numerical values given in the fourth to tenth embodiments are merely examples, and other numerical values can naturally be adopted.

[0459] Further, the parking brake arrangements described in the fourth to tenth embodiments may be applied to other embodiments of deviation.

[0460] In the fourth embodiment, when the parking brake switch 4033 is turned off (S4002: No, S4009: Yes), the steering state of the wheel 2 is automatically returned to the stop-time arrangement. (S4010, S4011) However, this is not necessarily limited to this. Accordingly, it may be configured to determine whether or not to return.

[0461] For example, if a driver is provided with an operation element that can be operated, and the operation state of the operation element reaches a predetermined state, the return determination means determines that the wheel is returned to the stop position. Can be configured. As a result, the driver's operability can be improved when the return operation is not required.

[0462] Further, in the fifth embodiment, the force described when the driver selects on / off of the parking brake mode. Instead of or in addition to this, the parking brake mode is turned on. It is also possible to provide a mode change means that automatically changes OFF!

That is, as the mode changing means, for example, as described in the ninth embodiment, an inclination detection sensor device (vehicle inclination sensor device 134) for detecting the inclination state of the vehicle 4001 is provided, and the vehicle 4001 For example, the parking brake mode is turned on only when the vehicle stops on a slope having an inclination greater than the reference value. As a result, as described above, since the transition to the parking brake arrangement is restricted on flat ground or the like, the wear of the wheels 2 can be suppressed accordingly.

[0464] In the fourth to tenth embodiments, the case where the actuator device 4 is constituted by an electric motor and the transmission mechanism portion 23 is constituted by a screw mechanism has been described. However, the invention is not necessarily limited thereto. For example, the actuator device 4 may be composed of a hydraulic / pneumatic cylinder. As a result, the transmission mechanism portion 23 can be omitted, so that the structure can be simplified, and the weight can be reduced and the parts cost can be reduced.

[0465] In the above fourth to tenth embodiments, it has been described that a brake device (for example, a drum brake or a disk brake using frictional force) may be provided. The drive device 3 may be configured as a regenerative brake and used as a brake device.

[0466] In the ninth and tenth embodiments, the case where the vehicle inclination sensor device (tilt sensor) 134 is provided as the sensor device for detecting the inclination state of the vehicle 4001 has been described. The vehicle speed sensor device (acceleration sensor) 32 is not limited to the above, and is composed of a sensor device that can detect static acceleration in addition to dynamic acceleration, so that the vehicle speed sensor device 32 also functions as a tilt sensor. It may be configured. This By reducing the number of parts, the cost of parts can be reduced.

[0467] In the tenth embodiment, the case where the transition to the parking braking arrangement and the release are performed due to the operation to the parking range and the drive range has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. However, it is of course possible to configure so that the transition to and release from the parking brake arrangement is executed due to other operations. Examples of other operations include insertion and removal of a main key.

[0468] Next, an eleventh embodiment will be described. FIG. 27 is a schematic diagram schematically showing a vehicle 11001 on which a control device 11100 according to an eleventh embodiment of the present invention is mounted. Note that an arrow FWD in FIG. 27 indicates the forward direction of the vehicle 11001. FIG. 27 shows a state where a predetermined rudder angle is given to all the wheels 2.

First, a schematic configuration of the vehicle 11001 will be described. As shown in FIG. 27, the vehicle 11001 includes a body frame BF, a plurality of (four wheels in this embodiment) wheels 2 supported by the body frame BF, and wheels that rotate and drive these wheels 2 independently. It is mainly equipped with a drive device 3 and an actuator device 4 for steering and driving each wheel 2 independently. During traveling, the sliding speed of the wheel 2 with respect to the road surface is controlled by a control device 11100, which will be described later. It is configured to increase the coefficient of friction with the surface and improve starting performance, braking performance, or turning performance! RU

[0470] Next, a detailed configuration of each unit will be described. As shown in FIG. 27, the wheel 2 has four wheels: left and right front wheels 2FL and 2FR located on the front side in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 1001, and left and right rear wheels 2RL and 2RR located on the rear side in the traveling direction. These front and rear wheels 2FL to 2RR are configured to be steerable by steering devices 20, 30.

[0471] The wheel 2 includes a tire mainly composed of a rubber material, and a wheel that holds the tire and also has a metal material force such as steel, aluminum alloy, or magnesium alloy. The wheel is connected to the drive shaft of the wheel drive device 3, and the rotational drive force is transmitted from the wheel drive device 3 to the wheel (wheel 2) via the drive shaft.

[0472] Steering devices 20 and 30 are steering devices for steering each wheel 2. As shown in Fig. 27, king pins 21 that support each wheel 2 in a swingable manner and knuckle of each wheel 2 are provided. A tie rod 22 connected to an arm (not shown), and the actuator device 4 is connected to the tie rod 22. A transmission mechanism 23 for transmitting a driving force is mainly provided.

[0473] As described above, the actuator device 4 is a steering drive device for independently steering driving each wheel 2. As shown in Fig. 27, the four actuators (FL to RR actuator unit 4FL) are provided. ~ 4RR). When the driver operates the handle 51, a part of the actuator device 4 (for example, only the front wheels 2FL, 2FR) or the whole is driven, and a steering angle corresponding to the amount of operation of the handle 51 is given.

Here, in the present embodiment, FL to RR actuators 4FL to 4RR are constituted by electric motors, and transmission mechanism portion 23 is constituted by a screw mechanism. When the electric motor is rotated, the rotational motion is converted to a linear motion by the transmission mechanism 23 and transmitted to the tie rod 22. As a result, each wheel 2 is driven to swing around the king pin 21 as a swing center, and a predetermined steering angle is given to each wheel 2.

[0475] The wheel drive device 3 is a rotation drive device for driving each wheel 2 to rotate independently. As shown in Fig. 27, four electric motors (FL ~: RR motors 3FL ~ 3RR) are provided. Each wheel 2 is arranged (ie as an in-wheel motor). Thereby, the rotational speed of each wheel 2 can be controlled independently.

[0476] When the driver operates the accelerator pedal 53, a rotational driving force is applied to each wheel 2 from the wheel driving device 3, and each wheel 2 is rotated at a rotational speed corresponding to the operation amount of the accelerator pedal 53. The In the present invention, in this case, rotation control is performed so that the slip speed of each wheel 2 with respect to the road surface matches (or approaches) the target slip speed described later. Details of the rotation control will be described later.

[0477] The control device 11100 is a control device for controlling each part of the vehicle 11001 configured as described above. For example, the wheel drive device 3 and the actuator device 4 are operated to control the rotation speed of the wheel 2. By controlling, the rotation control of the wheel 2 is performed. Here, with reference to FIG. 28, a detailed configuration of control device 11100 will be described.

FIG. 28 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of control apparatus 11100. As shown in FIG. 28, the control device 11100 includes a CPU 71, a ROM 72, and a RAM 73, which are connected to an input / output port 75 via a bus line 74. The input / output port 75 is connected to a plurality of devices such as the wheel drive motor 3. The CPU 71 is an arithmetic device that controls each unit connected by the bus line 74. The ROM 72 is a non-rewritable nonvolatile memory storing a control program executed by the CPU 71 (for example, flowcharts of processes shown in FIGS. 31 to 33) and fixed value data, and the RAM 73 is a control memory. This memory is used to store various work data and flags in a rewritable manner during program execution.

[0480] As shown in Fig. 28, the ROM 72 is provided with a sliding speed table 72a. The sliding speed table 72a is a table that stores the value of the target sliding speed. The target slip speed is a target value when the rotation control of the wheel 2 is performed, and the CPU 71 determines that the slip speed with respect to the road surface of each wheel 2 becomes the target slip speed while the vehicle 11 001 is traveling. In addition, the rotational speed of each wheel 2 is controlled.

[0481] Here, the relationship between the sliding speed and the friction coefficient will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 29 is a diagram showing the relationship between the sliding speed and the friction coefficient, and illustrates the result of measurement using the physical properties of the wheel 2 (tire) in the present embodiment. In FIG. 29, the horizontal axis represents the sliding speed of the wheel 2 with respect to the road surface, and the vertical axis represents the friction coefficient between the wheel 2 and the road surface.

[0482] As shown in FIG. 29, the coefficient of friction between the wheel 2 and the road surface varies depending on the value of the sliding speed, and is the maximum value at a predetermined sliding speed (lcmZs in the present embodiment). Have

[0483] Therefore, in the present invention, the sliding speed at which the friction coefficient is maximized is measured in advance, and this measured value is stored in the ROM 72 (sliding speed table 72a) as the target sliding speed. The rotation speed of wheel 2 is controlled so that the slip speed with respect to becomes the value of the target slip speed. As a result, the friction coefficient between the wheel 2 and the road surface can be increased, so that the braking / acceleration performance and the turning performance can be improved.

[0484] In the conventional anti-lock control, as described above, the force for controlling the slip rate of the wheel 2 to take the value immediately before the transition from the non-slip region to the slip region. In this case, the target slip rate Is usually about 0.2 to 0.3. On the other hand, the target slip speed in the rotation control of the present invention is equivalent to a value that is 1 to 2 digits smaller than the conventional target slip ratio in terms of the slip ratio. When the rotational speed (sliding speed) of the wheel 2 is controlled in such a region to increase the friction coefficient, the technique is novel. [0485] Returning to FIG. The ROM 72 is provided with a drive release table 72b and a drive return table 72c as shown in FIG.

[0486] Here, in the present invention, any wheel 2 is freely rolled while the vehicle 11001 is traveling, and the ground speed of the vehicle 11001 is also calculated for the peripheral speed force of the wheel 2. Therefore, it is necessary to release the rotational driving force applied from the wheel drive device 3 that freely rolls the wheel 2.

[0487] Therefore, in the drive release table 72b, a release speed for releasing the rotational driving force applied to the wheel 2 from the wheel drive device 3 that measures the ground speed of the vehicle 11001 is specified. Yes. On the other hand, the drive return table 72c defines the applied speed when the measurement of the ground speed of the vehicle 11001 is completed and the application of the rotational driving force from the wheel drive device 3 to the wheel 2 is resumed.

Details of the drive release table 72b and the drive return table 72c will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 30 (a) is a schematic diagram schematically illustrating the contents of the drive release table 72b, and FIG. 30 (b) is a schematic diagram schematically illustrating the contents of the drive return table 72c.

[0489] In Fig. 30 (a) and Fig. 30 (b), the horizontal axis indicates the elapsed time from the start of the release or application of the rotational driving force, and the vertical axis indicates from the wheel driving device 3. The magnitude of the rotational driving force applied to wheel 2 is shown.

[0490] For example, when releasing the rotational driving force applied to the wheel 2, the CPU 71 determines the release speed (ie, the rate of change of the rotational driving force with respect to the elapsed time) from the drive release table 72b shown in FIG. ), And the wheel driving device 3 is controlled based on the read release speed, thereby gradually reducing the rotational driving force applied to the wheel 2.

[0491] As described above, when the rotational driving force already applied to the wheel 2 is released, the inertial force acting on the wheel 2 is reduced by gradually reducing the rotational driving force rather than releasing it at once. It is possible to reduce the influence of force and improve the follow-up characteristics with respect to the road surface. As a result, the synchronization between the wheel 2 and the road surface can be stabilized and accelerated, and as a result, the ground speed of the vehicle 11001 can be measured with high efficiency and high accuracy.

[0492] On the other hand, when resuming the application of the rotational driving force to the wheel 2, the CPU 71 causes Is applied to the wheel 2 by controlling the wheel drive device 3 based on the read application speed (i.e., the rate of change of the rotational driving force with respect to the elapsed time). Gradually increase the rotational driving force.

[0493] As described above, when the application of the rotational driving force to the wheel 2 is resumed, the rotational driving force is gradually increased rather than applied all at once, as in the case described above. It is possible to reduce the influence of the inertial force acting on 2 and improve the follow-up characteristics with respect to the road surface. As a result, the behavior of the vehicle 11001 can be stabilized. In addition, since it is not necessary for the wheel drive device 3 to exert an excessive rotational driving force, it is possible to suppress the driving load and improve durability, and to reduce the size of the wheel drive device 3. it can

[0494] Returning to FIG. As described above, the wheel drive device 3 is a device for rotationally driving each wheel 2 (see FIG. 27), and includes four FL to RR motors 3FL to 3RR that apply rotational driving force to each wheel 2. And a drive circuit (not shown) for driving and controlling each of the motors 3FL to 3RR based on a command from the CPU 71.

[0495] Further, as described above, the actuator device 4 is a device for steering and driving each wheel 2, and the four FL to RR actuators 4FL to 4 RR for applying a steering driving force to each wheel 2 are provided. And a drive circuit (not shown) for controlling the drive of each of these actuators 4FL to 4RR based on a command from the CPU 71 !.

[0496] The rudder angle sensor device 31 is a device for detecting the rudder angle of each wheel 2 and outputting the detection result to the CPU 71. The four FLs for detecting the rudder angle of each wheel 2 respectively. ~ RR Rudder angle sensors 31FL ~ 31RR and a processing circuit (not shown) that processes the detection results of these rudder angle sensors 31FL ~ 31RR and outputs them to the CPU 71!

[0497] In the present embodiment, each steering angle sensor 31FL to 31RR is provided in each transmission mechanism 23, and the rotational speed when the rotational motion is converted into linear motion in the transmission mechanism 23. It is comprised as a non-contact-type rotation angle sensor which detects this. Since this rotational speed is proportional to the amount of displacement of the tie rod 22, the CPU 71 can obtain the steering angle of each wheel 2 based on the detection result (rotational speed) input from the steering angle sensor device 31.

Here, the rudder angle detected by the rudder angle sensor device 31 refers to the center line of each wheel 2 and the vehicle 11. This is the angle formed by the reference line of 001 (body frame BF) and is determined independently of the traveling direction of the vehicle 11001.

[0499] The wheel rotation speed sensor device 33 is a device for detecting the rotation speed of each wheel 2 and outputting the detection result to the CPU 71. The four FLs for detecting the rotation speed of each wheel 2 respectively. To RR rotational speed sensors 33FL to 33RR, and a processing circuit (not shown) for processing the detection results of the rotational speed sensors 33FL to 33RR and outputting them to the CPU 71.

[0500] In the present embodiment, each rotation sensor 33FL to 33RR is provided in each wheel 2, and the angular speed of each wheel 2 is detected as the rotation speed. That is, each rotation sensor 33FL to 33RR is an electromagnetic pickup provided with a rotating body that rotates in conjunction with each wheel 2 and a pickup that electromagnetically detects the presence or absence of teeth formed in the circumferential direction of the rotating body. It is configured as a sensor of the type.

The CPU 71 can obtain the peripheral speed of each wheel 2 from the rotational speed of each wheel 2 input from the wheel rotational speed sensor device 33 and the outer diameter of each wheel 2. In the present invention, the ground speed of the vehicle 11001 is calculated based on the peripheral speed of the wheel 2 as described later. A method for calculating the ground speed of the vehicle 11001 will be described later.

[0502] As another input / output device 35 shown in FIG. 28, for example, the operating state (rotation angle, stepping amount, operating speed) of the handle 51, the brake pedal 52, and the accelerator pedal 53 (see FIG. 27 for V and displacement). For example, an operation state detection sensor device (not shown).

For example, when the accelerator pedal 53 is operated, the operation state amount is detected by the operation state detection sensor device and output to the CPU 71. The CPU 71 drives the wheel drive device 3 to control the rotation speed of each wheel 2.

[0504] Next, with reference to FIG. 31 to FIG. 33, processing executed by the control device 11100 will be described. FIG. 31 is a flowchart showing the rotation control process. This process is repeatedly executed by the CPU 71 (for example, at intervals of 0.2 ms) while the power of the control device 1110 0 is turned on. The slip speed of the wheel 2 with respect to the road surface is the target slip speed. The friction coefficient between the wheel 2 and the road surface is increased to improve the starting and braking performance and turning performance. [0505] Regarding the rotation control process, the CPU 71 first executes a ground speed calculation process for calculating the ground speed of the vehicle 11001 (S11001). Here, the ground speed calculation processing will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 32 is a flowchart showing the ground speed calculation process. In relation to the ground speed calculation process (S11001), the CPU 71 first determines whether or not the vehicle 11001 is driving (S11011). As a result, when it is determined that the vehicle 11001 is not traveling (S1101 l: No), the vehicle 11001 is stopped (the ground speed is 0), and it is not necessary to calculate the ground speed. The speed calculation process ends.

[0507] On the other hand, if it is determined in the processing of S11011 that the vehicle 11001 is traveling (S11011: Yes), then, out of a plurality of wheels 2 (four wheels in the present embodiment). Then, it is determined whether or not there is a wheel that is freely rolling, that is, a wheel 2 to which no rotational driving force is applied from the wheel driving device 3 (S11012).

That is, in the present invention, as described above, the ground speed of the vehicle 11001 is calculated from the peripheral speed of the wheel 2 by freely rolling any of the wheels 2 while the vehicle 11001 is traveling. Therefore, if it is determined in the processing of S11012 that there is a free-rolling wheel 2 (e.g., only the left and right rear wheels 2RL and 2RR are driven as drive wheels and the left and right front wheels 2FL and 2FR are free-rolling). (S 11012: Yes), the ground speed of the vehicle 11001 can be calculated using the already free-rolling wheel 2 (ie, the left and right front wheels 2FL, 2FR). I'll do it.

Therefore, in this case (S11012: Yes), the S11013 force, which is a process for freely rolling the wheel 2, also skips the process of S11015 and proceeds to the process of S11016.

[0510] On the other hand, in the processing of S11012, when it is determined that all the wheels 2 are rotationally driven by the wheel driving device 3 and there is no free-wheeling wheel 2 (S11012: No), First, the steering angle of each wheel 2 is detected (S11013), and then the wheel 2 to be freely rolled is determined based on the detection result (S11014).

[0511] That is, when the vehicle 11001 is turning, each wheel 2 has a slip angle (sliding with respect to the road surface), so in this embodiment, the influence of the slip angle of the wheel 2 is minimized. If there is a wheel 2 that has not been given a rudder angle as a result of the processing of S11013, Wheel 2 is determined as a wheel that freely rolls (S11014). On the other hand, as a result of the processing of S11013, if there is no wheel 2 to which no steering angle is assigned, that is, if all wheels 2 have steering angles, the absolute value of the assigned steering angle is The small wheel 2 is determined as the wheel that freely rolls (S11014).

[0512] For example, in the turning mode force of the vehicle 11001, if the driver turns the steering wheel 51 by turning the steering wheel 51 only to the front wheels 2FL, 2FR, the rear wheels 2RL, 2FR, It is determined that 2RR is less affected by the slip angle, and the rear wheels 2RL and 2R R are determined to be wheels that freely roll (S 11014).

[0513] Also, the turning mode force of the vehicle 11001 If the driver turns the steering wheel 51 to give a steering angle to all of the front and rear wheels 2FL to 2RR, the front and rear wheels 2FL to 2RR The absolute value of the rudder angle is small, and the wheel is determined as a wheel that freely rolls (S 110 14). Thereby, the ground speed of the vehicle 11001 can be calculated with higher accuracy.

[0514] In the processing of S11014, the wheel 2 determined as the wheel to be freely rolled is assumed to be two wheels, and these two wheels are the left and right wheels 2 (the left and right front wheels 2FL, 2FR or the left and right rear wheels). Wheels 2RL, 2RR) are preferable. When all the wheels 2 are provided with steering angles, it is preferable that the left and right wheels include the wheels 2 having the smallest absolute value of the steering angle.

[0515] That is, when all the wheels 2 are rotationally driven by the wheel drive device 3 (S11012:

No), if only one of these wheels 2 is freely rolled (ie, the rotational driving force is released), the driving force acting on the vehicle 11001 will become uneven as a whole, and the balance will be If the vehicle 11001 is unsteady in movement (causes a rotational moment to rotate the vehicle 11001), the balance of the free-wheeling wheels can be reduced by using two wheels on the left and right. This is because the behavior of the vehicle 11001 can be kept stable by ensuring the above (suppressing the generation of a rotational moment to rotate the vehicle 11001).

[0516] After the wheels to be freely rolled in the processing of S11014 are determined, the veg drive release and return processing (S11015) for freely rolling these determined wheels 2 is executed, and the wheel drive device 3 Release the applied rotational driving force. Here, with reference to FIG. 33, the drive release and return processing will be described.

FIG. 33 is a flowchart showing drive release and return processing. This drive release In the return processing (S11015), the rotational driving force applied to the wheel 2 is released and the rotational driving force applied to the wheel 2 is restarted.

[0518] Regarding the drive release and return processing (S11015), the CPU 71 first determines whether or not the drive is released (S11021). That is, it is determined whether to release the rotational driving force applied to the wheel 2 or to resume the application of the rotational driving force to the wheel 2.

[0519] This time, the process is executed after the process of S11014, and the rotational driving force applied to the wheel 2 that freely rolls the wheel 2 determined in the process of S11014 is given. Since it is a process for canceling, it is determined that the drive is cancelled (S11021: Yes)

[0520] Therefore, in this case (S11021: Yes), the process proceeds to S11022. First, the release speed is read from the drive release table 72b, and then given to the wheel 2 at the read release speed. The wheel drive device 3 is controlled so that the rotational drive force that is gradually decreased (S 11022), and the drive release and return processing is terminated.

[0521] As a result, the application of the rotational driving force to the wheel 2 is released, and the wheel 2 rolls (free rolling) without sliding on the road surface. In addition, by gradually reducing the rotational driving force in this way, as described above, the follow-up characteristics of the free-wheeling wheel 2 with respect to the road surface are improved, so that the synchronization between the wheel 2 and the road surface is stabilized. The ground speed of the vehicle 110 01 can be measured with high efficiency and high accuracy.

[0522] Returning to FIG. After free-rolling wheel 2 by drive release and return processing (S11015) or when there is already free-rolling wheel 2 (S11012: Yes), first, free-wheeling wheel 2 Is detected (S11016), and then the ground speed of the vehicle 11001 is calculated based on the detected rotation speed of the wheel 2 (S11017).

[0523] Specifically, the rotational speed of the wheel 2 is detected by the wheel rotational speed sensor device 33 (S110 16), and the detected rotational speed of the wheel 2 and the outer diameter of the wheel 2 stored in the ROM 72 in advance. From the above, the peripheral speed of the wheel 2, that is, the ground speed of the vehicle 11001 is calculated (S11017).

[0524] When there are two free rolling wheels, it is preferable to calculate the ground speed of the vehicle 11001 based on the peripheral speed (for example, the average value) of the two wheels. In addition, when the freely rolling wheel 2 has a rudder angle, the slip angle is estimated and based on the slip angle. It is preferable to calculate the ground speed of the vehicle 11001 by correcting the peripheral speed of the wheel 2.

[0525] After the ground speed of the vehicle 11001 is calculated by the processing of S11017, the rotation drive force is resumed for the wheel 2 for which the rotation drive force is released for free rolling. The release and return processing (S11018) is executed, and the ground speed calculation processing (S1100 1) is terminated.

[0526] This will be described with reference to FIG. In relation to the drive release and return processing (S11018), the CPU 71 first determines whether or not the drive release force is present (S11021). This time, the process is executed after the process of S11017, and the process of restarting the application of the rotational drive force to the wheel 2 for which the rotational drive force to be freely rolled has been released is resumed. (S11021: No).

[0527] Therefore, in this case (S11021: No), the process proceeds to S11023. First, the return speed is read from the drive return table 72c, and then given to the wheel 2 at the read return speed. The wheel drive device 3 is controlled so that the rotational driving force gradually increases (S 11 023), and the drive release and return processing is terminated.

[0528] If the rotational driving force is not released by the processing of S11015 (ie, S11 012: Yes), it is not necessary to execute the processing for resuming the rotational driving force. The process of S 11023 is skipped, and this drive release and return process is terminated.

[0529] By the processing of S11023, the application of the rotational driving force to the wheels 2 is resumed, and the wheels 2 that act are functioning as driving wheels. In this way, by gradually increasing the rotational driving force, as described above, the behavior of the vehicle 11001 can be stabilized, and the driving load of the wheel driving device 3 can be suppressed to achieve durability. As a result, the wheel drive device 3 can be downsized.

[0530] Returning to FIG. After executing the ground speed calculation process (S 11001) and calculating the ground speed of the vehicle 11001, the sliding speed of the wheel 2 is then calculated based on the calculated ground speed of the vehicle 11001 (S11002). .

[0531] Specifically, as described above, the peripheral speed of the wheel 2 is obtained from the rotational speed of the wheel 2 detected by the wheel rotational speed sensor device 33 and the outer diameter of the wheel 2 stored in advance in the ROM 72. The difference between the circumferential speed and the ground speed of the vehicle 11001 The sliding speed can be calculated.

[0532] Next, the target slip speed is read from the slip speed table 72a (S11003), and after detecting the operation state of the accelerator pedal 53 (S11004), the slip speed of the wheel 2, which is the drive wheel, is determined. The wheel drive device 3 is controlled so as to achieve the target slip speed (S 11005), and this rotation control process is terminated.

[0533] Accordingly, the coefficient of friction between the wheel 2 and the road surface can be increased, and the start performance, braking performance, or turning performance of the vehicle 11001 can be improved.

[0534] As a result of detecting the operation state of accelerator pedal 53 (S 11004), when the speed of vehicle 11001 is instructed, the peripheral speed of wheel 2 is greater than the ground speed of vehicle 11001. Thus, the wheel drive device 3 is controlled (S 11005). Thus, it is possible to increase the coefficient of friction between the road surface and the wheel 2 while avoiding the vehicle 11001 being decelerated even though the acceleration of the vehicle 11001 is instructed.

[0535] On the other hand, as a result of detecting the operation state of the accelerator pedal 53 (S 11004), when the vehicle 11001 is instructed to decelerate, the peripheral speed of the wheel 2 is smaller than the ground speed of the vehicle 11001. Then, the wheel drive device 3 is controlled (S11005). As a result, the friction coefficient between the road surface and the wheel 2 can be increased while avoiding the acceleration of the vehicle 11001 despite the instruction to decelerate the vehicle 11001.

In the flowchart shown in FIG. 31 (rotation control processing), the processing speed of S11002 is used as the slip speed calculation means according to claim 20, and the processing of S11005 is executed as the wheel drive device operating means in FIG. In the flowchart shown (ground speed calculation process), the peripheral speed calculation means according to claim 21 corresponds to the process of S11016, and the ground speed calculation means corresponds to the process of S1 1017.

[0537] Although the present invention has been described based on the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Something can be easily guessed.

[0538] For example, the numerical values given in the eleventh embodiment are merely examples, and other numerical values can naturally be adopted.

[0539] In the eleventh embodiment, regardless of the traveling state of the vehicle 11001, that is, the vehicle Even if 11001 is running at constant speed or accelerating / decelerating, the case where the rotation control for setting the slip speed of the wheel 2 to the target slip speed is executed has been described. The rotation control may be executed only when a predetermined condition that is not limited is satisfied. Examples of the case where the predetermined condition is satisfied include a case where the acceleration or deceleration of the vehicle 11 001 exceeds a predetermined value or a case where the vehicle 11001 is turning.

[0540] In the eleventh embodiment, the ground speed of the vehicle 11001 is calculated regardless of the traveling state of the vehicle 11001, that is, whether the vehicle 11001 is traveling straight or turning. The configured force is not necessarily limited to this. For example, it is naturally possible to configure to calculate the ground speed only when the vehicle 11001 is traveling straight ahead. Whether the vehicle 1 1001 is traveling straight or not can be determined based on the steering angle of the wheel 2 as described above, or an acceleration sensor device (for example, a piezoelectric sensor using a piezoelectric element) can be used. May be used.

[0541] Further, in the eleventh embodiment described above, it is preferable that the left and right wheels 2 are preferably used as the wheels 2 to be freely rolled in order to calculate the ground speed of the vehicle 11001. The number of 2 is not necessarily limited to this. For example, it is naturally possible to freely roll only one wheel or three or more wheels. Similarly, it is not always necessary that the wheels 2 to be freely rolled are the left and right wheels. For example, the front and rear wheels may be two.

[0542] Further, in the eleventh embodiment, it is possible to rewrite the fixed value data, such as EEPROM, which is hard to explain the case where the outer diameter of each wheel 2 is stored in advance in the ROM 72 as fixed value data. It is possible to store the data in a non-volatile memory and to change the value of the fixed value data arbitrarily by the driver.

[0543] Alternatively, correction means for correcting the value of the fixed value data according to the cumulative number of rotations of the wheel 2 (ie, the degree of wear) (ie, reducing the outer diameter by the amount of wear) may be provided. With these configurations, even if the wheel 2 is changed (so-called inch up) or the tread of the wheel 2 is worn, the peripheral speed of the wheel 2 (that is, the ground speed of the vehicle 11001) is calculated with higher accuracy. be able to.

[0544] In the eleventh embodiment, one type of target slip is included in the slip speed table 72a. The case where only the speed is memorized has been explained, but it is not necessarily limited to this, and multiple types of target slip speeds are stored, and when controlling the slip speed of the wheel 2, S11003 The target slip speed read in the processing may be changed as appropriate. As a result, the coefficient of friction between the wheel 2 and the road surface can be increased more efficiently, and the starting performance and the like can be further improved.

[0545] For example, multiple types of target slip speeds are stored in the slip speed table 72a for each road surface or wheel (tire) 2 temperature, and the surface temperature of the road surface or wheel 2 is measured while the vehicle 11001 is traveling. However, the target slip speed corresponding to the surface temperature may be read and the slip speed of the wheel 2 may be controlled. The surface temperature may be estimated from the outside air temperature, or may be measured by a non-contact temperature sensor (such as an infrared sensor).

[0546] Also, a plurality of types of target slip speeds are stored in the slip speed table 72a according to the presence or absence of rainfall and the amount of rainfall, while measuring the amount of rainfall while the vehicle 11001 is traveling, A configuration may be adopted in which the target slip speed corresponding to the rainfall is read and the slip speed of the wheel 2 is controlled. The rainfall amount can be measured by a known rainfall sensor.

[0547] Also, a plurality of types of target slip speeds are stored in the slip speed table 72a for each type of road surface (for example, asphalt physical properties), and the type of road surface is monitored while the vehicle 11001 is traveling. It is also possible to read the target slip speed corresponding to the type of road surface and control the slip speed of wheel 2.

[0548] The type of the road surface may be estimated using a non-contact optical sensor device, or the road surface type information is stored in advance in the navigation system in association with the position information and obtained from the GP S. It is also possible to obtain the position information of the vehicle 11001 to be obtained, and obtain the road surface type information corresponding to the position information as well as the navigation system power.

[0549] In addition, a plurality of types of target slip speeds are stored in the slip speed table 72a for each type of wheels (tires) 2 (for example, for each physical property of the rubber material constituting the tire tread), The target slip speed corresponding to the wheel 2 mounted on the vehicle 11001 may be read to control the slip speed of the wheel 2. The type of wheel 2 is preferably configured so that it can be input by the driver.

[0550] Further, the various target slip speeds described above may be used alone or in combination. May be.

In the eleventh embodiment, the release speed and return speed (that is, the slope of the straight line shown in FIG. 30) stored in the drive release table 72b and the drive return table 72c are constant values. However, this is not necessarily limited to this, and it is naturally possible to change the release speed and the return speed.

[0552] For example, the case where the vehicle 11001 is changed according to the acceleration / deceleration of the vehicle 11001 or the case where the vehicle 11001 is changed according to the road surface condition is exemplified. Specifically, for example, the greater the acceleration / deceleration of the vehicle 11001, the greater the influence of the inertial force that acts on the wheel 2 when the rotational driving force is released, etc. Reduce the influence of inertial force. Similarly, the greater the frictional resistance of the road surface, the greater the influence of the inertial force acting on the wheel 2 when releasing the rotational driving force, etc., so the influence of the inertial force is reduced by setting the release speed etc. slower. Make

[0553] Further, in the eleventh embodiment, the number of power wheels 2 described in the case where the vehicle 11001 is configured to include four front and rear wheels 2FL to 2RR is not necessarily limited to this. For example, It can be 3 wheels or 5 wheels or more.

In the eleventh embodiment, the case where the actuator device 4 is constituted by an electric motor and the transmission mechanism portion 23 is constituted by a screw mechanism has been described, but this is not necessarily limited, for example. The actuator device 4 may be constituted by a hydraulic / pneumatic cylinder. As a result, the transmission mechanism portion 23 can be omitted, so that the structure can be simplified, and the weight reduction and the part cost can be reduced.

[0555] In the eleventh embodiment, a case has been described in which a brake device (for example, a drum brake or a disc brake using frictional force) is provided in the vehicle 11001! Of course, the vehicle 11001 can be provided.

[0556] Further, the wheel drive device 3 (FL to RR motors 3FL to 3RR) may be configured as a so-called regenerative brake. The electric power generated by operating the regenerative brake may be configured to be charged in a battery device (not shown) for driving the wheel drive device 3.

Claims

The scope of the claims

[1] A control device for operating the actuator device to control a steering operation of the wheel for a vehicle having a wheel configured to be steerable and an actuator device for steering and driving the wheel,

A first steering operation for operating the actuator device to steer the wheel in a first steering direction by a first angle, and a direction opposite to the first steering direction after the first steering operation. A control device, comprising: actuator actuating means for performing a second steering operation for steering the second steering direction by a second angle.

[2] comprising a braking determination means for determining whether or not the wheel is in a braking state;

2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the actuator actuating means actuates the actuator apparatus when the braking judgment means judges that the wheel is in a braking state.

[3] Ground speed detection means for detecting the ground speed of the vehicle;

Rotation speed detection means for detecting the rotation speed of the wheel;

The slip ratio calculating means for calculating the slip ratio of the wheel based on the ground speed and the rotational speed detected by the ground speed detecting means and the rotational speed detecting means, and the slip ratio corresponding to the slip region of the wheel are stored. A slip area storage means that determines whether or not the wheel is in a slip area based on the slip rate stored in the slip area storage means and the slip ratio calculated by the slip ratio calculation means And

3. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the actuator operating means operates the actuator apparatus when the state determining means determines that the wheel is in a slip region.

[4] comprising angle determining means for determining the first and second angles,

4. The control device according to claim 3, wherein the angle determining means determines the first and second angles based on a slip ratio value of the wheel calculated by the slip ratio calculating means.

[5] Time determining means for determining the time required for the first and second steering operations is provided. e,

The time determining means is based on at least one of the value of the ground speed of the vehicle detected by the ground speed detecting means or the value of the slip ratio of the wheels calculated by the slip ratio calculating means. 4. The control device according to claim 3, wherein a time required for the steering operation is determined.

[6] The vehicle includes a plurality of the wheels, and the actuator device is configured to be capable of independently driving the plurality of wheels.

6. The actuator operating means is for operating the actuator device so that the first and second steering operations are performed independently for each of the plurality of wheels. The control apparatus in any one.

[7] A control device for operating the actuator device and controlling the steering operation of the wheel with respect to a vehicle having a wheel configured to be steerable and an actuator device for steering and driving the wheel,

State determination means for determining whether or not the wheel is in a slip region; and

When the state determination means determines that the wheel is in the slip region, the actuator device is operated regardless of the operation state of the operation unit operated by the driver to steer the wheel, and the wheel A first actuator operating means for steering the

When the state determining means determines that the wheel is not in the slip region, the wheel steered by the first actuator actuating means is steered to a steering position corresponding to the operating state of the operating portion. And a second actuator actuating means for actuating the actuator device.

[8] The ground speed detection means includes

A peripheral speed calculating means for calculating a peripheral speed when the wheel rolls freely;

4. The control according to claim 3, further comprising a ground speed calculating means for calculating a ground speed of the vehicle based on a peripheral speed of the freely rolling wheel calculated by the peripheral speed calculating means. apparatus.

[9] Rotation to the wheel with respect to the wheel driving device that applies rotational driving force to the wheel Rotation drive force release means for releasing the application of drive force and free-rolling the wheel is provided. The rotation drive force release means gradually increases the value of the rotation drive force applied to the wheel from the wheel drive device. 9. The control device according to claim 8, wherein the control device is decreased.

[10] When a plurality of wheels are provided in the vehicle, a wheel from which the rotation driving force applied by the wheel driving device is released by the rotation driving force releasing means is selected from the plurality of wheels. A release wheel selection means for

10. The control device according to claim 9, wherein the release wheel selecting means selects a left-right symmetric or diagonal wheel among the plurality of wheels.

[11] The peripheral speed calculating means calculates a peripheral speed of at least two free-rolling wheels, and the ground speed calculating means is based on the peripheral speed of at least two wheels calculated by the peripheral speed calculating means. 11. The ground speed of the vehicle is calculated by the above method. The control device according to any one of the above.

12. A vehicle comprising the control device according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

[13] For a vehicle having a plurality of wheels configured to be steerable and an actuator device for steering driving at least one of the plurality of wheels, the actuator device is operated, and the plurality of wheels are operated. A control device for controlling a steering state,

Activating the actuator device and at least one of the plurality of wheels

A control device comprising an actuator actuating means for steering driving to a parking brake arrangement capable of generating a resistance force in the rotational direction of other wheels.

[14] An operation determining means for determining whether or not the actuator device is actuated by the actuator operating means;

An arrangement storage means for storing the steering state of the wheel before the operation as an arrangement at a stop when the operation determining means determines that the actuator device is to be operated by the actuator operating means;

A return determination means for determining whether or not to return the steering state of the wheel to the stop-time arrangement stored by the arrangement storage means from a state in which the operation of the actuator device by the actuator operation means is executed; A return means for operating the actuator device to return the steering state of the wheel to the stop position when the return determination means determines that the steering state of the wheel is returned to the stop position; 14. The control device according to claim 13, further comprising:

[15] Speed storage means for storing a reference speed value of the vehicle;

Ground speed detection means for detecting the ground speed of the vehicle;

Speed judgment means for judging whether or not the value of the ground speed detected by the ground speed detection means is smaller than the reference speed value;

The actuator operating means operates the actuator device when the speed determining means determines that the value of the ground speed is smaller than the reference speed value, and steers the steering state of the wheels to the parking brake arrangement. The control device according to claim 13, wherein the control device is driven.

[16] The actuator actuating means brings the steering state of the plurality of wheels closer to the parking brake arrangement as the value of the ground speed decreases, while the wheel speed increases as the value of the ground speed increases. 16. The control according to claim 15, wherein the actuator device is operated so that a steering state of the driver approaches a steering position corresponding to an operation state of an operation unit operated by a driver to steer the wheel. apparatus.

[17] angle storage means for storing a reference angle value;

An inclination angle detecting means for detecting an inclination angle of the road surface;

Angle determination means for determining whether or not the value of the inclination angle detected by the inclination angle detection means is larger than the reference angle value;

The actuator actuating means determines that the value of the inclination angle is larger than the reference angle value by the angle judging means, and the value of the ground speed is smaller than the reference speed value by the speed judging means. 17. The control device according to claim 15, wherein when the determination is made, the actuator device is operated to steer and drive the steering state of the wheel to the parking brake arrangement.

[18] angle storage means for storing a reference angle value;

An inclination angle detecting means for detecting an inclination angle of the road surface; Angle determination means for determining whether or not the value of the inclination angle detected by the inclination angle detection means is larger than the reference angle value;

The actuator actuating means is a parking system in which the steering state of the wheels differs depending on at least the case where the angle determination means determines that the value of the inclination angle is larger than the reference angle value. 14. The control device according to claim 13, wherein the control device is steered to a braking arrangement.

[19] A vehicle comprising the control device according to any one of claims 13 to 18.

[20] A control device for operating a wheel drive device and controlling a rotation speed of the wheel with respect to a vehicle having a wheel configured to be able to roll and a wheel drive device that rotationally drives the wheel. ,

A slip speed calculating means for calculating a slip speed of the wheel with respect to a road surface; a storage means for storing a slip speed for maximizing a friction coefficient between the road surface and the wheel as a target slip speed;

The wheel driving device controls the rotation speed of the wheel so that the slip speed of the wheel calculated by the slip speed calculating means becomes a value of a target slip speed stored in the storage means. And a wheel drive device actuating means for actuating the motor.

[21] The vehicle includes a plurality of the wheels that are rotationally driven by the wheel driving device, the wheel driving device is configured by an electric motor, and the electric motor is provided for each of the plurality of wheels,

The wheel drive device operating means operates each of the plurality of electric motors.

21. The control device according to claim 20, characterized in that the rotation speeds of the plurality of wheels can be independently controlled.

[22] a peripheral speed calculating means for calculating a peripheral speed of the wheel;

Ground speed calculating means for calculating the ground speed of the vehicle,

The slip speed calculating means is based on the peripheral speed of the wheel calculated by the peripheral speed calculating means and the ground speed of the vehicle calculated by the ground speed calculating means. The control device according to claim 20 or 21, wherein the control device calculates a sliding speed of the wheel.

[23] The wheel drive device operating means includes:

When the acceleration of the vehicle is instructed, the rotational speed of the wheel is controlled so that the value of the peripheral speed of the wheel becomes larger than the value of the ground speed of the vehicle, and the slip of the wheel While the wheel drive device is operated so that the speed becomes the target slip speed, when the deceleration of the vehicle is instructed, the rotational speed of the wheel is controlled, and the value of the peripheral speed of the wheel is 21. The wheel driving device according to claim 20, wherein the wheel driving device is operated so that the ground speed of the vehicle becomes smaller than the value of the ground speed and the sliding speed of the wheel becomes the target sliding speed. 23. The control device according to any one of 22.

[24] A vehicle comprising the control device according to any one of claims 20 to 23.