JP2014000900A - Vehicle control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle control device capable of smoothing the traffic flow in correspondence with the following vehicle and realizing a constant-speed control of a vehicle reflecting the intention of a driver.SOLUTION: A vehicle control device 1 according to the present invention includes control means that controls a vehicle so that the vehicle speed becomes a set vehicle speed and approach determination means that performs an approach determination of determining whether or not a rear vehicle located behind the vehicle is approaching the vehicle, where the control means replaces the set vehicle speed with an alleviation set vehicle speed, which is higher than the set vehicle speed, and performs an alleviation control of alleviating a speed-increase suppression of suppressing the increase in speed of the vehicle on a downhill road if the approach determination is positive, and returns the alleviation set vehicle speed to the set vehicle speed and cancels the alleviation control if the approach determination is negative.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle control apparatus suitable for being applied to vehicles such as passenger cars, trucks, buses and the like.

  In recent vehicles, as described in Patent Document 1, for example, a device that performs constant-speed traveling that controls the vehicle speed to a set speed has been proposed. In that case, considering the case where the road surface on which the vehicle travels is a descending road and there is a following vehicle, the inter-vehicle distance between the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle is a predetermined distance or more, and the following vehicle is higher than the set vehicle speed of the own vehicle. When the set vehicle speed is high, it is disclosed that the set vehicle speed of the own vehicle is changed to the set vehicle speed of the following vehicle to smooth the traffic flow.

JP2012-030525A

  However, in such a conventional technique, the host vehicle continues to run at a constant speed at the changed set vehicle speed even after the following vehicle no longer exists. For this reason, even if the driver sets the set vehicle speed himself, there arises a problem that the behavior of the own vehicle different from the intention of the driver is continued.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle control device capable of realizing a constant speed control of a vehicle in which a traffic flow is smoothed and a driver's intention is reflected corresponding to a subsequent vehicle. To do.

In order to solve the above problem, a vehicle control device according to the present invention provides:
Control means for controlling the vehicle to set the vehicle speed as the set vehicle speed, and an approach determination means for performing an approach determination for determining whether a rear vehicle located behind the vehicle is approaching the vehicle, When the approach determination is affirmative, the control means performs relaxation control that relaxes acceleration suppression that suppresses acceleration of the vehicle on a descending road by replacing the set vehicle speed with a relaxation set vehicle speed that is higher than the set vehicle speed. When the approach determination is negative, the mitigation set vehicle speed is returned to the set vehicle speed and the mitigation control is released.

  Here, the control unit includes an acquisition unit that acquires the speed limit vehicle speed of the descending road, and the control unit sets the mitigation setting vehicle speed based on the limit vehicle speed, and the control unit suppresses the increase in speed in the mitigation control. The control amount may be reduced or the control end timing may be advanced.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the vehicle control apparatus which can implement | achieve the constant speed control of a vehicle more appropriately also on a descending road regardless of the presence or absence of a following vehicle and an approach can be provided.

It is a block diagram showing one embodiment of vehicle control device 1 of the example concerning the present invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the specific aspect of the cruise switch 6 of the vehicle control apparatus 1 of an Example. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the application aspect of the vehicle control apparatus 1 of an Example. It is a schematic diagram which shows the aspect of the approach determination used in the vehicle control apparatus 1 of an Example. It is a schematic diagram which shows the aspect of the setting of the relaxation setting vehicle speed based on the speed limit in the vehicle control apparatus 1 of an Example. It is a flowchart which shows one Embodiment of the control content of the vehicle control apparatus 1 of an Example. It is a flowchart which shows other embodiment of the control content of the vehicle control apparatus 1 of an Example.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle control device 1 of the present embodiment includes a cruise control unit 2, a rear monitoring sensor 3, a navigation 4, a vehicle speed sensor 5, and a cruise switch 6. Further, the vehicle control device 1 includes a shift control unit 7, a transmission 8, an engine control unit 9, an engine actuator 10, a brake control unit 11, and a brake actuator 12.

  Each of the cruise control unit 2, the shift control unit 7, the engine control unit 9, and the brake control unit 11 is configured by an ECU (Electronic Control Unit), for example. Each ECU includes, for example, a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, a data bus connecting them to each other, and an input / output interface, and performs each control described below according to a program stored in the ROM.

  The cruise control unit 2 and the shift control unit 7 are connected to each other by a communication standard such as CAN (Controller Area Network), and the shift position of the transmission 8 is controlled. The cruise control unit 2 is connected to the engine control unit 9 via the CAN, and controls the driving force of the engine actuator 10 and detects the accelerator pedal state. Further, the cruise control unit 2 is connected to the brake control unit 11 via CAN, and the braking force of the brake actuator 12 is controlled. The cruise control unit 2 acquires the shift position from the shift control unit 7, the accelerator pedal state from the engine control unit 9, and switch operation information such as an accelerator operation and a coast operation from the cruise switch 6.

  The vehicle speed sensor 5 is provided corresponding to each wheel of the vehicle, detects each wheel speed, obtains the own vehicle speed V (vehicle speed) from the average of each wheel speed, and determines the own vehicle speed V as the cruise control unit 2. Is output.

  The rear monitoring sensor 3 is, for example, a laser sensor, and measures a relative distance D and a relative speed Vr with a rear vehicle located behind the vehicle, and outputs the relative distance D to the cruise control unit 2. The inter-vehicle time T is calculated from the vehicle speed V and the relative acceleration Ar is calculated from the relative speed Vr.

  The navigation 4 measures the position of the vehicle, that is, the longitude, latitude, and altitude, based on radio waves received from a plurality of satellites, for example, based on the principle of triangulation. In addition, the navigation 4 includes the own vehicle speed V acquired from the cruise control unit 2 on the CAN, the steering angle detected by a steering sensor (not shown), the yaw rate detected by the yaw sensor, the acceleration detected by the G sensor, and the moving distance of the vehicle. The direction of the vehicle is calculated and the position of the vehicle is measured by autonomous navigation. When radio waves cannot be received from the satellite, the vehicle position data is supplemented. Further, the navigation 4 acquires the speed limit VL shown in FIG. 2 on the road surface on which the vehicle travels by appropriate wireless communication and transmits it to the cruise control unit 2, and the cruise control unit 2 acquires the speed limit VL.

  The cruise control unit 2 calculates and sets the set vehicle speed VC from the coasting operation and the accelerator operation of the cruise switch 6 shown in FIG. 2, and sets the speed difference ΔV based on the speed difference ΔV between the setting speed VC and the own vehicle speed V. A shift request is made to the shift control unit 7 so as to be minimized, a drive request is made to the engine control unit 9, and a braking request is made to the brake control unit 11.

  Based on the shift request, the drive request, and the brake request, the cruise control unit 2 executes cruise control for controlling the shift position of the transmission 8, the fuel injection amount of the engine actuator 10, the torque, and the braking force of the brake actuator 12. The cruise control unit 2 cancels the cruise control when a manual brake operation by the driver is detected from the brake control unit 11.

  Here, the vehicle control apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is adapted to a case where the road surface to which the cruise control is applied is a descending road as shown in FIG. When cruise control is performed on the downhill road, there is a case where the host vehicle speed V exceeds the set vehicle speed VC and increases. In this case, the cruise control unit 2 of the vehicle control device 1 according to the present embodiment performs positive deceleration control by shift down control and braking control for lowering the shift position in order to maintain a constant speed.

  In this case, the relative distance detected by the rear monitoring sensor 3 from the map of the vector of the relative speed Vr and the inter-vehicle time T shown in FIG. 4A or the map of the vector of the relative acceleration Ar and the inter-vehicle time shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the cruise control unit 2 makes an approach determination for determining whether or not the following vehicle is approaching.

  In the map of FIG. 4 (a), the horizontal axis is the inter-vehicle time T, which is set larger as it goes to the right and smaller as it goes to the left, and the vertical axis is the relative speed Vr. It is set so that it is the positive side as it goes to. In FIG. 4B, a relative acceleration Ar is used instead of the relative speed Vr.

  When this approach determination is affirmative, the cruise control unit 2 performs the relaxation control that relaxes the acceleration suppression that suppresses the acceleration of the vehicle on the descending road by replacing the set vehicle speed VC with the relaxation set vehicle speed VCD that is higher than the set vehicle speed VC. Do. At this time, the cruise control unit 2 stores the set vehicle speed VC itself without changing it. In addition, when the approach determination is negative, the cruise control unit 2 returns the relaxation set vehicle speed VCD to the set vehicle speed VC and cancels the relaxation control.

  In the map on either the left or right shown in FIG. 3, when the measured value vector is located at the upper left of the stepped boundary line that rises to the right, the cruise control unit 2 turns on (affirms) the approach determination, and the lower right If it is located, the approach determination is turned off (negative). The former indicates that the vehicle speed VR of the following vehicle shown in FIG.

  In this embodiment, the cruise control unit 2 sets the relaxation setting vehicle speed VCD based on the limit vehicle speed VL. This setting is executed according to the flow shown in FIG. In step S10, the cruise control unit 2 lights a stop lamp arranged at the rear of the vehicle to the brake control unit 11 to urge the following vehicle to call attention, so that when the vehicle is in the overtaking lane, the cruise control unit 2 moves to the traveling lane. Guidance is provided by sound and display using the indicator. As shown in step S11, the cruise control unit 2 proceeds to step S12 when the speed limit VL is acquired from the navigation 4, and proceeds to step S13 when it cannot be acquired.

  In step 12, the cruise control unit 2 sets the speed limit VL to the relaxed set vehicle speed VCD (relaxation set vehicle speed). In step S13, the cruise control unit 2 sets the set vehicle speed VC (set vehicle speed) to, for example, the relative speed Vr ( The adjustment value α proportional to the negative value) is added to set the relaxation set vehicle speed VCD.

  In step S14, the cruise control unit 2 performs cruise control based on the relaxation set vehicle speed VCD, and reduces these control amounts for downshift and brake deceleration control for the purpose of suppressing the speed increase of the descending road. And advance control release timing. The reduction in the control amount is, for example, one shift down of the shift stage and reduction of the brake request deceleration. Further, the advance of the control release timing is an advance of the shift down release and brake control release timing. In other words, the cruise control unit 2 performs a reduction in the control amount for suppressing the acceleration or advances the control end timing in the relaxation control.

  The control contents of the entire vehicle control apparatus 1 of the present embodiment described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In step S1 of FIG. 6, the cruise control unit 2 determines whether or not it is a descending road from the behavior of the set vehicle speed VC and the host vehicle speed V. If affirmative, the process proceeds to step S2, and if negative, the process proceeds to step S6. Proceed.

  In step S2, the cruise control unit 2 determines whether or not the acceleration suppression control is being performed. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S3, and if the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step S6.

  In step S3, the cruise control unit 2 determines whether or not there is a subsequent vehicle. If the result is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S4. If the result is negative, the process proceeds to step S6.

  In step S4, the cruise control unit 2 determines whether or not the following vehicle is approaching. If the result is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S5, and if the result is negative, the process proceeds to step S6.

  In step S5, the cruise control unit 2 executes the acceleration suppression mitigation control, and in step S6, the cruise control unit 2 releases the acceleration suppression mitigation control.

  According to the vehicle control device 1 of the present embodiment realized by the control contents described above, the following operational effects can be obtained. That is, in a state where the following vehicle approaching the vehicle disappears due to overtaking or the like, the vehicle behavior in accordance with the driver's intention can be realized by returning the vehicle relaxation setting vehicle speed VCD to the set vehicle speed VC. .

  In addition, while the previously set vehicle speed VC is stored, the acceleration suppression mitigation control is performed based on the separately set mitigation setting vehicle speed VCD and is released when the following vehicle disappears. Can be saved. In addition, the driver can easily grasp the set vehicle speed VC.

  In addition to the flow shown in FIG. 6, as shown in FIG. 7, the shift to the acceleration suppression mitigation control and the cancellation of the mitigation control are executed after confirming the driver's will. can do. That is, after step S4, step S7 is inserted, and it is determined whether or not the accelerator operation (acceleration) by the cruise switch 6 or the accelerator pedal depression operation (override) is performed and there is a relaxation intention. If the result is affirmative, the acceleration suppression mitigation control in step S5 is executed.

  Similarly, after step S5, step S8 is inserted to determine whether coasting operation (deceleration) or downshifting operation (D → S) by the cruise switch 6 is performed, and whether there is an intention to cancel, If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S6 to release the relaxation control. If the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step S9 to continue the acceleration suppression relaxation control.

  Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, the vehicle control device of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made to the above-described embodiment without departing from the scope of the present invention. And substitutions can be added.

  According to the present invention, even when the vehicle is traveling at a constant speed on the descending road and the vehicle speed increases with the increase of the gradient to suppress the acceleration and there is a subsequent vehicle, the vehicle and the subsequent vehicle are included. It is possible to smooth the traffic flow and to ensure the constant speed traveling controllability of the vehicle when the following vehicle does not exist due to overtaking. That is, in the present invention, it is possible to realize more appropriate vehicle constant speed control adapted to both conditions of the descending road and the following vehicle. That is, the vehicle control device of the present invention is useful when applied to various vehicles such as passenger cars, trucks, and buses.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle control apparatus 2 Cruise control part (a control means, an approach determination means, an acquisition means)
3 Rear Monitoring Sensor 4 Navigation 5 Vehicle Speed Sensor 6 Cruise Switch 7 Shift Control Unit 8 Transmission 9 Engine Control Unit 10 Engine Actuator 11 Brake Control Unit 12 Brake Actuator

Claims (3)

  Control means for controlling the vehicle to set the vehicle speed as the set vehicle speed, and an approach determination means for performing an approach determination for determining whether a rear vehicle located behind the vehicle is approaching the vehicle, When the approach determination is affirmative, the control means performs relaxation control that relaxes acceleration suppression that suppresses acceleration of the vehicle on a descending road by replacing the set vehicle speed with a relaxation set vehicle speed that is higher than the set vehicle speed. When the approach determination is negative, the vehicle control apparatus is configured to release the relaxation control by returning the relaxation setting vehicle speed to the set vehicle speed.   The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an acquisition unit configured to acquire a vehicle speed limit on the descending road, and the control unit sets the relaxation setting vehicle speed based on the vehicle speed limit.   The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control unit reduces the control amount of the acceleration suppression or advances the control end timing in the relaxation control.

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