Vehicle Controls

Abstract

The present invention relates to a vehicle control device installed in a vehicle including an automatic shifting device, the vehicle control device being configured to store vehicle control state information including the control state of the vehicle in the predetermined shifting state when the rate of change of acceleration in the predetermined shifting state at the time of shifting is greater than the rate of change of acceleration in the past at the predetermined shifting state. Therefore, the vehicle control state information in the predetermined shifting state having a higher importance among a plurality of predetermined shifting states occurring at the time of shifting can be stored and accumulated.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle control device, and more particularly, to a vehicle control device installed in a vehicle including an automatic shifting device. Background Art

[0002] In the related art, as a technology of this type, the following technology has been proposed: receiving vehicle information including information of the current position or information of the net fuel consumption rate or the net power consumption rate from each vehicle in the vehicle, calculating a driving force reference value based on the information of the net fuel consumption rate or the net power consumption rate in the received vehicle information, calculating an acceleration command value for automatic driving based on the driving force reference value, and sending the calculated acceleration command value to the corresponding vehicle (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2019-172126 (JP2019-172126A)). With this technology, traffic congestion can be alleviated and the total fuel consumption of the multiple vehicles can be reduced by controlling the automatic driving of the multiple vehicles. Summary of the invention

[0003] The information of the control state of the vehicle is used for various types of control, so a large amount of information needs to be accumulated. In a vehicle including an automatic shifting device, since a specific event (shifting state) may occur when shifting, it is preferable that more information of the control state of the vehicle in the event occurring when shifting is accumulated. However, when the same event occurs when shifting in the same vehicle, and the information of the control state of the vehicle in all the events is accumulated, the information in the event with higher importance may be buried in the information of many events with lower importance.

[0004] The present invention provides a vehicle control device capable of accumulating information on a vehicle control state in an event having a higher importance among a plurality of events occurring at the time of gear shifting.

[0005] The vehicle control device according to the present invention adopts the following configuration to achieve the above-mentioned object.

[0006] According to one aspect of the present invention, a vehicle control device installed in a vehicle including an automatic shifting device is provided, wherein the vehicle control device is configured to store vehicle control state information when the rate of change of acceleration in a predetermined shifting state during gear shifting is greater than the rate of change of acceleration in the predetermined shifting state in the past, and the vehicle control state information includes the control state of the vehicle in the predetermined shifting state.

[0007] By means of the vehicle control device according to the present invention, when the rate of change of acceleration in a predetermined shift state during gear shifting is greater than the rate of change of acceleration in the past during the predetermined shift state, vehicle control state information is stored, the vehicle control state information including the control state of the vehicle in the predetermined shift state. Since a higher rate of change of acceleration can be judged as a shift state (event) with higher importance, vehicle control state information in an event with higher importance among events (shift states) occurring during gear shifting can be stored. In the vehicle control device, the vehicle control device can be configured to transmit the vehicle control state information to an external server at a predetermined time after the vehicle control state information has been stored. By means of this configuration, vehicle control state information in events with higher importance can be accumulated in the external server.

[0008] Here, the predetermined shifting state may include one of a state in which a change rate of acceleration is equal to or greater than a predetermined change rate, a state in which a turbine rotation speed of a torque converter is equal to or greater than a predetermined rotation speed, and a state in which a time required for shifting is equal to or greater than a predetermined time. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Features, advantages, and technical and industrial significance of exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals represent like elements, and in which:

[0010] Figure 1 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of a vehicle 20 in which a vehicle control device according to an embodiment of the present invention is installed; and

[0011] Figure 2 is a flowchart showing an example of an event storage process executed by the ECU 50 . DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0013] Figure 1 1 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of a vehicle 20 in which a vehicle control device according to an embodiment of the present invention is installed. As shown in the figure, the vehicle 20 according to the embodiment includes an engine 22, an automatic shifting device 30, an electronic control unit (hereinafter referred to as "ECU") 50, and a transceiver device 70.

[0014] The engine 22 is configured as a multi-cylinder (such as a four-cylinder or a six-cylinder) internal combustion engine that uses gasoline, diesel, etc. supplied from a fuel tank via a fuel supply system as fuel to output power through an intake stroke, a compression stroke, an expansion (explosive combustion) stroke, and an exhaust stroke. The operation of the engine 22 is controlled by the ECU 50.

[0015] The automatic shifting device 30 includes a torque converter 32 having a lockup clutch, an automatic transmission 35 having six gears, and a hydraulic circuit not shown. The torque converter 32 is configured as a general hydraulic transmission device, and amplifies and transmits the torque of the input shaft 31 connected to the crankshaft 24 of the engine 22 to the intermediate rotating shaft 34 as the input shaft of the automatic transmission 35 or transmits the torque without amplifying the torque. The automatic transmission 35 is connected to the intermediate rotating shaft 34 and the output shaft 36, which is connected to the drive shaft 37, and the automatic transmission 35 includes a plurality of planetary gears and a plurality of hydraulically driven friction engagement elements (such as clutches and brakes). The drive shaft 37 is connected to the drive wheels 38a and 38b via the wheel shaft and the rear differential gear. The automatic transmission 35 forms one of the first to sixth forward gears or the reverse gear by, for example, engaging and disengaging the plurality of friction engagement elements, and transmits power between the intermediate rotating shaft 34 and the output shaft 36.

[0016] Although not shown, the ECU 50 is configured as a microprocessor including a CPU as a main component, and includes a ROM storing a processing program, a RAM temporarily storing data, a flash memory, input and output ports, and a communication port in addition to the CPU.

[0017] Signals from various sensors required for controlling the operation of the engine 22, signals from various sensors required for controlling the driving of the automatic shifting device 30, and the like are input to the ECU 50 via the input port. Examples of the signals input to the ECU 50 include signals from sensors that detect the operating state of the engine 22, such as a crank angle θcr from a crank position sensor 23 that detects the rotational position of a crankshaft 24 of the engine 22, and a coolant temperature Tw from a coolant temperature sensor (not shown) that detects the temperature of the coolant of the engine 22. Examples also include signals from sensors that detect the operating state of the automatic shifting device 30, such as a turbine rotational speed NT from a rotational speed sensor 33a that detects the rotational speed of a turbine runner 33 of the torque converter 32, or an oil temperature from a temperature sensor not shown.

[0018] Examples also include an ignition signal from an ignition switch 60, a shift position SP from a shift position sensor 62 that detects the shift position of a shift lever 61, an accelerator operation amount Acc from an accelerator pedal position sensor 64 that detects the amount of depression of an accelerator pedal 63, and a brake pedal position BP from a brake pedal position sensor 66 that detects the amount of depression of a brake pedal 65.

[0019] Examples also include vehicle speed V from the vehicle speed sensor 67 and acceleration α from the acceleration sensor 68 .

[0020] Various control signals for controlling the operation of the engine 22 or various control signals for controlling the operation of the automatic shift device 30 are output from the ECU 50 via the output port. Examples of the various control signals include control signals required for controlling the operation of the engine 22, such as a control signal for a throttle motor (not shown) for driving a throttle valve, a control signal for a fuel injection valve, and a control signal for a spark plug. Examples also include a control signal for a lockup clutch of the torque converter 32 and a control signal for a hydraulic circuit (not shown) of the automatic transmission 35.

[0021] The ECU 50 regularly transmits and receives information to and from the information management server 12 provided in the external information management center 10 via the transceiver device 70 at predetermined timings.

[0022] The operation of the vehicle 20 according to this embodiment having the above-described configuration will be described below, particularly the operation when an event occurs at the time of gear shifting. Here, one of a state in which the rate of change dα of the acceleration α is equal to or greater than a predetermined rate of change, a state in which the turbine rotation speed NT of the torque converter 32 is equal to or greater than a predetermined rotation speed, and a state in which the time required for gear shifting is equal to or greater than a predetermined time is assumed as an event at the time of gear shifting. Figure 2 : is a flowchart showing an example of an event storage process executed by the ECU 50. This process is repeatedly executed.

[0023] When executing the event storage process, the ECU 50 determines whether it is a gear shift (step S100). Whether it is a gear shift can be determined by checking whether the current state is a midway state from when a gear change command (gear shift command) of the automatic transmission 35 has been issued until the gear shift is completed. When it is determined that it is not a gear shift, it is determined that the process is not applicable, and the process ends.

[0024] When it is determined in step S100 that it is a gear shift, it is determined whether an event has occurred (step S110). As described above, since one of the states in which the rate of change dα of the acceleration α is equal to or greater than the predetermined rate of change, the state in which the turbine rotation speed NT of the torque converter 32 is equal to or greater than the predetermined rotation speed, and the state in which the time required for the gear shift is equal to or greater than the predetermined time is assumed to be an event during the gear shift, it is determined whether one of them has been selected. Here, the acceleration in the case of acceleration that is not usually generated during the gear shift or the acceleration in the case of deceleration is used as the predetermined rate of change. A turbine rotation speed higher than the turbine rotation speed assumed during the gear shift is used as the predetermined rotation speed. The time at which the gear shift ends and is counted by the backup timer, that is, the time for ending the gear shift by forcibly engaging the clutch after the time has passed, is used as the predetermined time. When it is determined that no event has occurred, the process ends.

[0025] When it is determined in step S110 that an event has occurred, the change rate dα of the acceleration α stored in the event that occurred in the past (stored change rate dα) is read (step S120), and it is determined whether the change rate dα of the acceleration α currently occurring (current change rate dα) is greater than the stored change rate dα (step S130). When the current change rate dα is equal to or less than the stored change rate dα, it is determined that the importance of the current event is not higher than that of the past event, and the process ends.

[0026] When it is determined in step S130 that the current change rate dα is greater than the stored change rate dα, it is determined that the importance of the current event is higher than that of the past event, the vehicle control state information when the event has occurred is stored (step S140), the current change rate dα is stored as the stored change rate dα (step S150), and then the process ends. The vehicle control state information includes information such as the control state of the automatic shift device 30, the control state of the engine 22, or the driving state of the vehicle, such as the turbine rotation speed, the rotation speed of the output shaft, the vehicle speed, the oil temperature, the throttle opening, the acceleration, the rate of change of the acceleration, the shift position, the target gear position, the hydraulic pressure of the component of the hydraulic circuit, the required engine torque, or the actual output torque. The vehicle control state information is stored in a predetermined storage area of ​​the flash memory of the ECU 50, and is periodically transmitted to the information management server 12 of the information management center 10 at a predetermined time. The information management server 12 that has received the vehicle control state information accumulates the vehicle control state information.

[0027] When an event occurs during a gear shift, the ECU 50 installed in the vehicle 20 according to the embodiment determines whether the rate of change dα (current rate of change dα) of acceleration α in the current event is greater than the rate of change dα (stored rate of change dα) of acceleration α stored in an event that occurred in the past. When it is determined that the current rate of change dα is greater than the stored rate of change dα, the vehicle control state information is stored and the current rate of change dα is stored as the stored rate of change dα. Therefore, the vehicle control state information and the rate of change dα of acceleration α in an event with higher importance can be stored. Since the stored vehicle control state information is periodically sent to the information management server 12 at a predetermined time and accumulated by the information management server 12, the vehicle control state information in an event with higher importance can be accumulated. As a result, the vehicle control state information in an event with higher importance in an event that occurs during a gear shift can be accumulated.

[0028] When it is determined that the current change rate dα is greater than the stored change rate dα, the ECU 50 installed in the vehicle 20 according to the embodiment stores the vehicle control state information in the event, and then transmits the stored vehicle control state information to the external information management server 12 at a predetermined time. However, when it is determined that the current change rate dα is greater than the stored change rate dα, the vehicle control state information in the event may be immediately transmitted to the external information management server 12.

[0029] In an embodiment, the present invention is applied to a vehicle 20 including an engine 22 and an automatic shifting device 30, but the present invention can be applied to a vehicle having any structure, such as a structure including an electric motor on the input shaft of the automatic shifting device, as long as it is a vehicle including the automatic shifting device.

[0030] The correspondence between the main elements in the embodiment and the main elements described in the summary of the invention will be described below. In this embodiment, the automatic shifting device 30 corresponds to the "automatic shifting device", the electronic control unit 50 (ECU50) corresponds to the "vehicle control device", and the event corresponds to the "predetermined shifting state".

[0031] Because the correspondence between the main elements in the embodiment and the main elements described in the summary of the invention is only an example for specifically describing the embodiment of the present invention described in the summary of the invention, the correspondence does not constitute a limitation on the elements of the present invention described in the summary of the invention. That is, the invention described in the summary of the invention should be interpreted based on the description therein, and the embodiment is only a specific example of the invention described in the summary of the invention.

[0032] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above with reference to the drawings, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment and can be modified in various forms within the scope not departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0033] The present invention can be used in the industry of manufacturing vehicle control devices.

Claims

1. A vehicle control device, the vehicle control device being installed in a vehicle, the vehicle comprising an automatic shifting device, characterized in that: The vehicle control device is configured to: When the rate of change of acceleration in a predetermined gear shift state during gear shifting is greater than the rate of change of acceleration in the past in the predetermined gear shift state, storing vehicle control state information, wherein the vehicle control state information includes a control state of the vehicle in the predetermined gear shift state; When the rate of change of acceleration in a predetermined shift state at the time of shifting is equal to or less than the rate of change of acceleration in the past in the predetermined shift state, the vehicle control state information is not stored, The predetermined shifting state includes one of a state in which the rate of change of acceleration is equal to or greater than a predetermined rate of change, a state in which the turbine rotation speed of the torque converter is equal to or greater than a predetermined rotation speed, and a state in which the time required for shifting is equal to or greater than a predetermined time.

2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The vehicle control device is configured to immediately transmit the vehicle control state information to an external server when a change rate of acceleration in a predetermined shift state during a shift is greater than a change rate of acceleration in the past in the predetermined shift state.

3. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The vehicle control device is configured to transmit the vehicle control state information to an external server at a predetermined time after the vehicle control state information has been stored.

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