Door control system

Abstract

The present application provides a kind of in maintaining the existing structure of the control unit of output contact detection signal, while being able to realize the technology of integrating other control units.A kind of vehicle door control system, with: detection control unit, which outputs the contact detection signal of vehicle;First control unit, which according to the contact detection signal output by detection control unit, makes left door unlock;And second control unit, which according to the contact detection signal output by detection control unit, makes right door unlock, detection control unit outputs contact detection signal to the wire harness connected with one output terminal, the downstream branch of wire harness is first wire harness and second wire harness, first control unit is connected with first wire harness, and second control unit is connected with second wire harness.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a vehicle door control system. Background Technology

[0002] Patent document 1 discloses an airbag electronic control unit (ECU) that outputs a contact detection signal and a single body ECU connected to the airbag ECU. The body ECU activates a motor that unlocks the door based on the contact detection signal.

[0003] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2014-136560 Summary of the Invention

[0004] In the vehicle described in Patent Document 1, to reduce the overall cost of the vehicle body, it is possible to reduce the number of ECUs installed. This reduction in the number of ECUs is achieved by integrating multiple existing ECUs, with one ECU handling multiple functions.

[0005] Depending on the integration method, sometimes a single function is performed by multiple ECUs. For example, when integrating multiple existing ECUs, one could consider preparing an integrated ECU responsible for handling the left side of the vehicle and an integrated ECU responsible for handling the right side. In this case, the function of inputting the aforementioned contact detection signal to unlock the door must be executed in either integrated ECU.

[0006] However, the airbag ECU lacks spare output terminals. In attempting to maintain the existing output terminal structure of the airbag ECU, only one of the left or right integrated ECUs can be connected. Therefore, ECU integration may not be feasible. This invention provides a technique that enables the integration of other ECUs while maintaining the existing structure of the ECU that outputs contact detection signals.

[0007] One aspect of the present invention relates to a vehicle door control system comprising: a detection control unit that outputs a contact detection signal of the vehicle; a first control unit that unlocks the left door based on the contact detection signal output by the detection control unit; and a second control unit that unlocks the right door based on the contact detection signal output by the detection control unit. The detection control unit outputs the contact detection signal to a wiring harness connected to an output terminal. The downstream branches of the wiring harness are a first wiring harness and a second wiring harness. The first control unit is connected to the first wiring harness, and the second control unit is connected to the second wiring harness.

[0008] Invention Effects

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to integrate other control units while maintaining the existing structure of the control unit that outputs the contact detection signal. Attached Figure Description

[0010] Figure 1 This is a block diagram illustrating an example of a door control system according to one embodiment.

[0011] Figure 2 It means Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an example of the structure of a car door control system.

[0012] Figure 3 This is a diagram showing an example of the contact detection range of the left vehicle ECU and an example of the contact detection range of the right vehicle ECU. Detailed Implementation

[0013] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0014] [Structure of the door control system]

[0015] Figure 1 This is a block diagram illustrating an example of a door control system according to one embodiment. For example... Figure 1 As shown, the door control system 1 is mounted on the vehicle 2. The door control system 1 is a system that controls the locking / unlocking of the doors of the vehicle 2, such as unlocking the doors of the vehicle 2 when the vehicle 2 comes into contact with an object.

[0016] Vehicle 2 includes an acceleration sensor 10, an airbag ECU 11 (an example of a detection control unit), a left body ECU 12 (an example of a first control unit), a left door mechanism 13, a right body ECU 14 (an example of a second control unit), and a right door mechanism 15. Each ECU is an electronic control unit with a processor such as a central processing unit (CPU), storage devices such as read-only memory (ROM) and random access memory (RAM), communication circuits such as a controller area network (CAN), and input / output circuits. The door control system 1 comprises the airbag ECU 11, the left body ECU 12, and the right body ECU 14.

[0017] Accelerometer 10 is a sensor that detects the acceleration of vehicle 2 (including observed impacts). Accelerometer 10 converts acceleration into a detection signal as an electrical signal and outputs the detection signal to airbag ECU 11.

[0018] The airbag ECU 11 activates the airbags in vehicle 2 based on the detection signal from the acceleration sensor 10. Then, the airbag ECU 11 outputs a contact detection signal for vehicle 2. This contact detection signal is an electrical signal related to the contact between vehicle 2 and an object, and the detection is represented by the magnitude of the voltage. The airbag ECU 11 has an output terminal 11a connected to a main wiring harness MH. This wiring harness is used to protect and route multiple signal or power lines within vehicle 2. The airbag ECU 11 outputs the detection signal from the acceleration sensor 10 as a contact detection signal from the output terminal 11a.

[0019] The main wiring harness MH is connected to the output terminal 11a of the airbag ECU 11. The main wiring harness MH branches at the downstream connection 11b, dividing into a first wiring harness H1 and a second wiring harness H2. The first wiring harness H1 is connected to the left input terminal 12a of the left vehicle body ECU 12. The second wiring harness H2 is connected to the right input terminal 14a of the right vehicle body ECU 14.

[0020] The left body ECU 12 is connected to and controls the left door mechanism 13. The left body ECU 12 controls the left door mechanism 13 based on a contact detection signal obtained via the left input terminal 12a. The left door mechanism 13 includes a motor for locking the left door of the vehicle 2. For example, the left body ECU 12 activates the left door mechanism 13 based on a contact detection signal output by the airbag ECU 11, thereby unlocking the left door.

[0021] The right-side body ECU 14 controls the right-side door mechanism 15. The right-side body ECU 14 controls the right-side door mechanism 15 based on a contact detection signal obtained via the right input terminal 14a. The right-side door mechanism 15 includes a motor for locking the right door of the vehicle 2. For example, the right-side body ECU 14 activates the right-side door mechanism 15 based on a contact detection signal output by the airbag ECU 11, thereby unlocking the right-side door.

[0022] With the above structure, based on the detection result of the acceleration sensor 10, the contact detection signal is output from the output terminal 11a of the airbag ECU 11 to the main wiring harness MH. The contact detection signal branches at the downstream connection 11b of the main wiring harness MH, and is input to the left vehicle body ECU 12 via the first wiring harness H1 and the left input terminal 12a, and to the right vehicle body ECU 14 via the second wiring harness H2 and the right input terminal 14a. In this way, a structure is realized in which the contact detection signal output from one airbag ECU 11 is branched and input to two ECUs, and the two ECUs independently control the door unlocking. Therefore, structural changes such as setting output terminals in the airbag ECU 11 can be avoided.

[0023] Figure 2 It means Figure 1A schematic diagram illustrating an example of the structure of a car door control system. (See diagram below.) Figure 2 As shown, the left vehicle ECU 12 contains an input circuit including a pull-up power supply (such as a 5V power supply), while the right vehicle ECU 14 contains circuits with different resistance values. The pull-up power supply is a circuit that ensures a constant voltage is maintained even if the input terminal becomes electrically open for some reason. In this invention, it is installed within the internal circuitry of the left vehicle ECU 12. By having a pull-up circuit, even if a high impedance state occurs on the signal line, the voltage is less likely to become unstable, enabling stable detection. On the other hand, the right vehicle ECU 14 can have a separate resistor circuit, resulting in a different circuit structure for the right vehicle ECU 14.

[0024] As a result, even when a contact detection signal is sent from the same airbag ECU 11, the voltage values ​​of the actual contact detection signals read in the left vehicle ECU 12 and the right vehicle ECU 14 will differ slightly. Furthermore, the airbag ECU 11 sets its own ground potential VGE, the left vehicle ECU 12 sets its ground potential VGL, and the right vehicle ECU 14 sets its ground potential VGR; there is an offset between them (a difference in reference potentials). This offset is the voltage difference caused by the different reference potentials.

[0025] For example, with the ground potential of the left vehicle ECU12 set to 0V as a reference, and the ground potential VGE of the airbag ECU11 set to approximately -0.5V, the ground potential VGR of the right vehicle ECU14 is configured to be within the range of -0.5V to 0V. Besides this offset, the voltage levels observed at the input terminals on the left and right sides differ due to the resistor circuits installed inside each vehicle ECU, necessitating separate settings for the upper and lower threshold values ​​for determining contact.

[0026] Figure 3 This is a diagram showing one example of the contact detection range of the left-side vehicle ECU and one example of the contact detection range of the right-side vehicle ECU. Figure 3 In the chart shown, the vertical axis represents the terminal voltage. For example... Figure 3As shown, the contact detection range of the left vehicle ECU 12 (an example of the first range) is set between the lower threshold V2 and the upper threshold V3, and the contact detection range of the right vehicle ECU 14 (an example of the second range) is set between the lower threshold V1 and the upper threshold V4. Furthermore, the normal judgment range is defined separately in the left vehicle ECU 12 as the lower threshold V6 to the upper threshold V7, and in the right vehicle ECU 14 as the lower threshold V5 to the upper threshold V8. Therefore, even when the airbag ECU 11 outputs a single contact detection signal, the left vehicle ECU 12 and the right vehicle ECU 14 can respectively determine "contact detection" and "normal" within their inherent detection ranges.

[0027] As an advantage of the parallel wiring method described above, unlike series wiring, it reduces the risk of one circuit's condition adversely affecting the detection actions of another ECU. For example, even if a fault occurs in the first wiring harness H1 and the left body ECU 12 cannot satisfactorily receive signals, the right body ECU 14 can still normally receive the contact detection signal via the second wiring harness H2 and perform the right door unlocking control. Similarly, it ensures that even if a fault occurs on the right side, it will not affect the redundancy of the left side. Thus, by using a wiring harness structure configured in parallel rather than series, the redundancy of the other ECU maintaining function when one ECU fails is improved, which is useful in the field of vehicles with strict safety requirements.

[0028] According to the structure of the present invention, signals can be supplied to multiple ECUs without the need to add an output terminal to the airbag ECU 11, thus eliminating the need for significant changes to the existing airbag system structure. Furthermore, it enables the integration of the entire ECU of the vehicle 2 and the distributed installation of door unlocking control functions using contact detection signals, which helps reduce vehicle body costs or increase design freedom. For example, regarding vehicle body costs, the integration of the entire ECU significantly reduces the required wiring harness.

[0029] Furthermore, by independently determining the contact detection range of the left vehicle ECU 12 and the right vehicle ECU 14, appropriate thresholds can be set based on the variation range and offset of the contact detection signal output by the airbag ECU 11, as well as the input circuit characteristics of each vehicle ECU. Through this separate setting, the two ECUs independently interpret the signals branched from one output terminal of the airbag ECU 11 according to their respective references, thereby establishing a division of labor for implementing the door unlocking action.

[0030] The above describes exemplary embodiments, but is not limited to the above exemplary embodiments. Various omissions, substitutions, combinations and changes are also possible.

[0031] Symbol Explanation

[0032] 1-Door control system, 2-Vehicle, 10-Acceleration sensor, 11-Airbag ECU (an example of a detection control unit), 11a-Output terminal, 11b-Connector, 12-Left body ECU (an example of a first control unit), 12a-Left input terminal, 13-Left door mechanism, 14-Right body ECU (an example of a second control unit), 14a-Right input terminal, 15-Right door mechanism, MH-Main wiring harness, H1-First wiring harness, H2-Second wiring harness.

Claims

1. A vehicle door control system, characterized in that, have: The detection control unit outputs contact detection signals for the vehicle; The first control unit unlocks the left door based on the contact detection signal output by the detection control unit; and The second control unit unlocks the right door based on the contact detection signal output by the detection control unit. The detection control unit outputs the contact detection signal to the wiring harness connected to an output terminal. The downstream branches of the wire harness are the first wire harness and the second wire harness. The first control unit is connected to the first wiring harness. The second control unit is connected to the second wiring harness.

2. The vehicle door control system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first control unit unlocks the right door when the voltage of the contact detection signal output by the detection control unit is within a preset first range. The second control unit unlocks the left door when the voltage of the contact detection signal output by the detection control unit is within a preset second range. The first range and the second range are set separately.

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