Damper damping force characteristic generation device, damper presentation device and program

Abstract

To provide a damper damping force characteristic generation device capable of obtaining ride comfort and steering stability suitable for actual usage of a vehicle.SOLUTION: A damper damping force characteristic generation device includes: a data acquisition section having a GPS unit 13 that acquires a traveling position, an IMU sensor module 11 that detects a vehicle behavior and an information terminal 30 that acquires a vehicle type; a recording section 17 that records data acquired by the data acquisition section during traveling of a vehicle for a certain period; and the information terminal 30 that is an analysis section for analyzing a traveling pattern from the data recorded in the recording section 17 and that is a generation section for generating damper damping force characteristics suitable for the traveling pattern obtained through analysis of the analysis section.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a damper damping force characteristic generating device, a damper presentation device, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses an analysis device that identifies a vehicle's driving pattern. This analysis device is equipped with an on-board camera, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver, a vehicle speed sensor, and multiple acceleration sensors in different directions. This analysis device analyzes driving data obtained from these sensors as the vehicle moves to identify the vehicle's driving pattern. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-220084 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The analysis device in Patent Document 1 identifies patterns of dangerous driving, etc. from the identified driving patterns. Meanwhile, automobile dampers are designed to suit the vehicle, and the dampers are also manufactured with optimal characteristics for each vehicle model. For this reason, the dampers installed on each vehicle may not provide ride comfort and handling stability that are appropriate for the vehicle's actual driving patterns, i.e., how it is actually used.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned conventional situation, and aims to solve the problem of providing a damper damping force characteristic generating device, a damper presentation device, and a program that can obtain ride comfort and handling stability that are suitable for the actual use of the vehicle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The damper damping force characteristic generating device of the present invention comprises: a data acquisition unit that acquires a traveling position and a vehicle behavior; a recording unit that records the data acquired by the data acquisition unit while the vehicle is running for a certain period of time; an analysis unit that analyzes a driving pattern from the data recorded in the recording unit; a generator for generating damping force characteristics of a damper suitable for the driving pattern obtained by the analysis by the analyzer; It is equipped with:

[0007] This damper damping force characteristic generating device generates damper damping force characteristics suited to the actual driving pattern of the vehicle, i.e., how the vehicle is actually used. Therefore, a damper having the damping force characteristics generated by this damper damping force characteristic generating device can obtain ride comfort and handling stability suited to how the vehicle is actually used.

[0008] The damper presentation device of the present invention includes a presentation unit that presents a damper suitable for the damping force characteristics of the damper generated by the generation unit of the damper damping force characteristics generation device.

[0009] This damper presentation device presents dampers that are suitable for the actual usage of the vehicle, so that a vehicle that has had the dampers replaced with those presented by the presentation unit can obtain ride comfort and handling stability that are suitable for the usage of the vehicle.

[0010] The program of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to generate a damping force characteristic of a damper, The computer, While the vehicle is traveling for a certain period of time, data on the traveling position and vehicle behavior is acquired and recorded, Analyzing driving patterns from the recorded data; The damping force characteristics of the damper are generated to suit the analyzed driving pattern.

[0011] This program generates damping force characteristics of the damper that are suited to the actual driving pattern of the vehicle, i.e., how the vehicle is actually used. Therefore, a damper having the damping force characteristics generated by this program can provide ride comfort and handling stability that are suited to how the vehicle is actually used.

[0012] This program suggests dampers that are suitable for the actual use of the vehicle, so that a vehicle that has had the suggested dampers replaced can achieve ride comfort and handling stability that are suitable for that use. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a damper damping force characteristic generating device and a damper presentation device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] 3 is a block diagram showing the flow of various data in the information terminal of the damper damping force characteristic generating device and the damper presentation device of the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 3] 4 is a flowchart illustrating a damping force characteristic generation process and a damper presentation process of the first embodiment. [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a damping force characteristic generation process and a damper presentation process of the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] First and second embodiments of a damper damping force characteristic generating device and a damper presentation device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0015] <Embodiment 1> As shown in Fig. 1, the damper damping force characteristic generating device and damper presentation device of the first embodiment include a logger 10 and an information terminal 30. The logger 10 is installed in a vehicle and collects and records various data (described later) obtained when the vehicle is driven for a certain period of time. The logger 10 is installed in the center console, floor, dashboard, under the seat, or the like of the vehicle.

[0016] The logger 10 includes an IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) sensor module 11, a timer 12, a GPS (Global Positioning System) unit 13, a power supply circuit 15, a recording unit 17, and a wireless module 19. The IMU sensor module 11 includes an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, and a direction sensor. The IMU sensor module 11 detects the vehicle's roll, pitch, and yaw accelerations, as well as its forward / backward, left / right, and up / down accelerations. In other words, the IMU sensor module 11 detects vehicle behavior (including vibrations). The IMU sensor module 11 corresponds to a data acquisition unit.

[0017] The GPS unit 13 acquires the vehicle's traveling position, time, etc. From the acquired vehicle's traveling position and time, the GPS unit 13 acquires the vehicle's traveling route, traveling area, vehicle speed, etc. The GPS unit 13 corresponds to a data acquisition unit.

[0018] The power supply circuit 15 is connected to a power source (such as a cigarette lighter socket) of the vehicle in which the logger 10 is installed. The logger 10 automatically starts up when the power supply circuit 15 is connected to a cigarette lighter socket or the like and the vehicle is turned on. Turning on the vehicle's power means turning on the ignition. While the vehicle is running, the logger 10 acquires various data using the IMU sensor module 11 and the GPS unit 13 and stores the acquired data in the recording unit 17. When the vehicle's power is turned off, the logger 10 uses a power source such as an internal battery (not shown) to store the various data in the recording unit 17, and then automatically shuts down. Turning off the vehicle's power means turning off the ignition.

[0019] The recording unit 17 stores various data acquired by the IMU sensor module 11 and the GPS unit 13. The wireless module 19 transmits the various data recorded in the recording unit 17 to the information terminal 30 and receives setting information for the logger 10 from the information terminal 30. The wireless module 19 transmits and receives data using Wi-Fi (registered trademark), Bluetooth (registered trademark), or the like. The recording medium of the recording unit 17 may be a removable memory such as an SD card. In this case, the logger 10 uses the removable memory to exchange various data between the recording unit 17 and the information terminal 30.

[0020] The information terminal 30 is a personal computer, smartphone, tablet terminal, etc. that has a communication function such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark), Bluetooth (registered trademark), etc. As shown in FIG. 2, the information terminal 30 has a recording unit 31, a calculation unit 32, a damper presentation unit 33, and a data storage unit 34.

[0021] The recording unit 31 records various data collected from the recording unit 17 of the logger 10 via the wireless module 19. The various data are IMU data (vehicle roll, pitch, yaw acceleration, and front-to-back, left-to-right, and up-to-down acceleration) acquired by the IMU sensor module 11 of the logger 10, and GPS data (travel position, vehicle speed, time, etc.) acquired by the GPS unit 13.

[0022] Vehicle information such as the vehicle manufacturer, vehicle model, grade, model year, and mileage is input to the data storage unit 34. The vehicle model, in terms of use, may be a "standard passenger car," "light four-wheel passenger car," a "small cargo vehicle" such as a light van, or a "standard cargo vehicle" such as a truck, and the body type may be a "sedan," "sports," "station wagon," "van," "SUV," or the like. The vehicle information stored in the server may be read out and input to the information terminal 30.

[0023] The calculation unit 32 performs analysis using dedicated analysis software and application programs. The analysis unit 32A analyzes the actual driving pattern, i.e., how the vehicle is actually used, from the various data sent from the recording unit 31. In more detail, the analysis unit 32A analyzes the driving area, driving type, purpose, and whether or not there are any abnormalities.

[0024] The analysis unit 32A analyzes the driving area from the GPS data. The driving area here is one element that indicates how the vehicle is actually used, and includes general roads, urban areas, expressways, mountain roads, rough terrain, etc. In other words, the analysis unit 32A calculates, for example, from the GPS data, the frequency with which each area was driven during a certain period of driving, and determines what type of area the vehicle is driven in.

[0025] The analysis unit 32A analyzes the driving type and purpose from the GPS data and IMU data. The driving type here is a factor that indicates how the vehicle is used, and includes brisk driving, sporty driving, relaxed driving, gentle driving, safe driving, and eco-friendly driving. The purposes include delivery, commuting, and leisure. In other words, the information terminal 30 determines a high vehicle speed and large roll, lateral, and longitudinal acceleration as a sporty or brisk driving type, and determines a gentle and safe driving type as a gentle and safe driving type if the acceleration is low and the vehicle speed is relatively low. Furthermore, if the vehicle repeatedly stops and drives over a wide area, it determines that the vehicle is being used for delivery or other purposes. Because vehicles and driving types vary, the information terminal 30 weights each analyzed factor to comprehensively determine the driving pattern. The weighting here may be, for example, a weighting that prioritizes the ratio of each driving area to the measurement period, the speed range per average speed for each time period (morning, afternoon, night), or driving areas with high driving frequency.

[0026] The analysis unit 32A analyzes the presence or absence of a damper abnormality based on the IMU data and GPS data. The damper abnormality referred to here refers to abnormal vibration or abnormal damping force. For example, thresholds are set for vertical acceleration and roll, and if the thresholds are frequently exceeded or if the change from the initial state or from the value in the same driving area in the past exceeds the threshold, it is determined that some abnormality exists.

[0027] The generation unit 32B generates damper damping force characteristics suited to the actual use of the vehicle, which are the analysis results. The generation unit 32B corresponds to the generation unit that generates the damper damping force characteristics. The damper damping force characteristics control parameters such as the damper's damping force and spring constant, and the damper controlled by the generated damper damping force characteristics can obtain ride comfort and handling stability suited to the actual use of the vehicle.

[0028] The damper presentation unit 33 presents a damper suitable for the actual driving pattern, i.e., the actual use of the vehicle, based on the damping force characteristics of the damper generated by the generation unit that generates the damper damping force characteristics. The damper presentation unit 33 corresponds to a damper presentation device. The damper presentation unit 33 presents the vehicle owner, etc., with the optimal damper based on the actual use of the vehicle by at least one of a display screen and a sound from the audio output unit. The display screen and the audio output unit correspond to the presentation unit. For example, if the vehicle frequently travels on relatively good roads or expressways, the damper presentation unit 33 presents a damper with characteristics that prioritize ride comfort. If the vehicle frequently travels on rough roads or repaired asphalt roads, the damper presentation unit 33 presents a damper with a higher damping force. If the vehicle frequently travels on rough roads or repaired asphalt roads, the damper presentation unit 33 issues a damper abnormality alarm or recommends replacement if the vertical acceleration does not converge well after the vehicle goes over a bump or step whose position is known in advance. If the driving style is clearly brisk, sporty, or the like, the damper suggestion unit 33 places more importance on the driving style than the road surface condition and suggests dampers with higher damping force. In this way, the damper suggestion unit 33 can suggest dampers by weighting the driving area and driving style.

[0029] The damper presentation means may present the damper suitable for the intended use by displaying, for example, "Normal+," "Sport," "Comfort," "Needs Replacement / O / H," etc. on the display screen of the information terminal 30, or by providing audible feedback from the audio output unit. For example, dampers belonging to the "Normal+" category and the models of suspensions that use those dampers may be presented. In this case, a list of these may be presented, or a link to a website introducing them or a website where they can be purchased may be presented. Alternatively, the dampers may be presented directly without displaying the terms "Normal+," "Sport," "Comfort," "Needs Replacement / O / H," etc.

[0030] The "Normal+" display here means, for example, that the damper has the same shape as the original damper, has optimized damping force suitability, and is balanced with ride comfort. The "Sport" display means, for example, that the damper has high damping force, suppresses roll, has good road contact, and is low-down. The "Comfort" display means, for example, that the damper has damping force characteristics that soften input from the road surface and prioritizes ride comfort. The "Replacement Required - O / H" display encourages the replacement of the damper. Specifically, it indicates the time to replace the damper and provides contact information for the body manufacturer's dealer. The meaning of each display is also displayed on the display screen of the information terminal 30 and explained aloud from the audio output unit.

[0031] Furthermore, the following information can be considered as the content of the damper displayed on the display screen of the information terminal 30 or presented aloud from the audio output unit: "Based on a comprehensive assessment of the area you are driving in, how you are using the vehicle, and the vehicle model, the XX damper will improve the ride comfort when passing through XX, making for a more comfortable drive..." or "The damper may have deteriorated, causing a decrease in ride comfort. We recommend replacing it with the XX damper."

[0032] As shown in FIG. 3, the damper damping force characteristic generation process and damper presentation process in the damper damping force characteristic generation device and damper presentation device include the following steps.

[0033] First, the driver or the like of the vehicle uses the information terminal 30 to input vehicle information and perform initial settings for the logger 10 (step S101). The logger 10 can be connected to a commercial power source, and during initial settings, the logger 10 is connected to the commercial power source. Note that the initial settings for the logger 10 may be performed after the logger 10 is activated (step S103), which will be described later. Next, the driver or the like of the vehicle installs the logger 10 in a predetermined location of the vehicle (e.g., center console, floor, dashboard) (step S102). When the driver or the like of the vehicle connects the logger 10 to the vehicle's cigarette lighter socket and turns on the ignition, the logger 10 automatically activates (step S103). The logger 10 records various data acquired while the vehicle is traveling in the recording unit 17 for a set period of time (e.g., one week) (steps S104 and S105). The period of time may be a continuous period of time such as one week, or may be the cumulative driving time. Furthermore, instead of time, it may be the driving distance. If it is based on continuous time over a week, the usage status of the car can be understood, and low-cost dampers can be proposed to users who do not use the car often. If it is based on cumulative driving time, appropriate information for analysis can be obtained. If it is based on driving distance, appropriate information for analysis can be obtained, and proposals can be made earlier than one week for users who use the car frequently.

[0034] The logger 10 stops the recording operation after a certain period of time has elapsed (step S106). When the logger 10 stops the recording operation, the information terminal 30 downloads the various data recorded in the recording unit 17 via the wireless module 19 (step S107). Furthermore, when the logger 10 completes recording, the logger 10 may display the data on the information terminal 30, and an operator or the like may download the data at any time. The information terminal 30 analyzes the actual driving pattern, i.e., how the vehicle is actually used, from the various data that has been downloaded (step S108). The information terminal 30 generates damping force characteristics of a damper that are suited to how the vehicle is actually used, which are the analysis results (step S109). The information terminal 30 presents a damper that is suited to how the vehicle is actually used, based on the generated damping force characteristics of the damper (step S110). After presenting the damper, the information terminal 30 ends the presentation mode (step S111).

[0035] As described above, the damper damping force characteristic generation device of embodiment 1 includes a data acquisition unit having a GPS unit 13 that acquires the driving position, an IMU sensor module 11 that detects the vehicle behavior, and an information terminal 30 that acquires the vehicle type, a recording unit 17 that records the data acquired by the data acquisition unit while the vehicle is driving for a certain period of time, and an analysis unit that analyzes the driving pattern from the data recorded in the recording unit 17, and the information terminal 30 that is a generation unit that generates a damper damping force characteristic suitable for the driving pattern obtained by the analysis by the analysis unit.

[0036] This damper damping force characteristic generating device generates damper damping force characteristics suited to the actual driving pattern of the vehicle, i.e., how the vehicle is actually used. Therefore, a damper controlled by the damping force characteristics generated by this damper damping force characteristic generating device can obtain ride comfort and handling stability suited to how the vehicle is actually used.

[0037] The information terminal 30, which is the damper presentation device of the first embodiment, presents dampers suitable for the damping force characteristics of the damper generated by the generation unit of the damper damping force characteristic generation device of the first embodiment.

[0038] This damper suggestion device suggests dampers that are suitable for the actual use of the vehicle, so that a vehicle that has had the suggested dampers replaced can obtain ride comfort and handling stability that are suitable for the way the vehicle is used.

[0039] <Embodiment 2> The damping force characteristic generating device for a damper and the damper presentation device of the second embodiment do not include the logger 10 of the first embodiment, but instead use functions built into a smartphone. That is, the damping force characteristic generating device for a damper and the damper presentation device of the second embodiment use an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, and a GPS unit built into the smartphone. This allows the smartphone to detect the roll, pitch, and yaw accelerations of the vehicle, as well as the front-to-back, left-to-right, and up-to-down accelerations, to detect vehicle behavior, and to acquire the vehicle's driving route, driving area, vehicle speed, etc. In other words, the smartphone corresponds to a data acquisition unit. The smartphone records the various acquired data in a built-in recording unit.

[0040] An application program that generates damper damping force characteristics and presents the damper is installed on the smartphone, and the smartphone analyzes the actual driving pattern, i.e., how the vehicle is actually used, from various data acquired by the smartphone. The smartphone corresponds to the analysis unit. The content analyzed by the smartphone, the generation of damper damping force characteristics suitable for how the vehicle is actually used as a result of the analysis, and the presentation of the damper are the same as in the first embodiment.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 4, the damper damping force characteristic generation process and damper presentation process in the damper damping force characteristic generation device and damper presentation device include the following steps.

[0042] First, a driver or the like of a vehicle launches a damper recommendation application program (step S201). Next, the driver or the like of the vehicle inputs vehicle information into the launched application program (step S202). The smartphone is carried by the driver or the like of the vehicle or installed in a predetermined location in the vehicle, and various data acquired while the vehicle is being driven is recorded in a recording unit of the smartphone for a set period of time (e.g., one week) (steps S203 and S204). After the set period of time has elapsed, the smartphone analyzes the actual driving pattern, i.e., the actual usage of the vehicle, from the various data recorded in the recording unit (step S205). The smartphone generates damping force characteristics of a damper suited to the actual usage of the vehicle, which is the analysis result (step S206). The smartphone presents a damper suited to the actual usage of the vehicle based on the generated damping force characteristics of the damper (step S207). After presenting the damper, the smartphone ends the presentation mode (step S208).

[0043] As described above, the damper damping force characteristic generation device of embodiment 2 is a smartphone that includes a data acquisition unit that acquires driving position, vehicle behavior, and vehicle type, a recording unit that records data acquired by the data acquisition unit while the vehicle is driving for a certain period of time, an analysis unit that analyzes driving patterns from the data recorded in the recording unit, and a generation unit that generates damper damping force characteristics suitable for the driving pattern obtained by the analysis by the analysis unit.

[0044] The smartphone, which is the damper damping force characteristic generating device, generates damper damping force characteristics suited to the actual driving pattern of the vehicle, i.e., how the vehicle is actually used. Therefore, a damper controlled by the damping force characteristics generated by the damper damping force characteristic generating device can obtain ride comfort and handling stability suited to how the vehicle is actually used.

[0045] The smartphone, which is the damper presentation device of the second embodiment, presents a damper suitable for the damping force characteristics of the damper generated by the generation unit of the damper damping force characteristic generation device of the second embodiment.

[0046] This damper recommendation device, a smartphone, recommends dampers that are suitable for the vehicle's actual usage, so that vehicles that replace their dampers with the recommended dampers can obtain ride comfort and handling stability that are suitable for their usage.

[0047] The present invention is not limited to the first and second embodiments described above with reference to the drawings, and the following embodiments are also included within the technical scope of the present invention. (1) The data acquisition unit may acquire vehicle behavior using an unsprung acceleration sensor and a sprung acceleration sensor of each damper attached to the vehicle. (2) When analyzing the actual usage of a vehicle, if the driving area includes roads for which there is a database of road surface property data, it is advisable to generate the damping force characteristics of the damper or present the damper taking into account the road surface properties. (3) The damping force characteristic of the damper generated by the damper damping force characteristic generating device may be used to control the damper. [Explanation of symbols]

[0048] 11, 13, 30...Data acquisition unit (11...IMU sensor module, 13...GPS unit, 30...information terminal), 17...recording unit, 30...information terminal (analysis unit, damping force characteristic generation unit)

Claims

1. a data acquisition unit that acquires a traveling position and a vehicle behavior; a recording unit that records the data acquired by the data acquisition unit while the vehicle is running for a certain period of time; an analysis unit that analyzes a driving pattern from the data recorded in the recording unit; a generator for generating damping force characteristics of a damper suitable for the driving pattern obtained by the analysis by the analyzer; A damping force characteristic generating device for a damper comprising:

2. A damper presentation device comprising: a presentation unit that presents a damper suitable for the damping force characteristic of the damper generated by the generation unit of the damper damping force characteristic generation device according to claim 1 .

3. A program for causing a computer to generate a damping force characteristic of a damper, The computer, While the vehicle is traveling for a certain period of time, data on the traveling position and vehicle behavior is acquired and recorded, Analyzing driving patterns from the recorded data; A program that generates damping force characteristics of a damper that are suitable for the analyzed driving pattern.

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