control device

Abstract

To prevent a decrease in passenger comfort. [Solution] The control device is mounted on a vehicle that includes a seat for an occupant to sit on and a tilting mechanism capable of changing the seat angle, including the roll angle and / or pitch angle of the seat relative to the vehicle body. The control device performs terminal tilting control, which controls the tilting mechanism based on a seat angle request value requested from an external terminal held by the occupant. The control device stops terminal tilting control if the seat angle request value remains outside the acceptable range for a predetermined period of time.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a control device.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a seat control system including a plurality of seats has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this seat control system, each seat has a state adjustment mechanism for adjusting the state of the seat, a motor for driving the state adjustment mechanism, and a control device for controlling the seat. The control device has a motor control unit for controlling the motor and a communication unit for communicating with the control devices of other seats. The communication unit of each seat can communicate with a wireless terminal held by an occupant, and the motor control unit of each seat controls the motor based on a direct command received from the wireless terminal.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] When an abnormality occurs in the wireless terminal held by the occupant, there is a concern that the angle of the seat with respect to the vehicle body becomes an inappropriate angle, reducing the comfort of the occupant. The main object of the control device of the present disclosure is to suppress the reduction of the comfort of the occupant.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] To achieve the primary objective described above, the control device of this disclosure employs the following means. The control device of this disclosure is mounted on a vehicle that includes a seat for an occupant to sit on and a tilting mechanism capable of changing the seat angle, including the roll angle and / or pitch angle of the seat relative to the vehicle body, and is a control device that performs terminal tilting control, which controls the tilting mechanism based on a seat angle request value requested from an external terminal held by the occupant, and the gist of the control device is that if the seat angle request value remains outside an acceptable range for a predetermined period of time, the terminal tilting control is stopped. Through this process, the control device of this disclosure can prevent the seat angle from becoming an inappropriate angle and prevent a decrease in occupant comfort. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0006] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram of a vehicle 10 equipped with the control device according to the embodiment of the disclosure. [Figure 2] This is a flowchart showing an example of a processing routine. [Figure 3] This is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the roll angle requirement value θro*. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0007] Embodiments for implementing this disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a vehicle 10 equipped with a control device according to an embodiment of this disclosure. The vehicle 10 can be configured as an engine-powered vehicle equipped only with an engine as a power source, a hybrid vehicle equipped with an engine and a motor as a power source, or an electric vehicle or fuel cell vehicle equipped only with a motor as a power source. As shown in the figure, the vehicle 10 includes a seat (driver's seat) not shown for the driver, seats 12 (passenger seat and rear seat) for passengers other than the driver, a tilting mechanism 14, and an electronic control unit (ECU) 40 as a control device.

[0008] The seat 12 is positioned relative to the bottom of the vehicle body via a tilting mechanism 14. The tilting mechanism 14 is configured to change the seat angle (roll angle and pitch angle) of the seat 12 relative to the bottom of the vehicle body. The tilting mechanism 14 comprises a pair of first guide rails 15, a pair of second guide rails 16, a first drive unit 17, and a second drive unit 18. The pair of first guide rails 15 are spaced apart in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle 10 and extend in a convex arc shape along the lateral direction of the vehicle 10 and downward (towards the bottom of the vehicle body). Both ends of the pair of first guide rails 15 are fixed to the bottom of the vehicle body via support units. The pair of second guide rails 16 are spaced apart in the lateral direction of the vehicle 10 and extend in a convex arc shape along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle 10 and downward (towards the bottom of the vehicle body). The pair of first guide rails 15 and the pair of second guide rails 16 intersect each other in a grid shape when viewed from above. A first slider is connected to the second guide rail 16, and the first slider is slidably supported by the first guide rail. In addition, second sliders are connected to both the left and right sides of a frame fixed to the underside of the bottom of the seat 12, and the second sliders are slidably supported by the second guide rail 16. Therefore, the seat 12 can move in the front-rear direction along the second guide rail 16 via the second slider (the pitch angle can be changed). The second guide rail 16 and the seat 12 can move in the left-right direction along the first guide rail 15 via the first slider (the roll angle can be changed). The first drive unit 17 comprises a first motor and a first transmission mechanism connected to the first motor and also connected to the frame described above. The first drive unit 17 changes the roll angle of the seat 12 by moving the frame and the second guide rail 16 in the left-right direction along the first guide rail 15 as the first motor rotates. The second drive unit 18 comprises a second motor and a second transmission mechanism connected to the second motor and also to the frame. The second drive unit 18 changes the pitch angle of the seat 12 by moving the frame in the front-rear direction along the second guide rail 16 as the second motor rotates.Furthermore, the tilting mechanism 14 is not limited to such a mechanism, specifically a mechanism comprising a pair of first guide rails 15, a pair of second guide rails 16, a first drive unit 17, and a second drive unit 18, but any mechanism capable of changing the seat angle (roll angle and pitch angle) is acceptable.

[0009] The ECU40 is equipped with a microcomputer having a CPU, ROM, RAM, flash memory, input / output ports, and communication ports, as well as various drive circuits, various logic ICs, and communication devices. Signals from various sensors are input to the ECU40. Examples of various sensors include a vehicle acceleration sensor 20 that detects the lateral, longitudinal, and vertical acceleration of the vehicle 10 (vehicle body), a vehicle tilt angle sensor 22 that detects the lateral and longitudinal tilt angles of the vehicle 10, and a vehicle angular velocity sensor 24 that detects the lateral and longitudinal angular velocity of the vehicle 10 (corresponding to the rate of change of tilt angle per unit time). Other examples include a seat acceleration sensor 30 that detects the lateral, longitudinal, and vertical acceleration of the seat 12, a seat tilt angle sensor 32 that detects the seat angle (roll angle θro and pitch angle θpi), ​​which is the lateral and longitudinal tilt angle of the seat 12 relative to the vehicle 10, and a seat angular velocity sensor 34 that detects the lateral and longitudinal angular velocity of the seat 12 relative to the vehicle body (corresponding to the rate of change of seat angle per unit time, roll angular velocity and pitch angular velocity). Other examples include a first motor sensor that detects the rotation angle of the first motor of the first drive unit 17, and a second motor sensor that detects the rotation angle of the second motor of the second drive unit 18. Other examples include an accelerator pedal position sensor that detects the amount the accelerator pedal is pressed, a brake pedal position sensor that detects the amount the brake pedal is pressed, a vehicle speed sensor that detects the vehicle speed V, a steering angle sensor that detects the steering angle θs of the steering wheel, and a GPS that detects the current position of the vehicle 10. The vehicle acceleration sensor 20, the vehicle tilt angle sensor 22, and the vehicle angular velocity sensor 24 are mounted on the vehicle body, for example, on the underside of the vehicle body below the seat 12, while the seat acceleration sensor 30, the seat tilt angle sensor 32, and the seat angular velocity sensor 34 are mounted on the seat 12. Various control signals are output from the ECU 40. For example, control signals are output from the ECU 40 to the first drive unit 17 and the second drive unit 18. The ECU 40 communicates with the navigation system. The navigation system includes a storage device, a display device, and a processing device. The storage device stores various programs and map information. The display device displays various types of information. The processing device performs various types of processing.For example, when a destination is set by the occupant, the processing unit sets a route to the destination based on the destination, the vehicle's current location, and map information, and displays the set route on the display device to provide route guidance. The ECU 40 is capable of communicating with an external terminal 60 carried by the occupant.

[0010] The external terminal 60 is configured as, for example, a smartphone or tablet device, and includes a computer, a touch panel type display, and a communication device. The external terminal 60 has a seat angle request value setting app installed, which is application software for setting the seat angle request values ​​(roll angle request value θro* and pitch angle request value θpi*), which are the required values ​​for the seat angle (roll angle and pitch angle). The external terminal 60 communicates with the vehicle 10's ECU 40 via a communication network such as the internet or a telephone line, through processing by the seat angle request value setting app.

[0011] In the vehicle 10 of this embodiment, when a seat angle request value (roll angle request value θro* or pitch request angle θpi*) is received from an external terminal 60, seat angle control (roll angle control and pitch angle control) is performed to control the tilting mechanism 14 so that the seat angle (roll angle θro and pitch angle θpi) becomes the seat angle request value.

[0012] Next, we will describe the operation of the vehicle 10 in this embodiment, particularly the operation when an abnormality occurs in the seat angle request value (roll angle request value θro* or pitch request angle θpi*) from the external terminal 60. Figure 2 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing routine that is repeatedly executed when the ECU 40 does not detect an abnormality in the seat angle request value from the external terminal 60.

[0013] When the processing routine shown in Figure 2 is executed, the ECU 40 first receives input of the vehicle speed V from the vehicle speed sensor and the steering angle θs from the steering angle sensor (step S100), as well as the roll angle request value θro* and pitch request angle θpi* from the external terminal 60 (step S110). Next, it compares the vehicle speed V with the threshold Vref (step S120) and compares the absolute value of the steering angle θs with the threshold θsref (step S122). The threshold Vref is used to determine whether or not high-speed driving is occurring, and the threshold θsref is used to determine whether or not a sharp turn is occurring.

[0014] In steps S120 and S122, if the vehicle speed V is less than the threshold Vref and the absolute value of the steering angle θs is less than the threshold θsref, it is determined that the vehicle is neither driving at high speed nor making a sharp turn, and the normal values ​​ULno, LLno, and CNTno are set to the normal judgment thresholds UL and LL and the abnormal judgment time CNT, respectively (steps S124 and S126). On the other hand, if the vehicle speed V is greater than or equal to the threshold Vref or the absolute value of the steering angle θs is greater than or equal to the threshold θsref, it is determined that the vehicle is driving at high speed or making a sharp turn, and the values ​​ULhi, LLhi, and CNThi are set to the normal judgment thresholds UL and LL and the abnormal judgment time CNT, respectively (steps S128 and S130). The normal judgment thresholds UL and LL are the upper and lower limits of the normal range (tolerance range) of the roll angle request value θro* and the pitch request angle θpi*, and the abnormal judgment time CNT is the time required to determine (confirm) an abnormality in the roll angle request value θro* and the pitch request angle θpi*. The value ULhi is set to be larger than the value ULno, while the values ​​LLhi and CNThi are set to be smaller than the values ​​LLno and CNTno. Therefore, during high-speed driving or sharp turns, the normal judgment threshold UL is increased, the normal judgment threshold LL is decreased, and the abnormal judgment time CNT is shortened compared to when neither high-speed driving nor sharp turns are occurring.

[0015] When the normal judgment thresholds UL and LL and the abnormal judgment time CNT are set, the roll angle request value θro* is compared with the normal judgment thresholds UL and LL (step S140). If the roll angle request value θro* is greater than the normal judgment threshold UL and less than the normal judgment threshold LL, it is determined that the roll angle request value θro* is within the normal range, and the roll abnormal judgment counter ROCNT is reset to value 0 (step S142). On the other hand, if the roll angle request value θro* is less than or equal to the normal judgment threshold UL, or greater than or equal to the normal judgment threshold LL, it is determined that the roll angle request value θro* is outside the normal range, and the roll abnormal judgment counter ROCNT is incremented by 1 (step S144).

[0016] When the roll anomaly detection counter ROCNT is reset or counted up, the roll anomaly detection counter ROCNT is compared with the anomaly detection time CNT (step S146). If the roll anomaly detection counter ROCNT is less than or equal to the anomaly detection time CNT, the anomaly of the roll angle request value θro* is not detected (confirmed). However, if the roll anomaly detection counter ROCNT is greater than the anomaly detection time CNT, the anomaly of the roll angle request value θro* is detected (confirmed), and the roll angle control is stopped (step S148). This prevents the roll angle θro from becoming an inappropriate angle and prevents a decrease in occupant comfort. The occupants may also be notified that an anomaly of the roll angle request value θro* has been detected or that the roll angle control has been stopped.

[0017] Next, the pitch angle requirement value θpi* is compared with the normal judgment thresholds UL and LL (step S150). If the pitch angle requirement value θpi* is greater than the normal judgment threshold UL and less than the normal judgment threshold LL, it is determined that the pitch angle requirement value θpi* is within the normal range, and the pitch abnormality judgment counter PICNT is reset to value 0 (step S152). On the other hand, if the roll angle requirement value θro* is less than or equal to the normal judgment threshold UL, or greater than or equal to the normal judgment threshold LL, it is determined that the pitch angle requirement value θpi* is outside the normal range, and the pitch abnormality judgment counter PICNT is incremented by 1 (step S154).

[0018] When the pitch anomaly detection counter PICNT is reset or counted up, the pitch anomaly detection counter PICNT is compared with the anomaly detection time CNT (step S156). If the pitch anomaly detection counter PICNT is less than or equal to the anomaly detection time CNT, this routine terminates without determining (confirming) an anomaly in the pitch angle request value θpi*. However, if the pitch anomaly detection counter PICNT is greater than the anomaly detection time CNT, the anomaly in the pitch angle request value θpi is determined (confirmed), pitch angle control is stopped (step S158), and this routine terminates. This prevents the pitch angle θpi from becoming an inappropriate angle and prevents a decrease in occupant comfort. The occupants may also be notified that an anomaly in the pitch angle request value θpi* has been detected or that pitch angle control has been stopped.

[0019] Figure 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of the behavior of the roll angle request value θro*. As shown in the figure, if the roll angle request value θro* is greater than the normal judgment threshold UL and less than the normal judgment threshold LL, it is determined that the roll angle request value θro* is within the normal range, and the roll abnormality judgment counter ROCNT is reset to value 0 (~time t1). On the other hand, if the roll angle request value θro* is less than or equal to the normal judgment threshold UL, or greater than or equal to the normal judgment threshold LL, it is determined that the roll angle request value θro* is outside the normal range, and the roll abnormality judgment counter ROCNT is incremented (time t1~). Then, when the roll abnormality judgment counter ROCNT becomes greater than the abnormality judgment time CNT (time t2), an abnormality in the roll angle request value θro* is determined (confirmed), and roll angle control is stopped. This prevents the roll angle θro from becoming an inappropriate angle, thus preventing a decrease in occupant comfort. Furthermore, during high-speed driving or sharp turns, the normal judgment threshold UL is increased, the normal judgment threshold LL is decreased, and the abnormal judgment time CNT is shortened compared to when neither high-speed driving nor sharp turns are occurring. This allows for earlier determination that the roll angle requirement θro* is outside the normal range.

[0020] As described above, in the ECU 40 installed in the vehicle 10 of the embodiment, if the roll angle request value θro* from the external terminal 60 is less than or equal to the normal judgment threshold UL or greater than or equal to the normal judgment threshold LL, the roll abnormality judgment counter ROCNT is incremented. If the roll abnormality judgment counter ROCNT is greater than the abnormality judgment time CNT, the abnormality of the roll angle request value θro* is determined (confirmed) and the roll angle control is stopped. Similarly, if the pitch angle request value θpi* from the external terminal 60 is less than or equal to the normal judgment threshold UL or greater than or equal to the normal judgment threshold LL, the pitch abnormality judgment counter PICNT is incremented. If the pitch abnormality judgment counter PICNT is greater than the abnormality judgment time CNT, the abnormality of the pitch angle request value θpi* is determined (confirmed) and the pitch angle control is stopped. As a result, it is possible to suppress the roll angle θro and pitch angle θpi from becoming inappropriate angles, thereby suppressing a decrease in occupant comfort. Furthermore, possible causes of abnormalities in the roll angle requirement value θro* or pitch angle requirement value θpi* include, for example, abnormalities in the sheet angle requirement value setting application on the external terminal 60.

[0021] In the embodiments described above, the normal determination thresholds UL,LL and abnormal determination time CNT are set differently depending on whether the vehicle speed V is less than the threshold Vref and the absolute value of the steering angle θs is less than the threshold θsref, or whether the vehicle speed V is greater than or equal to the threshold Vref and the absolute value of the steering angle θs is greater than or equal to the threshold θsref. However, the embodiments are not limited to this. For example, the normal determination thresholds UL,LL and abnormal determination time CNT may be set differently depending on whether the vehicle speed V is less than the threshold Vref and the absolute value of the steering angle θs is less than the threshold θsref, or whether the vehicle speed V is greater than or equal to the threshold Vref and the absolute value of the steering angle θs is greater than or equal to the threshold θsref. Alternatively, the normal determination thresholds UL,LL and abnormal determination time CNT may be set differently depending on whether the vehicle speed V is less than the threshold Vref and whether the vehicle speed V is greater than or equal to the threshold Vref, without using the steering angle θs. Without using the vehicle speed V, the normal judgment thresholds UL, LL and the abnormal judgment time CNT may be different depending on whether the absolute value of the steering angle θs is less than the threshold θsref or greater than or equal to the threshold θsref. Alternatively, the normal judgment thresholds UL, LL and the abnormal judgment time CNT may be set to constant values ​​regardless of the vehicle speed V or the steering angle θs.

[0022] In the above-described embodiment, the tilting mechanism 14 is a mechanism capable of changing the roll angle and pitch angle of the seat 12 with respect to the bottom of the vehicle body, but is not limited thereto. For example, it may be a mechanism capable of changing only either the roll angle or the pitch angle of the seat 12 with respect to the bottom of the vehicle body.

[0023] As described above, the embodiments for implementing the present disclosure have been described using the embodiments. However, the present disclosure is not limited to such embodiments, and it is needless to say that the present disclosure can be implemented in various forms without departing from the gist of the present disclosure.

Industrial Applicability

[0024] The present disclosure can be used in the manufacturing industry of control devices and the like.

Explanation of Signs

[0025] 10 Vehicle, 12 Seat, 14 Tilting mechanism, 20 Vehicle acceleration sensor, 22 Vehicle tilt angle sensor, 24 Vehicle angular velocity sensor, 30 Seat acceleration sensor, 32 Seat tilt angle sensor, 34 Seat angular velocity sensor, 40 ECU.

Claims

[Claim 1] Seats for the crew, A tilting mechanism that can change the seat angle, including the roll angle and / or pitch angle of the seat relative to the vehicle body, A control device that is mounted on a vehicle equipped with and performs terminal tilt control, which controls the tilting mechanism based on a seat angle request value requested from an external terminal held by the occupant, If the seat angle requirement remains outside the acceptable range for a predetermined period of time, the terminal tilt control is stopped. Control device.

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