Vehicle control system

Abstract

To determine the degree of corrosion using a simple configuration that utilizes existing components. [Solution] The vehicle control device 10 comprises a Hall element 18, a magnet 12, and a microcontroller 13. The Hall element 18 constitutes a shift position sensor 11. The magnet 12 is positioned near the Hall element 18 and generates a magnetic field. The microcontroller 13 determines the shift position based on the detected value of the Hall element 18, including the magnetic field of the magnet 12. The microcontroller 13 also determines the degree of corrosion of the magnet 12 based on the detected value of the Hall element 18, including the magnetic field of the magnet 12.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle control device.

Background Art

[0002] Predicting the degree of corrosion of components mounted on a vehicle in advance and prompting the user to replace the components is expected in future vehicle development. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for measuring the amount of iron components contained in rust based on the output voltage of a Hall element.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] By the way, in Patent Document 1, since measuring devices such as a Hall element and an excitation coil are separately used, the configuration has become complicated. Therefore, it is desired to determine the degree of corrosion with a simple configuration using an existing configuration.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] The vehicle control device that solves the above problems includes a Hall element that constitutes a shift position sensor, a magnet that is arranged near the Hall element and generates a magnetic field, a shift position determination unit that determines a shift position based on a detection value of the Hall element including the magnetic field, and a corrosion degree determination unit that determines the degree of corrosion of the magnet based on the detection value of the Hall element including the magnetic field.

[0006] According to the above configuration, the magnetic field from the magnet causes an offset Hall voltage to be output from the Hall element as a detected value. The shift position determination unit determines the shift position based on the detected value of the Hall element, including the magnetic field from the magnet. Therefore, even if the magnet is placed near the Hall element, the shift position determination unit can accurately determine the shift position without interfering with the original function of the shift position sensor. Furthermore, as the magnet oxidizes, the magnetic field from the magnet decreases, causing the Hall voltage output from the Hall element to decrease. The corrosion degree determination unit determines the degree of corrosion of the magnet based on the decrease in the Hall voltage output from the Hall element. This allows the degree of corrosion to be determined using the Hall element of an existing shift position sensor in a vehicle. Therefore, the degree of corrosion can be determined with a simple configuration using an existing configuration. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to this invention, the degree of corrosion can be determined using a simple configuration that utilizes existing components. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating the vehicle control system. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a graph showing the relationship between Hall voltage and magnetic flux. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] An embodiment of the vehicle control device will be described below with reference to Figures 1 and 2. As shown in Figure 1, the vehicle control device 10 includes a shift position sensor 11, a magnet 12, and a microcontroller 13. The shift position sensor 11 includes a case 14, a rotating shaft 15, a roller 16, a sensor magnet 17, and a Hall element 18. Therefore, the vehicle control device 10 includes the Hall element 18 that constitutes the shift position sensor 11. Since the shift position sensor 11 is well known, a detailed explanation of its configuration is omitted. The Hall element 18 is electrically connected to the microcontroller 13. The Hall element 18 outputs the Hall voltage to the microcontroller 13 as the detected value of the Hall element 18.

[0010] The magnet 12 is positioned near the Hall element 18. The magnet 12 generates a magnetic field. The magnet 12 is a rectangular parallelepiped. The magnet 12 is a neodymium magnet. The magnet 12 is formed such that the dimension L in the magnetization direction M is longer than the width W of the magnet 12. This makes the magnet 12 difficult to reverse due to an external magnetic field. The longitudinal direction of the magnet 12 coincides with the magnetization direction M. The magnet 12 is positioned near the Hall element 18 such that the magnetization direction M is toward the Hall element 18. Therefore, the first end in the longitudinal direction of the magnet 12 constitutes the north pole, and the second end in the longitudinal direction of the magnet 12 constitutes the south pole. The magnet 12 is positioned near the Hall element 18 such that the south pole is closer to the Hall element 18 than the north pole.

[0011] Figure 2 shows the relationship between the Hall voltage output from the Hall element 18 and the magnetic flux. In Figure 2, the relationship between the Hall voltage and magnetic flux when the magnet 12 is not placed near the Hall element 18 is shown by the solid line L1. Also in Figure 2, the relationship between the Hall voltage and magnetic flux when the magnet 12 is placed near the Hall element 18 is shown by the solid line L2.

[0012] As can be seen by comparing solid lines L1 and L2 in Figure 2, the Hall voltage output from the Hall element 18 increases due to the magnetic field of the magnet 12 when the magnet 12 is placed near the Hall element 18. In this way, the Hall voltage offset by the magnetic field of the magnet 12 is output from the Hall element 18 as the detected value of the Hall element 18.

[0013] The microcontroller 13 has a pre-programmed shift position determination program that determines the shift position based on the Hall voltage output from the Hall element 18. The shift position is determined based on the Hall voltage offset by the magnetic field of the magnet 12. In this way, the microcontroller 13 functions as a shift position determination unit that determines the shift position based on the detected value of the Hall element 18, including the magnetic field of the magnet 12.

[0014] The microcontroller 13 has a pre-programmed determination program that determines the degree of corrosion of the magnet 12 based on the Hall voltage. Specifically, when the magnet 12 oxidizes and rust adheres to it as shown by the dot hatching in Figure 1, the magnetic field produced by the magnet 12 decreases. As a result, the Hall voltage output from the Hall element 18 decreases relative to the solid line L2, as shown by the solid line L3 in Figure 2. Therefore, the microcontroller 13 determines the degree of corrosion of the magnet 12 based on the decrease in the Hall voltage output from the Hall element 18. In this way, the microcontroller 13 also functions as a corrosion degree determination unit that determines the degree of corrosion of the magnet 12 based on the detected value of the Hall element 18, which includes the magnetic field of the magnet 12.

[0015] <Effects of this embodiment> In this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. (1) The vehicle control device 10 includes a Hall element 18, a magnet 12, and a microcontroller 13. The Hall element 18 constitutes the shift position sensor 11. The magnet 12 is placed near the Hall element 18 and generates a magnetic field. The microcontroller 13 determines the shift position based on the detected value of the Hall element 18, including the magnetic field of the magnet 12. The microcontroller 13 also determines the degree of corrosion of the magnet 12 based on the detected value of the Hall element 18, including the magnetic field of the magnet 12. With the above configuration, the magnetic field from the magnet 12 causes an offset Hall voltage to be output from the Hall element 18 as the detected value of the Hall element 18. The microcontroller 13 determines the shift position based on the detected value of the Hall element 18, including the magnetic field of the magnet 12. Therefore, even if the magnet 12 is placed near the Hall element 18, the shift position can be accurately determined by the microcontroller 13 without hindering the original function of the shift position sensor 11. Furthermore, as the magnet 12 oxidizes, the magnetic field from the magnet 12 decreases, causing the Hall voltage output from the Hall element 18 to decrease. The microcontroller 13 determines the degree of corrosion of the magnet 12 by detecting a decrease in the Hall voltage output from the Hall element 18. This allows the degree of corrosion to be determined using the Hall element 18 of the shift position sensor 11, which is an existing component in vehicles. Therefore, the degree of corrosion can be determined using a simple configuration with existing components.

[0016] (2) According to this embodiment, since short-circuit phenomena due to water exposure or high humidity do not occur, the failure rate can be significantly reduced. Therefore, the degree of corrosion can be determined with an inexpensive configuration. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0017] 10...Vehicle control device, 11...Shift position sensor, 12...Magnet, 13...Microcontroller functioning as a shift position determination unit and corrosion degree determination unit, 18...Hall element.

Claims

[Claim 1] The Hall element that constitutes the shift position sensor, A magnet is placed near the Hall element and generates a magnetic field, A shift position determination unit that determines the shift position based on the detected value of the Hall element including the magnetic field, A vehicle control device comprising: a corrosion degree determination unit that determines the degree of corrosion of the magnet based on the detected value of the Hall element including the magnetic field.

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