CONTROL DEVICE, BRAKING / DRIVING FORCE CONTROL SYSTEM, METHOD, AND PROGRAM

Abstract

To provide a braking / driving force control device and the others which can improve drivability at low cost.SOLUTION: A braking / driving force control device, which is mounted on a vehicle, is equipped with: a receiving part that receives a plurality of first requests from a driving support system; an arbitrating part that arbitrates the plurality of first requests; a calculating part that calculates a second request on the basis of arbitrated results by the arbitrating part; and a distributing part that distributes the second request to at least one of actuator systems including a powertrain actuator. The first requests do not include control contents of the power train actuator, but the second request includes the control contents of the powertrain actuator. The calculating part further calculates the second request on the basis of a history of actuation of the powertrain actuator.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a control device that is mounted on a vehicle or the like and controls a powertrain and a brake. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, various driving assistance systems have been proposed for vehicles. For example, Cited Document 1 discloses a system that provides a driver with a comfortable driving sensation by controlling the braking and driving forces to easily maintain a vehicle distance based on the distance to the vehicle ahead.

[0003] Driving assistance functions have become more sophisticated, and vehicles are equipped with multiple application execution units, each of which executes an application that performs processes such as autonomous driving and autonomous parking. To realize the driving assistance function for which it is responsible, each application execution unit calculates the braking / driving force (braking force and driving force) that should be output by the vehicle's powertrain and the braking force that should be output by the brakes. In addition, each application execution unit determines the control content for the powertrain, such as changing the gear ratio of the transmission, whether to activate the L / U (lock-up clutch), and whether to cut off the engine fuel (F / C), based on the control specifications of each application.

[0004] The powertrain drive unit that drives the powertrain controls the transmission and engine based on the control details such as the driving / braking force, gear ratio, L / U, F / C, etc. calculated by each application execution unit. When the user operates the accelerator pedal, the powertrain drive unit determines the control details such as the driving / braking force, gear ratio, L / U, F / C, etc. based on the control specifications of the powertrain drive unit itself according to the amount of operation, and controls the powertrain. The brake drive unit that drives the brakes controls the brakes based on the braking force calculated by each application execution unit. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2008-308099 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] The control of gear ratio, L / U, F / C, etc. has a nonlinear effect on the behavior of the vehicle, and therefore has a large impact on drivability, such as the ease of driving felt by the user and the ride comfort. Therefore, improving the control specifications of gear ratio, L / U, F / C, etc. is important for improving drivability.

[0007] However, because each application and powertrain drive section has its own control specifications for gear ratio, L / U, F / C, etc., it is necessary to develop and implement them separately for each, resulting in duplication of development and high costs in terms of money, time, etc. Also, if the control specifications are different for each system, the vehicle behavior will not be consistent, which may cause a sense of discomfort to the user and impair drivability.

[0008] In view of the above-mentioned problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a control device and the like that can improve drivability at low cost. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to solve the above problem, one aspect of the present invention is a control device mounted on a vehicle, comprising: a receiving unit that receives a plurality of first requests from a driving assistance system; an arbitration unit that arbitrates the plurality of first requests; a calculation unit that calculates a second request based on a result of the arbitration by the arbitration unit; and a distribution unit that distributes the second request to at least one actuator system including a powertrain actuator, wherein the first request does not include control contents of the powertrain actuator, and the second request includes control contents of the powertrain actuator, and the calculation unit further calculates the second request based on the operation history of the powertrain actuator. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a control device and the like that can improve drivability at low cost. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] Functional block diagram of a braking / driving force control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a sequence diagram showing the processing of the braking / driving force control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] (Embodiment) The driving / braking force control device according to one embodiment of the present invention receives a request to generate driving / braking forces, and based on this, collectively controls the gear ratio, L / U, F / C, etc. This provides consistent drivability with uniform control specifications, and also eliminates the need for control of the gear ratio, L / U, F / C, etc. on the driving assistance function side, which is the source of the request to generate driving / braking forces, thereby reducing development costs.

[0013] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0014] <Configuration> 1 shows a functional block diagram of a driving / braking force control system 1 according to this embodiment. The driving / braking force control system 1 includes application execution units 11, 12, and 13 that perform processing for driving assistance, an accelerator opening sensor 14, a brake pedal sensor 15, a driving / braking force control device 100, a powertrain 20, and a brake 31.

[0015] The application execution units 11, 12, and 13 each execute a different function using information obtained from a camera (not shown) or the like, and execute respective applications that perform processes such as automatic driving, automatic parking, and collision avoidance. In addition, the accelerator opening sensor 14 detects the amount of accelerator pedal operation by a user. The brake pedal sensor 15 detects the amount of brake pedal operation by a user. The braking / driving force control device 100 includes a braking / driving force determination unit 101, a powertrain drive unit 102, and a brake drive unit 103. The powertrain 20 includes an engine 21 and a transmission 22.

[0016] <Processing> Fig. 2 shows a sequence diagram illustrating the processing of the braking / driving force control system 1. The processing of the braking / driving force control system 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 2. This processing is executed repeatedly while the vehicle is traveling, for example.

[0017] (Step S101) The application execution units 11, 12, and 13 execute the respective applications, and generate and output information representing the braking and driving forces required to realize the respective driving assistance functions. Here, the braking and driving forces refer to the braking force that decelerates the vehicle and the driving force that accelerates the vehicle. The application execution units 11, 12, and 13 do not determine the control contents related to the gear ratio, L / U (lock-up clutch), and F / C (fuel cut) of the engine. Therefore, the information representing the braking and driving forces output by the application execution units 11, 12, and 13 does not include the control contents for these control items. Note that the number of application execution units and the contents of the driving assistance are not limited. In addition, the accelerator opening sensor 14 outputs the accelerator opening in response to the accelerator pedal operation by the user. The brake pedal sensor 15 outputs the pedal operation amount in response to the brake pedal operation by the user.

[0018] (Step S102) Braking / driving force determination unit 101 receives information from application execution units 11, 12, 13, accelerator opening sensor 14, and brake pedal sensor 15, and determines the braking / driving forces to be generated based on the received information. It determines the braking / driving forces to be generated in powertrain 20 and the braking force to be generated in brake 30. When it has determined that a driving force is to be generated, braking / driving force determination unit 101 generates a request to generate the determined driving force and notifies powertrain drive unit 102. When it has determined that a braking force is to be generated, braking / driving force determination unit 101 distributes the determined braking force to a braking force to be generated in powertrain 20 and a braking force to be generated in brake 30, generates a request to generate each of them, and notifies powertrain drive unit 102 and brake drive unit 103. When information is received simultaneously from two or more of the application executing units 11, 12, 13, the accelerator opening sensor 14, and the brake pedal sensor 15 due to the application executing units 11, 12, 13 operating simultaneously or the user operating the accelerator pedal, one of the information can be selected based on a predetermined priority, the vehicle state received from other devices equipped in the vehicle, and the state around the vehicle, to determine the braking / driving force to be requested. The priority may be specified by the application executing units 11, 12, 13 depending on the urgency of processing of the own device at each point in time, etc. Note that a management unit may be provided between the application executing units 11, 12, 13 and the braking / driving force determination unit 101, for example, to arbitrate the outputs from the application executing units 11, 12, 13, select one output, and notify the braking / driving force determination unit 101.

[0019] (Step S103) Powertrain drive unit 102 receives the request generated by braking / driving force determination unit 101 and, based on this, determines the control contents of the braking / driving force to be generated in powertrain 20, the gear ratio of the transmission, L / U (lock-up clutch), and engine F / C (fuel cut) in accordance with the control specifications implemented therein. Powertrain drive unit 102 may determine the control contents based not only on the braking / driving force determined by braking / driving force determination unit 101, but also on the operating state, operating history, etc. of powertrain 20, or may determine the control contents based on the state of the vehicle or the surroundings of the vehicle received from other devices provided in the vehicle.

[0020] (Step S104) The powertrain 20 operates according to the control content determined by the powertrain drive unit 102, and controls the gear ratio of the transmission 22, L / U, and F / C of the engine 21, and generates braking / driving forces. If the braking / driving force determined by the braking / driving force determination unit 101 in step S101 is a driving force, this sequence ends, and the processing is repeated from step S101. If the braking / driving force determined by the braking / driving force determination unit in step S101 is a braking force, the process proceeds to the next step S105.

[0021] (Step S105) Brake driving unit 103 receives the request generated by braking / driving force determination unit 101, and determines the control content for causing brake 31 to generate the braking force represented by the request.

[0022] (Step S106) The brake 31 operates and generates a braking force according to the control content determined by the brake driving unit 103. This ends the sequence, and the process is repeated from step S101.

[0023] In the above example, when a driving force is requested by the braking / driving force determination unit 101, the powertrain 20 generates the driving force (S104). When a braking force is requested by the braking / driving force determination unit 101, the powertrain 20 and the brake 30 cooperate to generate a braking force (S104, S106). When the braking / driving force determination unit 101 determines to generate a braking force in step S102, the braking / driving force determination unit 101 may obtain a range of braking force that can be generated by the powertrain 20 and the brake 30 under the current operating state and operation history from the powertrain drive unit 102 and the brake drive unit 103, respectively, and determine the braking force to be generated by the powertrain 20 and the braking force to be generated by the brake 30 within the obtained range. Furthermore, the braking / driving force determination unit 101 may, for example, first control the powertrain 20 to generate a braking force within a possible range, and if there is a shortage, the brake 30 to further generate a braking force.

[0024] Furthermore, by repeating the control of steps S103 to S106 in a short cycle equal to or shorter than a predetermined time, and finely varying the ratio between the braking force generated by the powertrain 20 and the braking force generated by the brake 31, for example, when the braking force generated by the powertrain 20 decreases nonlinearly as a result of the powertrain 20 controlling the gear ratio of the transmission, L / U, and F / C of the engine, the brake 31 can increase the braking force to offset the nonlinear change, thereby reducing the effect on the behavior of the vehicle and improving drivability. The content and timing of communication between the braking / driving force determination unit 101 and the powertrain drive unit 102 and the brake drive unit 103 are not limited as long as suitable braking / driving forces can be realized.

[0025] <Effects> According to the present invention, the braking / driving force control device collectively performs controls that have a large effect on drivability, such as the gear ratio of the transmission, L / U, and F / C of the engine. As a result, when a braking / driving force request is generated by a plurality of application execution units for driving assistance or a braking / driving force request is generated by a user's accelerator operation or brake operation, the gear ratio, L / U, and F / C can be controlled by the same control specifications. This allows for unified control that does not give a sense of discomfort to the user. In addition, since there is no need to develop and implement the control specifications for each application, development costs can be reduced and drivability can be improved efficiently. In addition, when the application execution unit requests braking force, the braking / driving force control device controls the powertrain and the brakes in cooperation with each other, so that, for example, braking / driving force can be generated smoothly, thereby improving drivability.

[0026] In addition, drivability when various driving assistance functions are executed by the application execution unit has unique issues that are not present in drivability due to the user's operation of the accelerator pedal. In order to address these unique issues, the braking / driving force control device may partially differ the control specifications of the gear ratio, L / U, and F / C when the driving assistance functions are executed from the control specifications when the user operates the accelerator pedal.

[0027] In the above embodiment, the gear ratio, L / U, and F / C are given as examples of control items collectively controlled by the braking / driving force control device, but the control items may be some of these or may include other control items. Also, the information representing the above-mentioned braking / driving force may be expressed by acceleration, etc.

[0028] In addition, the present invention can be understood not only as a braking / driving force control device (control device) or a braking / driving force control system, but also as a method executed by a computer equipped with these, a program, a computer-readable non-transitory recording medium storing a program, or a vehicle equipped with a braking force control system. [Industrial Applicability]

[0029] The control device and the like of the present invention are useful for controlling the braking and driving forces of a vehicle and the like. [Explanation of symbols]

[0030] 1. Braking and driving force control system 11, 12, 13 Application execution unit 14 Accelerator opening sensor 15 Brake pedal sensor 20 Powertrain 21 Engine 22 Transmission 31 Brake 100 Braking / driving force control device (control device) 101 Braking / driving force determination unit 102 Powertrain Drive Unit 103 Brake drive unit

Claims

1. A control device mounted on a vehicle, a reception unit that receives a plurality of first requests from the driving assistance system; an arbitration unit that arbitrates the plurality of first requests; a calculation unit that calculates a second requirement based on a result of the arbitration by the arbitration unit; a distributor that distributes the second demand to at least one actuator system including a power train actuator; the plurality of first requests arbitrated by the arbitration unit do not include control content of the powertrain actuator, and the second request includes control content of the powertrain actuator; The control device, wherein the calculation unit further calculates the second request based on an operation history of the powertrain actuator.

2. A braking / driving force control system mounted on a vehicle, a reception unit that receives a plurality of first requests from a plurality of driving assistance applications; an arbitration unit that arbitrates the plurality of first requests; a calculation unit that calculates a second requirement based on a result of the arbitration by the arbitration unit; a distributor that distributes the second demand to at least one actuator system including a power train actuator; the plurality of first requests arbitrated by the arbitration unit do not include control content of the powertrain actuator, and the second request includes control content of the powertrain actuator; The calculation unit further calculates the second request based on an operation history of the powertrain actuator.

3. A method executed by a control device mounted on a vehicle, comprising: receiving a plurality of first requests from a driving assistance system; arbitrating the plurality of first requests; calculating a second requirement based on the reconciliation result; and distributing the second demand to at least one actuator system including a powertrain actuator; the plurality of first requests to be arbitrated in the arbitration step do not include control content of the powertrain actuator, and the second request includes control content of the powertrain actuator; The method, wherein the calculating step further calculates the second demand based on an operating history of the powertrain actuators.

4. A program to be executed by a computer of a control device mounted on a vehicle, receiving a plurality of first requests from a driving assistance system; arbitrating the plurality of first requests; calculating a second requirement based on the reconciliation result; and distributing the second demand to at least one actuator system including a powertrain actuator; the plurality of first requests to be arbitrated in the arbitration step do not include control content of the powertrain actuator, and the second request includes control content of the powertrain actuator; The calculating step further calculates the second request based on an operation history of the powertrain actuator.

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