Towed vehicle connection determination system

Abstract

To provide a towed vehicle connection determination system capable of improving the accuracy of determining connection or non-connection of a towed vehicle, compared to conventional systems.SOLUTION: A towed vehicle connection determination system has a towed vehicle presence / absence determination unit 60 that determines connection or non-connection of a towed vehicle from at least two or more pieces of information of a weight estimation device 30, a peripheral situation detection device 40 and a vehicle rear monitoring device 50. Therefore, the accuracy of determining connection or non-connection of the towed vehicle can be improved compared to the case where connection or non-connection of the towed vehicle is determined based on only one piece of information, such as a weight estimation value or an image taken by a camera.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a towed vehicle connection determination system that determines whether or not a towed vehicle (trailer) is connected to a towing vehicle (tractor, host vehicle). [Background technology]

[0002] In North America, towing of a towed vehicle is a common use, and there are a wide variety of towed vehicles. If the towed vehicle is capable of electrically operating the brakes (TBC (Trailer Brake Control)) (hereinafter referred to as a TBC-compatible vehicle), it is possible to automatically detect whether a towed vehicle is connected based on whether the TBC is connected or not. However, the usage rate of TBC-compatible vehicles is about 50%, and about half of the non-TBC-compatible vehicles, such as small towed vehicles without brakes such as those used for towing boats and towed vehicles equipped with surge brakes, are unable to automatically detect whether a towed vehicle is connected. Therefore, it is possible to determine whether a towed vehicle is connected or not based on the estimated total weight of the towing vehicle and the towed vehicle.

[0003] However, the accuracy of the weight estimation value varies depending on disturbances such as the loading condition, the number of passengers, the road gradient, etc. Therefore, it is difficult to improve the accuracy of the determination of whether or not a towed vehicle is connected based only on the weight estimation value.

[0004] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2009-57003 discloses a technique for determining whether or not a towed vehicle is connected to a towed vehicle without relying on a weight estimate. The technique disclosed in this publication determines whether or not a towed vehicle is connected to a towed vehicle based on an image of the rear of the vehicle captured by an on-board camera.

[0005] However, in the technology disclosed in the above publication, the presence or absence of a towed vehicle is determined based solely on the image captured by the camera, so there is room for improvement in terms of increasing the accuracy of determining whether or not a towed vehicle is connected. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] JP 2009-57003 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] An object of the present invention is to provide a towed vehicle connection determination system that can determine whether a towed vehicle is connected or not with higher accuracy than in the past. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The present invention which achieves the above object is as follows. (1) Weight estimation equipment; Surrounding area detection equipment, Vehicle rear monitoring equipment, a towed vehicle presence / absence determination unit that determines whether a towed vehicle is connected based on information from at least two of the weight estimation equipment, the surrounding situation detection equipment, and the vehicle rear monitoring equipment; A towed vehicle connection determination system having the following: (2) The towed vehicle presence / absence determination unit is a first determination unit that determines whether a total estimated weight value including the towed vehicle and the towing vehicle exceeds a threshold value based on information from the weight estimation device; A second determination unit that estimates the presence or absence of a towed vehicle based on information from the surrounding condition detection equipment; a third determination unit that determines whether or not a towed vehicle is present based on information from the vehicle rear monitoring device; The towed vehicle connection determination system according to (1). (3) A towed vehicle connection determination system as described in (2), in which when one of the first judgment unit determining that the threshold value has been exceeded and the second judgment unit estimating that a towed vehicle is present is satisfied and the third judgment unit determines that a towed vehicle is present, the towed vehicle presence / absence determination unit determines that a towed vehicle is connected. (4) A towed vehicle connection determination system as described in (2), in which even if one of the first determination unit determines that the threshold value is exceeded and the second determination unit estimates that a towed vehicle is present is satisfied, when the third determination unit determines that there is no towed vehicle, the towed vehicle presence / absence determination unit determines that there is no connection of a towed vehicle. (5) Further equipped with TBC connection detection equipment; The towed vehicle presence / absence determination unit includes, in addition to the first to third determination units, a pre-determination unit that determines whether or not a towed vehicle is connected based on information from the TBC connection detection device, The towed vehicle presence / absence determination unit determines that a towed vehicle is connected when one of the first determination unit determines that the threshold value is exceeded and the second determination unit estimates that a towed vehicle is present, even if the first determination unit determines that a towed vehicle is not connected, and the third determination unit determines that a towed vehicle is present. (6) Further equipped with TBC connection detection equipment; The towed vehicle presence / absence determination unit includes, in addition to the first to third determination units, a pre-determination unit that determines whether or not a towed vehicle is connected based on information from the TBC connection detection device, The towed vehicle presence / absence determination unit determines that a towed vehicle is not connected when the third judgment unit determines that there is no towed vehicle, even if one of the first judgment unit determines that the threshold value is exceeded and the second judgment unit estimates that there is a towed vehicle, is satisfied when the first judgment unit determines that there is no towed vehicle. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the towed vehicle connection determination system of (1) above, since it has a towed vehicle presence / absence determination unit that determines whether or not a towed vehicle is connected based on information from at least two of the weight estimation equipment, the surrounding condition detection equipment, and the vehicle rear monitoring equipment, it is possible to improve the accuracy of determining whether or not a towed vehicle is connected compared to when determining whether or not a towed vehicle is connected based on only one piece of information such as a weight estimate or a camera image.

[0010] According to the towed vehicle connection determination system described above in (2), the towed vehicle presence / absence determination unit has first to third determination units, and therefore (a) can determine whether the total estimated weight value including the towed vehicle and towing vehicle exceeds a threshold value based on information from the weight estimation equipment, (b) can estimate the presence or absence of a towed vehicle based on information from the surrounding condition detection equipment, and (c) can determine the presence or absence of a towed vehicle based on information from the vehicle rear monitoring equipment.

[0011] According to the towed vehicle connection determination system of (3) above, when one of the first determination unit determining that the threshold value has been exceeded and the second determination unit estimating that a towed vehicle is present is satisfied and the third determination unit determines that a towed vehicle is present, the towed vehicle presence / absence determination unit determines that a towed vehicle is connected. Therefore, it is possible to determine whether a towed vehicle is connected or not from two or more pieces of information, thereby improving the accuracy of determining whether a towed vehicle is connected or not.

[0012] According to the towed vehicle connection determination system of (4) above, even if either the first determination unit determines that the threshold value has been exceeded or the second determination unit estimates that a towed vehicle is present is satisfied, when the third determination unit determines that there is no towed vehicle, the towed vehicle presence / absence determination unit determines that there is no connection of the towed vehicle. Therefore, it is possible to determine whether the towed vehicle is connected or not from two or more pieces of information, thereby improving the accuracy of determining whether the towed vehicle is connected or not.

[0013] According to the towed vehicle connection determination system of (5) above, even if the front determination unit determines that the towed vehicle is not connected, when one of the first determination unit determines that the threshold value is exceeded and the second determination unit estimates that a towed vehicle is present is satisfied and the third determination unit determines that a towed vehicle is present, the towed vehicle presence determination unit determines that a towed vehicle is connected. Therefore, even if the front determination unit determines that the towed vehicle is not connected, it is possible to determine whether the towed vehicle is connected from two or more pieces of information, thereby improving the accuracy of determining whether the towed vehicle is connected.

[0014] According to the towed vehicle connection determination system of (6) above, when the front determination unit determines that a towed vehicle is not connected, the towed vehicle presence determination unit determines that a towed vehicle is not present when the third determination unit determines that a towed vehicle is not present even if one of the following is satisfied: the first determination unit determines that the threshold value has been exceeded, and the second determination unit estimates that a towed vehicle is present. Therefore, even when the front determination unit determines that a towed vehicle is not connected, it is possible to determine whether a towed vehicle is connected or not from two or more pieces of information, thereby improving the accuracy of determining whether a towed vehicle is connected or not. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram of a towed vehicle connection determination system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a control routine of a towed vehicle presence / absence determining unit in the towed vehicle connection determination system according to the embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] A towed vehicle connection determination system (hereinafter, simply referred to as a system) 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The system 10 may also be referred to as a towed vehicle connection determination device.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 1, the system 10 includes a TBC connection detection device 20, a weight estimation device 30, a surrounding condition detection device 40, a vehicle rear monitoring device 50, and a towed vehicle presence / absence determination unit 60.

[0018] The TBC connection detection device 20 is a device that detects the connection of a TBC (Trailer Brake Control), and includes, for example, a TBC-ECU (Electronic Control Unit), etc. If the towed vehicle is capable of electrically operating the brakes, it is possible to automatically detect that the towed vehicle is connected to the towing vehicle.

[0019] The weight estimation equipment 30 is equipment that calculates an estimated total weight including the towed vehicle and the towing vehicle, and includes, for example, an EFI-ECU that controls fuel injection for EFI (Electronic Fuel Injection).

[0020] The surrounding condition detection equipment 40 is equipment that detects the surrounding conditions of the towing vehicle, and includes, for example, a radar for a BSM (Blind Spot Monitor) that assists rearward confirmation when changing lanes, a clearance sonar that detects the distance from the towing vehicle to an obstacle behind the vehicle, etc. The surrounding condition detection equipment 40 mainly detects the surrounding conditions while the vehicle is traveling.

[0021] The vehicle rear monitoring equipment 50 is equipment that monitors the rear of the towing vehicle, and includes, for example, a PVM (Panoramic View Monitor) camera, a BGM (Back Guide Monitor) camera, etc. that can capture images of the rear of the towing vehicle. The vehicle rear monitoring equipment 50 mainly monitors while the vehicle is stopped.

[0022] The towed vehicle presence / absence determination unit 60 determines whether a towed vehicle is connected or not based on information (electrical signals) from the TBC connection detection equipment 20, weight estimation equipment 30, surrounding condition detection equipment 40 and vehicle rear monitoring equipment 50 described above.

[0023] The towed vehicle presence / absence determination unit 60 is an ECU, and has a calculation unit (CPU) 61, a storage unit 62 having ROM and RAM, an input unit (input interface) 63, and an output unit (output interface) 64. Information (electrical signals) from the above-mentioned TBC connection detection equipment 20, weight estimation equipment 30, surrounding condition detection equipment 40, and vehicle rear monitoring equipment 50 is read into the calculation unit 61 via the input unit 63, and the calculation unit 61 determines whether or not a towed vehicle is connected according to a control program stored in the ROM or RAM.

[0024] The towed vehicle presence determination unit 60 has a first determination unit 65 that determines whether or not the total estimated weight including the towed vehicle and the towing vehicle exceeds a certain threshold value based on information from the weight estimation equipment 30, a second determination unit 66 that estimates the presence or absence of a towed vehicle based on information from the surrounding condition detection equipment 40, and a third determination unit 67 that determines the presence or absence of a towed vehicle based on information from the vehicle rear monitoring equipment 50. In addition to the first to third determination units 65, 66, 67, the towed vehicle presence determination unit 60 further has a front determination unit 68 that determines the presence or absence of a towed vehicle connection (TBC connection) based on information from the TBC connection detection equipment 20.

[0025] Fig. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of a control routine of the towed vehicle presence determination unit 60. The control routine shown in Fig. 2 is executed at predetermined time intervals while the engine of the towing vehicle is ON after it is turned ON, so that determination can be made in real time.

[0026] First, in step S1, information (electrical signals) is read from the TBC connection detection device 20, the weight estimation device 30, the surrounding condition detection device 40, and the vehicle rear monitoring device 50, and the process proceeds to step S2.

[0027] In step S2, the previous determination unit 68 determines whether or not a towed vehicle is connected based on information from the TBC connection detection equipment 20. If a towed vehicle is connected, the process proceeds to step S7, where it is determined that "a towed vehicle is connected" and a signal to that effect is sent to the driving assistance system ECU 70 (FIG. 1, ECU for an automatic braking system for avoiding a collision or reducing a collision load, a driving system for maintaining a constant speed, etc.) that requires switching depending on whether or not a towed vehicle is connected, and the process proceeds to the end step.

[0028] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S2 that there is no connection of the towed vehicle, the process proceeds to step S3. In step S3, the first determination unit 65 determines whether or not the estimated total weight of the towed vehicle and the towing vehicle exceeds a certain threshold value based on information from the weight estimation equipment 30. If it is determined in step S3 that the threshold value is exceeded, the process proceeds to step S5, which will be described later. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S3 that the threshold value is not exceeded, the process proceeds to step S4.

[0029] In step S4, the second determination unit 66 estimates the presence or absence of a towed vehicle based on information from the surrounding condition detection equipment 40. If it is estimated in step S4 that there is a towed vehicle, the process proceeds to step S5, which will be described later. On the other hand, if it is estimated in step S4 that there is no towed vehicle, the process proceeds to step S6, where it is determined that "there is no towed vehicle connected," a signal to that effect is sent to the driving assistance system ECU 70, and the process proceeds to the end step.

[0030] If it is determined in step S3 that the threshold value is exceeded, or if it is estimated in step S4 that a towed vehicle is present, the process proceeds to step S5. In step S5, the third determination unit 67 determines whether or not a towed vehicle is present based on information from the vehicle rear monitoring equipment 50. Specifically, based on the information from the vehicle rear monitoring equipment 50, it determines whether or not a towed vehicle is present (is captured) in the image capture result (camera angle of view), and if a towed vehicle is present, it is determined that a towed vehicle is present, and if no towed vehicle is present, it is determined that a towed vehicle is not present.

[0031] If it is determined in step S5 that there is a towed vehicle, the process proceeds to step S7, where it is determined that "a towed vehicle is connected," a signal to that effect is sent to the driving assistance system ECU 70, and the process proceeds to the end step. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S5 that there is no towed vehicle, the process proceeds to step S6, where it is determined that "a towed vehicle is not connected," a signal to that effect is sent to the driving assistance system ECU 70, and the process proceeds to the end step.

[0032] Next, the operation and effects of the embodiment of the present invention will be described. (A) Since the system 10 has a towed vehicle presence / absence determination unit 60 which determines whether or not a towed vehicle is connected based on information from at least two of the weight estimation equipment 30, the surrounding condition detection equipment 40, and the vehicle rear monitoring equipment 50, the accuracy of determining whether or not a towed vehicle is connected can be improved compared to when determining whether or not a towed vehicle is connected based on only one piece of information, such as a weight estimate or a camera image.

[0033] (B) Since the towed vehicle presence / absence determination unit 60 has first to third determination units 65 to 67, (a) it can determine whether or not the total estimated weight value including the towed vehicle and the towing vehicle exceeds a threshold value based on information from the weight estimation equipment 30, (b) it can estimate the presence or absence of a towed vehicle based on information from the surrounding condition detection equipment 40, and (c) it can determine the presence or absence of a towed vehicle based on information from the vehicle rear monitoring equipment 50.

[0034] (C) When either the first judgment unit 65 judges that the threshold is exceeded or the second judgment unit 66 estimates that a towed vehicle is present is satisfied and the third judgment unit 67 judges that a towed vehicle is present, the towed vehicle presence / absence judgment unit 60 judges that a towed vehicle is connected, so that it is possible to determine whether a towed vehicle is connected or not from two or more pieces of information, thereby improving the accuracy of determining whether a towed vehicle is connected or not.

[0035] (D) Even if either the first judgment unit 65 judges that the threshold value is exceeded or the second judgment unit 66 estimates that a towed vehicle is present, when the third judgment unit 67 judges that there is no towed vehicle, the towed vehicle presence / absence judgment unit 60 determines that there is no connected towed vehicle, so that it is possible to judge whether or not a towed vehicle is connected from two or more pieces of information, thereby improving the accuracy of judging whether or not a towed vehicle is connected.

[0036] (E) Even when the front determination unit 68 determines that a towed vehicle is not connected, if one of the first determination unit 65 determines that the threshold value is exceeded and the second determination unit 66 estimates that a towed vehicle is present and the third determination unit 67 determines that a towed vehicle is present, the towed vehicle presence determination unit 60 determines that a towed vehicle is connected. Therefore, even when the front determination unit 68 determines that a towed vehicle is not connected, it is possible to determine whether a towed vehicle is connected from two or more pieces of information, thereby improving the accuracy of determining whether a towed vehicle is connected.

[0037] (F) When the front determination unit 68 determines that there is no connected towed vehicle, the towed vehicle presence determination unit 60 determines that there is no towed vehicle when the third determination unit 67 determines that there is no towed vehicle even if one of the first determination unit 65 determines that the threshold is exceeded and the second determination unit 66 estimates that there is a towed vehicle is satisfied. Therefore, even when the front determination unit 68 determines that there is no connected towed vehicle, it is possible to determine whether there is a connected towed vehicle from two or more pieces of information, thereby improving the accuracy of determining whether there is a connected towed vehicle.

[0038] (G) The TBC connection detection equipment 20, the weight estimation equipment 30, the surrounding condition detection equipment 40 and the vehicle rear monitoring equipment 50 are equipment that can be installed in the vehicle regardless of whether or not the system 10 is installed, so there is no need to install new equipment, which helps prevent costs from increasing. [Explanation of symbols]

[0039] 10. Towed vehicle connection determination system 20 TBC connection detection equipment 30 Weight Estimate Equipment 40 Surrounding area detection equipment 50 Vehicle rear monitoring equipment 60 Towed vehicle presence / absence determination section 65 First Judgment Section 66 Second Judgment Section 67 Third Judgment Section 68 Front judgment part 70 Driving assistance system ECU

Claims

1. Weight estimation equipment, Surrounding area detection equipment, Vehicle rear monitoring equipment, TBC connection detection equipment, a towed vehicle presence / absence determination unit that determines whether a towed vehicle is connected based on information from at least two or more of the weight estimation device, the surrounding situation detection device, the vehicle rear monitoring device, and the TBC connection detection device; having The towed vehicle presence / absence determination unit is a first determination unit that determines whether a total estimated weight of the towed vehicle and the towing vehicle exceeds a threshold based on information from the weight estimation device; A second determination unit that estimates the presence or absence of a towed vehicle based on information from the surrounding condition detection equipment; a third determination unit that determines whether or not a towed vehicle is present based on information from the vehicle rear monitoring device; A pre-determination unit that determines whether or not a towed vehicle is connected based on information from the TBC connection detection device, The towed vehicle presence determination unit determines that a towed vehicle is connected when one of the first determination unit determines that the threshold value is exceeded and the second determination unit estimates that a towed vehicle is present, even if the first determination unit determines that a towed vehicle is not connected, and the third determination unit determines that a towed vehicle is present. A towed vehicle connection determination system comprising:

2. Weight estimation equipment; Surrounding area detection equipment, Vehicle rear monitoring equipment, TBC connection detection equipment, a towed vehicle presence / absence determination unit that determines whether a towed vehicle is connected based on information from at least two or more of the weight estimation device, the surrounding situation detection device, the vehicle rear monitoring device, and the TBC connection detection device; having The towed vehicle presence / absence determination unit is a first determination unit that determines whether a total estimated weight of the towed vehicle and the towing vehicle exceeds a threshold based on information from the weight estimation device; A second determination unit that estimates the presence or absence of a towed vehicle based on information from the surrounding condition detection equipment; a third determination unit that determines whether or not a towed vehicle is present based on information from the vehicle rear monitoring device; A pre-determination unit that determines whether or not a towed vehicle is connected based on information from the TBC connection detection device, When the first determination unit determines that a towed vehicle is not connected, the towed vehicle presence determination unit determines that a towed vehicle is not connected when the third determination unit determines that a towed vehicle is not connected even if one of the first determination unit determines that the threshold value is exceeded and the second determination unit estimates that a towed vehicle is present is satisfied. A towed vehicle connection determination system comprising:

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