Control device

Abstract

To provide a technology for improving stability of vehicle behavior in a vehicle that is subject to remote operation by a remote operator and has a transmission for performing gear change by changing gears.SOLUTION: A controller controls a vehicle that is subject to remote operation by a remote operator and has a transmission that performs gear change by changing gears. While a remote vehicle is being remotely driven, the controller suppresses the execution of gear change more than when the remote vehicle is not being remotely driven. By suppressing gear change, it is possible to reduce a situation where it becomes difficult for a remote operator to control the vehicle and improve the stability of vehicle's running.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a control device for controlling a vehicle capable of remote operation.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses an information processing device for suppressing problems that occur when the states of the equipment of a remote operation device and the equipment of a vehicle to be remotely operated do not match when starting the remote operation of the vehicle to be remotely operated by the remote operation device. The information processing device acquires first equipment state information indicating the state of the equipment of the vehicle to be remotely operated, which is the target of remote operation. Then, based on second equipment state information indicating the state of the equipment of the remote operation device and the first equipment state information, the remote operation device is controlled.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] When a remote operator remotely operates a remote vehicle having a transmission, shifting is performed according to a change in vehicle speed, and the gear stage of the remote vehicle may be changed. When shifting is performed, even if the amount of accelerator input is kept constant, the acceleration changes, making it difficult for the remote operator to control the vehicle speed and potentially causing the vehicle behavior of the remote vehicle to become unstable.

[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to enhance the stability of vehicle behavior in a remote vehicle having a transmission.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The present disclosure relates to a control device for controlling a vehicle having a transmission that is the subject of remote operation by a remote operator and performs speed change by changing the gear stage. While remote operation of the vehicle is being performed, the control device suppresses the execution of speed change more than when remote operation is not being performed.

Effects of the Invention

[0007] According to the technology of the present disclosure, in a remote vehicle having a transmission, it is possible to reduce the difficulty for a remote operator to control the remote vehicle due to speed change and improve the stability of vehicle behavior.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0010] 1. Overview Remote driving systems for remotely operating a vehicle by a remote operator are known. The remote vehicles subject to remote driving include remote control vehicles and autonomous vehicles. For autonomous vehicles, for example, when it is determined that autonomous driving is difficult, they may be subject to remote driving by a remote operator. The remote driving system includes a remote terminal on the remote operator side and a vehicle terminal on the remote vehicle side that is the subject of remote driving. Transmission and reception of information between the remote terminal and the vehicle terminal are performed via a communication network. Information acquired from in-vehicle sensors such as cameras, radars, and GPS is transmitted from the vehicle terminal to the remote terminal. Based on the information received by the remote terminal, the remote operator operates input devices such as an accelerator and a brake provided on the remote terminal to input operation information. Operation information such as the accelerator, brake, and steering operation angle input by the remote operator is transmitted from the remote terminal to the vehicle terminal, and the remote vehicle is remotely driven.

[0011] Among such remote vehicles, there are vehicles having a transmission that performs gear shifting by changing the gear position. When gear shifting is performed, the acceleration with respect to the amount of accelerator input by the remote operator changes. Fig. 1 shows, in a time chart, the transitions of the gear position, vehicle speed, and acceleration of a remote vehicle having a transmission. The remote operator who starts remote driving at time T1 operates the input device so that the amount of accelerator input becomes constant. Since the acceleration with respect to the amount of accelerator input does not change if the gear position is not changed, the vehicle speed increases at a constant acceleration from T1 to T2. At T2, in response to the vehicle speed rising to V2, the transmission performs gear shifting and changes the gear position from the first gear position to the second gear position. As a result, from T2 to T3, an acceleration change due to gear shifting occurs and the acceleration is no longer constant. Also, since the acceleration with respect to the amount of accelerator input changes due to the driving force difference before and after gear shifting, the acceleration becomes smaller after T3 than between T1 and T2.

[0012] In a remote vehicle, unlike the case where a driver rides in the vehicle and operates it, a remote operator cannot feel the change in acceleration due to shifting. Therefore, if the gear stage of the remote vehicle is changed while remote driving is being performed, it becomes difficult for the remote operator to control the vehicle speed as desired, and the behavior of the vehicle may become unstable. In addition, in a remote driving system, since the transmission and reception of information between the remote terminal and the vehicle terminal are performed via a communication network, communication delays are likely to occur. When a communication delay occurs, a time lag in the behavior of the vehicle with respect to the operation of the remote operator occurs, making it even more difficult for the remote operator to grasp an appropriate operation amount.

[0013] The control device of the present disclosure is a device that controls a remote vehicle having a transmission in order to prevent such a situation and enhance the stability of vehicle behavior. The control device may be a device included in the remote terminal or a device included in the vehicle terminal. The control device suppresses the execution of shifting and makes it difficult to generate shifting while remote driving is being performed by a remote operator as compared to when remote driving is not being performed. Embodiments of the control device will be described below.

[0014] 2.1 First Embodiment In the first embodiment, the control device stops shifting while remote driving of the remote vehicle is being performed. The transmission forms each gear stage, for example, by engaging a clutch or a brake according to the engagement table illustrated in FIG. 2. When the control by the control device is not performed, for example, the transmission forms a first gear stage by engaging the clutch C1 and the brake B2, and when the vehicle speed rises and reaches the vehicle speed at which an upshift is performed, the brake B2 is released and the brake B1 and the clutch C1 are engaged to perform an upshift from the first gear stage to the second gear stage. Alternatively, for example, a fourth gear stage is formed by engaging the clutch C2 and the brake B1, and when the vehicle speed drops and reaches the vehicle speed at which a downshift is performed, the brake B1 is released and the clutch C1 and the clutch C2 are engaged to perform a downshift from the fourth gear stage to the third gear stage.

[0015] In the first embodiment, the control device prohibits both upshifting performed when the vehicle speed increases and downshifting performed when the vehicle speed decreases, and fixes the gear position to the gear position at the start of remote driving. For example, if the gear position at the start of remote driving is the first gear position, even when the vehicle speed reaches a speed at which it would upshift to the second gear position as the vehicle speed increases, the clutch C1 and the brake B2 are kept engaged so that shifting does not occur. Alternatively, for example, if the gear position at the start of remote driving is the fourth gear position, even when the vehicle speed reaches a speed at which it would downshift to the third gear position as the vehicle speed decreases, the clutch C2 and the brake B1 are kept engaged.

[0016] In the first embodiment, since shifting does not occur during remote driving, it is possible to prevent a change in driving force due to shifting from occurring and making it difficult for the remote operator to control the vehicle speed. As a result, the stability of vehicle behavior can be improved.

[0017] 3.2 Second Embodiment Also in the second embodiment, the control device suspends shifting while remote driving is being performed. However, in the second embodiment, an upper limit vehicle speed is set for each gear position, and when the traveling vehicle speed exceeds the upper limit vehicle speed, the suspension of shifting is canceled. From the perspective of component durability, there is a vehicle speed at which it is desirable not to exceed for each gear position. The upper limit vehicle speed is a vehicle speed set in advance in consideration of such a vehicle speed at which it is desirable not to exceed. When the vehicle speed has risen to the upper limit vehicle speed, the suspension of shifting by the control device is canceled and upshifting is performed. In this way, it is possible to prevent component failures due to traveling at high speed in a low gear.

[0018] Note that also in the second embodiment, downshifting when the vehicle speed decreases is aborted. Since the risk of component failure due to driving at a low speed in a high gear is small, from the perspective of component durability, there is little need to set a lower limit vehicle speed for each gear stage. Also, since the upper limit vehicle speed is set to a speed higher than the vehicle speed at which upshifting occurs during normal times when remote driving is not being performed, upshifting also becomes less likely to occur during remote driving than during normal times. Therefore, also in the second embodiment, the frequency of shifting can be reduced and the stability of vehicle behavior can be enhanced.

[0019] 4. Third Embodiment Also in the third embodiment, the control device controls the vehicle so that shifting is less likely to occur while remote driving is being performed. In the third embodiment, the control device changes the shift diagram during remote driving and controls the vehicle to shift according to a shift diagram for remote driving that is different from the normal one. The shift diagram for remote driving is a shift diagram in which the upshift line has moved to the higher speed side and the downshift line has moved to the lower speed side compared to the normal shift diagram.

[0020] In the third embodiment, shifting is not completely aborted even during remote driving. However, by changing the shift diagram, shifting occurs at a higher speed side than during normal times when the vehicle speed is increasing, and at a lower speed side than during normal times when the vehicle speed is decreasing, making shifting less likely to occur compared to normal times. In this way, while reducing the scenarios where shifting occurs and it becomes difficult for the remote operator to control the vehicle speed as desired, it is possible to prevent component failure due to using a low gear at a high vehicle speed and excessive weakening of the driving force due to using a high gear at a low vehicle speed.

[0021] Figure 3 shows an example of the upshift line in the shift diagram to be changed. The dashed line indicates the normal upshift line, and the solid line indicates the upshift line during remote driving. By moving the upshift line during remote driving to the higher speed side than the normal upshift line, shifting is performed at a higher vehicle speed than normal when the vehicle speed increases, and the frequency of shifting can be reduced. In the shift diagram shown in Figure 3, the upshift line during remote driving is just shifted to the higher speed side of the normal upshift line, but the upshift line during remote driving and the normal upshift line may be shift lines of different shapes.

[0022] Although not shown, the downshift line during remote driving is conversely changed to a shift line obtained by moving the normal downshift line to the lower speed side. As a result, shifting is performed at a lower vehicle speed than normal when the vehicle speed decreases, and the frequency of shifting can be reduced. Regarding the downshift line during remote driving, it may be just shifted to the lower speed side of the normal downshift line, or may be a shift line of a different shape from the normal downshift line.

[0023] Also in the third embodiment, the frequency of shifting can be reduced during remote driving. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the situation where it becomes difficult for the remote operator to control the vehicle to a desired vehicle speed and improve the running stability of the vehicle. At the same time, by not completely stopping the shifting, it is possible to prevent excessive reduction of driving force due to driving at a low vehicle speed in a high gear and failure of parts due to driving at a high vehicle speed in a low gear.

Claims

【Claim 1】 A control device for controlling a vehicle having a transmission that is the subject of remote operation by a remote operator and performs shifting by changing gear positions, while the remote operation on the vehicle is being performed, shifting is performed according to a remote operation shift diagram that is different from the normal shift diagram used when the remote operation is not being performed, the remote operation shift diagram is a shift diagram in which the upshift line has moved to the high-speed side and the downshift line has moved to the low-speed side compared to the normal shift diagram, Control device.

Images