Control device and control method

Abstract

To provide a control device and a control method that can appropriately improve comfort of passengers of a vehicle.SOLUTION: A control device comprises an acquisition unit for acquiring each of positions at which one or more passengers of a vehicle ride, and a control unit for determining the necessity of reduction of noise of a drive source of the vehicle on the basis of distances between the positions and the drive source of the vehicle, and reducing the noise by controlling the drive source in accordance with a determination result of the necessity of reduction of the noise.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a control device and a control method. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 describes that a control device for an automatically driving vehicle suppresses noise by limiting the engine speed and torque to narrow the driving range when an occupant is present. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2018-30510 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, depending on the seating position, passengers may not find the noise unpleasant, which may mean that engine noise suppression control is not appropriate. This problem exists not only in engines, but also in hybrid vehicles that use motor generators as their drive source.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has an object to provide a control device and a control method that can appropriately improve the comfort of vehicle occupants. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The control device of the present invention comprises: Among the multiple seats in the vehicle, One or more occupants of a vehicle have boarded Seat and a control unit that reduces the output of the drive source according to the distance between the position and the drive source of the vehicle, thereby suppressing noise from the drive source. When the acquisition unit acquires the position of the seat farthest from the drive source among the plurality of seats and does not acquire the positions of the other seats, the control unit stops the noise suppression. .

[0008] In the above control device, the control unit is configured to shortest The output of the drive source may be reduced based on the correlation between the output of the drive source and the magnitude of the noise so that the noise of the drive source is suppressed according to the distance.

[0009] In the above control device, the drive source may be an internal combustion engine.

[0010] The control method of the present invention comprises: Among the multiple seats in the vehicle, One or more occupants of a vehicle have boarded Seat and acquiring the position of each vehicle and the distance between the position and the driving source of the vehicle. By reducing the output of the driving source in accordance with Computers perform the logic to suppress noise In the process of acquiring the positions, the computer acquires the position of the seat farthest from the drive source among the plurality of seats, and if the positions of other seats have not been acquired, stops the process of suppressing noise. It is a method. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present invention, the comfort of vehicle occupants can be appropriately improved. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a vehicle and its control device. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of noise characteristic data. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the noise suppression process. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of noise levels according to passenger boarding patterns. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of noise levels according to the riding patterns of occupants in other vehicles. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing another example of the noise suppression process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] (Control device configuration) FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a vehicle 9 and its control device 1. The vehicle 9 is, for example, a hybrid vehicle, and is equipped with an engine (ENG) 92, an inverter (INV) 93, and a motor generator (MG) 94 as drive sources. The engine 92 is an example of an internal combustion engine, and is, for example, a gasoline engine, but may also be a diesel engine. The inverter 93 generates a three-phase alternating current that drives the motor generator 94. The vehicle 9 in this example is a front-engine vehicle, and the engine 92, inverter 93, and motor generator 94 are disposed on the front side of the vehicle 9. In this example, suppression of noise from the engine 92 will be taken as an example.

[0014] As an example, the vehicle 9 has a three-row seat configuration, and includes a front seat 90a, a center seat 90b, and a rear seat 90c. The front seat 90a is located at the frontmost side of the vehicle 9, the rear seat 90c is located at the rearmost side of the vehicle 9, and the center seat 90b is located between the front seat 90a and the rear seat 90c in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle 9. The vehicle 9 is equipped with an automatic driving function, and can travel even when the driver is not seated in the front seat 90a.

[0015] Weight sensors 91a to 91c are provided on the front seat 90a, the center seat 90b, and the rear seat 90c, respectively. The weight sensors 91a to 91c detect the presence or absence of a seated occupant by detecting the load applied to the front seat 90a, the center seat 90b, and the rear seat 90c, respectively. In other words, the weight sensors 91a to 91c detect the position at which the occupant is seated. Note that the means for detecting the seating position is not limited to the weight sensors 91a to 91c, and other detection means, such as a human presence sensor, may also be used.

[0016] The vehicle 9 also includes a sensor system 95. The sensor system 95 includes various sensors that determine the operation of the engine 92 and the motor generator 94, such as an accelerator position sensor that detects an accelerator position and a vehicle speed sensor that detects the vehicle speed. Note that the position of the sensor system 95 in FIG. 1 is unrelated to its actual position within the vehicle 9.

[0017] The control device 1 is a computer such as an ECU (Electronic Control Unit), and is provided at a predetermined position in the vehicle 9. The control device 1 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 10, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 11, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 12, a storage memory 13, and a communication interface unit (communication IF) 14. The CPU 10 is electrically connected to the ROM 11, the RAM 12, the storage memory 13, and the communication IF 14 via a bus 19 so as to be able to input and output signals to and from each other.

[0018] The ROM 11 stores a program that drives the CPU 10. The RAM 12 functions as a working memory for the CPU 10. The communication IF 14 is a communication circuit that transmits various instructions to the engine 92, the inverter 93, and the motor generator 94, for example.

[0019] When the CPU 10 reads the program from the ROM 11, it generates, as functions, a control unit 100, a sensor value acquisition unit 101, and a boarding position acquisition unit 102. In addition, noise characteristic data 130 is stored in the storage memory 13. The storage memory 13 is, for example, a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory.

[0020] The sensor value acquiring unit 101 acquires various sensor values ​​such as the accelerator opening and the vehicle speed from the sensor system 95 via the communication IF 14. The sensor value acquiring unit 101 outputs the various sensor values ​​to the control unit 100.

[0021] The boarding position acquisition unit 102 is an example of an acquisition unit that acquires the positions at which occupants are seated. The boarding position acquisition unit 102 acquires detection results of the presence or absence of occupants in each of the front seat 90a, the center seat 90b, and the rear seat 90c from the weight sensors 91a to 91c. Here, the front seat 90a, the center seat 90b, and the rear seat 90c are examples of positions at which occupants are seated. The boarding position acquisition unit 102 outputs the detection results of the boarding positions to the control unit 100.

[0022] The control unit 100 controls the engine 92, the inverter 93, and the motor generator 94. The control unit 100 calculates a command torque from each sensor value, and controls, for example, the fuel injection amount of the engine 92 and the duty ratio of a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) signal of the inverter 93 according to the command torque. In the case of autonomous driving, the control unit 100 controls the engine 92, the inverter 93, and the motor generator 94 based on an image from an in-vehicle camera (not shown), detection results of surrounding vehicles, position information of the vehicle 9, and the like. In this way, the outputs of the engine 92 and the motor generator 94 are determined.

[0023] Furthermore, the control unit 100 determines whether or not noise suppression of the engine 92 is necessary based on the distance between the passenger's seating position and the engine 92, and suppresses the noise by controlling the engine 92 according to the determination result. Specifically, based on the seating position detection result, the control unit 100 suppresses noise when the seating positions are the front seat 90a and the center seat 90b, which are close to the engine 92, and does not suppress noise when the seating position is the rear seat 90c, which is far from the engine 92.

[0024] Therefore, when passengers are seated only in the rear seats 90c, which generate less noise than the front seats 90a and the center seat 90b, the control unit 100 does not suppress noise and can eliminate unnecessary control. Therefore, the control unit 100 can appropriately improve passenger comfort.

[0025] The control unit 100 suppresses the noise of the engine 92 by reducing the output of the engine 92 based on the distance between the seating position of the occupant and the engine 92. For example, when the seating position is center seat 90b, the control unit 100 reduces the output of the engine 92 so that the noise is suppressed according to the distance between center seat 90b and the engine 92. Thus, the control unit 100 can appropriately improve the comfort of the occupant according to the seating position of the occupant.

[0026] Furthermore, when multiple occupants are on board, the control unit 100 reduces the output of the engine 92 based on the shortest distance between the seating positions of each occupant and the engine 92. For example, when the seating positions are the front seat 90a and the center seat 90b, the distance between the front seat 90a and the engine 92 is shorter than the distance between the center seat 90b and the engine 92, so the control unit 100 reduces the output of the engine 92 so that noise is suppressed according to the distance between the front seat 90a and the engine 92. Therefore, the control unit 100 can control the degree of noise suppression based on the seating position closest to the engine 92.

[0027] Furthermore, the control unit 100 reduces the output of the engine 92 based on the correlation between the output of the engine 92 and the noise level so that the noise of the engine 92 is suppressed depending on the distance between the passenger's riding position and the engine 92. The noise characteristics data 130 indicates the correlation between the output of the engine 92 and the noise level.

[0028] Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of noise characteristics data 130. In Fig. 2, the horizontal axis represents the rotation speed (number of revolutions) (rpm) of the engine 92, and the vertical axis represents the torque (N / m) of the engine 92. Equal-noise lines La to Le represent the rotation speeds and torques at which the noise levels (e.g., in decibels (dB)) are equal. The noise levels increase in the order of the equal-noise lines La to Le.

[0029] The control unit 100 determines a base operating point Po based on the detection results of the sensor system 95, etc. Here, the base operating point Po is located on, for example, the equal-noise line Ld. When suppressing noise, the control unit 100 reduces the output of the engine 92 to outputs at operating points Pa and Pb on equal-noise lines La to Lc, which have lower noise levels than the equal-noise line Ld at the base operating point Po. When reducing the output of the engine 92 to operating point Pb, for example, the control unit 100 reduces the torque and rotation speed by a difference ΔT in torque and a difference ΔN in rotation speed from the base operating point Po.

[0030] The control unit 100 determines the target operating points Pa and Pb based on the minimum distance between the seating position and the engine 92. Specifically, the control unit 100 selects operating points Pa and Pb with noise levels appropriate for the seating position of the occupant closest to the engine 92. For example, if the seating position closest to the engine 92 is the front seat 90a, the operating point Pa is selected, and if the seating position closest to the engine 92 is the center seat 90b, the operating point Pb is selected. Therefore, the shorter the minimum distance between the seating position and the engine 92, the more the output of the engine 92 is reduced, and the more appropriately the noise level is suppressed.

[0031] The noise characteristics data 130 is generated in advance based on simulations or experiments related to the noise of the engine 92. Furthermore, the control unit 100 does not need to reduce both the torque and the rotation speed of the engine 92, and may reduce only one of the torque and the rotation speed.

[0032] (Noise suppression treatment) 3 is a flowchart showing an example of noise suppression processing. This processing is an example of a control method, and is executed, for example, periodically. First, the seating position acquisition unit 102 acquires the seating position detection results from the weight sensors 91a to 91c (step St1). Next, the control unit 100 determines whether or not an occupant is seated in the front seat 90a (step St2).

[0033] If an occupant is seated in the front seat 90a (Yes in step St2), the control unit 100 determines the noise suppression level to be "high" (step St3). At this time, the control unit 100 selects the operating point Pa on the equal noise line La in the above example.

[0034] Furthermore, if there is no passenger in the front seat 90a (No in step St2), the control unit 100 determines whether there is a passenger in the center seat 90b (step St6). If there is a passenger in the center seat 90b (Yes in step St6), the control unit 100 determines the noise suppression level to "low" (step St7). At this time, the control unit 100 selects the operating point Pb on the equal noise line Lb in the above example.

[0035] Next, the control unit 100 calculates the amount of reduction in the output of the engine 92 corresponding to the noise suppression level (step St4). Based on the noise characteristics data 130, the control unit 100 calculates the amount of reduction in the output of the engine 92 (ΔT and ΔN in FIG. 2) corresponding to the selected operating points Pa and Pb.

[0036] Next, the control unit 100 reduces the output of the engine 92 by the reduction amount (step St5). Specifically, the control unit 100 reduces the output of the engine 92 so that the control point transitions from the base operating point Po to the selected operating points Pa and Pb. In this way, the control unit 100 reduces the output of the engine 92 based on the noise characteristics data 130 so that noise is suppressed according to the minimum distance between the engine 92 and the passenger position. This improves the comfort of the occupants in the front seats 90a and the center seat 90b.

[0037] Furthermore, if there is no passenger in the center seat 90b (No in step St6), the control unit 100 ends the process without reducing the output of the engine 92. In other words, when the rear seat 90c is the passenger seating position, the control unit 100 does not suppress noise because the impact of noise on the passenger in the rear seat 90c is small. In this way, the control unit 100 determines whether noise suppression is necessary based on the distance between the passenger seating position and the engine 92, and therefore can avoid unnecessary control of the engine 92 if the effectiveness of noise suppression is low.

[0038] (Example of noise suppression) Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of noise levels corresponding to occupant boarding patterns A to C. In Fig. 4, the same components as those in Fig. 1 are given the same reference numerals, and their description will be omitted.

[0039] In boarding pattern A, the occupant 8 is boarding the front seat 90a, the middle seat 90b, and the rear seat 90c, respectively. In boarding pattern B, the occupant 8 is not boarding the front seat 90a, and the occupant 8 is boarding the middle seat 90b and the rear seat 90c, respectively. In boarding pattern C, the occupant 8 is not boarding the front seat 90a and the middle seat 90b, and the occupant 8 is boarding the rear seat 90c.

[0040] The boarding position acquisition unit 102 recognizes the boarding position of the occupant 8 from the detection results obtained from the weight sensors 91a to 91c. The control unit 100 sets the noise suppression level based on the boarding position.

[0041] In the case of boarding pattern A, the boarding position closest to the engine 92 is the front seat 90a. Here, let the distance between the front seat 90a and the engine 92 be Da. In the case of boarding pattern B, the boarding position closest to the engine 92 is the middle seat 90b. Here, let the distance between the middle seat 90b and the engine 92 be Db. In the case of boarding pattern C, the boarding position closest to the engine 92 is the rear seat 90c. Here, let the distance between the rear seat 90c and the engine 92 be Dc. Among the distances Da to Dc in boarding patterns A to C, Da < Db < Dc holds. In the case of boarding patterns B and C where there is no occupant 8 in the front seat 90a, the vehicle 9 is driven by automatic driving.

[0042] The control unit 100 determines the necessity of noise suppression based on the distances Da to Dc. In the case of boarding pattern C, since the distance Dc is longer than the other distances Da and Db, the control unit 100 determines that noise suppression is unnecessary and does not execute it. On the other hand, in the case of boarding patterns A and B, noise suppression is executed.

[0043] When the control unit 100 executes noise suppression, it sets the noise suppression level so that the noise level becomes smaller as the distances Da and Db are longer. In the case of boarding pattern A, the noise suppression level is set to "large", and in the case of boarding pattern B, the noise suppression level is set to "small".

[0044] For this reason, the noise level of the engine 92 is lowest in boarding pattern A, followed by the noise level in boarding pattern B. The noise level is also highest in boarding pattern C. In this way, the control device 1 can appropriately perform noise suppression according to the distance between the engine 92 and the boarding position.

[0045] Although this example illustrates noise suppression of the engine 92, the above control method can also be used to suppress noise of the motor generator 94, for example. In this case, the control unit 100 performs noise suppression by controlling the carrier frequency of the inverter 93. The higher the carrier frequency, the lower the noise, but the higher the switching loss. Similarly to the above, the control unit 100 can appropriately suppress noise by controlling the carrier frequency in accordance with the distances Da to Dc between the motor generator 94 and the riding position. Furthermore, the control unit 100 is not limited to this, and may also control the rotation speed of the motor generator 94 and the duty ratio of the PWM signal of the inverter 93 so as to suppress noise.

[0046] (Other embodiments) In the above example, the vehicle 9 is a front engine vehicle, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the above control method can be similarly used in a rear engine vehicle.

[0047] Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of noise levels corresponding to passenger boarding patterns X to Z in another vehicle 9a. In Fig. 5, components common to Fig. 4 are given the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof will be omitted. Vehicle 9a is a rear-engine vehicle, and engine 92, inverter 93, and motor generator 94 are disposed at the rear of vehicle 9a.

[0048] In passenger pattern X, an occupant 8 is seated in each of the front seats 90a, the center seat 90b, and the rear seat 90c. In passenger pattern Y, no occupant 8 is seated in the rear seat 90c, and an occupant 8 is seated in each of the front seats 90a and the center seat 90b. In passenger pattern Z, no occupant 8 is seated in the center seat 90b or the rear seat 90c, and an occupant 8 is seated in the front seat 90a.

[0049] In the case of boarding pattern X, the boarding position closest to engine 92 is rear seat 90c. Here, the distance between rear seat 90c and engine 92 is defined as Dx. In the case of boarding pattern Y, the boarding position closest to engine 92 is center seat 90b. Here, the distance between center seat 90b and engine 92 is defined as Dy. In the case of boarding pattern Z, the boarding position closest to engine 92 is front seat 90a. Here, the distance between front seat 90a and engine 92 is defined as Dz. The relationship Dz>Dy>Dx holds between the distances Dx to Dz of boarding patterns X to Z.

[0050] The control unit 100 determines whether noise suppression is necessary based on the distances Dx to Dz. In the case of boarding pattern Z, the distance Dz is longer than the other distances Dx and Dy, so the control unit 100 determines that noise suppression is unnecessary and does not execute it. On the other hand, in the case of boarding patterns X and Y, noise suppression is executed.

[0051] When performing noise suppression, the control unit 100 sets the noise suppression level so that the noise level decreases as the distances Dx and Dy increase. In the case of boarding pattern X, the noise suppression level is set to "large," and in the case of boarding pattern Y, the noise suppression level is set to "small."

[0052] For this reason, the noise level of the engine 92 is lowest in boarding pattern X, followed by the noise level in boarding pattern Y. The noise level is also highest in boarding pattern Z. In this way, even in the case of a rear-engine vehicle 9a, the control device 1 can appropriately perform noise suppression according to the distance between the engine 92 and the boarding position.

[0053] Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing another example of the noise suppression process. This process is executed in the case of the rear-engine vehicle 9a described above. In Fig. 6, the same processes as those in Fig. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their explanation will be omitted.

[0054] After processing step St1, if there is an occupant in the rear seat 90c (Yes in step St2a), the control unit 100 determines the noise suppression level to be "high" (step St3). If there is no occupant in the rear seat 90c (No in step St2a), the control unit 100 determines whether there is an occupant in the center seat 90b (step St6). If there is an occupant in the center seat 90b (Yes in step St6), the control unit 100 determines the noise suppression level to be "low" (step St7). If there is no occupant in the center seat 90b (No in step St6), the control unit 100 ends the processing without reducing the output of the engine 92. The noise suppression processing is executed in this manner.

[0055] In the above examples, the number of rows of seats in the vehicles 9 and 9a is three, but this is not a limitation. For example, the above control method can be used in a vehicle with many rows of seats, such as a bus.

[0056] The above-described embodiment is a preferred example of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to this and can be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0057] 1. Control device (computer) 9,9a Vehicle 90a Front seat 90b Center seat 90c rear seat 92 Engine (power source) 94 Motor generator (drive source) 100 control section 102 Boarding position acquisition unit (acquisition unit)

Claims

1. An acquisition unit that acquires the positions of seats occupied by one or more occupants of a vehicle among a plurality of seats in the vehicle; a control unit that reduces the output of the drive source in accordance with the distance between the position and the drive source of the vehicle, thereby suppressing noise of the drive source; the acquisition unit acquires the position of the seat farthest from the drive source among the plurality of seats, and when the acquisition unit has not acquired the positions of the other seats, the control unit stops the noise suppression. Control device.

2. the control unit reduces the output of the drive source based on a correlation between the output of the drive source and the magnitude of the noise so that the noise of the drive source is suppressed in accordance with the shortest distance between the position and the drive source. The control device according to claim 1 .

3. The drive source is an internal combustion engine. The control device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. Acquiring the positions of seats occupied by one or more occupants of a vehicle among a plurality of seats in the vehicle; a computer executes a process to reduce noise of the drive source by reducing an output of the drive source according to a distance between the position and the drive source of the vehicle; In the process of acquiring the positions, the computer acquires the position of the seat farthest from the drive source among the plurality of seats, and stops the process of suppressing noise if the positions of other seats have not been acquired. Control method.

Images