vehicle

Abstract

To provide a vehicle which performs control reflecting user's operations on a step.SOLUTION: A vehicle comprises: a step detection part which detects a step; and a travel control part which concurrently performs step run-over suppression control for suppressing erroneous start by running over the step and step run-over support control for supporting the vehicle in running over the step. The vehicle performs step run-over support when the user intends to run over the step and suppresses running over the step when the user does not intend to run over the step but, for example, the vehicle is erroneously operated.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of vehicles. [Background technology]

[0002] For vehicles, a system has been proposed that determines that a wheel has come into contact with a wheel stop member when the amount of change in the increase in the longitudinal force that stops the wheel exceeds a threshold value and the magnitude of the longitudinal force that stops the wheel exceeds a preset value. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-96191 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In a vehicle, it is desirable to perform appropriate control in response to a user operation after a wheel comes into contact with a step such as a wheel stop member.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to perform control that reflects user operations on steps. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A vehicle according to one embodiment of the present invention includes: a step detection unit that detects a step; a load sensor that detects a load when the wheel contacts the step; and a crossing distance derivation unit that derives, based on the load detected by the load sensor, a distance in the front-to-rear direction from the center of the wheel when the wheel contacts the step to the step closest to the wheel, as a crossing distance; a travel control unit that performs step-crossing suppression control that suppresses erroneous starting when crossing the step and step-crossing support control that supports crossing the step in parallel; , the traveling control unit , In the step-crossing assistance control, when a travel distance after the wheel contacts the step is greater than a value obtained by subtracting a predetermined braking distance from the crossing distance, torque from a drive source is suppressed and a brake pressure of a brake device is increased. . This allows the vehicle to assist in climbing over a step if the user intends to do so, and to prevent the vehicle from climbing over the step if the user does not intend to do so due to an incorrect operation or other reason. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to perform control that reflects user operations on steps. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle. [Figure 2] 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of a step-crossing suppression support control process. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the height of a step and the distance to cross it. [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of a step-crossing suppression control process. [Figure 5] 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of a step crossing support control process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] <1. Vehicle configuration> Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle 1. Note that Fig. 1 shows only the configuration of the main parts of the vehicle 1 that are mainly related to one embodiment.

[0010] As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 1 includes an engine 2, a transmission 3, a front drive shaft 4, a transfer clutch 5, front wheels 6, a propeller shaft 7, a differential gear 8, a rear drive shaft 9, rear wheels 10, a brake device 11, a load sensor 12, a shift sensor 13, an accelerator sensor 14, a brake sensor 15, an obstacle sensor 16, and a control device 17.

[0011] The engine 2 is a drive source that generates torque for propelling the vehicle 1. The engine 2 generates torque by consuming fuel such as gasoline to rotate an output shaft. Note that the vehicle 1 is configured to include the engine 2 as a drive source, but the vehicle 1 may also be configured to include an engine and a motor as a drive source, or may also be configured to include only a motor.

[0012] A transmission 3 is connected to the output shaft of the engine 2. The transmission 3 is, for example, a continuously variable transmission. A primary side of the transmission 3 is connected to the output shaft of the engine 2. In addition, a secondary side of the transmission 3 is connected to a front drive shaft 4 and a transfer clutch 5.

[0013] Torque output from the engine 2 is input to the primary side of the transmission 3. The transmission 3 converts the torque input to the primary side into torque according to the gear ratio between the primary and secondary and outputs it to the secondary side.

[0014] The front drive shaft 4 is connected to the front wheels 6. That is, a portion of the torque output from the engine 2 is transmitted to the front wheels 6.

[0015] The transfer clutch 5 is provided between the secondary of the transmission 3 and a propeller shaft 7. The propeller shaft 7 is connected to a rear drive shaft 9 via a differential gear 8. The rear drive shaft 9 is connected to rear wheels 10. In other words, the transfer clutch 5 is provided in the torque transmission path between the engine 2 and the rear wheels 10.

[0016] When the transfer clutch 5 is off, the secondary of the transmission 3 is disconnected from the propeller shaft 7, and the torque output from the engine 2 is not transmitted to the rear wheels 10. On the other hand, when the transfer clutch 5 is on, the secondary of the transmission 3 is connected to the propeller shaft 7, and a portion of the torque output from the engine 2 is transmitted to the rear wheels 10.

[0017] The brake devices 11 are provided on the front wheels 6 and the rear wheels 10, respectively, and apply braking forces to the front wheels 6 and the rear wheels 10 using supplied hydraulic pressure.

[0018] The load sensor 12 is provided on the wheel hub connected to the front wheel 6 and the rear wheel 10. The load sensor 12 is, for example, a biaxial load sensor, and detects the loads applied to the wheel hub (front wheel 6 and rear wheel 10) in the vertical and longitudinal directions.

[0019] The shift sensor 13 detects the position of a shift lever (not shown). The shift lever has, for example, P range, N range, D range, and B range, and the shift sensor 13 detects which of these ranges it is in.

[0020] The accelerator sensor 14 detects the amount of operation of an accelerator pedal (not shown), i.e., the amount of depression thereof. The brake sensor 15 detects the amount of operation of a brake pedal (not shown), i.e., the amount of depression thereof.

[0021] The obstacle sensors 16 are provided on both the front and rear sides of the vehicle 1. The obstacle sensors 16 are, for example, ultrasonic sonar, radar, cameras, etc., and detect obstacles in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 (front or rear).

[0022] The control device 17 is a processor including a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a RAM (Random Access Memory). For example, the control device 17 controls the entire vehicle 1 by loading a program stored in the ROM or a storage unit (not shown) onto the RAM and executing various processes (for example, a step-crossing suppression support control process described later).

[0023] For example, the control device 17 controls the torque output from the engine 2 based on the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal detected by the accelerator sensor 14. The control device 17 also controls the braking force of the brake device 11 based on the amount of depression of the brake pedal detected by the brake sensor 15.

[0024] Furthermore, the control device 17 functions as a step height deriving unit 21, a step distance deriving unit 22, a step detection unit 23, and a travel control unit 24 when executing a step crossing suppression support control process, which will be described in detail later.

[0025] <2. Step-crossing suppression support control processing> Next, the step-crossing suppression support control process will be described. Here, the case where the rear wheel 10 comes into contact with a step will be described as an example, but the same process can be performed when the front wheel 6 comes into contact with a step.

[0026] 2 is a flowchart showing the flow of the step-crossing suppression support control process. As shown in Fig. 2, when the control device 17 executes the step-crossing suppression support control process, in step S1 the step detection unit 23 determines whether the vehicle 1 has stopped. Whether the vehicle 1 has stopped may be determined, for example, based on the detection result of a speed sensor (not shown), or based on the detection result of a rotation speed sensor (not shown) provided on the front wheels 6 or the rear wheels 10.

[0027] If the vehicle 1 is not stopped (No in step S1), the step-crossing suppression support control process is terminated. On the other hand, if the vehicle 1 is stopped (Yes in step S1), the step detection unit 23 acquires the loads in the up-down direction and the front-rear direction detected by the load sensor 12 in step S2.

[0028] Next, in step S3, the step height deriving unit 21 derives the step height based on the load detected by the load sensor 12.

[0029] 3 is a diagram illustrating the height of a step and the distance to cross. As described above, the load sensor 12 detects loads in the vertical and front-rear directions. In the following, as shown in FIG. 3, the load in the vertical direction detected by the load sensor 12 is referred to as load Fz, and the load in the front-rear direction detected by the load sensor 12 is referred to as load Fx.

[0030] When the rear wheel 10 comes into contact with the step 30, the rear wheel 10 receives a contact load Fs from the point of contact with the step 30 toward the center of the rear wheel 10. The rear wheel 10 also receives a vehicle axle load Fg due to the vehicle weight of the vehicle 1. The angle between the contact load Fs and the front-to-rear direction is defined as θ.

[0031] Therefore, the vertical load Fz detected by the load sensor 12 is the sum of the vehicle axle load Fg and the vertical component load Fsz of the contact load Fs (hereinafter referred to as the Z-direction load).Furthermore, the front-rear load Fx detected by the load sensor 12 is the front-rear component load Fsx of the contact load Fs (hereinafter referred to as the X-direction load).

[0032] Then, the step height deriving unit 21 derives the height Ls of the step 30 using the following equation (1).

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[0033] Returning to FIG. 2 , once the height Ls of the step 30 is derived, in step S4 the cruise control unit 24 determines whether the height Ls of the step 30 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. That is, the cruise control unit 24 determines whether to execute the step-crossing suppression control and step-crossing assistance control, which will be described later, based on the height Ls of the step 30. Here, the predetermined value is set to a height that allows the detection of a step 30 that is provided to stop the vehicle 1, such as a wheel chock. In this way, by detecting the step 30 based on the load detected by the load sensor 12, the vehicle 1 can detect a step 30, such as a wheel chock, directly below the vehicle 1, which would be difficult to detect using a camera, sonar, or the like.

[0034] Then, if the height Ls of the step 30 is less than the specified value (No in step S4), that is, if the step 30 is sufficiently lower than the wheel stopper or the like and there is no need to perform the step-crossing suppression control and step-crossing support control described below, the step-crossing suppression support processing is terminated.

[0035] On the other hand, if the height Ls of the step 30 is equal to or greater than the specified value (Yes in step S4), that is, if the step 30 is equal to or greater than the height of a wheel stopper or the like and it is necessary to perform the step-crossing suppression control and step-crossing assistance control described below, the processing proceeds to step S5.

[0036] In step S5, the traveling control unit 24 determines whether the shift position detected by the shift sensor 13 is in the B range. Here, it is determined whether the rear wheel 10 will move in a direction that will get over the step 30.

[0037] If the shift position is not in the B range (No in step S5), the step-crossing suppression support process ends. On the other hand, if the shift position is in the B range (Yes in step S5), the process proceeds to steps S6 and S7.

[0038] In step S6, the cruise control unit 24 performs step-crossing suppression control processing to suppress an erroneous start over the step 30, which would otherwise cause the rear wheel 10 to erroneously start the vehicle 1 over the step 30, and in step S7 performs step-crossing support control processing to assist in crossing the step 30. That is, the cruise control unit 24 performs step-crossing suppression control to suppress an erroneous start over the step 30 and step-crossing support control to assist in crossing the step 30 in parallel.

[0039] <3. Step-crossing suppression control processing> 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of the step-over-crossing suppression control process. As shown in Fig. 4, when the step-over-crossing suppression control process (step-over-crossing suppression control) is started, in step S11, the traveling control unit 24 determines whether an obstacle has been detected in the traveling direction (reverse direction) of the vehicle 1 by the obstacle sensor 16 that detects an obstacle behind the vehicle 1.

[0040] If no obstacle is detected in the traveling direction (reverse direction) of the vehicle 1 (No in step S11), the process proceeds to step S13. On the other hand, if an obstacle is detected in the traveling direction (reverse direction) of the vehicle 1 (Yes in step S11), the traveling control unit 24 determines in step S12 whether there is a risk of the vehicle 1 colliding with the detected obstacle. Here, this determination is made based on the distance to the obstacle detected together with the obstacle by the obstacle sensor 16, for example.

[0041] If there is a risk that the vehicle 1 will collide with an obstacle (Yes in step S12), then in step S13 the travel control unit 24 determines whether there is a possibility of an erroneous operation of the accelerator pedal based on the depression amount detected by the accelerator sensor 14. Here, for example, the possibility of an erroneous operation due to a sudden depression of the accelerator pedal is determined based on whether the change in the depression amount detected by the accelerator sensor 14 is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount.

[0042] As a result, if there is a possibility of erroneous operation of the accelerator pedal (Yes in step S13), in step S14 the traveling control unit 24 suppresses the torque output from the engine 2 (torque suppression ON) and ends the step-crossing suppression support process. This makes it possible for the vehicle 1 to prevent starting against the user's will and reduce the possibility of collision with an obstacle.

[0043] On the other hand, if there is no risk of the vehicle 1 colliding with an obstacle (No in step S12) and if there is no possibility of erroneous operation of the accelerator pedal (No in step S13), the traveling control unit 24 determines that the step 30 will be overcome by the user's will, even if the accelerator pedal is operated. In this case, in step S15, the traveling control unit 24 ends the step-over-step suppression support process without suppressing the torque output from the engine 2 (torque suppression OFF). This enables the vehicle 1 to be in a state where the vehicle 1 can overcome the step 30 in accordance with the user's will.

[0044] <4. Step-crossing assistance control processing> Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of the step-crossing support control process. As shown in Fig. 5, when the step-crossing support control process (step-crossing support control) is started, in step S21 the traveling control unit 24 determines whether the user intends to cross the step 30. Here, for example, the traveling control unit 24 displays a message asking whether the user intends to cross the step 30, and determines whether the user intends to cross the step 30 based on the user's response operation on the operation unit.

[0045] Then, step S21 is repeated until it is determined that the user intends to go over the step 30. On the other hand, if the user intends to go over the step 30 (Yes in step S21), in step S22 the traveling control unit 24 determines whether the accelerator pedal has been operated, based on the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal detected by the accelerator sensor 14.

[0046] As a result, if the accelerator pedal is not operated (No in step S22), step S22 is repeated until the accelerator pedal is operated. On the other hand, if the accelerator pedal is operated (Yes in step S22), in step S23, the traveling control unit 24 calculates the torque required to go over the step 30 and causes the engine 2 to output the calculated torque. As a result, the rear wheel 10 starts to go over the step 30.

[0047] Then, in step S24, the traveling control unit 24 determines whether the distance traveled since the vehicle 1 contacted the step 30 is greater than a value obtained by subtracting a predetermined braking distance from the distance to cross. Here, when the step 30 is detected, the distance to cross derive unit 22 derives the distance in the front-to-rear direction from the center of the rear wheels 10 to the part of the step 30 closest to the rear wheels 10, i.e., the distance traveled before crossing the step 30, as the distance to cross L (see FIG. 3), using the following equation (3).

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[0048] The cruise control unit 24 also derives the braking distance, which is the distance in the longitudinal direction from when hydraulic pressure is supplied to the brake device 11 until the vehicle 1 stops, based on the current vehicle speed, the torque of the engine 2, the specifications of the brake device 11, etc. Furthermore, the cruise control unit 24 derives the traveling distance based on, for example, the detection result of a rotation speed sensor provided on the rear wheel 10 and the radius Lt of the rear wheel 10. Note that the method of deriving the traveling distance, the distance over which the vehicle 1 travels, and the braking distance are not limited to this, and other methods may be used.

[0049] Then, step S24 is repeated until the travel distance becomes greater than the value obtained by subtracting the braking distance from the overtaking distance (No in step S24).

[0050] On the other hand, if the travel distance is greater than the value obtained by subtracting the braking distance from the crossing distance (Yes in step S24), in step S25 the travel control unit 24 starts braking so that the rear wheel 10 stops immediately after crossing the step 30. Specifically, the travel control unit 24 suppresses the torque output from the engine 2 and supplies hydraulic pressure to the brake device 11 to exert braking force.

[0051] Thereafter, when the vehicle 1 stops, in step S26 the driving control unit 24 controls the vehicle 1 to maintain the stopped state, and ends the step-crossing suppression support process. This enables the vehicle 1 to provide support for crossing the step 30 and reduce overrunning due to crossing the step 30.

[0052] <5. Summary of embodiments> As described above, the vehicle 1 of the embodiment is equipped with a step detection unit 23 that detects steps, and a driving control unit 24 that performs step-crossing suppression control that suppresses erroneous starts when crossing steps, and step-crossing assistance control that assists in crossing steps, in parallel. This enables the vehicle 1 to assist in climbing over the step 30 when the user intends to climb over the step 30, and to prevent the vehicle 1 from climbing over the step 30 when the user does not intend to climb over the step 30 due to an incorrect operation or the like. Therefore, the vehicle 1 can perform control that reflects the user's operation with respect to the step 30, thereby improving safety and usability.

[0053] The vehicle 1 also includes a load sensor 12 that detects the load when the wheels (front wheels 6, rear wheels 10) come into contact with a step 30, and a step height derivation unit 21 that derives the height of the step 30 based on the load detected by the load sensor 12, and the driving control unit 24 determines whether or not to execute step-crossing suppression control and step-crossing assistance control based on the height of the step 30. This allows the vehicle 1 to reduce the processing load by not performing the step-crossing suppression control and step-crossing assistance control when the step 30 is sufficiently lower than the wheel chock or the like and there is no need to perform these controls. Also, the vehicle 1 can reduce the discomfort felt by the user by performing these processes for a sufficiently low step 30.

[0054] The vehicle 1 also has a load sensor 12 that detects the load when the wheel contacts the step 30, and a distance-to-go calculation unit 22 that calculates the distance to go over the step 30 based on the load detected by the load sensor 12. In the step-to-go assistance control, the driving control unit 24 reduces torque from the drive source and increases the brake pressure of the brake device when the distance traveled after the vehicle 1 contacts the step 30 is greater than the distance to go over minus a predetermined braking distance. This allows the vehicle 1 to reduce overrunning caused by going over the step 30.

[0055] The vehicle 1 also has an obstacle sensor 16 that detects obstacles in the direction of travel and an accelerator sensor 14 that detects the amount of accelerator depression, and the driving control unit 24 suppresses torque from the drive source (engine 2) when an obstacle is detected during the step-over-bump suppression control and when the amount of change in accelerator depression is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount. This allows the vehicle 1 to reduce the possibility of colliding with an obstacle.

[0056] In addition, the vehicle 1 is equipped with a shift sensor 13 that detects the shift position, and the driving control unit 24 performs step-crossing suppression control and step-crossing assistance control when the direction of travel of the vehicle 1 based on the shift position is toward the step 30. As a result, when the vehicle 1 is not heading towards the step 30, the vehicle 1 can reduce the processing load without performing these controls.

[0057] <6. Variations> Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the specific examples described above and can adopt various configurations. For example, the specific contents of the step-over-step suppression control and step-over-step support control of the vehicle 1 may be other than those described above. For example, the step-over-step suppression control may be any control that suppresses erroneous starting after crossing the step 30, and the step-over-step support control may be any control that supports crossing the step.

[0058] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the step 30 is detected based on the detection result of the load sensor 12, but the step 30 may be detected by other methods such as a camera or radar. [Explanation of symbols]

[0059] 1 vehicle 2 engines 6 front wheels 10 rear wheels 11 Brake equipment 12 Load sensor 13 Shift sensor 14 Accelerator sensor 16 Obstacle Sensor 17 Control device 21 Step height lead-out section 22. Override distance calculation section 23 Step detection unit 24 Travel control unit

Claims

1. a step detection unit that detects a step; a load sensor that detects the load when the wheel comes into contact with the step; a distance-to-crossing deriving unit that derives, based on the load detected by the load sensor, a distance in a front-to-rear direction from a center of the wheel to a point of the step closest to the wheel when the wheel comes into contact with the step; and a travel control unit that concurrently performs step-over-step suppression control that suppresses erroneous starting when overcoming the step and step-over-step support control that supports overcoming the step; Equipped with The traveling control unit In the step-crossing assistance control, when a travel distance after the wheel contacts the step is greater than a value obtained by subtracting a predetermined braking distance from the crossing distance, torque from a drive source is suppressed and a brake pressure of a brake device is increased. vehicle.

2. A step height derivation unit that derives the height of the step based on the load detected by the load sensor; Equipped with The traveling control unit Whether or not to execute the step-crossing suppression control and the step-crossing assistance control is determined based on the height of the step. The vehicle of claim 1 .

3. an obstacle sensor that detects obstacles in the traveling direction; an accelerator sensor that detects the amount of depression of an accelerator; Equipped with The traveling control unit In the step-over suppression control, when the obstacle is detected and when the change in the depression amount is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount, torque from the drive source is suppressed.

3. A vehicle according to claim 1 or claim 2.

4. Equipped with a shift sensor that detects the shift position, The traveling control unit When the traveling direction of the vehicle based on the shift position is a direction toward a step, the step-crossing suppression control and the step-crossing assistance control are performed. A vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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