Vehicle control device

Abstract

To provide a vehicular control device that can be improved in accuracy in controlling braking of an active suspension provided in a carrier member.SOLUTION: The vehicular control device is provided with: a carrier member 2, mounted on a vehicle, on which an occupant or an object to be conveyed is placed; an active suspension 3, arranged between the carrier member 2 and a vehicle body 10, which is configured to be able to control force acting between the carrier member 2 and the vehicle body 10; a mass calculating device 7 that calculates mass of the occupant or of the object to be conveyed placed on the carrier member 2; and a controller 5 that controls the active suspension 3, on the basis of a calculated result by the mass calculating device 7.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] In some cases, an active suspension is arranged between a seat and the vehicle body to suppress vibration of the seat of a vehicle. The active suspension is configured to be able to control the force acting between the seat and the vehicle body. A controller controls the active suspension in response to vibration input to the seat so that the vibration of the seat is suppressed. For example, JP 2006-509673 A describes an active suspension with two degrees of freedom of movement that is provided on a seat. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Special Publication No. 2006-509673 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In controlling an active suspension installed on a carrier member such as a seat, bed, floor, or base mounted in a vehicle, improving the accuracy of vibration suppression control is one of the challenges.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle control device that can improve the accuracy of vibration damping control for an active suspension provided on a carrier member. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The vehicle control device of the present invention comprises a carrier member mounted on a vehicle on which an occupant or an object to be transported is placed, an active suspension arranged between the carrier member and the vehicle body and configured to be able to control the force acting between the carrier member and the vehicle body, a mass calculation device that calculates the mass of the occupant or the object to be transported placed on the carrier member, and a controller that controls the active suspension based on the calculation results of the mass calculation device. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, control that takes into account the mass of an occupant or transported object on a carrier member becomes possible, thereby improving the accuracy of vibration damping control of the active suspension. The effect of the mass of an occupant or transported object on a carrier member is small for the control of the suspension because the mass of the vehicle body is large, but is not small for the control of the active suspension of the carrier member, which is much lighter than the vehicle body. Therefore, by calculating the mass of an occupant or transported object on a carrier member and reflecting the calculated value in the control calculation, it is possible to improve the control accuracy. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a configuration diagram of a vehicle control device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the arrangement of the vibration detection device according to the present embodiment. [Figure 3] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a process according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 1 is a configuration diagram of a vehicle control device including a road surface information acquisition device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a process according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] 1 is a configuration diagram of a vehicle control device including a road surface information acquisition device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] 1 is a configuration diagram of a vehicle control device including a road surface information acquisition device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8]1 is a configuration diagram of a vehicle control device including a mass calculation device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a process according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a process according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] A vehicle control device according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition to the following examples, the present invention can be implemented in various forms incorporating various modifications and improvements based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art. The vehicle of this embodiment is a four-wheel vehicle having a left front wheel 9fl, a right front wheel 9fr, a left rear wheel 9rl, and a right rear wheel 9rr. The left front wheel 9fl, the right front wheel 9fr, the left rear wheel 9rl, and the right rear wheel 9rr may be collectively referred to as wheels 9. The left front wheel 9fl and the right front wheel 9fr may be collectively referred to as front wheels 9f, and the left rear wheel 9rl and the right rear wheel 9rr may be collectively referred to as rear wheels 9r. The sprung mass may be, for example, a portion of the vehicle that includes the vehicle body 10 and is supported by a suspension (hereinafter also referred to as a suspension) disposed between each wheel 9 and the vehicle body 10. The unsprung mass may be, for example, a portion of the vehicle that is below the coil springs of the suspension (e.g., suspension components).

[0010] As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle control device 1 includes a seat 2 as a carrier member, an active suspension 3, a vibration detection device 4, and a controller 5. The carrier member is a member that is mounted on a vehicle and on which an occupant or an object to be transported is placed. The carrier member can also be a member that supports an occupant or an object to be transported inside a vehicle, for example. In this embodiment, the carrier member is a seat 2. The seat 2 is a member on which an occupant sits. In addition to the seat 2, the carrier member may also be, for example, a bed on which an occupant lies inside a vehicle (such as an ambulance), a floor that forms the floor of the vehicle compartment, or a pedestal on which precision machinery or the like (object to be transported) is placed.

[0011] The active suspension 3 is disposed between the seat 2 and the vehicle body 10. The active suspension 3 is installed, for example, on a member forming the bottom surface of the vehicle body 10. The active suspension 3 is configured to be able to control the force acting between the seat 2 and the vehicle body 10. The active suspension 3 is configured to be able to control, for example, at least one of the relative position of the seat 2 with respect to the vehicle body 10 (e.g., moving force or holding force), the damping force between the vehicle body 10 and the seat 2, and the spring constant (elastic force) between the vehicle body 10 and the seat 2. The active suspension 3 of this embodiment can, for example, adjust the amount of displacement of the seat 2 with respect to the vehicle body. The seat 2 connected to the active suspension 3 is also called an active seat.

[0012] To conceptually explain an example of the active suspension 3, the active suspension 3 includes a shock absorber 31 as a damper element, a suspension spring 32 as a spring element, and an actuator 33. The actuator 33 is configured to be able to change the vertical position of the seat 2 relative to the vehicle body 10. The seat 2 moves up and down when driven by the actuator 33. The actuator 33 includes an electric motor as a drive source and a speed reduction mechanism. The drive source of the actuator 33 may be, for example, a hydraulic drive source. One or more actuators 33 are installed for one seat 2. In this way, the active suspension 3 includes the actuator 33 that can change the vertical position of the seat 2. By arranging multiple actuators 33 spaced apart for one seat 2, the seat 2 can be tilted, making it possible to respond to, for example, shaking in the roll direction or pitch direction.

[0013] The shock absorber 31 generates a damping force between the vehicle body 10 and the seat 2. The shock absorber 31 may be of a variable type, in which the damping force (which may be a damping coefficient or a damping ratio) can be changed, or of a non-variable type, in which the damping force cannot be changed. The suspension spring 32 generates an elastic force between the vehicle body 10 and the seat 2 according to its spring constant. The suspension spring 32 may be of a variable spring constant type or a non-variable spring constant type. The active suspension 3 may, for example, be equipped with a link mechanism (e.g., a pantograph-like configuration) in which the movable part of the seat 2 has freedom of movement only in the up and down direction. In this case, for example, the actuator 33 may be connected in parallel to the shock absorber 31 and the suspension spring 32, which act on the operation of the link mechanism.

[0014] The vibration detection device 4 is a device that detects the vibration state (state quantity) of the vehicle body 10. The vibration state can be expressed by acceleration, velocity, or displacement in the vertical direction. The vibration detection device 4 is an on-vehicle sensor and is installed on, for example, the vehicle body 10. As shown in FIG. 2, the vibration detection device 4 of this embodiment is configured to include three acceleration sensors 41, 42, and 43 that respectively detect acceleration in the vertical direction. The three acceleration sensors 41 to 43 are installed on the vehicle body 10 at a distance from each other. The acceleration sensor 41 is installed in the right front portion of the vehicle body 10. The acceleration sensor 42 is installed in the left front portion of the vehicle body 10. The acceleration sensor 43 is installed in the right rear portion or left rear portion (the right rear portion in the figure) of the vehicle body 10. By installing at least three acceleration sensors 41 to 43 on the vehicle body 10 and treating the vehicle body 10 as a rigid body, it is possible to calculate the state quantity of any plane of the vehicle body 10. The state quantity is at least acceleration, velocity, or displacement in the vertical direction. Details will be provided below.

[0015] The controller 5 is configured by an electronic control unit (ECU) having one or more processors 51 and one or more memories 52. The memory 52 is communicatively connected to the processor 51. The memory 52 may be an internal memory or an external memory. The controller 5 is communicatively connected to the active suspension 3 and the vibration detection device 4. For example, when a seating sensor that determines whether or not an occupant is seated in the seat 2 determines that an occupant is present, the controller 5 controls the active suspension 3 corresponding to the seat 2 determined to have an occupant present.

[0016] The controller 5 is configured to control the active suspension 3 based on the detection result of the vibration detection device 4. The controller 5 controls the active suspension 3 to reduce vibration of the seat 2. More specifically, the controller 5 calculates a "corresponding position state quantity" indicating the vibration state of a portion of the vehicle body 10 corresponding to the position where the seat 2 is located based on the detection result of the vibration detection device 4. The controller 5 controls the active suspension based on the corresponding position state quantity. Hereinafter, the portion of the vehicle body 10 corresponding to the position where the seat 2 is located will also be referred to as the "seat corresponding position." The seat corresponding position can also be referred to as a portion of the vehicle body 10 located below the seat 2, or a portion of the vehicle body 10 to which the active suspension 3 is fixed. The corresponding position state quantity is a state quantity of the seat corresponding position. Even if the carrier member is a member other than the seat 2, the concept of the "corresponding position" is the same as that of the seat 2. In other words, the corresponding position can also be referred to as a portion of the vehicle body 10 located below the carrier member, or a portion of the vehicle body 10 to which the active suspension 3 is fixed.

[0017] The controller 5 controls the actuator 33 to control the relative position of the seat 2 in the up-down direction. The controller 5 sets the current value of the control current to be supplied to the actuator 33. The controller 5 supplies the control current to the electric motor of the actuator 33 via a drive circuit (not shown). The current value of the control current correlates with the amount of expansion and contraction of the actuator 33. The amount of expansion and contraction of the actuator 33, i.e., the amount of displacement of the seat 2 due to the operation of the actuator 33, can also be said to be the control amount of the actuator 33.

[0018] 3, the controller 5 is configured to execute a detection result acquisition process S11, a corresponding position state quantity calculation process S12, a carrier state quantity calculation process S13, a lower control quantity calculation process S14, an upper control quantity calculation process S15, and a control execution process S16. The detection result acquisition process S11 is a process in which the controller 5 acquires the detection result (detection value) from the vibration detection device 4.

[0019] The corresponding position state quantity calculation process S12 is a process in which the controller 5 calculates the corresponding position state quantity based on the detection result of the vibration detection device 4. The carrier state quantity calculation process S13 is a process in which the controller 5 calculates the carrier state quantity indicating the vibration state of the seat 2 based on the corresponding position state quantity.

[0020] In the lower control amount calculation process S14, the controller 5 calculates, based on the corresponding position state amount and a predetermined lower gain, a lower control amount which is a control amount of the active suspension 3 for responding to input of vibration from the vehicle body 10 to the seat 2. In the upper control amount calculation process S15, the controller 5 calculates, based on the carrier state amount and a predetermined upper gain, an upper control amount which is a control amount of the active suspension 3 for responding to vibration of the seat 2. In the control execution process S16, the controller 5 controls the active suspension 3 based on the lower control amount and the upper control amount.

[0021] Specific examples of the calculation processes S12 to S15 will be described. In the corresponding position state quantity calculation process S12, calculations are performed assuming the vehicle body 10 to be a rigid body. By treating the vehicle body 10 as a rigid body in the calculations, the displacement amount in the up-down direction of the seat corresponding position, i.e., the corresponding position state quantity, can be calculated from the detection results of the three acceleration sensors 41 to 43 installed on the vehicle body 10 (i.e., the sprung part). The corresponding position state quantity is calculated, for example, based on the following equations (1), (2), (3), (4), and (5). In the coordinate system, the x direction is the vehicle traveling direction (front-rear direction of the vehicle), the y direction is the left-right direction, and the z direction is the up-down direction.

[0022]

number

[0023] In the corresponding position state quantity calculation process S12, the acceleration Z in the z direction at the seat corresponding position is calculated as the corresponding position state quantity based on the formulas (1) to (5). se1 '' is calculated. Z se1'' is the velocity Z in the z-direction of the sheet corresponding position when integrated with time. se1 ', and when integrated twice, the displacement in the z direction of the sheet corresponding position is se1 Z se1 '', Z se1 ', and Z se1 is the corresponding position state quantity. The controller 5 calculates Z se1 '', Z is used as the corresponding position state quantity to be used in the carrier state quantity calculation process S13. se1 The center of gravity of the vehicle body 10 can also be said to be the center of gravity of the sprung mass.

[0024] In the carrier state quantity calculation process S13 of this embodiment, calculations are performed assuming that the active suspension 3 is configured such that one actuator 33, one shock absorber 31, and one suspension spring 32 are connected in parallel between one seat 2 and the vehicle body 10. Note that the configuration / model of the active suspension 3 assumed in the calculations may be changed depending on the processing capacity of the controller 5. The model is, for example, an n-degree-of-freedom vibration system model (n is a natural number).

[0025]

number

[0026] In the lower control amount calculation process S14, the controller 5 calculates the corresponding position state amount Z se1 The controller 5 calculates the control amount of the actuator 33, i.e., the lower control amount, for suppressing vibration of the seat 2 in response to the input from the vehicle body 10 to the seat 2 (which can also be considered vibration below the seat 2), using the following equation (7): F se1 is the lower control amount. α1 is the velocity term gain. β1 is the displacement term gain. The gains are set in the ranges of 0<α1≦1 and 0<β1≦1, for example.

[0027]

number

[0028]

number

[0029] F se =F se1 +F se2 ·······(9) According to this embodiment, the corresponding position state quantity is calculated based on the detection result of the vibration detection device 4, i.e., the state quantity of the vehicle body 10. Because the state quantity of the vehicle body 10 at the position corresponding to the seat 2 is calculated, the controller 5 can estimate and predict (i.e., calculate) how the seat 2 will vibrate. The corresponding position state quantity is, for example, the displacement, velocity, or acceleration of a portion of the vehicle body 10 corresponding to the seat 2. Vibrations input to the vehicle body 10 are transmitted to the seat 2 via the active suspension 3. In other words, vibrations input to the tires while the vehicle is traveling are transmitted to the vehicle body 10 before the seat 2. Therefore, compared to a conventional configuration in which the active suspension is controlled based on the detection result of a sensor provided on the seat, a configuration in which the active suspension 3 is controlled based on the detection result of the vibration of the vehicle body 10, as in this embodiment, can control the active suspension 3 at an earlier timing. In other words, according to this embodiment, the active suspension 3 can be controlled with good responsiveness. The controller 5 can also start controlling the active suspension 3 before the seat 2 vibrates.

[0030] In this way, it is possible to improve control responsiveness by using the corresponding position state amount calculated based on the vibration state of the vehicle body 10 for controlling the active suspension 3. Furthermore, according to this embodiment, there is no need to provide a sensor on the seat 2, which makes it possible to reduce the number of sensors to be mounted on the vehicle and the mounting space.

[0031] In the conventional configuration, delays in vibration detection are compounded by delays in the control system, raising concerns about reduced vibration damping effectiveness and system stability. However, according to this embodiment, by improving control responsiveness, it is possible to suppress reduced control effectiveness and system stability. Furthermore, if an acceleration sensor or the like is provided in each of multiple seats 2, a large number of sensors are required in one vehicle depending on the degree of freedom desired for control, which raises concerns about increased costs and installation space. However, according to this embodiment, it is sufficient to detect the vibration state of the vehicle body 10, so there is no need to provide a sensor in each seat 2, thereby enabling cost reduction and reduced installation space. Existing sensors can also be used to detect the vibration state of the vehicle body 10. The controller 5 can execute the above processes S11 to S16 for each of the active suspensions 3 provided in each of the multiple seats 2.

[0032] The controller 5 may control the active suspension 3 based on the lower control amount without using the upper control amount. In this case, the carrier state quantity calculation process S13 and the upper control amount calculation process S15 are unnecessary. This also makes it possible to improve the control responsiveness as described above. The controller 5 may control the active suspension 3 based on the upper control amount without using the lower control amount. In this case, the lower control amount calculation process S14 is unnecessary. This also makes it possible to improve the control responsiveness as described above. In this way, the controller 5 may control the active suspension 3 based on at least one of the lower control amount and the upper control amount. However, by using both the lower control amount and the upper control amount, the control accuracy is further improved.

[0033] The vibration detection device 4 may be an existing sensor as long as it detects the vibration state of the vehicle body 10. An acceleration sensor mounted on the vehicle body 10 for another purpose may be used as the vibration detection device 4. For example, if the suspension is an active suspension, an acceleration sensor on the spring used in controlling the suspension may be used as the vibration detection device 4.

[0034] Also, other existing sensors such as an existing vehicle height sensor or an unsprung acceleration sensor may be used as the vibration detection device 4. In this case, the controller 5 may perform state estimation using an observer or the like based on the detection results of the other existing sensors, and may use the estimated value calculated by the observer as the detection value of the vibration detection device 4. Also, the vibration detection device 4 may be composed of four or more acceleration sensors provided on the vehicle body 10.

[0035] Furthermore, if an acceleration sensor or the like is provided on the seat 2, it is possible to further improve control accuracy by using not only the calculation results of each process but also the detection results of the acceleration sensor on the seat 2. The closer the sensor is to the seat 2, the higher the robustness will be, but the farther the sensor is from the seat 2, the better the responsiveness will be. Therefore, by adding the control amount based on the detection value of the sensor provided on the seat 2 and the control amount based on the detection value of the sensor provided on the vehicle body 10, well-balanced control is possible.

[0036] Furthermore, the actuators 33 of the active suspension 3 are not limited to those that control only the vertical direction. For example, by arranging two or more actuators 33 on one seat 2, control in the roll direction and / or pitch direction is also possible. The controller 5 can execute the same control as above for such an active suspension 3. A known configuration can be applied as the configuration of the active suspension 3. The controller 5 can execute arithmetic processing according to the configuration (model) of the active suspension 3.

[0037] (road surface information acquisition device) An embodiment will be described in which a vehicle control device includes a road surface information acquisition device 6 instead of or in addition to the vibration detection device 4. As shown in Fig. 4, a vehicle control device 1A includes a seat 2 as a carrier member, an active suspension 3, a controller 5, and a road surface information acquisition device 6. Note that the control of each suspension around the vehicle using the road surface information acquisition device 6 is also called preview vibration suppression control.

[0038] The road surface information acquisition device 6 is configured to acquire road surface information that is information related to the vertical displacement of the road surface on which a predetermined target wheel is scheduled to travel. In this example, all wheels 9 are set as target wheels. The road surface information includes, for example, the vertical displacement of the road surface, speed (time differential value of the displacement), and / or acceleration (time differential value of the speed). The road surface information may include information other than information related to the vertical displacement of the road surface.

[0039] The road surface information acquisition device 6 includes an electronic control unit 60 (hereinafter referred to as ECU 60) that includes one or more processors (corresponding to "arithmetic devices") 61 and one or more memories (corresponding to "storage devices") 62. The memory 62 is communicably connected to the processor 61. The memory 62 may be an internal memory or an external memory. The ECU 60 and the controller 5 may be a common ECU. For example, the processor 51 may also function as the processor 61, and the memory 52 may also function as the memory 62. In this case, the road surface information acquisition device 6 includes the controller 5 and a receiver 63, which will be described later.

[0040] The memory 62 stores a road surface information map Mp including map information and road surface information associated with the map information. The road surface information in the road surface information map Mp in this embodiment is an unsprung state quantity, which is a state quantity of the unsprung part of the vehicle. That is, in the road surface information map Mp, the unsprung state quantity is associated (linked) with a position on the map. In the road surface information map Mp, for example, information on the unsprung state quantity is associated with each area of ​​map information in which a road is divided into areas of a predetermined shape. By referring to the road surface information map Mp, it is possible to grasp the unsprung state quantity when the vehicle travels at any position on the map. The unsprung state quantity is, for example, the vertical displacement amount of the unsprung part, the vertical velocity of the unsprung part, or the vertical acceleration of the unsprung part for each wheel 9.

[0041] The road surface information acquisition device 6 can acquire the unsprung mass state quantity when the vehicle has traveled X meters or t seconds later based on the road surface information map Mp and the position information of the host vehicle. The road surface information acquisition device 6 is equipped with a receiver 63 mounted on the vehicle and receives vehicle position information from an artificial satellite. The receiver 63 is, for example, a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver. The road surface information acquisition device 6 calculates the unsprung mass state quantity t seconds later based on the road surface information map Mp, the host vehicle's position, the host vehicle's traveling direction, and the host vehicle's speed, for example. The road surface information acquisition device 6 transmits information about the unsprung mass state quantity to the controller 5. The controller 5 controls the active suspension 3 based on the unsprung mass state quantity corresponding to the road surface condition t seconds later so as to suppress vibration of the seat 2 t seconds later. Note that the unsprung mass state quantity of each front wheel 9f after t seconds may differ from the unsprung mass state quantity of each rear wheel 9r after t seconds.

[0042] The road surface information acquisition device 6 may acquire, for example, position information of the vehicle and the planned driving route from a navigation device of the vehicle, and acquire the unsprung state quantity after t seconds based on the acquired information, vehicle speed information, and road surface information map Mp. The road surface information acquisition device 6 may be configured to include a navigation device.

[0043] Furthermore, the road surface information acquisition device 6 may be configured to receive a portion of the road surface information map Mp (for example, the road surface information map Mp of the surroundings of the vehicle) from a storage device outside the vehicle that can communicate with the vehicle, such as a server at a control center. In this case, the memory 62 stores (for example, temporarily) the received portion of the road surface information map Mp, for example, the road surface information map Mp of the surroundings of the vehicle.

[0044] As shown in FIG. 5, the controller 5 is configured to execute a vehicle body state quantity calculation process S21, a corresponding position state quantity calculation process S22, a carrier state quantity calculation process S23, a lower control quantity calculation process S24, an upper control quantity calculation process S25, and a control execution process S26.

[0045] In the vehicle body state quantity calculation process S21, the controller 5 calculates the vibration state (state quantity) of the vehicle body 10 after t seconds based on the road surface information after t seconds acquired by the road surface information acquisition device 6. More specifically, in the vehicle body state quantity calculation process S21, the controller 5 calculates the sprung state quantity after t seconds based on the unsprung state quantity after t seconds. The road surface information includes the unsprung displacement amount Z corresponding to the right front wheel 9fr as the unsprung state quantity after t seconds. fr2 , the unsprung displacement Z corresponding to the left front wheel 9fl fl2 , the unsprung displacement Z corresponding to the right rear wheel 9rr rr2 , and the unsprung displacement Z corresponding to the left rear wheel 9rl rl2 Contains:

[0046] The controller 5 calculates the displacement Z2 of the sprung mass, the pitch angle θ of the sprung mass, and the roll angle φ of the sprung mass as the sprung mass state quantities based on the following equations (10), (11), and (12). In addition, the controller 5 uses a Laplace operator to calculate the vertical velocity Z2s of the sprung mass, the vertical acceleration Z2s of the sprung mass, 2 , sprung mass pitch velocity θs, sprung mass pitch acceleration θs 2 , sprung roll velocity φs, and sprung roll acceleration φs 2 The controller 5 also calculates the displacement Z of the part of the sprung mass corresponding to the position of the right front wheel 9fr. fr2 , the displacement Z of the part of the sprung mass corresponding to the position of the left front wheel 9fl fl2 , the displacement Z of the part of the spring corresponding to the position of the right rear wheel 9rr rr2 , and the displacement Z of the part of the spring corresponding to the position of the left rear wheel 9rl rl2 Calculate.

[0047]

number

[0048] The corresponding position state quantity calculation process S22 is a process in which the controller 5 calculates a corresponding position state quantity that indicates the vibration state of the portion of the vehicle body 10 that corresponds to the seat 2 (i.e., the seat corresponding position) based on the vibration state (sprung state quantity) of the vehicle body 10. The corresponding position state quantity calculation process S22 is a process that corresponds to the corresponding position state quantity calculation process S12. The controller 5 calculates the acceleration Z in the z direction of the seat corresponding position using equation (5). se1 Calculate Z g '' is Z2, Z fr2 , Z fl2 , Z rr2 , and Z rl It is calculated based on Φ g is the calculated φs 2 It is equivalent to Θ g is the calculated θs 2 As a result, the acceleration Z of the seat corresponding position is calculated as the corresponding position state quantity. se1 '', velocity Z of the seat corresponding position se1 ', and displacement amount Z of the seat corresponding position se1 is calculated.

[0049] The subsequent processes S23 to S26 are the same as the processes S13 to S16 in FIG. 3. The carrier state quantity calculation process S23 is the same as the carrier state quantity calculation process S13. The lower control quantity calculation process S24 is the same as the lower control quantity calculation process S14. The upper control quantity calculation process S25 is the same as the upper control quantity calculation process S15. The control execution process S26 is the same as the control execution process S16, and the timing of the control execution is a timing that can accommodate the road surface on which the vehicle will travel in t seconds. In this way, the controller 5 calculates in advance the corresponding position state quantity in t seconds using the unsprung state quantity (road surface information) at the predicted passing position, and controls the active suspension 3 based on the corresponding position state quantity at the timing when the vehicle passes the predicted passing position.

[0050] The vehicle control device 1A equipped with the road surface information acquisition device 6 can control the active suspension 3 based on the vibration state of the seat 2 predicted in advance based on road surface information. This makes it possible to improve the control responsiveness. State quantity estimation using the road surface information acquisition device 6 enables feedforward control. For example, the timing of vibration input and the timing of control can be synchronized based on the vehicle speed and the time (t) required to reach the expected road surface.

[0051] (First modified example of road surface information acquisition device) The road surface information acquisition device 6 described above includes an ECU 60 and a receiver 63. However, the configuration of the road surface information acquisition device 6 is not limited to this. As shown in FIG. 6, the road surface information acquisition device 6 may include a periphery monitoring device 64 and an ECU 60 including one or more processors 61 and one or more memories 62. The periphery monitoring device 64 includes one or more of a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging, or Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging), a camera, and a millimeter-wave radar. In other words, the periphery monitoring device 64 includes one or more preview sensors. The periphery monitoring device 64 detects road surface conditions around the vehicle and transmits the detection results to the ECU 60. The periphery monitoring device 64 detects, for example, the presence or absence of unevenness on the road surface, the height or depth of the unevenness (the amount of displacement of the road surface), the distance between the unevenness and the vehicle, the inclination of the road surface, etc. Based on the vehicle speed and the distance between the vehicle and the unevenness, the time until the vehicle reaches the unevenness can be calculated. In this example, all the wheels 9 are set as target wheels.

[0052] The ECU 60 calculates, for example, an unsprung state quantity, which is a state quantity of the unsprung part of the vehicle, based on the detection result of the periphery monitoring device. The ECU 60 estimates the unsprung state quantity after t seconds based on unevenness information (road surface displacement information) of the road surface on which the vehicle will be traveling after t seconds, which is acquired by the periphery monitoring device 64. The unsprung state quantity after t seconds can be calculated based on information about changes in the road surface acquired by the periphery monitoring device and the vehicle state (vehicle speed, etc.).

[0053] The ECU 60 transmits the calculated unsprung state quantity t seconds from now to the controller 5 as road surface information. Similar to the above processes S21 to S26, the controller 5 calculates a future control amount for the active suspension 3 based on the road surface information (unsprung state quantity) t seconds from now. This configuration also makes it possible to perform feedforward control, and achieves the same effects as above. Note that, similar to the above, the ECU 60 and the controller 5 may be configured as a common ECU.

[0054] (Second modified example of road surface information acquisition device) As shown in FIG. 7, the road surface information acquisition device 6 may include a front wheel state detection device 65 that detects unsprung state quantities corresponding to each front wheel 9f, and an ECU 60 including one or more processors 61 and one or more memories 62. The ECU 60 calculates the unsprung state quantities of each rear wheel 9r based on the unsprung state quantities of each front wheel 9f. That is, the target wheels in this example are each rear wheel 9r. The front wheel state detection device 65 includes, for example, a vehicle height sensor 651 provided for each front wheel 9f to detect vehicle height, and an acceleration sensor 652 provided in a part of the unsprung mass (suspension component) corresponding to each front wheel 9f to detect vertical acceleration. The vehicle height sensor 651 detects the vehicle height at the position of each front wheel 9f. The acceleration sensor 652 detects the vertical acceleration of the unsprung mass at the position of each front wheel 9f.

[0055] The ECU 60 calculates the unsprung state quantity of each rear wheel 9r after t seconds based on the detection results of each vehicle height sensor 651 and each acceleration sensor 652. For example, the ECU 60 assumes that each rear wheel 9r travels on the same trajectory as the corresponding front wheel 9f, and calculates the unsprung state quantity of each rear wheel 9r after t seconds based on the wheelbase length and vehicle speed of the vehicle. For example, the ECU 60 can estimate that vibration generated in the right front wheel 9fr will occur in the right rear wheel 9rr after t seconds, and that vibration generated in the left front wheel 9fl will occur in the left rear wheel 9rl after t seconds. The ECU 60 transmits, as road surface information, information on the unsprung state quantity corresponding to the current position of each front wheel 9f and information on the unsprung state quantity corresponding to the position of each rear wheel 9r after t seconds to the controller 5.

[0056] In a vehicle body state quantity calculation process S21, the controller 5 calculates the vibration state of the vehicle body 10 based on the road surface information acquired by the road surface information acquisition device 6. That is, the controller 5 calculates the vibration state (sprung state quantity) of the vehicle body 10 with the phase advanced only with respect to the input to each rear wheel 9r. The controller 5 controls the active suspension 3 by the same processes S22 to S26 as above based on the vibration state of the vehicle body 10. Even with this configuration, feedforward control is possible, and the same effects as above can be achieved. As above, the ECU 60 and the controller 5 may be configured as a common ECU.

[0057] (Occupant mass estimation) The vehicle control device 1, 1A disclosed above may further include a mass calculation device 7 that calculates the mass of an occupant or an object being transported on the carrier member. In this case, in this embodiment, the vehicle control device 1, 1A includes the mass calculation device 7 that calculates the mass of an occupant seated in the seat 2. As shown in FIG. 8 , the mass calculation device 7 includes an ECU 70 including one or more processors 71 and one or more memories 72, a seating sensor 73, and a displacement sensor 74 as a status sensor. The seating sensor 73 is a sensor that detects that an occupant is seated in the seat 2. The seating sensor 73 is, for example, a seat belt sensor that detects that a seat belt is fastened, a capacitance-type seating sensor that detects that an occupant is seated based on a change in capacitance, or a load sensor that detects that a load is applied to the seat 2.

[0058] The displacement sensor 74 is a sensor that detects the amount of displacement of the seat 2 in the up and down direction. The displacement sensor 74 is one of the state sensors that detects the state of the actuator 33. The displacement sensor 74 is installed relative to the actuator 33 so as to detect the amount of extension and contraction of the actuator 33. The controller 5 is configured not to control the actuator 33 when the seating sensor 73 does not detect an occupant seated, i.e., when the occupant is not seated. The ECU 70 stores the detection value of the displacement sensor 74 in the non-seated state, i.e., when the actuator 33 is not controlled, as a reference value.

[0059] When the seating sensor 73 detects that an occupant is seated, the ECU 70 acquires the detection value of the displacement sensor 74. The ECU 70 calculates the stroke (change amount) of the actuator 33 due to the occupant sitting on the seat based on the difference between a reference value and the detection value of the displacement sensor 74 when the occupant is seated (hereinafter also referred to as the seating displacement difference). The ECU 70 calculates the mass of the occupant based on the stroke. The memory 72 may store a mass map, which is a database showing the relationship between the seating displacement difference and the occupant's mass. In this case, the ECU 70 calculates the mass of the occupant based on the seating displacement difference and the mass map. Note that, depending on the configuration of the actuator 33, the state sensor may be an angle sensor that detects the angle of the actuator 33 instead of the displacement sensor 74. The stroke can be calculated based on the angle of the actuator 33.

[0060] In this way, the ECU 70 executes the mass calculation process S30 to calculate the mass of the occupant seated on the seat 2. The ECU 70 transmits information on the calculated occupant mass to the controller 5. The controller 5 calculates the sum of the occupant mass and the pre-stored mass of the seat 2 as the estimated seat mass m see As in the above, the ECU 70 and the controller 5 may be configured as a common ECU.

[0061] When the vehicle control device 1 equipped with the vibration detection device 4 is equipped with the mass calculation device 7, the controller 5 and ECU 70 execute the mass calculation process S30 in addition to the above processes S11 to S16, as shown in Fig. 9. The controller 5 executes the calculations of the equations (1) to (5) in the same manner as above. The mass calculation process S30 is executed before the carrier state quantity calculation process S13. The estimated seat mass m see is calculated, the controller 5 calculates the estimated seat mass m see In other words, the controller 5 executes the carrier state quantity calculation process S13 using the mass m on the seat in the equation (6). se Estimate the mass m on the seat see Using the following equation (13) where se2 Calculate.

[0062]

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[0063] When the vehicle control device 1A equipped with the road surface information acquisition device 6 is equipped with the mass calculation device 7, the controller 5 and the ECU 70 execute the mass calculation process S30 in addition to the above processes S21 to S26, as shown in Fig. 10. In the mass calculation process S30, the ECU 70 calculates the estimated seat mass m see The mass calculation process S30 is executed before the vehicle body state quantity calculation process S21. The controller 5 acquires information on the estimated seat mass from the mass calculation device 7. The controller 5 also acquires road surface information from the road surface information acquisition device 6, for example, information on the unsprung state quantity after t seconds as described above.

[0064] In the vehicle body state quantity calculation process S21, the controller 5 calculates the sprung mass state quantity after t seconds based on the unsprung mass state quantity after t seconds. In the equations (10), (11), and (12), the controller 5 calculates the sprung mass m2 by the estimated sprung mass m 2e and the roll moment of inertia of the spring I x The estimated roll moment of inertia of the sprung mass I xe and the sprung pitch moment of inertia I y is the estimated pitch moment of inertia of the sprung mass, I ye That is, the controller 5 calculates the sprung state quantities based on the following equations (14), (15), and (16).

[0065]

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[0066] As described above, the controller 5 calculates the sprung mass state quantities, such as the displacement Z2 of the sprung mass, the pitch angle θ of the sprung mass, the roll angle φ of the sprung mass, the vertical velocity Z2s of the sprung mass, and the vertical acceleration Z2s of the sprung mass. 2 , sprung mass pitch velocity θs, sprung mass pitch acceleration θs 2 , sprung roll velocity φs, sprung roll acceleration φs 2 , the displacement Z of the part of the spring corresponding to the position of the right front wheel 9fr fr2 , the displacement Z of the part of the sprung mass corresponding to the position of the left front wheel 9fl fl2 , the displacement Z of the part of the spring corresponding to the position of the right rear wheel 9rr rr2 , and the displacement Z of the part of the spring corresponding to the position of the left rear wheel 9rl rl2 Calculate.

[0067] Based on these calculated values, the controller 5 assumes that the vehicle body 10 is a rigid body, and calculates the state quantity at the seat corresponding position, i.e., the acceleration Z in the z direction at the seat corresponding position, using equation (5). se1 Calculate "." As above, Z g '' is Z2, Z fr2 , Z fl2 , Z rr2 , and Z rl It is calculated based on Φ g is the calculated φs 2 It is equivalent to Θ g is the calculated θs 2 As a result, the acceleration Z of the seat corresponding position is calculated as the corresponding position state quantity. se1'', velocity Z of the seat corresponding position se1 ', and displacement amount Z of the seat corresponding position se1 The subsequent processing is the same as processing S13 to S16.

[0068] This configuration enables control that takes into account the mass of the occupant on seat 2, improving the accuracy of vibration damping control of active suspension 3. The effect of the mass of the occupant on seat 2 is small on the control of the suspension because the mass of vehicle body 10 is large, but is not small on the control of active suspension 3 of seat 2, which is significantly lighter than vehicle body 10. Therefore, by calculating the mass of the occupant on seat 2 and reflecting this calculated value in the control calculations, it is possible to improve control accuracy.

[0069] Furthermore, the controller 5 may change the gains α1, α2, β1, and β2 in the equations (7) and (8) based on the calculated mass of the occupant, thereby making it possible to set optimal gains according to the mass of the occupant.

[0070] The mass calculation device 7 or the mass calculation process S30 need only be able to calculate the mass of the occupant on the seat 2, and the configuration or processing content thereof is not limited to the above. For example, if a sensor is provided on the seat 2, the controller 5 causes the actuator 33 to apply a predetermined input, such as a step, random, or sine wave, to the seat 2. The controller 5 performs identification based on the response of the seat 2 to this input, i.e., the detection value of the sensor on the seat 2. This makes it possible to measure the roll moment of inertia and the pitch moment of inertia, which are difficult to measure statically. Even if such vibration processing by the actuator 33 is not performed, the controller 5 may perform identification by referring to the transfer function on the seat 2 in response to the input from the vehicle body 10, or simply by referring to the peak frequency of vibration on the seat 2.

[0071] (others) The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the vehicle control device may include both the vibration detection device 4 and the road surface information acquisition device 6. In this case, the controller 5 may, for example, use the control amount calculated by one of the processes S11 to S16 and the processes S21 to S26. Fse1 and the control amount F calculated by the other process. se2 However, in this case, the control amount F under the seat 2 may be calculated by adding the control amount F se1 Regarding (a), it is preferable that the sum of the gains α1 and β1 does not greatly exceed the ideal gain. If the gains α1 and β1 are set to values ​​higher than the gains that ideally cancel out the vibration, there is a risk that the seat 2 will be vibrated in the direction opposite to the vibration. Note that when processing including the mass calculation processing S30 is performed as described above, there are no restrictions on the gains.

[0072] Furthermore, when preview vibration damping control is executed in the suspension, the active suspension 3 is controlled taking this into consideration. In this disclosure, the term "ECU" can be replaced with "computer." Furthermore, "calculation" can also be referred to as "estimation." Furthermore, roll velocity is also called roll angular velocity, pitch velocity is also called pitch angular velocity, roll acceleration is also called roll angular acceleration, and pitch acceleration is also called pitch angular acceleration. The active suspension 3 does not need to include the actuator 33. In this case, the controller 5 controls at least one of the damping force and the spring constant. The controller 5 may be composed of multiple ECUs. The model settings for the calculation can be changed depending on the seat structure and the ECU processing capacity. The vibration detection device 4 may be a calculation device (e.g., an ECU) that calculates the vibration state of the vehicle body 10 based on road surface information acquired by the road surface information acquisition device 6. The processor is an example of a calculation device, and the memory (e.g., ROM, RAM, etc.) is an example of a storage device. The road surface information may include information related to the vertical displacement of the road surface (e.g., displacement, speed, acceleration, etc.), and may include, for example, information on road surface unevenness, road surface inclination, road surface displacement, unsprung displacement, or tire displacement. [Explanation of symbols]

[0073] 1, 1A...vehicle control device, 2...seat (carrier member), 3...active suspension, 4...vibration detection device, 41-43...acceleration sensor, 5...controller, 6...road surface information acquisition device, 7...mass calculation device, 10...vehicle body

Claims

1. A carrier member that is mounted on the vehicle and on which a passenger or an object to be transported is placed; an active suspension disposed between the carrier member and a vehicle body and configured to be able to control a force acting between the carrier member and the vehicle body; a mass calculation device for calculating the mass of an occupant or an object to be transported placed on the carrier member; a controller that controls the active suspension based on a calculation result of the mass calculation device; a vibration detection device that detects the vibration state of the vehicle body, or a road surface information acquisition device that acquires road surface information that is information related to the vertical displacement of the road surface on which a predetermined target wheel is scheduled to travel; Equipped with the controller calculates a corresponding position state quantity indicating a vibration state of a portion of the vehicle body corresponding to a position where the carrier member is disposed, based on the detection result of the vibration detection device or the road surface information; calculating a lower-side control amount, which is a control amount of the active suspension for responding to input of vibration from the vehicle body to the carrier member, based on the corresponding position state amount and a predetermined lower-side gain; controlling the active suspension based on the lower control amount; Vehicle control device.

2. A carrier member that is mounted on the vehicle and on which a passenger or an object to be transported is placed; an active suspension disposed between the carrier member and a vehicle body and configured to be able to control a force acting between the carrier member and the vehicle body; a mass calculation device for calculating the mass of an occupant or an object to be transported placed on the carrier member; a controller that controls the active suspension based on a calculation result of the mass calculation device; a vibration detection device that detects the vibration state of the vehicle body, or a road surface information acquisition device that acquires road surface information that is information related to the vertical displacement of the road surface on which a predetermined target wheel is scheduled to travel; Equipped with the controller calculates a corresponding position state quantity indicating a vibration state of a portion of the vehicle body corresponding to a position where the carrier member is disposed, based on the detection result of the vibration detection device or the road surface information; calculating a carrier state quantity indicating a vibration state of the carrier member based on the corresponding position state quantity; calculating an upper control amount, which is a control amount of the active suspension for responding to vibration of the carrier member, based on the carrier state amount and a predetermined upper gain; controlling the active suspension based on the upper control amount; Vehicle control device.

3. The controller calculating a carrier state quantity indicating a vibration state of the carrier member based on the corresponding position state quantity; calculating an upper control amount, which is a control amount of the active suspension for responding to vibration of the carrier member, based on the carrier state amount and a predetermined upper gain; controlling the active suspension based on the lower control amount and the upper control amount; The vehicle control device according to claim 1 .

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