vehicle

Abstract

To provide a vehicle capable of increasing the probability that rainwater will be supplied to the vehicle.SOLUTION: A vehicle 10 includes a weather information acquisition part 48 for acquiring weather information from a global precipitation satellite 28, and an automatic drive control part 54 for making the vehicle 10 travel at a point having a predetermined precipitation or more acquired from the weather information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] Patent Document 1 below discloses an invention related to a vehicle air conditioning device. In this vehicle air conditioning device, rainwater is stored in a rainwater storage tank of the vehicle and used to cool parts in the engine compartment. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-273358 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Rainwater can be used for a variety of purposes, including cooling components as described above. However, regardless of the purpose for which rainwater is used, it is preferable to have a stable supply of rainwater to the vehicle. However, Patent Document 1 does not mention actively supplying rainwater to the vehicle's rainwater storage tank. In other words, the prior art described in Patent Document 1 leaves room for improvement in terms of increasing the reliability of supplying rainwater to the vehicle.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In consideration of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle that can increase the reliability of supplying rainwater to the vehicle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The vehicle according to the present invention as set forth in claim 1 includes a weather information acquisition unit that acquires weather information from an artificial satellite, and an automatic driving control unit that drives the vehicle to a location where precipitation is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount, the location being acquired from the weather information. a rainwater storage section capable of storing rainwater; and a spray section capable of spraying the rainwater stored in the rainwater storage section onto a surface of the vehicle; It has the following characteristics.

[0007] According to the present invention as set forth in claim 1, the weather information acquisition unit acquires weather information from an artificial satellite. Then, the autonomous driving control unit drives the vehicle to a location where precipitation is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount, which is acquired from the weather information. In other words, this invention can increase the probability that the vehicle will be located in a location where it is raining.

[0009] Also, According to the present invention, the vehicle is provided with a rainwater storage section, and the vehicle travels to a location where it is raining, thereby allowing rainwater to be stored in the rainwater storage section.

[0010] Furthermore, the present invention is provided with a spraying section, which sprays rainwater stored in the rainwater storage section onto the surface of the vehicle, thereby washing away dirt and the like adhering to the surface of the vehicle.

[0011] Claim 2 The vehicle according to the present invention described in claim 1 The invention described above further comprises a dirt detection unit capable of detecting dirty areas on the surface based on an image of the surface, and a cleaning control unit that causes the spray unit to spray rainwater onto the dirty areas.

[0012] Claim 2 According to the present invention, the dirt detection unit detects dirty areas on the vehicle surface based on an image of the surface. The cleaning control unit then controls the spray unit to spray rainwater onto the dirty areas. Therefore, in this invention, rainwater can be sprayed intensively onto the dirty areas on the vehicle surface. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] As described above, the vehicle according to the present invention as set forth in claim 1 has the excellent effect of increasing the reliability with which rainwater is supplied to the vehicle.

[0014] Also, The vehicle according to the present invention has the excellent effect of being able to use rainwater to clean the vehicle.

[0015] Claim 2 The vehicle according to the present invention described above can reduce the amount of rainwater required to clean the vehicle. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an image diagram illustrating a relationship between a vehicle and its associated devices according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is a plan view showing the configuration of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the periphery of a rainwater storage tank provided in the vehicle according to the present embodiment (a cross-sectional view showing a state cut along line 3-3 in FIG. 2). [Figure 4] 1 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a vehicle control device mounted on a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention and its relationship with peripheral devices. [Figure 5] 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a vehicle control device mounted on a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 6] 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing during automatic driving of the vehicle by the vehicle control device mounted on the vehicle according to the present embodiment. [Figure 7] 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing performed by a vehicle control device mounted on a vehicle according to the present embodiment when cleaning the vehicle. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] An example of an embodiment of a vehicle according to the present invention will be described below with reference to Figures 1 to 7. Note that the arrow FR shown as appropriate in each figure indicates the front side of the vehicle 10 according to this embodiment, the arrow UP indicates the upper side of the vehicle 10, and the arrow OUT indicates the outer side of the vehicle 10 in the vehicle width direction.

[0018] As shown in Fig. 2, the vehicle 10 is provided with a resin "rainwater storage tank 12" as a rainwater storage section. As also shown in Fig. 3, the rainwater storage tank 12 is located below the vehicle on the cowl louvers 16 that are arranged along the lower edge of the windshield glass 14.

[0019] The rainwater storage tank 12 is box-shaped with its longitudinal direction aligned with the width of the vehicle and open on the upper side of the vehicle, and is attached to the cowl louvers 16 via mounting members (not shown). The upper side of the rainwater storage tank 12 is covered by the cowl louvers 16. A sealing member (not shown) is interposed between the cowl louvers 16 and the attachment point of the rainwater storage tank 12 to the cowl louvers 16.

[0020] Meanwhile, a pair of rainwater reservoirs 16A are provided at a predetermined distance from each other in the vehicle width direction in the front portion of the cowl louvers 16. These rainwater reservoirs 16A are recessed portions recessed toward the lower side of the vehicle, and are entirely contained within the rainwater storage tank 12 when viewed from the vertical direction of the vehicle.

[0021] Further, a discharge port 16B is provided in the lower wall 16A1 of the rainwater trap 16A, and this discharge port 16B is opened and closed by a balanced on-off valve 18. More specifically, the balanced on-off valve 18 includes a valve portion 18A that can cover the discharge port 16B from the underside of the vehicle, and a weight portion 18B that has a larger mass than the valve portion 18A. The balanced on-off valve 18 is supported at the boundary between the valve portion 18A and the weight portion 18B by a support portion 16C provided on the cowl louver 16 so as to be swingable around the vehicle width direction.

[0022] In the balanced on-off valve 18 configured as described above, when no load is applied to the valve portion 18A from above the vehicle, a moment due to gravity acting on the weight portion 18B presses the valve portion 18A against the discharge port portion 16B from below the vehicle. A seal member (not shown) is attached to the lower end of the discharge port portion 16B, and this seal member is in close contact with the valve portion 18A when the discharge port portion 16B is closed by the valve portion 18A. A mesh filter (not shown) is also provided at the discharge port portion 16B.

[0023] On the other hand, when a predetermined amount of rainwater has accumulated in the rainwater accumulation section 16A, the weight of the rainwater causes the balanced on-off valve 18 to swing, opening the discharge outlet section 16B, and the rainwater that had accumulated in the rainwater accumulation section 16A is stored in the rainwater storage tank 12.

[0024] 2, in this embodiment, "nozzles 22" as injection sections are provided at each of the four corners of the roof section 10A of the vehicle 10. Furthermore, these nozzles 22 are arranged so that the injection ports (not shown) face the center of the roof section 10A when viewed from the top-bottom direction of the vehicle.

[0025] On the other hand, a pump 24 and an electromagnetic valve 26 are attached to the rainwater storage tank 12, and rainwater can be supplied to the pump 24 from the rainwater storage tank 12 via a hose 25, and the pump 24 and the electromagnetic valve 26 are connected by piping (not shown).

[0026] The electromagnetic valve 26 is connected to the four nozzles 22 via piping 27 arranged inside a roof side rail or roof reinforcement (not shown). Rainwater stored in the rainwater storage tank 12 is pumped from a pump 24 to these nozzles 22 via the electromagnetic valve 26 and piping 27.

[0027] In this embodiment, water is sprayed from nozzles 22 onto dirty areas on the "surface 10A1" of roof portion 10A under the control of a vehicle control device 20 (see FIG. 1) mounted on vehicle 10. Also, under the control of vehicle control device 20, vehicle 10 can be automatically driven toward a location where a predetermined amount of precipitation or more is occurring.

[0028] 4, the vehicle control device 20 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 20A as a processor, a read-only memory (ROM) 20B, a random access memory (RAM) 20C, a storage 20D, a communication interface (I / F) 20E, and an input / output I / F 20F. The CPU 20A, the ROM 20B, the RAM 20C, the storage 20D, the communication interface 20E, and the input / output I / F 20F are connected to each other via a bus 20G so as to be able to communicate with each other.

[0029] The CPU 20A is a central processing unit and is capable of executing various programs. Specifically, the CPU 20A reads programs from the ROM 20B and executes the programs using the RAM 20C as a work area. The CPU 20A reads and executes the execution programs stored in the ROM 20B, thereby enabling the vehicle control device 20 to perform various functions, as will be described later.

[0030] More specifically, various programs and various data are stored in the ROM 20B, while the RAM 20C can temporarily store programs or data as a working area.

[0031] Storage 20D is configured to include an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive), and stores an operating system, various programs including a dirt detection model (to be described later) and a rainwater ejection pattern from nozzle 22, and various data such as map information. Storage 20D is also capable of storing information transmitted from a global precipitation satellite 28, as will be described later, and information acquired from various devices that can communicate with vehicle control device 20.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 1 , the communication I / F 20E is an interface used to connect the vehicle control device 20 to the network N, the artificial satellite "Global Precipitation Satellite 28," and the GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite 30. This interface uses communication standards such as Ethernet (registered trademark), FDDI, and Wi-Fi (registered trademark). The communication I / F 20E may also include a wireless device. The communication I / F 20E communicates with the data server 31 via the network N, thereby enabling transmission and reception of various information to and from the data server 31. Specifically, the vehicle control device 20 acquires map information from the data server 31 via the communication I / F 20E, and updates the map information stored in the storage 20D based on the acquired map information.

[0033] Furthermore, communication I / F 20E is capable of receiving precipitation distribution information and the like obtained by a dual-frequency precipitation radar (not shown) mounted on global precipitation satellite 28 by communicating with global precipitation satellite 28. Various pieces of information obtained from data server 31, global precipitation satellite 28, and GPS satellite 30 are stored in storage 20D.

[0034] The input / output I / F 20F is an interface that allows the vehicle control device 20 to communicate with each device mounted on the vehicle 10. The vehicle control device 20 is connected to various devices (described later) via the input / output I / F 20F so that they can communicate with each other. Note that these devices may be directly connected to the bus 20G.

[0035] The devices connected to the vehicle control device 20 include a water level sensor 32 , a camera 34 , an electromagnetic valve 26 , a motor 36 , a GPS device 38 , an external sensor 40 , an internal sensor 42 , and an actuator 44 .

[0036] The water volume sensor 32 is disposed inside the rainwater storage tank 12 and transmits a water volume signal based on the displacement of a float floating on the surface of the rainwater stored in the rainwater storage tank 12 to the vehicle control device 20. The water volume information in the rainwater storage tank 12 acquired by the water volume sensor 32 is temporarily stored in the storage 20D.

[0037] 2, the camera 34 is attached to the roof portion 10A and is capable of capturing an image of the entire surface 10A1 of the roof portion 10A. The image data of the image captured by the camera 34 is temporarily stored in the storage 20D.

[0038] The electromagnetic valve 26 has a pump port (not shown) connected to the pump 24 via piping (not shown) as described above, so that water pumped from the pump 24 flows into the pump port. The electromagnetic valve 26 also has four outlet ports (not shown), which are connected to the nozzles 22 via the piping 27 described above. The electromagnetic valve 26 is controlled by the vehicle control device 20 to switch, for each nozzle 22, between a connected state in which the pump 24 and the nozzle 22 are connected and a disconnected state in which the pump 24 and the nozzle 22 are not connected. The electromagnetic valve 26 also has a relief valve (not shown), which opens when the pressure inside the electromagnetic valve 26 exceeds a predetermined pressure, allowing the water inside the electromagnetic valve 26 to flow into the rainwater storage tank 12 via piping (not shown).

[0039] The motor 36 is integrated with the pump 24 and is used to drive the pump 24, and its output can be adjusted by controlling a control unit (not shown) of the motor 36 by the vehicle control device 20. That is, in this embodiment, the output of the pump 24 is controlled by the vehicle control device 20.

[0040] The GPS device 38 is equipped with an antenna (not shown) that receives position signals of the vehicle 10 from the GPS satellites 30, and is capable of measuring the current position of the vehicle 10. The position information of the vehicle 10 measured by the GPS device 38 is temporarily stored in the storage 20D.

[0041] The external sensor 40 is a group of sensors used to detect the state around the vehicle 10 while the vehicle 10 is traveling. The external sensor 40 includes a camera that captures an image of a predetermined range around the vehicle 10, a millimeter wave radar that transmits a search wave to the predetermined range, and a lidar (Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging) that scans the predetermined range. Data acquired by the external sensor 40, such as images and videos captured by the camera, is stored in the storage 20D.

[0042] The internal sensors 42 are a group of sensors used to detect the traveling state of the vehicle 10, and include a vehicle speed sensor, an acceleration sensor, a yaw rate sensor, etc. Data acquired by the internal sensors 42 is temporarily stored in the storage 20D.

[0043] The actuator 44 is configured to include a throttle actuator, a brake actuator, and a steering actuator (not shown). The actuator 44 is controlled by the vehicle control device 20, thereby controlling the drive devices (not shown), including the accelerator device, the brake device, and the steering device.

[0044] Next, the functional configuration of the vehicle control device 20 will be described with reference to Fig. 5. When the vehicle control device 20 detects a predetermined operation input by an occupant of the vehicle 10 via an input unit (not shown), the CPU 20A reads out and executes an execution program stored in the ROM 20B, thereby functioning as a collection of a communication unit 46, a weather information acquisition unit 48, a driving route setting unit 50, an automatic driving information acquisition unit 52, an automatic driving control unit 54, a dirt detection unit 56, and a cleaning control unit 58.

[0045] The communication unit 46 is capable of transmitting and receiving various information to and from the data server 31, the global precipitation satellite 28, and the GPS satellite 30.

[0046] Weather information acquisition unit 48 is capable of acquiring the amount of precipitation for a predetermined region as weather information from global precipitation satellite 28. Specifically, weather information acquisition unit 48 is configured to transmit, via communication unit 46, a coordinate signal of vehicle 10 based on the position of vehicle 10 measured by GPS device 38 to global precipitation satellite 28. Upon receiving the coordinate signal from vehicle 10, global precipitation satellite 28 transmits to communication unit 46 location information (coordinates) of points or regions experiencing a predetermined amount of precipitation or more within a predetermined range centered on vehicle 10, and weather information acquisition unit 48 acquires this location information as weather information.

[0047] The driving route setting unit 50 sets a driving route for the vehicle 10 from the current location to a point or area that has a specified amount of precipitation or more and is closest to the vehicle 10, based on the position of the vehicle 10 measured by the GPS device 38, the weather information acquired by the weather information acquisition unit 48, and map information.

[0048] The autonomous driving information acquisition unit 52 is capable of acquiring data necessary for autonomous driving of the vehicle 10. The information acquired by this autonomous driving information acquisition unit 52 includes position information of the vehicle 10 measured by the GPS device 38, data related to the surrounding environment of the vehicle 10 obtained by the external sensor 40, data related to the driving state of the vehicle 10 obtained by the internal sensor 42, and driving route information set by the driving route setting unit 50. The autonomous driving information acquisition unit 52 then transmits the above data to the autonomous driving control unit 54.

[0049] Based on the information acquired by the automatic driving information acquisition unit 52, the automatic driving control unit 54 controls the actuator 44 to automatically drive the vehicle 10 from the current location to a point or area that has a specified amount of precipitation or more and is closest to the vehicle 10.

[0050] The dirt detection unit 56 is configured to input the image of the surface 10A1 of the roof portion 10A captured by the camera 34 into a dirt detection model, and output information on the presence or absence of dirt on the surface 10A1 and the position of the dirty spot on the surface 10A1. When the dirt detection unit 56 detects a dirty spot on the surface 10A1, it transmits a dirt detection signal and a dirt position signal indicating the position of the dirty spot to the cleaning control unit 58.

[0051] As an example, the dirt detection model is a machine-learned model that is trained according to a machine learning technique such as a convolutional neural network using a set of data, such as image data of the surface 10A1 on which the dirt is located and positional information of the dirt location on the surface 10A1, as training data.

[0052] When the cleaning control unit 58 detects a dirt signal from the dirt detection unit 56, it acquires the position of the dirty spot on the surface 10A1 based on the dirt position signal received from the dirt detection unit 56. Then, the cleaning control unit 58 controls the motor 36 and the electromagnetic valve 26 based on a rainwater ejection pattern from the plurality of nozzles 22 that is predetermined according to the position of the dirty spot, so that rainwater is ejected onto the dirty spot for a predetermined time from the nozzles 22 that are positioned so that water can be ejected onto the dirty spot. Note that the cleaning control unit 58 is configured to limit the operation of the motor 36 and the electromagnetic valve 26 when it determines, based on the water volume signal from the water volume sensor 32, that the amount of rainwater stored in the rainwater storage tank 12 is equal to or less than a predetermined amount.

[0053] (Actions and Effects of This Embodiment) Next, the operation and effects of this embodiment will be described.

[0054] An example of a control flow during automatic driving of the vehicle 10 by the vehicle control device 20 will be described below, mainly using the flowchart shown in Fig. 6. Note that this control flow starts when the vehicle control device 20 detects a first operation input to an input unit by an occupant of the vehicle 10.

[0055] When this control flow starts, in step S100, CPU 20A of vehicle control device 20 acquires from global precipitation satellite 28 location information of points within a predetermined range centered on vehicle 10 where precipitation is greater than or equal to a predetermined amount.

[0056] In step S101, the CPU 20A sets a driving route for the vehicle 10 based on the position of the vehicle 10, the location information of points where precipitation is greater than or equal to a predetermined amount, and map information, with the destination being a point that is closest to the vehicle 10 and has precipitation greater than or equal to a predetermined amount from the current location.

[0057] In step S102, the CPU 20A controls the actuator 44 to automatically drive the vehicle 10 to the destination, and then ends the control flow.

[0058] Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to increase the probability that the vehicle 10 is located in a place where it is raining, and rainwater can be stored in the rainwater storage tank 12. In addition, it is possible to wash the vehicle 10 with the rain that falls on the vehicle 10. In this way, in this embodiment, it is possible to increase the probability that rainwater will be supplied to the vehicle 10.

[0059] Next, an example of a control flow when the vehicle control device 20 cleans the vehicle 10 will be described mainly using the flowchart shown in Fig. 7. Note that this control flow starts when the vehicle control device 20 detects a second operation input to the input unit by an occupant of the vehicle 10.

[0060] In step S200, CPU 20A determines whether or not there is dirt on surface 10A1 by inputting an image of surface 10A1 of roof portion 10A captured by camera 34 into a dirt detection model. If CPU 20A determines that there is a dirty spot on surface 10A1 (step S200: YES), CPU 20A proceeds to step S201. On the other hand, if CPU 20A determines that there is no dirty spot on surface 10A1 (step S200: NO), CPU 20A ends this control flow.

[0061] In step S201, CPU 20A acquires position information of the stained portion on surface 10A1 from the output result of the detection model, and the process proceeds to step S202.

[0062] In step S202, the CPU 20A controls the motor 36 and the electromagnetic valve 26 based on the position of the dirty spot to spray rainwater from the nozzle 22 onto the dirty spot for a predetermined period of time, and then returns to step S200.

[0063] Therefore, in this embodiment, rainwater stored in the rainwater storage tank 12 can be sprayed onto the surface 10A1 of the vehicle 10 using the nozzle 22 to wash away dirt and the like adhering to the surface 10A1. Therefore, in this embodiment, the rainwater can be used to clean the vehicle 10.

[0064] In this embodiment, the dirt detection unit 56 detects dirty areas on the surface 10A1 of the vehicle 10 based on an image of the surface 10A1. Then, the cleaning control unit 58 controls the nozzles 22 to spray rainwater onto the dirty areas. Therefore, in this embodiment, rainwater can be sprayed intensively onto the dirty areas on the surface 10A1. Therefore, in this embodiment, the amount of rainwater required to clean the vehicle 10 can be reduced.

[0065] In the above-described embodiment, the rainwater stored in the rainwater storage tank 12 is used to clean the vehicle 10, but a filtration filter may be installed in the rainwater storage tank 12 so that the rainwater can be used for drinking.

[0066] Furthermore, the location where the rainwater storage tank 12 is placed is not limited to the location described above. For example, when the rainwater storage tank 12 is installed on a vehicle with a high vehicle height such as a bus, the rainwater storage tank 12, rainwater catchment portion, and balanced on-off valve 18 may be provided on the roof of the vehicle.

[0067] Furthermore, the number and orientation of the nozzles 22 can be changed as appropriate depending on the specifications of the roof portion 10A, etc. The nozzles 22 may be provided on pillar portions of the vehicle 10 other than the roof portion 10A. [Explanation of symbols]

[0068] 10 vehicles 10A1 surface 12 Rainwater storage tank (rainwater storage section) 22 Nozzle (injection part) 28 Global precipitation satellite (artificial satellite) 48 Weather information acquisition department 54 Automatic driving control unit 56 Dirt detection unit 58 Cleaning control unit

Claims

1. a weather information acquisition unit that acquires weather information from an artificial satellite; an automatic driving control unit that drives the vehicle to a location where precipitation is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount acquired from the weather information; a rainwater storage unit capable of storing rainwater; a spray unit capable of spraying the rainwater stored in the rainwater storage unit onto a surface of the vehicle; A vehicle having:

2. a stain detection unit capable of detecting stained locations on the surface based on the image of the surface; a cleaning control unit that causes the spray unit to spray rainwater onto the dirty area; The vehicle of claim 1 further comprising:

Images