Vehicle control device

Abstract

This vehicle control device for controlling driving force and braking force of a vehicle passing over a change generation source (S) that changes a vehicle speed through a vehicle wheel riding over or down the same comprises: an impulse calculation unit (43) for calculating an impulse applied to the vehicle at the time of the vehicle passing over the change generation source, and for outputting impulse information corresponding to the calculated impulse; a passage determination unit (44) for determining the passage over the change generation source on the basis of the impulse information outputted by the impulse calculation unit; and a braking / driving calculation unit (422) for calculating the driving force and the braking force at the time of the passing over the change generation source on the basis of the determination result from the passage determination unit. The impulse calculation unit calculates, as the impulse information, a speed impulse based on the vehicle speed when passing over the change generation source, and a braking / driving impulse based on the driving force and the braking force when passing over the change generation source. The passage determination unit determines the passage over the change generation source on the basis of a difference between the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse that are calculated by the impulse calculation unit.

Description

Vehicle control device CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-198401, filed on November 22, 2023, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle control device.

[0003] Starting a vehicle while going over a bump requires a larger driving force than starting the vehicle on a flat road. However, to avoid a sudden increase in vehicle speed after going over the bump due to the large driving force required to go over the bump, the driving force after going over the bump must be suppressed compared to before going over the bump. To address this required driving force, a driving force control device for starting over a bump that suppresses a sudden increase in vehicle speed when a vehicle starts going over a bump has been known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This control device includes a bump-going completion detection means that determines whether a wheel has gone over a bump based on vehicle speed information at the time of vehicle start, and suppresses the driving force when the bump-going completion detection means determines whether the wheel has gone over the bump. The bump-going completion detection means calculates vehicle speed information from a moving average of wheel angular accelerations, and determines whether the wheel has gone over the bump when the moving average of wheel angular accelerations is equal to or greater than a set value.

[0004] JP 2007-45230 A

[0005] When there is a step on the road surface on which a vehicle is traveling, the vehicle speed may decrease when the wheels collide with the step, and the vehicle speed may increase after going over the step compared to just before going over the step. For this reason, when the driving force for the vehicle to go over the step and the driving force after going over the step are controlled by a vehicle control device, one method of controlling these driving forces is to change them based on a decrease in vehicle speed, as in the control device described in Patent Document 1.

[0006] However, when a driver brakes while a vehicle is traveling, the vehicle speed decreases. Therefore, it is difficult to determine, based on vehicle speed information alone, whether the decrease in vehicle speed is due to a wheel hitting a bump or due to a driver braking operation. For this reason, for example, if the completion of traversing the bump is determined based on vehicle speed information, there is a risk of an erroneous determination that the bump has been traversed. Furthermore, if the vehicle control device controls the driving force based on the erroneous determination that the bump has been traversed, there is a risk that the driving force cannot be controlled appropriately.

[0007] In this way, when a vehicle travels on a road surface on which a change source that changes the vehicle speed, such as a step, is present, it is difficult to accurately determine the passage of the change source using a method of determining the passage of the change source based on the vehicle speed. As a result of detailed studies by the inventors, it has been found that if the vehicle control device determines the passage of the change source based on the vehicle speed, there is a risk that the driving force when passing through the change source may not be appropriately controlled.

[0008] In view of the above, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a vehicle control device that can improve the accuracy of determining the passage of a change source.

[0009] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a vehicle control device that controls driving force and braking force of a vehicle passing through a change source that changes vehicle speed when wheels of the vehicle go over or descend over it includes: an impulse calculation unit that calculates an impulse applied to the vehicle when the vehicle passes through the change source and outputs impulse information corresponding to the calculated impulse; a passage determination unit that determines the passage of the change source based on the impulse information output by the impulse calculation unit; and a braking / driving calculation unit that calculates the driving force and braking force when passing through the change source based on the determination result of the passage determination unit, wherein the impulse calculation unit calculates, as impulse information, a speed impulse based on the vehicle speed when passing through the change source and a braking / driving impulse based on the driving force and braking force when passing through the change source, and the passage determination unit determines the passage of the change source based on the difference between the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse calculated by the impulse calculation unit.

[0010] Through careful study by the inventors, it has been found that when the vehicle speed changes when passing through a change source, a difference occurs between the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse. Therefore, by having the passage determination unit determine the passage of the change source based on the difference between the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse, it is possible to determine the passage of the change source with higher accuracy than when determining the passage of the change source based on a change in vehicle speed.

[0011] The reference symbols in parentheses attached to each component indicate an example of the correspondence between the component and the specific components described in the embodiments described below.

[0012] 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a vehicle control device according to the present embodiment. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a vehicle collides with a step and then goes over the step. FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a control process executed by the automatic parking control device according to the present embodiment when the vehicle goes over the step. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a control process executed by the automatic parking control device according to the present embodiment when the vehicle descends from the step. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an automatic parking process executed by the automatic parking control device according to the present embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a change in speed impulse when the vehicle collides with a step. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a change in the sum of braking force and driving force when the vehicle collides with a step. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a change in disturbance impulse when a wheel has collided with a step before starting. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a method for determining when a wheel that has collided with a step before starting runs up onto the step. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a change in disturbance impulse when a wheel collides with a step while traveling. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a change in disturbance impulse when the wheel descends from the step.

[0013] An embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 11 . In the present disclosure, an example will be described in which a vehicle control device 1 is applied to an electric vehicle having an automatic parking system. The automatic parking system is a control system that automatically parks the vehicle in a parking space. The automatic parking system executes an automatic parking process to control the operation of various control target devices mounted on the vehicle, thereby driving the vehicle and parking it in the parking space. The vehicle control device 1 of the present disclosure is configured integrally with the automatic parking system and is capable of executing the automatic parking process executed by the automatic parking system.

[0014] 1, the vehicle control device 1 includes a periphery monitoring unit 10, an operation unit 20, a sensor unit 30, an automatic parking control device 40, a drive system 50, and a braking system 60. The periphery monitoring unit 10, the operation unit 20, the sensor unit 30, the automatic parking control device 40, the drive system 50, and the braking system 60 are used by the vehicle control device 1 to execute the automatic parking process.

[0015] The perimeter monitoring unit 10 is an autonomous sensor that monitors the environment surrounding the vehicle and detects moving, dynamic targets such as pedestrians and other vehicles, as well as stationary targets such as road structures. The perimeter monitoring unit 10 may include, for example, a camera that captures images of the surroundings of the vehicle, a sonar that emits ultrasonic waves as search waves and acquires their reflected waves to detect objects around the vehicle, and the like. The perimeter monitoring unit 10 may also include a millimeter-wave radar that outputs millimeter waves as search waves, or a light detection and ranging (LIDAR) that emits laser light as search waves. The perimeter monitoring unit 10 is electrically connected to the automatic parking control device 40 and outputs a signal containing detected information to the automatic parking control device 40 as sensing information at predetermined sampling intervals.

[0016] The operation unit 20 is a user interface that enables an operator, such as a driver, to issue various instructions to the vehicle control device 1. The operation unit 20 includes, for example, an automatic parking start switch that the operator uses to input a signal to start automatic parking. The automatic parking start switch is disposed, for example, near the center of the instrument panel. The automatic parking start switch may be configured to be displayed on a touch panel display. The operation unit 20 is electrically connected to the automatic parking control device 40, and transmits various signals input via the operation unit 20 to the automatic parking control device 40.

[0017] The sensor unit 30 is a sensor that detects various information related to the traveling of the host vehicle. For example, as shown in FIG. 1 , the sensor unit 30 includes a speed sensor 31 that detects the vehicle speed of the host vehicle, an acceleration sensor 32 that detects the acceleration of the host vehicle, and a steering angle sensor 33 that detects the steering angle of the steering wheel. The sensor unit 30 also includes a torque sensor 34 that detects the output torque of a drive system 50 that outputs a driving force for traveling the host vehicle, which is an electric vehicle, and a brake sensor 35 that detects a braking force for braking the host vehicle. Although not shown, the sensor unit 30 may also include a yaw rate sensor or the like. The sensor unit 30 is electrically connected to the automatic parking control device 40 and transmits various information detected by the sensor unit 30 to the automatic parking control device 40.

[0018] The speed sensor 31 is a sensor that detects the speed of the vehicle. In this embodiment, the speed sensor 31 is configured as a wheel speed sensor that detects the rotation of the wheels of the vehicle. The speed sensor 31 is provided near each of the four wheels of the vehicle, and outputs a number of detection signals corresponding to the rotation angle of each of the four wheels as wheel speed pulses. The speed sensor 31 outputs a pulse signal a predetermined designed number of times (e.g., 96 times) according to the rotation angle of the wheel for each rotation of the wheel. In this embodiment, the speed sensor 31 functions as a speed detection unit that outputs information corresponding to the detected vehicle speed.

[0019] The acceleration sensor 32 is a sensor that detects the acceleration of the host vehicle based on the inertial force that accompanies the acceleration of the host vehicle. The acceleration sensor 32 is, for example, fixed to the host vehicle and detects the acceleration in directions along three axes defined for the host vehicle, specifically, the forward / backward, left / right, and up / down directions of the host vehicle.

[0020] The steering angle sensor 33 is a sensor that detects the direction and operation amount of the steering wheel. When the driver performs a steering operation, the steering angle sensor 33 outputs a detection signal corresponding to the steering operation, and when the automatic parking system executes an automatic parking process, the steering angle sensor 33 outputs a detection signal corresponding to the steering angle of the steering wheel set by the automatic parking process.

[0021] The torque sensor 34 is a sensor that detects the driving force of the vehicle by detecting the output torque of a traction motor (not shown) of the drive system 50. When the driver depresses the accelerator pedal, the torque sensor 34 outputs a detection signal corresponding to the output torque of the traction motor that operates in accordance with the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal. Furthermore, when the automatic parking system executes automatic parking processing, the torque sensor 34 outputs a detection signal corresponding to the output torque of the traction motor of the drive system 50 controlled by the automatic parking processing.

[0022] The brake sensor 35 is a sensor that detects the braking force generated in the braking system 60 when the host vehicle is decelerated or stopped. When the driver depresses the brake pedal, the brake sensor 35 outputs a detection signal corresponding to the braking force generated in the braking system 60 according to the amount of depression of the brake pedal. Furthermore, when the automatic parking system executes automatic parking processing, the brake sensor 35 outputs a detection signal corresponding to the braking force generated in the braking system 60 controlled by the automatic parking processing.

[0023] The drive system 50 includes a drive ECU 51 (described later). The drive system 50 includes, for example, a traction motor (not shown) that functions as a power source for the vehicle and an inverter that supplies power to the traction motor. The drive system 50 controls the output drive force by controlling the power supplied to the inverter and adjusting the rotational force of the traction motor that is transmitted to the wheels.

[0024] The braking system 60 includes a braking ECU 61, which will be described later. The braking system 60 includes, for example, a brake rotor, brake pads, wheel cylinders, etc. (not shown). The braking system 60 controls the output braking force by adjusting the brake fluid pressure supplied to the wheel cylinders to control the frictional force generated by pressing the brake pads against the brake rotors. The braking system 60 controls the braking force generated on each of the four wheels.

[0025] The automatic parking control device 40 is a control device that executes automatic parking processing and controls the operation of various controlled devices when an automatic parking start signal is input. The automatic parking control device 40 is composed of a microcomputer including a CPU, ROM, RAM, etc., and its peripheral circuits. The automatic parking control device 40 performs various calculations and processes based on control programs stored in the ROM, and controls the operation of various controlled devices connected to its output side. The ROM and RAM of the automatic parking control device 40 are composed of non-transient physical storage media.

[0026] The automatic parking control device 40 has a stopping position calculation unit 41, a vehicle speed control unit 42, an impulse calculation unit 43, and a step determination unit 44. When an automatic parking start signal is input, the automatic parking control device 40 executes a control program stored in the ROM, thereby functioning as the stopping position calculation unit 41, the vehicle speed control unit 42, the impulse calculation unit 43, and the step determination unit 44. Alternatively, the automatic parking control device 40 may have a plurality of circuit modules corresponding to the stopping position calculation unit 41, the vehicle speed control unit 42, the impulse calculation unit 43, and the step determination unit 44.

[0027] The stop position calculation unit 41 recognizes the surrounding environment of the vehicle based on sensing information input from the periphery monitoring unit 10, determines a target stop position as a target position for parking the vehicle, and also determines a target driving route to the target stop position. The stop position calculation unit 41 determines the target stop position and target driving route based on, for example, image data captured by a camera of the periphery monitoring unit 10, and detection signals including information about objects detected by each of the sonar, millimeter wave radar, and LIDAR.

[0028] The vehicle speed control unit 42 determines the setting values ​​of the respective control target devices to be operated in order to stop the host vehicle at the target stopping position. The vehicle speed control unit 42 has a vehicle speed calculation unit 421 that calculates and determines the setting value of the vehicle speed when the host vehicle travels from the current position to the target stopping position, and a braking / driving calculation unit 422 that calculates and determines the driving force and braking force when the host vehicle travels from the current position to the target stopping position.

[0029] The vehicle speed calculation unit 421 calculates a target speed, which is a target vehicle speed along the target travel route when the host vehicle moves from the current position to the target stop position along the target travel route calculated by the stop position calculation unit 41. The vehicle speed calculation unit 421 transmits information on the calculated target speed to the braking / driving calculation unit 422.

[0030] The braking / driving calculation unit 422 calculates the driving force and braking force required to drive the vehicle at the target speed calculated by the vehicle speed calculation unit 421, and calculates the setting values ​​for each of the controlled devices required to obtain the calculated driving force and braking force.

[0031] The braking / driving calculation unit 422 calculates, for example, the driving force of the driving motor required to drive the host vehicle from the current position to the target stopping position along the target driving route at the target speed as the target rotation speed of the driving motor. The braking / driving calculation unit 422 also calculates, for example, the target hydraulic pressure of the brake fluid to be supplied to the wheel cylinders provided on each wheel when the host vehicle is driven from the current position to the target stopping position along the target driving route at the target speed.

[0032] The braking / driving calculation unit 422 transmits information about the determined driving force to the driving ECU 51 of the driving system 50 , and also transmits information about the determined braking force to the braking ECU 61 of the braking system 60 .

[0033] The drive ECU 51 controls the power supplied to the inverter so that the rotation speed of the drive motor becomes the target rotation speed set by the braking / driving calculation unit 422. The drive ECU 51 controls the driving force output by the drive system 50 by controlling the power supplied to the inverter so that the rotation speed of the drive motor approaches the target rotation speed.

[0034] The brake ECU 61 controls the operation of an actuator (not shown) that adjusts the brake fluid pressure so that the brake fluid pressure in the wheel cylinder becomes the target fluid pressure set by the braking / driving calculation unit 422. The brake ECU 61 controls the braking force output by the braking system 60 by controlling the actuator so that the brake fluid pressure approaches the target fluid pressure.

[0035] Although not shown, the vehicle control device 1 of this embodiment is equipped with a steering system, and when an automatic parking start signal is input to the automatic parking control device 40, a target steering angle of the steering wheel when the host vehicle travels from the current position to the target stopping position along the target travel route is calculated. The steering system then controls the operation of a steering motor that rotates the steering wheel so that the steering angle of the steering wheel becomes the target steering angle.

[0036] When an automatic parking start signal is input, automatic parking control device 40 transmits various pieces of information necessary to park the host vehicle at a target stopping position to each of drive system 50, braking system 60, and steering system. When drive system 50 receives various pieces of information from automatic parking control device 40, drive ECU 51 controls the operation of the travel motor so that the output driving force approaches the target driving force determined by braking / driving calculation unit 422. Furthermore, when braking system 60 receives various pieces of information from automatic parking control device 40, brake ECU 61 controls the actuator so that the output braking force approaches the target braking force determined by braking / driving calculation unit 422.

[0037] 2, there may be a step S on the road on which the vehicle V travels. The step S has a predetermined height and obstructs the travel of the vehicle V, and when a wheel of the traveling vehicle V collides with the step S, the speed of the vehicle V is reduced. Furthermore, when the vehicle V starts moving from a state in which the wheel of the stopped vehicle V is in contact with the step S, the step S obstructs the vehicle V from starting, thereby reducing the acceleration and speed of the vehicle V compared to when the step S is not present.

[0038] Furthermore, when the vehicle V is traveling at a constant speed on a flat road or has started traveling from a stopped state, the step S increases the speed of the vehicle V when it descends the step S. The reason why the speed of the vehicle V increases when it descends the step S is because when the vehicle V descends the step S, it is subjected to gravity, and receives a load due to gravity in the vertical direction, i.e., downward in the direction of gravity, thereby converting potential energy into kinetic energy. In this way, the step S is a source of change that changes the speed of the vehicle V when the wheels of the vehicle V go over the step S or descend the step S.

[0039] When a traveling vehicle V is caused to go over a step S, or when a stopped vehicle V is started while going over a step S, a larger driving force is required compared to when the vehicle V is caused to go over a flat road surface without a step S or when the vehicle V is started over a flat road surface without a step S. Therefore, when calculating the driving force required to travel the host vehicle at the target speed, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 sets a larger set value for the driving force for the wheels to go over the step S compared to when the step S does not exist. Furthermore, when calculating the braking force required to travel the host vehicle at the target speed, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 sets a smaller set value for the braking force when the vehicle V goes over the step S compared to when the step S does not exist.

[0040] However, if the driving force is increased and the braking force is decreased in order to go over the step S, there is a risk that the vehicle V will suddenly accelerate immediately after the wheel runs over the step S. In other words, there is a risk that the vehicle V will suddenly accelerate due to the driving force increased in order to go over the step S. Therefore, in order to avoid a sudden increase in vehicle speed, it is necessary to reduce the driving force immediately after the wheel runs over the step S compared to the set value set for going over the step S. Furthermore, it is necessary to increase the braking force immediately after the wheel runs over the step S compared to the set value set for going over the step S.

[0041] For this reason, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 is required to set a smaller value for the driving force immediately after the wheel has run over the step S compared to before the wheel has run over the step S, and to set a larger value for the braking force immediately after the wheel has run over the step S compared to before the wheel has run over the step S.

[0042] Furthermore, when the vehicle V descends from the step S, gravity converts potential energy into kinetic energy, causing the vehicle speed to increase, which may result in a sudden increase in vehicle speed after the wheel descends from the step S and passes over the step S. Therefore, in order to avoid a sudden increase in vehicle speed, the driving force immediately after the wheel descends from the step S needs to be reduced compared to the set value that was set before the wheel descended from the step S. Alternatively, the braking force immediately after the wheel descends from the step S needs to be increased compared to the set value that was set before the wheel descended from the step S.

[0043] For this reason, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 is required to set the driving force setting value immediately after the wheel descends the step S to be smaller than that before the wheel descends the step S, or to set the braking force setting value immediately after the wheel descends the step S to be larger than that before the wheel descends the step S.

[0044] In this way, when there is a risk that the speed of the vehicle V will change abruptly due to passing through a change source that changes the speed of the vehicle V, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 needs to appropriately adjust the driving force and braking force after passing through the step S by comparing them with those before passing through the change source. Then, in order to appropriately adjust the driving force and braking force after passing through the step S, the vehicle control device 1 needs to accurately determine that the vehicle V has passed through the change source.

[0045] For this reason, when passing over a step S that is a source of change that changes the speed of the vehicle V, the vehicle control device 1 of this embodiment accurately determines whether the vehicle has passed over the step S, and controls the driving force and braking force of the vehicle V. As shown in FIG. 1 , the vehicle control device 1 of this embodiment has a step determination unit 44 that determines whether the vehicle has passed over the step S, and an impulse calculation unit 43 that obtains information required for the step determination unit 44 to determine whether the vehicle has passed over the step S.

[0046] The step determination unit 44 detects that a wheel of a traveling vehicle V has collided with a step S, and also detects that a wheel of a stopped vehicle V is in contact with the step S when the vehicle V starts moving from a state in which the wheel is in contact with the step S. The step determination unit 44 also detects that a wheel has climbed up on the step S when the traveling vehicle V has collided with the step S and then climbed up on the step S, and when the vehicle V has stopped with its wheel in contact with the step S and then climbed up on the step S after starting moving. Furthermore, the step determination unit 44 detects that a wheel of a traveling vehicle V has descended from the step S when it descends from the step S. The step determination unit 44 determines whether the vehicle V has passed over the step S based on information acquired from the impulse calculation unit 43. The step determination unit 44 of this embodiment functions as a passage determination unit that determines whether the vehicle V has passed over the step S, which is a change source. The determination method will be described in detail later.

[0047] The impulse calculation unit 43 calculates the impulse applied to the vehicle V when the vehicle V passes over the step S, as information necessary for the step determination unit 44 to perform these detections. The impulse calculation unit 43 calculates the impulse applied to the vehicle V when the vehicle V passes over the step S, based on various information transmitted from the sensor unit 30, and transmits impulse information corresponding to the calculated impulse to the step determination unit 44. The method of calculating the impulse will be described in detail later.

[0048] Next, an example of the operation process in which the automatic parking control device 40 of the vehicle control device 1 of this embodiment executes the automatic parking process will be described with reference to Fig. 3 and the flowchart shown in Fig. 4, which will be described later. The control process shown in Fig. 3 and 4 is periodically executed, for example, when the operator operates the automatic parking start switch and an automatic parking start signal is input to the vehicle control device 1, and ends when the vehicle V is parked and the automatic parking process is completed. The control process shown in Fig. 3 and 4 also includes a control process that is executed when the vehicle V passes over a step S.

[0049] Specifically, the control process shown in Fig. 3 includes a control process executed after the vehicle V has climbed up the step S from a state before climbing up the step S. Furthermore, the control process shown in Fig. 4 includes a control process executed after the vehicle V has descended from a state in which it has climbed up the step S. The control processes shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 may be executed in parallel, or the control process shown in Fig. 4 may be executed after the control process shown in Fig. 3 has been executed. In this embodiment, an example will be described in which the control processes shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 are executed in parallel.

[0050] First, the control process including the control process executed after the vehicle V has climbed over the step S will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 5. FIG.

[0051] When an automatic parking start signal is input, first, in step S10, the automatic parking control device 40 starts the automatic parking operation. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 5, first, in step S100, the automatic parking control device 40 acquires sensing information from the periphery monitoring unit 10. For example, the automatic parking control device 40 acquires image data from a camera as sensing information, and also acquires information on objects present within the detection ranges of the sonar, millimeter-wave radar, and LIDAR from the sonar, millimeter-wave radar, and LIDAR.

[0052] Next, in step S110, the automatic parking control device 40 recognizes the surrounding environment of the vehicle based on the various information acquired by the stopping position calculation unit 41 from the surroundings monitoring unit 10, and determines a target stopping position and a target driving route.

[0053] Next, in step S120, the vehicle speed control unit 42 calculates the setting values ​​of each of the control-target devices to be operated to stop the host vehicle at the target stop position. Specifically, the vehicle speed calculation unit 421 calculates a target speed for moving the host vehicle V from the current position to the target stop position along the target travel route calculated by the stop position calculation unit 41. The braking / driving calculation unit 422 then calculates the driving force required to cause the host vehicle to travel at the target speed calculated by the vehicle speed calculation unit 421 along the target travel route calculated by the stop position calculation unit 41. The braking / driving calculation unit 422 also calculates the braking force required to cause the host vehicle to travel at the target speed calculated by the vehicle speed calculation unit 421 along the target travel route calculated by the stop position calculation unit 41. Furthermore, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 calculates the target steering angle of the steering wheel required to cause the host vehicle to travel along the target travel route.

[0054] Next, in step S130, automatic parking control device 40 transmits information on the various setting values ​​calculated by braking / driving calculation unit 422 to drive system 50, braking system 60, and the steering system. Specifically, braking / driving calculation unit 422 transmits information on the driving force to drive ECU 51 of drive system 50, transmits information on the calculated braking force to brake ECU 61 of brake system 60, and transmits information on the calculated steering angle to the steering system.

[0055] As a result, the driving motor that outputs driving force, the actuator that adjusts the brake fluid pressure that outputs braking force, and the steering motor that controls the steering angle all start operating, and automatic parking is performed.

[0056] Next, in step S140, the automatic parking control device 40 determines whether the current position of the vehicle V is the target stopping position. If the automatic parking control device 40 determines that the current position of the vehicle V is the target stopping position, it determines that the vehicle has traveled to the target stopping position and ends the automatic parking process. The automatic parking control device 40 repeatedly executes the processes of steps S100 to S140 until it determines in step S140 that the current position of the vehicle V is the target stopping position. In other words, the automatic parking operation continues until it is determined in step S140 that the host vehicle has traveled to the target stopping position.

[0057] 2 exists on the road on which the vehicle V is traveling, the wheels of the vehicle V may come into contact with or collide with the step S. For example, if a step S exists on the road surface on which the vehicle V is traveling, the wheels of the vehicle V may collide with the step S. Furthermore, if the vehicle V stops with its wheels colliding with the step S, the wheels will be in contact with the step S before the vehicle V starts moving, i.e., the wheels of the vehicle V will be in contact with the step S while it is stopped.

[0058] As described above, when a vehicle V traveling on a road surface collides with a step S and then goes over the step S, a larger driving force may be required to go over the step S compared to before the collision with the step S. Furthermore, when the vehicle V starts moving over the step S while the wheels of the stopped vehicle V are in contact with the step S, a larger driving force is required to go over the step S compared to when the step S does not exist. As described above, in order to avoid a sudden increase in vehicle speed after going over the step S, the driving force after going over the step S needs to be reduced from the driving force that was set large for going over the step S.

[0059] For this reason, the automatic parking control device 40 of this embodiment executes the processes from step S12 onwards during automatic parking operation in the control process shown in Fig. 3, and determines whether the wheels have come into contact with or collided with the step S before the vehicle V runs over the step S. If the wheels have come into contact with or collided with the step S, the automatic parking control device 40 sets the set value of the driving force to a magnitude that allows the vehicle to overcome the step S, and reduces the driving force after the vehicle has overcome the step S. The control process from step S12 onwards will be described.

[0060] In step S12 of the automatic parking control device 40, the impulse calculation unit 43 calculates the impulse applied to the vehicle V during automatic parking operation. Then, in steps S16 and S32, the automatic parking control device 40 has the step determination unit 44 determine whether or not the wheels of the vehicle V are in contact with or colliding with a step S based on the impulse calculated by the impulse calculation unit 43.

[0061] When a step S exists on the road surface, the impulse calculation unit 43 calculates the impulse applied to the vehicle V when the vehicle V passes over the step S, based on various information acquired from the sensor unit 30. Here, the impulse applied to the vehicle V will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

[0062] The impulse applied to the vehicle V can be calculated based on the speed at which the vehicle V travels, i.e., the vehicle speed. Hereinafter, the impulse calculated based on the vehicle speed will be referred to as the speed impulse. The speed impulse applied to the vehicle V when the vehicle V travels on a road surface for a predetermined period of time can be calculated by integrating the value obtained by multiplying the weight of the vehicle V by the acceleration of the vehicle V. For example, when the weight of the vehicle V is the vehicle weight M and the acceleration of the vehicle V is the vehicle acceleration a, the speed impulse can be calculated by the following equation 1. The impulse calculation unit 43 calculates the speed impulse using the following equation 1 as impulse information.

[0063] (Equation 1) Speed ​​impulse = ∫ (vehicle weight M × vehicle acceleration a) Then, as shown in Figure 6, when the vehicle speed continues to decrease for a certain period of time and then changes so that the vehicle speed continues to increase for a certain period of time, the speed impulse is smaller than 0 while the vehicle speed is decreasing, and is larger than 0 while the vehicle speed is increasing. Note that when the vehicle speed is constant and there is no acceleration or deceleration, or when the vehicle V is stopped, the vehicle acceleration a is 0. In this case, the speed impulse is 0.

[0064] The impulse calculation unit 43 acquires information on the vehicle acceleration a for calculating the speed impulse from the sensor unit 30. The vehicle acceleration a for calculating the speed impulse may use information on the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor 32 of the sensor unit 30, or may use a differential value obtained by differentiating the speed detected by the speed sensor 31. In this embodiment, the impulse calculation unit 43 uses the differential value of the speed detected by the speed sensor 31 as the vehicle acceleration a. A preset design value may be used as the vehicle weight M.

[0065] As shown in Figure 6, the magnitude of the velocity impulse decreases as the vehicle speed decreases. Therefore, when a wheel of a vehicle V traveling on a road surface collides with a step S and the vehicle speed decreases, the velocity impulse becomes smaller than before the collision with the step S.

[0066] When the vehicle V collides with a step S, the set value of the driving force set by the braking / driving calculation unit 422 to overcome the step S may need to be increased from the set value set in step S120 of the immediately preceding control cycle. Also, in order to avoid a sudden increase in vehicle speed immediately after the wheels run up onto the step S due to the increased driving force, the set value of the driving force set by the braking / driving calculation unit 422 may need to be reduced by the set value increased to overcome the step S.

[0067] In this way, when the vehicle V collides with a step S while traveling, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 may need to change the set value of the driving force, so it is necessary to accurately detect that the wheel has collided with the step S. In addition, in order for the braking / driving calculation unit 422 to reduce the set value of the driving force immediately after the wheel has run up on the step S, it is necessary to accurately detect that the wheel has run up on the step S after colliding with the step S.

[0068] Here, the inventors considered how to accurately detect a collision with a step S by detecting a change in the velocity impulse that decreases as the vehicle speed decreases when the wheel collides with the step S.

[0069] However, the vehicle speed of the vehicle V also decreases when the driver applies the brakes while the vehicle is traveling. When the vehicle speed decreases as a result of the driver applying the brakes, the speed impulse decreases accordingly. For this reason, it is difficult to determine whether the decrease in speed impulse is due to the wheel colliding with the step S or due to the driver's braking operation simply by detecting the decrease in speed impulse. If a decrease in speed impulse due to the driver's braking operation is detected and it is determined that the wheel has collided with the step S, this will result in an erroneous determination of a collision with the step S.

[0070] Furthermore, if the vehicle V is stopped with its wheels colliding with the step S, the wheels of the vehicle V will collide with the step S even before the vehicle V starts, and the wheels of the stopped vehicle V will be in contact with the step S. If the wheels have collided with the step S before the vehicle V starts and the vehicle V is started from a state in which the wheels are in contact with the step S, the step S will hinder the travel of the vehicle V. For this reason, when the vehicle V starts to go over the step S, the set value of the driving force set by the braking / driving calculation unit 422 to go over the step S may need to be increased from the set value set in step S120 of the immediately preceding control cycle.

[0071] In this way, when starting the vehicle V with its wheels in contact with a step S, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 may need to change the set value of the driving force, so it is necessary to accurately detect that the wheels are in contact with the step S before starting.

[0072] Incidentally, when the vehicle V starts moving with its wheels in contact with the step S, the vehicle speed is 0 until the vehicle V starts moving, that is, until the wheels start climbing up the step S. Therefore, the velocity impulse does not change from 0 until the wheels start climbing up the step S. Then, once the vehicle V starts moving and the wheels start climbing up the step S, the velocity impulse increases from 0.

[0073] However, even if the wheels of the vehicle V have not collided with the step S before starting, and the vehicle V is started from a state where the wheels are not in contact with the step S, the vehicle speed is 0 until the vehicle V starts traveling. Therefore, even if the vehicle V is started from a state where the wheels are not in contact with the step S, the velocity impulse does not change from 0 until the wheels start to climb up onto the step S. Then, when the vehicle V starts traveling, the velocity impulse increases from 0.

[0074] In this way, the magnitude of the velocity impulse is 0 until the vehicle V starts moving, regardless of whether the wheel is in contact with the step S or not, and increases from 0 once the vehicle V starts moving.

[0075] For this reason, the method of detecting a change in the speed impulse cannot accurately detect that the wheel is in contact with the step S before starting. Furthermore, even if an increase in the speed impulse is detected, it cannot be determined whether the vehicle V started from a state in which the wheel was in contact with the step S or whether the vehicle V started from a state in which the wheel was not in contact with the step S.

[0076] Here, the inventors have focused on the fact that the driving force and braking force are different when the speed impulse is reduced due to the collision of the wheels with a step S and when the speed impulse is reduced due to braking operation by the driver, after careful consideration. Based on the difference between the driving force and braking force, they have studied how to accurately detect whether the wheels of the vehicle V are in contact with or colliding with the step S. The difference between the driving force and braking force when the speed impulse is reduced due to the collision of the wheels with a step S and when the speed impulse is reduced due to braking operation by the driver will be described with reference to FIG. 7 .

[0077] During the automatic parking process, which repeatedly executes steps S100 to S140, the vehicle speed control unit 42 adjusts the driving force and braking force to cause the host vehicle to travel at a target speed. When the vehicle V is caused to travel at a constant speed or to accelerate during the automatic parking process, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 sets the set value of the driving force to be equal to or greater than the set value of the braking force. On the other hand, when the vehicle V is caused to stop or decelerate during the automatic parking process, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 sets the set value of the braking force to be greater than the set value of the driving force.

[0078] Furthermore, if the wheels collide with a step S while the vehicle is traveling at a target speed during automatic parking processing and the vehicle speed drops, the vehicle speed will deviate from the target speed. Then, the automatic parking control device 40 repeatedly executes the processing of steps S100 to S140, causing the braking / driving calculation unit 422 to increase the set value of the driving force and decrease the set value of the braking force so that the vehicle speed approaches the target speed.

[0079] Therefore, when the speed impulse decreases due to a wheel hitting a step S while the automatic parking process is being performed, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 gradually increases the set value of the driving force and the set value of the braking force as the speed impulse gradually decreases. Therefore, as shown in Figure 7, when the speed impulse decreases due to a wheel hitting a step S, the total value obtained by adding the driving force output by the driving system 50 and the braking force output by the braking system 60 increases as the speed impulse decreases. This is because, when attempting to accelerate the vehicle V, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 sets the set value of the driving force to be greater than the set value of the braking force.

[0080] In contrast, although not shown, when the speed impulse decreases due to a brake operation by the driver, the total value obtained by adding the driving force output by the drive system 50 and the braking force output by the braking system 60 decreases as the speed impulse decreases. This is because, when decelerating or stopping the vehicle V, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 sets the set value of the braking force to be larger than the set value of the driving force.

[0081] In this way, the driving force and braking force differ between a case where the speed impulse decreases due to a wheel collision with a step S and a case where the speed impulse decreases due to a brake operation by the driver. Here, the inventors have focused on the fact that the impulse applied to the vehicle V can be calculated based on the driving force and braking force in addition to being able to be calculated based on the vehicle speed.

[0082] The inventors then found that when the vehicle speed changes as a result of going over a step S, a difference occurs between the speed impulse that can be calculated based on the vehicle speed and the impulse that can be calculated based on the driving force and braking force. The inventors also found that when the vehicle V starts moving from a state in which the wheels are in contact with the step S, a difference occurs between the speed impulse that can be calculated based on the vehicle speed and the impulse that can be calculated based on the driving force and braking force. Hereinafter, the impulse that can be calculated based on the driving force and braking force will be referred to as the braking / driving impulse.

[0083] For this reason, the inventors have considered using braking / driving impulse as a method of detecting a collision of a wheel with a step S and a state in which a wheel is in contact with a step S before starting. The braking / driving impulse is an impulse applied to the vehicle V, and can also be calculated based on the driving force output by the drive system 50 and the braking force output by the braking system 60 in order for the vehicle V to travel.

[0084] In the vehicle control device 1 of this embodiment, the impulse calculation unit 43 calculates the braking / driving impulse in addition to the speed impulse. The braking / driving impulse applied to the vehicle V when the vehicle V travels on a road surface for a predetermined period of time can be calculated by integrating the value obtained by adding the driving force output by the drive system 50 and the braking force output by the braking system 60. For example, when the driving force output by the drive system 50 is driving F1 and the braking force output by the braking system 60 is braking F2, the braking / driving impulse can be calculated using the following equation 2. The impulse calculation unit 43 calculates the braking / driving impulse using the following equation 2 as impulse information.

[0085] (Equation 2) Braking / driving impulse=∫(driving F1+braking F2) When the driving F1 is smaller than the braking F2 and the sum of the driving F1 and braking F2 is smaller than 0, the braking / driving impulse becomes smaller than 0. In other words, when the driving F1 and braking F2 are adjusted to decelerate or stop the vehicle V, the braking / driving impulse becomes smaller than 0.

[0086] On the other hand, when the driving force F1 is greater than the braking force F2, so that the sum of the driving force F1 and the braking force F2 is greater than 0, the braking / driving impulse becomes greater than 0. In other words, when the driving force F1 and the braking force F2 are adjusted to accelerate the vehicle V, the braking / driving impulse becomes greater than 0.

[0087] Also, for example, when the magnitude of the driving F1 and the magnitude of the braking F2 are equal to each other, and the vehicle V is traveling at a constant speed without accelerating or decelerating, or when the vehicle V is stopped, the braking / driving impulse is 0.

[0088] The driving force F1 may be calculated based on a set value set by the braking / driving calculation unit 422, i.e., the target rotation speed of the driving motor, or based on a measured value of the output torque of the driving motor detected by the torque sensor 34. The braking force F2 may be calculated based on a set value set by the braking / driving calculation unit 422, i.e., the target hydraulic pressure of the brake fluid supplied to the wheel cylinders. The braking force F2 may be calculated based on a measured value of the braking force generated in the braking system 60 detected by the brake sensor 35.

[0089] When calculating the braking / driving impulse, compared to using the set values ​​of the driving force and braking force set by the braking / driving calculation unit 422, by using the measurement values ​​detected by the torque sensor 34 and the measurement values ​​detected by the brake sensor 35, it is possible to suppress errors in the calculated braking / driving impulse.

[0090] In this way, like the speed impulse, the braking / driving impulse increases in magnitude when the vehicle V is accelerated, and decreases in magnitude when the vehicle V is decelerated. When the vehicle V is not subjected to an external force, the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse are approximately equal in magnitude. In other words, when the vehicle V is not affected by an external disturbance, the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse are approximately equal in magnitude. This is because, when not affected by an external disturbance, changes in vehicle speed are determined by changes in driving force and braking force.

[0091] However, as described above, when a wheel of a vehicle V traveling on a road surface collides with a step S and the vehicle speed decreases, the speed impulse decreases as the vehicle speed decreases. In contrast, the braking / driving impulse is not affected by changes in vehicle speed even when the wheel collides with a step S and the vehicle speed decreases, as long as the driving force and braking force do not decrease. Also, as shown in Figure 7, even when the wheel collides with a step S and the vehicle speed and speed impulse decrease, the braking / driving impulse will increase in magnitude if the value obtained by adding the driving force and braking force changes to increase.

[0092] For this reason, when the vehicle V receives a force from a step S outside the vehicle V while traveling, the velocity impulse and the braking / driving impulse will have different magnitudes. In other words, when the vehicle V is affected by an external disturbance, the magnitude of the velocity impulse will deviate from the magnitude of the braking / driving impulse. In other words, the magnitude of the velocity impulse and the magnitude of the braking / driving impulse will deviate due to the impulse received from the external disturbance.

[0093] Furthermore, as described above, the speed impulse is 0 when the vehicle V is stopped. Therefore, when the vehicle V is started from a state in which a wheel of the vehicle V has collided with a step S, even if the driving force is increased to start the vehicle V, the speed impulse is 0 until the vehicle V starts traveling. In contrast, the magnitude of the braking / driving impulse increases from 0 by increasing the driving force to start the vehicle V, even when the vehicle V is stopped.

[0094] For this reason, when the vehicle V is started from a state in which the wheel has collided with a step S, the velocity impulse and the braking / driving impulse will have different magnitudes. That is, when the vehicle V is subjected to a force from a step S external to the vehicle V, the magnitude of the braking / driving impulse will deviate from the magnitude of the speed impulse. In other words, the magnitude of the speed impulse and the magnitude of the braking / driving impulse will deviate due to the impulse received from the disturbance. Hereinafter, the impulse received from the step S, which is a cause of disturbance, when the wheel of the vehicle V traveling on a road surface collides with a step S and when the vehicle V is started from a state in which the wheel has collided with a step S, will be referred to as the disturbance impulse. The disturbance impulse can be calculated by subtracting the braking / driving impulse from the speed impulse, as shown in the following equation 3.

[0095] (Formula 3) Disturbance impulse = velocity impulse - braking / driving impulse From the above, the inventors have found that it is possible to detect a collision of a wheel with a step S and a state in which a wheel is in contact with a step S before starting, based on whether or not the magnitude of the velocity impulse and the magnitude of the braking / driving impulse deviate from each other.

[0096] For this reason, in the automatic parking control device 40 of this embodiment, the impulse calculation unit 43 calculates the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse, and the step determination unit 44 determines whether the vehicle has collided with the step S or is in contact with the step S based on the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse calculated by the impulse calculation unit 43. A method for determining whether the vehicle has collided with the step S or is in contact with the step S before starting will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0097] In step S12, the impulse calculation unit 43 calculates a speed impulse and a braking / driving impulse applied to the vehicle V when passing over the step S, based on the various information acquired from the sensor unit 30. Specifically, the impulse calculation unit 43 differentiates the value detected by the speed sensor 31 to obtain the acceleration of the vehicle V, and calculates the speed impulse based on the obtained acceleration of the vehicle V and a preset weight of the vehicle V. The impulse calculation unit 43 also calculates the braking / driving impulse based on the output torque of the travel motor detected by the torque sensor 34 and the braking force generated in the braking system 60 detected by the brake sensor 35. The impulse calculation unit 43 transmits information on the calculated speed impulse and braking / driving impulse to the step determination unit 44.

[0098] In the following step S14, the step determination unit 44 determines whether or not the vehicle V is traveling based on the information acquired from the sensor unit 30. For example, if the detection value detected by the speed sensor 31 is not 0, the step determination unit 44 determines that the vehicle V is traveling, and if the detection value detected by the speed sensor 31 is 0, the step determination unit 44 does not determine that the vehicle V is traveling. If the step determination unit 44 does not determine that the vehicle V is traveling, it executes the process of step S16, and if it determines that the vehicle V is traveling, it executes the process of step S32.

[0099] In step S16, the step determination unit 44 determines whether or not a wheel of the vehicle V before start is in contact with the step S, based on the speed impulse information and braking / driving impulse information received from the impulse calculation unit 43. Specifically, the step determination unit 44 calculates a disturbance impulse, which is the difference between the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse, based on the speed impulse information and the braking / driving impulse information, and determines whether or not a wheel of the vehicle V before start is in contact with the step S, based on the calculated disturbance impulse. Then, if it is determined that a wheel of the vehicle V before start is in contact with the step S, the automatic parking control device 40 executes the processing from step S18 onwards.

[0100] Furthermore, when it is determined that the vehicle V is traveling, in step S32, the step determination unit 44 determines whether or not a wheel of the traveling vehicle V has collided with a step S, based on the speed impulse information and braking / driving impulse information received from the impulse calculation unit 43. Specifically, the step determination unit 44 calculates a disturbance impulse, which is the difference between the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse, based on the speed impulse information and the braking / driving impulse information, and determines whether or not a wheel of the traveling vehicle V has collided with a step S, based on the calculated disturbance impulse. Then, when it is determined that a wheel of the traveling vehicle V has collided with a step S, the automatic parking control device 40 executes the processing from step S34 onwards.

[0101] A method by which the step determination unit 44 determines whether or not the wheels of the vehicle V are in contact with the step S before starting based on the disturbance impulse, and a control process when it is determined that the wheels of the vehicle V are in contact with the step S before starting will be described with reference to FIG. 8 .

[0102] 8, when the vehicle V is stopped before starting, the vehicle speed and driving force are 0. Furthermore, when the vehicle V is stopped before starting, the braking system 60 outputs a braking force to stop the vehicle V.

[0103] Then, for example, when an automatic parking start signal is input and the automatic parking control device 40 executes automatic parking operation processing, automatic parking is initiated based on the various set values ​​calculated by the braking / driving calculation unit 422. For example, the target speed is set so that the vehicle speed gradually increases over time. Also, the set value of the driving force is set so that it gradually increases over time in order to bring the vehicle speed closer to the target speed. This causes the traveling system to output driving force. Note that, among the vehicle speeds shown in FIG. 8, the dashed line indicates the target speed, and the solid line indicates the speed of the vehicle V detected by the speed sensor 31. Also, the set value of the braking force is set to 0. This causes the braking system 60 to stop outputting braking force.

[0104] 8, assume that the wheels of the vehicle V before starting are in contact with a step S, and the step S prevents the vehicle V from starting, so that the step S causes a disturbance that prevents the vehicle V from starting even if the traction motor outputs driving force. In this case, the vehicle speed remains at 0 immediately after the traction motor outputs driving force. Therefore, while the step S prevents the vehicle V from starting, the velocity impulse remains at 0.

[0105] Furthermore, when a step S prevents the vehicle V from starting, the vehicle speed detected by the speed sensor 31 deviates from the target speed. The amount of deviation between the vehicle speed detected by the speed sensor 31 and the target speed gradually increases over time. Therefore, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 gradually increases the set value of the driving force over time. As a result, the driving force output by the drive system 50 gradually increases over time. The braking / driving impulse also increases over time.

[0106] Therefore, the disturbance impulse obtained by subtracting the braking / driving impulse from the velocity impulse decreases away from 0 as time passes, as shown in Fig. 8. In other words, the absolute value of the disturbance impulse increases as time passes.

[0107] Here, in step S16, when the disturbance impulse becomes equal to or less than a preset contact determination threshold, the step determination unit 44 determines that the wheel of the vehicle V before starting is in contact with the step S. In other words, when the absolute value of the difference between the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse becomes equal to or greater than the contact determination threshold, the step determination unit 44 determines that the wheel of the vehicle V before starting is in contact with the step S.

[0108] The contact determination threshold is a predetermined threshold set in advance to determine whether or not the vehicle V is in contact with the step S, and is set, for example, based on experimental results obtained by conducting an experiment in advance in which the vehicle V starts moving with its wheels in contact with the step S. Furthermore, the contact determination threshold is set in step S16 according to the height of the step S with which it is desired to detect wheel contact.

[0109] In this way, the vehicle control device 1 of this embodiment can accurately detect that the wheels of the vehicle V are in contact with the step S before starting by determining that the wheels of the vehicle V are in contact with the step S before starting based on the disturbance impulse. Then, it can detect that the vehicle V has started from the state in which the wheels are in contact with the step S.

[0110] In addition, the contact determination threshold in this embodiment is set to be changeable depending on the roughness of the road surface. For example, the step determination unit 44 is set with a base threshold as a reference threshold in advance, and the contact determination threshold is set to be changeable by adding a predetermined additional value to the base threshold depending on the roughness of the road surface. The base threshold is set, for example, depending on the height of the step S.

[0111] The contact determination threshold is set so as to be changeable depending on the roughness of the road surface between a good road threshold to which a predetermined additional value is added when the road surface is flat, and a bad road threshold to which a predetermined additional value is added when the road surface is uneven and rougher than flat. The predetermined additional value added when setting the good road threshold is set smaller than the predetermined additional value added when setting the bad road threshold. In other words, the good road threshold is smaller than the bad road threshold. The bump determination unit 44 detects the roughness of the road surface and sets the contact determination threshold to either the good road threshold or the bad road threshold.

[0112] The bump determination unit 44 may detect the roughness of the road surface based on, for example, the speed of the vehicle V detected by the speed sensor 31 when the vehicle V last traveled before stopping. For example, if the difference between the speed of the vehicle V detected by the speed sensor 31 when the vehicle V last traveled and the target speed when the vehicle V last traveled is relatively small, the bump determination unit 44 determines that the road surface is flat and sets the contact determination threshold to the good road threshold. On the other hand, if the difference between the speed of the vehicle V detected by the speed sensor 31 when the vehicle V last traveled and the target speed when the vehicle V last traveled is relatively large, the bump determination unit 44 determines that the road surface is uneven and sets the contact determination threshold to a bad road threshold that is larger than the good road threshold. In this embodiment, the speed sensor 31 functions as a road surface detection unit that detects the roughness of the road surface.

[0113] The reason why the roughness of the road surface can be determined based on the deviation between the speed of the vehicle V detected by the speed sensor 31 and the target speed is that when the road surface is flat, the resistance that the vehicle V receives from the road surface when traveling on the road surface is smaller than when the road surface is uneven. In other words, when the resistance that the vehicle receives from the road surface is small, it is easier to bring the speed of the vehicle V closer to the target speed.

[0114] The bump determination unit 44 may detect the roughness of the road surface based on information other than the speed of the vehicle V detected by the speed sensor 31. For example, the bump determination unit 44 may detect the roughness of the road surface based on the vertical acceleration of the vehicle V detected by the acceleration sensor 32. In this case, for example, if the vertical acceleration of the vehicle V detected by the acceleration sensor 32 during the last travel was equal to or less than a predetermined value, the bump determination unit 44 may determine that the roughness of the road surface is flat and set the contact determination threshold to the good road threshold. In contrast to this, for example, if the vertical acceleration of the vehicle V detected by the acceleration sensor 32 during the last travel was greater than a predetermined value, the bump determination unit 44 may determine that the roughness of the road surface is uneven and set the contact determination threshold to the bad road threshold.

[0115] In addition, the step determination unit 44 may detect the roughness of the road surface based on an image of the road surface captured by the camera of the periphery monitoring unit 10, or may detect it based on reflected waves from the road surface acquired by each of the sonar, millimeter wave radar, and LIDAR of the periphery monitoring unit 10.

[0116] When the acceleration sensor 32 detects the roughness of the road surface, the acceleration sensor 32 functions as a road surface detection unit that detects the roughness of the road surface. When the periphery monitoring unit 10 detects the roughness of the road surface, the periphery monitoring unit 10 functions as a road surface detection unit that detects the roughness of the road surface.

[0117] If the step determination unit 44 determines in step S16 that the wheels of the vehicle V before starting are in contact with the step S, it transmits information on the determination result to the braking / driving calculation unit 422. When the braking / driving calculation unit 422 receives information from the step determination unit 44 that the wheels of the vehicle V before starting are in contact with the step S, it executes the process of step S18.

[0118] In step S18, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 calculates the driving force required to overcome the step S based on the determination result of the step determination unit 44. For example, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 calculates the driving force required to overcome the step S as a value obtained by increasing the set value set in step S120 of the immediately preceding control cycle in the automatic parking operation by a preset increase amount.

[0119] Then, in step S20, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 transmits information on the calculated driving force required to overcome the step S to the driving ECU 51 of the driving system 50.

[0120] As a result, the driving force output by the driving motor becomes greater than the set value that was set when the automatic parking start signal was input.

[0121] In the following step S22, the step determination unit 44 detects the number of pulse signals based on the pulse signals output by the speed sensor 31. After it is determined in step S16 that the wheel is in contact with the step S, the step determination unit 44 detects the number of pulse signals received from the speed sensor 31. Then, the step determination unit 44 determines whether the wheel of the vehicle V has climbed over the step S based on whether the number of received pulse signals is equal to or greater than a predetermined determination number.

[0122] The reason why it is possible to determine whether the wheel has climbed onto the step S based on the number of received pulse signals will be described with reference to FIG.

[0123] As described above, the speed sensor 31 outputs a pulse signal as shown in FIG. 9 a designed number of times in accordance with the rotation angle of the wheel for each rotation of the wheel. Therefore, the rotation angle of the wheel can be determined based on the number of pulse signals. Then, the travel distance of the vehicle V can be determined based on the rotation angle of the wheel. Therefore, the step determination unit 44 can determine whether the vehicle V has traveled and climbed over a step S based on the number of detected pulse signals. Note that the pulse width of the pulse signal becomes smaller as the rotation speed of the wheel becomes faster.

[0124] In this embodiment, the number of determinations for determining whether a wheel of the vehicle V has run up onto the step S is set to three. Therefore, the step determination unit 44 determines that the wheel has run up onto the step S when it receives three pulse signals from the speed sensor 31 after determining that the wheel is in contact with the step S. Note that the number of determinations for determining whether a wheel of the vehicle V has run up onto the step S is not limited to three, and may be less than three or more than three. The more determinations there are, the longer it takes to determine that the wheel has run up onto the step S when the wheel rotates, but it is possible to avoid erroneous determinations due to wheel spin, etc.

[0125] Furthermore, in this embodiment, it is determined whether or not a wheel has run up onto a step S based on the number of pulse signals received from each speed sensor 31 provided near each of the four wheels. For example, the step determination unit 44 may determine that a wheel has run up onto a step S when pulse signals are received from two of the four speed sensors 31 a determined number of times. Alternatively, the step determination unit 44 may determine that a wheel has run up onto a step S when pulse signals are received from all four speed sensors 31 a determined number of times.

[0126] The automatic parking control device 40 repeatedly executes the processes of steps S18 to S24 until it is determined that the wheels of the vehicle V have climbed up onto the step S. Then, in step S24, when the step determination unit 44 determines that the wheels of the vehicle V have climbed up onto the step S, it transmits information on the determination result to the braking / driving calculation unit 422. When the braking / driving calculation unit 422 receives information from the step determination unit 44 that the wheels have climbed up onto the step S, it executes the process of step S26.

[0127] In this way, the vehicle control device 1 of this embodiment can accurately detect that a wheel of the vehicle V, which has been in contact with the step S before starting, has climbed up onto the step S by determining that the wheel has climbed up onto the step S based on the number of pulse signals received from the speed sensor 31.

[0128] In step S26, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 calculates the driving force immediately after running over the step S and the braking force immediately after running over the step S based on the determination result of the step determination unit 44. For example, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 calculates a value obtained by reducing the driving force set in step S18 to get over the step S by a predetermined decrease amount as the driving force immediately after running over the step S. In this embodiment, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 sets the set value of the driving force immediately after running over the step S to 0.

[0129] In addition, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 calculates the braking force immediately after running over the step S as a value that is increased by a predetermined increase amount from the braking force that was set small due to the deviation between the vehicle speed detected by the speed sensor 31 and the target speed.

[0130] Then, in step S28, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 transmits information on the calculated driving force immediately after running over the step S to the driving ECU 51 of the driving system 50, and transmits information on the calculated braking force immediately after running over the step S to the braking ECU 61 of the braking system 60.

[0131] As a result, the driving force output by the drive system 50 becomes smaller than the set value set in step S18. Specifically, the driving force output by the drive system 50 immediately after climbing over the step S becomes 0, as shown in FIG.

[0132] Furthermore, the braking force output by the braking system 60 becomes greater than the set value set in step S18. Specifically, the driving force output by the braking system 60 immediately after the vehicle V runs over the step S gradually increases over time, as shown in Fig. 8. By controlling the driving force and braking force after the vehicle V runs over the step S in this manner, it is possible to prevent the vehicle V from suddenly accelerating after the vehicle V runs over the step S.

[0133] Then, in step S30, the automatic parking control device 40 controls the vehicle V for a predetermined time using the driving force and braking force set in step S26, and then returns to the control before it was determined that the wheels of the vehicle V were in contact with the step S before starting. That is, the automatic parking control device 40 performs the processes of steps S100 to S140 to perform the automatic parking operation.

[0134] Next, a method by which the step determination unit 44 determines whether a wheel of a traveling vehicle V has collided with a step S based on the disturbance impulse, and a control process when it is determined that a wheel of a traveling vehicle V has collided with a step S will be described with reference to FIG. 10 .

[0135] When a target speed is set so that the vehicle V travels at a constant speed in the automatic parking operation process, the driving force output by the drive system 50 and the braking force output by the braking system 60 become constant, as shown in Fig. 10 . In this case, the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse are maintained at 0. Here, as shown in Fig. 10 , when a wheel of the traveling vehicle V collides with a step S, the vehicle speed decreases below the target speed. Note that, among the vehicle speeds shown in Fig. 10 , the dashed line indicates the target speed, and the solid line indicates the speed of the vehicle V detected by the speed sensor 31.

[0136] As a result, the vehicle speed detected by the speed sensor 31 deviates from the target speed. The deviation between the vehicle speed detected by the speed sensor 31 and the target speed gradually increases over time. Furthermore, as the vehicle speed decreases, the magnitude of the speed impulse decreases.

[0137] Then, as the vehicle speed detected by the speed sensor 31 deviates from the target speed, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 gradually increases the set value of the driving force and gradually decreases the set value of the braking force over time. As a result, the driving force output by the drive system 50 gradually increases over time. Also, the braking force output by the braking system 60 gradually increases over time. As a result, the braking / driving impulse increases over time.

[0138] Therefore, the disturbance impulse obtained by subtracting the braking / driving impulse from the velocity impulse decreases away from 0 as time passes, as shown in Fig. 10. In other words, the absolute value of the disturbance impulse increases as time passes.

[0139] Here, in step S32, when the disturbance impulse becomes equal to or less than a preset collision determination threshold, the step determination unit 44 determines that a wheel of the traveling vehicle V has collided with a step S. In other words, when the absolute value of the difference between the velocity impulse and the braking / driving impulse becomes equal to or greater than the collision determination threshold, the step determination unit 44 determines that a wheel of the traveling vehicle V has collided with a step S.

[0140] The collision determination threshold is a predetermined threshold that is set in advance to determine whether or not a wheel of a traveling vehicle V has collided with a step S, and is set, for example, based on experimental results obtained by conducting an experiment in advance in which a wheel of a traveling vehicle V is caused to collide with a step S. Furthermore, the collision determination threshold is set in step S32 according to the height of the step S at which it is desired to detect that a wheel of the traveling vehicle V has collided with the step S. Note that the collision determination threshold may be set to the same magnitude as the contact determination threshold, or may be set to a magnitude different from the contact determination threshold.

[0141] In this way, the vehicle control device 1 of this embodiment can accurately detect that a wheel of a moving vehicle V has collided with a step S by determining that the wheel has collided with a step S based on the disturbance impulse.

[0142] Furthermore, the collision determination threshold in this embodiment is set to be changeable depending on the roughness of the road surface, similar to the contact determination threshold. Specifically, similar to the contact determination threshold, the step determination unit 44 has a base threshold that serves as a reference threshold set in advance, and the collision determination threshold is set to be changeable by adding a predetermined additional value to the base threshold depending on the roughness of the road surface. The step determination unit 44 detects the roughness of the road surface and sets the collision determination threshold to either a good road threshold or a bad road threshold. The base threshold is set depending on the height of the step S, for example.

[0143] For example, if the deviation between the speed of the vehicle V detected by the speed sensor 31 when the vehicle V is accelerated and the target speed at the time of the last travel is relatively small, the bump detection unit 44 determines that the road surface roughness is flat and sets the collision detection threshold to the good road threshold. On the other hand, if the deviation between the speed of the vehicle V detected by the speed sensor 31 when the vehicle V is accelerated and the target speed at the time of the last travel is relatively large, the bump detection unit 44 determines that the road surface roughness is uneven and sets the collision detection threshold to the bad road threshold.

[0144] In addition, the step determination unit 44 may detect the roughness of the road surface based on the vertical acceleration of the vehicle V detected by the acceleration sensor 32 while the vehicle V is traveling, and set the collision determination threshold to either a good road threshold or a bad road threshold based on the detected road surface roughness.

[0145] Furthermore, the step determination unit 44 may detect the roughness of the road surface based on an image of the road surface captured by the camera of the periphery monitoring unit 10 while the vehicle V is traveling, and set the collision determination threshold to either a good road threshold or a bad road threshold based on the detected road surface roughness. Alternatively, the step determination unit 44 may detect the roughness of the road surface based on reflected waves from the road surface acquired by each of the sonar, millimeter-wave radar, and LIDAR of the periphery monitoring unit 10, and set the collision determination threshold to either a good road threshold or a bad road threshold based on the detected road surface roughness.

[0146] If the step determination unit 44 determines in step S32 that a wheel of the traveling vehicle V has collided with a step S, it transmits information on the determination result to the braking / driving calculation unit 422. When the braking / driving calculation unit 422 receives information from the step determination unit 44 that a wheel of the traveling vehicle V has collided with a step S, it executes the process of step S34.

[0147] In step S34, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 calculates the driving force required to overcome the step S based on the determination result of the step determination unit 44. For example, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 calculates the driving force required to overcome the step S as a value obtained by increasing the set value set in step S120 of the immediately preceding control cycle in the automatic parking operation by a preset increase amount.

[0148] Then, in step S36, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 transmits information on the calculated driving force required to overcome the step S to the driving ECU 51 of the driving system 50.

[0149] As a result, the driving force output by the travel motor becomes greater than the set value set in step S120 of the immediately preceding control cycle in the automatic parking operation. As the driving force output by the travel motor increases, the wheels of the vehicle V begin to ride over the step S, and the vehicle speed increases so as to approach the target speed. This allows the vehicle speed detected by the speed sensor 31 to approach the target speed. The deviation between the vehicle speed detected by the speed sensor 31 and the target speed gradually decreases over time. Furthermore, as the vehicle speed increases, the magnitude of the speed impulse increases.

[0150] Furthermore, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 sets the set value of the driving force output by the traveling motor to be greater than the set value of the driving force that was set before it was determined that the wheels of the traveling vehicle V had collided with the step S. As a result, the braking / driving impulse increases over time.

[0151] Therefore, the disturbance impulse obtained by subtracting the braking / driving impulse from the velocity impulse increases so as to approach 0 over time, as shown in Fig. 10. In other words, the absolute value of the disturbance impulse decreases over time.

[0152] In the following step S38, the impulse calculation unit 43 calculates a speed impulse and a braking / driving impulse applied to the vehicle V when passing over the step S, based on the various information acquired from the sensor unit 30. Specifically, the impulse calculation unit 43 obtains the acceleration of the vehicle V by differentiating the value detected by the speed sensor 31, and calculates the speed impulse based on the obtained acceleration of the vehicle V and a preset weight of the vehicle V. The impulse calculation unit 43 also calculates the braking / driving impulse based on the output torque of the travel motor detected by the torque sensor 34 and the braking force generated in the braking system 60 detected by the brake sensor 35. The impulse calculation unit 43 transmits information on the calculated speed impulse and braking / driving impulse to the step determination unit 44.

[0153] In the following step S40, the step determination unit 44 determines whether or not a wheel of the vehicle V has run up onto a step S, based on the information on the speed impulse and the information on the braking / driving impulse received from the impulse calculation unit 43. Specifically, the step determination unit 44 calculates the braking / driving impulse after it is determined that the wheel has collided with the step S and the disturbance impulse after it is determined that the wheel has collided with the step S, based on the information on the braking / driving impulse calculated by the impulse calculation unit 43. Then, the step determination unit 44 determines that the wheel of the vehicle V has run up onto a step S when the braking / driving impulse after it is determined that the wheel has collided with the step S is equal to or greater than the disturbance impulse after it is determined that the wheel has collided with the step S.

[0154] The automatic parking control device 40 repeatedly executes the processes of steps S34 to S40 until it is determined that the wheels of the vehicle V have climbed up onto the step S. Then, in step S40, when the step determination unit 44 determines that the wheels of the vehicle V have climbed up onto the step S, it transmits information on the determination result to the braking / driving calculation unit 422. When the braking / driving calculation unit 422 receives information from the step determination unit 44 that the wheels have climbed up onto the step S, it executes the process of step S42.

[0155] In this way, the vehicle control device 1 of this embodiment can accurately detect that a wheel of the vehicle V while traveling has run up onto the step S after colliding with the step S based on the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse calculated by the impulse calculation unit 43.

[0156] In step S42, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 calculates the driving force immediately after running over the step S and the braking force immediately after running over the step S based on the determination result of the step determination unit 44. For example, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 calculates a value that is the driving force immediately after running over the step S, which is the driving force set in step S34 to overcome the step S but reduced by a predetermined decrease amount. In this embodiment, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 sets the set value of the driving force immediately after running over the step S as the driving force immediately before the wheels of the vehicle V collide with the step S.

[0157] In addition, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 calculates the braking force immediately after running over the step S as a value that is increased by a predetermined increase amount from the braking force that was set small due to the deviation between the vehicle speed detected by the speed sensor 31 and the target speed.

[0158] Then, in step S44, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 transmits information on the calculated driving force immediately after running over the step S to the driving ECU 51 of the driving system 50, and transmits information on the calculated braking force immediately after running over the step S to the braking ECU 61 of the braking system 60.

[0159] As a result, the driving force output by the drive system 50 becomes smaller than the set value set in step S34. Specifically, the driving force output by the drive system 50 immediately after the vehicle V runs over the step S gradually decreases to the driving force immediately before the wheels of the vehicle V collide with the step S, as shown in FIG.

[0160] Furthermore, the braking force output by the braking system 60 becomes greater than the set value set in step S34. Specifically, the driving force output by the braking system 60 immediately after running over the step S gradually increases over time, as shown in Fig. 10. By controlling the driving force and braking force immediately after running over the step S in this manner, it is possible to prevent the vehicle V from suddenly accelerating after running over the step S, and to return the vehicle speed to the speed before the wheels of the vehicle V collided with the step S.

[0161] Then, the automatic parking control device 40 controls the vehicle V with the driving force and braking force set in step S42 for a predetermined time, and then returns to the control before it determined that the wheels of the vehicle V had collided with the step S. In other words, the automatic parking control device 40 performs the processes of steps S100 to S140 to perform the automatic parking operation.

[0162] Next, the control process during automatic parking operation, including the control process executed after the vehicle V climbs up onto the step S and then descends, will be described with reference to Figures 4 and 11. Note that the automatic parking process in step S50 shown in Figure 4 is the same as the automatic parking process in step S10 shown in Figure 3, and therefore its description will be omitted.

[0163] As described above, when a vehicle V traveling at a constant speed on a flat road surface descends from a step S as shown in Fig. 11, potential energy is converted into kinetic energy by gravity, and the vehicle speed increases. Therefore, in order to avoid a sudden increase in vehicle speed after the wheels descend from the step S, the driving force after descending from the step S needs to be reduced from the driving force set before descending from the step S.

[0164] 4, the automatic parking control device 40 of this embodiment executes the processes from step S52 onward during automatic parking operation to detect that the wheels have descended from the step S. When the wheels have descended from the step S, the automatic parking control device 40 reduces the driving force from that before the wheels descended from the step S.

[0165] Specifically, in the automatic parking control device 40 of this embodiment, the impulse calculation unit 43 calculates a speed impulse and a braking / driving impulse, and the step determination unit 44 determines that the wheels have descended from the step S based on the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse calculated by the impulse calculation unit 43.

[0166] When a target speed is set so that the vehicle V travels at a constant speed in the automatic parking operation process, the driving force output by the drive system 50 and the braking force output by the braking system 60 become constant, as shown in Fig. 11 . In this case, the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse are maintained at 0. Here, as shown in Fig. 11 , when the wheels of the traveling vehicle V descend from a step S, the vehicle speed increases above the target speed. Note that, among the vehicle speeds shown in Fig. 11 , the dashed line indicates the target speed, and the solid line indicates the speed of the vehicle V detected by the speed sensor 31.

[0167] As a result, the vehicle speed detected by the speed sensor 31 deviates from the target speed. The deviation between the vehicle speed detected by the speed sensor 31 and the target speed gradually increases over time. Furthermore, as the vehicle speed increases, the magnitude of the speed impulse increases.

[0168] Then, as the vehicle speed detected by the speed sensor 31 deviates from the target speed, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 gradually increases the set value of the braking force over time. As a result, the braking force output by the braking system 60 gradually increases over time. As a result, the braking / driving impulse increases over time.

[0169] Therefore, the disturbance impulse obtained by subtracting the braking / driving impulse from the velocity impulse increases so as to move away from 0 as time passes, as shown in Fig. 11. In other words, the absolute value of the disturbance impulse increases as time passes.

[0170] Here, in step S54, when the disturbance impulse becomes equal to or less than a preset descent judgment threshold, the step judgment unit 44 judges that the wheels of the traveling vehicle V have descended from the step S. In other words, when the absolute value of the difference between the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse becomes equal to or greater than the descent judgment threshold, the step judgment unit 44 judges that the wheels of the traveling vehicle V have descended from the step S.

[0171] The descent determination threshold is a predetermined threshold that is set in advance to determine whether or not a wheel of the vehicle V has descended from the step S, and is set, for example, based on experimental results obtained by conducting an experiment in advance in which a wheel of the vehicle V descends from the step S while in motion. The descent determination threshold is set in step S54 according to the height of the step S at which it is desired to detect that a wheel of the vehicle V has descended from the step S while in motion. The descent determination threshold may be set to the same magnitude as the contact determination threshold and the collision determination threshold, or may be set to a magnitude different from the contact determination threshold and the collision determination threshold.

[0172] In this way, the vehicle control device 1 of this embodiment can accurately detect that the wheels of a vehicle V in motion have descended a step S by determining that the wheels have descended a step S based on the disturbance impulse.

[0173] Furthermore, the downhill determination threshold in this embodiment is set to be changeable depending on the roughness of the road surface, similar to the contact determination threshold and the collision determination threshold. Specifically, similar to the contact determination threshold and the collision determination threshold, the step determination unit 44 has a base threshold that serves as a reference threshold set in advance, and the downhill determination threshold is set to be changeable by adding a predetermined additional value to the base threshold depending on the roughness of the road surface. The step determination unit 44 detects the roughness of the road surface and sets the downhill determination threshold to either a good road threshold or a bad road threshold. The base threshold is set, for example, depending on the height of the step S.

[0174] For example, if the deviation between the speed of the vehicle V detected by the speed sensor 31 when the vehicle V is accelerated and the target speed at the time of the last travel is relatively small, the bump determination unit 44 determines that the road surface roughness is flat and sets the downhill determination threshold to the good road threshold. On the other hand, if the deviation between the speed of the vehicle V detected by the speed sensor 31 when the vehicle V is accelerated and the target speed at the time of the last travel is relatively large, the bump determination unit 44 determines that the road surface roughness is uneven and sets the downhill determination threshold to the bad road threshold.

[0175] In addition, the step determination unit 44 may detect the roughness of the road surface based on the vertical acceleration of the vehicle V detected by the acceleration sensor 32 while the vehicle V is traveling, and set the downhill determination threshold to either a good road threshold or a bad road threshold based on the detected road surface roughness.

[0176] Furthermore, the step determination unit 44 may detect the roughness of the road surface based on an image of the road surface captured by the camera of the periphery monitoring unit 10 while the vehicle V is traveling, and set the downhill determination threshold to either a good road threshold or a bad road threshold based on the detected road surface roughness. Alternatively, the step determination unit 44 may detect the roughness of the road surface based on reflected waves from the road surface acquired by each of the sonar, millimeter-wave radar, and LIDAR of the periphery monitoring unit 10, and set the downhill determination threshold to either a good road threshold or a bad road threshold based on the detected road surface roughness.

[0177] If the step determination unit 44 determines in step S54 that the wheels of the traveling vehicle V have descended from the step S, it transmits information on the determination result to the braking / driving calculation unit 422. When the braking / driving calculation unit 422 receives information from the step determination unit 44 that the wheels of the traveling vehicle V have descended from the step S, it executes the process of step S56.

[0178] In step S56, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 calculates the braking force immediately after descending the step S based on the determination result of the step determination unit 44. For example, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 calculates the braking force immediately after descending the step S as a value obtained by increasing the braking force immediately before it is determined that the wheel has descended the step S by a preset increase amount.

[0179] Then, in step S58 , the braking / driving calculation unit 422 transmits information about the calculated braking force immediately after descending the step S to the braking ECU 61 of the braking system 60 .

[0180] As a result, the braking force output by the braking system 60 becomes smaller than the braking force immediately before it is determined that the wheel has descended the step S. Specifically, the braking force output by the braking system 60 immediately after descending the step S gradually increases over time, as shown in Fig. 11. By controlling the braking force after descending the step S in this manner, it is possible to prevent the vehicle V from suddenly accelerating after descending the step S.

[0181] Then, in step S60, the automatic parking control device 40 controls the vehicle V with the braking force set in step S56 for a predetermined time, and then returns to the control before it was determined that the wheels of the vehicle V had descended from the step S. In other words, the automatic parking control device 40 performs the processes of steps S100 to S140 to perform the automatic parking operation.

[0182] As described above, the vehicle control device 1 of this embodiment includes an impulse calculation unit 43 that calculates an impulse applied to the vehicle V when the vehicle V passes over a step S and outputs impulse information, and a step determination unit 44 that determines whether the vehicle has passed over a step S based on the impulse information output by the impulse calculation unit 43. The impulse calculation unit 43 calculates, as impulse information, a speed impulse based on the vehicle speed when passing over the step S, and a braking / driving impulse based on the driving force and braking force when passing over the step S. The step determination unit 44 determines whether the vehicle has passed over a step S based on the difference between the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse calculated by the impulse calculation unit 43.

[0183] As described above, a difference occurs between the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse when the vehicle speed changes when passing over a step S. Therefore, by having the step determination unit 44 determine whether the vehicle has passed over a step S based on the difference between the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse, it is possible to determine whether the vehicle has passed over a step S with higher accuracy than when determining whether the vehicle has passed over a step S based on a change in vehicle speed.

[0184] Furthermore, according to the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

[0185] (1) In the above embodiment, when the wheels are stopped in contact with the step S before starting, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 calculates the driving force and braking force required for the wheels to start from a state in which the wheels are stopped in contact with the step S and climb up onto the step S. The impulse calculation unit 43 calculates the speed impulse and braking / driving impulse required when the vehicle V starts from a state in which the wheels are stopped in contact with the step S, based on the driving force and braking force calculated by the braking / driving calculation unit 422. The step determination unit 44 determines that the vehicle V is in contact with the step S when the difference between the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse is equal to or greater than the contact determination threshold.

[0186] According to this, the vehicle control device 1 can accurately detect that the wheels of the vehicle V are in contact with the step S before starting by determining that the wheels of the vehicle V are in a stopped state in contact with the step S before starting based on the difference between the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse.

[0187] (2) In the above embodiment, the vehicle includes a speed sensor 31 that detects the vehicle speed and outputs information corresponding to the detected vehicle speed. The step determination unit 44 determines, based on the information corresponding to the vehicle speed output by the speed sensor 31, that the vehicle has started moving from a stopped state with the wheels in contact with the step S and has climbed up onto the step S.

[0188] In order to avoid a sudden increase in vehicle speed, the driving force immediately after the wheel runs over the step S needs to be reduced compared to the set value set for going over the step S. Furthermore, the braking force immediately after the wheel runs over the step S needs to be increased compared to the set value set for going over the step S.

[0189] In contrast, according to the vehicle control device 1 of this embodiment, in which the step determination unit 44 determines whether the wheel has run over the step S, the driving force and braking force can be adjusted immediately after the wheel has run over the step S.

[0190] (3) In the above embodiment, a speed sensor 31 is provided on each of the four wheels of the vehicle V. Based on the information corresponding to the vehicle speed output by each of the four speed sensors 31, the step determination unit 44 determines whether the vehicle has started moving from a state in which the wheels are stopped in contact with a step S and has climbed up onto the step S.

[0191] This allows for improved accuracy in determining whether the vehicle V has climbed over a step S compared to when determining whether the vehicle V has climbed over a step S based on information corresponding to the vehicle speed output by a single speed sensor 31.

[0192] (4) In the above embodiment, the speed sensor 31 is provided on a wheel of the vehicle V and outputs a number of pulse signals corresponding to the rotation angle of the wheel. When the step determination unit 44 receives a predetermined number of pulse signals from the speed sensor 31, it determines that the wheel has started moving from a stopped state in contact with the step S and has climbed up onto the step S.

[0193] This makes it possible to avoid erroneous determinations due to wheel spinning, etc., even if the wheel spins slightly and rotates even though it has not climbed up onto the step S. Furthermore, even if the wheel is not rotating, noise that may be mistaken for a pulse signal is received a number of times less than the number of determinations, making it possible to avoid erroneous determinations due to noise.

[0194] (5) In the above embodiment, the speed sensor 31 is provided to detect the roughness of the road surface on which the step S exists. The step determination unit 44 changes the contact determination threshold to a larger value as the roughness of the road surface detected by the speed sensor 31 increases. Specifically, when the road surface is uneven and has a rougher shape than a flat surface, the step determination unit 44 sets the contact determination threshold to a rough road threshold that is larger than a good road threshold.

[0195] When the road surface is rough, a larger driving force is required to start the vehicle V than when the road surface is flat. For this reason, the braking / driving impulse when starting the vehicle V from a state where the wheels are in contact with a step S and are stopped varies depending on whether the road surface is rough or flat. Furthermore, the disturbance impulse when starting the vehicle V from a state where the wheels are in contact with a step S and are stopped varies depending on whether the road surface is rough or flat.

[0196] For this reason, the amount of change in the disturbance impulse, which gradually changes as the driving force is gradually increased in order to start the vehicle V from a state in which the vehicle is stopped in contact with the step S, changes according to the roughness of the road surface. Therefore, if the contact determination threshold is a constant value, there is a risk that the roughness of the road surface will result in an erroneous determination of contact with the step S. For example, if the road surface is uneven and the disturbance impulse is larger than when the road surface is flat, there is a risk that the vehicle V will be erroneously determined to be in contact with the step S even though it was not in contact with the step S before starting.

[0197] In response to this, by changing the contact determination threshold in accordance with the roughness of the road surface, the contact determination threshold can be made to correspond to the amount of change in the disturbance impulse that changes in accordance with the roughness of the road surface.

[0198] (6) In the above embodiment, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 calculates the driving force and braking force required for the vehicle V to travel on a roadway that includes a step S. The impulse calculation unit 43 calculates the speed impulse and braking / driving impulse when a wheel of the traveling vehicle V collides with the step S based on the driving force and braking force calculated by the braking / driving calculation unit 422. The step determination unit 44 determines that a wheel of the vehicle V has collided with the step S when the difference between the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse is equal to or greater than a collision determination threshold.

[0199] According to this, the vehicle control device 1 can accurately detect that a wheel of a moving vehicle V has collided with a step S by determining that the wheel of the moving vehicle V has collided with a step S based on the difference between the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse.

[0200] (7) In the above embodiment, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 calculates the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse after the step determination unit 44 determines that the vehicle V has collided with the step S. The step determination unit 44 determines that the vehicle V has climbed up onto the step S when the braking / driving impulse after it is determined that the vehicle V has collided with the step S is equal to or greater than the difference between the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse after it is determined that the vehicle V has collided with the step S.

[0201] In order to avoid a sudden increase in vehicle speed, the driving force immediately after the wheels of the vehicle V while traveling run over a step S needs to be reduced compared to the set value set for going over the step S. Alternatively, the braking force immediately after the wheels run over the step S needs to be increased compared to the set value set for going over the step S.

[0202] In contrast to this, by determining that a wheel of the traveling vehicle V has run up onto the step S based on the braking / driving impulse and the speed impulse after it has been determined that the vehicle V has collided with the step S, it is possible to accurately detect that a wheel of the traveling vehicle V has run up onto the step S. Therefore, the vehicle control device 1 can adjust the driving force and braking force immediately after the wheel has run up onto the step S.

[0203] (8) In the above embodiment, the speed sensor 31 is provided to detect the roughness of the road surface on which the step S exists. The step determination unit 44 changes the contact determination threshold to a larger value as the roughness of the road surface detected by the speed sensor 31 increases. Specifically, when the road surface is uneven and has a rougher shape than a flat surface, the step determination unit 44 sets the collision determination threshold to a rough road threshold that is larger than a good road threshold.

[0204] When the road surface is rough, a larger driving force is required to run the vehicle V at a constant speed compared to when the road surface is flat. For this reason, the braking / driving impulse when running the vehicle V changes depending on whether the road surface is rough or flat. Furthermore, the disturbance impulse when a wheel of the running vehicle V hits a step S changes depending on whether the road surface is rough or flat.

[0205] Therefore, the amount of change in the disturbance impulse, which gradually changes as the driving force gradually increases after the wheel of the traveling vehicle V collides with the step S, changes according to the roughness of the road surface. Therefore, if the collision determination threshold is a constant value, there is a risk that the collision with the step S will be erroneously determined depending on the roughness of the road surface.

[0206] In response to this, by changing the collision determination threshold in accordance with the roughness of the road surface, the collision determination threshold can be made to correspond to the amount of change in the disturbance impulse that changes in accordance with the roughness of the road surface.

[0207] (9) In the above embodiment, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 calculates the driving force and braking force required for the vehicle V to travel on a roadway that includes a step S. The impulse calculation unit 43 calculates the speed impulse and braking / driving impulse when the wheels of the traveling vehicle V descend from the step S based on the driving force and braking force calculated by the braking / driving calculation unit 422. The step determination unit 44 determines that the wheels of the vehicle V have descended from the step S when the difference between the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse is equal to or greater than a descent determination threshold.

[0208] In order to avoid a sudden increase in vehicle speed, the driving force immediately after the wheels of the traveling vehicle V descend from the step S is required to be reduced compared to the set value that was set before the wheels descended from the step S. Alternatively, the braking force immediately after the wheels descend from the step S is required to be increased compared to the set value that was set before the wheels descended from the step S.

[0209] In contrast to this, by determining that the wheels of the vehicle V have descended the step S based on the braking / driving impulse and the speed impulse when the vehicle V descends the step S, it is possible to accurately detect that the wheels of the vehicle V have descended the step S. Therefore, the vehicle control device 1 can adjust the driving force and braking force immediately after the wheels descend the step S.

[0210] (10) In the above embodiment, the vehicle is provided with a speed sensor 31 that detects the roughness of a road surface on which a step S exists. The step determination unit 44 changes the downhill determination threshold to a larger value as the roughness of the road surface detected by the speed sensor 31 increases. Specifically, when the road surface is uneven and has a rougher shape than a flat surface, the step determination unit 44 sets the downhill determination threshold to a rough road threshold that is larger than the good road threshold.

[0211] When the road surface is rough, a larger driving force is required to run the vehicle V than when the road surface is flat. For this reason, the braking / driving impulse when running the vehicle V changes depending on whether the road surface is rough or flat. Furthermore, the disturbance impulse when a wheel of the running vehicle V hits a step S changes depending on whether the road surface is rough or flat.

[0212] For this reason, the amount of change in the disturbance impulse, which gradually changes as the driving force is gradually reduced after the wheels of the traveling vehicle V descend from the step S, changes depending on the roughness of the road surface. Therefore, if the descent determination threshold is a constant value, there is a risk that the roughness of the road surface will result in an erroneous determination that the vehicle has descended from the step S.

[0213] In response to this, by changing the downhill determination threshold in accordance with the roughness of the road surface, the downhill determination threshold can be made to correspond to the amount of change in the disturbance impulse which changes in accordance with the roughness of the road surface.

[0214] (11) In the above embodiment, the bump determination unit 44 determines the roughness of the road surface based on the vehicle speed detected by the sensor unit 30 .

[0215] This allows the vehicle control device 1 to have a simpler configuration than a configuration in which a dedicated sensor is provided for detecting the roughness of the road surface.

[0216] Other Embodiments Although typical embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can be modified in various ways, for example, as follows.

[0217] In the above-described embodiment, an example was described in which the vehicle control device 1 is configured integrally with an automatic parking system and is capable of executing the automatic parking processing performed by the automatic parking system, but this is not limited to this.

[0218] For example, the vehicle control device 1 may be configured separately from the automatic parking system and may be unable to execute the automatic parking process. The vehicle control device 1 may execute the above-described control process when the vehicle V is started by the driver's operation and when the vehicle V is driven by the driver's operation, instead of the automatic parking process.

[0219] In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the change source is the step S, but the change source is not limited to this. The change source may be anything other than the step S (for example, a stone) that has a predetermined height, obstructs the travel of the vehicle V, and changes the vehicle speed when the vehicle V goes over or goes down it.

[0220] In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the contact determination threshold, the collision determination threshold, and the downhill determination threshold are set to either the good road threshold or the bad road threshold depending on the roughness of the road surface, but the present invention is not limited to this.

[0221] For example, the contact determination threshold, the collision determination threshold, and the downhill determination threshold may be set to three or more threshold levels depending on the roughness of the road surface.

[0222] In the above embodiment, the vehicle control device 1 is applied to an electric vehicle, and the torque sensor 34 detects the output torque of the traction motor as the driving force, but the present invention is not limited to this.

[0223] For example, the vehicle control device 1 may be applied to an automobile equipped with an engine as a drive source. In this case, the torque sensor 34 may be configured to directly detect the driving force output by the engine as the driving force, or may be configured as an accelerator sensor that detects the driving force of the engine by detecting the amount of operation of the accelerator pedal.

[0224] In the above-described embodiments, it goes without saying that the elements constituting the embodiments are not necessarily essential unless they are specifically stated as essential or are clearly considered essential in principle.

[0225] In the above-described embodiments, when numerical values ​​such as the number, values, amounts, ranges, etc. of components of the embodiments are mentioned, they are not limited to the specific numbers unless they are specifically stated as essential or are clearly limited to a specific number in principle.

[0226] In the above-described embodiments, when referring to the shapes, positional relationships, etc. of components, etc., the shapes, positional relationships, etc. are not limited to those unless otherwise specified or when they are fundamentally limited to specific shapes, positional relationships, etc.

[0227] The automatic parking control device 40 and method of the present disclosure may be implemented on a special-purpose computer by configuring a processor and memory programmed to perform one or more functions embodied in a computer program. The automatic parking control device 40 and method of the present disclosure may be implemented on a special-purpose computer by configuring a processor with one or more dedicated hardware logic circuits. The automatic parking control device 40 and method of the present disclosure may be implemented on one or more special-purpose computers configured with a processor and memory programmed to perform one or more functions in combination with a processor configured with one or more hardware logic circuits. The computer program may also be stored as instructions executed by a computer on a computer-readable non-transitory tangible storage medium.

[0228] (Viewpoints of the Present Disclosure) The above-described present disclosure can be understood from the following viewpoints, for example.

[0229] [First Aspect] A vehicle control device that controls driving force and braking force of a vehicle passing through a change generation source (S) that changes vehicle speed when wheels of the vehicle go over or descend, comprising: an impulse calculation unit (43) that calculates an impulse applied to the vehicle when the vehicle passes through the change generation source and outputs impulse information corresponding to the calculated impulse; a passage determination unit (44) that determines the passage of the change generation source based on the impulse information output by the impulse calculation unit; and a braking / driving calculation unit (422) that calculates the driving force and the braking force when passing through the change generation source based on a determination result of the passage determination unit, wherein the impulse calculation unit calculates, as the impulse information, a speed impulse based on the vehicle speed when passing through the change generation source, and a braking / driving impulse based on the driving force and the braking force when passing through the change generation source, and the passage determination unit determines the passage of the change generation source based on a difference between the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse calculated by the impulse calculation unit.

[0230] [Second Aspect] The vehicle control device according to the first aspect, wherein the braking / driving calculation unit calculates the driving force and the braking force for the wheel to start from a state in which the wheel is stopped in contact with the change source and for the wheel to run over the change source, the impulse calculation unit calculates the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse when the vehicle starts from a state in which the wheel is stopped in contact with the change source, based on the driving force and the braking force calculated by the braking / driving calculation unit, and the passage determination unit determines that the vehicle is in contact with the change source when a difference between the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse is equal to or greater than a contact determination threshold which is a threshold for determining whether or not the wheel is in contact with the change source.

[0231] [Third Aspect] The vehicle control device according to the second aspect further comprises a speed detection unit (31) that detects the vehicle speed and outputs information corresponding to the detected vehicle speed, and the passage determination unit determines that the wheel has run up onto the change source from a state in which the wheel is stopped in contact with the change source, based on the information corresponding to the vehicle speed output by the speed detection unit.

[0232] [Fourth Aspect] The vehicle control device according to the third aspect, wherein the speed detection unit is provided on a plurality of the wheels of the vehicle, and the passage determination unit determines, based on information corresponding to the vehicle speed output by the plurality of the speed detection units, that a wheel has started from a state in which the vehicle is stopped in contact with the change source and has run over the change source.

[0233] [Fifth Aspect] The vehicle control device according to the third or fourth aspect, wherein the speed detection unit is provided on the wheel of the vehicle and outputs a number of pulse signals corresponding to a rotation angle of the wheel, and the passage determination unit determines, when receiving a plurality of the pulse signals from the speed detection unit, that the wheel has started from a state in which it was stopped in contact with the change source and has run over the change source.

[0234] [Sixth Aspect] A vehicle control device according to any one of the second to fifth aspects, further comprising a road surface detection unit (20, 31, 32) that detects the roughness of a road surface on which the change source exists, and the passage determination unit changes the contact determination threshold to a larger value as the roughness of the road surface detected by the road surface detection unit increases.

[0235] [Seventh Aspect] The vehicle control device according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, wherein the braking / driving calculation unit calculates the driving force and the braking force for the vehicle to travel on a roadway on which the change source is present, the impulse calculation unit calculates the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse when the wheel of the vehicle traveling on the basis of the driving force and the braking force calculated by the braking / driving calculation unit collides with the change source, and the passage determination unit determines that the wheel of the vehicle has collided with the change source when a difference between the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse is equal to or greater than a collision determination threshold that is a threshold for determining whether the wheel has collided with the change source.

[0236] [Eighth Aspect] The vehicle control device according to the seventh aspect, wherein the braking / driving calculation unit calculates the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse after the passage determination unit determines that the vehicle has collided with the change generation source, and the passage determination unit determines that the vehicle has run up onto the change generation source when the braking / driving impulse after it has been determined that the vehicle has collided with the change generation source is equal to or greater than a difference between the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse after it has been determined that the vehicle has collided with the change generation source.

[0237] [Ninth Aspect] A vehicle control device according to the seventh or eighth aspect, further comprising a road surface detection unit (20, 31, 32) that detects the roughness of a road surface on which the change source exists, wherein the passage determination unit changes the collision determination threshold to a larger value as the roughness of the road surface detected by the road surface detection unit increases.

[0238] [Tenth Aspect] A vehicle control device according to any one of the first to ninth aspects, wherein the braking / driving calculation unit calculates the driving force and the braking force for the vehicle to travel on a roadway on which the change source is present, the impulse calculation unit calculates the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse when the wheel of the traveling vehicle dismounts from the change source based on the driving force and the braking force calculated by the braking / driving calculation unit, and the passage determination unit determines that the wheel of the vehicle has dismounted from the change source when a difference between the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse is equal to or greater than a descent determination threshold that is a threshold for determining whether the wheel has dismounted from the change source.

[0239] [Eleventh Aspect] A vehicle control device according to the tenth aspect, further comprising a road surface detection unit (20, 31, 32) that detects the roughness of a road surface on which the change source exists, wherein the passage determination unit changes the downhill determination threshold to a larger value as the roughness of the road surface detected by the road surface detection unit increases.

[0240] [Twelfth Aspect] A vehicle control device according to any one of the sixth, ninth and eleventh aspects, further comprising a sensor unit (30) that detects at least one of the vehicle speed and the acceleration of the vehicle, and the passage determination unit determines the roughness of the road surface based on at least one of the vehicle speed and the acceleration detected by the sensor unit.

Claims

1. A vehicle control device that controls driving force and braking force of a vehicle passing through a change generation source (S) that changes a vehicle speed by a wheel of the vehicle going over or descending, comprising: an impulse calculation unit (43) that calculates an impulse applied to the vehicle when the vehicle passes through the change generation source and outputs impulse information corresponding to the calculated impulse; a passage determination unit (44) that determines the passage of the change generation source based on the impulse information output by the impulse calculation unit; and a braking / driving calculation unit (422) that calculates the driving force and the braking force when passing through the change generation source based on a determination result of the passage determination unit, wherein the impulse calculation unit calculates, as the impulse information, a speed impulse based on the vehicle speed when passing through the change generation source, and a braking / driving impulse based on the driving force and the braking force when passing through the change generation source, and the passage determination unit determines the passage of the change generation source based on a difference between the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse calculated by the impulse calculation unit.

2. A vehicle control device as described in claim 1, wherein the braking / driving calculation unit calculates the driving force and the braking force for the wheel to start from a state in which the wheel is stopped in contact with the change source and for the wheel to run over the change source, the impulse calculation unit calculates the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse when the vehicle starts from a state in which the wheel is stopped in contact with the change source based on the driving force and the braking force calculated by the braking / driving calculation unit, and the passage determination unit determines that the vehicle is in contact with the change source when a difference between the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse is equal to or greater than a contact determination threshold which is a threshold for determining whether or not the wheel is in contact with the change source.

3. A vehicle control device as described in claim 2, further comprising a speed detection unit (31) that detects the vehicle speed and outputs information corresponding to the detected vehicle speed, and the passage determination unit determines that the wheel has run up onto the change source from a state in which the wheel is stopped in contact with the change source, based on the information corresponding to the vehicle speed output by the speed detection unit.

4. A vehicle control device as described in claim 3, wherein the speed detection unit is provided on a plurality of the wheels of the vehicle, and the passage determination unit determines, based on information corresponding to the vehicle speed output by the plurality of the speed detection units, that a wheel has started from a state in which the vehicle is stopped in contact with the change source and has run over the change source.

5. A vehicle control device as described in claim 3 or 4, wherein the speed detection unit is provided on the wheel of the vehicle and outputs a number of pulse signals corresponding to the rotation angle of the wheel, and the passage determination unit, when receiving a plurality of the pulse signals from the speed detection unit, determines that the wheel has started from a state in which it was stopped in contact with the change source and has run over the change source.

6. A vehicle control device as described in claim 2, further comprising a road surface detection unit (20, 31, 32) for detecting the roughness of the road surface on which the change source exists, wherein the passage determination unit changes the contact determination threshold to a larger value as the roughness of the road surface detected by the road surface detection unit increases.

7. A control device for a vehicle as described in claim 1, wherein the braking / driving calculation unit calculates the driving force and the braking force for the vehicle to travel on a roadway on which the change source is present, the impulse calculation unit calculates the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse when the wheel of the vehicle traveling based on the driving force and the braking force calculated by the braking / driving calculation unit collides with the change source, and the passage determination unit determines that the wheel of the vehicle has collided with the change source when a difference between the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse is equal to or greater than a collision determination threshold which is a threshold for determining whether the wheel has collided with the change source.

8. A vehicle control device as described in claim 7, wherein the braking / driving calculation unit calculates the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse after the passage determination unit determines that the vehicle has collided with the change source, and the passage determination unit determines that the vehicle has run up into the change source when the braking / driving impulse after it is determined that the vehicle has collided with the change source is equal to or greater than the difference between the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse after it is determined that the vehicle has collided with the change source.

9. A vehicle control device as described in claim 7, further comprising a road surface detection unit (20, 31, 32) for detecting the roughness of the road surface on which the change source exists, wherein the passage determination unit changes the collision determination threshold to a larger value as the roughness of the road surface detected by the road surface detection unit increases.

10. A control device for a vehicle as described in claim 1, wherein the braking / driving calculation unit calculates the driving force and the braking force for the vehicle to travel on a roadway on which the change source is present, the impulse calculation unit calculates the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse when the wheel of the traveling vehicle descends from the change source based on the driving force and the braking force calculated by the braking / driving calculation unit, and the passage determination unit determines that the wheel of the vehicle has descended from the change source when a difference between the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse is equal to or greater than a descending determination threshold which is a threshold for determining whether the wheel has descended from the change source.

11. A vehicle control device as described in claim 10, further comprising a road surface detection unit (20, 31, 32) for detecting the roughness of the road surface on which the change source exists, and the passing determination unit changes the downhill determination threshold to a larger value as the roughness of the road surface detected by the road surface detection unit increases.

12. A vehicle control device as described in any one of claims 6, 9 and 11, further comprising a sensor unit (30) for detecting at least one of the vehicle speed and the acceleration of the vehicle, and the passage determination unit determines the roughness of the road surface based on at least one of the vehicle speed and the acceleration detected by the sensor unit.

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