Vehicle control device

Abstract

Provided is a vehicle control device for controlling a driving force or braking force of a vehicle that passes a source (S) of change which changes the vehicle speed when a wheel of the vehicle climbs thereupon or descends therefrom. The vehicle control device comprises: a passage determination unit (44) that determines that the vehicle has passed the source of change; an impulse computation unit (43) that calculates an impulse applied to the vehicle when the vehicle passes the source of change and that outputs impulse information which corresponds to the calculated impulse; and a braking / driving computation unit (422) that, on the basis of the impulse information, calculates a driving force and braking force after the vehicle has passed the source of change. The impulse computation unit calculates a velocity impulse that is based on the vehicle speed which changes when passing the source of change, and a braking / driving impulse that is based on the driving force and the braking force which change when passing the source of change. When a disturbance impulse is defined as the difference between the velocity impulse and the braking / driving impulse, the braking / driving computation unit, upon determination by the passage determination unit that the source of change has been passed, calculates the driving force and the braking force on the basis of the amount of change in the disturbance impulse when passing the source of change.

Description

Vehicle control device CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-198402, 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] When starting a vehicle while going over a bump, a larger driving force is required compared to starting the vehicle on a flat road. However, when depressing the accelerator pedal more to obtain the large driving force required to go over the bump, it is necessary to apply the brakes quickly after operating the accelerator to avoid a sudden increase in vehicle speed. In response to such required accelerator and brake operations, a vehicle control device is known that applies a slight braking force to the wheels when it is determined that the vehicle is going over a bump, so that no braking force is actually applied (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0004] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-30581

[0005] However, the braking force applied to the wheels when the vehicle goes over a step varies depending on the driving force used to overcome the step. Therefore, if the braking force applied to the wheels when the vehicle goes over a step is inappropriate, the vehicle speed cannot be adjusted appropriately.

[0006] For example, if the braking force actually applied to the wheels is insufficient compared to the braking force required to prevent a sudden increase in vehicle speed, it may be impossible to prevent the vehicle from increasing its speed after going over a bump. Also, if the braking force actually applied to the wheels is excessively large compared to the braking force required to prevent a sudden increase in vehicle speed, it may cause the vehicle to slow down more than necessary after going over a bump.

[0007] Therefore, when a vehicle travels on a road surface that has a change source, such as a bump, that changes the vehicle speed, it is necessary to appropriately control the braking force and driving force of the vehicle after passing over the change source. However, Patent Document 1 does not disclose the specific braking force to be applied to the wheels. This was discovered through detailed research by the inventors.

[0008] In view of the above, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a vehicle control device that can appropriately control the braking force and driving force of a vehicle after passing 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: a passage determination unit that determines that the vehicle has passed the change source; an impulse calculation unit that calculates an impulse applied to the vehicle when the vehicle passes the change source and outputs impulse information corresponding to the calculated impulse; and a braking / driving calculation unit that calculates the driving force and braking force after the vehicle has passed the change source based on the impulse information, wherein the impulse calculation unit calculates a speed impulse based on the vehicle speed that changes when the vehicle passes the change source, and a braking / driving impulse based on the driving force and braking force that change when the vehicle passes the change source, and when the difference between the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse is set as a disturbance impulse, if the passage determination unit determines that the change source has been passed, the braking / driving calculation unit calculates the driving force and braking force based on the amount of change in the disturbance impulse when the change source is passed.

[0010] Here, the disturbance impulse, which is the difference between the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse, is the impulse received from a disturbance when the vehicle passes through a change source, and is a factor that causes the vehicle speed to suddenly increase after passing the change source. Therefore, by calculating the driving force and braking force based on the amount of change in the disturbance impulse that causes the vehicle speed to suddenly increase after passing the change source, it is possible to prevent the braking force and driving force from becoming excessive or insufficient after passing the change source. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately control the braking force and driving force of the vehicle immediately after passing the change source.

[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 goes over a step after colliding with a 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 a 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 a 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 a vehicle collides with a step. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a change in the sum of braking force and driving force when a 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 determination method when a wheel that has collided with a step before starting runs over a step. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a change in disturbance impulse when a vehicle runs over a step. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating braking / driving impulse when a vehicle runs over a step. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a change in disturbance impulse when a wheel collides with a step while traveling. 10A and 10B are diagrams for explaining a change in disturbance impulse when a vehicle descends from a step, and a diagram for explaining braking / driving impulse when a vehicle descends from a step.

[0013] An embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 15 . 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 and controls the operation of various control target devices mounted on the vehicle, thereby driving the vehicle and parking it in a 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 when the vehicle V starts traveling from a stopped state and descends the step S, the step S increases the speed of the vehicle V. The reason why the speed of the vehicle V increases when descending 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 may be necessary to reduce the driving force immediately after the wheel runs over the step S compared to the set value that was set for going over the step S. It may also be necessary to increase the braking force immediately after the wheel runs over the step S compared to the set value that was set for going over the step S.

[0041] For this reason, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 is required to set the driving force setting value immediately after the wheel runs over the step S to be smaller than that before the wheel runs over the step S, or to set the braking force setting value immediately after the wheel runs over the step S to be larger than that before the wheel runs 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 wheels descend from the step S and pass over the step S. Therefore, in order to avoid a sudden increase in vehicle speed, it may be necessary to reduce the driving force immediately after the wheels descend from the step S compared to the set value that was set before the wheels descended from the step S. It may also be necessary to increase the braking force immediately after the wheels descend from the step S compared to the set value that was set before the wheels 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] For this reason, when passing over a step S that is a source of a change that changes the speed of the vehicle V, the vehicle control device 1 of this embodiment accurately determines whether the step S has been passed over, and appropriately controls the driving force and braking force of the vehicle V immediately after passing over the step S. As shown in FIG. 1 , the vehicle control device 1 of this embodiment has a step determination unit 44 that determines whether the step S has been passed over, and an impulse calculation unit 43 that determines whether the step determination unit 44 has passed over the step S and that calculates information required to calculate the driving force and braking force immediately after passing over the step S.

[0045] 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.

[0046] The impulse calculation unit 43 calculates the impulse applied to the vehicle V when the vehicle passes over the step S, as information necessary for the step determination unit 44 to perform these detections. Furthermore, the impulse calculation unit 43 calculates the impulse applied to the vehicle V when the vehicle passes over the step S, as information necessary for the braking / driving calculation unit 422 to appropriately calculate the driving force and braking force of the vehicle V immediately after passing over the step S. The impulse calculation unit 43 calculates the impulse applied to the vehicle V when the vehicle 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 and the braking / driving calculation unit 422. Details of the method of calculating the impulse and the method of calculating the driving force and braking force immediately after passing over the step S will be described later.

[0047] 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.

[0048] 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.

[0049] 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.

[0050] 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.

[0051] 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.

[0052] 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.

[0053] 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.

[0054] 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.

[0055] 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.

[0056] 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.

[0057] 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 driving force required to go over the step S may be greater than that required before the collision with the step S. Furthermore, when the vehicle V is started to go over the step S while the wheels of the stopped vehicle V are in contact with the step S, a driving force required to go over the step S is greater than that required when the step S does not exist. Furthermore, 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. Furthermore, in order to avoid a sudden increase in vehicle speed after going over the step S, the braking force after going over the step S needs to be increased from the braking force before going over the step S.

[0058] 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.

[0059] 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.

[0060] 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.

[0061] 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.

[0062] (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.

[0063] 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.

[0064] 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.

[0065] 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.

[0066] 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.

[0067] 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.

[0068] 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.

[0069] 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.

[0070] 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.

[0071] 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.

[0072] 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.

[0073] However, the driving force and braking force differ between a case where the speed impulse decreases due to the wheel colliding with the step S and a case where the speed impulse decreases due to the driver's braking operation. Therefore, based on the difference between the driving force and the braking force, it is possible to accurately detect that the wheel of the vehicle V is in contact with or colliding with the step S. The difference between the driving force and the braking force between a case where the speed impulse decreases due to the wheel colliding with the step S and a case where the speed impulse decreases due to the driver's braking operation will be described with reference to FIG. 7 .

[0074] 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.

[0075] 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.

[0076] 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.

[0077] 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.

[0078] In this way, the driving force and braking force differ when the speed impulse is reduced due to the collision of the wheels with the step S and when the speed impulse is reduced due to the brake operation by the driver. The impulse applied to the vehicle V can be calculated based on the driving force and braking force in addition to the vehicle speed.

[0079] Furthermore, 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. Furthermore, when the vehicle V starts moving with its wheels in contact with 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. Hereinafter, the impulse that can be calculated based on the driving force and braking force will be referred to as the braking / driving impulse.

[0080] 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.

[0081] 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.

[0082] (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.

[0083] 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.

[0084] 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.

[0085] 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.

[0086] 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.

[0087] 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.

[0088] 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.

[0089] 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.

[0090] 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.

[0091] 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.

[0092] (Equation 3) Disturbance impulse = Speed ​​impulse - Braking / driving impulse Therefore, 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 there is a collision with the step S or a state in which the vehicle 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 there is a collision of the wheel with the step S or whether the wheel is in contact with the step S before starting will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0093] 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 and the braking / driving calculation unit 422.

[0094] 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.

[0095] 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.

[0096] 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.

[0097] 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 .

[0098] 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.

[0099] 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.

[0100] 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.

[0101] 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.

[0102] 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.

[0103] 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.

[0104] 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.

[0105] 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.

[0106] 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.

[0107] 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.

[0108] 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 the vehicle V stopped traveling. 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 roughness of 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 roughness of the road surface is uneven and sets the contact determination threshold to a bad road threshold that is larger than the good road threshold.

[0109] 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.

[0110] 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.

[0111] 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.

[0112] 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.

[0113] 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.

[0114] 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.

[0115] 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.

[0116] 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.

[0117] 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.

[0118] 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.

[0119] 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.

[0120] 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.

[0121] 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.

[0122] 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.

[0123] 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 and the speed impulse information and braking / driving impulse information calculated by the impulse calculation unit 43. 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 S18 to get over 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 to 0.

[0124] Incidentally, if the braking force or the reduction in driving force calculated in step S26 immediately after running over the step S is insufficient compared to the driving force calculated in step S18 for running over the step S, there is a risk that the vehicle speed will suddenly increase after running over the step S. Also, if the braking force calculated in step S26 immediately after running over the step S is excessive compared to the driving force calculated in step S18 for running over the step S, there is a risk that the vehicle V will decelerate more than necessary after running over the step S. For this reason, in the vehicle control device 1 of this embodiment, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 appropriately calculates the braking force and driving force immediately after running over the step S so that the braking force and driving force after running over the step S are neither excessive nor insufficient.

[0125] The calculation method used by the braking / driving calculation unit 422 to set the braking force and driving force will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. FIG.

[0126] As described above, the automatic parking control device 40 increases the driving force by a preset increment for each control cycle by repeatedly executing 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, the disturbance impulse calculated by subtracting the braking / driving impulse from the speed impulse decreases so as to move away from 0 over time, as shown in Fig. 10. Specifically, the disturbance impulse decreases in a step-like manner so that its absolute value increases over time.

[0127] Here, when the vehicle V is stopped before climbing over the step S, the absolute value of the disturbance impulse calculated by subtracting the braking / driving impulse from the speed impulse increases as the braking / driving impulse increases. In this embodiment, as described above, the set value of the braking force when executing the automatic parking process is set to 0. For this reason, the disturbance impulse, which decreases so that its absolute value increases stepwise, changes for each control cycle in accordance with the amount of change in the driving force, which increases by a preset increment.

[0128] Incidentally, when the driving force increases by a preset increment and becomes equal to or greater than the driving force required to go over the step S, the wheels of the vehicle V climb up onto the step S, and the step determination unit 44 determines that the step S has been run up. Therefore, the disturbance impulse calculated when it is determined that the wheels of the vehicle V have climbed up onto the step S is the disturbance impulse immediately after the vehicle V has climbed up onto the step S. In contrast, the disturbance impulse calculated in the control cycle immediately before the timing at which it is determined that the wheels of the vehicle V have climbed up onto the step S is the disturbance impulse immediately before the vehicle V climbed up onto the step S.

[0129] The disturbance impulse calculated when it is determined that the wheels of the vehicle V have climbed over the step S is the disturbance impulse when the driving force calculated by the braking / driving calculation unit 422 becomes equal to or greater than the driving force required to climb over the step S. The disturbance impulse calculated in the control cycle immediately before the timing when it is determined that the wheels of the vehicle V have climbed over the step S is the disturbance impulse immediately before the timing when the driving force calculated by the braking / driving calculation unit 422 becomes equal to or greater than the driving force required to climb over the step S.

[0130] Furthermore, the difference between the disturbance impulse calculated when it is determined that the wheel of the vehicle V has run up onto the step S and the disturbance impulse calculated immediately before the timing at which it is determined that the wheel of the vehicle V has run up onto the step S is the amount of change in the disturbance impulse that decreases with each control cycle. The difference between the disturbance impulse when it is determined that the wheel of the vehicle V has run up onto the step S and the disturbance impulse immediately before the timing at which it is determined that the wheel of the vehicle V has run up onto the step S is the amount of change in the impulse received from the step S, which becomes a disturbance when the vehicle V runs up onto the step S. This difference in disturbance impulse is an excess disturbance impulse component that becomes a factor in causing a sudden increase in the vehicle speed of the vehicle V when the vehicle V runs up onto the step S.

[0131] For this reason, the braking force and driving force after climbing over the step S need to be set based on the difference between the disturbance impulse when it is determined that the step S has been climbed over and the disturbance impulse immediately before it is determined that the step S has been climbed over. Hereinafter, the difference between the disturbance impulse obtained when it is determined that the wheel of the vehicle V has climbed over the step S and the disturbance impulse obtained immediately before it is determined that the wheel of the vehicle V has climbed over the step S will be referred to as the climb-over change amount.

[0132] The braking / driving calculation unit 422 calculates the braking force and driving force immediately after the wheels of the vehicle V run over the step S, based on the amount of change in the run-up. In other words, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 calculates the braking force and driving force immediately after the vehicle V passes over the step S, based on the amount of change in the disturbance impulse when the vehicle V passes over the step S.

[0133] Specifically, in this embodiment, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 sets the set value of the driving force immediately after the wheel runs over the step S as close to 0 as possible to prevent the vehicle V from suddenly accelerating immediately after the wheel runs over the step S.

[0134] Furthermore, in order to prevent the vehicle V from suddenly accelerating immediately after the wheels run over the step S, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 increases the set value of the braking force immediately after the wheel runs over the step S from 0, and then decreases the braking force to 0 so that the vehicle speed approaches the target speed. For this reason, the braking / driving impulse based on the braking force and driving force set by the braking / driving calculation unit 422 gradually increases as the braking force increases immediately after it is determined that the vehicle has run over the step S, and then gradually decreases as the braking force decreases, as shown in FIG.

[0135] The braking / driving calculation unit 422 of this embodiment calculates the braking force immediately after running over the step S so that the difference between the absolute value of the braking / driving impulse immediately after running over the step S and the absolute value of the running-over change amount approaches 0. Specifically, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 calculates the braking force immediately after running over the step S so that the absolute value of the braking / driving impulse immediately after running over the step S is equal to the absolute value of the running-over change amount.

[0136] Here, the absolute value of the braking / driving impulse immediately after running over the step S is the braking / driving impulse component shown by diagonal hatching in Fig. 11. Also, the run-up change amount, which is the difference between the disturbance impulse calculated when it is determined that the wheel of the vehicle V has run over the step S and the disturbance impulse calculated immediately before it is determined that the wheel of the vehicle V has run over the step S, is the disturbance impulse component shown by diagonal hatching in Fig. 10. The braking / driving calculation unit 422 of this embodiment sets the braking force immediately after running over the step S so that the area of ​​the portion of the disturbance impulse shown by diagonal hatching in Fig. 10 is equal to the area of ​​the portion of the braking / driving impulse shown by diagonal hatching in Fig. 11.

[0137] Incidentally, it is desirable to change the braking force to the required magnitude as quickly as possible in order to prevent the vehicle V from suddenly accelerating immediately after the wheels run over the step S. Furthermore, after the braking force has been increased to the required magnitude, it is desirable to change the braking force as quickly as possible from the braking force set to avoid sudden acceleration to 0 in order to bring the vehicle speed closer to the target speed. For this reason, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 transmits information about the calculated braking force to the braking system 60, and quickly changes the braking force so that the braking force output by the braking system 60 becomes the calculated set value.

[0138] However, the maximum amount of change in acceleration of vehicle V per unit time that can be changed by the braking force output by braking system 60 is limited in advance by the performance of braking system 60. In other words, the jerk of vehicle V that decreases as the braking force increases and the jerk of vehicle V that increases as the braking force decreases are limited by the performance of braking system 60. For example, it is difficult to change the braking force to a required magnitude instantaneously immediately after a wheel runs over a step S. Furthermore, it is difficult to instantly reduce the braking force to zero after the braking force has been changed to a required magnitude.

[0139] Here, the maximum value of the acceleration of vehicle V per unit time that decreases as the braking force output by braking system 60 increases is defined as the maximum jerk. Also, the minimum value of the acceleration of vehicle V per unit time that increases as the braking force output by braking system 60 decreases is defined as the minimum jerk. The maximum jerk and minimum jerk are determined in advance by the characteristics of an actuator (not shown) that braking system 60 has, which adjusts the brake fluid pressure.

[0140] The braking / driving calculation unit 422 of this embodiment sets the braking force so that when the braking force is increased immediately after running over a step S to decelerate the vehicle V, the amount of decrease in acceleration of the vehicle V per unit time becomes the maximum jerk. Furthermore, when the braking / driving calculation unit 422 decelerates the vehicle V immediately after running over a step S and then accelerates the vehicle V, it sets the braking force so that the amount of increase in acceleration of the vehicle V per unit time becomes the minimum jerk.

[0141] Returning to Figure 3, 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.

[0142] 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.

[0143] 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.

[0144] 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.

[0145] Next, the 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 the control processing 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. 12 .

[0146] 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. 12 . In this case, the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse are maintained at 0. Here, as shown in Fig. 12 , 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. 12 , the dashed line indicates the target speed, and the solid line indicates the speed of the vehicle V detected by the speed sensor 31.

[0147] 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.

[0148] 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.

[0149] 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. 1012. In other words, the absolute value of the disturbance impulse increases as time passes.

[0150] 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.

[0151] 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.

[0152] 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.

[0153] 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.

[0154] 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.

[0155] 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.

[0156] 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.

[0157] 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.

[0158] 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.

[0159] 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.

[0160] 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.

[0161] 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.

[0162] 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. 1012. In other words, the absolute value of the disturbance impulse decreases over time.

[0163] 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.

[0164] 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.

[0165] 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.

[0166] 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.

[0167] 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 and the information on the speed impulse and the information on the braking / driving impulse calculated by the impulse calculation unit 43.

[0168] Incidentally, just as in the case where a wheel of the vehicle V collides with a step S before starting, if the braking force immediately after running over the step S is insufficient or the amount of reduction in the driving force is insufficient compared to the driving force calculated in step S34, there is a risk that the vehicle speed will suddenly increase after going over the step S. Also, if the braking force immediately after running over the step S is excessive compared to the driving force calculated in step S34 for going over the step S, there is a risk that the vehicle V will decelerate more than necessary after going over the step S. For this reason, the vehicle control device 1 of this embodiment uses a calculation method similar to that used when a wheel of the vehicle V collides with a step S before starting, and the braking / driving calculation unit 422 appropriately sets the braking force and driving force immediately after going over the step S.

[0169] Specifically, in order to prevent the vehicle V from suddenly accelerating immediately after the wheels run over the step S, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 sets the set value of the driving force immediately after the wheels run over the step S to the same set value as the driving force before it was increased by the wheels of the vehicle V colliding with the step S.

[0170] Furthermore, in order to prevent the vehicle V from suddenly accelerating immediately after the wheel runs over the step S, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 increases the set value of the braking force immediately after the wheel runs over the step S. Thereafter, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 sets the braking force to the same value as before the wheel hits the step S, so that the vehicle speed approaches the target speed. For this reason, the braking / driving impulse based on the braking force and driving force set by the braking / driving calculation unit 422 gradually increases immediately after it is determined that the vehicle has run over the step S, and then gradually decreases, as shown in FIG.

[0171] The braking / driving calculation unit 422 of this embodiment calculates the braking force immediately after running over the step S so that the difference between the absolute value of the braking / driving impulse immediately after running over the step S and the absolute value of the running-over change amount approaches 0. Specifically, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 calculates the braking force immediately after running over the step S so that the absolute value of the braking / driving impulse immediately after running over the step S is equal to the absolute value of the running-over change amount.

[0172] Furthermore, when the braking / driving calculation unit 422 increases the braking force immediately after running over a step S to decelerate the vehicle V, it sets the braking force so that the amount of decrease in acceleration of the vehicle V per unit time is the maximum jerk. Furthermore, when the braking / driving calculation unit 422 decelerates the vehicle V immediately after running over a step S and then accelerates the vehicle V, it sets the braking force so that the amount of increase in acceleration of the vehicle V per unit time is the minimum jerk.

[0173] 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.

[0174] 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.

[0175] 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. 12. 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.

[0176] 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.

[0177] 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 13. 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.

[0178] 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. 13, potential energy is converted into kinetic energy by gravity, causing the vehicle speed to increase. 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. Also, in order to avoid a sudden increase in vehicle speed after the wheels descend from the step S, the braking force after descending from the step S needs to be increased from the braking force set before descending from the step S.

[0179] 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 increases the braking force compared to before the wheels descended from the step S.

[0180] 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.

[0181] 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. 13 . In this case, the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse are maintained at 0. Here, as shown in Fig. 13 , 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. 13 , the dashed line indicates the target speed, and the solid line indicates the speed of the vehicle V detected by the speed sensor 31.

[0182] 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.

[0183] 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.

[0184] 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. 13. In other words, the absolute value of the disturbance impulse increases as time passes.

[0185] 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.

[0186] 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.

[0187] 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.

[0188] 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.

[0189] 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.

[0190] 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.

[0191] 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.

[0192] 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.

[0193] In step S56, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 calculates the driving force immediately after descending the step S and the braking force immediately after descending the step S based on the determination result of the step determination unit 44 and the information on the speed impulse and the information on the braking / driving impulse calculated by the impulse calculation unit 43.

[0194] Incidentally, just as in the case where the wheels of the vehicle V climb up onto a step S, if the braking force or the reduction in driving force calculated in step S56 immediately after descending the step S is insufficient compared to the driving force calculated in step S50, there is a risk that the vehicle speed will suddenly increase after descending the step S. Furthermore, if the braking force calculated in step S56 immediately after descending the step S is excessive compared to the driving force calculated in step S50, there is a risk that the vehicle V will decelerate more than necessary after descending the step S. For this reason, in the vehicle control device 1 of this embodiment, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 appropriately sets the braking force and driving force immediately after descending the step S so that the braking force and driving force after descending the step S are neither excessive nor insufficient.

[0195] The calculation method used by the braking / driving calculation unit 422 to set the braking force and driving force will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0196] As described above, when the wheels of the traveling vehicle V descend from the step S, the vehicle speed increases above the target speed. For this reason, the automatic parking control device 40 gradually increases the set value of the braking force. Then, the disturbance impulse calculated by subtracting the braking / driving impulse from the speed impulse increases so as to move away from 0 over time, as shown in Figures 13 and 14. Specifically, the disturbance impulse increases in a step-like manner so that its absolute value increases over time.

[0197] Here, when the braking / driving calculation unit 422 increases the braking force due to a deviation between the vehicle speed and the target speed, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 increases the braking force by a predetermined increment for each control cycle. Therefore, the disturbance impulse, whose absolute value increases stepwise, changes for each control cycle according to the amount of change in the braking force, which increases by the predetermined increment.

[0198] Incidentally, the amount of change in the disturbance impulse that increases when the wheels of the vehicle V descend from the step S is the amount of change in the disturbance impulse that increases for each control cycle when the wheels of the vehicle V descend from the step S. This amount of change in the disturbance impulse is the amount of change in the impulse that the vehicle V receives when descending from the step S. This amount of change in the disturbance impulse is an excess disturbance impulse component that becomes a factor in causing the vehicle speed of the vehicle V to suddenly increase when the vehicle V descends from the step S.

[0199] For this reason, the braking force and driving force after descending the step S need to be set based on the amount of change in the disturbance impulse that increases as a result of descending the step S. Hereinafter, the amount of change in the disturbance impulse that has changed since it was determined that the wheels of the vehicle V have descended the step S will be referred to as the descent change amount.

[0200] Based on the amount of change in the descent, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 sets the braking force and driving force immediately after the wheels of the vehicle V descend from the step S. In other words, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 calculates the braking force and driving force immediately after the vehicle V passes over the step S based on the amount of change in the disturbance impulse when the vehicle V passes over the step S.

[0201] Specifically, in this embodiment, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 maintains the set value of the driving force immediately after descending the step S as the driving force before descending the step S, in order to prevent the vehicle V from suddenly accelerating immediately after the wheels descend the step S.

[0202] Furthermore, in order to prevent the vehicle V from suddenly accelerating immediately after the wheels descend from the step S, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 sets the set value of the braking force immediately after descending from the step S to be greater than the set value of the braking force at the timing when it is determined in step S54 that the vehicle V has descended from the step S. Thereafter, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 sets the set value of the braking force to the same value as that before the wheels of the vehicle V descended from the step S, so that the vehicle speed approaches the target speed. For this reason, the braking / driving impulse based on the braking force and driving force set by the braking / driving calculation unit 422 gradually increases immediately after it is determined that the vehicle has descended from the step S, and then gradually decreases, as shown in FIG.

[0203] The braking / driving calculation unit 422 of this embodiment sets the braking force immediately after descending the step S so that the difference between the absolute value of the braking / driving impulse after it is determined that the step S has been descended and the absolute value of the descent change amount approaches 0. Specifically, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 sets the braking force immediately after climbing over the step S so that the absolute value of the braking / driving impulse after it is determined that the step S has been descended is equal to the absolute value of the descent change amount.

[0204] Here, the absolute value of the braking / driving impulse after it is determined that the vehicle has descended from the step S is the braking / driving impulse component shown by diagonal hatching in Fig. 15. Also, the amount of change in the disturbance impulse that has changed after it is determined that the wheels of the vehicle V have descended from the step S is the disturbance impulse component shown by diagonal hatching in Fig. 14. The braking / driving calculation unit 422 of this embodiment sets the braking force immediately after descending from the step S so that the area of ​​the portion of the disturbance impulse shown by diagonal hatching in Fig. 14 is equal to the area of ​​the portion of the braking / driving impulse shown by diagonal hatching in Fig. 15.

[0205] Furthermore, when setting the braking force immediately after descending the step S to decelerate the vehicle V, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 sets the braking force so that the amount of decrease in acceleration of the vehicle V per unit time is the maximum jerk. Furthermore, when decelerating the vehicle V immediately after climbing over the step S and then accelerating the vehicle V, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 sets the braking force so that the amount of increase in acceleration of the vehicle V per unit time is the minimum jerk.

[0206] Then, in step S58 , the braking / driving calculation unit 422 transmits information on the calculated driving force and braking force immediately after descending the step S to the braking ECU 61 of the braking system 60 .

[0207] 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. 13. 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.

[0208] Then, in step S60, the automatic parking control device 40 determines whether or not there is a deviation between the actual speed of the vehicle V detected by the speed sensor 31 and the target speed. If it is determined that there is a deviation between the actual speed and the target speed, the automatic parking control device 40 repeatedly executes the processes of steps S56 to S60, so that the braking / driving calculation unit 422 adjusts the set value of the braking force so that the vehicle speed approaches the target speed. On the other hand, if it is not determined that there is a deviation between the actual speed and the target speed, the automatic parking control device 40 executes the process of step S62.

[0209] Then, the automatic parking control device 40 returns to the control before determining in step S62 that the wheels of the vehicle V have descended from the step S. That is, the automatic parking control device 40 performs the processes of steps S100 to S140 to perform the automatic parking operation.

[0210] As described above, when the step determination unit 44 determines that the vehicle has passed through a step S, which is a source of change, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 of this embodiment calculates the driving force and braking force based on the amount of change in the disturbance impulse when the step S is passed.

[0211] Here, the disturbance impulse, which is the difference between the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse, is an impulse received from a disturbance when the vehicle V passes over the step S, and is a factor that causes the vehicle speed of the vehicle V to suddenly increase after passing over the step S. Therefore, by calculating the driving force and braking force based on the amount of change in the disturbance impulse that causes the vehicle speed of the vehicle V to suddenly increase after passing over the step S, it is possible to prevent the braking force and driving force from becoming excessive or insufficient after passing over the step S. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately control the braking force and driving force of the vehicle V immediately after passing over the step S.

[0212] Furthermore, according to the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

[0213] (1) In the above embodiment, when the step determination unit 44 determines that the vehicle has climbed over a step S, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 calculates the driving force and braking force so that the difference between the absolute value of the braking / driving impulse immediately after climbing over the step S and the absolute value of the amount of change in the climbing approach zero.

[0214] Here, the run-up change amount, which is the difference between the disturbance impulse when it is determined that the vehicle has run up over the step S and the disturbance impulse immediately before it is determined that the vehicle has run up over the step S, is an excess disturbance impulse component caused by running up over the step S. For this reason, by setting the driving force and the braking force so that the difference between the absolute value of the braking / driving impulse immediately after running up over the step S and the absolute value of the run-up change amount approaches zero, the run-up change amount can be offset by the braking / driving impulse immediately after running up over the step S. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately control the braking force and the driving force of the vehicle V immediately after running up over the step S so that the vehicle speed of the vehicle V does not suddenly increase or decelerate more than necessary after running up over the step S.

[0215] (2) In the above embodiment, when the step determination unit 44 determines that the vehicle has descended from the step S, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 calculates the driving force and braking force so that the difference between the absolute value of the braking / driving impulse immediately after descending the step S and the absolute value of the descent change amount approaches zero.

[0216] Here, the descent change amount, which is the amount of change in the disturbance impulse after it is determined that the vehicle V has descended the step S, is an excess disturbance impulse component received from the step S as a result of descending the step S. For this reason, by setting the driving force and braking force so that the difference between the absolute value of the braking / driving impulse immediately after descending the step S and the absolute value of the descent change amount approaches zero, the descent change amount can be offset by the braking / driving impulse immediately after descending the step S. Therefore, the braking force and driving force of the vehicle V immediately after descending the step S can be appropriately controlled so that the vehicle speed of the vehicle V after descending the step S does not increase suddenly or decelerate more than necessary.

[0217] (3) In the above embodiment, when the vehicle V is decelerated when passing over a step S, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 calculates the driving force and braking force so as to maximize the amount of change in acceleration of the vehicle V per unit time.

[0218] Incidentally, it is desirable to decelerate the vehicle V as quickly as possible to avoid sudden acceleration of the vehicle V immediately after the vehicle V climbs up onto a step S or immediately after the vehicle V descends from the step S. However, it is difficult to instantaneously decelerate the vehicle V to the required speed using braking force and driving force immediately after the wheels climb up onto the step S.

[0219] In contrast, when decelerating the vehicle V, the driving force and braking force can be calculated so as to maximize the amount of change in acceleration of the vehicle V per unit time, thereby allowing the vehicle V to decelerate as quickly as possible.

[0220] (4) In the above embodiment, when accelerating the vehicle V when passing over a step S, the braking / driving calculation unit 422 calculates the driving force and braking force so as to maximize the amount of change in acceleration of the vehicle V per unit time.

[0221] Incidentally, when the speed of the vehicle V is to be brought closer to a target speed after the vehicle V has been decelerated to avoid sudden acceleration of the vehicle V immediately after the vehicle V has climbed up onto a step S or immediately after the vehicle V has descended from the step S, it is desirable to accelerate the vehicle V as quickly as possible. However, it is difficult to instantaneously accelerate the vehicle V to the required speed using braking force and driving force.

[0222] In contrast, when accelerating the vehicle V, the driving force and braking force can be calculated so as to maximize the amount of change in acceleration of the vehicle V per unit time, thereby allowing the vehicle V to accelerate as quickly as possible.

[0223] 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.

[0224] 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.

[0225] 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.

[0226] 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.

[0227] 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.

[0228] 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.

[0229] In the above-described embodiment, an example was described in which the braking force after passing over the step S is made larger than the braking force before passing over the step S to change the braking / driving impulse in order to prevent the vehicle V from suddenly accelerating immediately after climbing up onto the step S or immediately after descending from the step S, but the present invention is not limited to this.

[0230] For example, in order to prevent the vehicle V from suddenly accelerating after passing over the step S, the driving / braking impulse may be changed by making the driving force after passing over the step S smaller than the driving force before passing over the step S. Alternatively, in order to prevent the vehicle V from suddenly accelerating after passing over the step S, the driving / braking impulse may be changed by making the driving force after passing over the step S smaller than the driving force before passing over the step S and making the braking force after passing over the step S larger than the braking force before passing over the step S. In this case, the driving force before and after passing over the step S may be adjusted by controlling the traction motor of the electric vehicle.

[0231] 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.

[0232] 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.

[0233] 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.

[0234] The controller 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 controller 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 controller 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 on a computer-readable non-transitory tangible storage medium as instructions executed by a computer.

[0235] (Viewpoints of the Present Disclosure) The above-described present disclosure can be understood from the following viewpoints, for example.

[0236] [First Aspect] A vehicle control device for controlling driving force and braking force of a vehicle passing through a change generation source (S) that changes vehicle speed when a wheel of the vehicle goes over or goes down, the vehicle control device comprising: a passage determination unit (44) that determines that the vehicle has passed the change generation source; an impulse calculation unit (43) that calculates an impulse applied to the vehicle when the vehicle passes the change generation source and outputs impulse information corresponding to the calculated impulse; and a braking / driving calculation unit (422) that calculates the driving force and the braking force after the vehicle has passed the change generation source based on the impulse information, wherein the impulse calculation unit calculates a speed impulse based on the vehicle speed that changes when the vehicle passes through the change generation source, and a braking / driving impulse based on the driving force and braking force that change when the vehicle passes through the change generation source, When the difference between the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse is defined as a disturbance impulse, and when the passage determination unit determines that the vehicle has passed through the change source, the braking / driving calculation unit calculates the driving force and the braking force based on an amount of change in the disturbance impulse when the vehicle has passed through the change source.

[0237] [Second Aspect] The vehicle control device according to the first aspect, wherein the passage determination unit determines that the vehicle has run over the change source when the vehicle has run over the change source, the impulse calculation unit calculates the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse when the vehicle runs over the change source, and the braking / driving calculation unit calculates the driving force and the braking force so that, when the passage determination unit determines that the vehicle has run over the change source, a difference between the disturbance impulse when it is determined that the vehicle has run over the change source and the disturbance impulse immediately before it is determined that the vehicle has run over the change source approaches zero as a run-over change amount.

[0238] [Third Aspect] The vehicle control device according to the first aspect, wherein the passage determination unit determines that the vehicle has descended from the change source when the vehicle descends from the change source, the impulse calculation unit calculates the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse when the vehicle descends from the change source, and the braking / driving calculation unit calculates the driving force and the braking force so that, when the passage determination unit determines that the vehicle has descended from the change source, a difference between an absolute value of the braking / driving impulse immediately after the vehicle descends from the change source and an absolute value of the descending change amount approaches zero, where the amount of change in the disturbance impulse after it is determined that the vehicle has descended from the change source is a descending change amount.

[0239] [Fourth Aspect] The braking / driving calculation unit is capable of changing the acceleration of the vehicle and decelerating the vehicle by controlling the calculated driving force and braking force, and when decelerating the vehicle upon passing the change source, calculates the driving force and braking force so as to maximize the amount of change in acceleration of the vehicle per unit time. This is a vehicle control device as described in the second or third aspect.

[0240] [Fifth Aspect] The vehicle control device according to the fourth aspect, wherein the braking / driving calculation unit is capable of changing the acceleration of the vehicle by controlling the calculated driving force and braking force to accelerate the vehicle, and when accelerating the vehicle when passing through the change source, calculates the driving force and braking force so as to maximize the amount of change in acceleration of the vehicle per unit time.

Claims

1. A vehicle control device that controls the driving force and braking force of a vehicle passing through a change generation source (S) that changes the vehicle speed by the wheels of the vehicle going over or descending, comprising: a passage determination unit (44) that determines whether the vehicle has passed the change generation source; 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; and a braking / driving calculation unit (422) that calculates the driving force and the braking force after the vehicle has passed through the change generation source based on the impulse information, wherein the impulse calculation unit calculates a speed impulse based on the vehicle speed that changes when the vehicle passes through the change generation source, and a braking / driving impulse based on the driving force and the braking force that change when the vehicle passes through the change generation source, When a difference between the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse is defined as a disturbance impulse, when the passage determination unit determines that the change source has been passed, the braking / driving calculation unit calculates the driving force and the braking force based on an amount of change in the disturbance impulse when the change source has been passed.

2. A control device for a vehicle as described in claim 1, wherein the passing determination unit determines that the vehicle has run up onto the change source when the vehicle runs up onto the change source, the impulse calculation unit calculates the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse when the vehicle runs up onto the change source, and the braking / driving calculation unit calculates the driving force and the braking force so that when the passing determination unit determines that the vehicle has run up onto the change source, a difference between the absolute value of the braking / driving impulse immediately after running up onto the change source and the absolute value of the run-up change amount approaches zero when the difference between the disturbance impulse when it is determined that the vehicle has run up onto the change source and the disturbance impulse immediately before it is determined that the vehicle has run up onto the change source is set as a run-up change amount.

3. A control device for a vehicle as described in claim 1, wherein the passing determination unit determines that the vehicle has descended from the change source when the vehicle descends from the change source, the impulse calculation unit calculates the speed impulse and the braking / driving impulse when the vehicle descends from the change source, and the braking / driving calculation unit calculates the driving force and the braking force so that when the amount of change in the disturbance impulse after it is determined that the vehicle has descended from the change source is taken as a descending change amount, a difference between an absolute value of the braking / driving impulse immediately after descending from the change source and an absolute value of the descending change amount approaches zero when the passing determination unit determines that the vehicle has descended from the change source.

4. A vehicle control device as described in claim 2 or 3, wherein the braking / driving calculation unit is capable of changing the acceleration of the vehicle and decelerating the vehicle by controlling the calculated driving force and braking force, and when the vehicle is decelerated upon passing the change source, the driving force and braking force are calculated so as to maximize the amount of change in acceleration of the vehicle per unit time.

5. A vehicle control device as described in claim 4, wherein the braking / driving calculation unit is capable of changing the acceleration of the vehicle by controlling the calculated driving force and braking force to accelerate the vehicle, and when accelerating the vehicle upon passing the change source, calculates the driving force and braking force so as to maximize the amount of change in acceleration of the vehicle per unit time.

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