Control device

Abstract

This control device is provided in a vehicle equipped with a battery. The control device has one or more processors and one or more memories connected to the processors. The processors execute processes including: performing a first detection process for detecting a collision of the vehicle; performing a first voltage process for applying the rated voltage of a vehicle cabin device from the battery to the vehicle cabin device when a collision of the vehicle is detected in the first detection process; performing a first determination process for determining whether the rated voltage of the vehicle cabin device can be applied; performing a first notification process for giving a notice that urges waiting in the vehicle cabin when it is determined in the first determination process that the rated voltage of the vehicle cabin device can be applied; and performing a second notification process for giving a notice that urges escaping from the vehicle when it is determined that the rated voltage of the vehicle cabin device cannot be applied.

Description

Control device

[0001] The present invention relates to a control device provided in a vehicle.

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a technique for instructing a driver to warn people around the vehicle when the vehicle is involved in a traffic accident and is unable to move due to a breakdown.

[0003] JP 2009-168458 A

[0004] Incidentally, when a battery-equipped electric vehicle breaks down due to a collision such as a traffic accident, there is a possibility of a current leak due to damage to high-voltage components. Therefore, it may be better for the occupants to evacuate from the vehicle to prevent secondary disasters caused by the current leak. On the other hand, depending on the environment outside the vehicle, such as a single-vehicle accident on a snowy mountain in a low-temperature environment, the safety of the occupants may be ensured by waiting inside the vehicle until rescue arrives. Therefore, there is a need for the development of technology that appropriately notifies the occupants to evacuate from the vehicle or wait inside the vehicle depending on whether or not there is a current leak in the on-board equipment due to an accident or the like.

[0005] In view of these problems, the present invention aims to provide a control device that can appropriately notify occupants to evacuate outside the vehicle or wait inside the vehicle cabin depending on whether or not there is a leakage of electricity in the vehicle equipment due to an accident, etc.

[0006] In order to solve the above problem, a control device according to one embodiment of the present invention is a control device provided in a vehicle equipped with a battery, the control device having one or more processors and one or more memories connected to the processors, and the processor performs processes including: performing a first detection process to detect a collision of the vehicle; if a collision of the vehicle is detected in the first detection process, performing a first voltage process to apply a rated voltage of a cabin device from the battery to the cabin device; performing a first determination process to determine whether the rated voltage of the cabin device can be applied; if it is determined in the first determination process that the rated voltage of the cabin device can be applied, performing a first notification process to issue a notification urging the vehicle to wait inside the vehicle cabin; and if it is determined in the first determination process that the rated voltage of the cabin device cannot be applied, performing a second notification process to issue a notification urging the vehicle to evacuate.

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to appropriately notify occupants to take shelter outside the vehicle or wait inside the vehicle depending on whether or not there is a current leakage in the vehicle equipment due to an accident or the like.

[0008] Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a control device according to the embodiment. Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing processing executed by the control device according to the embodiment.

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Specific dimensions, materials, numerical values, etc. shown in the embodiments are merely examples for facilitating understanding of the invention and do not limit the present invention unless otherwise specified. In this specification and drawings, elements having substantially the same functions and configurations are designated by the same reference numerals to avoid redundant explanation, and elements not directly related to the present invention are not shown.

[0010] [1. Hardware Configuration of Vehicle] The hardware configuration of a vehicle 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the vehicle 100 according to the embodiment. As shown in Fig. 1, the vehicle 100 includes a high-voltage battery 110, a junction box 112, an inverter 114, a drive motor 116, a bidirectional DC / DC converter 118, an auxiliary battery 120, a vehicle interior device 122, a circuit breaker 124, an acceleration sensor 130, an airbag sensor 132, a leakage sensor 134, and a control device 140.

[0011] The high-voltage battery 110 is a battery that supplies power to the drive source of the vehicle 100. In other words, the vehicle 100 is an electric vehicle. The high-voltage battery 110 outputs a direct current. The voltage of the high-voltage battery 110 is, for example, 300 V or more and 400 V or less.

[0012] Electric power supplied from the high-voltage battery 110 is branched by the junction box 112 to an inverter 114 and a bidirectional DC / DC converter 118. The inverter 114 converts the direct current supplied from the junction box 112 into alternating current and outputs it to the drive motor 116. The drive motor 116 rotates the drive wheels that constitute the vehicle 100.

[0013] The bidirectional DC / DC converter 118 reduces the voltage of the DC current supplied from the junction box 112. The bidirectional DC / DC converter 118 converts the voltage, for example, from 400 V to 12 V. The DC current reduced by the bidirectional DC / DC converter 118 is supplied to one or both of the auxiliary battery 120 and the vehicle interior device 122.

[0014] Furthermore, bidirectional DC / DC converter 118 boosts the voltage of the direct current supplied from auxiliary battery 120. Bidirectional DC / DC converter 118 converts the voltage, for example, from 12 V to 400 V. The direct current boosted by bidirectional DC / DC converter 118 is supplied to high-voltage battery 110 via junction box 112.

[0015] The auxiliary battery 120 is charged by power supplied from the bidirectional DC / DC converter 118. The auxiliary battery 120 also supplies direct current to the vehicle interior device 122. The voltage of the auxiliary battery 120 is, for example, 12V.

[0016] The cabin device 122 is one or both of the on-board equipment devices that adjust the environment in the cabin of the vehicle 100 and devices that can receive operational input from occupants in the cabin of the vehicle 100. Devices that adjust the environment in the cabin of the vehicle 100 include, for example, an air conditioning unit 122a and a lighting unit 122b provided in the cabin. Devices that can receive operational input from occupants in the cabin of the vehicle 100 include, for example, a display unit 122c, an audio output unit 122d, and an operating unit 122e that constitute a car navigation system.

[0017] The cutoff unit 124 cuts off the supply of power from the auxiliary battery 120 to the vehicle interior device 122 .

[0018] The acceleration sensor 130 detects the acceleration of the vehicle 100. The airbag sensor 132 detects the deployment of an airbag installed in the vehicle 100. The leakage sensor 134 detects leakage in the high-voltage battery 110 or high-voltage components. The high-voltage components are on-board equipment to which a voltage of over 12 V is applied during normal operation. Examples of the high-voltage components include the junction box 112, the inverter 114, the drive motor 116, the bidirectional DC / DC converter 118, and the high-voltage cables connecting these components.

[0019] The control device 140 has one or more processors 142 and one or more memories 144 connected to the processors 142. The processors 142 include, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The memories 144 include, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory). The ROM is a storage element that stores programs and calculation parameters used by the CPU. The RAM is a storage element that temporarily stores data such as variables and parameters used in processing executed by the CPU.

[0020] The control device 140 communicates with each device provided in the vehicle 100. The devices include, for example, a high-voltage battery 110, a junction box 112, an inverter 114, a drive motor 116, a bidirectional DC / DC converter 118, an auxiliary battery 120, a vehicle interior device 122, a circuit breaker 124, an acceleration sensor 130, an airbag sensor 132, and a leakage current sensor 134. The communication between the control device 140 and each device is realized, for example, using CAN (Controller Area Network) communication.

[0021] [2. Functional Configuration of Vehicle Control Device] Next, the functional configuration of the control device 140 provided in the vehicle 100 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the control device 140 according to this embodiment. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the control device 140 of the vehicle 100 has an acquisition unit 210, a control unit 212, and a determination unit 214. Note that various processes, including the processes described below, performed by the acquisition unit 210, the control unit 212, and the determination unit 214 may be executed by the processor 142. In detail, the various processes are executed by the processor 142 executing programs stored in the memory 144.

[0022] The acquisition unit 210 acquires the detection value of the acceleration sensor 130, the detection of airbag deployment by the airbag sensor 132, and the detection of leakage current in the high-voltage battery 110 or high-voltage components by the leakage current sensor 134.

[0023] The control unit 212 operates the cutoff unit 124. The control unit 212 also controls the high-voltage battery 110, the junction box 112, the bidirectional DC / DC converter 118, and the vehicle interior device 122.

[0024] The determination unit 214 determines whether a collision of the vehicle 100 has been detected. The determination unit 214 also determines whether an airbag mounted on the vehicle 100 has been activated. The determination unit 214 determines whether the rated voltage of the vehicle interior device 122 can be applied from the high-voltage battery 110 to the vehicle interior device 122. The determination unit 214 determines whether either or both of the high-voltage battery 110 and the high-voltage components mounted on the vehicle 100 are leaking electricity.

[0025] [3. Processing Flow of Control Device] Next, processing executed by the control device 140 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 3 . FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing processing executed by the control device 140 according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3 , the processing executed by the control device 140 according to this embodiment includes a first detection processing S110, a second detection processing S120, a first voltage processing S130, a first determination processing S140, a first notification processing S150, a second voltage processing S160, a second determination processing S170, and a second notification processing S180. Each processing executed by the control device 140 according to this embodiment is repeatedly executed by an interrupt that occurs at predetermined time intervals (e.g., every 5 minutes). Each processing will be described below.

[0026] [First detection process S110] The acquisition unit 210 acquires a detection value of the acceleration sensor 130. The determination unit 214 determines whether or not a collision of the vehicle 100 has been detected based on the detection value of the acceleration sensor 130 acquired by the acquisition unit 210. For example, the determination unit 214 determines that a collision of the vehicle 100 has been detected when the detection value of the acceleration sensor 130 acquired by the acquisition unit 210 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. The predetermined value is, for example, an acceleration at which a collision occurs that will damage at least a portion of the vehicle 100.

[0027] If the detected value of the acceleration sensor 130 is equal to or greater than the predetermined value, that is, if a collision of the vehicle 100 is detected (YES in S110), the determination unit 214 proceeds to the second detection process S120. The control unit 212 also activates the cutoff unit 124 to cut off the supply of power from the auxiliary battery 120 to the vehicle interior device 122.

[0028] On the other hand, if the detection value of the acceleration sensor 130 is less than the predetermined value, that is, if a collision of the vehicle 100 is not detected (NO in S110), the determination unit 214 ends the series of processes executed by the control device 140.

[0029] [Second Detection Processing S120] The determination unit 214 determines whether an airbag installed in the vehicle 100 has been deployed. For example, if the acquisition unit 210 acquires that the airbag sensor 132 has detected the deployment of the airbag, the determination unit 214 determines that the airbag has been deployed. On the other hand, if the acquisition unit 210 does not acquire that the airbag sensor 132 has detected the deployment of the airbag, the determination unit 214 determines that the airbag has not been deployed. If the determination unit 214 determines that the airbag has not been deployed (NO in S120), the determination unit 214 proceeds to the first voltage processing S130. On the other hand, if the determination unit 214 determines that the airbag has been deployed (YES in S120), the determination unit 214 proceeds to the second voltage processing S160.

[0030] [First Voltage Processing S130] The control unit 212 controls the high-voltage battery 110, the junction box 112, and the bidirectional DC / DC converter 118 to step down the voltage of the high-voltage battery 110 and apply a rated voltage to the vehicle interior device 122. The rated voltage of the vehicle interior device 122 is, for example, 12 V. For example, if the initial voltage is 0 V, in the first voltage processing S130, the control unit 212 applies a voltage from 0 V to the rated voltage at a steep gradient. In other words, in the first voltage processing S130, the control unit 212 applies a voltage at a rapid rate from 0 V to the rated voltage. That is, in the first voltage processing S130, the control unit 212 applies a voltage at a higher rate than the rate at which the voltage is increased in the second voltage processing S160, which will be described later.

[0031] [First Determination Process S140] The determination unit 214 determines whether or not the rated voltage of the vehicle cabin device 122 can be applied. As a result, if it is determined that the rated voltage of the vehicle cabin device 122 can be applied (YES in S140), the determination unit 214 proceeds to a first notification process S150. On the other hand, if it is determined that the rated voltage of the vehicle cabin device 122 cannot be applied (NO in S140), the determination unit 214 proceeds to a second notification process S180.

[0032] [First Notification Process S150] The control unit 212 issues a notification urging the driver to wait inside the vehicle cabin and terminates the series of processes executed by the control device 140. The control unit 212 also issues a notification indicating that the vehicle cabin device 122 is available for use, in addition to the notification urging the driver to wait inside the vehicle cabin. For example, the control unit 212 controls the high-voltage battery 110, the junction box 112, and the bidirectional DC / DC converter 118 so that power is supplied from the high-voltage battery 110 to one or both of the display device 122c and the audio output device 122d. The control unit 212 also causes the display device 122c to display a message urging the driver to wait inside the vehicle cabin and a message indicating that the vehicle cabin device 122 is available for use. The control unit 212 also causes the audio output device 122d to output a sound urging the driver to wait inside the vehicle cabin and a sound indicating that the vehicle cabin device 122 is available for use.

[0033] [Second Voltage Processing S160] The control unit 212 controls the high-voltage battery 110 to gradually apply voltage from the high-voltage battery 110 to high-voltage components mounted on the vehicle 100. For example, the control unit 212 sets the initial voltage to 0 [V] and the final voltage to 40 [V], and applies the voltage at a boost rate of 5 [V] / second from the initial voltage to the final voltage.

[0034] [Second Determination Process S170] The determination unit 214 determines whether or not there is a leakage in the high-voltage battery 110 and / or the high-voltage components mounted on the vehicle 100. For example, if the acquisition unit 210 acquires information that the leakage sensor 134 has detected a leakage in the high-voltage battery 110 and / or the high-voltage components, the determination unit 214 determines that there is a leakage in the high-voltage battery 110 and / or the high-voltage components. Furthermore, if the acquisition unit 210 does not acquire information that the leakage sensor 134 has detected a leakage in the high-voltage battery 110 and / or the high-voltage components, the determination unit 214 determines that there is no leakage in the high-voltage battery 110 and / or the high-voltage components. If the determination unit 214 determines that there is no leakage in the high-voltage battery 110 and / or the high-voltage components (NO in S170), the determination unit 214 proceeds to the first voltage process S130. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is a leak in the high-voltage battery 110 and / or the high-voltage components (YES in S170), the determining unit 214 proceeds to a second notification process S180.

[0035] [Second notification process S180] The control unit 212 issues a notification urging the driver to get out of the vehicle 100, and ends the series of processes executed by the control device 140. For example, the control unit 212 controls the auxiliary battery 120 so that power is supplied from the auxiliary battery 120 to one or both of the display device 122c and the audio output device 122d. The control unit 212 also causes the display device 122c to display a message urging the driver to get out of the vehicle 100. The control unit 212 also causes the audio output device 122d to output a sound urging the driver to get out of the vehicle 100.

[0036] [4. Summary] As described above, according to this embodiment, a control device 140 is provided in a vehicle 100 equipped with a battery, the control device 140 having one or more processors 142 and one or more memories 144 connected to the processor 142, the processor 142: performs a first detection process S110 to detect a collision of the vehicle 100; if a collision of the vehicle 100 is detected in the first detection process S110, performs a first voltage process S130 to apply a rated voltage of a cabin device 122 from the battery to the cabin device 122; performs a first determination process S140 to determine whether the rated voltage of the cabin device 122 can be applied; and if it is determined in the first determination process S140 that the rated voltage of the cabin device 122 can be applied, performs a first notification process S150 to issue a notification urging the driver to wait inside the cabin. If it is determined in the first determination process S140 that the rated voltage of the vehicle interior device 122 cannot be applied, a second notification process S180 is performed to issue a notification urging the driver to evacuate from the vehicle 100.

[0037] As a result, when the control device 140 detects a collision of the vehicle 100, it can easily determine that the cabin device 122 is not malfunctioning. The control device 140 then issues a notification urging the occupants to wait inside the vehicle cabin if the cabin device 122 is not malfunctioning. As described above, the cabin device 122 is one or both of a device that adjusts the environment inside the vehicle cabin of the vehicle 100 and a device that can accept operational input from occupants inside the vehicle cabin of the vehicle 100. Therefore, when the cabin device 122 is not malfunctioning, that is, when a comfortable environment inside the vehicle cabin can be created, the control device 140 issues a notification urging the occupants to wait inside the vehicle cabin. This allows the occupants to wait inside the vehicle cabin in adverse conditions such as low temperatures, inclement weather, or the presence of wild animals, thereby ensuring the safety of the occupants until rescue arrives. Furthermore, when the cabin device 122 is malfunctioning, the control device 140 issues a notification urging the occupants to evacuate outside the vehicle 100. This allows the occupants to be urged to evacuate from the vehicle 100 if there is a risk of an electrical leak from the vehicle interior device 122, thereby ensuring the safety of the occupants until help arrives.

[0038] The processor 142 further executes processes including: if a collision of the vehicle 100 is detected in the first detection process S110, performing a second detection process S120 to determine whether or not an airbag mounted on the vehicle 100 has been activated; if it is determined in the second detection process S120 that the airbag has been activated, performing a second voltage process S160 to gradually apply voltage from the battery to high-voltage components mounted on the vehicle 100; and performing a second determination process S170 to determine whether or not there is a leakage of electricity from the battery or one or both of the high-voltage components; and if it is determined in the second determination process S170 that there is a leakage of electricity from the battery or one or both of the high-voltage components, the processor 142 may perform the second notification process S180.

[0039] As a result, when there is a leakage of electricity from the high-voltage battery 110 and / or one of the high-voltage components, the control device 140 can issue a warning to urge the occupants to evacuate from the vehicle 100. Therefore, the control device 140 can prevent secondary damage to the occupants due to the leakage of electricity, and can ensure the safety of the occupants until rescue arrives.

[0040] When it is determined in the second detection process S120 that the airbag has not been deployed, the processor 142 may perform the first voltage process S130 without performing the second voltage process S160.

[0041] If the airbag is not deployed, i.e., if the collision is minor, the high-voltage battery 110 and the high-voltage components are unlikely to leak electricity. Therefore, when the airbag is not deployed, the control device 140 does not determine whether the battery and / or the high-voltage components are leaking electricity. This allows the control device 140 to avoid executing unnecessary processes and reduce the processing load.

[0042] The processor 142 may perform the first voltage process when it is determined in the second determination process S170 that the battery and the high-voltage component are not leaking electricity.

[0043] This allows the control device 140 to determine the possibility of a leakage current in the vehicle interior device 122 even when there is no leakage current in the high-voltage battery 110 or high-voltage components, thereby ensuring the safety of the occupants.

[0044] In the first notification process S150, the processor 142 may issue a notification indicating that the vehicle cabin device 122 is available for use, in addition to issuing a notification urging the driver to wait in the vehicle cabin.

[0045] This allows the control device 140 to notify the occupant that the cabin device 122 is available for use. Therefore, the control device 140 allows the occupant to create a comfortable cabin environment when waiting inside the cabin.

[0046] The battery is a high-voltage battery 110 that supplies power to the driving source of the vehicle 100, and in the first voltage processing S130, the processor 142 may control a bidirectional DC / DC converter 118 to reduce the voltage of the high-voltage battery 110 and apply the rated voltage to the vehicle interior device 122.

[0047] This allows the control device 140 to centralize the batteries it controls into the high-voltage battery 110 after the vehicle 100 has collided, thereby reducing the processing load.

[0048] While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to such embodiments. It is clear that those skilled in the art can conceive of various modifications and alterations within the scope of the claims, and it is understood that such modifications and alterations also fall within the technical scope of the present invention.

[0049] For example, in the above embodiment, the processor 142 further executes a process including the second detection process S120, the second voltage process S160, and the second determination process S170, and if it is determined in the second determination process S170 that one or both of the battery and the high-voltage components are leaking, the processor 142 executes the second notification process S180. However, the processor 142 does not need to execute all of these processes. For example, the processor 142 may further execute a process including the second detection process S120, and may execute the second notification process S180 if it is determined in the second detection process S120 that the airbag has deployed, without executing the second voltage process S160 and the second determination process S170.

[0050] In the above embodiment, the high-voltage battery 110 is used as an example of the battery that the processor 142 controls when a collision of the vehicle 100 is detected. However, the processor 142 may control the auxiliary battery 120 when a collision of the vehicle 100 is detected.

[0051] In the above embodiment, the determination unit 214 detects a collision of the vehicle 100 based on the detection value of the acceleration sensor 130. However, the configuration of the determination unit 214 is not limited as long as it can detect a collision of the vehicle 100. For example, the determination unit 214 may detect a collision of the vehicle 100 based on an image acquired by an in-vehicle camera.

[0052] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 Vehicle 110 High-voltage battery (battery) 112 Junction box (high-voltage component) 114 Inverter (high-voltage component) 116 Drive motor (high-voltage component) 118 Bidirectional DC / DC converter (high-voltage component) 120 Auxiliary battery (battery) 122 Vehicle interior device 140 Control device 142 Processor 144 Memory

Claims

1. A control device provided in a vehicle equipped with a battery, the control device having one or more processors and one or more memories connected to the processors, wherein the processor performs processes including: performing a first detection process to detect a collision of the vehicle; if a collision of the vehicle is detected in the first detection process, performing a first voltage process to apply a rated voltage of a vehicle interior device from the battery to the vehicle interior device; performing a first determination process to determine whether the rated voltage of the vehicle interior device can be applied; if it is determined in the first determination process that the rated voltage of the vehicle interior device can be applied, performing a first notification process to issue a notification urging the vehicle owner to wait inside the vehicle interior; and if it is determined in the first determination process that the rated voltage of the vehicle interior device cannot be applied, performing a second notification process to issue a notification urging the vehicle owner to evacuate outside the vehicle.

2. The processor further executes processes including: if a collision of the vehicle is detected in the first detection process, performing a second detection process to determine whether an airbag mounted on the vehicle has deployed; if it is determined in the second detection process that the airbag has deployed, performing a second voltage process to gradually apply voltage from the battery to a high-voltage component mounted on the vehicle; and performing a second determination process to determine whether the battery and / or the high-voltage component is leaking electricity; and the control device described in claim 1 performs the second notification process if it is determined in the second determination process that the battery and / or the high-voltage component is leaking electricity.

3. The control device according to claim 2, wherein the processor does not perform the second voltage processing but performs the first voltage processing when it determines in the second detection processing that the airbag is not deployed.

4. A control device as described in claim 2 or 3, wherein the processor performs the first voltage processing when it determines in the second determination processing that the battery and the high-voltage component are not leaking.

5. A control device as described in claim 1 or 2, wherein in the first notification process, the processor not only issues a notification urging the driver to wait inside the vehicle cabin, but also issues a notification indicating that the vehicle cabin device is available for use.

6. The control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the battery is a high-voltage battery that supplies power to a drive source of the vehicle, and the processor, in the first voltage processing, controls a bidirectional DC / DC converter to reduce the voltage of the high-voltage battery and apply the rated voltage to the vehicle interior device.

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