JP2010274750A - Control device of vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To ensure air conditioning performance of an air conditioner during off-road running of a vehicle. <P>SOLUTION: A compressor 20 of the air conditioner 18 is connected to an engine 11 via an electromagnetic clutch 19. Whether a vehicle is rapidly accelerated or not is determined based on an accelerator operation amount and the like. When the vehicle is determined to be in the rapid acceleration, an air conditioner cut on acceleration is carried out that stops the drive of the compressor 20 by changing over the electromagnetic clutch 19 to a power cutoff state. Furthermore, whether the vehicle is in off-road running or not is determined based on a differential gear changeover switch 23, a vehicle height adjustment switch 25, road-surface select switch 26, etc. When the off-road running is determined, the drive of the compressor 20 is continued during the off-road running even on the acceleration by prohibiting the air conditioner cut on acceleration. Thereby, the air conditioning performance of the air conditioner 18 is ensured during the off-road running and uncomfortable torque shock is prevented by inhibiting the fluctuation of output torque by the stop of the drive of the compressor 20. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle control device having a function of executing an acceleration air-conditioner cut to stop driving a compressor for an air-conditioning device when the vehicle is accelerated.

  An air conditioner (so-called air conditioner) mounted on a vehicle has a compressor coupled to an internal combustion engine that is a power source of the vehicle via an electromagnetic clutch, and when the air conditioner switch is on, the electromagnetic clutch is switched to a power transmission state. Some compressors are driven by the power of the internal combustion engine. However, if the compressor is driven by the power of the internal combustion engine, the load on the internal combustion engine increases accordingly, which may reduce the acceleration performance of the vehicle. .

  As a countermeasure, for example, as described in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Publication No. 59-5449), it is determined whether or not the vehicle is accelerating based on the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal. In some cases, the acceleration performance of the vehicle is ensured by switching the electromagnetic clutch to a power cut-off state and executing “acceleration cut during acceleration” to stop the drive of the compressor.

Japanese Patent Publication No.59-5449

  By the way, depending on the environment in which the vehicle is used, the vehicle may travel not only on paved roads such as urban areas and highways, but also on off-roads such as gravel roads and sand. In general, during off-road driving, acceleration performance is often not as high as during paved road driving, and air conditioning performance is more important than accelerating performance for passengers in off-road driving environments such as deserts. For this reason, if the air-conditioner cut during acceleration is performed during off-road driving, the air-conditioning performance of the air-conditioning device may deteriorate and the passenger may feel uncomfortable. Torque shock may occur.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle control device that can ensure the air conditioning performance of an air conditioner during off-road traveling and can prevent the occurrence of an unpleasant torque shock.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an invention according to claim 1 is directed to an air conditioner having a compressor driven by power of a vehicle, and an air conditioner cut control for executing an acceleration air conditioner cut to stop driving the compressor when the vehicle is accelerated. An off-road travel determination means for determining whether or not the vehicle is traveling off-road, and acceleration when the off-road travel determination means determines that the vehicle is off-road travel. The air-conditioner cut prohibiting means for prohibiting the air-conditioner cut is provided.

  In this configuration, by prohibiting the acceleration air conditioner cut when it is determined that the vehicle is off-road traveling, the compressor driving can be continued without stopping the compressor driving even during acceleration during off-road traveling. As a result, the air conditioning performance of the air conditioner can be ensured during off-road travel, and fluctuations in the output torque due to the stop of the compressor drive can be prevented to prevent the occurrence of unpleasant torque shocks.

  A specific method for determining whether or not the vehicle is traveling off-road is, for example, in the case of a vehicle provided with a differential gear switching device that switches the gear ratio of the differential gear of the vehicle as in claim 2. It may be determined that the vehicle is traveling off-road when the gear ratio of the differential gear is switched to the low speed side by the device. The differential gear switching device is a device for switching the gear ratio of the differential gear to the low speed side (low gear side) when traveling on off-road, so when the gear ratio of the differential gear is switched to the low speed side, the off-road It can be determined that the vehicle is running.

  In the case of a vehicle having a vehicle height adjusting device for adjusting the vehicle height as in claim 3, when the vehicle height is higher than the normal position by the vehicle height adjusting device, It may be determined. Since the vehicle height adjusting device is a device for avoiding the vehicle body coming into contact with the ground by making the vehicle height higher than the normal position when traveling off-road, the vehicle height becomes higher than the normal position. When the vehicle is on, it can be determined that the vehicle is traveling off-road.

  Further, in the case of the vehicle having the control mode switching means for switching the vehicle control mode in accordance with the road surface mode selected by the driver as in claim 4, when the off-road mode is selected as the road surface mode. Alternatively, it may be determined that the vehicle is traveling off-road. When the off-road mode is selected and the control mode of the vehicle (for example, the control mode of the internal combustion engine, the transmission, or the like) is switched to a control mode suitable for off-road driving, it can be determined that the vehicle is off-road driving. .

  Further, in the case of a vehicle having a navigation device that guides the travel route of the vehicle as in claim 5, it is determined whether or not the vehicle is off-road based on information from the navigation device. Also good. In this way, based on information from the navigation device (for example, current position information, map information, etc.), it is determined whether or not the road currently being driven is off-road, so that it is off-road driving. Whether or not can be determined with high accuracy.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a system configuration of a vehicle in one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of processing of the air conditioner cut control routine. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of processing of the air conditioner cut prohibition routine.

Hereinafter, an embodiment embodying a mode for carrying out the present invention will be described.
First, the system configuration of the vehicle will be described with reference to FIG.
An engine 11 that is an internal combustion engine is mounted as a power source of the vehicle. The engine 11 may be either a gasoline engine or a diesel engine, and is a dual engine equipped with both an intake port injection engine, an in-cylinder injection engine, a fuel injection valve for intake port injection and a fuel injection valve for in-cylinder injection. Any of the injection engines may be used.

  The power of the output shaft of the engine 11 is transmitted to the automatic transmission 12 (automatic transmission), and the power of the output shaft of the automatic transmission 12 is transmitted to the wheels 15 via the differential gear 13, the axle 14 and the like. The automatic transmission 12 includes, for example, a torque converter 16 and a transmission mechanism 17, and the transmission mechanism 17 may be a stepped transmission mechanism that switches the transmission speed step by step from a plurality of transmission speeds. It may be a CVT (continuously variable transmission) that changes continuously. Instead of the automatic transmission 12, a manual transmission (manual transmission) may be provided.

  On the other hand, in an air conditioner 18 (so-called air conditioner) that adjusts the temperature and humidity in the passenger compartment, a compressor 20 is connected to the engine 11 via an electromagnetic clutch 19. The air conditioner 18 switches the electromagnetic clutch 19 to a power transmission state (a state in which the engine 11 and the compressor 20 are connected) when the air conditioner switch 21 is on, and drives the compressor 20 with the power of the engine 11. On the other hand, when the air conditioner switch 21 is off, the electromagnetic clutch 19 is switched to a power cut-off state (a state where the engine 11 and the compressor 20 are disconnected), and the drive of the compressor 20 is stopped.

  The vehicle is also provided with a differential gear switching device 22 that switches the gear ratio of the differential gear 13. The differential gear switching device 22 switches the gear ratio of the differential gear 13 to the high speed side when the differential gear switch 23 is switched to “high gear”. On the other hand, when the differential gear selector switch 23 is switched to “low gear”, the gear ratio of the differential gear 13 is switched to the low speed side.

  Further, the vehicle is provided with a vehicle height adjusting device 24 for adjusting the vehicle height. The vehicle height adjusting device 24 maintains the vehicle height at the normal position by hydraulic pressure or air pressure when the vehicle height adjusting switch 25 is “normal”. On the other hand, when the vehicle height adjustment switch 25 is switched to “high”, the vehicle height is made higher than the normal position by hydraulic pressure or air pressure. Further, when the vehicle height adjustment switch 25 is switched to “low”, the vehicle height may be set lower than the normal position by hydraulic pressure or air pressure.

  Further, the road surface mode selected by the driver is detected by the road surface selection switch 26. Further, the accelerator sensor 27 detects the accelerator operation amount (depressing amount of the accelerator pedal), the brake switch 28 detects the brake operation, and the vehicle speed sensor 29 detects the vehicle speed.

  Outputs of these various sensors and switches are input to an electronic control unit (hereinafter referred to as “ECU”) 30. The ECU 30 is mainly composed of a microcomputer, and executes various control programs stored in a built-in ROM (storage medium), whereby the engine 11, the automatic transmission 12, the differential gear switching device 22, the vehicle height adjustment. The device 24 and the like are controlled. The engine 11, the automatic transmission 12, the differential gear switching device 22, the vehicle height adjusting device 24, and the like may be controlled by separate control units.

  The ECU 30 functions as control mode switching means for switching the vehicle control mode according to the road surface mode selected by the driver, and when the driver operates the road surface selection switch 26 to switch the road surface mode to the off-road mode. The control mode of both (or any one) of the engine 11 and the automatic transmission 12 is switched to a control mode suitable for off-road driving.

  Further, the ECU 30 executes an air conditioner cut control routine of FIG. 2 to be described later to determine whether or not sudden acceleration is in progress based on the accelerator operation amount while the air conditioner switch 21 is on. When it is determined, the acceleration performance of the vehicle is ensured by switching the electromagnetic clutch 19 to the power cut-off state and performing “acceleration cut during acceleration” to stop the driving of the compressor 20.

  By the way, during off-road driving, acceleration performance is often not as high as during paved road driving, and air conditioning performance is more important than accelerating performance for passengers in off-road driving environments such as deserts. For this reason, if the air-conditioner cut during acceleration is performed during off-road driving, the air-conditioning performance may deteriorate and the passenger may feel uncomfortable, and the output torque fluctuates due to the drive stop of the compressor 20, causing an unpleasant torque shock. May occur.

As a countermeasure, the ECU 30 determines whether the vehicle is traveling off-road by executing an air-conditioner cut prohibition routine of FIG. 3 to be described later, and when it is determined that the vehicle is traveling off-road, Prohibit cutting. As a result, during off-road driving, the compressor 20 continues to be driven without stopping the compressor 20 even during acceleration.
Hereinafter, the processing content of each routine of FIG.2 and FIG.3 which ECU30 performs is demonstrated.

[Air conditioning cut control routine]
The air conditioner cut control routine shown in FIG. 2 is repeatedly executed at a predetermined period when the ECU 30 is turned on and the air conditioner switch 21 is turned on, and serves as air conditioner cut control means in the claims. When this routine is started, first, at step 101, it is determined whether or not it is sudden acceleration, for example, depending on whether or not the accelerator operation amount has increased by a predetermined value or more. Note that the method for determining whether or not the vehicle is suddenly accelerating may be changed as appropriate. For example, one or two of an accelerator operation amount, a vehicle speed, a throttle opening, an engine rotation speed, a gear position, and the like. You may make it determine based on the above.

  If it is determined in step 101 that the engine is suddenly accelerating, it is determined that the drive of the compressor 20 needs to be stopped, the process proceeds to step 102, the electromagnetic clutch 19 is switched to the power cut-off state, and the compressor The acceleration air conditioner cut to stop driving 20 is executed, and the operation of the air conditioner 18 (air conditioner) is stopped.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step 101 that it is not during rapid acceleration, it is determined that it is not necessary to stop the driving of the compressor 20, and the routine proceeds to step 103 where the electromagnetic clutch 19 is maintained in the power transmission state. Then, the compressor 20 is driven by the power of the engine 11 to operate the air conditioner 18 (air conditioner).

[Air-conditioner cut prohibition routine]
The air conditioner cut prohibition routine shown in FIG. 3 is repeatedly executed at a predetermined period when the ECU 35 is powered on and the air conditioner switch 21 is on, and serves as air conditioner cut prohibiting means in the claims. When this routine is started, first, in steps 201 to 203, it is determined whether or not the vehicle is traveling off-road.

  (1) In step 201, it is determined whether or not the gear ratio of the differential gear 13 is switched to the low speed side (low gear side) by the differential gear switching device 22 depending on whether or not the differential gear switch 23 is switched to "low gear". judge. Since the differential gear switching device 22 is a device for switching the gear ratio of the differential gear 13 to the low speed side when traveling off road, when the gear ratio of the differential gear 13 is switched to the low speed side, it is off road traveling. It can be determined as medium.

  (2) In step 202, it is determined whether or not the vehicle height is higher than the normal position by the vehicle height adjustment device 24 depending on whether or not the vehicle height adjustment switch 25 is switched to “high”. The vehicle height adjusting device 24 is a device for avoiding the vehicle body from coming into contact with the ground by making the vehicle height higher than the normal position when traveling off-road, so the vehicle height becomes higher than the normal position. When the vehicle is traveling, it can be determined that the vehicle is traveling off-road.

  (3) In step 203, it is determined whether or not an off-road mode (for example, a sand road mode, a rock road mode, an ice / snow road mode, etc.) is selected by the road surface selection switch 26. When the off-road mode is selected and the control mode of the engine 11 or the automatic transmission 12 is switched to a control mode suitable for off-road driving, it can be determined that the vehicle is in off-road driving.

  If “Yes” is determined in any of these steps 201 to 203, the process proceeds to step 204, where it is determined that the vehicle is traveling off-road, but all of the above steps 201 to 203 are determined to be “No”. If YES in step 206, the flow advances to step 206 to determine that the vehicle is not traveling off-road (not off-road traveling). The processing of these steps 201 to 204 and 206 serves as an off-road running determination means in the claims.

  If it is determined in step 204 that the vehicle is traveling off-road, the process proceeds to step 205, where acceleration air conditioner cut is prohibited. As a result, during off-road driving, the compressor 20 continues to be driven without stopping the compressor 20 even during acceleration.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step 206 that the vehicle is not traveling off-road (not off-road traveling), the routine proceeds to step 207, where the air conditioner cut during acceleration is permitted. As a result, during non-off-road driving, an acceleration air conditioner cut that stops driving the compressor 20 during acceleration is executed.

  In the present embodiment described above, the off-road mode is set by the road surface selection switch 26 whether or not the differential gear selector switch 23 is switched to “low gear”, the vehicle height adjustment switch 25 is switched to “high”. Based on whether it is selected or not, it is determined whether or not it is off-road driving, and when it is determined that it is off-road driving, it is prohibited to cut off the air conditioner during acceleration. Even during acceleration, the driving of the compressor 20 can be continued without stopping the driving of the compressor 20. As a result, the air conditioning performance of the air conditioner 18 can be ensured during off-road travel, and fluctuations in the output torque due to the stop of driving of the compressor 20 can be prevented, thereby preventing the occurrence of unpleasant torque shocks.

  Note that the method for determining whether or not the vehicle is traveling off-road may be changed as appropriate. For example, in the case of a vehicle including a navigation device that guides the traveling route of the vehicle, the information from the navigation device is used. Based on this, it may be determined whether the vehicle is traveling off-road. In this way, based on information from the navigation device (for example, current position information, map information, etc.), it is determined whether or not the road currently being driven is off-road, so that it is off-road driving. Whether or not can be determined with high accuracy.

  Further, it is possible to detect whether or not the vehicle is traveling off-road by detecting the vibration of the vehicle with an acceleration sensor mounted on the vehicle, or a camera mounted on the vehicle (for example, a camera for a back monitor). The road surface is photographed by the vehicle, and the road surface condition (for example, the presence / absence of pavement, the presence / absence of sand or stone, the degree of unevenness, etc.) is determined based on the photographed image to determine whether or not the vehicle is off-road traveling. Also good.

  In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to a vehicle using only an engine as a power source. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and an electric vehicle using only a motor as a power source or a hybrid using both an engine and a motor as a power source. The present invention can also be applied to a car.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Engine (internal combustion engine), 12 ... Automatic transmission, 13 ... Differential gear, 18 ... Air conditioner, 19 ... Electromagnetic clutch, 20 ... Compressor, 21 ... Air conditioner switch, 22 ... Differential gear change device, 23 ... Differential gear change switch, 24 ... Vehicle height adjusting device, 25 ... Vehicle height adjusting switch, 26 ... Road surface selection switch, 30 ... ECU (air conditioner cut control means, off-road travel judging means, air conditioner cut prohibiting means)

Claims (5)

In a vehicle control device comprising: an air conditioner having a compressor driven by the power of the vehicle; and an air conditioner cut control means for executing an air conditioner cut during acceleration for stopping the drive of the compressor when the vehicle is accelerated.
Off-road traveling determination means for determining whether or not the vehicle is traveling off-road;
An air conditioner cut prohibiting means for prohibiting the acceleration air conditioner cut when the off road travel determining means determines that the vehicle is off road traveling. A differential gear switching device for switching the gear ratio of the differential gear of the vehicle;
The off-road travel determination means includes means for determining that the vehicle is in off-road travel when the differential gear switching device switches the differential gear to a low speed side. Vehicle control device. Equipped with a vehicle height adjustment device to adjust the vehicle height,
The said off-road driving | running determination means has a means to determine that it is under off-road driving | running | working, when the vehicle height is higher than a normal position by the said vehicle height adjustment apparatus. Vehicle control device. Control mode switching means for switching the vehicle control mode according to the road surface mode selected by the driver,
The vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the off-road travel determination means includes means for determining that the vehicle is traveling off-road when an off-road mode is selected as the road surface mode. Control device. A navigation device for guiding the travel route of the vehicle,
The vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the off-road travel determination unit includes a unit that determines whether or not the vehicle is off-road based on information from the navigation device. Control device.

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