JP7512978B2 - Acceleration suppression device for pedal misapplication - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to a device for suppressing pedal misapplication-induced acceleration.

There is known a pedal misapplication acceleration suppression device that suppresses vehicle acceleration caused by accidentally pressing the accelerator pedal. This type of device is capable of outputting a pseudo accelerator opening that is smaller than the actual accelerator opening based on the accelerator operation when it is detected that the driver has mistakenly pressed the accelerator pedal too hard. In other words, the pedal misapplication acceleration suppression device converts the actual accelerator opening into an accelerator opening that does not detect that the accelerator pedal has been pressed too hard by mistake, thereby suppressing the acceleration of the vehicle.

Patent Document 1 describes a pedal misapplication acceleration suppression device that can be installed in a vehicle after it is shipped, that is, that can be retrofitted to the vehicle.

JP 2020-67013 A

In recent years, an increasing number of vehicles are being equipped with automatic braking systems that automatically apply the brakes when a collision with an obstacle is predicted, even if the driver is not depressing the brake pedal. Some automatic braking systems of this type are able to cancel operation if it is determined that the driver is attempting to accelerate the vehicle while the system is in operation, taking into account evasive actions by the driver, such as changing the direction of travel and accelerating to avoid an obstacle. For example, if it is detected based on the accelerator pedal depression that the accelerator pedal is being depressed hard, it is determined that the driver is attempting to accelerate the vehicle, and operation is canceled.

However, after detailed investigation by the inventors, it was discovered that when a vehicle equipped with such an automatic braking system is retrofitted with a pedal misapplication acceleration suppression device, the operation of the automatic braking system may not be canceled appropriately. This is because even in situations where the accelerator pedal is pressed hard, which would normally cancel the operation of the automatic braking system, the actual accelerator opening based on such accelerator operation may be converted into a pseudo accelerator opening by the pedal misapplication acceleration suppression device.

One aspect of the present disclosure provides a technology that prevents the operation of an automatic braking system from becoming unable to be cancelled by retrofitting a pedal misapplication acceleration suppression device on a vehicle equipped with an automatic braking system.

One aspect of the present disclosure is a pedal misapplication acceleration suppression device that can be retrofitted to a vehicle equipped with an automatic brake system whose operation is canceled when the accelerator opening is equal to or greater than a predetermined cancellation judgment opening for a predetermined reference period, and includes an opening input unit (11), an opening change unit (16), an acceleration suppression unit (18), and an operation state detection unit (17). The opening input unit is configured to input an actual accelerator opening, which is an accelerator opening based on an accelerator operation. The opening change unit is configured to be capable of selectively outputting an actual accelerator opening input by the opening input unit and a pseudo accelerator opening, which is a pseudo accelerator opening. When it is determined that a predetermined acceleration suppression condition is established based on the actual accelerator opening input by the opening input unit, the acceleration suppression unit is configured to execute an acceleration suppression process that outputs a pseudo accelerator opening less than the actual accelerator opening to the opening change unit. The operation state detection unit is configured to detect the operation state of the automatic brake system. Even if it is determined that the acceleration suppression condition is satisfied, if the operation state detection unit detects that the automatic brake system is operating, the acceleration suppression unit is configured to execute a cancellation process in place of the acceleration suppression process, which causes the actual accelerator opening, or a pseudo accelerator opening that is equal to or greater than the cancellation determination opening and less than the actual accelerator opening, to be output to the opening change unit as a cancellation sufficient opening, until the operation state detection unit detects that the operation of the automatic brake system has been canceled.

This configuration makes it possible to prevent the operation of the automatic braking system from being unable to be cancelled by retrofitting a pedal misapplication acceleration suppression device on a vehicle equipped with an automatic braking system.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a pedal misapplication acceleration suppression device; FIG. 4 is a state transition diagram showing a control state of a control unit. 4 is a time chart showing the relationship between the control state of a control unit and the operation state of an automatic brake system. 13 is a diagram showing a cancellation process in which a period during which the actual accelerator opening is continuously output is limited. FIG.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.
[1-1. Configuration]
The pedal misapplication acceleration suppression device 1 shown in Fig. 1 is a device that suppresses acceleration of a vehicle caused by misapplication of the accelerator pedal. The pedal misapplication acceleration suppression device 1 is configured to be mountable on a vehicle after shipment, that is, to be mountable on a vehicle as a retrofit. The pedal misapplication acceleration suppression device 1 of this embodiment is mounted on a vehicle equipped with an accelerator pedal sensor 20, a forward monitoring sensor 30, a rearward monitoring sensor 40, a powertrain ECU 50, an automatic brake ECU 60, and a CGW 70. Hereinafter, the powertrain ECU 50 will be referred to as the powertrain ECU 50. ECU is an abbreviation for Electronic Control Unit. Also, GW is an abbreviation for Gateway, and CGW is an abbreviation for Central Gateway.

The accelerator pedal sensor 20 detects the accelerator opening based on the driver's accelerator operation. The accelerator opening is expressed as a percentage. The accelerator opening is 0% when the driver is not depressing the accelerator pedal at all. The accelerator opening is 100% when the driver depresses the accelerator pedal to its maximum.

The forward monitoring sensor 30 and the rear monitoring sensor 40 detect obstacles in front of and behind the vehicle. Examples of obstacles include pedestrians, other vehicles, and walls. In this embodiment, ultrasonic sensors are used as the forward monitoring sensor 30 and the rear monitoring sensor 40. The forward monitoring sensor 30 and the rear monitoring sensor 40 may be installed when the vehicle is manufactured, or may be retrofitted to the vehicle together with the pedal misapplication acceleration suppression device 1. The forward monitoring sensor 30 and the rear monitoring sensor 40 may be, for example, a lidar, a millimeter wave sensor, a CCD image sensor, a CMOS image sensor, an infrared image sensor, or the like. Lidar is also written as LiDAR. LiDAR is an abbreviation for Light Detection and Ranging.

The power-train ECU 50 is configured to control the driving force of the vehicle according to the accelerator opening detected by the accelerator pedal sensor 20. However, in this embodiment, the device main body 10, which is provided in the pedal misapplication acceleration suppression device 1 and described below, is provided in the output path of the accelerator opening from the accelerator pedal sensor 20 to the power-train ECU 50. Therefore, in this embodiment, the power-train ECU 50 inputs the accelerator opening from the device main body 10. Furthermore, the power-train ECU 50 is configured to output the input accelerator opening to the CAN, which is an in-vehicle network.

In this embodiment, the powertrain ECU 50, the automatic braking ECU 60, and the device main body 10 described below are connected to the CAN. Specifically, the powertrain ECU 50, the automatic braking ECU 60, and the device main body 10 are each connected to a different communication bus, and these communication buses are connected via the CGW 70. The CGW 70 relays communication between the communication buses. Note that CAN is an abbreviation for Controller Area Network. CAN is a registered trademark.

The automatic brake ECU 60 is configured to activate an automatic brake system, which is a system for reducing damage when the vehicle collides with an obstacle. Specifically, the automatic brake ECU 60 activates the automatic brake system when a start condition described later is satisfied due to a situation in which a collision with an obstacle is predicted. As a result, the brakes are applied automatically even if the driver does not depress the brake pedal. In this embodiment, whether or not the start condition is satisfied is determined based on a detection result obtained from a sensor that can detect obstacles around the vehicle, such as a camera or a millimeter wave radar sensor. In addition, the automatic brake ECU 60 stops the operation of the automatic brake system when the vehicle stops. Furthermore, the automatic brake ECU 60 cancels the operation of the automatic brake system when a cancellation condition described later is satisfied due to the driver's accelerator operation during the operation of the automatic brake system. In other words, the automatic brake system of this embodiment is designed to be able to stop operation at the driver's will. In this embodiment, whether or not the cancellation condition is satisfied is determined based on the accelerator opening obtained from the CAN. Additionally, the automatic brake ECU 60 outputs the operation status of the automatic brake system to the CAN.

The pedal misapplication acceleration suppression device 1 includes a device main body 10, a GWECU 80, and a display 90.
The device main body 10 includes an input terminal 11 for inputting the accelerator opening from the accelerator pedal sensor 20, an input terminal 12 for inputting detection information from the forward monitoring sensor 30, an input terminal 13 for inputting detection information from the rearward monitoring sensor 40, an output terminal 14 for outputting the accelerator opening to the power train ECU 50, and an input/output terminal 15 for connection to a CAN.

The device main body 10 also includes an output switching unit 16 , a CAN interface 17 , and a control unit 18 .
The output switching unit 16 is configured to be able to selectively output either an actual accelerator opening, which is an accelerator opening input from an accelerator pedal sensor 20, or a pseudo accelerator opening, which is a pseudo accelerator opening, in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 18.

The CAN interface 17 is an interface for communicating according to the CAN protocol. The CAN interface 17 acquires various information from the CAN, such as speed information indicating the vehicle's traveling speed and shift information indicating the operating position of the shift lever, and outputs it to the control unit 18.

The control unit 18 is mainly composed of a well-known microcomputer having a CPU 181, a ROM 182, and a RAM 183. The functions of the control unit 18 are realized by the CPU 181 executing a program stored in a non-transitive substantial recording medium. In this embodiment, the ROM 182 corresponds to the non-transitive substantial recording medium. Furthermore, by executing a program, a method corresponding to the program is performed. Note that the control unit 18 may include one microcomputer or multiple microcomputers.

The GWECU 80 is an ECU that functions as a gateway that connects the CAN interface 17 and the CAN communication bus. The GWECU 80 also relays communication between the device main body 10 and the display 90. However, this configuration is just one example, and the device may be configured without the GWECU 80, for example. In this case, the CAN interface 17 may be directly connected to the communication bus, and the display 90 may also be directly connected to the device main body 10.

The display device 90 executes a notification process to notify the driver in accordance with instructions from the control unit 18. Methods for notifying the driver include, for example, outputting a sound such as a voice or a warning sound, displaying an image such as a text image or an icon, or a combination of these.

[1-2. Conditions for canceling the automatic braking system]
Next, the conditions under which the operation of the automatic brake system is cancelled will be described. As described above, when the automatic brake ECU 60 determines that the cancellation condition is met, it cancels the operation of the automatic brake system. The cancellation condition is that the input accelerator opening degree remains equal to or greater than a predetermined cancellation judgment opening degree for a predetermined reference period. The cancellation judgment opening degree is set to a relatively large accelerator opening degree that is assumed to indicate that the driver is strongly depressing the accelerator pedal in an attempt to accelerate the vehicle.

In other words, when the automatic braking system is activated because a collision with an obstacle is predicted, the brakes are applied and the vehicle slows down, reducing the damage from the collision. However, it is possible that the driver will take evasive action, such as changing the direction of travel and accelerating to avoid the obstacle. In this case, the driver may press the accelerator pedal hard to keep the vehicle moving. The cancellation condition in this embodiment is set to determine whether the driver has operated the accelerator as an evasive action. When the cancellation condition is met, the operation of the automatic braking system is canceled, and the driver's evasive action can be prioritized over the continued operation of the automatic braking system.

[1-3. Control state of the control unit]
Next, the control states of the control unit 18 will be described with reference to Fig. 2. As shown in Fig. 2, the control states include a normal state A110, an acceleration suppression state A120, and a cancellation waiting state A130.

First, when the ignition switch of the vehicle is turned on, the control unit 18 enters the normal state A110.
In the normal state A110, the control unit 18 outputs the actual accelerator opening degree to the output switching unit 16. Therefore, in the normal state A110, the vehicle accelerates in response to the accelerator operation by the driver.

When the acceleration suppression condition is satisfied in the normal state A110, the control unit 18 transitions to the acceleration suppression state A120. The acceleration suppression condition is that the following condition A or condition B is satisfied.

Condition A is a condition that an obstacle is detected in the traveling direction of the vehicle, and the actual accelerator opening is equal to or greater than a predetermined first reference opening. The traveling direction of the vehicle can be determined based on the operating position of the shift lever indicated by the shift information. For example, if the operating position of the shift lever indicated by the shift information is in a forward driving range such as a drive range and an obstacle is detected based on the detection result of the forward monitoring sensor 30, or if the operating position of the shift lever indicated by the shift information is in a backward driving range such as a reverse range and an obstacle is detected based on the detection result of the rear monitoring sensor 40, it is determined that an obstacle is detected in the traveling direction of the vehicle. In addition, the first reference opening is set to an accelerator opening at which the vehicle is estimated to rapidly accelerate. If the actual accelerator opening is equal to or greater than the first reference opening, it is expected that the driver is pressing the accelerator pedal relatively hard.

Condition B is a condition that the accelerator pedal depression speed calculated based on the actual accelerator opening is equal to or greater than a predetermined reference depression speed. The reference depression speed is set to a relatively high speed at which the driver is assumed to have suddenly depressed the accelerator pedal.

In other words, a situation in which the acceleration suppression condition is met is when the accelerator pedal is depressed relatively hard despite the presence of an obstacle in the vehicle's direction of travel, or when the accelerator pedal is suddenly depressed, and there is a high possibility that the driver has mistakenly depressed the accelerator pedal, i.e., the accelerator pedal has been depressed on the wrong side.

Therefore, when the acceleration suppression condition is met, i.e., when the acceleration suppression state A120 is entered, the control unit 18 executes an acceleration suppression process in which a pseudo accelerator opening less than the actual accelerator opening is output to the output switching unit 16. In this embodiment, the pseudo accelerator opening output in the acceleration suppression state A120 is 0%. The power-train ECU 50 controls the driving force of the vehicle according to this pseudo accelerator opening, thereby suppressing the acceleration of the vehicle. Furthermore, in the acceleration suppression state A120, the control unit 18 instructs the display 90 to execute a notification process that warns the driver to release the accelerator pedal. When this instruction is given, a warning message such as "Please release the accelerator" is displayed on the display 90.

When the suppression release condition is satisfied in the acceleration suppression state A120, the control unit 18 transitions to the normal state A110. The suppression release condition is that the following condition D or condition E is satisfied.

Condition D is a condition in which the actual accelerator opening is equal to or less than a predetermined second reference opening, and the vehicle's traveling speed is equal to or less than a predetermined reference speed. The second reference opening is an accelerator opening smaller than the first reference opening, and is set to a sufficiently small accelerator opening that it is assumed that the driver has eased up on the accelerator pedal. The reference speed is set to a sufficiently low speed that it is assumed that the vehicle is stopped.

Condition E is a condition that the actual accelerator opening is equal to or less than a predetermined second reference opening, and the vehicle's traveling direction has been changed by operating the shift lever. For example, if the operating position of the shift lever indicated by the shift information before and after the transition to the acceleration suppression state A120 is changed from a range for forward driving to a range for reverse driving, or from a range for reverse driving to a range for forward driving, it is determined that the vehicle's traveling direction has been changed by operating the shift lever.

As described above, condition D and condition E include the actual accelerator opening being equal to or less than a predetermined second reference opening. In other words, the suppression release condition is met when at least the accelerator pedal is eased off.

On the other hand, when the double-pressing determination condition is met in the acceleration suppression state A120, the control unit 18 transitions to the cancellation waiting state A130. The double-pressing determination condition is that both the following conditions F and G are met.

Condition F is a condition that the state transitions back to the acceleration suppression state A120 within a predetermined double-depression determination period from the point in time when the state transitions from the acceleration suppression state A120 to the normal state A110.
Condition G is a condition that the automatic brake system is in operation. Condition G is determined based on the operation state of the automatic brake system acquired from the CAN by the CAN interface 17.

An example of a sequence of events that results in condition F being satisfied is when, in acceleration suppression state A120, the accelerator pedal is released and transitions to normal state A110 occurs, after which the accelerator pedal is pressed hard again, thereby satisfying the acceleration suppression condition. The double press determination period is set to a short period of time in order to determine whether the accelerator pedal has been pressed hard again within a short period of time after release of pressure on the accelerator pedal. In other words, the double press determination period is a period of time for determining whether the driver has pressed the accelerator pedal twice. A situation in which the accelerator pedal is pressed twice is assumed to be one in which the driver is accelerating the vehicle of their own volition, rather than a case in which the accelerator pedal is pressed by mistake.

In other words, a situation where both condition F and condition G are met, in other words a situation where the double-tap determination condition is met, is a situation where the driver is attempting to accelerate the vehicle and the automatic braking system is operating. In other words, a situation where the double-tap determination condition is met is a situation where the driver is attempting to take evasive action while the automatic braking system is operating. As described above, the automatic braking system is designed to cancel operation when the cancellation condition is met due to accelerator operation to take evasive action.

However, because the accelerator opening output in the acceleration suppression state A120 is 0%, if the acceleration suppression state A120 continues, the operation of the automatic brake system will not be canceled even if the driver operates the accelerator to take evasive action.

When the double-depression determination condition is met, the control unit 18 transitions to a cancellation waiting state A130 and executes a cancellation process to output the actual accelerator opening to the output switching unit 16. This allows the driver to cancel the operation of the automatic brake system at his/her discretion.

When the following condition H, which is a suppression resumption condition, is satisfied in the cancellation waiting state A130, the control unit 18 transitions to the acceleration suppression state A120.
Condition H is a condition that the operation of the automatic brake system is canceled.

The control unit 18 periodically executes a condition determination process to determine whether the various conditions described above for state transition are satisfied. In other words, the control state transitions not when the various conditions are actually satisfied, but at the periodic timing when the condition determination process is executed. Here, the cancellation waiting state A130 is a state in which the vehicle acceleration should normally be suppressed, but the actual accelerator opening is output to cancel the operation of the automatic brake system. For this reason, when the operation of the automatic brake system is canceled, it is preferable to promptly transition to the acceleration suppression state A120.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the transition from the cancellation waiting state A130 to the acceleration suppression state A120 is executed by interrupt processing, without waiting for the execution cycle of the condition determination processing. Specifically, when the CAN interface 17 acquires from the CAN an operation state indicating that the operation of the automatic brake system has been canceled, the CAN interface 17 outputs an interrupt request to the control unit 18. When the control unit 18 receives the interrupt request from the CAN interface 17, it transitions the control state from the cancellation waiting state A130 to the acceleration suppression state A120. This ends the cancellation processing, and starts the acceleration suppression processing.

[1-4. Relationship between control state and operation state of automatic brake system]
Next, the relationship between the control state of the control unit 18 and the operating state of the automatic brake system will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 shows time-series changes in the actual accelerator opening, the accelerator opening output by the device main body 10, the accelerator opening input to the automatic brake ECU 60, and the operating state of the automatic brake system. Note that the accelerator opening is input to the automatic brake ECU 60 with a slight delay due to data conversion for CAN communication, communication cycles, and the like.

At time T1, there is an obstacle in the vehicle's direction of travel, the driver is not depressing the accelerator pedal, and the actual accelerator opening is 0%. The control state of the control unit 18 is the normal state A110. In the normal state A110, the accelerator opening output by the device main body 10 is the actual accelerator opening. Therefore, the accelerator opening input by the automatic brake ECU 60 is also the actual accelerator opening.

At time T2, the accelerator pedal is pressed hard, and the actual accelerator opening becomes equal to or greater than the first reference opening. As a result, in the pedal misapplication acceleration suppression device 1, the acceleration suppression condition is met, and the control state of the control unit 18 transitions to the acceleration suppression state A120. In the acceleration suppression state A120, the accelerator opening output by the device main body 10 is a pseudo accelerator opening of 0%. Therefore, the accelerator opening input by the automatic brake ECU 60 is also 0%. In addition, in the automatic brake ECU 60, a situation occurs in which a collision with an obstacle is predicted, and the start condition is met, and the automatic brake system is activated. In this embodiment, the start condition is a condition that the predicted collision time with an obstacle in the vicinity of the vehicle is less than a predetermined time. The predicted collision time is calculated by dividing the distance to the obstacle by the relative speed to the obstacle.

At time T3, the accelerator pedal is released and the actual accelerator opening becomes equal to or less than the second reference opening. As a result, the suppression release condition is met in the pedal misapplication acceleration suppression device 1, and the control state of the control unit 18 transitions to the normal state A110.

At time T4, which is within the double depression judgment period from the time of transition to normal state A110, the accelerator pedal is again depressed hard, and the actual accelerator opening becomes equal to or greater than the first reference opening and equal to or greater than the cancel judgment opening. As a result, the acceleration suppression condition is met in the pedal misapplication acceleration suppression device 1, and the control state of the control unit 18 transitions to acceleration suppression state A120. After that, at time T5, the double depression judgment condition is met, and the control state of the control unit 18 transitions to cancellation wait state A130. In cancellation wait state A130, the accelerator opening output by the device main body 10 is the actual accelerator opening. Therefore, the accelerator opening input by the automatic brake ECU 60 is also the actual accelerator opening.

At time T6, the state in which the accelerator opening input by the automatic brake ECU 60 is equal to or greater than the cancellation judgment opening reaches the reference period. As a result, the cancellation condition is met in the automatic brake ECU 60, and operation of the automatic brake system is canceled. In the pedal misapplication acceleration suppression device 1, the suppression resumption condition is met due to the cancellation of operation of the automatic brake system, and the control state of the control unit 18 transitions to the acceleration suppression state A120.

[1-5. Effects]
According to the embodiment described above in detail, the following effects can be obtained.
(1a) When the control unit 18 determines that the acceleration suppression condition is satisfied, the control unit 18 transitions the control state to the acceleration suppression state A120 and executes the acceleration suppression process of outputting a pseudo accelerator opening of 0% to the output switching unit 16. However, even when the control unit 18 determines that the acceleration suppression condition is satisfied, when the control unit 18 determines that the double-pressing determination condition is satisfied, the control unit 18 transitions the control state to the cancellation waiting state A130 and executes the cancellation process of outputting the actual accelerator opening to the output switching unit 16 until the operation of the automatic brake system is canceled. As described above, when the acceleration suppression process is executed during the operation of the automatic brake system, the state in which the operation of the automatic brake system is not canceled continues even if the driver operates the accelerator to take evasive action. In this regard, according to the present embodiment, the actual accelerator opening is output in a situation in which it is determined that the driver is taking evasive action, so that the operation of the automatic brake system can be canceled at the driver's will.

Note that canceling the operation of the automatic brake system can also be achieved by a configuration in which the actual accelerator opening is continuously output for a fixed period of time. However, the period required to cancel the operation of the automatic brake system may vary depending on vehicle model and other conditions, so if one attempts to set the fixed period to the minimum required, it is necessary to confirm and individually set an appropriate period for each condition. In this regard, according to this embodiment, the period during which the actual accelerator opening is continuously output can be minimized regardless of vehicle model and other conditions.

(1b) When the control unit 18 receives an interrupt request indicating that the operation of the automatic braking system has been cancelled, the control state transitions from the cancellation waiting state A130 to the acceleration suppression state A120. With this configuration, the acceleration suppression process is executed promptly when the operation of the automatic braking system is cancelled, so that the delay period until the acceleration suppression process is started in a situation where the vehicle acceleration should be suppressed can be shortened.

In this embodiment, the output switching unit 16 corresponds to an opening degree changing unit, the control unit 18 corresponds to an acceleration suppression unit, and the CAN interface 17 corresponds to an operation state detection unit.
2. Other embodiments
Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, it goes without saying that the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can take various forms.

(2a) In the above embodiment, the cancellation process is exemplified as a configuration in which the actual accelerator opening is continuously output until the operation of the automatic brake system is canceled, but the method of outputting the actual accelerator opening in the cancellation process is not limited to this. For example, the control unit 18 may limit the period during which the actual accelerator opening is continuously output in the cancellation process. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, for example, when the period during which the actual accelerator opening is continuously output exceeds a predetermined limit period, the control unit 18 causes the output switching unit 16 to temporarily output a pseudo accelerator opening that is less than the actual accelerator opening and less than the cancellation judgment opening, preferably a pseudo accelerator opening of 0%. After that, the control unit 18 again causes the output switching unit 16 to output the actual accelerator opening, but the limit time is extended each time the output of the actual accelerator opening is resumed. In other words, the limit period is changed to be longer in stages, and the operation of the automatic brake system is finally canceled.

As described above, the condition for terminating the cancellation process is that the operation of the automatic brake system is cancelled. For this reason, the length of the period during which the actual accelerator opening is continuously output as a cancellation process will vary without any particular limit depending on the event of cancelling the operation of the automatic brake system, the timing of which is uncertain. However, if a fixed limit period is set, the operation of the automatic brake system may not be cancelled appropriately. With the above configuration, the operation of the automatic brake system can be cancelled while limiting the period during which the actual accelerator opening is continuously output in the cancellation process.

The degree to which the limit period is extended may also be adjusted based on the vehicle's traveling speed. In this case, for example, the control unit 18 may extend the limit period less the higher the vehicle's traveling speed. Also, for example, the control unit 18 may extend the limit period less the longer the travel distance of the vehicle in a predetermined period calculated based on the vehicle's traveling speed. The travel distance of the vehicle here may be, for example, the travel distance of the vehicle since the cancellation process was started. This is because the higher the vehicle's traveling speed and the longer the travel distance of the vehicle, the shorter the period during which the actual accelerator opening is continuously output. With this configuration, the cancellation process can be executed in a more appropriate manner according to the vehicle's situation.

(2b) The accelerator opening output in the cancellation process is not limited to the actual accelerator opening exemplified in the above embodiment, but may be a pseudo accelerator opening that is equal to or greater than the cancellation determination opening and less than the actual accelerator opening.

(2c) The accelerator opening output in the acceleration suppression process is not limited to the pseudo accelerator opening of 0% as exemplified in the above embodiment, but may be a pseudo accelerator opening that is equal to or greater than 0% and less than the actual accelerator opening.

(2d) The control state of the control unit 18 and the various conditions for the state transition are not limited to those exemplified in the above embodiment. For example, the control state of the control unit 18 may have control states other than the three exemplified in the above embodiment. Also, for example, the various conditions for state transition may adopt other conditions in addition to or instead of the conditions exemplified in the above embodiment. For example, a requirement that the vehicle is traveling at a low speed may be added to condition A and condition B exemplified in the above embodiment as conditions for transition from the normal state A110 to the acceleration suppression state A120. Also, for example, the condition for transition from the acceleration suppression state A120 to the cancellation waiting state A130 may be a condition that condition G is satisfied, instead of the condition that both condition F and condition G are satisfied as exemplified in the above embodiment.

(2e) The functions of one component in the above embodiments may be distributed among multiple components, or the functions of multiple components may be integrated into one component. In addition, part of the configuration of the above embodiments may be omitted. In addition, at least part of the configuration of the above embodiments may be added to or substituted for the configuration of another of the above embodiments.

1...pedal misapplication acceleration suppression device, 16...output switching unit, 17...CAN interface, 18...control unit, 20...accelerator pedal sensor, 50...powertrain ECU, 60...automatic brake ECU.

Claims (4)

A vehicle equipped with an automatic brake system whose operation is cancelled when the accelerator opening is equal to or greater than a predetermined cancellation judgment opening for a predetermined reference period, the vehicle being equipped with an automatic brake system that can be retrofitted with an accelerator misapplication acceleration suppression device,
an accelerator opening input unit (11) configured to input an actual accelerator opening based on an accelerator operation;
an opening degree changing unit (16) configured to selectively output the actual accelerator opening degree inputted by the opening degree input unit and a pseudo accelerator opening degree which is a pseudo accelerator opening degree;
an acceleration suppression unit (18) configured to execute an acceleration suppression process for outputting the pseudo accelerator opening less than the actual accelerator opening to the opening change unit when it is determined that a predetermined acceleration suppression condition is satisfied based on the actual accelerator opening inputted by the opening input unit;
an operation state detection unit (17) configured to detect an operation state of the automatic braking system;
Equipped with
A pedal misapplication acceleration suppression device configured to execute a cancellation process in place of the acceleration suppression process, in which, when the operation state detection unit detects that the automatic braking system is in operation, the acceleration suppression unit outputs the actual accelerator opening, or the pseudo accelerator opening that is greater than or equal to the cancellation judgment opening and less than the actual accelerator opening, to the opening change unit as a cancellation sufficient opening, until the operation state detection unit detects that the operation of the automatic braking system has been canceled, even if it is determined that the acceleration suppression condition is satisfied. The device for suppressing acceleration due to pedal misapplication according to claim 1,
The acceleration suppression unit is configured to temporarily output the pseudo accelerator opening, which is less than the actual accelerator opening and less than the cancellation judgment opening, to the opening change unit when the period during which the cancellation fulfillment opening is continuously output during execution of the cancellation process exceeds a predetermined limit period, and then extend the limit period each time the cancellation fulfillment opening is output to the opening change unit again. The device for suppressing acceleration due to pedal misapplication according to claim 2,
A speed input unit (17) configured to input a traveling speed of the vehicle,
The acceleration suppression unit is configured to adjust a degree of extension of the restriction period based on the traveling speed input by the speed input unit. The device for suppressing acceleration due to pedal misapplication according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The acceleration suppression unit is configured to terminate the cancellation processing and execute the acceleration suppression processing when an interrupt request indicating that the operation of the automatic brake system has been canceled is input from the operation status detection unit.

Images