JPH0740812A - Slope start auxiliary device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To monitor the error of select lever position by using a back switch for lighting a white lamp at the rear of a vehicle when the vehicle is moved backward. CONSTITUTION:When an output from a brake sensor 2 shows a braked condition, a vehicle speed is zero, and an engine speed exceeds a specified limit, a brake pressure is held in a control valve 9 according to a control signal even if a brake pedal 11 is released and, when a select lever position shows a forward start position or backward movement position in the state that the brake pressure is held, and a clutch sensor 3 detects a specified stroke, the brake pressure is released. Also, when the select lever position is at a forward or neutral, and a back switch 8 is closed, an alarm is given and slope start operation is prohibited. Thus, if any contradiction exists in the output from the sensor, the error of the sensor output is alarmed before erroneous operation is caused to increase safety.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is used by being installed in an automobile. The present invention relates to a driving assistance device. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a computer-aided driving assistance device that assists a brake pressure release operation when a vehicle starts from a state of being stopped on a slope.

[0002] The present invention is applied to an automobile in which a driver operates a clutch and a transmission gear with a clutch pedal and a select lever. It does not apply to so-called automatic vehicles that are operated manually.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art When a vehicle stopped on a slope road is started, the driver temporarily applies a braking force to the vehicle to apply a braking force to the vehicle, selects a shift gear as a start gear, and slowly engages the clutch to accelerate. It is necessary to depress the pedal to increase the output of the engine and to perform a complicated operation of loosening the parking brake. Although such an operation is a basic item for driving an automobile, the operation of a truck, a bus, or the like is greatly different depending on the load, and the engine is apt to stall or reverse.

As a device for assisting such a driving operation, there is known a slope starting assist device disclosed in JP-A-60-11719 or JP-A-4-244462. In addition, such a device has been put into practical use and equipped in an automobile for sale.
It has come to be widely used under the names such as d).

In the conventional hill start assisting device, when the brake pressure exceeds a certain value and the vehicle speed becomes zero, that is, when the vehicle stops after passing a running state (the vehicle may have a gradient in the running direction). If detected, the driver brakes
The brake pressure is automatically maintained even when the foot is released from the pedal. In this state, when the driver selects the select lever to the starting position, engages the clutch, and depresses the accelerator pedal, the device automatically detects it, and automatically at the most appropriate timing. It is configured to release brake pressure. In a vehicle equipped with such a slope start assist device, the driver can perform a slope start operation without operating the parking brake.

Even if there is no gradient in the traveling direction of the vehicle, if the brake pressure is maintained when the vehicle is stopped from the traveling state, the brake pressure is automatically maintained even when the vehicle is stopped such as waiting for a signal. Sometimes it's convenient, and it's used for that.

[0007] The hill start assisting device that is practically used is
After the brake pressure is automatically maintained, the parking
When the brake is applied, the brake pressure is automatically released. That is, when the driving operation is completed and the vehicle is stopped, the temporary holding state of the brake pressure is released so that the temporary holding state of the brake pressure is not used in place of the parking brake. In addition, when the driver tries to leave the seat while the brake pressure is automatically maintained, a safety device such as issuing a large alarm is added.

[0008]

In such a slope start assist device, the output signal from each sensor is an important control factor, and it is conceivable that malfunction will occur if the sensor component fails. Each sensor component is managed so as to maintain proper reliability, but as long as it is a component, failure is unavoidable, so appropriate detection and measures should be taken even if a failure occurs. is necessary. For this reason, it is desirable that this hill-start assisting device be put into practical use by being provided with means such as detecting a contradiction in the output signal of each sensor or providing a control circuit with a sensor detection mode.

The present invention has been made against such a background, and an object of the present invention is to provide a slope start assisting device capable of monitoring abnormality of the select lever position sensor. An object of the present invention is to improve the safety of a slope start assist device.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a back-up mechanism that is provided independently of the slope starting assist device.
The switch, that is, the switch for turning on the white lamp at the rear when the vehicle moves backward is used to detect the contradiction with the position of the select lever.

That is, the present invention comprises a brake sensor,
A control valve that includes a clutch sensor, a rotation sensor, a neutral switch that indicates a neutral state of a speed change lever, and a gradient sensor, holds a brake pressure according to a control signal even when a brake pedal is released, and each of the sensors. And a program control circuit for sending out the control signal, wherein the program control circuit outputs a brake pressure to the control valve when the brake sensor output indicates a braking state and the vehicle speed is zero. And a first control means for sending a control signal for holding the clutch pressure and a forward stroke starting position or a reverse position with the brake pressure held by the first control means, and the clutch sensor detects a predetermined stroke. The second control means for sending a control signal for releasing the brake pressure and the speed change gear move backward when A hill-start assist device having a back switch which is closed at a certain time, provided with means for issuing an alarm when the position of the select lever is forward or neutral and the back switch is closed. It is characterized by Here, the rotation sensor is a sensor that detects the vehicle speed and / or the engine rotation speed.

It is desirable to provide means for automatically prohibiting the operation of the first control means and the second control means by the alarm.

[0013]

In principle, the back switch is installed in an ordinary automobile. Therefore, the signal from the back switch is taken into the control circuit of the hill start assist device and becomes the sensor input for operating the hill start assist device. Monitor the select lever position for abnormalities. As a result, an abnormality in the sensor output can be warned before the malfunction occurs, or the operation of the slope start assist device can be prohibited.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the embodiment of the present invention.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the clutch hydraulic switch 1 is used.
, A brake sensor 2, a clutch sensor 3, a rotation sensor 5 for detecting a vehicle speed and / or an engine rotation speed, and a neutral position indicating a neutral position of a speed change lever.
A control valve 9 including a switch 6 and a gradient sensor 7 for holding a brake pressure according to a control signal even when the brake pedal 11 is released, and a program control for outputting the control signal by using the output of each sensor as an input. The program control circuit 10 sends a control signal for holding the brake pressure to the control valve 9 when the output of the brake sensor 2 indicates a braking state and the vehicle speed is zero. First control means and for releasing the brake pressure when the clutch sensor 3 detects a predetermined stroke, indicating the forward start position or the reverse position with the brake pressure held by the first control means. And a back switch 8 that closes when the transmission gear is in reverse, and further features of the present invention. The program control circuit 10 includes means for issuing an alarm to the alarm device 26 when the position of the select lever is in the forward drive position or the neutral position and the back switch 8 is closed; One control means and a means for automatically prohibiting the operation of the second control means.

In the driver's seat, a control unit 20 is provided at a position where the driver can operate while driving. The control unit 20 is provided with a main switch 21, a 7-segment display 22, a release adjustment switch 23, and an initial adjustment switch 24.

The main switch 21 is for opening and closing the power supply to the apparatus. In this example, if the switch knob is raised, it is closed to drive the apparatus, and if it is lowered, it is stopped. 7-segment display 22 is the decimal point 2
It is a 7-segment numeral display with 5, and the numeral is displayed during the adjustment process.

The brake release point is adjusted as follows. The driver presses the initial adjustment switch 24 for several seconds, and the program control circuit 10 enters the initial adjustment mode.
The driver keeps pressing the initial adjustment switch 24,
When you press the clutch pedal, the clutch hydraulic switch 1
When is activated, the detection value of the clutch sensor 3 at that time is fetched and stored. The driver operates the shift lever to set the shift gear. Then, the neutral switch 6 detects this. In this state, the driver slowly releases the clutch pedal and releases the initial adjustment switch 24 at the optimum half-clutch position. The position of the half clutch where the hand is released is stored as the release point. An operation test is performed in this state, and the position of the release point is changed by operating the release adjustment switch 23. That is, if it is considered that the release point should be at a position where the clutch pedal is further depressed, the release adjustment switch 23 is pushed upward once. If it is considered that the release point should be at the position where the clutch pedal is returned, the release adjusting switch 23 is pushed once downward. This operation is repeated while conducting an operation test. The adjustment step from the initial value at this time is displayed on the 7-segment display 22. When the adjustment step is downward (minus direction), the decimal point 25 of the 7-segment display 22 is turned on.

In addition to the outputs from the above-mentioned sensors, the program control circuit 10 receives inputs from the clutch hydraulic pressure switch, stop lamp switch, back switch, door switch, parking brake switch, key switch, etc. Since these outputs are not directly related to the present invention, description and description thereof in the drawings are omitted here.

Next, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention thus constructed will be described. FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the flow of the brake holding operation of the program control circuit in the embodiment of the present invention.

The program control circuit 10 takes in the output from the brake sensor 2 and determines whether or not the value of the preset depression amount is exceeded. If it does not exceed the set value, it means that the vehicle is not stopped by braking, and therefore the sending of the control signal to the control valve 9 is prohibited and the assisting operation for starting the slope is stopped. If it exceeds the set value, the output from the rotation sensor 5 is taken in and it is determined whether or not the vehicle speed is zero. If the vehicle speed is not zero, the vehicle is running, so the sending of the control signal to the control valve 9 is prohibited and the auxiliary operation for starting the slope is stopped.

When the vehicle speed is zero, the output from the gradient sensor 7 is fetched and it is determined whether or not the current gradient exceeds the set predetermined value S. If the slope exceeds the predetermined value S, it is determined that the vehicle is on a road where the ability to start the slope is not reached, and the control signal is not sent to the control valve 9 to stop the auxiliary operation. If it does not exceed the predetermined value S, the control signal is sent to the control valve 9 assuming that the vehicle is on a road capable of starting uphill, and the control valve 9 is driven to operate the brake valve 12 to execute the auxiliary operation for starting uphill. .

Next, the brake releasing operation will be described. FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the flow of the brake release operation of the program control circuit in the embodiment of the present invention.

When the vehicle is in the brake-holding state on a slope and receives a detection output indicating that the accelerator pedal has been depressed, the outputs from the clutch sensor 3 and the neutral switch 6 are taken in and the clutch is depressed. Determine whether the gear is set to the forward drive position (low or second) or the reverse position. When the clutch is stepped on and the gear is set to the start state (low or second) or the reverse position, it is determined whether it is the forward start position or the reverse position. When the forward drive position is set, it is determined whether or not the back switch 8 is in the closed state. If the back switch 8 is not in the closed state, the clutch
The output of the sensor 3 is taken in and it is determined whether or not the stroke is equal to or less than a predetermined stroke set in advance. If the stroke is less than a predetermined stroke, the control valve 9
The control signal is not sent to and the brake is released.

When the gear position is in neutral, it is judged whether or not the back switch 8 is in the closed state,
If it is closed, an alarm signal is sent to the alarm device 26 to generate an alarm and notify the driver of the abnormality. Also, when the gear position is in the forward drive position and the back switch 8 is in the closed state, the alarm position 26 similarly issues an abnormal alarm. Even when the gear position is in the retracted position and the back switch 8 is not closed, the alarm device 26 issues an abnormal alarm.

When the accelerator is not stepped on, when the gear position is in neutral and the back switch 8 is open, or when the amount of depression of the clutch is more than a predetermined stroke, the control signal to the control valve 9 is changed. Continue sending and maintain the brake holding state.

Initial setting of the clutch and the brake can be arbitrarily performed by adapting to the preference of the driver or a change due to wear of the brake and the clutch. The set stroke values of the clutch pedal and the brake pedal 11 are held until they are reset. If each stepping stroke does not exceed the set reference value, the program control circuit 10 prohibits the sending of a control signal to the control valve 9 to stop the starting assist operation, and each stepping stroke is set. If it exceeds the reference value, the start assist operation is continued. When the main switch 21 is turned off, the power supply to the device is stopped and the starting assist operation is not performed.

[0028]

As described above, according to the present invention, the signal of the back switch is fetched into the program control circuit,
It is possible to monitor the abnormality of the select lever position that is the sensor input for operating the slope start assist device, and when there is a contradiction in the sensor output, warn the sensor output abnormality before causing a malfunction, and assist the slope start. This has the effect of prohibiting operation and improving safety.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a flow of a brake holding operation of a program control circuit in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a flow of a brake release operation of the program control circuit in the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Clutch hydraulic switch 2 Brake sensor 3 Clutch sensor 5 Rotation sensor 6 Neutral switch 7 Gradient sensor 8 Back switch 9 Control valve 10 Program control circuit 11 Brake pedal 12 Brake valve 20 Control unit 21 Main switch 22 7-segment indicator 23 Release adjustment switch 24 Initial adjustment switch 25 Decimal point 26 Alarm device

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A brake sensor, a clutch sensor, a rotation sensor, a vehicle speed sensor, a neutral switch indicating the neutral position of a shift lever, and a gradient sensor, and a control signal even when the brake pedal is released. According to the above, a control valve that holds the brake pressure and a program control circuit that outputs the control signal by using the output of each sensor as an input are provided. First control means for sending a control signal for holding the brake pressure to the control valve when it is zero, and a forward start position or a reverse position with the brake pressure held by the first control means. Position, to release the brake pressure when the clutch sensor detects a predetermined stroke In a hill-start assist device comprising a second control means for sending a control signal and a back switch which is closed when the transmission gear is in reverse, the select lever is in the forward or neutral position and the back switch A hill start assisting device, comprising means for issuing an alarm when the vehicle is closed. 2. The slope start assisting device according to claim 1, further comprising means for automatically prohibiting the operation of the first means and the second control means by the alarm.