JPH09134496A - Vehicle control device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [PROBLEMS] To easily set a destination and acquire a route, and perform vehicle traveling control based on the acquired route. SOLUTION: Past traveling pattern data including a departure place, a departure time (day of the week + hours), and a destination is stored,
When starting traveling this time, the destination is automatically inferred from the departure point detected by the current position detection unit 13 and the departure time obtained by the clock 114, and the traveling route to the destination is obtained by route search. To do. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, when leaving home at 8:10 am on Monday, the travel pattern data 125 is searched, and the company stored as the destination that left home at 8 o'clock on the past Monday, Assume that the most frequent company, hospital or bank, is the destination. If the estimated destination is OK, then a travel route from home to the destination is searched. Then, traveling control is performed according to the searched traveling route and the current position of the vehicle.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle control device, and more particularly to a vehicle control device that acquires a travel route to a destination and controls the travel of the vehicle according to the acquired travel route.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a vehicle control device using a navigation device has been proposed (JP-A-6-324138).
No.). In this case, the vehicle travels at a certain speed, and it is easier to perform more appropriate vehicle control if there is data on not only the current position but also the road shape in front of the travel route. However, for example, there is a case where the intersection is ahead and vehicle control differs depending on whether the vehicle is going straight or turning right or left. Such a problem does not occur if the traveling path of the vehicle is set in advance. When such a travel route is set by the navigation device, it is usually performed by inputting a destination. The destination may be specified from the name of a building such as a department store that is the destination, or from the prefecture name to the specified destinations, or from the map screen. . In addition, there is an example in which the driver sets the destination by inputting the telephone number of the destination with a touch panel, a keyboard, or the like, as in JP-A-2-187898.
Furthermore, there is a method of inputting a destination by voice.

[0003]

However, in these cases, the setting operation for setting the destination before the driver starts traveling by the vehicle needs to be performed every time by the keyboard, voice input, etc. It was sometimes annoying. In particular, for a route that a driver travels frequently, such as a route from a home to a company or a department store, there is almost no need for route guidance by a navigation device. For this reason, it becomes complicated to set a destination such as a company by the navigation device, and the user may travel without setting the destination. For this reason, it is impossible to obtain a travel route by the navigation device and perform vehicle control based on the travel route.

Therefore, the present invention provides a vehicle control device capable of easily setting a destination and obtaining a traveling route to the destination and controlling the traveling of the vehicle from the obtained traveling route. The first purpose. A second object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle control device that realizes smoother traveling of an automobile by performing shift speed control that predicts a change in traveling conditions according to the acquired traveling route.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a current position detecting means for detecting a current position, a time detecting means for detecting a time, and a past run consisting of a departure time, a departure place and a destination. When the traveling pattern storing means for storing the pattern as a database, the traveling determining means for determining that the traveling is started, and the traveling determining means for starting the traveling are detected by the current position detecting means. A current position as a departure point, and a time detected by the time detection unit as a departure time, a destination classifying unit that analogizes a destination from a travel pattern stored in the travel pattern storage unit, and the current position detection unit. And a route acquisition means for acquiring a travel route from the current position detected by the vehicle to the destination analogized by the destination analogy means, and the route acquisition means. The position on the travel route, the calculated current position detected by the current position detecting means, a driving control means for controlling the travel of the vehicle, the so provided in the vehicle control device to achieve the first object. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle control device according to the first aspect, the traveling determination means starts the engine, turns on an ignition switch, gets on a driver's seat, opens a driver side door, and starts traveling. Sometimes if the vehicle speed is greater than 0, the shift lever "D"
It is determined that the traveling is started when at least one of the movement to the position is performed. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle control device according to the first or second aspect, the traveling pattern is calculated based on the departure place and the departure time used by the destination inferring means and the inferred destination. Updating means for updating the database of the storage means. According to the invention of claim 4, claim 1, claim 2,
Alternatively, in the vehicle control device according to claim 3, the route acquisition means acquires a travel route from a departure place to a destination by route search, or the past travel route between the departure place and the destination. It is stored in the database of the pattern storage means, and the travel route from this database to the destination is acquired. In the invention according to claim 5, in the vehicle control device according to claim 1, claim 2, claim 3, or claim 4, the travel control means is acquired by the route acquisition means of the travel path acquisition device. A specific position extracting means for extracting a specific position located on the traveling path from the traveled route, a specific position extracted by the specific position extracting means, and a current position detected by the current position detecting means. A distance calculating means for calculating the distance, a vehicle speed detecting means for detecting the vehicle speed, a vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed detecting means, and a shift control means for selecting a gear ratio according to the distance calculated by the distance calculating means. To achieve the second object.

[0006]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. First, the acquisition of the travel route in the vehicle control device of the present embodiment will be described, and then the vehicle control based on the acquired travel route will be described.

(1) Overview of acquisition of travel route FIG. 1 shows an overview of acquisition of travel route. As shown in FIG. 1, when a travel route is acquired, a past travel pattern including a departure place, a departure time, and a destination is stored as data, and when the travel of this time is started,
The destination is automatically inferred from the departure place and the departure time, and the travel route to the destination is obtained by route search. For example, as shown in FIG. 1A, when leaving home at 7 am on Monday morning, it is inferred from the traveling pattern data that the traveling is to the company. Further, as shown in FIG. 1B, when departing from home at 4:00 pm on Sunday, it is inferred that the traveling is from the traveling pattern data to the department store. Then, the analogically-estimated destination is confirmed with the driver, and if it is correct, the travel route to the analogically-estimated destination (company, department store, etc.) is obtained by route search.

(2) Details of Acquisition of Driving Route FIG. 2 shows a configuration when the driving route is acquired by a vehicle-mounted navigation device. The navigation device 1 includes a navigation processing unit 11, and the navigation processing unit 11 includes a data storage unit 12, a current position detection unit 13, a communication unit 15, an input unit 16, a display unit 17, a voice input unit 18, and The audio output unit 19 is connected. The navigation processing unit 11 is a storage medium that stores a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 111 and various programs such as a navigation program, a travel route acquisition program based on destination analogy in this embodiment, and a travel pattern data update program. A ROM (Read Only Memory) 112, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 113 as a working memory, and a clock 114 are provided. The clock 114 is for knowing the time and the like in the present embodiment, and is adapted to output the date and the time (day of the week + time). This navigation processing unit 1
An ON / OFF signal of the ignition key 20 is supplied to 1. Navigation processing unit 1
When the ON signal is supplied from the ignition key 20, the No. 1 recognizes the time output from the clock 114 at that time as the departure time.

For the data storage unit 12, various storage media such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a CD-ROM, an optical disk, a magnetic tape, an IC card and an optical card are used. In addition to the map data 121, the data storage unit 12 stores voice data 122, address data 123, telephone number data 124, travel pattern data 125, and the like. The map data 121 is data necessary for displaying a map and road data necessary for route search. This road data contains the coordinates (latitude,
(Longitude) data, elevation data at each node, road type, road length, number of nodes existing between roads, road shape, and various other data. The voice data 122 is data of guidance information by voice output from the voice output unit 19. The address data 123 is data of an address used for inputting a destination, and the telephone number data 124 is data of a telephone number used for inputting a destination.

The travel pattern data 125 is data of a travel pattern including a departure place, a departure time, a departure date, and a destination (arrival point), and is stored as a database for each travel. The destination is composed of a name representing the destination and coordinate data (latitude and longitude). Here, the concept of "time" in the travel pattern data is
It is a concept that includes not only the time of day (24 hours) but also the day of the week. Therefore, even if the time is the same, the time is different if the day of the week is different. For example, Monday is 3:00 and Tuesday is 3:00. In addition, the traveling pattern data includes
The date and time when the data is stored in the traveling pattern data 125 is also recorded.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual representation of the driving pattern data 125, which is a statistical graph showing the frequency of each destination when departing from home on Monday. In the present embodiment, as shown in this figure, departure times are distinguished in units of one hour in the time range from 6:00 am to 11:00 pm. For example, when leaving home at 8:10 am on Monday, the traveling pattern data 125 is searched. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, there are companies, hospitals, and banks as the destinations when leaving home at 8 o'clock on the past Monday, but by analogy with the most frequent company as the destination. . In addition, when the frequency of going out as a destination in the past is the same as in the case of the company and city hall on the 9 o'clock on Monday, the total frequency of each destination including other time zones on that day of the week Make an analogy by giving priority to the one with the largest number.

The current position detection unit 13 uses a GPS (Global Positioning) for measuring the position of the vehicle using an artificial satellite.
System) receiver 131, geomagnetic sensor 132 that detects the orientation of the vehicle by detecting the geomagnetism, distance sensor 133 that detects and counts the number of rotations of the wheels, or detects acceleration and integrates twice to detect distance, steering Steering sensor 1 for detecting the steering angle using an optical rotation sensor or a rotation resistance volume attached to the rotating part of the vehicle
34, a beacon receiver 135 that receives position information from beacons arranged on the road, a gyro sensor that uses a gas rate gyro, an optical fiber gyro, or the like to detect the rotational angular velocity of the vehicle and integrate the angular velocity to obtain the orientation of the vehicle 136 or the like is used. The GPS receiver 131
The position of the GPS receiver 131 and the beacon receiver 135 can be measured independently.
In the place where the reception by is impossible, the current position is detected by dead reckoning using other sensors.
In the present embodiment, when the ON signal is supplied from the ignition key 20, the current position detected by the current position detection unit 13 is supplied to the navigation processing unit 11 and is recognized as the departure place.

The communication section 15 has a modem, for example, and controls communication with an external device such as a base station or a personal computer via a telephone line. The input unit 16 includes a joystick key, a keyboard, a touch panel, a mouse, a light pen, a remote controller, or the display unit 1.
Various input devices such as a bar code reader, a character scanner, a digitizer, a CD drive, a floppy disk drive, an IC card reader, etc. are used in combination with the screen of 7 to display keys and menus on the screen and input from the screen. . For the display unit 17, a CRT, a liquid crystal display, a plasma display, a hologram device that projects a hologram on the windshield, or the like is used. On this display 17, a map in which the route to the destination is displayed in different colors is displayed, and various screens are displayed in accordance with the response with the driver such as the analogy result of the destination analogy in the present embodiment. It has become. The voice input unit 18 converts a voice signal input from a microphone into a digital signal, extracts a characteristic parameter from the digital signal, compares the characteristic parameter with a standard pattern, recognizes the input voice, and recognizes the input voice. An input signal to the navigation processing unit 11 is generated according to the content of the voice.

Under the control of the navigation processing unit 11, the voice output unit 19 appropriately outputs voice guidance information to the destination from the speaker under the control of the navigation processing unit 11 when performing normal route guidance to the driver. For example, 300m before the intersection, which is the guide point, or "300m ahead /
At the next intersection, turn right / left / go straight ”. In addition, according to the present embodiment, when the route to the destination that is analogized is acquired, the route guidance by voice is not performed in principle. When a destination other than the analogized destination is set, or when an instruction to request guidance on the analogized destination is given, voice route guidance is performed. Further, the voice output unit 19 is also adapted to output operation explanations and comments at various operations such as destination setting. Also, the audio output unit 19
In the second embodiment to be described later, the speaker outputs guidance information for notifying downshift. As the voice guidance information from the voice output unit 19, a voice recorded on a tape in advance or a synthesized voice produced by a voice synthesizer is used.

Next, the operation of the route acquisition processing by the navigation device configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.
This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a route acquisition process based on destination analogy, and FIG. 5 shows a screen displayed on the display unit 17 corresponding to the route acquisition process. The navigation processing unit 11 uses the ignition key 2
When the ON signal is supplied from 0, the time (day of week +
(Time) is acquired from the clock 114, the current position detected and detected by the current position detection unit 13 is acquired, and the RAM 113 is acquired.
(Step 11). Then, the navigation processing unit 11 confirms whether or not the past traveling pattern data is stored in the traveling pattern data 125 of the data storage unit 12 (step 12).

If there is past driving pattern data, the navigation processing unit 11 determines the driving pattern data 125.
The destination is analogized from and displayed on the display unit 17 (step 13). That is, the destination that has the highest frequency with respect to the combination of the departure time and the departure place stored in the RAM 113 is
It is inferred that it is the destination to drive from now on. For example, if you leave home at 8:30 am on Monday,
As shown in the traveling pattern data 125 of FIG. 3, the destination that traveled most frequently at 8 o'clock on Monday (= destination)
Is a company, so I guess the company is a destination. And FIG.
As shown in (a), both the place of departure (= home) and the destination (company) by analogy are displayed on the display unit 17. Further, the display unit 17 displays an inquiry about whether or not the estimated destination is acceptable and a key for inputting an answer to the inquiry.

Then, the navigation processing section 11 inputs an answer to the inquiry as to whether or not the analogical destination is acceptable from the input section 16 such as a voice input section 18, a touch panel corresponding to the screen of the display section 17 or a remote controller. Confirm the contents (step 14). If the estimated destination is acceptable (step 14; Y), that is, the display unit 17 (see FIG. 5).
When the "YES" button displayed in (a)) is touched, and when an affirmative voice such as "OK", "Yes" or "Yes" is input to the voice input unit 18, a key indicating the affirmation by the remote controller When the operation is performed, or when the traveling is started as it is (in this case, it is determined that the implicit understanding has been made), the analogical destination is set as the destination and stored in the RAM 113 (step 15).

On the other hand, if the inferred destinations are different (step 14; N), that is, "N" in FIG. 5B.
When the “O” button is touched, a voice indicating negative is input to the voice input unit 18, or an operation indicating negative is performed by the remote controller, the navigation processing unit 1
As shown in FIG. 5 (b), 1 displays the other destination candidates on the display unit 17 so that the driver can set the destination (= destination) and stores it in the RAM 113 ( Step 16). Also, when there is no past driving pattern data (step 12; N), similarly, the driver is asked to set the destination (step 16). As the destinations displayed on the screen shown in FIG. 6B, other destinations at the same time and at adjacent times are displayed at predetermined locations (for example, arbitrary locations from 2 to 20 locations). When the number of other destinations is large, a destination having a high frequency is preferentially displayed, and when the frequency is the same, a destination having a close time is preferentially displayed.

When "other" is selected on the screen of FIG. 5 (b) by the touch panel, voice, remote controller or the like, the navigation processing section 11 indicates the present location (= home) as shown in FIG. 5 (c). Display the map including. Then, by moving the cursor mark 171 for designating the destination, the destination is designated from the map screen.

When the destination is set in step 15 or step 16, the travel route from the starting point to the destination stored in the RAM 113 is searched from the map data 121 and stored in the RAM 113 (step 17). Return to routine.

Next, the update processing of the traveling pattern data will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart (a) showing the traveling pattern data updating process, and an explanatory diagram (b) for updating the traveling pattern data. Navigation processing unit 11 in the traveling pattern data update routine
Acquires the current position from the current position detector 13 (step 21) and determines whether or not the vehicle has arrived at the destination (step 22). If the vehicle has not arrived at the destination (step 22; N), it returns to the main routine, and if it has arrived (; y), the day of the week stored in the travel pattern data 125 (the day of the week when the destination is reached). It is determined whether or not the total number of data in () is equal to or larger than the predetermined value P (step 23). When the value is equal to or more than the predetermined value P (step 23; Y), the navigation processing unit 11 finds the oldest data among the traveling pattern data of the corresponding day of the week stored in the traveling pattern data 125 (searches from the date and time). ) Is deleted (step 24).

After deleting the oldest data, or when the number of traveling pattern data is less than P (step 2
3; N), the navigation processing unit 11 uses the RAM 113.
This time's driving pattern data (date, time,
The origin and destination are registered in the travel pattern data 125 (step 25), and the process returns to the main routine.

In the above-mentioned traveling pattern data updating processing, for example, the traveling pattern data 125 before traveling is shown in FIG.
The case where the contents are shown in FIG. It is assumed that the passenger departs for the destination (= company) at 8:10 am on Monday and arrives at the company. Then, the navigation processing unit 11 deletes the oldest data (= bookstore) as indicated by arrow A in FIG. 6B, and adds traveling pattern data regarding the current traveling as indicated by arrow B.

In the route acquisition process described above, the destination is inferred from the starting point and the time, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and various modifications can be made including other parts. Is. For example, when estimating the destination, the driver may be further estimated, and the destination may be estimated from the estimated driver and the traveling pattern data. In this case, the driving pattern data for each driver obtained by adding the driver to the driving pattern data shown in FIG. 3 is stored as a database. The analogy of the driver is, as shown in FIG. 7, analogized by image-processing the image of the driver's face captured by the CCD camera 21 arranged near the driver's seat. Further, the driver may be inferred from the weight measured by a weight sensor (not shown) arranged in the driver's seat. Further, the image may be inferred from both the image of the driver and the weight.

Then, as shown in FIG. 8A, the analogical driver, the analogical destination (destination), and the confirmation key are displayed on the display unit 17 on the screen. When “NO” is touched or a negative intention is displayed on this screen, a screen for selecting a driver is displayed as shown in FIG. 8B. The driver displays all registered people. When "Other" is selected here, a screen prompting the driver to input a driver name is displayed, and the driver inputs his / her name or a symbol such as a pen name for identifying himself / herself from a keyboard or a remote controller. When a new driver is input, data relating to the image of the driver's face and weight data are stored in the traveling pattern data 125. Then, a database of driving pattern data corresponding to a new driver is newly constructed.

In the above modification, the driver is analogized,
The driver may be made to input from a keyboard, a touch panel, a remote controller, the voice input unit 18, or the like.

Further, in the above-described route acquisition processing, the traveling route to the destination is obtained by the route search after setting the destination. In the present invention, the traveling route to the destination searched in the past is stored in the traveling pattern data 125. It may be stored. Then, as shown in FIG. 8C, the travel route 172 corresponding to the analogy destination (searched in the past)
Is displayed on the map screen including the destination which is similar to the departure place. In this way, in the case of a destination that has traveled in the past, it becomes possible to immediately display the route to the destination on the screen without performing route search. Then, if the user chooses that the destination is an analogy, the travel route stored in the travel pattern data can be immediately acquired, and the time required for the route search to the destination can be shortened. It will be possible. When the destination is set for the first time, a new route search is performed and the travel pattern data 12
5 is stored in association with the destination.

In the above route acquisition processing, time = day of the week + time is defined, but in the present invention, time may be defined in a longer unit. For example, time = (weekday, holiday) + time, (month-Friday, Saturday, holiday) + time may be used. vice versa,
The time may be defined as time = hour without distinguishing the time of day, weekday, or holiday. Further, the definition of these times may be selectable by the user.

Further, in the above route acquisition processing, as shown in FIG. 3, the traveling pattern data is stored and updated in each time zone of one hour unit for each departure time, but in another time unit, for example, 30. Minutes, 20 minutes, 10 minutes or the like may be used. In addition, regarding the time range of the departure time that stores the driving pattern data, from 6 am to 1 pm
Although the range is set to 1 o'clock, another time range, for example, 6:00
The time range from AM to 10:00 PM, etc.
You may choose to choose 24 hours. The user may be allowed to set the time unit and time range in which the traveling pattern data is stored.

In the above-mentioned route acquisition processing, in analogy of destinations, if the frequency of going out as destinations is the same, the total frequency for each destination including other time zones on that day is large. I tried to give an analogy by giving priority to one. In the present invention, another method may be adopted in which destinations having the same frequency are displayed on the screen as a plurality of candidates and the driver selects one. Further, not only the same frequency but also within a range of a predetermined ratio with respect to the maximum frequency, for example, when the maximum frequency is 100%, the frequency is 90%, 8
Destinations within the range of 0% or the like may also be displayed on the screen as candidates for analogy destinations so that the driver can select them. In this case, the most frequent destination is displayed as the first destination, and if the driver does not select another destination (without selecting the destination, the next processing is instructed or selected, or the vehicle starts running). In the case), the process is continued assuming that the most frequent destination is selected.

Further, in the above-mentioned route acquisition processing, the time when the ignition key is turned on is the departure time, but the time when the engine is started may be the departure time. Moreover, the time when the main power of the navigation processing unit 11 is turned on may be set as the departure time. Further, the departure time may be the time when the driver gets on the vehicle, opens the door on the driver's seat side, or moves the shift lever to the "D" position when the vehicle speed is higher than 0 at the start of traveling.

Next, the vehicle control according to this embodiment will be described. (3) Outline of vehicle control In the vehicle control of the present embodiment, the shift stage control is performed in which the change in the traveling situation is predicted in advance from the traveling route acquired by the traveling route acquisition process (including its modification). is there. FIG. 9 shows how the vehicle is controlled. As shown in this figure, when the travel route from the home to the company is obtained by the destination analogy and route acquisition processing, from the obtained travel route information, the point before the intersection, the curve start point, the uphill start point When the vehicle travels, a specific position that requires deceleration is detected. Then, vehicle control such as deceleration control before the intersection, curve control, and climbing control is performed based on the distance between the specific position and the vehicle position and the vehicle speed. Specifically, the gear ratio is selected based on a preset gear map, and the gear ratio control is performed. In this way, the vehicle is controlled according to the set destination (destination).

(4) Details of vehicle control. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the vehicle control device 40 to which the navigation device 1 that performs route acquisition processing is connected. As shown in FIG. 10, the vehicle control device 40 includes a control unit 41, which is a shift control unit, and an engine control device 42.
It has an accelerator sensor 43, a brake sensor 44, a shift lever position sensor 47 for detecting the operating position of the shift lever, and the navigation device 1 (see FIG. 2) described in the first embodiment.

The control unit 41 includes a shift control device 411 and a shift control device 412. Accelerator sensor 43
Supplies the accelerator opening α to the engine control device 42,
An ON / OFF signal indicating whether or not the accelerator pedal is depressed is supplied to the shift control device 411. The brake sensor 44 supplies a brake ON / OFF signal indicating whether or not the brake pedal is depressed to the shift control device 411, and lights the brake lamp 48 in the ON state.

The engine control unit 42 adjusts the throttle opening θ based on the supplied accelerator opening α to control the engine output and shifts the throttle opening θ determined based on the accelerator opening α. It is supplied to the control device 412. The shift lever position sensor 47 detects the operation position of the shift lever and supplies the lever position to the shift control device 412.

The speed change control device 412 is used for the automatic speed change mechanism 12.
Control the gear position of. That is, when the shift lever is in the drive position by the signal from the shift lever position sensor 47, the engine control is performed based on the shift map stored in advance as shown in FIG. The throttle opening θ input from the device 42,
The automatic transmission mechanism 32 is configured to determine a shift speed from the vehicle speed V input from a vehicle speed sensor, which is a vehicle speed detection means incorporated in the automatic transmission mechanism (A / T) 32, and switch to the determined shift speed. To supply the shift command.

When a downshift command signal is supplied from the shift control device 411, a shift command is issued to the automatic transmission mechanism 12 in order to switch to the gear stage commanded based on the signal. Further, the shift control device 412 supplies the shift control device 411 with the vehicle speed V, the throttle opening θ, the shift lever position, and the current shift speed.

The shift control device 411 starts the shift-down judgment at a point where the distance between the vehicle position and the specific position reaches a predetermined distance D (hereinafter referred to as "judgment point"), and the shift-down judgment shown in FIG. ) To (d), the distance d from the vehicle position to the specific position supplied from the navigation device 1 is based on a map stored in advance.
Then, according to the vehicle speed V, a shift change command signal is output to the shift control device 412 to shift down.

The distance D for specifying the judgment point is set as a distance sufficient to decelerate by downshifting,
You may make it change according to the speed limit set on the road. For example, when the speed limit is high such as on an expressway, it may be long, and when the speed limit is low such as in an urban area, it may be shortened.

When the shift control device 411 determines downshift, it outputs a signal to the audio output device 5 before outputting the downshift signal, and the audio output device 5 is instructed to downshift based on the signal. Let the driver know by voice. As described above, the shift control device 411 first determines whether or not the vehicle has passed the determination point, and if the vehicle has passed, the shift control device 411 sequentially shifts down according to the map, and shifts down until the vehicle reaches a specific position. Decelerate.

The navigation processing unit 11 of the navigation device 1 detects a specific position located on the planned traveling route by using the traveling route acquired by the destination estimation process and the route acquisition process and stored in the RAM 113 as the planned traveling route. , The coordinate point of the specific position is specified. As shown in FIG. 9, this specific position is a place where downshifting or deceleration is required during traveling, and includes, for example, intersections, T-shaped roads, points where the number of lanes decreases, curve entrances, railroad crossings. , Highway exit ramp way, highway toll gate, narrowing point of road, downhill road, uphill road, etc. The navigation processing unit 11 detects, as the specific position, a position closest to the own vehicle position among such points. In addition,
The planned traveling route when the traveling route is not set can be, for example, a route that is expected to pass when going straight. The navigation processing unit 11 calculates the distance d between the specific position and the own vehicle position, and supplies it to the shift control device 411 together with various road information regarding the planned traveling route stored in the RAM 113.

The voice output unit 19 of the navigation device is
Based on the signal supplied from the shift control device 411, a voice notifying the shift down is synthesized and output as voice through the speaker 52.

Next, the control operation of the shift control device 411 in the thus configured vehicle control device 40 will be described with reference to the flow chart shown in FIG. FIG. 12A is a main flowchart of the shift control device 411.

First, the shift lever position sensor 4
7, it is determined whether the shift lever is in the drive position (step 101). If the drive position has no shift lever, the following control operation is not performed.
If it is in the drive position, the shift change determination routine shown in FIG. 12B is executed (step 102). Next, in the shift change determination routine (step 102), it is determined whether or not the shift down is determined (step 103). When it is determined that the downshift is not performed, the following control operation is not performed.

Shift change determination routine (step 1
In 02), if it is determined to shift down, a signal is output to the voice output device 5, and the driver is notified by voice based on the signal that the voice output device 5 will shift down (step). 104). By this notification, the driver can know that the vehicle is downshifted and can reduce the discomfort caused by the sudden deceleration, so that the driver can drive more safely.

Next, a downshift command signal is output to the shift control device 412. Accordingly, the shift control device 41
2 changes the gear stage of the automatic transmission mechanism 12. When downshifting, the brake lamp 48 is turned on (step 106) to notify the following vehicle of deceleration.

Next, the shift change determination routine will be described with reference to FIG. The distance d calculated by the arithmetic unit S4 is read (step 201), and it is judged whether or not the judgment point has been reached (step 202).
Specifically, the distance d is compared with the distance D between the determination point and the specific position, and when d ≦ D, it is determined that the determination point has been reached. If you have reached the decision point,
It is determined whether the accelerator is off (step 203). If the accelerator is off, it is determined whether the brake is depressed (step 2).
04).

When the brake is depressed, the condition shown in FIG.
Based on the second map shown in (c), the gear stage to be changed is determined from the distance d and the vehicle speed V, and compared with the current gear stage to judge whether or not downshift is required (step 205). On the other hand, when the brake is not depressed, it is determined whether or not the turn signal is turned on (step 206). When the turn signal is turned on, the state shown in FIG.
Based on the third map shown in (d), the gear stage to be changed is determined from the distance d and the vehicle speed V, and it is determined whether or not the downshift is necessary by comparing with the current gear stage (step). 207).

When the winker is not lit, the gear to be changed is determined from the distance d and the vehicle speed V based on the first map shown in FIG. 11A, and the current gear is set. A comparison is made to determine whether downshifting is necessary (step 208). By the operations of steps 202 to S208, as the vehicle approaches the specific position, the vehicle is smoothly decelerated and can safely pass the specific position at an appropriate speed.

Steps 205, S207, S208 described above
After each of the above, the running state of the vehicle is
Whether or not the vehicle is located within the area A shown on the map, that is, whether the distance between the vehicle position and the specific position is do or less and the vehicle speed V is Vo or less, in other words, to the specific position It is determined whether or not the vehicle speed has approached and the vehicle speed has decreased (step 2).
09).

If it is not in the area A, the process returns to the main routine and the above steps 201 to S208 are repeated. If it is within the area A, the throttle opening θ after passing the specific position is predicted in consideration of the number of lanes, width, slope, etc. of the road after passing the specific position (step 2).
10). Next, based on the shift map shown in FIG. 11A during normal traveling, the estimated throttle opening θ
Then, the gear position is determined from the vehicle speed V (step 211). By the above steps 209 to S211, smooth running (acceleration) that matches the road condition is possible even after passing the specific position.

The change in vehicle speed due to the above control operation will be described by taking a case where a road having a narrow width is changed to a road having a wide width by turning at the intersection B. When the vehicle passes the judgment point C which is a predetermined distance before the intersection B which is the specific position, the steps 203 to 208 in the shift change judgment routine shown in FIG. Become. That is, when the accelerator is turned off, the first signal is applied until the turn signal is turned on.
Downshifting is performed based on the map, and the vehicle speed V decreases. Next, when the turn signal is turned on, the downshift is performed based on the third map until the brake is depressed, and the vehicle speed V decreases. Then, when the brake is depressed, downshifting is performed based on the second map. Before the downshift is performed, the driver is informed by voice of the fact that the downshift is always performed, and the occurrence of discomfort due to the unexpected downshift is suppressed. Further, when the vehicle passes the judgment point, a voice is output to the effect that deceleration is performed by the gear shift control.

The speed is sufficiently reduced and the distance do from the specific position B
When you pass the point of, enter the area A on the map,
The vehicle turns at a specific position B. By passing the specific position B, the vehicle moves to a road with a wide width. In steps 210 and S211, the throttle opening θ expected from the width of the road is calculated, and based on the throttle opening θ based on the shift map during normal traveling shown in FIG. The gear stage is determined. This shift speed is the most suitable shift speed for starting acceleration after the vehicle has moved to a road with a wide width, and it is possible to shift to smooth acceleration. Further, since the downshifts are performed in order, the engine braking can be sufficiently applied.

In the vehicle control described above, a steering angle sensor may be provided so that the downshift is not performed when the vehicle is not traveling straight. By performing such control operation, smoother traveling can be ensured. Further, the range of the steering angle for determining whether to stop the downshift can be changed according to the vehicle speed V at that time and the condition of the road surface. For example, when the vehicle speed is low, the rudder angle that allows downshifting is large, and when the vehicle speed is high, the rudder angle that allows downshifting is small. If the rudder angle allowing down is large, and if it is small, the rudder angle allowing downshift is set to be small.

As described above, according to the vehicle control device, the speed change control which predicts the change of the traveling condition in advance is performed based on the traveling route acquired by the navigation device 1, so that the automobile can travel more smoothly. Can be realized. For example, by calculating the distance from a specific position in the planned traveling route to the own vehicle position, and performing shift-down control before reaching the specific position based on the distance and the vehicle speed, the specific position can be adjusted appropriately. You can pass at various vehicle speeds. In addition, the vehicle control device may control the hardness of the suspension, the weight of the power steering, and the like by predicting a change in the traveling condition in advance based on the traveling route acquired by the navigation device 1. For example,
When the traveling route is a high speed traveling road such as a highway or a curve, it is possible to stabilize the traveling by controlling the suspension to be hard. In addition, when the traveling route is a high-speed traveling road such as a highway, the power steering may be controlled to be heavy to stabilize the traveling.

In the modified example of the travel route acquisition process, the case where the traveling pattern data for each driver is stored in the traveling pattern data 125 as a database has been described. The operating environment such as the seat position, the mirror position, the set temperature of the air conditioner, the volume and sound quality of the audio, the weight of the power steering, the rigidity of the suspension, etc., which have been set, may be stored as a database. This eliminates the need for the driver to set the driving environment. Further, in vehicle control, the learning values of driving characteristics such as how to depress the accelerator, the number of times to brake, the destination setting of navigation, etc. for each driver are stored as a database in the traveling pattern data 125, and E / G 31, A are stored. / T32, learning control such as an automatic traveling system by the vehicle control device may be adapted to each driver. As a result, the driver can always drive a vehicle with specifications that suit him. Further, since the learning value of the learning control is stored for each individual, it is possible for the driver to always drive without feeling uncomfortable.

[0057]

According to the vehicle control device of the present invention, the destination setting and the route to the destination can be easily obtained by inferring the destination from the starting point and the departure time according to the traveling pattern data. can do. In addition, the certainty of the destination analogy can be improved by learning-controlling the destination of the travel pattern data. Further, according to the vehicle control device of the present invention, safer and smoother traveling of the vehicle can be realized by performing the shift speed control in which the change of the traveling situation is predicted in advance.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of travel route acquisition in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram in the case of performing a travel route acquisition process by a vehicle-mounted navigation device.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram conceptually showing the traveling pattern data 125 of the above.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a route acquisition process based on destination analogy.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a screen displayed on the display unit corresponding to the above route acquisition processing.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart (a) showing the traveling pattern data update process and an explanatory diagram (b) for updating the traveling pattern data.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a driver's analogy in a modified example of the travel route acquisition process.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a screen displayed on the display unit in the analogy of the driver in the modified example of the travel route acquisition process.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an outline of a vehicle control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a shift map of the vehicle control device,
(A) is a shift map at the time of normal traveling, and (b) to (c) are a first map, a second map, and a third map that determine a shift stage after passing through a determination point.

FIG. 12 is a main flowchart (a) of the shift control device in the vehicle control device and a shift change determination routine (b).

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Navigation Device 11 Navigation Processing Unit 12 Data Storage Unit 125 Running Pattern Data 13 Current Position Detection Unit 15 Communication Unit 16 Input Unit 17 Display Unit 18 Voice Input Unit 19 Voice Output Unit 20 Ignition Key 40 Vehicle Control Device 41 Control Device (Shift Control Means) 411 Downshift control device 412 Shift control device

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Agency reference number FI Technical display location G09B 29/10 G09B 29/10 A

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A current position detecting means for detecting a current position, a time detecting means for detecting a time, and a traveling pattern storing means for storing a past traveling pattern composed of a departure time, a departure place and a destination as a database. When the traveling determination means determines that the traveling is started, and when the traveling determination means determines that the traveling is started, the current position detected by the current position detecting means is set as a departure point, and the time detecting means is set. As a departure time at the time detected by, the destination analogy means for analogizing the destination from the travel pattern stored in the travel pattern storage means, and from the current position detected by the current position detection means,
The route acquisition means for acquiring the travel route to the destination analogized by the destination analogy means, and the position on the travel route acquired by the route acquisition means from the current position detected by the current position detection means. A vehicle control device comprising: a traveling control unit that determines and controls traveling of the vehicle. 2. The running determination means is for starting the engine,
When at least one of turning on the ignition switch, getting on the driver's seat, opening the door on the driver's side, moving the vehicle at a speed greater than 0, and moving the shift lever to the "D" position is performed. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein it is determined that traveling is started. 3. The update means for updating the database of the travel pattern storage means from the departure place and the departure time used by the destination analogy estimating means and the estimated destination. 1 or the vehicle control device according to claim 2. 4. The route acquisition means acquires a travel route from a departure place to a destination by route search, or stores a past travel route between the departure place and the destination in a database of the travel pattern storage means. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, 2, or 3, wherein the travel route from the database to the destination is acquired. 5. The specific position extracting means for extracting a specific position located on the travel route from the travel route acquired by the route acquisition means of the travel route acquisition device, and the specific position extraction. Distance calculating means for calculating the distance between the specific position extracted by the means and the current position detected by the current position detecting means, vehicle speed detecting means for detecting the vehicle speed, and vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed detecting means. 5. A shift control means for selecting a gear ratio according to the distance calculated by the distance calculation means, and the shift control means according to claim 1, claim 2, claim 3, or claim 4. Vehicle control device.