JP5130101B2 - Shift speed determination device, shift speed determination method, and shift speed determination program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a shift speed determination device that is mounted on an automobile that travels by switching a plurality of shift speeds included in a transmission, and that determines a shift speed during travel. The present invention also relates to a shift speed determination method and a shift speed determination program used in the automobile.

  The present inventors have proposed the driving support device shown in Patent Document 1 as having the above-described shift speed determination device. This driving support device detects traveling state information such as a traveling speed of an automobile, an engine speed, an accelerator opening, and a fuel consumption amount, and calculates a traveling gear ratio (that is, speed / engine speed). After the calculation, the running gear stage is determined from the running gear ratio (that is, the gear stage judging operation), and the gear stage is switched to the gear stage one higher and the gear lower than the current gear stage. When the estimated fuel consumption amount is smaller, the driver is instructed to switch the gear position (that is, the gear position switching instruction operation). Is. In other words, this driving support device is configured integrally with the shift speed determination device that performs the shift speed determination operation described above and the shift speed switching instruction device that performs the shift speed switching instruction operation described above.

  A known fuzzy neuro that combines a neural network and fuzzy reasoning is used for calculation of the estimated fuel consumption performed by the gear change instruction device of the driving support device. This fuzzy neuro has a learning function, and the gear ratio at the running gear determined by the gear determining device described above, the load coefficient indicating the load state of the vehicle (ie, accelerator opening / engine The learning is performed with the input data set consisting of the number of revolutions) and the fuel consumption as input, the fuel consumption and the accelerator opening as outputs, and the estimated fuel consumption is calculated using the learning results. . In other words, the learning that is performed during driving can obtain the relationship between the speed, load coefficient, and gear ratio corresponding to the vehicle, the fuel consumption, and the accelerator opening. Since it is not necessary to create the information to be shown, the cost of the apparatus was reduced, and the versatility was improved, so that the vehicle could be installed without choosing an automobile.

Further, the shift speed determination device of the driving support apparatus determines the shift speed during traveling corresponding to the gear ratio during traveling from the gear ratio during traveling calculated from the speed and the engine speed. For example, when the vehicle clutch is engaged, the gear ratio is substantially constant because the speed and the engine speed are proportional to each other. However, when the clutch is not engaged, In some cases, the speed and the engine speed are not necessarily in a proportional relationship, and the value of the gear ratio during travel varies. The fuzzified neuro described above is suitable for determining a set to which a value having such a variation belongs, and this gear stage determining device also uses this fuzzified neuro to generate a gear ratio that causes a variation. From this, it is conceivable to determine the gear position during traveling. Since the fuzzy neuron can learn about the gear stage during traveling in the same manner as described above, the fuzzy neuron is used in advance to determine the gear stage during traveling by the gear stage judging device. It is no longer necessary to create the information necessary for determining the middle gear position, thereby reducing costs and improving versatility so that any vehicle can be installed.
JP 2006-46149 A

  However, since the processing of the fuzzy neuron used in the above-described driving support device (that is, the shift speed determination device) is very complicated, it takes time to determine the shift speed during travel and the shift speed during travel. There has been a problem that the size of the program for the determination becomes large. For this reason, a high-speed CPU and a large-capacity memory are required, which hinders cost reduction of the driving support device.

  The present invention aims to solve the above problems. That is, the present invention provides a gear position determination device that simplifies the determination of the gear position during traveling, can perform the determination at high speed, and can reduce the size of a program for determining the gear position during traveling. The purpose is to do. It is another object of the present invention to provide a shift speed determination method and a shift speed determination program used in a shift speed determination device.

  The inventors of the present invention focused on the relationship between the shift speed and the gear ratio, collected a large amount of data on the shift speed and gear ratio in various driving states of the automobile, and as a result of earnestly examining these data, It was also found that the variation in the gear ratio during traveling calculated from the engine speed tends to be normally distributed at each gear stage. From this, it has been found that the gear stage during traveling can be determined from the gear ratio during traveling by using the average and standard deviation of the gear ratio for each gear stage.

In order to achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, as shown in the basic configuration diagram of FIG. 1, in a shift stage determination device for an automobile that travels by switching a plurality of shift stages included in a transmission. A storage means 10d for storing a reference average of the gear ratio for each shift stage and a reference standard deviation of the gear ratio; a traveling state information detecting means 10a1 for detecting a speed and an engine speed during traveling of the automobile; Gear ratio calculating means 10a2 for calculating the gear ratio during traveling from the speed and the engine speed detected by the traveling state information detecting means 10a1, and the gear during traveling calculated by the gear ratio calculating means 10a2. Gear ratio information calculation means for storing a predetermined number of ratios and calculating an average of the gear ratios and a standard deviation of the gear ratios based on the stored predetermined number of the gear ratios 0a3, the average of the running gear ratio and the standard deviation of the gear ratio calculated by the gear ratio information calculating unit 10a3, the reference average of the gear ratio and the gear stored in the storage unit A shift speed determination device comprising: a shift speed determination means 10a4 that compares the reference standard deviation of the ratio to determine the shift speed during traveling.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the gear stage determination unit is configured to calculate the average of the gear ratio during traveling and the gear ratio calculated by the gear ratio information calculation unit. When the range defined by the standard deviation of the vehicle and the range defined by the standard average deviation of the gear ratio and the standard standard deviation of the gear ratio stored in the storage means overlap. The stage is configured to be determined to be a shift stage corresponding to the reference average and the reference standard deviation.

In the invention described in claim 3 , in the invention described in claim 1 or 2 , as shown in the basic configuration diagram of FIG. 1, the shift speed determination means 10a4 determines the shift speed during traveling. The reference mean deviation of the gear ratio and the reference standard deviation of the gear ratio stored in the storage means 10d corresponding to the gear stage being traveled, and the travel calculated by the gear ratio information calculation means 10a3. The average of the gear ratio in the middle and the standard deviation of the gear ratio are integrated, and the storage means as the reference average of the gear ratio and the reference standard deviation of the gear ratio corresponding to the gear stage being traveled It is characterized by having gear ratio information integration means 10a5 to be stored.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to third aspects, as shown in the basic configuration diagram of FIG. The accelerator opening detected by the detecting means 10a6 and the accelerator opening detecting means 10a6 is equal to or greater than the accelerator opening detected immediately before, and the speed detected by the traveling state information detecting means 10a1 Traveling state determination means 10a7 for determining that the speed is equal to or higher than the speed detected immediately before, the gear ratio information calculation means 10a3 is configured to detect the accelerator opening degree detection means by the traveling state determination means 10a7. The accelerator opening detected by 10a6 is equal to or greater than the accelerator opening detected immediately before, and the traveling state information detecting means 10a1 The average of the gear ratios during traveling based on the predetermined number of gear ratios continuously accumulated when it is determined that the speed detected by the vehicle is greater than or equal to the speed detected immediately before It is a means for calculating the standard deviation of the gear ratio.

The invention described in claim 5 is a method for determining a shift stage of an automobile that travels by switching a plurality of shift stages provided in the transmission, and is a traveling state in which the traveling speed and engine speed of the automobile are detected. An information detection step, a gear ratio calculation step for calculating a gear ratio during traveling from the speed and the engine speed detected in the traveling state information detection step, and the traveling during calculation calculated in the gear ratio calculation step A gear ratio information calculating step for storing a predetermined number of gear ratios, calculating an average of the gear ratios during running and a standard deviation of the gear ratio based on the stored predetermined number of the gear ratios, and the gear ratio information calculating step The average of the gear ratio during traveling and the standard deviation of the gear ratio calculated in the above are collated with a reference average of the gear ratio and a reference standard deviation of the gear ratio for each predetermined gear position. ,Running A gear position judging method characterized in that it successively anda gear position determination step of determining the shift speed.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a driving state in which a computer of a shift stage determination device for an automobile traveling with a plurality of shift stages provided in a transmission is detected, and a traveling state in which the speed and engine speed during traveling of the automobile are detected. Information detecting means, gear ratio calculating means for calculating the gear ratio during traveling from the speed and engine speed detected by the traveling state information detecting means, and the gear during traveling calculated by the gear ratio calculating means Gear ratio information calculating means for storing a predetermined number of ratios, calculating an average of the gear ratios during running and a standard deviation of the gear ratio based on the stored predetermined number of the gear ratios, and the gear ratio information calculating means The average of the gear ratio during traveling and the standard deviation of the gear ratio calculated by the above are calculated as the reference average of the gear ratio for each shift stage and the reference of the gear ratio. Against the quasi deviation, a gear position determination program, characterized in that the determining gear position determining means for the gear position during running, thereby to function.

  According to the invention described in claim 1, the average of the gear ratio and the standard deviation of the gear ratio during traveling are collated with the reference average of the gear ratio and the reference standard deviation of the gear ratio stored in the storage means, Since the running gear stage is determined, it is possible to determine the running gear stage only by comparing simple numerical values without performing complicated processing. Therefore, the judgment of the running gear stage is simplified. The determination can be performed at high speed, and the size of the program for determining the shift stage during traveling can be reduced. Further, since the reference average of the gear ratio and the reference standard deviation of the gear ratio are used as the reference for the determination of the gear position during traveling, the information used as the reference for the determination of the gear position stored in the storage means is reduced. Therefore, the storage capacity of the storage means can be reduced.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the running gear stage is determined, the gear ratio reference average and the gear ratio reference stored in the storage means corresponding to the running gear stage are determined. Since the standard deviation, the average of the gear ratio during traveling and the standard deviation of the gear ratio are integrated and stored in the storage means as the reference average of the gear ratio and the reference standard deviation of the gear ratio corresponding to the gear stage during traveling, In other words, the average gear ratio and the standard deviation of the gear ratio are sequentially taken in to update the reference average and reference standard deviation of the gear ratio, so that it becomes a reference for determining the gear stage adapted to the current state of the vehicle. Therefore, it is not necessary to adjust the information that becomes the reference for the shift stage according to the state of the vehicle that changes due to the load amount of the load, deterioration with time, etc. Create standard information There is no need, therefore, together with reducing the cost of the apparatus can be improved versatility mounted choosing a car.

According to the invention described in claim 4 , the accelerator opening during traveling of the automobile is equal to or greater than the accelerator opening detected immediately before, and the speed during traveling of the automobile is detected immediately before. Since the average of the running gear ratio and the standard deviation of the gear ratio are calculated based on a predetermined number of gear ratios accumulated continuously when the above is true, the accelerator is not returned and the speed is not reduced When it is determined that the gears remain the same (that is, they are not switched), the average gear ratio and the standard deviation of the gear ratios at the same gear can be calculated. The accuracy of the average and the gear ratio standard deviation can be improved. Accordingly, it is possible to improve the accuracy of determination of the gear position.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the average of the gear ratio and the standard deviation of the gear ratio during traveling are collated with the reference average of the gear ratio and the reference standard deviation of the gear ratio that are determined in advance. Therefore, it is possible to determine the gear position during traveling by simply comparing the numerical values without performing complicated processing. Therefore, the determination of the gear position during traveling is simplified and determined. Can be performed at high speed.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the average of the gear ratio during traveling and the standard deviation of the gear ratio are collated with the reference average of gear ratio and the standard standard deviation of the gear ratio that are determined in advance. The computer functions so as to determine the shift speed of the vehicle, so that it is possible to determine the current gear position by simply comparing numerical values without performing complicated processing. Can be simplified, the determination can be performed at high speed, and the size of the program can be reduced. Further, since the reference average of the gear ratio and the reference standard deviation of the gear ratio are used as the reference for determining the gear position during traveling, the information other than the reference for the gear position determination stored in the storage means is reduced. Therefore, the storage capacity of the storage means can be reduced.

  Hereinafter, a shift speed determination device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the gear position determination device 2 is provided in the driving assistance device 1, and is similarly connected to a gear position switching instruction device 3 provided in the driving assistance device 1. In the present embodiment, the gear position determination device 2 and the gear position switching instruction device 3 are separated from each other. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the gear position determination device and the gear position switching instruction device are used using the same computer. May be logically configured (that is, physically integrated).

  The gear position determination device 2 detects the speed (hereinafter referred to as the current speed Vp), the engine speed (hereinafter referred to as the current engine speed Np), and the accelerator opening (hereinafter referred to as the current accelerator opening βp) while the vehicle is running. Then, after calculating the traveling gear ratio (hereinafter referred to as the current gear ratio Gp), the current gear ratio Gp is used to determine the traveling gear stage (hereinafter referred to as the current gear ratio Hp). The gear position determination device 2 includes a microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as MPU) 10 shown in FIG. The gear ratio in the present invention is calculated by speed / engine speed. The MPU 10 corresponds to the computer described in the claims.

  The MPU 10 is a well-known small computer suitable for an embedded device. As shown in FIG. 3, the MPU 10 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 10a that performs various processes and controls according to a predetermined program, A ROM 10b that is a read-only memory storing programs and control data for the CPU 10a, a RAM 10c that is a readable / writable memory that stores various data and has areas necessary for processing operations of the CPU 10a, and a CPU 10a And an EEPROM 10d which is an electrically erasable / rewritable read-only memory having various storage areas required for processing operations.

  The MPU 10 is attached to an accelerator pedal via an input interface (not shown), a vehicle speed pulse P1 output every time the vehicle travels a unit distance, a rotation speed pulse P2 output according to the rotation of the crankshaft, and the accelerator pedal. An accelerator opening signal S1, which is a voltage value from the angle sensor, is supplied. In addition, the MPU 10 includes a communication interface (not shown), and through this communication interface, shift speed information J (described later), which is information related to the shift speed, is transmitted periodically or in response to a request. Output to device 3.

  In the ROM 10b, the running state information detecting means 10a1, the gear ratio calculating means 10a2, the gear ratio information calculating means 10a3, the shift speed determining means 10a4, the gear ratio information integrating means 10a5, the accelerator opening detecting means in the claim shown in FIG. Various information such as a gear position determination program for causing the CPU 10a to function is stored as 10a6 and the traveling state determination unit 10a7. Then, the CPU 10a executes the shift speed determination program to thereby execute the running state information detection means 10a1, the gear ratio calculation means 10a2, the gear ratio information calculation means 10a3, the shift speed determination means 10a4, the gear ratio information integration means 10a5, the accelerator. It functions as the opening degree detection means 10a6 and the traveling state determination means 10a7.

  The EEPROM 10d corresponds to the storage means 10d in the claims shown in FIG. 1, and as shown in FIG. 4, the number of samples n, the reference average X of the gear ratio (hereinafter referred to as the reference average X), and the reference standard deviation S of the gear ratio. (Hereinafter referred to as a reference standard deviation S), shift speed information J including reference maximum gear ratio Gmax, and reference minimum gear ratio Gmin is stored in a predetermined area. ing. Further, the shift speed determination reference information D1 is arranged so that the reference average X in the shift speed is in ascending order from the smaller address to the larger address. FIG. 4 shows a state where the integration (that is, learning) of the reference average X and the reference standard deviation S has progressed to some extent.

  The sample number n is used when integrating the average gear ratio (hereinafter referred to as the current average Xp) and the standard deviation of the gear ratio (hereinafter referred to as the current standard deviation Sp) into the reference average X and the reference standard deviation S. It is a cumulative value of the number of gear ratios Gp used to calculate the current average Xp integrated in the past. The reference average X is a value that is the center of the gear ratio at the gear stage, and is also the gear ratio (representative value) at the gear stage. The reference standard deviation S is a known standard deviation and is a value that serves as a guide for variation in gear ratio, and is used to calculate the reference maximum gear ratio Gmax and the reference minimum gear ratio Gmin. The reference maximum gear ratio Gmax is the maximum value that can be taken by the gear ratio at the gear position, and in the present embodiment, [reference average X + reference standard deviation × 3]. The reference minimum gear ratio Gmin is a minimum value that can be taken by the gear ratio at the gear position, and in this embodiment, is [reference average X−reference standard deviation × 3].

  The reference maximum gear ratio Gmax and the reference minimum gear ratio Gmin define a reference width W (hereinafter referred to as a reference gear ratio width W) of the gear ratio at the gear stage. Since the gear ratio in each gear stage tends to be normally distributed, by setting the reference gear ratio width W to [X ± 3S], about 99.7% of the gear ratio in each gear stage is stochastically This is included in the reference gear ratio width W. FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram of a normal distribution curve C1 of the gear ratio at a certain gear position. The reference gear ratio width W is appropriately determined according to the configuration of the gear position determination device, the automobile on which the device is mounted, and the like. Further, the reference maximum gear ratio Gmax and the reference minimum gear ratio Gmin may not be stored in the EEPROM 10d, but may be obtained from the reference average X and the reference standard deviation S when those values become necessary.

  Next, an example of the shift speed determination process according to the present invention executed by the CPU 10a of the shift speed determination device 2 will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  In step S110, the CPU 10a determines the current vehicle speed Vp (km / h), the current engine speed Np (rpm), and the current accelerator opening βp (%) from the vehicle speed pulse P1, the rotation speed pulse P2, and the accelerator opening signal S1. ) Is detected. Specifically, the number of vehicle speed pulses P1 and the number of rotation speed pulses P2 generated within a predetermined period (for example, 0.5 seconds) are counted, and the current speed Vp and the current engine speed Np are calculated from the counted numbers. Ask. Further, the current accelerator opening βp is obtained from the voltage value of the accelerator opening signal S1 at the time when the above-described counting is started. In the present embodiment, when the current engine speed Np is 1.2 times or less of the idling speed, the current speed Vp, the current engine speed Np, and the current accelerator opening βp are not detected. . Then, after detecting the current speed Vp, the current engine speed Np, and the current accelerator opening βp, the process proceeds to step S120.

  In step S120, the current gear ratio Gp (= Vp ÷ Np) is calculated from the current speed Vp and the current engine speed Np detected in step S110. Then, the process proceeds to step S130.

  In step S130, it is determined whether the current gear stage Hp is constant (that is, whether the gear stage is not switched). Specifically, it is determined whether the current speed Vp is equal to or higher than the speed V0 detected immediately before and the current accelerator opening βp is equal to or higher than the accelerator opening β0 detected immediately before. If the detected speed is equal to or greater than V0 and the current accelerator opening βp is equal to or greater than the accelerator opening β0 detected immediately before, it is determined that the current gear position is constant and the process proceeds to step S140 (Y in S130). Otherwise, it is determined that the current gear stage Hp is not constant, that is, the gear stage has been switched, and the routine proceeds to step S150 (N in S130). In addition, the current speed Vp and the accelerator opening βp used for the above determination are temporarily stored in a predetermined storage area provided on the RAM 10c as the speed V0 and the accelerator opening β0, respectively, for use in the next determination. Stored.

  In step S140, the current gear ratio Gp calculated in step S120 is sequentially stored (that is, accumulated) in a predetermined gear ratio storage area provided on the RAM 10c. Then, the process proceeds to step S160.

  In step S150, the current gear ratio Gp stored in the gear ratio storage area is discarded. Then, the process proceeds to step S160.

  In step S160, it is determined whether or not a predetermined number m (for example, 4) of the current gear ratio Gp has been accumulated. If accumulated, the process proceeds to step S170 (Y in S160), and if not accumulated, the process proceeds to step S110. N in S160).

  In step S170, the average of the current gear ratio Gp (that is, the current average Xp) and the standard deviation of the current gear ratio Gp (that is, the current standard deviation Sp) are calculated from the accumulated current gear ratio Gp of the predetermined number m. Then, the process proceeds to step S180. Since the method for calculating the average and standard deviation in the sample data (that is, the current gear ratio Gp of a predetermined number m) is known, details thereof are omitted.

  In step S180, the current gear position (ie, the current gear stage Hp) is determined. Specifically, the current gear ratio Gp width Wp (that is, the current gear ratio width Wp) is calculated from the current average Xp and current standard deviation Sp calculated in step S170, and each gear position of the gear position determination reference information D1 is calculated. The reference gear ratio width W is calculated from the reference average X and the reference standard deviation S of the shift speed information J. Then, the current gear ratio width Wp and the reference gear ratio width W at each gear position of the gear position determination reference information D1 are sequentially compared from the larger reference average S to the smaller gear ratio to determine the current gear ratio width. It is determined whether Wp and the reference gear ratio width W overlap. If they overlap, the shift speed corresponding to the overlapped reference gear ratio width W is determined as the current shift speed Hp, and the process proceeds to step S190 (Y in S180). If the current gear ratio width Wp and the reference gear ratio width W do not overlap even after comparison with all gear positions, it is determined that there is no gear position information J for the corresponding gear speed. The process proceeds to step S200 (N in S180).

  Specifically, the determination as to whether or not the current gear ratio width Wp and the reference gear ratio width W overlap each other is, specifically, a maximum gear ratio during traveling (hereinafter referred to as “current average Xp + current standard deviation Sp × 3”). When the current maximum gear ratio Gmaxp) is larger than the reference minimum gear ratio Gmin and smaller than the reference maximum gear ratio Gmax, or the minimum gear ratio during traveling calculated as [Current Average Xp−Current Standard Deviation Sp × 3] ( Hereinafter, when the current minimum gear ratio Gminp) is larger than the reference minimum gear ratio Gmin and smaller than the reference maximum gear ratio Gmax, it is determined that the current gear ratio width Wp and the reference gear ratio width W overlap each other. At this time, it is determined that the current gear ratio width Wp and the reference gear ratio width W do not overlap. FIG. 7 shows a schematic diagram when the current gear ratio width Wp and the reference gear ratio width W overlap, and FIG. 8 shows a schematic diagram when the current gear ratio width Wp and the reference gear ratio width W do not overlap. . In the figure, C1 represents a normal distribution curve of the gear ratio at the shift stage, and C2 represents a normal distribution curve of the current gear ratio.

In step S190, the current average Xp and the current standard deviation Sp are integrated with the standard average X and the standard standard deviation S at the current gear stage Hp. Specifically, the reference average Xt of the gear ratio after integration and the reference standard deviation St of the gear ratio are calculated using the following equations.
Reference average of gear ratio after integration Xt = (Xp × m + X × n) / (m + n) (1)
Standard standard deviation St of gear ratio after integration
= √ [{Sp ² × (m−1) + S ² × (n−1)
+ M × (Xp−Xt) ² + n × (X−Xt) ² } / (m + n−1)] (2)
Where Xp is the current average, Sp is the current standard deviation, m is a predetermined number, X is the reference average at the current gear stage Hp, S is the reference standard deviation at the current gear stage Hp, and n is the number of samples at the current gear stage Hp. .

  Using the above formulas (1) and (2), the standard average Xt of the gear ratio and the standard standard deviation St of the gear ratio after integration are calculated as new standard average X and standard standard deviation S, respectively. n, the reference maximum gear ratio Gmax, and the reference minimum gear ratio Gmin are also updated, and then shift speed information J corresponding to the current shift speed Hp is generated and stored in the EEPROM 10d as shift speed determination reference information D1. Then, the process proceeds to step S210.

  In step S200, new shift speed information J is added to the shift speed determination criterion information D1. Specifically, the current average Xp and the current standard deviation Sp are the reference average X and the standard standard deviation S, respectively, the predetermined number m is the sample number n, and the reference maximum gear ratio is calculated from the standard average X and the standard standard deviation S. Gmax and the reference minimum gear ratio Gmin are calculated, and gear position information J is newly generated. Then, the newly generated shift speed information J is inserted into an appropriate address so that the reference averages X of the shift speed determination reference information D1 are arranged in ascending order.

  In step S210, the shift speed information Jp related to the current shift speed Hp, the shift speed information Ju related to the shift speed Hu that is one higher than the current shift speed Hp, and the shift that is one lower than the current shift speed Hp are transmitted via the communication interface. Shift speed information Jd related to the shift speed Hd is output to the shift speed switching instruction device 3. And the process of this flowchart is complete | finished.

  Step S110 described above corresponds to the traveling state information detection means 10a1 and accelerator opening degree detection means 10a6 in the claims shown in FIG. 1, and step S120 corresponds to the gear ratio calculation means 10a2 in the claims. Step S130 corresponds to the running state determination means 10a7 in the claims, steps S140 and S170 correspond to the gear ratio information calculation means 10a3 in the claims, and step S180 corresponds to the gear position determination means 10a4 in the claims. Step S190 corresponds to the gear ratio information integration unit 10a5 in the claims.

  Further, step S110 described above corresponds to the running state information detection step in the claims, step S120 corresponds to the gear ratio calculation step in the claims, and steps S140 and S170 correspond to the gear ratio information in the claims. This corresponds to the calculation step, and step S180 corresponds to the shift speed determination step in the claims.

  The gear position switching instruction device 3 estimates the estimated fuel consumption when the current gear position Hp determined by the gear position determination device 2 is switched to the gear position Hu that is one level higher, and the gear stage Hd that is one level lower than the estimated fuel consumption amount. The estimated fuel consumption when switching to, respectively, is calculated and compared with the current fuel consumption obtained from the accelerator opening, and if any estimated fuel consumption is less than the current fuel consumption This is a device for instructing the driver to switch to the gear position corresponding to the smaller one.

  The shift speed switching instruction device 3 includes a microcomputer (not shown) and a known liquid crystal display (not shown) connected to the microcomputer and instructing the driver to switch the shift speed.

  The microcomputer provided in the gear position switching instruction device 3 includes an input interface, and the vehicle speed pulse P1, the rotation speed pulse P2, and the accelerator opening signal S1 are input to the interface unit. In addition, this microcomputer includes a communication interface, and the communication interface is connected to the shift speed determination device 2, and the shift speed information Jp, Ju, Jd output from the shift speed determination device 2 is input. The The microcomputer has an output interface and is connected to the liquid crystal display described above.

  This microcomputer performs the following speed change instruction process. That is, the microcomputer calculates the current speed Vp (km / h), the current engine speed Np (rpm), the current accelerator opening βp (%) from the vehicle speed pulse P1, the rotation speed pulse P2, and the accelerator opening signal S1. ) Is detected. Then, a load coefficient γp (= βp ÷ Np) is calculated based on the current engine speed Np and the current accelerator opening βp, and a current fuel consumption αp is calculated based on the current accelerator opening βp. Then, the current gear ratio Gp of the current gear stage Hp, the gear ratio Gu of the upper gear stage Hu, and the gear ratio Gd of the lower gear stage Hd are obtained from the gear stage information Jp, Ju, Jd. The input data set I1 = [Gu, Vp, γp], I2 = [Gd, Vp, γp], I3 = [Gp, Vp, γp] associated with the calculated values is generated. The gear ratio Gp, the gear ratio Gu, and the gear ratio Gd described above are reference averages X in the gear position information Jp, Ju, and Jd, respectively.

  This microcomputer constitutes the fuzzified neuro described above, and when the input data sets I1, I2, and I3 are input, the estimated fuel consumptions α1, α2, and α3 corresponding to these are inferred. Then, the microcomputer compares the estimated fuel consumption αmin that is the smallest of the estimated α1, α2, and α3 with the current fuel consumption α.

  When the minimum estimated fuel consumption amount αmin = α1 and the current fuel consumption amount αp> αmin = α1, the microcomputer has an input data set I1 when the minimum estimated fuel consumption amount αmin is inferred. The gear ratio Gu is determined to be a gear ratio that is one higher than the current gear ratio Gp, and “UP” characters that prompt the driver to switch to the next higher gear position are displayed on the liquid crystal display. Then, the gear position switching instruction process is repeated again.

  Further, when the minimum estimated fuel consumption amount αmin = α2 and the current fuel consumption amount αp> αmin = α2, the microcomputer uses the input data set I2 when the minimum estimated fuel consumption amount αmin is inferred. The middle gear ratio Gd is determined to be one gear ratio lower than the current gear ratio Gp, and “DOWN” is displayed on the liquid crystal display to prompt the driver to switch to the next lower gear. . Then, the gear position switching instruction process is repeated again.

  Further, when the minimum estimated fuel consumption amount αmin = α3 and the current fuel consumption amount αp> αmin = α3, the microcomputer uses the input data set I3 when the minimum estimated fuel consumption amount αmin is inferred. The intermediate gear ratio Gp is determined to be the same as the current gear ratio Gp, and the speed change instruction process is repeated again without displaying on the liquid crystal display prompting the driver to change the speed.

  Note that the fuzzy neuro in the gear position change instruction device 3 is the same as that disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-46149 (Patent Document 1) previously proposed by the present inventors. It is not detailed here. In this embodiment, the fuzzy neuro is used to calculate the estimated fuel consumption. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other calculation methods such as using a known neuro network or a fuel consumption data table may be used.

  The driving assistance device 1 includes the above-described shift speed determination device 2 and the shift speed switching instruction device 3 described above. The driving support device 1 detects a running gear ratio (that is, the current gear ratio Gp) by detecting the running state information of the speed, the engine speed, and the accelerator opening while the vehicle is running by the shift speed determining device 2. ) Is calculated from the current gear ratio Gp, and the current gear stage (that is, the current gear stage Hp) is determined, and the current gear position determined by the gear position determining device 2 is determined by the gear position switching instruction device 3. The estimated fuel consumption when switching from the gear stage Hp to the next higher gear stage Hu and the next lower gear stage Hd is calculated, respectively, and compared with the fuel consumption amount during traveling obtained from the accelerator opening described above. If the estimated fuel consumption is smaller, the driver is instructed to switch the gear position.

  Next, an example of the shift speed determination operation in the shift speed determination device 2 will be described.

  The shift speed determination device 2 detects the current speed Vp, the current engine speed Np, and the current accelerator opening βp when the shift speed is constant (S110), and calculates the current gear ratio Gp (S120). A predetermined number m (for example, 4) is accumulated for the current gear ratio Gp (S130, S140). When the gear position is switched during the accumulation, all accumulated current gear ratios Gp are discarded (S150), and accumulation is started again. When the current gear ratio Gp is accumulated by a predetermined number m, the current average Xp and the current standard deviation Sp of the current gear ratio Gp are calculated (S170). Further, the current maximum gear ratio Gmaxp and the current minimum gear ratio Gminp of the current gear ratio Gp are also calculated.

  Then, the reference maximum gear ratio Gmax and the reference minimum gear ratio Gmin of the shift speed (for example, the fifth speed in FIG. 4) having the largest reference average X of the shift speed determination reference information D1 stored in the EEPROM 10d are acquired. It is determined whether the current maximum gear ratio Gmaxp or the current minimum gear ratio Gminp is included between the reference maximum gear ratio Gmax and the reference minimum gear ratio Gmin. If not included, the determination is sequentially advanced to the gear position having the next largest reference average X (for example, the fourth speed in FIG. 4) (S180).

  Then, when it is determined that the current maximum gear ratio Gmaxp or the current minimum gear ratio Gminp is included between the reference maximum gear ratio Gmax and the reference minimum gear ratio Gmin, the gear stage to which the reference maximum gear ratio Gmax corresponds is determined. It is determined that the current gear stage Hp. Then, using the above-described equations (1) and (2), the current average Xp and the current standard deviation Sp are integrated into the standard average X and the standard standard deviation S at the gear position determined as the current gear stage Hp, respectively. The reference average X and the reference standard deviation S are updated, and the sample number n, the reference maximum gear ratio Gmax, and the reference minimum gear ratio Gmin are also updated (S190). Then, the shift speed information Jp corresponding to the current shift speed Hp, the shift speed information Ju corresponding to the shift speed Hu one level higher than the current shift speed Hp, and the shift speed corresponding to the shift speed Hd one level lower than the current shift speed Hp. The stage information Jd is output to the gear stage switching instruction device 3 (S210).

  Further, it is determined that the current maximum gear ratio Gmaxp or the current minimum gear ratio Gminp is not included between the reference maximum gear ratio Gmax and the reference minimum gear ratio Gmin in all the shift speeds of the shift speed determination reference information D1. Assuming that the gear ratio corresponding to the new shift speed is detected, the shift speed information J is generated with the current average Xp and the current standard deviation Sp as the reference average X and the reference standard deviation S, respectively. The sample number n, the reference maximum gear ratio Gmax, and the reference minimum gear ratio Gmin are added to the shift speed information J so that the reference average X of the shift speed determination reference information D1 is arranged in ascending order. Insert in an appropriate place (S200). Specifically, for example, when the gear position determination reference information D1 is in the state of FIG. 4 and the current average Xp 0.050 and the current standard deviation Sp are 0.001, the current maximum gear ratio Gmaxp is 0.053. Since the current minimum gear ratio Gminp is 0.047 and is not included in any of the shift speeds, the third and subsequent speeds in FIG. 4 are shifted one by one to the larger address, and the above-described current average Xp, current standard The deviation Sp, the current maximum gear ratio Gmaxp, the current minimum gear ratio Gminp, and the predetermined number m (that is, the number of samples n) are newly stored as shift speed information J corresponding to the third shift speed.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the current average Xp and the current standard deviation Sp in the current gear ratio Gp are compared with the reference average X and the standard standard deviation S stored in the EEPROM 10d, so that the current gear stage that is running is the current gear stage. Since the shift speed Hp is determined, the current shift speed Hp can be determined by simple comparison of numerical values without performing complicated processing. Therefore, the determination of the current shift speed Hp is simplified and the determination is made. This can be performed at high speed, and the program size for determining the current gear stage Hp can be reduced. Further, since the reference average X and the reference standard deviation S are used as the reference for determining the current shift speed Hp, the shift speed determination reference information D1 that is the reference for determining the current shift speed Hp stored in the EEPROM 10d is reduced. Therefore, the storage capacity of the EEPROM 10d can be reduced.

  Further, when the current shift speed Hp is determined, the reference average X and reference standard deviation S stored in the EEPROM 10d corresponding to the current shift speed Hp, and the current average Xp and current standard deviation Sp are integrated. Since the EEPROM 10d stores the reference average X and the reference standard deviation S corresponding to the current gear stage Hp, the current average Xp and the current standard deviation Sp are sequentially fetched to update the reference average X and the reference standard deviation S. Therefore, it is possible to obtain information (that is, shift speed determination reference information D1) that serves as a determination criterion for each shift speed that is adapted to the current state of the vehicle, and therefore, an automobile that changes depending on the load amount of the load, deterioration with time, and the like. Therefore, it is not necessary to adjust the gear position determination reference information D1 in accordance with the state of the engine, and it is not necessary to prepare the gear position determination reference information D1 in advance. Strive to down, it can be mounted choosing a car improved versatility.

  In addition, when the current accelerator opening βp is equal to or greater than the accelerator opening β0 detected immediately before and the current speed Vp is equal to or higher than the speed V0 detected immediately before, the predetermined number m is continuously stored. Since the current average Xp and the current standard deviation Sp are calculated based on the current gear ratio Gp, when the accelerator is not returned and the speed is not reduced, the gear position remains the same (that is, is not switched). Therefore, it is possible to calculate the current average Xp and the current standard deviation Sp at the same gear position, and therefore the accuracy of the current average Xp and the current standard deviation Sp can be improved. Therefore, it is possible to improve the accuracy of determination of the current gear stage Hp.

  The inventors of the present invention have described the shift speed determination apparatus provided in the conventional driving support apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 and the shift speed determination apparatus according to the present invention described above, and the program size of the shift speed determination process in each apparatus. The actual processing speed was compared. The size of the shift speed determination program was about 1 MByte in the conventional shift speed determination apparatus, but was about 20 kByte in the shift speed determination apparatus according to the present invention, and could be reduced to about 1/50. Further, with regard to the processing speed of the shift speed determination process, it was confirmed that the shift speed determination device according to the present invention was about 10 times faster than the conventional shift speed determination device.

  In the present embodiment, the current average Xp and the current standard deviation Sp are sequentially captured while the vehicle is running, and the reference average X and the standard standard deviation S are updated. If there is no large fluctuation, the reference standard X and reference standard deviation S created in advance may be used for determining the gear position without updating.

  In the present embodiment, the current gear ratio is accumulated and the current average Xp and the current standard deviation Sp are calculated when the current gear stage Hp is constant. In order to make the shift speed determination process easier, the current gear ratio may be accumulated without determining that the current shift speed Hp is constant, and the current average Xp and the original standard deviation Sp may be calculated.

  In the present embodiment, the gear position determination device 2 is incorporated in the driving support device 1, but is not limited to this, for example, a digital tachograph that monitors the running state of an automobile, and the speed and engine speed. As long as the gear ratio can be determined from any device, it can be incorporated into any device.

  In addition, embodiment mentioned above only showed the typical form of this invention, and this invention is not limited to embodiment. That is, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

It is a basic lineblock diagram of the gear stage judging device of the present invention. It is a lineblock diagram of a driving support device provided with a gear stage judging device showing one embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram of the gear stage determination apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the gear stage determination reference | standard information memorize | stored in EEPROM of FIG. It is a figure which shows the outline of the normal distribution curve of the gear ratio in a gear stage. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the gear stage determination process in CPU with which the gear stage determination apparatus of this invention is provided. It is a figure which shows the outline of a normal distribution curve when the present gear ratio width and the reference | standard gear ratio width overlap. It is a figure which shows the outline of a normal distribution curve when the current gear ratio width and the reference gear ratio width do not overlap.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Driving assistance apparatus 2 Shift speed determination apparatus 3 Shift speed switching instruction apparatus 10a CPU
10d EEPROM (storage means)
10a1 Traveling state information detecting means (CPU)
10a2 Gear ratio calculation means (CPU)
10a3 Gear ratio information calculation means (CPU)
10a4 Shift speed determining means (CPU)
10a5 Gear ratio information integration means (CPU)
10a6 Accelerator opening detection means (CPU)
10a7 Traveling state determining means (CPU)
Gp Current gear ratio (Gear ratio during travel)
Xp Current average (average of gear ratio during travel)
Sp Current standard deviation (standard deviation of the running gear ratio)
Hp Current gear position (shifting gear during travel)
X standard mean S standard standard deviation

Claims (6)

In a shift stage determination device for an automobile that travels by switching a plurality of shift stages included in a transmission,
Storage means for storing a reference average of the gear ratio for each shift stage and a reference standard deviation of the gear ratio;
Traveling state information detecting means for detecting the speed and engine speed during traveling of the automobile;
Gear ratio calculating means for calculating the gear ratio during traveling from the speed detected by the traveling state information detecting means and the engine speed;
A predetermined number of the gear ratios during traveling calculated by the gear ratio calculating means are accumulated, and an average of the gear ratios during traveling and a standard deviation of the gear ratios are calculated based on the accumulated predetermined number of the gear ratios. Gear ratio information calculating means;
The average of the running gear ratio and the standard deviation of the gear ratio calculated by the gear ratio information calculating means are the reference average of the gear ratio and the reference of the gear ratio stored in the storage means. And a shift speed determination means for determining the shift speed during traveling in comparison with a standard deviation. A range defined by the average of the running gear ratios calculated by the gear ratio information calculating unit and the standard deviation of the gear ratios, and the gear stored in the storage unit; When the reference average of the ratio and the range defined by the reference standard deviation of the gear ratio overlap, it is determined that the shift stage being driven is a shift stage corresponding to the reference average and the reference standard deviation The gear position determination device according to claim 1, wherein the gear position determination device is configured as described above. When the shift stage determining means determines the running gear stage, the reference average of the gear ratio and the reference standard of the gear ratio stored in the storage means corresponding to the running gear stage The reference of the gear ratio corresponding to the gear stage during traveling is integrated by integrating the deviation and the average of the gear ratio during traveling and the standard deviation of the gear ratio calculated by the gear ratio information calculating means. 3. The gear position determination device according to claim 1, further comprising gear ratio information integration means for storing the average and the reference standard deviation of the gear ratio in the storage means. Accelerator opening detection means for detecting the accelerator opening during travel;
The accelerator opening detected by the accelerator opening detecting means is equal to or greater than the accelerator opening detected immediately before, and the speed detected by the traveling state information detecting means is detected immediately before. Traveling state determining means for determining that the speed is equal to or higher than the speed,
The gear ratio information calculating means is configured such that the accelerator opening detected by the accelerator opening detecting means is equal to or more than the accelerator opening detected immediately before, and the running state information is detected by the running state determining means. The gear ratio during running based on a predetermined number of gear ratios continuously accumulated when it is determined that the speed detected by the detection means is equal to or greater than the speed detected immediately before. The gear position determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the gear position determination unit is a unit that calculates the average and the standard deviation of the gear ratio. A method for determining a shift stage of an automobile that travels by switching a plurality of shift stages included in a transmission,
A driving state information detecting step for detecting a speed and an engine speed during driving of the automobile;
A gear ratio calculating step of calculating a gear ratio during traveling from the speed detected in the traveling state information detecting step and the engine speed;
A predetermined number of the gear ratios during traveling calculated in the gear ratio calculating step are accumulated, and an average of the gear ratios during traveling and a standard deviation of the gear ratios are calculated based on the accumulated predetermined number of the gear ratios. A gear ratio information calculation step;
The average of the running gear ratio and the standard deviation of the gear ratio calculated in the gear ratio information calculating step are set as the reference average of the gear ratio and the reference of the gear ratio for each predetermined gear position. A shift speed determination method, comprising: a shift speed determination process for sequentially determining the shift speed during traveling in comparison with a standard deviation. A computer of a shift stage determination device for an automobile that travels by switching a plurality of shift stages included in the transmission,
Traveling state information detecting means for detecting the speed and engine speed while the vehicle is traveling;
Gear ratio calculating means for calculating the gear ratio during traveling from the speed detected by the traveling state information detecting means and the engine speed;
A predetermined number of the gear ratios during traveling calculated by the gear ratio calculating means are accumulated, and an average of the gear ratios during traveling and a standard deviation of the gear ratios are calculated based on the accumulated predetermined number of the gear ratios. Gear ratio information calculation means, and
The average of the gear ratio during traveling and the standard deviation of the gear ratio calculated by the gear ratio information calculation means are set as the reference average of the gear ratio for each shift stage and the reference standard of the gear ratio. A shift speed determination program that functions as a shift speed determination means that checks the shift speed while checking with a deviation.

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