JP5232539B2 - Accelerator pedal control device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an accelerator pedal control device.

Conventionally, for example, when an accelerator pedal is depressed by a driver during automatic traveling control of the vehicle, and the accelerator pedal is operated by a pedaling force exceeding a stepping reaction force previously applied to the accelerator pedal, the driver has an intention to accelerate. There is known a control device that determines that the operation is being performed (for example, see Patent Document 1).
JP 2000-54860 A

By the way, according to the control device according to the above prior art, only the predetermined reaction force set in advance at the predetermined stroke position set in advance is applied to the accelerator pedal. There is a possibility that it cannot be reflected.
In other words, since the accelerator pedal depressing operation with or without the intention to accelerate differs for each driver, the predetermined stroke position and the predetermined reaction force for causing the accelerator pedal to function as a footrest are fixed values. The accelerator pedal can easily be depressed beyond the predetermined stroke position even when there is no intention to accelerate, or the accelerator pedal can be depressed beyond the predetermined stroke position when there is an intention to accelerate. Therefore, there is a possibility that a problem arises in that the pedal effort required for this is excessive and the driver's intention to accelerate cannot be properly reflected in the running behavior of the vehicle.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an accelerator pedal control device capable of appropriately reflecting the intention of acceleration for each driver in the traveling behavior of the vehicle.

In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the accelerator pedal control device according to the first aspect of the present invention is an accelerator pedal control device that is mounted on a vehicle capable of automatic traveling and applies a reaction force to the accelerator pedal. When a pedal stroke position shallower than a predetermined pedal stroke position (for example, the set maximum threshold position Ptmax in the embodiment) is maintained for a predetermined time by the driver's stepping operation, the pedal stroke position is changed. Footrest position setting means (for example, step S04 and step S14 in the embodiment) set as the footrest position (for example, the footrest position Pr in the embodiment) and the driver's stepping operation exceeding the footrest position are detected. Acceleration control means that permits the driver to accelerate the vehicle A speed control unit 14) in a pedal force detection means for detecting a depression force by a depressing operation of the accelerator pedal by the driver (e.g., an accelerator pedal depression force sensor in the embodiment), the accelerator pedal at the footrest position On the other hand, an acceleration intention determination means (for example, step S16 in the embodiment) for determining whether or not the driver has an acceleration intention when an increase in the pedal force detected by the pedal force detection means is detected; The acceleration intention determining means determines that the driver's intention to accelerate does not exist, and the pedal force detected by the pedal force detecting means when the pedal stroke position is maintained without changing over a predetermined time, Reaction force setting means for newly setting the maximum reaction force at the footrest position of the accelerator pedal .

Further, the accelerator pedal control apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention, the reaction force until the footrest position from the pedal stroke open position of the accelerator pedal, the reaction force is increasing tendency with the increase of the pedal stroke position Accelerator pedal reaction force reducing means (for example, step S05 in the embodiment) for reducing the reaction force from the reaction force of the normal pedal stroke characteristic that changes to

Further, in the accelerator pedal control device according to the third aspect of the present invention, the maximum reaction force of the accelerator pedal at the footrest position is changed from the normal reaction force that increases as the pedal stroke position increases. Accelerator pedal reaction force increasing means (for example, step S15, step S18 in the embodiment) for increasing the reaction force of the pedal stroke characteristic is provided.

According to the accelerator pedal control device according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the footrest position is set according to the driver's stepping operation, the driver's intention to accelerate is determined according to the accelerator pedal operation that is different for each driver. It can be reflected appropriately in the behavior.
Furthermore, the pedal force required to depress the accelerator pedal beyond the footrest position in the presence of acceleration intention is prevented, preventing the accelerator pedal from being easily depressed beyond the footrest position in the absence of acceleration intention. Can be prevented, and the driver's intention to accelerate can be appropriately reflected in the driving behavior of the vehicle.

  Furthermore, according to the accelerator pedal control device according to the second aspect of the present invention, the driver can accurately experience the pedal stroke position at which the vehicle can be accelerated, and smooth accelerator pedal operation during acceleration can be achieved. Can be urged.

  Furthermore, according to the accelerator pedal control apparatus which concerns on the 3rd aspect of this invention, according to driver | operator's stepping operation, an accelerator pedal can be functioned appropriately as a footrest.

Hereinafter, an accelerator pedal control device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, for example, the accelerator pedal control apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment transmits a driving force of the internal combustion engine (E) to a driving wheel (not shown) of the vehicle via a transmission (T / M). The external sensor 11, the vehicle state sensor 12, the operation switch 13, the speed control device 14, the speed change control device 15, the internal combustion engine control device 16, the motor control device 17, and the pedal reaction force motor 18 are mounted. And is configured.

The external sensor 11 includes a beam scan type radar 21 and a radar control unit 22 using electromagnetic waves such as millimeter waves, for example.
For example, the radar control unit 22 divides the detection target area set in front of the traveling direction of the host vehicle into a plurality of areas in the angular direction, and transmits each electromagnetic wave transmission signal so as to scan each area. A reflection signal generated by reflecting each transmission signal by an object (for example, a preceding vehicle) outside the host vehicle is received and output to the speed control device 14.

  The vehicle state sensor 12 includes, for example, a speed sensor 31 that detects the speed (vehicle speed) of the host vehicle, and a brake pedal sensor 32 that detects whether or not the driver depresses the brake pedal and an operation amount as vehicle information of the host vehicle. And an accelerator pedal opening sensor 33 for detecting an operation amount (accelerator opening) of the accelerator pedal by the driver, and a torque sensor 35 for detecting a torque acting on the accelerator pedal AP by the driver's depression. Has been.

For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the lower part of the accelerator pedal AP is pivotally attached to the bottom of the vehicle body, and the accelerator pedal AP is placed against the surface pressed by the driver's foot. One end of an accelerator rod AR is connected to the back surface, and the upper part of the accelerator pedal AP can be tilted. The accelerator rod AR is fixed to the rotating shaft of the pedal reaction force motor 18, and an accelerator wire AW is connected to the other end of the accelerator rod AR.
When the driver depresses the accelerator pedal AP, the upper portion of the accelerator pedal AP tilts, and when one end and the other end of the accelerator rod AR rotate around the rotation axis, the accelerator wire AW is pulled out from the wire holding portion (not shown), The opening degree of a throttle valve (not shown) of the internal combustion engine (E) is operated.
Further, the rotational driving force is transmitted to the accelerator rod AR by the rotational driving of the pedal reaction force motor 18, so that a pedal reaction force that resists the depression of the accelerator pedal AP by the driver is applied to the accelerator pedal AP via the accelerator rod AR. It has come to be.

  In this embodiment, the throttle valve is operated by the accelerator wire AW. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The throttle valve opening (throttle opening) is electronically controlled by DBW (Drive By Wire). May be. In this DBW, the rotation angle or stroke amount of the accelerator pedal AP is electrically detected by a sensor (not shown) or the like, and when the electric signal of this detection result is input to the processing device (not shown), the processing device A control current is supplied to an electromagnetic actuator (for example, a throttle valve drive motor) that drives the valve, and the throttle valve is electronically controlled so that the valve opening degree is in accordance with the rotation angle or stroke amount of the accelerator pedal AP.

  The operation switch 13 outputs a command signal instructing execution and stop of either the follow-up running following the preceding vehicle or the constant speed running at the target speed as the automatic running of the vehicle according to the input operation of the operator.

The speed control device 14 performs either follow-up traveling or constant-speed traveling according to a command signal output from the operation switch 13, a signal output from the external sensor 11, and a signal output from the vehicle state sensor 12. A command signal is output to the shift control device 15 and the internal combustion engine control device 16 in order to control the speed in automatic traveling by either of them.
The transmission control device 15 controls the transmission operation of the transmission (T / M) according to the command signal output from the speed control device 14.
The internal combustion engine control device 16 controls the operation of the internal combustion engine (E) according to the command signal output from the speed control device 14.

The motor control device 17 responds to a signal output from the vehicle state sensor 12 and a command signal output from the operation switch 13 (that is, a command signal instructing execution of either follow-up traveling or constant speed traveling). The pedal reaction force motor 18 is applied to control the pedal reaction force against the accelerator pedal against the driver's depression of the accelerator pedal.
The motor control device 17 preliminarily sets the predetermined pedal stroke position of the accelerator pedal as the set maximum threshold position Ptmax and the set minimum threshold position Ptmin, and is shallower than the set maximum threshold position Ptmax by the driver's stepping operation, and the set minimum threshold position Ptmin. When a certain deeper pedal stroke position is maintained for a predetermined time, the certain pedal stroke position is set as the footrest position Pr.
The set maximum threshold position Ptmax is a stroke position sufficient for the accelerator pedal to be depressed when the driver intends to accelerate the vehicle (for example, a stroke position at which the throttle opening is about ¼ with respect to the fully opened throttle opening). Etc.). The set minimum threshold position Ptmin is, for example, a stroke position corresponding to the threshold position of the dead zone area of the accelerator pedal.
Then, the footrest position Pr is reduced by reducing the pedal reaction force at the footrest position Pr from the pedal stroke release position (that is, the position at which the pedal stroke becomes zero) than the normal pedal reaction force according to a predetermined normal pedal stroke characteristic. Let the accelerator pedal function as a footrest. For example, in FIG. 3, the pedal reaction force from the pedal stroke release position to the footrest position Pr is a value equal to or less than a predetermined pedal reaction force α that is smaller than the normal pedal reaction force β at the footrest position Pr corresponding to the normal pedal stroke characteristics. Is set.

As a result, the pedal stroke position from the pedal stroke opening position to the footrest position Pr during automatic driving of the vehicle does not contribute to the change in the throttle opening, so to speak, is a dead zone region. When a pedaling force exceeding the normal pedal reaction force β is input by the driver's depression of the accelerator pedal, the pedal stroke position of the accelerator pedal starts to change from the footrest position Pr toward the fully open position Pf, and the vehicle acceleration (manual Acceleration) is performed.
The predetermined set maximum threshold position Ptmax is set so as to secure the pedal stroke required for the desired manual acceleration by the driver as described above.

  The accelerator pedal control device 10 according to the present embodiment has the above-described configuration. Next, the operation of the accelerator pedal control device 10 will be described.

First, for example, in step S01 shown in FIG. 4, it is determined whether or not the execution of automatic traveling of the vehicle is instructed by a command signal output from the operation switch 13.
If this determination is “NO”, the flow proceeds to return, and the processing does not proceed.
On the other hand, if this determination is “YES”, the flow proceeds to step S 02.
In step S02, the pedal stroke position of the accelerator pedal is acquired.
In step S03, it is determined whether or not the pedal stroke position is maintained without changing over a predetermined time.
If this determination is “NO”, the flow proceeds to the end, and the process ends.
On the other hand, if this determination is “YES”, the flow proceeds to step S 04.
In step S04, the current pedal stroke position is set as the footrest position Pr.
In step S05, the pedal reaction force from the pedal stroke release position to the footrest position Pr is reduced below the normal pedal reaction force according to a predetermined normal pedal stroke characteristic, the process proceeds to the end, and the process ends.

As described above, according to the accelerator pedal control device 10 according to the present embodiment, since the footrest position Pr is set according to the driver's stepping operation, the driver's operation according to a different accelerator pedal operation for each driver. Acceleration intention can be appropriately reflected in vehicle behavior.
Furthermore, the pedal stroke position (that is, the pedal stroke position from the footrest position Pr to the fully open position Pf) at which the vehicle can be manually accelerated can be accurately sensed by the driver, and smooth accelerator pedal operation during acceleration can be performed. Can be encouraged.

In the above-described embodiment, the footrest position Pr is set according to the driver's stepping operation. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and further, the footrest reaction force at the footrest position Pr according to the driver's stepping operation. May be set.
In this modification, the accelerator pedal control device 10 includes an accelerator pedal depression force sensor that detects a depression force that acts on the accelerator pedal when the driver depresses. For example, as shown in FIG. The predetermined pedal stroke position is set to the set maximum threshold position Ptmax and the set minimum threshold position Ptmin, and a constant pedal stroke position that is shallower than the set maximum threshold position Ptmax and deeper than the set minimum threshold position Ptmin is predetermined by the driver's stepping operation. When maintained over time, this fixed pedal stroke position is set as the footrest position Pr.
Then, the pedal reaction force at the footrest position Pr is increased more than the normal pedal reaction force according to a predetermined normal pedal stroke characteristic. The pedal reaction force at the footrest position Pr (that is, the footrest reaction force) is set to the pedal force when the driver depresses the accelerator pedal without the intention to accelerate at the footrest position Pr. For example, in FIG. 5, the pedal reaction force from the pedal stroke release position to the footrest position Pr is normally a pedal reaction force corresponding to the pedal stroke characteristics, and the pedal reaction force at the footrest position Pr has no intention of acceleration by the driver. The footrest reaction force β1 is larger than the normal pedal reaction force β0 set according to the depression operation of the accelerator pedal.
Note that the accelerator pedal depressing operation without the driver's intention to accelerate is, for example, although the pedal force is temporarily increased by depressing the accelerator pedal, but the pedal force by depressing the accelerator pedal is reduced before the vehicle actually starts acceleration. A series of operations are repeatedly executed.

In this modification, first, for example, in step S11 shown in FIG. 6, it is determined whether or not execution of automatic traveling of the vehicle is instructed by a command signal output from the operation switch 13.
If this determination is “NO”, the flow proceeds to return, and the processing does not proceed.
On the other hand, if this determination is “YES”, the flow proceeds to step S12.
In step S12, the pedal stroke position of the accelerator pedal is acquired.
In step S13, it is determined whether or not the pedal stroke position is maintained without changing over a predetermined time.
If this determination is “NO”, the flow proceeds to the end, and the process ends.
On the other hand, if the determination is “YES”, the flow proceeds to step S14.
In step S14, the current pedal stroke position is set as the footrest position Pr.

In step S15, the pedal reaction force at the footrest position Pr is increased more than the normal pedal reaction force according to a predetermined normal pedal stroke characteristic.
In step S16, it is determined whether or not the driver has depressed the accelerator pedal with no intention to accelerate.
If this determination is “NO”, the flow proceeds to the end, and the process ends.
On the other hand, if the determination is “YES”, the flow proceeds to step S17.
Then, in step S17, the pedaling force in the depression operation of the accelerator pedal with no intention of acceleration by the driver is acquired.
In step S18, the acquired pedaling force is set as a footrest reaction force at the footrest position Pr, the process proceeds to the end, and the process ends.

  According to this modification, it is possible to prevent the accelerator pedal from being easily depressed beyond the footrest position Pr in a state where the driver does not have an intention to accelerate, and in a state where the driver has an intention to accelerate. It is possible to prevent the pedal effort required to depress the accelerator pedal beyond the footrest position Pr, and to appropriately reflect the driver's intention to accelerate the vehicle's running behavior.

  In the above-described embodiment, an accelerator pedal switch that detects the depression amount of the accelerator pedal may be provided, and the driver's intention to accelerate may be determined based on a signal output from the accelerator pedal switch. .

It is a block diagram of the accelerator pedal control apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram of the accelerator pedal and pedal reaction force motor which concern on embodiment of this invention. It is a graph which shows an example of the correspondence of the pedal stroke position and pedal reaction force which concern on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the accelerator pedal control apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a graph which shows an example of the correspondence of the pedal stroke position and pedal reaction force which concern on the modification of embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the accelerator pedal control apparatus which concerns on the modification of embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

10 accelerator pedal control device 14 speed control device (acceleration control means)
Step S04, Step S14 Footrest position setting means Step S05 Accelerator pedal reaction force reducing means Step S15, Step S18 Accelerator pedal reaction force increasing means Step S16 Acceleration intention determination means

Claims (3)

An accelerator pedal control device that is mounted on a vehicle capable of automatic driving and applies a reaction force to the accelerator pedal,
Footrest position setting means for setting the pedal stroke position as a footrest position when a pedal stroke position shallower than the predetermined pedal stroke position is maintained for a predetermined time by a driver's stepping operation;
An acceleration control means for allowing the driver to accelerate the vehicle when a stepping operation of the driver exceeding the footrest position is detected ;
Treading force detecting means for detecting a treading force by a depression operation of the accelerator pedal by a driver;
Acceleration intention determination means for determining whether or not there is an acceleration intention of the driver when an increase in the pedaling force detected by the pedal force detection means is detected with respect to the accelerator pedal at the footrest position;
The pedaling force detected by the pedaling force detection unit when the acceleration intention determination unit determines that the driver's intention to accelerate does not exist and the pedal stroke position is maintained without changing for a predetermined time is newly set. Reaction force setting means for setting as the maximum reaction force at the footrest position of the accelerator pedal,
An accelerator pedal control device comprising: Wherein the reaction force from the pedal stroke the open position of the accelerator pedal until the footrest position, the pedal stroke position of the with an increase the accelerator pedal reaction which reaction force is reduced from the reaction force of the normal pedal stroke characteristic that changes increasing tendency The accelerator pedal control device according to claim 1, further comprising force reducing means. Accelerator pedal reaction force increasing means for increasing the maximum reaction force of the accelerator pedal at the footrest position from a reaction force of a normal pedal stroke characteristic in which the reaction force changes in an increasing tendency as the pedal stroke position increases. The accelerator pedal control device according to claim 1, further comprising:

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