JP7660994B2 - Vehicle control device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle control device that has an answerback function that notifies the operation of multiple vehicle doors in a predetermined notification manner by a notification means, and is equipped with a customization means that allows a user to enable or disable the answerback function.

Conventionally, some vehicle control devices have an answerback function that notifies the user in a predetermined manner of the operation status of the vehicle door in response to a control signal wirelessly transmitted from a portable device carried by the user (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

The notification mode for this answerback function is generally to have the hazard lights flash or a buzzer sound when the driver's door or passenger door is locked or unlocked. In this case, the answerback function is shared by all applicable doors, so the notification mode is the same. However, if the answerback function can be customized by the user to be either "enabled" or "disabled," the answerback function will operate when it is set to "enabled" and will not operate when it is set to "disabled."

Furthermore, when the power sliding door or power back door is operated, the hazard lights may be turned on or a buzzer may sound to alert those in the vicinity. In this case, the same notification method as the answer back function described above may be used to alert those in the vicinity when the power sliding door or power back door is operated.

The reason why the answerback function can be customized by the user to be either "enabled" or "disabled" is that there is a need for users to be able to set the answerback mechanism to "disabled" when they feel annoyed by the hazard lights flashing or the buzzer sounding as a notification mode of the answerback function at night, especially late at night, and feel that this is a nuisance to their neighbors.

In addition, while the driver's door is locked and unlocked frequently, the power back door is opened and closed very infrequently. For this reason, for users who feel that it would be a nuisance to their neighbors if the answer-back function were to notify them every time the driver's door is locked or unlocked at night or late at night, the reality is that they are unlikely to feel that it would be a nuisance to their neighbors if the infrequent operation of the power back door were to be notified in the same manner as the answer-back function. For this reason, such users usually want to "disable" the answer-back function associated with locking and unlocking the driver's door at night or late at night to avoid causing a nuisance to their neighbors.

JP 2016-148146 A

However, further cost reductions are desired, taking into account the current state of usage patterns of users.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above problems, and aims to achieve both cost reduction and improved user convenience.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the vehicle control device of the present invention has an answerback function that notifies operations related to a plurality of vehicle doors in a predetermined notification manner by an alarm means, and is equipped with a customization means for a user to set the enabling and disabling of the answerback function. The predetermined notification manner of the answerback function is shared for notifying operations related to vehicle doors other than a specific vehicle door among the plurality of vehicle doors, and for notifying operations related to the specific vehicle door , and the alarm means is controlled and executed in the predetermined notification manner based on a customization setting value set by the customization means. The vehicle control device is characterized in that it is equipped with a detection means that detects an operation command related to the specific vehicle door by a user when the answerback function is disabled by the customization means, and a control means that enables the disabled answerback function and controls the alarm means to notify the operation of the specific vehicle door in the predetermined notification manner when the detection means detects an operation command for the specific vehicle door when the answerback function is disabled by the customization means.

According to this configuration, when one answerback function is shared for notifying the operation of doors other than a specific vehicle door among a plurality of vehicle doors, and for notifying the operation of the specific vehicle door, if the answerback function is disabled by the customization means and the detection means detects an operation command for the specific vehicle door, which is a power back door, the disabled answerback function is enabled, and the control means controls the notification means to notify the operation of the specific vehicle door in a predetermined notification manner, thereby preventing an increase in costs due to the complication of the processing program, as would occur if a dedicated answerback function were provided for a specific vehicle door, and the inexpensive and simple configuration prevents the risk of a person bumping into the specific vehicle door as it begins to operate.

According to the present invention, when a specified notification mode of the answerback function is shared for notifying operations related to vehicle doors other than a specific vehicle door among a plurality of vehicle doors , and for notifying operations related to the specific vehicle door, when the answerback function is disabled by the customization means and an operation command for the specific vehicle door is detected by the detection means, the disabled answerback function is enabled, and the control means controls the notification means to notify the operation of the specific vehicle door in a specified notification mode, thereby preventing an increase in costs due to the complexity of the processing program, as would occur if a dedicated answerback function were provided for a specific vehicle door, and the inexpensive and simple configuration makes it possible to prevent the risk of a person bumping into a specific vehicle door as it begins to operate.

1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a vehicle control device according to the present invention; FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of FIG. 1; 2 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of FIG. 1 .

One embodiment of a vehicle control device according to the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 3.

The vehicle control device in this embodiment is a vehicle equipped with a power tailgate that can be opened and closed electrically, and an answerback function that notifies the driver's door, passenger door, power sliding door next to the rear seat, and the locking/unlocking and automatic opening and closing of the power tailgate in the same notification manner by means of notification means such as flashing hazard lights and sounding a buzzer, and the answerback function can be customized by the user to be "enabled /disabled ."The vehicle is equipped with a vehicle that shares the same notification manner as the answerback function as the notification manner for such attention by flashing hazard lights and sounding a buzzer to alert the driver when a specific vehicle door such as the power tailgate is automatically opened or closed.

At this time, it is conceivable to set the notification mode for the automatic opening and closing operation of a specific vehicle door, such as a power back door, separately from that for other vehicle doors. However, to execute the same type of answerback function, processing and judgment functions such as setting a separate customization ID would be required, which would complicate the processing program and increase costs. Therefore, as described above, there is an advantage in sharing the notification mode of the answerback function for the automatic opening and closing operation of a specific vehicle door, such as a power back door.

In vehicles in which the notification mode is shared in this manner, the user can set the answerback function to "enabled or disabled, " so that, in principle, when the answerback function is customized to be set to "enabled," a notification will be issued in a specified notification mode of the answerback function, and when it is set to "disabled," the notification will not be issued in a specified notification mode of the answerback function, and the automatic opening and closing operation of a specific vehicle door, the power tailgate, will not be notified.

However, simply sharing the notification mode of the answerback function with the notification mode during the automatic opening and closing operation of a specific vehicle door, such as the power tailgate, means that if, for example, one of the multiple family members using the vehicle has a hearing-impaired member, and the answerback function is "disabled," the hearing-impaired member standing near the power tailgate when it opens will not know that the power tailgate has started to operate, and will bump into the door without noticing that it is opening and closing. This is a risk that even people other than those with hearing impairments, such as the elderly or children, may bump into the tailgate. Eliminating such inconveniences is a feature of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle control device 1 in this embodiment includes a body ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 2. The body ECU 2 is powered by a battery 3, receives signals from a power switch 4 such as an IG switch and an ACC switch, receives a request switch signal 5 based on the operation of a door switch for locking and unlocking the doors located near the door handle, receives a wireless lock/unlock signal 6 for locking and unlocking all the doors by operating a key on a portable device (not shown) carried by the user, receives an automatic back door opening signal/automatic closing signal by the operation of a back door opener switch 7 located on the power back door, and receives door lock/unlock signals 8 detected by the detection sensors located on each door. If the signal from the power switch 4 is an IG switch on signal, the body ECU 2 determines that the vehicle is moving at a "vehicle speed", and if the signal from the power switch 4 is an ACC switch on signal, the body ECU 2 determines that the vehicle is not moving at a "vehicle speed" due to the vehicle being stopped.

Furthermore, the body ECU 2 is adapted to transmit and receive data to and from the power back door ECU (hereinafter referred to as PBD ECU) 9 and the meter ECU 10 via CAN (Controller Area Network) communication. For example, when a user makes a certain movement such as inserting the toes of the user's foot under the rear of the vehicle, a kick sensor connected to the PBD ECU 9 reacts to the movement and operates, outputting a detection signal for automatically opening and closing the power back door, and a kick sensor signal corresponding to the detection signal is sent from the PBD ECU 9 to the CAN communication bus 11 and received by the body ECU 2, and the body ECU 2 controls the automatic opening and closing of the power back door. Here, the detection of the automatic opening and closing signals of the back door based on the operation of the back door opener switch 7 by the body ECU 2 and the detection function of the signals from the kick sensor and the PBD ECU 9 correspond to the "detection means" in the present invention.

On the other hand, the meter EUC 10 functions as a customization means for the user to set the answerback function, which notifies the operation of multiple vehicle doors in a predetermined notification manner, to "enable" or "disable", and stores customization setting values such as those shown in Fig. 2 in advance in the memory 10a, which is a storage means. That is, when the user operates the customization setting screen for the answerback function to be displayed on the meter consisting of an LCD, and the user operates the customization setting screen displayed on the meter to select "enable" or "disable" for the answerback function, with regard to the hazard lamps, which are the notification means, a customization setting signal for blinking the hazard lamps is generated if "enable" is selected, and a customization setting signal for deactivating the hazard lamps is generated if "disable" is selected, and with regard to the buzzer, which is the notification means, a customization setting signal for sounding the buzzer at a sound pressure level selected by the user from 1 to 6 is generated if "enable" is selected, and a customization setting signal for the buzzer sound pressure level is generated if "disable" is selected. These customization setting signals are then sent from the meter ECU 10 to the CAN communication bus 11, which is received by the body ECU 2, and the customization setting values based on the customization setting signals from the meter ECU 10 are stored in the memory 2a, which is the storage means of the body ECU 2.

When the user performs an unlock operation to unlock the door, the body ECU 2 receives a request switch signal 5 and a wireless lock signal 6 based on the unlock operation. The body ECU 2, which receives either of these signals, determines that there is a command to unlock the door and outputs a door unlock control signal 13 for unlocking to a door actuator not shown in the figure. When the user performs a lock operation to lock the door, the body ECU 2 receives a request switch signal 5 and a wireless unlock signal 6 based on the lock operation, just like the unlock operation. The body ECU 2, which receives either of these signals, determines that there is a command to lock the door and outputs a door lock control signal 14 for locking to the door actuator. When the body ECU 2 receives an automatic opening signal or automatic closing signal for the power back door due to the operation of the door opener switch 7 or a kick sensor signal for automatic opening or automatic closing of the power back door from the PBD ECU 9, it outputs an opening command signal or a closing command signal for automatic opening or automatic closing of the power back door, and the PBD ECU 9 receives this.

The body ECU 2 also outputs the door unlock control signal 13 and the door lock control signal 14, and at the same time executes an answerback function when the enable/disable of the customized setting value (see FIG. 2) stored in the memory is set to "enabled" based on the user's setting operation, blinking the hazard lamps 15 for a predetermined time at a predetermined cycle based on the customized setting value of "enabled" and sounding the buzzer 16 a predetermined number of times at a predetermined interval at the sound pressure level of the customized setting value of "enabled", thereby executing an alert in the alert mode of the answerback function. Note that this answerback function is not executed when the signal from the power switch 4 is an IG switch-on signal and it is determined that the vehicle is moving and there is vehicle speed, but is executed when the signal from the power switch 4 is an ACC switch-on signal and it is determined that the vehicle is stopped and there is no vehicle speed.

On the other hand, when the enable/disable of the customization setting stored in the memory is set to "disabled," the body ECU 2 does not issue a warning in the warning mode of the answerback function even if it outputs the door unlock control signal 13 and the door lock control signal 14, the hazard lamps 15 remain inactive, and the buzzer 16 does not sound.

Next, the most important feature of the present invention will be described. Let us assume that the power back door is a specific vehicle door among all the doors of the vehicle, and based on the setting operation by the user, the enable/disable of the customized setting value stored in the memory is set to "disabled" (the answerback function is disabled), and when the user detects an operation command for automatic opening/automatic closing of the power back door, the body ECU 2 enables the answerback function that is set to "disabled" and controls the hazard lamps 15 and buzzer 16, which are the notification means, to notify the operation of the power back door in the notification mode of the answerback function based on the customized setting value stored in the memory 2a at the same time as the power back door starts to automatically open and immediately after the power back door starts to automatically close.

This function of detecting the automatic opening/closing operation command for the power tailgate by the body ECU 2 corresponds to the "detection means" in this invention, and the function of notifying the operation of the power tailgate by enabling the notification mode in the answerback function that is set to "disabled" only for the operation of the power tailgate corresponds to the "control means" in this invention.

Next, the operation procedure of the body ECU 2 will be explained with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 3. In the following, "answer back" will be referred to as "AB" and "power back door" will be referred to as "PBD."

As shown in FIG. 3, when the AB (answer back) function is not activated and the alarm is in an inactive state, i.e., when neither the hazard lamps 15 nor the buzzer 16 are activated (step S1), the body ECU 2 judges whether the conditions for the AB function to be activated are met, i.e., whether the ACC switch-on signal of the power switch 4 is input and the vehicle speed is zero due to the vehicle being stopped (step S2). If the judgment result is NO, the process returns to step S1. If the judgment result is YES, the process judges whether the door lock/unlock operation by a portable device or the like has been detected (step S3).

If the result of the determination in step S3 is YES, it is determined whether or not the locking and unlocking of the doors in response to the locking and unlocking operations of the portable device or the like has been completed (step S4). If the result of this determination is NO, the process returns to the above-mentioned step S1. If the result of this determination is YES, it is determined whether or not the customized setting value of the AB function stored in the memory is "enabled" (step S5). If the result of this determination is NO ("invalid"), the process returns to the above-mentioned step S1. If the result of the determination is YES ("enabled"), the AB function is activated, and the hazard lamps 15 are controlled to flash based on the customized setting value stored in the memory 2a, and the buzzer 16 is sounded, and an alert is issued in the alert mode of the AB (answer back) function (step S6). Then, the process returns to the start, and the processes from step S1 onwards are repeated.

If the result of the determination in step S3 is NO, the body ECU 2 detects the operation to start the automatic opening/closing of the PBD (power back door), and then determines whether or not the locking/unlocking has been completed in response to the user's locking/unlocking operation (step S7). If the result of this determination is NO, the process returns to step S1. If the result of the determination is YES, the process proceeds to step S6, where an alert is issued in the alert mode of the AB function, and the hazard lamps 15 are controlled to blink based on the customized setting value stored in memory 2a, and the buzzer 16 is sounded to notify the start of the automatic opening/closing operation of the PBD (step S6).

Now, to explain the process of step S7 in detail, if the process passes through step S1 described above, and then passes through all of steps S2 to S4 with a YES result, and then passes through step S5 with a NO result, the customized setting value of the AB function is determined to be "invalid" in the judgment of step S5, and the process returns to step S1. If the process passes through step S2 with a YES result, and then step S3 with a NO result that the door has not been locked or unlocked using a portable device or the like, the process proceeds to step S7.

Then, in the judgment of step S7, after the body ECU 2 detects the operation to start the automatic opening/closing of the PBD, when it judges that the locking/unlocking has been completed in response to the user's locking/unlocking operation and passes with YES, the body ECU 2 enables the AB notification function so that the PBD operation can be notified by the AB function even if the AB notification function is set to "disabled", and simultaneously with the start of the automatic opening of the PBD and immediately after the start of the automatic closing of the PBD lock, the hazard lamps 15 and the buzzer 16 notify the PBD operation in a notification mode based on the customized setting value when the AB function is enabled and stored in the memory 2a. Note that if the AB function is set to "disabled", in principle, the operation of each door is not notified in the notification mode of the AB function.

Therefore, according to the above embodiment, when the answerback function is set to "disabled" by operating the customization setting screen of the meter ECU 10, which functions as the customization means, and an operation command to automatically open or close a specific vehicle door, the power back door, is detected by the body ECU 2, which functions as the detection means, the disabled answerback function is enabled, and the body ECU 2 controls the hazard lamps 15 and the buzzer 16 in an alert mode based on the customized setting value of "enabled" for the answerback function stored in the memory 2a.

Therefore, when one answerback function is shared for notifying operations related to doors other than the power tailgate, which is a specific vehicle door, and for notifying operations related to the power tailgate, even if the answerback function is disabled, the automatic opening and automatic closing operations of the power tailgate can be notified by the notification mode of the answerback function based on the customized setting value stored in memory 2a. This does not lead to increased costs due to the complication of the processing program, as would occur if an answerback function for notifying operations related to the power tailgate, which is a specific vehicle door, were provided separately from the other vehicle doors, and the inexpensive and simple configuration can prevent the risk of a person bumping into the power tailgate as it begins to operate.

In addition, the hazard lamps 15 and the buzzer 16 are controlled in a predetermined notification mode based on the customization setting value set by operating the customization setting screen of the meter ECU 10, which functions as a customization means, so that the user can variably set the answerback notification mode to a mode that suits their preferences by changing the customization setting value.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

For example, in the above embodiment, the specific vehicle door is described as a power back door, but the present invention can be similarly applied to obtain the same effect even if the specific vehicle door is a power sliding door. Furthermore, the present invention may be implemented by setting a door other than a power back door or a power sliding door as the specific vehicle door.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the notification mode in the answerback function may be either only flashing of the hazard lamps 15 or only sounding of the buzzer 16. Furthermore, the notification means is not limited to the hazard lamps 15 and buzzer 16 described above.

The customization means may be capable of setting the answerback function to "fully disabled" in addition to "enabled" and "disabled," and the control means may not perform the above-mentioned control when "fully disabled" is set. In other words, when "fully disabled" is set, the body ECU 2 functioning as the control means may deactivate the hazard lamps 15 and the buzzer 16 without providing a notification in the notification mode of the answerback function, even if the detection means detects an operation command for a specific vehicle door such as a power back door when the answerback function is disabled by the customization means.

The present invention can be applied to a vehicle control device that includes a customization means for allowing a user to enable or disable an answerback function by a notification means that notifies the user of operations related to multiple vehicle doors in a predetermined notification manner that is pre-stored in a storage means.

1 ... Vehicle control device 2 ... Body ECU (detection means, control means)
2a ... memory (holding means)
10...Meter ECU (customization means)
10a...Memory (storage means)
15 ... Hazard lamp (alert means)
16 ... Buzzer (alert means)

Claims (1)

A vehicle control device having an answerback function for notifying an operation related to a plurality of vehicle doors in a predetermined notification manner by a notification means, the vehicle control device including a customization means for allowing a user to set whether the answerback function is enabled or disabled,
the predetermined notification mode of the answerback function is shared for notifying an operation of vehicle doors other than a specific vehicle door among the plurality of vehicle doors and for notifying an operation of the specific vehicle door , and the notification means is controlled and executed in the predetermined notification mode based on a customization setting value set by the customization means,
a detection means for detecting an operation command for the specific vehicle door by a user when the answerback function is disabled by the customization means;
a control means for enabling the disabled answer-back function and controlling the notification means to notify the operation of the specific vehicle door in the predetermined notification manner when the detection means detects an operation command for the specific vehicle door in a state in which the answer-back function is disabled by the customization means;
A vehicle control device comprising :

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