JP2007132364A - Starting gear selection alarm device - Google Patents

Abstract

A vehicle of a type in which a driver can select a start gear for starting the vehicle by operation. When the vehicle is in a stopped state, a start gear selected and set by a driver by operating a shift lever or the like is provided. Sound an alarm when not appropriate.
A starting gear to be selected is automatically calculated with reference to a map installed in advance from gradient information of a road surface on which the vehicle is stopped and mass information of the vehicle. When a starting gear is selected by a driving operation, an alarm is generated when the selected gear is not an appropriate gear.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus for generating an alarm when a car or other vehicle is stopped and a start gear is selected in accordance with a driving operation, when the selected gear is not appropriate. The present invention is a device that has been studied for implementation on medium- or large-sized vehicles in which the vehicle mass varies greatly depending on the state of cargo or the number of passengers, but can also be widely implemented on other vehicles. INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is useful when applied to a vehicle of a type in which the selection or selection range of the starting gear can be specified by the driver's intention. The present invention provides a vehicle that requires the driver to step on the clutch pedal each time the driver operates the shift lever, a vehicle that does not have a clutch pedal, or a shift operation that is performed even if a clutch pedal is provided. It can be implemented in any vehicle that does not need to be stepped on.

  Automatic transmissions that do not have clutches and pedals have become widespread in large and medium-sized buses and freight vehicles. However, vehicles that are driven by professional drivers are widely used in vehicles that are provided with a clutch pedal, set a starting gear by driving operation, and perform a starting operation by operating the clutch pedal. This is because professional drivers prefer to operate the clutch and pedal to fit the road conditions, and for vehicles driven by skilled drivers, a fully automatic shift without using the left foot. This is because the fuel consumption is smaller in a vehicle that operates the clutch pedal than in a vehicle that employs the device. In particular, the economic effect of fuel consumption is significant when starting from a state where the vehicle is stopped. Accordingly, vehicles designed to override automatic clutch control by providing a clutch pedal and allowing the driver to operate the clutch pedal have become widespread. In such a vehicle, the driver can control the clutch by depressing the clutch / pedal pedal at the time of starting, but in principle, the driving operation is performed so that the shift control during traveling is left to automatic control.

  In such a vehicle, a transmission gear (that is, a start gear) that is selected and set at the time of starting is specified by an operation by a driver, but there is also a vehicle that can be specified in advance.

  The following patent document discloses a technique for automatically calculating the highest gear that the vehicle can start when the vehicle is stopped.

Special Table 2002-524708 (Tsev) JP 57-140923 (Fuji Heavy Industries)

  In the conventional example vehicle having the above structure, that is, a vehicle in which the driver selects the starting gear, the loading direction (including the loaded cargo and the crew, the same shall apply hereinafter) is large, or the starting road surface has a gradient and the starting direction increases. When the vehicle is in the hill direction, it is necessary for the driver to select and set a low gear such as “1” or “2” as the starting gear according to the situation determination and perform the starting operation. Since vehicles in recent years are solid, the judgment of the driver is not appropriate, and it does not mean that the device will immediately fail because a high starting gear is selected, but if an inappropriate high gear is selected, The clutch disk has a corresponding amount of heat, and the repeated wear of the clutch disk becomes severe. As a result, it is economically disadvantageous, for example, the clutch disk needs to be replaced with a small mileage. In order to prevent such a phenomenon, if a large-sized device is adopted as the clutch disk, the vehicle price becomes expensive and the vehicle weight increases.

  The present invention is to improve this, and when the load is large or when the vehicle is started up in the direction of an uphill slope, the driver's operation is not appropriate and a high gear is selected as the start gear. Another object of the present invention is to provide a device capable of automatically warning this before the vehicle starts to prompt the driver to correct the selection operation to an appropriate gear. An object of the present invention is to provide a device that can automatically select an appropriate gear when an alarm is output. An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus capable of avoiding heat generation and wear of a clutch disk. It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus capable of extending the clutch disk replacement period. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a device that can reduce the vehicle weight and make the vehicle price economical by adopting a smaller device as a clutch disk or clutch.

  Furthermore, the present invention provides a case where the start operation is executed without ignoring the alarm or without generating an alarm for some reason even when the start gear selected by the driver is not an appropriate gear, and the clutch is overheated. It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for alarming this, thereby preventing overheating and wear of the clutch (configuration related to claim 5).

  The device of the present invention detects this when the load selected is not appropriate when the load is large or when the gear selected according to the driver's operation is not suitable, such as when stopping on a slope and starting in the direction of climbing the slope. An alarm is generated in the driver's seat when the vehicle is still stopped. That is, it is a device for urging the driver to change the setting of the gear to be selected before the start operation so as not to start the vehicle as it is, and issues an alarm when the vehicle is stopped. This is its biggest feature.

  The device according to the present invention can be implemented not only in the device in which the driver's operation directly selects the starting gear but also in the device in which the range of selectable gears is automatically lowered. That is, for example, the present invention can be implemented in a device in which the driver directly designates the operation as a starting gear such as “2” or “1”, and the driver can set “3” or “2” as the starting gear. It is possible to implement the apparatus in such a manner that the gear is automatically selected as a selectable starting gear having a low gear ratio by operating the speed change lever and when the alarm is generated.

  That is, the present invention includes means for generating gradient information on a road surface mounted on a vehicle, on which the vehicle is placed, means for generating mass information of the vehicle including cargo and passengers, and the vehicle is stopped. Means for calculating a gear that can be selected as a starting gear at the time of starting from the gradient information of the road surface and the mass information with reference to a map stored in a memory (control by a driving operation or from a device other than this device) And a means for generating an alarm when the selected starting gear is not a gear that can be selected from the map information after the starting gear is selected. When an alarm is generated, the driver changes the start gear selection setting by operation. At this time, it is not automatically changed by the occurrence of an alarm, but it is also possible to automatically change to a selectable gear with a low gear ratio by referring to the map when an alarm occurs. is there.

  The vehicle mass information is not only a simple form preset by operation, but also a form calculated from the dynamic response characteristics of the vehicle at the time of acceleration or deceleration, or a form of measuring the height of the vehicle body relative to the axle. The present invention can be implemented using any of information obtained by various types of devices or methods, in which the driver inputs and sets approximate values based on the status of the passenger, the crew or the load.

  The means for generating the alarm may be set to be effective when the vehicle is in a braking state (service brake or parking brake is on) and the accelerator pedal is in a substantially released state. it can. Further, the means for generating the alarm can be set to be effective when the (slope) start assist device is in operation.

  The alarm preferably includes an acoustic alarm. The acoustic warning preferably includes means for continuously sounding until the start gear selection is canceled or changed.

  The present invention may include a means for detecting the clutch temperature and a means for generating an alarm when a temperature exceeding a set value is detected in the detecting means.

  The invention including the means for detecting the clutch temperature (the invention according to claim 5) is an additional configuration of the invention. That is, the calculation for generating an alarm according to the present invention is executed every time the vehicle shifts from the stop to the start in principle. However, the stop time is very short (for example, 1 second or less). Situations where the pedal was not fully released, the vehicle was decelerated and almost stopped, but the speed change gear was set as the starting gear and accelerated before the vehicle speed information became zero Below, since the case where the arithmetic control and alarm of this invention are not performed effectively is considered, this is considered. Under such special circumstances, it may happen that the clutch slips and the clutch temperature rises for a considerable period of time with the clutch loaded. The addition of the constituent requirement for detecting the clutch temperature alerts the clutch temperature abnormality early even in such a special situation, and prompts the driver to perform a downshift operation or a clutch operation again. .

  The means for detecting the clutch temperature is a means for directly detecting the temperature of the clutch / disk, a means for indirectly detecting the temperature of the clutch / housing, etc., or other methods such as known calculations. Can be implemented. As an example of means for directly detecting the temperature of the clutch disk, an infrared sensor for detecting infrared rays generated from the clutch disk is arranged inside the clutch housing, and the detection output of the infrared sensor exceeds the set value. Sometimes, an alarm output is transmitted.

  According to the present invention, when a vehicle on a hill starts in a climbing direction of a slope, or when a load is large, a warning is given to the driver when the start gear selected and set according to the driving operation is not appropriate. Can be prompted to change the starting gear. Moreover, it can change to the gear which can start automatically. As a result, the vehicle can be started smoothly, the burden on the clutch device is reduced, and the life of the clutch device can be extended. Further, according to the present invention, since the heat generation amount of the clutch is reduced, the clutch device and other peripheral devices can be reduced in size and weight.

  By means of adding a means for detecting the temperature of the clutch (the structure according to claim 5), even if the alarm at the time of stopping does not occur properly for some reason, the clutch temperature rises beyond the limit. Since this can be avoided, a clutch device having a relatively small heat capacity can be employed.

Example 1
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the hardware of the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the main part of an apparatus according to an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a four-wheel medium-sized cargo vehicle. The gradient sensor 1, which is a main component of the present invention, is arranged to measure the gradient in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, and generates gradient information by an electrical signal. The mass sensor 2 is a device that generates vehicle mass information, and various known devices can be used. As the simplest example, a vehicle height sensor that detects a change in vehicle height due to a load can be used. In this [Embodiment 1], it will be described that a vehicle height sensor is used, but a device that generates more advanced mass information will be described in detail later in [Embodiment 2].

  Output signals of the gradient sensor 1 and the mass sensor 2 are connected to an arithmetic unit (CPU) 3. Information on the shift lever 4 operated by the driver is taken into the arithmetic unit 3. The arithmetic unit 3 includes a program control circuit and its input / output circuit. The alarm output of the arithmetic device 3 is displayed on the display panel 5 provided in the driver's seat. The amount of depression of the accelerator pedal 6 in the driver's seat is taken into the arithmetic unit 3 while controlling the fuel injection device 7. The detection output of the clutch temperature sensor 8 is taken into the arithmetic unit 3.

  The operation of this apparatus will be described. It is assumed that the vehicle is temporarily stopped by a driving operation while traveling on the road surface with a corresponding load on the vehicle. That is, it is assumed that the vehicle is decelerated and the vehicle speed becomes zero according to traffic signals on the road, according to a stop sign, or in a congested road surface or other circumstances. At this time, when the starting gear is selected and specified by the driving operation, the arithmetic unit 3 takes in the gradient information obtained from the gradient sensor 1 and the mass information, and is selected and specified by the driving operation with reference to a preset map. It is determined whether or not the starting gear is appropriate. If it is determined that this is not appropriate, an acoustic and optical warning display is generated on the display panel 6 provided in the driver's seat. When the driver recognizes this warning display, the driver operates the shift lever 4 to select a lower gear. As a result, if the corrected selection is appropriate, the alarm on the display panel 5 is stopped.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of the contents of the set map for selecting the starting gear. The transmission of this vehicle has seven forward speeds, and the gear shown in FIG. 2 or a lower gear should be selected as the starting gear according to the output of the gradient sensor 1 and the output of the mass sensor 2 by operating the shift lever 4. Indicates that For example, when the output is generated with the gradient sensor 1 generating the output with the gradient “0” (the road surface is horizontal) and the mass sensor 2 generating the medium mass, It indicates that the gear to be selected is the third gear or less. If the shift lever 4 is operated to “3” by driving, no alarm is generated. Furthermore, if the load is not changed, that is, if the output of the mass sensor 2 is medium and the vehicle is stopped on a road surface where the road surface gradient is medium in the climbing direction, the gear to be selected at the start is “2” or Less than that. At this time, when the driver sets the shift lever 4 to “3”, the device of the present invention generates an acoustic alarm and an optical alarm to prompt the driver to correct the position of the shift lever 4. This warning disappears when the driver notices it and executes a corrective action. In this state, the load of the vehicle is not changed, the output of the mass sensor 2 is medium, and the output of the gradient sensor 1 is “0” (the road surface is horizontal). Even if 4 is set to “2”, it can start and no alarm is generated.

  This warning prompts the driver to change the operation, and does not prohibit the start of the vehicle. If the vehicle is to be started despite the alarm being generated, the vehicle can be started. In this case, the clutch may be overheated over the proper temperature, and the life of the clutch / disc will be shortened. However, prohibiting the driving operation may cause various problems, so an alarm is given. It is not prohibited. Further, this device can be applied to a vehicle provided with a clutch pedal and a vehicle in which a clutch operation is automatically executed without providing a clutch pedal. FIG. 3 shows an operation flowchart of the apparatus of this embodiment.

  Although this embodiment urges the driver to select a lower gear, it is also implemented as a transmission that automatically selects a gear with a lower starting gear ratio when a warning is output. be able to. In this case, it is preferable to display the fact that a starting gear having a lower gear ratio than that of the operated or instructed starting gear has been selected and to let the driver recognize.

(Example 2)
In the above [Embodiment 1], it has been described that the mass information of the vehicle is obtained by using a conventionally known appropriate method. Here, the feature is that the mass information is obtained by a new logic. There is. In other respects, the configuration is basically the same as that in the above [Embodiment 1].

In this apparatus, a program for estimating and calculating the vehicle mass is set in the program control circuit installed in the arithmetic device 3 when the vehicle starts traveling. That is, the vehicle mass may change due to cargo loading / unloading or passenger boarding / exiting during operation. The vehicle mass is an important factor for the control of the present invention, and is calculated from factors such as the driving force of the internal combustion engine, the air resistance received by the vehicle body, the mass of the rotating part, the rolling resistance, and the vehicle acceleration and the gravitational acceleration. When showing a practical arithmetic expression employed in this embodiment apparatus,
A = Driving force-(Air resistance + Mass of rotating part x Acceleration)
B = (rolling resistance × gravity acceleration) + (vehicle gradient × gravity acceleration) + acceleration,
Vehicle mass (M) = A / B
It is the structure containing the means to calculate as.

  The driving force is a value calculated from a fuel flow rate supplied to the internal combustion engine by a method (numerical table or formula) set for each vehicle type, and the air resistance is a method set for each vehicle type based on the structure of the vehicle. It is a value calculated by (Numerical Table or Numerical Formula), the mass of the rotating part is a constant preset for each vehicle type, and the rolling resistance can be a constant preset for each vehicle type. In addition, the present applicant filed a patent application separately for this mass estimation calculation device (Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-269950 (not disclosed at the time of filing this application)).

  FIG. 4 shows a main part flowchart relating to the vehicle mass calculation of the embodiment apparatus of the present invention. Here, this mass estimation calculation device does not directly use the output of the gradient sensor 1 provided in the vehicle as it is for the vehicle gradient, which is an element necessary for calculating the vehicle mass. A value that appears in the output of the gradient sensor 1 in a state where the vehicle immediately before the calculation is stopped is used. That is, the vehicle gradient sensor 1 is a device that detects acceleration in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and naturally fluctuates greatly immediately after the vehicle starts. During the fluctuation, the output value is not uniquely determined, and one value during the fluctuation must be captured and used as the output. The inventor of the present application has noticed that this is a factor causing a large error when calculating the vehicle mass with the conventional apparatus.

  The apparatus of the present invention is characterized in that the output of the gradient sensor 1 uses the output of the gradient sensor 1 in a stable and stationary state before the vehicle starts running. In other words, the gradient sensor 1 takes in a stable value before the vehicle starts, holds it in a temporary memory, and uses this value as the vehicle gradient value in the above equation. When the vehicle starts, the road surface is not necessarily uniform, but it is rare that the road surface changes greatly immediately after the vehicle starts. There is almost no problem using it as it is as the numerical value of the road surface gradient when the vehicle starts. Therefore, it is considered that there is no large error in the calculated vehicle mass estimated value.

  Although the present invention is applied to a medium-sized freight vehicle as described in the above embodiment, it is useful when applied to a larger vehicle (eg, a loading capacity of 10 tons or more), and its economic effect is great. Conceivable.

The block block diagram of this invention Example apparatus. The starting gear selection table of an apparatus of the present invention. The control flowchart of this invention Example apparatus. The control flowchart for mass calculation of this invention Example apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

1 Gradient Sensor 2 Mass Sensor 3 Computing Device (CPU)
4 Shift lever 5 Display panel (including optical alarm and acoustic alarm)
6 Accelerator pedal 7 Fuel injection device 8 Clutch temperature sensor 9 Vehicle speed sensor 10 Front wheel 11 Rear wheel 12 Steering wheel

Claims (6)

  Means for generating gradient information of a road surface mounted on the vehicle, on which the vehicle is placed, means for generating mass information of the vehicle, and starting from the gradient information and the mass information when the vehicle is stopped A means for calculating a gear that can sometimes be selected as a starting gear by referring to a map stored in a memory, and after the starting gear is selected by a driving operation, the selected starting gear can be selected as a starting gear from the map information And a means for generating an alarm when the gear is not geared.   2. The starting gear selection warning device according to claim 1, wherein the warning means is set to be effective when the vehicle is in a braking state and the accelerator pedal is substantially released.   The start gear selection alarm device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the means for generating the alarm is set to be effective when the start assist device is in operation.   2. The start gear selection alarm device according to claim 1, wherein the alarm includes an acoustic alarm and means for continuously sounding the acoustic alarm until the start gear selection is canceled or changed.   2. The starting gear selection alarm device according to claim 1, further comprising means for detecting the clutch temperature and means for generating an alarm when a temperature exceeding a set value is detected in the detecting means.   A shift control device comprising means for automatically selecting a starting gear having a low gear ratio when an alarm is generated by the starting gear selection alarm device according to claim 1.

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