JP2014016955A - Vehicle traveling system - Google Patents

Abstract

Energy transfer can be performed during traveling between a vehicle traveling with an internal combustion engine and a vehicle traveling with an electric motor without requiring a special connection structure.
In step S103, vehicle speeds Va and Vb are detected based on vehicle speed detection signals V1 and V2 of vehicles A and B, respectively, and an inter-vehicle distance between vehicles A and B is detected in step S104. In step S105, based on the vehicle speed Va of the vehicle A and the vehicle speed Vb of the vehicle B, the respective braking distances when the vehicle A and the vehicle B are suddenly braked at the present time are calculated. In step S106, the vehicle A And the difference between the braking distances of the vehicle A and the braking distance of the vehicle A and the braking distance of the vehicle B (braking distance difference). I made it.
[Selection] Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle traveling system that can transfer energy between two vehicles while traveling, and in particular, vehicle traveling that allows energy to be transferred during traveling without a special connection structure. About the system.

  As a conventional technology that enables energy to be transferred between two vehicles while traveling, a truck equipped with an engine is a leading vehicle and is a self-propelled vehicle, and a hybrid electric vehicle or a vehicle equipped with an electric motor Is a non-self-propelled vehicle that is a following vehicle, and the leading vehicle and the following vehicle are connected in tandem to obtain a connected vehicle equivalent to a hybrid electric vehicle and a part of the kinetic energy follows There has been known one that is converted into electric energy by a regenerative brake of a vehicle and stored in a battery for effective use (Patent Document 1).

JP 2008-12938 A

However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, the vehicle is configured to travel by mechanically connecting the leading vehicle and the following vehicle, and thus each vehicle has to be provided with joint parts for connecting them. . For this reason, it is necessary to recreate the appearance of the vehicle body itself, and there is a problem that it is difficult to deploy on a general vehicle.
The present invention has been made paying attention to such an unsolved problem of the conventional technology, and does not require a special connection structure, and the leading vehicle and the following vehicle are connected and run. An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle traveling system that enables this.

  In order to achieve the above object, the vehicle travel system according to the present invention calculates the inter-vehicle distance between the succeeding vehicle and the preceding vehicle and the subsequent vehicle when the succeeding vehicle and the preceding vehicle are traveling independently. When the difference between the braking distances of the vehicle and the preceding vehicle is calculated and the calculated inter-vehicle distance is equal to or greater than the difference between the braking distances, the subsequent vehicle shifts to a state in which each vehicle travels while pushing the preceding vehicle in a contact state from behind. I did it.

  According to the present invention, when the inter-vehicle distance between the following vehicle and the preceding vehicle is equal to or greater than the difference in the braking distance, the succeeding vehicle shifts to a state in which each vehicle travels while pushing the preceding vehicle in a contact state from behind. Vehicles that are traveling can be stably shifted to the contact state, and therefore, there is an effect that traveling in the contact state can be performed without providing a special connection structure.

It is a top view which shows schematic structure of the vehicle to which the vehicle travel system which concerns on this invention is applied. It is a flowchart which shows the whole process performed in 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the content of the contact state transfer process. It is a flowchart which shows the content of the contact state transfer process. It is a flowchart which shows the content of a contact running process. It is a flowchart which shows the content of the contact cancellation | release judgment process. It is a flowchart which shows the content of the contact running completion | finish judgment process. It is a map which shows an example of the relationship between brake pedal depression amount and target drive force. It is a map which shows an example of the relationship between a vehicle speed, a target drive force, and an accelerator opening. It is a wave form diagram which shows an example of the relationship between the change of SOC, and driving | running | working. It is a wave form diagram which shows an example of the relationship between the change of fuel remaining amount, and driving | running | working. It is a figure which shows the example of control of a motor torque and an engine torque. It is a conceptual diagram which shows an example of the calculation which calculates | requires the deceleration of a following vehicle. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the other example of the calculation which calculates | requires the deceleration of a following vehicle.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
(First embodiment)
(Constitution)
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a conceptual configuration of a vehicle in a first embodiment of a vehicle traveling system according to the present invention. In this embodiment, a vehicle A as a following vehicle changes a vehicle B as a preceding vehicle. The vehicle is configured to travel while being pushed in contact from behind.
That is, in FIG. 1, the traveling directions of the vehicles A and B are from left to right, and therefore the state shown in FIG. 1 is that the nose (tip portion) of the vehicle A is the tail (tail) of the vehicle B. It shows the state immediately before the transition to the state of pressing the end).

  The vehicle A is a so-called gasoline vehicle that uses an engine (internal combustion engine) 10 as a drive source and gasoline as an energy source, and the drive force generated by the engine 10 is transmitted to the differential gear 13 via the clutch 11 and the transmission 12. It has come to be. The differential gear 13 is connected to the inner ends of the drive shafts 13a and 13a, and the drive wheels 14F and 14F as front wheels are fixed to the outer ends of the drive shafts 13a and 13a. In FIG. 1, 14R and 14R are driven wheels as rear wheels. Moreover, since FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram, illustration of a suspension and a steering mechanism is omitted.

  The vehicle A includes a suspension stroke sensor 15 that detects a stroke amount of the suspension, an acceleration sensor 16 that detects longitudinal acceleration generated in the vehicle body, a steering angle sensor 17 that detects a steering angle of the steering wheel, and an accelerator. An accelerator stroke sensor 18 for detecting the pedal depression amount, a brake stroke sensor 19 for detecting the brake pedal depression amount, and a vehicle speed sensor 20 for detecting the vehicle speed are provided.

Further, the vehicle A is equipped with a controller 21 composed of a microcomputer, necessary memory, interface circuit, and the like, and the controller 21 is supplied with each signal output from each sensor 15-20. It has become.
That is, the suspension stroke detection signal SS1 output from the suspension stroke sensor 15, the steering angle detection signal θ1 output from the steering angle sensor 17, the accelerator stroke detection signal AS1 output from the accelerator stroke sensor 18, and the brake stroke sensor 19 output. The brake stroke detection signal BS1 and the vehicle speed detection signal V1 output from the vehicle speed sensor 20 are supplied to the controller 21.

  Further, the vehicle A is provided with cameras 22F and 22R at the front end portion and the rear end portion of the vehicle body. The front end camera 22F is a camera for photographing other vehicles or obstacles existing forward in the traveling direction, and the rear end 22R captures other vehicles existing behind the traveling direction. Is. The image information captured by the cameras 22F and 22R is supplied to the controller 21. Based on the supplied image information, the controller 21 detects an inter-vehicle distance between the front vehicle and the rear vehicle.

  The vehicle A is provided with a transmission / reception device 23. The transmission / reception device 23 is provided for exchanging various kinds of information by inter-vehicle communication or by communication via an external information center. In the present embodiment, in particular, the transmission / reception device 23 is controlled by the controller 21 in order to acquire information related to the traveling state of the vehicle B and to transmit information related to the traveling state of the vehicle A to the vehicle B. It has become.

  And the controller 21 performs the arithmetic processing mentioned later based on each detection signal supplied from each sensor 15-20, the image information supplied from the cameras 22F and 22R, and the communication information supplied from the transmission / reception apparatus 23. In particular, in the present embodiment, the vehicle A is equipped with a so-called brake-by-wire or accelerator-by-wire system, and the controller 21 controls the by-wire system so that the vehicle A is separated from the driver's operation. The acceleration / deceleration as the running state can be controlled.

  On the other hand, the vehicle B is a so-called electric vehicle using the motor 40 as a drive source and using the electric power stored in the battery 41A as an energy source, and the drive force generated by the motor 40 is transmitted to the differential gear 43 via the transmission 42. It is to be transmitted. The motor 40 is an AC motor capable of both a power stroke and a regenerative motion such as a three-phase synchronous motor or a three-phase induction motor, and the battery 41A is a nickel hydrogen battery or a lithium ion battery. Is used. When the motor 40 operates as a generator, the alternating current generated by the motor 40 is converted into a direct current by the inverter 41B and charged to the battery 41A.

  The differential gear 43 is connected to the inner ends of the drive shafts 43a and 43a, and drive wheels 44F and 44F as front wheels are fixed to the outer ends of the drive shafts 43a and 43a. In FIG. 1, 44R and 44R are driven wheels as rear wheels. Since FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram, the suspension of the vehicle B and the steering mechanism are also omitted for the vehicle B.

  The vehicle B includes a suspension stroke sensor 45 that detects a stroke amount of the suspension, an acceleration sensor 46 that detects longitudinal acceleration generated in the vehicle body, a steering angle sensor 47 that detects the steering angle of the steering wheel, and an accelerator pedal. An accelerator stroke sensor 48 that detects the amount of depression, a brake stroke sensor 49 that detects the amount of depression of the brake pedal, and a vehicle speed sensor 50 that detects the vehicle speed are provided.

Further, the vehicle B is equipped with a controller 51 composed of a microcomputer, necessary memory, an interface circuit, and the like, and the controller 51 is supplied with each signal output from each sensor 45-50. It has become.
That is, the suspension stroke detection signal SS2 output from the suspension stroke sensor 45, the steering angle detection signal θ2 output from the steering angle sensor 47, the accelerator stroke detection signal AS2 output from the accelerator stroke sensor 48, and the brake stroke sensor 49 output. The brake stroke detection signal BS2 and the vehicle speed detection signal V2 output from the vehicle speed sensor 50 are supplied to the controller 51.

  Further, the vehicle B is provided with cameras 52F and 52R at the front end portion and the rear end portion of the vehicle body. The front end camera 52F is a camera for photographing other vehicles or obstacles existing forward in the traveling direction, and the rear end 52R captures other vehicles existing behind the traveling direction. Is. The image information captured by the cameras 52F and 52R is supplied to the controller 51. The controller 51 detects an inter-vehicle distance between the front vehicle and the rear vehicle based on the supplied image information.

  The vehicle B is provided with a transmission / reception device 53. The transmission / reception device 53 is provided for exchanging various types of information by inter-vehicle communication or by communication via an external information center. In the present embodiment, in particular, the transmission / reception device 53 is controlled by the controller 51 in order to acquire information related to the traveling state of the vehicle A and to transmit information related to the traveling state of the vehicle B to the vehicle A. It has become.

  The controller 51 executes arithmetic processing described later based on the detection signals supplied from the sensors 45 to 50, the image information supplied from the cameras 52F and 52R, and the communication information supplied from the transmission / reception device 53. In particular, in the present embodiment, the vehicle B is equipped with a so-called brake-by-wire or accelerator-by-wire system, and the controller 51 controls the by-wire system, so that the vehicle B is separated from the driver's operation. The acceleration / deceleration as the running state can be controlled.

(Control content)
Next, the control content in this embodiment is demonstrated.
FIG. 2 to FIG. 7 are flowcharts showing an outline of processes executed in the controller 21 of the vehicle A and the controller 51 of the vehicle B. By executing these processes, the driver operates the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal. Separately from the operation, the driving force (acceleration) control to the engine 10 and the motor 40 and the braking force (deceleration) control to the brake device are performed, so that the vehicle A pushes the vehicle B in the contact state from behind. Each vehicle A and vehicle B travels. Each calculation process executed in the controllers 21 and 51 is repeatedly executed as an interrupt process at regular intervals, for example, 1 sampling 10 ms.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the entire processing executed in the controllers 21 and 51. First, as a premise, it is assumed that there is an agreement between the driver of the vehicle A and the driver of the vehicle B about driving while pushing in a contact state. Then, in step S100, a “contact state transition process” is performed in which the vehicle A and the vehicle B travel independently from each other to a contact state in which the vehicle A pushes the vehicle B from the rear. Then, after shifting from the independent traveling state to the contact state in step S100, the process proceeds to step S200, and “contact traveling processing” for appropriately performing traveling in the contact state is executed. Further, in step S300, a “contact travel end determination process” is executed to determine based on various information whether or not the condition for ending the travel in the contact state has been reached, and the contact travel is continued in the process of step S300. If the determination is made, the process returns to step S200, and if the determination is made to end the contact travel in step S300, the entire current process is ended.

And the concrete content of the contact state transfer running process of step S100 is as shown in FIG.3 and FIG.4.
That is, when the contact state transition process is started, first, in step S101 in FIG. 3, the vehicle-to-vehicle communication is started between the vehicle A and the vehicle B using the transmission / reception devices 23 and 53, and the communication state is continued. To do.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S102, where it is determined whether an obstacle exists between the vehicle A and the vehicle B. As an obstacle, other vehicles, such as a two-wheeled motor vehicle, can be considered, for example. The determination in step S102 can be performed by image recognition processing based on the imaging information of the cameras 22F and 52R. In the case of a vehicle equipped with an ultrasonic center or laser radar other than the cameras 22F and 52R, those detection signals can also be used.

If it is determined in step S102 that an obstacle exists between the vehicle A and the vehicle B, it is determined that the transition to the contact running state cannot be performed due to the presence of the obstacle, and the determination is “YES”. Until step S102.
On the other hand, if the determination in step S102 is "YES", the process proceeds to step S103 in order to execute a specific contact state transition process.
In step S103, the vehicle speeds Va and Vb are detected based on the vehicle speed detection signals V1 and V2 of the vehicles A and B, respectively.

Next, the process proceeds to step S104, and the inter-vehicle distance between the vehicle A and the vehicle B is detected. This inter-vehicle distance can be obtained by image recognition processing based on imaging information of the camera 22F and the camera 52R.
Then, the process proceeds to step S105, and based on the vehicle speed Va of the vehicle A and the vehicle speed Vb of the vehicle B calculated in step S103, the respective braking distances when the vehicle A and the vehicle B perform sudden braking at the present time are calculated. . Note that this braking distance can be calculated, for example, by storing actual measured braking distances in the controllers 21 and 51 and using the past braking distance information.

Next, the process proceeds to step S106, and the inter-vehicle distance between the vehicle A and the vehicle B detected in step S104 and the difference between the braking distance of the vehicle A and the braking distance of the vehicle B (braking distance difference) calculated in step S105 are calculated. In comparison, it is determined whether the inter-vehicle distance is greater than the braking distance difference.
If the determination in step S106 is “NO”, if the vehicle B tries to stop by sudden braking for some reason, in order to avoid a rear-end collision even if the vehicle A suddenly brakes at the same time. For example, it is necessary to cut the handle suddenly. Therefore, the process proceeds to step S107 and warns the driver of the vehicle A to decelerate. As a specific method of warning, for example, a word or a predetermined sound may be emitted from a navigation or audio system mounted on the vehicle A. If the process of step S107 is performed, it will return to step S102 and will perform the process mentioned above repeatedly.

  On the other hand, if the determination in step S106 is "YES", the process proceeds to step S108, and the state of the vehicle A is set to the automatic pilot mode. Here, the automatic pilot mode is a mode in which acceleration, deceleration, and steering are automatically controlled using a by-wire function or the like provided in the vehicle A.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S109, where it is determined whether there is an obstacle between the vehicle A and the vehicle B by the same method as in step S102. If an obstacle exists (determination is “YES”). In this case, the process proceeds to step S110. In step S110, the vehicle A is automatically decelerated until the distance between the vehicle A and the obstacle becomes equal to the safe inter-vehicle distance. When the distance becomes equal to the safe inter-vehicle distance, the automatic pilot mode is canceled and the process returns to the calculation in step S102. Here, the safe inter-vehicle distance is an inter-vehicle distance at which a succeeding vehicle can safely stop even if the preceding vehicle suddenly stops. The higher the vehicle speed, the longer the safe inter-vehicle distance is set. . The relationship between the vehicle speed and the safe inter-vehicle distance is set on the basis of previously performed experimental data, and the safe inter-vehicle distance is calculated using the actual vehicle speed Va of the vehicle A.

If no obstacle is present in step S109 (determination is “NO”), the process proceeds to step S111 in FIG.
In step S111, it is determined whether the braking performance of the vehicle A is higher than or equal to the braking performance of the vehicle B. Here, the braking performance indicates the length of the braking distance when the vehicle A and the vehicle B are suddenly stopped from the state where they are traveling at the same vehicle speed, and the shorter the braking distance is, the higher the braking performance is. . Note that the braking performance can be calculated based on the past travel data accumulated in the controllers 21 and 51 mounted on the vehicles A and B, as in step S105.

If it is determined in step S111 that the braking performance of the vehicle A is lower than the braking performance of the vehicle B, the vehicle A will perform the avoidance operation by the sudden handle when the vehicle B performs the rapid braking. The process proceeds to S112.
In step S112, the braking performance of the vehicle B is changed to the braking performance of the vehicle A. That is, since it is impossible to increase the braking performance during traveling, the performance braking of both the vehicles A and B is matched by changing the braking performance of the vehicle B to the lower side.

When the determination in step S111 is “YES” and when the process in step S112 is completed, the process proceeds to step S113, where it is determined whether the vehicle speed Va of the vehicle A is faster than the vehicle speed Vb of the vehicle B. If it is determined in step S113 that the vehicle speed Va of the vehicle A is slower than the vehicle speed Vb of the vehicle B, the process proceeds to step S114. In step S114, the vehicle B is decelerated. In the present embodiment, as a guideline for deceleration, the controller 51 controls the motor 40 of the vehicle B so as to achieve an acceleration change (specifically, 0.3 m / s ² ) that reduces the vehicle speed at 1 km / h in 1 second. The torque command value is calculated.

  When the vehicle B starts to decelerate, the process proceeds to step S115, where it is determined again whether there is an obstacle between the vehicle A and the vehicle B. If there is an obstacle, the process returns to step S110 to Repeat the process. If it is determined in step S115 that there is no obstacle, the process returns to step S113, and it is determined again whether the vehicle speed Va of the vehicle A is faster than the vehicle speed Vb of the vehicle B.

If it is determined in step S113 that the vehicle speed Va of the vehicle A is faster than the vehicle speed Vb of the vehicle B, the process proceeds to step S116 and the deceleration of the vehicle A is calculated.
The deceleration of the vehicle A includes the current vehicle speed Va of the vehicle A, the current vehicle speed Vb of the vehicle B, the braking distance difference between the vehicles A and B calculated in step S105, and the current inter-vehicle distance of the vehicles A and B. Calculate based on

FIG. 13 shows an outline of the calculation of the deceleration of the vehicle A in step S116.
Here, the horizontal axis of FIG. 13 indicates the vehicle speeds of the vehicles A and B, and the points indicated by ● indicate the current vehicle speeds Va1 and Vb1 of the vehicles A and B. The vertical axis in FIG. 13 is the inter-vehicle distance between the vehicles A and B, and the solid line is a plot of the difference in braking distance due to the difference in vehicle speed between the vehicles A and B. Here, the calculation method of the braking distance is the same as the calculation method in step S105.

  A point ▲ L1 is calculated from the vehicle speed Va1 of the vehicle A and the current inter-vehicle distance D1 of the vehicles A and B, and a line connecting the point ● indicating the current vehicle speed Vb1 of the vehicle B and the point ▲ L1 is a solid line The trajectory of the broken line is calculated along the solid line so as not to intersect with the line. The broken line trajectory may be calculated based on the solid line so that the difference between the dotted line and the solid line disappears as the speed Vb1 of the vehicle B is approached. A map obtained by calculating a solid line and a broken line for each difference between the vehicle speeds Va1 and Vb1 of the vehicles A and B and the braking distance of the vehicles A and B is prepared in advance. Can also be calculated.

When the locus of the broken line is calculated, a difference ΔL1 between the current inter-vehicle distance D1 of the vehicles A and B and the braking distance of the vehicles A and B at the current vehicle speed Va1 and Vb1 is calculated, and the difference from the point ▲ L1 on the broken line is calculated. A point [Delta] L2 that coincides with the inter-vehicle distance minus [Delta] L1 is calculated, and a difference [Delta] V1 between the vehicle speed Va2 of the vehicle A at the point [L2] and the current vehicle speed Va1 of the vehicle A is calculated.
Then, the deceleration of the vehicle A is calculated so that the distance between the vehicles A and BB is shortened by ΔL1 while the vehicle A is decelerated by ΔV1.

When the deceleration of the vehicle A is calculated, the process proceeds to step S117 to determine whether or not the deceleration of the vehicle A calculated in step S116 is 0. If this determination is “NO”, the process proceeds to step S118. Then, the vehicle A is automatically decelerated at the deceleration of the vehicle A calculated in step S116, and the process returns to the calculation in step S102 again.
If the above calculation is repeated and the vehicle speed Va of the vehicle A reaches the vehicle speed Va2 indicated by the point ▲ L2 in step S116, the point ▲ L3, the difference ΔL2, and the difference ΔV2 are calculated by the same calculation, and the vehicle A The deceleration of the vehicle A is calculated so that the distance between the vehicles A and B is shortened by ΔL2 while the vehicle is decelerated by ΔV2.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S117 that the deceleration of the vehicle A is 0, it is determined that the vehicle A and the vehicle B have succeeded in contact, and the current contact state transition process ends.
FIG. 14 shows a case where the solid line in FIG. 13 protrudes downward due to the difference in braking performance between the vehicles A and B. If the solid line is convex downward as shown in FIG. 14, even if the line connecting the point ● indicating the current vehicle speed Vb1 of the vehicle B and the point ▲ L1 is a straight line, it does not intersect the solid line. It is also possible to decelerate with. The calculation of the deceleration in the case shown in FIG. 14 is also performed in the same manner as the above calculation method.

When the process of FIG. 4 is finished, the contact travel process shown in step S200 of FIG. 1 is started.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing specific contents of the contact running process. First, a contact release determination process for determining whether or not the contact state of the vehicles A and B that have already shifted to the contact state needs to be released. Execute. Specific contents of the contact release determination process will be described later.

Next, the process proceeds to step S202, where the brake pedal depression amount of the vehicle B is detected based on the brake stroke detection signal BS2, and if the depression amount is detected, it is determined that the vehicle B is decelerating. The process proceeds to S203. If it is determined in step S202 that the brake pedal of the vehicle B is not depressed, the process proceeds to step S207.
In step S203, the target driving force of the vehicle B is calculated from the depression amount of the brake pedal of the vehicle B, and a torque command value for realizing the target driving force is calculated. As an example of means for calculating the target driving force of the vehicle B from the amount of depression of the brake pedal, it is possible to calculate using a driving force map shown in FIG.

  Then, the process proceeds to step S204, where the acceleration of the vehicle A is detected based on the acceleration detection signal G1, and then the process proceeds to step S205 to determine whether the acceleration of the vehicle A detected in step S204 is zero. If the determination in step S205 is “YES”, it is determined that the vehicle A is traveling at a constant speed, and the process proceeds to step S207. If the determination in step S205 is “NO”, it is determined that the vehicle A is not traveling at a constant speed, and the process proceeds to step S206.

In step S206, the vehicle A is decelerated with a driving force equal to or less than the target driving force of the vehicle B calculated in step S203. In this case, since the vehicle B is decelerating, the vehicle A is decelerated with a braking force equal to or less than the braking force of the vehicle B. Then, even if the vehicle is decelerating, the vehicle A pushes the vehicle B from behind, so that the kinetic energy of the vehicle A can also be regenerated in the vehicle B, and the braking distance of the vehicle B becomes excessive. Can also be prevented.
When the process of step S206 is completed, the process returns to step S210 and the above-described process is executed again.

  If the determination in step S205 is “YES” and if the determination in step S202 is “NO”, the process proceeds to step S207, and the vehicle B is based on the accelerator stroke detection signal AS2. If the accelerator pedal depression amount is detected and the depression amount is detected, it is determined that the vehicle B is accelerating. If the determination in step S207 is “NO”, the process returns to step S202. The above processing is repeatedly executed.

  Here, when the determination in step S207 is “YES”, it is a time when the vehicle B is accelerating, so that the vehicle A maintains the state of traveling while being pressed against the vehicle B from behind. Therefore, the process proceeds to step S208, and based on the accelerator pedal depression amount (accelerator opening AP) of the vehicle B detected in step S207 and the vehicle speed Vb of the vehicle B, for example, the target drive calculated from the driving force map shown in FIG. The vehicle A receives the force from the transmission / reception device 23 and automatically activates the accelerator in the vehicle A so as to realize the target driving force. The automatic accelerator operation uses an automatic acceleration device using a by-wire function or the like provided in the vehicle A.

When the process of step S208 is completed, the process proceeds to step S209, and the same contact release determination process as that of step S201 is executed.
Thus, the current contact running process is terminated, and the process proceeds to step S300 in FIG.
On the other hand, the specific contents of the contact release determination process executed in steps S201 and S209 of FIG. 5 are as shown in FIG.

  That is, when the contact release determination process is started, the required turning amount is detected based on the tire turning angle of the vehicle B in step S220. When the front wheel 44F is provided with a steering angle sensor, the tire turning angle can also be detected directly using a signal from the steering angle sensor. When the steering angle sensor is not provided as in this embodiment, the steering angle of the steering wheel obtained from the steering angle detection signal θ2 that is the output of the steering angle sensor 47 is divided by the steering gear ratio. Will be calculated.

  And it transfers to step S221 and it is determined whether the required turning amount of the vehicle B is more than a threshold value. The threshold value here is a value with which it is possible to determine that the turning amount of the vehicle B is large. More specifically, when the vehicle A pushes the vehicle B from the rear, the posture of the vehicle B in the yaw direction may change. Is set to the boundary of whether or not the property is high. This can be obtained in advance from experiments based on specifications such as vehicle weight and the shape of the bumper. That is, the threshold is set to a value that makes the vehicle slip angle of the vehicle B small, for example, 5 degrees. In addition, the same effect can be obtained by calculating the slip angle of the vehicle body from the vehicle speed Vb and the tire turning angle and determining that the vehicle slip angle does not exceed a certain threshold in the determination in step S221.

If the determination in step S221 is “NO”, it is determined that there is no particular inconvenience in the current contact travel state in which the vehicle A travels while pushing the vehicle B, and the process proceeds to step S222. The steering angle is controlled to match the steering angle of the vehicle B, and the contact traveling is continued without temporarily terminating the contact traveling. The steering amount control of the vehicle A here receives the requested turning amount of the vehicle B detected in step S220 via the transmission / reception device 23, and automatically steers the vehicle A so as to realize the requested turning amount. It will be cut. For the automatic steering of the vehicle A, an automatic steering device using a by-wire function or the like provided in the vehicle A is used.
On the other hand, if the determination in step S221 is “YES”, the process proceeds to step S223, and a contact travel temporary end flag is set.

  And it transfers to step S224 and the brake or accelerator control command value of the vehicle A is cancelled | released. The brake or accelerator control command value of vehicle A to be released here is the command value calculated in step S206 and step S208. More specifically, when the vehicle A is decelerating, the vehicle A is automatically renewed so that the brake amount of the vehicle A after release is smaller than the target driving force calculated in step S206. Apply the brakes. On the other hand, when the vehicle A is accelerating, the vehicle A is automatically accelerated so that the accelerator amount of the released vehicle A is smaller than the target drive force of the vehicle B calculated in step S208. Is activated. In addition, the motor torque command value of the vehicle B after the release uses the motor torque that realizes the target driving force of the vehicle B calculated in step S203 and step S208 as a new motor torque command value.

As described above, the contact running state of the vehicles A and B is temporarily canceled, and each of the vehicles A and B is returned to the independently running state. When the process of step S224 is completed, the process returns to the contact state transition unit of step S100 again, and the process for bringing the vehicles A and B into contact is executed again.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing specific contents of the contact travel end determination process in step S300.

  That is, when the process of FIG. 7 is started, first, in step S301, it is determined whether or not the driver of the vehicle A and the driver of the vehicle B are willing to continue the contact running state. Specifically, if any driver indicates that there is no intention to continue, the determination in step S301 is “YES”. The way of indicating will is not particularly limited, but it may be possible to operate a dedicated switch provided on a handle or the like, and when the navigation device is equipped with a voice recognition device, the intention is indicated by voice input from the driver. You may do it.

If the processing of step S301 is provided, for example, when the vehicle A or the vehicle B approaches the destination, or when the directions of the vehicles A and B are different from the middle, the driver's will The vehicle can immediately return to the state in which the vehicle A and the vehicle B are traveling independently.
Therefore, if the determination in step S301 is “YES”, the process immediately proceeds to step S304.

When determination of step S301 is "NO", it transfers to step S302 and detects the battery charge amount (SOC) of the vehicle B. Then, the process proceeds to step S303, and if the SOC is equal to or greater than the threshold value, it is determined that further regeneration operation in the vehicle B is impossible, and the process proceeds to step S304.
That is, in FIG. 10, the horizontal axis indicates the travel time, the vertical axis indicates the SOC, the sections 0 to a are the time during which the contact state transition processing is performed in the present embodiment, and a and b are the contact travel on a flat road. , B to c are sections traveling in contact on an uphill, c to d are sections traveling in contact on a downhill, and d to e are sections traveling again on a flat road.

When the SOC exceeds the threshold value X, performance degradation occurs in the battery 41A. Therefore, as shown by a solid line in FIG. 10, the contact running is forcibly terminated before the threshold value X is exceeded to prevent the deterioration of the SOC. Therefore, the process proceeds to step S304. The threshold value X is 80%, for example.
When the determination in step S303 is “NO”, the process proceeds to step S305, and this time, the remaining fuel amount of the vehicle A is detected. Then, the process proceeds to step S306, and if the remaining fuel amount detected in step S305 is equal to or less than the threshold value, the process proceeds to step S304.

That is, in FIG. 11, the horizontal axis indicates the travel time, and the vertical axis indicates the remaining fuel amount of the vehicle A. The meaning of each section 0 to e on the horizontal axis is the same as in the case of FIG.
If the remaining amount of fuel falls below the threshold Y, the vehicle A may not be able to travel due to insufficient fuel. Therefore, as shown by the solid line in FIG. In order to forcibly end the contact travel so that only the necessary amount is obtained, the process proceeds to step S304. The threshold value Y is, for example, 15 liters.

Here, FIG. 12 is a table showing the output of the engine torque of the vehicle A and the motor torque of the vehicle B in each section shown in FIGS. The motor torque + indicates power running,-indicates regeneration, and the engine torque-indicates braking by braking.
In step S304, the contact travel impossible flag is turned on. On the other hand, if the determination in step S306 is “NO”, it is determined that the contact running state can be continued, and the process in FIG. 7 is terminated without executing the process in step S304.

  The determination in step S300 in FIG. 2 is “finished” when step S304 in FIG. 7 is executed, the contact travel control ends, and the vehicles A and B return to the state in which they are each traveling independently. On the other hand, if the process in step S304 in FIG. 7 is not executed, the determination in step S300 is “continuation”, the process returns to step S200, and the contact travel process continues.

(Operation)
Next, a specific operation of the present embodiment will be described.
That is, it is assumed that the vehicles A and B that have started from different starting points meet at a predetermined point before reaching the destination, and at that time, the driver of the vehicle B requests the driver of the vehicle A to make a contact travel. Suppose that the driver of vehicle A understands the request. As a driver of the vehicle B, it may be possible to make a request for contact travel when the remaining battery of the vehicle B is low and there is a possibility that the vehicle B does not have power until it reaches the destination. .

Then, when the driver of the vehicle A understands the contact travel, the process of FIG. 2 is started, and first, the contact state transition process is executed.
Then, the contact state transition process shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 is executed. In the contact state transition process in the present embodiment, each process of step S102, step S109, and step S115 is performed sequentially. In addition, the transition to the contact state is not performed unless an obstacle exists between the vehicles B. Therefore, it is not necessary to perform a troublesome operation for avoiding an obstacle by manual steering while the driver of the vehicle A shifts to the contact state.

In addition, since the processing of step S111 and step S112 is performed before the front end portion of the vehicle A contacts the rear end portion of the vehicle B, even if the vehicle B performs sudden braking during the contact state transition processing, the vehicle A There is no need for the driver to turn the steering wheel suddenly.
Further, since the processing of step S113 and step S114 is executed, the vehicle speed Va of the vehicle A is maintained at a higher speed than the vehicle speed Vb of the vehicle Vb, and the vehicle A gradually approaches the vehicle B. . Thereafter, if the determination in step S117 is “NO”, the vehicle A also gradually decelerates through the process in step S118, and finally the determination in step S117 becomes “YES”. The determination of step S117 being “YES” means that the deceleration of the vehicle A has become 0 in a situation where the vehicle A is traveling at a higher vehicle speed than the vehicle B. It can be determined that the front end of the vehicle A is in contact with and pushed by the rear end of the vehicle B.

Thus, according to the contact state transition process in the present embodiment, the traveling vehicle A and the vehicle B can be safely brought into a contact state.
For this reason, in order to make vehicle A and vehicle B contact, it is not necessary to make a special connection structure in the bumper etc. of both vehicles.
And after shifting to a contact state, it transfers to step S200 of FIG. 2, and a contact running process is performed. Specifically, the contact running process shown in FIG. 5 is executed.

In the contact running state, the vehicle A pushes the vehicle B, so that energy is sent from the vehicle A to the vehicle B, and the fuel efficiency of the vehicle B is improved. In particular, if the vehicle B travels with the motor 40 operating as a generator, the battery 41A can be charged by regenerative energy.
In this case, since the processing of steps S202 to S208 is executed, in order to maintain the contact state, the driving force of the vehicle A is larger than the driving force of the vehicle B, or the braking force of the vehicle B is the vehicle. Since the acceleration / deceleration of at least one of the vehicle A and the vehicle B is controlled so as to be larger than the braking force of A, even if the vehicle does not have a special connection structure, the contact running state is easily maintained. be able to.

When the process of step S200 in FIG. 2 is completed, the process of step S300 is once executed. When it is determined in step S300 that the condition for terminating the contact travel process is satisfied, the contact travel process is immediately terminated. . For this reason, it can avoid that a contact driving state continues carelessly.
Moreover, since a special connection structure is not used to perform the contact travel, the contact travel processing can be terminated simply by decelerating the vehicle A and increasing the inter-vehicle distance from the vehicle B. Therefore, it is not necessary to stop the vehicle once, and it takes a short time.

When the process of step S300 is executed, first, the process of step S301 of FIG. 7 is executed. For this reason, when at least one of the driver of the vehicle A and the driver of the vehicle B is no longer willing to continue the contact travel, the contact travel state is immediately ended.
For this reason, when the vehicle A or the vehicle B reaches the destination or in the vicinity thereof, or when the traveling directions of the vehicle A and the vehicle B are different, the vehicle can immediately return to the independent traveling.

Moreover, since the process of step S302 and step S303 is performed, it can avoid that a contact driving state continues until SOC of the battery 41A of the vehicle B exceeds a threshold value. Therefore, the deterioration of the battery 41A is not suddenly accelerated.
Furthermore, since the processes of step S305 and step S306 are executed, it is possible to avoid the contact running state from continuing even though the fuel remaining amount of the vehicle A is extremely small. Therefore, the possibility that the vehicle A runs out of gas on the way can be reduced.

  Further, in the contact travel process shown in FIG. 5, a contact release determination process is executed in steps S201 and S209. And the contact cancellation | release determination process is set as the structure which cancels | releases the contact driving state of the vehicles A and B, when it will be in the condition which can determine that the request | requirement turning amount of the vehicle B is large, as shown in FIG. For this reason, when making a left or right turn at an intersection, or when traveling on a curved road with a small turning radius, the contact traveling state is automatically canceled. Here, if the contact running state is maintained when turning left or right at the intersection, the vehicle A may continue to push the vehicle B, and the vehicles A and B may be offset to adversely affect the vehicle behavior. However, with the configuration of the present embodiment, such a situation can be avoided.

  Here, in this embodiment, the process of step S104 corresponds to the inter-vehicle distance calculation means, the process of step S105 corresponds to the braking distance difference calculation means, the process of step S111 corresponds to the braking performance determination means, and step S112. The process of step S113 corresponds to the vehicle speed determination means, the process of step S114 corresponds to the preceding vehicle deceleration means, and the process of FIG. 7 corresponds to the contact travel state end means.

(Effect of 1st Embodiment)
(1) The distance between the vehicles A (following vehicle) and the vehicle B (preceding vehicle) is calculated, the difference between the braking distances of the vehicles A and B is calculated, and the calculated distance between the vehicles is equal to or larger than the difference between the braking distances. In this case, since the vehicle A shifts to the state of traveling while pushing the vehicle B in the contact state, the vehicle can stably shift to the contact travel state.
(2) In particular, since the inter-vehicle distance between the vehicle A and the vehicle B is brought close to 0 while maintaining the state where the calculated inter-vehicle distance is equal to or greater than the difference in the braking distance, it is possible to shift to the contact travel state more stably. it can.

(3) The braking performance of the vehicle A and the braking performance of the vehicle B are compared to determine whether the braking performance of the vehicle A is worse than the braking performance of the vehicle B. If it is determined that the braking performance of the vehicle B is worse than the braking performance of the vehicle B, the braking performance of the vehicle B is changed to a lower side, so that the vehicle for some reason during the transition to the contact running state. Even if B tries to stop by sudden braking, the vehicle A can be prevented from colliding with the vehicle B.
(4) Furthermore, since the vehicle speed of the vehicle B is controlled so that the vehicle speeds of the vehicle A and the vehicle B become the same when the distance between the vehicles A and B becomes zero, the moment of transition to the contact state The impact is extremely small.

(5) Further, the vehicle speed Va of the vehicle A is compared with the vehicle speed Vb of the vehicle B, and when it is determined that the vehicle speed Va of the vehicle A is faster than the vehicle speed Vb of the vehicle B, the vehicle B is decelerated. Therefore, the process of shifting to the contact state can be quickly completed.
(6) Since the following vehicle is a vehicle A that is a gasoline vehicle and the preceding vehicle is a vehicle B that is an electric vehicle, from a gasoline vehicle that is relatively easy to refuel, to an electric vehicle that still has few charging facilities in the city , Can give and receive energy.

(7) Since the contact running state can be prevented from continuing even though the fuel remaining amount of the vehicle A is extremely low, there is a possibility that the vehicle A runs out of gas on the way due to the contact running. Can be reduced.
(8) Since the contact running state can be prevented from continuing until the battery SOC of the vehicle B exceeds the threshold value, the deterioration of the battery is not suddenly accelerated due to the contact running.
(9) When at least one of the driver of the vehicle A and the driver of the vehicle B is no longer willing to continue the contact travel, the contact travel state is immediately terminated, so that the vehicle A or the vehicle B reaches the destination, etc. It is possible to return to independent driving immediately.

(Modification)
In the first embodiment, the case where the vehicle traveling system according to the present invention is applied has been described, taking as an example the case where the vehicle A as the following vehicle is a gasoline vehicle and the vehicle B as the preceding vehicle is an electric vehicle. The combination of the vehicle A and the vehicle B is not limited to this, and the vehicle A that is a subsequent vehicle may be an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle, and the vehicle B that is a preceding vehicle is a gasoline vehicle or a hybrid vehicle. May be.
However, if the preceding vehicle is a vehicle equipped with a regenerative braking system, it is possible to store energy received from the following vehicle. Therefore, the preceding vehicle is preferably an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle.

A: vehicle (following vehicle), B: vehicle (preceding vehicle), 10: engine, 11: clutch, 12: transmission, 13: differential gear, 13a: drive shaft, 15: suspension stroke sensor, 16: acceleration sensor, 17: Steering angle sensor, 18: Accelerator stroke sensor, 19: Brake stroke sensor, 20: Vehicle speed sensor, 21 controller, 22F, 23R: Camera, 23: Transceiver, 40: Motor, 41A: Battery, 41B: Inverter, 42 : Transmission, 43: Differential gear, 43a: Drive shaft, 43a: Drive shaft, 45: Suspension stroke sensor, 46: Acceleration sensor, 47: Steering angle sensor, 48: Acceleration stroke sensor, 49: Brake stroke sensor, 50: Vehicle speed Capacitors, 51: controller, 52F, 52R: Camera, 53: transceiver

Claims (9)

In the vehicle traveling system in which each vehicle travels while the succeeding vehicle pushes the preceding vehicle in contact with the rear,
An inter-vehicle distance calculating means for calculating an inter-vehicle distance between the subsequent vehicle and the preceding vehicle when the subsequent vehicle and the preceding vehicle are traveling independently;
A braking distance difference calculating means for calculating a difference in braking distance between the succeeding vehicle and the preceding vehicle when the following vehicle and the preceding vehicle are traveling independently;
With
Vehicle travel characterized in that when the inter-vehicle distance calculated by the inter-vehicle distance calculation means is greater than or equal to the difference of the braking distance calculated by the braking distance difference calculation means, the vehicle travels to the state of traveling in the contact state. system.   The inter-vehicle distance between the succeeding vehicle and the preceding vehicle is made closer to 0 while maintaining the state where the inter-vehicle distance calculated by the inter-vehicle distance calculating means is not less than the difference between the braking distances calculated by the braking distance difference calculating means. The vehicle travel system according to claim 1. When the succeeding vehicle and the preceding vehicle are traveling independently, the braking performance of the succeeding vehicle is compared with the braking performance of the preceding vehicle. Braking performance judging means for judging whether or not the braking performance is worse than the braking performance;
Braking performance changing means for changing the braking performance of the preceding vehicle to a lower side when the braking performance determining means determines that the braking performance of the following vehicle is worse than the braking performance of the preceding vehicle; ,
With
When the braking performance changing means changes the braking performance of the preceding vehicle to a lower side, the inter-vehicle distance calculated by the inter-vehicle distance calculating means is greater than or equal to the difference of the braking distance calculated by the braking distance difference calculating means. The vehicle traveling system according to claim 2, wherein the vehicle traveling system is maintained.   The vehicle travel according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the vehicle speed of the succeeding vehicle is controlled so that the vehicle speeds of the succeeding vehicle and the preceding vehicle become the same when the inter-vehicle distance between the succeeding vehicle and the preceding vehicle becomes zero. system. When the subsequent vehicle and the preceding vehicle are traveling independently, the vehicle speed of the preceding vehicle is compared with the vehicle speed of the subsequent vehicle, and the vehicle speed of the preceding vehicle is higher than the vehicle speed of the subsequent vehicle. Vehicle speed judging means for judging whether or not it is fast,
When the vehicle speed determination means determines that the vehicle speed of the preceding vehicle is faster than the vehicle speed of the subsequent vehicle, the preceding vehicle deceleration means decelerates the preceding vehicle;
The vehicle travel system according to claim 3 or 4, further comprising:   The said succeeding vehicle is a vehicle which used the internal combustion engine as a drive source, and the said preceding vehicle is an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle provided with the function to drive | work with an electric motor. Vehicle traveling system.   7. A contact travel state ending unit for ending the travel in the contact state when it is detected that the remaining energy amount of the following vehicle has reached a threshold during the travel in the contact state. The vehicle travel system according to any one of the above. The preceding vehicle is an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle equipped with a regenerative braking system,
The contact travel state ending means for ending the travel in the contact state when it is detected that the remaining power storage capacity in the preceding vehicle has reached a threshold during the travel in the contact state. The vehicle travel system according to any one of claims.   The vehicle travel system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising contact travel state end means for ending travel in the contact state in accordance with a driver's will.

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