Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Vehicle control – guidance – operation – or indication – Transmission control
Reexamination Certificate
1997-12-09
2001-08-21
Zanelli, Michael J. (Department: 3661)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Vehicle control, guidance, operation, or indication
Transmission control
C701S208000, C477S097000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06278928
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to a vehicle control device that conducts vehicle control based on road information, and more particularly to a vehicle control device that controls transmission gear ratios based on information for the road ahead.
BACKGROUND OF THE ART
The prior art for controlling transmission stages by utilizing road data stored in a navigation system mounted on a vehicle includes Japanese patent publication No. 6-272753 and Japanese patent laid-open publication No.7-234991 which have proposed a control device that controls the transmission stage based on various items of information, including vehicle speed variation and degree of accelerator opening, that can be detected by sensors, and map information read out from the navigation system. Such a device provides the vehicle with an optimum transmission stage in conformity to the varying drive conditions.
With the above-described prior art transmission control devices, road data is obtained from the navigation system in order to determine a transmission stage in conformity with the condition of the road on which the vehicle is now running. However, all information used in such prior art control systems merely indicates the current drive conditions. With the prior art systems, it is not possible to control the transmission in anticipation of future changes in the drive conditions.
For example, when the vehicle goes up a slope, the prior art control devices can not change a transmission stage until the vehicle goes up to a certain level that results in a change in an actual vehicle speed or degree of accelerator opening. Moreover, this prior art control, while following the road information neglects the driver's will or intention. More specifically, the transmission stage control based on the road information has a good adaptability to surrounding conditions, but tends to force a perfunctory control on the driver.
Further, the above-described prior art control device encounters a difficult problem if there is a difference between the detected vehicle position detected by a current vehicle position sensor and the actual vehicle position.
Furthermore, when a transmission shift change pattern is controlled based on road data for example, a up-shift is prohibited during driving around a corner or a bend in the road, whereas shift change points become higher during high-speed driving. However, the prior art transmission control devices can not control the transmission when the vehicle is driving around a corner at high speed.
In most cases, there are multiple conditions for the road, for example, a curved highway or speedway, and a climbing straight-away with a low friction coefficient, and the prior art devices can not provide suitable transmission control when. driving on such a road.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to achieve vehicle control that conforms well to the driver's intention, and more particularly to provide a vehicle control device that achieves more favorable control in response to a driver's decelerating operation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a vehicle control device for a vehicle including means for obtaining road information, current position sensor means for detecting an on-road current position, means for determining a control parameter for the vehicle's automatic transmission in accordance with the detected current position and the obtained road information, deceleration sensor means for detecting a driver's decelerating operation, and execution means for executing control of the determined control parameter when the driver's decelerating operation is detected by said deceleration sensor means.
The control parameter may be a gear ratio range of the automatic transmission or upper and/or lower limits for the gear ratios of the automatic transmission.
The control parameter determining means may comprise first means for determining a plurality of control parameters in accordance with different items of road information and second means for determining the control parameter to be executed by said execution means among those determined by said first means. The control parameter determining means may include drive condition sensor means for detecting a drive condition of the vehicle and determining the control parameter based on the detected drive condition. In one embodiment the control parameter determining means includes forward position sensor means for detecting a specific position ahead of the vehicle, deceleration inference means for inferring a need for deceleration in accordance with the road information for the detected specific position, and select means for selectively determining the control parameter when the deceleration inference means infers a need for deceleration. The control parameter determining means may further include distance calculating means for calculating distance from the current position to the specific position, whereby the deceleration inference means infers the need for deceleration further with reference to the calculated distance from the current position to the specific position. The control parameter determining means may also include curvature calculating means for calculating radius of curvature of a corner ahead of the vehicle, section calculating means for calculating sectional distance from the current position to entrance to the corner, road shape inference means for inferring shape of a predetermined road section ahead of the vehicle, average curvature calculating means for calculating average curvature of one or more corners in the predetermined road section, altitude variation calculating means for calculating altitude variation in the predetermined road section, and/or standard acceleration calculating means for calculating standard acceleration of the vehicle in accordance with the detected vehicle throttle opening degree and gear ratio. In yet another embodiment, the control parameter determining means includes speed calculating means for calculating recommended vehicle speed at a predetermined position ahead of the vehicle, thereby determining the control parameter in accordance with a difference between the recommended vehicle speed and the current vehicle speed, wherein the predetermined position may be a node.
The road information may include one or more items of information selected from the group consisting of radius of curvature of a corner, road slope, distance to entrance to the corner, speed limit for the road, average curvature or average slope of a specific section on a scheduled drive route, distance to an entrance ramp of an expressway, intersection, distance to the intersection and nodes representing the road shape.
The vehicle drive condition may be a condition selected from the group consisting of vehicle speed, degree of throttle opening, gear ratio, operative condition of a cruise control unit, operation of lights, blinker operation and wiper operation.
The selected specific position may be a point of approach to a corner, an intersection, or an entrance to a freeway ramp.
The vehicle control device according to the present invention may further include first discriminating means for determining a need for restricting the shiftable range of gear ratio in accordance with the road information for a predetermined road section ahead of the vehicle, and second discriminating means for determining need for further restricting the gear ratio in accordance with the road information for a sub-section specified within the predetermined road section.
The first or second discriminating means may make its determination in accordance with at least two different types of road information.
The deceleration sensor means may detect one or more operations selected from the group consisting of switching on of a light, switching on of a blinker, switching on of a wiper, release of the accelerator pedal and stepping on the brake pedal.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5337245 (1994-08-01), Matsuzaki
patent: 5661650 (1997-08-01), Sekine et al.
patent: 571630
Aruga Hideki
Iwami Takahiro
Kawai Masao
Moroto Shuzo
Nakashima Hideki
Kabushikikaisha Equos Research
Lorusso & Loud
Zanelli Michael J.
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