Integrated vehicle control system

• US 6,553,297 B2
• Filed: 07/18/2001
• Issued: 04/22/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Kato, Tomohiro, Kato, Yoshifumi, Fujii, Takehito, Miyamoto, Noboru, Matsumoto, Toshiki, Tashiro, Tsutomu
• Primary Examiner(s): Beaulieu, Yonel
• Application Number:
  US09/907,501
• Publication Number:
  US 20020016659A1
• Time in Patent Office: 643 Days
• Field of Search: 701/45, 701/48, 701/33, 307/9.1
• US Class Current: 701/48
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/04 including control of propulsion units
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/10 including control of change-speed gearings
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/18 including control of braking systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0006 Digital architecture hierarchy
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/801 Lateral distance
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2710/0666 Engine torque
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2720/10 Longitudinal speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2720/103 Speed profile
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2720/106 Longitudinal acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/1819 Propulsion control with control means using analogue circuits, relays or mechanical links
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/06 Improving the dynamic response of the control system, e.g. improving the speed of regulation or avoiding hunting or overshoot

Abstract

In a vehicular control system, when in the engine ECU, ATECU or brake ECU there occurs important information which requires an urgent response by any of the other ECUs, the important information is transmitted directly to the corresponding ECU through an important information communication line L1 without going through a manager ECU 10. Therefore, a controller in the ECU receives the important information and immediately controls the corresponding component based on the important information.

Claims

1. An integrated vehicle control system comprising:

a plurality of component control units which respectively control a plurality of components of a vehicle according to preset control programs;

a manager control unit which issues commands of operation guides to the plurality of component control units, the operation guides being for the components controlled by the component control units; and

a communication line which connects the manager control unit and the component control units and connects the component control units together;

wherein each of the plurality of component control units includes a manipulated variable calculating means which calculates a manipulated variable of components controlled by the component control unit, the calculating means being based on the operation guide received from the manager control unit through the communication line, each of the plurality of component control units including a control means which controls the components according to the manipulated variable calculated by the manipulated variable calculating means;

at least one of the plurality of component control units has an important information transmitting means which determines whether an urgent control for any of remaining component control units is necessary based on operational conditions of the components, wherein the one of the plurality of component control units transmits important information directly to a component control unit that requires urgent control through the communication line; and

the control means thereof controls the component based on the important information when the component control unit requiring urgent control receives the important information.

3. An integrated vehicle control system according to claim 1, wherein:

at least one of the component control units is further provided with a second manipulated variable calculating means which calculates a second manipulated variable for controlling the component requiring urgent control when it is determined that an urgent control for any other component control units is necessary based on the operational conditions of the components;

the important information transmitting means transmits the second manipulated variable calculated by the second manipulated variable calculating means as the important information to the control means in the component control unit which controls a specific component; and

the control means in the component control unit controls the specific component according to the received manipulated variable upon receipt of the manipulated variable as the important information from the important information transmitting means.

6. An integrated vehicle control system according to claim 1, wherein the control means in the component control unit which has received the important information portions executes a control processing based on the important information portions according to a predetermined order of priority when any of the component control units receives a plurality of types of information portions simultaneously as the important information.

8. An integrated vehicle control system according to claim 1, wherein:

the component control units include a power control unit for controlling a driving force generator mounted as one of the components on the vehicle and a brake control unit for controlling brakes mounted as one of the components on the vehicle; and

the brake control unit issues a command to decrease a driving force of the driving force generator to the power control unit upon functional deterioration of the brakes, the command being the important information.

9. An integrated vehicle control system according to claim 1, wherein:

the component control units include a power control unit for controlling a driving force generator mounted as one of the components on the vehicle and a shift control unit for controlling a transmission mounted as one of the components on the vehicle; and

the shift control unit issues a command to to decrease a driving force of the driving force generator during a shifting operation of the transmission to the power control unit, the command being the important information.

10. An integrated vehicle control system according to claim 8, wherein the driving force generator controlled by the power control unit is an engine, a control means being provided in the power control unit, when the driving force of the engine is decreased according to the important information, executes at least one of an intake volume decreasing control for decreasing the amount of intake air to the engine, an ignition timing retarding control for retarding an ignition timing for the engine, and an injection volume decreasing control for decreasing the amount of fuel injected into the engine.

11. An integrated vehicle control system according to claim 1, comprising:

the component control units include a power control unit for controlling an engine mounted as one of the components on the vehicle and a shift control unit for controlling a transmission mounted as one of the components on the vehicle and equipped with a torque converter and a lock-up mechanism;

the power control unit issuing a command to release the lock-up mechanism in the transmission when the air-fuel ratio during combustion of fuel in the engine is changed abruptly, the command being the important information, to the shift control unit.

12. An integrated vehicle control system according to claim 1, wherein:

the component control units include a brake control unit for controlling brakes mounted as one of the components on the vehicle and a shift control unit for controlling a transmission mounted as one of the components on the vehicle and equipped with a torque converter and a lock-up mechanism;

the brake control unit issues a command to the shift control unit to release the lock-up mechanism in the transmission during a start of the brake actuation, the command being the important information.

13. An integrated vehicle control system according to claim 1, wherein:

the component control units include a brake control unit for controlling brakes mounted as one of the components on the vehicle, the brake control unit having an anti-lock function and a shift control unit for controlling a transmission that is one of the components on the vehicle;

the brake control unit issues a command to the shift control unit to change a gear ratio of the transmission to decrease the ratio of an input number of revolutions to an output number of revolutions in the transmission during a start of the anti-lock function of the brakes, the command being the important information.

14. An integrated vehicle control system according to claim 1, wherein:

The component control units include a power control unit for controlling a driving force generator mounted as one of the components on the vehicle and a shift control unit for controlling a continuously variable transmission mounted as one of the components on the vehicle;

the shift control unit having a means for transmitting information to the power control unit to change a gear ratio to increase the ratio of an input number of revolutions to an output number of revolutions in the continuously variable transmission, the means for transmitting being the important information transmitting means, the information being the important information;

wherein the control means in the power control unit enhances a driving force of the driving force generator when the power control unit receives the important information from the shift control unit during operation of brakes of the vehicle.

15. An integrated vehicle control system according to claim 14, wherein the driving force generator controlled by the power control unit is an engine, the control means in the power control unit executes at least an intake volume increasing control for increasing the amount of intake air to the engine or an injection volume increasing control for increasing an amount of fuel injected into the engine when the driving force of the engine is to be enhanced based on the important information.

20. An integrated vehicle control system according to claim 1, wherein the manager control unit and the plural component control units are each constructed with an independent electronic control unit which is a microcomputer.

21. An integrated vehicle control system according to claim 1, wherein the communication line comprises an important information communication line for transmission of the important information and a general information communication line for transmission of other information.

2. An integrated vehicle control system comprising:

a plurality of component control units which respectively control a plurality of components of a vehicle according to preset control programs;

a manager control unit which issues commands of operation guides to the plurality of component control units, the operation guides being for the components controlled by the component control units; and

a communication line which connects the manager control unit and the component control units and connects the component control units together;

wherein each of the plurality of component control units includes a manipulated variable calculating means which calculates a manipulated variable of components controlled by the component control unit, the calculating means being based on the operation guide received from the manager control unit through the communication line, each of the plurality of component control units including a control means which controls the components according to the manipulated variable calculated by the manipulated variable calculating means;

at least one of the plurality of component control units having an important information transmitting means which determines whether an urgent control for any remaining component control units is necessary based on operational conditions of the components, wherein one of the plurality of component control units transmits important information directly to a component control unit that requires urgent control through the communication line;

the control means thereof controls the component based on the important information when the component control unit requiring urgent control receives the important information; and

wherein the manager control unit comprises;

an entire vehicle operation determining unit which determines an operation guide for a whole of a vehicle based on operational information on components received from the component control units through the communication line;

an operation guide determining means which determines operation guides for the components based on the operation guide for the whole of the vehicle determined by the entire vehicle operation determining means;

a general information transmitting means which transmits the operation guides determined by the operation guide determining means to the corresponding component control unit through the communication line; and

a second important information transmitting means which transmits the important information to a corresponding component control unit without going through the operation guide determining means when the operation guide for the whole of the vehicle determined by the entire vehicle operation determining means corresponds to the important information.

4. An integrated vehicle control system according to claim 2, wherein:

the manager control unit is further provided with a manipulated variable calculating means which calculates a manipulated variable for controlling a specific component according to the important information when the operation guide for the whole of the vehicle determined by the entire vehicle operation determining unit corresponds to the important information;

the second important information transmitting means transmits the manipulated variable calculated by the manipulated variable calculating means as the important information to the control means in the component control unit which controls the specific component; and

the control means in the component control unit controls the specific component according to the received manipulated variable upon receipt of the manipulated variable as the important information from the second important information transmitting means in the manager control unit.

5. An integrated vehicle control system according to claim 2, wherein each of the important information transmitting means and the second important information transmitting means transmits important information portions according to a predetermined order of priority when a plurality of types of information portions occur simultaneously as the important information.

7. An integrated vehicle control system according to claim 4, wherein the manipulated variable calculating means makes reference to the operation guide determined by the operation guide determining means before the execution of the processing based on the important information.

16. An integrated vehicle control system according to claim 2, wherein:

information provided from a radar system which measures a distance between the vehicle and an object present ahead of the vehicle is input to the manager control unit; and

the second important information transmitting means determines whether a danger of collision between the vehicle and the object is high based on the information provided from the radar system, the second important information transmitting means transmits a deceleration command to the corresponding component control unit for causing a predetermined component to operate in a decelerating direction of the vehicle if the result is high, the deceleration command being the important information.

17. An integrated vehicle control system according to claim 16, wherein the second important information transmitting means transmits a command to the power control unit which controls the driving force generator for decreasing the driving force generated by the driving force generator mounted on the vehicle as the deceleration command.

18. An integrated vehicle control system according to claim 16, wherein the second important information transmitting means transmits a command to the shift control unit which controls the transmission for setting a change gear ratio of the transmission to increase the ratio of an input number of revolutions to an output number of revolutions in the transmission, the command being the deceleration command.

19. An integrated vehicle control system according to claim 16, wherein the second important information transmitting means transmits a command for enhancing a braking torque generated by the brakes mounted on the vehicle, the command being the deceleration command to the brake control unit which controls the brakes.

22. An integrated vehicle control system comprising:

a plurality of component control units respectively controlling a plurality of components of a vehicle;

a manager control unit which issues commands of operation guides to the plurality of component control units, the operation guides being for the components controlled by the component control units; and

a communication line which connects the manager control unit and the component control units and connects the component control units together;

wherein at least one of the plurality of component control units comprises an important information transmitting means which determines whether an urgent control for any remaining component control unit is necessary based on operational conditions of the components, wherein at least one of the plurality of component control units transmits important information directly to a component control unit that requires urgent control through the communication line.

23. An integrated vehicle control system according to claim 22, wherein said component control units control said components according to preset control programs.

24. An integrated vehicle control system according to claim 22, wherein said control system performs control functions for regular vehicle operation functions.