Vehicle control device and vehicle control system

• US 8,958,970 B2
• Filed: 05/13/2010
• Issued: 02/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Matsunaga, Masaki, Ueki, Nobukazu, Tsujii, Hiroshi, Ito, Koji
• Primary Examiner(s): Trammell, James
• Assistant Examiner(s): Malhotra, Sanjeev
• Application Number:
  US13/697,145
• Publication Number:
  US 20130060444A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,741 Days
• Field of Search: 701/22, 701/41, 701/48, 701/117, 701/301, 104/121, 104/139, 104/295, 180/54.1, 180/65.2, 123/491, 307/9.1, 382/104, 477/3, 477/38, 475/150
• US Class Current: 701/99
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 6/485 Motor-assist type
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/085 due to special conditions, e.g. adverse weather, type of road, badly illuminated road signs or potential dangers B60Q1/10, B60Q1/12, B60Q1/1423 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/11 Linear movements of the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2030/1809 Without torque flow between driveshaft and engine, e.g. with clutch disengaged or transmission in neutral
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/18072 Coasting
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/0097 Predicting future conditions
• CPC Class Codes: F16D 2500/1066 Hybrid
• CPC Class Codes: F16D 2500/5085 Coasting
• CPC Class Codes: F16D 2500/70424 Outputting a clutch engaged-disengaged signal
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/60 Other road transportation technologies with climate change mitigation effect
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/62 Hybrid vehicles

Abstract

A vehicle control system and a vehicle control device can switch control of a supporting device for support a drive of a vehicle between an ordinary travel in which the vehicle travels in a state that a power source for causing the vehicle to travel is operated and an inertia travel in which the vehicle travels in a state that an operation of the power source is stopped. Accordingly, since the vehicle control system and the vehicle control device switch the control of the supporting device between the ordinary travel and the inertia travel, the vehicle control system and the vehicle control device achieve an effect that the vehicle can be caused to appropriately travel by inertia.

Claims

1. A vehicle control device, comprising:

a power source configured to cause a vehicle to travel;

a supporting device configured to support a drive of the vehicle; and

a controller configured to switch control of the supporting device for supporting the drive of the vehicle between an ordinary travel in which the vehicle travels in a first state that the power source for causing the vehicle to travel is operated and an inertia travel in which the vehicle travels in a second state that an operation of the power source is stopped, and switch the control is so that the support of the drive is more intensified in the inertia travel, wherein

the supporting device is configured to include an operation supporting device for supporting an operation by a driver as the support of the drive,

the controller is configured to set a start condition of an operation support by the operation supporting device to such a condition that the operation support by the operation supporting device can be easily started in a first operation start condition in the inertia travel as compared with a second operation start condition in the ordinary travel such that the support by the operation supporting device can be easily started in the inertia travel as compared with the ordinary travel, and

wherein the inertia travel is a travel state in which at least any one of an acceleration requesting operation to the vehicle or a deceleration requesting operation to the vehicle is not executed.

2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein a parameter for determining a start of operation of an operation support by the operation supporting device or an operation threshold value set to the parameter is changed to a side where a timing of an operation support by the operation supporting device is advanced in the inertia travel as compared with the ordinary travel.

3. The vehicle control device according to claim 2, wherein, in the inertia travel, a preparation of the support is executed before the support is started by the supporting device.

4. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the control is switched based on peripheral environment information of the vehicle.

5. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein control can be shifted to control for causing the vehicle to travel by inertia according to an operation while the vehicle travels.

6. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein when a deceleration requesting operation to the vehicle is executed, control is not switched to the control in the inertia travel.

7. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein a support state of the supporting device is displayed by controlling a display device.

8. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein when a time until the support by the support device is operated and a behavior of the vehicle actually appears is shortened in the inertia travel as compared with the ordinary travel.

9. The vehicle control device according to claim 2, wherein the control is switched based on peripheral environment information of the vehicle.

10. The vehicle control device according to claim 3, wherein the control is switched based on peripheral environment information of the vehicle.

11. A vehicle control device, comprising:

a power source configured to cause a vehicle to travel;

a supporting device configured to support a drive of the vehicle; and

a controller configured to switch control of the supporting device for supporting the drive of the vehicle between an ordinary travel in which the vehicle travels in a first state that the power source for causing the vehicle to travel is operated and an inertia travel in which the vehicle travels in a second state that an operation of the power source is stopped, and switch the control is so that the support of the drive is more intensified in the inertia travel, wherein

the supporting device is configured to include a recognition supporting device for supporting recognition of information by a driver as the support of the drive, the recognition supporting device is configured to execute a support for making the recognition of the information easy in the inertia travel as compared with the ordinary travel, and

wherein the inertia travel is a travel state in which at least any one of an acceleration requesting operation to the vehicle or a deceleration requesting operation to the vehicle is not executed.

12. The vehicle control device according to claim 11, wherein the recognition supporting device supports recognition of information by a driver as a support of the drive by providing information useful for drive or reducing a load for obtaining information.

13. The vehicle control device according to claim 11, wherein the support is executed by controlling the supporting device according to a vehicle forward in a travel direction of the vehicle.

14. The vehicle control device according to claim 12, wherein the support is executed by controlling the supporting device according to a vehicle forward in a travel direction of the vehicle.

15. The vehicle control device according to claim 11, wherein the control is switched based on peripheral environment information of the vehicle.

16. The vehicle control device according to claim 12, wherein the control is switched based on peripheral environment information of the vehicle.

17. The vehicle control device according to claim 13, wherein the control is switched based on peripheral environment information of the vehicle.

18. A vehicle control system, comprising:

a power source configured to cause a vehicle to travel;

a supporting device configured to support a drive of the vehicle; and

a vehicle control device configured to switch control of the supporting device between an ordinary travel in which the vehicle travels in a first state that the power source is operated and an inertia travel in which the vehicle travels in a second state that an operation of the power source is stopped, wherein

the supporting device is configured to include an operation supporting device for supporting an operation by a driver as the support of the drive and a recognition supporting device for supporting recognition of information by the driver as the support of the drive,

the vehicle control device is configured to switch the control so that the support of the drive is more intensified in the inertia travel,

the vehicle control device is configured to set a start condition of an operation support by the operation supporting device to such a condition that the operation support by the operation supporting device can be easily started in a first operation start condition in the inertia travel as compared with a second operation start condition in the ordinary travel such that the support by the operation supporting device can be easily started in the inertia travel as compared with the ordinary travel,

the recognition supporting device is configured to switch a support for making the recognition of the information easy in the inertia travel as compared with the ordinary travel, and

wherein the inertia travel is a travel state in which at least any one of an acceleration requesting operation to the vehicle or a deceleration requesting operation to the vehicle is not executed.

19. The vehicle control system according to claim 18, further comprising:

a display device capable of displaying a support state of the supporting device.