JP2003252014A - Vehicle controller - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle controller capable of suppressing consumption of a battery of a sensor means attached to a wheel and detecting pneumatic pressure and acceleration. <P>SOLUTION: This vehicle controller is provided with the sensor means 4 attached to each wheel 2, detecting pneumatic pressure of the wheel and acceleration applied to the wheel, and transmitting a signal related to pneumatic pressure and a signal related to acceleration applied to the wheel to a vehicle body side, a transmission and reception means 6, 20 provided on the vehicle body side, determining transmission situation including transmission contents from the sensor means and transmission rate to transmit it to the sensor means, and receiving the signals from the sensor means, a pneumatic pressure alarm device 22 discriminating pneumatic pressure of each wheel based on the signal related to pneumatic pressure to give an alarm when pneumatic pressure of any wheel is deviated from a predetermined scope, and a control characteristic change means 30 for changing control characteristic of a vehicle based on the signal related to acceleration. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle control device, and more particularly to a vehicle control device that changes a control characteristic of a vehicle according to an acceleration applied to wheels (tires).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A vertical and horizontal acceleration applied to a vehicle is detected, and the characteristics of the suspension are changed based on these accelerations to improve the maneuverability and riding comfort of the vehicle. Vehicle control devices are known.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In such a device,
The control characteristic of the vehicle is changed so that the traveling characteristic of the vehicle becomes appropriate based on the acceleration applied to the vehicle body. The acceleration applied to the vehicle body is delayed as compared with the input to the wheels because the input from the road surface applied to the tire is transmitted as a result of being transmitted to the vehicle body through the suspension. Therefore, if the vehicle control is performed based on the acceleration applied to the vehicle body, it is difficult to accurately control the behavior of the vehicle.

On the other hand, when the air pressure of the wheel deviates from a predetermined range, a sensor means for detecting the air pressure or the like may be attached to the wheel for an air pressure alarm system which gives an alarm to that effect and notifies the driver. It is being appreciated. It is conceivable to provide such a sensor means with a function of detecting acceleration to detect the acceleration applied to the wheels.

However, if all these data such as air pressure, tire internal temperature, acceleration, etc. are transmitted from the sensor means mounted on the wheel at a constant transmission rate,
There are problems that the battery of the detection device is exhausted early, and that the load of the signal processing device on the vehicle body side increases.

The present invention has been made in view of this point, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle control device capable of suppressing exhaustion of a battery of a sensor means mounted on a wheel for detecting air pressure and acceleration. To aim.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle control device which can reduce the load of a signal processing device which is provided on the vehicle body side and processes signals from sensor means mounted on wheels.

[0008]

According to the present invention, the air pressure of a wheel attached to each wheel and the acceleration applied to the wheel are detected, and a signal related to the air pressure and a signal related to the acceleration applied to the wheel are transmitted to the vehicle body side. A sensor means, a transmission / reception means provided on the vehicle body side, for determining a transmission condition including a transmission content and a transmission rate from the sensor means, transmitting the sensor status to the sensor means, and receiving the signal from the sensor means; The air pressure of each wheel on the basis of the signal relating to the wheel, and an air pressure alarm device for issuing an alarm when the air pressure of any of the wheels deviates from a predetermined range, and the control characteristic of the vehicle is changed based on the signal relating to the acceleration. There is provided a vehicle control device comprising: a control characteristic changing unit.

According to the present invention having such a configuration,
Since the transmission / reception means provided on the vehicle body side changes the transmission status including the transmission contents and the transmission rate from the sensor means provided on the wheel side, the power consumption of the battery of the sensor means is suppressed.

According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the transmission / reception unit changes the transmission rate according to the running state of the vehicle. According to such a configuration, the air pressure alarm device,
The control characteristic changing means controls (alarm,
It is possible to obtain the necessary amount of information in order to change the characteristics.

According to another preferred aspect of the present invention, the transmitting / receiving means does not transmit a signal relating to the acceleration in accordance with the running state of the vehicle. According to such a configuration, when the signal related to the acceleration is unnecessary, the signal related to the acceleration is not transmitted, so that the power consumption of the battery on the sensor means side is further suppressed.

According to another preferred aspect of the present invention, the transmitting / receiving means is responsive to the operating state of another vehicle control device.
The transmission rate or the transmission content is changed. Other vehicle control devices include, for example, antilock brake system (ABS), traction control system (TRC), vehicle stability control (DSC: DynamicSta).
bility control) device.

According to another preferred aspect of the present invention, the sensor means can detect the centrifugal force direction acceleration applied to the wheel and the lateral direction acceleration, and the transmitting / receiving means detects the centrifugal force direction acceleration during low speed running. Set the transmission rate high,
When traveling at high speed, the transmission rate of lateral acceleration is set high. Here, the high transmission rate means that the signal transmission interval is short, that is, the transmission frequency is high. According to such a configuration, control is performed with importance placed on running stability at high speed running and riding comfort at low speed running.

According to another preferred aspect of the present invention, the transmitting / receiving means sets the transmission rate of the outer wheel for turning to a high value during turning. Further, according to another preferred aspect of the present invention, the transmitting / receiving unit sets the transmission rate of the front wheels higher than the transmission rate of the rear wheels during turning. According to these configurations, it becomes possible to perform control with emphasis on running stability during turning travel.

According to another preferred aspect of the present invention, the transmission / reception unit changes the transmission status based on road information from a vehicle-mounted navigation device. With such a configuration, it is possible to perform vehicle control in consideration of special road conditions such as an expressway.

According to another preferred aspect of the present invention, a vehicle stability control device is further provided, and the transmission / reception means increases the transmission rate during operation of the vehicle stability control device. With such a configuration, while the vehicle stability control device in which the traveling state of the vehicle is unstable is operating, a large amount of information can be obtained from the wheel side and highly accurate vehicle control can be performed.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a vehicle stability control device is further provided, and the transmitting / receiving means increases the transmission rate of the lateral acceleration during operation of the vehicle stability control device. Set the transmission rate during operation of the vehicle stability controller higher than the transmission rate in other situations,
Alternatively, the continuous transmission rate is preferable.

With such a configuration, during operation of the vehicle stability control device in which the running state of the vehicle is unstable, a large amount of information regarding the lateral acceleration, which is particularly necessary for vehicle stability control, is obtained. Therefore, highly accurate vehicle control can be performed.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the transmitting / receiving means increases the transmission rate of the lateral acceleration during the rapid deceleration. For example, in the ABS control performed at the time of sudden deceleration, it becomes a problem how much the lateral grip force is left for the braking performance of the tire. However, in this configuration, the lateral acceleration transmission rate is increased, Accurate vehicle control is possible by obtaining a lot of information about lateral acceleration.

[0020]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. First, the configuration of the vehicle control device according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. Figure 1
It is a block diagram showing a schematic structure of a vehicle in which vehicle control device 1 of this embodiment is carried. The vehicle control device 1 of the present embodiment is a vehicle control device that detects an air pressure of a wheel and an acceleration received by the wheel (tire) 2 and changes a control characteristic of the vehicle according to the air pressure and the acceleration.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle control device 1 includes a detection device 4 attached to each wheel 2 of the vehicle and a processing device 6 arranged on the vehicle body side. The vehicle of the present embodiment has a vehicle stability control (DSC: Dynamic Stabilit) functioning as an anti-lock brake system (ABS) and a traction control system (TRC).
y Control) device. In the vehicle of this embodiment, the gear ratio can be changed (VGR: Variable Gear Rati
o) Electric power steering equipped with a mechanism (EPS: Elec
tric power steering) device 8. further,
The vehicle of the present embodiment is equipped with a suspension device that can change the vibration characteristics by changing the hardness of the damper and change the vehicle height by changing the length of the damper. Further, the vehicle of the present embodiment includes a sensor (not shown) that detects a lateral (vehicle width direction) acceleration received by the vehicle body.

The detection device 4 is mounted near the air valve of each wheel of each wheel 2, and the pressure and temperature of the air inside each wheel (inside the tire), the centrifugal force direction acceleration of each wheel, the lateral direction (width direction) acceleration, etc. Is detected and the detection result and the like are transmitted to the processing device 6 on the vehicle body side.

As shown in FIG. 2, the detection device 4 includes a pressure sensor 8 for detecting the air pressure inside each wheel (tire) and a temperature sensor 10 for detecting the temperature of the air inside the wheel (tire). An acceleration sensor 12 for detecting the centrifugal force and the lateral acceleration applied to the wheel 2, and a memory 14 for storing a tire identification ID are provided. The detection device 4 further generates an air pressure signal including a detection value of each sensor 8, 10, 12 and a tire identification ID, transmits the air pressure signal to the processing device 6 side, and receives the signal from the processing device 6 side. A transmission / reception CPU 16 for processing and a transceiver 18 for transmission / reception are provided. The detection device 4 is configured to be operated by a built-in battery (not shown).

In the present embodiment, the detection device 4 normally changes the air pressure signal that does not include a signal relating to acceleration in accordance with the condition of the vehicle (time interval or frequency).
Then, it is configured to actively transmit to the processing device 6. That is, in the present embodiment, when the vehicle is stopped, the air pressure signal is transmitted at an extremely long interval because the air pressure of the wheels is unlikely to change. The stop of the vehicle is determined on the detection device 4 side based on whether or not the output of the acceleration sensor 12 is zero. Further, during traveling, if the air pressure is within the proper range, an air pressure signal is transmitted at a first interval which is shorter than the vehicle stop interval but relatively long, and
When the air pressure deviates from the proper range, it is transmitted at the second interval shorter than the first interval.

Further, when the vehicle is in a predetermined traveling state, a rate specified by the processing device 6 side in lieu of the above-mentioned predetermined rate is an air pressure signal to which a signal relating to the acceleration received by the wheels is added by an instruction from the processing device 6 side. It is configured to be transmitted to the processing device 6 side at (frequency).

Tire identification ID included in the air pressure signal
Is a code used to identify that the air pressure signal is a signal from a wheel attached to the host vehicle, and is different for each processing device 4. This tire identification ID is collated with the tire identification ID registered on the processing device 6 side after being transmitted from the detection device 4.

As shown in FIG. 1, dedicated antennas 20 for receiving the air pressure signals transmitted from the respective detection devices 4 are arranged at positions near the respective wheels 2, and the received air pressure signals are received. Is transmitted to the processing device 6.

The processing device 6 includes an air pressure alarm CPU 22 and
ABS / TRC / DSC control CPU 24 and EPS /
CPU 26 for VGR control and CP for suspension control
A U28, a general control CPU 30, and a storage means 32 are provided.

When the air pressure of the wheel calculated based on the air pressure signal transmitted from any one of the detection devices 4 deviates from the proper range,
Pneumatic warning light 3 located in the instrument panel
4 is turned on to notify the occupant that the air pressure of any of the wheels is abnormal. Since the proper range of the air pressure is related to the air temperature in the wheel, the in-wheel air temperature included in the air pressure signal is taken into consideration when determining whether or not it is the proper range.

ABS / TRC / DSC control CPU 24
Is based on various information from the steering angle sensor, throttle opening sensor, wheel speed sensor, yaw rate sensor, etc.
It is configured to determine the basic control characteristics of the onboard DSC devices and control the operation of these devices based on the basic control characteristics.

Similarly, the EPS / VGR control CPU 26
Determines the basic control characteristics such as the change of the assist amount of the EPS device, the change of the gear ratio, and the change timings of these, based on the running state, the operating state, etc. of the vehicle, and based on this basic control characteristic And is configured to control the operation of the EPS device. Further, the CPU 28 for suspension control determines basic control characteristics such as vibration characteristic control by changing the hardness of the damper of the suspension and vehicle height control by changing the length of the damper based on the running state of the vehicle, etc. It is configured to control the operation of the suspension device based on basic control characteristics.

The general control CPU 30 receives a signal from the detection device 4 side, and when the vehicle is in a predetermined traveling state, the signal relating to the acceleration received by the wheels is added to the signal relating to the air pressure and the rate corresponding to the traveling state. Is sent to the detection device 4. Further, the comprehensive control CPU 30 is configured to calculate the vertical acceleration received by the wheel 2 from the centrifugal acceleration received by the wheel 2. Furthermore, the total control CPU3
0 indicates that when a signal relating to the acceleration received by the wheel 2 is input, ABS / TRC / DS is based on this signal.
C control CPU 24, suspension control CPU 28
It is configured to change the basic control characteristics of the DSC device, the suspension device, etc.

In this embodiment, the total control CPU 30 is
During turning, how hard the damper of the suspension device should be to maintain the steering stability is calculated based on the lateral acceleration received by the wheels 2, and the suspension control CPU 28 is calculated based on the calculated result. Change the control contents of the suspension system by. Also, when the road surface has irregularities and the vertical acceleration received by the wheels is large,
The control is changed so that the suspension becomes softer as the vertical acceleration received by the wheel increases.

Further, the total control CPU 30 estimates the friction coefficient μ of the road surface and the amount of increase (decrease) of the weight of the vehicle based on the phase difference between the lateral acceleration received by the vehicle body and the lateral acceleration received by the wheels. In order to maximize the functions of the DSC device and the like, it is configured to calculate how much the control amount should be changed and to change the basic control of the DSC device, the EPS device, the suspension device and the like. ing.

The storage means 32 also stores the tire identification ID of the tire mounted on the host vehicle, data necessary for issuing an air pressure warning such as the proper air pressure of the mounted tire. Further, the storage means 32 stores data necessary for calculating the amount of change in the control characteristic that corrects the change in the traveling characteristic due to the change in air pressure.

Next, the operation of the vehicle control system of this embodiment will be described. The tire identification ID of the detection device 4 attached to each wheel is stored in the storage means 32 of the processing device 6 when the vehicle is completed or when the tire is replaced. In the present embodiment, since the dedicated antenna 19 is arranged for each wheel 2, by causing each antenna 19 to receive the air pressure signal from each detection device 4, the wheel at which position has which tire identification ID. Can be registered.

As described above, while the vehicle is in use, the detection device 4 transmits an air pressure signal that does not include a signal relating to acceleration to the processing device 6 at a predetermined rate according to the running state of the vehicle. Then, when the traveling state of the vehicle reaches a predetermined traveling state, an instruction from the processing device 6 indicates that the air pressure signal including a signal related to the acceleration is different from the transmission rate of the air pressure signal not including the signal related to the acceleration. It is transmitted from the detection device 4 to the processing device 6 at a rate according to the state.

Hereinafter, the processing device 6 (specifically, the total control CP
The process performed by (U30) for generating an instruction for transmitting a signal regarding the acceleration received by the wheel will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The intervals T1, T2, T
3 and T4 have a relationship of T1 <T2 <T3 <T4, that is,
T1 is the shortest and T4 is the longest. And
T2 is 2 times T1, T3 is 4 times T1, T4 is 8 times T1.
It has a double relationship.

First, in step S10, it is determined whether or not the DSC device is operating and whether or not the hard brake is applied. If YES in step S1, the process proceeds to step S11, the transmission interval of the lateral acceleration of all wheels is set to T1, the transmission interval of the centrifugal force direction is set to T3, and the process proceeds to step S12. When the DSC / ABS is in operation or when the brakes are suddenly applied, it is necessary to frequently receive lateral acceleration, which influences the maneuverability, in order to precisely control these operations. Is. If NO in step S10, the process directly proceeds to step S12.

In step S12, it is determined whether or not the vehicle is traveling on a highway. Whether or not the vehicle is traveling on a highway is determined by the information from the navigation system. If YES in step S12, step S13
Then, the transmission interval of the lateral acceleration of all the wheels is set to T4, and the setting is made so that the transmission in the centrifugal force direction is not performed.
Go to 4. On highways, it is rare to turn a large steering wheel abruptly, the road surface condition is relatively good, and changes in the road surface condition do not occur frequently. Therefore, the transmission frequency should be prioritized to reduce the power consumption of the built-in battery. . If NO in step S12, that is, if the vehicle is not traveling on the highway, the process directly proceeds to step S14.

In step S14, it is determined whether or not the vehicle is turning at a high speed. If YES in step S14, in step S15, the transmission interval of the lateral acceleration of the front wheel on the outside of the turn is T1, the transmission interval of the lateral acceleration of the front wheel on the inside of the turn is T2,
The transmission interval of the lateral acceleration of the rear wheels is set to T3, the transmission interval of the centrifugal force direction acceleration of all the wheels is set to T3, and step S16 is performed.
Proceed to. This is because more precise vehicle control is performed by more frequently transmitting wheel acceleration, which has a greater effect on steerability. Further, assuming that the friction coefficient of the road surface or the irregular state changes, vertical acceleration is required to perform vehicle control in consideration of the ground contact property of tires, and therefore acceleration in the direction of centrifugal force is also transmitted. If NO in step S14, that is, if the vehicle is not turning at high speed, the process directly proceeds to step S16.

In step S16, it is determined whether or not the vehicle is turning at medium speed. If YES in step S16, the transmission interval of the lateral acceleration of the front wheels is set to T in step S17.
2. The transmission interval of the lateral acceleration of the rear wheels is set to T3, the transmission interval of the accelerations of all the wheels in the centrifugal force direction is set to T2, and the process proceeds to step S18. This is because more precise vehicle control is performed by frequently transmitting the lateral acceleration of the front wheels, which has a great influence on the steerability. In addition, the transmission interval in the direction of centrifugal force is increased in order to perform control that emphasizes riding comfort rather than during high-speed turning. If NO in step S16, that is, if the vehicle is not turning at medium speed, the process directly proceeds to step S18.

In step S18, it is determined whether or not the speed is low. If YES in step S18, in step S19, the transmission interval of the lateral acceleration of all wheels is set to T4, the transmission interval of the centrifugal force direction is set to T2, and the process proceeds to step S20. This is mainly because the ride quality is important.

In step S20, a signal relating to the acceleration of the transmission interval (transmission rate) and the transmission content set in step S11, step S13, step S15, step S17, or step S19 is processed by the processing device 6.
An instruction to transmit to the side is sent to each detection device 4, and a signal based on this instruction is transmitted from the detection device 4 to the processing device 6 side. If NO in step S18, the process directly returns. At this time, step S in FIG.
It becomes NO at 5.

As mentioned above, T1 through T4
, T2 is twice T1, T3 is four times T1, T4 is T1
8 times the relationship. Therefore, based on the process of step S11, the air pressure signal including the lateral acceleration signal is sent from all the wheels to the processing device 6 at every T1, and the air pressure signal including the lateral acceleration signal is transmitted in four steps. The acceleration signal in the centrifugal force direction is included in each one (every T3).

In the case of the processing of step S13,
From all wheels, the air pressure signal including the lateral acceleration signal is T
It will be sent to the processing device 6 every 4 times.

When based on the processing of step S15,
From the front wheel on the outer side in the turning direction, an air pressure signal including a lateral acceleration is sent to the processing device 6 every T1, and every four times (every T3) of the transmission of the air pressure signal including a lateral acceleration signal. , The acceleration signal in the direction of centrifugal force is included. Further, from the front wheel on the inside of the turning direction, an air pressure signal including a lateral acceleration is sent to the processing device 6 every T2, and the air pressure signal including the lateral acceleration signal is transmitted once every two times (T
Every 2) will include an acceleration signal in the direction of centrifugal force. Further, from the rear wheel, an air pressure signal including the acceleration in the lateral direction and the centrifugal force is sent to the processing device 6 every T3.

In the case of the processing of step S17,
From the front wheel, an air pressure signal including the acceleration in the lateral direction and the centrifugal force is sent to the processing device 6 every T2. Then, from the rear wheel, an air pressure signal including the acceleration of the centrifugal force is sent to the processing device 6 every T2, and once every two times of the transmission of the air pressure signal including the acceleration signal in the direction of the centrifugal force from the rear wheel ( Every T3) will include a lateral acceleration signal.

Further, based on the processing of step S19, an air pressure signal including acceleration in the centrifugal force direction is sent from all the wheels to the processing device 6 every T2, and an air pressure signal including the acceleration signal in the centrifugal force direction is sent. Once every four times (T4
Every) will include a lateral acceleration signal.

As is apparent from the above processing, in the present embodiment, the processor 6 issues an instruction to transmit a signal regarding acceleration except when the vehicle is in a stopped state or in a straight traveling state at medium speed and high speed. It will be sent to the detection device 4. Therefore, when the vehicle is in a stopped state or is in a straight traveling state at medium and high speeds, an air pressure signal that does not include a signal regarding acceleration is transmitted to the detection device 4. In addition, when the vehicle is stopped or in a state other than the straight traveling state at medium speed and high speed, an air pressure signal including a signal related to acceleration is transmitted to the detection device 4.

On the side of the processing device 6, the air pressure alarm CPU 20 determines whether the air pressure of each wheel is within the proper range stored in the storage means 32, based on the signal relating to the air pressure, and from the proper range. When deviating, the air pressure warning lamp 34 is turned on. When the vehicle is equipped with a device having a display screen such as a navigation device, the display shown in FIG. 4 is displayed on the screen, and the air pressure of which wheel is insufficient (or excessive). In addition, each wheel (left front wheel: FL, right front wheel: F
The relationship between the air pressure of R, the left rear wheel: RL, the right rear wheel: RR) and the proper air pressure band may be notified. Furthermore, the current air pressure of each wheel is displayed on the display of the exclusive wristwatch,
It may be configured to display the proper air pressure (FIG. 5).

In the processing device 6, the general control CPU 30
When the signals regarding the lateral and vertical accelerations received by the wheels are input, the CPU 2 that calculates the change amount of each control characteristic of the vehicle based on these signals and controls the change amount
2, 24, and 26, and the traveling of the vehicle is controlled based on the changed control characteristics.

In the present embodiment, the total control CPU 30 determines whether the lateral control force is applied to the wheels, that is, the lateral acceleration, depending on how much lateral force is applied to the wheels.
Change the basic control amount of the device. For example, at the time of sudden deceleration, a very large acceleration occurs in the vehicle body and wheels, and the grip force of the tire is often near the limit. In such a state, the driver may turn the steering wheel to avoid dangerous goods. In the present embodiment, the control amount of the DSC device is calculated based on the lateral acceleration that the wheel (tire) receives when the driver turns the steering wheel, and thus the control amount that can secure the grip force necessary for bending is calculated. To be done. On the contrary, when the lateral acceleration of the wheel is not generated, 100% of the grip force of the tire is calculated as a control amount that can be used to stop the vehicle, and the vehicle can stop at the shortest distance.

Further, in this embodiment, the total control CPU 3
0 changes the control characteristic of the suspension device based on the magnitude of the lateral acceleration of the tire. Specifically, when the lateral acceleration received by the wheels is large, the damper of the suspension device is made hard to improve the steering performance, and
When the lateral acceleration is small, the control characteristic of the suspension device is changed so as to soften the damper of the suspension device.

Further, in this embodiment, the total control CPU
30 also changes the control characteristic of the suspension device based on the magnitude of the vertical acceleration of the tire. Specifically, the control characteristics of the suspension device are set so that the damper of the suspension device is softened to improve the riding comfort when the vertical acceleration received by the wheel is large, and the damper of the suspension device is hardened when the vertical acceleration is small. change.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but various changes and modifications can be made within the scope of the matters described in the claims.

In the above embodiment, the transmission rate of the signal relating to the acceleration has a predetermined time interval T.
Although 1 to T4 are set, the present invention may have other transmission rates. Also, the transmission content is not limited to the content of the above embodiment. For example,
Uniformly set the transmission rate of the centrifugal force direction acceleration at low speed to be higher than that at high speed or compared to the transmission rate of lateral acceleration, and at high speed, the lateral acceleration is lower than that at low speed or centrifugal. The configuration may be set such that it is higher than the transmission rate of the acceleration in the force direction. Further, the configuration may be such that the transmission rate of the signal related to the acceleration of the outer turning wheel is set relatively high during turning. Further, the configuration may be such that the front wheel transmission rate is set higher than the rear wheel transmission rate during turning travel.

Alternatively, a signal relating to acceleration may be always added to the air pressure signal, and the processing device 6 may process the signal relating to acceleration transmitted only when necessary. With such a configuration, the load on the processing device 6 is reduced.

In the above embodiment, the vehicle has a vehicle stability control (DSC: Dynamic Stability Control) device, an electric power steering (Electric Power Steering) device equipped with a variable gear ratio mechanism, and a vibration. Although a damper whose characteristic / length can be changed is provided, in the present invention, not all of them need to be provided, but at least one of them or a device for controlling the traveling characteristic of a vehicle other than these is provided. It may be a thing.

[0060]

According to the present invention having such a structure, there is provided a vehicle control device capable of suppressing the consumption of the battery of the sensor means mounted on the wheel for detecting the air pressure and the acceleration.

Further, there is provided a vehicle control device provided on the vehicle body side and capable of reducing the load of the signal processing device for processing the signal from the sensor means attached to the wheels.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle equipped with a vehicle control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a detection device.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a process performed by a general control CPU to generate an instruction for transmitting a signal regarding an acceleration received by a wheel.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of a wheel air pressure display.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a dedicated wristwatch displaying air pressure of wheels.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: Vehicle control device 2: Wheel 4: Detection device 6: Processing device

Front page continuation (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ identification code FI theme code (reference) B60T 8/58 B60T 8/58 E B62D 6/00 B62D 6/00 // G08G 1/0969 G08G 1/0969 B62D 113: 00 B62D 113: 00 137: 00 137: 00 F-term (reference) 3D001 AA02 AA17 DA16 DA17 EA07 EA08 EA14 EA15 EA22 EA34 EA36 EB32 EC11 ED02 3D032 CC21 DA03 DA23 DA24 DA33 DA47 DB11 DD02 DE00 EC22 EC31 FF01 FF08 BA2001 3D001 3D046 BB28 BB29 GG09 HH05 HH08 HH15 HH16 HH21 HH25 HH35 HH36 HH39 5H180 AA01 CC22 JJ28

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A sensor means attached to each wheel for detecting air pressure of a wheel and acceleration applied to the wheel and transmitting a signal related to the air pressure and a signal related to acceleration applied to the wheel to a vehicle body side, the sensor means being provided on the vehicle body side, Transmitting and receiving means for determining the transmission status including the transmission contents and transmission rate from the sensor means, and transmitting and receiving the signal from the sensor means, and the air pressure of each wheel based on the signal related to the air pressure. An air pressure alarm device that makes a determination and issues an alarm when the air pressure of any of the wheels deviates from a predetermined range, and a control characteristic changing unit that changes the control characteristic of the vehicle based on the signal related to the acceleration. A vehicle control device characterized by the above. 2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting / receiving unit changes the transmission rate according to a traveling state of the vehicle. 3. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting / receiving unit does not transmit a signal regarding the acceleration according to a traveling state of the vehicle. 4. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting / receiving unit changes the transmission rate according to an operating state of another vehicle control device. 5. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission / reception unit changes the transmission content according to an operating state of another vehicle control device. 6. The sensor means is capable of detecting a centrifugal force direction acceleration applied to a wheel and a lateral direction acceleration, and the transmitting / receiving means sets a high transmission rate of the centrifugal force direction acceleration at a low speed traveling, and a high speed traveling. The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the transmission rate of the lateral acceleration is set to be high at times. 7. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting / receiving unit sets the transmission rate of the outer wheel for turning to a high value during turning. 8. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting / receiving unit sets the transmission rate of the front wheels higher than the transmission rate of the rear wheels when the vehicle is turning. 9. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission / reception unit changes the transmission status from a vehicle-mounted navigation device based on road information. 10. The vehicle stability control device is further provided, and the transmission / reception means increases the transmission rate during operation of the vehicle stability control device. Vehicle control device. 11. The vehicle stability control device is further provided, and the transmission / reception means increases the transmission rate of the lateral acceleration during operation of the vehicle stability control device. The vehicle control device according to item 1. 12. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission / reception unit increases the transmission rate of the lateral acceleration at the time of sudden deceleration.