US-12618389-B2 - Vehicle control method and vehicle control device

US12618389B2US 12618389 B2US12618389 B2US 12618389B2US-12618389-B2

Abstract

The present invention is applied to a control device for controlling a vehicle that travels using a driving force of an engine. The control device for the vehicle includes the vehicle speed detection unit that detects the vehicle speed, and the automatic engine stop unit that performs the automatic engine stop after a prescribed time elapses from when the vehicle speed detection unit detects that the vehicle is in the stopped state. When a failure of the vehicle speed detection unit is detected, the automatic engine stop by the automatic engine stop unit is prohibited.

Inventors

Takuya Maekawa

Assignees

NISSAN MOTOR CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20240307
Priority Date: 20230309

Claims (15)

1 . A vehicle control method for controlling a vehicle that travels using a driving force of an engine, the vehicle comprising a vehicle speed detection unit that comprises a wheel speed sensor that detects a rotation speed of a wheel and a gear rotation sensor that detects rotation of a gear in a transmission, the vehicle control method comprising: detecting a vehicle speed using the vehicle speed detection unit; performing automatic engine stop after a prescribed time elapses from when the vehicle is determined to be in a stopped state based on a detection result of the vehicle speed, and prohibiting the automatic engine stop when failures of both the wheel speed sensor and the gear rotation sensor are detected.
2 . The vehicle control method according to claim 1 , further comprising: when the automatic engine stop is prohibited, providing a notification that the automatic engine stop will not be performed to a driver of the vehicle.
3 . The vehicle control method according to claim 1 , further comprising: detecting that the vehicle is in a parked state, wherein; when the vehicle enters the parked state after the stopped state, the automatic engine stop is performed after the prescribed time elapses from the detection of the parked state, and when the failure of the vehicle speed detection unit is detected, the automatic engine stop is prohibited regardless of whether the vehicle is in the parked state.
4 . The vehicle control method according to claim 2 , further comprising: providing the notification that the automatic engine stop will be performed before the elapse of the prescribed time for performing the automatic engine stop; wherein: when the failure of the vehicle speed detection unit is detected, the notification that the automatic engine stop will not be performed instead of the notification that the automatic engine stop will be performed is provided.
5 . The vehicle control method according to claim 2 , further comprising: detecting opening and closing of a driver-side door of the vehicle, wherein: when the automatic engine stop is prohibited and the driver-side door is detected to be opened, the notification that the automatic engine stop will not be performed is provided.
6 . The vehicle control method according to claim 5 , wherein: when the automatic engine stop is prohibited, a notification mode is changed before and after the driver-side door is opened.
7 . The vehicle control method according to claim 6 , wherein: when the automatic engine stop is prohibited, a notification level of the notification mode after the driver-side door is opened is higher than a notification level of the notification mode before the driver-side door is opened.
8 . The vehicle control method according to claim 2 , wherein: the notification that the automatic engine stop will not be performed is provided by being displayed on a display device which is provided in front of a driver seat of the vehicle.
9 . The vehicle control method according to claim 8 , wherein: a notification level of a notification mode that the automatic engine stop will not be performed is higher than a notification level of a notification mode that the automatic engine stop will be performed.
10 . The vehicle control method according to claim 2 , wherein: the notification that the automatic engine stop will not be performed is provided by being displayed as a text message on a display device which is provided in front of a driver seat of the vehicle.
11 . The vehicle control method according to claim 2 , wherein: when performing the automatic engine stop, the notification that the automatic engine stop will be performed is provided before the elapse of the prescribed time for performing the automatic engine stop, and thereafter, when the failure of the vehicle speed detection unit is detected, the notification that the automatic engine stop will not be performed is provided.
12 . A vehicle control device for controlling a vehicle that travels using a driving force of an engine, the vehicle control device comprising: a vehicle speed detection unit comprising a wheel speed sensor that detects a rotation speed of a wheel and a gear rotation sensor that detects rotation of a gear in a transmission; and an automatic engine stop unit configured to perform automatic engine stop after a prescribed time elapses from when the vehicle is determined to be in a stopped state based on a detection result of the vehicle speed detection unit, wherein; the automatic engine stop unit prohibits the automatic engine stop when failures of both the wheel speed sensor and the gear rotation sensor are detected.
13 . A vehicle control method for controlling a vehicle that travels using a driving force of an engine, the vehicle control method comprising: detecting a vehicle speed; performing automatic engine stop after a prescribed time elapses from when the vehicle is determined to be in a stopped state based on a detection result of the vehicle speed; prohibiting the automatic engine stop when a failure of a vehicle speed detection unit for detecting the vehicle speed is detected; detecting opening and closing of a driver-side door of the vehicle; and when the automatic engine stop is prohibited and the driver-side door is detected to be opened, providing a notification that the automatic engine stop will not be performed to a driver of the vehicle.
14 . The vehicle control method according to claim 13 , wherein: when the automatic engine stop is prohibited, a notification mode is changed before and after the driver-side door is opened.
15 . The vehicle control method according to claim 14 , wherein: when the automatic engine stop is prohibited, a notification level of the notification mode after the driver-side door is opened is higher than a notification level of the notification mode before the driver-side door is opened.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a vehicle control method and a vehicle control device. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION JP 2000-97065 A discloses an engine idling stop device that issues an engine stop warning in advance and then stops an engine in a case where a vehicle driven by the engine idles for a predetermined time or more when the vehicle is in a stopped state. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In the engine idling stop device disclosed in JP 2000-97065 A, the device determines that the vehicle is in the stopped state using a vehicle speed sensor that detects a vehicle speed. Therefore, if the vehicle speed sensor fails, the vehicle speed sensor may not be able to correctly determine the stopped state, and the engine may automatically stop even when the vehicle is not in the stopped state. An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle control method and control device in which automatic stop of the engine can be prevented when the vehicle is not in a stopped state. An aspect of the present invention is applied to a vehicle control device for controlling a vehicle that travels using a driving force of an engine by being mounted on the vehicle. The vehicle control device includes a vehicle speed detection unit that detects a vehicle speed, and an automatic engine stop unit that performs automatic engine stop after a prescribed time elapses from when the vehicle speed detection unit detects that the vehicle is in a stopped state. When a failure of the vehicle speed detection unit is detected, the automatic engine stop by the automatic engine stop unit is prohibited. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a configuration of a control device for a vehicle according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a process performed by the control device. FIG. 3 is a time chart of the process performed by the control device. FIG. 4 is a time chart of the process performed by the control device. FIG. 5A is an explanatory diagram of an example of notification in a notification unit. FIG. 5B is an explanatory diagram of an example of notification in the notification unit. FIG. 5C is an explanatory diagram of an example of notification in the notification unit. DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a control device 10 for a vehicle 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The control device 10 is mounted on the vehicle 1 and controls the operation of an internal combustion engine 20 that drives the vehicle 1. The engine 20 drives the vehicle 1 by rotating wheels via a speed reducer or transmission (not shown). As will be described later, the control device 10 executes automatic engine stop that automatically stops (shuts off) the engine 20. The vehicle 1 is not limited to the configuration in which the wheels are driven by the rotation of the engine 20, and may be configured to travel by driving a generator by the rotation of the engine 20 and driving a motor by the electric power generated by the generator. The control device 10 includes an interface unit 110, a vehicle state detection unit 120, a timer unit 130, and an automatic engine stop unit 140. The control device 10 includes a controller (not shown). The controller stores a program in advance. When the controller executes the program, the operations of the units of the control device 10 and the control shown in FIG. 2 are implemented. The interface unit 110 receives signals transmitted from various sensors, switches and the like provided in the vehicle 1. The received signals are transmitted to the vehicle state detection unit 120. As will be described later, the interface unit 110 transmits a signal to the engine 20 to automatically stop the engine 20. In addition, the interface unit 110 causes the notification unit 24 to provide a notification that the automatic engine stop will be executed and a notification that the automatic engine stop will be prohibited. The interface unit 110 receives signals from a vehicle speed sensor 21, an accelerator pedal sensor 22, a brake pedal sensor 23, a shift position sensor 25, a parking brake sensor 26, a driver seat-side door sensor 27 and a driver seat occupancy sensor 28. The vehicle speed sensor 21 includes a wheel speed sensor 211 that detects a rotation speed of a wheel and a gear rotation sensor 212 that detects the rotation of a gear of the transmission. The accelerator pedal sensor 22 detects ON/OFF and accelerator opening (accelerator pedal depression amount) of an accelerator pedal operated by a driver. The brake pedal sensor 23 detects ON/OFF and a brake pedal depression amount of a brake pedal operated by the driver. The shift position sensor 25 detects a shift position of a shift lever operated by the driver. The parking brake sensor 26 detects ON/OFF and a brake depression amount of a parking br