CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-207444 filed on Nov. 15, 2019, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a vehicle control device that performs learning of correcting a parameter used in a control program for controlling a vehicle.

2. Description of Related Art

There are known vehicle control devices that are configured to update a learned value stored in a storage unit and store the updated learned value, and that store an initial set value of the learned value in advance and, when part replacement information is input, rewrite the learned value relating to the replaced part to the initial set value. One example is the control device described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-65399 (JP 2001-65399 A).

SUMMARY

In the vehicle control device described in JP 2001-65399 A, part replacement information is input manually. Therefore, if part replacement information fails to be input, the learned value relating to the replaced part will not be rewritten to the initial set value, which may degrade the controllability of the vehicle after replacement of the part.

The present disclosure has been contrived under these circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a vehicle control device that automatically determines that a part has been replaced and appropriately executes learning upon replacement of the part to quickly mitigate degradation of the controllability of the vehicle after replacement of the part.

The gist of a first disclosure is as follows: A vehicle control device that performs learning to correct a parameter used in a control program for controlling a vehicle, the vehicle control device including (a) a storage unit that stores learning data obtained by the learning, (b) a replacement determining unit that determines whether or not a part controlled by the parameter has been replaced, and (c) a rewriting executing unit that resets the learning data stored in the storage unit when the replacement determining unit determines that the part has been replaced, wherein the replacement determining unit determines whether or not the part has been replaced by identifying the individuality of the part based on the characteristics of a sensor output from a sensor provided in the part.

The gist of a second disclosure is as follows: The vehicle control device of the first disclosure, wherein (a) a plurality of sensors is provided, and (b) the replacement determining unit determines that the part has been replaced based on simultaneous detection of changes in characteristics of sensor outputs respectively output from more than one of the sensors.

The gist of a third disclosure is as follows: The vehicle control device of the first or second disclosure, further including an IG determining unit that determines whether or not an ignition signal has been switched from an OFF signal that stops a travel driving force source to an ON signal that starts the travel driving force source, wherein the replacement determining unit determines whether or not the part has been replaced when the IG determining unit determines that the ignition signal has been switched from the OFF signal to the ON signal.

The gist of a fourth disclosure is as follows: The vehicle control device of any one of the first to third disclosures, wherein the replacement determining unit identifies the individuality of the part using artificial intelligence.

The gist of a fifth disclosure is as follows: The vehicle control device of any one of the first to fourth disclosures, wherein (a) the part is a transmission, and (b) the parameter is an oil pressure command value for controlling switching of the gear stage of the transmission.

The gist of a sixth disclosure is as follows: The vehicle control device of any one of the first to fifth disclosures, wherein the sensor is a rotation speed sensor.

The vehicle control device of the first disclosure includes (a) the storage unit that stores the learning data obtained by the learning, (b) the replacement determining unit that determines whether or not the part controlled by the parameter has been replaced, and (c) the rewriting executing unit that resets the learning data stored in the storage unit when the replacement determining unit determines that the part has been replaced. The replacement determining unit determines whether or not the part has been replaced by identifying the individuality of the part based on the characteristics of a sensor output from the sensor provided in the part. This vehicle control device automatically determines that the part has been replaced based on the characteristics of the sensor output, and when it is determined that the part has been replaced, resets the learning data stored in the storage unit. Thus, learning is appropriately executed upon replacement of the part, so that degradation of the controllability of the vehicle after replacement of the part is quickly mitigated.

The vehicle control device of the second disclosure is the vehicle control device of the first disclosure, wherein (a) a plurality of sensors is provided, and (b) the replacement determining unit determines that the part has been replaced based on simultaneous detection of changes in characteristics of sensor outputs respectively output from more than one of the sensors. Since the determination as to replacement of the part is made based on changes in characteristics of more than one sensor output, the reliability of the determination as to replacement of the part is enhanced.

The vehicle control device of the third disclosure is the vehicle control device of the first or second disclosure, further including the IG determining unit that determines whether or not the ignition signal has been switched from the OFF signal that stops the travel driving force source to the ON signal that starts the travel driving force source, wherein the replacement determining unit determines whether or not the part has been replaced when the IG determining unit determines that the ignition signal has been switched from the OFF signal to the ON signal. The part is replaced when the ignition signal is the OFF signal, i.e., while the travel driving force source is stopped. Therefore, determining whether or not the part has been replaced when the ignition signal is switched from the OFF signal to the ON signal can reduce the likelihood of failure to determine whether or not the part has been replaced.

The vehicle control device of the fourth disclosure is the vehicle control device of any one of the first to third disclosures, wherein the replacement determining unit identifies the individuality of the part using artificial intelligence. The use of artificial intelligence can enhance the capacity to identify the individuality of the part.

The vehicle control device of the fifth disclosure is the vehicle control device of any one of the first to fourth disclosures, wherein (a) the part is a transmission, and (b) the parameter is the oil pressure command value for controlling switching of the gear stage of the transmission. Thus, when it is determined that the transmission has been replaced, the oil pressure command value relating to the learning data stored in the storage unit is reset. Therefore, learning is appropriately executed upon replacement of the transmission, so that degradation of the controllability of the vehicle after replacement of the transmission can be quickly mitigated.

The vehicle control device of the sixth disclosure is the vehicle control device of any one of the first to fifth disclosures, wherein the sensor is a rotation speed sensor. The characteristics of a sensor output of the rotation speed sensor can be used as a basis for determining whether or not a rotating shaft or a gear on which the rotation speed sensor is disposed and the part that is integrally configured with the rotating shaft and the gear have been replaced.

