JP2017226343A - Vehicle control system, vehicle control method and vehicle control program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an occupant with an environment for resting an arm depending on a transition state of a degree of automatic operation.SOLUTION: A vehicle control system includes: an automatic operation control part for automatically controlling at least one of acceleration/deceleration and steering of a vehicle, and conducting automatic operation control with any one of multiple modes different in a degree of automatic operation; and a position control part for controlling a position of an arm rest of a seat on which an occupant of the vehicle sits, depending on the degree of automatic operation.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle control system, a vehicle control method, and a vehicle control program.

In recent years, research on a technology (hereinafter referred to as “automatic driving”) that automatically controls at least one of acceleration / deceleration and steering of a host vehicle so that the host vehicle travels along a route to a destination is performed. It is being advanced. In this connection, when switching the operation mode between the automatic operation mode and the manual operation mode, there is a vehicle driving support device that increases the reclining angle in the automatic operation mode more than the reclining angle of the driver's seat in the manual operation mode. Yes (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In Patent Document 1, when the operation mode is shifted to the automatic operation mode, the switching of the operation mode can be easily understood by changing the reclining angle of the seat.
On the other hand, since vehicle control is automatically performed depending on the degree of automatic driving, the occupant does not need to operate the operation unit of the vehicle and can release his hand from the steering wheel.

International Publication No. 2015/011866

  However, depending on the degree of automatic driving, the occupant can release his hand from the steering wheel, but by providing an environment in which the arm can rest according to the degree of automatic driving, It is desirable to be able to provide a comfortable space.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle control system, a vehicle control method, and a vehicle capable of providing an environment in which an occupant can rest his arm according to the degree of automatic driving. It is to provide a control program.

  The invention according to claim 1 is an automatic operation control unit (120) for automatically controlling at least one of acceleration / deceleration and steering of a vehicle, and a vehicle occupant is seated in accordance with the degree of the automatic operation. And a position control unit (172) for controlling the position of the armrest of the seat to be operated.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle control system according to the first aspect, when the degree of automatic driving is changed from a low state to a high state, the tip side portion (88A1) of the armrest is After moving to a first position that is separated by a distance, it is moved from the steering wheel to a second position that is further than the predetermined distance.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle control system according to the third aspect, the occupant's arm is based on a detection signal obtained from a sensor that detects whether or not the occupant's arm is touching the armrest. When it is detected that the armrest is touched, the tip side portion is moved to the second position.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle control system according to the second aspect, when the position control unit transitions from a state where the degree of automatic driving is high to a low state, the position of the tip side portion of the armrest is changed. The second position is moved away from the steering wheel by a predetermined distance from the second position to the first position separated by the predetermined distance.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle control system according to the fourth aspect, the position control unit is based on a detection signal obtained from a sensor that detects that the steering wheel is gripped by an occupant. When it is detected that the steering wheel is gripped by an occupant, the tip side is moved from the first position to the second position.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle control system according to the fourth or fifth aspect, at least one of the positions until the position control unit moves the tip side portion from the second position to the first position. In the period of the portion, the height of the tip side portion is moved downward and then moved upward.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle system according to any one of the fourth to sixth aspects, the armrest is provided on each of a right side and a left side of the seat, and the position control unit is In a part of the period from the second position to the first position, the tip side portions are moved so as to approach each other.

  The invention according to claim 8 is an automatic driving control unit in which the in-vehicle computer automatically controls at least one of acceleration / deceleration and steering of the vehicle, and is in any of a plurality of modes having different degrees of automatic driving. The vehicle control method performs automatic operation control for performing automatic operation control, and controls a position of an armrest of a seat on which an occupant of the vehicle is seated according to the degree of the automatic operation.

  The invention according to claim 9 is an automatic driving control unit that automatically controls at least one of acceleration / deceleration and steering of the vehicle on the in-vehicle computer, and is in any of a plurality of modes having different degrees of automatic driving. It is a vehicle control program for performing automatic driving control for performing automatic driving control and executing processing for controlling the position of an armrest of a seat on which a passenger of the vehicle is seated according to the degree of the automatic driving.

  According to the first, eighth, and ninth aspects of the invention, since the position of the armrest of the seat on which the vehicle occupant is seated is controlled according to the degree of automatic driving, according to the transition state of the degree of automatic driving. Thus, it is possible to provide an environment in which the passengers can rest their arms.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the armrest is extended in response to the transition from the low degree of automatic driving to the high state and the steering wheel operation becomes unnecessary. A place to rest can be provided promptly.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, when it is detected that the occupant's arm is touching the armrest, the tip side portion of the armrest is moved to a position away from the steering wheel. Thereby, after confirming that the occupant's arm is placed on the armrest, the armrest can be contracted while the occupant's arm is placed on the armrest.

  According to the invention described in claim 4, when the degree of automatic driving is changed from a high state to a low state, the tip side portion of the armrest can be brought close to the steering wheel. Accordingly, by bringing the arm placed on the armrest closer to the steering wheel, it is possible to provide an environment in which the occupant can easily grip the steering wheel.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when it is detected that the steering wheel is gripped by the occupant, the tip side portion of the armrest can be moved away from the vicinity of the steering wheel. Thereby, the position of the armrest can be returned to a position that does not interfere with the operation of the occupant's steering wheel without being operated by the occupant.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, when the front end side portion of the armrest is brought closer to the position near the steering wheel, the height of the front end side portion of the armrest on which the occupant's arm is placed is lowered and then returned upward. Since it did in this way, after extending a passenger | crew's arm, it can move to the vicinity of a steering wheel.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, when the steering wheel is gripped, the armrests on the right side and the left side of the seat can be moved so as to approach each other until the steering wheel approaches the steering wheel. Thereby, the position of the arm can be changed so that the distance between both arms of the occupant spreading about the shoulder width is close to the diameter of the steering wheel. Therefore, the occupant's arm can be guided to a position where the steering wheel is easier to grip.

It is a figure which shows the component of the vehicle by which the vehicle control system 100 of embodiment is mounted. 1 is a functional configuration diagram centering on a vehicle control system 100. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an HMI 70. FIG. It is a figure which shows a mode that the relative position of the own vehicle M with respect to the driving lane L1 is recognized by the own vehicle position recognition part 140. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the action plan produced | generated about a certain area. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a trajectory generation unit 146. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the track | orbit candidate produced | generated by the track | orbit candidate generation part 146B. FIG. 5 is a diagram in which trajectory candidates generated by a trajectory candidate generation unit 146B are expressed by trajectory points K. It is a figure which shows lane change target position TA. It is a figure which shows the speed production | generation model at the time of assuming that the speed of three surrounding vehicles is constant. 4 is a diagram for explaining an armrest in a host vehicle M. FIG. It is a figure explaining the 2nd state of armrest main part 88A. It is a figure showing the case where the arm of the vehicle occupant P is mounted on the armrest main body 88A when the armrest main body 88A is in the second state. It is a figure showing the state by which the arm of the vehicle passenger | crew P was mounted in armrest upper part 88A1 in a 1st state. It is a figure showing the 3rd state of armrest main part 88A. It is a figure showing the 4th state of 88 A of armrest main bodies. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the HMI control part. It is a data table which shows an example of transfer order data. It is a flowchart which shows the 1st Example of an HMI control process.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a vehicle control system, a vehicle control method, and a vehicle control program of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<Common configuration>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating components of a vehicle (hereinafter referred to as a host vehicle M) on which the vehicle control system 100 of the embodiment is mounted. The vehicle on which the vehicle control system 100 is mounted is, for example, a motor vehicle such as a two-wheel, three-wheel, or four-wheel vehicle, and a vehicle using an internal combustion engine such as a diesel engine or a gasoline engine as a power source, or an electric vehicle using a motor as a power source. And a hybrid vehicle having an internal combustion engine and an electric motor. An electric vehicle is driven using electric power discharged by a battery such as a secondary battery, a hydrogen fuel cell, a metal fuel cell, or an alcohol fuel cell.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the host vehicle M includes sensors such as a finder 20-1 to 20-7, radars 30-1 to 30-6, a camera (imaging unit) 940, and a navigation device (display unit) 50. And the vehicle control system 100 are mounted.

  The finders 20-1 to 20-7 are, for example, LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) that measures scattered light with respect to irradiation light and measures the distance to the target. For example, the finder 20-1 is attached to a front grill or the like, and the finders 20-2 and 20-3 are attached to a side surface of a vehicle body, a door mirror, the inside of a headlamp, a side lamp, and the like. The finder 20-4 is attached to a trunk lid or the like, and the finders 20-5 and 20-6 are attached to the side surface of the vehicle body, the interior of the taillight, or the like. The above-described finders 20-1 to 20-6 have a detection area of about 150 degrees in the horizontal direction, for example. The finder 20-7 is attached to a roof or the like. The finder 20-7 has a detection area of 360 degrees in the horizontal direction, for example.

  The radars 30-1 and 30-4 are, for example, long-range millimeter wave radars having a detection area in the depth direction wider than that of other radars. Radars 30-2, 30-3, 30-5, and 30-6 are medium-range millimeter-wave radars that have a narrower detection area in the depth direction than radars 30-1 and 30-4.

  Hereinafter, when the finders 20-1 to 20-7 are not particularly distinguished, they are simply referred to as “finder 20”, and when the radars 30-1 to 30-6 are not particularly distinguished, they are simply referred to as “radar 30”. The radar 30 detects an object by, for example, an FM-CW (Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave) method.

  The camera 40 is a digital camera using a solid-state image sensor such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor). The camera 40 is attached to the upper part of the front windshield, the rear surface of the rearview mirror, or the like. For example, the camera 40 periodically images the front of the host vehicle M repeatedly. The camera 40 may be a stereo camera including a plurality of cameras.

  The configuration illustrated in FIG. 1 is merely an example, and a part of the configuration may be omitted, or another configuration may be added.

  FIG. 2 is a functional configuration diagram centering on the vehicle control system 100. The host vehicle M includes a detection device DD including a finder 20, a radar 30 and a camera 40, a navigation device 50, a communication device 55, a vehicle sensor 60, an HMI (Human Machine Interface) 70, and a vehicle control system. 100, a driving force output device 200, a steering device 210, and a brake device 220 are mounted. These devices and devices are connected to each other by a multiple communication line such as a CAN (Controller Area Network) communication line, a serial communication line, a wireless communication network, or the like. The vehicle control system in the claims does not only indicate “vehicle control system 100”, but may include a configuration other than the vehicle control system 100 (detection device DD, HMI 70, etc.).

  The navigation device 50 includes a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver, map information (navigation map), a touch panel display device that functions as a user interface, a speaker, a microphone, and the like. The navigation device 50 identifies the position of the host vehicle M using the GNSS receiver, and derives a route from the position to the destination specified by the user. The route derived by the navigation device 50 is provided to the target lane determining unit 110 of the vehicle control system 100. The position of the host vehicle M may be specified or supplemented by an INS (Inertial Navigation System) using the output of the vehicle sensor 60. In addition, the navigation device 50 guides the route to the destination by voice or navigation display. The configuration for specifying the position of the host vehicle M may be provided independently of the navigation device 50. Moreover, the navigation apparatus 50 may be implement | achieved by the function of terminal devices, such as a smart phone and a tablet terminal which a user holds, for example. In this case, information is transmitted and received between the terminal device and the vehicle control system 100 by wireless or wired communication.

  The communication device 55 performs wireless communication using, for example, a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, Bluetooth (registered trademark), DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communication), or the like. The communication device 55 can acquire traffic information (for example, traffic jam information), weather information, and the like from an external device connected by wireless communication, for example.

  The vehicle sensor 60 includes a vehicle speed sensor that detects a vehicle speed (traveling speed), an acceleration sensor that detects acceleration, a yaw rate sensor that detects an angular velocity around a vertical axis, an orientation sensor that detects the direction of the host vehicle M, and the like.

  FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of the HMI 70. The HMI 70 includes, for example, a driving operation system configuration and a non-driving operation system configuration. These boundaries are not clear, and the configuration of the driving operation system may have a non-driving operation system function (or vice versa). Further, these driving operation systems are examples of an operation receiving unit that receives an operation of a vehicle occupant (occupant) of the host vehicle M. The non-driving operation system includes an interface device.

  The HMI 70 includes, for example, an accelerator pedal 71, an accelerator opening sensor 72, an accelerator pedal reaction force output device 73, a brake pedal 74, a brake pedal amount sensor (or a master pressure sensor, etc.) 75, a shift lever, and the like. 76, a shift position sensor 77, a steering wheel 78, a steering angle sensor 79, a steering torque sensor 80, and other driving operation devices 81.

  The accelerator pedal 71 is an operator for receiving an acceleration instruction (or a deceleration instruction by a return operation) from a vehicle occupant. The accelerator opening sensor 72 detects the depression amount of the accelerator pedal 71 and outputs an accelerator opening signal indicating the depression amount to the vehicle control system 100. Instead of outputting to the vehicle control system 100, the output may be directly output to the travel driving force output device 200, the steering device 210, or the brake device 220. The same applies to the configurations of other driving operation systems described below. The accelerator pedal reaction force output device 73 outputs a force (operation reaction force) in a direction opposite to the operation direction to the accelerator pedal 71 in response to an instruction from the vehicle control system 100, for example.

  The brake pedal 74 is an operator for receiving a deceleration instruction from the vehicle occupant. The brake depression amount sensor 75 detects the depression amount (or depression force) of the brake pedal 74 and outputs a brake signal indicating the detection result to the vehicle control system 100.

  The shift lever 76 is an operator for receiving an instruction to change the shift stage by a vehicle occupant. The shift position sensor 77 detects the shift stage instructed by the vehicle occupant and outputs a shift position signal indicating the detection result to the vehicle control system 100.

  The steering wheel 78 is an operator for receiving a turning instruction from a vehicle occupant. The steering angle sensor 79 detects the operation angle of the steering wheel 78 and outputs a steering angle signal indicating the detection result to the vehicle control system 100. The steering torque sensor 80 detects the torque applied to the steering wheel 78 and outputs a steering torque signal indicating the detection result to the vehicle control system 100. In addition, as control regarding the steering wheel 78, for example, an operation reaction force may be output to the steering wheel 78 by outputting torque to the steering shaft by a reaction force motor or the like.

  The other operation device 81 is, for example, a joystick, a button, a dial switch, a GUI (Graphical User Interface) switch, or the like. The other driving operation device 81 receives an acceleration instruction, a deceleration instruction, a turning instruction, and the like, and outputs them to the vehicle control system 100.

  The HMI 70 has, for example, a display device (display unit) 82, a speaker 83, a contact operation detection device 84 and a content playback device 85, various operation switches 86, a seat 88 and a seat drive device 89 as a non-driving operation system configuration. , Window glass 90 and window driving device 91, and vehicle interior camera (imaging unit) 95.

  The display device 82 is, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display device, or the like attached to any part of the instrument panel, an arbitrary position facing the passenger seat or the rear seat. Further, the display device 82 may be a HUD (Head Up Display) that projects an image on a front windshield or other window. The speaker 83 outputs sound. When the display device 82 is a touch panel, the contact operation detection device 84 detects a contact position (touch position) on the display screen of the display device 82 and outputs it to the vehicle control system 100. When the display device 82 is not a touch panel, the contact operation detection device 84 may be omitted.

  The content playback device 85 includes, for example, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) playback device, a CD (Compact Disc) playback device, a television receiver, and various guidance image generation devices. The display device 82, the speaker 83, the contact operation detection device 84, and the content playback device 85 may have a configuration in which a part or all of them are common to the navigation device 50. The above-described display device 82, speaker 83, content reproduction device 85, and navigation device 50 are all examples of interface devices, but are not limited thereto.

  The various operation switches 86 are disposed at arbitrary locations in the vehicle interior. The various operation switches 86 include an automatic operation changeover switch 87 for instructing start (or future start) and stop of automatic operation. The automatic operation changeover switch 87 may be either a GUI (Graphical User Interface) switch or a mechanical switch. The various operation switches 86 may include switches for driving the sheet driving device 89 and the window driving device 91.

  The seat 88 is a seat seat on which a vehicle occupant sits. The seat driving device 89 freely drives the reclining angle, the front-rear direction position, the yaw angle, and the like of the seat 88. Further, the seat driving device 89 changes the angle and position of the armrest of the seat 88. The window glass 90 is provided at each door, for example. The window driving device 91 drives the window glass 90 to open and close.

  The vehicle interior camera 95 is a digital camera using a solid-state image sensor such as a CCD or CMOS. The vehicle interior camera 95 is attached to a position at which at least the head (including the face) of the vehicle occupant performing the driving operation can be imaged, such as a rearview mirror, a steering boss portion, and an instrument panel. The vehicle interior camera 95, for example, periodically and repeatedly images the vehicle occupant.

  Prior to the description of the vehicle control system 100, the driving force output device 200, the steering device 210, and the brake device 220 will be described.

  The traveling driving force output device 200 outputs a traveling driving force (torque) for traveling of the vehicle to driving wheels. For example, when the host vehicle M is an automobile using an internal combustion engine as a power source, the traveling driving force output device 200 includes an engine, a transmission, and an engine ECU (Electronic Control Unit) that controls the engine. In the case of an electric vehicle that uses an electric motor as a power source, the vehicle includes a driving motor and a motor ECU that controls the driving motor. When the host vehicle M is a hybrid vehicle, the engine, the transmission, and the engine ECU and the driving motor A motor ECU. When the travel driving force output device 200 includes only the engine, the engine ECU adjusts the throttle opening, the shift stage, and the like of the engine according to information input from the travel control unit 160 described later. When traveling driving force output device 200 includes only the traveling motor, motor ECU adjusts the duty ratio of the PWM signal applied to the traveling motor according to the information input from traveling control unit 160. When travel drive force output device 200 includes an engine and a travel motor, engine ECU and motor ECU control travel drive force in cooperation with each other in accordance with information input from travel control unit 160.

  The steering device 210 includes, for example, a steering ECU and an electric motor. For example, the electric motor changes the direction of the steered wheels by applying a force to a rack and pinion mechanism. The steering ECU drives the electric motor in accordance with information input from the vehicle control system 100 or information of the input steering steering angle or steering torque, and changes the direction of the steered wheels.

  The brake device 220 is, for example, an electric servo brake device that includes a brake caliper, a cylinder that transmits hydraulic pressure to the brake caliper, an electric motor that generates hydraulic pressure in the cylinder, and a braking control unit. The braking control unit of the electric servo brake device controls the electric motor according to the information input from the travel control unit 160 so that the brake torque corresponding to the braking operation is output to each wheel. The electric servo brake device may include, as a backup, a mechanism that transmits the hydraulic pressure generated by operating the brake pedal to the cylinder via the master cylinder. The brake device 220 is not limited to the electric servo brake device described above, but may be an electronically controlled hydraulic brake device. The electronically controlled hydraulic brake device controls the actuator in accordance with information input from the travel control unit 160 and transmits the hydraulic pressure of the master cylinder to the cylinder. Further, the brake device 220 may include a regenerative brake by a traveling motor that can be included in the traveling driving force output device 200.

[Vehicle control system]
Hereinafter, the vehicle control system 100 will be described. The vehicle control system 100 is realized by, for example, one or more processors or hardware having an equivalent function. The vehicle control system 100 includes a combination of a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a storage device, and an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) in which a communication interface is connected by an internal bus, or an MPU (Micro-Processing Unit). It may be.

  Returning to FIG. 2, the vehicle control system 100 includes, for example, a target lane determining unit 110, an automatic driving control unit 120, a travel control unit 160, an HMI control unit 170, and a storage unit 180. The automatic driving control unit 120 includes, for example, an automatic driving mode control unit 130, an own vehicle position recognition unit 140, an external environment recognition unit 142, an action plan generation unit 144, a track generation unit 146, and a switching control unit 150. Prepare. A part or all of the target lane determining unit 110, the automatic driving control unit 120, and the travel control unit 160 are realized by a processor executing a program (software). Some or all of these may be realized by hardware such as LSI (Large Scale Integration) and ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or may be realized by a combination of software and hardware.

  The storage unit 180 stores information such as high-precision map information 182, target lane information 184, action plan information 186, and the like. The storage unit 180 is realized by a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), a flash memory, or the like. The program executed by the processor may be stored in the storage unit 180 in advance, or may be downloaded from an external device via an in-vehicle Internet facility or the like. The program may be installed in the storage unit 180 by mounting a portable storage medium storing the program on a drive device (not shown). Moreover, the computer (vehicle-mounted computer) of the vehicle control system 100 may be distributed by a plurality of computer devices.

  The target lane determining unit 110 is realized by, for example, an MPU. The target lane determination unit 110 divides the route provided from the navigation device 50 into a plurality of blocks (for example, every 100 [m] with respect to the vehicle traveling direction), and refers to the high-precision map information 182 for each block. Determine the target lane. For example, the target lane determination unit 110 performs determination such as how many lanes from the left are to be traveled. For example, the target lane determination unit 110 determines the target lane so that the host vehicle M can travel on a reasonable travel route for proceeding to the branch destination when there is a branch point or a merge point in the route. . The target lane determined by the target lane determining unit 110 is stored in the storage unit 180 as target lane information 184.

  The high-precision map information 182 is map information with higher accuracy than the navigation map included in the navigation device 50. The high-precision map information 182 includes, for example, information on the center of the lane or information on the boundary of the lane. The high-precision map information 182 may include road information, traffic regulation information, address information (address / postal code), facility information, telephone number information, and the like. Road information includes information indicating the type of road such as expressway, toll road, national road, prefectural road, road lane number, width of each lane, road gradient, road position (longitude, latitude, height). Information including 3D coordinates), curvature of lane curves, lane merging and branch point positions, signs provided on roads, and the like. The traffic regulation information includes information that the lane is blocked due to construction, traffic accidents, traffic jams, or the like.

  The automatic driving control unit 120 automatically controls at least one of acceleration / deceleration and steering of the host vehicle M so that the host vehicle M travels along the route to the destination. The automatic operation control unit 120 performs automatic operation control in any of a plurality of modes having different degrees of automatic operation. The degree of automatic driving is, for example, the degree of duty related to driving of the vehicle required by the vehicle occupant of the host vehicle M (hereinafter also simply referred to as “duty related to driving”), and the operation of the vehicle occupant and the output of information. This is one or both of the degree of operation tolerance of each interface device of the HMI 70 to be performed.

  The automatic operation mode control unit 130 determines an automatic operation mode performed by the automatic operation control unit 120. The modes of automatic operation in the present embodiment include the following modes. In addition, the following is an example to the last, and the mode number and mode content of automatic driving | operation may be determined arbitrarily.

[First mode]
The first mode is a mode having the highest degree of automatic driving compared to other modes. When the first mode is implemented, since all vehicle control such as complicated merge control is automatically performed, there is no obligation regarding driving required for vehicle occupants. For example, the vehicle occupant does not need to monitor the surroundings and the state of the own vehicle M (no obligation to monitor the surroundings required by the vehicle occupant). In addition, the vehicle occupant does not need to perform a driving operation on the accelerator pedal, the brake pedal, the steering, etc. (the driving operation requirement required by the vehicle occupant does not occur), and may be aware of other than driving the vehicle.

  Here, as an example of the first mode, there is a traffic jam tracking mode (low speed tracking mode) that follows the preceding vehicle in the traffic jam. In the first mode, for example, a safe automatic driving can be realized by following the preceding vehicle on a congested highway such as TJP (Traffic Jam Pilot), and TJP ends when the congestion is resolved. . For example, when the traveling speed of the host vehicle M is equal to or higher than a predetermined speed (for example, 40 km / h or higher), it is possible to determine that the traffic jam has been resolved. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the communication device 55 may receive traffic information (congestion information) from an external device to detect that the congestion has been eliminated. In addition, the first mode may be switched to another mode at the timing when the TJP ends, but the mode is switched after a predetermined time after the TJP ends or when a speed faster than the speed at which the TJP ends is reached. Also good. Note that the first mode is a mode in which the operation tolerance of each interface device (non-driving operation system) of the HMI 70 is the highest compared to other modes.

[Second mode]
The second mode is a mode in which the degree of automatic driving is the second highest after the first mode. When the second mode is implemented, in principle, all vehicle control is performed automatically, but the driving operation of the host vehicle M is left to the vehicle occupant depending on the scene (compared to the first mode regarding vehicle driving). Duty increases). For this reason, the vehicle occupant needs to monitor the surroundings and state of the host vehicle M and pay attention to the driving of the vehicle (duty for driving the vehicle is increased compared to the first mode). Note that the second mode is a mode in which the operation tolerance of each interface device (non-driving operation system) of the HMI 70 is lower than that in the first mode.

[Third mode]
The third mode is a mode in which the degree of automatic driving is the second highest after the second mode. When the third mode is implemented, the vehicle occupant needs to perform a confirmation operation according to the scene on the HMI 70 (duty relating to vehicle driving increases compared to the second mode). In the third mode, for example, when the vehicle occupant is notified of the timing of the lane change and the vehicle occupant performs an operation to instruct the HMI 70 to change the lane, the automatic lane change is performed. For this reason, the vehicle occupant needs to monitor the periphery and the state of the own vehicle M (duty relating to vehicle driving is increased as compared with the second mode). The third mode is a mode in which the operation tolerance of each interface device (non-driving operation system) of the HMI 70 is lower than that in the second mode.

The automatic driving mode control unit 130 sets the automatic driving mode (driving mode) based on the operation of the vehicle occupant with respect to the HMI 70, the event determined by the action plan generating unit 144, the travel mode determined by the track generating unit 146, and the like. decide. Note that the operation mode may include a manual operation mode. When considering that the manual operation mode is included as one of the modes of automatic operation, the manual operation mode is a mode in which the degree of automatic operation is the second highest after the third mode, that is, the mode in which the degree of automatic operation is the lowest.
The determined automatic driving mode (mode information) is notified to the HMI control unit 170. Moreover, the limit according to the performance etc. of the detection device DD of the own vehicle M may be set to the mode of automatic driving. For example, the first mode may not be performed when the performance of the detection device DD is low.

  In any automatic operation mode, it is possible to switch to the manual operation mode (override) by an operation on the configuration of the operation system in the HMI 70. For example, when the operation of the driving operation system of the HMI 70 by a vehicle occupant of the host vehicle M continues for a predetermined time or more, a predetermined operation change amount (for example, accelerator opening of the accelerator pedal 71, brake depression amount of the brake pedal 74, This is started when the steering angle of the steering wheel 78 is greater than or equal to or greater than a predetermined number of operations on the driving operation system.

  The vehicle position recognition unit 140 of the automatic driving control unit 120 includes high-precision map information 182 stored in the storage unit 180 and information input from the finder 20, the radar 30, the camera 40, the navigation device 50, or the vehicle sensor 60. Based on the above, the lane (traveling lane) in which the host vehicle M is traveling and the relative position of the host vehicle M with respect to the traveling lane are recognized.

  The own vehicle position recognition unit 140 is, for example, a road lane line pattern recognized from the high-precision map information 182 (for example, an arrangement of solid lines and broken lines) and the periphery of the own vehicle M recognized from an image captured by the camera 40. The road lane is recognized by comparing the road lane marking pattern. In this recognition, the position of the host vehicle M acquired from the navigation device 50 and the processing result by INS may be taken into account.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing how the vehicle position recognition unit 140 recognizes the relative position of the vehicle M with respect to the travel lane L1. The own vehicle position recognition unit 140, for example, makes a deviation OS of the reference point (for example, the center of gravity) of the own vehicle M from the travel lane center CL and a line connecting the travel lane center CL in the traveling direction of the own vehicle M. The angle θ is recognized as a relative position of the host vehicle M with respect to the traveling lane L1. Instead of this, the host vehicle position recognition unit 140 recognizes the position of the reference point of the host vehicle M with respect to any side end of the host lane L1 as the relative position of the host vehicle M with respect to the traveling lane. Also good. The relative position of the host vehicle M recognized by the host vehicle position recognition unit 140 is provided to the action plan generation unit 144.

  The external environment recognition unit 142 recognizes the positions of surrounding vehicles and the state such as speed and acceleration based on information input from the finder 20, the radar 30, the camera 40, and the like. The peripheral vehicle is, for example, a vehicle that travels around the host vehicle M and travels in the same direction as the host vehicle M. The position of the surrounding vehicle may be represented by a representative point such as the center of gravity or corner of the other vehicle, or may be represented by a region expressed by the contour of the other vehicle. The “state” of the surrounding vehicle may include the acceleration of the surrounding vehicle, whether the lane is changed (or whether the lane is going to be changed), which is grasped based on the information of the various devices. In addition to the surrounding vehicles, the external environment recognition unit 142 may recognize the positions of guardrails, utility poles, parked vehicles, pedestrians, and other objects.

  The action plan generation unit 144 sets a starting point of automatic driving and / or a destination of automatic driving. The starting point of the automatic driving may be the current position of the host vehicle M or a point where an operation for instructing automatic driving is performed. The action plan generation unit 144 generates an action plan in a section between the start point and the destination for automatic driving. In addition, not only this but the action plan production | generation part 144 may produce | generate an action plan about arbitrary sections.

  The action plan is composed of, for example, a plurality of events that are sequentially executed. Examples of the event include a deceleration event for decelerating the host vehicle M, an acceleration event for accelerating the host vehicle M, a lane keeping event for driving the host vehicle M so as not to deviate from the traveling lane, and a lane change event for changing the traveling lane. In order to merge with the overtaking event in which the own vehicle M overtakes the preceding vehicle, the branch event in which the own vehicle M is driven so as not to deviate from the current traveling lane, or the main line , A merging event for accelerating / decelerating the own vehicle M in the merging lane and changing the traveling lane, a handover event for shifting from the automatic driving mode to the manual driving mode at the scheduled end point of automatic driving, and the like. The action plan generation unit 144 sets a lane change event, a branch event, or a merge event at a location where the target lane determined by the target lane determination unit 110 is switched. Information indicating the action plan generated by the action plan generation unit 144 is stored in the storage unit 180 as action plan information 186.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of an action plan generated for a certain section. As shown in FIG. 5, the action plan generation unit 144 generates an action plan necessary for the host vehicle M to travel on the target lane indicated by the target lane information 184. Note that the action plan generation unit 144 may dynamically change the action plan regardless of the target lane information 184 according to a change in the situation of the host vehicle M. For example, the action plan generation unit 144 may determine that the speed of the surrounding vehicle recognized by the external recognition unit 142 exceeds the threshold while the vehicle travels, or the movement direction of the surrounding vehicle traveling in the lane adjacent to the own lane is the own lane direction. When the vehicle heads, the event set in the driving section where the host vehicle M is scheduled to travel is changed. For example, when the event is set so that the lane change event is executed after the lane keep event, the vehicle from the rear of the lane to which the lane is changed becomes greater than the threshold during the lane keep event according to the recognition result of the external recognition unit 142. When it is determined that the vehicle has traveled at the speed of, the action plan generation unit 144 may change the event next to the lane keep event from a lane change event to a deceleration event, a lane keep event, or the like. As a result, the vehicle control system 100 can automatically drive the host vehicle M safely even when a change occurs in the external environment.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the trajectory generation unit 146. The track generation unit 146 includes, for example, a travel mode determination unit 146A, a track candidate generation unit 146B, and an evaluation / selection unit 146C.

  For example, when the lane keeping event is performed, the travel mode determination unit 146A determines one of the travel modes from constant speed travel, follow-up travel, low-speed follow-up travel, deceleration travel, curve travel, obstacle avoidance travel, and the like. . For example, when there is no other vehicle ahead of the host vehicle M, the travel mode determination unit 146A determines the travel mode to be constant speed travel. In addition, the traveling mode determination unit 146A determines the traveling mode to follow running when traveling following the preceding vehicle. In addition, the traveling mode determination unit 146A determines the traveling mode to be low-speed following traveling in a traffic jam scene or the like. In addition, the travel mode determination unit 146A determines the travel mode to be decelerated when the external environment recognition unit 142 recognizes deceleration of the preceding vehicle or when an event such as stopping or parking is performed. In addition, when the outside recognition unit 142 recognizes that the host vehicle M has reached a curved road, the travel mode determination unit 146A determines the travel mode to be curved travel. In addition, the travel mode determination unit 146A determines the travel mode to be obstacle avoidance travel when the external environment recognition unit 142 recognizes an obstacle in front of the host vehicle M.

  The trajectory candidate generation unit 146B generates trajectory candidates based on the travel mode determined by the travel mode determination unit 146A. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of trajectory candidates generated by the trajectory candidate generation unit 146B. FIG. 7 shows candidate tracks generated when the host vehicle M changes lanes from the lane L1 to the lane L2.

  The trajectory candidate generation unit 146B follows a trajectory as shown in FIG. 7, for example, at a target position (orbit point K) at which a reference position (for example, the center of gravity or the center of the rear wheel axis) of the host vehicle M should arrive at a predetermined time in the future. Determine as a gathering of. FIG. 8 is a diagram in which trajectory candidates generated by the trajectory candidate generation unit 146B are expressed by trajectory points K. As the distance between the track points K increases, the speed of the host vehicle M increases. As the distance between the track points K decreases, the speed of the host vehicle M decreases. Therefore, the trajectory candidate generation unit 146B gradually widens the distance between the trajectory points K when it wants to accelerate and gradually narrows the distance between the trajectory points when it wants to decelerate.

  Thus, since the trajectory point K includes a velocity component, the trajectory candidate generation unit 146B needs to give a target speed to each of the trajectory points K. The target speed is determined according to the travel mode determined by the travel mode determination unit 146A.

  Here, a method for determining a target speed when a lane change (including a branch) is performed will be described. The track candidate generation unit 146B first sets a lane change target position (or a merge target position). The lane change target position is set as a relative position with respect to the surrounding vehicles, and determines “with which surrounding vehicle the lane is to be changed”. The trajectory candidate generation unit 146B pays attention to three surrounding vehicles with the lane change target position as a reference, and determines a target speed when the lane change is performed. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the lane change target position TA. In the figure, L1 represents the own lane and L2 represents the adjacent lane. Here, in the same lane as that of the own vehicle M, the preceding vehicle mA is set as the surrounding vehicle that runs immediately before the own vehicle M, the front reference vehicle mB, and the lane change target position TA is set as the surrounding vehicle that runs immediately before the lane changing target position TA. A surrounding vehicle traveling immediately after is defined as a rear reference vehicle mC. The host vehicle M needs to perform acceleration / deceleration in order to move to the side of the lane change target position TA. However, it is necessary to avoid catching up with the preceding vehicle mA at this time. For this reason, the trajectory candidate generation unit 146B predicts the future state of the three neighboring vehicles and determines the target speed so as not to interfere with each neighboring vehicle.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a speed generation model when the speeds of the three surrounding vehicles are assumed to be constant. In the figure, straight lines extending from mA, mB, and mC indicate displacements in the traveling direction when it is assumed that the respective surrounding vehicles have traveled at a constant speed. The own vehicle M must be between the front reference vehicle mB and the rear reference vehicle mC at the point CP at which the lane change is completed, and must be behind the preceding vehicle mA before that. Under such restrictions, the track candidate generation unit 146B derives a plurality of time-series patterns of the target speed until the lane change is completed. Then, a plurality of trajectory candidates as shown in FIG. 7 described above are derived by applying the time-series pattern of the target speed to a model such as a spline curve. The motion patterns of the three surrounding vehicles are not limited to the constant speed as shown in FIG. 10, and may be predicted on the assumption of a constant acceleration and a constant jerk (jumping degree).

  The evaluation / selection unit 146C evaluates the track candidates generated by the track candidate generation unit 146B from, for example, two viewpoints of planability and safety, and selects a track to be output to the travel control unit 160. . From the viewpoint of planability, for example, the track is highly evaluated when the followability with respect to an already generated plan (for example, an action plan) is high and the total length of the track is short. For example, when it is desired to change the lane in the right direction, a trajectory in which the lane is once changed in the left direction and returned is evaluated as low. From the viewpoint of safety, for example, at each track point, the distance between the host vehicle M and the object (peripheral vehicle or the like) is longer, and the higher the acceleration / deceleration or the change amount of the steering angle, the higher the evaluation.

  The switching control unit 150 switches between the automatic operation mode and the manual operation mode based on a signal input from the automatic operation switch 87. Further, the switching control unit 150 switches from the automatic operation mode to the manual operation mode based on an operation instructing acceleration / deceleration or steering with respect to the configuration of the driving operation system in the HMI 70. For example, the switching control unit 150 switches from the automatic operation mode to the manual operation mode when the operation amount indicated by the signal input from the configuration of the driving operation system in the HMI 70 exceeds the threshold for a reference time or longer ( override). Note that the switching control unit 150 may return to the automatic operation mode when an operation for the configuration of the driving operation system in the HMI 70 is not detected for a predetermined time after switching to the manual operation mode by the override. . In addition, the switching control unit 150 notifies the vehicle occupant in advance of a handover request when performing handover control for shifting from the automatic operation mode to the manual operation mode at a scheduled end point of automatic operation, for example. The information is output to the HMI control unit 170.

  The travel control unit 160 controls the travel driving force output device 200, the steering device 210, and the brake device 220 so that the host vehicle M passes the track generated by the track generation unit 146 at a scheduled time.

  The HMI control unit 170 controls the HMI 70 based on the operation mode information obtained by the automatic operation control unit 120. For example, the HMI control unit 170 controls whether or not the vehicle occupant can operate the non-driving operation system of the HMI 70, the navigation device 50, and the like based on the driving mode. In addition, the HMI control unit 170 causes the interface device of the HMI 70 to output predetermined information before a predetermined time and / or a predetermined speed before the change of the automatic driving mode in which the duty of the vehicle occupant increases.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram for describing an armrest in the host vehicle M. In FIG. 11, one end side of the armrest body 88A is attached to a part of the side surface 88B of the backrest portion of the seat 88, and the other end side, that is, the front end side of the armrest body 88A is the front side of the host vehicle M and is substantially horizontal. It is attached to face. The position of the armrest main body 88A in this case is a position where the arm of the vehicle occupant P is not touched when the vehicle occupant P is holding the steering wheel 78, for example. Hereinafter, the state in which the armrest body 88A is in this position is referred to as a first state.

The armrest main body 88A includes an armrest upper part 88A1 that is a part mainly including the upper surface side of the casing, an armrest lower part 88A2 that is a part mainly including a lower part of the casing, and an extension part 88A3. . Of the armrest body 88A, a rotation shaft provided on the armrest lower part 88A2 is coupled to an angle changing part 88C provided on the armrest body 88A and a bearing in the seat 88. The angle changing unit 88C is provided in the seat driving device 89 and is driven according to a control signal from the HMI control unit 170. When the angle changing portion 88C is driven, the position of the armrest main body 88A on the tip side (the armrest upper portion 88A1 side) moves to either the upper side or the lower side around the rotation axis of the armrest lower portion 88A2. Can be changed.
The armrest upper part 88A1 and the armrest lower part 88A2 are connected to each other by an extension part 88A3.
The armrest upper part 88A1 is configured to allow the arm of the vehicle occupant P to be placed thereon. A sensor 88A4 is provided on the upper surface side inside the armrest upper portion 88A1. The sensor 88A4 detects whether or not an object is placed on the armrest upper portion 88A1. The sensor 88A4 only needs to be able to detect whether or not an object is placed. For example, at least one of a load sensor, a pressure sensor, a capacitive proximity sensor, and the like can be used.

  Further, the armrest upper portion 88A1 moves away from the armrest lower portion 88A2 by extending the extension portion 88A3, so that the front side of the host vehicle M (direction approaching the steering wheel 78). ) Position can be changed.

  The armrest lower part 88A2 has a rotation axis connected to the angle changing part 88C, and can rotate in the vertical direction around the rotation axis. It is regulated not to move. The rotation range is, for example, a range in which the longitudinal direction of the armrest main body 88A extends from the vertical direction toward the center of the steering wheel 78. For example, when the angle in the longitudinal direction of the armrest lower portion 88A2 with respect to the vertical direction is θ, the angle θ is in a range from 0 degree (vertical direction) to about 110 degrees. In the first state, the angle θ is an angle that is substantially in the horizontal direction, and is, for example, 90 degrees.

  The extension portion 88A3 has one end connected to the armrest lower portion 88A2 and the other end connected to the armrest upper portion 88A1. The extension part 88A3 has a drive part that is driven based on a control signal from the HMI control part 170 so as to extend or shorten the distance between the one end side and the other end side.

Next, the second state of the armrest main body 88A will be described with reference to FIG.
In FIG. 12, the second state is a state where the armrest upper portion 88A1 is moved away from the armrest lower portion 88A2 as the extension portion 88A3 extends. In this case, the armrest upper portion 88A1 reaches a position away from the steering wheel 78 by a predetermined distance. As the predetermined distance in this case, for example, when the palm is quickly gripped by the steering wheel 78 from the arm placed on the armrest upper portion 88A1, or when the hand holding the steering wheel 78 is released, the arm is quickly The distance is set such that it can be placed on the upper portion 88A1. Here, the armrest upper portion 88A1 is within a certain distance from the steering wheel 78, but is located at a distance that does not contact the steering wheel 78. Therefore, the armrest upper portion 88A1 contacts the steering wheel 78 to perform the driving operation. It is designed not to interfere.

  Further, the angle θ of the armrest body 88A in the second state may be arbitrarily set as the angle θ2. Thus, depending on the body shape, arm length, and the like of the vehicle occupant P, the armrest body 88A may be placed on the palm of the vehicle occupant P with the arm of the vehicle occupant P placed on the armrest upper portion 88A1. Can be set in consideration of a case where it is easy to approach the vehicle smoothly, and the vehicle occupant P can be smoothly gripped or released, and comfort can be improved.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a case where the arm of the vehicle occupant P is placed on the armrest body 88A when the armrest body 88A is in the second state. Here, when the driving mode shifts to a state where the driving operation in the first mode or the second mode is not required, the vehicle occupant P does not need to grip the steering wheel 78. Therefore, when the driving mode is shifted to the first mode or the state where the driving operation in the second mode is not required, when the armrest body 88A shifts to the second state, the vehicle occupant P moves the steering wheel 78. In this case, since the armrest upper portion 88A1 is in the immediate vicinity of the arm, the arm can be smoothly put on the armrest upper portion 88A1 as it is. As a result, when the operation mode shifts to the operation mode in which the operation of the steering wheel 78 is not required, the arm of the vehicle occupant P can be received immediately, and thus the comfort of the vehicle occupant P in the host vehicle M can be improved. .
In this case, the sensor 88A4 detects that the arm of the vehicle occupant P is placed on the armrest upper portion 88A1, and outputs the detection result to the HMI control unit 170.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the armrest body 88A has transitioned from the second state to the first state and the arm of the vehicle occupant P is placed on the armrest upper portion 88A1. In this case, when the vehicle occupant P puts his arm on the armrest upper portion 88A1 in the second state in the operation mode in which the operation of the steering wheel 78 is not necessary, the state of the armrest main body 88A shifts to the first state. As a result, the vehicle occupant P can contract the arm that has been extended to the vicinity of the steering wheel 78. In this case, since the position of the elbow of the vehicle occupant P shifts to a posture approaching the vicinity of the abdomen of the vehicle occupant P, the vehicle occupant P can be shifted to a relaxed posture as compared with a state where the arm is extended. Thereby, when it transfers to the driving | operation mode which does not require the operation of the steering wheel 78, an arm can be contracted so that the elbow of the vehicle occupant P may be close to the abdomen, and the vehicle occupant P's own vehicle M Comfort can be improved.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a third state of the armrest main body 88A. The third state is a state in which the state is shifted from the first state, and the armrest upper portion 88A1 is moved downward from the horizontal direction. In this case, the angle θ of the armrest body 88A is an angle θ3 that is smaller than the angle at which the longitudinal direction of the armrest body 88A faces the horizontal direction. For example, the angle θ3 is set to about 70 to 80 degrees.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a fourth state of the armrest main body 88A. The fourth state is a state transitioning from the third state. In the third state, the armrest upper portion 88A1 is separated from the armrest lower portion 88A2 by the extension portion 88A3 extending. At this time, the armrest upper portion 88A1 is separated while the arm of the vehicle occupant P is placed on the armrest upper portion 88A1. Therefore, the vehicle occupant P shifts to a posture in which the arm extends. That is, the palm of the vehicle occupant P approaches the steering wheel 78 by moving the elbow of the vehicle occupant P away from the abdomen. Here, since the vehicle occupant P shifts to the fourth state while the arm of the vehicle occupant P rests on the armrest upper portion 88A1, the vehicle occupant P separates the arm from the armrest upper portion 88A1 and extends the arm to extend the steering wheel 78. Even without performing an operation of gripping the hand, the palm approaches the steering wheel 78 only by placing the arm on the armrest upper portion 88A1. Therefore, since it is only necessary to grip the steering wheel 78 after the transition to the fourth state, a longer period of maintaining a comfortable state is ensured even when the steering wheel 78 needs to be gripped. can do.

  Here, in FIGS. 11 to 16, the case where the armrest body 88 </ b> A is provided on the right side of the seat 88 is illustrated, but the armrest body 88 </ b> A is similarly provided on the left side of the seat 88.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the HMI control unit 170. The HMI control unit 170 shown in this figure further includes an operation mode acquisition unit 171, a position control unit 172, and a detection result acquisition unit 175 in addition to the functions described above.
The operation mode acquisition unit 171 acquires information related to the operation mode from the automatic operation control unit 120. For example, the operation mode may be acquired every time the automatic operation mode control unit 130 determines the operation mode, or the operation mode may be acquired every certain period.

The position control unit 172 controls the position of the armrest body 88A, in particular, the position of the armrest upper portion 88A1 according to the degree of automatic driving based on the operation mode acquired by the operation mode acquisition unit 171. The position control unit 172 controls the position of the armrest main body 88A so as to be a position corresponding to the transition of the degree of automatic driving.
Further, when the position control unit 172 controls the position of the armrest main body 88A, the position control unit 172 can also perform control according to the transition state of the degree of automatic driving based on the operation mode acquired by the operation mode acquisition unit 171. The transition state of the degree of automatic driving in this case includes, for example, a transition in which the degree of automatic driving increases from a low state to a high state and a transition in which the degree of automatic driving decreases from a high state to a low state. There are cases.
The case where the degree of automatic driving increases may be, for example, a case where the degree of automatic driving that requires operation of the steering wheel 78 transitions to the degree of automatic driving that does not require operation of the steering wheel 78. It may be a case where the degree of driving transitions from another driving mode to the first mode.
The case where the degree of automatic driving decreases may be, for example, a case where a transition from the degree of automatic driving that does not require operation of the steering wheel 78 to the degree of automatic driving that requires operation of the steering wheel 78 is possible. The case where the degree of driving is reduced by at least one step may be used, or the degree of automatic driving may be changed from another operation mode to the manual operation mode.

For example, the position controller 172 moves the position of the armrest upper portion 88A1 to the first position away from the steering wheel 78 by a predetermined distance when the degree of automatic driving is changed from a low state to a high state. The steering wheel 78 is moved to a second position that is further away from the first position.
When the degree of automatic driving is low, for example, as shown in FIG. 11, the armrest body 88A is in the first state. In this first state, the armrest main body 88A is not extended by the extension portion 88A3, the armrest upper portion 88A1 and the armrest lower portion 88A2 are substantially in contact (not separated), and the armrest main body 88A. The longitudinal direction is substantially horizontal (angle θ1 is about 90 °). The vehicle occupant P is holding the steering wheel 78 because the degree of automatic driving is low, and at this time, the arm of the vehicle occupant P is not in contact with the armrest body 88A. When the degree of automatic driving is changed from a low state to a high state, the position of the armrest upper portion 88A1 moves to a first position separated from the steering wheel 78 by a predetermined distance. As the first position, for example, as shown in FIG. 12, the extension part 88A3 of the armrest body 88A is extended so that the armrest upper part 88A1 is separated from the armrest lower part 88A2, and the angle of the armrest body 88A is By setting the angle θ2 larger than θ1, the position is slightly upward from the first state. As described above, the extension by the extension portion 88A3 is performed, and the angle of the armrest body 88A is set to θ2, so that the position of the distal end side of the armrest upper portion 88A1 is closer to the steering wheel 78 than in the first state. Approach the position. When the degree of automatic driving is changed from a low state to a high state (driving mode in which no driving operation is required), the vehicle occupant P does not need to hold the steering wheel 78 and thus releases his hand from the steering wheel 78. At this time, since the armrest upper portion 88A1 extends to a position approaching the steering wheel 78, when the vehicle occupant P lowers the arm as it is with the arm extended, for example, as shown in FIG. It is possible to place at least a part of the forearm naturally on the armrest body 88A by simply lowering the armrest slightly. As a result, the vehicle occupant P can rest his arm quickly when the vehicle occupant P transitions to a driving mode that does not require a driving operation.
Further, the position control unit 172 moves the position of the armrest body 88A to the first position, and then moves the position of the armrest body 88A from the steering wheel 78 to the second position away from the first position. As a trigger for starting the transition from the first position to the second position, for example, when the sensor 88A4 detects that the arm of the vehicle occupant P is placed on the armrest upper portion 88A1, the armrest main body 88A reaches the first position. If it is determined that a predetermined time has passed, it may be either. When it is detected by the sensor 88A4 that the arm of the vehicle occupant P is placed on the armrest upper portion 88A1, and the arm shifts from the first position to the second position, the arm of the vehicle occupant P is placed on the armrest upper portion 88A1. In addition, the armrest body 88A can be prevented from shifting from the second state to the first state. In the case where the vehicle occupant P does not use the armrest body 88A when the armrest body 88A shifts from the first position to the second position when it is determined that a predetermined time has elapsed since the armrest body 88A has reached the first position. In spite of this, it is possible to prevent the extension portion 88A3 from being in the extended state. As a case where the vehicle occupant P does not use the armrest main body 88A, for example, the vehicle occupant P may stretch by stretching both arms over the head, or may take out the luggage placed around.

  Here, as the second position, for example, as shown in FIG. 14, the extended portion 88A3 that has been extended contracts, so that the armrest upper portion 88A1 is substantially in contact with the armrest lower portion 88A2. This is a position where the angle of the armrest main body 88A is an angle θ1 (about 90 °). When shifting from the first position to the second position, the extension 88A3 contracts with the arm of the vehicle occupant P resting on the armrest upper part 88A1, and the position of the armrest upper part 88A1 becomes the armrest lower part 88A2. And the angle of the armrest body 88A reaches the angle θ1. As a result, the vehicle occupant P can take a posture in which the elbow is bent from the state where the arm is extended and the elbow approaches the side of the body without being aware of changing the posture of the arm. it can. As a result, the vehicle occupant P can rest his arm at a position close to his body.

  Further, when the position control unit 172 transitions from a state where the degree of automatic driving is high to a low state, the armrest upper portion 88A1 is separated from the steering wheel 78 by a predetermined distance from a position (first state) that is further than a predetermined distance. Is moved to a position (second state) that is far away. Here, as a case where the degree of automatic driving is changed from a high state to a low state, for example, a driving mode (for example, the first mode, the second mode (the steering wheel 78) in which the operation of the steering wheel 78 by the vehicle occupant P is unnecessary is required. Transition to a driving mode in which the steering wheel 78 must be operated by the vehicle occupant P (for example, a manual driving mode, a third mode, or a second mode (a state in which the steering wheel 78 needs to be operated)). This is the case.

When the degree of automatic driving is high, for example, as shown in FIG. 14, the extension 88A3 is contracted and the armrest upper part 88A1 and the armrest lower part 88A2 are substantially in contact with each other, and the armrest main body 88A. Is in a substantially waterside direction (angle θ1 is about 90 °). At this time, the arm of the vehicle occupant P is placed on the armrest body 88A with the elbow bent.
The position control unit 172 is configured so that the armrest body 88A has a lower direction than the horizontal direction in at least a part of the period until the armrest upper part 88A1 is shifted from the second state to the first state. The angle is inclined from angle θ1 to angle θ3 (<angle θ1) (for example, FIG. 15, third state). As a result, the angle of the elbow that the vehicle occupant P has bent as the wrist position of the vehicle occupant P is lowered below the elbow is compared with the angle of the elbow when the armrest body 88A is in the first state (substantially horizontal direction). Can be relaxed (stretching the elbow slightly).
After shifting to the third state, the position controller 172 shifts to the fourth state as shown in FIG. Here, the position control unit 172 causes the armrest upper portion 88A1 to be separated from the armrest lower portion 88A2 by extending the extension portion 88A3 while the angle of the armrest main body 88A remains the angle θ3. Since the forearm of the vehicle occupant P is placed on the armrest upper portion 88A1, when the position of the armrest upper portion 88A1 moves in the direction approaching the position of the steering wheel 78 due to the extension of the extension portion 88A3, the forearm of the vehicle occupant P The position also moves in the direction approaching the position of the steering wheel 78 while the angle of the elbow becomes further gentle as the armrest upper portion 88A1 moves (for example, FIG. 16). As a result, the vehicle occupant P can extend the arm little by little and move the forearm in a direction approaching the steering wheel 78 without any particular awareness of changing the posture of the arm. After shifting to the fourth state, the position control unit 172 changes the angle of the armrest main body 88A from the angle θ3 to the angle θ2 with the extension 88A3 extended, thereby changing the angle of the armrest main body 88A in the horizontal direction. It is directed slightly upward (FIG. 13, second state). As a result, the position of the hand of the vehicle occupant P who put his arm on the armrest upper portion 88A1 moves so as to approach the steering wheel 78 from the lower side of the steering wheel 78, so that the vehicle occupant P moves from the armrest upper portion 88A1. By slightly lifting the arm, the steering wheel 78 can be gripped naturally (FIG. 12, second state). In addition, the vehicle occupant P can reach the position of the steering wheel 78 and grip the steering wheel 78 by lifting the arm slightly, so that the position of the steering wheel 78 can be visually confirmed when a driving operation is required. Thus, the steering wheel 78 can be quickly grasped without being performed, or the steering wheel 78 can be easily found.

Further, the position control unit 172 determines that the steering wheel 78 is detected by the occupant based on a detection signal obtained from a sensor that detects that the steering wheel 78 is gripped by the occupant after the transition from the first state to the second state. When it is detected that the armrest is gripped, the armrest upper portion 88A1 is shifted from the second state to the first state. As a sensor for detecting that the steering wheel 78 is gripped by the vehicle occupant P, for example, a vehicle interior camera 95 can be used. When the vehicle interior camera 95 is used, the steering wheel 78 and the vehicle occupant P are recognized by recognizing the image data obtained from the vehicle interior camera 95, and the steering wheel 78 is partially displayed in the circumferential direction. When there is an image of a part (hand) of the vehicle occupant P, it is detected that the steering wheel 78 is gripped by the vehicle occupant P. Further, a pressure sensor or a capacitive proximity sensor may be provided on the steering wheel 78 to detect whether or not the vehicle occupant P has touched the steering wheel 78.
When the pressure sensor is used, a plurality of pressure sensors are arranged in the circumferential direction of the steering wheel 78, and the steering wheel 78 is gripped by the vehicle occupant P when a predetermined pressure or more is detected from the plurality of pressure sensors. It is detected that By detecting a pressure of a predetermined value or more with a plurality of pressure sensors, for example, it is detected that the steering wheel 78 is gripped at a distant position, that is, gripped by the right hand and the left hand. Can do.
In the case of using a capacitive proximity sensor, a capacitive proximity sensor is provided along the circumferential direction of the steering wheel 78 to indicate that an object has approached in a predetermined area or more of the detection target area. When detected based on the change, it is determined that the steering wheel 78 is gripped by the vehicle occupant P. For example, when the steering wheel 78 is gripped by the right hand and the left hand of the vehicle occupant P, the palms of the right hand and the left hand come into contact with the steering wheel 78. In this case, the capacitance changes by more than a predetermined value. It can be detected that the wheel 78 is gripped.

  Further, the position control unit 172 includes an armrest upper portion 88A1 of the armrest body 88A provided on the right side of the seat 88 in a part of the period from the third state or the first state to the second state. The position (distance) of the armrest body 88A provided on the left side of the seat 88 with respect to the armrest upper portion 88A1 may be moved so as to approach each other from a state where the width is about the shoulder width of the vehicle occupant P. . Accordingly, the right arm of the vehicle occupant P placed on the armrest upper portion 88A1 provided on the right side of the seat 88, and the left arm of the vehicle occupant P placed on the armrest upper portion 88A1 provided on the left side of the seat 88 Can be brought closer. For example, the distance between both arms of the vehicle occupant P can be reduced by making the distance from the right side and the left side armrest upper portion 88A1 close to the diameter of the steering wheel 78 from the state where the distance is widened to the shoulder width. Since the steering wheel 78 approaches the diameter of the steering wheel 78 from the spread state, the steering wheel 78 can be easily gripped by the vehicle occupant P.

Further, when the position control unit 172 changes the position of the armrest body 88A, the position control unit 172 refers to transition order data indicating the order of transition of the position and angle of the armrest body 88A, and changes the position and angle in any order. To decide. For example, the transition order data may be stored in a memory area inside the position control unit 172 or may be stored in the storage unit 180 of the vehicle control system 100.
FIG. 18 is a data table showing an example of the migration order data. The transition order data is data in which the transition state of the degree of automatic driving, the transition order ID, and the transition order are associated with each other. Here, as an example, when the degree of automatic driving is one of the first mode, the second mode, and the third mode, and the degree of automatic driving at the transition destination is “manual driving mode”, the transition order ID is “Transition order 1”, and “first state → third state → fourth state → second state → first state” is associated as the transition order. In addition, when the degree of automatic driving transitions from the second mode, the third mode, or the manual driving mode to the “first mode”, the transition order ID is “transition order 2”, and the transition order is “ “First state → second state → first state” is associated. For the transition order data shown in FIG. 18, the degree of automatic operation at the transition destination is exemplified for “manual operation mode” and “first mode”, but automatic operation other than “manual operation mode” and “first mode” is exemplified. Various transition orders can be stored for each degree.

  Moreover, about the transition order data shown in FIG. 18, although the case where the degree of the automatic driving | operation of a transition destination, the transition order ID, and the transition order were matched was demonstrated, the case where the degree of automatic driving | running | working rises, and an automatic driving | operation In the case where the degree is reduced, the transfer order ID and the transfer order may be stored in association with each other.

<Processing flow>
Hereinafter, the flow of processing by the vehicle control system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described. In the following description, among various processes in the vehicle control system 100, the flow of a process for changing the angle and position of the armrest that is mainly performed by the HMI control unit 170 will be described. This processing flow is performed at regular intervals from the start of the operation of the host vehicle M to the end thereof.

  FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing a first embodiment of the HMI control process. In the example of FIG. 19, the operation mode acquisition unit 171 of the HMI control unit 170 acquires mode information from the automatic operation control unit 120 (step S101). The position control unit 172 determines whether or not the operation mode included in the acquired mode information is changed from the current operation mode to another operation mode (step S102). If there is no change in the operation mode (step S102—NO), the HMI control unit 170 waits for a fixed time (step S103), and then proceeds to step S101 to acquire mode information.

  On the other hand, when there is a change in the operation mode (YES in step S102), it is determined whether or not the level (degree) of the operation mode after the change is a change that is lower than the level of the operation mode before the change (step S102 S104). Here, when determining whether or not the operation mode level is reduced, it is determined whether or not the operation mode level is changed from any one of the automatic operation modes to the manual operation mode. Alternatively, it may be determined whether or not the mode is an automatic driving mode in which the steering wheel operation is required from an automatic driving mode in which the steering wheel operation is not required. An automatic driving mode that requires steering wheel operation from an automatic driving mode that does not require steering wheel operation when the level of the driving mode is changed from one of the automatic driving modes to the manual driving mode If it is a decrease, the operation mode level is determined to be a change (step S104-YES). When it is determined that the operation mode level is changed, the position control unit 172 causes the angle of the seat driving device 89 to change the position of the armrest body 88A according to the transition order corresponding to “transition order 1”. A control signal is output to the change unit 88C and the extension unit 88A3, and the change of the position of the armrest upper portion 88A1 is started (step S105). The movement order in this case is “first state → third state → fourth state → second state → first state”. Then, the position control unit 172 determines whether or not the state of the armrest body 88A has shifted to the second state through the third state and the fourth state (step S106), and when the state has not shifted to the second state. (Step S106-NO), wait for a certain period of time (step S107), and then move to step S106 again to determine whether or not the state has shifted to the second state.

  When it is determined that the state has shifted to the second state (step S106—YES), the position control unit 172 determines whether the steering wheel 78 is gripped by the vehicle occupant P (step S108). The determination as to whether or not the steering wheel 78 is gripped is, for example, detected by at least one of the vehicle interior camera 95, a pressure sensor provided in the steering wheel 78, and a capacitive proximity sensor provided in the steering wheel 78. Judgment is made by referring to the result. If it is determined that the steering wheel 78 is gripped by the vehicle occupant P (step S108—YES), the position control unit 172 shifts to the first state (step S109) and ends the process. Here, when it is determined that the steering wheel 78 is gripped by the vehicle occupant P, the posture of the vehicle occupant P has shifted from a state of resting arms to a state of gripping the steering wheel 78 for driving operation. As a result, the extended armrest upper portion 88A1 can be accommodated, and an environment in which the vehicle occupant P can easily drive is created.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S108 that the steering wheel 78 is not gripped by the vehicle occupant P (step S108-NO), the process waits for a fixed time (step S110), and is set in advance from the time when the determination in step S108 is performed. It is determined whether or not a predetermined time has passed (step S111). This predetermined time can be arbitrarily set. For example, it can be determined according to the time it takes for the vehicle occupant P to grip the steering wheel 78 after the position of the armrest body 88A is changed after it is determined that the level of the operation mode is lowered. When it is determined in step S111 that the predetermined time has not elapsed (step S111-NO), the position control unit 172 proceeds to step S108, and whether or not the steering wheel 78 is gripped by the vehicle occupant P. Is again determined (step S108).

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S111 that the predetermined time has elapsed (step S111-YES), the position control unit 172 announces “Since the handover occurs, the armrest is contracted.” Are displayed on the screens of the navigation device 50 and the display device 82 and output from the speaker 83 by voice. As a result, even if the vehicle occupant P is not gripping the steering wheel 78 (the vehicle occupant P's arm is not separated from the armrest upper portion 88A1), the armrest main body 88A can be used before the handover is performed. Can be shifted to the first state. Further, when the announcement is output, the vehicle occupant P can recognize that the armrest body 88A is contracted due to the occurrence of the handover, and can be urged to grip the steering wheel 78. Then, after outputting the announcement (step S112), the position controller 172 shifts the armrest main body 88A to the first state (step S109). As a result, the arm is extended from the state where the elbow is bent and the forearm is placed on the armrest body 88A and the arm is rested in the first state, and the arm is guided to a position close to the steering wheel 78, and the announcement is output. However, if the vehicle occupant P does not grip the steering wheel 78, the arm can be forcibly separated from the armrest body 88A by returning the armrest body 88A to the first state. Further, even when the driving mode is switched to the driving mode that requires the steering wheel 78 to be operated, the armrest body 88A continues to be positioned in the vicinity of the steering wheel 78 and hinders the operation of the steering wheel 78 for the vehicle occupant P. Can be prevented.

  On the other hand, in step S104, if the operation mode level is not a change that decreases, that is, a change that increases the operation mode level (for example, the level of the automatic operation mode that is changed from one of the automatic operation modes to the first mode). Position increase, or when the level of the automatic driving mode in which the steering wheel operation is unnecessary is increased from the automatic driving mode in which the steering wheel operation is required (NO in step S104). The unit 172 starts moving the armrest upper portion 88A1 in accordance with the transition order corresponding to “transition order 2” (step S113). The movement order in this case is “first state → second state → first state”. Here, the armrest upper portion 88A1 extends so that the vehicle occupant P can recognize that the arm can be rested by releasing the hand from the steering wheel 78. Announcement such as “Transfer to driving mode that does not require steering wheel operation. Arm rest can be rested on armrest” is displayed on the screen of navigation device 50 and display device 82, and output from speaker 83 by voice. You may make it do. This makes it easier to recognize that the armrest body 88A can be used.

  Then, the position control unit 172 determines whether or not the state has shifted from the first state to the second state (step S114). If it is determined that the state has not been shifted to the second state, the position control unit 172 waits for a predetermined time (step S115), proceeds to step S114, and again determines whether or not the state has shifted to the second state (step S115). S115).

If it is determined in step S115 that the state has shifted to the second state, the position control unit 172 determines whether the arm of the vehicle occupant P is placed on the armrest upper portion 88A1 based on the detection result from the sensor 88A4. Determination is made (step S116). When it is determined that the arm of the vehicle occupant P is placed on the armrest upper portion 88A1 (step S116-YES), the position control unit 172 shifts the state of the armrest body 88A to the first state.
On the other hand, when it is determined in step S116 that the arm of the vehicle occupant P is not placed on the armrest upper portion 88A1 (step S116-NO), the position control unit 172 waits for a certain time (step S117). It is determined whether a predetermined time set in advance has elapsed. The predetermined time can be arbitrarily set. For example, the position of the armrest main body 88A is changed after it is determined that the level of the operation mode is increased, and the time taken for the arm of the vehicle occupant P to be placed on the armrest upper portion 88A1 can be determined. .

If it is determined that the predetermined time has not elapsed (step S118—NO), the position control unit 172 proceeds to step S116, and whether or not the arm of the vehicle occupant P is placed on the armrest upper portion 88A1. Is again determined (step S117).
On the other hand, when it is determined in step S118 that the predetermined time has passed (step S118-YES), the navigation device 50, the display device, and the like announce that “the armrest is contracted because a certain time has passed”. 82 is displayed on the screen 82, and is output by voice from the speaker 83 (step S119). As a case where the arm of the vehicle occupant P is not placed on the armrest upper portion 88A1 even after the transition from the first state to the second state, for example, the vehicle occupant P does not use the armrest upper portion 88A1, You can think of a situation where you stretch and stretch, or take out some items around you. In such a case, the armrest body 88A can be contracted in accordance with the will of the vehicle occupant P not to use the armrest body 88A by shifting the state of the armrest body 88A to the first state after a predetermined time has elapsed. .

Moreover, in embodiment mentioned above, when it determines with the level of the operation mode after a change falling with respect to the level of the operation mode before a change in step S104, according to transfer order 1, the armrest main body 88A is changed. We have explained the case of changing the state, but it is determined whether the decrease in the level of the operation mode is “scheduled level decrease” or “emergency level decrease”, and “scheduled level decrease” ”, The state of the armrest body 88A is changed according to the transition order 1, and when it is“ decrease in emergency level ”, the state of the armrest body 88A is not changed and the first state is maintained. You may do it. Accordingly, the vehicle occupant P can quickly grip the steering wheel 78 regardless of whether or not the state of the armrest body 88A is changed.
Here, “scheduled level decrease” is a transition state of the degree of automatic driving when, for example, when a travel route is set, a handover is determined in advance, and a lane junction or tunnel It is set at the entrance and the exit of the expressway. “Emergency level drop” is, for example, a state in which hand-over has not been determined in advance, but the degree of automatic driving is high depending on the state of travel of the vehicle (first mode, second mode, second mode, This is a case where a transition is made from one of the three modes to a low state (manual operation mode), for example, when a failure of the detection device occurs.

  In the above-described embodiment, it is determined whether or not the steering wheel is gripped in step S108. However, it may be determined whether or not the arm of the vehicle occupant P is separated from the armrest body 88A. In this case, the sensor 88A4 may detect whether or not the arm of the vehicle occupant P has shifted from a state where it is placed on the armrest upper portion 88A1 to a state where it is not placed.

  In the above-described embodiment, when the armrest main body 88A is contracted in step S112 and step S119, it is announced using the navigation device 50 or the display device 82 that the armrest main body 88A is contracted. When the main body 88A is extended, it may be announced that the armrest main body 88A is extended. For example, when an announcement is made when the armrest body 88A is extended along with a decrease in the level of the operation mode, it becomes easier to recognize that the steering wheel 78 needs to be gripped. Further, when an announcement is made when the armrest body 88A is extended as the driving mode level increases, it is easy to recognize that the arm may be rested by releasing the hand from the steering wheel 78. Can do.

  The above-described HMI control process shown in FIG. 19 may be executed when mode information is acquired from the automatic operation control unit, or may be executed at regular time intervals. In addition, as an embodiment, you may combine a part or all of each Example mentioned above.

  As mentioned above, although the form for implementing this invention was demonstrated using embodiment, this invention is not limited to such embodiment at all, In the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention, various deformation | transformation and substitution Can be added.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 ... Finder, 30 ... Radar, 40 ... Camera, DD ... Detection device, 50 ... Navigation apparatus, 55 ... Communication apparatus, 60 ... Vehicle sensor, 70 ... HMI, 100 ... Vehicle control system, 110 ... Target lane determination part, 120 ... automatic driving control unit, 130 ... automatic driving mode control unit, 140 ... own vehicle position recognition unit, 142 ... external environment recognition unit, 144 ... action plan generation unit, 146 ... track generation unit, 146A ... running mode determination unit, 146B ... Track candidate generation unit, 146C ... evaluation / selection unit, 150 ... switch control unit, 160 ... running control unit, 170 ... HMI control unit, 171 ... operation mode acquisition unit, 172 ... position control unit, 175 ... detection result acquisition unit, 174: Interface control unit, 180 ... Storage unit, 200 ... Driving force output device, 210 ... Steering device, 220 ... Brake device, M The vehicle

Claims (9)

An automatic operation control unit that automatically controls at least one of acceleration / deceleration and steering of the vehicle, and an automatic operation control unit that performs automatic operation control in any of a plurality of modes having different degrees of automatic operation;
A position control unit that controls the position of the armrest of the seat on which the passenger of the vehicle is seated according to the degree of the automatic driving;
A vehicle control system comprising: The position control unit moves the tip side of the armrest to a first position that is separated from the steering wheel by a predetermined distance when the degree of automatic driving is changed from a low state to a high state. The vehicle control system according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle control system is moved to a second position separated from the predetermined distance. When the position control unit detects that the occupant's arm is touching the armrest based on a detection signal obtained from a sensor that detects whether or not the occupant's arm is touching the armrest, The vehicle control system according to claim 2, wherein the tip side portion is moved to the second position. When the position control unit transitions from a state where the degree of automatic driving is high to a low state, the tip side portion of the armrest is separated from a steering wheel by a predetermined distance from a second position which is further than a predetermined distance. The vehicle control system according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle control system is moved to a separated first position. When the position control unit detects that the steering wheel is gripped by an occupant based on a detection signal obtained from a sensor that detects that the steering wheel is gripped by the occupant, The vehicle control system according to claim 4, wherein the vehicle is moved from the first position to the second position. The position control unit moves the height of the tip side part downward after at least a part of the period until the tip side part is moved from the second position to the first position. The vehicle control system according to claim 4 or 5. The armrests are respectively provided on the right side and the left side of the seat,
The position control unit moves the position of the tip side part so as to approach each other during a part of the period from the second position to the first position. The vehicle control system according to any one of claims. In-vehicle computer
An automatic operation control unit that automatically controls at least one of acceleration / deceleration and steering of the vehicle, and performs automatic operation control that performs automatic operation control in any of a plurality of modes having different degrees of automatic operation,
Controlling the position of the armrest of the seat on which the occupant of the vehicle is seated according to the degree of the automatic driving;
Vehicle control method. On-board computer
An automatic operation control unit that automatically controls at least one of acceleration / deceleration and steering of the vehicle, and performs automatic operation control that performs automatic operation control in any of a plurality of modes having different degrees of automatic operation,
Controlling the position of the armrest of the seat on which the occupant of the vehicle is seated according to the degree of the automatic driving;
A vehicle control program for executing processing.

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