JP6943056B2 - Vehicle control method and vehicle control device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle control method and a vehicle control device.

Some vehicles have a function of acquiring traffic information via communication and displaying the traveling route of the vehicle based on the acquired traffic information. With the recent computerization, it has become possible to acquire traffic information including the timing when the traffic light on the traveling route turns red or blue, and the utilization of such traffic information is being studied.

According to the control device disclosed in Patent Document 1, the recommended speed of the vehicle capable of passing through the intersection at the timing when the traffic light is blue is calculated based on the traffic light change timing information indicating the timing when the traffic light changes. By traveling at such a recommended vehicle speed, the frequency of stopping can be reduced and fuel efficiency can be improved.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-296798

According to the control device disclosed in Patent Document 1, when the traffic light change timing information indicates that the traffic light is blue at the timing when the vehicle reaches the intersection, the vehicle can pass through the intersection at that timing. Display the recommended speed. However, if the traffic light changes from red to blue just before the vehicle reaches the intersection, it will be displayed to drive at the recommended speed until the traffic light reaches the intersection, even though the traffic light is red. It ends up. This gives the driver the illusion that the traffic light is rushing into a red intersection. In such a case, if the driver operates the brake, there is a problem that the effect of improving fuel efficiency may be reduced.

The present invention has been invented to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle control method for further improving fuel efficiency and a vehicle control device.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the vehicle control method includes a communication unit that acquires traffic light change information indicating a change in a traffic light on a planned travel route, a camera that acquires image information around the vehicle, and a travel schedule from the current location. It controls a vehicle including a distance calculation unit that calculates the distance to the next intersection on the route and a display unit that displays information for the driver. The control method uses the traffic light change information and the distance to the intersection calculated by the distance calculation unit to obtain the passing vehicle speed so that the vehicle passes through the intersection while the traffic light in the direction of travel at the intersection is blue. , When the image information acquired by the camera shows that the traffic light in the direction of travel is red, the timing at which the allowable vehicle speed that the driver can tolerate becomes slower as the distance to the intersection becomes shorter than the passing vehicle speed. Then, a recommended vehicle speed pattern that changes from a passing vehicle speed to an allowable vehicle speed is obtained, and a display prompting the driver to drive along the recommended vehicle speed pattern is displayed on the display unit.

According to the present invention, fuel efficiency can be improved.

Embodiments of the present invention and advantages of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a vehicle according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an allowable vehicle speed. FIG. 3A is a diagram showing an example of a traveling state of the vehicle. FIG. 3B is a diagram showing an example of a traveling state of the vehicle. FIG. 3C is a diagram showing an example of a traveling state of the vehicle. FIG. 4A is a diagram showing an optimum vehicle speed in the traveling state of FIG. 3A. FIG. 4B is a diagram showing an optimum vehicle speed in the traveling state of FIG. 3B. FIG. 4C is a diagram showing an optimum vehicle speed in the traveling state of FIG. 3C. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the determination control of the allowable vehicle speed. FIG. 6A is a flowchart showing vehicle speed control. FIG. 6B is a flowchart showing vehicle speed control. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing details of the time included in the traffic light change information. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing learning control. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the learning control of the first modification. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing learning control of the second modification. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing learning control of the third modification. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing learning control of the fourth modification. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing learning control of the fifth modification. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the vehicle speed control of the second embodiment. FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an example of display control. FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing another example of display control.

The vehicle control method according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

(First Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of the vehicle of the first embodiment. The vehicle 100 shown in the present embodiment is provided with an automatic driving function capable of controlling the engine 22 and the brake 24.

The vehicle 100 is provided with a control unit 1. The control unit 1 is connected to the GPS 11 that acquires the position information of the current location, and has a general car navigation function. When the destination is input from the user via the input unit 12, the control unit 1 obtains a travel route from the current location acquired by the GPS 11 to the destination, and displays the travel route on the display unit 13. The control unit 1 obtains the distance from the current location of the vehicle 100 to the intersection by using the map data stored in advance and the position information of the current location acquired by GPS 11. That is, the control unit 1 and the GPS 11 correspond to a distance calculation unit that calculates the distance to the intersection.

Further, the control unit 1 receives traffic information from the data center 200 via the communication unit 14. The traffic information includes not only traffic congestion information and statistical vehicle speed on each road, but also traffic light change information indicating the location of each traffic light and the timing at which the display of the traffic light changes. Therefore, the control unit 1 uses the traffic information and the distance to the intersection to obtain a vehicle speed at which the traffic light reaches the intersection between blue, that is, an optimum vehicle speed at which the traffic light passes through the intersection without stopping in front of the intersection. (Passing vehicle speed) can be calculated. The control unit 1 can prompt the driver to drive in the recommended vehicle speed pattern by displaying the optimum vehicle speed as the recommended vehicle speed pattern on the display unit 13.

The vehicle 100 is provided with a camera 15 that captures the field of view from the driver. The control unit 1 can analyze an image taken by the camera 15 and recognize a traffic light or the like. Further, the vehicle 100 includes a biosensor 16. For example, a sweating sensor provided on the steering wheel, a camera 15 for photographing a user's face, and the like are examples of the biological sensor 16. Further, the control unit 1 is configured to be able to acquire the speed of the vehicle 100 acquired by the vehicle speed acquisition unit 17.

The control unit 1 accelerates the vehicle 100 by controlling the torque and rotation speed of the engine 22 in response to the input from the accelerator operation unit 21, and controls the brake 24 in response to the input from the brake operation unit 23. Then, the vehicle 100 is decelerated. The drive control unit 25 is composed of an engine 22, a brake 24, and the like, and the control unit 1 is configured to be able to operate the drive control unit 25 so as to travel in a recommended vehicle speed pattern.

Here, when the traffic light provided in front of the traveling direction shows red, the driver needs to decelerate as he / she approaches the traffic light and stop in front of the traffic light. Therefore, in front of an intersection where the traffic light is red, the driver does not like to drive at a high vehicle speed, but prefers to drive at a vehicle speed slower than a constant speed. Therefore, the fastest vehicle speed within the range allowed by the driver before the intersection where the traffic light shows red is referred to as the allowable vehicle speed. The permissible vehicle speed changes according to the distance to the traffic light. For example, if the distance to the traffic light is long, the permissible vehicle speed is high, and if the distance to the traffic light is short, the permissible vehicle speed is slow.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an allowable vehicle speed.

The vertical axis shows the vehicle speed, and the horizontal axis shows the distance to the traffic light at the intersection. When the vehicle 100 travels toward the traffic light, the distance to the traffic light decreases toward the left side of the figure with the passage of time on the horizontal axis. Further, the permissible vehicle speed differs depending on the driver, and in this figure, the permissible vehicle speed of the driver A is shown by the solid line, and the permissible vehicle speed of the driver B is shown by the alternate long and short dash line.

The permissible vehicle speed is a speed that gives a margin to the braking speed that the driver is experiencing. Therefore, the longer the distance to the traffic light, the faster the permissible vehicle speed, while the shorter the distance to the traffic light, the slower the permissible vehicle speed. The permissible vehicle speed differs for each driver, and the permissible vehicle speed of driver A shown by the solid line is relatively high, and the permissible vehicle speed of driver B shown by the alternate long and short dash line is relatively slow.

The control unit 1 stores the permissible vehicle speed for each driver. When the driver is specified by the biometric information acquired from the biosensor 16, the control unit 1 performs control using the permissible vehicle speed for the specified driver.

Further, the control unit 1 uses the received traffic light change information to determine the optimum vehicle speed among the vehicle speeds at which the vehicle 100 reaches the intersection while the traffic light in the traveling direction is blue, so that the fuel efficiency is optimal. Obtained as Vb. In this figure, the optimum vehicle speed Vb is shown by a broken line. Then, when the distance to the traffic light is Xa, the optimum vehicle speed Vb and the allowable vehicle speed match.

When the distance to the traffic light is longer than Xa (on the right side of the figure), the optimum vehicle speed Vb is lower than the allowable vehicle speed, so that the driver can tolerate traveling at the optimum vehicle speed Vb. Therefore, the control unit 1 sets the optimum vehicle speed Vb as the recommended vehicle speed pattern.

On the other hand, when the distance to the traffic light is shorter than Xa (left side of the figure), the optimum vehicle speed Vb exceeds the allowable vehicle speed. Since the driver prefers to drive at a vehicle speed equal to or lower than the permissible vehicle speed, the control unit 1 sets the permissible vehicle speed as a recommended vehicle speed pattern.

However, the method of setting the recommended vehicle speed pattern differs depending on the information of the traffic light seen by the driver. In the following, the setting method will be described with reference to the drawings of FIGS. 3A to 4C.

FIG. 3A is a diagram showing an example of a state in which the vehicle 100 is traveling on the road.

According to this figure, the road on which the vehicle 100 travels is curved, and at the intersection C in front of the vehicle 100, there are traffic lights A1 and A2 in the direction of travel, and traffic lights A3 and A4 in the direction of intersection with respect to the direction of travel. Is provided. Further, in front of the intersection C, there are buildings B1 and B2 on both sides of the road.

Since the road is curved, the driver of vehicle 100 cannot see the traffic lights A1 and A2. Further, the buildings B1 and B2 block the line of sight from the driver to the traffic lights A3 and A4. As described above, since the driver cannot see all the traffic lights A1 to A4, the driver does not recognize the traffic lights themselves even if the traffic lights A1 and A2 in the traveling direction are red. Therefore, even if the traffic lights A1 and A2 in the traveling direction show red, there is no fear of entering the intersection C until the traffic lights A1 and A2 become visible. Since it is not necessary to decelerate in this way, the control unit 1 sets the optimum vehicle speed Vb as the recommended vehicle speed pattern.

FIG. 3B is a diagram showing an example of a state in which the vehicle 100 is traveling on the road.

According to this figure, the vehicle 100 runs on a straight road, and the traffic lights A1 and A2 are provided in the traveling direction and the traffic lights A3 and A4 are provided in the crossing direction at the intersection C in front of the vehicle 100. Furthermore, in front of the intersection, there are buildings B1 and B2 on both sides of the road.

In such a case, since the road is straight, the driver of the vehicle 100 can see the traffic lights A1 and A2 in the traveling direction. However, since the buildings B1 and B2 are in front of the intersection C, the driver cannot see the traffic lights A3 and A4 in the intersection direction. That is, the driver can only see the traffic lights A1 and A2. In such a case, the driver is afraid to invade the intersection C while the traffic lights A1 and A2 in the traveling direction show red. Therefore, if the vehicle travels at the optimum vehicle speed, the traffic lights A1 and A2 in the traveling direction turn blue when the vehicle 100 arrives at the intersection C, but the control unit 1 sets the allowable vehicle speed as the recommended vehicle speed pattern.

FIG. 3C is a diagram showing another example of a state in which the vehicle 100 is traveling on the road.

According to this figure, the vehicle 100 runs on a straight road, and the traffic lights A1 and A2 in the traveling direction and the traffic lights A3 and A4 in the crossing direction are provided at the intersection C in front of the vehicle 100. In this example, there is no building in front of the intersection C.

In such a case, since the road is straight, the driver of the vehicle 100 can see the traffic lights A1 and A2 in the traveling direction. Furthermore, since there is no building in front of the intersection C, you can see the traffic lights A3 and A4 in the direction of the intersection.

Here, if the traffic lights A3 and A4 in the crossing direction indicate red, the driver can infer that the traffic lights A1 and A2 in the traveling direction are about to turn blue, and thus fear of invading the intersection C. There is no. Fearless drivers often want to accelerate rather than slow down along the permissible vehicle speed. Therefore, the control unit 1 sets a recommended vehicle speed pattern so that the traffic lights A1 and A2 in the traveling direction accelerate before the traffic lights A1 and A2 turn blue.

It should be noted that the advance time, which is how much forward the acceleration is based on the timing when the traffic lights A1 and A2 in the traveling direction turn blue, differs depending on the driver's condition and individual personality. For example, when the driver is in a hurry, this advance time becomes long, and the traffic lights A1 and A2 accelerate relatively before the timing when they turn blue. In the following, such advance time, that is, advance time of the difference between the timing at which the traffic lights A1 and A2 in the traveling direction turn blue and the timing at which acceleration is accelerated, will be referred to as an acceleration allowable time.

The vehicle speed in the running state of the vehicle 100 shown in FIGS. 3A to 3C will be described with reference to FIGS. 4A to 4C. In this drawing, the vertical axis shows the vehicle speed and the horizontal axis shows the distance to the traffic light. On the horizontal axis, the time when the vehicle 100 is at the distance to the traffic light in the figure is shown in parentheses. The allowable vehicle speed of the driver and the optimum vehicle speed Vb are also shown.

In these figures, it is assumed that the traffic light changes from red to blue before the vehicle 100 approaches the traffic light. Specifically, before the time t1 when the vehicle 100 is at the location of X1 and the distance to the traffic light is before time t1, the traffic light is red and the vehicle 100 is at a location shorter than X1. After time t1, the traffic light turns blue. Further, it is assumed that the permissible vehicle speed and the optimum vehicle speed Vb coincide with each other at the time ta when the distance to the traffic light becomes Xa.

FIG. 4A is a diagram showing the vehicle speed in the traveling state shown in FIG. 3A. In this figure, the solid line shows the vehicle speed, and the alternate long and short dash line shows the allowable vehicle speed. The traffic light in the traveling direction is not visible from the vehicle 100 until the vehicle 100 reaches immediately before the intersection, and the pattern shown in this figure is the recommended vehicle speed pattern only while the traffic light is not visible.

When the vehicle 100 is in a place where the distance to the traffic light is longer (in front of) than Xa, the optimum vehicle speed Vb is lower than the allowable vehicle speed, so that the control unit 1 can use the optimum vehicle speed Vb as the recommended vehicle speed pattern. .. Even when the vehicle 100 is located at a place where the distance to the traffic light is shorter (in the back) than Xa, the control unit 1 sets the optimum vehicle speed Vb as the recommended vehicle speed pattern.

This is because, as shown in FIG. 3A, the driver cannot recognize the traffic light in the traveling direction and the traffic light in the crossing direction, so that he / she does not feel the need to stop in front of the traffic light and does not feel fear. ..

FIG. 4B is a diagram showing the vehicle speed in the traveling state shown in FIG. 3B. In this figure, the solid line shows the vehicle speed, and the alternate long and short dash line shows a part of the allowable vehicle speed. A recommended vehicle speed pattern is shown in which the vehicle accelerates after changing from the passing vehicle speed to the allowable vehicle speed at the timing when the allowable vehicle speed falls below the passing vehicle speed.

When the vehicle 100 is located at a place where the distance to the traffic light is longer than Xa (before the time ta), the optimum vehicle speed Vb is lower than the allowable vehicle speed. Therefore, the control unit 1 sets the optimum vehicle speed Vb as the recommended vehicle speed pattern. ..

If the vehicle 100 is closer to the traffic light than Xa (after time ta) and longer than X1 (before time t1), the driver will not be able to enter the intersection where the traffic light shows red. Since I feel afraid, the control unit 1 sets the allowable vehicle speed as the recommended vehicle speed pattern.

When the distance to the traffic light of the vehicle 100 is shorter than X1 (after time t1), the driver does not feel fear when the traffic light turns blue, so the control unit 1 accelerates to the optimum vehicle speed. Set the recommended vehicle speed pattern so that it becomes Vb.

FIG. 4C is a diagram showing the vehicle speed in the traveling state shown in FIG. 3C. In this figure, the solid line shows the vehicle speed, and the alternate long and short dash line shows a part of the allowable vehicle speed.

In this figure, the timing of acceleration is different from the vehicle speed shown in FIG. 4B. The vehicle 100 is accelerated from the timing when the distance from the traffic light becomes Xn (time tn), which is longer than X1 (time t1). The difference between the time tn and t1 corresponds to the allowable acceleration time.

As shown in FIG. 3C, the driver of the vehicle 100 can see not only the traffic light in the traveling direction but also the traffic light in the crossing direction. The driver can predict that the traffic light in the direction of travel will turn blue because the traffic light in the crossing direction will turn red before the traffic light in the direction of travel turns blue. Therefore, even if the traffic light in the direction of travel is red, the driver does not feel the fear of acceleration. Therefore, the recommended vehicle speed pattern is set so as to accelerate ahead by the allowable acceleration time.

The permissible acceleration time, which is the advance time for such acceleration, differs depending on the driver and also depends on the instruction content of the traffic light in the crossing direction. For example, some users want to accelerate from the timing when the traffic light in the crossing direction turns red, and some users want to accelerate from the timing when the traffic light in the crossing direction turns yellow.

Instead of the allowable acceleration time, the allowable acceleration distance converted into a distance by integrating the allowable acceleration time at the vehicle speed may be used for calculating the acceleration timing. The allowable acceleration distance corresponds to the difference between X1 and Xn. In such a case, the recommended vehicle speed pattern is set so that acceleration is performed when the vehicle 100 arrives at the position of Xn where the distance to the traffic light is the sum of X1 and the allowable acceleration distance.

Here, the control for determining the allowable vehicle speed by the control unit 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the determination control of the allowable vehicle speed. This control for determining the allowable vehicle speed is repeatedly performed while the driver is operating, that is, while the driver is operating the accelerator operation unit 21, the brake operation unit 23, and the like.

In step S1, the control unit 1 acquires image data from the camera 15, acquires the vehicle speed from the vehicle speed acquisition unit 17, and further obtains the distance from the vehicle 100 to the intersection in the traveling direction. For example, the control unit 1 obtains the distance from the current location of the vehicle 100 to the intersection by using the map data stored in advance and the position information of the current location acquired by the GPS 11. The distance from the current location of the vehicle 100 to the intersection is equal to the distance from the current location of the vehicle 100 to the traffic light at the intersection.

In step S2, the control unit 1 determines whether or not the traffic light in the traveling direction seen by the driver is red by performing image processing on the image data acquired by the camera 15. When the traffic light shows red (S2: Yes), the process of step S3 is performed next in order to continue the determination control of the allowable vehicle speed. On the other hand, if the traffic light does not show red (S2: No), the process returns to step S1. Even if the traffic light cannot be recognized from the image data acquired by the camera 15, the process returns to the process of step S1 by performing a determination equivalent to No.

In step S3, the control unit 1 records driving data indicating the relationship between the distance from the vehicle 100 to the traffic light in the traveling direction and the vehicle speed acquired by the vehicle speed acquisition unit 17. When the control unit 1 detects that the vehicle 100 has completely stopped (the vehicle speed becomes zero), the process of step S4 is performed next.

In step S4, the control unit 1 counts up the counter n. It is assumed that the initial value of the counter n is zero and the counter n is counted up by one.

In step S5, the control unit 1 determines whether or not the counter n exceeds the upper limit value k. When the counter n exceeds the upper limit value k (n> k, S5: Yes), the process of step S6 is performed next to determine the allowable vehicle speed. When the counter n is equal to or less than the upper limit value k (n ≦ k, S5: No), it is determined that sufficient operation data has not been collected, and the process of step S1 is performed again.

In step S6, the control unit 1 uses the driving data recorded in step S3 to determine the permissible vehicle speed indicating the correspondence between the distance to the traffic light and the vehicle speed for each driver. Since the processes from steps S1 to S5 are repeated k times before step S6, the control unit 1 uses these plurality of driving data to allow the vehicle speed for each driver as shown in FIG. Can be determined.

6A and 6B are flowcharts showing vehicle speed control when automatic driving is performed by the control unit 1. This vehicle speed control shall be repeated at predetermined intervals. Further, before this vehicle speed control is performed, it is assumed that the vehicle 100 is traveling at the optimum vehicle speed Vb.

In step S11, the control unit 1 acquires image data from the camera 15 and also acquires the vehicle speed and the distance to the traffic light. This process is the same as step S1 shown in FIG.

In step S12, the control unit 1 determines whether or not the traffic light in the traveling direction shows red at the timing when the vehicle 100 reaches the intersection based on the signal information received from the data center 200 via the communication unit 14. do.

If the traffic light indicates red (S12: Yes), the vehicle speed control of the present embodiment may be performed, so the process of step S13 is performed next. On the other hand, when the traffic light does not show red (S12: No), there is a high possibility that the vehicle can continue traveling at the optimum vehicle speed Vb, so the vehicle speed control is terminated.

In step S13, the control unit 1 analyzes the image data acquired by the camera 15 and determines whether or not another vehicle exists in front of the vehicle 100 in the traveling direction. If there is another vehicle in front (S13: Yes), the vehicle speed control is terminated because there is a high need to decelerate. On the other hand, if there is no other vehicle in front (S13: No), the vehicle speed control is continued, so that the process of S14 is performed next.

In step S14, the control unit 1 determines whether or not to go straight at the intersection with reference to the travel route obtained in advance. When going straight (S14: Yes), the vehicle speed control is continued, so that the process of step S15 is performed next. On the other hand, when making a right turn or a left turn without going straight (S14: No), the vehicle speed control is terminated because the vehicle must decelerate according to the driver's brake operation unit 23 in order to turn.

In step S15, the timing acquisition process is performed.

The control unit 1 refers to the traffic light change information received from the data center 200 via the communication unit 14 and acquires the time t1 to t6 which are the change timings of the traffic light in the traveling direction and the traffic light in the crossing direction. When the control unit 1 predicts the location of the vehicle 100 at these times t1 to t6, the control unit 1 obtains the distances X1 to X6 from the location of the vehicle 100 to the traffic light at those times. It is not necessary to acquire all of these times t1 to t6, and it is not necessary to acquire the timings related to some traffic lights.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing details of times t1 to t6 included in the traffic light change information acquired in step S15. In these figures, the change timings of three types of traffic lights are acquired: a traffic light for vehicles in the crossing direction to instruct straight ahead, a traffic light for vehicles in the crossing direction to instruct a right turn, and a traffic light for pedestrians in the crossing direction. Will be done. Then, the distance to the traffic light can be obtained by integrating the permissible vehicle speed with these time information.

Based on the time t2 when the traffic light for pedestrians in the crossing direction turns red, the distance X2 to the traffic light at time t2 is obtained. The distance X3 is calculated according to the time t3 when the traffic light for the vehicle turns yellow, and the distance X4 is calculated from the time t4 when the traffic light for the vehicle turns red. Then, the distance X5 is calculated from the time t5 when the right turn instruction traffic light in the crossing direction turns yellow, and the distance X6 is calculated from the time t6 when the right turn instruction traffic light turns red. At time t1 when the vehicle 100 is at a location where the distance to the traffic light is X1, the traffic light in the traveling direction turns blue.

Such distances X1 to X6 to the traffic light may be used for calculating the initial value of the allowable acceleration time (allowable acceleration distance). For example, when a driver whose permissible speed is generally fast and tends to rush is driving, a relatively long time, which is the difference between the time t1 and the time t2, may be set as the permissible acceleration time.

When the timing acquisition process of step S15 is performed, the process proceeds to step S21.

FIG. 6B shows the processes after step S21.

In step S21, the control unit 1 analyzes the image data acquired by the camera 15 and determines whether or not the traffic light in the traveling direction is visible to the driver. When the traffic light in the traveling direction is visible to the driver (S21: Yes), the process of step S22 is performed next to make a further determination. On the other hand, when the traffic light in the traveling direction cannot be seen (S21: No), the process of step S31 is performed next in order to travel in the target traveling pattern 1 so as to achieve the traveling state shown in FIG. 3A.

In step S22, the control unit 1 determines whether or not the traffic light in the crossing direction is visible to the driver based on the image data acquired by the camera 15. When the traffic light in the crossing direction is not visible to the driver (S22: No), the process of step S32 is next in order to drive the vehicle in the target driving pattern 2 so as to achieve the driving state shown in FIG. 3B. It is done in. When the traffic light in the crossing direction is visible to the driver (S22: Yes), the process of step S33 is then performed in order to drive the vehicle in the target driving pattern 3 so as to achieve the driving state shown in FIG. 3C. Will be done.

In step S31, the control unit 1 sets the recommended vehicle speed according to the target traveling pattern 1 such that the vehicle speed is as shown in FIG. 4A. Specifically, the optimum vehicle speed Vb is set in all sections as a recommended vehicle speed pattern.

In step S32, the control unit 1 sets a recommended vehicle speed pattern according to the target traveling pattern 2 such that the vehicle speed is as shown in FIG. 4B. Specifically, when the distance to the traffic light in the traveling direction is larger than Xa, the optimum vehicle speed Vb is set as the recommended vehicle speed pattern. When the distance to the traffic light in the traveling direction is Xa or less and larger than the distance X1 where the traffic light turns blue, the allowable vehicle speed is set as the recommended vehicle speed pattern. Then, when the distance to the traffic light in the traveling direction becomes X1 or less, the recommended vehicle speed pattern is set so as to accelerate and reach the optimum vehicle speed Vb again.

In step S33, the control unit 1 sets a recommended vehicle speed pattern according to the target traveling pattern 3 such that the vehicle speed is as shown in FIG. 4C. The target travel pattern 3 differs from the target travel pattern 2 only in the acceleration timing. Specifically, the recommended vehicle speed pattern is set so as to accelerate from the time tun, which is ahead of the time t0 when the traffic light in the traveling direction turns blue by the allowable acceleration time.

In step S41, the control unit 1 operates the accelerator operation unit 21 and the brake operation unit 23 according to the recommended vehicle speed pattern set in steps S31 to S33. By doing so, the vehicle 100 can be driven in the target traveling pattern. If the driver operates the accelerator operation unit 21 or the brake operation unit 23 while driving in the target travel pattern, the vehicle stops traveling in the target travel pattern and travels based on the driver's operation. At this time, the control unit 1 may display the recommended vehicle speed pattern on the display unit 13.

In step S51, the control unit 1 performs learning control as if it were a driver, and changes the acceleration timing based on the actual running state. If the permissible acceleration time or the permissible acceleration distance is used as the acceleration timing, the permissible acceleration time or the permissible acceleration distance is corrected. Several methods of this learning control are shown in FIGS. 8-11.

In this embodiment, the processes from steps S11 to S51 are repeated. Therefore, for example, when a traffic light in the traveling direction or the crossing direction becomes visible on the way, the target traveling pattern changes.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the details of the learning control in step S51 of FIG. 6B. In this learning control, the acceleration timing is gradually advanced from the time t1 when the traffic light turns blue.

In step S5101, the control unit 1 detects that the vehicle 100 has passed a traffic light in the traveling direction at the intersection.

In step S5102, the control unit 1 determines whether or not the driver has operated the brake operation unit 23 after accelerating at the time tun when the distance to the traffic light becomes Xn and before passing through the traffic light. judge. When the brake operation unit 23 is not operated (S5102: No), it is determined that it is not necessary to change the acceleration timing, and the learning control is terminated. When the brake operation unit 23 is operated (S5102: Yes), it is determined that the driver prefers acceleration at a later timing, and the process proceeds to S5103.

In step S5103, the control unit 1 delays the acceleration timing. The acceleration timing is changed in a predetermined step size. When the permissible acceleration time or the permissible acceleration distance is used as the acceleration timing, the permissible acceleration time or the permissible acceleration distance is increased.

In step S5104, the control unit 1 determines whether or not the acceleration timing is later than the time t1 when the traffic light turns blue. When the permissible acceleration time or the permissible acceleration distance is used as the acceleration timing, it is determined whether or not the permissible acceleration time or the permissible acceleration distance becomes negative.

If the acceleration timing is later than the time t1 (S5104: Yes), the process proceeds to step S5105 in order to change the acceleration timing again. On the other hand, when the acceleration timing is before the time t1 (S5104: No), the process ends without changing the acceleration timing.

In step S5105, the control unit 1 sets the time t1 as the acceleration timing. That is, the acceleration timing is not set after t1. This is because it is desirable to accelerate immediately after the time t1 when the traffic light turns blue, and it is not preferable to accelerate after the time t1 because it causes traffic congestion.

By doing so, acceleration can be performed at the timing desired by the driver. Further, the acceleration timing may be changed along with t1 to t6 as shown in FIG. 7, for example. In such a case, when the timing is delayed, the acceleration timing is delayed in the order of time t2, t3, t4, t5, t6, t1.

Further, in step S5102, the control unit 1 may make a determination using the biological information obtained by the biological sensor 16 instead of the brake operation unit 23. For example, when the amount of sweating of the driver increases, the driver may determine that the acceleration timing is early and feel fear, and proceed to step S5103 in order to delay the acceleration timing.

As described above, in the learning control shown in FIG. 8, the learning is corrected by gradually advancing the acceleration timing from the time t1 when the traffic light turns blue.

According to the first embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

According to the vehicle control method of the first embodiment, in the judgment using the traffic light change information indicating the change of the traffic light, it is determined that the traffic light in the traveling direction at the intersection shows blue at the timing when the vehicle 100 reaches the intersection. In this case, it is preferable that the vehicle 100 travels at the optimum vehicle speed (passing vehicle speed). However, when the image information acquired by the camera 15 recognizes that the traffic light in the traveling direction indicates red, the driver feels as if he / she is rushing into the intersection of the red light, which may cause fear. Therefore, there is an acceptable speed for the driver if the traffic light is red.

Therefore, the allowable vehicle speed that the driver can tolerate, which changes according to the distance to the traffic light, is calculated, the recommended vehicle speed pattern that decelerates from the passing vehicle speed to the allowable vehicle speed is obtained, and the vehicle 100 is driven by this recommended vehicle speed pattern. By doing so, the vehicle 100 decelerates as it approaches the intersection at the red light, so that the fear of the driver can be reduced.

According to the vehicle control method of the first embodiment, when the traffic light in the traveling direction is not indicated by the image information acquired by the camera 15, the driver does not recognize the existence of the traffic light, so that the intersection where the traffic light shows red. I don't feel the fear of rushing into. Therefore, by driving the vehicle so that the recommended vehicle speed pattern becomes the optimum vehicle speed (passing vehicle speed), it is possible to improve the fuel efficiency as compared with the case where the vehicle is decelerated according to the allowable vehicle speed.

According to the vehicle control method of the first embodiment, when the image information acquired by the camera 15 indicates a traffic light in the crossing direction, the driver infers a change in the traffic light in the traveling direction from the traffic light in the crossing direction. be able to. For example, if the traffic light in the crossing direction shows red, it can be seen that the traffic light in the traveling direction will soon turn blue.

At such a timing, it is estimated that the traffic light in the direction of travel will soon turn blue, and the driver will not feel fear, so the recommended vehicle speed pattern can be set to accelerate. be able to. By doing so, when the acceleration timing is earlier, the time for decelerating along the allowable vehicle speed is shortened, so that fuel efficiency can be improved.

According to the vehicle control method of the first embodiment, the brake operation unit 23 may be operated after acceleration after deceleration of the allowable vehicle speed from the passing vehicle speed. In such a case, even if it is predicted that the traffic light in the traveling direction will be blue rather than the red display of the traffic light in the crossing direction, the user will be afraid of acceleration. Therefore, the fear of the user can be reduced by changing the acceleration timing to be delayed.

According to the vehicle control method of the first embodiment, the control unit 1 may change the acceleration timing by using the biological information obtained by the biological sensor 16. For example, when the driver sweats a lot, the driver determines that he / she feels fear and delays the acceleration timing. By doing so, the learning control can be performed even if the brake operation unit 23 is not operated, so that a more appropriate acceleration timing can be realized.

(First modification of learning control)
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a first modification of the learning control in step S51. In this learning control, learning is performed in which the acceleration timing is gradually advanced from the initial value time. It is assumed that the initial value of the acceleration timing is the time t1 when the traffic light turns blue.

Compared with the flowchart shown in FIG. 8, this flowchart has a point that the process of step S5111 is added after the process of step S5101, and a point that the process of step S5111 is added after the process of step S5105. , The difference is that the processing of steps S5121 to S5123 is added after the determination processing of No in step S5102.

Here, the learning end flag used for this process is a flag for determining the necessity of learning control, and is set to 0 when learning is continued, and when learning is not continued and is not performed in the future. It is assumed that 1 is set.

In step S5111, the control unit 1 determines whether the learning end flag is 1. When the learning end flag is 1 (S5111: Yes), the learning control is ended without performing the subsequent learning. On the other hand, if the learning end flag is not 1 (S5111: No), the process of step S5102 is performed next in order to continue learning.

Step S5112 is performed after the processing of steps S5103 to S5105, that is, when the acceleration timing is later than the time t1 (S5104: Yes), and the time t1 is set again as the acceleration timing (S5105). In this step, the control unit 1 sets the learning end flag to 1. This is because it is not preferable that the acceleration timing is later than t1, and it is judged that there is no need to learn the acceleration timing in the future.

In step S5121, the control unit 1 accelerates the acceleration timing. The acceleration timing is changed in a predetermined step size. If the permissible acceleration time or the permissible acceleration distance is used as the acceleration timing, reduce the permissible acceleration time or the permissible acceleration distance.

In step S5122, the control unit 1 determines whether or not the permissible vehicle speed is set in the recommended vehicle speed pattern and is earlier than the time ta when deceleration along the permissible vehicle speed is started. Since the optimum vehicle speed Vb is set before the allowable vehicle speed is set in the recommended vehicle speed pattern, the vehicle speed exceeds the optimum vehicle speed Vb if the vehicle accelerates before the time ta. Therefore, fuel efficiency may decrease, which is not preferable.

Therefore, if the acceleration timing is earlier than the time ta (S5122: Yes), the process proceeds to step S5123 to change the acceleration timing. On the other hand, when the acceleration timing is after the time ta (S5122: No), the process ends without changing the acceleration timing again.

In step S5123, the control unit 1 sets the time ta as the acceleration timing. That is, the acceleration timing is not set before the ta.

In this way, any timing from the time ta when deceleration according to the permissible vehicle speed is started to the time t1 when the traffic light turns blue is set as the acceleration timing. In addition, unnecessary learning can be omitted by the learning end flag.

(Second modification of learning control)
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a second modification of the learning control in step S51. In this learning control, the initial value of the acceleration timing is the time ta at which deceleration starts according to the permissible vehicle speed, and learning is performed in which the acceleration timing is gradually advanced from the time ta.

In this learning control, the process of step S5131 is added after the process of step S5101 described with reference to FIG. Further, after the determination of Yes in step S5131, the processes of steps S5121 to S5123 described in FIG. 9 are performed.

In step S5131, the control unit 1 determines whether or not the accelerator operation unit 21 has been operated by the driver after accelerating at the time tun when the distance to the traffic light becomes Xn. When the accelerator operation unit 21 is not operated (S5131: No), it is determined that it is not necessary to change the acceleration timing, and the learning control is terminated. When the accelerator operation unit 21 is operated (S5131: Yes), it is determined that the driver prefers acceleration at a faster timing, and the process proceeds to S5121 in order to accelerate the acceleration timing.

Further, in step S5131, the control unit 1 may make a determination using the biological information by the biological sensor 16 instead of the accelerator operation unit 21. For example, when the control unit 1 detects that the driver is shaking in small steps using the image acquired by the camera 15 that captures the driver, the driver determines that the acceleration timing is late and feels frustrated. Then, in order to accelerate the acceleration timing, the process may proceed to step S5122.

In this modification, the initial value of the acceleration timing is the time ta at which deceleration along the estimated permissible vehicle speed is started, but the present invention is not limited to this. As an initial value, it may be the average acceleration timing of a general driver.

According to the vehicle control method of the second modification, the acceleration timing is changed to be earlier. Here, for example, if the accelerator operation unit 21 is operated after the time ta for starting deceleration according to the permissible vehicle speed and before the time tun which is the acceleration timing, the user has already crossed. Since it can be predicted that the traffic light in the traveling direction will turn blue from the display of the traffic light in the direction, it means that the acceleration is started before the timing of the acceleration by the control unit 1. Therefore, by changing the acceleration timing so as to be earlier, it is possible to realize a comfortable running state for the user.

(Third variant of learning control)
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a third modification of the learning control in step S51. In this learning control, the initial value of the acceleration timing is the average acceleration timing of a general driver, and learning that gradually slows down is performed by the learning control.

In this learning control, all the steps in FIG. 10 are included. Further, after the determination of No in step 5131, the processes of steps S5102 to S5105 described in FIG. 8 are performed.

By setting in this way, when it is determined that the vehicle has accelerated in step 5131 (S5131: Yes), the acceleration timing is advanced (S5121), and when it is determined that the vehicle has decelerated in step 5131 (S5102: Yes). ) The acceleration timing is delayed (S5103). Therefore, the acceleration timing is corrected in both the earlier direction and the slower direction.

(Fourth modification of learning control)
FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a fourth modification of the learning control in step S51. In this learning control, the processing related to the learning end flag in steps S5111 and S5112 is omitted as compared with the first modification shown in FIG. Further, the initial value of the acceleration timing is assumed to be the average acceleration timing of a general driver.

By doing so, learning may be performed in which the acceleration timing is gradually increased or decreased from the average acceleration timing of the general driver.

(Fifth variant of learning control)
FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a fifth modification of the learning control in step S51. In this learning control, learning is performed in which the acceleration timing is gradually accelerated or delayed from the average acceleration timing of a general driver.

In this learning control, all the steps of the third modification in FIG. 11 are included, and further, processing related to the learning end flag is performed. Specifically, the process of step S5111 is performed after the step 5101, the process of step S5112 is performed after the step 5123, and the process of step S5112 is performed after the step 5104. The process of steps S5111, 5112 is the same as the process described with reference to FIG.

By setting in this way, similarly to the third modification shown in FIG. 11, when it is determined that the vehicle has accelerated in step 5131 (S5131: Yes), the acceleration timing is earlier (S5121), and in step 5121. When it is determined that the vehicle has decelerated (S5102: Yes), the acceleration timing is delayed (S5103).

Further, by providing the learning end flag, when the acceleration timing becomes earlier than the time ta at which deceleration along the permissible speed is started (S5122: Yes), the time ta is set as the acceleration timing for learning control. To finish. If the acceleration timing is later than the time t1 when the traffic light turns blue (S5122: Yes), the time t1 is set as the acceleration timing and the learning control is terminated. By doing so, unnecessary learning processing can be suppressed.

The processing of the learning end flag can be arbitrarily added. For example, in FIGS. 9 and 13, it may be provided after step S5104 or after step S5122.

(Second Embodiment)
In the first embodiment, an example in which the control unit 1 controls the vehicle speed with the recommended vehicle speed pattern has been described. In the second embodiment, an example in which the control unit 1 displays the recommended vehicle speed pattern on the display unit 13 without controlling the vehicle speed will be described. In the present embodiment, the vehicle speed control shown in FIG. 6A is followed by the vehicle speed control shown in FIG.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the vehicle speed control performed following FIG. 6A in the vehicle speed control of the second embodiment. Compared with the flowchart shown in FIG. 6A, steps S61, S62, and S63 are added after steps S31, S32, and S33.

In steps S61, S62, and S63, the control unit 1 guides and displays the recommended vehicle speed pattern on the display unit 13.

In step S61, the control unit 1 displays the future change in vehicle speed indicated by the recommended vehicle speed pattern on the display unit 13.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of guide display control in step S62. This process is performed in the latter stage of step S32, that is, when the recommended vehicle speed pattern is the target traveling pattern 2.

In step S621, the control unit 1 calculates the time from the time tun to the time t1 when the traffic light turns blue when the acceleration timing is reached, and the display unit 13 displays "(t1-tun) seconds later the traffic light. Will turn blue, so please accelerate. " By doing so, the driver can accelerate according to the display.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of display control in step S63. This process is performed in the latter stage of step S33, that is, when the recommended vehicle speed pattern is the target traveling pattern 3.

In step S631, the control unit 1 determines whether the time tn, which is the acceleration timing, is after the time t1 when the traffic light turns blue. If the time tn is after the time t1 (S631: Yes), the process proceeds to step S634. If the time tn is earlier than the time t1 (S631: Yes), the process proceeds to step S632 in order to make a further determination.

In step S632, the control unit 1 determines whether the acceleration timing tn is before the time t1 and after the time t4 when the traffic light in the crossing direction turns red. Then, when the time tn is before the time t1 and after the time t4 (S632: Yes), the process proceeds to step S615. If it is before the time t1 and not after the time t4 (S632: No), the process proceeds to step S633.

In step S633, the control unit 1 determines whether the acceleration timing tn is before the time t4 when the traffic light in the crossing direction turns red and after the time t3 when the traffic light in the crossing direction turns yellow. Then, when the time tn is before the time t4 and after the time t3 (S633: Yes), the process proceeds to step S636. If it is before the time t4 and not after the time t3 (S633: No), the display control is terminated.

In step S634, when the acceleration timing tn is reached, the control unit 1 displays on the display unit 13 "The traffic light has turned blue, so accelerate." This is because the acceleration timing tn is later than the time t1 when the traffic light in the traveling direction turns blue, so that the traffic light is already blue and it is necessary to urge the driver to accelerate.

In step S635, the control unit 1 displays on the display unit 13 "The traffic light in the crossing direction has turned red, so accelerate." When the acceleration timing tun is reached. This is because the acceleration timing tn is after the time t4 when the traffic light in the crossing direction turns red, so it is necessary to display that the traffic light in the traveling direction will soon turn blue and prompt the driver to accelerate. ..

In step S636, when the acceleration timing tun is reached, the display unit 13 displays "The traffic light in the crossing direction has turned yellow, so accelerate." This is because at the acceleration timing nt, since the time t3 when the traffic light in the crossing direction turns yellow, it is necessary to display that the traffic light in the traveling direction turns blue after a while and prompt the driver to accelerate. Is.

In steps S631 to S633, the determination was made using the times t1, t4, and t3, but the determination is not limited to this. The determination may be made using another time.

According to the second embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

According to the vehicle control method of the second embodiment, the control unit 1 displays the recommended speed at which the target traveling pattern is set on the display unit 13. By doing so, even if the control unit 1 does not perform driving control according to the recommended vehicle speed pattern, the driver controls the operation according to the recommended vehicle speed pattern displayed, so that the vehicle has a target driving pattern with better fuel efficiency. 100 can be run.

It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various changes can be made within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims.

1 Control unit 12 Input unit 13 Display unit 15 Camera 16 Biosensor 21 Accelerator operation unit 23 Brake operation unit 23 Accelerator operation unit 100 Vehicle

Claims (8)

A communication unit that acquires traffic light change information that indicates changes in traffic lights on the planned travel route,
A camera that acquires image information around the vehicle,
A distance calculation unit that calculates the distance from the current location to the next intersection on the planned travel route,
A vehicle control method including a display unit that displays information for the driver.
Using the traffic light change information acquired by the communication unit and the distance to the intersection calculated by the distance calculation unit, the vehicle is at the intersection while the traffic light in the traveling direction at the intersection is blue. Find the passing vehicle speed that passes through
When the image information acquired by the camera indicates that the traffic light in the traveling direction is red, the distance to the traffic light and the vehicle speed when the traffic light existing in the traveling direction of the vehicle is red When the permissible vehicle speed, which is the vehicle speed that the driver can tolerate, which is determined based on a plurality of driving data indicating the relationship between the two, and becomes slower as the distance to the intersection becomes shorter, is lower than the passing vehicle speed. To find the recommended vehicle speed pattern that changes to the allowable vehicle speed from
A vehicle control method in which a display prompting the driver to drive in accordance with the recommended vehicle speed pattern is displayed on the display unit. The vehicle control method according to claim 1.
A vehicle control method in which the passing vehicle speed is used as the recommended vehicle speed pattern when the traffic light in the traveling direction is not shown in the image information. The vehicle control method according to claim 1 or 2.
When the traffic light in the crossing direction is shown in the image information, the traffic light in the crossing direction is accelerated at a predetermined timing ahead of the timing when the traffic light in the traveling direction turns blue according to the display of the traffic light in the crossing direction. A vehicle control method for setting the recommended vehicle speed pattern as described above. The vehicle control method according to claim 3.
A vehicle control method in which, when the driver performs a braking operation after the acceleration timing, the vehicle is corrected so that the advance time is shortened. The vehicle control method according to claim 3.
In the recommended vehicle speed pattern, when the accelerator operation is performed by the driver after the passing vehicle speed is changed to the allowable vehicle speed and before the acceleration timing, the advance time is increased. How to control the vehicle to correct. The vehicle control method according to any one of claims 3 to 5.
The vehicle further includes a biosensor that acquires biometric information of the driver.
A vehicle control method that corrects the advance time according to the biometric information acquired by the biometric sensor before arriving at the intersection. The vehicle control method according to any one of claims 1 to 6.
A vehicle control method in which the vehicle is automatically driven according to the recommended vehicle speed pattern. A communication unit that acquires traffic light change information that indicates changes in traffic lights on the planned travel route,
A camera that acquires image information around the vehicle,
A display unit that displays information for the driver,
A vehicle control device including a control unit capable of calculating the distance from the current location to the next intersection on the planned travel route.
The control unit
Calculate the distance to the intersection
Using the traffic light change information acquired by the communication unit and the distance to the intersection, the passing vehicle speed at which the vehicle passes through the intersection is obtained while the traffic light in the traveling direction at the intersection is blue.
When the image information acquired by the camera indicates that the traffic light in the traveling direction is red, the distance to the traffic light and the vehicle speed when the traffic light existing in the traveling direction of the vehicle is red When the permissible vehicle speed, which is the vehicle speed that the driver can tolerate, which is determined based on a plurality of driving data indicating the relationship between the two, and becomes slower as the distance to the intersection becomes shorter, is lower than the passing vehicle speed. To find the recommended vehicle speed pattern that changes to the allowable vehicle speed from
A display prompting the driver to drive in accordance with the recommended vehicle speed pattern is displayed on the display unit.
Vehicle control device.

Images