CN117222547A - Report control device for vehicle and report control method for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

The report control device for a vehicle is provided with: a state determination unit (103) that determines an automatic driving-related state; an off-vehicle report control unit (105) for controlling an off-vehicle display (191) that displays an off-vehicle report of an automatic drive, which is a report of information related to the automatic drive, toward the outside of the vehicle; and a lighting detection unit (104) that detects the start of lighting of a specific display lamp provided in the host vehicle for reporting other than the automated driving vehicle exterior report to the outside of the host vehicle, wherein the vehicle exterior report control unit (105) uses the automated driving-related state determined by the state determination unit (103) to perform the automated driving vehicle exterior report during automated driving of the host vehicle, and changes the automated driving vehicle exterior report in a direction in which the display becomes difficult to see based on the detection of the start of lighting of the specific display lamp by the lighting detection unit (104).

Description

Report control device for vehicle and report control method for vehicle

Cross Reference to Related Applications

The present application is based on japanese patent application No. 2021-075157 of the japanese application at month 27 of 2021 and japanese patent application No. 2022-067145 of the japanese application at month 14 of 2022, and the contents of the basic applications are incorporated by reference in their entirety.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a vehicle report control device and a vehicle report control method.

Background

Patent document 1 discloses a technique for displaying "during automatic driving" by a display device attached to a roof of a host vehicle at the time of automatic driving of the host vehicle.

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open No. 2017-7417

A vehicle is provided with various lighting devices (hereinafter, referred to as display lamps). Among the display lamps provided in the vehicle, there are a direction indicator, a brake lamp, an emergency flashing display lamp, and the like, and a display lamp for reporting to the outside of the vehicle. In contrast, in patent document 1, only the "in-flight" display by a display device attached to the roof of the host vehicle is considered to be performed during the automatic flight. However, in the case where the display of "in automatic driving" is always performed during automatic driving, there is a concern that it is difficult to clearly understand which one should be emphasized between the display and the display lamp for reporting to the outside of the vehicle. Further, it is also considered to report the state of the automatic driving of the vehicle to the outside of the vehicle by display based on light emission. In this case, it is difficult to clearly identify around the vehicle, and there is a significant concern that the vehicle should pay attention to the light emission and the other display lamps for signaling to the outside of the vehicle.

Disclosure of Invention

An object of the present disclosure is to provide a vehicle report control device and a vehicle report control method that make it possible to easily clarify which of display lamps for reporting to the outside of the vehicle should be emphasized between the display and the other display lamps.

The above object is achieved by a combination of features recited in the independent claims, further advantageous embodiments of the disclosure being specified in the dependent claims. Any reference numerals in parentheses in the claims indicate correspondence with specific units described in the embodiment described later as one embodiment, and do not limit the technical scope of the present disclosure.

In order to achieve the above object, a first vehicle report control device according to the present disclosure is a vehicle report control device usable in an automatically drivable vehicle, including: a state determination unit that determines an autopilot-related state that is a state of a vehicle related to autopilot; an off-vehicle report control unit that controls an off-vehicle display that displays an off-vehicle report that is an automated driving report that is a report of information related to automated driving toward the outside of the vehicle; and a lighting detection unit that detects a lighting start of a specific display lamp, which is a specific display lamp provided in the vehicle for reporting a report other than the outside of the automated driving vehicle, wherein the outside-vehicle reporting control unit uses the automated driving-related state determined by the state determination unit to perform the outside of the automated driving vehicle reporting during the automated driving of the vehicle, and changes the outside-automated driving vehicle reporting to a direction in which the display becomes difficult to see based on the lighting start of the specific display lamp detected by the lighting detection unit.

In order to achieve the above object, a first vehicle report control method of the present disclosure is a vehicle report control method usable in an automatically drivable vehicle, including the steps of, by at least one processor: a state determination step of determining an automatic driving related state, which is a state of the vehicle related to the automatic driving; an off-vehicle report control step of controlling an off-vehicle display for displaying an off-vehicle report, which is a report of information related to automatic driving toward the outside of the vehicle; and a lighting detection step of detecting the start of lighting of a specific display lamp, which is a specific display lamp provided in the vehicle for reporting a report other than the automated driving vehicle outside the vehicle, wherein the automated driving vehicle outside report is performed during automated driving of the vehicle by using the automated driving related state determined in the state determination step in the vehicle outside report control step, and the automated driving vehicle outside report is changed in a direction in which the display becomes difficult to see based on the detection of the start of lighting of the specific display lamp in the lighting detection step.

Accordingly, the outside of the automated driving vehicle can be changed in a direction in which the display becomes difficult to see based on the fact that the specific display lamp for displaying the information related to the automated driving, that is, the outside of the automated driving vehicle, is turned on to the outside of the automated driving vehicle. Thus, when the specific display lamp starts to be turned on, the outside report of the automatic driving vehicle is made difficult to see, and the surrounding area can be easily understood, and the specific display lamp should be emphasized. On the other hand, the automatic driving vehicle exterior report is made so that the display is not changed in a direction in which the display becomes difficult to see until the specific display lamp starts to be turned on, and the surrounding area can be easily understood so that the automatic driving vehicle exterior report should be emphasized. As a result, even when the state of the automatic driving of the host vehicle is reported to the outside of the vehicle by the display, the surrounding area can be easily understood, and which of the display lamps for reporting to the outside of the vehicle other than the display should be emphasized.

In order to achieve the above object, a second vehicle report control device according to the present disclosure is a vehicle report control device usable in an automatically drivable vehicle, including: a state determination unit that determines an autopilot-related state that is a state of a vehicle related to autopilot; and an outside-vehicle report control unit that controls an outside-vehicle display that displays an outside-vehicle report that is an information related to the automatic driving toward the outside of the vehicle, the outside-vehicle display being provided independently of a specific display lamp that is a specific display lamp provided in the vehicle for reporting to the outside of the vehicle other than the outside-vehicle report, and the outside-vehicle report control unit performing an automatic driving outside-vehicle report that is lower in brightness than when the display lamp is turned on during the automatic driving of the vehicle, using the automatic driving-related state determined by the state determination unit.

In order to achieve the above object, a second vehicle report control method of the present disclosure is a vehicle report control method usable in an automatically drivable vehicle, including the steps of, by at least one processor: a state determination step of determining an automatic driving related state, which is a state of the vehicle related to the automatic driving; and an off-vehicle report control step of controlling an off-vehicle display for displaying an off-vehicle report, which is an information related to the automatic driving, toward the outside of the vehicle, the off-vehicle display being provided independently of a specific display lamp, which is a specific display lamp provided in the vehicle for reporting the off-vehicle report to the outside of the vehicle, wherein the off-vehicle report control step uses the automatic driving related state determined in the state determination step, and performs the off-vehicle report with a lower luminance than when the specific display lamp is turned on during the automatic driving of the vehicle.

Accordingly, the automated driving outside report can be performed with a lower luminance than when the specific display lamp for performing the report other than the automated driving outside report, which is the report of the information related to the automated driving performed by the display during the automated driving of the vehicle, is turned on to the outside of the vehicle. Thus, even when the specific display lamp starts to be turned on, the surrounding area can be easily understood that the specific display lamp should be emphasized by making the luminance of the report outside the automated guided vehicle lower than that of the specific display lamp. As a result, even when the state of the automatic driving of the host vehicle is reported to the outside of the vehicle by the display, the surrounding area can be easily understood, and which of the display lamps for reporting to the outside of the vehicle other than the display should be emphasized.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a vehicle system 1.

Fig. 2 is a diagram for explaining an example of a method of setting the off-vehicle display 191.

Fig. 3 is a diagram for explaining an example of a method of setting the off-vehicle display 191.

Fig. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of a method of setting the off-vehicle display 191.

Fig. 5 is a diagram for explaining an example of a method of setting the off-vehicle display 191.

Fig. 6 is a diagram for explaining an example of a method of setting the off-vehicle display 191.

Fig. 7 is a diagram for explaining an example of a method of setting the off-vehicle display 191.

Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the schematic configuration of the HCU 10.

Fig. 9 is a diagram for explaining an example of a foreground image displayed on the display 181.

Fig. 10 is a view showing an example of the appearance of the host vehicle.

Fig. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a case where an in-vehicle report is performed in a foreground image.

Fig. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a case where an in-vehicle report is performed in a foreground image.

Fig. 13 is a diagram for explaining an example of an aspect of the automatic vehicle exterior report in the case where the start of the turning lamp TL turning on is detected during the automatic driving.

Fig. 14 is a diagram for explaining an example of an aspect of the automatic driving vehicle exterior report in the case where the start of the turning on of the brake light BL is detected during the automatic driving.

Fig. 15 is a diagram for explaining an example of an aspect of the automatic driving vehicle exterior report in the case where the start of the turning on of the brake light BL is detected during the automatic driving.

Fig. 16 is a diagram for explaining an example of the flow of report control related processing in the HCU 10.

Fig. 17 is a diagram showing an example of the schematic configuration of the HCU10 a.

Fig. 18 is a diagram for explaining an example of a configuration in which the backlight RL is also used as an outside report of an automatic driving vehicle.

Fig. 19 is a diagram showing an example of the schematic configuration of the HCU10 b.

Fig. 20 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of the vehicle system 1 c.

Fig. 21 is a diagram showing an example of the schematic configuration of the HCU10 c.

Fig. 22 is a diagram for explaining an example of a change in the automated driving vehicle exterior report corresponding to the installation position of the vehicle exterior display 191c when the start of the turning on of the brake light BL is detected.

Fig. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of the vehicle system 1 d.

Fig. 24 is a diagram showing an example of the schematic configuration of the HCU10 d.

Detailed Description

Various embodiments for disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. For convenience of explanation, the same reference numerals are given to portions having the same functions as those shown in the drawings used in the description so far, and the explanation thereof may be omitted. Parts to which the same reference numerals are attached can refer to the description in other embodiments.

(embodiment 1)

< schematic Structure of System 1 for vehicle >

Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. The vehicle system 1 shown in fig. 1 is a system that can be used in a vehicle that can be automatically driven (hereinafter, referred to as an automated driving vehicle). As shown in fig. 1, the vehicle system 1 includes an HCU (Human Machine Interface Control Unit: human-machine interface control unit) 10, a communication module 11, a locator 12, a map database (hereinafter, referred to as map DB) 13, a vehicle state sensor 14, a surrounding area monitoring sensor 15, a vehicle control ECU16, an automated driving ECU17, an in-vehicle presentation device 18, and an out-of-vehicle reporting device 19. For example, the HCU10, the communication module 11, the locator 12, the map DB13, the vehicle state sensor 14, the surroundings monitoring sensor 15, the vehicle control ECU16, and the automated driving ECU17 may be connected to an in-vehicle LAN (see the LAN of fig. 1). The vehicle using the vehicle system 1 is not necessarily limited to an automobile, but the following description will exemplify a case of using the vehicle system in an automobile.

As the degree of autopilot (hereinafter, referred to as an automation level) of an autopilot vehicle, there may be a plurality of levels, for example, as defined by SAE. The automation level is divided into LV0 to LV 5 as follows, for example.

LV0 is the level at which the vehicle-side system does not intervene and the driver performs all driving tasks. Driving tasks may also be in other words dynamic driving tasks. Driving tasks are for example steering, acceleration and deceleration and surroundings monitoring. LV0 corresponds to so-called manual driving. LV1 is the level of any one of steering maneuver and acceleration and deceleration supported by the system. LV1 corresponds to so-called driving assistance. LV2 is the level of steering maneuver and acceleration and deceleration supported by the system. LV2 corresponds to so-called partial drive automation. LV 1-2 is also part of autopilot.

For example, the automated driving of LV1 to LV2 is automated driving in which the driver has a surveillance obligation (hereinafter, simply referred to as surveillance obligation) for safe driving. As a monitoring obligation, there is a peripheral monitoring based on visual observation. The autopilot of LV 1-2 can in other words not permit the autopilot of the second mission. The second task is to specify behavior other than driving permitted for the driver. The second task can also be in other words a second activity, other activities, etc. The second task does not prevent the driver from responding to the take-over request for the driving operation from the automated driving system. As an example, viewing of content such as video, operations of a smart phone, etc., reading, eating, etc., can be assumed as the second task.

The automatic driving of LV3 is a class in which all driving tasks can be performed by the system under specific conditions, and a driver performs driving operations in an emergency. In the automatic driving of LV3, when there is a request from the system for driving alternation, the driver can rapidly respond to the request. This driving alternation can also be in other words a handover of the monitoring obligation from the vehicle-side system to the driver. LV3 corresponds to so-called conditional drive automation. As LV3, there is a region-limited LV3 limited to a specific region. The specific area may be a vehicle-specific road or an expressway. The specific area may be a specific lane, for example. As LV3, there is a specific condition limit LV3 which limits a specific peripheral condition, that is, a specific peripheral condition. As an example of the specific surrounding situation, traffic congestion can be cited. Hereinafter, as the specific situation limit LV3, a traffic congestion limit LV3 which limits the time of traffic congestion will be described as an example. The traffic congestion limit LV3 may be configured to be limited to a traffic congestion on a vehicle-specific road or a highway, for example.

The automatic driving of LV4 is a class in which all driving tasks can be performed by the system, except for a part of conditions such as a road and a limit environment, which cannot be met. LV4 corresponds to so-called high-drive automation. The automated driving of LV5 is a class that enables the system to perform all driving tasks in all circumstances. LV5 corresponds to so-called full drive automation.

For example, the autopilot of LV3 to 5 is an autopilot in which the driver has no monitoring obligation. In other words, corresponds to an autonomous driving without surveillance obligations. The autopilot of LV 3-5 can in other words be the autopilot that permits the second mission. The automated driving of LV4 or more among automated driving of LV3 to 5 is automated driving that permits sleep of the driver (hereinafter referred to as sleepable automated driving). The automated driving of LV3 among automated driving of LV3 to LV 5 is automated driving that does not permit sleep of the driver (hereinafter referred to as non-sleepable automated driving).

The automated guided vehicle of the present embodiment can switch the automation level. The automation level may be configured to be switchable between only a part of the levels of LV0 to LV 5. In the present embodiment, the case where the automated driving vehicle can switch between automated driving of LV3, automated driving of LV2 or less, and manual driving of LV0 will be described as an example.

The communication module 11 transmits and receives information via wireless communication with a center outside the host vehicle. In other words, wide area communication is performed. The communication module 11 receives traffic congestion information and the like around the host vehicle from the center through wide area communication. The communication module 11 may transmit and receive information to and from another vehicle via wireless communication. In other words, inter-vehicle communication is also possible. The communication module 11 may transmit and receive information via wireless communication with a roadside apparatus provided on the roadside. In other words, road-to-vehicle communication is also possible. In the case of road-to-vehicle communication, the communication module 11 may receive information of the nearby vehicle transmitted from the nearby vehicle of the host vehicle via the road side device. The communication module 11 may receive information of the nearby vehicle transmitted from the nearby vehicle of the host vehicle through the center by wide area communication.

The locator 12 is provided with a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System: global satellite positioning system) receiver and an inertial sensor. The GNSS receiver receives positioning signals from a plurality of positioning satellites. The inertial sensor includes, for example, a gyro sensor and an acceleration sensor. The locator 12 combines the positioning signal received by the GNSS receiver and the measurement result of the inertial sensor to sequentially position the vehicle position (hereinafter referred to as the vehicle position) of the vehicle on which the locator 12 is mounted. The vehicle position is a position expressed by coordinates of latitude and longitude, for example. Further, the positioning of the own vehicle position may be configured to use a travel distance obtained from a signal sequentially output from a vehicle speed sensor mounted on the vehicle.

The map DB13 is a nonvolatile memory, and stores high-precision map data. The high-precision map data is map data having higher precision than map data used for route guidance in the navigation function. Map data used for route guidance may be stored in the map DB 13. The high-precision map data includes, for example, information that can be used for automatic driving, such as three-dimensional shape information of a road, lane number information, and information indicating a traveling direction allowed in each lane. In addition, the high-precision map data may include information indicating nodes at both ends of the road surface such as a lane dividing line. The locator 12 may be configured to use three-dimensional shape information of the road, without using a GNSS receiver. For example, the locator 12 may be configured to determine the vehicle position by using three-dimensional shape information of the road and the detection result of the peripheral monitoring sensor 15 such as LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging/Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging: light detection ranging/laser imaging detection ranging) or a peripheral monitoring camera that detects the road shape and the point group of the feature points of the structure. The three-dimensional shape information of the road may be information generated based on the photographed image by REM (Road Experience Management: road experience management).

The communication module 11 may receive map data distributed from an external server, for example, by wide area communication, and store the map data in the map DB13. In this case, the map DB13 may be a volatile memory, and the communication module 11 may sequentially acquire map data of an area corresponding to the vehicle location.

The vehicle state sensor 14 is a sensor group for detecting various states of the host vehicle. The vehicle state sensor 14 includes a vehicle speed sensor that detects a vehicle speed, a steering sensor that detects a steering angle, and the like. The vehicle state sensor 14 includes a steering torque sensor, an accelerator sensor, a brake sensor, and the like. The steering torque sensor detects a steering torque applied to a steering wheel. The accelerator sensor detects whether or not an accelerator pedal is depressed. As the accelerator sensor, an accelerator pedal force sensor that detects a pedal force applied to an accelerator pedal may be used. As the accelerator sensor, an accelerator stroke sensor that detects the amount of depression of an accelerator pedal may be used. As the accelerator sensor, an accelerator switch that outputs a signal corresponding to the presence or absence of a depression operation of an accelerator pedal may be used. The brake sensor detects whether the brake pedal is depressed. As the brake sensor, a brake switch that outputs a signal corresponding to the presence or absence of a depression operation of the brake pedal may be used.

The vehicle state sensor 14 includes a direction indication switch, a hazard warning switch, and the like. The direction indication switch is a switch for detecting an operation of turning on a turn signal as a direction indicator. The direction indication switch can also be in other words a turn signal switch, a turn signal switch. The turn signal lamp can also be in other words a turn signal lamp, a turn signal lamp. The hazard switch is a switch for detecting an operation of turning on a hazard lamp as an emergency blinking display lamp. The turning-on of the hazard lamps corresponds to the turning-on of all the turn signals of the host vehicle. The vehicle state sensor 14 outputs the detected sensing information to the in-vehicle LAN. The sensing information detected by the vehicle state sensor 14 may be output to the in-vehicle LAN via an ECU mounted on the vehicle.

The surroundings monitoring sensor 15 monitors the surroundings of the host vehicle. As an example, the surrounding area monitoring sensor 15 detects an obstacle around the host vehicle, such as a moving object, such as a pedestrian or another vehicle, or a stationary object, such as a falling object on the road. In addition, road surface marks such as a running dividing line around the host vehicle are detected. The periphery monitoring sensor 15 is, for example, a periphery monitoring camera that captures a predetermined range around the host vehicle, a millimeter wave radar that transmits a detection wave to the predetermined range around the host vehicle, a sonar, a LIDAR, or the like. The surrounding monitoring camera sequentially outputs the sequentially photographed images as sensing information to the automated driving ECU17. The sensor that transmits the probe wave, such as the sonar, millimeter wave radar, and LIDAR, sequentially outputs the scanning result based on the received signal obtained when the reflected wave reflected by the obstacle is received, as the sensing information, to the automated driving ECU17. The sensing information detected by the surroundings monitoring sensor 15 may be configured to be output to the in-vehicle LAN via the automated driving ECU17.

The vehicle control ECU16 is an electronic control device that performs running control of the host vehicle. The travel control may be acceleration/deceleration control and/or steering control. The vehicle control ECU16 includes a steering ECU that performs steering control, a power unit control ECU that performs acceleration and deceleration control, and a brake ECU. The vehicle control ECU16 outputs control signals to respective travel control devices such as an electronically controlled throttle valve, a brake actuator, and an EPS (Electric Power Steering: electric power steering) motor mounted on the host vehicle, thereby performing travel control.

The automated driving ECU17 includes, for example, a processor, a memory, I/O, and a bus connecting the processor and the memory, and executes processing related to automated driving by executing a control program stored in the memory. The memory referred to herein is a non-transitory, non-migratory, physical storage medium (non-transitory tangible storage medium) that stores programs and data that can be read by a computer. In addition, the non-migration entity storage medium is realized by a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, or the like. The automated driving ECU17 includes a running environment recognition unit, an action determination unit, and a control execution unit as functional modules.

The running environment recognition unit recognizes the running environment around the host vehicle based on the sensed information acquired from the surroundings monitoring sensor 15. The traveling environment recognition unit may recognize the traveling environment around the host vehicle based on the host vehicle position acquired from the locator 12, the map data acquired from the map DB13, and the like, in addition to the sensing information acquired from the periphery monitoring sensor 15. As an example, the running environment recognition unit uses the information to generate a virtual space in which the actual running environment is reproduced.

The running environment recognition unit may also recognize a manual driving area (hereinafter referred to as MD area) of the running area of the host vehicle. The driving environment recognition unit may also recognize an automatic driving region (hereinafter, referred to as AD region) of the driving region of the host vehicle. The running environment recognition unit may also recognize an ST section and a non-ST section, which will be described later, in the AD region.

The MD region is a region where automatic driving is prohibited. In other words, the MD area is an area in which all of the longitudinal control, the lateral control, and the periphery monitoring of the host vehicle are performed by the driver. The longitudinal direction means a direction which coincides with the front-rear direction of the host vehicle. The lateral direction is a direction corresponding to the width direction of the vehicle. The longitudinal control corresponds to acceleration and deceleration control of the vehicle. The lateral control corresponds to steering control of the host vehicle. For example, the MD region may be a general road.

The AD region is a region where automatic driving is permitted. In other words, the AD area is an area in which one or more of longitudinal control, lateral control, and peripheral monitoring can be specified by the host vehicle agent. For example, the AD area may be an expressway, a car-specific road. For example, the automatic driving of the traffic congestion control LV3 may be permitted only when traffic congestion occurs in the AD region (hereinafter, referred to as traffic congestion control automatic driving).

The AD area is divided into an ST section and a non-ST section. The ST section is a section for permitting automated driving of the area definition LV3 (hereinafter, referred to as area definition automated driving). The area-limited automatic driving may be permitted only on a specific lane in the ST section. The non-ST section is a section in which automatic driving of LV2 or less is enabled. In the present embodiment, the non-ST section permitting the automatic driving of LV1 and the non-ST section permitting the automatic driving of LV2 are not separately distinguished. The ST section may be a travel section in which high-precision map data is set, for example. The non-ST section may be a section of the AD region that does not correspond to the ST section.

The behavior determination unit switches the control subject of the driving operation between the driver and the system of the host vehicle. When the control right of the driving operation is on the system side, the behavior determination unit determines a travel plan for causing the host vehicle to travel based on the result of the recognition of the travel environment by the travel environment recognition unit. As a travel plan, a route to a destination and an action to be taken by the host vehicle to reach the destination may be determined. Examples of the operation include straight running, right turning, left turning, and lane change.

The action determination unit switches the automation level of the automatic driving of the host vehicle as needed. The action determination unit determines whether or not the automation level can be increased. For example, when the host vehicle moves from the MD region to a non-ST section in the AD region, it is determined that the vehicle can be switched from manual driving to automatic driving of LV2 or less. When the host vehicle moves from the MD zone to the ST zone in the AD zone, it is determined that the vehicle can be switched from the manual driving of LV0 to the automatic driving of the zone-limited LV 3. When the host vehicle moves from a non-ST section to a ST section in the AD area, it is determined that the vehicle can switch from the automated driving of LV2 or less to the automated driving of LV 3. In the AD area, if the conditions of the traffic congestion control LV3 are all complete in the state where the vehicle is at or below LV2, it is sufficient to determine that the vehicle can switch from the automated driving at or below LV2 to the automated driving of the traffic congestion control LV 3.

When the action determination unit determines that the automation level needs to be lowered, the automation level may be lowered. Examples of the case where it is determined that the automation level needs to be lowered include the case of override detection, the case of planned driving alternation, and the case of unintended driving alternation. Override refers to an operation for a driver of the host vehicle to autonomously acquire control of the host vehicle. In other words, an override is an operational intervention of the driver on the vehicle. The action judging section may detect the override based on the sensed information obtained from the vehicle state sensor 14. For example, the behavior determination unit may detect the override when the steering torque detected by the steering torque sensor exceeds a threshold value. The action determination unit may detect the override when the depression of the accelerator pedal is detected by the accelerator sensor. In addition, the behavior determination unit may detect the override when the brake sensor detects the depression of the brake pedal.

Planned driving alternation refers to a predetermined driving alternation based on the judgment of the system. For example, planned driving alternation is performed when the host vehicle moves from the ST zone to the non-ST zone or the MD zone in the AD zone. In this case, the automation level drops from the regional limit LV3 to LV2 or below. The planned driving alternation may be performed when the host vehicle moves from the non-ST zone in the AD zone to the MD zone. In this case, the automation level drops from the regional limit LV3 to LV0. Unintended driving alternation refers to driving alternation of an unintended burst based on the judgment of the system. For example, in the automatic driving of the traffic jam defining LV3, the unintended driving alternation is performed without satisfying the condition of the traffic jam defining LV 3. In this case, the automation level drops from the traffic congestion limit LV3 to below LV 2. As the condition of traffic jam defining LV3, a plurality of kinds of conditions may be used. An example of the condition may be a traffic congestion section in the AD area, in which the vehicle speed of the preceding vehicle or the host vehicle is equal to or less than a threshold value that can be estimated as traffic congestion, which is traffic congestion information, or the like. The unintended driving alternation may be performed in the case where the automation level cannot be maintained due to the trouble of the recognition of the running environment in the running environment recognition section.

When the automation level is lowered due to the override, the automated driving ECU17 lowers the automation level during the assistance period in which the vehicle system performs more travel assistance than the lowered automation level. The driving assistance during the assist period may be, for example, less than the automation level before the descent, but may be more than the automation level after the descent. In addition, when the automation level is lowered due to the driving alternation determined by the system of the host vehicle, the automated driving ECU17 lowers the automation level after making a driving alternation request for requesting driving alternation to the driver of the host vehicle. The driver is presented with a drive-alternate request by an in-vehicle presentation device 18 described later. When the driver receives the drive-alternate request, the driver takes a preparatory action required for lowering the level of automation such as holding the steering wheel. After confirming that the preparatory action is taken, the automated driving ECU17 decreases the automation level. When the preparatory action is not taken, the vehicle may be retracted to the road shoulder and stopped.

The in-vehicle presentation device 18 presents information to the vehicle interior of the host vehicle. The in-vehicle presentation device 18 has a display 181 and a sound output device 182. The display 181 displays information for information presentation. The display 181 presents information in response to an instruction from the HCU 10. As the Display 181, for example, a meter MID (Multi Information Display: multi information Display), CID (Center Information Display: center information Display), HUD (Head-Up Display) can be used.

The meter MID is a display device provided on the front surface of a driver's seat in a vehicle cabin. As an example, the meter MID may be configured to be provided to the meter panel. CID is a display device disposed in the center of the dashboard of the host vehicle. The HUD is provided in a vehicle cabin, for example, in a dashboard. The HUD projects a display image formed by a projector onto a predetermined projection area of a front windshield as a projection means. The light reflected to the image inside the vehicle cabin through the front windshield is perceived by the driver sitting in the driver's seat. Thus, the driver can visually confirm the virtual image of the display image imaged in front of the front windshield while overlapping with a part of the foreground. The HUD may be configured to project a display image to a combiner provided on the front surface of the driver's seat instead of the front windshield.

The voice output device 182 presents information by outputting voice. The sound output device 182 may be a speaker or the like provided in the cabin of the host vehicle.

The vehicle exterior reporting device 19 reports information related to the automated driving to the outside of the vehicle, that is, an exterior report (hereinafter, referred to as an automated driving exterior report). The off-vehicle notification device 19 has an off-vehicle display 191 and an audio output device 192. The vehicle exterior display 191 is provided outside the host vehicle and reports the vehicle exterior. The vehicle exterior display 191 may display by light emission of a lamp. Hereinafter, a case where the vehicle exterior display 191 is a lamp will be described. The off-vehicle display 191 may be a display for displaying text, images, or the like.

As the vehicle exterior display 191, for example, an LED lamp may be used. Preferably, the off-board display 191 is capable of performing various reporting modes. The reporting method corresponds to a light emission method when reporting by light emission. For example, it is preferable that the off-vehicle display 191 be capable of switching the lighting color in addition to the switching of the lighting and the extinguishing. Switching of the lighting colors can be achieved by varying the combination of the lighting of the LEDs of the plurality of colors. The off-board display 191 may be capable of flashing. The off-board display 191 may be capable of switching the blinking period. The off-vehicle display 191 may be capable of switching the ratio of the on-time to the off-time.

As shown in fig. 2, LED lamps as the vehicle exterior display 191 are preferably provided at corner portions of four corners of the host vehicle. This is to easily confirm the off-vehicle display 191 from any direction around the host vehicle. The vehicle exterior display 191 may be configured to be provided in, for example, left and right corner portions of the front bumper and left and right corner portions of the rear bumper, respectively. HV of fig. 2 represents the host vehicle.

As shown in fig. 3, one LED lamp may be provided near the vehicle width direction center portion of the vehicle rear portion as an off-vehicle display 191. Accordingly, the vehicle exterior display 191 can be easily checked from at least the following vehicle of the host vehicle that is most likely to be affected by the behavior of the host vehicle.

Fig. 3 shows an example of a display lamp for reporting to the outside of the host vehicle, other than the vehicle exterior display 191. The report herein can also be in other words a signal conveying the intention of the action of the host vehicle. BL of fig. 3 represents a brake light. The brake lights can also be in other words brake signal lights, brake lights. In fig. 3, which is a view from the rear of the vehicle, brake lamps are provided on the left and right sides of the rear of the vehicle. TL in fig. 3 represents a turn signal. In fig. 3, turn signals are provided on the left and right sides of the rear portion of the host vehicle. EL in fig. 3 represents a hazard lamp. The hazard lamps can also be hazard lamps, in other words hazard lamps, emergency flashing display lamps. As described above, the hazard lamps are realized by all of the turn signals of the vehicle. RL in fig. 3 indicates a backlight. The rear lamp can also be in other words a rear lamp, a backup lamp. In fig. 3, a backlight is provided on each of left and right sides of a rear portion of the host vehicle. The backlight may be provided in the vicinity of a vehicle width direction central portion of the vehicle rear portion. In the following drawings, the same reference numerals are used for the same components.

The configuration of the display lamp shown in fig. 3 is only an example. The configuration of the display lamp may be other than the configuration shown in fig. 3. Among the display lamps, there are also display lamps other than the display lamp (hereinafter, referred to as a report display lamp) for reporting to the outside of the host vehicle (hereinafter, referred to as a non-report display lamp). Examples of the non-reporting display lamp include a wide lamp, a tail lamp, a license lamp, and a rear fog lamp.

As shown in fig. 4, the vehicle exterior display 191 may be provided at a position where the license plate of the host vehicle is provided. Accordingly, since the license plate is provided at a position that is easily visible from the periphery of the host vehicle, the vehicle exterior display 191 is also easily visible from the periphery of the host vehicle. NP of fig. 4 represents the license plate. As the vehicle exterior display 191, for example, an LED lamp may be used. The vehicle exterior display 191 may be configured to be provided integrally with the license plate. The vehicle exterior display 191 may be configured to be provided independently of the license plate at a position where the license plate is provided.

As shown in fig. 5, the vehicle exterior display 191 may be provided at a position in contact with at least one of the brake light BL and the turn light TL of the vehicle. Accordingly, the off-vehicle display 191 and the brake light BL and/or the turn light TL are located in close proximity to each other, so that the wiring thereof is easily concentrated. This can simplify the wiring of the off-vehicle display 191 and the brake light BL and/or the turn light TL. As the vehicle exterior display 191, for example, an LED lamp may be used. In the example of fig. 5, an example in which a plurality of off-vehicle displays 191 are provided is shown, but this is not necessarily limiting. The vehicle exterior display 191 may be configured to be provided in one vehicle. In the example of fig. 5, the off-vehicle display 191 is provided at a position where it contacts both the brake light BL and the turn light TL, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the off-vehicle display 191 may be provided at a position where it contacts only one of the brake light BL and the turn light TL. In this case, the brake light BL and the turn light TL are provided at positions close to each other, so that the wiring between the off-vehicle display 191 and the brake light BL and the turn light TL can be simplified.

As shown in fig. 6, the vehicle exterior display 191 may be provided on the rear surface of the vehicle at a position along the axis (LRA in fig. 6) in the lateral direction of the vehicle passing through at least one of the brake light BL and the turn light TL. Accordingly, the off-vehicle display 191 and the brake light BL and/or the turn light TL are arranged in the left-right direction in the same plane of the vehicle, and therefore, the wiring thereof is easily concentrated. This can simplify the wiring between the off-vehicle display 191 and the brake light BL and/or the turn light TL. As the vehicle exterior display 191, for example, an LED lamp may be used. In the example of fig. 6, the example in which the vehicle exterior display 191 is provided on the rear surface of the host vehicle is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. The vehicle exterior display 191 may be provided on the front surface of the host vehicle, or may be provided on the front surface and the rear surface of the host vehicle. In the example of fig. 6, the axis LRA passing through only the brake lamp BL and the turn lamp TL of the turn lamps TL is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. The LRA axis may be an axis passing through only the brake light BL and the brake light BL of the turn lights TL. In addition, when there is a region where the brake lamp BL and the turn lamp TL are aligned in the left-right direction of the host vehicle, the LRA axis may be the axis passing through both the brake lamp BL and the turn lamp TL.

As shown in fig. 7, the vehicle exterior display 191 may be provided on the rear surface of the vehicle at a position along the vehicle vertical axis (see TBA in fig. 7) passing through at least one of the brake light BL and the turn light TL. Accordingly, the off-vehicle display 191 and the brake light BL and/or the turn light TL are arranged in the vertical direction on the same plane of the vehicle, and therefore, the wiring thereof is easily concentrated. This can simplify the wiring between the off-vehicle display 191 and the brake light BL and/or the turn light TL. As the vehicle exterior display 191, for example, an LED lamp may be used. In the example of fig. 7, the example in which the external display 191 is provided in plural on the rear surface of the host vehicle is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. The vehicle exterior display 191 may be provided on the rear surface of the host vehicle. In the example of fig. 7, the off-vehicle display 191 is provided on the rear surface of the vehicle, but the present invention is not limited to this. The vehicle exterior display 191 may be provided on the front surface of the host vehicle, or may be provided on the front surface and the rear surface of the host vehicle. In the example of fig. 7, the shaft TBA passing through both the brake lamp BL and the turn lamp TL is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. The TBA axis may be an axis passing through only the brake lamp BL and the brake lamp BL of the turn lamps TL. In addition, the TBA axis may be an axis passing through only the brake lamp BL and the turn lamp TL among the turn lamps TL.

The voice output device 192 presents information by outputting voice. The sound output device 192 may be a speaker or the like provided outside the cabin of the host vehicle.

The HCU10 is mainly composed of a computer including a processor, a volatile memory, a nonvolatile memory, I/O, and a bus connecting the processors and the nonvolatile memory. The HCU10 is connected to an in-vehicle presentation device 18 and an off-vehicle reporting device 19. The HCU10 executes a control program stored in a nonvolatile memory to perform processing related to control of the in-vehicle presentation device 18 and the off-vehicle notification device 19. The HCU10 corresponds to a vehicle report control device. The constitution of the HCU10 is described in detail below. Further, executing the processing of each functional module of the HCU10 by the computer corresponds to executing the vehicle report control method.

< schematic Structure of HCU10 >

Next, a schematic structure of the HCU10 will be described with reference to fig. 8. As shown in fig. 8, the HCU10 includes, as functional blocks, an information acquisition unit 101, an in-vehicle presentation control unit 102, a state determination unit 103, a lighting detection unit 104, and an out-of-vehicle report control unit 105 for controlling the in-vehicle presentation device 18 and the out-of-vehicle report device 19. Further, part or all of the functions performed by the HCU10 may be configured in hardware by one or more ICs or the like. In addition, some or all of the functional modules included in the HCU10 may be realized by a combination of hardware components and execution of software by a processor.

The information acquisition unit 101 acquires information inputted from the outside of the HCU 10. The information acquisition unit 101 acquires, for example, the recognition result of the running environment recognition unit of the automated driving ECU 17. The information acquisition unit 101 acquires the determination result of the action determination unit of the automated driving ECU 17. The information acquisition portion 101 acquires sensing information detected by the vehicle state sensor 14.

The in-vehicle presentation control unit 102 controls the in-vehicle presentation device 18. The in-vehicle presentation control unit 102 causes the display 181 to display an image indicating the foreground of the vehicle (hereinafter referred to as a foreground image). The in-vehicle presentation control unit 102 may display the foreground image on the display 181 using the identification result of the running environment identification unit acquired by the information acquisition unit 101. For example, the foreground image may be an overhead view observed from a virtual viewpoint above the host vehicle.

Here, an example of a foreground image will be described with reference to fig. 9. Sc in fig. 9 represents a display screen of the display 181. The HVI of fig. 9 shows an image representing the host vehicle (hereinafter, referred to as a host vehicle image). The OVI of fig. 9 shows an image representing a nearby vehicle of the host vehicle (hereinafter referred to as a nearby vehicle image). The PLI of fig. 9 shows an image of a lane division line (hereinafter, referred to as a lane division line image) representing a lane. Fig. 9 VI shows an image (hereinafter referred to as a host vehicle speed image) indicating the vehicle speed of the host vehicle. As shown in fig. 9, the foreground image may be displayed with a host vehicle image, a surrounding vehicle image, a lane dividing line image, and a host vehicle speed image. The foreground image may be a vehicle image and a surrounding vehicle image that simulate the positional relationship between the actual vehicle and the surrounding vehicle.

The state determination unit 103 determines a state of the host vehicle related to the automated driving (hereinafter, referred to as an automated driving related state). The processing in the state determination unit 103 corresponds to a state determination step. The state determination unit 103 may determine the automatic driving related state based on the information such as the recognition result of the running environment recognition unit, the determination result of the action determination unit, and the like acquired by the information acquisition unit 101. The state determination unit 103 may determine the current automation level as the automatic driving related state. The state determination unit 103 may determine the current level of automation by monitoring the automated driving ECU 17. The state determination unit 103 may determine whether the automation level is rising or falling as the automatic driving related state. The automation level may be determined to be increased or decreased based on the determination result of the action determining unit. The state determination section 103 may differentially determine whether in the area limitation automatic driving or in the traffic congestion limitation automatic driving as the automatic driving-related state. The state determination portion 103 may determine whether in the area limitation automatic driving or in the traffic congestion limitation automatic driving by monitoring the automatic driving ECU 17.

The lighting detection unit 104 detects the start of lighting of a specific display lamp (hereinafter referred to as a specific display lamp) provided in the host vehicle for reporting other than the outside of the automated driving vehicle to the outside of the host vehicle. The process in the lighting detection unit 104 corresponds to a lighting detection step. The specific display lamp may be, for example, at least any one of a brake lamp BL, a turn lamp TL, and a hazard lamp EL. In the example of the present embodiment, the specific display lamps are the brake lamp BL, the turn lamp TL, and the hazard lamp EL. The lighting detection section 104 may detect the start of lighting of the specific display lamp based on the sensing result of the vehicle state sensor 14 acquired by the information acquisition section 101. The lighting detection unit 104 may detect the start of lighting of the brake light BL based on a signal from the brake switch. The lighting detection unit 104 may detect the start of lighting of the turn signal TL based on the signal of the direction indication switch. The lighting detector 104 may detect the start of lighting of the hazard lamp EL based on the signal of the hazard switch.

The outside-vehicle notification control unit 105 controls the outside-vehicle notification device 19 to perform an outside-vehicle notification of the automatic driving. In other words, the off-vehicle report control unit 105 controls the off-vehicle display 191 to perform off-vehicle report. The processing in the off-vehicle report control unit 105 corresponds to an off-vehicle report control process. The outside-vehicle report control unit 105 may be configured to also perform the outside-vehicle report from the audio output device 192, or may not be configured to perform the outside-vehicle report from the audio output device 192. An automatic driving vehicle exterior report from the vehicle exterior display 191 will be described below.

The in-vehicle presentation control unit 102 controls the in-vehicle presentation device 18 to be directed into the cabin of the vehicle, and performs a report (hereinafter referred to as an in-vehicle report) indicating that an automatic driving out-of-vehicle report is being performed. Thus, the in-vehicle presentation device 18 corresponds to an in-vehicle notification device, and the in-vehicle presentation control unit 102 corresponds to an in-vehicle notification control unit.

As shown in fig. 11, the in-vehicle presentation control unit 102 may perform in-vehicle notification by performing the same display as the in-vehicle notification by the area (see fig. 11) in which the in-vehicle display 191 performs the in-vehicle notification in the own-vehicle image displayed on the display 181. Fig. 10 is a view showing an external appearance of an actual host vehicle. Fig. 11 is a view showing an example of a case where an in-vehicle report is performed in the foreground image described in fig. 9. Fig. 10 shows an external appearance of the vehicle when the vehicle is viewed from the rear. Fig. 10 shows an example of a case where an off-vehicle display 191 is provided at corner portions of four corners of the host vehicle. In the example of fig. 10, an off-vehicle display 191 is shown provided in the left and right corners of the rear of the host vehicle. The OLI of fig. 11 shows an image representing the vehicle exterior display 191 (hereinafter, referred to as an exterior light image) among the own vehicle images.

In the case where the vehicle image is used to perform the in-vehicle report indicating that the automatic vehicle exterior report is being performed, an image in which the outside report lamp image is emphasized may be displayed around the vehicle image as shown in fig. 12 (see HLI in fig. 12). Accordingly, even when it is difficult for the driver to clearly confirm that the automatic vehicle exterior report is being performed only by the vehicle exterior report lamp image, it is easy for the driver to clearly confirm that the automatic vehicle exterior report is being performed.

The in-vehicle presentation control unit 102 may perform in-vehicle reporting in cooperation with the case where the automatic driving out-of-vehicle reporting is performed by the out-of-vehicle reporting control unit 105. For example, the in-vehicle presentation control unit 102 may perform in-vehicle notification at the same timing as when the outside-vehicle notification is performed by the outside-vehicle notification control unit 105. As an example of the case of using the LED lamp as the outside display 191, the outside report lamp image in the foreground image may be also lighted at the same timing as the lighting of the LED lamp. For example, an outside report indicating that the level of automation has changed and an inside report indicating that the level of automation has changed may be performed at the same timing. Accordingly, the driver can know the timing of making the report outside the automated driving vehicle.

The in-vehicle presentation control unit 102 may perform the in-vehicle notification at a timing earlier than the automatic driving out-of-vehicle notification by the out-of-vehicle notification control unit 105. As an example of the case of using the LED lamp as the outside display 191, the outside report lamp image in the foreground image may be lighted at a timing earlier than the lighting of the LED lamp. For example, the in-vehicle report indicating the change in the automation level may be performed at a timing earlier than the outside-vehicle report indicating the change in the automation level. Accordingly, the driver can know to perform the outside-vehicle report before the timing of performing the outside-vehicle report. Further, the following description will be made by taking an example of an automatic driving vehicle exterior report indicating a change in the level of automation and an example of an in-vehicle report indicating a change in the level of automation at the same timing.

Here, an example in which the in-vehicle report is performed in the foreground image is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the foreground image may not be the same as the automatic vehicle exterior report, as long as the same display as the automatic vehicle exterior report is performed in the region in which the automatic vehicle exterior report is performed in the image simulating the appearance of the vehicle. The present invention is not limited to the configuration of performing in-vehicle reporting by an image. For example, the in-vehicle report may be performed by a lamp or an indicator of the meter. In this case, the lamp or the indicator of the meter may be turned on in conjunction with the case of performing the automatic vehicle exterior report. In addition, although the description has been made by taking an example in which the in-vehicle report is displayed, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the sound-based in-vehicle report may be performed in cooperation with the case of performing the automatic driving out-of-vehicle report.

The vehicle exterior report control unit 105 uses the automatic driving related state determined by the state determination unit 103 to perform an automatic driving vehicle exterior report during the automatic driving of the vehicle. In this case, the determination result of the current automation level may be used as the automatic driving related state. Accordingly, it is possible to report to the surroundings of the host vehicle that the host vehicle is driving automatically. As an example, the off-vehicle display 191 may be turned on when the automation level of the host vehicle is LV3 or higher. In other words, the off-vehicle display 191 may be turned on in the case of automatic driving without a surveillance obligation. When the off-vehicle display 191 is a lamp, the lamp is turned on. When the off-vehicle display 191 is a display or a display panel, the display or the display panel is turned on. The vehicle exterior report control unit 105 may be configured to turn on the vehicle exterior display 191 when the automation level of the vehicle is equal to or higher than LV 1. The vehicle exterior report control unit 105 may be configured to turn on the vehicle exterior display 191 when the automation level of the vehicle is equal to or higher than LV 2.

The off-vehicle report control unit 105 may change the type of the off-vehicle report according to the level of automation of the vehicle. For example, the color tone of the light color may be switched or the color shade may be switched according to the level of automation. The switching of the shade of the color can also be achieved by a change in the brightness of the lamp.

The off-vehicle report control unit 105 may perform an off-vehicle report (hereinafter referred to as a pre-report) for notifying the possibility of the change in the automation level in advance when the automation level of the vehicle increases or decreases, using the automatic driving related state determined by the state determination unit 103. In the case of using a lamp as the display 191 outside the vehicle, it can be expressed as a pre-report by flashing it, for example.

The off-vehicle report control unit 105 changes the direction in which the off-vehicle report is displayed so as to be difficult to see, based on the start of the lighting of the specific display lamp detected by the lighting detection unit 104 during the automatic driving of the vehicle. For example, the off-vehicle report control unit 105 may change the off-vehicle report to a direction in which the display becomes difficult to see when the lighting detection unit 104 detects the start of the lighting of the specific display lamp during the automatic driving of the vehicle.

The change in the direction in which the display of the automated driving outside report becomes difficult to see can be performed by causing the display of the automated driving outside report to disappear. In other words, the outside-vehicle report control unit 105 can change the direction in which the outside-vehicle report becomes difficult to see by causing the display of the outside-vehicle report to disappear. Accordingly, since the outside report of the automated driving vehicle is eliminated, the surrounding area can be clearly known only by paying attention to the specific display lamp. In the case of using a lamp as the outside display 191, the outside-vehicle report control section 105 can make the display of the automated driving outside-vehicle report difficult to see by turning off the lamp. In the case of using a display or a display panel as the outside display 191, the outside-vehicle report control unit 105 can turn off the display or the display panel to make the display of the outside-vehicle report of the automatic driving difficult to see.

Further, the change in the direction in which the display of the automated driving outside report becomes difficult to see may be performed by reducing the brightness of the automated driving outside report. In other words, the outside-vehicle report control unit 105 may change the outside-vehicle report to a direction in which the display becomes difficult to see by reducing the brightness of the outside-vehicle report. In this case, the display of the outside report of the automated driving is not lost, and the brightness of the outside report of the automated driving is reduced. Accordingly, since the brightness of the automated driving vehicle exterior report is reduced, the automated driving vehicle exterior report can be confirmed from the surroundings, but it is easy to understand the surroundings, and it is only necessary to pay attention to the specific display lamp. In the case of using a lamp as the outside display 191, the outside-vehicle report control section 105 can make the display of the automated driving outside-vehicle report difficult to see by reducing the brightness of the lamp. In the case of using a display or a display panel as the outside display 191, the outside-vehicle report control unit 105 can reduce the brightness of the display or the display panel to make the display of the outside-vehicle report of the automatic driving difficult to see.

The off-vehicle report control unit 105 may change the off-vehicle report to a direction in which the display becomes difficult to see regardless of the type of the specific display lamp at which the lighting start is detected when the lighting start of the specific display lamp is detected by the lighting detection unit 104 during the automated driving of the vehicle. Accordingly, when the specific display lamp starts to be turned on, the outside report of the automatic driving vehicle can be made difficult to see, and the surrounding can be easily understood as long as the specific display lamp is emphasized.

The off-vehicle report control unit 105 may switch whether or not to change the off-vehicle report to a direction in which the display becomes difficult to see, depending on the type of the specific display lamp in which the start of lighting is detected, when the start of lighting of the specific display lamp is detected by the lighting detection unit 104 during the automated driving of the vehicle. For example, the following may be mentioned.

Preferably, the off-vehicle notification control unit 105 does not change the direction in which the display of the off-vehicle notification to the outside of the automated guided vehicle becomes difficult to see when the lighting detection unit 104 detects the start of the lighting of the turn signal TL during the automated guided vehicle. Here, an example of an aspect of the automatic vehicle exterior report in the case where the start of the turning lamp TL turning on is detected during the automatic driving will be described with reference to fig. 13. Be in fig. 13 shows a state before the turn signal TL is lighted during automatic driving. Af in fig. 13 shows the start of turning on the turn signal TL during automatic driving. As shown in fig. 13, even when the turn signal TL starts to be turned on, the mode of the automatic driving off-vehicle report is not changed. In other words, even when the turn signal TL starts to be turned on, the off-vehicle report is not extinguished, and the brightness thereof is not lowered.

On the other hand, it is preferable that the off-vehicle notification control unit 105 changes the direction in which the display of the off-vehicle notification to the outside of the vehicle becomes difficult to see, based on the start of the turning on of the brake light BL detected by the turning on detection unit 104 during the automatic driving of the vehicle. Here, an example of an off-vehicle report mode in the case where the start of turning on the brake light BL is detected during the automatic driving will be described with reference to fig. 14 and 15. Fig. 14 and fig. 15 are diagrams showing before the brake lamp BL is turned on during automatic driving. Fig. 14 and 15 are diagrams showing at the beginning of turning on the brake light BL during automatic driving. As an example, as shown in fig. 14, when the brake light BL starts to be turned on, the outside report of the automated driving vehicle may be eliminated. As shown in fig. 15, when the brake lamp BL starts to be turned on, the brightness of the outside report of the automated driving vehicle may be reduced as compared with before the start of the turning on of the brake lamp BL.

While the brake lamp BL starts to be turned on during braking, the turn lamp TL starts to be turned on before starting the direction change. Thus, there is a sufficient time for the following vehicle to perform the condition determination when the turning lamp TL starts to be turned on, as compared with when the brake lamp BL starts to be turned on. On the other hand, according to the above configuration, even when the lighting of the specific display lamp is started, the automatic vehicle exterior report is easily recognized when the lighting of the display lamp of the type for which the situation is determined in a time sufficient for the surroundings is started, and on the other hand, when the lighting of the display lamp of the type for which the situation is determined in a time sufficient for the surroundings is started, it is possible to easily understand that the surrounding should pay attention to the display lamp.

In addition, the off-vehicle notification control unit 105 may change the direction in which the off-vehicle notification, for example, the display of the off-vehicle notification to the outside of the vehicle becomes difficult to see when the start of the lighting of the hazard lamp EL is detected by the lighting detection unit 104 during the automatic driving of the vehicle. This is because the vehicle is stopped at the start of the lighting of the hazard lamp EL, so that the necessity of recognizing the surrounding area of the off-vehicle report is low, and the surrounding area of the hazard lamp EL is considered to be more important than the off-vehicle report.

Preferably, the off-vehicle report control unit 105 uses the automatic driving related state determined by the state determination unit 103, and does not change the direction in which the display of the off-vehicle report to the outside of the automatic vehicle becomes difficult to see when the start of the turning on of the brake light BL is detected by the turning on detection unit 104 during the traffic congestion limiting automatic driving of the vehicle. On the other hand, it is preferable that the off-vehicle report control unit 105 changes the direction in which the display of the off-vehicle report to the outside of the automated guided vehicle becomes difficult to see when the start of the turning on of the brake light BL is detected by the turning on detection unit 104 during the area-limited automated guided vehicle.

The possibility that the vehicle is braked frequently at the time of traffic jam is high. Thereby, the brake light BL frequently starts to be turned on at the time of traffic jam. Here, if the display of the outside-automatic-vehicle report is changed in a direction that is difficult to see at the start of turning on the brake light BL, there is a concern that a situation occurs frequently in which the display of the outside-automatic-vehicle report becomes difficult to see, and the opportunity for surrounding recognition of the outside-automatic-vehicle report becomes too small. In contrast, according to the above configuration, even when the start of the turning on of the brake light BL is detected during the traffic congestion control automated driving, the display of the automated driving off-vehicle report is not changed in a direction that is difficult to see, and therefore, the opportunity to recognize the automated driving off-vehicle report around can be prevented from becoming too small. In addition, since the vehicle is running at a low speed even when the traffic jam occurs, it is easy to determine the situation with a plentiful time around. Thus, the necessity of reporting in such a manner that the surrounding is easily understood and the brake light BL should be emphasized is low. Therefore, even when the brake lamp BL is turned on during the traffic congestion control automatic driving, the notification can be made so that the surrounding area is not easily understood and the brake lamp BL should be emphasized.

< report control association Process in HCU10 >)

Here, an example of a flow of processing (hereinafter referred to as report control related processing) related to control of an automated driving vehicle outside report in the HCU10 will be described with reference to the flowchart of fig. 16. For example, the flowchart of fig. 16 may be started when a switch for starting the internal combustion engine or the motor generator of the host vehicle (hereinafter, referred to as a power switch) is turned on. In the example of fig. 16, a case will be described in which the state of the automation level LV3 is set to the automatic driving state. Although omitted from the flowchart of fig. 16, the above-described advance report may be performed when the level of automation of the vehicle changes.

First, in step S1, when the state determination unit 103 determines that the current automation level is LV3 (yes in S1), the process proceeds to step S2. In other words, in the case where it is determined that the vehicle is being driven automatically, the process proceeds to step S2. On the other hand, when the state determination unit 103 determines that the current automation level is equal to or lower than LV2 (no in S1), the process proceeds to step S9. In other words, in the case where it is determined that it is not in automatic driving, the process proceeds to step S9.

In step S2, the off-vehicle report control unit 105 starts an off-vehicle report for the automatic drive. In step S3, when the lighting detection unit 104 detects the start of lighting of the specific display lamp (yes in S3), the process proceeds to step S4. On the other hand, when the start of the lighting of the specific display lamp is not detected by the lighting detection unit 104 (no in S3), the process proceeds to step S9.

In step S4, when it is determined by the state determining unit 103 that the vehicle is being driven automatically by traffic congestion limitation (yes in S4), the flow proceeds to step S5. On the other hand, if it is not determined by the state determining unit 103 that the vehicle is being driven automatically by traffic congestion restriction (no in S4), the process proceeds to step S6. As an example of the case where the state determination unit 103 does not determine that the vehicle is in the traffic congestion limited automatic driving, there is a case where the vehicle is determined to be in the area limited automatic driving. In step S5, the off-vehicle report control unit 105 causes the off-vehicle report to continue in the same manner as before the lighting of the specific display lamp except that the lighting of the specific display lamp at the start of the lighting is detected in S3, and moves to step S9.

In step S6, when it is detected in S3 that the specific display lamp at the start of lighting is the turn signal lamp TL (yes in S6), the process proceeds to step S7. On the other hand, if it is detected in S3 that the specific indicator lamp at the start of lighting is not the turn signal lamp TL (no in S6), the process proceeds to step S8. Examples of the case where the specific indicator lamp at the start of the lighting is detected as not being the turn signal lamp TL at S3 include the case of the brake lamp BL and the case of the hazard lamp EL.

In step S7, the off-vehicle report control unit 105 causes the off-vehicle report to continue in the same manner as before the turning on of the specific display lamp except for the turning on of the turn signal lamp TL, and moves to step S9. The turning lamp TL is assumed to be lighted as a flickering lamp. On the other hand, in step S8, the off-vehicle report control unit 105 changes the display of the off-vehicle report in a direction that is difficult to see with respect to the lighting of the specific display lamp at the start of the lighting detected in S3, and the flow of actions proceeds to step S9. For example, the brake light BL or the hazard light EL may be turned on to make the outside report of the automatic driving disappear.

In step S9, when the state determination unit 103 continues to determine that the vehicle is being driven automatically (yes in S9), the process returns to S3 to repeat the process. On the other hand, when the state determination unit 103 determines that the vehicle is not being driven automatically (no in S9), the process proceeds to step S10. In other words, in the case where it is determined that the vehicle is not in automatic driving, the processing returns to S3 to repeat the processing.

In step S10, if the report control related process is completed (yes in S10), the report control related process is completed. On the other hand, if the end timing of the report control related process is not set (no in S10), the process returns to S1 to repeat the process. As an example of the end timing of the report control related process, there is a case where the power switch is turned off.

In fig. 16, the case where the state of the automation level LV3 is set to the automatic driving is described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. The state where the automation level is equal to or higher than LV3 may be set to be in automatic driving. In this case, when the automation level is equal to or higher than LV4, the process proceeds to S6 in S4. In addition, the state where the automation level is equal to or higher than LV1 or equal to or higher than LV2 may be set to be in automatic driving. In this case, when the automation level is LV1 to LV2, the process in S4 may be shifted to S6.

Fig. 16 shows a configuration in which the mode of reporting outside the automated driving vehicle is changed according to whether or not the automated driving vehicle is being driven by traffic jam restriction, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the system may be configured so as not to change depending on whether or not to switch between the automatic driving and the off-vehicle reporting during the traffic jam limiting automatic driving. In addition, although fig. 16 shows a configuration in which whether or not to change the mode of the automatic driving vehicle exterior report is switched according to the type of the specific display lamp in which the start of lighting is detected, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the method may be configured so that whether or not to report the outside of the automated driving vehicle is not switched regardless of the type of the specific display lamp at the start of the lighting.

According to the configuration of embodiment 1, the turning on of the specific display lamp is started, and the automatic driving vehicle exterior report can be changed in the direction in which the display becomes difficult to see. Thus, when the specific display lamp starts to be turned on, the outside report of the automatic driving vehicle can be made difficult to see, and the surrounding can be easily understood as long as the specific display lamp is emphasized. On the other hand, the automatic driving vehicle exterior report can be made without changing the direction in which the display becomes difficult to see until the specific display lamp starts to be turned on, and the surrounding can be easily understood as long as the automatic driving vehicle exterior report is emphasized. As a result, even when the state of the automatic driving of the host vehicle is reported to the outside of the vehicle by the display, the surrounding area can be easily understood, and which of the display lamps for reporting to the outside of the vehicle other than the display should be emphasized.

(embodiment 2)

In embodiment 1, the HCU10 has been shown as having functions of the state determining unit 103, the lighting detecting unit 104, and the off-vehicle report control unit 105, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the functions of the state determination unit 103, the lighting detection unit 104, and the off-vehicle report control unit 105 may be performed by an ECU other than the HCU 10. As an example, the functions of the state determination unit 103, the lighting detection unit 104, and the off-vehicle report control unit 105 may be assumed by the automated driving ECU 17.

Embodiment 3

The configuration described in embodiment 1 is not limited to the configuration described in embodiment 1, and may be the configuration of embodiment 3 below. An example of embodiment 3 will be described below with reference to the drawings. The vehicle system 1 of embodiment 3 is the same as the vehicle system 1 of embodiment 1 except that an HCU10a is included instead of the HCU 10.

First, a schematic structure of the HCU10a will be described with reference to fig. 17. As shown in fig. 17, the HCU10a includes, as functional blocks, an information acquisition unit 101, an in-vehicle presentation control unit 102, a state determination unit 103, a lighting detection unit 104, an out-vehicle report control unit 105a, and a vehicle speed determination unit 106 for controlling the in-vehicle presentation device 18 and the out-of-vehicle report device 19. The HCU10a is the same as the HCU10 of embodiment 1, except that the outside-vehicle report control unit 105a is provided in place of the outside-vehicle report control unit 105, and the vehicle speed determination unit 106 is provided. The HCU10a also corresponds to a vehicle report control device. Further, executing the processing of each functional module of the HCU10a by a computer corresponds to executing the vehicle report control method.

The vehicle speed determination unit 106 determines the vehicle speed of the host vehicle. The vehicle speed determination unit 106 determines the vehicle speed of the host vehicle based on the result of sensing by the vehicle speed sensor in the vehicle state sensor 14 acquired by the information acquisition unit 101.

The off-vehicle notification control unit 105a is the same as the off-vehicle notification control unit 105 of embodiment 1, except that the off-vehicle notification control unit 105a changes the mode of switching whether to report off-vehicle according to the vehicle speed determined by the vehicle speed determination unit 106 instead of changing the mode of switching whether to report off-vehicle to the vehicle during the traffic jam limited autopilot.

The off-vehicle report control unit 105a uses the automatic driving related state determined by the state determination unit 103, and changes the direction in which the display of the off-vehicle report to the outside of the automatic vehicle becomes difficult to see when the lighting detection unit 104 detects the start of the lighting of the specific display lamp during the automatic driving of the vehicle, and when the vehicle speed determined by the vehicle speed determination unit 106 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value. The predetermined threshold value may be a value that distinguishes between vehicle speeds at the time of traffic congestion. As an example, an average vehicle speed at the time of traffic congestion, or the like may be used. On the other hand, even when the lighting detection unit 104 detects the start of the lighting of the specific display lamp during the automated driving of the host vehicle, the off-vehicle report control unit 105a does not change the direction in which the display of the off-vehicle report to the outside of the automated driving vehicle becomes difficult to see when the vehicle speed determined by the vehicle speed determination unit 106 is less than the threshold value.

Vehicles with lower speeds have a higher probability of braking frequently in traffic jams and the like. Here, if the display of the outside-automatic-vehicle report is changed in a direction that is difficult to see at the start of turning on the brake light BL, there is a concern that a situation occurs frequently in which the display of the outside-automatic-vehicle report becomes difficult to see, and the opportunity for surrounding recognition of the outside-automatic-vehicle report becomes too small. In contrast, even when the start of turning on the brake light BL is detected during automatic driving in which the vehicle speed is smaller than the predetermined threshold, the display of the outside-automatic-vehicle report is not changed in a direction that is difficult to see, and therefore, it is possible to prevent the opportunity of surrounding recognition of the outside-automatic-vehicle report from becoming too small.

In the case of the configuration of embodiment 3, for example, the flowchart of fig. 16 may be modified to the following processing in S4. For example, in step S4, when it is determined that the vehicle speed is less than the predetermined threshold value by the vehicle speed determination unit 106, the process may proceed to step S5. On the other hand, when the vehicle speed determination unit 106 determines that the vehicle speed is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold value, the routine may proceed to step S6.

Embodiment 4

In embodiment 3, the HCU10a has been shown as having functions of the state determination unit 103, the lighting detection unit 104, the off-vehicle report control unit 105a, and the vehicle speed determination unit 106, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the functions of the state determination unit 103, the lighting detection unit 104, the off-vehicle report control unit 105a, and the vehicle speed determination unit 106 may be performed by an ECU other than the HCU10 a. As an example, the functions of the state determination unit 103, the lighting detection unit 104, the off-vehicle report control unit 105a, and the vehicle speed determination unit 106 may be performed by the automated driving ECU 17.

Embodiment 5

The off-vehicle display 191 may be configured to use a lamp that is turned on to the outside of the vehicle for a purpose other than the off-vehicle report, which is a report of information related to the automatic driving. In other words, the conventional lamp may also be used as an automatic vehicle exterior report (hereinafter, referred to as embodiment 5). Examples of the conventional lamps include a wide-range lamp, a turn signal lamp TL, a tail lamp, a brake lamp BL, a rear lamp RL, a license lamp, and a rear fog lamp.

As a conventional lamp that is also used for an outside report of an automatic drive vehicle, a lamp that is low in the frequency of lighting in applications other than the outside report of the automatic drive vehicle is preferable. This is to make it difficult to generate a situation where the outside-automatic vehicle report cannot be made at the timing when the outside-automatic vehicle report should be made. As a conventional lamp which is also used for an outside report of an automatic driving vehicle, for example, a rear lamp RL, a wide lamp, a license lamp, a rear fog lamp, and the like are preferable in addition to the above-described specific display lamp. In the case of using a conventional lamp for an outside-automatic vehicle report, confusion can be avoided by, for example, making the color tone of the lamp different in the use of the outside-automatic vehicle report and the use of the lamp other than the outside-automatic vehicle report.

Here, an example of a configuration in which the backlight RL is also used as an outside report of an automatic driving vehicle will be described with reference to fig. 18. For example, the lamp color of the backlight RL may be white, while the lamp color of the outside report of the automated driving vehicle may be blue. The backlight RL and the off-vehicle display 191 can be used by switching the same lamp color. In addition, it is also possible to use the same light emitting element in the same region by switching which light emitting element of different colors emits light. Fig. 18 Be shows a front lighting of the backlight RL during automatic driving. Af in fig. 18 shows the start of the lighting of the backlight RL during the automatic driving. As an example, as shown in fig. 18, the lamp color as the off-vehicle display 191 may be lighted until the backlight RL is turned on, and an off-vehicle report may be made. When the backlight RL is turned on, instead of the lamp color as the off-vehicle display 191, the lamp color as the backlight RL may be turned on.

According to the configuration of embodiment 5, since the existing lamp is used as the outside report of the automated driving vehicle, the cost for the outside report of the automated driving vehicle can be suppressed. In addition, since the conventional lamp is used as a lamp, the trouble of design of the installation position can be omitted.

Embodiment 6

The configuration described in embodiment 1 is not limited to the configuration described in embodiment 1, and may be the configuration of embodiment 6 below. An example of embodiment 6 will be described below with reference to the drawings. The vehicle system 1 of embodiment 6 is the same as the vehicle system 1 of embodiment 1 except that an HCU10b is included instead of the HCU 10.

First, a schematic structure of the HCU10b will be described with reference to fig. 19. As shown in fig. 19, the HCU10b includes, as functional blocks, an information acquisition unit 101, an in-vehicle presentation control unit 102, a state determination unit 103b, and an out-of-vehicle report control unit 105b for controlling the in-vehicle presentation device 18 and the out-of-vehicle report device 19. The HCU10b is the same as the HCU10 of embodiment 1 except that the state determining unit 103b and the off-vehicle report control unit 105b are provided instead of the state determining unit 103 and the off-vehicle report control unit 105, and that the lighting detecting unit 104 is not provided. The HCU10b also corresponds to a vehicle report control device. Further, executing the processing of each functional module of the HCU10b by a computer corresponds to executing the vehicle report control method.

The state determination unit 103b determines an automated driving related state that is a state of the host vehicle related to automated driving. The processing in the state determination unit 103b corresponds to a state determination step. The state determination unit 103b determines the current automation level as the automatic driving related state. The state determination unit 103b may determine the current level of automation by monitoring the automated driving ECU 17.

The outside-vehicle report controller 105b controls the outside-vehicle report device 19 to perform an automatic outside-vehicle report. In other words, the outside-vehicle report control unit 105b controls the outside-vehicle display 191 to perform the outside-vehicle report. The process in the off-vehicle report control unit 105b corresponds to an off-vehicle report control step. The outside-vehicle report control unit 105b may be configured to also perform the outside-vehicle report from the audio output device 192, or may be configured not to perform the outside-vehicle report from the audio output device 192. An automatic driving vehicle exterior report from the vehicle exterior display 191 will be described below.

The outside-vehicle report control unit 105b performs an outside-vehicle report during the automatic driving of the host vehicle, using the automatic driving-related state determined by the state determining unit 103b, in the same manner as the outside-vehicle report control unit 105 of embodiment 1.

The off-vehicle report control unit 105b uses the automatic driving related state determined by the state determination unit 103b to perform an off-vehicle report of the fact that the brightness is low when the specific display lamp is turned on during the automatic driving of the vehicle. When the lamp is used as the outside display 191, the outside-vehicle report control unit 105 may turn on the lamp during the automatic driving, and may suppress the brightness of the lamp to be lower than that at the time of turning on the specific display lamp. When the display or the display panel is used as the off-vehicle display 191, the off-vehicle report control unit 105 may turn on the display or the display panel during the automatic driving, and may suppress the luminance of the display or the display panel to be lower than that when the display lamp is turned on. As an example, the control value for the luminance of the off-vehicle report lower than the luminance at the time of lighting the specific display lamp of the host vehicle may be stored in the nonvolatile memory of the HCU10b in advance, and the off-vehicle report control unit 105b may use the control value to perform the off-vehicle report for the luminance lower than the luminance at the time of lighting the specific display lamp.

According to the configuration of embodiment 6, the automatic driving vehicle exterior report can be performed with a low luminance when the specific display lamp is turned on. Thus, even when the specific display lamp starts to be turned on, the luminance of the outside report of the automated driving vehicle is set to be lower than that of the specific display lamp, so that the specific display lamp can be easily understood around. As a result, even when the state of the automatic driving of the host vehicle is reported to the outside of the vehicle by the display, the surrounding area can be easily understood, and which of the display lamps for reporting to the outside of the vehicle other than the display should be emphasized.

Embodiment 7

In embodiment 6, the HCU10b has been shown as having the functions of the state determining unit 103b and the off-vehicle report control unit 105b, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the functions of the state determination unit 103b and the off-vehicle report control unit 105b may be performed by an ECU other than the HCU10 b. As an example, the functions of the state determination unit 103b and the off-vehicle report control unit 105b may be assumed by the automated driving ECU 17.

Embodiment 8

The configuration is not limited to embodiment 1, and may be that of embodiment 8 below. An example of the structure of embodiment 8 will be described below with reference to the drawings.

< schematic structure of System 1c for vehicle >

The vehicle system 1c shown in fig. 20 can be used in an autonomous vehicle. As shown in fig. 20, the vehicle system 1c includes an HCU10c, a communication module 11, a locator 12, a map DB13, a vehicle state sensor 14, a surrounding area monitoring sensor 15, a vehicle control ECU16, an automated driving ECU17, an in-vehicle presentation device 18, and an out-of-vehicle reporting device 19c. The vehicle system 1c is the same as the vehicle system 1 of embodiment 1 except that the vehicle system includes an HCU10c and an off-vehicle notification device 19c instead of the HCU10 and the off-vehicle notification device 19. The vehicle using the vehicle system 1c is not necessarily limited to an automobile, but the following description will exemplify a case of using the vehicle system in an automobile.

The off-vehicle notification device 19c has an off-vehicle display 191c and an audio output device 192. The vehicle exterior display 191c is the same as the vehicle exterior reporting device 19 of embodiment 1 except that the vehicle exterior display 191c is provided instead of the vehicle exterior display 191. The vehicle exterior display 191c is the same as the vehicle exterior display 191 of embodiment 1 except that it is provided at least at one of the rear portion of the host vehicle and the front portion and the side portion of the host vehicle (hereinafter referred to as non-rear portion). For example, the vehicle exterior display 191c in the front portion of the host vehicle may be configured to be provided at the left and right corner portions of the front bumper. The vehicle exterior display 191c in the front portion of the host vehicle may be provided in the vicinity of the vehicle width direction center portion in the front portion of the host vehicle. The vehicle exterior display 191c on the side of the host vehicle may be provided on the left and right side surfaces of the host vehicle. The vehicle exterior display 191c provided at the left and right corner portions of the front bumper and/or the rear bumper may be used as the vehicle exterior display 191c on the side of the host vehicle.

< schematic structure of HCU10c >

As shown in fig. 21, the HCU10c has, as functional blocks, an information acquisition unit 101, an in-vehicle presentation control unit 102, a state determination unit 103, a lighting detection unit 104c, and an out-of-vehicle report control unit 105c for controlling the in-vehicle presentation device 18 and the out-of-vehicle report device 19 c. The HCU10c is the same as the HCU10 of embodiment 1, except that the lighting detection unit 104c and the off-vehicle report control unit 105c are provided instead of the lighting detection unit 104 and the off-vehicle report control unit 105. The HCU10c also corresponds to a vehicle report control device. The execution of the processing of each functional module of the HCU10c by the computer corresponds to the execution of the vehicle report control method.

The lighting detection unit 104c is the same as the lighting detection unit 104 of embodiment 1, except that it detects at least the start of lighting of the brake lamp BL of the host vehicle as the start of lighting of the specific display lamp.

The outside-vehicle report control unit 105c changes the direction in which the automatic driving outside-vehicle report of the outside-vehicle display 191c provided in the rear portion of the vehicle is displayed so as to be difficult to see, based on the start of the turning on of the brake lamp detected by the turning on detection unit 104c, as in the outside-vehicle report control unit 105 of embodiment 1. On the other hand, even when the lighting detection unit 104c detects the start of the lighting of the brake light BL, the off-vehicle report control unit 105c does not cause the automatic off-vehicle report of the off-vehicle display 191c provided on the non-rear portion to be displayed in a direction in which the display becomes difficult to see. For example, the outside-vehicle report control unit 105c may display the outside-vehicle report without causing the display of the outside-vehicle report to disappear and without changing the display in a direction in which the display becomes difficult to see. In addition, the outside-vehicle report control unit 105c may display the outside-vehicle report without reducing the brightness of the outside-vehicle report and without changing the display in a direction in which the display becomes difficult to see.

The brake light BL is provided at the rear of the host vehicle. Thus, the automatic driving vehicle exterior report provided on the non-rear vehicle exterior display 191c makes it difficult to disperse the awareness of the surrounding lighting of the brake light BL. Therefore, even when the brake lamp BL is turned on, the necessity of making the display difficult to see is low. According to the configuration of embodiment 8, it is possible to continuously report information relating to automatic driving to the outside of the vehicle without making the display of the automatic driving vehicle exterior report less necessary to be seen even when the brake light BL is turned on.

Here, an example of a change in the automatic driving vehicle exterior report corresponding to the installation position of the vehicle exterior display 191c when the start of the turning on of the brake light BL is detected will be described with reference to fig. 22. As shown in fig. 22, when the start of the turning on of the brake light BL is detected, the off-vehicle report control unit 105c may turn off the automatic driving off-vehicle report from the off-vehicle display 191c provided in the rear portion of the vehicle. On the other hand, as shown in fig. 22, when the start of the turning on of the brake light BL is detected, the off-vehicle report control unit 105c may keep the off-vehicle report on the off-vehicle display 191c provided on the non-rear portion of the vehicle.

Embodiment 9

The configuration is not limited to embodiment 1, and may be that of embodiment 9 below. An example of the structure of embodiment 9 will be described below with reference to the drawings.

< schematic structure of System 1d for vehicle >

The vehicle system 1c shown in fig. 20 can be used in an autonomous vehicle. As shown in fig. 23, the vehicle system 1d includes an HCU10d, a communication module 11, a locator 12, a map DB13, a vehicle state sensor 14, a periphery monitoring sensor 15, a vehicle control ECU16, an automatic driving ECU17, an in-vehicle presentation device 18, an out-of-vehicle reporting device 19, and a user input device 20. The vehicle system 1d is the same as the vehicle system 1 of embodiment 1 except that it includes an HCU10d instead of the HCU10 and a user input device 20. The vehicle using the vehicle system 1d is not necessarily limited to an automobile, but the following description will exemplify a case of using the vehicle system in an automobile.

The user input device 20 accepts input from a user. The user input device 20 may be an operation apparatus that accepts an operation input from a user. The operation device may be a mechanical switch or a touch switch integrated with the display 181. The user input device 20 is not limited to an operation device that accepts an operation input, as long as it accepts an input from a user. For example, the voice input device may be a voice input device that accepts input of a voice-based instruction from a user. The user input device 20 corresponds to a user input unit.

< schematic structure of HCU10d >

As shown in fig. 24, the HCU10d includes, as functional blocks, an information acquisition unit 101, an in-vehicle presentation control unit 102, a state determination unit 103, a lighting detection unit 104, and an out-of-vehicle report control unit 105d for controlling the in-vehicle presentation device 18 and the out-of-vehicle report device 19. The HCU10d is the same as the HCU10 of embodiment 1, except that the outside-vehicle report control unit 105d is provided in place of the outside-vehicle report control unit 105. The HCU10d also corresponds to a vehicle report control device. The execution of the processing of each functional module of the HCU10d by the computer corresponds to the execution of the vehicle report control method.

The off-vehicle report control unit 105d is the same as the off-vehicle report control unit 105 of embodiment 1, except that the off-vehicle report control unit can switch the off-vehicle report based on the input from the driver of the vehicle received by the user input device 20. Accordingly, the driver can use the automated driving vehicle exterior report for communication with the surroundings. As an example of the switching of the off-vehicle report, an example of switching the off-vehicle report from on to off according to the input of the user input device 20 can be mentioned. In addition, an example of switching from on to off according to an input to the user input device 20 is also possible. The user input device 20 used for switching the off-board report may be, for example, a mechanical switch dedicated to switching the off-board report.

Embodiment 10

In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the automatic vehicle exterior report can be made by both the vehicle exterior displays 191, 191c and the audio output device 192 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the automatic driving vehicle exterior report may be configured to be made only by the vehicle exterior displays 191, 191c and the vehicle exterior displays 191, 191c in the sound output device 192.

Embodiment 11

In the above-described embodiment, the configuration of the automatic vehicle exterior report is shown by the light emission of the lamp, but the present invention is not limited to embodiment 5. For example, the automatic vehicle exterior report may be performed by displaying text or images on a display, a display panel, or the like, instead of the light emission of the lamp.

Embodiment 12

In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the in-vehicle report can be performed by both the display 181 and the sound output device 182 is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the in-vehicle report may be configured to be made only by the display 181 of the display 181 and the sound output device 182. In addition, the in-vehicle notification may be performed only by the sound output device 182 out of the display 181 and the sound output device 182.

The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims, and embodiments in which technical means disclosed in the different embodiments are appropriately combined are also included in the technical scope of the present disclosure. The control unit and the method thereof described in the present disclosure may be implemented by a special purpose computer constituting a processor programmed to execute one or more functions embodied by a computer program. Alternatively, the apparatus and method described in the present disclosure may be implemented by dedicated hardware logic circuits. Alternatively, the apparatus and method described in the present disclosure may be implemented by one or more special purpose computers configured by a combination of one or more hardware logic circuits and a processor executing a computer program. The computer program may be stored in a non-transitory tangible recording medium readable by a computer as instructions executable by the computer.

(technical idea disclosed)

The specification discloses a plurality of technical ideas described in a plurality of items listed below. Some items are described by multiple dependent forms (a multipledependent form) that alternatively reference the previous item in the subsequent item. Some items are described in a multiple-item dependent form (a multipledependent form referring to another multiple dependent form) by referring to other items in the multiple-item dependent form. These items described in the multiple subordinate forms define a plurality of technical ideas.

(technical idea 1)

A report control device for a vehicle, which can be used in a vehicle capable of automatic driving, is provided with:

a state determination unit (103) that determines an automated driving-related state that is a state of the vehicle related to the automated driving;

an off-vehicle report control unit (105, 105a, 105c, 105 d) for controlling off-vehicle displays (191, 191 c) for displaying an off-vehicle report for the automatic driving to the outside of the vehicle, the off-vehicle report being a report of information related to the automatic driving; and

an illumination detection unit (104, 104 c) for detecting the start of illumination of a specific display lamp (BL, TL, EL) provided in the vehicle, the specific display lamp being a specific display lamp for reporting a report other than the automated driving vehicle exterior report to the outside of the vehicle,

the off-vehicle report control unit performs the off-vehicle report during the automatic driving of the vehicle using the automatic driving related state determined by the state determination unit, and changes the off-vehicle report in a direction in which the display becomes difficult to see based on the start of the lighting of the specific display lamp detected by the lighting detection unit.

(technical idea 2)

According to the report control device for a vehicle described in technical idea 1,

the outside-vehicle report control unit changes the direction in which the outside-vehicle report is displayed so as to be difficult to see by causing the display of the outside-vehicle report to disappear.

(technical idea 3)

According to the report control device for a vehicle described in technical idea 1,

the off-vehicle report control unit changes the off-vehicle report to a direction in which the display is made difficult to see by reducing the brightness of the display of the off-vehicle report.

(technical idea 4)

According to the report control device for a vehicle described in any one of technical ideas 1 to 3,

the lighting detection unit detects the start of lighting of at least one of a Brake Light (BL), a direction indicator (TL), and an emergency blinking display light (EL) of the vehicle as the start of lighting of the specific display light.

(technical idea 5)

According to the report control device for a vehicle described in technical idea 4,

the lighting detection unit detects at least the start of lighting of the brake lamp and the direction indicator as the start of lighting of the specific display lamp,

The off-vehicle report control unit does not change the direction in which the display of the off-vehicle report to the off-vehicle report becomes difficult to see when the lighting start of the direction indicator is detected by the lighting detection unit during the automatic driving of the vehicle, and changes the direction in which the display of the off-vehicle report to the off-vehicle report becomes difficult to see when the lighting start of the brake lamp is detected by the lighting detection unit during the automatic driving of the vehicle.

(technical idea 6)

According to the report control device for a vehicle described in any one of technical ideas 1 to 5,

the vehicle report control device described above can be used in a vehicle as follows: an area-limited automatic driving in which an area is limited to permit automatic driving without a monitoring obligation of a driver of the vehicle and a traffic congestion-limited automatic driving in which an automatic driving without a monitoring obligation of the driver is limited to permit at the time of a traffic congestion,

The lighting detection unit detects the start of lighting at least a Brake Light (BL) in the vehicle as the start of lighting the specific display light,

the state determination unit determines at least one of the region-limited automatic driving and the traffic congestion-limited automatic driving as the automatic driving related state,

the off-vehicle report control unit (105) uses the automatic driving related state determined by the state determination unit to change the direction in which the display of the off-vehicle report to the off-vehicle report becomes difficult to see when the lighting detection unit detects the start of the lighting of the brake lamp in the automatic driving of the vehicle, and to change the direction in which the display of the off-vehicle report to the off-vehicle report becomes difficult to see when the lighting detection unit detects the start of the lighting of the brake lamp in the automatic driving of the vehicle.

(technical idea 7)

According to the report control device for a vehicle described in any one of technical ideas 1 to 5,

The lighting detection unit detects the start of lighting at least a Brake Light (BL) in the vehicle as the start of lighting the specific display light,

the vehicle report control device includes a vehicle speed determination unit (106) for determining the vehicle speed of the vehicle,

the off-vehicle report control unit (105 a) uses the state associated with the automatic driving determined by the state determination unit to change the direction in which the display of the off-vehicle report to the off-vehicle report becomes difficult to see when the start of turning on the brake lamp is detected by the turning on detection unit and when the vehicle speed determined by the vehicle speed determination unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value during the automatic driving of the vehicle, and does not change the direction in which the display of the off-vehicle report to the off-vehicle report becomes difficult to see when the vehicle speed determined by the vehicle speed determination unit is less than the threshold value even when the start of turning on the brake lamp is detected by the turning on detection unit during the automatic driving of the vehicle.

(technical idea 8)

According to the report control device for a vehicle described in any one of technical ideas 1 to 4,

The off-vehicle display is used as a display lamp (BL, TL, EL, RL) provided in the vehicle and emitting light to the outside of the vehicle, and is also used for a part other than the automated driving off-vehicle report.

(technical idea 9)

According to the report control device for a vehicle described in any one of technical ideas 1 to 7,

the off-vehicle display is used in combination with a display lamp (RL) provided in the vehicle and emitting light toward the outside of the vehicle, and used in addition to the specific display lamp.

(technical idea 10)

According to the report control device for a vehicle described in any one of technical ideas 1 to 8,

the vehicle exterior display 191c is provided at a rear portion and a non-rear portion of the vehicle, the non-rear portion being at least one of a front portion and a side portion of the vehicle,

the lighting detection unit (104 c) detects at least the start of lighting of the Brake Light (BL) of the vehicle as the start of lighting of the specific display light,

the off-vehicle report control unit (105 c) changes the off-vehicle report of the off-vehicle display provided at the rear portion in a direction in which the display becomes difficult to see based on the start of the turning on of the brake lamp detected by the turning on detection unit, and does not change the off-vehicle report of the off-vehicle display provided at the non-rear portion in a direction in which the display becomes difficult to see even when the start of the turning on of the brake lamp is detected by the turning on detection unit.

(technical idea 11)

A report control device for a vehicle, which can be used in a vehicle capable of automatic driving, is provided with:

a state determination unit (103 b) that determines an automated driving-related state that is a state of the vehicle related to the automated driving; and

an off-vehicle report control unit (105 b) for controlling an off-vehicle display (191) for displaying an off-vehicle report for the automatic vehicle to the outside of the vehicle, the off-vehicle report being a report of information related to the automatic vehicle,

the off-vehicle display is provided independently of specific display lamps (BL, TL, EL) provided in the vehicle, the specific display lamps being specific display lamps for reporting other than the automated driving off-vehicle report to the outside of the vehicle,

the off-vehicle notification control unit uses the automatic driving related state determined by the state determination unit to perform the off-vehicle notification that the brightness is lower than when the specific display lamp is turned on during the automatic driving of the vehicle.

(technical idea 12)

According to the report control device for a vehicle described in any one of technical ideas 1 to 11,

An in-vehicle report control unit (102) for controlling in-vehicle report devices (18, 181, 182) that report in-vehicle conditions to the interior of the vehicle, the in-vehicle report indicating that the automated driving out-of-vehicle report is being performed.

(technical idea 13)

According to the report control device for a vehicle described in technical idea 12,

the in-vehicle notification device (181) displays an image indicating the vehicle,

the in-vehicle notification control unit performs the in-vehicle notification by performing the same display as the automatic driving in-vehicle notification in a region in which the automatic driving in-vehicle notification is performed by the in-vehicle display in the image representing the vehicle displayed by the in-vehicle notification device.

(technical idea 14)

According to the report control device for a vehicle described in any one of technical ideas 1 to 13,

the vehicle exterior display emits light to report the outside of the automatic driving vehicle.

(technical idea 15)

The report control device for a vehicle according to any one of the technical ideas 1 to 8 and 10 to 14,

the off-vehicle display is provided at a position where the license plate of the vehicle is provided.

(technical idea 16)

The report control device for a vehicle according to any one of the technical ideas 1 to 8 and 10 to 14,

the off-vehicle display is provided at a position in contact with at least one of a brake light and a direction indicator of the vehicle.

(technical idea 17)

The report control device for a vehicle according to any one of the technical ideas 1 to 8 and 10 to 14,

the vehicle exterior display is provided at a position along a left-right direction axis of the vehicle or a vertical axis of the vehicle on at least one of a front surface and a rear surface of the vehicle on which the brake lamp and the direction indicator are provided, the left-right direction axis of the vehicle passing through at least one of the brake lamp and the direction indicator, and the vertical axis of the vehicle passing through at least one of the brake lamp and the direction indicator.

(technical idea 18)

According to the report control device for a vehicle described in any one of technical ideas 1 to 17,

the off-vehicle report control unit (105 d) can also switch the off-vehicle report according to the input received by the user input unit (20) that receives the input from the driver of the vehicle.

(technical idea 19)

A report control method for a vehicle, which can be used in a vehicle capable of automatic driving, wherein,

comprising the following steps performed by at least one processor:

a state determination step of determining an automated driving-related state that is a state of the vehicle related to the automated driving;

an off-vehicle report control step of controlling off-vehicle displays (191, 191 c) for displaying an off-vehicle report for the automatic vehicle to the outside of the vehicle, the off-vehicle report being a report of information related to the automatic vehicle; and

a lighting detection step of detecting the start of lighting of specific display lamps (BL, TL, EL) provided in the vehicle, the specific display lamps being specific display lamps for reporting other than the automated driving off-vehicle report to the outside of the vehicle,

in the off-vehicle report control step, the off-vehicle report is performed during the automatic driving of the vehicle using the automatic driving related state determined in the state determination step, and the off-vehicle report is changed in a direction in which the display becomes difficult to see based on the start of the lighting of the specific display lamp detected in the lighting detection step.

(technical idea 20)

A report control method for a vehicle, which can be used in a vehicle capable of automatic driving, wherein,

comprising the following steps performed by at least one processor:

a state determination step of determining an automated driving-related state that is a state of the vehicle related to the automated driving; and

an off-vehicle report control step of controlling an off-vehicle display (191) for displaying an off-vehicle report for the automatic vehicle to the outside of the vehicle, the off-vehicle report being a report of information related to the automatic vehicle,

the off-vehicle display is provided independently of specific display lamps (BL, TL, EL) provided in the vehicle, the specific display lamps being specific display lamps for reporting other than the automated driving off-vehicle report to the outside of the vehicle,

in the off-vehicle report control step, the off-vehicle report is performed with a lower brightness than when the specific display lamp is turned on in the automatic driving of the vehicle, using the automatic driving related state determined in the state determination step.

Claims (20)

1. A report control device for a vehicle, which can be used in a vehicle capable of automatic driving, is provided with:

A state determination unit (103) that determines an automated driving-related state that is a state of the vehicle related to the automated driving;

an off-vehicle report control unit (105, 105a, 105c, 105 d) for controlling off-vehicle displays (191, 191 c) for displaying an off-vehicle report for the automatic driving to the outside of the vehicle, the off-vehicle report being a report of information related to the automatic driving; and

an illumination detection unit (104, 104 c) for detecting the start of illumination of a specific display lamp (BL, TL, EL) provided in the vehicle, the specific display lamp being a specific display lamp for reporting a report other than the automated driving vehicle exterior report to the outside of the vehicle,

the off-vehicle report control unit performs the off-vehicle report during the automatic driving of the vehicle using the automatic driving related state determined by the state determination unit, and changes the off-vehicle report in a direction in which the display becomes difficult to see based on the start of the lighting of the specific display lamp detected by the lighting detection unit.

2. The report control device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein,

the outside-vehicle report control unit changes the direction in which the outside-vehicle report is displayed so as to be difficult to see by causing the display of the outside-vehicle report to disappear.

3. The report control device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein,

the off-vehicle report control unit changes the off-vehicle report to a direction in which the display is made difficult to see by reducing the brightness of the display of the off-vehicle report.

4. The report control device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein,

the lighting detection unit detects the start of lighting of at least one of a Brake Light (BL), a direction indicator (TL), and an emergency blinking display light (EL) of the vehicle as the start of lighting of the specific display light.

5. The report control device for a vehicle according to claim 4, wherein,

the lighting detection unit detects at least the start of lighting of the brake lamp and the direction indicator as the start of lighting of the specific display lamp,

the off-vehicle report control unit does not change the direction in which the display of the off-vehicle report to the off-vehicle report becomes difficult to see when the lighting start of the direction indicator is detected by the lighting detection unit during the automatic driving of the vehicle, and changes the direction in which the display of the off-vehicle report to the off-vehicle report becomes difficult to see when the lighting start of the brake lamp is detected by the lighting detection unit during the automatic driving of the vehicle.

6. The report control device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein,

the vehicle report control device described above can be used in a vehicle as follows: an area-limited automatic driving in which an area is limited to permit automatic driving without a monitoring obligation of a driver of the vehicle and a traffic congestion-limited automatic driving in which an automatic driving without a monitoring obligation of the driver is limited to permit at the time of a traffic congestion,

the lighting detection unit detects the start of lighting at least a Brake Light (BL) in the vehicle as the start of lighting the specific display light,

the state determination unit determines at least one of the region-limited automatic driving and the traffic congestion-limited automatic driving as the automatic driving related state,

the off-vehicle report control unit (105) uses the automatic driving related state determined by the state determination unit to change the direction in which the display of the off-vehicle report to the off-vehicle report becomes difficult to see when the lighting detection unit detects the start of the lighting of the brake lamp in the automatic driving of the vehicle, and to change the direction in which the display of the off-vehicle report to the off-vehicle report becomes difficult to see when the lighting detection unit detects the start of the lighting of the brake lamp in the automatic driving of the vehicle.

7. The report control device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein,

the lighting detection unit detects the start of lighting at least a Brake Light (BL) in the vehicle as the start of lighting the specific display light,

the vehicle report control device includes a vehicle speed determination unit (106) for determining the vehicle speed of the vehicle,

the off-vehicle report control unit (105 a) uses the state associated with the automatic driving determined by the state determination unit to change the direction in which the display of the off-vehicle report to the off-vehicle report becomes difficult to see when the start of turning on the brake lamp is detected by the turning on detection unit and when the vehicle speed determined by the vehicle speed determination unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value during the automatic driving of the vehicle, and does not change the direction in which the display of the off-vehicle report to the off-vehicle report becomes difficult to see when the vehicle speed determined by the vehicle speed determination unit is less than the threshold value even when the start of turning on the brake lamp is detected by the turning on detection unit during the automatic driving of the vehicle.

8. The report control device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein,

the off-vehicle display is used as a display lamp (BL, TL, EL, RL) provided in the vehicle and emitting light to the outside of the vehicle, and is also used for a part other than the automated driving off-vehicle report.

9. The report control device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein,

the off-vehicle display is used in combination with a display lamp (RL) provided in the vehicle and emitting light toward the outside of the vehicle, and used in addition to the specific display lamp.

10. The report control device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein,

the vehicle exterior display 191c is provided at a rear portion and a non-rear portion of the vehicle, the non-rear portion being at least one of a front portion and a side portion of the vehicle,

the lighting detection unit (104 c) detects at least the start of lighting of the Brake Light (BL) of the vehicle as the start of lighting of the specific display light,

the off-vehicle report control unit (105 c) changes the off-vehicle report of the off-vehicle display provided at the rear portion in a direction in which the display becomes difficult to see based on the start of the turning on of the brake lamp detected by the turning on detection unit, and does not change the off-vehicle report of the off-vehicle display provided at the non-rear portion in a direction in which the display becomes difficult to see even when the start of the turning on of the brake lamp is detected by the turning on detection unit.

11. A report control device for a vehicle, which can be used in a vehicle capable of automatic driving, is provided with:

a state determination unit (103 b) that determines an automated driving-related state that is a state of the vehicle related to the automated driving; and

an off-vehicle report control unit (105 b) for controlling an off-vehicle display (191) for displaying an off-vehicle report for the automatic vehicle to the outside of the vehicle, the off-vehicle report being a report of information related to the automatic vehicle,

the off-vehicle display is provided independently of specific display lamps (BL, TL, EL) provided in the vehicle, the specific display lamps being specific display lamps for reporting other than the automated driving off-vehicle report to the outside of the vehicle,

the off-vehicle notification control unit uses the automatic driving related state determined by the state determination unit to perform the off-vehicle notification that the brightness is lower than when the specific display lamp is turned on during the automatic driving of the vehicle.

12. The report control device for a vehicle according to claim 1 or 11, wherein,

an in-vehicle report control unit (102) for controlling in-vehicle report devices (18, 181, 182) that report in-vehicle conditions to the interior of the vehicle, the in-vehicle report indicating that the automated driving out-of-vehicle report is being performed.

13. The report control device for a vehicle according to claim 12, wherein,

the in-vehicle notification device (181) displays an image indicating the vehicle,

the in-vehicle notification control unit performs the in-vehicle notification by performing the same display as the automatic driving in-vehicle notification in a region in which the automatic driving in-vehicle notification is performed by the in-vehicle display in the image representing the vehicle displayed by the in-vehicle notification device.

14. The report control device for a vehicle according to claim 1 or 11, wherein,

the vehicle exterior display emits light to report the outside of the automatic driving vehicle.

15. The report control device for a vehicle according to claim 1 or 11, wherein,

the off-vehicle display is provided at a position where the license plate of the vehicle is provided.

16. The report control device for a vehicle according to claim 1 or 11, wherein,

the off-vehicle display is provided at a position in contact with at least one of a brake light and a direction indicator of the vehicle.

17. The report control device for a vehicle according to claim 1 or 11, wherein,

the vehicle exterior display is provided at a position along a left-right direction axis of the vehicle or a vertical axis of the vehicle on at least one of a front surface and a rear surface of the vehicle on which the brake lamp and the direction indicator are provided, the left-right direction axis of the vehicle passing through at least one of the brake lamp and the direction indicator, and the vertical axis of the vehicle passing through at least one of the brake lamp and the direction indicator.

18. The report control device for a vehicle according to claim 1 or 11, wherein,

the off-vehicle report control unit (105 d) can also switch the off-vehicle report according to the input received by the user input unit (20) that receives the input from the driver of the vehicle.

19. A report control method for a vehicle, which can be used in a vehicle capable of automatic driving, wherein,

comprising the following steps performed by at least one processor:

a state determination step of determining an automated driving-related state that is a state of the vehicle related to the automated driving;

an off-vehicle report control step of controlling off-vehicle displays (191, 191 c) for displaying an off-vehicle report for the automatic vehicle to the outside of the vehicle, the off-vehicle report being a report of information related to the automatic vehicle; and

a lighting detection step of detecting the start of lighting of specific display lamps (BL, TL, EL) provided in the vehicle, the specific display lamps being specific display lamps for reporting other than the automated driving off-vehicle report to the outside of the vehicle,

in the off-vehicle report control step, the off-vehicle report is performed during the automatic driving of the vehicle using the automatic driving related state determined in the state determination step, and the off-vehicle report is changed in a direction in which the display becomes difficult to see based on the start of the lighting of the specific display lamp detected in the lighting detection step.

20. A report control method for a vehicle, which can be used in a vehicle capable of automatic driving, wherein,

comprising the following steps performed by at least one processor:

a state determination step of determining an automated driving-related state that is a state of the vehicle related to the automated driving; and

an off-vehicle report control step of controlling an off-vehicle display (191) for displaying an off-vehicle report for the automatic vehicle to the outside of the vehicle, the off-vehicle report being a report of information related to the automatic vehicle,

the off-vehicle display is provided independently of specific display lamps (BL, TL, EL) provided in the vehicle, the specific display lamps being specific display lamps for reporting other than the automated driving off-vehicle report to the outside of the vehicle,

in the off-vehicle report control step, the off-vehicle report is performed with a lower brightness than when the specific display lamp is turned on in the automatic driving of the vehicle, using the automatic driving related state determined in the state determination step.