JP2017182176A - Automatic travel control method and automatic travel control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform automatic travel control capable of excellent unmanned round travel without causing harmful effect to traffic.SOLUTION: An automatic travel control device 100 comprises: a navigation unit 110 including a data storage unit 12 for storing map information, a GPS receiver 11, and a navigation controller 20; and an unmanned travel support unit 120 including an entire circumference camera 121a and a travel control ECU 123 for supporting unmanned round travel. The navigation controller 20 and the travel control ECU 123 perform an unmanned automatic round mode to take unmanned automatic rounds on a round route including a destination on a route, and regulates the unmanned automatic round mode on the basis of prescribed round conditions.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic traveling control method and an automatic traveling control device for an automobile having an automatic lap traveling function.

  With the development of automobile control technology, it is possible to drive a car without any human operation, and it is also possible to run a specified route unattended. As an unmanned driving method, an application is expected in which an unmanned car is driven to a railway station and a passenger gets into an unmanned car at the station's rotary and returns home.

  Conventionally, the route can be selected by setting a destination in the navigation device. Patent Document 1 proposes a navigation device that can return to the same place after a set time when the train operation is delayed and the vehicle arrives before the arrival of the passenger.

Japanese Patent No. 5052408

  By the way, although the structure about automatic circulation driving | running is described in patent document 1, it does not consider about unmanned automatic rotation. For this reason, when applied to unmanned automatic laps, there is a possibility that a vehicle performing unmanned automatic laps may adversely affect traffic such as causing traffic congestion.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and provides an automatic travel control method and an automatic travel control device that can satisfactorily travel around the vehicle without adversely affecting traffic.

One aspect of the automatic travel control method of the present invention is:
An automatic lap execution step for executing an unmanned automatic lap mode in which the lap route including the destination on the route is unattended automatically.
Based on a predetermined circuit condition, a circuit control step for controlling the unmanned automatic circuit mode,
including.

One aspect of the automatic travel control device of the present invention is:
A navigation unit having a map information storage unit, a GPS receiver, and a navigation controller;
An unmanned traveling support unit that has an outside camera and a traveling control unit and supports unmanned circuit traveling;
Comprising
The navigation controller and the travel control unit execute an unattended automatic lap mode in which an unattended automatic lap around a route including a destination on a route is performed, and controls the unattended automatic lap mode based on a predetermined lap condition.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to satisfactorily perform unmanned circulation without adversely affecting traffic.

Schematic which shows the whole structure of the automatic traveling control apparatus which concerns on embodiment State transition diagram for explaining the outline of unmanned automatic driving according to the embodiment Flow chart showing an example of processing at the time of unattended automatic lap activation Flow chart showing processing example 1 during unmanned automatic lap Flow chart showing processing example 2 during unattended automatic lap Flowchart showing an example of processing when the return position (destination) arrives

  First, before explaining the embodiments, the background to the present invention will be described.

  The inventors of the present invention have examined the influence on traffic when unattended automatic laps are executed.

  As an example, when one railway line is suspended due to an accident, a car arriving at the rotary at the station at a preset time starts a roundabout rotary movement without any passengers. If there are a lot of people who have set up to meet, many vehicles will try to go around the rotary without being unattended, but if one collision safety device operates and stops at a certain point, the roundabout of the rotary stops completely and is greeted Subsequent cars, including unmanned cars, can no longer enter the roundabout. As a result, paralysis of road traffic spreads around the entire station, and alternative transportation by bus stops functioning. If this occurs at each station, both rail transport and road transport will be paralyzed along the entire railway line, resulting in a large social disruption, including difficulties for many rail users to go home.

  Outside of the station, traffic jams may occur if the control for arriving a car at a predetermined point at every predetermined time interval is misused. For example, when getting off a car and posting a postal item to a post, it is a good usage to prevent the traffic jam by running the car around instead of parking the car in a parking prohibited place. It is also possible to misuse the car for a long time, while it takes time to do something that would otherwise have to be parked in the parking lot. In the city center and tourist areas, it is difficult to find an empty parking lot, or the parking fee is high even if it is empty, so people who run around without stopping at the parking lot May appear. Then, since a vehicle that should originally be accommodated in the parking lot occupies while moving on the road, road congestion is accelerated. In the unlikely event that several percent of these many unmanned vehicles stop due to running out of fuel, heavy traffic congestion will occur at various locations.

  Under such a point of interest, the inventors have considered that unattended automatic laps that do not adversely affect traffic can be realized by controlling unattended automatic laps based on predetermined lap conditions, and have reached the present invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

<Overall configuration>
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of an automatic travel control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The automatic travel control device 100 is mounted on a vehicle. The automatic travel control device 100 includes a navigation unit 110, an unmanned travel support unit 120, and a communication unit 130.

  The navigation unit 110 includes a self-supporting positioning device 10, a GPS receiver 11, a navigation controller 20, a data storage unit 12, a display unit 13, an audio output unit 14, and an input device 15.

  The autonomous positioning device 10 includes an acceleration sensor, an angular velocity sensor, and a distance sensor. The self-supporting positioning device detects acceleration of a vehicle by an acceleration sensor and outputs acceleration data, detects an angular velocity of the vehicle at the time of changing the direction of the vehicle by an angular velocity sensor, outputs angular velocity data and relative bearing data, and outputs a vehicle by a distance sensor. A vehicle speed pulse consisting of a pulse signal generated with the rotation of the wheel is measured.

  The GPS receiver 11 receives downlink data including positioning data from a plurality of GPS satellites. The positioning data is used to detect the absolute position of the vehicle from latitude and longitude information.

  The navigation controller 20 includes an interface, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like, and controls the entire navigation unit 110. The RAM of the navigation controller 20 stores various data such as route data set in advance by the user via the input device 15 so as to be readable.

  The data storage unit 12 is configured by, for example, an HDD or the like, and stores various data used for navigation processing such as map data.

  The display unit 13 displays various display data under the control of the navigation controller 20. Specifically, the navigation controller 20 reads map data from the data storage unit 12 and displays it on the display unit 13. The display of the display unit 13 is composed of a liquid crystal display device, for example, and is mounted near the front panel in the vehicle.

  The audio output unit 14 includes a speaker or the like and outputs audio. The input device 15 includes keys, switches, buttons, a remote controller, a voice input device, and the like for inputting various commands and data. The input device 15 is arranged around the front panel and display of the main body of the in-vehicle electronic system mounted in the vehicle. When the display is a touch panel system, a touch panel provided on the display screen also functions as the input device 15.

  As described above, the navigation unit 110 has functions of acquiring map information, acquiring and updating vehicle position information, selecting a travel route, a user interface, and storing user instructions. Determine the ground and course. An instruction relating to traveling can be given by a panel operation or a voice command via the input device 15. In addition, an instruction relating to running can be given from outside the vehicle by a voice command via the communication circuit and the communication unit 130.

  The communication unit 130 includes, for example, an FM tuner, a beacon receiver, a mobile phone, a dedicated communication card, and the like. The communication unit 130 can wirelessly receive an instruction regarding travel from a user outside the vehicle. In addition, the communication unit 130 can acquire information distributed from a VICS (Vehicle Information Communication System) center or the like.

  In addition to this configuration, the automatic travel control device 100 includes an unmanned travel support unit 120. The unmanned travel support unit 120 includes a camera ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 121, a user authentication device 122, and a travel control ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 123.

  Connected to the camera ECU 121 are an all-around camera 121a and an in-vehicle camera 121b for photographing outside the vehicle. When the camera ECU 121 detects a danger based on the captured image of the omnidirectional camera 121a, the camera ECU 121 notifies the travel control ECU 123 of this.

  The user authentication device 122 authenticates a person who has an operation authority based on a face image captured by the all-around camera 121a or the in-vehicle camera 121b and output from the camera ECU 121, and permits boarding the vehicle to the authenticated person ( (Locking / unlocking doors) and giving permission for navigation operations.

  The camera ECU 121 can authenticate the face of a user who is outside the vehicle (a person registered by a person with operating authority (assuming a family member)) from the captured image and the registered image of the omnidirectional camera 121a. In addition, the camera ECU 121 detects the presence or absence of an occupant from the captured image of the in-vehicle camera 121b, and unlocks the door if there is a user outside the vehicle during unmanned driving and notifies the user by voice if there is an occupant in the vehicle. Ask for.

  The traveling control ECU 123 outputs a control signal for performing unmanned automatic traveling to the traveling system 200 of the vehicle body such as an engine control unit and various actuators.

<Outline of unmanned automatic driving according to the embodiment>
FIG. 2 is a state transition diagram for explaining the outline of unmanned automatic traveling according to the present embodiment. Each state is mainly controlled by the navigation controller 20 and the travel control ECU 123.

  When the user gives a travel instruction such as a key operation or an accelerator operation from the manned standby state R1 in which the user has boarded the vehicle, the vehicle enters the manned travel state R2. When the user gets off from the manned running state R2, the vehicle enters the unmanned standby state R3. When the user boardes from the unmanned standby state R3, the vehicle enters the manned standby state R1.

  When the vehicle receives a travel instruction from a user outside the vehicle via the communication unit 130 from the unmanned standby state R3, the vehicle enters the unmanned travel state R4. When the vehicle arrives at the destination as a result of unmanned traveling, the vehicle enters a waiting state R5. When a predetermined waiting time elapses after the vehicle enters the boarding waiting state R5, it is determined that the vehicle has timed out, and the vehicle enters an unmanned lap state R6 in which the lap route including the destination is unmanned automatically. The waiting time may be set in advance, for example, 1 minute, 5 minutes, etc., but may be set to 0 minutes. When the waiting time is 0 minute and the vehicle cannot be found at the destination from the image of the all-around camera 121a during unmanned traveling, the vehicle enters the unmanned circulation state R6 without stopping at the destination.

  When the vehicle receives a new travel instruction such as a change of destination from the user in the unmanned circulation state R6, the vehicle shifts from the unmanned circulation state R6 to the unmanned travel state R4 and performs unmanned travel according to the new travel instruction. .

  In addition, the vehicle enters the manned standby state R1 when the user boardes from the boarding waiting state R5. Further, in the waiting-for-ride state R5 or the unmanned lap state R6, when the lap limit condition is exceeded, an automatic return home state R7 is set and the vehicle moves to a predetermined home position such as a home parking lot. When the vehicle receives a new travel instruction from the user in the automatic return home state R7, the vehicle enters the unmanned travel state R4.

  An example of actual unmanned automatic traveling according to this embodiment will be given. When the passenger gets off and becomes unmanned (unmanned standby state R3), the vehicle continues to stop if there is no instruction, and travels to the instructed destination if there is an instruction (unmanned traveling state R4). If there is an instruction to “return after ** minutes”, when the vehicle travels at the legal speed with the destination as the destination, it automatically selects the route arriving at the destination after ** minutes and starts unmanned travel (unmanned travel state R4 ). When the vehicle arrives at the destination, the navigation controller 20 informs the user of the arrival via the communication unit 130 and the wireless communication line, and at the same time, the camera ECU 121 searches for the user from the camera video around the vehicle. When the camera ECU 121 detects the user, the traveling control ECU 123 releases the door lock, and when the user gets on, the unmanned traveling is completed (that is, the boarding waiting state R5 is shifted to the manned standby state R1).

  On the other hand, when the user does not board within the predetermined time, the unmanned running is resumed while maintaining the destination and the route (that is, the unmanned circulation state R6), and the user is connected via the communication unit 130 and the wireless communication line. Is notified of the scheduled return time (that is, the next time of arrival at the destination). However, if the number of laps or the lap time exceeds the set value, the destination is changed to the registration point (assuming the garage at home) and the automatic return home state R7 is started, and at the same time the user starts traveling on the optimum route, Contact home return. As a result, useless laps that may adversely affect traffic can be prevented.

  In the standby state at the destination (waiting for boarding R5), during the unmanned lap (unmanned lap state R6), the automatic return home state R7, and the unattended standby state R3, the user gives a driving instruction via the wireless communication line and the communication unit 130. If there is, follow the instructions. In addition, when the user gets on board while waiting at home, the voice is requested for an instruction, and if there is a new instruction, the instruction is followed, and if there is no instruction, the standby is continued.

  In addition, the manned traveling and the unmanned traveling in the present embodiment include a temporary stop (congestion, waiting for a signal, etc.) other than the destination. The registered user (qualified person) is allowed to perform panel operations and voice commands via the input device 15 and voice commands via the wireless communication line and the communication unit 130. In other words, a driving instruction other than a qualified person is not permitted. However, if a qualified person is already on board, the voice command from the outside qualified person via the wireless communication line and the communication unit 130 is not regarded as an instruction, and the instruction contents are notified to the passenger by voice. .

<Example of unmanned automatic lap control based on conditions>
In the present embodiment, at the start of unmanned automatic lap and whether or not the predetermined condition is satisfied during unmanned automatic lap, the unmanned automatic lap is started when the predetermined condition is satisfied, The unmanned automatic lap is continued when the conditions are met.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of processing at the time of unattended automatic lap activation. When the automatic traveling control device 100 starts the unmanned automatic circulation start process in step S10, the automatic travel control apparatus 100 inputs a set value necessary for setting the circulation route in step S11. This set value is, for example, a return position (destination) or the like, and can be set by the user by wireless communication from the outside.

  In the following step S12, the navigation controller 20 calculates a round route. This circuit route is obtained based on the absence time until the user returns to the destination and the remaining fuel. In obtaining the round route, the round route with less traffic congestion may be selected using the traffic jam information distributed from the VICS center or the like. Moreover, since there is a possibility that traffic congestion will occur if the same route is circulated many times, it is preferable to select a circulation route that has a lap number less than a preset lap number.

  If it is determined in step S13 that there is no circuit route that satisfies the condition, the process proceeds to step S14 and the unattended automatic circuit is terminated. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is a circulation route that satisfies the condition, the process proceeds to step S15 to notify the user that unattended automatic circulation is possible.

  In the subsequent step S16, the navigation controller 20 confirms from the map information whether the return position (destination) instructed by the user is a parking prohibition area. If the return position is a parking prohibition area, the process proceeds to step S17. The user is notified that the stop is prohibited, and the unattended automatic lap is terminated. On the other hand, when it is not a parking / parking prohibition area, it moves to step S20 and starts unattended automatic circulation.

  In this way, in the example of FIG. 3, it is confirmed that there is a circulation route that can be circulated without running out of fuel until the user returns, and that the return position (destination) is not a parking and parking prohibited area. It is a condition for starting.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing example 1 during unmanned automatic lap. When the automatic traveling control device 100 starts the unattended automatic lap processing in step S30, the automatic traveling control device 100 checks in step S31 whether there is an update of return (return position or return time) from the user. If there is no return update, the process proceeds to step S32, and the unattended automatic circulation is continued with the current setting (circulation route). On the other hand, if there is a return update, the process proceeds to step S33, and the navigation controller 20 calculates a round route. The calculation of the circulation route is the same as that in step S12 described above.

  In step S34, if it is determined that there is no circuit route that satisfies the condition, the process proceeds to step S35 to notify the user that updating is not possible, and then the process proceeds to step S32 to perform unattended automatic circuit in the current setting (circulation route). continue. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is a round route that satisfies the condition, the navigation controller 20 resets the round route in step S36, and performs unattended automatic round on the updated route in the subsequent step S37.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing example 2 during the unmanned automatic lap. When the automatic traveling control device 100 starts the unmanned automatic circulation process in step S40, in step S41, the automatic traveling control device 100 calculates the possibility of the next circulation from the remaining fuel and the circulation route. In other words, it is calculated whether or not the circulation route can be made another lap without causing the fuel to run out. In step S42, if it is determined that there is a possibility of lap, the process proceeds to step S43 to continue the automatic lap, and if it is determined that there is no possibility of lap, the process proceeds to step S44 and the user gets off the vehicle. Stop at the position. Here, the possibility of lap means that the lap can be made one more time with a probability of almost 100%. By performing the processing of the example of FIG. 5, it is possible to avoid stopping at a place where the vehicle runs out of fuel and adversely affects traffic during the lap. The reason why the user stops at the position where the user gets off is because the position is a position where there is no problem even if the user stops.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing example when the return position (destination) arrives. When starting the return position arrival process in step S50, the automatic travel control device 100 determines in step S51 whether the return position is a parking / parking prohibition position. Whether or not the return position is a parking stop prohibition position can be confirmed in advance from the map information. Therefore, such a return position may not be permitted in advance, but may not be confirmed in advance from the map information or the like. For example, there may be a case where there is an accident around the return position and the lane is restricted. In such a case, the automatic travel control apparatus 100 recognizes whether parking or stopping is prohibited from the captured image of the omnidirectional camera 121a. If the return position is prohibited to park or stop, the process moves to step S52 to notify the user of the fact and moves outside the prohibited area and stops.

  On the other hand, if the return position is not the parking / parking prohibition position, the process proceeds to step S53, and it is determined whether the return position is a parking disabled position. If the return position is a parking disabled position, the process proceeds to step S52. If the return position is not a parking disabled position, the process moves to step S54 and stops at that position. The automatic travel control device 100 continues the stop at the return position until the stop time elapses for a fixed time. When the fixed time elapses, the automatic travel control device 100 moves from step S55 to step S56 to move the vehicle to the garage.

  Thus, in the example of FIG. 6, the return position is a position where parking is permitted, and that the parking time at the return position does not exceed a certain time, This is a stop condition.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, based on the automatic lap execution step for executing the unmanned automatic lap mode in which the lap route including the destination on the route is unattended automatically, and based on a predetermined lap condition, By performing the lap control step for controlling the unmanned automatic lap mode, it is possible to realize an automatic driving control method that can perform unmanned lap driving satisfactorily without adversely affecting traffic.

  Moreover, it has the navigation part 110 which has the map information storage part (data storage unit 12), the GPS receiver 11, and the navigation controller 20, the vehicle outside camera (all-around camera 121a), and a travel control part (travel control ECU123). The unmanned traveling support unit 120 that supports unmanned traveling, and the navigation controller 20 and the traveling control unit (running control ECU 123) execute the unmanned automatic circulating mode in which the unmanned automatic traveling around the circular route including the destination on the route is executed. In addition, by controlling the unmanned automatic lap mode based on a predetermined lap condition, it is possible to realize an automatic travel control device that can perform unmanned lap driving well without adversely affecting traffic.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the activation and continuation of the automatic lap function is restricted in accordance with the parking / stop restriction information acquired from the map information. When the start of the automatic lap is requested, if the stop location is a parking stop prohibited section, the user (driver) is notified to prompt the change of the stop location. Even after starting the automatic lap, the duration and the number of laps of the automatic lap are compared with the limit values.If the limit is exceeded, the user is notified by e-mail or voice call and the registered parking position (basically at home ) To automatically return to). The user can surely return to the car if he / she instructs return to the disembarking position by e-mail or voice call. As described above, in the present embodiment, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of traffic jams and parking violations due to unrestricted lap driving by limiting laps according to predetermined conditions.

  In other words, in the present embodiment, after the start of unmanned automatic lap driving, when the state where the passenger does not get on continues, the lap is determined based on the number of laps or the continuation time of the lap and the remaining amount of fuel. Is determined to move to a garage designated in advance. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the unmanned vehicle from continuing to circulate for a long time or stopping the circulating vehicle in a parking prohibited area due to insufficient fuel.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, the adverse effect on traffic can be further reduced by selecting the circulation route so that the travel time of the congested section is shortened using the parking / stop prohibition information and the VICS information.

  The above-described embodiments are merely examples of implementation in carrying out the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited thereto. That is, the present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from the gist or main features thereof.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is useful as an automatic travel control method and an automatic travel control device for an automobile having an automatic lap traveling function.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 GPS receiver 12 Data storage unit 20 Navigation controller 100 Automatic traveling control apparatus 110 Navigation part 120 Unmanned traveling support part 121 Camera ECU
121a All-around camera 121b In-car camera 123 Travel control ECU
130 Communication unit

Claims (8)

An automatic lap execution step for executing an unmanned automatic lap mode in which the lap route including the destination on the route is unattended automatically.
Based on a predetermined circuit condition, a circuit control step for controlling the unmanned automatic circuit mode,
An automatic travel control method including: The lap control step determines a lap route based on the lap time and the remaining fuel.
The automatic travel control method according to claim 1. The rounding control step does not allow the vehicle to stop at the destination when the destination is a stop prohibited position.
The automatic travel control method according to claim 1. In the lap control step, when the stop at the destination exceeds a predetermined time, the vehicle is controlled to move to another position.
The automatic travel control method according to claim 1. The lap control step determines whether or not it is possible to stop at the lap route and / or the destination based on traffic conditions.
The automatic travel control method according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The rounding control step determines whether or not the vehicle can be stopped at the destination based on the outside image obtained by the outside camera.
The automatic travel control method according to any one of claims 1 to 5. Furthermore, a communication step of communicating the change of the destination, the circulation route and / or the circulation time with an external user,
The automatic travel control method according to any one of claims 1 to 6. A navigation unit having a map information storage unit, a GPS receiver, and a navigation controller;
An unmanned traveling support unit that has an outside camera and a traveling control unit and supports unmanned circuit traveling;
Comprising
The navigation controller and the travel control unit execute an unattended automatic lap mode in which an unattended automatic lap around a route including a destination on a route is performed, and the unmanned automatic lap mode is controlled based on a predetermined lap condition.
Automatic travel control device.

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