JP2018077854A - Automatic driving controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To stop execution of at least one of automatic driving operations when a cancellation requiring event occurs when a vehicle is in a high level automatic mode.SOLUTION: An automatic driving controller mounted on a vehicle comprises a driving mode setting unit and an automatic control unit. The driving mode setting unit sets a driving mode of the vehicle to either one of a high level automatic mode and a basic mode. The automatic control unit automatically executes automatic driving operation, which is a driving operation configured to be automatically executed, when the driving mode is set to the high level automatic mode, and stops at least one of the automatic driving operations under execution in a case where a predetermined cancellation requiring event occurs.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

Cross-reference of related applications

  This international application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-234665 filed with the Japan Patent Office on November 19, 2014, and is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-234665. The entire contents are incorporated by reference into this international application.

  In the present disclosure, at least a part of various driving operations of the driver necessary for driving the vehicle, such as various judgments and operations by the driver, can be automatically performed without requiring the driver's operation. The present invention relates to a possible automatic operation control device.

  Various technologies for realizing automatic driving of vehicles have been proposed and partially put into practical use. Patent Document 1 below discloses an autonomous driving vehicle capable of autonomous driving according to a preset travel plan.

JP 2012-59274 A

  One of the ultimate goals of automated driving technology is considered to be to set the destination so that the occupant can reach the destination without any involvement in traveling. However, the current situation is that the level of reliability is not high enough to achieve this.

  Moreover, it is desirable that the more advanced the automatic driving technology, the more appropriate it is possible to cope with the abnormality of the in-vehicle computer for realizing the automatic driving. Specifically, when adopting automatic driving technology, if necessary, at least a part of the control that is being executed automatically is invalidated and left to the driver's operation or the behavior of the vehicle is forced in a safe direction. It is desirable to be able to control it.

  In one aspect of the present disclosure, in a vehicle capable of automatically executing at least a part of various driving controls necessary for traveling without requiring a driver's operation, at least a part of the control being automatically executed is performed. It is desirable to be able to forcibly stop at an appropriate timing.

An automatic driving control apparatus according to one aspect of the present disclosure is mounted on a vehicle and includes a surrounding information acquisition unit, an operation mode setting unit, an automatic control unit, and a release event determination unit.
The surrounding information acquisition unit acquires surrounding information that is information around the vehicle. More specifically, the surrounding information is information indicating the state of the surroundings of the vehicle, and in order to automatically execute a plurality of types of driving operations necessary for driving the vehicle without requiring a driver's operation. This is necessary information.

  The driving mode setting unit sets the driving mode of the vehicle to either the advanced automation mode or the basic mode. The advanced automation mode is an operation mode in which at least a part of the plurality of types of driving operations necessary for traveling of the vehicle is automatically executed based on surrounding information. The basic mode is an operation mode in which the type of automatic operation that is an operation that is automatically executed is less than or zero in the advanced automation mode.

  The automatic control unit executes the automatic operation set in the operation mode based on the operation mode set by the operation mode setting unit. The release event determining unit determines whether or not a predetermined release event has occurred, at least when the operation mode is the highly automated mode. The release-necessary event is a predetermined event in which at least one of the automatic driving operations set to be executed is to be released (execution stopped).

  When the operation mode is set to at least the advanced automation mode, the automatic control unit is set to execute the automatic operation when it is determined that the required release event has occurred. Stop execution of at least one of

  According to the automatic operation control apparatus configured as described above, it is necessary when the operation mode is set to at least the highly automated mode (that is, when at least one automatic operation is set to be executed). When the release event occurs, at least one of the automatic driving operations that should be originally executed is released from the execution target and is not executed by the automatic control unit.

Therefore, even if a release event that may cause the automatic driving operation to not be performed normally occurs, it is possible to prevent the vehicle from unintentionally becoming unstable.
When the operation mode is set to an operation mode having at least one automatic operation to be executed, the automatic control unit, when it is determined that a necessary release event has occurred, All automatic driving operations to be executed in the operation mode may be stopped. In other words, when a release event is required, the automatic operation by the automatic control unit is not performed. In this way, even if a release event that may cause the automatic driving operation to not be performed normally occurs, it is possible to more reliably prevent the vehicle from unintentionally becoming unstable. Can do.

  Here, a notification unit and a release permission determination unit may be provided. When it is determined by the required release event determining unit that the required release event has occurred, the notification unit notifies the vehicle occupant that the required release event has occurred. The release permission determination unit determines whether a specific release permission operation has been performed by the vehicle occupant after the notification by the notification unit. The automatic control unit may stop the execution of the automatic driving operation whose execution should be stopped when it is determined by the release permission determining unit that the release permission operation has been performed. Then, if the automatic control unit does not determine that the release permission operation has been performed by the release permission determination unit, the automatic control unit performs a predetermined automatic stop process for stopping the traveling of the vehicle. It may be.

  In the automatic driving control device configured as described above, when a release event is required, the automatic driving operation is not unconditionally stopped, but is notified in advance. And when the intention display by the passenger | crew of a vehicle is performed with respect to the alerting | reporting, execution of automatic driving operation is stopped. By doing in this way, it can suppress that the running state of a vehicle becomes unstable by stopping execution of automatic driving operation.

FIG. 1A is a side view of the vehicle of the embodiment, and FIG. 1B is a top view of the vehicle of the embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the electric constitution of the vehicle of 1st Embodiment. FIG. 3A is an explanatory diagram showing the automatic operation level in each operation mode, and FIG. 3B is an explanatory diagram showing that the control content at each automatic operation level may be arbitrarily set. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the outline | summary of automatic driving | operation. It is a flowchart of an automatic driving level setting process. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the automatic driving | operation cancellation | release confirmation process in the automatic driving level setting process of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the system monitoring process in the automatic driving | operation cancellation | release confirmation process of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the inside / outside behavior monitoring process in the automatic driving | operation cancellation | release confirmation process of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the environment monitoring process in the automatic driving | operation cancellation | release confirmation process of FIG. FIG. 10A is a flowchart of the travel history recording process, and FIG. 10B is a flowchart showing details of the self-diagnosis process in the automatic driving release confirmation process of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the electric constitution of the vehicle of 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart of the control state monitoring process of 2nd Embodiment.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.
[First Embodiment]
(1) Configuration of Vehicle 1 FIG. 1A shows a side view of the vehicle 1 of the present embodiment, and FIG. 1B shows a top view of the vehicle 1. However, FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B briefly illustrate the arrangement states of various cameras, radars, sensors, etc. in the vehicle 1 mainly for the purpose of clearly showing the arrangement states.

  As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the vehicle 1 has at least a front camera 2, a rear camera 3, a left side camera 4, a right side camera 5, and an indoor camera as a camera for photographing the inside and outside of the vehicle 1. 6 is provided. Each of the cameras 2 to 6 is a camera capable of shooting color images and moving images. Each of the cameras 2 to 6 may be a monocular camera or a stereo camera that can also acquire information in the depth direction by including a plurality of lenses.

  The front camera 2 is provided so as to face forward on the front end side of the ceiling in the passenger compartment. The front camera 2 can photograph the front of the vehicle 1 in a wide range. The rear camera 3 is provided so as to face rearward on the rear end side of the ceiling in the passenger compartment. The rear camera 3 can shoot the rear of the vehicle 1 in a wide range.

  The left side camera 4 is provided on the left side surface of the vehicle 1 so as to face the left side. The left side camera 4 can shoot the left side of the vehicle 1 in a wide range. The right side camera 5 is provided on the right side surface of the vehicle 1 so as to face the right side. The right side camera 5 can shoot the right side of the vehicle 1 in a wide range.

  The indoor camera 6 is provided so as to face rearward (vehicle interior) on the front end side of the ceiling in the vehicle interior. The indoor camera 6 can photograph at least the upper body of the driver (driver) in the vehicle interior.

  Further, the vehicle 1 includes a front radar device 11, a rear radar device 12, a left side radar device 13, and a right side radar device 14, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. Each of the radar devices 11 to 14 is a millimeter wave radar in this embodiment. As is well known, a millimeter wave radar is based on the relationship between a transmitted wave and each received wave and the relationship between each received wave by transmitting a millimeter wave radio wave and receiving the reflected wave by a plurality of receiving antennas. Thus, the radar is capable of detecting target information related to targets around the vehicle 1. The target information that can be detected by each of the radar devices 11 to 14 includes the presence / absence of the target in the detection direction, the distance to the target, the direction of the target with respect to the vehicle 1, the moving speed of the target (for the vehicle 1). Relative speed).

  Specifically, the front radar device 11 is provided at the front end portion of the vehicle 1 and transmits and receives millimeter waves of a predetermined frequency with respect to the front of the vehicle 1. The front radar apparatus 11 can acquire target information related to a target ahead of the vehicle 1. The rear radar device 12 is provided at the rear end of the vehicle 1 and transmits and receives millimeter waves of a predetermined frequency to the rear of the vehicle 1. The rear radar device 12 can acquire target information regarding a target behind the vehicle 1. The left side radar device 13 is provided on the left side surface of the vehicle 1 and transmits / receives millimeter waves of a predetermined frequency to / from the left side of the vehicle 1. The left side radar device 13 can acquire target information related to the left side target of the vehicle 1. The right side radar device 14 is provided on the right side surface of the vehicle 1 and transmits and receives millimeter waves of a predetermined frequency to the right side of the vehicle 1. The right side radar device 14 can acquire target information regarding the right side target of the vehicle 1.

  Moreover, the vehicle 1 is provided with the solar radiation sensor 16 and the rain sensor 17 as shown to FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B. The solar radiation sensor 16 is installed in the lower part of the front window 9 in front of the passenger compartment. The solar radiation sensor 16 can detect the amount of solar radiation with respect to the vehicle 1 and consequently the brightness around the vehicle 1. The rain sensor 17 is installed in the upper part of the vehicle interior side in the front window 9. This rainfall sensor 17 can detect the presence or absence of rainfall and the amount of rainfall.

(2) Electrical configuration of vehicle 1 The electrical configuration of the vehicle 1 will be specifically described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle 1 includes an automatic driving control device 30. The automatic operation control device 30 mainly has a mode switching function and an automatic operation function. The mode switching function is a function for setting the operation mode of the vehicle 1 to either the highly automated mode or the basic mode. The automatic operation function is a function for executing automatic operation in accordance with the automatic operation level of the set operation mode (see FIG. 3A, details will be described later). As will be described later, the automatic driving control device 30 appropriately switches the driving mode of the vehicle 1 according to various factors such as the traveling state of the vehicle 1, the surrounding state of the vehicle 1, and the state of the driver of the vehicle 1.

  The types of automatic driving of vehicles include partial automatic driving and fully automatic driving. Partially automatic driving is an automatic driving in which a part of various driving operations of a driver necessary for driving a vehicle is automated. In addition, automation here means that it can be performed without requiring a driver's operation. The fully automatic driving is an automatic driving in which traveling to the destination is completely automated without requiring a driver's operation or the like to the set destination. A parameter indicating the type and number of driving operations that are automated in automatic driving is hereinafter referred to as an automatic driving level. Fully automatic operation has a higher level of automatic operation than partially automatic operation. Moreover, even in partially automatic driving, there are various levels depending on the type and number of driving operations to be automated.

  The vehicle 1 of the present embodiment is configured to be capable of fully automatic driving as well as partially automatic driving by the automatic driving control device 30. In the present embodiment, the driver can arbitrarily change the setting of the automatic driving level, that is, which operation among various driving operations necessary for traveling is automated and which operation is performed by the driver.

  More specifically, in this embodiment, the main automatic control functions for realizing fully automatic driving are automatic start / stop control, lane keeping control, inter-vehicle distance control, lane change control, right / left turn control, and collision suppression control. There are 7 types of parking control. The automatic operation control device 30 can execute these seven types of automatic control functions, and a fully automatic operation can be realized by executing all these seven types of automatic control functions.

  Conversely, partial automatic operation is realized by executing any six or less of the seven types of automatic control functions. In the present embodiment, it is possible to arbitrarily set which of the seven types of automatic control functions is executed in the advanced automation mode.

The specific contents of the seven types of automatic control functions will be described in detail later.
The automatic operation level becomes higher as the number of functions to be executed among the seven types of automatic control functions increases. Specifically, the level of automatic driving when none of the seven types of automatic control functions is executed is level 0. The automatic operation level when n types of the seven types of automatic control functions are executed is level n. Therefore, in the level 0 operation mode, it is necessary for the driver to determine and operate the control operation corresponding to the seven types of automatic control functions. On the other hand, the operation modes of level 1 to level 6 are operation modes in which partial automatic operation is performed. Level 7 operation mode is an operation mode in which fully automatic operation is performed.

  In the present embodiment, the advanced automation mode is an operation mode in which automatic operation is performed at an automatic operation level of level 1 or higher. On the other hand, the basic mode is an operation mode in which the automatic operation level is relatively lower than the advanced automation mode. For example, when the advanced automation mode is level n, the basic mode can be set to any of level n-1 to level 0.

  In the present embodiment, for the sake of simplicity of explanation and easy understanding, the basic mode will be described assuming that the automatic driving level is set to level 0. Level 0 is a level at which the driver does not perform all of the seven types of automatic control functions, and the driver needs to perform most of the various driving operations required for traveling.

  The automatic operation control device 30 includes a control unit 30a and a memory 30b. Specifically, the memory 30b includes ROM, RAM, and other various storage media (for example, EEPROM, flash memory). The controller 30a executes various programs stored in the memory 30b, thereby realizing various functions including the mode switching function and the automatic driving function described above. The control unit 30a includes at least a CPU.

  The various programs stored in the memory 30b include programs (so-called security software) that can detect unauthorized operations from outside, computer viruses, unauthorized software and data (hereinafter collectively referred to as “illegal factors”). )It is included. The control unit 30a monitors the presence / absence of fraud factors at any time by making this security software resident during activation. And when a fraud factor occurs, various fraud countermeasure processing is executed. The fraud handling process includes a process for forcibly setting the automatic driving level to level 0 and not operating the automatic control function at all. In addition, various specific contents of the fraud countermeasure processing are conceivable. For example, a warning by voice or the like may be output to the driver, or the vehicle 1 may be forcibly decelerated or stopped. Further, the connection between the control unit 30a and each of the communication units 31 to 35 may be physically cut off so that the automatic operation control device 30 cannot be accessed from the outside via wireless communication.

  The automatic operation control device 30 is connected to the cameras 2 to 6, the radar devices 11 to 14, and the sensors 21 to 23 shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. The control unit 30a of the automatic driving control device 30 individually controls the operations of the cameras 2 to 6, acquires the shooting results (image data) from the cameras 2 to 6, and stores them in the memory 30b. Image data acquisition and storage are repeated at predetermined time intervals.

  The control unit 30a can recognize various situations inside and outside the vehicle based on the image data of the cameras 2 to 6. For example, from the image data of the indoor camera 6, it is possible to recognize the operation, facial expression, line of sight, eye state, etc. of the occupant (mainly the driver).

  Thereby, the control unit 30a can determine whether or not the driver exhibits an abnormal behavior based on the image data of the indoor camera 6. The abnormal behavior of the driver here means that the driver himself may not be able to operate the vehicle 1 normally, and that he / she feels uneasy about the operation of the vehicle 1 because the automatic driving function is not operating normally. It means that it is in one of the states. Specific examples of the former include being overlooked, asleep, or fainting. A specific example of the latter is that the driver is surprised, worried, and terrified.

  In addition, the control unit 30a determines whether the vehicle ahead, the oncoming vehicle, the vehicle in the adjacent lane running diagonally forward, the lane marking, the pedestrian crossing, the pedestrian, the intersection, or the intersection based on the image data of the front camera 2. Various images of the approach of other vehicles on the road, the contents of road signs and traffic lights, signs, etc. in the direction of travel, rain conditions, snow conditions, fog conditions, ambient brightness, and other objects around the vehicle It can be recognized by the recognition process. Recognizable road signs include characters and marks drawn on the road surface.

  Thereby, based on the image data of the front camera 2, the control unit 30a can recognize the pedestrian behavior, the pedestrian behavior and line of sight, the presence or absence of passing from the oncoming vehicle, the weather condition, and the like. More specifically, as the weather condition, it is possible to recognize that rain or snow is falling in a predetermined amount or more, or that fog is generated. It can be recognized from the behavior of the pedestrian whether or not the pedestrian feels anxiety about the vehicle 1. More specifically, when the pedestrian is looking at the vehicle 1 and the expression expresses a specific emotion such as surprise, anxiety, or fear, it can be determined that the vehicle 1 feels anxiety. . In addition, when a predetermined number or more of pedestrians' eyes are directed toward the vehicle 1, it can be recognized that the vehicle 1 may not be operating normally.

  Further, the control unit 30a recognizes the distance and relative speed with the preceding vehicle based on the image data of the front camera 2, recognizes the traveling state of the vehicle with respect to the traveling path, and displays the contents of the road signs and signs. Can be recognized. Therefore, based on the recognition result of the contents of the road sign or the signboard, it is possible to recognize various kinds of sign information such as the speed limit, whether or not it is necessary to stop temporarily, and whether or not parking is possible. Further, for example, it can be recognized that the accident is a frequent accident zone, school zone, or other specific environment (for example, an area where animals frequently appear).

  Further, the control unit 30a, based on the image data of the rear camera 3, is a rear vehicle, a vehicle in an adjacent lane that is traveling diagonally backward, ambient brightness, a pedestrian, a sign drawn on the road surface of the road Information and other objects around the vehicle can be recognized by various image recognition processes.

  Accordingly, the control unit 30a can recognize, for example, the relative distance and relative speed between the host vehicle and the rear vehicle and the presence or absence of passing from the rear vehicle based on the image data of the rear camera 3. Further, similar to the image data of the front camera 2, the image data of the rear camera 3 can recognize the pedestrian's behavior, the pedestrian's behavior, line of sight, weather conditions, and the like.

  Further, the control unit 30a is configured based on the image data of the left side camera 4 and the right side camera 5, and includes a vehicle on the side of the own vehicle (including left front, left rear, right front, and right rear vehicles), the vehicle traveling road side. Road signs, lane markings, pedestrians, ambient brightness, and other objects around the vehicle can be recognized by various image recognition processes.

  Thereby, the control part 30a can recognize the relative distance and relative speed of the own vehicle and a side vehicle based on the image data of each side camera 4 and 5, for example. Further, similarly to the image data of the front camera 2, the pedestrian behavior, the pedestrian behavior, the line of sight, the weather condition, and the like can be recognized from the image data of the side cameras 4 and 5.

  The control unit 30a of the automatic driving control device 30 individually controls the radar devices 11 to 14, acquires target detection results from the radar devices 11 to 14, and stores them in the memory 30b. Acquisition and storage of detection results from the radar apparatuses 11 to 14 are repeatedly performed at predetermined intervals. The control unit 30a calculates and acquires the presence / absence of the target, the distance to the target, the direction of the target, the relative speed of the target viewed from the vehicle 1, and the like based on the detection results of the radar devices 11 to 14. be able to.

  In addition, from the detection result of the front radar apparatus 11, information on a target in front of the vehicle (including diagonally forward left and right) can be mainly acquired. From the detection result of the rear radar device 12, it is possible to mainly acquire information on a target behind the vehicle (including diagonally rearward left and right). From the detection result of the left-side radar device 13, it is possible to mainly acquire information on the target on the left side of the vehicle (including the front left and rear left). From the detection result of the right-side radar device 14, it is possible to mainly acquire information on the target on the right side of the vehicle (including the front right and rear right).

  Further, the control unit 30a of the automatic operation control device 30 determines the brightness of the driving environment based on the detection signal from the solar radiation sensor 16, and the brightness of the night or similar situation (hereinafter simply referred to as “night”). Judgment can be made. The vehicle 1 includes a headlight (not shown). The headlight can be turned on and off by the driver's operation, and the light mode can be automatically turned on and off by setting the light mode to the auto mode. When the light mode is set to the auto mode, the control unit 30a automatically turns on the headlight when it is determined that it is night based on the detection signal from the solar radiation sensor 16, and when it is not night Turn off the headlight automatically. In the present embodiment, when the operation mode is set to the highly automated mode, the light mode is forcibly set to the auto mode.

Further, the control unit 30 a of the automatic operation control device 30 can determine the presence or absence of rainfall and the amount of rainfall based on the detection signal from the rain sensor 17.
In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle 1 includes, as components connected to the automatic driving control device 30, a wheel speed sensor 18, a current sensor 19, a steering amount sensor 20, an in-vehicle contact sensor 21, and an engine room temperature sensor 22. The engine room sound sensor 23, the tire pressure sensor 24, the suspension sensor 25, the vehicle exterior sound sensor 26, and the impact sensor 27 are provided.

  The wheel speed sensor 18 is provided on each of the four wheels on the front, rear, left, and right of the vehicle 1 and outputs a detection signal (wheel speed signal) indicating the rotation speed of the corresponding wheel. The wheel speed signal from each wheel speed sensor 18 is input to the automatic operation control device 30.

  The controller 30a can detect the rotational speed of each wheel based on the wheel speed signal from each wheel speed sensor 18. From the detection result, for example, it can be detected whether or not slip has occurred.

  The current sensor 19 is provided for each of one or a plurality of electrical wirings provided in the vehicle 1 and outputs a detection signal (current detection signal) indicating a current flowing through the electrical wiring. A current detection signal from the current sensor 19 is input to the automatic operation control device 30.

  Based on the current detection signal from the current sensor 19, the control unit 30a can detect the current of the corresponding electrical wiring. From the detection result, for example, it can be detected whether or not an overcurrent is flowing in a specific electrical wiring. The overcurrent here is a large current that theoretically does not flow when the vehicle 1 is operating normally. For example, a large current or a surge current that may be caused by a lightning strike may be considered.

  The current sensor 19 may be provided on the vehicle body of the vehicle 1 so that the current flowing through the vehicle body can be detected. By doing so, it is possible to detect a large current flowing through the vehicle 1 to the ground when a lightning strike occurs in the vehicle 1. Where and how the current sensor 19 is installed may be determined as appropriate so that it can be detected that a lightning strike has occurred in the vehicle 1.

  The steering amount sensor 20 is provided to detect the steering amount of the steered wheel directly or indirectly. The steering amount sensor 20 may be provided, for example, on a column shaft that connects the steering wheel 10 (see FIGS. 1A and 1B) and the steering mechanism. However, the vehicle 1 of this embodiment includes an electric power steering device that can control the steering of the steered wheels by a motor, and the rotation for detecting the rotational position (and thus the steering state) of the motor for steering control. It has a sensor. Therefore, the steering amount sensor 20 may not be provided alone, and the rotation sensor may be used as the steering amount sensor 20. That is, the specific configuration and installation location of the steering amount sensor 20 may be determined as appropriate so that the steering amount can be detected.

  The control unit 30a can detect the steering amount of the steered wheel based on the detection signal from the steering amount sensor 20. From the detection result, for example, the change state or change rate of the steering amount can be detected. Accordingly, when the driving level is set such that steering is automatically performed (that is, when the driving level is set such that at least one of the lane keeping control, the lane change control, and the right / left turn control is executed). ), It is possible to determine whether or not the automatic steering control is appropriately performed. Specifically, for example, when the rate of change of the steering amount is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (that is, when the rate of change is excessive), it can be determined that automatic steering control is not being performed normally. Or if you are not driving along the lane (for example, the lane markings are protruding), or if you are going straight to the right or left turn I can judge.

  The in-vehicle contact sensor 21 is a sensor for detecting that an occupant of the vehicle 1 has touched a specific part in the vehicle, and is provided in the specific part (hereinafter also referred to as “in-vehicle specific contact part”). The specific contact part in the vehicle can be determined as appropriate. For example, a specific part in the driver's seat, the handle 10 or the vicinity thereof, and the like can be considered.

  As will be described later, the in-vehicle contact sensor 21 allows the driver to quickly (urgently) cancel automatic driving when the automatic driving level of the vehicle 1 is set to level 1 or higher. Is provided. That is, when the driver wants to cancel the automatic driving for some reason when the automatic driving level is level 1 or higher, the automatic driving is forcibly canceled if the driver touches the specific contact portion in the vehicle. Therefore, the specific configuration and installation location of the in-vehicle contact sensor 21 may be appropriately determined so that it can be detected that the driver has touched the specific in-vehicle contact portion.

  Note that “cancellation” for automatic operation means that the automatic operation level is set to level 0 in this embodiment. However, that is just an example. For example, stopping at least one of the currently executed automatic control functions may be defined as “cancellation” of automatic driving. For example, when an automatic control function is in operation and the driver feels that the automatic control function may not be operating normally and touches a specific contact area in the vehicle, at least one or more of the automatic control function is included. Forcibly stopping a plurality of automatic control functions may be defined as “cancellation” of automatic operation.

  The engine room temperature sensor 22 is provided in a predetermined part in the engine room of the vehicle 1 or in the vicinity of the engine room, and outputs a detection signal corresponding to the temperature of the engine room. The controller 30a can detect the temperature of the engine room based on the detection signal from the engine room temperature sensor 22. If the detected temperature of the engine room is excessive (for example, when the temperature is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature threshold), it can be determined that some abnormality has occurred in the engine or its surroundings.

  The engine room sound sensor 23 is provided in a predetermined part in the engine room of the vehicle 1 or in the vicinity of the engine room mainly for the purpose of detecting sound generated in the engine room, and according to the volume around the installation part. The detected signal is output. The control unit 30a can detect the sound generated in the engine room based on the detection signal from the engine room sound sensor 23. When the detected sound in the engine room is excessive (for example, when the sound volume is equal to or higher than a predetermined volume threshold), it can be determined that some abnormality has occurred in the engine or its surroundings.

  The tire pressure sensors 24 are respectively provided on the four wheels on the front, rear, left, and right of the vehicle 1 and output detection signals (pneumatic signals) indicating the tire pressure of the corresponding wheels. An air pressure signal from each tire pressure sensor 24 is input to the automatic operation control device 30.

  The control unit 30 a can detect the tire air pressure of each wheel based on the air pressure signal from each tire air pressure sensor 24. From the detection result, for example, it can be detected whether or not an abnormality (for example, puncture) has occurred in any of the tires.

  The suspension sensor 25 outputs a detection signal indicating the amount of expansion / contraction of the suspension of the vehicle 1 (for example, the amount of expansion / contraction of a shock absorber or a spring). The controller 30a can detect the behavior of the vehicle 1 (mainly the behavior in the vertical direction) based on the detection signal from the suspension sensor 25. When the automatic driving level of the vehicle 1 is set to level 1 or higher, if the automatic control function to be executed is not operating normally, the behavior of the vehicle 1 may become unstable. For example, unstable behavior such as sudden start, sudden stop, and sudden turn may occur automatically. Such unstable behavior appears as suspension behavior. Therefore, the control unit 30a can determine the stability of the behavior of the vehicle 1 based on the detection signal from the suspension sensor 25 (that is, based on the amount of expansion / contraction of the suspension itself or the rate of change thereof). If it is in operation, it can be determined whether the automatic control function is operating normally.

  The vehicle exterior sound sensor 26 is provided mainly for the purpose of detecting sounds generated around the vehicle 1. The control unit 30 a can detect the type and volume of sound generated around the vehicle 1 based on the detection signal from the vehicle exterior sound sensor 26. For example, when another vehicle is ringing a horn, this can be detected.

  When an impact is applied to the vehicle 1 from the outside of the vehicle 1, the impact sensor 27 outputs a detection signal corresponding to the level of the impact. Based on the detection signal from the impact sensor 27, the control unit 30 a can detect the presence or level of an external impact on the vehicle 1. The impact to be detected by the impact sensor 27 is relatively large, such as an impact generated when a person outside the vehicle 1 hits the vehicle 1 from a relatively large level impact such as a collision with another vehicle or a road structure. Includes a wide range of impact levels, up to low impact levels.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle 1 includes, as components connected to the automatic driving control device 30, a GPS communication unit 31, an inter-vehicle communication unit 32, an inter-vehicle communication unit 33, an inter-vehicle communication unit 34, and An LTE communication unit 35 is provided.

  The GPS communication unit 31 receives radio waves from a plurality of GPS (Global Positioning System) satellites and outputs information (GPS information) included in the received radio waves to the automatic operation control device 30. The control unit 30 a of the automatic driving control device 30 can calculate the current position of the vehicle 1 based on the information received by the GPS communication unit 31.

  In addition, the automatic driving control device 30 includes a route guidance function that is one of various element functions for realizing the automatic driving function. The route guidance function calculates an appropriate route from the current position to the destination based on the current position of the vehicle 1 calculated based on the GPS information and the destination set by the driver. It is a function which carries out guidance control of the vehicle 1 so that it may drive | work to a destination along.

  The route guidance function includes a function for recognizing the road conditions around the vehicle 1 (for example, the shape of the route to the destination, the vehicle width, etc.), the presence / absence of the infrastructure in the traveling direction, and the operating state (for example, the traffic light in the traveling direction Status, presence / absence of intersection, presence / absence of pedestrian crossing, speed limit, regulation information, etc.). The control unit 30a also implements the guidance control using these various recognition results.

  The content of the guidance control of the vehicle 1 in the route guidance function varies depending on the automatic driving level. For example, the guidance control in the case where the automatic driving level is set to the level 7 of fully automatic driving corresponds to a plurality of types of automatic control functions (seven types as described above in the present embodiment) for realizing fully automatic driving. , Providing route information (information on which direction and route the vehicle should travel) necessary for execution of the automatic control function. In addition, for example, the guidance control when the automatic driving level is set to predetermined levels 1 to 6 (partially automatic driving) lower than the fully automatic driving is set to partially automatic driving among a plurality of types of automatic control functions. It is to provide route information for the necessary automatic control function and to guide the driving route (for example, voice guidance) to the driver as necessary.

  When the automatic driving level is set to any one of levels 1 to 6, that is, when one or more of the seven types of automatic control functions are set to be executed, the control unit 30a performs the guidance control. At least, information necessary for the set automatic control function is provided.

  Map data and other various data necessary for the route guidance function are stored in the memory 30b. The control unit 30a implements a route guidance function (that is, the above guidance control) by executing a route guidance function program stored in the memory 30b while referring to these various data.

  The inter-vehicle communication unit 32 is a communication module for transmitting and receiving various data wirelessly with other vehicles other than the host vehicle. The control unit 30a of the automatic driving control device 30 can acquire information (for example, traveling direction, traveling speed, position, etc.) of other surrounding vehicles via the inter-vehicle communication unit 32. On the contrary, the information of the own vehicle 1 can also be transmitted to another vehicle.

  The control unit 30a can also know the relative relationship between the host vehicle and the other vehicle amount by acquiring the position and running state of the other vehicle through inter-vehicle communication. For example, the relative distance or relative speed between the host vehicle and another vehicle can be detected.

  In addition, as information that can be transmitted and received by inter-vehicle communication, there is information related to a driving mode. The control unit 30a can also send and receive information indicating whether the operation mode is set to the advanced automation mode or the basic mode and what level is the automatic operation level in the set operation mode.

  The road-to-vehicle communication unit 33 is a communication module for receiving various information wirelessly transmitted from a road communication device 81 (see FIG. 4) provided on the road (on the ground side). Various information received by the road-to-vehicle communication unit 33 is input to the automatic driving control device 30.

  The road communicator 81 is connected to a server (not shown), receives various information from the server, and wirelessly transmits the information within a predetermined area. The server collects various types of road traffic information such as various infrastructure information (for example, traffic signal information, road regulation information, and other information related to travel routes) and presence information on other vehicles and pedestrians. The The server transmits, for each road communicator 81, individual road information related to the road communicator 81 based on the aggregated road traffic information. The individual road information is information for a vehicle that is traveling in the communication area of the road communicator 81, and includes various road traffic information in the communication area and ahead of the area (running direction side). ) Various types of traffic information. Each road communicator 81 wirelessly transmits the individual road information transmitted from the server within a predetermined communication area.

  The control unit 30a of the automatic driving control device 30 can acquire various road traffic information related to the road around the host vehicle and the traveling direction via the road-to-vehicle communication unit 33. Information that can be acquired by the control unit 30a via the road-to-vehicle communication unit 33 includes driving sections that require attention for driving, such as accident-prone areas, school zones, and animal-infested areas (hereinafter referred to as “critical sections”). Section information) is also included. The control unit 30a determines whether or not the vehicle 1 is traveling in the section requiring attention indicated by the section information by the linkage between the acquired section information and the route guidance function, and how long the vehicle 1 travels before entering the section requiring attention. Thus, the relative relationship between the section requiring attention and the vehicle 1 can be recognized. As section information, you may enable it to acquire information about other sections or points other than a section requiring attention.

  Each road communicator 81 illustrated in FIG. 4 is equipped with a camera 82. Each camera 82 photographs the road side and transmits the photographed data to the server via the network.

  The server can acquire road traffic information around the camera from the shooting data transmitted from each camera 82. Specifically, the server can recognize the shape of the road, the lane, and the state of the traffic light from the captured data. The server can also recognize the traveling state and number of the traveling vehicle. The server can also determine whether the vehicle in the shooting data is running normally based on the shooting data. For example, if the traffic light is red and the vehicle passes without stopping, it can be determined that the vehicle is not running normally.

  In addition, various types of information regarding the state of the vehicle 1 can be transmitted from the vehicle 1 via the road-to-vehicle communication unit 33. The transmission information transmitted from the vehicle 1 is received by the road communicator 81 and collected in the server. The server can individually recognize and manage the states of a plurality of vehicles including the vehicle 1, and can notify a specific vehicle of the states of vehicles other than the vehicle as necessary. Therefore, for example, it is possible to know information such as what level the automatic driving level is set in other vehicles around the host vehicle, that is, how much the automatic control function is operating in other surrounding vehicles.

  The inter-pedestrian communication unit 34 is a communication module for performing wireless communication with a communication terminal (for example, a mobile phone or a smartphone) possessed by a pedestrian on the ground side. When the communication terminal possessed by the pedestrian is configured to be able to wirelessly transmit terminal position information indicating the position of the communication terminal (that is, the position of the pedestrian), the terminal position information transmitted from the communication terminal Can be received by the inter-pedestrian communication unit 34. The terminal position information received by the inter-pedestrian communication unit 34 is input to the automatic driving control device 30. The automatic driving control device 30 notifies the pedestrian of the position information of the vehicle 1 by wirelessly transmitting various information such as the position information of the vehicle 1 from the inter-pedestrian communication unit 34 to the communication terminal of the pedestrian. You can also.

  The control unit 30a of the automatic driving control device 30 can know the position and movement of the pedestrian based on the terminal position information received via the inter-vehicle communication unit 34. The presence / absence and movement of pedestrians can also be detected by the cameras and radar devices described above, but in addition, the presence / absence of pedestrians and pop-up of pedestrians are also obtained from information obtained via the inter-pedestrian communication unit 34. Can be detected.

  The LTE communication unit 35 is a communication module for realizing wireless communication based on LTE, which is a well-known mobile phone communication standard. The control unit 30a acquires various information necessary for automatic driving of the vehicle 1 or updates existing information (for example, update of map data) via the LTE communication unit 35 (that is, by LTE wireless communication). be able to. In addition, it is not essential to perform acquisition and update of such various information by LTE wireless communication, and may be performed using other wireless communication.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle 1 includes, as components connected to the automatic driving control device 30, an operation unit 36, a display unit 37, a speaker 38, an automatic driving switch 41, and a level setting operation unit. 42, an emergency stop lever 43, and a release reset switch 44.

  The operation unit 36 is an input interface for accepting various input operations on the vehicle 1 by an occupant of the vehicle 1 including a driver. The display unit 37 is an output interface for visually providing various information to the occupant of the vehicle 1 including the driver. Various types of information including map information in the route guidance function are also displayed on the display unit 37. The speaker 38 outputs sound based on various sound signals output from the automatic driving control device 30.

  The automatic operation switch 41 is a switch for setting the operation mode of the vehicle 1 to an advanced automation mode. The driver of the vehicle 1 needs to switch the automatic driving switch 41 to the ON side in order to set the driving mode to the highly automated mode and execute the automatic driving. On the other hand, when the automatic operation switch 41 is switched to the OFF side, the operation mode is set to the basic mode.

  The emergency stop lever 43 is an operating means for forcibly releasing the automatic driving when the automatic driving level of the vehicle 1 is level 1 or higher (that is, forcibly switching the automatic driving level to level 0). It is provided in a predetermined part (for example, the top). If the emergency stop lever 43 is operated when the automatic driving level of the vehicle 1 is set to level 1 or higher, the automatic driving is forcibly released. When the driver recognizes that an unauthorized cause such as a computer virus or unauthorized operation has occurred, or when the driver recognizes that the automatic control function is not operating normally, the driver can operate the emergency stop lever 43. The vehicle 1 can be driven by the driver's own driving operation by forcibly canceling the automatic driving.

The level setting operation unit 42 is a user interface for accepting an operation of setting an automatic driving level (details will be described later) by the driver.
The release reset switch 44 is a switch for resetting the release state after the automatic operation is forcibly released and the automatic operation level is forcibly set to level 0. In this embodiment, as described later, when the automatic driving level is set to level 1 or higher, automatic driving is forcibly canceled when a predetermined cancellation event that should cancel automatic driving occurs. Is done. Specifically, an automatic driving release flag to be described later is set.

  When the automatic operation is forcibly released, the released state is maintained in principle (the automatic operation release flag is set). By pressing the release reset switch 44, the release state is changed. It can be reset (automatic operation release flag is reset). When the release state is reset, the operation mode is set to a mode corresponding to the operation state of the automatic operation switch, and the automatic operation level is set according to the set operation mode (level setting operation unit 42). Level).

  The vehicle 1 includes a travel drive control unit 46, a brake control unit 47, and a steering control unit 48 as components connected to the automatic driving control device 30, as shown in FIG.

  The travel drive control unit 46 controls an engine and a transmission (not shown) based on various information such as a depression amount of an accelerator pedal (not shown), an operation position of a shift lever (not shown), a vehicle speed, and an engine speed. Thus, the traveling of the vehicle 1 is controlled.

  On the other hand, when the automatic driving level is set to level 1 or higher, that is, when any of the above seven types of automatic control functions is executed, the automatic driving control device 30 realizes the automatic control function to be executed. The control information necessary for this is output to the travel drive control unit 46. In this case, the traveling drive control unit 46 automatically controls the engine and the transmission according to the control information from the automatic driving control device 30 even when the accelerator pedal is not depressed. The vehicle 1 according to the present embodiment includes an engine as a driving source for traveling. However, the automatic driving control device according to the present disclosure is provided for a vehicle including a driving source other than the engine (for example, an electric motor). Even applicable. In that case, the travel drive control unit 46 shown in FIG. 2 has a function of controlling the travel drive source of the vehicle. Further, when a driving source other than the engine is provided, the engine room temperature sensor 22 and the engine room sound sensor 23 described above are for the purpose of detecting the driving source or the surrounding temperature and sound, respectively. You may make it install.

  The brake control unit 47 controls a brake device (not shown) based on the depression amount of a brake pedal (not shown). On the other hand, when the automatic driving level is set to level 1 or higher, that is, when any of the above seven types of automatic control functions is executed, the automatic driving control device 30 realizes the automatic control function to be executed. The control information necessary for this is output to the travel drive control unit 46. In this case, the brake control unit 47 automatically controls the brake device according to the control information from the automatic operation control device 30 even when the brake pedal is not depressed.

  The steering control unit 48 mainly has two functions. One is a so-called electric power steering function. That is, the operation of the handle 10 by the driver is assisted by the motor. The other is an automatic steering function that automatically steers a steered wheel (for example, a front wheel) of the vehicle 1 without requiring a driver's operation. Steering wheels are steered basically by the driver operating the steering wheel 10, but at least one of the above seven types of automatic control functions except automatic start / stop control and inter-vehicle distance control is executed. In this case, the steering control unit 48 automatically controls the steering of the steered wheels by controlling the motor according to the control information from the automatic driving control device 30 even when the driver does not operate the steering wheel 10. .

(3) Description of Automatic Driving Function In the vehicle 1 of the present embodiment, the automatic driving control device 30 can acquire and detect various information necessary for realizing the above-described automatic driving function.

  As information that can be used to realize the automatic driving function, there is information (vehicle information) such as the position and speed of the vehicle. The own vehicle position can be obtained by calculation based on GPS information. The own vehicle speed can be obtained by calculation based on a vehicle speed signal from a vehicle speed sensor (not shown), a detection signal from the steering amount sensor 20, a yaw rate signal from a yaw rate sensor (not shown), and the like. The own vehicle speed can also be calculated from the rate of change of the own vehicle position.

  Information that can be used to realize the automatic driving function includes information on surrounding objects. Specifically, around the vehicle, such as front vehicles, rear vehicles, side vehicles, oncoming vehicles, vehicles crossing the intersection at the destination, pedestrians, bicycles, buildings on the road, fixed installations, obstacles, etc. This is information on the relative position, distance, and speed of the various objects (including people and animals) with respect to the vehicle.

  Information about these surrounding objects can be acquired based on the imaging data of the cameras 2 to 5 and the detection results of the radar devices 11 to 14. Various techniques for recognizing surrounding objects based on imaging data and the detection result of the radar apparatus have been proposed and put into practical use, and will not be described here.

  Information about surrounding objects can also be obtained by inter-vehicle communication, road-to-vehicle communication, and inter-vehicle communication. For example, by performing inter-vehicle communication with surrounding vehicles, it is possible to recognize not only the surrounding vehicles that can be seen from the own vehicle, but also the positions and movements of surrounding vehicles that are in a blind spot and cannot be seen directly from the own vehicle. . In road-to-vehicle communication, as described above, it is possible to acquire presence information of surrounding vehicles and pedestrians. In the inter-walk communication, as described above, the position and movement of the pedestrian can be known based on the terminal position information received via the inter-vehicle communication unit 34.

  By one or more of inter-vehicle communication, road-to-vehicle communication, and inter-vehicle communication, for example, to acquire oncoming vehicle information during normal driving (especially in a curve) or right turn to suppress a frontal collision with an oncoming vehicle, In order to prevent the motorcycle from getting involved when making a left turn, acquire information on the left and rear motorcycles, acquire information on the side (rear side) vehicle when changing lanes, and move forward to prevent rear-end collisions or suppress rear-end collisions. Acquire vehicle information, acquire information on other vehicles traveling on the intersection to prevent encounter collisions at intersections, acquire information on pedestrians, etc. to suppress collisions with pedestrians, etc. Can be.

  Information that can be used to realize the automatic driving function includes information on various road displays drawn directly on the road, such as lane line (including parking line), pedestrian crossing, and temporary stop line. Information on the road display includes the position and content of the road display. Information on these road displays can be acquired based on the photographing data of the cameras 2 to 6. Various techniques for recognizing road displays from photographic data have been proposed and put to practical use, and the description thereof is omitted here.

  Information on the road display in the traveling direction can also be acquired by road-to-vehicle communication. In addition, although the vehicle 1 of this embodiment is not provided, it is also possible to acquire the information regarding various road displays using a laser radar.

  Information that can be used to realize the automatic driving function includes information on traffic lights, railroad crossings, signs (including signboards), intersections, junctions / divergence points, sidewalks, obstacles, dangerous parts, and other ground structures (hereinafter “ And "infrastructure related information"). Infrastructure-related information includes the presence and location of the various objects described above, color information for traffic lights, operating status for railroad crossings, display content for signs and signs, etc. . Infrastructure-related information can also be recognized and acquired based on the shooting data of each camera 2-6, and can also be acquired by road-to-vehicle communication. Various infrastructure information can also be acquired from the route guidance function described above based on GPS information and map data.

  Information that can be used to realize the automatic driving function includes regulatory information. For example, when travel regulation due to construction, accidents, natural disasters, or the like is performed in the traveling direction, the regulation information can be acquired by road-to-vehicle communication.

  Various information necessary for realizing the automatic driving function (in the present embodiment, realizing the seven types of automatic control functions described above) such as the information on the surrounding objects, the information on the road display, the infrastructure-related information, and the regulation information. Among these, the information regarding the surroundings of the vehicle 1 in particular corresponds to an example of the surrounding information of the present disclosure.

  The automatic operation control device 30 acquires the above-described various information and automatically controls the travel drive control unit 46, the brake control unit 47, the steering control unit 48, and other necessary in-vehicle devices based on the information. Driving can be realized. Specifically, the seven types of automatic control functions described above can be executed. As described above, the seven types of automatic control functions in this embodiment are automatic start / stop control, lane keeping control, inter-vehicle distance control, lane change control, right / left turn control, collision suppression control, and parking control.

  The automatic start / stop control is a control in which the vehicle 1 is automatically stopped when the condition to be stopped is satisfied during traveling, and the vehicle 1 is automatically started when the condition to be stopped is canceled after the stop. is there. This control is performed using information related to surrounding objects obtained from the cameras 2 to 5 and the radar sensors 11 to 14, infrastructure-related information and regulation information obtained by road-to-vehicle communication, in addition to the vehicle information. With this automatic start / stop control, for example, if the traffic light is blue at an intersection, the vehicle will run as it is and if it is red or yellow, it will stop. Control is performed such as stopping when it is recognized, or stopping once when the circuit breaker is not descended and then starting again. In addition, when an obstacle or the like is recognized ahead, it is automatically stopped.

  Lane maintaining control is control configured to automatically steer the steered wheels so that the vehicle travels along the lane without departing from the lane marking. This control is performed in cooperation with the route guidance function by using information on the road display (particularly the vehicle division line) obtained from the cameras 2 to 5 and the radar sensors 11 to 14 in addition to the vehicle information.

  The inter-vehicle distance control controls the speed so that the inter-vehicle distance from the other vehicle is kept constant when another vehicle is traveling in front of the host vehicle, and at the set vehicle speed when there is no other vehicle ahead. The control is to run. This control is performed mainly using information related to surrounding objects (particularly front vehicles) obtained from the cameras 2 to 5 and the radar sensors 11 to 14 in addition to the vehicle information.

  Lane change control detects other vehicles in the adjacent lane of the change destination when lane change (steering for lane change) is necessary, and other vehicles according to the presence, position, speed, etc. of other vehicles This is a control for automatically changing the lane while controlling the driving force, the braking force and the steering so as not to collide with the vehicle. This control is obtained not only by the own vehicle information but also by information on surrounding objects (especially other vehicles in the adjacent lane) obtained from the cameras 2-5 and the radar sensors 11-14, information on the vehicle lane markings, and inter-vehicle communication. This is performed using information on other vehicles (traveling vehicles in adjacent lanes).

  Right / left turn control is a control that automatically makes a right or left turn without colliding with an oncoming vehicle, a vehicle traveling on an intersection, other vehicles around the vehicle, or a pedestrian when a right or left turn is required. It is. In addition to the own vehicle information, this control includes information on surrounding objects obtained from the cameras 2 to 5 and the radar sensors 11 to 14, information on other vehicles obtained by inter-vehicle communication, pedestrians obtained by inter-vehicle communication, etc. This is done using the information.

  The collision suppression control is control for automatically steering or braking / stopping the vehicle so as not to collide with the obstacle when there is an obstacle on the road in the vehicle traveling direction. This is performed using information on surrounding objects obtained from the cameras 2 to 5 and the radar sensors 11 to 14, infrastructure-related information and regulation information obtained by road-to-vehicle communication.

  When a specific target parking position (for example, in a parking area of a specific parking lot) is set as a destination, parking control calculates a travel locus to the target parking position and drives the vehicle along the travel locus. This is a control to automatically park by controlling the force, braking force and steering.

  A driver or the like can arbitrarily set which of the seven types of control functions is executed, that is, the automatic driving level. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3A, the automatic operation level can be arbitrarily set in both the advanced automation mode and the basic mode. However, in the basic mode, level 7 cannot be set, and any of level 0 to level 6 can be set. On the other hand, in the advanced automation mode, level 0 cannot be set, and any of level 1 to level 7 can be set. Furthermore, the level of the basic mode can be set within a range of levels lower than the level of the advanced automation mode. In other words, the level of the advanced automation mode can be set within a range of levels higher than the level of the basic mode.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3A, at level 1, control A (for example, lane keeping control) is executed. At level 2, in addition to control A, control B (for example, inter-vehicle distance control) is executed. At level 3, in addition to controls A and B, control C (for example, automatic start / stop control) is executed. At level 4, in addition to controls A, B, and C, control D (for example, collision suppression control) is executed. At level 5, in addition to the controls A, B, C, D, control E (for example, lane change control) is executed. At level 6, in addition to the controls A, B, C, D, E, the control F (for example, right / left turn control) is executed. At level 7, in addition to controls A, B, C, D, E, and F, control G (for example, parking control) is executed. That is, the higher the level is, the more types of automatic control functions are executed, and level 7 is fully automatic operation.

  Level setting for each operation mode can be performed by operating the level setting operation unit 42 provided in the vicinity of the driver's seat individually for each operation mode. In the present embodiment, the automatic driving level in the basic mode is set to level 0 by default, and the automatic driving level in the advanced automation mode is set to level 1 by default. And the automatic operation level currently set can be arbitrarily set and changed for each operation mode. For example, when the basic mode is set to level 0, the advanced automation mode can be arbitrarily changed between levels 1-7. For example, when the basic mode is set to level 1, the advanced automation mode can be arbitrarily changed between levels 2-7. Further, for example, when the advanced automation mode is set to level 4, the basic mode can be arbitrarily changed between level 0 and level 3.

  It should be noted that which automatic control function is executed at which level is not limited to the content illustrated in FIG. 3A. For example, it is not essential that the number of automatic control functions executed each time the level is increased by one. Which automatic control function is to be executed at which level may be appropriately determined.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3B, the contents of the control A to the control G are shown on the premise that the automatic control function executed every time the level is increased as shown in FIG. May be arbitrarily set by the driver or the like.

  In the vehicle 1 of this embodiment, when the automatic driving switch 41 is turned off, the driving mode is set to the basic mode. On the other hand, when the automatic operation switch 41 is turned on, the operation mode becomes the advanced automation mode under a certain condition. In addition, when setting to perform lane change control, right / left turn control, and parking control, it is necessary to set a destination (a target parking position in the case of parking control). Specifically, a route guidance function may be started and a destination may be input via a touch panel. Automatic driving when the destination is set is basically performed along the route to the calculated destination while checking the position of the host vehicle in cooperation with the route guidance function. .

  Various control examples in the advanced automation mode when the automatic operation level in the advanced automation mode is set to level 7 will be described with reference to FIG. Each of the vehicles 61 to 67 shown in FIG. 4 has the same configuration as the vehicle 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. A vehicle traveling in the communication area of the road communicator 81 can receive individual road information from the road communicator 81. At least four vehicles 61, 65, 66, and 67 among the vehicles in FIG. 4 can receive individual road information from at least two roadside communication devices 81a and 81b in the vicinity thereof. Specifically, information on the traffic light 71 ahead, information on the oncoming vehicle 62, information on the pedestrian 76, and the like can be acquired.

  In addition, at least the vehicle 63 can receive individual road information from at least the roadside communication device 81c in the vicinity thereof. Specifically, it is possible to acquire information such as the presence of the stop sign 73 (that is, that the vehicle should be stopped) and that another vehicle 64 is approaching from the right side.

  Further, at least the vehicle 64 can receive the individual road information from at least the roadside communication device 81d in the vicinity thereof. Specifically, information such as that another vehicle 63 is approaching from the left side can be acquired.

  Further, at least the vehicle 62 can receive individual road information from at least the roadside communication device 81e in the vicinity thereof. Specifically, information on the traffic light 72 ahead, information that there is an oncoming vehicle 61 that is about to turn right, that there is a pedestrian crossing in the left turn direction, and that there is a pedestrian 76 on the pedestrian crossing. You can get it.

  Each of the vehicles 61 to 66 can obtain various information from the cameras 2 to 6 and the radar devices 11 to 14 included in the vehicle 61 and 66, and obtain various information through inter-vehicle communication and inter-vehicle communication. Can do. For example, the vehicle 65 can detect the front vehicle 67 or the right side vehicle 66 by a camera or a radar device, and can thereby travel while keeping the distance between the front vehicle 67 and the lane change appropriately. If necessary, the lane can be changed at an appropriate timing while considering the positional relationship with the vehicle 66 on the right side. In addition, the vehicle 65 can also detect the jump of the pedestrian 77 by a camera or a radar device. In this case, the vehicle 65 is appropriately decelerated so as not to collide with the pedestrian 77 while considering the distance from the vehicle 65 behind. Control can be performed.

  As a result, each of the vehicles 61 to 66 appropriately travels automatically while using various information such as various information obtained from the own vehicle and various information obtained from the roadside. Can do. Specifically, each of the vehicles 61 to 66 mainly automatically controls the driving control unit 46, the brake control unit 47, and the steering control unit 48, so that other vehicles, pedestrians, and the like can be provided along the driving route. It is possible to automatically travel appropriately so as not to contact the road structure and to comply with traffic lights and traffic rules.

(4) Automatic driving level setting process Next, the automatic driving level setting process which the control part 30a of the automatic driving control apparatus 30 performs is demonstrated using FIG. The automatic driving level setting process in FIG. 5 switches the driving mode of the vehicle 1 to either the highly automated mode or the basic mode, and determines whether the automatic driving should be canceled when the automatic driving level is level 1 or higher. This is a process for forcibly setting the automatic driving level to level 0 when it is determined that it should be canceled.

  When the control unit 30a is activated when a power switch (not shown) of the vehicle 1 is turned on, for example, the control unit 30a reads the program of the automatic driving level setting process of FIG. 5 from the memory 30b and repeatedly executes it at a predetermined control cycle. To do.

  When starting the automatic driving level setting process of FIG. 5, the control unit 30a determines whether or not the automatic driving cancellation flag is set in S10. The automatic driving cancellation flag is a flag that is set when it is determined that the automatic driving should be canceled. Specifically, the automatic driving cancellation flag is set in S119 of FIG.

  If the automatic driving release flag is set (S10: YES), the automatic driving level is set to level 0 in S70. That is, regardless of whether the operation mode is set to the advanced automation mode or the basic mode, the automatic operation level is forcibly set to level 0 so that the seven types of automatic control functions described above are not executed. In S80, a predetermined error notification is given to notify the passenger of the vehicle 1 that the automatic driving has been forcibly canceled, and the automatic driving level setting process is terminated.

  While the automatic driving release flag is set, all seven types of automatic control functions do not operate, so driving operations corresponding to the seven types of automatic control functions (can be automatically executed by each automatic control function) Driver) must be performed by the driver himself. Note that the automatic operation cancellation flag can be reset by pressing the cancellation reset switch 44 as described above.

  If the automatic driving release flag is not set in S10 (S10: NO), it is determined in S20 whether the emergency stop flag is set. The emergency stop flag is a flag that is set when it is determined that the vehicle 1 should be stopped urgently. Specifically, the emergency stop flag is a flag that is set in S120 of FIG.

  If the emergency stop flag is set (S20: YES), an emergency stop process is executed in S90. The emergency stop process is a process for stopping the vehicle 1 as soon as possible while maintaining safety. The specific processing content of the emergency stop processing may be determined as appropriate so that the vehicle can be stopped as soon as possible while maintaining safety. For example, the process of bringing the vehicle 1 to the road shoulder and decelerating the vehicle 1 while monitoring with each camera or each radar device so as not to contact an object outside the vehicle (including other vehicles or pedestrians). The content is considered.

  If the emergency stop flag is not set in S20 (S20: NO), it is determined in S30 whether or not the automatic operation switch 41 is turned on. If the automatic operation switch 41 is turned on (S30: YES), the operation mode is set to the highly automated mode in S40, and the process proceeds to S60. If the automatic operation switch 41 is off (S30: NO), the operation mode is set to the basic mode in S50, and the process proceeds to S60.

  When the operation mode is set to the advanced automation mode in S40, the control unit 30a executes an automatic control function based on the automatic operation level set as the advanced automation mode in S55. For example, when level 6 is set as the advanced automation mode, six types of automatic control functions A to F (see FIG. 3A) are executed. For example, when level 7 is set as the advanced automation mode, fully automatic operation is realized by executing all seven types of automatic control functions A to G. Further, the execution of the automatic control function in S55 is performed based on the acquired various information while acquiring various information including the surrounding information as necessary.

  When the operation mode is set to the basic mode in S50, the control unit 30a executes an automatic control function based on the automatic operation level set as the basic mode in S50. For example, when level 1 is set as the basic mode, the automatic control function of control A (see FIG. 3A) is executed. The execution of the automatic control function in this case is also performed based on the acquired various information while acquiring various information including the surrounding information as necessary. However, when level 0 is set as the basic mode, all automatic control functions are not executed.

  In S60, an automatic driving cancellation confirmation process is executed. There are mainly two purposes for the automatic driving cancellation confirmation process. First, when the automatic driving level is set to level 1 or higher, it is necessary to determine whether the automatic driving level needs to be forcibly set to level 0 and to forcibly set to level 0. In some cases, an automatic driving release flag is set. Another object is to determine whether or not the vehicle 1 needs to be urgently stopped when the automatic driving level is set to level 1 or higher. Is to set.

  The details of the automatic driving cancellation confirmation process in S60 are as shown in FIG. When the control unit 30a proceeds to the automatic driving cancellation confirmation process of S60, as shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 30a determines whether or not the automatic driving level set in the current driving mode is level 1 or higher in S111. If the automatic driving level is not equal to or higher than level 1 (that is, level 0) (S111: NO), the automatic driving cancellation confirmation process of FIG. 6 is terminated, thereby ending the automatic driving level setting process of FIG.

  If the automatic operation level set in the current operation mode is 1 or more (S111: YES), system monitoring processing is executed in S112. In the system monitoring process of S112, the operation state (including the execution state of the automatic control function) of the vehicle 1 is monitored, and a predetermined event (required release event) for forcibly switching the automatic driving level to level 0 has occurred. This is a process for determining whether or not. Details of the system monitoring process in S112 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  In S113, an inside / outside behavior monitoring process is executed. The internal / external behavior monitoring process of S113 should monitor the behavior of the vehicle occupant in the vehicle interior of the vehicle 1, the behavior of pedestrians and other vehicles outside the vehicle 1, and forcibly switch the automatic driving level to level 0. This is a process for determining whether or not a release-necessary event has occurred. Details of the internal / external behavior monitoring processing in S113 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  In S114, an environment monitoring process is executed. The environment monitoring process of S114 is a process for monitoring the environment around the vehicle 1 and determining whether or not a release event that requires the automatic driving level to be forcibly switched to level 0 has occurred. Details of the environmental monitoring process in S114 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  In S115, a self-diagnosis process is executed. The self-diagnosis process of S115 is a process for self-diagnosis by comparing whether or not the execution state of the automatic control function by the control unit 30a itself is normal with the past execution result. Details of the self-diagnosis process in S115 will be described later with reference to FIG. 10B.

  In S116, it is determined as a result of each process of S112 to S115 whether or not any one of the processes has been determined to have occurred. If it is not determined at all that a release-necessary event has occurred (S116: NO), the automatic driving cancellation confirmation process in FIG. 6 is terminated. When it is determined that any one of the processes of S112 to S115 requires a cancellation event (S116: YES), an automatic driving cancellation notice is given to the vehicle 1 occupant in S117. . This notification is a notification for informing the passenger in advance of the fact that the automatic operation is to be canceled based on the occurrence of the cancellation event that should cancel the automatic driving. This notification may be performed by various methods that allow the occupant of the vehicle 1 to recognize that a necessary cancellation event has occurred and the automatic driving has been canceled. As a specific notification method, for example, a method in which a predetermined message is generated by voice, a message is visually transmitted to the occupant using the display unit 37, or a seat is vibrated is adopted. May be.

  In S118, it is determined whether or not automatic driving can be canceled. In other words, this judgment is a state in which the driver can perform the driving operation when the driving operation that has been performed automatically until the automatic driving is canceled is no longer performed automatically. This is a process for determining whether or not. You may decide suitably what to judge based on whether automatic driving | operation cancellation | release is possible. For example, the determination may be made based on whether or not a specific release permission operation is performed by the driver based on the state and behavior of the driver. The release permission operation is an operation indicating that the driver is in a state where the driver can perform the driving operation by himself / herself. The release permission operation includes a stationary state in which the driver is stationary in a specific state. As the release permission operation, for example, the driver is holding the handle 10 with at least one hand, the driver is holding the handle 10 with both hands, the driver's eyes are open, and the driver's line of sight is Set at least one of a plurality of actions and states such as facing forward of the vehicle and the behavior of the driver being normal (for example, a state in which an affirmative determination is made in the determination process of S204 described later). Also good. The control unit 30a may determine whether or not the release permission operation is performed based on the image data of the indoor camera 6, for example.

  If it is determined that automatic driving can be canceled (S118: YES), an automatic driving cancellation flag is set in S119. Thereby, when the determination process of S10 of FIG. 5 is executed next, an affirmative determination is made and the process proceeds to S70, and the automatic driving level is forcibly set to level 0.

  If it is determined in S118 that automatic driving cannot be canceled (S118: NO), an emergency stop flag is set in S120. Thereby, when the determination process of S20 of FIG. 5 is executed next, an affirmative determination is made and the process proceeds to S90, and an emergency stop process is executed.

  Next, the system monitoring process of S112 in the automatic driving cancellation confirmation process of FIG. 6 will be specifically described with reference to FIG. When the system monitoring process of S112 proceeds, as shown in FIG. 7, it is determined in S161 whether the distance from the other vehicle is normal. The distance to the other vehicle can be detected based on the detection results of the other vehicles around the host vehicle by the cameras 2 to 5 and the radar devices 11 to 14. Moreover, it can also detect based on the positional information on the other vehicle acquired through the inter-vehicle communication and the own vehicle positional information.

  The determination as to whether or not the distance to the other vehicle is normal may be made, for example, by setting a distance threshold and determining that the distance is normal when the distance to the other vehicle is equal to or greater than the threshold. In this case, the threshold value may be individually set according to the position of the other vehicle with respect to the own vehicle (for example, whether it is the front, rear, or side of the own vehicle). Of course, it may be determined whether or not the distance from the other vehicle is normal by a method other than the above example.

  If the distance to the other vehicle is not normal (S161: NO), the process proceeds to S169. If the distance to the other vehicle is not normal, the risk of collision with the other vehicle increases. And as the cause, there is a possibility that the automatic control function is not operating normally. Therefore, if the distance to the other vehicle is not normal, it is determined in S169 that a necessary cancellation event has occurred in order to forcibly cancel the automatic driving and entrust the driving operation of the vehicle 1 to the driver. That is, the fact that the distance to the other vehicle is not normal is one of the cancellation events that are required.

  If the distance from the other vehicle is normal (S161: YES), it is determined in S162 whether the relative speed with the other vehicle is normal. Similarly to the distance to the other vehicle, the relative speed with the other vehicle can be detected based on the detection result of the other vehicle around the own vehicle by the cameras 2 to 5 and the radar devices 11 to 14.

  The determination as to whether or not the relative speed with the other vehicle is normal may be made, for example, by setting a relative speed threshold and determining that the relative speed with the other vehicle is normal when the relative speed with the other vehicle is equal to or lower than the threshold. . In this case, the threshold value may be individually set according to the position of the other vehicle with respect to the own vehicle (for example, whether it is the front, rear, or side of the own vehicle). Of course, a method other than the above example may be used to determine whether the relative speed with the other vehicle is normal.

  If the relative speed with the other vehicle is not normal (S162: NO), the process proceeds to S169. When the relative speed with other vehicles is not normal, there is a possibility of colliding with other vehicles. There is also a possibility that the flow of surrounding traffic is not followed. And as the cause, there is a possibility that the automatic control function is not operating normally. Therefore, if the relative speed with the other vehicle is not normal, it is determined in S169 that a necessary cancellation event has occurred in order to forcibly cancel the automatic driving and entrust the driving operation of the vehicle 1 to the driver. That is, the fact that the relative speed with the other vehicle is not normal is one of the cancellation events that are required.

  If the relative speed with the other vehicle is normal (S162: YES), it is determined in S163 whether or not the behavior of the suspension is normal. The suspension behavior can be detected based on the detection result of the suspension sensor 25.

  The determination as to whether or not the suspension behavior is normal may be made, for example, by setting a threshold value for the amount of expansion and contraction of the suspension, and determining that the suspension behavior is normal when the expansion and contraction amount is equal to or less than the threshold value. Further, for example, a threshold value may be set for the rate of change of the expansion / contraction amount, and the normality may be determined when the rate of change of the expansion / contraction amount is equal to or less than the threshold value. When a plurality of suspension sensors 25 are provided, how to make a comprehensive determination based on detection results from the plurality of suspension sensors 25 may be determined as appropriate. For example, it may be determined that the behavior of the suspension is abnormal when the amount of expansion / contraction exceeds a threshold value even in one of the plurality of suspension sensors 25.

  When the behavior of the suspension is not normal (S163: NO), the process proceeds to S169. If the suspension behavior is not normal, it is possible that the automatic control function is not operating normally. That is, when the automatic control function is not operating normally, unstable behavior such as sudden start, sudden stop, and sudden turn may occur, which may cause the suspension to expand and contract greatly. Therefore, if the suspension behavior is not normal, it is determined in S169 that a release-necessary event has occurred in order to forcibly cancel the automatic driving and leave the driving operation of the vehicle 1 to the driver. That is, the suspension behavior is not normal is one of the necessary release events.

  If the suspension behavior is normal (S163: YES), it is determined in S164 whether the engine room is normal. Specifically, it is determined whether the state in the engine room is a state in which the temperature in the engine room is normal and no abnormal noise is generated. The temperature in the engine room can be detected based on the detection result of the engine room temperature sensor 22, and the sound generated from the engine room can be detected based on the detection result of the engine room sound sensor 23.

  The determination of whether or not the engine room is normal is performed, for example, by setting a temperature threshold for the temperature in the engine room and setting a volume threshold for the sound in the engine room. You may make it judge that it is normal when it is below a threshold value and the sound of an engine room is below a volume threshold value. The sound of the engine room may be analyzed, and the sound of the engine room may be determined to be abnormal when sound quality equivalent to the sound quality that may be generated when the abnormality occurs is detected.

  When the engine room is not normal (S164: NO), the process proceeds to S169. If the engine room is not normal, there is a possibility that the automatic control function is not operating normally. That is, when the automatic control function does not operate normally, the automatic driving control device 30 cannot normally control the travel drive control unit 46, and thus the travel drive control unit 46 cannot normally control the engine, the transmission, or the like. It is possible that Therefore, if the engine room is not normal, it is determined in S169 that a necessary cancellation event has occurred in order to forcibly cancel the automatic driving and leave the driving operation of the vehicle 1 to the driver. That is, the fact that the engine room is not normal is one of the necessary cancellation events.

  If the engine room is normal (S164: YES), it is determined in S165 whether an abnormal current has occurred. The abnormal current here means the above-described overcurrent (for example, an excessive current that can occur during a lightning strike). The determination of whether or not an abnormal current has occurred can be made based on the detection result of the current sensor 19. For example, a threshold may be set for the current to be detected, and it may be determined that an abnormal current has occurred when the detected current is equal to or greater than the threshold.

  If an abnormal current has occurred (S165: YES), the process proceeds to S169. If an abnormal current is generated, the automatic control function may not operate normally due to the abnormal current. Therefore, when an abnormal current has occurred, it is determined in S169 that a necessary cancellation event has occurred in order to forcibly cancel the automatic driving and entrust the driving operation of the vehicle 1 to the driver. In other words, the occurrence of an abnormal current due to various factors such as lightning strikes is one of the necessary release events.

  If no abnormal current has occurred (S165: NO), it is determined in S166 whether tire puncture has occurred. Whether the tire has been punctured can be detected based on the detection result of the tire pressure sensor 24.

  For example, a determination is made as to whether or not tire puncture has occurred. For example, a threshold is set for air pressure, and puncture occurs when any one of the four-wheel tires is below the threshold. You may make it judge.

  When puncture has occurred (S166: YES), the process proceeds to S169. When the puncture has occurred, there is a possibility that the vehicle 1 cannot be normally controlled by the automatic control function due to the puncture. Therefore, if a puncture has occurred, it is determined in S169 that a necessary cancel event has occurred in order to forcibly cancel the automatic driving and entrust the driving operation of the vehicle 1 to the driver. That is, the occurrence of tire puncture is one of the necessary release events.

  If tire puncture has not occurred (S166: NO), it is determined in S167 whether or not slip has occurred. Whether or not slip has occurred can be detected based on the detection result of the wheel speed sensor 18 of each wheel. For example, the detection results of the wheel speed sensors 18 may be compared to determine that a slip has occurred when the difference between the largest wheel speed and the smallest wheel speed is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold.

  If a slip has occurred (S167: YES), the process proceeds to S169. When a slip occurs, there is a possibility that the vehicle 1 cannot be normally controlled by the automatic control function due to the slip. Therefore, if a slip occurs, it is determined in S169 that a necessary cancellation event has occurred in order to forcibly cancel the automatic driving and leave the driving operation of the vehicle 1 to the driver. In other words, the occurrence of slip is one of the necessary cancellation events.

  If no slip has occurred (S167: NO), it is determined in S168 whether or not the steering state is normal. The steering state can be detected based on the detection result of the steering amount sensor 20. Whether the steering state is normal may be determined by setting a threshold value for the steering amount based on the neutral position, for example, and determining that the steering amount is normal when the steering amount from the neutral position is equal to or less than the threshold value. Good. Further, for example, a threshold may be set for the rate of change of the steering amount, and it may be determined as normal when the rate of change of the steering amount is equal to or less than the threshold.

  If the steering state is not normal (S163: NO), the process proceeds to S169. If the steering state is not normal, it is possible that the automatic control function is not operating normally. Therefore, if the steering state is not normal, it is determined in S169 that a necessary cancellation event has occurred in order to forcibly cancel the automatic driving and leave the driving operation of the vehicle 1 to the driver. In other words, the fact that the steering state is not normal is one of the cancellation events that are required.

If the steering state is normal (S168: YES), the system monitoring process of FIG. 7 (that is, the process of S112 of FIG. 6) is terminated.
Next, the internal / external behavior monitoring process of S113 in the automatic driving cancellation confirmation process of FIG. 6 will be specifically described with reference to FIG. When the process proceeds to the inside / outside behavior monitoring process in S113, as shown in FIG. 8, it is determined in S201 whether or not the occupant of the vehicle 1 has detected contact with a specific in-vehicle contact site. The presence / absence of contact with the in-vehicle specific contact site can be determined based on the detection result of the in-vehicle contact sensor 21.

  When contact with the specific contact site in the vehicle is detected (S201: YES), the process proceeds to S210. The vehicle 1 according to the present embodiment touches a specific contact portion in the vehicle or operates the emergency stop lever 43 when it feels abnormal or uneasy about the operation state of the automatic control function in the instruction manual. Explains that automatic driving can be forcibly canceled. Therefore, the fact that the contact with the specific contact site in the vehicle has been detected can be determined that the occupant of the vehicle 1 has made an intention to forcibly cancel the automatic driving.

  Therefore, when contact with a specific contact site in the vehicle is detected, it is determined in S210 that a release event requiring cancellation has occurred in order to forcibly cancel the automatic driving and leave the driving operation of the vehicle 1 to the driver. That is, the detection of contact with a specific contact site in the vehicle is one of the necessary release events.

  If contact with the specific contact part in the vehicle is not detected (S201: NO), it is determined in S202 whether or not the emergency stop lever 43 has been operated. When the emergency stop lever 43 is operated (S202: YES), the process proceeds to S210. When the emergency stop lever 43 is operated, it can be determined that an intention indication by the occupant of the vehicle 1 to forcefully cancel the automatic driving has been made.

  Therefore, when the emergency stop lever 43 is operated, it is determined in S210 that a necessary cancel event has occurred in order to forcibly cancel the automatic driving and entrust the driving operation of the vehicle 1 to the driver himself / herself. In other words, the operation of the emergency stop lever 43 is one of the necessary release events.

  If the emergency stop lever 43 has not been operated (S202: NO), it is determined in S203 whether or not an external impact has been detected. The impact from the outside here includes from a large impact such as a collision of another vehicle to a small impact such as a pedestrian or the like hitting the vehicle 1 as described above.

  The presence or absence of an external impact can be determined based on the detection result of the impact sensor 27. If an external impact is detected (S203: YES), the process proceeds to S210. If an impact from the outside is detected, there is a possibility that the vehicle 1 is damaged and the vehicle 1 cannot travel normally. In addition, when an outside person notices that the automatic control function of the vehicle 1 does not operate normally and the vehicle 1 behaves abnormally or that the driver of the vehicle 1 has changed. The possibility of alerting the passenger of the vehicle 1 by hitting the vehicle 1 is also conceivable.

  Therefore, when an impact from the outside is detected, it is determined in S210 that a release-necessary event has occurred in order to forcibly cancel the automatic driving and entrust the driving operation of the vehicle 1 to the driver himself / herself. That is, the detection of an impact from the outside is one of the necessary release events.

  If no external impact is detected (S203: NO), it is determined in S204 whether the driver's behavior is normal. The behavior of the driver can be recognized by analyzing the shooting data of the indoor camera 6. And, for example, the driver's behavior is abnormal when the driver keeps looking aside for a certain period of time, the driver's eyes are closed for a certain period of time, or the driver is surprised, worried, or terrified Can be determined. Of course, it may be determined whether or not the driver's behavior is normal based on other criteria.

  If it is determined that the behavior of the driver is not normal (S204: YES), the process proceeds to S210. If it is determined that the behavior of the driver is not normal, there may be a possibility that an abnormality has occurred in the driver or a possibility that the automatic control function of the vehicle 1 is not operating normally.

  Therefore, if it is determined that the behavior of the driver is not normal, in S210, in order to forcibly cancel the automatic driving and leave the driving operation of the vehicle 1 to the driver himself, or to stop the vehicle 1 in an emergency, a cancellation event is required. Is determined to have occurred. That is, determining that the driver's behavior is not normal is one of the cancellation events.

  When it is determined that the driver's behavior is normal (S204: NO), it is determined in S205 whether or not the pedestrian is looking at the vehicle. Whether or not the line of sight is directed from the pedestrian can be determined by analyzing the shooting data of each of the cameras 2 to 5 as described above.

  If the line of sight is directed by a pedestrian (S205: YES), whether or not the line of sight of a predetermined number or more of pedestrians is directed toward the host vehicle in S208 (that is, whether the degree of attention from the pedestrian is high). Judge). When the number of pedestrians who are looking at the vehicle is less than the predetermined number (that is, when the degree of attention is not high) (S208: NO), the process proceeds to S209.

  In S209, it is determined whether or not the behavior of the pedestrian who is looking at the vehicle is normal. A criterion for determining whether or not the behavior of a pedestrian who is looking at the vehicle is normal may be determined as appropriate. For example, when the pedestrian's facial expression is a particular facial expression or action such as surprise, anxiety, or fear, the pedestrian's behavior may be determined to be abnormal.

  If it is determined in S208 that the eyes of pedestrians of a predetermined number or more are directed toward the own vehicle (S208: YES), and the behavior of the pedestrians who are looking at the own vehicle in S209 is determined to be not normal. If so (S209: NO), the process proceeds to S210.

  The fact that a large number of pedestrians' eyes are concentrated on the host vehicle means that the automatic control function of the vehicle 1 does not operate normally and the vehicle 1 behaves abnormally, or the driver of the vehicle 1 has changed. It is possible that In addition, even if the number of pedestrians who are looking at the own vehicle is small, if the behavior of the pedestrian is abnormal, the automatic control function of the vehicle 1 will not operate normally and the vehicle 1 will behave abnormally. It is possible that the driver of the vehicle 1 has changed or has changed.

  Therefore, when the eyes of many pedestrians are concentrated or when the behavior of the pedestrians who are looking at them is abnormal, the automatic driving is forcibly canceled and the driving operation of the vehicle 1 is entrusted to the driver himself / herself. Alternatively, in order to stop the vehicle 1 in an emergency, it is determined in S210 that a necessary cancellation event has occurred. That is, the fact that a large number of pedestrians' lines of sight are concentrated and the behavior of the pedestrians who are directing their lines of sight are both abnormal events.

  When the pedestrian's line of sight is not directed to the own vehicle (S205: NO), and when the pedestrian's line of sight is directed, the number is small and the pedestrian's behavior is normal ( (S209: YES), the process proceeds to S206.

  In S206, it is determined whether or not the vehicle has passed from another vehicle (mainly an oncoming vehicle or a rear vehicle). Whether or not the vehicle has passed from another vehicle can be determined mainly by analyzing the photographing data of the front camera 2 and the rear camera 3. When passing from another vehicle (S206: YES), the process proceeds to S210.

  Passing from another vehicle means that the automatic control function of the vehicle 1 does not operate normally and the vehicle 1 is behaving abnormally, and the driver of the other vehicle notices the abnormal behavior and alerts them. There is a possibility that he / she gave me. Therefore, if the vehicle is passed by another vehicle, it is determined in S210 that a canceling event has occurred in order to forcibly cancel the automatic driving and entrust the driving operation of the vehicle 1 to the driver himself or stop the vehicle 1 in an emergency. To do. In other words, passing from another vehicle is one of the necessary cancellation events.

  If it is not passing from another vehicle (S206: NO), it is determined in S207 whether or not a horn is sounded from another vehicle. Whether or not a horn is sounded from another vehicle can be determined mainly based on the detection result of the vehicle exterior sound sensor 26. When a horn is sounded from another vehicle (S207: YES), the process proceeds to S210.

  The fact that the horn was struck by another vehicle means that the automatic control function of the vehicle 1 is not operating normally, causing the vehicle 1 to behave abnormally, and the driver of the other vehicle notices the abnormal behavior. It is possible that he / she did it. Therefore, when a horn is sounded from another vehicle, a canceling event has occurred in S210 in order to forcibly cancel the automatic driving and leave the driving operation of the vehicle 1 to the driver himself or to stop the vehicle 1 in an emergency. Judge. That is, it is one of the necessary cancellation events that a horn is sounded from another vehicle.

  Next, the environmental monitoring process of S114 in the automatic driving cancellation confirmation process of FIG. 6 will be specifically described with reference to FIG. When the process proceeds to the environmental monitoring process in S114, it is determined in S251 whether the weather around the vehicle 1 is in a heavy rain state as shown in FIG. Whether or not it is in a heavy rain state can be determined based on a detection signal from the rainfall sensor 17, for example, by setting a threshold value for the detection amount and comparing it with the threshold value. Of course, other methods may be used to determine whether or not there is heavy rain. For example, it may be determined by analyzing the rainfall from the shooting data of each camera 2-5.

If it is determined that there is heavy rain (S251: YES), the process proceeds to S256. If it is not determined that there is heavy rain (S251: NO), the process proceeds to S252.
In S252, it is determined whether or not the weather around the vehicle 1 is in a heavy snow state. The determination as to whether or not there is heavy snow may be made, for example, by analyzing the amount of snowfall from the shooting data of each camera 2-5. Of course, other methods may be used to determine whether or not there is heavy snow.

If it is determined that there is heavy snow (S252: YES), the process proceeds to S256. If it is not determined that there is heavy snow (S252: NO), the process proceeds to S253.
In S253, it is determined whether or not the surroundings of the vehicle 1 are in a dense fog state. The determination as to whether or not the vehicle is in the dense fog state may be made by analyzing the fog generation state from the shooting data of the cameras 2 to 5, for example, as in the determination method of the heavy snow state. Of course, other methods may be used to determine whether or not the foggy state is present.

If it is determined that there is a dense fog state (S253: YES), the process proceeds to S256. When it is not determined that the foggy state is present (S253: NO), the process proceeds to S254.
When it is judged to be heavy rain, heavy snow, or heavy fog (hereinafter collectively referred to as “bad weather”), the visibility ahead of the vehicle is poor and the automatic control function is normal. May not work properly. Therefore, in the case of bad weather, it is determined in S256 that a necessary cancellation event has occurred in order to forcibly cancel the automatic driving and leave the driving operation of the vehicle 1 to the driver himself / herself. That is, bad weather is one of the cancellation events.

  In S254, it is determined whether or not the vehicle 1 is traveling in the area requiring attention. As described above, the section requiring attention in this embodiment includes at least an accident-prone area, a school zone, an area where animals tend to appear and disappear. The determination as to whether or not the vehicle is traveling in a section requiring attention can be made based on section information obtained through road-to-vehicle communication. Alternatively, when the shooting data of the front camera 2 includes a signboard or a road sign indicating a section requiring attention, the determination can be made based on the signboard.

  When it is determined that the vehicle 1 is traveling in the area requiring attention (S254: YES), the process proceeds to S256. When the vehicle 1 is traveling in a section requiring attention, it may be preferable for the driver to drive while paying attention to the traveling direction rather than relying on the automatic control function. Therefore, when the vehicle 1 is traveling in the section requiring attention, it is determined in S256 that a cancellation-necessary event has occurred in order to forcibly cancel the automatic driving and entrust the driving operation of the vehicle 1 to the driver. That is, the fact that the vehicle 1 is traveling in the section requiring attention is one of the cancellation events that are required.

  When the vehicle 1 is not traveling in the area requiring attention (S254: NO), the process proceeds to S255. In S255, it is determined whether or not an average value of automatic driving levels of other vehicles in the surrounding area (hereinafter referred to as “ambient average level”) is equal to or lower than a predetermined level (eg, level 1 or lower). If the ambient average level is higher than the predetermined level (S255: NO), the environment monitoring process is terminated. On the other hand, when the surrounding average level is equal to or lower than the predetermined level (S255: YES), the process proceeds to S256.

  The surrounding average level can be derived by acquiring the automatic driving level set in each of the other vehicles from other vehicles traveling around the host vehicle and performing an average calculation of the acquired automatic driving levels. The automatic driving levels of other vehicles around the host vehicle can be acquired directly by inter-vehicle communication or indirectly by road-to-vehicle communication.

  If the surrounding average level is equal to or lower than the predetermined level, it means that many other surrounding vehicles keep the automatic driving level low. That is, it can be said that there is a high possibility that drivers of many other vehicles are driving by their own driving operation without relying on the automatic control function. The fact that many drivers around us are driving without relying on the automatic control function means that the area where we are currently driving is an area where it is preferable to drive with the driver's own driving operation rather than automatic driving for some reason. It is possible that there is.

  Therefore, when the surrounding average level is equal to or lower than the predetermined level, it is determined in S256 that a canceling event is required in order to forcibly cancel the automatic driving and entrust the driving operation of the vehicle 1 to the driver. In other words, the fact that the ambient average level is equal to or lower than the predetermined level is one of the necessary cancellation events.

  Next, the self-diagnosis process of S115 in the automatic driving cancellation confirmation process of FIG. 6 will be described. Prior to the description of the self-diagnosis process, the travel history recording process shown in FIG. 10A will be described first.

  In the travel history recording process of FIG. 10A, various specific control operations performed when the vehicle 1 travels (however, control operations performed automatically by the automatic control function) are associated with the positions where the specific control operations have been performed. This process is stored as a history. The type and number of specific control operations to be stored as a history may be determined as appropriate. For example, an operation of temporarily stopping during traveling, an operation of decelerating even when there is no other vehicle ahead, and the like may be determined as the specific control operation.

  If the automatic control function is operating normally, the vehicle 1 should be automatically stopped where there is a temporary stop road sign or its stop line. Also, in front of the pedestrian crossing, the vehicle should decelerate for safety even if there is no vehicle ahead. On the other hand, if the automatic control function does not work properly, it is possible to pass without stopping even though there is a temporary stop sign, or to pass without deceleration even if there is a pedestrian crossing There is sex. In other words, when the automatic control function is not operating normally, even if the vehicle travels in the same place where it has traveled before, it may travel differently.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, past travel history is stored in association with the position, and when the next travel is performed in the same place, compared with the past operation state, a travel operation different from the past is performed (for example, In the case where the past was temporarily stopped but passed this time), it is determined that the automatic control function is not operating normally and the automatic operation should be released.

  When the operation starts, the control unit 30a executes the travel history recording process of FIG. 10A in parallel with the automatic driving level setting process of FIG. When the travel history recording process of FIG. 10A is started, the control unit 30a determines whether or not the vehicle 1 has traveled a certain distance in S301. The determination in S301 is continued until the vehicle travels a certain distance. If the vehicle has traveled a certain distance (S301: YES), the process proceeds to S302.

  In S302, the specific control operation performed in the travel section of the fixed distance is stored as specific control information together with the position information where the specific control operation is performed. If the specific control operation at the same position is already stored, the stored content is updated. After storing the specific control information performed in the travel section of the fixed distance, the process returns to S301. As described above, every time the vehicle travels a certain distance, the storage process of the specific control information is performed for the traveling section of the certain distance.

  Subsequently, the self-diagnosis process in S115 of FIG. 6 will be described with reference to FIG. 10B. When the process proceeds to the self-diagnosis process in S115, as shown in FIG. 10B, in S351, it is determined whether or not the current travel position has traveled in the past. This determination can be made by comparing the current position based on the GPS information with the position information associated with the specific control information stored in the memory 30b.

  If the current travel position is not linked to any of the specific control information stored in the memory 30b, the current travel position is regarded as having never traveled in the past (S351: NO), The self-diagnosis process is terminated. If the current travel position matches or is close to the position information associated with any of the specific control information stored in the memory 30b, the current travel position has traveled in the past. It is determined that there is (S351: YES), and the process proceeds to S352.

  In S352, the past specific control information corresponding to the current travel position is read from the memory 30b. That is, it is confirmed what specific control operation has been performed in the past at the place where the vehicle is currently traveling. In S353, it is determined whether or not the current traveling state is traveling different from the past. More specifically, it is determined whether or not a specific control operation executed in the past at the same place has been performed this time. If the vehicle is traveling differently from the past, that is, if the specific control operation performed at the same place in the past has not been performed this time (S353: YES), the process proceeds to S354, and it is determined that a necessary cancellation event has occurred. If the vehicle has not traveled differently from the past, that is, if the specific control operation performed in the same place in the past is also performed this time (S353: NO), the self-diagnosis process is terminated.

(5) Effects of First Embodiment According to the vehicle 1 of the present embodiment described above, automatic driving is canceled when the automatic driving level is level 1 or higher (that is, when the automatic control function is operating). It is determined whether or not a release event that should be performed has occurred (S112 to S115 in FIG. 6). Then, if a release event is required, the automatic operation level is forcibly set to level 0. That is, when a release event is required, the operation of the automatic control function is stopped regardless of the setting state of the driving mode, and the driving operation of the vehicle 1 is left to the driver.

  Therefore, when a release event requiring occurrence occurs, the vehicle 1 can be driven by the driver's own driving operation. Thereby, generation | occurrence | production of the unstable operation | movement of the vehicle 1 resulting from the malfunction etc. of an automatic control function can be suppressed.

Further, in the present embodiment, a large number of events that can be considered as cancellation-required events are assumed, and each event is determined one by one.
Specifically, as shown in S161 of FIG. 7, the distance to the other vehicle is determined, and the automatic driving is forcibly canceled when the distance to the other vehicle is not normal. Therefore, even if the vehicle 1 is likely to collide with another vehicle due to a malfunction of the automatic control function or the like, this can be avoided by the driver's own driving operation.

  Further, as shown in S162 of FIG. 7, the relative speed with respect to the other vehicle is determined, and the automatic driving is forcibly canceled when the relative speed with the other vehicle is not normal. Therefore, even if the vehicle 1 is likely to collide with another vehicle due to a malfunction of the automatic control function or the like, this can be avoided by the driver's own driving operation. Even when the traveling speed of the vehicle 1 is different from the speeds of many surrounding vehicles due to malfunction of the automatic control function or the like and does not follow the flow of surrounding traffic, It can be avoided.

  Further, as shown in S163 in FIG. 7, the behavior of the suspension is determined, and if the behavior is not normal, the automatic operation is forcibly canceled. Therefore, even if the vehicle 1 shows an abnormal behavior due to malfunction of the automatic control function or the like, this can be avoided by the driver's own driving operation.

  Further, as shown in S164 of FIG. 7, the state (temperature and sound) of the engine room is determined, and if not normal, the automatic operation is forcibly canceled. Therefore, when an abnormality occurs in the engine room due to a malfunction of the automatic control function or the like, it is possible to minimize the influence by the driver's own driving operation.

  Further, as shown in S165 of FIG. 7, when an abnormal current is generated in the electrical wiring in the vehicle 1 (however, the electrical wiring provided with the current sensor 19), the automatic operation is forcibly released. Therefore, even if an excessive current flows due to a lightning strike or the like, it is possible to prevent the automatic control function from malfunctioning and the traveling state of the vehicle 1 from becoming unstable.

  Further, as shown in S166 and S167 in FIG. 7, when the tire punctures or slips, the automatic driving is forcibly canceled. For this reason, when the reliability of traveling by the automatic control function is reduced due to tire puncture or slipping, the vehicle 1 is appropriately operated by the driver's own driving operation (for example, the vehicle is stopped while slowly decelerating or slipping). It is possible to return from the state smoothly).

  Further, as shown in S168 of FIG. 7, automatic driving is forcibly canceled when the steering state of the steered wheels is not normal. Therefore, even if the steering wheel of the vehicle 1 shows an abnormal behavior due to a malfunction of the automatic control function or the like, this can be avoided by the driver's own driving operation.

  Further, as shown in S201 and S202 of FIG. 8, when the occupant detects contact with the specific contact portion in the vehicle and when the emergency stop lever is operated by the occupant, the automatic driving is forcibly released. I am doing so. Therefore, the driver can quickly cancel the automatic driving by his / her own will when a situation where the driver wants to cancel the automatic driving occurs, for example, the behavior of the vehicle 1 becomes unstable.

  Further, as shown in S203 of FIG. 8, automatic driving is forcibly canceled when an external impact is detected. Therefore, even if the automatic control function may not operate normally due to an external impact, the vehicle 1 can be appropriately operated by the driver's own driving operation.

  Further, as shown in S204 of FIG. 8, automatic driving is forcibly canceled when the behavior of the driver is not normal (for example, when the driver is surprised or terrified). Therefore, even if the driving state of the vehicle 1 becomes unstable to the extent that the driver expresses a surprise or fear expression due to a malfunction of the automatic control function, etc., this can be quickly avoided by the driver's own driving operation. Is possible.

  Further, as shown in S205, S206, and S207 in FIG. 8, a gaze is collected from a pedestrian, or a pedestrian looking at the own vehicle is exhibiting an abnormal behavior (for example, pointing at the own vehicle and expressing a surprised expression). If the horn is sounded from another vehicle or passed from another vehicle, automatic driving is forcibly canceled. This is because when a pedestrian or other vehicle takes an action on the host vehicle, the driving state of the host vehicle may be unstable. This is because a malfunction is considered.

  Further, as shown in S251 to S253 in FIG. 9, the automatic driving is forcibly canceled in the case of bad weather such as heavy rain, heavy snow, and heavy fog. Therefore, even if there is a possibility that the automatic control function does not operate normally due to bad weather and the driving of the vehicle 1 may become unstable, the automatic driving is forcibly canceled, so that the vehicle 1 is appropriately operated by the driver's own driving operation. It is possible to run the vehicle.

  Further, as shown in S254 of FIG. 9, automatic driving is forcibly canceled when the vehicle 1 is traveling in a section requiring attention. As a result, it is possible to appropriately drive the cautionary section by the driver's own driving operation without depending on the automatic control function.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 10B, when the vehicle has traveled again in a place where it has traveled in the past, if the specific control operation performed in the past is not performed this time, the automatic control function operates normally. The automatic operation is forcibly canceled because it is assumed that the vehicle has not been operated. Therefore, it is possible to suppress problems that may occur due to malfunction of the automatic control function.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, when a cancellation | release event requiring generation | occurrence | production occurs, not canceling | releasing automatic driving | running | working unconditionally, but a passenger | crew is alert | reported to cancel | release automatic driving | operation (S117 of FIG. 6). Then, when it can be confirmed that the automatic driving can be canceled, for example, when there is a predetermined reaction from the occupant (YES in S118 in FIG. 6), the automatic driving is canceled. Therefore, it is possible to cancel the automatic driving smoothly and appropriately and connect it to the driving operation by the driver.

  On the other hand, even if the occupant is notified that automatic driving is to be canceled, if the occupant does not have a predetermined reaction (NO in S118), the vehicle 1 is automatically stopped in an emergency. Therefore, for example, when it becomes difficult for the driver to drive the vehicle 1 due to the driver falling asleep or fainting, the vehicle 1 is stopped quickly and appropriately, and an unexpected situation occurs. Can be suppressed.

  The control unit 30a corresponds to an example of a surrounding information acquisition unit, an operation mode setting unit, an automatic control unit, a release event determination unit, a notification unit, and a release permission determination unit. Moreover, the process of S40 and S50 of FIG. 5 is corresponded to an example of the process of an operation mode setting part. Moreover, the process of S55 of FIG. 5 is equivalent to an example of the process of the surrounding information acquisition unit. Further, the processing of S55 of FIG. 5 and S118 to S120 of FIG. 6 corresponds to an example of processing of the automatic control unit. Further, the process of S120 in FIG. 6 corresponds to an example of an automatic stop process among the processes of the automatic control unit. Further, the processes of S112, S113, S114, and S115 in FIG. 6 correspond to an example of the process of the release required event determination unit. 6 corresponds to an example of the process of the notification unit, and the process of S118 of FIG. 6 corresponds to an example of the process of the release permission determination unit.

[Second Embodiment]
The electrical configuration of the vehicle of the second embodiment is shown in FIG. In FIG. 11, the same components as those of the vehicle 1 of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the first embodiment, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the vehicle according to the second embodiment includes an automatic driving control device 101 and a monitoring device 102. The automatic driving control device 101 is basically the same in configuration as the automatic driving control device 101 of the first embodiment except that it has a function of performing data communication with the monitoring device 102 via the network 100. Operate. That is, the control unit 101a of the automatic driving control apparatus 101 executes the automatic driving level setting process (see FIG. 5) according to various programs stored in the memory 101b, as in the case of the vehicle 1 of the first embodiment. Further, an automatic control function based on the set automatic driving level is also executed.

  In FIG. 11, the cameras 2 to 6, the radar apparatuses 11 to 14, and the sensors 16 to 27 in the vehicle 1 according to the first embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2 are collectively illustrated as a detection unit group 111. ing. Moreover, in FIG. 11, each communication part 31-35 in the vehicle 1 of 1st Embodiment shown in FIG.

  The automatic operation control apparatus 101 of the present embodiment further periodically monitors the execution state (control calculation result) of the automatic control function according to the automatic operation level as one piece of control information via the network 100. 102. Further, the automatic operation control apparatus 101, when a required release event occurs as a result of the automatic operation level setting process, at least that fact (a fact that the required release event has occurred) is set as one piece of control information in the network. The data is periodically transmitted to the monitoring apparatus 102 via 100.

  The monitoring device 102 is provided to monitor whether various controls by the automatic operation control device 101 are operating normally. That is, the monitoring device 102 basically has the same configuration as that of the automatic operation control device 101, and like the automatic operation control device 101, the control unit 102a performs automatic control based on the set automatic operation level. Perform control calculations for functions.

  That is, the monitoring device 102 does not actually execute the automatic control function, but performs the control calculation of the automatic control function in the same manner as the automatic operation control device 101. That is, both the automatic operation control device 101 and the monitoring device 102 execute control calculations necessary for realizing an automatic control function according to the set automatic operation level.

  Therefore, if the automatic operation control device 101 is normal on the assumption that the operation of the monitoring device is normal, the results of both control calculations should be the same. On the other hand, when an abnormality occurs in the automatic operation control apparatus 101 and the automatic control function does not operate normally, the control calculation results of the two differ from each other (the result of the calculation result of the automatic operation control apparatus 101 being not normal). There is a possibility.

  Therefore, the monitoring device 102 compares the control calculation result of itself and the control calculation result of the automatic driving control device 101, and if the two do not match, the monitoring device 102 forces the automatic control function of the automatic driving control device 101 to be compulsory. Release it. Specifically, the control unit 102a of the monitoring apparatus 102 executes a control state monitoring process shown in FIG.

  When the control unit 102a of the monitoring apparatus 102 starts the control state monitoring process of FIG. 12, the control process of the automatic control function corresponding to the set automatic driving level is executed in S501. In S <b> 502, the operation result of the control operation of the automatic control function in the automatic operation control apparatus 101 is acquired from the automatic operation control apparatus 101 via the network 100.

  In S503, the calculation result of S501 is compared with the calculation result of the automatic operation control apparatus 101 acquired in S502, and it is determined whether or not the two match. If the two do not match (S503: NO), it is determined that the calculation result by the automatic driving control apparatus 101 is not normal, and in S508, the automatic control function for forcibly releasing the automatic control function by the automatic driving control apparatus 101 is determined. Execute the process.

  Various specific contents of the forcible release processing in S508 are conceivable. For example, by instructing the traveling drive control unit 46, the brake control unit 47, and the steering control unit 48 to ignore the control command from the automatic driving control device 101 from the monitoring device 102, the control units 46 to 48 may operate without depending on the automatic driving control device 101 (that is, the automatic driving is canceled).

  Further, for example, the automatic driving control device 101 may be forcibly canceled by transmitting determination information indicating that the calculation results do not match to the automatic driving control device 101 via the network 100.

  Further, for example, between the automatic driving control device 101 and the travel drive control unit 46, between the automatic driving control device 101 and the brake control unit 47, and between the automatic driving control device 101 and the steering control unit 48, respectively. Further, a switch for conducting / cutting off the electrical connection state between them may be provided. Then, at least one of the switches may be turned off (that is, the electrical connection state is cut off) so that the automatic operation control device 101 cannot be controlled.

  Moreover, it is also conceivable that the automatic operation control apparatus 101 is illegally accessed from the outside as a cause of an abnormal calculation result by the automatic operation control apparatus 101. Therefore, a switch is provided between the communication means group 112 and the automatic operation control device 101 to turn on and off the electrical connection state between them, and the switch is turned off (that is, the electrical connection state is cut off). Thus, physical access from the outside may be prohibited.

  If the calculation results match in S503 (S503: YES), it is determined in S504 whether or not a release-necessary event has occurred. Specifically, it is determined whether or not a necessary release event has occurred by performing exactly the same processes as S112 to S115 in the automatic driving cancellation confirmation process of the first embodiment shown in FIG.

  In S505, based on the determination result in S504, if no release event that determines whether or not a release event is required has occurred (S505: NO), the control state monitoring process ends. If a release event that requires cancellation has occurred (S505: YES), in S506, the automatic operation control apparatus 101 obtains the determination result of the presence or absence of the release event that is required in the automatic operation control apparatus 101 via the network 100.

  In S507, based on the acquisition result in S506, it is determined whether or not the occurrence of a necessary release event has been determined in the automatic operation control apparatus 101 as well. If it is determined that the automatic operation control apparatus 101 has also generated a release event, the automatic operation control apparatus 101 is determined to be operating normally, and the control state monitoring process is terminated. On the other hand, if the automatic operation control apparatus 101 has not determined that a release event is required, the automatic operation control apparatus 101 determines that the automatic operation control apparatus 101 is not operating normally for some reason, and proceeds to S508. Execute the process.

  According to the vehicle of the second embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained in addition to the effects of the first embodiment. That is, in the second embodiment, the monitoring device 102 is provided separately from the automatic operation control device 101. In the monitoring device 102, the control calculation is performed in substantially the same manner as in the automatic driving control device 101, and the calculation result is compared with the calculation result in the automatic driving control device 101. Accordingly, it is determined whether or not the automatic operation control apparatus 101 is operating normally.

  That is, whether or not the operation of one computer (in this case, the automatic operation control device 101) is normal is determined by causing the two independent computers to execute the same control calculation and checking whether the calculation results of the two match. I am trying to judge.

  And when both calculation results do not correspond, the monitoring apparatus 102 performs the forced cancellation | release process (S508 of FIG. 12), and is forced to cancel | release automatic driving | operation. Note that the automatic operation control device 101 releases the automatic operation by itself when the release event is required, as in the first embodiment. In the second embodiment, in addition, a forced release process for releasing the automatic operation is also performed from the monitoring device 102. Therefore, when the situation where automatic driving should be canceled occurs, automatic driving can be canceled more reliably.

[Other Embodiments]
As mentioned above, although embodiment of this indication was described, this indication can take various forms, without being limited to the above-mentioned embodiment.

  (1) The specific example of the cancellation required event shown in the above embodiments is merely an example. For other events that should be canceled automatic driving other than the above, it may be determined whether or not such an event has occurred, and automatic driving may be canceled if it occurs.

  For example, in the first embodiment, the example in which the automatic driving is canceled when the driver behaves abnormally has been described. However, the automatic driving may be canceled based on the behavior of an occupant other than the driver. .

  Further, not only the behavior of the occupant (including the driver) but also whether to cancel the automatic driving may be determined according to the content of the occupant's story. For example, when someone says “Ambulance is coming from behind!”, Automatic driving may be canceled and left to the driver. That is, the automatic operation may be canceled in response to a specific word or sentence.

  Also, the vehicle's driving condition is monitored on the infrastructure side, and if the driving condition is unstable (that is, the automatic control function may not operate normally), that fact is indicated between the road and the vehicle. You may make it notify via communication. Then, on the vehicle side, when the notification is received from the infrastructure side, the automatic driving may be forcibly canceled.

  (2) In the above embodiment, the automatic operation level is forcibly set to level 0 when any cancellation event occurs when the automatic operation level is level 1 or higher. The automatic operation level may be set to 0 (that is, ignored if the level is less than level n) when a release event is required at a level n or higher. Alternatively, if the operation mode is the advanced automation mode, the automatic operation level is forcibly set to level 0 when a necessary release event occurs, and if the operation mode is the basic mode, the basic mode is set. May be maintained.

  Further, it is not essential to set the automatic driving level to level 0 when a release event is required, and it may be lowered to a level lower than at least the current automatic driving level. For example, it may be switched to the basic mode when an event requiring cancellation occurs in the advanced automation mode.

  (3) Cameras and radar devices necessary for realizing automatic driving may be provided anywhere in the vehicle 1 and any number may be provided. The installation location and number of cameras and radar devices may be determined as appropriate so as to realize a desired automatic control function. Moreover, the vehicle equipment required in order to implement | achieve automatic driving | operation is not limited to the various apparatuses shown in FIG. 1, FIG.

  (4) In addition, the functions of one component in the above embodiment may be distributed as a plurality of components, or the functions of a plurality of components may be integrated into one component. Further, at least a part of the configuration of the above embodiment may be replaced with a known configuration having the same function. Moreover, you may abbreviate | omit a part of structure of the said embodiment. In addition, at least a part of the configuration of the above embodiment may be added to or replaced with the configuration of the other embodiment. In addition, all the aspects included in the technical idea specified only by the wording described in the claims are embodiments of the present disclosure.

[Technical idea grasped from the embodiment]
At least the following technical ideas can be understood from the various embodiments detailed above.
(A) An automatic driving control device mounted on a vehicle,
A surrounding information acquisition unit that acquires surrounding information that is surrounding information of the vehicle;
The driving mode of the vehicle includes an advanced automation mode for automatically executing at least a part of a plurality of types of driving operations necessary for traveling of the vehicle based on the surrounding information, and the driving operation for automatically executing the vehicle. An operation mode setting unit for setting to one of the basic modes in which the type of automatic operation is less than or equal to the advanced automation mode, and
Based on the operation mode set by the operation mode setting unit, an automatic control unit that executes the automatic operation set in the operation mode;
When the operation mode is set to an operation mode having at least one automatic operation to be executed, a predetermined requirement to cancel at least one of the automatic operation set in the operation mode A release event determination unit that determines whether a release event has occurred,
With
When the operation mode is set to an operation mode having at least one automatic operation to be executed, the automatic control unit determines that the required release event has occurred by the required release event determining unit. If it is, stop execution of at least one of the set automatic driving operations,
Automatic operation control device.

  In the automatic operation control device configured as described above, when the operation mode is set to the highly automated mode, the operation mode is set to the basic mode as well as the necessity event determination unit determines whether or not the event requiring the release has occurred. Even if the basic mode is set to execute at least one of a plurality of types of automatic driving operations, the release event determining unit determines whether or not a release event requiring release has occurred. Is called.

  In other words, regardless of the type of operation mode that has been set, if it is set to execute even one of a plurality of types of automatic driving operations, whether or not a required release event has occurred Judgment is made. When it is determined that a release-necessary event has occurred, at least one of the automatic driving operations to be executed is stopped.

  A release-needed event is an event that may occur due to the fact that the automatic driving operation being executed is not normally executed, or when the automatic driving operation is being executed normally at the present time. This is an event that may interfere with the execution of the automatic driving operation.

  One or more release events may be set in advance. When multiple release events that are required are set, the release event determination unit may determine whether or not all of the multiple release events are required, or some of the multiple release events that are required It may be determined whether or not the occurrence has occurred. In the latter case, it may be determined as appropriate which of a plurality of required release events is to be determined. For example, based on the automatic driving operation that is set to be executed in the current operation mode, the necessary cancellation event that occurs when the automatic driving operation is not normally executed, and the automatic driving operation is hindered. You may make it include at least one of the possibility cancellation required events in a judgment object.

In addition to the above, the timing itself at which the release event determining unit determines whether or not a release event needs to occur may be determined as appropriate. For example, whether or not the release event determination unit should determine whether or not a release event has occurred according to the number and type of automatic driving operations set to be executed in the current operation mode In particular, it may be determined at which timing to determine.
(B) In (A) above,
As the release event, at least one operation state that may occur when the operation state of the vehicle may not be normally executed as the automatic driving operation set as an execution target; and An automatic operation control device in which at least one of the at least one operation state in which the automatic operation operation set as an execution target may not be executed normally is set. .

As described above, the operation state of the vehicle in which the automatic driving operation may not be normally executed (or may not be normally executed) is appropriately set as a release event, so that the running automatic driving operation should be stopped. It is possible to appropriately determine whether or not
(C) In the above (A) or (B),
As the release event, the occupant of the vehicle exhibits a specific first behavior, the person around the vehicle exhibits a specific second behavior, and other surroundings of the vehicle An automatic driving control device in which at least one of the vehicle is performing a specific third action is set.

When the automatic driving operation being executed is not performed normally, the effect is reflected in the vehicle operating state, while the vehicle occupant shows a specific behavior (for example, a surprise or anxiety expression) or around the vehicle. People exhibit specific behavior (for example, many people's eyes are concentrated, or fingers are pointing toward the vehicle), or other vehicles (more specifically, other passengers) Certain actions (for example, horn ringing or passing) may occur. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately determine whether or not the automatic driving operation being executed should be stopped by setting at least one of the first behavior, the second behavior, and the third behavior as a release event that needs to be performed. Can do.
(D) In any one of the above (A) to (C),
The automatic operation control apparatus in which the environment around the vehicle is set as a specific environment set in advance as the release event required.

  The specific environment means an environment in which the automatic driving operation being executed may not be executed normally, or an environment in which one or more specific automatic driving operations should not be executed. For example, heavy rain or heavy fog The bad weather such as. Further, for example, a case where the vehicle is traveling in an area where it is preferable to entrust the driver to the driving operation rather than the automatic driving, such as a school zone or an accident-prone area.

  By setting the presence of a vehicle in such a specific environment as a necessary release event, it is possible to appropriately determine whether or not to stop the automatic driving operation being executed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vehicle, 2 ... Front camera, 3 ... Back camera, 4 ... Left side camera, 5 ... Right side camera, 6 ... Indoor camera, 9 ... Front window, 10 ... Handle, 11 ... Front radar apparatus, 12 ... Back radar Device: 13 ... Left side radar device, 14 ... Right side radar device, 16 ... Solar radiation sensor, 17 ... Rainfall sensor, 18 ... Wheel speed sensor, 19 ... Current sensor, 20 ... Steering amount sensor, 21 ... In-vehicle contact sensor, 22 ... Engine room temperature sensor, 23 ... Engine room sound sensor, 24 ... Tire air pressure sensor, 25 ... Suspension sensor, 26 ... Outside sound sensor, 27 ... Impact sensor, 30, 101 ... Automatic operation control device, 30a, 101a, 102a ... Control part, 30b, 101b, 102b ... Memory, 31 ... GPS communication part, 32 ... Inter-vehicle communication part, 33 ... Road-to-vehicle communication part, 34 ... Inter-vehicle communication unit, 35 ... LTE communication unit, 36 ... operation unit, 37 ... display unit, 38 ... speaker, 41 ... automatic operation switch, 42 ... level setting operation unit, 43 ... emergency stop lever, 44 ... release reset switch, 46 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS ... Travel drive control part, 47 ... Brake control part, 48 ... Steering control part, 81 ... Road communicator, 82 ... Camera, 100 ... Network, 102 ... Monitoring apparatus, 111 ... Detection means group, 112 ... Communication means group.

Claims (3)

An automatic driving control device mounted on a vehicle,
A surrounding information acquisition unit configured to acquire surrounding information that is surrounding information of the vehicle;
The driving mode of the vehicle includes an advanced automation mode for automatically executing at least a part of a plurality of types of driving operations necessary for traveling of the vehicle based on the surrounding information, and the driving operation for automatically executing the vehicle. An operation mode setting unit configured to set one of the basic modes in which the type of the automatic operation is less than or less than the advanced automation mode;
Based on the operation mode set by the operation mode setting unit, an automatic control unit configured to execute the automatic operation set in the operation mode;
When at least the operation mode is the advanced automation mode, it is determined whether or not a predetermined release event that should cancel at least one of the automatic operation set in the advanced automation mode has occurred. The required release event determination unit configured,
With
The automatic control unit is set to be executed when the operation mode is set to at least the advanced automation mode and the release event determining unit determines that the release event has occurred. Configured to stop the execution of at least one of the automatic driving operations,
Automatic operation control device. The automatic operation control device according to claim 1,
When the operation mode is set to an operation mode having at least one automatic operation to be executed, the automatic control unit determines that the required release event has occurred by the required release event determining unit. If configured, it is configured to stop all the automatic operation to be executed in the operation mode,
Automatic operation control device. The automatic operation control device according to claim 1 or 2,
A notification unit configured to notify the occupant of the vehicle that the release event has occurred, when the release event determination unit determines that the release event has occurred;
A release permission determination unit configured to determine whether or not a specific release permission operation has been performed by an occupant of the vehicle after notification by the notification unit;
With
The automatic control unit stops execution of the automatic driving operation to be stopped when the release permission determination unit determines that the release permission operation is performed, and the release permission determination unit When it is not determined that the release permission operation has been performed, a predetermined automatic stop process for stopping the traveling of the vehicle is performed.
Automatic operation control device.

Images