JP2018154226A - Vehicle control apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To identify a new preceding vehicle quickly in the case of a preceding vehicle of the vehicle itself has departed from a column of vehicles.SOLUTION: A vehicle control apparatus (100), capable of executing a travel in a column of vehicles using inter-vehicular communication, includes: distance estimation means (16) for obtaining, from a single or plural vehicles traveling ahead of a vehicle itself in a column of vehicles, distance information indicating a relative distance to the single vehicle or each of the plural vehicles via the inter-vehicular communication while traveling in column, thus estimating a relative distance between the vehicle itself and the single or each of the plural vehicles; and identification means (17) for identifying a new preceding vehicle by comparing the estimated relative distance and a distance between the vehicle itself and a vehicle traveling ahead of the vehicle itself detected by a distance detection means (14) in a case where a present preceding vehicle traveling immediately ahead of the vehicle itself has departed from the column of vehicles while the travel in column is performed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle control device, and more particularly to a technical field of a vehicle control device capable of running in a row.

  As this type of device, for example, the preceding vehicle is identified by comparing the history of the distance to the forward object detected by the radar and the history of the relative distance with other vehicles acquired using the inter-vehicle communication device, An apparatus has been proposed that determines the anteroposterior relationship of a convoy based on the latest information including the vehicle ID of the preceding vehicle of the other vehicle, the vehicle ID of the other vehicle, and the anteroposterior relationship of both vehicles from another vehicle (patent) Reference 1).

JP 2013-205960 A

  For example, when one vehicle out of a plurality of vehicles forming a platoon has left the platoon, the vehicle that has traveled immediately after the detached vehicle needs to specify a new preceding vehicle. At this time, with the technique described in Patent Document 1, it may take a relatively long time to identify a new preceding vehicle.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a vehicle control device that can identify a new preceding vehicle relatively quickly when a vehicle forming a platoon leaves the platoon. This is the issue.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the vehicle control device of the present invention is a vehicle control device capable of carrying out platooning in which a plurality of vehicles including the own vehicle form a platoon using a vehicle-to-vehicle communication. A distance detecting means for detecting a distance between the own vehicle and an object existing around the own vehicle, and one or a plurality of vehicles traveling forward from the own vehicle in the formation when the formation running is being carried out The distance information indicating the relative distance between the preceding vehicle of each of the one or more vehicles is acquired from the vehicle via the inter-vehicle communication, and the relative distance between the host vehicle and each of the one or more vehicles is acquired. A distance estimating means for estimating the estimated relative distance and the distance when the current preceding vehicle traveling immediately before the own vehicle leaves the platoon when the platooning is being carried out. The self detected by the detecting means And a specifying means for specifying a new preceding vehicle by comparing the distance between both bets the vehicle traveling in front of the vehicle.

  In the vehicle control apparatus, the relative distance between the own vehicle and each vehicle traveling ahead of the own vehicle in the formation is sequentially estimated during the formation running. For this reason, even if the current preceding vehicle of the own vehicle has left the platoon, the new preceding vehicle is moved relatively quickly based on the relative distance estimated in advance and the distance detected by the distance detecting means. Can be specified.

  The effect | action and other gain of this invention are clarified from the form for implementing demonstrated below.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the vehicle control apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the preceding vehicle specific operation | movement which concerns on embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the vehicle group structure process which concerns on embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the distance estimation process which concerns on embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the preceding vehicle specific process which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the driving | running | working condition of a vehicle.

  An embodiment according to a vehicle control device of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6.

(Constitution)
The configuration of the vehicle control device according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the vehicle control device according to the embodiment.

  In FIG. 1, the vehicle control device 100 is mounted on a vehicle 1. The vehicle control device 100 includes a data reception unit 11, a data transmission unit 12, a host vehicle speed measurement unit 13, a preceding vehicle distance measurement unit 14, a vehicle group determination unit 15, a distance estimation unit 16, and a preceding vehicle identification unit 17. Has been.

  The data receiving unit 11 and the data transmitting unit 12 are configured as a part of the inter-vehicle communication device. The own vehicle speed measurement unit 13 measures the own vehicle speed, which is the speed of the vehicle 1, based on detection results of a vehicle speed sensor, a wheel speed sensor, and the like, for example. The preceding vehicle distance measuring unit 14 measures the distance between the vehicle 1 and a vehicle traveling immediately before the vehicle 1 based on a detection result such as a millimeter wave radar.

  Each of the vehicle group determination unit 15, the distance estimation unit 16, and the preceding vehicle identification unit 17 may be configured as a processing circuit that is physically realized. For example, the vehicle group determination unit 15, the distance estimation unit 16, and the preceding vehicle identification unit 17 may be logically included in a control unit including a memory, a processor, and the like. It may be configured as a realized processing block.

  The vehicle control device 100 configured as described above is configured to be able to perform a convoy travel that forms a convoy with a plurality of vehicles including the vehicle 1 using inter-vehicle communication.

  The data receiving unit 11 receives information on each of the plurality of vehicles forming the platoon by inter-vehicle communication during the platooning. Information related to the vehicle (that is, received data) includes the ID of the vehicle that transmitted the data to the vehicle 1 (the “own vehicle ID” of the received data), and the ID of the vehicle that the vehicle identifies as the preceding vehicle ( Received data “preceding vehicle ID”), distance between the vehicle and the vehicle identified as the preceding vehicle by the vehicle (“inter-vehicle distance” in the received data), longitudinal length of the vehicle (received) Data "own vehicle length") and the speed of the vehicle (received data "own vehicle speed").

  The data transmission part 12 transmits the information which concerns on the vehicle 1 by vehicle-to-vehicle communication with respect to each of the several vehicle which forms a platoon at the time of platoon travel. Information related to the vehicle 1 (that is, transmission data) includes the ID of the vehicle 1 ("own vehicle ID" of the transmission data), the ID of the vehicle that the vehicle 1 specifies as the preceding vehicle ("preceding vehicle ID of the transmission data"). "), The distance between the vehicle 1 and the vehicle that the vehicle 1 specifies as the preceding vehicle (" inter-vehicle distance "in the transmission data), the length in the front-rear direction of the vehicle 1 (" own vehicle length "in the transmission data) ) And the speed of the vehicle 1 ("own vehicle speed" of transmission data).

  The vehicle control device 100 controls the vehicle 1 based on the received data and the like during platooning and transmits information related to the vehicle 1 to a plurality of vehicles forming the platoon. In the present embodiment, in particular, the preceding vehicle specifying operation during platooning will be described.

(Previous vehicle specific operation)
The preceding vehicle specifying operation performed by the vehicle control device 100 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  An overview of the preceding vehicle specifying operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In FIG. 2, the vehicle group determination unit 15 of the vehicle control device 100 performs a vehicle group configuration process to identify a plurality of vehicles (vehicle groups) that form a platoon including the vehicle 1 (step S <b> 1). Next, the distance estimation unit 16 of the vehicle control device 100 performs a distance estimation process in order to estimate the distance between the vehicle that configures or configures the platoon including the vehicle 1 and the vehicle 1 (step S2). ).

  Next, the vehicle control device 100 determines whether or not a preceding vehicle of the host vehicle (that is, the vehicle 1) has been specified (step S3). In this determination, when it is determined that the preceding vehicle is specified (step S3: Yes), the preceding vehicle specifying operation shown in FIG. 2 is ended. Thereafter, after the minute time Δt (for example, several milliseconds to several tens of milliseconds) elapses, the process of step S1 is performed. That is, the preceding vehicle specifying operation shown in FIG. 2 is repeatedly performed at a period corresponding to the minute time Δt.

  If it is determined in step S3 that the preceding vehicle is not specified (step S3: No), the preceding vehicle specifying unit 17 of the vehicle control device 100 performs the preceding vehicle specifying process to specify the preceding vehicle. (Step S4). After the process of step S4, the process of step S1 is performed after a minute time Δt has elapsed.

Vehicle Group Configuration Process The vehicle group configuration process (S1) will be specifically described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In FIG. 3, the vehicle group determination unit 15 determines whether or not a preceding vehicle of the vehicle 1 is specified (step S <b> 101). In this determination, when it is determined that the preceding vehicle of the vehicle 1 is not specified (step S101: No), the process of step S104 described later is performed.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S101 that the preceding vehicle of the vehicle 1 is specified (step S101: Yes), the vehicle group determination unit 15 sets the preceding vehicle of the vehicle 1 as the vehicle group including the vehicle 1. (Step S102).

  In addition, since the existing technology can be applied to the method for specifying the preceding vehicle, a detailed description thereof is omitted, but the preceding vehicle can be specified by the following method, for example. That is, the time change such as the speed of the other vehicle acquired by the inter-vehicle communication and the time such as the speed of the vehicle traveling immediately before the vehicle 1 detected by the millimeter wave radar or the like (corresponding to the preceding vehicle distance measuring unit 14). If the changes are compared with each other and if they match (or substantially match), the vehicle traveling immediately before the vehicle 1 is identified as the preceding vehicle.

  After step S102, the vehicle group determination unit 15 determines whether or not a further preceding vehicle has been specified (step S103). The vehicle group determination unit 15 determines that a further preceding vehicle is specified when the “preceding vehicle ID” is included in the received data (see FIG. 1). In this determination, when it is determined that a further preceding vehicle is specified (step S103: Yes), the vehicle group determination unit 15 adds the further preceding vehicle to the vehicle group including the vehicle 1 (step S102). . The vehicle group determination unit 15 repeats the processes of steps S102 and S103 until it is determined in step S103 that no further preceding vehicle is specified, that is, “No”.

  Here, it is assumed that the vehicle 1 and the vehicles a to f are traveling as shown in FIG. It is assumed that the vehicle 1 specifies the vehicle a as a preceding vehicle. Further, it is assumed that the vehicles a, b, c, and d specify the vehicles b, c, d, and e as the preceding vehicles, respectively. It is assumed that the vehicle e does not specify the vehicle f as a preceding vehicle.

  In this case, the received data from the vehicle a that is the preceding vehicle of the vehicle 1 includes the ID of the vehicle a and the ID of the vehicle b that is the preceding vehicle of the vehicle a. In the process of step S102, the vehicle b is added to the vehicle group including the vehicle 1 (the vehicle a is already added to the vehicle group including the vehicle 1). Since the received data from the vehicle b includes the ID of the vehicle b and the ID of the vehicle c that is the preceding vehicle of the vehicle b, the vehicle group determination unit 15 includes the vehicle 1 in the process of step S102. Add vehicle c to the vehicle group. Since the received data from the vehicle c includes the ID of the vehicle c and the ID of the vehicle d that is the preceding vehicle of the vehicle c, the vehicle group determination unit 15 includes the vehicle 1 in the process of step S102. Add vehicle d to the vehicle group. Since the received data from the vehicle d includes the ID of the vehicle d and the ID of the vehicle e that is the preceding vehicle of the vehicle d, the vehicle group determination unit 15 includes the vehicle 1 in the process of step S102. Add vehicle e to the vehicle group. Since the reception data from the vehicle e does not include the ID of the preceding vehicle, it is determined in the determination in step S103 that no further preceding vehicle is specified (step S103: No).

  Returning to FIG. 3, when it is determined in step S <b> 103 that no further preceding vehicle has been specified (step S <b> 103: No), the vehicle group determination unit 15 specifies the vehicle 1 as the preceding vehicle of the rear vehicle. It is determined whether or not (step S104). The vehicle group determination unit 15 determines that the vehicle 1 is specified as the preceding vehicle of the rear vehicle when the ID of the vehicle 1 is included as the “preceding vehicle ID” of the received data.

  If it is determined in step S104 that the vehicle 1 is not specified as the preceding vehicle of the rear vehicle (step S104: No), the process shown in FIG. 3 is terminated. On the other hand, when it is determined in step S104 that the vehicle 1 is specified as the preceding vehicle of the rear vehicle (step S104: Yes), the vehicle group determination unit 15 changes the rear vehicle to a vehicle group including the vehicle 1. Add (step S105).

  Next, the vehicle group determination unit 15 determines whether or not the rear vehicle is specified as a preceding vehicle of a further rear vehicle (step S106). In this determination, when it is determined that the rear vehicle is not specified as the preceding vehicle of the further rear vehicle (step S106: No), the process illustrated in FIG. 3 is ended.

  On the other hand, in the determination of step S106, when it is determined that the rear vehicle is specified as the preceding vehicle of the further rear vehicle (step S106: Yes), the vehicle group determination unit 15 selects the further rear vehicle as the vehicle 1. It adds to the vehicle group which includes (step S105). The vehicle group determination unit 15 repeats the processes of steps S105 and S106 until it is determined in step S106 that the rear vehicle is not specified as a preceding vehicle of a further rear vehicle, that is, “No”. .

  The vehicle group determination unit 15 generates a vehicle group data array (see FIG. 1) as a result of the processing shown in FIG. In this vehicle group data array, in addition to the longitudinal relationship of each vehicle included in the vehicle group including the vehicle 1, the distance between each vehicle and its preceding vehicle (that is, the inter-vehicle distance), and the longitudinal direction of each vehicle (That is, the length of the vehicle). The vehicle group data array is transmitted to the distance estimation unit 16.

Distance Estimation Process The distance estimation process (S2) will be specifically described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. There are two methods for calculating (estimating) the distance according to the present embodiment. The first method is a method of calculating the distance between each vehicle included in the vehicle group including the vehicle 1 and the vehicle 1 based on the vehicle group data array or the like. In the case shown in FIG. 6A, for example, the distance between the vehicle 1 and the vehicle b is “the distance between the vehicle 1 and the vehicle a (measured by the preceding vehicle distance measurement unit 14)” and “(the vehicle group). It is determined as the sum of the “length in the front-rear direction of the vehicle a” (indicated by the data array) and the “distance between the vehicle a and the vehicle b (indicated by the vehicle group data array)”. Similarly, for example, the distance between the vehicle 1 and the vehicle e is “the distance between the vehicle 1 and the vehicle a”, “the length of the vehicle a in the front-rear direction”, and “the distance between the vehicle a and the vehicle b”. “The length of the vehicle b in the front-rear direction”, “the distance between the vehicle b and the vehicle c”, “the length of the vehicle c in the front-rear direction”, “the distance between the vehicle c and the vehicle d”, It is obtained as the sum of “the length in the front-rear direction of the vehicle d” and “the distance between the vehicle d and the vehicle e”.

  The second method is a method for estimating the distance between the vehicle 1 that has left the vehicle group including the vehicle 1 and the vehicle 1. As shown in FIG. 6B, when the vehicle a leaves the vehicle group including the vehicle 1 and the vehicles a to e (see FIG. 6A), the distance between the vehicle 1 and the vehicle a is determined by the vehicle a. From the sum of the “distance between the vehicle 1 and the vehicle a” when the vehicle group leaves and the “integrated value of the speed of the vehicle a” from when the vehicle a leaves to the present time, It is calculated as a value obtained by subtracting the “integrated value of the speed of the vehicle 1 (measured by the own vehicle speed measuring unit 13)” up to the present time (that is, the current “distance between the vehicle 1 and the vehicle a”) “Distance between vehicle 1 and vehicle a” + “integrated value of speed of vehicle a” − “integrated value of speed of vehicle 1”). In other words, the current distance between the vehicle 1 and the vehicle a is equal to the distance between the vehicle 1 and the vehicle a at the time of departure and the difference between the speed of the vehicle a and the speed of the vehicle 1 after the vehicle a leaves. It is obtained as the sum of the integral values up to. In the present embodiment, the distance obtained by the second method is referred to as “estimated distance”.

  In FIG. 4, the distance estimation unit 16 targets the surrounding vehicle n (step S201). Next, the distance estimation unit 16 determines whether or not the surrounding vehicle n is a vehicle for which an estimated distance is being calculated (that is, a vehicle for which an estimated distance is to be calculated) (step S202). In this determination, when it is determined that the surrounding vehicle n is not a vehicle for which an estimated distance is being calculated (step S202: No), a process of step S207 described later is performed.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S202 that the surrounding vehicle n is a vehicle for which an estimated distance is being calculated (step S202: Yes), the distance estimation unit 16 determines that the surrounding vehicle n includes the vehicle 1 in the vehicle group. It is determined whether or not the vehicle is a vehicle (step S203). In this determination, when it is determined that the surrounding vehicle n is not a vehicle in the vehicle group including the vehicle 1 (step S203: No), the distance estimation unit 16 estimates the estimated distance from the speed difference between the vehicle 1 and the surrounding vehicle n. Is updated (step S204).

  Next, the distance estimation unit 16 determines whether or not to end the calculation of the estimated distance at the product limit for the surrounding vehicle n (step S205). Here, the “product limit” means an upper limit value of an allowable range of errors accumulated by integration. In this determination, when it is determined not to end the calculation of the estimated distance (step S205: No), the process of step S207 described later is performed.

  When it is determined in step S203 that the surrounding vehicle n is a vehicle in the vehicle group including the vehicle 1 (step S203: Yes) or when it is determined in step S205 that the calculation of the estimated distance is to be terminated (Step S205: Yes), the distance estimation unit 16 excludes the surrounding vehicle n from the vehicle whose estimated distance is being calculated (that is, excluded from the calculation target of the estimated distance) (Step S206).

  Next, the distance estimation unit 16 determines whether or not the surrounding vehicle n is a vehicle in a vehicle group including the vehicle 1 (step S207). In this determination, when it is determined that the surrounding vehicle n is a vehicle in the vehicle group including the vehicle 1 (step S207: Yes), the distance estimation unit 16 is based on the vehicle group data array or the like, that is, the vehicle group. By adding the distance between each vehicle in the vehicle and its preceding vehicle (that is, the distance between vehicles) and the length of each vehicle in the front-rear direction (that is, the vehicle length), the distance between the vehicle 1 and the surrounding vehicle n Is calculated (step S208). Then, the process of step S212 described later is performed.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S207 that the surrounding vehicle n is not a vehicle in the vehicle group including the vehicle 1 (step S207: No), the distance estimation unit 16 determines that the surrounding vehicle n is the previous time (that is, In the preceding execution of the preceding vehicle specifying operation shown in FIG. 2, it is determined whether or not the vehicle is in a vehicle group including the vehicle 1 (step S209). In this determination, when it is determined that the surrounding vehicle n is not a vehicle in the vehicle group including the vehicle 1 even at the previous time (step S209: No), a process of step S212 described later is performed.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S209 that the surrounding vehicle n is a vehicle in the vehicle group including the vehicle 1 at the previous time (step S209: Yes), the distance estimation unit 16 ( In other words, the estimated distance is calculated based on the distance between the vehicle 1 and the surrounding vehicle n (when leaving the vehicle group including the vehicle 1) and the speed difference between the speed of the vehicle 1 and the speed of the surrounding vehicle n. (Step S210). The distance estimation unit 16 adds the surrounding vehicle n to the vehicle whose estimated distance is being calculated in parallel with the process of step S210 (step S211).

  Next, the distance estimation unit 16 determines whether or not there is an unprocessed peripheral vehicle in the vicinity of the vehicle 1 (that is, not yet a target of the distance estimation process) (step S212). In this determination, when it is determined that there is an unprocessed surrounding vehicle (step S212: Yes), the distance estimation unit 16 changes the target surrounding vehicle (step S213), and performs the processing after step S202. .

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S212 that there is no unprocessed surrounding vehicle (step S212: No), the process shown in FIG. 4 is terminated. The distance estimation unit 16 generates an estimated distance data array (see FIG. 1) as a result of the processing shown in FIG. The estimated distance data array is transmitted to the preceding vehicle specifying unit 17. The estimated distance data array includes data indicated by the vehicle group data array in addition to the distance between the vehicle 1 and the surrounding vehicle n.

The preceding vehicle specifying process The preceding vehicle specifying process (S4) will be specifically described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In FIG. 5, the preceding vehicle specifying unit 17 targets the surrounding vehicle n (step S401). Next, the preceding vehicle specifying unit 17 determines whether or not the surrounding vehicle n is a vehicle for which the estimated distance is being calculated (that is, a vehicle for which the estimated distance is to be calculated) based on the estimated distance data array (step S1). S402). In this determination, when it is determined that the surrounding vehicle n is not a vehicle for which the estimated distance is being calculated (step S402: No), a process of step S406 described later is performed.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the surrounding vehicle n is a vehicle for which an estimated distance is being calculated (step S402: Yes), the preceding vehicle specifying unit 17 determines that the surrounding vehicle n is a vehicle behind it (that is, a vehicle other than the vehicle 1). ) Is determined as a preceding vehicle (step S403). When it is determined in this determination that the surrounding vehicle n is specified as the preceding vehicle of the rear vehicle (step S403: Yes), the process of step S406 described later is performed. This is because the surrounding vehicle n is not a preceding vehicle of the vehicle 1 in this case.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S403 that the surrounding vehicle n is not specified as the preceding vehicle of the rear vehicle (step S403: No), the preceding vehicle specifying unit 17 determines the estimated distance and the preceding vehicle distance. It is determined whether or not the distance measured by the measurement unit 14 matches (step S404). In this determination, when it is determined that the estimated distance matches the distance measured by the preceding vehicle distance measuring unit 14 (step S404: Yes), the preceding vehicle specifying unit 17 sets the surrounding vehicle n as a new preceding vehicle. After specifying (step S405), the process shown in FIG. 5 is terminated.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S404 that the estimated distance does not match the distance measured by the preceding vehicle distance measuring unit 14 (step S404: No), the preceding vehicle specifying unit 17 It is determined whether there is a surrounding vehicle that has not yet been processed (that is, is not yet the target of the preceding vehicle specifying process) (step S406). In this determination, when it is determined that there is an unprocessed surrounding vehicle (step S406: Yes), the preceding vehicle specifying unit 17 changes the target surrounding vehicle (step S407), and performs the processing after step S402. Do. On the other hand, when it is determined in step S406 that there is no unprocessed surrounding vehicle (step S406: No), the process illustrated in FIG. 5 is terminated.

  As shown in FIG. 6B, when the vehicle a leaves the vehicle group including the vehicle 1 and the vehicles a to e (see FIG. 6A), immediately after the vehicle a leaves, the vehicles a to e The vehicle is calculating the estimated distance. For this reason, in the above-mentioned preceding vehicle specific processing, processing after Step S403 is performed about each of vehicles ae. Since the vehicles c, d, and e are the preceding vehicles of the vehicles b, c, and d, respectively, “Yes” is determined in step S403, and the vehicles 1 are excluded from the new preceding vehicle candidates.

  In the case shown in FIG. 6B, the preceding vehicle distance measuring unit 14 outputs the distance from the vehicle 1 to the vehicle b as a measurement result. Therefore, in the determination in step S404, the distance between the vehicle 1 and the vehicle b, The distance measured by the preceding vehicle distance measuring unit 14 matches. Therefore, the vehicle b is specified as a new preceding vehicle of the vehicle 1. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6C, a new vehicle group (convoy) is formed by the vehicle 1 and the vehicles b to e.

(Technical effect)
If the distance between the vehicle 1 and the surrounding vehicle is not calculated after the preceding vehicle of the vehicle 1 is specified, if the preceding vehicle of the vehicle 1 leaves the vehicle group including the vehicle 1, It is necessary to start again from the beginning to calculate the distance to the surrounding vehicles.

  In the vehicle control device 100, the distance between the vehicle 1 and the surrounding vehicle is sequentially calculated (estimated) by the above-described distance estimation process during the platooning. For this reason, even if the current preceding vehicle of the vehicle 1 leaves the vehicle group including the vehicle 1, it is not necessary to recalculate the distance between the vehicle 1 and the surrounding vehicle. It can be identified relatively quickly.

  The “preceding vehicle distance measuring unit 14”, the “distance estimating unit 16”, and the “preceding vehicle specifying unit 17” according to the embodiment are respectively “distance detecting unit”, “distance estimating unit”, and “identifying unit” according to the present invention. Is an example.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be changed as appropriate without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention that can be read from the claims and the entire specification. Is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vehicle, 11 ... Data reception part, 12 ... Data transmission part, 13 ... Own-vehicle speed measurement part, 14 ... Prior vehicle distance measurement part, 15 ... Vehicle group determination part, 16 ... Distance estimation part, 17 ... Prior vehicle identification Part, 100 ... vehicle control device

Claims (1)

A vehicle control device capable of carrying out a platooning run by forming a platoon with a plurality of vehicles including the host vehicle using inter-vehicle communication,
Distance detecting means for detecting a distance between the host vehicle and an object existing around the host vehicle;
When the platooning is being carried out, the relative distance from one or more vehicles traveling ahead of the host vehicle in the platoon to the preceding vehicle of each of the one or more vehicles via the inter-vehicle communication Distance estimation means for obtaining a distance information indicating the relative distance between the host vehicle and each of the one or more vehicles;
When the platooning is being carried out and the current preceding vehicle traveling immediately before the own vehicle has left the platoon, the estimated relative distance and the own vehicle detected by the distance detector are detected. A specifying means for specifying a new preceding vehicle by comparing a distance between the vehicle and a vehicle traveling in front of the host vehicle;
A vehicle control device comprising:

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