JP2019061342A - Vehicle control device, vehicle control method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a vehicle control device, a vehicle control method, and a program capable of extending a travelable distance of vehicles constituting rank traveling.SOLUTION: A vehicle control device includes: a communication section for communicating with other vehicles; a rank traveling vehicle determination section for determining multiple vehicles satisfying a predetermined condition to be rank traveling vehicles on the basis of a communication result by the communication section; and a sequence determination section for determining a traveling sequence of the rank traveling vehicles determined by the rank traveling vehicle determination section on the basis of an energy margin amount of the other vehicles based on information related to energy of the other vehicles received with the use of the communication section and also an energy margin amount of a self-vehicle based on information related to energy of the self-vehicle.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

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

  In the past, research has been conducted on row travel in which a plurality of vehicles travel in a row on the same lane. Related to this, there is a system that reduces the speed of the leading vehicle when the battery remaining capacity of the following autonomously operating vehicle decreases when a plurality of autonomously operating autonomous vehicles run in tandem behind a manned operation leading vehicle. It is known (for example, refer to patent documents 1).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-113400

  However, in the technology described in Patent Document 1 above, since the traveling order of the row travel is fixed, more flexible control can not be performed.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle control device, a vehicle control method, and a program capable of extending the travelable distance of the vehicles constituting the row travel. One.

  (1): A formation traveling vehicle determination unit (91) that determines a plurality of vehicles satisfying a predetermined condition as a row traveling vehicle based on a communication unit (20) that communicates with other vehicles and a communication result by the communication unit Based on the information on the energy of the other vehicle based on the information on the energy of the other vehicle received using the communication unit, and the energy surplus of the vehicle on the basis of the information on the energy of the own vehicle And d) an order determining unit (92) configured to determine the traveling order of the row traveling vehicles determined by the traveling vehicle determination unit.

  (2) In (1), the order determining unit determines a vehicle having the largest energy margin as a leading vehicle.

  (3): In (1) or (2), the order determining unit determines a vehicle arbitrarily selected from vehicles having the energy margin amount equal to or more than a threshold as a leading vehicle.

  (4): in any one of (1) to (3), the order determining unit is configured to set the energy margin amount of the vehicle traveling ahead with respect to the energy margin amount of the vehicle traveling behind in the row running. Determining the traveling order of the row traveling vehicles so that the number of vehicles is greater.

  (5): In any one of (1) to (4), the order determination unit determines whether or not it is necessary to change the traveling order of the row traveling vehicle based on the state of the leading vehicle after the row traveling starts. What to judge.

  (6): in any one of (1) to (5), when the traveling order of the row traveling vehicles is interchanged, the traveling order with the smallest interchanged amount within the range satisfying the rules. What to decide.

  (7): In any one of (1) to (6), the change of the traveling position of the vehicle included in the row traveling vehicle is determined based on the traveling order determined by the order determination unit, and the determined change And a change notification unit (93) for notifying other vehicles of the content using the communication unit.

  (8) In (7), the traveling order determined by the order determination unit is compared with the traveling order at that time, and a vehicle requiring a change in the traveling order is extracted, and the extracted vehicle is Notification of changes.

  (9): In any one of (1) to (8), the order determination unit predicts, when the other vehicle and the own vehicle travel to a destination, for each of the vehicles included in the row traveling vehicle. The energy consumption of each vehicle is derived, and the energy surplus of each vehicle is derived based on the derived energy consumption and the current amount of energy remaining.

  (10): in any one of (1) to (9), the order determination unit predicts each of the vehicles predicted when traveling to the destination at the top of the formation traveling for each vehicle included in the formation traveling vehicles The energy loss amount of the vehicle is derived, and the energy margin amount of each vehicle is derived based on the derived energy loss amount.

  (11): In any one of (1) to (10), the vehicle control device is configured such that, in the case of a row traveling vehicle, the energy margin amount of the own vehicle is the largest, or the own vehicle is the row traveling vehicle When traveling at the top of the vehicle, it operates as a vehicle control device for a master vehicle that determines a change in the traveling order of the formation traveling while forming a formation.

  (12): Information regarding the energy of the other vehicle that the computer has communicated with the other vehicle, determines a plurality of vehicles satisfying the predetermined condition as the row traveling vehicle based on the communication result, and is received from the other vehicle The vehicle control method which determines the traveling order of the said row running vehicle determined based on the energy allowances of the said other vehicle based on the said, and the energy allowances of the said vehicle based on the information regarding the energy of the own vehicle.

  (13): Information on the energy of the other vehicle received from the other vehicle, causing the computer to communicate with the other vehicle, and based on the communication result, determine a plurality of vehicles satisfying the predetermined condition to the convoy traveling vehicle A program for determining the traveling order of the convoy traveling vehicle determined based on the energy allowance of the other vehicle based on the above and the energy allowance of the vehicle based on the information on the energy of the vehicle.

  According to (1) to (13), the travelable distance of the vehicles constituting the row travel can be extended.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a block diagram of the vehicle system 1 using the vehicle control apparatus which concerns on embodiment. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a vehicle equipped with a vehicle system 1 as a hybrid vehicle. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of a driving | running | working order. It is a flow chart which shows an example of processing by a row running vehicle determination part 91. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an order determination process by an order determination unit 92. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the master determination processing by the order determination part 92. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the master process by the row | line | column control part 90. FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the vehicle C0 and the vehicles C1-C4 of the periphery of it. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of a change of the travel order of a row running vehicle. It is a figure for demonstrating the other example of a change of the travel order of a row running vehicle. It is a block diagram of vehicle system 1A which used formation control part 90A to vehicles provided with an automatic driving function. FIG. 2 is a functional configuration diagram of a first control unit 120 and a second control unit 160. It is a figure which shows a mode that a target track | orbit is produced | generated based on a recommendation lane. It is a block diagram of the vehicle system 1B which utilized the row | line | column control part 90B to the vehicle provided with the driving assistance function. It is a figure which shows the other example of a structure as a hybrid vehicle of the vehicle by which vehicle system 1 grade | etc., Is mounted. It is a figure showing an example of the hardware constitutions of the vehicle control device of an embodiment.

First Embodiment
Hereinafter, embodiments of a vehicle control device, a vehicle control method, and a program according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[overall structure]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a vehicle system 1 using a vehicle control device according to an embodiment. The vehicle on which the vehicle system 1 is mounted is, for example, a vehicle such as a two-wheeled vehicle, a three-wheeled vehicle, or a four-wheeled vehicle, and a driving source thereof is an internal combustion engine such as a diesel engine or a gasoline engine, an electric motor, or a combination thereof. When the motor is provided, the motor operates using the power generated by the generator connected to the internal combustion engine or the discharge power of the secondary battery or the fuel cell. In the following description, a hybrid vehicle adopting a series system will be described as an example. The series system is a system in which the engine and the drive wheels are not mechanically connected, the motive power of the engine is used exclusively for power generation by a generator, and the generated power is supplied to a motor for traveling. In addition, this vehicle may be a vehicle capable of plug-in charge of a battery.

  The vehicle system 1 includes, for example, a communication device 20, an HMI (Human Machine Interface) 30, a navigation device 50, a hybrid control unit 70, an engine control unit 71, a motor control unit 72, and a brake control unit 73. The battery control unit 74, the vehicle sensor 75, the tank remaining fuel gauge 76, the driving operation element 80, the row control unit 90, the traveling driving force output device 200, the brake device 210, the steering device 220, the battery 230 And These devices and devices are mutually connected by a multiplex communication line such as a CAN (Controller Area Network) communication line, a serial communication line, a wireless communication network or the like. The configuration shown in FIG. 1 is merely an example, and a part of the configuration may be omitted, or another configuration may be added.

  The hybrid control unit 70, the engine control unit 71, the motor control unit 72, the brake control unit 73, the battery control unit 74, and the formation control unit 90 are, for example, programs (software) with a hardware processor such as a central processing unit (CPU). It is realized by executing. In addition, some or all of these components may be hardware (circuits) such as LSI (Large Scale Integration), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), etc. Circuit (including circuitry) or may be realized by cooperation of software and hardware.

  The communication device 20 communicates with another vehicle m existing around the host vehicle M using, for example, a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, Bluetooth (registered trademark), DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communication), or It communicates with various server devices via a wireless base station.

  The HMI 30 presents various information to the occupant of the host vehicle M, and accepts input operation by the occupant. The HMI 30 includes various display devices, speakers, a buzzer, a touch panel, switches, keys, and the like.

  The navigation device 50 includes, for example, a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver 51, a navigation HMI 52, and a path determination unit 53, and stores the first map information 54 in a storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or a flash memory. Hold The GNSS receiver 51 specifies the position of the host vehicle M based on the signal received from the GNSS satellite. The position of the host vehicle M may be identified or supplemented by an INS (Inertial Navigation System) using the output of the vehicle sensor 75. The navigation HMI 52 includes a display device, a speaker, a touch panel, keys and the like. The navigation HMI 52 may be partially or entirely shared with the above-described HMI 30. The route determination unit 53, for example, a route from the position of the host vehicle M specified by the GNSS receiver 51 (or an arbitrary position input) to the destination input by the occupant using the navigation HMI 52 (hereinafter referred to as The route on the map is determined with reference to the first map information 54. The route on the map determined by the route determination unit 53 includes not only the final destination but also a transit point on the way, and the like, and may also include the predicted arrival time of the destination or the transit point. Further, the route on the map may include information indicating a road type such as an expressway or a city area. The first map information 54 is, for example, information in which a road shape is represented by a link indicating a road and a node connected by the link. The first map information 54 may include road curvature, POI (Point Of Interest) information, and the like.

  The on-map route determined by the route determination unit 53 is output to the convoy control unit 90. The navigation device 50 may also perform route guidance using the navigation HMI 52 based on the on-map route determined by the route determination unit 53. The navigation device 50 may be realized by, for example, the function of a terminal device such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal owned by a passenger. In addition, the navigation device 50 may transmit the current position and the destination to the navigation server via the communication device 20, and acquire the on-map route returned from the navigation server.

  The hybrid control unit 70 outputs an instruction to the engine control unit 71, the motor control unit 72, the brake control unit 73, and the battery control unit 74. The instruction by the hybrid control unit 70 will be described later.

  In response to an instruction from hybrid control unit 70, engine control unit 71 performs ignition control, throttle opening control, fuel injection control, fuel cut control, etc. of engine 201 (see FIG. 2) included in traveling drive power output device 200. I do. Further, the engine control unit 71 may calculate the engine speed based on the output of the crank angle sensor attached to the crankshaft, and may output the calculated engine speed to the hybrid control unit 70.

  In response to an instruction from hybrid control unit 70, motor control unit 72 controls first converter 207 (see FIG. 2) and / or second converter 209 (see FIG. 2) included in traveling drive power output device 200. Perform switching control.

  The brake control unit 73 controls the brake device 210 in accordance with an instruction from the hybrid control unit 70.

  Battery control unit 74 calculates SOC (State Of Charge; charging rate) of battery 230 based on the output of battery sensor 232 (see FIG. 2) attached to battery 230, and outputs the SOC to hybrid control unit 70.

  The vehicle sensor 75 includes, for example, an accelerator opening sensor, a vehicle speed sensor, a brake depression amount sensor, and the like. The accelerator opening degree sensor is attached to an accelerator pedal, which is an example of an operating element that receives an acceleration instruction from the driver, detects an operation amount of the accelerator pedal, and outputs it to the hybrid control unit 70 as an accelerator opening degree. The vehicle speed sensor includes, for example, a wheel speed sensor and a speed calculator attached to each wheel, integrates the wheel speeds detected by the wheel speed sensors to derive the speed (vehicle speed) of the vehicle, and transmits it to the hybrid control unit 70. Output. The brake depression amount sensor is attached to a brake pedal, which is an example of an operating element that receives a deceleration or stop instruction from the driver, detects an operation amount of the brake pedal, and outputs it to the hybrid control unit 70 as a brake depression amount.

  The tank remaining amount meter 76 measures the remaining amount of fuel stored in the tank, and outputs the measurement result to the HMI 30, the engine control unit 71, and the like.

  The operating element 80 includes, for example, an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, a shift lever, a steering wheel, a modified steering wheel, a joystick and other operating elements. A sensor for detecting the amount of operation or the presence or absence of the operation is attached to the drive operator 80, and the detection result is the hybrid control unit 70, or the traveling drive power output device 200, the brake device 210, and the steering device 220. Output to at least one or all of

  The row control unit 90 includes a row traveling vehicle determination unit 91, an order determination unit 92, a change notification unit 93, and order determination history information 94. Each configuration of the row control unit 90 will be described later.

  The traveling driving force output device 200 outputs traveling driving force (torque) for the vehicle to travel to the driving wheels. The traveling driving force output device 200 includes, for example, a combination of an internal combustion engine, an electric motor, a transmission, and the like, and an ECU that controls these. The ECU controls the above configuration in accordance with the information input from the hybrid control unit 70 or the information input from the drive operator 80. The details will be described with reference to FIG.

  The brake device 210 includes, for example, a brake caliper, a cylinder that transmits hydraulic pressure to the brake caliper, an electric motor that generates hydraulic pressure in the cylinder, and a brake ECU. The brake ECU controls the electric motor in accordance with the information input from the hybrid control unit 70 or the information input from the drive operator 80 so that the brake torque corresponding to the braking operation is output to each wheel. The brake device 210 may include, as a backup, a mechanism for transmitting the hydraulic pressure generated by the operation of the brake pedal included in the drive operator 80 to the cylinder via the master cylinder. The brake device 210 is not limited to the above-described configuration, and may be an electronically controlled hydraulic brake device that transmits the hydraulic pressure of the master cylinder to the cylinder by controlling the actuator according to the information input from the hybrid control unit 70. Good.

  The steering device 220 includes, for example, a steering ECU and an electric motor. The electric motor, for example, applies a force to the rack and pinion mechanism to change the direction of the steered wheels. The steering ECU drives the electric motor according to the information input from the hybrid control unit 70 or the information input from the drive operator 80 to change the direction of the steered wheels.

[Hybrid vehicle]
Next, with reference to FIG. 2, a configuration as a hybrid vehicle of a vehicle mounted with the vehicle system 1 shown in FIG. 1 will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a vehicle equipped with the vehicle system 1 as a hybrid vehicle. As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle includes, for example, an engine 201, a first motor (generator) 203, a second motor (electric motor) 205, a first converter 207, and a second converter 209; A brake device 210, a battery 230, a battery sensor 232 such as a voltage sensor, a current sensor, a temperature sensor, and a drive wheel 240 are mounted. The same reference numerals are given to the same components in the configuration shown in FIG. Further, in relation to FIG. 1, the engine 201, the first motor 203, the second motor 205, the first converter 207, and the second converter 209 are included in the traveling driving force output device 200 shown in FIG. It is.

  The engine 201 is an internal combustion engine that outputs power by burning a fuel such as gasoline. The engine 201 is, for example, a reciprocating engine including a cylinder and a piston, an intake valve, an exhaust valve, a fuel injection device, a spark plug, a connecting rod, a crankshaft, and the like. Also, the engine 201 may be a rotary engine.

  The first motor 203 is, for example, a three-phase alternating current generator. The first motor 203 has a rotor connected to an output shaft (e.g., a crankshaft) of the engine 201, and generates electric power using power output from the engine 201.

  The second motor 205 is, for example, a three-phase alternating current motor. The rotor of the second motor 205 is coupled to the drive wheel 240. The second motor 205 outputs power to the drive wheel 240 using the supplied power. Further, the second motor 205 generates electric power using the kinetic energy of the vehicle at the time of deceleration of the vehicle. Hereinafter, the power generation operation by the second motor 205 may be referred to as regeneration.

  The brake device 210 includes, for example, a brake caliper, a cylinder that transmits hydraulic pressure to the brake caliper, and an electric motor that generates hydraulic pressure in the cylinder. The brake device 210 may include, as a backup, a mechanism for transmitting the hydraulic pressure generated by the operation of the brake pedal to the cylinder via the master cylinder. The brake device 210 is not limited to the above-described configuration, and may be an electronically controlled hydraulic brake device that transmits the hydraulic pressure of the master cylinder to the cylinder.

  The first converter 207 and the second converter 209 are, for example, AC-DC converters. The DC side terminals of the first converter 207 and the second converter 209 are connected to the DC link DL. A battery 230 is connected to the DC link DL. The first converter 207 converts the alternating current generated by the first motor 203 into direct current and outputs it to the direct current link DL, or converts the direct current supplied via the direct current link DL into alternating current and the first motor 203 Supply to Similarly, the second converter 209 converts the alternating current generated by the second motor 205 into a direct current and outputs it to the direct current link DL, or converts the direct current supplied through the direct current link DL into an alternating current to 2) Supply to the motor 205 or the like.

  The battery 230 is, for example, a secondary battery such as a lithium ion battery.

  Here, control by the hybrid control unit 70 will be described. The hybrid control unit 70 first derives the required drive shaft torque Td based on the accelerator opening and the vehicle speed, and determines the required drive shaft power Pd output by the second motor 205. The hybrid control unit 70 also determines the engine power Pe to be output by the engine 201 based on the determined drive shaft required power Pd, the power consumption of the accessory, the SOC of the battery 230, and the like. A relationship of Pe (engine power) = Pd (drive shaft power) + Pi (power consumption of auxiliary equipment) + Pj (charge / discharge power of battery 230) is established between the drive shaft required power Pd and the engine power Pe. Do. The hybrid control unit 70 determines the reaction force torque of the first motor 203 so as to be balanced with the engine power Pe in accordance with the determined engine power Pe. The hybrid control unit 70 also determines the output torque of the second motor 205 based on the drive shaft request torque Td. Hybrid control unit 70 outputs the determined information to engine control unit 71 and motor control unit 72. When the brake included in the drive operator 80 is operated, the hybrid control unit 70 determines the distribution of the brake torque that can be output by the regeneration of the second motor 205 and the brake torque that the brake device 210 should output, It outputs to the motor control unit 72 and the brake control unit 73.

[Regarding Each Configuration of Convoy Control Unit 90]
Next, each configuration of the row control unit 90 will be described. The column control unit 90 executes the following processing while performing inter-vehicle communication with another vehicle m provided with a system similar to the vehicle system 1, for example.

  The formation traveling vehicle determination unit 91 uses the communication device 20 to call on other vehicles m in the vicinity to perform formation traveling. The formation traveling vehicle determination unit 91 acquires information on the route of the other vehicle m and information specifying the vehicle from the other vehicle m that has agreed to the formation traveling invitation among the one or more other vehicles m calling for formation traveling. Do. Further, the row traveling vehicle determination unit 91 acquires information on the route of the host vehicle M from the navigation device 50. The information on the route includes a destination, a route to the destination, a section distance for each road type included in the route, and the like. The information on the route may be, for example, a route on the map determined by the route determination unit 53. Road types include expressways, urban areas, mountain roads, and the like. The information specifying the vehicle includes the vehicle number, the color of the vehicle, the type of the vehicle, the vehicle type, the vehicle ID, the position information of the vehicle, and the like. The information acquired from the navigation device 50 may be transmitted to the other vehicle m.

  The row traveling vehicle determination unit 91 sets a plurality of vehicles satisfying a predetermined condition to a row traveling vehicle based on the information acquired from the other vehicle m using the communication device 20 and the information acquired from the host vehicle M. decide. The conditions determined in advance include, for example, that the destination is the same or partially the same, agreeing to the formation of a row, and that the length of traveling the same section is a predetermined value or more, etc. included. In addition, it may be included in conditions that energy allowances are more than predetermined value.

  The formation traveling vehicle determination unit 91 stores information on the vehicles included in the formation traveling vehicle in a storage unit (not shown) provided in the formation control unit 90. The row traveling vehicle determination unit 91 may periodically obtain information on the vehicle using the communication device 20 and update the information stored in the storage unit.

  When the row traveling vehicle is determined by the row traveling vehicle determination portion 91, the order determining unit 92 determines the traveling order of each vehicle based on the determined energy margin of each vehicle. The subsequent processing is performed on one master vehicle selected from all the row traveling vehicles. When the traveling order is uniquely determined in each of the formation traveling vehicles, the determined traveling order may not match. The master vehicle is determined, and the order determining unit 92 mounted on the master vehicle executes the subsequent processing to determine one traveling order. The other vehicles (slave vehicles) may travel in the traveling order determined by the master vehicle.

  The order determination unit 92 stores the determined traveling order of the row traveling vehicle in the order determination history information 94 and outputs the order to the change notification unit 93. The energy surplus amount of the hybrid vehicle is, for example, the sum of a value obtained by converting the remaining amount of fuel predicted when traveling to the destination and the SOC of the battery 230 into the same energy scale. Not limited to this, the energy margin may be calculated only with the remaining amount of fuel.

  The order determination unit 92 derives the energy margin of the host vehicle M based on the information on the route of the host vehicle M and the information on the energy of the host vehicle M for the above processing. The information related to energy includes, for example, the remaining amount of fuel, the SOC of the battery 230, and the like. The remaining amount of fuel is measured by the tank fuel gauge 76, and is input to the order determination unit 92, for example, via a meter (not shown) of the HMI 30. The remaining amount of fuel may be measured by the tank remaining amount meter 76 and may be input to the order determining unit 92 via the traveling driving force output device 200, the engine control unit 71, and the hybrid control unit 70. The information indicating the SOC of the battery 230 is calculated by, for example, the battery control unit 74, and is input to the order determination unit 92 via the hybrid control unit 70.

  When deriving the energy allowance, the order determining unit 92 derives, for example, the energy consumption of the vehicle M predicted when the vehicle M travels to the destination. At this time, the order determination unit 92 may perform calculation on the assumption that the vehicle travels in the second and subsequent row formations at a certain rate. Further, the order determination unit 92 prepares the fuel consumption of the host vehicle M according to the road type in the storage unit, refers to the fuel consumption for each travel road type, and corresponds to the section of each road type included in the route on the map. The energy consumption of the host vehicle M may be derived by deriving the energy consumption and summing the derived energy consumption for each section. Then, based on the difference between the derived amount of energy consumption and the current remaining amount of energy of the vehicle M, the order determining unit 92 derives the energy margin of the vehicle M. The fuel consumption according to the road type may be prepared for each vehicle type and stored in the storage unit.

  In addition, the order determination unit 92 may derive the amount of energy loss of each vehicle predicted when traveling to the destination at the beginning of the row travel, and may add the derived amount of loss to the energy margin amount. At this time, the order determination unit 92 may perform the calculation under the assumption that the vehicle travels at the top of the row running at a certain rate. For example, the order determination unit 92 derives the predicted energy loss amount of each vehicle based on the information on the energy of the host vehicle M and the information on the route of the host vehicle M. The order determination unit 92 refers to the fuel consumption of the host vehicle M according to the road type, as in the case of deriving the energy consumption, and the energy according to the section of each road type included in the formation traveling route The amount of energy loss of the host vehicle M may be derived by deriving the amount of loss and adding up the amounts of energy loss derived for each section.

  With regard to the energy margin of the other vehicle m, the order determination unit 92 may similarly derive the energy margin based on the information on the energy acquired from the other vehicle m and the information on the route of the other vehicle m. The energy margin amount derived in the above may be acquired from the other vehicle m by communication. The order determination unit 92 periodically acquires information related to energy and an energy allowance, for example, from another vehicle m, associates the acquired information with information related to the vehicle, and stores the information in the storage unit included in the row control unit 90. May be

  After the row traveling vehicle determination unit 91 determines the row traveling vehicle, the order determining unit 92 determines a first traveling order. In the initial order determination, the order determination unit 92 determines the order of all the vehicles included in the formation, for example, according to a predetermined rule.

  Here, an example of a predetermined rule will be described. The order determination unit 92 determines, for example, the traveling order of a row traveling vehicle in accordance with the rule that the vehicle having the largest energy margin amount is first. Instead, the order determination unit 92 sets the traveling order of the row traveling vehicle according to the rule that a vehicle arbitrarily selected from vehicles having an energy margin equal to or larger than the threshold (there is a sufficient energy margin) is first. You may decide By so doing, the amount of energy allowance decreases as the leading vehicle increases due to the influence of air resistance, and as a result, it is possible to equalize the remaining amount of energy allowance. As a result, the overall travelable distance can be extended.

  Further, the order determination unit 92 may determine the traveling order of all formation traveling vehicles in accordance with the rule of arranging in descending order in principle. That is, this rule can be said to be a rule that determines the traveling order of the formation traveling vehicles so that the energy allowance of the vehicle traveling ahead is larger than the energy allowance of the vehicle traveling backward. In this case, when the number of vehicles in a row traveling vehicle is large, the order determining unit 92 may determine only the order of some of the row traveling vehicles according to this rule. In this way, it is possible to extend the overall travel distance and to make the replacement smoother.

  In addition, the order determining unit 92 may not be arranged in the order of the energy allowance if the vehicles have a sufficiently large energy allowance. For example, vehicles having energy allowances equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold may be arranged in order from the top, and vehicles having energy allowances smaller than the predetermined threshold may be arranged behind the leading vehicle group.

  After the first traveling order is determined, when a row traveling is started, the order determination unit 92, for example, reviews the traveling order every time a predetermined time passes from the previous order determination, and determines a new traveling order. Do. At this time, the order determination unit 92 may review only the traveling order of the leading vehicle, and may also review the traveling order of the following vehicle. The following vehicle is a vehicle other than the leading vehicle included in the row traveling vehicle.

  Here, with reference to FIG. 3, an example of the traveling order determined according to the rules will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an example of the traveling order. FIG. 3 shows four vehicles C1 to C4 traveling in a row. In the first traveling order, it is assumed that the vehicles C1 to C4 travel in this order from the beginning as shown in FIG. 3 (a). When the energy allowances of the vehicles C1 to C4 are arranged in descending order, the first place is the vehicle C1, the second place is the vehicle C4, the third place is the vehicle C2, and the fourth place is the vehicle C3. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 3B, it is assumed that the order of the energy allowance changes, the first place is the vehicle C4, the second place is the vehicle C2, the third place is the vehicle C1, and the fourth place is the vehicle C3. In this case, as shown in FIG. 3C, the order determining unit 92 determines the traveling order starting from the vehicle C4, which is the vehicle with the largest energy margin. In addition, when the energy allowances of the vehicle C2 is more than a threshold value, the order determination part 92 may determine arrangement | positioning which makes the vehicle C2 a head, as shown in FIG.3 (d). In this case, since the moving distance of the vehicle C2 to the head is shorter than moving the vehicle C1 to the head, the replacement may be smooth. In addition, as shown in FIG. 3D, the order determining unit 92 may determine a traveling order in which the energy allowances are arranged in the descending order of the energy allowance from the top to the rear.

  The order determination unit 92 may combine at least one or more of the plurality of rules to determine the traveling order of the formation traveling vehicles. In this case, the order determination unit 92 may determine a plurality of traveling orders according to the rules, and select an optimal traveling order from the determined plurality of traveling orders. The optimal traveling order includes, for example, the one in which the replacement amount (number of times, time, distance, etc.) can be minimized. In this way, it is possible to determine the optimal traveling order after adopting rules with high degree of freedom in selection. In addition, when the road where a row traveling vehicle is traveling is a road with two or more lanes, it is easy to replace a plurality of times, and therefore the traveling determined according to the rule that the optimal traveling order is arranged in descending order It may be in order.

  However, when the energy allowances of all the vehicles included in the row traveling vehicle are sufficiently high, the order determination unit 92 may not change the traveling order. In addition, since the margin of energy may be lost afterward, the order determination unit 92 may periodically check the amount of surplus energy and review the traveling order while traveling.

  The change notification unit 93 notifies, based on the traveling order determined by the order determination unit 92, the change of the traveling position of the vehicle included in the formation traveling vehicle. In the present embodiment, the change notification unit 93 may notify the driver of the host vehicle M of the change using the HMI 30, and may transmit the notification content using the communication device 20 to drive the other vehicle m. May be notified of the change.

  The change notification unit 93, for example, a vehicle that needs replacement of the formation (based on the following), based on the order in which the vehicles included in the formation traveling vehicle are currently traveling and the traveling order determined by the order determination unit 92. The replacement vehicle is extracted and the change (including the replacement method) is notified to the extracted replacement vehicle. The order in which the vehicles included in the formation traveling vehicle are currently traveling may be the traveling order determined most recently by the order determination unit 92, or may be the order actually measured or detected. The former is based on the premise that you are traveling in that order. In the latter case, the change notification unit 93 acquires the distance and the positional relationship between the vehicle M and the other vehicle m by communicating with the other vehicle m using the communication device 20, for example, and with the acquired vehicle M The actual order is derived based on the distance and the positional relationship with the other vehicle m.

  Further, when determining the replacement vehicle, the change notification unit 93 determines the vehicle whose replacement amount is minimized. For example, when the traveling order as shown in FIG. 3 (c) is determined, a method may also be considered in which the vehicles C1 to C3 are sequentially carried behind the vehicle C4. However, in this case, since the number of times of replacement is larger than the method shown in FIG. 3C, the change notification unit 93 adopts the method with the smaller number of times of replacement, and determines the vehicle C4 as the replacement vehicle.

  Next, processing by the row control unit 90 will be described with reference to FIGS. In addition, about the structure of the other vehicle m which mounts the row | line | column control part 90, while using the code | symbol similar to the own vehicle M, "m" is attached to a code | symbol and it distinguishes from the structure of the own vehicle M.

  First, with reference to FIG. 4, an example of processing by the row traveling vehicle determination unit 91 will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of processing performed by the row traveling vehicle determination unit 91. First, the row traveling vehicle determination unit 91 determines whether the start of row travel is requested (step S101). The request for starting the formation of a row may be input from the driver of the host vehicle M using the HMI 30, and is input from the driver of another vehicle m or the server based on the information received using the communication device 20. May be When a row travel is requested, the row traveling vehicle determination unit 91 acquires information on the route of the host vehicle M from the navigation device 50 (step S102).

  Next, the row traveling vehicle determination unit 91 calls on other vehicles m in the vicinity to run in row (step S103). For example, the row traveling vehicle determination unit 91 transmits, using the communication device 20, question information for requesting an answer regarding the presence or absence of participation in row running. When receiving the question information, the row control unit 90m mounted on the other vehicle m executes the process described below. Specifically, the row traveling vehicle determination unit 91m outputs the question information received using the communication device 20m to the HMI 30m, and whether or not an answer to the question information is received from the occupant of the other vehicle m within a predetermined time judge. In the case where the response is received within a predetermined time, and the response is "participation in row travel", the row traveling vehicle determination unit 91m is information for specifying a vehicle stored in a predetermined storage unit, and a navigation device The information on the route determined by 50 m is acquired, and the acquired information is transmitted to the vehicle M using the communication device 20 m. On the other hand, when the answer is received within a certain time and the answer is "do not participate in the row running", and when the answer is not received within the fixed time, the row running vehicle determination unit 91m performs the row running The response information indicating not participating is transmitted to the vehicle M using the communication device 20m.

  The row traveling vehicle determination unit 91 uses the communication device 20 to acquire information specifying the vehicle and information on the route from the other vehicle m that has answered that "participation in the row traveling" (step S104). Then, the row traveling vehicle determination unit 91 determines a row traveling vehicle based on the information on the route of the host vehicle M and the information on the route of the other vehicle m (step S105). The formation traveling vehicle determination unit 91 transmits information indicating that effect to the vehicle determined as the formation traveling vehicle among the other vehicles m that have answered that "participation in the formation traveling" (step S106). Then, the row traveling vehicle determination unit 91 determines the host vehicle M as a master vehicle (step S107).

  Next, an example of the order determination process by the order determination unit 92 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the order determining process by the order determining unit 92. This process is performed when the first traveling order is determined after the row traveling vehicle determination unit 91 determines the row traveling vehicle. Hereinafter, although the example which the order determination part 92 of the own vehicle M performs this process is demonstrated, you may perform by the order determination part 92 of another vehicle.

  The order determination unit 92 acquires information on the energy of the host vehicle M and information on the route of the host vehicle M (step S201). The order determination unit 92 derives the energy margin of the host vehicle M based on the acquired information (step S202). Next, the order determination unit 92 uses the communication device 20 from the other vehicle m (hereinafter, may be referred to as another vehicle m) determined to be a row traveling vehicle by the row traveling vehicle determination unit 91 using the other vehicle m Information on the energy of the vehicle and information on the route of the other vehicle m may be acquired (step S203). The order determining unit 92 derives the energy margin of the other vehicle m based on the acquired information (step S204). Then, the order determining unit 92 determines the traveling order of the row traveling vehicle based on the derived plurality of energy allowances (step S205). The order determination unit 92 stores the determined traveling order of the row traveling vehicle in the order determination history information 94 (step S206). The order determining unit 92 also transmits the determined traveling order of the row traveling vehicle to the other vehicle m using the communication device 20 (step S207).

  Next, an example of the master determination process by the order determination unit 92 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the master determination process by the order determination unit 92. The master determination process is a process of determining a master vehicle. This process is performed, for example, regularly.

  The order determination unit 92 refers to the order determination history information 94 and determines whether the host vehicle M is at the top in the latest traveling order (step S301). When it is determined that the host vehicle M is at the top, the row control unit 90 starts an operation as a control unit mounted on the master vehicle (step S302). That is, the row control unit 90 executes a master process. On the other hand, when it is determined that the host vehicle M is not at the head, the row control unit 90 starts an operation as a control unit mounted on the slave vehicle (step S303). That is, the row control unit 90 executes slave processing. When the slave process is started, the order determination unit 92 may transmit information on row travel to the other vehicle m using the communication device 20. The information on the formation of a row includes information for specifying a vehicle, information on a route, an amount of surplus energy, and the like for all the vehicles included in the formation traveling vehicle.

  The order determination unit 92m mounted on the other vehicle m also periodically executes the master determination process. In this case, in step S301, the order determining unit 92m determines whether the other vehicle m on which the order determining unit 92m is mounted is at the top.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 7, an example of the master processing by the row control unit 90 will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of master processing by the row control unit 90.

  The order determination unit 92 determines whether or not it is a review timing to review the traveling order of the row traveling vehicle (step S401). The review timing comes, for example, at predetermined time intervals. Note that the order determination unit 92 may periodically determine whether or not the review timing arrives, after satisfying a certain condition. For example, the order determining unit 92 learns about the deviation between the SOC predicted value after start of corps travel and the actual SOC, and after determining that the reliability of the energy margin derived by future energy prediction has increased, periodically It is determined whether the review timing has arrived. Further, certain conditions are, for example, when a vehicle that wants to participate in a row traveling vehicle newly appears, when a master vehicle cancels a row traveling, or when a vehicle whose energy margin amount exceeds a threshold appears. It may be.

  If it is determined that it is the reviewing timing, the order determining unit 92 derives the energy margin of the host vehicle M based on the information related to the energy of the host vehicle M acquired at the current time (step S402). Then, the order determination unit 92 determines whether or not the possibility that the amount of energy reaches the destination appears in the host vehicle M (that is, the leading vehicle) (step S403). For example, when the derived energy allowance of the host vehicle M falls below the threshold value, the order determination unit 92 determines that the leading vehicle may have a possibility of shortage when the energy amount reaches the destination.

  If it is determined in the lead vehicle that the possibility that the energy amount reaches the destination does not appear, the order determining unit 92 proceeds to step S412 without determining the traveling order. On the other hand, if it is determined in the leading vehicle that there is a possibility that a shortage will occur when the energy amount reaches the destination, the order determining unit 92 determines, based on the information on the energy of the other vehicle m acquired at the current time, The energy margin of the other vehicle m is derived (step S405). Next, the order determination unit 92 derives the amount of energy loss that occurs when the other vehicle m traveling on the subsequent side of the lead vehicle travels the lead, and adds it to the derived amount of energy margin (step S406). Then, the order determining unit 92 determines the traveling order of the row traveling vehicle based on the derived plurality of energy allowances (step S407). The order determination unit 92 stores the determined traveling order of the row traveling vehicle in the order determination history information 94 (step S408). Further, the order determining unit 92 transmits the determined traveling order of the row traveling vehicle to the other vehicle m using the communication device 20 (step S409).

  Next, the change notification unit 93 determines the content of the change (including the replacement vehicle and the replacement method) based on the traveling order determined by the order determination unit 92 (step S410). The change notification unit 93 notifies the replacement vehicle of the change content (step S411). Then, the change notification unit 93 determines whether or not to release the row travel (step S412). In the case of canceling the formation running, for example, when cancellation of the formation running is instructed from the occupant of the own vehicle M using the HMI 30, all the other vehicles m included in the formation traveling vehicle using the communication device 20 form the formation When cancellation of traveling is received, there may be a case where there is a possibility that the remaining energy will reach the destination at all vehicles included in the row traveling vehicle. If the group running is not canceled, the process returns to step S401 and the process is repeated.

  Next, with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9, a specific example of the process by the row control unit 90 will be described. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the vehicle C10 and the vehicles C11 to C14 in the vicinity thereof. FIG. 9 is a diagram for describing an example of changing the traveling order of a row traveling vehicle.

  A plurality of vehicles C11 to C14 exist around the vehicle C10. Vehicles C11 to C14 exist in communication area CA of vehicle C10. Information on the route of each of the vehicles C10 to C14 and the energy margin are as follows.

The information on the route of the vehicle C10 includes, as a route from the current position P0, a route that travels in the order of P1, P2, and P3. The energy margin of the vehicle C10 at the current position P0 is E0 (P0).
The information on the route of the vehicle C11 includes, as a route from the current position P0, a route that travels in the order of P1, P2, and P5. The energy allowance of the vehicle C11 at the current position P0 is E1 (P0).
The information on the route of the vehicle C12 includes, as a route from the current position P0, a route that travels P1, P2, and P3 in this order. The energy margin of the vehicle C12 at the current position P0 is E2 (P0).
The information on the route of the vehicle C13 includes, as a route from the current position P0, a route that travels in the order of P6, P7, and P8. The energy allowance of the vehicle C13 at the current position P0 is E3 (P0).
The information on the route of the vehicle C14 includes, as a route from the current position P0, a route that travels in the order of P9, P10, and P11. The energy margin of the vehicle C14 at the current position P0 is E4 (P0).

  In this example, the row traveling vehicle determination unit 91 of the vehicle C10 calls the surrounding vehicles C11 to C14 for row travel. The paths of the vehicles C11 and C12 are the same as at least a part of the path of the vehicle C10. However, the routes of the vehicles C13 and C14 are different from the current position from the vehicle C10. Therefore, even if an answer “participate in row travel” is received from all the vehicles C11 to C14, the row travel vehicle determination unit 91 of the vehicle C10 runs only the vehicles C10, C11, and C12 in the row It is determined to be a vehicle, and vehicles C13 and C14 are not determined to be a row traveling vehicle.

  Further, at the current location P0, each energy margin has a relationship of “E0> E1> E2”. Therefore, the order determination unit 92 of the vehicle C10 determines the traveling order of the vehicle C10 at the top, the vehicle C11 second, and the vehicle C12 third. This state is shown in FIG. 9 (a). Further, since the vehicle C10 is at the top, the row control unit 90 of the vehicle C10 operates as a control device mounted on the master vehicle.

  It is assumed that, after a predetermined time has elapsed from the current location P0, each energy margin has changed to a relationship of “E1> E0> E2”. That is, it shows that the energy margin of the leading vehicle C10 is reduced and the energy margin of the second vehicle C11 is maximized. In this case, the order determination unit 92 of the vehicle C10 determines the traveling order of the vehicle C11 at the top, the vehicle C10 second, and the vehicle C12 third. Therefore, using the communication device 20, the change notification unit 93 of the vehicle C10 transmits, to the vehicle C11, a request for requesting the movement to the top of the row travel. Then, the driver of the vehicle C11 moves the vehicle C11, as shown in FIG. 9B, in response to a request for requesting the movement to the top of the row travel. Specifically, the driver of the vehicle C11 changes the lane from the position of the vehicle C11 (t1) to the adjacent lane and moves to the position of the vehicle C11 (t2). The driver of the vehicle C11 accelerates and moves to the position of the vehicle C11 (t3), and then moves to the position of the vehicle C11 (t4) before the vehicle C10. As a result, the traveling order of the row traveling vehicle is changed to the order determined by the order determining unit 92.

  As described above, by moving the vehicle C1 having the largest amount of energy allowance to the top of the formation traveling, the traveling position of the vehicle having a reduced amount of remaining energy can be easily changed to the second or later.

  Not limited to the above method, the order determination unit 92 of the vehicle C10 may determine whether or not each energy margin is less than the threshold, and may determine the traveling order according to the determination result. For example, when the energy allowance E0 is less than the threshold and the energy allowances E1 and E2 are equal to or more than the threshold, the formation traveling vehicle determination unit 91 of the vehicle C10 may set the traveling order of the vehicle C10 to the tail. Then, the change notification unit 93 of the vehicle C10 notifies, from the HMI 30, a change in traveling order so as to move to the rearmost position. When receiving the notification and responding to the notification requesting movement to the tail end of the row travel, the driver of the vehicle C0 moves the vehicle C10 as shown in FIG. 10 (b). Specifically, the driver of the vehicle C10 changes the lane from the position of the vehicle C10 (t1) to the adjacent lane and moves to the position of the vehicle C10 (t2). The driver of the vehicle C10 reduces the speed and moves to the position of the vehicle C10 (t3), and then moves to the position of the vehicle C10 (t4) behind the vehicle C12. As a result, the traveling order of the row traveling vehicle is changed to the order determined by the order determining unit 92.

  The change notification unit 93 is not only a moving vehicle moving for changing the traveling order but a vehicle other than the moving vehicle among the formation traveling vehicles, such as the vehicle C11 shown in FIG. 9 and the vehicle C10 shown in FIG. The change content may also be notified to. In this way, vehicles other than the mobile vehicle can also travel according to the movement of the mobile vehicle. For example, it is assumed that four vehicles are traveling in a row. When it is desired to change the order of the leading vehicles between the third vehicle and the fourth vehicle, the change notification unit 93 also notifies a change to vehicles other than the leading vehicles. At the same time, the change notification unit 93 notifies the fourth vehicle of a request to make a space for the first vehicle to enter between the third vehicle and the fourth vehicle. It is also good.

  The row control unit 90 described above is not limited to the vehicle system 1 shown in FIG. 1, and may be used for a vehicle having an automatic driving function or a vehicle having a driving support function.

Second Embodiment
An example in which a row control unit 90A having the same function and configuration as the row control unit 90 described above is used for a vehicle having an automatic driving function will be described below with reference to FIGS. In the description of the row control unit 90A, the description of the same functions and configurations as those of the row control unit 90 will be omitted.

  FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a vehicle system 1A in which a row control unit 90A is used in a vehicle having an automatic driving function. Description of functions and configurations similar to those of the vehicle system 1 will be omitted. The vehicle system 1A includes, for example, a camera 10, a radar device 12, a finder 14, an object recognition device 16, an MPU (Map Positioning Unit) 60, and an automatic driving control device 100 in addition to the configuration of the vehicle system 1. Equipped with Similarly, these devices and devices are mutually connected by a multiplex communication line such as a CAN communication line, a serial communication line, a wireless communication network or the like. Note that the configuration shown in FIG. 11 is merely an example, and part of the configuration may be omitted, or another configuration may be added.

  The camera 10 is, for example, a digital camera using a solid-state imaging device such as a charge coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS). One or more cameras 10 are attached to any part of a vehicle (also referred to as a host vehicle M) on which the vehicle system 1A is mounted. When imaging the front, the camera 10 is attached to the top of the front windshield, the rear surface of the rearview mirror, or the like. For example, the camera 10 periodically and repeatedly captures the periphery of the vehicle M. The camera 10 may be a stereo camera.

  The radar device 12 emits radio waves such as millimeter waves around the host vehicle M and detects radio waves (reflected waves) reflected by the object to detect at least the position (distance and direction) of the object. One or more of the radar devices 12 are attached to any part of the host vehicle M. The radar device 12 may detect the position and the velocity of the object by a frequency modulated continuous wave (FM-CW) method.

  The finder 14 is a light detection and ranging (LIDAR). The finder 14 irradiates light around the host vehicle M and measures scattered light. The finder 14 detects the distance to the object based on the time from light emission to light reception. The light to be irradiated is, for example, pulsed laser light. One or more finders 14 are attached to any part of the host vehicle M.

  The object recognition device 16 performs sensor fusion processing on the detection result of a part or all of the camera 10, the radar device 12, and the finder 14 to recognize the position, type, speed, etc. of the object. The object recognition device 16 outputs the recognition result to the automatic driving control device 100. In addition, the object recognition device 16 may output the detection results of the camera 10, the radar device 12, and the finder 14 to the automatic driving control device 100 as it is, as necessary.

  The MPU 60 functions as, for example, a recommended lane determination unit 61, and holds the second map information 62 in a storage device such as an HDD or a flash memory. The recommended lane determination unit 61 divides the route provided from the navigation device 50 into a plurality of blocks (for example, in units of 100 [m] in the traveling direction of the vehicle), and refers to the second map information 62 for each block. Determine the recommended lanes. The recommended lane determination unit 61 determines which lane to travel from the left. The recommended lane determination unit 61 determines the recommended lane so that the host vehicle M can travel on a reasonable route for traveling to a branch destination when a branch point, a junction point, or the like exists in the route.

  The second map information 62 is map information that is more accurate than the first map information 54. The second map information 62 includes, for example, information on the center of the lane or information on the boundary of the lane. Further, the second map information 62 may include road information, traffic regulation information, address information (address / zip code), facility information, telephone number information, and the like. The second map information 62 may be updated as needed by accessing another device using the communication device 20.

  The automatic driving control device 100 includes, for example, a first control unit 120 and a second control unit 160. Each of the first control unit 120 and the second control unit 160 is realized, for example, when a hardware processor such as a central processing unit (CPU) executes a program (software). In addition, some or all of these components may be hardware (circuits) such as LSI (Large Scale Integration), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), etc. Circuit (including circuitry) or may be realized by cooperation of software and hardware.

  FIG. 12 is a functional configuration diagram of the first control unit 120 and the second control unit 160. The first control unit 120 includes, for example, a recognition unit 130 and an action plan generation unit 140. The recognition unit 130 detects the position of an object in the vicinity of the host vehicle M, the state of the velocity, the acceleration, and the like based on information input from the camera 10, the radar device 12, and the finder 14 via the object recognition device 16. recognize. The action plan generation unit 140 basically travels in the recommended lane determined by the recommended lane determination unit 61, and further determines events to be sequentially executed in automatic driving so as to correspond to the surrounding situation of the host vehicle M. Do. The action plan generation unit 140 generates a target track along which the vehicle M travels in the future, in accordance with the activated event.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram showing how a target track is generated based on the recommended lane. As shown, the recommended lanes are set to be convenient to travel along the route to the destination. When the action plan generation unit 140 reaches a predetermined distance (may be determined according to the type of event) of the switching point of the recommended lane, it activates a passing event, a lane changing event, a branching event, a merging event and the like. When it is necessary to avoid an obstacle during the execution of each event, an avoidance trajectory is generated as illustrated.

  The second control unit 160 controls the travel driving force output device 200, the brake device 210, and the steering device 220 so that the host vehicle M passes the target trajectory generated by the action plan generation unit 140 as scheduled. Control.

  Referring back to FIG. 12, the second control unit 160 includes, for example, an acquisition unit 162, a speed control unit 164, and a steering control unit 166. The acquisition unit 162 acquires information on the target trajectory (orbit point) generated by the action plan generation unit 140, and stores the information in a memory (not shown). The speed control unit 164 controls the traveling drive power output device 200 or the brake device 210 based on the speed component associated with the target track stored in the memory. The steering control unit 166 controls the steering device 220 according to the degree of bending of the target track stored in the memory. The processing of the speed control unit 164 and the steering control unit 166 is realized by, for example, a combination of feedforward control and feedback control.

  The row control unit 90A includes a row traveling vehicle determination unit 91, an order determination unit 92, a change notification unit 93A, and order determination history information 94.

  Based on the traveling order determined by the order determination unit 92, the change notification unit 93A determines the change content (including the replacement vehicle, the replacement method, etc.) of the traveling position of the vehicle included in the row traveling vehicle. In response, the automatic driving control device 100 of the own vehicle M or the other vehicle m is notified. When the content of the change is a change of the host vehicle M, the change notification unit 93A notifies the automatic driving control device 100 of the host vehicle M. On the other hand, when the change content is a change for another vehicle m, the change notification unit 93A transmits the change content to the other vehicle m using the communication device 20.

  The automatic driving control apparatus 100 notified of the change controls the driving of the host vehicle M according to the content of the change. Similar control is performed in the other vehicle m. For example, when moving the vehicle C11 to the front as shown in FIG. 8B, the change notification unit 93A used for the vehicle C11 changes the lane of the vehicle C11 to the adjacent lane and accelerates the vehicle C11 after that The automatic driving control apparatus 100 is notified to change lanes in front of the vehicle C10. The autonomous driving control apparatus 100 executes, for example, the following processing based on the notification from the change notification unit 93A. The action plan generation unit 140 of the automatic driving control apparatus 100 performs an event for changing the lane of the vehicle C11 to the adjacent lane, an event for accelerating the traveling, and an event for changing the lane before the vehicle C10 according to the notified change content. Determine and generate a target trajectory. Then, the second control unit 160 causes the travel driving force output device 200, the brake device 210, and the steering device to pass the target track generated by the action plan generation unit 140 at the scheduled time. Control 220;

  According to the vehicle system 1A, it is possible to automatically drive each vehicle so that the row traveling vehicle determined by the row control unit 90A travels in a row. Further, according to the vehicle system 1A, also when changing the traveling order, it is possible to automatically change to the traveling order determined by the row control unit 90A. Therefore, comfortable row running can be realized.

Third Embodiment
An example in which a row control unit 90B having the same function and configuration as the row control unit 90 described above is used for a vehicle having a driving support function will be described below with reference to FIG. In the description of the row control unit 90B, the description of the same functions and configurations as those of the row control unit 90 will be omitted.

  FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a vehicle system 1B in which a row control unit 90B is used in a vehicle having a driving support function. Description of functions and configurations similar to those of the vehicle system 1 will be omitted. The vehicle system 1B includes, for example, a driving support control unit 300 in addition to the configuration of the vehicle system 1. The driving support control unit 300 includes a camera 10, a radar device 12, a finder 14, an object recognition device 16, and a driving support control unit 310. Similarly, these devices and devices are mutually connected by a multiplex communication line such as a CAN communication line, a serial communication line, a wireless communication network or the like. The configuration shown in FIG. 14 is merely an example, and a part of the configuration may be omitted, or another configuration may be added.

  The driving support control unit 310 has functions such as, for example, a lane keeping assist system (LKAS), an adaptive cruise control system (ACC), and an auto lane change system (ALC).

  The row control unit 90B includes a row traveling vehicle determination unit 91, an order determination unit 92, a change notification unit 93B, and order determination history information 94.

  Based on the traveling order determined by the order determination unit 92, the change notification unit 93B determines the change content (including the replacement vehicle, the replacement method, and the like) of the traveling position of the vehicle included in the row traveling vehicle. In response, the driving assistance control unit 310 of the own vehicle M or the other vehicle m is notified. When the content of the change is a change of the host vehicle M, the change notification unit 93B notifies the driving support control unit 310 of the host vehicle M. On the other hand, when the change content is a change for another vehicle m, the change notification unit 93B transmits the change content to the other vehicle m using the communication device 20.

  The driving support control unit 310 notified of the change performs the driving support of the vehicle M according to the content of the change. Similar control is performed in the other vehicle m. For example, when moving the vehicle C11 as shown in FIG. 8B, the change notification unit 93B used for the vehicle C11 changes the lane of the vehicle C11 to the next lane and accelerates the vehicle C10. The driver assistance control unit 310 is notified to change lanes (to perform ALC) in front of the vehicle. After returning to the formation, the driving support control unit 310 executes LKAS or ACC.

  According to the vehicle system 1B, it is possible to realize driving support such that a row traveling vehicle determined by the row control unit 90B travels in a row. Further, according to the vehicle system 1B, it is possible to realize the support of the lane change also when changing to the traveling order. Therefore, comfortable row running can be realized.

<Other Aspects of Hybrid Vehicle>
With reference to FIG. 15, another example of the configuration as a hybrid vehicle of the vehicle mounted with the above-described vehicle systems 1, 1A and 1B will be described. The vehicle described here is a hybrid vehicle that can switch between a series system and a parallel system. The series method is as described above. The parallel system is a system in which the engine and the drive wheel can be mechanically connected (or through a fluid such as a torque converter), and the power of the engine can be transmitted to the drive wheel and used for power generation. .

  FIG. 15 is a diagram showing another example of the configuration as a hybrid vehicle of a vehicle mounted with the vehicle system 1 and the like. As shown in FIG. 15, the vehicle is equipped with a lockup clutch 204 in addition to the configuration shown in FIG. The lockup clutch 204 connects the output shaft of the engine 201 and the rotor of the first motor 203 to the drive wheel 240 in response to an instruction from the hybrid control unit 70 (hereinafter referred to as the connection state); Switch to the disconnected state (hereinafter referred to as the separated state). The vehicle having the configuration shown in FIG. 15 can switch between the series system and the parallel system by connecting or disconnecting the lockup clutch 204. Not limited to this, the vehicle system 1 or the like may be mounted on a parallel hybrid vehicle.

  As mentioned above, although the form for carrying out the present invention was explained using an embodiment, the present invention is not limited at all by such an embodiment, and various modification and substitution within the range which does not deviate from the gist of the present invention Can be added.

  For example, if the order determination unit 92 arranges a leading vehicle with a vehicle having an energy allowance equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold or a vehicle having a maximum energy allowance, the order described above is reversed in the following vehicles. The order may be determined. For example, in the traveling order of the following vehicles, vehicles having energy allowances equal to or greater than the threshold are disposed in order from the rear end, and vehicles having energy allowances less than the threshold are disposed in front of the rearmost vehicle group. May be Further, as the traveling order of the following vehicles, a vehicle having the second largest energy margin may be disposed at the rear end, and the order from the tail to the head of the formation traveling vehicles may be in descending order of the energy margin. In this way, when the leading vehicle is moved backward to the second position, the traveling order can be easily changed by moving the last vehicle to the leading position.

  Moreover, although the example which the own vehicle M and the other vehicle m communicate between vehicles was mentioned above, it is not restricted to this, The communication via a base station may be sufficient. In this case, the row control unit 90 includes information on time in the information on the route, the information on the energy, and the like.

  Moreover, although the vehicle control apparatus which concerns on this embodiment mentioned above about the example utilized for a hybrid vehicle, it is not restricted to this, You may utilize for a gasoline car.

<Hardware configuration>
The vehicle control device of the embodiment described above is realized by, for example, the configuration of hardware as shown in FIG. FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the vehicle control device of the embodiment.

  The vehicle control device includes a communication controller 100-1, a CPU 100-2, a RAM 100-3, a ROM 100-4, a secondary storage device 100-5 such as a flash memory or an HDD, and a drive device 100-6, which use an internal bus or dedicated communication It is the composition mutually connected by the line. A portable storage medium such as an optical disk is attached to the drive device 100-6. The program 100-5a stored in the secondary storage device 100-5 is expanded on the RAM 100-3 by a DMA controller (not shown) or the like and executed by the CPU 100-2 to realize a vehicle control device. The program to which the CPU 100-2 refers may be stored in a portable storage medium mounted on the drive device 100-6, or may be downloaded from another device via the network NW.

The above embodiment can be expressed as follows.
A communication unit that communicates with other vehicles,
Storage device,
A hardware processor that executes a program stored in the storage device;
The hardware processor executes the program to
A row traveling vehicle determination unit configured to determine a plurality of vehicles satisfying a predetermined condition as a row traveling vehicle based on a communication result by the communication unit;
The formation traveling vehicle determination based on the energy margin of the other vehicle based on the information on the energy of the other vehicle received using the communication unit and the energy margin of the own vehicle based on the information on the energy of the own vehicle An order determining unit that determines the traveling order of the row traveling vehicle determined by the unit;
Vehicle control device, which is configured to perform.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vehicle system, 20 ... Communication apparatus, 30 ... HMI, 50 ... Navigation apparatus, 70 ... Hybrid control part, 71 ... Engine control part, 72 ... Motor control part, 73 ... Brake control part, 74 ... Battery control part, 75 ... Vehicle sensor, 76 ... Tank remaining gauge, 80 ... Driving operator, 90 ... Formation control unit, 91 ... Formation traveling vehicle determination unit, 92 ... Order determination unit, 93 ... Change notification unit, 94 ... Order determination history information, 200 ... driving force output device, 210 ... brake device, 220 ... steering device, 230 ... battery

Claims (13)

A communication unit that communicates with other vehicles,
A row traveling vehicle determination unit configured to determine a plurality of vehicles satisfying a predetermined condition as a row traveling vehicle based on a communication result by the communication unit;
The formation traveling vehicle determination based on the energy margin of the other vehicle based on the information on the energy of the other vehicle received using the communication unit and the energy margin of the own vehicle based on the information on the energy of the own vehicle An order determining unit that determines the traveling order of the row traveling vehicle determined by the unit;
A vehicle control device comprising: The order determination unit
The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the leading vehicle is determined as the vehicle having the largest amount of energy margin. The order determination unit
The vehicle control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a vehicle selected arbitrarily among the vehicles whose energy surplus amount is equal to or more than a threshold is determined as a leading vehicle. The order determination unit
In the formation of a row, the traveling order of the row traveling vehicle is determined such that the amount of the energy margin of the vehicle traveling forward is larger than the energy margin of the vehicle traveling rearward.
The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The order determination unit
After the formation traveling of the formation, it is determined whether or not it is necessary to change the traveling order of the formation traveling vehicles based on the state of the leading vehicle.
The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The order determination unit
When the traveling order of the row traveling vehicle is interchanged, the traveling order having the smallest interchanged amount is determined within the range satisfying the rules,
The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. Based on the traveling order determined by the order determination unit, the change notification of determining the change in the traveling position of the vehicle included in the row traveling vehicle and notifying the other vehicle of the determined change content to the other vehicle using the communication unit Department,
The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising: The change notification unit
The traveling order determined by the order determination unit is compared with the traveling order at that point in time, a vehicle requiring a change in traveling order is extracted, and the extracted contents are notified to the extracted vehicle.
The vehicle control device according to claim 7. The order determination unit
The energy consumption of each vehicle predicted when the other vehicle and the own vehicle travel to the destination is derived for each vehicle included in the row traveling vehicle, and the derived energy consumption and the current energy The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the energy surplus amount of each vehicle is derived based on the remaining amount. The order determination unit
The amount of energy loss of each vehicle predicted when traveling to the destination at the top of the row traveling is derived for each vehicle included in the row traveling vehicle, and the amount of energy loss of each vehicle is calculated based on the derived amount of energy loss Deriving the energy margin amount,
The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 9. The vehicle control device
If the energy margin of the host vehicle is the largest among the row traveling vehicles, or if the host vehicle is traveling at the top of the row traveling vehicle, it is determined that the traveling order of row travel is changed during row traveling. The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, which operates as a vehicle control device for a master vehicle. The computer is
Communicate with other vehicles,
Based on the communication result, a plurality of vehicles satisfying a predetermined condition are determined as a row traveling vehicle,
The row running determined based on the energy margin of the other vehicle based on the information on the energy of the other vehicle received from the other vehicle and the energy margin of the own vehicle based on the information on the energy of the own vehicle A vehicle control method for determining a traveling order of a vehicle. On the computer
Communicate with other vehicles,
Based on the communication result, a plurality of vehicles meeting the predetermined condition are determined by the row traveling vehicle,
The row running determined based on the energy margin of the other vehicle based on the information on the energy of the other vehicle received from the other vehicle and the energy margin of the own vehicle based on the information on the energy of the own vehicle A program that determines the order of travel of a vehicle.

Images