JP2020121612A - Vehicle control device - Google Patents

Abstract

To preferably execute speed reduction control.SOLUTION: A vehicle control device (200) includes a speed reduction means (220) for reducing the speed of a vehicle when a speed reduction object to be reduced in speed exists in front of the vehicle, a determining means (220) for determining whether or not a type of the speed reduction object is a specified type in which a difference between time required to pass through the speed reduction object when reducing the speed at the first deceleration with respect to the speed reduction object and time required when reducing the speed at a second deceleration smaller than the first deceleration with respect to the speed reduction object, and a control means (240) for controlling the speed reduction means so as to reduce the speed of the vehicle at the second deceleration when the type of the speed reduction object is the specified type.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a technical field of a vehicle control device that executes automatic driving and driving assistance of a vehicle.

As this type of device, a device for automatically driving a vehicle from the current position to the destination is known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a device that calculates an estimated time of arrival at a destination from the current location, the destination, the average vehicle speed, and the traffic jam information. In this device, when the calculated estimated arrival time is earlier than the desired arrival time input by the driver, the vehicle speed is suppressed, and when the calculated estimated arrival time is slow, the vehicle speed is increased. The operation is performed so as to match.

JP-A-11-039592

In the technique described in Patent Document 1 described above, the estimated arrival time is calculated based on the average vehicle speed from the current location to the destination, and therefore the vehicle speed may be suppressed (that is, decelerated) more than necessary. That is, since the travel time cannot be adjusted in consideration of the details of the traffic situation, there is a possibility that a sudden deceleration, which is not normally necessary, will be performed.

For example, if there is a red traffic light ahead of the vehicle, the vehicle will stop for a while before the red traffic light, so even if you decelerate with a relatively large deceleration, you decelerate with a relatively small deceleration. However, the effect on the time until the red traffic light passes through the intersection is small. In such a situation, if the vehicle is suddenly decelerated, the occupants of the vehicle feel uncomfortable with unnecessary deceleration.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, for example, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle control device capable of suitably executing deceleration control.

In one aspect of the vehicle control device according to the present invention, when there is a deceleration target to be decelerated in front of the vehicle, the deceleration means for decelerating the vehicle and the type of the deceleration target are (i) the deceleration target. On the other hand, when the vehicle decelerates at the first deceleration, the time required to pass through the deceleration target, and (ii) the deceleration at the second deceleration smaller than the first deceleration with respect to the deceleration target. In the case where the type of the deceleration target is the specific type, a determination unit that determines whether the difference from the required time in the case is a specific type that is less than or equal to a predetermined value; Control means for controlling the deceleration means so as to decelerate at a speed.

It is a block diagram showing the composition of the vehicle control device concerning an embodiment. It is a flow chart which shows operation of the vehicle control device concerning an embodiment. 7 is a graph showing a difference in deceleration between slow deceleration and standard deceleration. It is a figure which shows an example of the deceleration object which is a specific classification for which slow deceleration is desirable. It is a figure which shows an example of the deceleration object which is a non-specific classification for which standard deceleration is desirable. It is a figure which shows an example of the deceleration object used as a specific classification from which slow deceleration is desirable by combination.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a vehicle control device will be described with reference to the drawings.

<Device configuration>
First, the configuration of the vehicle control device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the vehicle control device according to the embodiment.

In FIG. 1, a vehicle control device 200 according to the present embodiment is mounted on a vehicle 10 capable of executing automatic driving and driving assistance. The vehicle control device 200 is configured to be able to acquire information on the surrounding conditions of the vehicle 10 from the external sensor 100 including, for example, a camera, a radar, a rider, and the like. Further, the vehicle control device 200 is configured to be able to control the brake control unit 300 that controls the brake of the vehicle 10. The vehicle 200 is configured, for example, as an ECU (Electric Control Unit), and as a logical processing block or a physical processing circuit for realizing the function thereof, a deceleration target detection unit 210, a deceleration control execution unit 220, and a type. The determination unit 230 and the deceleration control switching unit 240 are provided.

The deceleration target detection unit 210 is configured to be able to detect a deceleration target existing in front of the vehicle 10 by using the information on the surrounding condition of the vehicle 10 acquired from the external sensor 100. The deceleration target is a target for decelerating the vehicle 10, and examples thereof include a preceding vehicle, a red light, a curve, a stop sign, an ETC gate, and the like. Note that, as a specific method of detecting the deceleration target, existing technology can be adopted as appropriate, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted here. Information about the deceleration target detected by the deceleration target detection unit 210 is output to each of the deceleration control execution unit 220 and the type determination unit 230.

The deceleration control execution unit 220 is configured to be able to execute deceleration control for the deceleration target detected by the deceleration target detection unit 210. Specifically, the deceleration control execution unit 220 is configured to be able to decelerate the vehicle 10 at an arbitrary deceleration by controlling the operation of the brake control unit 300 of the vehicle 10. However, the deceleration of the deceleration control is switched by the deceleration control switching unit 240 as described later. The deceleration control execution unit 220 is a specific example of “deceleration means” described later in the appendix.

The type determination unit 230 is configured to be able to determine the type of deceleration target detected by the deceleration target detection unit 210. More specifically, the type determination unit 230 is configured to be able to determine whether the deceleration target is a specific target or a non-specific type other than that. Here, the "specific type" means the time required to pass the deceleration target when the deceleration target is decelerated with a relatively large deceleration, and the deceleration target with a relatively small deceleration. This is a type of deceleration target whose difference from the required time is less than or equal to a predetermined value (in other words, the influence of deceleration on the required time until the deceleration passes through the deceleration target is small). The "predetermined value" here is a threshold value for determining that the difference between the required times is sufficiently small, and an optimal value (for example, zero or a value close to zero) is obtained and set by prior simulation or the like. Has been done. The type determination unit 230 stores in advance a deceleration target that is a specific type, for example, and can determine whether the deceleration target is the specific type by pattern matching or acquisition of road information. That is, the type determination unit 230 can easily determine whether or not the type is the specific type after the deceleration target is detected, without calculating a change in required time due to deceleration or the like. Specific examples of the deceleration target of the specific type and the non-specific type will be described in detail later. The type determination unit 230 is a specific example of a “determination unit” described later in the appendix.

The deceleration control switching unit 240 can switch the deceleration of the deceleration control executed by the deceleration control execution unit 220 based on the determination result of the type determination unit (that is, whether or not the deceleration target is the specific type). Is configured. Specifically, the deceleration control switching unit 240 performs the deceleration control executed by the deceleration control execution unit 220, that is, the standard deceleration that executes deceleration at a relatively large deceleration and the slow speed that executes deceleration at a relatively small deceleration. It is configured to be able to switch between deceleration and. The deceleration control switching unit 240 is a specific example of “control means” in the appendix described later.

<Operation explanation>
Next, a flow of operation of the vehicle control device 200 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a flow of operations of the vehicle control device according to the embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 2, during operation of the vehicle control device 200 according to the present embodiment, the deceleration target detection unit 210 first determines whether or not a deceleration target exists in front of the vehicle 10 (step S101). If it is determined that the deceleration target does not exist in front of the vehicle 10 (step S101: NO), it can be determined that the deceleration control need not be executed, and therefore the subsequent processing is omitted and a series of operations is performed. Ends. In this case, the process may be started again from step S101 after the elapse of the predetermined period.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the deceleration target exists in front of the vehicle 10 (step S101: YES), the type determination unit 230 determines whether or not the detected deceleration target is the specific type (step). S102).

When it is determined that the deceleration target is the specific type (step S102: YES), the deceleration control switching unit 240 slowly decelerates the deceleration control executed by the deceleration control execution unit 220 (that is, with a relatively small deceleration). Switching to deceleration control) (step S103). On the other hand, when it is determined that the deceleration target is not the specific type (that is, the non-specific type) (step S102: NO), the deceleration control switching unit 240 performs the deceleration control executed by the deceleration control execution unit 220 as the standard deceleration. (That is, deceleration control with a relatively large deceleration) is switched to (step S104).

After that, the deceleration control execution unit 220 executes the deceleration control (step S105). As described above, in the vehicle control device 200 according to the present embodiment, deceleration control is executed at different decelerations depending on the type of deceleration target.

<Slow deceleration and standard deceleration>
Next, the difference between the slow deceleration and the standard deceleration described above will be specifically described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a graph showing the difference in deceleration between slow deceleration and standard deceleration.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the deceleration control is executed as the slow deceleration, the vehicle speed of the vehicle 10 decreases relatively slowly. In this case, the time until the vehicle 10 stops (that is, the vehicle speed becomes zero) becomes relatively long. On the other hand, when the deceleration control is executed as the standard deceleration, the vehicle speed of the vehicle 10 decreases relatively suddenly. In this case, the time until the vehicle 10 stops becomes relatively short.

As described above, the slow deceleration and the standard deceleration cause a difference in the time until the vehicle 10 stops. However, even if there is a difference in the time until the vehicle 10 stops, depending on the situation, the time required to pass through the deceleration target has little effect. For example, when the vehicle 10 stops for a while after stopping, the time required to pass through the deceleration target does not change regardless of whether the vehicle 10 stops early or slows. The vehicle control device 10 according to the present embodiment determines such a situation based on whether or not the deceleration target is a specific type.

Although the example in which the vehicle 10 stops is described here, the same can be said when the vehicle 10 decelerates to the extent that the vehicle 10 does not stop.

<Type of deceleration target>
Next, the type of deceleration target will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a deceleration target that is a specific type for which slow deceleration is desirable. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a deceleration target that is a non-specific type for which standard deceleration is desirable. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a deceleration target that is a specific type for which slow deceleration is desirable depending on the combination.

As shown in FIG. 4, deceleration targets of a specific type include preceding vehicles, traffic jams, and red traffic lights.

When the preceding vehicle exists in front of the vehicle 10, the vehicle 10 continues to run behind the preceding vehicle even after the deceleration control (that is, the vehicle speed of the vehicle 10 depends on the vehicle speed of the preceding vehicle). Become). Therefore, even if the deceleration control is executed as slow deceleration or as standard deceleration, it passes through the deceleration target (specifically, the preceding vehicle is overtaken somewhere or the preceding vehicle disappears and the vehicle speed is It does not depend on the preceding vehicle) until the time required.

If there is a traffic jam ahead of the vehicle 10, the vehicle 10 will continue to run in the traffic jam even after the deceleration control (that is, the vehicle speed of the vehicle 10 will be greatly limited by the traffic jam). Therefore, whether deceleration control is performed as slow deceleration or as standard deceleration, the time required to pass through the deceleration target (specifically, through the traffic jam and the vehicle speed is no longer restricted by the traffic jam). Does not change.

If there is a red traffic light in front of the vehicle 10, the vehicle 10 will continue to stop before the traffic light for a while even after the deceleration control (that is, it will stop until the traffic light turns blue). Therefore, even if the deceleration control is executed as the slow deceleration or the standard deceleration, the time required to pass the deceleration target does not change.

As shown in FIG. 5, deceleration targets that are non-specific types (that is, not specific types) include temporary stop signs, ETC gates, curves, and red signals (however, when the intersecting signal changes from blue to yellow). ) And the like.

When there is a temporary stop sign in front of the vehicle 10, the vehicle 10 can start normal traveling immediately after the deceleration control (that is, after stopping once, the vehicle 10 can immediately accelerate and resume traveling). Therefore, compared with the case where the deceleration control is executed as the slow deceleration, the time required to pass the deceleration target is shorter when the deceleration control is executed as the standard deceleration.

When the ETC gate exists in front of the vehicle 10, the vehicle 10 can continue normal traveling immediately after the deceleration control (that is, after decelerating and passing through the ETC gate, the vehicle 10 can immediately accelerate and resume traveling). .. Therefore, compared with the case where the deceleration control is executed as the slow deceleration, the time required to pass the deceleration target is shorter when the deceleration control is executed as the standard deceleration.

When there is a curve in front of the vehicle 10, the vehicle 10 can start normal traveling immediately after deceleration control (that is, after decelerating and passing through the curve, immediately accelerating and continuing traveling). Therefore, compared with the case where the deceleration control is executed as the slow deceleration, the time required to pass the deceleration target is shorter when the deceleration control is executed as the standard deceleration.

Even if there is a red signal in front of the vehicle 10, the vehicle 10 can start normal traveling immediately after the deceleration control if the intersecting signal changes from blue to yellow (that is, red signal). It is expected that the traffic light will change to a green light immediately, so you can immediately accelerate and resume running.) Therefore, compared with the case where the deceleration control is executed as the slow deceleration, the time required to pass the deceleration target is shorter when the deceleration control is executed as the standard deceleration.

As shown in FIG. 6, even a deceleration target that is a non-specific type by itself can be a specific type depending on a combination with another deceleration target.

For example, the temporary stop sign is a non-specific type when viewed alone, but is a specific type when a preceding vehicle is present in front of it. This is because the vehicle 10 continues to run behind the preceding vehicle even after the deceleration control (that is, the vehicle speed of the vehicle 10 depends on the vehicle speed of the preceding vehicle).

The ETC gate is of a non-specific type when viewed alone, but is of a specific type when a red signal exists ahead of it. This is because the vehicle 10 will continue to stop for a while after the deceleration control (that is, it will stop until the signal turns green after passing through the ETC gate).

Further, the curve is a non-specific type when viewed alone, but is a specific type when a red signal exists ahead of it. This is because the vehicle 10 will continue to stop for a while after the deceleration control (that is, it will stop until the traffic light turns green after passing through the curve).

<Technical effects>
Next, technical effects obtained by the vehicle control device 200 according to the present embodiment will be described.

As described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6, according to the vehicle control device 200 according to the present embodiment, when the deceleration target existing in front of the vehicle 10 is a specific type, the deceleration control is performed with a relatively decelerated speed. A small slowdown is performed. In this case, the time required for deceleration of the vehicle 10 becomes relatively long, but this does not cause a large change in the time required to pass the deceleration target. Therefore, it is possible to prevent an occupant of the vehicle 10 from feeling uncomfortable with the deceleration control (specifically, feeling uncomfortable with execution of the deceleration control with an unnecessarily large deceleration).

However, there are a certain number of passengers who tend to want sudden acceleration or deceleration regardless of the situation. In such a case, exceptionally, the standard deceleration may be executed even for the deceleration target of the specific type. For example, if the vehicle 10 is provided with a switch for switching to the sports mode, the standard deceleration may always be executed on condition that the sports mode is selected.

On the other hand, when the deceleration target existing in front of the vehicle 10 is a non-specific type, standard deceleration with relatively large deceleration is executed as deceleration control. In this case, by making the time required for the vehicle 10 to decelerate relatively short, the time required to pass the deceleration target can be shortened. In other words, the slow deceleration is executed even for the non-specific type deceleration target, so that it is possible to suppress the increase in the time required to pass through the deceleration target.

<Modification>
In the above-described embodiment, the specific type has no difference in the time required to pass through the deceleration target, but there is no difference in the time required to reach the destination in the automatic driving (that is, depending on the deceleration, Those that do not change the required time) may be the specific type.

The preceding vehicle, the traffic jam, the red traffic light, and the deceleration target that is a combination thereof shown in FIGS. 4 and 6 cannot accelerate the vehicle immediately after the deceleration control for the vehicle to start traveling. Therefore, when the vehicle is automatically traveling to the destination, the time required to reach the destination hardly changes even if the deceleration of the deceleration system is large or small. Therefore, the vehicle control device according to the modification can suppress the sudden deceleration without delaying the arrival time at the destination.

<Appendix>
Various aspects of the invention derived from the above-described embodiment will be described below.

(Appendix 1)
In the vehicle control device according to attachment 1, when there is a deceleration target to be decelerated in front of the vehicle, a deceleration unit that decelerates the vehicle and a type of the deceleration target are (i) with respect to the deceleration target. The time required to pass through the deceleration target when decelerating at the first deceleration, and (ii) when decelerating at the second deceleration that is smaller than the first deceleration with respect to the deceleration target. Determination means for determining whether or not a specific type whose difference from the required time is less than or equal to a predetermined value; and, when the type of deceleration target is the specific type, the vehicle is driven at the second deceleration rate. Control means for controlling the deceleration means so as to decelerate.

According to the vehicle control device described in appendix 1, there is no significant difference between the time required when the vehicle decelerates at the first deceleration and the time required when the vehicle decelerates at the second deceleration (that is, the predetermined time or less). In the case of), the vehicle is decelerated by the second smaller deceleration. As a result, it is possible to suppress deceleration with a large deceleration in a situation where the time required to pass the deceleration target is hardly affected. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the passengers of the vehicle from feeling uncomfortable due to the large deceleration.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be appropriately modified within the scope not departing from the spirit or idea of the invention that can be read from the claims and the entire specification, and a vehicle control device accompanied by such modification is also possible. Moreover, it is included in the technical scope of the present invention.

10 vehicle 100 external sensor 200 vehicle control device 210 deceleration target detection unit 220 deceleration control execution unit 230 type determination unit 240 deceleration control switching unit 300 brake control unit

Claims (1)

Deceleration means for decelerating the vehicle when there is a deceleration target to be decelerated in front of the vehicle,
The type of the deceleration target is (i) the time required to pass the deceleration target when the deceleration target decelerates at the first deceleration, and (ii) the first deceleration target for the deceleration target. Determination means for determining whether or not the specific type has a difference with the required time when the vehicle is decelerated with a second deceleration smaller than the deceleration of
And a control unit that controls the deceleration unit to decelerate the vehicle at the second deceleration when the type of the deceleration target is the specific type.

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