JP2020125112A - Vehicle control system, vehicle control method, and vehicle control program - Google Patents

Abstract

To reduce a burden on a vehicle occupant during automatic operation.SOLUTION: A vehicle control system comprises: a recognition part which recognizes peripheral vehicles; and an automatic operation control part which executes any one of plural automatic operation modes. In the plural automatic operation modes respectively, a speed limit is set. A prescribed automatic operation mode included in the plural automatic operation modes contains a platooning mode, and other traveling modes excluding platooning. A first speed limit is provided in the other traveling modes, whereas a second speed limit greater than the first speed limit is provided in the platooning mode. The automatic operation control part executes the prescribed automatic operation mode using the first speed limit as an upper limit, in the other traveling modes of the prescribed automatic operation mode, and executes the prescribed automatic operation mode using the second speed limit as an upper limit, in the platooning mode of the prescribed automatic operation mode.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

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

In recent years, research has been advanced on a technique (hereinafter, automatic driving) for automatically controlling at least one of acceleration and deceleration and steering of a vehicle. In this regard, there is disclosed a technique of executing the automatic driving control in either a predetermined standard control mode or a specific control mode different from the standard control mode (for example, refer to Patent Document 1). ..

JP, 2015-89801, A

It is assumed that the occupants of the vehicle may need to monitor the surroundings even during automatic driving. In the conventional technology, it is necessary to pay attention to the surroundings during automatic driving, which may increase the burden on the vehicle occupant.

The present invention has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to reduce the burden on a vehicle occupant during automatic driving.

(1) One aspect of the present invention is a plurality of automatic driving modes that automatically recognize at least one of a recognition unit that recognizes a surrounding vehicle traveling around the host vehicle and a speed control and a steering control of the host vehicle. And an automatic driving control unit that executes any one of a plurality of automatic driving modes having different degrees of control when automatically driving the own vehicle, and a plurality of automatic driving control units that are executed by the automatic driving control unit. In each of the automatic driving modes, a speed limit is set to a speed that can be output during the speed control, and in one predetermined automatic driving mode included in the plurality of automatic driving modes, the own vehicle is included. Includes platooning in which the traveling locus of a preceding vehicle traveling in front of the vehicle is traveled, and traveling modes other than the platooning. The other traveling modes are provided with a first speed limit. Therefore, the platooning is provided with a second speed limit that is greater than the first speed limit, and the automatic driving control unit, under the other running mode of the predetermined automatic driving mode, The predetermined automatic operation mode is executed with the first speed limit as an upper limit, and the predetermined automatic operation mode is executed with the second speed limit as an upper limit under the formation running in the predetermined automatic operation mode. It is a vehicle control system.

A mode of (2) is the mode of the above-mentioned mode (1), in which the automatic driving control unit controls the speed of the host vehicle to be the first speed limit under the other driving mode in the predetermined automatic driving mode. When the host vehicle travels over the predetermined automatic driving mode, the predetermined automatic driving mode is changed to another automatic driving mode having a lower degree of control than the predetermined automatic driving mode or manual driving, and the predetermined automatic driving mode is set. When the speed of the host vehicle exceeds the second speed limit and the host vehicle travels under the formation running in the driving mode, the control from the predetermined automatic driving mode to the predetermined automatic driving mode is performed from the predetermined automatic driving mode. It is to change to another automatic operation mode with a low degree of, or manual operation.

(3) In another aspect of the present invention, a vehicle-mounted computer recognizes a peripheral vehicle traveling around the host vehicle and automatically performs at least one of speed control and steering control of the host vehicle. The driving mode is any one of a plurality of automatic driving modes with different degrees of control when automatically driving the host vehicle, and outputs to each of the plurality of automatic driving modes during the speed control. A speed limit is set to a possible speed, and one predetermined automatic driving mode included in the plurality of automatic driving modes traces the traveling locus of a preceding vehicle traveling in front of the own vehicle. The platooning including the platooning and the traveling modes other than the platooning are included, and the first speed limit is provided for the platooning. A second speed limit larger than the above is provided, and under the other traveling mode of the predetermined automatic operation mode, the predetermined automatic operation mode is executed with the first speed limit as an upper limit, and the predetermined automatic operation mode is executed. The vehicle control method for executing the predetermined automatic driving mode with the second speed limit as the upper limit under the formation running in the automatic driving mode.

(4) According to another aspect of the present invention, a plurality of automatic vehicles that cause an in-vehicle computer to recognize surrounding vehicles traveling around the host vehicle and automatically perform at least one of speed control and steering control of the host vehicle. One of a plurality of automatic driving modes, which is a driving mode and has a different degree of control when automatically driving the host vehicle, and outputs to each of the plurality of automatic driving modes during the speed control. A speed limit is set to a possible speed, and one predetermined automatic driving mode included in the plurality of automatic driving modes traces the traveling locus of a preceding vehicle traveling in front of the own vehicle. The platooning including the platooning and the traveling modes other than the platooning are included, and the first speed limit is provided for the platooning. A second speed limit larger than the predetermined speed is provided, and the predetermined automatic operation mode is executed with the first speed limit as an upper limit under the other traveling mode of the predetermined automatic operation mode. Is a vehicle control program for executing the predetermined automatic driving mode with the second speed limit as an upper limit under the formation running in the automatic driving mode.

According to the above aspect, when the host vehicle is driven in a driving mode other than the platooning mode under the predetermined automatic driving mode, when the automatic driving is continued at the speed equal to or higher than the first speed limit, the surrounding monitoring duty is imposed. It will be changed to another automatic driving mode that changes, or it will be changed to a manual driving mode because the automatic driving cannot be continued.However, when running the vehicle in a row under the predetermined automatic driving mode, the upper speed limit Since the second speed limit is larger than the first speed limit, the automatic driving mode is not changed, and the load on the vehicle occupant during the automatic driving can be reduced.

It is a figure which shows the component of the own vehicle M. It is a functional block diagram centering on vehicle control system 100. It is a block diagram of HMI70. It is a figure which shows a mode that the own vehicle position recognition part 140 recognizes the relative position of the own vehicle M with respect to the driving lane L1. It is a figure which shows an example of the action plan produced|generated about a certain area. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the trajectory generation part 146. It is a figure which shows an example of the scene which changes a driving mode to platooning. It is a figure which shows an example of the trajectory candidate produced|generated by the trajectory candidate production|generation part 146B. 6 is a diagram in which a trajectory candidate generated by a trajectory candidate generating unit 146B is represented by a trajectory point K. FIG. It is a figure which shows the lane change target position TA. It is a figure which shows a speed generation model when the speed of three peripheral vehicles is assumed to be constant. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an HMI control unit 170. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation propriety information 188 according to mode. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen which the display apparatus 82 displays, when platooning is started. FIG. 5 is a diagram for comparing a control point in a scene where platooning is performed and a control point in a scene where another traveling mode other than platooning is performed. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing performed by the vehicle control system 100.

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

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing components of a vehicle (hereinafter referred to as a host vehicle M) in which the vehicle control system 100 of each embodiment is mounted. A vehicle in which the vehicle control system 100 is mounted is, for example, a two-wheeled vehicle, a three-wheeled vehicle, a four-wheeled vehicle, or the like, and a vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine such as a diesel engine or a gasoline engine or an electric vehicle powered by an electric motor. , A hybrid vehicle having both an internal combustion engine and an electric motor. Electric vehicles are driven using electric power discharged by batteries such as secondary batteries, hydrogen fuel cells, metal fuel cells, alcohol fuel cells, and the like.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle M includes sensors such as viewfinders 20-1 to 20-7, radars 30-1 to 30-6, a camera 40, a navigation device 50, and a vehicle control system 100. Will be installed.

The viewfinders 20-1 to 20-7 are, for example, LIDARs (Light Detection and Ranging or Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging) that measure scattered light with respect to irradiation light and measure a distance to a target. For example, the finder 20-1 is attached to the front grill or the like, and the finder 20-2 or 20-3 is attached to the side surface of the vehicle body, the door mirror, the inside of the headlight, the vicinity of the side light, or the like. The finder 20-4 is attached to a trunk lid or the like, and the finder 20-5 or 20-6 is attached to a side surface of a vehicle body or inside a taillight. The viewfinders 20-1 to 20-6 described above have, for example, a detection area of about 150 degrees in the horizontal direction. The finder 20-7 is attached to the roof or the like. The finder 20-7 has, for example, a detection area of 360 degrees in the horizontal direction.

The radars 30-1 and 30-4 are, for example, long-range millimeter-wave radars whose detection area in the depth direction is wider than other radars. The radars 30-2, 30-3, 30-5, and 30-6 are medium-range millimeter-wave radars that have a narrower detection area in the depth direction than the radars 30-1 and 30-4.

Hereinafter, when the finder 20-1 to 20-7 is not particularly distinguished, it is simply referred to as "finder 20", and when the radar 30-1 to 30-6 is not particularly distinguished, it is simply described as "radar 30". The radar 30 detects an object by, for example, an FM-CW (Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave) method.

The camera 40 is, for example, a digital camera using a solid-state imaging device such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor). The camera 40 is attached to the upper portion of the front windshield, the rear surface of the rearview mirror, or the like. The camera 40, for example, periodically and repeatedly captures an image of the front of the host vehicle M. The camera 40 may be a stereo camera including a plurality of cameras.

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.

FIG. 2 is a functional configuration diagram centering on the vehicle control system 100 according to the embodiment. The vehicle M includes a detection device DD including a finder 20, a radar 30, and a camera 40, a navigation device 50, a communication device 55, a vehicle sensor 60, an HMI (Human Machine Interface) 70, and a vehicle control system. 100, a traveling driving force output device 200, a steering device 210, and a brake device 220 are mounted. These devices and devices are connected to each other via multiple communication lines such as CAN (Controller Area Network) communication lines, serial communication lines, and wireless communication networks. In addition, the vehicle control system in the claims does not indicate only the “vehicle control system 100 ”, but may include a configuration other than the vehicle control system 100 (such as the detection device DD or the HMI 70 ).

The navigation device 50 includes a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver, map information (navigation map), a touch panel display device that functions as a user interface, a speaker, a microphone, and the like. The navigation device 50 identifies the position of the host vehicle M by the GNSS receiver and derives the route from the position to the destination specified by the user. The route derived by the navigation device 50 is provided to the target lane determination unit 110 of the vehicle control system 100. The position of the host vehicle M may be specified or supplemented by an INS (Inertial Navigation System) using the output of the vehicle sensor 60. Further, the navigation device 50 guides the route to the destination by voice or navigation display while the vehicle control system 100 is executing the manual operation mode. The configuration for identifying the position of the host vehicle M may be provided independently of the navigation device 50. Further, the navigation device 50 may be realized by the function of a terminal device such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal owned by the user. In this case, information is transmitted and received between the terminal device and the vehicle control system 100 by wireless or wired communication.

The communication device 55 performs wireless communication using, for example, a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, Bluetooth (registered trademark), DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communication), or the like. The communication device 55 wirelessly communicates with an information providing server of a system for monitoring traffic conditions on the road such as VICS (Vehicle Information and Communication System; registered trademark), and the road on which the own vehicle M is traveling or traveling. Information (hereinafter, referred to as traffic information) indicating the traffic condition of the planned road is acquired. Traffic information includes traffic congestion ahead, time required for traffic congestion, accident/broken vehicle/construction information, speed regulation/lane regulation information, parking location, parking lot/service area/parking area full/vacant information, etc. Information is included. Further, the communication device 55 obtains the traffic information by communicating with a wireless beacon provided on a side band of the road or by performing inter-vehicle communication with other vehicles traveling around the own vehicle M. May be.

The vehicle sensor 60 includes a vehicle speed sensor that detects the vehicle speed, an acceleration sensor that detects the acceleration, a yaw rate sensor that detects the angular velocity around the vertical axis, a direction sensor that detects the direction of the host vehicle M, and the like.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of the HMI 70. The HMI 70 has, for example, a configuration of a driving operation system and a configuration of a non-driving operation system. These boundaries are not clear, and the configuration of the driving operation system may have the function of the non-driving operation system (or vice versa).

The HMI 70 has, for example, an accelerator pedal 71, an accelerator opening sensor 72, an accelerator pedal reaction force output device 73, a brake pedal 74, a brake pedal amount sensor (or a master pressure sensor) 75, and a shift, as a driving operation system configuration. It includes a lever 76 and a shift position sensor 77, a steering wheel 78, a steering angle sensor 79 and a steering torque sensor 80, and another driving operation device 81.

The accelerator pedal 71 is an operator for receiving an acceleration instruction (or a deceleration instruction by a returning operation) by a vehicle occupant. The accelerator opening sensor 72 detects the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal 71 and outputs an accelerator opening signal indicating the amount of depression to the vehicle control system 100. Instead of outputting to the vehicle control system 100, it may be directly output to the traveling driving force output device 200, the steering device 210, or the brake device 220. The same applies to the configurations of other driving operation systems described below. The accelerator pedal reaction force output device 73 outputs a force (operation reaction force) in a direction opposite to the operation direction to the accelerator pedal 71 in response to an instruction from the vehicle control system 100, for example.

The brake pedal 74 is an operator for receiving a deceleration instruction from a vehicle occupant. The brake depression amount sensor 75 detects the depression amount (or depression force) of the brake pedal 74 and outputs a brake signal indicating the detection result to the vehicle control system 100.

The shift lever 76 is an operator for receiving a shift stage change instruction from a vehicle occupant. The shift position sensor 77 detects the shift stage designated by the vehicle occupant and outputs a shift position signal indicating the detection result to the vehicle control system 100.

The steering wheel 78 is an operator for receiving a turning instruction from a vehicle occupant. The steering steering angle sensor 79 detects the operation angle of the steering wheel 78 and outputs a steering steering angle signal indicating the detection result to the vehicle control system 100. The steering torque sensor 80 detects the torque applied to the steering wheel 78 and outputs a steering torque signal indicating the detection result to the vehicle control system 100.

The other driving operation device 81 is, for example, a joystick, a button, a dial switch, a GUI (Graphical User Interface) switch, or the like. The other driving operation device 81 receives an acceleration instruction, a deceleration instruction, a turning instruction, etc., and outputs them to the vehicle control system 100.

The HMI 70 has, for example, a display device 82, a speaker 83, a contact operation detection device 84, a content reproduction device 85, various operation switches 86, a seat 88, a seat drive device 89, and a window glass 90 as a non-driving operation system configuration. And a window driving device 91, a vehicle interior camera 95, a vehicle interior communication device 96, a paired terminal 97, and a radio wave transmitting device 98.

The display device 82 is, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or an organic EL (Electroluminescence) display device that is attached to each part of the instrument panel, an arbitrary position facing the passenger seat or the rear seat, and the like. Further, the display device 82 may be a HUD (Head Up Display) that projects an image on a front windshield or another window. The speaker 83 outputs sound. When the display device 82 is a touch panel, the contact operation detection device 84 detects a contact position (touch position) on the display screen of the display device 82, and outputs it to the vehicle control system 100. If the display device 82 is not a touch panel, the touch operation detection device 84 may be omitted.

The content reproducing device 85 includes, for example, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) reproducing device, a CD (Compact Disc) reproducing device, a television receiver, various guide image generating devices, and the like. The display device 82, the speaker 83, the touch operation detection device 84, and the content reproduction device 85 may be partly or wholly common to the navigation device 50.

The various operation switches 86 are arranged at arbitrary points in the vehicle interior. The various operation switches 86 include an automatic operation changeover switch 87 for instructing start (or future start) and stop of automatic operation. The automatic operation changeover switch 87 may be either a GUI (Graphical User Interface) switch or a mechanical switch. Further, the various operation switches 86 may include switches for driving the seat driving device 89 and the window driving device 91.

The seat 88 is a seat on which a vehicle occupant is seated. The seat driving device 89 freely drives the reclining angle, the longitudinal position, the yaw angle, etc. of the seat 88. The window glass 90 is provided in each door, for example. The window driving device 91 drives the window glass 90 to open and close.

The vehicle interior camera 95 is a digital camera using a solid-state image sensor such as CCD or CMOS. The vehicle interior camera 95 is attached to a position such as a rearview mirror, a steering boss portion, an instrument panel, or the like where at least the head of a vehicle occupant who performs a driving operation can be imaged. The camera 40, for example, periodically and repeatedly captures an image of a vehicle occupant.

The vehicle interior communication device 96 is brought into the vehicle interior, for example, and performs wireless communication with a terminal device that can be operated by a vehicle occupant to establish a pairing connection. Like the communication device 55, the terminal device performs wireless communication using, for example, a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, Bluetooth, or DSRC. The terminal device is, for example, an entertainment/entertainment device such as a wireless portable game machine, a portable display, a tablet terminal, a VR (Virtual Reality) glass, or a head mounted display. The pairing connection with the terminal device may be established by an ad hoc network, or may be established by using an existing infrastructure such as the Internet. It should be noted that the vehicle interior communication device 96 is not limited to the pairing connection by radio waves, and may establish the pairing connection with the terminal device by optical wireless communication such as infrared rays or laser.

The paired terminal 97 is a terminal device for which a pairing connection with the vehicle interior communication device 96 has been established.

Further, the vehicle interior communication device 96 transmits a warning signal to the paired terminal 97 under the control of the HMI control unit 170. The warning signal is a signal for suppressing a part or all of the functions of the paired terminal 97 or a signal for notifying a vehicle occupant who uses the paired terminal 97 of a danger. For example, the vehicle interior communication device 96 transmits a signal for turning off or sleeping the power of the paired terminal 97 or displaying a warning screen or the like on the screen of the paired terminal 97 as a warning signal.

The radio wave transmission device 98, under the control of the HMI control unit 170, transmits an interfering radio wave that interferes with the communication of the terminal device. The frequency band of the jamming radio wave is, for example, the frequency band of the radio wave used in the cellular network (eg, 2.1 GHz band or 1.5 GHz band) or the frequency band of the radio wave used in the Wi-Fi network (eg, 2.4 GHz band). Or 5 GHz band), or the same frequency band as a television broadcast wave.

Although the above-described vehicle interior communication device 96 and radio wave transmission device 98 are described as independent devices, the present invention is not limited to this, and the radio wave transmission device 98 has some or all functions of the vehicle interior communication device 96. Alternatively, some or all of the functions of the radio wave transmitting device 98 may be included in the vehicle interior communication device 96. For example, the radio wave transmitting device 98 may perform the pairing connection with the terminal device, and the vehicle interior communication device 96 may transmit the interfering radio wave and the warning signal.

Prior to the description of the vehicle control system 100, the traveling driving force output device 200, the steering device 210, and the brake device 220 will be described.

The traveling drive force output device 200 outputs traveling drive force (torque) for traveling of the vehicle to the drive wheels. For example, when the host vehicle M is a vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine, the traveling driving force output device 200 includes an engine, a transmission, and an engine ECU (Electronic Control Unit) that controls the engine. An electric vehicle that uses an electric motor as a power source includes a traveling motor and a motor ECU that controls the traveling motor. If the host vehicle M is a hybrid vehicle, an engine, a transmission, an engine ECU and a traveling motor, and And a motor ECU. When the traveling driving force output device 200 includes only the engine, the engine ECU adjusts the throttle opening degree and the shift stage of the engine according to the information input from the traveling control unit 160 described later. When the traveling driving force output device 200 includes only the traveling motor, the motor ECU adjusts the duty ratio of the PWM signal given to the traveling motor according to the information input from the traveling control unit 160. When the traveling drive force output device 200 includes an engine and a traveling motor, the engine ECU and the motor ECU cooperate with each other to control the traveling drive force according to the information input from the traveling control unit 160.

The steering device 210 includes, for example, a steering ECU and an electric motor. The electric motor changes the direction of the steered wheels by exerting a force on the rack and pinion mechanism, for example. The steering ECU drives the electric motor according to the information input from the vehicle control system 100 or the input steering steering angle or steering torque to change the direction of the steered wheels.

The brake device 220 is, for example, an electric servo brake device including 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 braking control unit. The braking control unit of the electric servo brake device controls the electric motor according to the information input from the traveling control unit 160 so that the braking torque according to the braking operation is output to each wheel. The electric servo brake device may include, as a backup, a mechanism that transmits the hydraulic pressure generated by operating the brake pedal to the cylinder via the master cylinder. The brake device 220 is not limited to the electric servo brake device described above, and may be an electronically controlled hydraulic brake device. The electronically controlled hydraulic brake device controls the actuator according to the information input from the travel control unit 160, and transmits the hydraulic pressure of the master cylinder to the cylinder. The brake device 220 may also include a regenerative brake by a traveling motor that can be included in the traveling driving force output device 200.

[Vehicle control system]
Hereinafter, the vehicle control system 100 will be described. The vehicle control system 100 is implemented by, for example, one or more processors or hardware having equivalent functions. The vehicle control system 100 is configured by combining a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a storage device, and an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) in which a communication interface is connected by an internal bus, or an MPU (Micro-Processing Unit). May be

Returning to FIG. 2, the vehicle control system 100 includes, for example, a target lane determination unit 110, an automatic driving control unit 120, a travel control unit 160, an HMI control unit 170, and a storage unit 180. The automatic driving control unit 120 includes, for example, an automatic driving mode control unit 130, a vehicle position recognition unit 140, an external world recognition unit 142, a behavior plan generation unit 144, a trajectory generation unit 146, and a switching control unit 150. Prepare The combination of the detection device DD, the communication device 55, and the external world recognition unit 142 described above is an example of a “recognition unit”. Moreover, the automatic operation mode control unit 130 and the HMI control unit 170 are examples of a “management unit”.

Part or all of the target lane determining unit 110, each unit of the automatic driving control unit 120, and the traveling control unit 160 are realized by the processor executing a program (software). Further, some or all of them may be realized by hardware such as LSI (Large Scale Integration) and ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or may be realized by a combination of software and hardware.

The storage unit 180 stores information such as high-accuracy map information 182, target lane information 184, action plan information 186, mode-specific operation propriety information 188, and the like. The storage unit 180 is realized by a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), a flash memory, or the like. The program executed by the processor may be stored in the storage unit 180 in advance, or may be downloaded from an external device via an in-vehicle Internet facility or the like. Further, the program may be installed in the storage unit 180 by mounting a portable storage medium storing the program in a drive device (not shown). The vehicle control system 100 may be distributed by a plurality of computer devices.

The target lane determination unit 110 is realized by, for example, an MPU. The target lane determination unit 110 divides the route provided by the navigation device 50 into a plurality of blocks (for example, every 100 [m] in the vehicle traveling direction), and refers to the high-precision map information 182 to determine each block. Determine the target lane. The target lane determining unit 110 determines, for example, which lane from the left to drive. The target lane determining unit 110 determines the target lane so that the host vehicle M can travel on a reasonable travel route for traveling to a branch destination when, for example, a branch point or a merge point exists on the route. .. The target lane determined by the target lane determination unit 110 is stored in the storage unit 180 as target lane information 184.

The high-precision map information 182 is map information with higher precision than the navigation map included in the navigation device 50. The high-precision map information 182 includes, for example, information about the center of the lane or information about the boundary of the lane. The high-precision map information 182 may include road information, traffic regulation information, address information (address/postal code), facility information, telephone number information, and the like. The road information includes information indicating the types of roads such as highways, toll roads, national roads, and prefectural roads, the number of lanes on the road, the width of each lane, the slope of the road, and the position of the road (longitude, latitude, height). (Including three-dimensional coordinates), the curvature of the lane curve, the positions of the merging and branching points of the lane, the signs provided on the road, and the like. The traffic regulation information includes information that lanes are blocked due to construction, traffic accidents, traffic jams, and the like.

The automatic driving mode control unit 130 determines the automatic driving mode executed by the automatic driving control unit 120. The modes of automatic operation in the present embodiment include the following modes. Note that the following is merely an example, and the number of modes of automatic operation may be arbitrarily determined.

[Mode A]
Mode A is a mode with the highest degree of automatic operation. When the mode A is executed, all vehicle controls such as complicated merge control are automatically performed, and thus the vehicle occupant is required to have the lowest level of peripheral monitoring duty. At this level, the vehicle occupant does not need to monitor the surroundings and the state of the host vehicle M (the peripheral monitoring duty does not occur).

Here, the traveling mode selected in the mode A includes, for example, platoon traveling. This traveling mode is determined by a traveling mode determination unit 146A included in the trajectory generation unit 146 described later. The platooning is a traveling mode in which the traveling locus of the following traveling vehicle is tracked and the vehicle travels on or near the traveling locus of the preceding vehicle. The traveling locus may be recognized by the external world recognition unit 142 based on the detection result of the detection unit DD, or may be acquired from the preceding vehicle via the communication device 55 (the “trajectory” described below is the own vehicle M). It may be obtained from the preceding vehicle without being generated in).

In platooning, the speed of the host vehicle M is determined so as to be the same as the speed of the preceding vehicle. In such a case, the host vehicle M and the preceding vehicle form one row (vehicle group). Therefore, the own vehicle M, which is the succeeding vehicle of the platoon, can perform automatic driving mainly by monitoring the movement of the preceding vehicle and the approaching vehicle from the side or the rear, and the control load is reduced. It

In addition to the platooning, the traveling mode selected in the mode A may include a traveling mode such as low-speed following traveling. The low-speed following traveling is a traveling mode in which a preceding vehicle traveling in front of (in front of) the own vehicle M on the own lane in which the own vehicle M travels is followed, for example, on a congested highway. The low-speed following traveling is also called TJP (Traffic Jam Pilot). Various running modes such as platooning and low speed follow-up are provided with a speed limit of, for example, about 40 km/h, and when the speed limit is exceeded, the mode is decreased by one and the mode is changed to the mode B.

[Mode B]
Mode B is a mode in which the degree of automatic operation is the second highest after Mode A. When the mode B is executed, in principle, all vehicle controls are automatically performed, but the driving operation of the own vehicle M is entrusted to the vehicle occupant depending on the scene. Therefore, the perimeter monitoring duty level is set to the level having the next highest degree of perimeter monitoring duty after the level in the mode A. At this level, the vehicle occupant needs to monitor the surroundings and the state of the host vehicle M (the peripheral monitoring duty increases as compared to the mode A). The various traveling modes selected in the mode B are provided with a speed limit of, for example, about 70 km/h, and when the speed limit is exceeded, the mode is decreased by one and the mode is changed to the mode C.

[Mode C]
Mode C is a mode in which the degree of automatic operation is the highest after Mode B. When the mode C is performed, the vehicle occupant needs to perform a confirmation operation according to the scene on the HMI 70. Therefore, the perimeter monitoring duty level is set to the level having the next highest degree of perimeter monitoring duty after the level in mode B. In the mode C, for example, when the vehicle occupant is notified of the timing of the lane change and the vehicle occupant performs an operation of instructing the HMI 70 to change the lane, the automatic lane change is performed. Therefore, at the level in mode C, the vehicle occupant needs to monitor the surroundings and state of the host vehicle M. The various traveling modes selected in the mode C are provided with a speed limit of, for example, about 100 km/h, and when the speed limit is exceeded, the mode is decreased by one, and for example, a mode lower than the mode C or a manual operation mode. Move to.

The automatic driving mode control unit 130 performs automatic driving based on the operation of the vehicle occupant on the HMI 70, the event determined by the action plan generation unit 144, the traveling mode determined by the trajectory generation unit 146 (traveling mode determination unit 146A), and the like. The mode is determined to be one of the above modes. The automatic operation mode control unit 130 notifies the HMI control unit 170 of information regarding the determined automatic operation mode.

The automatic driving mode that can be selected by the automatic driving mode control unit 130 may be limited according to the performance of the detection device DD of the host vehicle M. For example, when the performance of the detection device DD becomes lower than a reference value due to a failure of some of the sensors included in the detection device DD, or when the sensor on the rear end side of the vehicle is removed, the sensor of the detection device DD When the number is less than a certain number, some automatic driving modes (for example, the mode A having the highest degree of automatic driving) may be restricted so that they cannot be selected in consideration of safety.

In any of the above-mentioned automatic operation modes, the automatic operation mode control unit 130 may switch (override) the automatic operation mode to the manual operation mode by operating the configuration of the operation system in the HMI 70. For example, when the vehicle occupant of the host vehicle M has a state in which the operating force applied to the driving operation system of the HMI 70 exceeds a threshold value for a predetermined period of time or more, the override is performed by a predetermined operation change amount (for example, the accelerator opening degree of the accelerator pedal 71, the brake pedal 74). Is equal to or greater than the brake pedal depression amount, the steering angle of the steering wheel 78 of the steering wheel 78), or is operated for a predetermined number of times or more.

In addition, the automatic driving mode control unit 130 may switch the currently executed automatic driving mode to another automatic driving mode (for example, mode A to mode B) at the timing when the traveling mode in each automatic driving mode ends. Alternatively, the driving mode may be switched to another driving mode that can be selected in the currently executed automatic driving mode.

The automatic driving mode control unit 130 is currently executed when the running mode is changed from a running mode other than the platoon running such as constant speed running to the platoon running while each automatic driving mode is being executed. The automatic operation mode is treated as a mode in which the automatic operation mode is changed to a mode having a higher degree of automatic operation than the automatic operation mode executed in another traveling mode.

Further, the automatic driving mode control unit 130 is currently executed when the running mode is changed from another running mode other than the platoon running such as constant speed running to the platoon running while each automatic driving mode is being executed. The automatic driving mode in use may be changed to the mode A having the lowest degree of peripheral monitoring duty in the fully automatic driving mode.

For example, when the traveling mode is changed from the constant speed traveling to the platoon traveling while the mode B is being executed, the automatic driving mode control unit 130 changes the automatic driving mode from the mode B to a lower degree of the peripheral monitoring duty. Change to mode A. As a result, when the host vehicle M is following the surrounding vehicles, the vehicle occupant does not need to monitor the surroundings (or becomes small), and the contents installed in the terminal device brought into the vehicle or in the vehicle compartment are eliminated. It is possible to freely operate the playback device 85 and the like.

When the traveling mode is platooning, it can be considered that the leading vehicle of the platoon instead of the own vehicle M recognizes the surrounding situation. In other words, it is possible to indirectly consider that the own vehicle M recognizes the surrounding situation by monitoring the leading vehicle of the formation or the following vehicle of the leading vehicle. In this case, the automatic driving mode control unit 130 limits the automatic driving mode to be executed even in a situation where the number of sensors of the detection device DD is insufficient and switching to some automatic driving modes is limited. You may change to the automatic operation mode that is set.

For example, in the situation where the mode A is restricted, when the driving mode is changed to platooning while the mode B having a low degree of surrounding monitoring duty at the second run is being executed, the automatic driving mode control unit 130 May change the automatic operation mode to be executed from mode B to mode A.

Further, when the traveling mode is changed from another traveling mode other than the platoon traveling to the platoon traveling, the automatic driving mode control unit 130 reduces the limitable upper limit vehicle speed set for each automatic driving mode. As a result, the relative speed limit of the own vehicle M to the peripheral monitoring duty is relaxed.

For example, let us consider a case in which, in addition to platooning, low-speed following traveling is included as a traveling mode selectable in mode A, and the traveling mode is changed from low-speed following traveling to platoon traveling. These perimeter monitoring obligations are controlled to the same level or lower in platooning. On the other hand, regarding the speed limit, platooning is set more gently. For example, the speed limit for low-speed following traveling is, for example, about 40 km/h, whereas it is set to, for example, 100 km/h for platooning. Therefore, in platooning, the relative speed limit to the surrounding monitoring duty of the own vehicle M is relaxed. Such a relationship is not limited to low-speed follow-up running, but also holds for other running modes and platooning.

The vehicle position recognition unit 140 of the automatic driving control unit 120 receives the high-precision map information 182 stored in the storage unit 180 and information input from the finder 20, the radar 30, the camera 40, the navigation device 50, or the vehicle sensor 60. Based on and, the lane in which the vehicle M is traveling (travel lane) and the relative position of the vehicle M with respect to the traveling lane are recognized.

The own vehicle position recognizing unit 140, for example, a pattern of road marking lines (for example, an array of solid lines and broken lines) recognized from the high-precision map information 182 and the periphery of the own vehicle M recognized from the image captured by the camera 40. The traveling lane is recognized by comparing with the pattern of the road marking line. In this recognition, the position of the host vehicle M acquired from the navigation device 50 and the processing result by the INS may be taken into consideration.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing how the host vehicle position recognizing unit 140 recognizes the relative position of the host vehicle M with respect to the traveling lane L1. The host vehicle position recognizing unit 140 makes, for example, a deviation OS of the reference point (for example, the center of gravity) of the host vehicle M from the center CL of the traveling lane and a line connecting the center CL of the traveling lane in the traveling direction of the host vehicle M. The angle θ is recognized as the relative position of the host vehicle M with respect to the traveling lane L1. Instead of this, the own vehicle position recognizing unit 140 recognizes the position of the reference point of the own vehicle M with respect to any one side end of the own lane L1 as the relative position of the own vehicle M with respect to the traveling lane. Good. The relative position of the host vehicle M recognized by the host vehicle position recognizing unit 140 is provided to the target lane determining unit 110.

The outside world recognition unit 142 recognizes the position of the surrounding vehicle and the states such as speed and acceleration based on the information input from the finder 20, the radar 30, the camera 40, and the like. The peripheral vehicle is, for example, a vehicle that travels around the host vehicle M and that travels in the same direction as the host vehicle M. The position of the surrounding vehicle may be represented by a representative point such as the center of gravity or a corner of the other vehicle, or may be represented by a region represented by the contour of the other vehicle. The “state” of the peripheral vehicle may include the acceleration of the peripheral vehicle and whether or not the lane is changed (or whether or not to change the lane), which is grasped based on the information of the above-described various devices. In addition to the surrounding vehicles, the outside world recognition unit 142 may recognize the positions of guardrails, telephone poles, parked vehicles, pedestrians, and other objects.

The action plan generation unit 144 sets a start point of automatic driving and/or a destination of automatic driving. The starting point of the automatic driving may be the current position of the host vehicle M or a point where an operation for instructing the automatic driving is performed. The action plan generation unit 144 generates an action plan in the section between the start point and the destination of automatic driving. Note that the action plan generation unit 144 is not limited to this, and may generate an action plan for any section.

The action plan is composed of, for example, a plurality of events that are sequentially executed. Examples of the event include a deceleration event for decelerating the host vehicle M, an acceleration event for accelerating the host vehicle M, a lane keep event for driving the host vehicle M so as not to deviate from the traveling lane, and a lane change event for changing the traveling lane. , An overtaking event in which the host vehicle M overtakes a preceding vehicle, a branch event in which the host vehicle M is changed to a desired lane at a branch point, or the host vehicle M is driven so as not to deviate from the current lane, in order to join the main line In the merging lane, the vehicle M is accelerated/decelerated to change the lane, the merging event is changed from the manual operation mode to the automatic operation mode at the start point of the automatic operation, or the automatic operation mode is manually changed at the scheduled end point of the automatic operation. This includes a handover event or the like for shifting to the operation mode. The action plan generation unit 144 sets a lane change event, a branch event, or a merging event at the location where the target lane determined by the target lane determination unit 110 is switched. The information indicating the action plan generated by the action plan generation unit 144 is stored in the storage unit 180 as the action plan information 186.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the action plan generated for a certain section. As illustrated, the action plan generation unit 144 generates an action plan required for the vehicle M to travel on the target lane indicated by the target lane information 184. In addition, the action plan generation unit 144 may dynamically change the action plan according to the situation change of the host vehicle M regardless of the target lane information 184. For example, the action plan generation unit 144 may determine that the speed of the peripheral vehicle recognized by the external world recognition unit 142 while the vehicle is traveling exceeds a threshold value, or the traveling direction of the peripheral vehicle traveling in the lane adjacent to the own lane is in the own lane direction. When the vehicle turns, the event set in the driving section where the vehicle M is scheduled to travel is changed. For example, when the event is set such that the lane change event is executed after the lane keep event, the vehicle is equal to or more than the threshold value from the lane behind the lane change destination during the lane keep event according to the recognition result of the outside world recognition unit 142. When it is determined that the vehicle has proceeded at the speed of, the action plan generation unit 144 may change the event next to the lane keep event from the lane change event to the deceleration event, the lane keep event, or the like. As a result, the vehicle control system 100 can safely and automatically drive the host vehicle M even when the external environment changes.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the trajectory generation unit 146. The track generation unit 146 includes, for example, a traveling mode determination unit 146A, a track candidate generation unit 146B, and an evaluation/selection unit 146C.

The traveling mode determination unit 146A, based on the peripheral vehicles recognized by the outside world recognition unit 142 when performing the lane keeping event, performs the above-described constant speed traveling, low speed following traveling, medium speed following traveling, high speed following traveling, deceleration. Any one of traveling modes such as traveling, curve traveling, obstacle avoidance traveling, and platoon traveling is determined.

For example, the traveling mode determination unit 146A determines the traveling mode to be constant speed traveling when another vehicle does not exist within a certain distance in front of the host vehicle M. The traveling mode determination unit 146A determines, for example, that the speed of the peripheral vehicle (for example, the preceding vehicle) is equal to or higher than the speed limit of Mode A and equal to or lower than the speed limit of Mode B, and the inter-vehicle distance to the peripheral vehicle is equal to or greater than a certain value. In the above-described mode B, for example, the traveling mode is determined to be constant speed traveling.

In addition, the traveling mode determination unit 146A determines that the traveling mode is low-speed following traveling in a traffic jam scene or the like. In addition, the traveling mode determination unit 146A determines the traveling mode to be medium-speed following traveling or high-speed following traveling in a scene in which the average speed of surrounding vehicles is higher than in a traffic jam scene. For example, the traveling mode determination unit 146A may determine that the speed of the peripheral vehicle (for example, the preceding vehicle) recognized by the external environment recognition unit 142 is equal to or lower than the speed limit of the mode A, and the inter-vehicle distance to the peripheral vehicle is equal to or lower than a certain value. For example, in the above-described mode A, for example, the traveling mode is determined to be low-speed following traveling.

When various follow-up travels are performed, lane change, merging, branching, and the like are performed at timings based on the action plan generated by the action plan generation unit 144.

In addition, the traveling mode determination unit 146A determines the traveling mode to be deceleration traveling when the outside world recognition unit 142 recognizes deceleration of the preceding vehicle or when an event such as stopping or parking is performed. In addition, when the external environment recognition unit 142 recognizes that the host vehicle M is approaching a curved road, the traveling mode determination unit 146A determines that the traveling mode is the curve traveling. In addition, when the external environment recognition unit 142 recognizes an obstacle in front of the host vehicle M, the traveling mode determination unit 146A determines the traveling mode to be obstacle avoidance traveling.

In addition, when the surrounding vehicles recognized by the outside world recognition unit 142 include vehicles having the same destination or vehicles having the same part of the route to the destination, the traveling mode determination unit 146A sets the traveling mode. Decide to run. During platooning, an event that a vehicle that has the same destination or a part of the route to the destination follows the same vehicle and that the vehicle that follows does not depend on the action plan generated by the action plan generation unit 144 Car control the same event as.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a scene in which the traveling mode is changed to platoon traveling. In the illustrated example, when the vehicle m1 is being followed, the vehicle to be followed is changed to the vehicle m2 traveling in the adjacent lane to perform platooning. For example, the traveling mode determination unit 146A uses the communication device 55 to perform inter-vehicle communication with peripheral vehicles traveling within the communicable range of the communication device 55, and destination information indicating where the set destination is. And the position information of the communication target vehicle are acquired from each of the surrounding vehicles. In the illustrated example, the traveling mode determination unit 146A acquires the destination information and the position information from each of the vehicle m1 and the vehicle m2.

The traveling mode determination unit 146A refers to the destination information, and determines a peripheral vehicle (hereinafter, referred to as an accompanying vehicle) set to the same destination as the destination of the own vehicle M set to the navigation device 50, It is specified from the vehicles to be communicated by the communication device 55. In the illustrated example, the destination of the vehicle m1 is different from the destination of the host vehicle M, and the destination of the vehicle m2 is the same as the destination of the host vehicle M, so the vehicle m2 is specified as the accompanying vehicle. In addition, when there are a plurality of accompanying vehicles, the traveling mode determination unit 146A may refer to the position information of each surrounding vehicle and set the vehicle closest to the own vehicle M as the following vehicle to be followed.

In addition, when there is no accompanying vehicle among the vehicles to be communicated by the communication device 55, the traveling mode determination unit 146A routes the route to the destination of the host vehicle M to the intermediate point (relay point). Identify the same vehicle. When the vehicle having the same route to the relay point is specified, that is, when a vehicle having different destinations but partially having the same route to the destination is specified, the following vehicle identifying unit 146D treats the vehicle as an accompanying vehicle.

After identifying the accompanying vehicle, the traveling mode determination unit 146A uses the communication device 55 to transmit the follow-up request information to the accompanying vehicle. Upon receipt of the follow-up request information, the accompanying vehicle (vehicle m2 in the illustrated example) displays information indicating that a follow-up request has been made from another vehicle on a display device or the like in the vehicle compartment. In response to this, when the vehicle occupant of the accompanying vehicle permits the follow-up using a predetermined user interface, the accompanying vehicle transmits the follow-up permission information indicating that the follow-up request is accepted to the own vehicle M. When the follow-up permission information is received by the communication device 55, the running mode determination unit 146A determines that the running mode is platooning so as to follow the accompanying vehicle. Note that the communication device 55 may receive, from the accompanying vehicle, the action plan or the travel trajectory information generated by the accompanying vehicle together with the follow-up permission information. In this case, the trajectory generation unit 146 may generate the traveling trajectory based on the action plan received from the accompanying vehicle, or may treat the traveling trajectory received from the accompanying vehicle as the generated trajectory.

In addition, the running mode determination unit 146A determines the running mode according to each event when carrying out a lane change event, an overtaking event, a branch event, a merge event, a handover event, etc., not limited to the lane keep event.

The traveling mode determination unit 146A notifies the HMI control unit 170 of information regarding the traveling mode determined for each event.

The trajectory candidate generation unit 146B generates trajectory candidates based on the traveling mode determined by the traveling mode determination unit 146A. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a trajectory candidate generated by the trajectory candidate generating unit 146B. The illustrated example shows a candidate for a trajectory generated when the host vehicle M changes lanes from the lane L1 to the lane L2.

The trajectory candidate generation unit 146B, for example, on a trajectory as shown in FIG. 8, a target position (track point K) to which the reference position (for example, the center of gravity or the center of the rear wheel axle) of the host vehicle M should reach, for example, every predetermined future time. Decided as a group of. FIG. 9 is a diagram in which the trajectory points K represent the trajectory candidates generated by the trajectory candidate generation unit 146B. The wider the distance between the track points K, the faster the speed of the host vehicle M, and the narrower the interval between the track points K, the lower the speed of the host vehicle M. Therefore, the trajectory candidate generator 146B gradually widens the interval between the orbit points K when accelerating, and gradually narrows the interval between the orbit points when decelerating.

As described above, since the orbital point K includes the velocity component, the orbital candidate generation unit 146B needs to give the target velocity to each of the orbital points K. The target speed is determined according to the traveling mode determined by the traveling mode determination unit 146A.

Here, a method of determining a target speed when changing lanes (including branching) will be described. The trajectory candidate generation unit 146B first sets a lane change target position (or a merge target position). The lane change target position is set as a relative position with respect to surrounding vehicles, and determines “which peripheral vehicle is to be changed between lanes”. The trajectory candidate generation unit 146B focuses on the three surrounding vehicles with the lane change target position as a reference, and determines the target speed for the lane change. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the lane change target position TA. In the figure, L1 represents the own lane and L2 represents the adjacent lane. Here, in the same lane as the host vehicle M, a peripheral vehicle traveling immediately in front of the host vehicle M is a preceding vehicle mA, a peripheral vehicle traveling immediately in front of the lane change target position TA is a front reference vehicle mB, and a lane change target position TA. A peripheral vehicle traveling immediately after is defined as a rear reference vehicle mC. The host vehicle M needs to perform acceleration/deceleration in order to move to the side of the lane change target position TA, but at this time, it is necessary to avoid catching up with the preceding vehicle mA. Therefore, the trajectory candidate generation unit 146B predicts the future states of the three peripheral vehicles and determines the target speed so as not to interfere with the peripheral vehicles.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a speed generation model when the speeds of three peripheral vehicles are assumed to be constant. In the figure, straight lines extending from mA, mB, and mC indicate displacements in the traveling direction on the assumption that the peripheral vehicles travel at constant speeds. The own vehicle M must be between the front reference vehicle mB and the rear reference vehicle mC at the point CP where the lane change is completed, and must be behind the preceding vehicle mA before that. Under such restrictions, the trajectory candidate generation unit 146B derives a plurality of time-series patterns of the target speed until the lane change is completed. Then, by applying the time-series pattern of the target speed to a model such as a spline curve, a plurality of trajectory candidates as shown in FIG. 9 are derived. The movement patterns of the three peripheral vehicles are not limited to the constant speed as shown in FIG. 11, and may be predicted on the basis of constant acceleration and constant jerk (jerk).

The evaluation/selection unit 146C evaluates the trajectory candidates generated by the trajectory candidate generation unit 146B from, for example, two points of planning and safety, and selects a trajectory to be output to the travel control unit 160. .. From the viewpoint of planability, for example, the trajectory is highly evaluated when it has a high followability to a plan (for example, an action plan) that has already been generated and the total length of the trajectory is short. For example, when it is desired to change the lane to the right, the trajectory of changing the lane to the left and returning to the left is a low evaluation. From the viewpoint of safety, for example, the higher the distance between the host vehicle M and the object (peripheral vehicle or the like) at each track point, and the smaller the amount of change in acceleration/deceleration or the steering angle, the higher the evaluation.

The switching control unit 150 switches between the automatic operation mode and the manual operation mode based on a signal input from the automatic operation changeover switch 87 and the like. In addition, the switching control unit 150 switches from the automatic driving mode to the manual driving mode based on an operation of instructing acceleration, deceleration, or steering with respect to the configuration of the driving operation system in the HMI 70. For example, the switching control unit 150 switches from the automatic operation mode to the manual operation mode when the state in which the operation amount indicated by the signal input from the configuration of the drive operation system in the HMI 70 exceeds the threshold value continues for a reference time or longer ( override). In addition, the switching control unit 150 may return to the automatic operation mode when the operation to the configuration of the operation system of the HMI 70 is not detected for a predetermined time after switching to the manual operation mode by the override. .. In addition, for example, when the switching control unit 150 performs a handover control for shifting from the automatic driving mode to the manual driving mode at a scheduled end point of the automatic driving, the switching control unit 150 notifies the vehicle occupant of the handover request in advance. The information is output to the HMI control unit 170.

The traveling control unit 160 controls the traveling driving force output device 200, the steering device 210, and the brake device 220 so that the host vehicle M passes the trajectory generated by the trajectory generation unit 146 at the scheduled time.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the HMI control unit 170. The HMI control unit 170 includes a mode-specific control unit 170A, a pairing control unit 170B, and a radio wave transmission control unit 170C.

When the automatic operation control unit 120 is notified of the information on the automatic operation mode, the mode-specific control unit 170A refers to the mode-specific operation propriety information 188 and controls the HMI 70 according to the type of the automatic operation mode.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of mode-specific operation propriety information 188. The mode-specific operation availability information 188 illustrated in FIG. 13 includes “manual operation mode” and “automatic operation mode” as items of the operation mode. Further, the "automatic operation mode" includes the above-mentioned "mode A", "mode B", "mode C", and the like. Further, the mode-specific operation availability information 188 includes a “navigation operation” that is an operation on the navigation device 50, a “content reproduction operation” that is an operation on the content reproduction device 85, and an operation on the display device 82 as items of the non-driving operation system. It has some "instrument panel operation". In the example of the mode-specific operation propriety information 188 shown in FIG. 13, the propriety of operation of the vehicle occupant with respect to the non-driving operation system is set for each of the above-described driving modes, but the target interface device is limited to this. is not.

The mode-specific control unit 170A refers to the mode-specific operation propriety information 188 based on the mode information acquired from the automatic driving control unit 120, so that the device (the navigation device 50 and a part or all of the HMI 70) that is permitted to be used. ) And a device whose use is not permitted. In addition, the mode-specific control unit 170A controls whether or not to accept an operation from the vehicle occupant for the non-driving operation system HMI 70 or the navigation device 50 based on the determined result.

For example, when the driving mode executed by the vehicle control system 100 is the manual driving mode, the vehicle occupant operates the driving operation system of the HMI 70 (for example, the accelerator pedal 71, the brake pedal 74, the shift lever 76, and the steering wheel 78). To do. When the driving mode executed by the vehicle control system 100 is the automatic driving mode such as mode B or mode C, the vehicle occupant is obliged to monitor the surroundings of the own vehicle M. In such a case, in order to prevent the driver's distraction from being distracted by an action other than the driving of the vehicle occupant (for example, the operation of the HMI 70), the mode-specific control unit 170A controls the non-driving operation system of the HMI 70. The control is performed so that the operation for a part or all of the configuration is not accepted. At this time, the mode-specific control unit 170A displays the presence of the surrounding vehicle of the own vehicle M and the state of the surrounding vehicle recognized by the outside world recognition unit 142 in order to allow the vehicle occupant to monitor the surroundings of the own vehicle M. The HMI 70 may be caused to display an image or the like on the device 82 and allow the HMI 70 to accept a confirmation operation according to the scene of the traveling of the vehicle M.

In addition, when the automatic driving mode is the mode A, the mode-specific control unit 170A relaxes the regulation of the driver distraction and performs the control of accepting the operation of the vehicle occupant for the non-driving operation system that has not accepted the operation. For example, the mode-specific control unit 170A causes the display device 82 to display an image, causes the speaker 83 to output sound, and causes the content reproduction device 85 to reproduce content from a DVD or the like. The content reproduced by the content reproduction apparatus 85 may include various contents related to entertainment and entertainment such as television programs, in addition to the content stored in the DVD. Further, the above-mentioned "contents reproducing operation" shown in FIG. 13 may mean such a content operation relating to entertainment and entertainment.

In addition, when the mode A is changed to the mode B or the mode C, that is, when the automatic driving mode in which the vehicle occupant's peripheral monitoring duty is increased is changed, the mode-specific control unit 170A controls the navigation device 50 or the non-driving operation. The HMI 70 of the system is made to output predetermined information. The predetermined information is information indicating that the peripheral monitoring duty increases, or information indicating that the operation allowance of the navigation device 50 or the non-driving operation system HMI 70 becomes low (operation is limited). Note that the predetermined information is not limited to these, and may be information that prompts preparations for handover control, for example.

As described above, the mode-specific control unit 170A warns the vehicle occupant, for example, a predetermined time before the driving mode transitions from the above-described mode A to the mode B or the mode C or before the host vehicle M reaches a predetermined speed. By informing the vehicle occupant, the vehicle occupant can be notified at an appropriate timing that the vehicle occupant is required to monitor the surroundings of the host vehicle M. As a result, it is possible to give the vehicle occupant a preparation period for switching the automatic driving.

In addition, the mode-specific control unit 170A refers to the information on the traveling mode notified by the traveling mode determining unit 146A, and when it is determined that the traveling mode is platoon traveling, the navigation device 50 or the HMI 70 is used. , Informing the vehicle occupant that vehicle control based on platooning will be started.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed by the display device 82 when platooning is started. On the screen of the display device 82, for example, a button B1 for permitting the start of platooning and a button B2 for prohibiting the start of platooning are displayed. For example, when the button B1 is touch-operated and selected by the vehicle occupant, the trajectory generation unit 146 outputs information on the trajectory for platoon traveling to the traveling control unit 160, and the traveling control unit 160 drives the traveling. By controlling the force output device 200, the steering device 210, and the brake device 220, the host vehicle M performs platooning. On the other hand, when the vehicle occupant selects the button B2 by touching the button B2, the traveling mode determination unit 146A redetermines the traveling mode to a traveling mode other than platooning.

The platooning may be automatically started without any operation by a vehicle occupant. In this case, the mode-specific control unit 170A starts the platooning before the platooning starts, instead of displaying the screen for requesting permission to start the platooning on the display device 82 as shown in FIG. May be displayed. Further, before starting the automatic driving, it may be possible to confirm with a vehicle occupant whether or not “select if platooning is possible”.

The pairing control unit 170B uses, for example, the vehicle interior communication device 96 to emit a radio wave that is not disturbed by an interfering radio wave transmitted from the radio wave transmission device 98 (for example, a radio wave having a different frequency band) to perform pairing with the terminal device. Make a connection. In addition, in each automatic driving mode, the pairing control unit 170B uses the vehicle interior communication device 96 to output a warning signal to the paired terminal 97 when the traveling mode determination unit 146A has not determined that the traveling mode is platooning. To send. For example, on the paired terminal 97 that has received the warning signal, a predetermined screen is displayed by interruption while the screen corresponding to the operation of the vehicle occupant is being displayed. As a result, the television program or the like broadcast in the terminal device is interrupted.

Under each automatic driving mode, the radio wave transmission control unit 170C transmits a jamming radio wave by using the radio wave transmission device 98 when the traveling mode determination unit 146A does not determine that the traveling mode is platooning. At this time, the radio wave transmission control unit 170C transmits a radio wave having a directivity that is emitted only around the driver's seat so as not to interfere with the communication of the terminal device operated by the vehicle occupant sitting in the passenger seat or the rear seat. It is suitable. As a result, the terminal device cannot receive television broadcast waves and the like, and the use of the terminal device is restricted.

Either one of the warning signal and the interfering radio wave may be transmitted, or both of them may be transmitted.

Hereinafter, a change that occurs when the traveling mode is changed from the traveling mode other than the platoon traveling to the platoon traveling will be described. FIG. 15 is a diagram for comparing the main points of control in a scene where platooning is performed and the main points of control in a scene in which a traveling mode other than platooning is performed. As shown in the figure, for example, in the case of another traveling mode, the peripheral monitoring is necessary (the peripheral monitoring duty is imposed), and in the case of platooning, the peripheral monitoring is not always required (the peripheral monitoring duty is required). Absent). As a result, the load on the vehicle occupant can be reduced during follow-up travel or platoon travel.

Further, in the case of other driving modes, whether or not the operation of the non-driving operation system of the HMI 70 can be accepted according to the type of the automatic driving mode, and in the case of platooning, the automatic driving mode is the mode A that does not require the peripheral monitoring duty. The operation to the non-driving operation system of the HMI 70 is accepted. That is, in the case of other traveling modes, there is a case where the use of the non-driving operation system of the HMI 70 is permitted and a case where the use thereof is not permitted, depending on the type of the automatic driving mode. Use of non-driving operation system is permitted.

Further, in the case of another traveling mode, one or both of a warning signal and an interfering radio wave is transmitted to the terminal device (paired terminal 97), and in the case of platoon traveling, transmission of these signals and radio waves is stopped. That is, the use of the terminal device (paired terminal 97) is not permitted in the case of other traveling modes and is permitted in the case of platooning.

In addition, in the case of other traveling modes, the speed limit in the automatic driving mode cannot be changed, and in the case of platooning, the speed limit in the automatic driving mode can be changed. For example, in the case where the change of the speed limit is not considered under the mode A, the mode A is canceled when the speed of the host vehicle M reaches the speed limit set in the mode A. In this case, the automatic operation mode is changed to the mode B or the mode C, which has a higher degree of peripheral monitoring duty, or the manual operation mode, instead of the mode A. As a result, due to an increase in the peripheral monitoring duty, the mode-specific control unit 170A controls the content reproduction device 85 to stop the content reproduction from the DVD or the like, and the pairing control unit 170B warns the paired terminal 97. Since a signal is transmitted or the radio wave transmission control unit 170C transmits an interfering radio wave to the terminal device, broadcasting of a television program or the like is stopped in the terminal device.

On the other hand, when the speed limit is changed when the traveling mode is changed to platooning, it becomes easy to continue the automatic driving mode that is being executed. As a result, if the automatic driving mode being executed is the mode A, the content reproduction and the broadcast of the television program are not interrupted. As a result, the convenience of the vehicle occupant can be improved.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing performed by the vehicle control system 100. The process of this flowchart is performed, for example, in a state where the automatic driving mode executed by the automatic driving mode control unit 130 is determined to be one of the automatic driving modes.

First, the automatic driving mode control unit 130 waits until a companion vehicle can be selected from surrounding vehicles (step S100). When the companion vehicle becomes selectable, the automatic driving mode is changed and the speed is changed as described above. The limit is changed (step S102). Next, the traveling mode determination unit 146A determines that the traveling mode is platooning (step S104). Then, the trajectory generation unit 146 generates a trajectory for platooning, and the traveling control unit 160 controls the traveling driving force output device 200, the steering device 210, and the brake device 220 based on the trajectory for platooning. By doing so, the own vehicle M performs platooning.

Next, the automatic driving mode control unit 130 determines whether or not the formation running is ended (step S106). The platooning is terminated when the destination of the accompanying vehicle is changed or when the vehicle occupant terminates the vehicle. When the platooning is not ended, the vehicle control system 100 returns the process to S104 described above.

On the other hand, when platooning is ended, the automatic driving mode control unit 130 restores the speed limit to the original (step S108), and the driving mode determining unit 146A changes the driving mode to another driving mode (step S110). This completes the processing of this flowchart.

According to the embodiment described above, the automatic driving mode that recognizes the surrounding vehicles traveling around the own vehicle M and automatically performs at least one of the speed control and the steering control of the own vehicle M is Among the recognized peripheral vehicles, a plurality of automatic driving modes with different degrees of duty to monitor the surroundings of the own vehicle imposed on the occupants of the vehicle M are executed, and the vehicle travels following a preceding vehicle traveling in front of the own vehicle. When performing platooning, the duty of monitoring the surroundings of the host vehicle M is reduced, so that the burden on the vehicle occupant during automatic driving can be reduced.

As described above, the embodiments for carrying out the present invention have been described using the embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to such embodiments, and various modifications and substitutions are made without departing from the gist of the present invention. Can be added.

20... Finder, 30... Radar, 40... Camera, DD... Detecting device, 50... Navigation device, 55... Communication device, 60... Vehicle sensor, 70... HMI, 100... Vehicle control system, 110... Target lane determination unit, 120 ... automatic driving control unit, 130... automatic driving mode control unit, 140... own vehicle position recognition unit, 142... outside world recognition unit, 144... action plan generation unit, 146... trajectory generation unit, 146A... running mode determination unit, 146B... Track candidate generation unit, 146C... Evaluation/selection unit, 150... Switching control unit, 160... Travel control unit, 170... HMI control unit, 180... Storage unit, 200... Travel driving force output device, 210... Steering device, 220... Braking device, M... Own vehicle

Claims (4)

A recognition unit that recognizes surrounding vehicles traveling around the own vehicle,
A plurality of automatic driving modes for automatically performing at least one of speed control and steering control of the own vehicle, of a plurality of automatic driving modes with different degrees of control when automatically driving the own vehicle An automatic driving control unit that executes any of the above,
In each of the plurality of automatic operation modes executed by the automatic operation control unit, a speed limit is set to the speed that can be output during the speed control,
One predetermined automatic driving mode included in the plurality of automatic driving modes includes platooning in which the traveling locus of the preceding vehicle traveling in front of the host vehicle is traveled, and other than the platooning. Other driving modes are included,
A first speed limit is provided in the other traveling mode, and a second speed limit larger than the first speed limit is provided in the formation running,
The automatic driving control unit,
Under the other traveling mode of the predetermined automatic operation mode, the predetermined automatic operation mode is executed with the first speed limit as an upper limit,
Under the platooning in the predetermined automatic operation mode, the predetermined automatic operation mode is executed with the second speed limit as an upper limit.
Vehicle control system. The automatic driving control unit,
Under the another driving mode of the predetermined automatic driving mode, when the speed of the own vehicle exceeds the first speed limit and the own vehicle runs, the predetermined automatic driving mode is set to the predetermined automatic driving mode. Change to another automatic operation mode with a lower degree of control than the operation mode, or manual operation,
When the host vehicle travels at a speed exceeding the second speed limit of the host vehicle under the formation running in the predetermined automatic driving mode, the predetermined automatic driving mode is changed from the predetermined automatic driving mode. Change to another automatic operation mode with a lower degree of control than above, or manual operation,
The vehicle control system according to claim 1. In-vehicle computer
Recognize the surrounding vehicles traveling around your own vehicle,
A plurality of automatic driving modes for automatically performing at least one of speed control and steering control of the own vehicle, of a plurality of automatic driving modes having different degrees of control when automatically driving the own vehicle Do one of the
In each of the plurality of automatic operation modes, speed limit is set to the speed that can be output during the speed control,
One predetermined automatic driving mode included in the plurality of automatic driving modes includes platooning in which the traveling locus of a preceding vehicle traveling in front of the host vehicle is traveled and other than the platooning. Other driving modes are included,
A first speed limit is provided in the other traveling mode, and a second speed limit larger than the first speed limit is provided in the formation running,
Under the other traveling mode of the predetermined automatic operation mode, the predetermined automatic operation mode is executed with the first speed limit as an upper limit,
Under the platooning in the predetermined automatic operation mode, the predetermined automatic operation mode is executed with the second speed limit as an upper limit.
Vehicle control method. For in-vehicle computer,
Recognize surrounding vehicles traveling around your own vehicle,
A plurality of automatic driving modes for automatically performing at least one of speed control and steering control of the own vehicle, of a plurality of automatic driving modes with different degrees of control when automatically driving the own vehicle Let either do
In each of the plurality of automatic operation modes, speed limit is set to the speed that can be output during the speed control,
One predetermined automatic driving mode included in the plurality of automatic driving modes includes platooning in which the traveling locus of the preceding vehicle traveling in front of the host vehicle is traveled, and other than the platooning. Other driving modes are included,
A first speed limit is provided in the other traveling mode, and a second speed limit larger than the first speed limit is provided in the formation running,
Under the other traveling mode of the predetermined automatic operation mode, the predetermined automatic operation mode is executed with the first speed limit as an upper limit,
Under the platooning in the predetermined automatic operation mode, the predetermined automatic operation mode is executed with the second speed limit as an upper limit.
Vehicle control program.

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