JP2021083197A - Vehicle control device, vehicle, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To enable a vehicle to travel along the arrangement of a plurality of power transmission devices provided on a road.SOLUTION: A vehicle control device controls a vehicle including a power transmission unit for performing power transmission in a non-contact manner between itself and a plurality of power transmission devices provided on a road during traveling. The vehicle control device includes: an acquisition unit for acquiring signs showing the positions of the plurality of power transmission devices; a recognition unit for recognizing the arrangement of the plurality of power transmission devices in the traveling direction of the vehicle on the basis of the signs on the road acquired by the acquisition unit; and a control unit for controlling the steering of the vehicle so that the power transmission unit is aligned along the arrangement of the plurality of power transmission devices when the vehicle performs power transmission between itself and the plurality of power transmission devices during traveling.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to vehicle control devices, vehicles and programs.

Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle charging system in which a permanent magnet and a marker are laid on a road, a power generation coil and a detection unit for detecting the marker are provided on the vehicle, and the detection result of the marker is notified to the driver.
[Prior art literature]
[Patent Document]
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-288394

It is desirable to drive the vehicle along a line of a plurality of power transmission devices provided on the road.

In the first aspect of the present invention, a vehicle control device is provided. The vehicle control device controls a vehicle including a power transmission unit that performs non-contact power transmission with a plurality of power transmission devices provided on the road while traveling. The vehicle control device includes an acquisition unit that acquires a sign on the road indicating the position of a plurality of power transmission devices. The vehicle control device includes a recognition unit that recognizes an arrangement of a plurality of power transmission devices in the traveling direction of the vehicle based on the marking on the road acquired by the acquisition unit. The vehicle control device is a control unit that controls the steering of the vehicle so that the power transmission unit follows the arrangement of the plurality of power transmission devices when the vehicle transmits electric power to and from a plurality of power transmission devices while the vehicle is traveling. Be prepared.

The acquisition unit may acquire an image of a first road marking provided on the road surface of the road along the plurality of power transmission devices. The recognition unit may recognize the arrangement of a plurality of power transmission devices based on the image.

The first road marking may be marked by a predetermined pattern different from the second road marking indicating the boundary of the lane of the road. The recognition unit may recognize the arrangement of a plurality of power transmission devices based on the position of the pattern extracted from the image, distinguishing it from the road marking indicating the boundary of the lane.

The first road marking may emit light in the infrared wavelength range. The acquisition unit may acquire an image captured by infrared rays. The recognition unit may recognize the arrangement of a plurality of power transmission devices based on the position of the pattern extracted from the image.

When the first road marking is recognized and the power transmission is performed, the control unit may set the target traveling line of the vehicle so that the plurality of power transmission devices and the power transmission unit are aligned with each other. The control unit may set the target travel line of the vehicle based on the second road marking when the first road marking is not recognized or the power transmission is not performed.

The first road marking may be a line-shaped road marking. At least one of the width and length of the line of the first road marking may indicate the reference speed at which the vehicle should travel when performing power transmission. The control unit may control the speed of the vehicle based on the reference speed when performing power transmission.

The plurality of power transmission devices may emit light in a predetermined wavelength range. The acquisition unit may acquire an image of the road. The recognition unit may recognize the arrangement of a plurality of power transmission devices by recognizing a region of a predetermined wavelength region based on the image.

The vehicle control device may include a positional relationship information acquisition unit that acquires information indicating a positional relationship between the power transmission device and the power transmission unit. The control unit identifies the orientation of the vehicle based on the information acquired by the positional relationship information acquisition unit, and controls the steering of the vehicle so that the power transmission unit follows the arrangement of a plurality of power transmission devices based on the orientation of the vehicle. You can do it.

The positional relationship information acquisition unit acquires the positional relationship between a specific power transmission device and the power transmission unit multiple times, and based on the change in the positional relationship, the traveling direction of the vehicle with respect to the direction in which the plurality of power transmission devices are lined up. The steering may be controlled so that the traveling direction of the vehicle follows a line in which a plurality of power transmission devices are lined up based on the detected angle.

In the second aspect of the present invention, a vehicle is provided. The vehicle includes the above-mentioned vehicle control device.

In a third aspect of the invention, a program is provided. The program functions as the above-mentioned control device.

The outline of the above invention does not list all the necessary features of the present invention. Sub-combinations of these feature groups can also be inventions.

The basic configuration of the vehicle 40 is shown schematically. The functional configuration of the control device 44 is shown. The state in which the vehicle 40 travels is schematically shown. An example of steering control of the vehicle 40 is shown. An example of steering control of the vehicle 40 when the road marking 88 does not exist on the road 80 is shown. The parameters of the shape of the road marking 88 for designating the vehicle speed of the vehicle 40 are shown. A method for recognizing the orientation of the vehicle 40 is shown. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the process which a control device 44 executes. An example of a computer 2000 is shown.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described through embodiments of the invention, but the following embodiments do not limit the inventions that fall within the scope of the claims. Also, not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential to the means of solving the invention. In the drawings, the same or similar parts may be given the same reference number to omit duplicate explanations.

FIG. 1 schematically shows the basic configuration of the vehicle 40. The vehicle 40 is an example of transportation equipment. The vehicle 40 is a vehicle 40 including a power source driven by electric energy, such as an electric vehicle. Electric vehicles include battery-powered electric vehicles (BEVs) and hybrid or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) equipped with an internal combustion engine that provides at least a portion of the power.

The vehicle 40 includes a battery 42, a control device 44, a power receiving unit 48, and a camera 49. The control device 44 is, for example, an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) or the like. The battery 42 is a secondary battery such as a lithium ion battery or a nickel hydrogen battery. The vehicle 40 travels by the driving force of a power source driven by the electric power stored in the battery 42.

The plurality of power feeding devices 30 are provided on the road surface of the road 80 or in the vicinity of the road surface. The power receiving unit 48 sequentially receives power from a plurality of power feeding devices 30 in a non-contact manner while the vehicle 40 is traveling. The power receiving unit 48 receives power from the power feeding device 30 in a non-contact manner, for example, via a magnetic field. As a non-contact power transmission method from the power feeding device 30 to the power receiving unit 48, for example, a magnetic field resonance coupling method can be used. For example, the power feeding device 30 includes a primary coil and a primary circuit, and the power receiving unit 48 includes a secondary coil and a secondary circuit. When the primary side coil and the secondary side coil are in a positional relationship of magnetically coupling, the primary side circuit is driven at a specific drive frequency to drive the primary side circuit, the primary side coil, and the secondary side. A resonance circuit is equivalently formed by the coil and the secondary side circuit, and power is transmitted from the power feeding device 30 to the vehicle 40 in a non-contact manner. The control device 44 charges the battery 42 with the electric power received from the power supply device 30 by the power receiving unit 48 while the vehicle 40 is traveling.

The power feeding device 30 is provided in, for example, a charging lane. The charging lane is a lane in which the vehicle 40 travels when receiving power from the power feeding device 30. The power feeding devices 30 are provided in a line at regular intervals along the traveling direction of the vehicle 40. The control device 44 charges the battery 42 with the electric power received from the power supply device 30 while the vehicle 40 is traveling in the charging lane.

A road marking 88 indicating the position of the power feeding device 30 is provided on the road 80. The road marking 88 is a line-shaped road marking drawn above the power feeding device 30. The road marking 88 is provided along the center of the primary coil of the power feeding device 30.

The camera 49 acquires an image of the vehicle 40 in the traveling direction. The control device 44 recognizes the arrangement direction of the road marking 88 based on the image acquired by the camera 49. The control device 44 identifies the line on which the road markings 88 are lined up based on the direction in which the road markings 88 are lined up in the image, and determines the target traveling line of the vehicle 40 along the direction in which the road markings 88 are lined up on the road 80. To do. The control device 44 determines the target travel line of the vehicle 40 so that the power receiving unit 48 maintains the state of being aligned with the power feeding device 30. Then, the control device 44 controls the steering of the vehicle 40 so that the travel line of the vehicle 40 follows the target travel line. As a result, the power receiving unit 48 can be maintained in a state of being aligned with the power feeding device 30. The state in which the power receiving unit 48 and the power feeding device 30 are aligned does not substantially deviate from the positional relationship in which the power transmission efficiency between the power receiving unit 48 and the power feeding device 30 is maximized, for example. The state.

The road marking 88 is formed in a predetermined pattern. The road marking 88 is formed in a pattern different from other road markings on the road 80. The road marking 88 is formed of a material having a color different from the color of the material forming the other road markings on the road 80. Thereby, the road marking 88 can be recognized separately from other road markings on the road 80. The road marking 88 may be formed of a substance that reflects infrared rays or emits infrared rays.

FIG. 2 shows the functional configuration of the control device 44. The control device 44 includes a processing unit 280 and a storage unit 290. The processing unit 280 is realized by a processing device including a processor. The storage unit 290 is realized by including a non-volatile storage medium. The processing unit 280 performs processing using the information stored in the storage unit 290.

The processing unit 280 controls the vehicle 40. The processing unit 280 includes an acquisition unit 200, a recognition unit 210, a control unit 220, a positional relationship information acquisition unit 240, and a charge / discharge control unit 270. The acquisition unit 200 acquires markings on the road 80 indicating the positions of the plurality of power feeding devices 30. The recognition unit 210 recognizes the arrangement of the plurality of power supply devices 30 in the traveling direction of the vehicle 40 based on the marking on the road 80 acquired by the acquisition unit 200. When the vehicle 40 transmits electric power to and from the plurality of power feeding devices 30 while the vehicle 40 is traveling, the control unit 220 controls the steering of the vehicle 40 so that the power receiving unit 48 follows the arrangement of the plurality of power feeding devices 30.

The acquisition unit 200 acquires images of road markings 88 provided on the road surface of the road 80 along the plurality of power feeding devices 30. Specifically, the acquisition unit 200 acquires an image captured by the camera 49. The recognition unit 210 recognizes the arrangement of the plurality of power feeding devices 30 based on the image. Road marking 88 is an example of "first road marking".

The road marking 88 is marked by a predetermined pattern different from the second road marking indicating the boundary of the lane of the road 80. As the second road marking, a lane marking can be exemplified. The recognition unit 210 recognizes the arrangement of the plurality of power feeding devices 30 in distinction from the second road marking based on the position of the pattern extracted from the image.

Road marking 88 may emit light in the infrared wavelength range. Road marking 88 may be formed of a substance that emits light in the infrared wavelength range. The road marking 88 may be made of a substance that reflects light in the infrared wavelength range. The acquisition unit 200 may acquire an image captured by infrared rays. The recognition unit 210 may recognize the arrangement of the plurality of power feeding devices 30 based on the position of the pattern extracted from the image.

When the road marking 88 is recognized and power is transmitted between the power feeding device 30 and the vehicle 40, the control unit 220 targets the vehicle 40 so that the plurality of power feeding devices 30 and the power receiving unit 48 are aligned with each other. Set the driving line. On the other hand, when the road marking 88 is not recognized or the power transmission is not performed, the control unit 220 sets the target traveling line of the vehicle 40 based on the second road marking.

The road marking 88 may be a line-shaped road marking. At least one of the width and length of the line of the first road marking 88 may indicate the reference speed at which the vehicle 40 should travel when performing power transmission. The control unit 220 may control the speed of the vehicle 40 based on the reference speed when performing power transmission.

The plurality of power feeding devices 30 may emit light in a predetermined wavelength range. The acquisition unit 200 may acquire an image of the road 80. The recognition unit 210 may recognize the arrangement of the plurality of power feeding devices 30 by recognizing a region in a predetermined wavelength region based on the acquired image.

The positional relationship information acquisition unit 240 acquires information indicating the positional relationship between the power feeding device 30 and the power receiving unit 48. The control unit 220 identifies the orientation of the vehicle 40 based on the information acquired by the positional relationship information acquisition unit 200, and based on the orientation of the vehicle 40, the power receiving unit 48 is aligned with the plurality of power supply devices 30. Controls the steering of 40.

The positional relationship information acquisition unit 240 acquires the positional relationship between the specific power supply device 30 and the power receiving unit 48 a plurality of times, and based on the change in the positional relationship, the vehicle 40 with respect to the direction in which the plurality of power supply devices 30 are lined up. An angle in the traveling direction is detected, and based on the detected angle, steering is controlled so that the traveling direction of the vehicle 40 is along a line in which a plurality of power feeding devices 30 are lined up.

The charge / discharge control unit 270 controls the charge / discharge of the battery 42. For example, the charge / discharge control unit 270 controls the charge circuit and the discharge circuit of the battery 42. Specifically, the charge / discharge control unit 270 controls a charging circuit connected to the power receiving unit 48 when receiving power from the power feeding device 30 via the power receiving unit 48.

FIG. 3 schematically shows how the vehicle 40 travels. Road 80 is a road with two lanes on each side. A lane marking 310, a lane marking 320, a lane marking 330, and a road marking 88 are formed on the road 80. The lane marking 310, lane marking 320, and lane marking 330 are lane lane markings. For example, the lane marking 310 is an outside line of the road. The lane marking 320 is a lane boundary line. The lane marking 330 is the central line of the road 80. The road marking 88 is provided between the lane marking 310 and the lane marking 320.

The road marking 88 has a different shape and pattern from each of the lane marking 310, the lane marking 320, and the lane marking 330. The recognition unit 210 analyzes the image captured by the camera 49 and extracts an object having a predetermined shape and pattern to distinguish the road marking 88 from the lane marking 310 and the lane marking 320. .. The recognition unit 210 recognizes the line L in which the road markings 88 are lined up based on the position and shape of the recognized road markings 88. The control unit 220 sets a target traveling line in the direction along the line L and controls the steering of the vehicle 40.

FIG. 4 shows an example of steering control of the vehicle 40. The control unit 220 sets the target travel line of the vehicle 40 so that the displacement width of the center position P of the power receiving unit 48 in the vehicle width direction does not exceed the predetermined D1 with reference to the line L recognized by the recognition unit 210. It is set to control the steering of the vehicle 40.

In addition, the control unit 220 is a vehicle so that the vehicle 40 does not protrude from the position 350 inside the lane by a predetermined distance from the lane marking 310 and the position 360 inside the lane by a predetermined distance from the lane marking 320. Monitor 40 positions. For example, when the control unit 220 determines that the vehicle 40 protrudes outward from the position 350 or the position 360, the vehicle 40 allows the center position P of the power receiving unit 48 with respect to the line L to exceed the displacement width D1. Steering is controlled so as to fall between positions 350 and 360. On the other hand, as long as it is determined that the vehicle 40 is between the position 350 and the position 360, the control unit 220 has the control unit 220 that the center position of the vehicle 40 is the midpoint of the position 350 and the position 360 in the vehicle width direction. The steering of the vehicle 40 is controlled so that the displacement width of the center position P of the power receiving unit 48 with respect to the line L does not exceed D1 while allowing the state of being displaced in the width direction.

FIG. 5 shows an example of steering control of the vehicle 40 when the road marking 88 does not exist on the road 80. When the road marking 88 does not exist on the road 80, the control unit 220 determines the lane marking line from the center position C of the vehicle 40 in the vehicle width direction so that the vehicle 40 does not protrude from the lane defined by the lane marking 310 and the lane marking 320. The vehicle 40 is steered and controlled so that the distance DL to 310 and the distance DR from the center position C of the vehicle 40 to the lane marking 320 coincide with each other. That is, the control unit 220 controls the steering of the vehicle 40 so that the center position C of the vehicle 40 does not deviate in the vehicle width direction with respect to the midpoint between the lane marking 310 and the lane marking 320 in the vehicle width direction. ..

FIG. 6 shows the shape parameters of the road marking 88 for designating the vehicle speed of the vehicle 40. The shape or pattern of the road marking 88 indicates the vehicle speed of the vehicle 40 when the vehicle 40 travels at the position where the power feeding device 30 is provided. As parameters indicating the shape or pattern of the road marking 88, for example, the width w of the road marking 88 in the direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the lane, the length h in the traveling direction of the lane, and a plurality of road markings 88 are formed. The interval d can be illustrated. For example, the control unit 220 may determine the vehicle speed of the vehicle 40 based on the width w of the road marking 88 recognized by the recognition unit 210. For example, the relationship between the width w and the vehicle speed is associated with a predetermined value, and the control unit 220 uses the vehicle speed associated with the width w of the road marking 88 recognized by the recognition unit 210 as the vehicle speed of the vehicle 40. decide. Any combination of the width w, the length h, and the interval d of the road marking 88 may be associated with the vehicle speed of the vehicle 40 in advance. The ratio of the distance d and the length h of the road marking 88 and the vehicle speed of the vehicle 40 may be associated in advance.

The road marking indicating the arrangement of the power feeding devices 30 may have a rectangular shape such as a rectangle. The road marking indicating the arrangement of the power feeding devices 30 may have a circular or elliptical shape. When the road marking indicating the arrangement of the power feeding devices 30 is circular, the diameter of the road marking may indicate the vehicle speed of the vehicle 40.

The marking indicating the arrangement of the power feeding devices 30 is not limited to the road marking. For example, at least a part of the surface of the power feeding device 30 exposed on the road 80 may be formed of a substance that emits light having a predetermined wavelength. The recognition unit 210 may recognize a plurality of power feeding devices 30 from an image captured by light having a predetermined wavelength. The recognition unit 210 may interpolate the positions of the plurality of recognized power supply devices 30 to recognize the arrangement of the power supply devices 30.

FIG. 7 shows a method for recognizing the orientation of the vehicle 40. In FIG. 7, it is assumed that the vehicle 40 is in the positional relationship shown in FIG. 7 at time t1. Let C1 be the center position of the vehicle 40 at time t1. The center of the power receiving unit 48 may be the center of the secondary coil provided in the power receiving unit 48.

The positional relationship information acquisition unit 240 receives radio waves transmitted from the power feeding device 30 a plurality of times while the vehicle 40 is traveling, and specifies the positional relationship between the vehicle 40 and the power feeding device 30 a plurality of times. .. For example, by specifying the positional relationship a plurality of times at time t1, time t2, and time t3, it is assumed that the center position of the vehicle 40 is located at the positions C1, C2, and C3 with respect to the center Ps of the power feeding device 30. In this case, the control unit 220 identifies the current orientation A of the vehicle 40 from the center positions C1, C2, and C3 of the vehicle 40 with respect to the center Ps. The control unit 220 controls steering so that the orientation of the vehicle 40 is along the line L, based on the current orientation of the identified vehicle 40.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a procedure of processing executed by the control device 44. The process of this flowchart is repeatedly executed in the control device 44.

In S802, the recognition unit 210 determines whether or not the road marking 88 indicating the arrangement of the power feeding devices 30 can be recognized. When the road marking 88 can be recognized, in S804, the control unit 220 determines whether or not to charge the battery 42. For example, the control unit 220 determines that the battery 42 is charged when the remaining capacity of the battery 42 is less than a predetermined reference value. When charging the battery 42, in S806, the control unit 220 determines the vehicle speed of the vehicle 40 based on the shape of the road marking 88 and the like. In S808, the control unit 220 maintains the vehicle speed of the vehicle 40 at the vehicle speed determined in S806.

In S810, the recognition unit 210 identifies the line L in which the power feeding devices 30 are lined up. In S812, the control unit 220 sets the target travel line of the vehicle 40 so that the displacement width of the center position P of the power receiving unit 48 with respect to the line L recognized by the recognition unit 210 does not exceed the predetermined D1. The steering control of 40 is started. Then, the process returns to S802.

If it is determined in S802 that the road marking 88 could not be recognized, the process proceeds to S820. Even when it is determined in S804 that the battery 42 is not charged, the process proceeds to S820. In S820, the control unit 220 includes a distance DL from the center position C of the vehicle 40 to the lane marking 310 and a distance DL from the center position C to the lane marking 320 so that the vehicle 40 does not protrude from the lane markings 310 and 320 on both sides. The steering control of the vehicle 40 is started so as to match the distance DR of.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the vehicle 40 can travel along the arrangement of the plurality of power feeding devices 30 provided on the road 80. As a result, the power receiving unit 48 can be maintained in a state of being aligned with the power feeding device 30, so that the power receiving efficiency can be improved.

The vehicle 40 described above receives the electric power transmitted from the power feeding device 30 in a non-contact manner. Such "non-contact power transmission from the power supply device 30 to the vehicle 40" is an example of "non-contact power transmission between the power transmission device and the vehicle". As a modification of the present embodiment, the power feeding device 30 may have a function of receiving the electric power transmitted from the vehicle 40 in a non-contact manner. Such "non-contact power transmission from the vehicle 40 to the power supply device 30" is also an example of "non-contact power transmission between the power transmission device and the vehicle".

FIG. 9 shows an example of a computer 2000 in which a plurality of embodiments of the present invention can be embodied in whole or in part. The program installed on the computer 2000 causes the computer 2000 to function as a device such as the control device 44 according to the embodiment or each part of the device, perform an operation associated with the device or each part of the device, and / or , The process according to the embodiment or the stage of the process can be executed. Such a program may be executed by the CPU 2012 to cause the computer 2000 to perform specific operations associated with some or all of the processing procedures and blocks of the block diagram described herein.

The computer 2000 according to this embodiment includes a CPU 2012 and a RAM 2014, which are connected to each other by a host controller 2010. The computer 2000 also includes a ROM 2026, a flash memory 2024, a communication interface 2022, and an input / output chip 2040. The ROM 2026, the flash memory 2024, the communication interface 2022, and the input / output chip 2040 are connected to the host controller 2010 via the input / output controller 2020.

The CPU 2012 operates according to the programs stored in the ROM 2026 and the RAM 2014, thereby controlling each unit.

The communication interface 2022 communicates with other electronic devices via the network. The flash memory 2024 stores programs and data used by the CPU 2012 in the computer 2000. The ROM 2026 stores a boot program or the like executed by the computer 2000 at the time of activation, and / or a program depending on the hardware of the computer 2000. The input / output chip 2040 also allows various input / output units such as keyboards, mice and monitors to input / output units such as serial ports, parallel ports, keyboard ports, mouse ports, monitor ports, USB ports, HDMI® ports, etc. It may be connected to the input / output controller 2020 via the output port.

The program is provided via a computer-readable medium or network such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, or memory card. RAM 2014, ROM 2026, or flash memory 2024 are examples of computer-readable media. The program is installed in flash memory 2024, RAM 2014, or ROM 2026 and is executed by CPU 2012. The information processing described in these programs is read by the computer 2000 and provides a link between the program and the various types of hardware resources described above. The device or method may be configured to implement the operation or processing of information in accordance with the use of computer 2000.

For example, when communication is executed between the computer 2000 and the external device, the CPU 2012 executes the communication program loaded in the RAM 2014, and performs communication processing on the communication interface 2022 based on the processing described in the communication program. You may order. Under the control of the CPU 2012, the communication interface 2022 reads the transmission data stored in the transmission buffer processing area provided in the recording medium such as the RAM 2014 and the flash memory 2024, transmits the read transmission data to the network, and transmits the read transmission data from the network. The received received data is written to the reception buffer processing area or the like provided on the recording medium.

Further, the CPU 2012 makes the RAM 2014 read all or necessary parts of the file or the database stored in the recording medium such as the flash memory 2024, and executes various kinds of processing on the data on the RAM 2014. Good. The CPU 2012 then writes back the processed data to the recording medium.

Various types of information such as various types of programs, data, tables, and databases may be stored in recording media and processed for information processing. The CPU 2012 refers to the data read from the RAM 2014 in various types of operations, information processing, conditional determination, conditional branching, unconditional branching, information retrieval / described in the present specification and specified by the instruction sequence of the program. Various types of processing, including replacement, may be performed and the results are written back to RAM 2014. Further, the CPU 2012 may search for information in a file, a database, or the like in the recording medium. For example, when a plurality of entries each having an attribute value of the first attribute associated with the attribute value of the second attribute are stored in the recording medium, the CPU 2012 specifies the attribute value of the first attribute. The entry that matches the condition is searched from the plurality of entries, the attribute value of the second attribute stored in the entry is read, and the first attribute satisfying the predetermined condition is selected. You may get the attribute value of the associated second attribute.

The program or software module described above may be stored on or near a computer 2000 on a computer-readable medium. A recording medium such as a hard disk or RAM provided in a dedicated communication network or a server system connected to the Internet can be used as a computer-readable medium. A program stored on a computer-readable medium may be provided to the computer 2000 via a network.

A program installed in the computer 2000 that causes the computer 2000 to function as the control device 44 may act on the CPU 2012 or the like to cause the computer 2000 to function as each part of the control device 44. When the information processing described in these programs is read into the computer 2000, it functions as each part of the control device 44, which is a concrete means in which the software and the various hardware resources described above cooperate with each other. Then, by realizing the calculation or processing of information according to the purpose of use of the computer 2000 in the present embodiment by these specific means, a specific control device 44 according to the purpose of use is constructed.

Various embodiments have been described with reference to block diagrams and the like. In the block diagram, each block may represent (1) the stage of the process in which the operation is performed or (2) each part of the device responsible for performing the operation. Specific stages and parts are implemented by dedicated circuits, programmable circuits supplied with computer-readable instructions stored on a computer-readable medium, and / or processors supplied with computer-readable instructions stored on a computer-readable medium. You can. Dedicated circuits may include digital and / or analog hardware circuits, and may include integrated circuits (ICs) and / or discrete circuits. Programmable circuits are memory elements such as logical AND, logical OR, logical XOR, logical NAND, logical NOR, and other logical operations, flip-flops, registers, field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), programmable logic arrays (PLA), etc. May include reconfigurable hardware circuits, including.

The computer-readable medium may include any tangible device capable of storing instructions executed by the appropriate device, so that the computer-readable medium having the instructions stored therein is specified in the processing procedure or block diagram. Consists of at least a portion of a product that contains instructions that can be executed to provide a means to perform the performed operation. Examples of computer-readable media may include electronic storage media, magnetic storage media, optical storage media, electromagnetic storage media, semiconductor storage media, and the like. More specific examples of computer-readable media include floppy (registered trademark) disks, diskettes, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), Electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), static random access memory (SRAM), compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile disk (DVD), Blu-ray (RTM) disk, memory stick, integrated A circuit card or the like may be included.

Computer-readable instructions are assembler instructions, instruction set architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine-dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state-setting data, or object-oriented programming such as Smalltalk, JAVA®, C ++, etc. Includes either source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including languages and traditional procedural programming languages such as the "C" programming language or similar programming languages. Good.

Computer-readable instructions are applied locally to a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, or the processor or programmable circuit of another programmable data processor, or a wide area network (WAN) such as a local area network (LAN), the Internet, etc. A computer-readable instruction may be executed to provide a means for performing the processing procedure or operation specified in the block diagram provided via). Examples of processors include computer processors, processing units, microprocessors, digital signal processors, controllers, microcontrollers and the like.

Although the present invention has been described above using the embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes or improvements can be made to the above embodiments. Further, to the extent that there is no technical contradiction, the matters described for the specific embodiment can be applied to other embodiments. It is clear from the description of the claims that such modified or improved forms may also be included in the technical scope of the present invention.

The order of execution of operations, procedures, steps, steps, etc. in the devices, systems, programs, and methods shown in the claims, specification, and drawings is particularly "before" and "prior to". It should be noted that it can be realized in any order unless the output of the previous process is used in the subsequent process. Even if the scope of claims, the specification, and the operation flow in the drawings are explained using "first", "next", etc. for convenience, it means that it is essential to carry out in this order. It's not a thing.

40 Vehicle 30 Power supply device 42 Battery 44 Control device 48 Power receiving unit 49 Camera 80 Road 88 Road marking 200 Acquisition unit 210 Recognition unit 220 Control unit 240 Positional relationship information acquisition unit 270 Charge / discharge control unit 280 Processing unit 290 Storage unit 310 Section line 320 Pavement line 330 Pavement line 350 Position 360 Position 2000 Computer 2010 Host controller 2012 CPU
2014 RAM
2020 Input / Output Controller 2022 Communication Interface 2024 Flash Memory 2026 ROM
2040 Input / Output Chip

Claims (11)

A vehicle control device that controls a vehicle having a power transmission unit that performs non-contact power transmission with a plurality of power transmission devices provided on a road.
An acquisition unit that acquires markings on the road indicating the positions of the plurality of power transmission devices, and
A recognition unit that recognizes the arrangement of the plurality of power transmission devices in the traveling direction of the vehicle based on the marking on the road acquired by the acquisition unit.
When the electric power is transmitted to and from the plurality of electric power transmission devices while the vehicle is traveling, the control unit that controls the steering of the vehicle so that the electric power transmission unit follows the arrangement of the plurality of electric power transmission devices. Vehicle control device. The acquisition unit acquires an image of a first road marking provided on the road surface of the road along the plurality of power transmission devices.
The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the recognition unit recognizes an arrangement of the plurality of power transmission devices based on the image. The first road marking is marked by a predetermined pattern different from the second road marking indicating the boundary of the lane of the road.
The vehicle control device according to claim 2, wherein the recognition unit recognizes an arrangement of the plurality of power transmission devices based on the position of the pattern extracted from the image, distinguishing from the road marking indicating the boundary of the lane. .. The first road marking emits light in the infrared wavelength range.
The acquisition unit acquires an image captured by infrared rays and obtains an image.
The vehicle control device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the recognition unit recognizes an arrangement of the plurality of power transmission devices based on the position of a pattern extracted from the image. The control unit
When the first road marking is recognized and the power transmission is performed, the target traveling line of the vehicle is set so that the plurality of power transmission devices and the power transmission unit are aligned with each other.
The vehicle control device according to claim 3, wherein when the first road marking is not recognized or when the power transmission is not performed, the target traveling line of the vehicle is set based on the second road marking. The first road marking is a line-shaped road marking.
At least one of the width and length of the line of the first road marking indicates the reference speed that the vehicle should travel when performing the power transmission.
The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the control unit controls the speed of the vehicle based on the reference speed when performing the power transmission. The plurality of power transmission devices emit light in a predetermined wavelength range, and the plurality of power transmission devices emit light in a predetermined wavelength range.
The acquisition unit acquires an image of the road and obtains an image.
The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the recognition unit recognizes an arrangement of the plurality of power transmission devices by recognizing a region in a predetermined wavelength region based on the image. Further, a positional relationship information acquisition unit for acquiring information indicating a positional relationship between at least one of the plurality of power transmission devices and the power transmission unit is provided.
The control unit identifies the orientation of the vehicle based on the information acquired by the positional relationship information acquisition unit, and makes the power transmission unit follow the arrangement of the plurality of power transmission devices based on the orientation of the vehicle. The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, which controls the steering of the vehicle. The positional relationship information acquisition unit acquires the positional relationship between the specific power transmission device and the power transmission unit a plurality of times, and based on the change in the positional relationship, the direction in which the plurality of power transmission devices are arranged. The vehicle control according to claim 8, wherein the angle of the traveling direction of the vehicle with respect to the vehicle is detected, and the steering of the vehicle is controlled so that the traveling direction of the vehicle is along a line in which the plurality of power transmission devices are lined up based on the detected angle. apparatus. A vehicle including the vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 9. A program for causing a computer to function as the vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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