JP2022131226A - Vehicle control device, vehicle control method and vehicle control program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a vehicle control device which secures sensing accuracy of a sensor system.SOLUTION: A processor of a vehicle control device 1, mounted with a sensor system 4 which includes a plurality of external sensors 40 with sensing areas thereof set through external boundary faces 33 so that the sensing areas overlap with each other and a cleaning system 5 which cleans individual external boundary faces 33 of respective external sensors 40 through injecting cleaning fluid, executes: allocation of either an injection timing ti to execute an injection of the cleaning fluid or a stop timing ts to stop the injection to each of the external boundary faces 33 of the external sensors 40 in a cleaning period Tw to execute a cleaning related process with the cleaning system 5; and control to make priority Ps of stop image data Ds acquired through the external sensors 40 in the stop timing ts lower than the priority Pi of injection image data Di acquired through the external sensors 40 in the injection timing ti in the cleaning period Tw.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

The present disclosure relates to control technology for sensor systems and washing systems in vehicles.

In a plurality of external sensors mounted on a vehicle as a sensor system, sensing areas are individually set through the external interface. Therefore, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-100002, vehicles are equipped with a cleaning system that individually cleans the outer surfaces of the external sensors by jetting a cleaning fluid.

JP-A-2001-171491

However, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, there is a possibility that the sensing accuracy of the external sensor may be degraded at the timing when cleaning with the cleaning fluid is stopped. In particular, in recent years, a decrease in sensing accuracy in the automatic driving mode of a vehicle is not desirable because there is a concern that it may lead to a decrease in the accuracy of automatic driving control.

An object of the present disclosure is to provide a vehicle control device that ensures sensing accuracy of a sensor system. Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a vehicle control method that ensures the sensing accuracy of the sensor system. Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a vehicle control program that ensures the sensing accuracy of the sensor system.

Technical means of the present disclosure for solving the problems will be described below. It should be noted that the symbols in parentheses described in the claims and this column indicate the correspondence with specific means described in the embodiments described in detail later, and limit the technical scope of the present disclosure. not something to do.

A first aspect of the present disclosure is
A sensor system (4) including a plurality of external sensors (40) in which mutually overlapping sensing areas (Aα, Aβ) are set through an external surface (33), and the external surface of each external sensor is individually sprayed with a cleaning fluid. A controller (1) for a vehicle (2) carrying a washing system (5) for washing, comprising a processor (12),
The processor
In the cleaning period (Tw) during which cleaning-related processing is performed by the cleaning system, either the injection timing (ti) for executing the injection of the cleaning fluid or the stop timing (ts) for stopping the injection is selected. individually assigning to the outer interface of the external sensor;
In the cleaning period, the priority (Ps) of the stop image data (Ds) acquired through the external sensor at the stop timing is higher than the priority (Pi) of the injection image data (Di) acquired through the external sensor at the injection timing. , and low control.

A second aspect of the present disclosure is
A sensor system (4) including a plurality of external sensors (40) in which mutually overlapping sensing areas (Aα, Aβ) are set through an external surface (33), and the external surface of each external sensor is individually sprayed with a cleaning fluid. A control method for a vehicle (2) carrying a washing system (5) for washing, the method being executed by a processor (12), comprising:
In the cleaning period (Tw) during which cleaning-related processing is performed by the cleaning system, either the injection timing (ti) for executing the injection of the cleaning fluid or the stop timing (ts) for stopping the injection is selected. individually assigning to the outer interface of the external sensor;
In the cleaning period, the priority (Ps) of the stop image data (Ds) acquired through the external sensor at the stop timing is higher than the priority (Pi) of the injection image data (Di) acquired through the external sensor at the injection timing. , controlling low.

A third aspect of the present disclosure is
A sensor system (4) including a plurality of external sensors (40) in which mutually overlapping sensing areas (Aα, Aβ) are set through an external surface (33), and the external surface of each external sensor is individually sprayed with a cleaning fluid. a control program for a vehicle (2) carrying a washing system (5) to be washed, comprising instructions stored in a storage medium (10) and executed by a processor (12),
the instruction is
In the cleaning period (Tw) during which cleaning-related processing is performed by the cleaning system, either the injection timing (ti) for executing the injection of the cleaning fluid or the stop timing (ts) for stopping the injection is selected. individually assigning to the outer interface of the external sensor;
In the cleaning period, the priority (Ps) of the stop image data (Ds) acquired through the external sensor at the stop timing is higher than the priority (Pi) of the injection image data (Di) acquired through the external sensor at the injection timing. , and controlling low.

According to these first to third aspects, during the cleaning period during which the cleaning system executes the cleaning-related process, either the injection timing for executing the injection of the cleaning fluid or the stop timing for stopping the injection occurs. It is individually assigned to the outer surface of each external sensor. Therefore, during the cleaning period of the first to third modes, the priority of the stop image data acquired through the external sensor at the stop timing is controlled to be lower than the priority of the injection image data acquired through the external sensor at the injection timing. be. According to this, it becomes difficult for the external sensor, which is not cleaned even during the cleaning period, to affect the sensing accuracy of the sensor system as a whole. Therefore, it is possible to ensure the sensing accuracy of the entire sensor system by balancing sensing and cleaning.

A fourth aspect of the present disclosure is
A sensor system (4) including a plurality of external sensors (40) in which mutually overlapping sensing areas (Aα, Aβ) are set through an external surface (33), and the external surface of each external sensor is individually sprayed with a cleaning fluid. A controller (1) for a vehicle (2) carrying a washing system (5) for washing, comprising a processor (12),
The processor
In the cleaning period (Tw) during which cleaning-related processing is performed by the cleaning system, either the injection timing (ti) for executing the injection of the cleaning fluid or the stop timing (ts) for stopping the injection is selected. individually assigning to the outer interface of the external sensor;
dividing each external sensor into a clean sensor (40c) that senses a clean external surface and a dirty sensor (40d) that senses a dirty external surface during the cleaning period;
Controlling the priority (Pd) of the dirt image data (Dd) acquired through the dirt sensor to be lower than the priority (Pc) of the clean image data (Dc) acquired through the clean sensor in the cleaning period. is configured to run

A fifth aspect of the present disclosure includes:
A sensor system (4) including a plurality of external sensors (40) in which mutually overlapping sensing areas (Aα, Aβ) are set through an external surface (33), and the external surface of each external sensor is individually sprayed with a cleaning fluid. A control method for a vehicle (2) carrying a washing system (5) for washing, the method being executed by a processor (12), comprising:
In the cleaning period (Tw) during which cleaning-related processing is performed by the cleaning system, either the injection timing (ti) for executing the injection of the cleaning fluid or the stop timing (ts) for stopping the injection is selected. individually assigning to the outer interface of the external sensor;
dividing each external sensor into a clean sensor (40c) that senses a clean external surface and a dirty sensor (40d) that senses a dirty external surface during the cleaning period;
Controlling the priority (Pd) of the dirt image data (Dd) acquired through the dirt sensor to be lower than the priority (Pc) of the clean image data (Dc) acquired through the clean sensor in the cleaning period. including.

A sixth aspect of the present disclosure is
A sensor system (4) including a plurality of external sensors (40) in which mutually overlapping sensing areas (Aα, Aβ) are set through an external surface (33), and the external surface of each external sensor is individually sprayed with a cleaning fluid. a control program for a vehicle (2) carrying a washing system (5) to be washed, comprising instructions stored in a storage medium (10) and executed by a processor (12),
the instruction is
In the cleaning period (Tw) during which cleaning-related processing is performed by the cleaning system, either the injection timing (ti) for executing the injection of the cleaning fluid or the stop timing (ts) for stopping the injection is selected. individually assigning to the outer interface of the external sensor;
dividing each external sensor into a clean sensor (40c) that senses a clean outer surface and a dirty sensor (40d) that senses a dirty outer surface during the cleaning period;
To control the priority (Pd) of the dirt image data (Dd) acquired through the dirt sensor to be lower than the priority (Pc) of the clean image data (Dc) acquired through the clean sensor in the cleaning period. including.

According to these fourth to sixth aspects, during the cleaning period during which the cleaning system performs the cleaning-related process, one of the injection timing for executing the injection of the cleaning fluid and the stop timing for stopping the injection occurs. It is individually assigned to the outer surface of each external sensor. Therefore, during the cleaning period of the fourth to sixth aspects, the priority of the dirt image data acquired through the dirt sensor, which is classified as an external sensor that detects a dirty outer surface, is given to the external sensor that detects a clean outer surface. The priority is controlled to be lower than the priority of the clean image data acquired through the clean sensor. According to this, even during the cleaning period, the contamination sensor that detects contamination due to the stop timing is less likely to affect the sensing accuracy of the sensor system as a whole. Therefore, it is possible to ensure the sensing accuracy of the entire sensor system by balancing sensing and cleaning.

It is a side view which shows the mounting state to the vehicle of the automatic operation unit by 1st embodiment. It is a cross-sectional block diagram which shows the whole structure of the automatic operation unit by 1st embodiment. 1 is a block diagram showing the detailed configuration of a vehicle control device according to a first embodiment; FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the sensing area of the external sensor by 1st embodiment. It is a block diagram for explaining the function of the control device for vehicles by a first embodiment. It is a block diagram for explaining the function of the control device for vehicles by a first embodiment. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the function of the vehicle control apparatus by 1st embodiment. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the function of the vehicle control apparatus by 1st embodiment. 4 is a flowchart showing a vehicle control method according to the first embodiment; It is a block diagram for explaining the function of the control device for vehicles by a second embodiment. It is a block diagram for explaining the function of the control device for vehicles by a second embodiment. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the function of the vehicle control apparatus by 2nd embodiment. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the function of the vehicle control apparatus by 2nd embodiment. 7 is a flowchart showing a vehicle control method according to a second embodiment; FIG. 11 is a block diagram for explaining functions of a vehicle control device according to a third embodiment; FIG. 11 is a block diagram for explaining functions of a vehicle control device according to a third embodiment; 9 is a flowchart showing a vehicle control method according to a third embodiment; It is a flow chart which shows a priority control subroutine by a third embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the detailed structure of the vehicle control apparatus by 4th embodiment. FIG. 11 is a block diagram for explaining functions of a vehicle control device according to a fourth embodiment; FIG. 11 is a block diagram for explaining functions of a vehicle control device according to a fourth embodiment; It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the function of the vehicle control apparatus by 4th embodiment. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the function of the vehicle control apparatus by 4th embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the control method for vehicles by 4th embodiment. FIG. 11 is a block diagram for explaining functions of a vehicle control device according to a fifth embodiment; FIG. 11 is a block diagram for explaining functions of a vehicle control device according to a fifth embodiment; It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the function of the vehicle control apparatus by 5th embodiment. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the function of the vehicle control apparatus by 5th embodiment. FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing a vehicle control method according to a fifth embodiment; FIG. FIG. 11 is a block diagram for explaining functions of a vehicle control device according to a sixth embodiment; FIG. 11 is a block diagram for explaining functions of a vehicle control device according to a sixth embodiment; 14 is a flow chart showing a vehicle control method according to a sixth embodiment; FIG. 16 is a flow chart showing a priority control subroutine according to the sixth embodiment; FIG.

A plurality of embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that redundant description may be omitted by assigning the same reference numerals to corresponding components in each embodiment. Moreover, when only a part of the configuration is described in each embodiment, the configurations of the other embodiments previously described can be applied to the other portions of the configuration. Furthermore, not only the combinations of the configurations explicitly specified in the description of each embodiment, but also the configurations of the multiple embodiments can be partially combined even if they are not explicitly specified unless there is a particular problem with the combination.

(First embodiment)
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the automatic driving unit ADU including the vehicle control device 1 of the first embodiment is mounted on the vehicle 2. As shown in FIGS. The vehicle 2 is capable of automatic driving constantly or temporarily in the automatic driving mode. Here, the autonomous driving mode may be realized by autonomous driving control, such as conditional driving automation, advanced driving automation, or full driving automation, in which the system performs all driving tasks when activated. Automated driving modes may be implemented in advanced driver assistance controls, such as driver assistance or partial driver automation, where the occupant performs some or all of the driving tasks. The automatic driving mode may be realized by either one, combination, or switching of the autonomous driving control and advanced driving support control.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the automatic driving unit ADU includes a housing 3, a sensor system 4, and a cleaning system 5 which are mounted on a vehicle 2 together with a vehicle control device 1. FIG. Hereinafter, the description regarding the direction of the automatic driving unit ADU will be described with reference to the vehicle 2 on the horizontal plane.

The housing 3 is made of resin, metal, or a combination thereof, and is formed in, for example, a hollow flat rectangular box shape. Housing 3 is installed on roof 20 of vehicle 2 . A plurality of openings penetrating through the outer peripheral wall portion 30 of the housing 3 are covered with sensor windows 32 such as transparent glass, for example. Each sensor window 32 forms an outer interface 33 that is exposed to the outside world of the vehicle 2 and receives light from the outside world.

The sensor system 4 is mainly composed of a plurality of external sensors 40 . Each external sensor 40 is accommodated inside the housing 3 corresponding to each individual external interface 33 . Therefore, hereinafter, the outer interface 33 corresponding to the external sensor 40 is simply referred to as the outer interface 33 of the external sensor 40 .

Each external sensor 40 acquires sensor data representing external information that can be utilized in the automatic driving mode in the vehicle 2 . Each external sensor 40 is composed of an individual one type of, for example, an optical sensor, a sensing camera, a radar, a sonar, or the like. In particular, the sensor system 4 of the automatic driving unit ADU includes an optical sensor 41 and a sensing camera 42 .

As shown in FIG. 3 , the optical sensor 41 is a so-called LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging/Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging) that acquires optical information that can be used in the automatic driving mode of the vehicle 2 . The optical sensor 41 has a light emitting element 410 , an imaging element 411 and an imaging circuit 412 .

The outer interface 33 of the optical sensor 41 is arranged on the outside world side (the front side in this embodiment) of the light emitting element 410 and the imaging element 411 . The light emitting element 410 is a semiconductor element that emits directional laser light, such as a laser diode. The light emitting element 410 irradiates intermittent pulsed beams of laser light toward the outside of the vehicle 2 through the outer interface 33 . The imaging element 411 is a semiconductor element highly sensitive to light, such as SPAD (Single Photon Avalanche Diode). Of the external world of the vehicle 2, the imaging device 411 is exposed to light incident through the outer interface 33 from the sensing area Aα determined by the angle of view of the imaging device 411 as shown in FIG. The imaging circuit 412 is an integrated circuit that controls exposure and scanning of a plurality of pixels in the imaging device 411 and processes signals from the imaging device 411 into data.

In the reflected light mode in which the image pickup circuit 412 shown in FIG. 3 exposes the image pickup element 411 by light irradiation from the light emitting element 410, an object point within the sensing area Aα serves as a laser light reflection point. As a result, the laser light reflected at the reflection point (hereinafter referred to as reflected light) enters the imaging device 411 . At this time, the imaging circuit 412 senses reflected light by scanning a plurality of pixels of the imaging element 411 . In particular, the imaging circuit 412 acquires distance image data by converting distance values obtained for each of a plurality of pixels according to the reflection point distance of the reflected light sensed through the outer interface 33 into three-dimensional data as each pixel value. .

On the other hand, in the external light mode (i.e., irradiation stop mode) in which the imaging circuit 412 exposes the imaging device 411 while intermittent light irradiation from the light emitting device 410 is stopped, an object point within the sensing area Aα reflects the external light. become a point. As a result, the external light reflected by the reflection point enters the imaging device 411 . At this time, the imaging circuit 412 senses reflected external light by scanning a plurality of pixels of the imaging element 411 . In particular, the imaging circuit 412 converts the brightness values obtained for each of a plurality of pixels according to the intensity of the external light sensed through the outer interface 33 into two-dimensional data as each pixel value, thereby obtaining the external light image data Dα (Fig. 7 , 8).

As shown in FIG. 3 , the sensing camera 42 is a so-called external camera that acquires optical information that can be used in the automatic driving mode of the vehicle 2 . The sensing camera 42 has an imaging device 421 and an imaging circuit 422 .

The outer surface 33 of the sensing camera 42 is arranged on the outside world side (the front side in this embodiment) of the imaging device 421 . The imaging device 421 is, for example, a semiconductor device such as CMOS. Of the external world of the vehicle 2, the imaging element 421 is exposed to light incident through the outer interface 33 from the sensing area Aβ determined by the angle of view of the imaging element 421 as shown in FIG. The sensing area Aβ of the sensing camera 42 partially overlaps the sensing area Aα of the optical sensor 41 . The overlapping rate of the sensing areas Aα and Aβ, that is, the ratio of the overlapping region Aαβ in each of the areas Aα and Aβ is, for example, 50% or more, preferably 70% or more, and more preferably 90% or more. The imaging circuit 422 is an integrated circuit that controls exposure and scanning of a plurality of pixels in the imaging element 421 and processes signals from the imaging element 421 to convert them into data.

In an exposure mode in which the imaging circuit 422 shown in FIG. 3 exposes the imaging element 421, an object point within the sensing area Aβ becomes a reflection point of external light. As a result, the external light reflected by the reflection point enters the imaging device 421 . At this time, the imaging circuit 422 senses reflected external light by scanning a plurality of pixels of the imaging element 421 . In particular, the imaging circuit 422 converts the luminance values obtained for each of a plurality of pixels according to the intensity of external light sensed through the outer interface 33 into two-dimensional data as each pixel value, thereby obtaining the camera image data Dβ (Fig. 7, 8). Especially in the first embodiment, the camera image data Dβ is set to have a higher resolution (that is, a larger number of pixels) than the ambient light image data Dα. Note that the camera image data Dβ may be set to a lower resolution (that is, a smaller number of pixels) than the ambient light image data Dα, but the control in that case will not be described below.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cleaning system 5 includes multiple cleaning nozzles 51 . Each cleaning nozzle 51 is held outside the housing 3 so as to correspond to an individual outer surface 33 . Accordingly, each cleaning nozzle 51 also corresponds to an individual external sensor 40 . Each cleaning nozzle 51 individually cleans the outer interface 33 of the corresponding external sensor 40 by jetting a cleaning fluid. In particular, each cleaning nozzle 51 according to the first embodiment is installed so as to be able to inject cleaning fluid toward the outer interface 33 located in the sensing areas Aα and Aβ of the corresponding external sensor 40 of the optical sensor 41 and the sensing camera 42. be done. Further, the cleaning fluid jetted from each cleaning nozzle 51 may be at least one of the cleaning gas and the cleaning liquid, but preferably the cleaning gas alone.

A vehicle control device 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 is connected to a sensor system 4 and a cleaning system 5 via at least one of a LAN (Local Area Network), a wire harness, an internal bus, and the like. . The vehicle control device 1 includes at least one dedicated computer. The dedicated computer that configures the vehicle control device 1 may be an operation control ECU that controls the automatic operation mode in cooperation with an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) in the vehicle 2 . The dedicated computer that constitutes the vehicle control device 1 may be a locator ECU that estimates state quantities of the vehicle 2 including its own position. The dedicated computer that constitutes the vehicle control device 1 may be a navigation ECU that navigates the travel route of the vehicle 2 . The dedicated computer that constitutes the vehicle control device 1 may be an actuator ECU that individually controls the travel actuators of the vehicle 2 . The dedicated computer that constitutes the vehicle control device 1 may be an HCU (Human Machine Interface) Control Unit (HCU) that controls information presentation of an information presentation system of the vehicle 2 .

The vehicle control device 1 includes at least one memory 10 and at least one processor 12 as shown in FIG. 2 by including such a dedicated computer. The memory 10 stores computer-readable programs and data non-temporarily, for example, at least one type of non-transitory physical storage medium (non-transitory storage medium) among semiconductor memory, magnetic medium, optical medium, etc. tangible storage medium). The processor 12 includes, as a core, at least one of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), and a RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer)-CPU.

Processor 12 executes a plurality of instructions contained in a vehicle control program stored in memory 10 . Accordingly, the vehicle control device 1 constructs a plurality of functional units (that is, functional blocks) for controlling the sensor system 4 and the cleaning system 5 . As described above, in the vehicle control device 1, the vehicle control program stored in the memory 10 for controlling the sensor system 4 and the cleaning system 5 causes the processor 12 to execute a plurality of commands, thereby causing a plurality of functional units to be controlled. is constructed. The plurality of functional units constructed by the vehicle control device 1 include a cleaning control unit 100 and a priority control unit 120, as shown in FIG.

The cleaning control unit 100 sets a cleaning period Tw during which the cleaning system 5 performs cleaning-related processing. In particular, the cleaning period Tw is set for the optical sensor 41 and the sensing camera 42 that are the external sensors 40 with overlapping sensing areas Aα and Aβ. At this time, the cleaning period Tw is preferably controlled according to at least the dirt condition or the weather condition among the dirt condition of the optical sensor 41 and the sensing camera 42, the weather condition in the driving environment of the vehicle 2, and the driving condition of the vehicle 2. .

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the cleaning control unit 100 selects one of the injection timing ti for executing the injection of the cleaning fluid and the stop timing ts for stopping the injection in the cleaning period Tw. It is individually assigned to the outer surface 33 of the sensor 40 . In particular, the injection timing ti and the stop timing ts are switched over time with respect to the outer interfaces 33 of the optical sensor 41 and the sensing camera 42, which are the overlapping external sensors 40 of the sensing areas Aα and Aβ.

At this time, for example, before the cleaning period Tw, the injection timing ti is assigned to the optical sensor 41 and the stop timing ts is assigned to the sensing camera 42 as shown in FIG. 42 and the stop timing ts may be assigned to the optical sensor 41 . Alternatively, before the cleaning period Tw, the injection timing ti is assigned to the sensing camera 42 and the stop timing ts is assigned to the optical sensor 41 as shown in FIG. 6, and the injection timing ti is assigned to the optical sensor 41 as shown in FIG. Also, the stop timing ts may be assigned to the sensing camera 42 . In any case, in the first embodiment, since the front and rear stages of the cleaning period Tw are continued, the assignment destination of the injection timing ti and the stop timing ts is alternately switched, and the optical sensor 41 and the sensing camera 42 Overlapping of the injection timings ti may be avoided. In any case, the allocation of the injection timing ti may overlap between the front stage and the rear stage of the cleaning period Tw, but the control in that case will not be described below.

The cleaning control unit 100 executes the ejection of the cleaning fluid from the corresponding cleaning nozzle 51 to one of the optical sensor 41 and the sensing camera 42 to which the ejection timing ti is assigned as shown in FIGS. The cleaning system 5 is controlled so as to On the other hand, the cleaning control unit 100 controls one of the optical sensor 41 and the sensing camera 42, to which the stop timing ts is assigned as shown in FIGS. The cleaning system 5 is controlled so as to stop the injection of the

As shown in FIGS. 3, 5, and 6, the priority control unit 120 acquires from the cleaning control unit 100 allocation destinations of the injection timing ti and the stop timing ts in the cleaning period Tw. The priority control unit 120 prioritizes the priority Ps of the still image data Ds acquired through the external sensor 40 at the stop timing ts over the priority Pi of the injection image data Di acquired through the external sensor 40 at the injection timing ti. control low. In particular, the still image data Ds and the injection image data Di are generated outside the optical sensor 41 during the cleaning period Tw by one and the other of the optical sensor 41 and the sensing camera 42, which are the external sensors 40 with overlapping sensing areas Aα and Aβ. The priority is controlled by being acquired during the light mode period. As a result, the injection image data Di on the side of the high priority Pi is used as it is for controlling the vehicle 2 in the automatic driving mode.

On the other hand, the priority control unit 120 of the first embodiment replaces the still image data Ds with the low priority Ps with the ejection image data Di with the high priority Pi. In particular, the still image data Ds is replaced by the ejection image data Di after the matching process by executing a matching process for adjusting the resolution of the ejection image data Di to the still image data Ds. At this time, for example, when the still image data Ds is the camera image data Dβ of the sensing camera 42 and the injection image data Di is the external light image data Dα of the optical sensor 41, the still image data Ds is up-sampled as shown in FIG. is replaced by the external light image data Dα whose resolution is matched by Dα. On the other hand, when the still image data Ds is the external light image data Dα of the optical sensor 41 and the ejection image data Di is the camera image data Dβ of the sensing camera 42, the still image data Ds is down-sampled to obtain the resolution is replaced by the matched camera image data Dβ of . As a result of the above, the still image data Ds on the low priority Ps side is replaced with the injection image data Di, and then used for controlling the vehicle 2 in the automatic driving mode.

A flow of a vehicle control method in which the vehicle control device 1 controls the sensor system 4 and the cleaning system 5 in cooperation with the cleaning control unit 100 and the priority control unit 120 will be described below with reference to FIG. . This flow is repeatedly executed while the cleaning control unit 100 sets the cleaning period Tw in the startup state of the vehicle 2 executing the automatic operation mode. Each "S" in this flow means a plurality of steps executed by a plurality of instructions included in the vehicle control program of the first embodiment.

In S100, the cleaning control unit 100 instructs the outer interface 33 of each external sensor 40 to select one of the injection timing ti for executing the injection of the cleaning fluid in the cleaning period Tw and the stop timing ts for stopping the injection. assigned individually. At this time, the cleaning control unit 100 switches the assignment of the injection timing ti and the stop timing ts to the outer interface 33 of each external sensor 40 according to the passage of time.

In S102, the priority control unit 120 changes the priority Ps of the still image data Ds acquired through the external sensor 40 at the stop timing ts in the cleaning period Tw to the priority Ps of the injection image data Di acquired through the external sensor 40 at the injection timing ti. It is controlled to have a lower priority than Pi. At this time, the priority control unit 120 replaces the still image data Ds with the injection image data Di whose resolution is matched to the still image data Ds.

(Effect)
The effects of the first embodiment described above will be described below.

According to the first embodiment, during the cleaning period Tw during which the cleaning system 5 performs the cleaning-related process, either the injection timing ti for executing the injection of the cleaning fluid or the stop timing ts for stopping the injection is selected. is individually assigned to the outer surface 33 of each external sensor 40 . Therefore, in the cleaning period Tw of the first embodiment, the priority Ps of the still image data Ds acquired through the external sensor 40 at the stop timing ts is the priority of the injection image data Di acquired through the external sensor 40 at the injection timing ti. It is controlled lower than Pi. This makes it difficult for the external sensor 40, which is not cleaned during the cleaning period Tw, to affect the sensing accuracy of the sensor system 4 as a whole. Therefore, it is possible to ensure the sensing accuracy of the sensor system 4 as a whole by balancing the sensing and the cleaning, and eventually to ensure the accuracy of the automatic operation control.

According to the first embodiment, the stop image data Ds of low priority Ps acquired by the external sensor 40 at the stop timing ts is replaced with the injection image data Di of high priority Pi acquired by the external sensor 40 at the injection timing ti. be done. By effectively utilizing the external sensor 40 at the injection timing ti during cleaning in this way, the external sensor 40 at the stop timing ts during the cleaning stop affects the sensing accuracy of the sensor system 4 as a whole. can be suppressed.

According to the first embodiment, the still image data Ds of low priority Ps is replaced by the ejection image data Di whose resolution is matched to the still image data Ds as the ejection image data Di of high priority Pi. According to this, even if the still image data Ds is controlled to have the low priority Ps, the ejection image data Di having the high priority Pi is assumed to be the still image data Ds, and data loss related to the external sensor 40 at the stop timing ts is prevented. can be avoided. By effectively utilizing the data Di acquired by the external sensor 40 at the injection timing ti in this way, the data Ds acquired by the external sensor 40 at the stop timing ts affects the sensing accuracy of the sensor system 4 as a whole. can be suppressed.

According to the first embodiment, when the external sensor 40 for the injection timing ti of the cleaning gas as the cleaning fluid is utilized by high-priority control of the injection image data Di, it is particularly advantageous in image recognition in the automatic operation mode. .

(Second embodiment)
A second embodiment shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 is a modification of the first embodiment.

The priority control unit 2120 of the second embodiment corrects part of the still image data Ds with the low priority Ps by using part of the ejection image data Di with the high priority Pi. At this time, from the still image data Ds, it is assumed that among the outer surfaces 33 of the optical sensor 41 and the sensing camera 42 that are the overlapping external sensors 40 of the sensing areas Aα and Aβ, the outer surface 33 at the stop timing ts corresponds to dirt. A dirty pixel region Rd is extracted. For example, the dirty pixel area Rd is extracted by comparing the still image data Ds between the past and the present. On the other hand, of the optical sensor 41 and the sensing camera 42, an ejection pixel region Ri assumed to correspond to the dirty pixel region Rd is extracted from the ejection image data Di obtained by the external sensor 40 at the ejection timing ti. For example, the ejection pixel region Ri is extracted based on the association information set in advance between each pixel of the external light image data Dα of the optical sensor 41 and the camera image data Dβ of the sensing camera 42, or the like.

Based on these extraction results, the priority control unit 2120 matches the pixel values of the dirt pixel region Rd in the still image data Ds to the dirt pixel region Rd in the jet image data Di. to correct. At this time, for example, when the still image data Ds is the camera image data Dβ of the sensing camera 42 and the injection image data Di is the external light image data Dα of the optical sensor 41, the dirty pixel area of the camera image data Dβ is shown in FIG. Rd is corrected by the up-sampled ejection pixel area Ri in the ambient light image data Dα. On the other hand, when the still image data Ds is the external light image data Dα of the optical sensor 41 and the ejection image data Di is the camera image data Dβ of the sensing camera 42, the dirty pixel region Rd of the external light image data Dα is shown in FIG. is corrected by the down-sampled firing pixel area Ri in the camera image data Dβ.

In the flow of the vehicle control method according to the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 14, in S2102 instead of S102, the priority control unit 2120 replaces the dirt pixel region Rd in the still image data Ds with the injection pixel in the injection image data Di. Correction is performed by the area Ri.

Thus, according to the second embodiment, the dirt pixel region Rd assumed to correspond to the dirt on the outer surface 33 in the still image data Ds with the low priority Ps is the dirt pixel region in the ejection image data Di with the high priority Pi. Corrected by firing pixel area Ri assumed to correspond to Rd. According to this, even in the still image data Ds showing dirt, the ejection image data Di with the high priority Pi can be effectively used to reduce the data error. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the data Ds acquired by the external sensor 40 at the stop timing ts from affecting the sensing accuracy of the sensor system 4 as a whole.

(Third embodiment)
The third embodiment shown in FIGS. 15 and 16 is a modified example in which switching between the first embodiment and the second embodiment is executed according to conditions.

The priority control unit 3120 of the third embodiment controls the injection image data Di with the high priority Pi while the total number of pixels in the dirty pixel area Rd in the still image data Ds with the low priority Ps is within the correction range. The dirty pixel region Rd is corrected by the pixel region Ri. Correction processing of the dirty pixel region Rd by the ejection pixel region Ri conforms to the second embodiment. On the other hand, when the total number of pixels in the dirty pixel area Rd in the still image data Ds with the low priority Ps increases beyond the correction range, the still image data Ds is replaced with the ejection image data Di. Substitution processing of the still image data Ds by the injection image data Di conforms to the first embodiment.

In the priority control unit 3120, the correction range that serves as a reference for switching between the replacement process and the correction process may be fixed at a constant range, or may be changed according to the position of the dirty pixel area Rd in the still image data Ds. may be set. For example, when the correction range is variably set, the pixel number threshold for determining the inside and outside of the correction range is decreased as the dirt pixel region Rd in the still image data Ds approaches the central visual field.

In the flow of the vehicle control method according to the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 17, the priority control unit 3120 executes the priority control subroutine at S3102 instead of S102 and S2102.

As shown in FIG. 18, in S3201 of the priority control subroutine, the priority Ps of the still image data Ds acquired through the external sensor 40 at the stop timing ts is set to the injection image data acquired through the external sensor 40 at the injection timing ti. It is lower than the priority Pi of Di and is controlled by the priority control unit 3120 .

In 3202 following the priority control subroutine, the priority control unit 3120 determines whether or not the total number of pixels in the dirty pixel area Rd in the still image data Ds is within the correction range. As a result, while the total number of pixels in the dirty pixel area Rd is within the correction range, the priority control subroutine proceeds to S3203. On the other hand, when the number of pixels in the dirty pixel area Rd is out of the correction range, the priority control subroutine proceeds to S3204.

In S3203, the priority control unit 3120 corrects the dirty pixel area Rd of the still image data Ds with the ejection pixel area Ri of the ejection image data Di. On the other hand, in S3204, the priority control unit 3120 replaces the still image data Ds with the injection image data Di whose resolution is matched with the still image data Ds.

As described above, according to the third embodiment, while the number of pixels in the dirt pixel region Rd assumed to correspond to dirt on the outer surface 33 in the still image data Ds falls within the correction range, the dirt pixel region in the ejection image data Di The dirty pixel region Rd is corrected by the ejected pixel region Ri assumed to correspond to Rd. On the other hand, when the number of pixels in the dirty pixel region Rd increases beyond the correction range, the entire still image data Ds is replaced with the injection image data Di. According to these, it is possible to select priority control suitable for, for example, the degree of contamination or change over time, thereby increasing the reliability of the effect of ensuring the sensing accuracy of the sensor system 4 as a whole.

According to the third embodiment, the correction range may be variably set according to the position of the dirty pixel region Rd in the still image data Ds. According to this, the priority control can be adapted not only to the degree of staining or time change, for example, but also to the degree of importance in image recognition according to the position of the staining pixel region Rd. can be done. Therefore, it is possible to ensure the reliability of the effect of ensuring the sensing accuracy of the sensor system 4 as a whole.

(Fourth embodiment)
A fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 19 is a modification of the first embodiment.

A division control unit 4110 is added to the functional units constructed in the vehicle control device 1 in the fourth embodiment. The division control unit 4110 detects dirt on the outer interface 33 of each external sensor 40 during the cleaning period Tw. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 20 and 21, the division control unit 4110 controls the image data obtained during the external light mode period of the optical sensor 41 in the cleaning period Tw to determine the dirt pixel region assumed to correspond to the dirt on the outer surface 33. The external sensor 40 whose total number of pixels of Rd is within the clean range is classified as the clean sensor 40c that detects the clean outer interface 33 . On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 20 and 21, the division control unit 4110 determines that the total number of pixels in the dirty pixel region Rd is outside the cleaning range in the image data acquired during the external light mode period of the optical sensor 41 during the cleaning period Tw. The external sensor 40 is categorized as a dirt sensor 40 d that detects a dirty outer surface 33 .

In the classification control unit 4110, the clean range, which serves as the classification standard for the clean sensor 40c and the dirt sensor 40d, may be fixed to a fixed range at all times, or may be changed according to the position of the dirt pixel area Rd in the dirt image data Dd. may be set. For example, when the clean range is variably set, the threshold for determining the inside and outside of the clean range is decreased as the dirt pixel area Rd in the dirt image data Dd approaches the central visual field.

Here, in particular, the optical sensor 41 and the sensing camera 42, which are the external sensors 40 whose injection timing ti is alternately switched during the cleaning period Tw, may be divided into a cleaning sensor 40c and a dirt sensor 40d. At least the case of reverse partitioning occurs. For example, when the number of pixels in the dirty pixel region Rd in the ambient light image data Dα is within the clean range and the number of pixels in the dirty pixel region Rd in the camera image data Dβ is outside the clean range,
As shown in FIG. 20, the optical sensor 41 is divided into a clean sensor 40c and the sensing camera 42 into a dirt sensor 40d. On the other hand, when the number of pixels in the dirty pixel region Rd in the camera image data Dβ is within the clean range and the number of pixels in the dirty pixel region Rd in the ambient light image data Dα is outside the clean range, the sensing camera 42 is a clean sensor as shown in FIG. 40c and optical sensor 41 is segmented into dirt sensor 40d. It is conceivable that in the latter stage of the cleaning period Tw, immediately after switching from the previous stage, both are classified as the clean sensor 40c, but the control in that case will not be described below.

As shown in FIGS. 19 to 21, the priority control unit 4120 of the fourth embodiment acquires the classification results of the clean sensor 40c and the dirt sensor 40d in the cleaning period Tw from the classification control unit 4110. FIG. The priority control unit 4120 controls the priority Pd of the dirt image data Dd acquired through the dirt sensor 40d to be lower than the priority Pc of the clean image data Dc acquired through the cleanness sensor 40c. In particular, the dirty image data Dd and the clean image data Dc are obtained by one and the other of the optical sensor 41 and the sensing camera 42, which are the external sensors 40 with the overlapping sensing areas Aα and Aβ, and the outside light of the optical sensor 41 during the cleaning period Tw. The priority is controlled by being acquired during the mode period. As a result, the clean image data Dc on the high-priority Pc side is utilized as it is for controlling the vehicle 2 in the automatic driving mode.

On the other hand, the priority control unit 4120 of the fourth embodiment replaces the dirty image data Dd with the low priority Pd with the clean image data Dc with the high priority Pc. In particular, the dirt image data Dd is replaced by the clean image data Dc after the matching process by matching the resolution of the clean image data Dc to the dirt image data Dd. At this time, for example, when the dirt image data Dd is the camera image data Dβ of the sensing camera 42 and the clean image data Dc is the ambient light image data Dα of the optical sensor 41, the dirt image data Dd is up-sampled as shown in FIG. is replaced by the external light image data Dα whose resolution is matched by Dα. On the other hand, when the dirt image data Dd is the external light image data Dα of the optical sensor 41 and the clean image data Dc is the camera image data Dβ of the sensing camera 42, as shown in FIG. is replaced by the matched camera image data Dβ of . As a result, the dirty image data Dd on the side of the low priority Pd is replaced with the clean image data Dc, and then used for controlling the vehicle 2 in the automatic driving mode.

In the flow of the vehicle control method according to the fourth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 24, S4101 is executed prior to S4102 replacing S102. In S4101, the classification control unit 4110 classifies each external sensor 40 in the washing period Tw into a clean sensor 40c that detects a clean outer surface 33 and a dirty sensor 40d that detects a dirty outer surface 33.

In S4102, the priority control unit 4120 controls the priority Pd of the dirty image data Dd acquired through the dirt sensor 40d during the cleaning period Tw to be lower than the priority Pc of the clean image data Dc acquired through the cleaning sensor 40c. do. At this time, the priority control unit 4120 replaces the dirt image data Dd with clean image data Dc whose resolution is matched to the dirt image data Dd.

(Effect)
The effects of the fourth embodiment described above will be described below.

According to the fourth embodiment, during the cleaning period Tw during which the cleaning system 5 performs the cleaning-related process, one of the injection timing ti for executing the injection of the cleaning fluid and the stop timing ts for stopping the injection is selected. is individually assigned to the outer surface 33 of each external sensor 40 . Therefore, during the cleaning period Tw of the fourth embodiment, the priority Pd of the dirt image data Dd obtained through the dirt sensor 40d, which is classified as the external sensor 40 that detects the dirty outer surface 33, is determined so that the clean outer surface 33 is It is controlled to be lower than the priority Pc of the clean image data Dc acquired through the clean sensor 40c classified as the external sensor 40 to be detected. According to this, the dirt sensor 40d (see FIGS. 20 and 21), which detects dirt at the stop timing ts even during the cleaning period Tw, hardly affects the sensing accuracy of the sensor system 4 as a whole. Therefore, it is possible to ensure the sensing accuracy of the sensor system 4 as a whole by balancing the sensing and the cleaning, and eventually to ensure the accuracy of the automatic operation control.

According to the fourth embodiment, the dirt image data Dd of low priority Pd acquired by the dirt sensor 40d is replaced by the clean image data Dc of high priority Pc acquired by the cleanliness sensor 40c. According to this, the cleaning sensor 40c (see FIGS. 20 and 21), which has been cleaned at the injection timing ti during the cleaning period Tw, is effectively utilized, and dirt is detected at the stop timing ts during the cleaning period Tw. It is possible to complement the dirt sensor 40d described above. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the dirt sensor 40d from affecting the sensing accuracy of the sensor system 4 as a whole.

According to the fourth embodiment, dirt image data Dd with low priority Pd is replaced with clean image data Dc whose resolution is matched to dirt image data Dd as clean image data Dc with high priority Pc. According to this, even if the dirt image data Dd is controlled to have the low priority Pd, the clean image data Dc of the high priority Pc can be assumed to be the dirt image data Dd, thereby avoiding data loss related to the dirt sensor 40d. can. By effectively using the data Dc acquired by the clean sensor 40c in this manner, it is possible to suppress the influence of the data Dd acquired by the dirt sensor 40d on the sensing accuracy of the sensor system 4 as a whole.

According to the fourth embodiment, when the cleaning sensor 40c having the outer interface 33 cleaned by being cleaned with the cleaning gas as the cleaning fluid is utilized by the high-priority control of the cleaning image data Dc, automatic operation is performed in particular. It is advantageous in image recognition in mode.

(Fifth embodiment)
A fifth embodiment shown in FIGS. 25 and 26 is a modification of the fourth embodiment.

The priority control unit 5120 of the fifth embodiment corrects part of the dirty image data Dd with the low priority Pd by using part of the clean image data Dc with the high priority Pc. At this time, from the clean image data Dc, it is assumed that among the outer interfaces 33 of the optical sensor 41 and the sensing camera 42 serving as the external sensors 40 overlapping the sensing areas Aα and Aβ, the outer interface 33 of the dirt sensor 40d corresponds to dirt. A dirty pixel region Rd is extracted. For example, the dirt pixel area Rd is extracted by comparing past and present dirt image data Dd. On the other hand, of the optical sensor 41 and the sensing camera 42, a clean pixel region Rc assumed to correspond to the dirty pixel region Rd is extracted from the clean image data Dc obtained by the clean sensor 40c. For example, the clean pixel region Rc is extracted based on preset association information or the like between each pixel of the external light image data Dα of the optical sensor 41 and the camera image data Dβ of the sensing camera 42 .

Based on these extraction results, the priority control unit 5120 performs resolution matching of the pixel values of the dirty pixel region Rd in the dirty image data Dd to the dirty pixel region Rd in the clean image data Dc. to correct. At this time, for example, when the dirt image data Dd is the camera image data Dβ of the sensing camera 42 and the clean image data Dc is the ambient light image data Dα of the optical sensor 41, the dirt pixel area of the camera image data Dβ is shown in FIG. Rd is corrected by the clean pixel area Rc upsampled in the ambient light image data Dα. On the other hand, when the dirt image data Dd is the ambient light image data Dα of the optical sensor 41 and the clean image data Dc is the camera image data Dβ of the sensing camera 42, the dirt pixel region Rd of the ambient light image data Dα is shown in FIG. is corrected by the down-sampled clean pixel region Rc in the camera image data Dβ.

In the flow of the vehicle control method according to the fifth embodiment, as shown in FIG. Corrected by Rc.

Thus, according to the fifth embodiment, the dirt pixel region Rd assumed to correspond to dirt on the outer surface 33 in the dirt image data Dd with the low priority Pd is the dirt pixel region in the clean image data Dc with the high priority Pc. Corrected by a clean pixel region Rc assumed to correspond to Rd. According to this, even if the dirt image data Dd shows dirt, the clean image data Dc with the high priority Pi can be effectively used to reduce the data error. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the data Dd acquired by the dirt sensor 40d, which is dirty on the outer surface 33, from affecting the sensing accuracy of the sensor system 4 as a whole when the stop timing ts comes even during the cleaning period Tw.

(Sixth embodiment)
The sixth embodiment shown in FIGS. 30 and 31 is a modified example in which switching between the fourth embodiment and the fifth embodiment is performed according to conditions.

The priority control unit 6120 of the sixth embodiment, while the total number of pixels of the dirty pixel area Rd in the dirt image data Dd of the dirt sensor 40d is within the correction range outside the clean range, is the clean image of the clean sensor 40c. The dirty pixel area Rd is corrected by the clean pixel area Rc in the data Dc. Correction processing of the dirty pixel region Rd by the clean pixel region Rc conforms to the fifth embodiment. On the other hand, when the total number of pixels in the dirt pixel area Rd in the dirt image data Dd of the dirt sensor 40d increases to outside the correction range within the clean range, the dirt image data Dd is replaced with the clean image data Dc. Substitution processing of the dirty image data Dd by the clean image data Dc conforms to the fourth embodiment.

In the priority control unit 6120, the correction range, which serves as a reference for switching between the replacement process and the correction process, is set to a range that is equal to or greater than the boundary value or exceeds the boundary value, with the threshold value for the number of pixels that determines the inside and outside of the clean range as the boundary value. be. In particular, the correction range may be set to a fixed range at all times, or may be variably set according to the position of the dirt pixel area Rd in the dirt image data Dd. For example, when the correction range is variably set, the pixel number threshold for determining the inside and outside of the correction range is decreased as the dirt pixel region Rd in the dirt image data Dd approaches the center visual field.

In the flow of the vehicle control method according to the sixth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 32, the priority control unit 6120 executes the priority control subroutine at S6102 instead of S4102 and S5102.

As shown in FIG. 33, in S6201 of the priority control subroutine, the priority Pd of the dirt image data Dd acquired through the dirt sensor 40d during the cleaning period Tw is set to the priority of the clean image data Dc acquired through the clean sensor 40c. It is lower than Pc and is controlled by the priority control section 6120 .

In S6202 following the priority control subroutine, the priority control unit 6120 determines whether or not the total number of pixels in the dirty pixel area Rd in the dirty image data Dd is within the correction range. As a result, while the total number of pixels in the dirty pixel area Rd is within the correction range, the priority control subroutine proceeds to S6203. On the other hand, when the total number of pixels in the dirty pixel area Rd is out of the correction range, the priority control subroutine proceeds to S6204.

In S6203, the priority control unit 6120 corrects the dirty pixel area Rd of the dirty image data Dd with the clean pixel area Rc of the clean image data Dc. On the other hand, in S6204, the priority control unit 6120 replaces the dirt image data Dd with clean image data Dc whose resolution is matched to the dirt image data Dd.

As described above, according to the sixth embodiment, while the number of pixels in the dirt pixel region Rd assumed to correspond to dirt on the outer surface 33 in the dirt image data Dd falls within the correction range, the dirt pixel region Rd in the clean image data Dc is The dirty pixel region Rd is corrected by the clean pixel region Rc assumed to correspond to Rd. On the other hand, when the number of pixels in the dirty pixel area Rd increases beyond the correction range, the entire dirty image data Dd is replaced with the clean image data Dc. According to these, it is possible to select priority control suitable for, for example, the degree of contamination or change over time, thereby increasing the reliability of the effect of ensuring the sensing accuracy of the sensor system 4 as a whole.

According to the sixth embodiment, the correction range may be variably set according to the position of the dirt pixel area Rd in the dirt image data Dd. According to this, the priority control can be adapted not only to the degree of staining or time change, for example, but also to the degree of importance in image recognition according to the position of the staining pixel region Rd. can be done. Therefore, it is possible to ensure the reliability of the effect of ensuring the sensing accuracy of the sensor system 4 as a whole.
(Other embodiments)

Although a plurality of embodiments have been described above, the present disclosure is not to be construed as being limited to those embodiments, and can be applied to various embodiments and combinations within the scope of the present disclosure. can be done.

In a modified example, the dedicated computer that constitutes the vehicle control device 1 may be at least one external center computer that can communicate with the vehicle 2 . In a modification, the dedicated computer that constitutes the vehicle control device 1 may include at least one of a digital circuit and an analog circuit as a processor. Here, the digital circuit includes, for example, ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), SOC (System on a Chip), PGA (Programmable Gate Array), and CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device). , at least one Such digital circuits may also have a memory that stores the program.

In a variant, the priorities Ps, Pi, Pd, Pc may be controlled in the manual driving mode in addition to or instead of the automatic driving mode of the vehicle 2 . In a modified example, the outer interface 33 of each external sensor 40 may be formed by a common sensor window 32 to distinguish areas to be cleaned by individual cleaning nozzles 51 . In a modification, the sensor window 32 forming the outer interface 33 may be provided in the external sensor 40 itself. In a modified example, the outer interface 33 may be formed by an optical member such as a lens in the external sensor 40 itself.

In the modified example, the external sensors 40 having overlapping sensing areas may both be optical sensors 41 . In the modified example, the external sensors 40 having overlapping sensing areas may both be sensing cameras 42 . In the modified example, at least one of the external sensors 40 having overlapping sensing areas may be, for example, an imaging radar other than the optical sensor 41 and the sensing camera 42 as long as it can generate image data.

1: vehicle control device, 2: vehicle, 4: sensor system, 5: cleaning system, 12: processor, 33: external interface, 40: external sensor, 40c: cleaning sensor, 40d: dirt sensor, 100: injection control unit , 120, 2120, 3120, 4120, 6120: priority control unit, 4110: division control unit, ADU: automatic operation unit, Aα, Aβ: sensing area, Di: injection image data, Ds: stop image data, Dc: cleaning Image data Dd: Dirt image data Ps, Pi, Pd, Pc: Priority Rd: Dirt pixel area Ri: Ejection pixel area Rc: Clean pixel area Cleaning period: Tw

Claims (19)

A sensor system (4) including a plurality of external sensors (40) in which mutually overlapping sensing areas (Aα, Aβ) are set through an outer surface (33); 1. A controller (1) for a vehicle (2) equipped with a separate cleaning system (5), comprising a processor (12),
The processor
In a cleaning period (Tw) during which cleaning-related processing is performed by the cleaning system, one of an injection timing (ti) for executing the injection of the cleaning fluid and a stop timing (ts) for stopping the injection of the cleaning fluid. individually assigned to the external surface of each external sensor;
In the cleaning period, the priority (Ps) of the stop image data (Ds) acquired through the external sensor at the stop timing is set to the priority (Di) of the injection image data (Di) acquired through the external sensor at the injection timing. and (Pi). Controlling the priority includes:
2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, comprising substituting the injection image data for the still image data. Controlling the priority includes:
3. The vehicle control device according to claim 2, comprising substituting the still image data with the injection image data whose resolution is matched to the still image data. Controlling the priority includes:
While the number of pixels of the dirt pixel area (Rd) assumed to correspond to the dirt on the outer surface in the still image data is within the correction range, the ejection pixels assumed to correspond to the dirt pixel area in the ejection image data 3. Correcting the dirt pixel area by the area (Ri), and replacing the still image data with the ejection image data when the number of pixels in the dirt pixel area is out of the correction range. 4. The vehicle control device according to 3. Controlling the priority includes:
5. The vehicle control device according to claim 4, further comprising variably setting the correction range according to the position of the dirty pixel area in the still image data. Controlling the priority includes:
correcting a dirt pixel region (Rd) assumed to correspond to the dirt on the outer surface in the still image data by an ejection pixel region (Ri) corresponding to the dirt pixel region in the ejection image data. The vehicle control device according to claim 1 . A sensor system (4) including a plurality of external sensors (40) in which mutually overlapping sensing areas (Aα, Aβ) are set through an outer surface (33); 1. A controller (1) for a vehicle (2) equipped with a separate cleaning system (5), comprising a processor (12),
The processor
In a cleaning period (Tw) during which cleaning-related processing is performed by the cleaning system, one of an injection timing (ti) for executing the injection of the cleaning fluid and a stop timing (ts) for stopping the injection of the cleaning fluid. individually assigned to the external surface of each external sensor;
dividing each of the external sensors into a clean sensor (40c) for detecting the clean outer surface and a dirt sensor (40d) for detecting the dirty outer surface in the washing period;
During the cleaning period, the priority (Pd) of the dirt image data (Dd) acquired through the dirt sensor is controlled to be lower than the priority (Pc) of the clean image data (Dc) acquired through the clean sensor. A vehicle control device configured to perform: Controlling the priority includes:
8. The vehicle controller of claim 7, comprising substituting the dirty image data with the clean image data. Controlling the priority includes:
9. The vehicle control device according to claim 8, comprising substituting the dirt image data with the clean image data whose resolution is matched to the dirt image data. Controlling the priority includes:
Clean pixels assumed to correspond to the dirt pixel area in the clean image data while the number of pixels in the dirt pixel area (Rd) assumed to correspond to dirt on the outer surface in the dirt image data is within the correction range. 9. The method of claim 8, comprising correcting the dirt pixel area using the area (Rc), and replacing the dirt image data with the clean image data when the number of pixels in the dirt pixel area is out of the correction range. 9. The vehicle control device according to 9. Controlling the priority includes:
11. The vehicle control device according to claim 10, further comprising variably setting the correction range according to the position of the dirt pixel area in the dirt image data. Controlling the priority includes:
Correcting the dirt pixel area (Rd) assumed to correspond to the dirt on the outer surface in the dirt image data by the clean pixel area (Rc) assumed to correspond to the dirt pixel area in the clean image data. 8. The vehicle control device according to claim 7, comprising: Assigning the timing includes:
13. The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, further comprising switching the allocation of the injection timing to the outer surface of each of the external sensors according to the passage of time. The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the cleaning fluid is cleaning gas. A vehicle control device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 14;
a sensor system (4) including a plurality of said external sensors;
and the cleaning system (5). A sensor system (4) including a plurality of external sensors (40) in which mutually overlapping sensing areas (Aα, Aβ) are set through an outer surface (33); A control method for a vehicle (2) equipped with a separate cleaning system (5), the method being executed by a processor (12), comprising:
In a cleaning period (Tw) during which cleaning-related processing is performed by the cleaning system, one of an injection timing (ti) for executing the injection of the cleaning fluid and a stop timing (ts) for stopping the injection of the cleaning fluid. individually assigned to the external surface of each external sensor;
In the cleaning period, the priority (Ps) of the stop image data (Ds) acquired through the external sensor at the stop timing is the priority (Di) of the injection image data (Di) acquired through the external sensor at the injection timing. and controlling to be lower than (Pi). A sensor system (4) including a plurality of external sensors (40) in which mutually overlapping sensing areas (Aα, Aβ) are set through an outer surface (33); A control method for a vehicle (2) equipped with a separate cleaning system (5), the method being executed by a processor (12), comprising:
In a cleaning period (Tw) during which cleaning-related processing is performed by the cleaning system, one of an injection timing (ti) for executing the injection of the cleaning fluid and a stop timing (ts) for stopping the injection of the cleaning fluid. individually assigned to the external surface of each external sensor;
dividing each of the external sensors into a clean sensor (40c) for detecting the clean outer surface and a dirt sensor (40d) for detecting the dirty outer surface in the washing period;
During the cleaning period, the priority (Pd) of the dirt image data (Dd) acquired through the dirt sensor is controlled to be lower than the priority (Pc) of the clean image data (Dc) acquired through the clean sensor. A control method for a vehicle, comprising: A sensor system (4) including a plurality of external sensors (40) in which mutually overlapping sensing areas (Aα, Aβ) are set through an outer surface (33); a control program for a vehicle (2) carrying a separate cleaning system (5), comprising instructions stored in a storage medium (10) and executed by a processor (12),
Said instruction
In a cleaning period (Tw) during which cleaning-related processing is performed by the cleaning system, one of an injection timing (ti) for executing the injection of the cleaning fluid and a stop timing (ts) for stopping the injection of the cleaning fluid. is individually assigned to the external surface of each external sensor;
In the cleaning period, the priority (Ps) of the stop image data (Ds) acquired through the external sensor at the stop timing is the priority (Di) of the injection image data (Di) acquired through the external sensor at the injection timing. and (Pi). A sensor system (4) including a plurality of external sensors (40) in which mutually overlapping sensing areas (Aα, Aβ) are set through an outer surface (33); a control program for a vehicle (2) carrying a separate cleaning system (5), comprising instructions stored in a storage medium (10) and executed by a processor (12),
Said instruction
In a cleaning period (Tw) during which cleaning-related processing is performed by the cleaning system, one of an injection timing (ti) for executing the injection of the cleaning fluid and a stop timing (ts) for stopping the injection of the cleaning fluid. is individually assigned to the external surface of each external sensor;
dividing each of the external sensors into a clean sensor (40c) for detecting the clean outer surface and a dirt sensor (40d) for detecting the dirty outer surface in the washing period;
During the cleaning period, the priority (Pd) of the dirt image data (Dd) acquired through the dirt sensor is controlled to be lower than the priority (Pc) of the clean image data (Dc) acquired through the clean sensor. a vehicle control program comprising:

Images