JP2023101066A - vehicle control system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a vehicle control system which can reduce a risk in a vehicle that is caused by travelling of a vehicle.SOLUTION: Information concerning a state of a road on which a vehicle travels from now is obtained with a vehicle exterior camera of a vehicle exterior sensor 20, and information concerning a getting-on state of an occupant is obtained with an in-vehicle camera 61. A relation between a vehicle travelling state where the vehicle is assumed to travel on the road and a risk of falling of the occupant in the vehicle travelling state is estimated as a first relation and a relation between the travelling state of the vehicle and a risk of occurrence of traffic jam due to the travelling state is estimated as a second relation, on the basis of the obtained information concerning the state of the road and the obtained getting-on state of the occupant. Acceleration and jerk of the vehicle are controlled so that both suppression of falling of the occupant and suppression of occurrence of traffic jam are made compatible, on the basis of the first relation and the second relation.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to vehicle control systems. In particular, the present invention relates to measures for reducing risks inside the vehicle that accompany running the vehicle.

Conventionally, in a vehicle in which a crew member (passenger) rides in a standing posture, it is desired that the vehicle be in a running state that can prevent the passenger from overturning. In view of this point, Patent Document 1 uses an in-vehicle camera to track a high-risk person who is determined to have a high fall risk in an automatic driving vehicle, and individually grasps the state of the high-risk person in the car, The driving of the vehicle is controlled based on the condition of the risk person. In other words, when there is a high-risk person in the vehicle, the vehicle travel is restricted according to the current overturn risk of the high-risk person (if the current overturn risk is high, the vehicle speed is restricted). to prevent (suppress) falls in high-risk people.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2020-3936

However, in Patent Literature 1, only the current fall risk is considered. Therefore, even if the risk of overturning is currently low, in the event that the risk of overturning increases rapidly in the future, control will be required to limit vehicle travel in response to changes in this overturning risk. There is a concern that it may lead to a situation in which it is not possible to prevent the occupant from falling in time.

In addition, the risks inside the vehicle that accompany running the vehicle are not limited to the above-mentioned risk of overturning of the occupants. There is also a risk of moving and colliding with a wall in the car or a passenger. In addition, such risks are not only caused by centrifugal force, but also caused by acceleration in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle (rapid increase in acceleration, rapid increase in deceleration, etc.) due to acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle. There is also a risk caused by vertical acceleration (vertical vibration) that accompanies driving on uneven roads. In other words, the in-vehicle risks associated with running the vehicle include the risks associated with behavioral changes such as rolling, pitching, yawing, and bouncing of the vehicle. Note that these risks occur not only in automatically driven vehicles but also in non-automatically driven vehicles (vehicles driven by drivers).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle control system capable of reducing in-vehicle risks associated with traveling of the vehicle.

The solution of the invention for achieving the above object presupposes a vehicle control system. This vehicle control system includes a road information acquisition unit that acquires information about the state of a road on which the vehicle will travel in the future, a vehicle interior state information acquisition unit that acquires information about the state of the vehicle interior, and road information acquired by the road information acquisition unit. Based on the information on the state of the road and the information on the state of the vehicle interior acquired by the vehicle interior state information acquisition unit, the running state when the vehicle is assumed to run on the road and the above-mentioned driving state in the said running state Based on the relationship estimated by an in-vehicle state change estimating unit for estimating a relationship with a state change in the vehicle, an operating device capable of contributing to suppression of the state change in the vehicle, and the relationship estimated by the in-vehicle state change estimating unit and an operating state determination unit for determining an operating state of the operating device for suppressing state changes in the vehicle.

Based on this specific matter, the road information obtaining section obtains information regarding the state of the road on which the vehicle will travel in the future, and the vehicle interior state information obtaining section obtains information regarding the state of the vehicle interior. Based on this information, the in-vehicle state change estimating unit calculates the driving state when it is assumed that the vehicle is traveling on the road (e.g., acceleration when traveling on a curved road) and the state change in the vehicle in that driving state ( For example, the occurrence of overturning of an occupant in a standing posture). Then, based on this relationship, the operating state determination unit determines the operating state of the operating device for suppressing the state change in the vehicle, and the operating device operates according to this determination (contributes to suppressing the state change in the vehicle). actions) as necessary. Therefore, the operation (operation) of the operating device that contributes to suppressing the state change inside the vehicle can be determined or executed in advance according to the future running state of the vehicle. As a result, it is possible to suppress the situation in which the operation of the operating device cannot keep up with the timing of the occurrence of risks inside the vehicle (risk of changes in the state of the vehicle). Risk can be reduced (suppressed).

Moreover, the following are also mentioned as a solution means for achieving the said objective. That is, the vehicle control system is assumed. This vehicle control system includes a road information acquisition unit that acquires information about the state of a road on which the vehicle will travel in the future, a vehicle interior state information acquisition unit that acquires information about the state of the vehicle interior, and road information acquired by the road information acquisition unit. Based on the information on the state of the road and the information on the state of the vehicle interior acquired by the vehicle interior state information acquisition unit, the running state when the vehicle is assumed to run on the road and the above-mentioned driving state in the said running state An in-vehicle state change estimating unit for estimating a relationship with a state change in the vehicle as a first relationship, an actuating device capable of operating to contribute to suppression of the state change in the vehicle, an operation of the actuating device, and the actuating device a peripheral effect estimation unit for estimating, as a second relationship, a relationship between a degree of adverse effect on a surrounding situation caused by the operation of the vehicle, the first relationship estimated by the in-vehicle state change estimation unit, and the peripheral effect estimation determining the operating state of the operating device for simultaneously suppressing changes in the state of the vehicle interior and suppressing adverse effects on the surrounding environment, based on the second relationship estimated by the unit. and a state determination unit.

With this specific matter, in addition to the effects described above, the driving state of the vehicle (for example, the state of limiting the acceleration of the vehicle) due to the operation of the actuator suppresses changes in the state inside the vehicle, and the surrounding conditions. In the case of reducing the degree of adverse effect on The operating state of the actuator is determined based on the second relationship (the relationship between the operation of the actuator and the degree of adverse effect of the operation of the actuator on the surrounding environment). Since it is determined, it is possible to both suppress changes in the state inside the vehicle and suppress adverse effects on surrounding conditions.

In addition, the operating device is a running control unit that controls the running driving force of the vehicle, and the operation of the operating device that contributes to suppressing the state change in the vehicle is controlled by at least one of vehicle speed, acceleration, and jerk. Control.

For example, when it is assumed that a passenger will fall over or a load will move, etc., as a change in the state of the vehicle, the higher the vehicle speed (vehicle speed), acceleration, and acceleration (jerk), the more the passenger will However, the operating device (running control unit) performs actions that contribute to suppressing changes in the state of the vehicle (control of acceleration, etc.), thereby reducing the risk. can do.

Further, the operating device is a speaker that emits sound in the vehicle, and the operation of the operating device that contributes to suppressing the state change in the vehicle is sound from the speaker for warning or calling attention to the occupants.

For example, when it is assumed that the occupant will fall as a change in the state of the vehicle, when it is estimated that the risk of the occupant falling is high when it is assumed that the vehicle travels on the road (road on which the vehicle will travel in the future), an alarm from the speaker or Pronunciation for alerting is performed. As a result, it can be expected that the occupants who hear this sound will prepare themselves (pre-prepared against the occurrence of the overturning moment), and the risk of overturning can be reduced.

Further, the actuation device is an active strap device including a strap held by the occupant and an actuator for moving the strap in a horizontal direction, and the actuation device contributes to suppressing a change in state inside the vehicle. is the actuation of the actuator to move the strap in a direction opposite to the direction of the overturning moment acting on the occupant due to vehicle behavior.

For example, when assuming that an occupant who is holding a strap falls over as a change in the state of the vehicle, it is estimated that the occupant has a high risk of overturning when the vehicle travels on the road (the road on which the vehicle will travel in the future). It can sometimes be known in advance (before the overturning moment occurs) that it is necessary to actuate the actuator to move the sling in the opposite direction to the direction of the overturning moment. Therefore, the strap can be moved in the direction opposite to the direction of the overturning moment by the operation of the actuator without delaying the generation of the overturning moment, thereby reducing the risk of overturning.

Further, the information about the state of the road acquired by the road information acquisition unit is at least one of road image information captured by an external camera and travel plan information when the vehicle is an autonomous vehicle. .

Curving roads and uneven roads can be cited as factors that cause risks inside the vehicle that accompany driving (such as the risk of occupants falling and the risk of moving luggage), but road image information and driving plan information captured by external cameras Therefore, it is possible to accurately recognize that there is a possibility of driving on these roads in the future. can be accurately recognized, it is possible to appropriately operate the actuator for suppressing a change in the state of the vehicle (occupant's overturning, etc.).

In addition, the information about the state of the vehicle acquired by the vehicle interior state information acquisition unit includes image information of the vehicle interior captured by an in-vehicle camera, and occupant seating information detected by a seating sensor installed in the seat of the vehicle. at least one of

In-vehicle imagery captured by in-vehicle cameras is one of the factors that cause risks in the vehicle that accompany driving (such as the risk of occupants falling over, the risk of luggage being moved, etc.). It is possible to accurately grasp the risks inside the vehicle from the information (image information of the occupant's posture and the loading state of luggage) and the occupant's seating information detected by the seating sensor. The operation of the device can be performed properly.

Further, the state change in the vehicle is specifically at least one of the overturn of the passenger standing in the vehicle and the movement of luggage in the vehicle.

In the present invention, the operating state determining unit determines the operating state of the operating device for suppressing changes in the state of the vehicle interior. It is possible to prevent luggage placed in the vehicle from moving and colliding with the wall in the vehicle or the occupant.

In addition, the operating device is a running control unit that controls the running driving force of the vehicle, and the operation of the operating device that contributes to suppressing the state change in the vehicle is controlled by at least one of vehicle speed, acceleration, and jerk. A control and adverse effect on the surroundings associated with the operation of the actuator is the congestion of surrounding traffic associated with limiting at least one of the speed, acceleration and jerk of the vehicle.

At least one of the vehicle's speed, acceleration, and jerk is controlled by the operation of the operating device (running control unit) as a means of reducing the risks inside the vehicle that accompany running the vehicle (such as the risk of occupants falling over, the movement of luggage, etc.). However, in this case, there is a possibility that the speed of the following vehicle will be restricted, resulting in traffic congestion. In other words, in this case, there are risks inside the vehicle that accompany driving (for example, risks that can be reduced by limiting acceleration) and risks in surrounding conditions (adverse effects on surrounding conditions: reduced by maintaining acceleration above a predetermined value, for example). possible risks) are in conflict with each other. In the present invention, based on the first relationship and the second relationship, the operating state (acceleration, etc.) of the operating device for suppressing a change in the state inside the vehicle and suppressing an adverse effect on the surrounding situation. control range), it is possible to reduce the risk in the vehicle (for example, suppressing the fall of the passenger) and reduce the risk to the surrounding situation (suppressing the occurrence of traffic congestion).

In the present invention, it is assumed that the vehicle travels on a future road, and the relationship between the driving state and the state change in the vehicle is estimated, and based on the relationship, the state change in the vehicle is suppressed. to determine the operating state of the actuator. As a result, it is possible to suppress the situation in which the operation of the actuator does not keep up with the timing of the occurrence of risks inside the vehicle (risk of changes in the state of the vehicle). Risk can be reduced.

1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle control system according to an embodiment; FIG. It is a figure which shows a risk reduction coexistence map. FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the procedure of risk reduction operation by the vehicle control system; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of changes in vehicle acceleration during risk reduction operation; 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle control system according to Modification 1; FIG. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle control system according to Modification 2; FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the configuration and operation of an active strap device in modification 2;

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, a case where the vehicle control system according to the present invention is applied to an electric automatic driving bus capable of autonomously traveling will be described.

-Overall Configuration of Vehicle Control System-
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle control system 10 according to this embodiment. The vehicle in which the vehicle control system 10 is mounted is an electric automatic driving bus (a bus that runs by operating a drive motor using the electric power of a battery mounted on it) as described above. can be boarded, and a plurality of seats for seating passengers are installed in the car. If the number of passengers exceeds the number of seats, the passengers who cannot sit down must stand up. In addition, straps and handrails are installed in the car, and passengers who ride in a standing position can grasp the straps and handrails.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle includes an exterior sensor 20, an automatic driving control unit 30, a driving control unit (actuating device according to the present invention) 40, an automatic driving interface unit 50, etc., as components for realizing autonomous driving. is installed. In addition, the vehicle is equipped with a risk reduction processing unit 100 as a configuration for executing control for reducing risks inside the vehicle that accompany travel of the vehicle.

These automatic driving control unit 30, traveling control unit 40, automatic driving interface unit 50 and risk reduction processing unit 100 are processors such as CPU (Central Processing Unit), ROM (Read-Only Memory) for storing control programs, data It consists of a RAM (random-access memory) for temporary storage and an in-vehicle computer equipped with input/output ports.

In addition, the vehicle exterior sensor 20 and the vehicle interior camera 61 are connected to the risk reduction processing unit 100, and an image in front of the vehicle captured by the vehicle exterior camera included in the vehicle exterior sensor 20 (an image of the road on which the vehicle will travel in the future: Image information) is transmitted from the vehicle exterior sensor 20 to the risk reduction processing unit 100 at predetermined time intervals, and an image of the interior of the vehicle (image of the interior of the vehicle such as the posture of the occupant: image information) captured by the in-vehicle camera 61 is also transmitted from the in-vehicle camera 61 to the risk reduction processing unit 100 at predetermined time intervals.

- Configuration for autonomous driving -
A configuration for autonomous driving of a vehicle will be described.

The vehicle exterior sensor 20 acquires information necessary for autonomous driving. The exterior sensor 20 includes, for example, an exterior camera, a lidar (LIDAR), a millimeter wave radar, and the like, as well as a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver combined with a map database. The exterior camera, lidar, and millimeter-wave radar detect moving objects such as pedestrians and other vehicles in the vicinity, as well as stationary objects such as the road ahead, traffic lights, road signs, and lane markings. A GNSS receiver receives positioning signals transmitted from a plurality of artificial satellites as information for specifying the current position of a vehicle.

The automatic driving control unit 30 is electrically connected to the automatic driving interface unit 50 . The automatic driving control unit 30 acquires state information indicating the state of the vehicle from the automatic driving interface unit 50 .

Furthermore, the automatic driving control unit 30 executes the autonomous driving program stored in the ROM by the CPU, based on the positioning signal and detection information etc. acquired from the outside sensor 20, estimates the current position of the vehicle with high accuracy, By combining the estimated position information, the map data acquired from the map database, and the information detected by the outside camera, etc., the driving environment around the vehicle and obstacles in the surrounding area are recognized. In addition, the automatic driving control unit 30 generates a driving plan for autonomous driving of the vehicle based on the recognized driving environment and the vehicle state information obtained from the automatic driving interface unit 50, and based on this driving plan, It calculates each control amount for driving, braking, steering, etc. that realizes traveling according to the travel plan, generates a control command that indicates each control amount, and outputs it to the automatic operation interface unit 50 sequentially.

The travel control unit 40 is directly or indirectly electrically connected (electrically connected) to a group of in-vehicle sensors and a group of in-vehicle actuators (not shown) mounted on the vehicle. The in-vehicle sensor group is a plurality of sensors that detect the state of the vehicle. The vehicle-mounted sensor group includes, for example, a vehicle speed sensor, an acceleration sensor, a yaw rate sensor, and the like. The in-vehicle actuator group executes vehicle acceleration/deceleration control, steering control, and the like. The in-vehicle actuator group includes, for example, motor generators for driving and regeneration, brake actuators, steering actuators, and the like.

Furthermore, the travel control unit 40 is electrically connected to the automatic driving interface unit 50 . The travel control unit 40 sequentially provides the automatic driving interface unit 50 with vehicle status information based on the outputs of the vehicle-mounted sensors. The traveling control unit 40 acquires control commands (control commands based on control commands) such as driving, braking and steering from the automatic driving control unit 30 via the automatic driving interface unit 50, and based on the acquired control commands, The actuator group is operated to implement autonomous travel (automatic travel) based on the travel plan.

The automatic driving interface unit 50 is interposed between the automatic driving control unit 30 and the cruise control unit 40 and integrally manages the autonomous driving of the vehicle. The automatic driving interface unit 50 provides the automatic driving control unit 30 with the vehicle state information obtained from the driving control unit 40, and based on the control command obtained from the automatic driving control unit 30, the driving control unit 40 Control command to output

In addition, as one of the features of the present embodiment, the automatic driving control unit 30 uses a control amount correction signal (especially, the control range of the acceleration and jerk of the vehicle that limits the control range of the acceleration and jerk of the vehicle in consideration of the risk of overturning and the risk of traffic congestion, which will be described later). signal) from the risk reduction processing unit 100 . The control amount correction signal considering the overturn risk and the congestion risk will be described later. The automatic driving control unit 30 generates a control command that reflects the acquired control amount correction signal (in particular, generates a control command that limits the control range of vehicle acceleration and jerk), and automatically drives this control command. Interface unit 50 receives. Then, a control command based on the control command is output from the automatic driving interface unit 50 to the traveling control unit 40 .

- Configuration for risk reduction in the car -
The in-vehicle camera 61 is a sensor for grasping the situation of the passengers in the vehicle, and is installed, for example, on the ceiling of the vehicle. The in-vehicle camera 61 photographs the interior of the vehicle and the occupants, and sequentially outputs images (image information) of the interior of the vehicle to the risk reduction processing unit 100 . The in-vehicle camera 61 is combined with a wide-angle lens, and is installed in such a manner that there is no blind spot inside the vehicle. The in-vehicle camera 61 may be configured to detect light in the near-infrared region in addition to light in the visible light region, or may be combined with a laser scanner or the like.

The risk reduction processing unit 100 performs processing for reducing the risk inside the vehicle accompanying running of the vehicle and suppressing adverse effects on the surrounding situation, and outputs the control amount correction signal toward the automatic operation control unit 30. . The risk reduction processing unit 100 includes, as functional units realized by the control program, a road information acquisition unit 110, a vehicle interior state information acquisition unit 120, a vehicle interior state change estimation unit 130, a surrounding influence estimation unit 140, and an operating state determination unit. A portion 150 is provided.

The road information acquisition unit 110 acquires information about the state of the road on which the vehicle will travel in the future (in a few seconds). Specifically, an image in front of the vehicle photographed by the exterior camera of the exterior sensor 20 is acquired, and the state of the road in front of the vehicle is recognized. For example, if the road ahead is a curved road (curved road), the image of the curved road is acquired from the camera outside the vehicle, and if the road ahead is an uneven road, the image of the uneven road is obtained. Images will be acquired from the exterior camera. An image in front of the vehicle is acquired from the outside camera at predetermined time intervals.

The vehicle interior state information acquisition unit 120 acquires information regarding the vehicle interior state. In this embodiment, information about the state (orientation) of the occupants in the vehicle is acquired. That is, an image of the interior of the vehicle captured by the in-vehicle camera 61 is obtained, and the state of the interior of the vehicle is recognized. Images of the interior of the vehicle are also acquired from the in-vehicle camera 61 at predetermined time intervals.

The in-vehicle state change estimation unit 130 obtains road state information acquired by the road information acquisition unit 110 (images in front of the vehicle acquired at predetermined time intervals) and the vehicle interior state acquired by the in-vehicle state information acquisition unit 120. Based on the information (in-vehicle images acquired at predetermined time intervals), the driving state when it is assumed that the vehicle travels on the future road, and the state change in the vehicle in the driving state (occupant's fall, etc.) is estimated as the first relationship.

Specifically, when the road in front is a curved road, the road information acquisition unit 110 calculates the distance to the curved road and the radius of curvature of the curved road based on the image of the curved road acquired from the camera outside the vehicle. Etc. Then, when passing through the curved road, the acceleration and jerk range of the vehicle that is likely to suppress the overturning of the occupant (especially the occupant in a standing posture) due to centrifugal force etc. (for example, the overturning of the occupant can be suppressed upper limit of acceleration and jerk, etc.). More specifically, by analyzing images inside the vehicle, we can determine the posture of each occupant in the vehicle (distinguish whether they are sitting or standing) and their attributes (age, gender, physical characteristics, movement, etc.). Attributes such as smoothness) are estimated, and in light of the posture and attributes of each occupant, the range of vehicle acceleration and jerk that is highly likely to prevent the occupant from overturning is estimated. The motion of estimating the posture and attributes of each passenger is performed by a well-known matching process or the like. Further, the operation of recognizing an occupant in a standing posture that is likely to fall may be based on the seating information of the occupant detected by a seating sensor installed on the seat in the vehicle. In other words, the number of occupants in the vehicle is compared with the number of seats where occupancy is detected by the seating sensor. The presence and number of occupants in that standing position can be calculated.

Further, when the road in front is an uneven road with an uneven road surface, the road information acquisition unit 110 calculates the distance to the uneven road and The size of the unevenness (height difference between the concave and convex portions and the distance over which the unevenness continues) is estimated. Then, when passing through the uneven road, the range of acceleration and jerk of the vehicle that is highly likely to suppress the overturning of the occupant (especially the occupant in a standing posture) due to vertical vibration (for example, suppressing the overturning of the occupant) Estimate the maximum possible acceleration and jerk, etc.). Even in this case, it is possible to estimate the range of acceleration and jerk of the vehicle that is highly likely to prevent the occupant from falling by analyzing the image inside the vehicle and considering the posture and attributes of each occupant inside the vehicle. Become.

Surrounding influence estimating unit 140 estimates the acceleration and jerk of the vehicle when limiting the acceleration and jerk of the vehicle to suppress overturning of the occupant in a standing posture, and the surrounding conditions associated with the limitation of the acceleration and jerk. The relationship with the degree of bad influence given is estimated as the second relationship. One example of an adverse effect on surrounding conditions is the occurrence of traffic congestion in the surrounding area. In other words, if the acceleration or acceleration of the vehicle is restricted in order to prevent the occupant from overturning in a standing posture, the vehicle speed of the following vehicle will be restricted, which may cause congestion. The surrounding influence estimator 140 estimates the relationship between the acceleration and jerk of the vehicle and the risk of traffic congestion due to the limitation of the acceleration and jerk as a second relationship. The risk of congestion is estimated based on the traffic conditions of surrounding roads and roads behind the vehicle (the number of vehicles per unit distance of the road, etc.). This road traffic condition information is obtained from, for example, the Japan Road Traffic Information Center (JARTIC), the VICS (registered trademark) center, or the like. .

The operation state determination unit 150 suppresses the state change in the vehicle interior using the first relationship estimated by the vehicle interior state change estimation unit 130 and the second relationship estimated by the ambient influence estimation unit 140. Acceleration and jerk (activation state of the actuation device as referred to in the present invention) are determined so as to make it possible to achieve both of the above and suppression of adverse effects on surrounding conditions.

Specifically, for the control range of acceleration and the control range of jerk determined by the risk reduction compatibility map stored in the ROM of the risk reduction processing unit 100, information about the road condition (such as the radius of curvature of the curved road described above) ) and correction processing based on the aforementioned attributes of the occupants (attributes such as age, gender, physical characteristics, smoothness of movement, etc.) ), and correction processing based on the risk of congestion estimated from the traffic conditions of the surrounding roads and the road behind the vehicle (the control range of acceleration and the control range of jerk that can contribute to reducing the risk of congestion) (determination processing)) to determine the acceleration control range and the jerk control range for suppressing changes in the state of the vehicle interior and suppressing adverse effects on the surrounding conditions. In other words, for example, when traveling on a curved road or an uneven road, if the acceleration or jerk is too high, there is concern that the occupant in a standing posture will fall over, and if the acceleration or jerk is too low, Since there is a possibility of traffic congestion due to the speed limit of the following vehicle, the acceleration and jerk that do not cause such a situation are obtained according to the risk reduction compatibility map and its correction processing. .

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a risk reduction compatibility map corresponding to a certain vehicle speed. This risk reduction compatibility map is stored in the ROM of the risk reduction processing unit 100, with the horizontal axis representing the acceleration and the vertical axis representing the jerk. Area A in this risk reduction compatibility map (area with diagonal lines that slope downward toward the right) is caused by excessive acceleration and jerk when driving on a curved road or uneven road. , is an area where there is concern that the occupant in a standing position may fall. In this embodiment, the area A is corrected according to the information about the road condition and the attributes of the occupant based on the first relationship estimated by the vehicle interior condition change estimation unit 130. Become. In addition, area B in this risk reduction compatibility map (area with diagonal lines that slope downward toward the left) is an area where there is concern about the occurrence of traffic congestion due to too low acceleration and jerk. . Based on the second relationship estimated by the surrounding influence estimator 140, this area B is corrected according to the traffic conditions of the surrounding roads and the road behind the vehicle. Region C in this risk reduction compatibility map does not correspond to either region A or region B, and is a region in which it is possible to prevent the occupant in a standing posture from overturning and to prevent traffic congestion. , the operating state determining unit 150 extracts the control range of the acceleration and jerk related to the region C by referring to this risk reduction compatibility map.

－Risk Reduction Operation－
Next, the risk reduction operation by the vehicle control system 10 configured as described above will be described. FIG. 3 is a flow chart for explaining the procedure of this risk reduction operation. This flowchart is repeatedly executed at predetermined time intervals while the vehicle is running.

In step ST1, the road information acquisition unit 110 acquires road information (acquisition of information regarding the state of the road on which the vehicle will travel in the future), and the vehicle interior state information acquisition unit 120 acquires vehicle interior state information (relationship with the posture of the occupant in the vehicle). acquisition of information) is performed.

Then, in step ST2, the possibility of occurrence of risks such as the risk of falling and the risk of traffic congestion is determined. For example, based on the image of the road ahead obtained by the road information obtaining unit 110 from the camera outside the vehicle, the road ahead is curved or uneven, and the state information obtaining unit 120 obtains from the camera 61 inside the vehicle Based on the image inside the vehicle, it is determined that there is a possibility of occurrence of a risk when there is an occupant in the standing posture among the occupants in the vehicle.

If there is no possibility of occurrence of risk and the determination in step ST2 is NO, the process is returned as it is. On the other hand, if there is a possibility of risk occurrence and the determination in step ST2 is YES, in step ST3 a risk reduction compatible map corresponding to the current vehicle speed is extracted.

Then, in step ST4, a region (risk reduction compatibility region) C is extracted by the above-described correction processing for the extracted risk reduction compatibility map. In other words, when the acceleration or jerk is too high, when traveling on a curved road or uneven road, there is a concern that the occupant in a standing posture will fall over, and the acceleration and jerk are too low. As a result, an area C that does not correspond to any of the areas B where there is concern about the occurrence of traffic congestion is extracted.

After that, the process proceeds to step ST5, and the running of the vehicle is controlled by the acceleration and jerk in the extracted region C (risk reduction running control (contributing to suppression of state changes in the vehicle as referred to in the present invention)). action) is performed). That is, the information of the extracted region C is output as the control amount correction signal to the automatic operation control unit 30, and the control command reflecting the control amount correction signal is generated by the automatic operation control unit 30, automatically By outputting a control command based on the control command from the operation interface unit 50 to the travel control unit 40, the travel of the vehicle is controlled within the range of the acceleration and jerk. Therefore, when the vehicle travels on a curved road or an uneven road, the G (acceleration caused by centrifugal force, etc.) acting on the occupant is such that it does not lead to overturning. Traveling with acceleration is to the extent that it does not cause traffic jams in the surrounding area. In other words, it is possible to achieve both prevention of passenger overturning (reduction of overturning risk) and prevention of congestion (reduction of traffic congestion risk).

In step ST6, it is determined whether or not the vehicle has passed through a risky road such as a curved road or an uneven road. If the curved road or uneven road has not yet been passed and the determination in step ST6 is NO, the travel control (risk reduction travel control) in step ST5 is continued. On the other hand, if the vehicle passes through a curved road or an uneven road and a YES determination is made in step ST6, the process proceeds to step ST7, cancels the travel control (risk reduction travel control), shifts to normal travel, and then returns. be. The above operation is repeated while the vehicle is running.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of changes in vehicle acceleration during the above-described risk reduction operation. FIG. 4 shows changes in acceleration when the vehicle enters a curved road, the dashed line is the change in acceleration in the prior art, and the solid line is the change in acceleration according to the embodiment.

In the conventional technology (broken line in the figure), the acceleration continuously increases when the vehicle enters a curved road, so there is concern about the risk of overturning of the occupants. On the other hand, in the embodiment (solid line in the figure), the risk reduction driving control is started from timing t1, and the acceleration when the vehicle enters a curved road is controlled within a predetermined range. As well as reducing the risk of falling over, the risk of traffic jams is also reduced.

- Effects of the embodiment -
As described above, the present embodiment can provide the following effects.

First, in this embodiment, based on the image acquired from the camera outside the vehicle, according to the future running state of the vehicle, running control (the risk reduction running control) that contributes to suppressing the overturning of the occupant is executed in advance. By doing so, it is possible to suppress the situation in which the driving control cannot keep up with the timing of the occurrence of risks inside the vehicle accompanying the traveling of the vehicle, and it is possible to reduce the risks inside the vehicle accompanying the traveling of the vehicle. .

In addition, although the risk of occupants falling and the risk of traffic congestion are in a contradictory relationship, both the reduction of the risk of occupants falling and the reduction of traffic congestion are achieved based on the first relationship and the second relationship. Since the acceleration and jerk are controlled, it is possible to reduce each risk at the same time.

-Modification 1-
Next, modification 1 will be described. In the above-described embodiment, the overturning of the occupant is suppressed by controlling the acceleration and jerk of the vehicle. In this modified example, instead of that, a sound is made to warn or call attention to the passengers inside the vehicle, and the passengers who hear this sound prepare themselves (preparedly against the occurrence of the overturning moment) so that they fall. It is designed to reduce risk. Also, only differences from the above-described embodiment will be described here.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle control system 10 according to this modification. In FIG. 5, the automatic driving control unit 30, the traveling control unit 40, and the automatic driving interface unit 50, which are components for autonomous driving, are omitted.

As shown in FIG. 5, the vehicle control system 10 according to this example does not include the ambient influence estimator 140 described above. Also, a speaker (actuating device according to the present invention) 70 is connected to the risk reduction processing unit 100 . The speaker 70 is capable of producing a sound for warning or calling attention to passengers in the vehicle, and emits a sound (sound for warning or calling attention) upon receiving a command signal from the operation state determining unit 150. It is.

When the in-vehicle state change estimating unit 130 of the vehicle control system 10 according to the present embodiment determines that there is a risk of overturning if the vehicle continues to travel at the current vehicle speed in a state in which a curved road or an uneven road is recognized, The operation state determination unit 150 determines that the speaker 70 needs to sound an alarm or call attention. In this case, the operating state determination unit 150 issues an operating command to the speaker 70, and sound is produced from the speaker 70. .

Therefore, it can be expected that the occupants who hear this sound will prepare themselves (pre-prepared against the occurrence of the overturning moment), and the risk of overturning can be reduced.

-Modification 2-
Next, modification 2 will be described. In this modified example, it is possible to anticipate that an occupant in a standing position will experience a tipping moment, and when the tipping moment occurs, the strap is moved in the direction opposite to the direction of the tipping moment. It is designed to prevent the occupant from overturning. Also here, only differences from the above-described embodiment will be described.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle control system 10 according to this modification. As shown in FIG. 6, even the vehicle control system 10 according to this example does not include the ambient influence estimator 140 described above. Also, the risk reduction processing unit 100 is connected to an active strap actuator 81 of an active strap device 80 (see FIG. 7), which will be described later. The active strap device (actuating device according to the present invention) 80 will be described below.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the configuration and operation of the active strap device 80, and shows a state in which the occupant H in a standing position holds the strap 82 of the active strap device 80. FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the active hanging strap device 80 includes a slide mechanism 83 housed in the space above the ceiling panel R of the vehicle, and a hanging strap 82 suspended from the slide mechanism 83 and having a grip portion inside the vehicle. It has

The slide mechanism 83 includes a slide unit 84 attached to the upper end of the hanging strap 82 and a slide rail 85 supporting the slide unit 84 so as to be slidable.

The slide unit 84 and the slide rail 85 are linked by, for example, a rack-and-pinion mechanism, and the pinion 88 is rotated by driving a motor 81 as an active strap actuator provided in the slide unit 84 , and the slide unit 84 moves to the strap 82 . At the same time, it is movable along the extending direction of the slide rail 85 . Also, by switching the rotating direction of the motor (active strap actuator) 81, the sliding direction can be switched.

Then, as in the case of the above-described embodiment, based on the image of the road ahead acquired by the road information acquisition unit 110 from the outside camera of the vehicle outside sensor 20, the road ahead is a curved road or an uneven road, In addition, based on the image of the interior of the vehicle acquired from the vehicle interior camera 61 by the vehicle interior state information acquisition unit 120, it is determined that there is a possibility of occurrence of a risk when there is an occupant standing in the vehicle. do. In this case, in a situation where an overturning moment is generated in the direction of arrow X1 in FIG. will move. That is, the strap 82 is moved in the direction opposite to the overturning moment acting on the occupant H due to the behavior of the vehicle (an operation that contributes to suppressing a change in the state inside the vehicle as referred to in the present invention). This reduces the risk of the occupant H falling over.

As described above, in this example, when it is estimated that the risk of overturning of the occupant H is high when it is assumed that the vehicle is traveling on a road (such as a curved road) on which the vehicle will travel in the future, the direction of the overturning moment is reversed. It is possible to recognize in advance (before the overturning moment occurs) that the motor 81 that moves the strap 82 in the direction needs to be operated. Therefore, the strap 82 can be moved in the direction opposite to the direction of the overturning moment by the operation of the motor 81 without delaying the generation of the overturning moment, thereby reducing the risk of overturning. .

-Other embodiments-
It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and modifications, and all modifications and applications within the scope of the claims and their equivalents are possible.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, acceleration and jerk are controlled so as to reduce the risk of occupants falling and reduce the risk of traffic congestion. The present invention is not limited to this, and the acceleration and jerk may be controlled only for the purpose of reducing the risk of the occupant falling over. Control parameters for risk reduction are not limited to acceleration and jerk, but may be at least one of vehicle speed, acceleration and jerk.

Further, in the above-described embodiment and each of the modified examples, the case where the vehicle control system 10 according to the present invention is applied to an electric automatic driving bus capable of autonomously traveling has been described. The present invention is not limited to this, and may be applied to non-automatically driven vehicles. It can also be applied to a vehicle that uses an internal combustion engine as a driving force source, or a vehicle that obtains electric power for operating a drive motor from a fuel cell.

In addition, in the above embodiment and each of the above modifications, only the risk of falling of the occupant was explained as a risk inside the vehicle accompanying running of the vehicle, but it is also possible to reduce the risk of movement of luggage placed inside the vehicle. It is possible. In other words, it is also possible to reduce the risk of objects placed in the vehicle moving due to centrifugal force or the like when traveling on a curved road and colliding with a wall in the vehicle or an occupant. In addition, while driving on curved roads and uneven roads was explained as an example of the factors that cause risks inside the vehicle, it is not limited to this. Similar control may be performed to reduce the risk when approaching.

Further, in the above-described embodiment and each of the modified examples, the information regarding the state of the road on which the vehicle will travel in the future is an image (image information) in front of the vehicle captured by an external camera. Information about the state of the road on which the vehicle will travel in the future may be obtained from the travel plan information).

In addition, the operations that contribute to suppressing the state change in the vehicle according to the above-described embodiment and each of the modifications can be used together. For example, the sound for warning or calling attention from the speaker 70 in Modification 1 may be used in combination with the acceleration and jerk control in the embodiment, or the sound for warning or calling attention from the speaker 70 in Modification 1 may be used. The sound is used in combination with the activation of the active strap device 80 in Modification 2.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is applicable to a vehicle control system capable of reducing the risk of changes in vehicle running conditions.

10 vehicle control system 20 outside sensor 30 automatic operation control unit 40 travel control unit (actuating device)
61 in-vehicle camera 70 speaker (operating device)
80 active strap device (actuating device)
81 Active Strap Actuator, Motor (Actuator)
82 Strap 100 Risk reduction processing unit 110 Road information acquisition unit 120 Vehicle interior state information acquisition unit 130 Vehicle interior state change estimation unit 140 Surrounding influence estimation unit 150 Operating state determination unit

Claims (9)

In the vehicle control system,
a road information acquisition unit that acquires information about the state of a road on which the vehicle will travel in the future;
a vehicle interior state information acquisition unit that acquires information about the vehicle interior state;
When it is assumed that the vehicle travels on the road, based on the information on the state of the road acquired by the road information acquisition unit and the information on the state of the vehicle interior acquired by the vehicle interior state information acquisition unit. an in-vehicle state change estimating unit for estimating the relationship between the running state and the state change in the vehicle in the running state;
an actuation device capable of operating to contribute to suppression of state changes in the vehicle;
an operating state determination unit configured to determine an operating state of the operating device for suppressing a state change in the vehicle, based on the relationship estimated by the vehicle interior state change estimating unit. vehicle control system. In the vehicle control system,
a road information acquisition unit that acquires information about the state of a road on which the vehicle will travel in the future;
a vehicle interior state information acquisition unit that acquires information about the vehicle interior state;
When it is assumed that the vehicle travels on the road, based on the information on the state of the road acquired by the road information acquisition unit and the information on the state of the vehicle interior acquired by the vehicle interior state information acquisition unit. an in-vehicle state change estimating unit for estimating a relationship between the running state and a state change in the vehicle in the running state as a first relationship;
an actuation device capable of operating to contribute to suppression of state changes in the vehicle;
a surrounding influence estimating unit for estimating, as a second relationship, the relationship between the operation of the actuator and the degree of adverse effect that the operation of the actuator exerts on surrounding conditions;
Suppression of state change in the vehicle and effect on the surrounding situation based on the first relationship estimated by the vehicle interior state change estimation unit and the second relationship estimated by the ambient influence estimation unit A vehicle control system, comprising: an operating state determination unit that determines an operating state of the operating device for simultaneously suppressing an adverse effect. The vehicle control system according to claim 1 or 2,
The actuation device is a travel control unit that controls the travel driving force of the vehicle,
The vehicle control system, wherein the operation of the actuator that contributes to the suppression of state changes in the vehicle is control of at least one of speed, acceleration, and jerk of the vehicle. The vehicle control system according to claim 1,
The actuator is a speaker that emits sound into the vehicle,
A vehicle control system according to claim 1, wherein the actuation of the actuation device that contributes to the suppression of state changes in the vehicle is sound from the speaker for alerting or alerting the occupant. The vehicle control system according to claim 1 or 4,
The actuation device is an active strap device comprising a strap gripped by an occupant and an actuator for horizontally moving the strap,
The actuation of the actuation device that contributes to suppressing the state change in the vehicle is the actuation of the actuator that moves the strap in a direction opposite to the direction of the overturning moment acting on the occupant due to the behavior of the vehicle. vehicle control system. In the vehicle control system according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The information about the state of the road acquired by the road information acquisition unit is at least one of road image information captured by an external camera and driving plan information when the vehicle is an autonomous vehicle. A vehicle control system characterized by: In the vehicle control system according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The information about the vehicle interior state acquired by the vehicle interior state information acquisition unit is at least one of image information of the vehicle interior captured by an in-vehicle camera and occupant seating information detected by a seating sensor installed on a seat in the vehicle. A vehicle control system characterized by being one. In the vehicle control system according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
The vehicle control system, wherein the state change in the vehicle is at least one of falling of an occupant standing in the vehicle and movement of luggage in the vehicle. In the vehicle control system according to claim 2,
The actuation device is a travel control unit that controls the travel driving force of the vehicle,
the actuation of the actuation device that contributes to the suppression of state changes in the vehicle is control of at least one of vehicle speed, acceleration, and jerk;
A vehicle control system, wherein the adverse effect on surrounding conditions caused by the operation of the actuator is the occurrence of traffic congestion in the surrounding area due to the limitation of at least one of speed, acceleration and jerk of the vehicle. .

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