JP2023120644A - Vehicle control apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a vehicle control apparatus configured to select an appropriate inter-vehicle gap from among multiple inter-vehicle gaps appearing in an intersection, in turning to the right or left at the intersection.SOLUTION: A vehicle control apparatus includes: vehicle outside detection means 1 which detects an inter-vehicle gap G formed between a preceding oncoming vehicle VP and a following oncoming vehicle VF at an intersection I; total candidate calculation means 31 which calculates the total number of candidates of inter-vehicle gap into which a vehicle VE is to turn right/left; prescribed skip calculation means 32 which calculates the number of prescribed skips from the total number of candidates; safety calculation means 33 which calculates a degree of safety of the detected inter-vehicle gaps; safety threshold setting means 34 which sets the maximum value of degree of safety of inter-vehicle gaps of candidate numbers equal to or less than the number of prescribed skips, as a safety threshold; and inter-vehicle gap selection means 35 which selects, as an inter-vehicle gap into which the vehicle is to turn right/left, an inter-vehicle gap having a degree of safety equal to or higher than the safety threshold.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle control device for controlling driving of a vehicle such as an automobile.

BACKGROUND ART In automatic driving of a vehicle such as an automobile, it is necessary to control the vehicle to turn right or left at an intersection. As such an automatic driving technology, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2020-160878 (Patent Document 1) discloses a driving support method for executing a right turn at an intersection when the distance or inter-vehicle time between the vehicle and the oncoming vehicle is equal to or greater than a reference value. disclosed. In addition, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2019-160113 (Patent Document 2), when attempting to turn right at an intersection, signal information of the intersection is acquired from the roadside device, and the criteria for judging intersection passage are changed according to the state. Disclosed is an invention configured to do so.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2020-160878 JP 2019-160113 A

By the way, when turning right or left at an intersection by manual driving, the driver, while waiting at the intersection, observes the distance between oncoming vehicles traveling in the oncoming lane, and when a relatively large distance appears between the vehicles, it is necessary to change the distance between the vehicles. Make right and left turns at a speed that makes it possible to turn the car. Even in automatic driving, it is desirable to smoothly execute such flexible right and left turns, but such technology does not exist in the prior art. For example, in the technique of Patent Literature 1, when a vehicle distance that satisfies a reference value is found, even if there is a more suitable vehicle distance ahead of it, that vehicle distance cannot be selected. Moreover, since the technique of Patent Document 2 assumes the presence of a roadside machine, it cannot be effective at an intersection without a roadside machine.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and its object is to select a suitable inter-vehicle gap from among a plurality of inter-vehicle gaps appearing at an intersection when turning left or right at an intersection. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle control device that obtains

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following solutions. That is, as described in claim 1, in a vehicle control device for controlling a subject vehicle to turn left or right through a gap formed between a preceding oncoming vehicle and a succeeding oncoming vehicle at an intersection, the intersection inter-vehicle gap detection means for detecting the inter-vehicle gaps that appear sequentially in the inter-vehicle gap detection means; safety degree calculation means for calculating the safety degree of the inter-vehicle gaps detected by the inter-vehicle gap detection means; total candidate number calculation means for calculating a total number of candidates which is an estimated value of the total number of inter-vehicle gaps appearing at the intersection during a time period; Specified skip number calculation means for setting the integer after the decimal point of the square root of to the specified skip number; A safety level threshold setting means for setting the maximum safety level among the safety levels of the inter-vehicle gaps in which is equal to or less than the specified number of skips as a safety level threshold; and an inter-vehicle gap selection means for comparing the safety level of the gap with the safety level threshold and selecting the inter-vehicle gap having a safety level equal to or higher than the safety level threshold as the inter-vehicle gap for turning right or left.

According to the above solution method, it is possible to select the vehicle gap that maximizes the expected value of the degree of safety from among a plurality of vehicle gap candidates for making right and left turns. can be run without

Preferred modes based on the above-described solution method are as described in claims 2 and subsequent claims. That is, an information acquiring means for acquiring information on traffic flow is provided, and the total candidate number calculating means calculates the total number of candidates based on the information acquired by the information acquiring means (corresponding to claim 2). In this case, the total number of candidates appropriately reflects the traffic flow at that time, so it can be estimated with high accuracy.

Further, the total number of candidates calculating means calculates the information acquired by the information acquiring means when the signal in the direction of travel at the intersection starts showing green before the vehicle arrives at the intersection. The total number of candidates is set to a value obtained by subtracting the number of oncoming vehicles that the vehicle passed before arriving at the intersection from the total number of candidates calculated based on (corresponding to claim 3). In this case, even if the traffic light starts to turn green when the vehicle arrives at the intersection, the total number of candidates can be estimated with sufficient accuracy with the minimum necessary detection and calculation without complicating the configuration.

Further, the safety level calculation means is based on the time from the preceding oncoming vehicle passing through the intersection until the following oncoming vehicle passes through the intersection, and the time required for the own vehicle to turn right or left to pass through the intersection. to calculate the degree of safety of the inter-vehicle gap (corresponding to claim 4). In this case, the safety level of the inter-vehicle gap appropriately reflects the distance between the preceding oncoming vehicle and the following oncoming vehicle, and the speed and acceleration of the following oncoming vehicle, so that it can be set accurately.

Further, when a vehicle gap having a degree of safety equal to or higher than a predetermined sufficient threshold value is found, the vehicle gap selection means selects the vehicle gap even if the candidate number is equal to or less than the specified number of skips. , the vehicle gap for turning right or left (corresponding to claim 5). In this case, right and left turns can be quickly performed in a sufficiently safe inter-vehicle gap.

Further, the inter-vehicle gap selection means does not select an inter-vehicle gap whose safety degree is less than a predetermined required threshold as a inter-vehicle gap for turning right or left even if the safety degree is equal to or higher than the safety degree threshold value ( corresponding to claim 6). In this case, an inter-vehicle gap with insufficient safety can be prevented from being selected as an inter-vehicle gap for turning right or left.

Automatic operation control means for controlling automatic operation of the vehicle is provided, and the automatic operation control means controls the vehicle so as to make a right or left turn in the gap between vehicles selected by the gap selection means between vehicles (claim 7 correspondence). In this case, in automatic driving, a right or left turn with higher safety can be executed more quickly than when a right or left turn is determined based on only a simple threshold value.

According to the present invention, when turning right or left at an intersection, it is possible to select, from the gaps between vehicles that appear one after another at the intersection, the gap between vehicles that maximizes the expected value of the degree of safety, so that a safe right or left turn can be made without delay. can run.

1 is a block configuration diagram showing an example of a control system of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram showing an example of a control system of the present invention; FIG. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The figure for demonstrating the outline of this invention. A graph showing the safety level of right and left turns at intersections. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a method of calculating the total number of candidates; 4 is a flow chart showing a control procedure of an example of control according to the present invention;

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the control system of the present invention. As shown, the control system includes an electronic control unit (ECU) U. The electronic control unit U is, for example, a control device composed of a microcomputer. The control system includes vehicle external detection means (vehicle gap detection means) 1, vehicle state detection means 2, and information acquisition means 3. The electronic control unit U receives signals (information) from each means 1 to 4. is entered. A control signal is also transmitted from the electronic control unit U to the vehicle control system 5 .

The vehicle external detection means 1 is means for detecting the external conditions of the own vehicle such as the conditions of the road on which the vehicle is traveling and other vehicles in the vicinity, and includes an external camera 10 and a radar detector 11 . In the present invention, the vehicle exterior detection means 1 functions as an inter-vehicle gap detection means for detecting an inter-vehicle gap formed between a preceding vehicle and a following vehicle on an intersection.

The vehicle state detection means 3 is a means for detecting the running state of the own vehicle, and includes sensors of a vehicle speed sensor 12, an acceleration sensor 13, a gyro sensor 14, a steering angle sensor 15, an accelerator sensor 16, and a brake sensor 17. .

The information acquisition means 3 is a means for acquiring various types of information required for control, and includes a positioning sensor 18 consisting of GPS and traffic information from an external traffic information system (for example, probe data and road traffic census). It has traffic information acquisition means 19 for acquiring traffic flow information such as traffic density in the area. The vehicle control system 5 is means for controlling the driving of the vehicle, and comprises steering control means 21 , engine control means 22 and brake control system 23 .

As shown in FIG. 2, the electronic control unit U includes total candidate number calculation means 31, prescribed skip number calculation means 32, safety level calculation means 33, and safety level threshold detection means 34 as functions for executing right/left turn control. , inter-vehicle gap selection means 35 and automatic driving control means 36 . Note that these means are provided in the electronic control unit U as programs.

With the configuration as described above, the vehicle control device of the present invention, when the host vehicle makes a left or right turn at an intersection, selects a suitable vehicle-to-vehicle gap (between vehicles) formed between oncoming vehicles passing over the intersection. An inter-vehicle gap is selected, and right/left turn control is executed to drive the own vehicle so as to execute a right/left turn through the inter-vehicle gap. Right/left turn control by the vehicle control device of the present invention will be described in detail below.

FIG. 3 shows an outline of a situation in which the right/left turn control of this embodiment is executed. As shown in the figure, when the own vehicle VE traveling on the own lane L1 of the road R makes a right or left turn (right turn in this example) at the intersection I, the oncoming vehicle B traveling on the oncoming lane L2 enters the intersection I. Cross the intersection I and go straight. Therefore, in the direction in which the own vehicle VE at the intersection I turns right, the inter-vehicle gap G formed between the leading oncoming vehicle VP and the trailing oncoming vehicle VF appears one after another. These vehicle-to-vehicle gaps G are detected by the vehicle exterior detection means 1 .

This control selects the inter-vehicle gap G with high safety when executing a right or left turn from among the inter-vehicle gaps G that appear and disappear in order, and selects the inter-vehicle gap G that is selected. The own vehicle VE is made to turn left or right while passing through. That is, in this control, under the condition that the gap between vehicles that passed by cannot be retroactively selected from the sequence of gaps between vehicles G1, G2, . . . A suitable inter-vehicle gap is selected in view of the evaluation value assigned to the gap to perform the turn. Here, the evaluation value is a value that serves as an index indicating the degree of suitability for the gap between vehicles for turning right or left. be done.

To achieve such inter-vehicle gap selection, the present invention utilizes knowledge of the base reward problem. Here, the basic reward problem is a kind of optimal stopping problem (a variation of the secretary problem). is the one that maximizes the expected value of In the optimal policy of the basic reward problem, there is an integer threshold for the number of candidates to skip selection, which is floor(N ^1/2 ) or ceil(N ^1/2 ) where N is the total number of candidates. ) is known to be Here, floor(x) is a floor function (a function that rounds off decimal places), and ceil(x) is a ceiling function (a function that rounds up decimal places). Since the basic remuneration problem itself is well known, further explanation is omitted.

In order to utilize the knowledge of the basic reward problem, in this right/left turn control, the total candidate number calculation means 31 calculates the total number of candidates N, which is an estimated value of the total number of candidates for the inter-vehicle gap G to attempt a right turn. That is, the total candidate number calculation means 31 estimates the traffic density at the intersection I based on the traffic information and the like acquired from the traffic information acquisition means 19, and the subject vehicle VE waits at the intersection I under this traffic density. A total candidate number N is calculated as an estimated value of the number of inter-vehicle gaps appearing at the intersection I while the signal F in front of the own vehicle VE is showing a green light. Details of calculation (estimation) of the total number of candidates N will be described later.

Subsequently, the prescribed skip number calculation means 32 calculates the prescribed skip number C from the total number N of candidates. Here, the prescribed number of skips C is a threshold in the optimal policy (cutoff rule) of the basic reward problem, and is the number of candidates to be skipped in order to select the candidate with the maximum expected value. In this embodiment, the floor function or ceiling function of the square root of the total number of candidates N is set to the specified number of skips C according to the basic reward problem. That is, the specified number of skips C is calculated by the following formula (1).
C=floor (N ^1/2 ) (1)
C=ceil (N ^1/2 ) (2)
After determining the total number of candidates N and the specified number of skips C, the evaluation value detection means 33 determines the inter-vehicle gap G that appears in order on the intersection I based on the detection result of the vehicle exterior detection means 1. The degree of safety S is detected.

Here, the degree of safety S is a comprehensive evaluation of the relative relationship between the two oncoming vehicles VP and VF that form the inter-vehicle gap and the time required to turn right at the intersection I (required right/left turn time t). is set to a higher value as the right turn at intersection I is safer. The details of the degree of safety S will be described later.

The inter-vehicle gap G appearing at the intersection I is given a candidate number i as a serial number in order of appearance. While the candidate number i is equal to or less than the specified number of skips C, the vehicle gap Gi (the vehicle gap G of the candidate number i) is skipped without executing the right turn, and the safety degree Si of each vehicle gap Gi is determined. only detect

Note that even while the candidate number i is equal to or less than the specified number of skips C, if the safety level Si of the inter-vehicle gap Gi is equal to or greater than the predetermined sufficient threshold value SE, the right or left turn is executed in the inter-vehicle gap Gi. do. Here, the sufficient threshold is the safety level at which it is considered that a very safe right or left turn can be executed if the inter-vehicle gap has a safety level of more than that, and it is judged that there is no problem in turning right or left immediately. is the threshold of When a vehicle gap G having a safety level S sufficiently equal to or higher than the threshold value SE is found, there is no problem in turning right or left at the vehicle gap G. Select G to execute a left or right turn.

In this way, when the candidate number i of the inter-vehicle gap Gi reaches the specified number of skips C, the safety degree threshold calculation means 34 calculates the safety degree Si (i≤C) of the inter-vehicle gap detected so far. The maximum value Smax of is set as the safety level threshold ST.

However, if the maximum value Smax of the detected safety level Si is less than the required threshold SN, which is the minimum required safety level for executing a right turn, the required threshold SN is set as the safety level threshold ST. This prevents the safety degree threshold ST from becoming smaller than the required threshold SN. Here, the necessary threshold value SN is a minimum threshold value of the degree of safety S required for a safe right or left turn.

Even after the inter-vehicle gap Gi of the candidate number i exceeds the specified number of skips C, the safety degree calculation means 33 continues to detect the safety degree Si of the inter-vehicle gap Gi (C<i). Then, the inter-vehicle gap selection means 35 compares the safety level Si of the detected inter-vehicle gap Gi with the safety level threshold value ST. As a result of this comparison, if an inter-vehicle gap Gi in which the safety degree Si is equal to or greater than the safety degree threshold value ST appears, the inter-vehicle gap selection means 35 selects the inter-vehicle gap Gi as the inter-vehicle gap Gr for turning right or left. select.

When the inter-vehicle gap Gr is selected by the inter-vehicle gap selection means 33, the automatic driving control means 36 outputs the detection signal from the vehicle state detection means 2 so that the vehicle VE turns right or left in the inter-vehicle gap Gr. , the vehicle control system 35 is controlled to complete the right/left turn. As a result, the right or left turn can be executed in the inter-vehicle gap Gr where the expected value of the safety degree S is maximized.

As described above, when the maximum value Smax of the safety degree Si of the inter-vehicle gap Gi having the specified number of skips C or less is less than the necessary threshold value SN, the necessary threshold value SN is set as the safety degree threshold value ST. , the safety level Sr of the selected inter-vehicle gap Gr is never less than the required threshold SN. Therefore, an inter-vehicle gap that does not ensure the minimum safety is not selected, and the safety of right and left turns can be appropriately ensured.

Next, calculation of the safety degree S of the inter-vehicle gap in this embodiment will be described. As described above, the degree of safety S is an evaluation value indicating the degree of safety (sufficiency) of turning right or left using the inter-vehicle gap. and the time required to turn right at intersection I (required right/left turn time t).

In this embodiment, the degree of safety S is set by the following equation (3) using a sigmoid function.

式（３）において、ｄは先行対向車両ＶＰと後続対向車両ＶＦの車間距離、ｖは後続対向車両ＶＦの車速、ａは後続対向車両ＶＦの加速度、ｔは交差点Ｉにおける右左折所要時間である。式（３）は、先行対向車両ＶＰが交差点Ｉを通過後に後続対向車両ＶＦが交差点Ｉを通過するまでの時間（車間時間）ｘと、自車両ＶＥが交差点通過に要する右左折所要時間ｔを用いて、安全度Ｓを評価するものである。

In equation (3), d is the inter-vehicle distance between the preceding oncoming vehicle VP and the following oncoming vehicle VF, v is the vehicle speed of the following oncoming vehicle VF, a is the acceleration of the following oncoming vehicle VF, and t is the time required to turn right or left at intersection I. . Equation (3) defines the time (vehicle-to-vehicle time) x from the preceding oncoming vehicle VP passing through the intersection I until the succeeding oncoming vehicle VF passes through the intersection I, and the time t required for the vehicle VE to turn right or left to pass through the intersection. is used to evaluate the degree of safety S.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing the relationship between the safety level S and the inter-vehicle time x when the time t required to turn right or left is 4 seconds. As can be seen from this graph, the safety level S increases as the inter-vehicle time x increases.

If the degree of safety S represented by the above formula (3) is 0.5 or more, then the inter-vehicle time x is equal to or more than the right/left turn required time t, so it is theoretically possible to turn left or right. Therefore, the required threshold SN may be set to 0.5, for example. Also, if the degree of safety is 0.99 or more, it is considered that a sufficient safety margin can be secured. Therefore, the sufficient threshold SE can be set to 0.99, for example.

Next, estimation of the total number of candidates N in this embodiment will be described. In estimating the total number of candidates N, first, based on the traffic information acquired by the traffic information acquisition means 19 (information on traffic flow such as traffic density at that time), the present time when the signal F appears green ( The average number W of passing oncoming vehicles predicted to pass through the intersection I during the time TF from when the signal F starts to show green to when it ends is calculated. The number of inter-vehicle gaps formed between oncoming vehicles is the number obtained by subtracting 1 from the average number W of vehicles.

Note that the average number W of passing oncoming vehicles may be calculated without using information from the outside. For example, while the own vehicle VE is traveling, the number of oncoming vehicles traveling in the oncoming lane L2 may be detected in advance by the vehicle exterior detection means 1, and the traffic density may be calculated based on the detected number. It is possible.

When the own vehicle VE arrives at the intersection I and starts waiting, the signal F in the traveling direction of the own vehicle VE does not indicate green, and the vehicle VE waits until the signal F starts to indicate green before turning right or left. , the entire present time TF can be used, so the inter-vehicle gaps formed between all oncoming vehicles passing through the intersection I during the present time TF are candidates for right and left turns. can be done. Therefore, the total number of candidates N may be the number obtained by subtracting 1 from the average number of vehicles W. That is, the total number of candidates N in this case is calculated (estimated) by the following equation (4).
N=W-1 (4)
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, if the signal F starts showing green before the vehicle VE reaches the intersection I, the vehicle will pass through the intersection I during the remaining time of the showing time TF. The number of oncoming vehicles is smaller than in the above case. In this case, the oncoming vehicle VX that the host vehicle VE passed before arriving at the intersection I can be estimated to be the oncoming vehicle that passed through the intersection I after the green light started to appear. That is, at the red light before the green light appears, it can be assumed that there are no oncoming vehicles crossing the intersection I and going straight toward the own vehicle VE side, and a small number of vehicles turning left into the oncoming lane L2 at the intersection I. If neglected, such an estimation holds.

Therefore, if the number WP of the oncoming vehicles VX that the vehicle VE has passed is detected by the time the vehicle VE arrives at the intersection I, the number WP of the oncoming vehicles VX that the vehicle VE is waiting at the intersection I can be calculated. This is the decrease in the number of oncoming vehicles passing through the intersection I (during the remaining time of the present time TF). Therefore, the total number of candidates N in this case is calculated (estimated) by the following equation (5).
N=W-WP-1 (5)
By adopting the estimation method of the above equation (5), the total number of candidates N can be estimated sufficiently accurately with the minimum required detection and calculation without complicating the configuration.

In order to eliminate the influence before the current blue appearance from the estimation of the total number of candidates N by Equation (5), for example, the time for counting the oncoming vehicles VX that have passed each other may be limited to a predetermined time. This predetermined time can be set, for example, based on the green light presentation time TF.

Next, an example of the control procedure of right/left turn control by the vehicle control device of the present invention will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. In the right/left turn control, first, in step S1, the total number of candidates N is determined (calculated).

In the following step S2, it is determined whether or not the total number of candidates N is 1 or less. End left turn control. That is, when the total number of candidates is 1 or less, the traffic density at the intersection I at which the right or left turn is made is very low and there are almost no oncoming vehicles (for this reason, the distance between oncoming vehicles is 1 or less). Therefore, the host vehicle VE immediately turns right or left without performing the processing of step S3 and subsequent steps.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S2 that the total number of candidates N is not 1 or less, the process proceeds to step S3 to initialize the candidate number i and safety level threshold ST. That is, the candidate number i is set to 1, and the security level threshold ST is set to minus infinity.

In step S4, the safety degree Si of the inter-vehicle gap Gi of the candidate number i appearing at the intersection I is detected (calculated). In the subsequent step S5, it is determined whether or not the calculated safety level Si of the inter-vehicle gap Gi is sufficiently greater than or equal to the threshold value SE (for example, 0.99). , proceeds to step S8, executes a left or right turn in the inter-vehicle gap Gi, and ends the control. That is, when the inter-vehicle gap Gi has a degree of safety Si sufficiently equal to or higher than the threshold value SE, it is extremely safe to turn right or left in the inter-vehicle gap Gi, and it is advantageous to execute the right or left turn as soon as possible. , the right or left turn is executed without performing the processing after step S6.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S5 that the safety level Si of the inter-vehicle gap Gi is sufficiently less than the threshold value SE, the process proceeds to step S6 to determine whether the candidate number i of the inter-vehicle gap Gi has exceeded the specified number of skips C. A determination is made as to whether or not If it is determined in step S6 that the candidate number i does not exceed the specified number of skips C, the process proceeds to step S11 to update the safety level threshold value ST. That is, the safety degree threshold value ST is set to the larger value of the maximum value Smax of the safety degree Si of the inter-vehicle gap Gi that has appeared so far and the necessary threshold value SN. In subsequent step S12, the candidate number i is updated (that is, 1 is added to the candidate number i), and the process returns to step S4.

In this way, until the number i of candidates for the inter-vehicle gap Gi for which detection has been completed exceeds the specified skip number C, the loop of steps S4 to S6, S10, and S11 is repeated to update the safety level threshold ST. That is, while the number of candidates i is equal to or less than the specified number of skips C, the vehicle passes through the inter-vehicle gap Gi without turning right or left, and the safety level threshold value ST continues to be updated.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S6 that the candidate number i exceeds the specified number of skips C, the process proceeds to step S7, in which it is determined whether or not the safety level Si of the inter-vehicle gap Gi is equal to or greater than the safety level threshold value ST. be. If it is determined in this determination that the safety level Si is not equal to or greater than the safety level threshold value ST, the process proceeds to step S12, in which it is determined whether or not the candidate number i has reached the total number of candidates N. If not, the candidate number is updated in step S11 and the process returns to step S4.

In this way, after the candidate number i exceeds the specified number of skips C, unless the candidate number i reaches the total number of candidates N, the inter-vehicle gap Gi having the safety level Si equal to or higher than the safety level threshold value ST is found. , Steps S4 to S7, S12, and S11 are repeated to compare the safety level Si of the inter-vehicle gap Gi that appears at the intersection I with the safety level threshold value ST. Note that the safety level threshold ST is not updated in this loop. That is, the safety level threshold ST is determined based on the safety level Si of the inter-vehicle gap Gi of the candidate number i that is equal to or less than the specified number of skips C, and is not changed after determination.

If it is determined in step S12 that the candidate number i has reached the total number of candidates N, the process proceeds to step S13, waits for all oncoming vehicles to pass, and then turns left or right. That is, when the candidate number i reaches the total number of candidates N, it means that the oncoming vehicle, which is assumed to be the last oncoming vehicle passing through the intersection I with the green light, has reached (the green light presentation time TF ends). Therefore, it waits for the last oncoming vehicle to pass through the intersection, executes a left or right turn, and ends the series of controls.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S7 that the safety level Si of the inter-vehicle gap Gi is greater than or equal to the safety level threshold value ST, the process proceeds to step S8, and a right or left turn is executed in the inter-vehicle gap Gi. That is, when the safety level S is equal to or higher than the safety level threshold value ST in the vehicle gap Gi of the candidate number i exceeding the specified number of skips C, the vehicle gap Gi has a safety level S (reward in the basic reward problem). Since the expected value is the maximum, a right or left turn is executed at the inter-vehicle gap Gi, and the series of control ends.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and appropriate modifications can be made within the scope of the claims. For example, in the above embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to automatic driving control has been described, but the scope of application of the present invention is not limited to automatic driving, and includes driving assistance in general.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used for automatic driving control of vehicles such as automobiles.

U electronic control unit 1 vehicle external detection means 2 vehicle state detection means 3 information acquisition means 5 vehicle control system 10 exterior camera 11 radar detector 12 vehicle speed sensor 13 acceleration sensor 14 gyro sensor 15 steering angle sensor 16 accelerator sensor 17 brake sensor 18 positioning Sensor 19 Traffic information acquisition means 21 Steering control means 22 Engine control means 23 Brake control means 31 Total candidate number calculation means 32 Specified skip number calculation means 33 Safety level calculation means 34 Safety level threshold calculation means 35 Inter-vehicle gap selection means 36 Autonomous driving Control Means VE Own Vehicle VP Leading Oncoming Vehicle VF Following Oncoming Vehicle R Road L1 Own Lane L2 Oncoming Lane I Intersection F Signal G Gap Between Vehicles

Claims (7)

A vehicle control device for controlling a vehicle to turn left or right through a vehicle gap formed between a preceding oncoming vehicle and a following oncoming vehicle at an intersection,
inter-vehicle gap detection means for detecting the inter-vehicle gaps that appear sequentially at the intersection;
safety degree calculation means for calculating the safety degree of the inter-vehicle gap detected by the inter-vehicle gap detection means;
Total candidate number calculation means for calculating a total number of candidates, which is an estimated value of the total number of inter-vehicle gaps appearing at the intersection during the vehicle's waiting time at the intersection;
A prescribed skip number calculation means for setting an integer obtained by rounding the square root of the total number of candidates down to the decimal point or an integer obtained by rounding up the square root of the total number of candidates to the prescribed skip number;
A candidate number, which is a serial number in the order of appearance, is attached to the inter-vehicle gap appearing on the intersection, and the maximum safety degree among the safety degrees of the inter-vehicle gap whose candidate number is equal to or less than the specified number of skips is set as the safety degree. safety level threshold setting means for setting the threshold;
After setting the safety threshold, the safety level of the vehicle gap that appears at the intersection is compared with the safety level threshold, and the vehicle gap having a safety level equal to or higher than the safety level threshold is determined as the vehicle gap for turning right or left. and vehicle-to-vehicle gap selection means for selecting between the vehicle gap. In the vehicle control device according to claim 1,
Equipped with information acquisition means for acquiring information on traffic flow,
The vehicle control device, wherein the total number of candidates calculating means calculates the total number of candidates based on the information acquired by the information acquiring means. In the vehicle control device according to claim 1 or claim 2,
The total number of candidates calculating means calculates, based on the information obtained by the information obtaining means, when the traffic signal in the direction of travel at the intersection starts showing green before the vehicle arrives at the intersection. A vehicle control device for setting the total number of candidates to a value obtained by subtracting the number of oncoming vehicles that the vehicle has passed before arriving at the intersection from the total number of candidates calculated by the above. In the vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The safety level calculation means is based on the time required for the following oncoming vehicle to pass through the intersection after the preceding oncoming vehicle passes through the intersection, and the time required for the own vehicle to turn right or left to pass through the intersection, A vehicle control device that calculates the degree of safety of a gap between vehicles. In the vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The inter-vehicle gap selection means selects the inter-vehicle gap to the right when the inter-vehicle gap having a degree of safety equal to or higher than a predetermined sufficient threshold value is found, even if the candidate number is equal to or less than the specified number of skips. A vehicle controller that selects a gap between vehicles to make a left turn. In the vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The inter-vehicle gap selection means is a vehicle control device that does not select an inter-vehicle gap whose safety degree is less than a predetermined required threshold value as an inter-vehicle gap for turning right or left even if the safety degree is equal to or higher than the safety degree threshold value. . In the vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
An automatic operation control means for controlling automatic operation of the vehicle,
The automatic driving control means is a vehicle control device that controls the vehicle to turn right or left in the inter-vehicle gap selected by the inter-vehicle gap selection means.

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