JP5510378B2 - Vehicle and vehicle control program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle and a vehicle control program, and in particular, a timing at which a travel route is selected based on a passenger's instruction while the vehicle is automatically traveling in a direction instructed by the passenger, and the selected travel route. It is related with the vehicle and vehicle control program which can make a passenger know reliably.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a technique for automatically driving a host vehicle under the control of a computer mounted on the vehicle is known (for example, Patent Document 1). In conventional automatic driving of a vehicle, when position information on a destination or waypoint is input by a passenger, a computer sets a travel route to the destination based on the input position information. Thereafter, the computer controls the travel of the vehicle so that the vehicle travels along the set travel route.

JP-A-11-282530

  In the conventional technology described above, once the passenger sets the destination and waypoint, the computer automatically sets the travel route and travels automatically, so the vehicle determines and decides where and how to run. To do. As a result, if the passenger suddenly changes his / her destination, wants to take a detour, or changes the direction of travel due to traffic jams, etc., he / she needs to stop the vehicle and set the destination and waypoints again. Sex occurs. As described above, when the vehicle is automatically driven, the vehicle cannot be driven according to the feelings of the passengers, so that the desire to move freely as the person originally has cannot be satisfied. was there.

  Therefore, the applicant prepares a plurality of travel route candidates when the vehicle is automatically traveling along the travel route indicating the track to be traveled, and the tilt direction of the joystick operated by the vehicle occupant The direction in which the passenger wants to go is determined, and a travel route in the desired direction is selected and set from a plurality of travel route candidates (unknown). Accordingly, a travel route is set based on the intention of the passenger, and the vehicle can be advanced in the direction in which the passenger wants to travel along the travel route.

  However, after the passenger indicates the desired direction by operating the joystick, if the passenger cannot know when the travel route in the desired direction is selected, the passenger stops operating the joystick. There was a problem that I had to keep operating the joystick until I realized that the vehicle was running in the direction that I wanted, because I didn't know if it was okay.

  In addition, even if the passenger is notified of the timing when the travel route is selected by outputting sound from the speaker or displaying an image on the display, the passenger can accurately grasp the travel route selected from the sound or image. It was difficult to do so, and until the passengers realized that the vehicle was traveling in the direction that was expected, there was a problem of giving the passenger anxiety about whether or not the driving route in the desired direction was selected correctly. .

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and the timing at which a travel route is selected based on an instruction from the passenger while the vehicle is automatically traveling in the direction instructed by the passenger, and the timing thereof. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle and a vehicle control program that allow a passenger to reliably grasp a selected travel route.

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention

In order to achieve this object, according to the vehicle of the first aspect, the vehicle is moved along the travel route by the travel control unit based on the information stored in the storage unit, that is, the information related to the preset travel route. The travel of the vehicle is controlled so as to travel. A plurality of travel route candidates set here are acquired by the acquisition means. The vehicle is provided with operation means that is configured to be tiltable in an arbitrary direction from an upright state and that indicates a direction in which the vehicle should proceed in accordance with a direction tilted by a passenger of the vehicle. Based on the direction of travel of the vehicle instructed by the operation means, one travel route is selected from the plurality of travel routes acquired by the acquisition means by the selection means. Then, information regarding the selected travel route is stored in the storage device by the setting device, and the travel route is set. As a result, the travel route is set based on the direction of travel of the vehicle instructed based on the intention of the passenger, and the travel of the vehicle can be controlled along the travel route. The vehicle is also provided with driving means for driving the operating means to tilt the operating means without depending on the operation of the occupant, and when the travel route is selected by the selecting means, the tilt control means The driving of the driving means is controlled, and the operating means is tilted in the direction indicating the selected travel route. Thereby, the passenger can surely know that the travel route has been selected because the operating means is tilted regardless of the operation of the passenger. Further, in this case, the operation means for instructing the direction in which the occupant should travel tilts in the direction indicating the travel route selected by the selection means, so that the user can board the selected travel route intuitively and reliably. Can be made to grasp. Therefore, it is possible to make the passenger surely grasp the timing when the travel route is selected based on the instruction of the passenger and the selected travel route while automatically driving the vehicle in the direction instructed by the passenger. There is an effect.
Further, whether or not the vehicle is located in a selection region where one travel route should be selected from among a plurality of travel route candidates acquired by the acquisition unit is determined by the position determination unit and selected by the position determination unit. When it is determined that the vehicle is located in the region, one travel route is selected from a plurality of travel route candidates acquired by the acquisition unit based on the direction of travel of the vehicle instructed by the operation unit. Is selected by the selection means. In this way, a selection area for selecting a travel route is provided, and only when the vehicle is located in the selection region, a new route is selected when the vehicle is located outside the selection region by selecting the travel route. It is possible to prevent the travel route from being selected. Therefore, since it is possible to prevent the travel route from being unnecessarily determined, the vehicle can be safely and automatically traveled. Further, after the travel route is selected by the selection unit and the operation unit is tilted by the tilt control unit, the operation is performed by the tilt control unit until the position determination unit determines that the vehicle is located in the next selection area. When the means remains tilted and the position determining means determines that the vehicle is located in the next selected area, the tilt control means controls the driving of the driving means, and the operating means is in an upright state. Thus, in addition to the effect of the vehicle according to claim 1, it is possible to easily determine that the vehicle is located in a region where a travel route should be newly selected, and the operation means is brought into an upright state, whereby the vehicle There is an effect that it is possible to prompt the passenger to operate the operating means so as to instruct the direction to travel.

Note that the vehicle control program according to the third aspect also achieves the same effects as the vehicle according to the first aspect by causing the vehicle control program to be executed by a computer provided in the vehicle.

Here, the “travel route” described in claims 1 and 3 may indicate a track on which the vehicle should travel, or may simply indicate a road on which the vehicle should travel. .

Further, the “acquisition means” according to claim 1 and the “acquisition step” according to claim 3 include a plurality of travels generated by an apparatus (server, portable terminal, etc.) provided outside the vehicle. In addition to the route candidate acquisition, a plurality of travel route candidates generated in the host vehicle may be acquired. Alternatively, a plurality of travel route candidates may be acquired from outside the vehicle and inside the host vehicle.

In addition, the “instruction of the direction in which the vehicle should travel” instructed by the “instruction means” according to claims 1 and 3 is not only instructed directly in the direction in which the vehicle should travel, It is a concept that includes instructing the direction in which the vehicle should travel indirectly by instructing the steering direction of the vehicle.

According to the vehicle of claim 2 , after the travel route is selected by the selection means and the operation means is tilted by the tilt control means, the travel control means moves the vehicle along the selected travel route. While the vehicle is traveling, the drive of the drive means is controlled by the tilt control means, and the operation means is tilted in the direction indicating the direction in which the vehicle travels. Thus, while the vehicle is traveling along the selected travel route, the passenger can easily grasp in which direction the vehicle travels from the direction in which the operation means is tilted. Therefore, in addition to the effect of the vehicle according to the first aspect, there is an effect that the vehicle can be automatically run while giving a sense of security to the passenger.

It is the schematic diagram which showed typically the vehicle in 1st Embodiment. (A) is a schematic view schematically showing the joystick device in a state where the operation lever is not operated, and (b) is a schematic view of the joystick device in a state where the operation lever is tilted in a predetermined direction. It is the shown schematic diagram. It is the block diagram which showed the electric structure of the vehicle containing a travel control apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows a joystick control process. It is a flowchart which shows a traveling track selection process. (A) is a figure which shows the angle which the road in the front direction of a vehicle and the road where the vehicle is drive | working now makes, (b) is the road in the left front left direction of the vehicle 1, and a vehicle is presently It is a figure which shows the angle which the driving | running | working road makes, (c) is a figure which shows the angle which the road in the left back left turn direction of a vehicle and the road which the vehicle currently drive | works. It is a flowchart which shows a joystick turning process. It is the schematic diagram which showed typically the change of the inclination direction of the operation lever of a joystick apparatus in case the vehicle is turning. It is a figure for demonstrating the calculation method of the yaw rate of a vehicle. It is the block diagram which showed the electric constitution of the vehicle containing the travel control apparatus in 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows a joystick control process. It is the schematic diagram which showed typically the change of the inclination direction of the operation lever of a joystick apparatus when the vehicle is drive | working along the set traveling track.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram schematically showing the vehicle 1 in the first embodiment of the present invention.

  First, the configuration of the vehicle 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The vehicle 1 is configured to be able to determine a travel route in accordance with a passenger's intention while performing automatic travel that automatically controls travel of the host vehicle. Here, the automatic travel refers to causing the vehicle 1 to travel along a predetermined travel path without the passenger operating the accelerator pedal, the brake pedal, or the steering of the vehicle 1. The traveling track indicates a track on which the vehicle 1 should travel.

  In the vehicle 1, while the vehicle is automatically traveling in the direction instructed by the passenger, the passenger is surely grasped when the travel route is selected based on the instruction from the passenger and the selected travel route. It is configured as follows. Details will be described below.

  First, the vehicle 1 is provided with a travel control device 100. The travel control device 100 is a computer device that controls the travel of the vehicle 1. Automatic traveling of the vehicle 1 is performed by the traveling control device 100. The detailed configuration of the travel control device 100 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  In addition to the travel control device 100, the vehicle 1 includes a plurality of (four wheels in this embodiment) wheels 2FL, 2FR, 2RL, 2RR, and a part of these wheels 2FL-2RR (in this embodiment, The wheel drive device 3 that rotationally drives the left and right front wheels 2FL, 2FR), the steering drive device 5 that steers a part of the plurality of wheels 2FL-2RR (in this embodiment, the left and right front wheels 2FL, 2FR), and the steering It mainly includes a device 6, a joystick device 13, a vehicle steering angle sensor 20, a vehicle speed sensor 22, a driving support switch 25, a current position detection device 27, and a VICS (registered trademark) reception device 28. ing.

  The wheels 2FL and 2FR are left and right front wheels disposed on the front side of the vehicle 1 and are configured as driving wheels that are rotationally driven by the wheel driving device 3. On the other hand, the wheels 2RL and 2RR are left and right rear wheels disposed on the rear side of the vehicle 1, and are configured as driven wheels that are driven as the vehicle 1 travels.

  The wheel drive device 3 applies rotational driving force to the left and right front wheels 2FL, 2FR, and is connected to the left and right front wheels 2FL, 2FR via a differential gear (not shown) and a pair of drive shafts 31. . The wheel driving device 3 applies a rotational driving force to the left and right front wheels 2FL and 2FR via the drive shaft 31 according to the amount of depression of an accelerator pedal (not shown) provided in the vehicle 1. As a result, the vehicle 1 travels at a speed corresponding to the depression amount of the accelerator pedal.

  Note that the wheel drive device 3 receives the right and left front wheels 2FL, via the drive shaft 31 based on a control signal for notifying the target vehicle speed from the travel control device 100 so that the vehicle speed is notified. You may comprise so that rotational drive force may be provided to 2FR. In this case, the wheel drive device 3 is connected to an input / output port 95 (see FIG. 2) of the travel control device 100, and is configured to receive a control signal from a CPU 91 (see FIG. 2) provided in the travel control device 100. That's fine.

  The steering drive device 5 is a device for steering the left and right front wheels 2FL, 2FR, and includes an electric motor 5a (see FIG. 3) that applies a rotational drive force to the steering device 6. The steering device 6 mainly includes a steering shaft 61, a hook joint 62, a steering gear 63, a tie rod 64, and a knuckle arm 65. In the steering device 6, the steering gear 63 is configured by a rack and pinion mechanism including a pinion (not shown) and a rack (not shown).

  When the steering drive device 5 drives the electric motor 5 a according to a control signal from the travel control device 100, the rotational driving force of the electric motor 5 a is applied to the steering shaft 61 of the steering device 6. The rotational driving force is transmitted to the hook joint 62 through the steering shaft 61, the angle is changed by the hook joint 62, and is transmitted to the pinion of the steering gear 63 as a rotational motion.

  Then, the rotational motion transmitted to the pinion is converted into the linear motion of the rack. When the rack moves linearly, the tie rods 64 connected to both ends of the rack move, and the front wheels 2FL, 2FRR are moved via the knuckle arm 65. Steered. Thus, in the vehicle 1, the front wheels 2FL and 2FR are steered at the steering angle instructed from the traveling control device 100.

  The joystick device 13 receives an instruction of a direction in which the vehicle 1 should travel from a passenger of the vehicle 1, and has an operation lever 13a that is operated by the passenger and can be tilted in a plurality of directions.

  Here, with reference to FIG. 2, the detail of the joystick apparatus 13 is demonstrated. FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram schematically showing the joystick device 13 in a state where the operation lever 13a is not operated, and FIG. 2B is a state where the operation lever 13a is tilted in a predetermined direction. It is the schematic diagram which showed typically the joystick apparatus 13 of. Here, the x-axis shown in FIG. 2 is an axis indicating the left-right direction of the vehicle 1, and the right side in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 is the positive direction. Further, the y-axis is an axis indicating the front-rear direction of the vehicle 1, and the front side is a positive direction. Further, the z-axis is an axis indicating the vertical direction of the vehicle 1, and the upper side is the positive direction.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, the joystick device 13 is normally in a state where the operation lever 13a stands upright in the z-axis direction (hereinafter referred to as “upright state”). When the operation lever 13a is in such an upright state, the joystick device 13 is in a state of waiting for an operation by an operator (in this case, a passenger). When the joystick device 13 is in the operation waiting state, the passenger can tilt the operation lever 13a in an arbitrary direction.

  For example, it is assumed that the operator tilts the operation lever 13a in the direction shown in FIG. The joystick device 13 has a direction detection sensor 13b (see FIG. 3) that detects the tilt direction θ of the operation lever 13a, and the direction detection sensor 13b detects the tilt direction θ of the operation lever 13a tilted by the passenger. Then, the detected tilt direction θ is output to the travel control device 100.

  When the traveling control device 100 acquires the tilt direction θ from the joystick device 13, the traveling control device 100 determines the direction in which the vehicle 1 is to be traveled instructed by the passenger based on the tilt direction θ. As a result, the passenger can instruct the direction in which the vehicle 1 should proceed by tilting the operation lever 13a toward the direction in which the vehicle 1 should proceed, according to the direction in which the operation lever 13a tilts.

  The tilt direction θ detected by the direction detection sensor 13b is represented by an angle formed by the x-axis (positive side) and the operation lever 13a. For example, when the control lever 13a is tilted to the positive side along the x axis, the tilt direction θ is output as 0 °, and when the control lever 13a is tilted to the positive side along the y axis, the tilt direction θ is When the operation lever 13a is tilted to the negative side along the x axis, the tilt direction θ is output as 180 °, and when the operation lever 13a is tilted to the negative side along the y axis, the tilt is tilted. The direction is output as θ270 °.

  When the operation lever 13a is not operated, that is, when the operation lever 13a is in an upright state, the direction detection sensor 13b does not output the value. The traveling control device 100 determines whether or not the operation lever 13a is tilted by a passenger depending on whether or not a value is output from the direction detection sensor 13b.

  The joystick device 13 also has an x-axis tilt actuator 13c and a y-axis tilt actuator 13d (see FIG. 3). The x-axis tilt actuator 13c is an actuator that tilts the operation lever 13a in the x-axis direction, and the y-axis tilt actuator 13d is an actuator that tilts the operation lever 13a in the y-axis direction.

  The travel control device 100 is configured to instruct the joystick device 13 to tilt the operation lever 13a. For example, the travel control device 100 tilts the operation lever 13a to the joystick device 13 in the tilt direction θ. When instructed to do so, cos θ is driven by the x-axis tilt actuator 13c and sin θ is driven by the y-axis tilt actuator 13d, and the operation lever 13a is tilted in the tilt direction θ as shown in FIG.

  Further, if another traveling direction θ ′ is instructed from the traveling control device 100 to the joystick device 13 when the operating lever 13a is tilted in the tilting direction θ, the operating lever 13a is tilted from the tilting direction θ to the tilting direction θ. Turn to '. In this way, the joystick device 13 can tilt the operation lever 13a and turn its tilt direction based on the control signal from the travel control device 100 regardless of the operation from the passenger.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the description will be continued. The vehicle steering angle sensor 20 is a device that detects the steering angle given to the vehicle 1 and outputs the detected steering angle to the travel control device 100, and is attached to the steering shaft 61. The vehicle steering angle sensor calculates the steering angle δ of the left and right front wheels 2FL and 2FR based on the rotation angle of the steering shaft 61 from the reference position, and outputs the calculation result to the travel control device 100 as the steering angle of the vehicle 1. To do.

  The travel control device 100 controls the automatic travel of the vehicle 1 based on the steering angle of the vehicle 1 acquired from the vehicle steering angle sensor 20. In addition, the traveling control device 100 performs the joystick device 13 based on the steering angle of the vehicle 1 acquired from the vehicle steering angle sensor 20 when the vehicle 1 is automatically traveling along a set traveling path. By driving the x-axis tilt actuator 13c and the y-axis tilt actuator 13d, the tilt direction of the operation lever 13a is moved. Thereby, the passenger can easily recognize the direction in which the vehicle 1 travels by the tilting direction by the operation lever 13a. Therefore, the vehicle 1 can be driven automatically while giving a sense of security to the passenger.

  The vehicle speed sensor 22 is a device that detects the vehicle speed of the vehicle 1 and outputs the detected vehicle speed to the travel control device 100. The vehicle speed sensor 22 is provided in each of the front wheels 2FL and 2FR, and detects a wheel speed for each front wheel 2FL and 2FR, a wheel speed detection sensor (not shown), and each front wheel 2FL detected by the wheel speed detection sensor. , 2FR, and an output circuit (not shown) for calculating the vehicle speed of the vehicle 1 and outputting the calculated vehicle speed to the travel control device 100.

  The travel control device 100 controls the automatic travel of the vehicle 1 based on the vehicle speed of the vehicle 1 acquired from the vehicle speed sensor 22. Moreover, although mentioned later for details, the traveling control apparatus 100 is in front of the connection point with the passage for entering / exiting an intersection, a parking lot, etc. (Hereinafter, the intersection and the connection point are collectively referred to as “intersection etc.”). Then, a new traveling track for the vehicle 1 to travel according to the direction of travel of the vehicle 1 instructed by the joystick device 13 from the passenger is set, and the vehicle 1 is moved along the traveling track set after the setting. When turning to a road or a passage to a parking lot (hereinafter, the road and the passage are collectively referred to as “road etc.”), the vehicle speed and the vehicle steering angle sensor 20 acquired from the vehicle speed sensor 22 are acquired. The yaw rate of the vehicle 1 is calculated based on the steering angle of the vehicle 1, and the joystick device 13 is rotated in the direction opposite to the turning direction of the vehicle 1 at the same angular velocity as the calculated yaw rate. The tilting direction of the operating lever 13a for driving the x-axis tilt actuator 13c and y axis tilt actuator 13d so as to swing motion.

  As a result, the operation lever 13a always tilts in a certain direction when viewed from the outside of the vehicle 1 (see FIG. 8). Here, when the travel control device 100 newly sets a travel track on which the vehicle 1 is to travel, the travel control device 100 is directed to the direction of the road or the like on which the vehicle 1 enters by the travel track (the vehicle 1 has traveled until then). The operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 is tilted in a direction in which the road or the like on which the vehicle 1 is to enter by a newly set traveling trajectory.

  Therefore, when the vehicle 1 is subsequently turned to a road or the like that should travel along the set travel path, the tilting direction of the operation lever 13a is turned as described above and viewed from the outside of the vehicle 1. If the operation lever 13a is tilted so as to always face a certain direction, the operation lever 13a can always indicate the direction of the road or the like on which the vehicle 1 will enter while the vehicle 1 is turning. . Therefore, while the vehicle 1 is turning, the direction of the road or the like on which the vehicle 1 travels can always be shown to the passenger, so that the vehicle 1 is traveling on the road or the like on which the vehicle 1 definitely wants to travel. Can be recognized. Therefore, a sense of security can be given to the passenger of the vehicle 1.

  The driving support switch 25 is a switch that is pressed by the passenger when the vehicle 1 is desired to travel by automatic traveling. When the driving support switch 25 is pressed by the passenger and turned on, the traveling control device 100 executes automatic traveling control that performs automatic traveling along the selected traveling path.

  In addition, when the driving support switch 25 is turned on, the traveling control device 100 executes a joystick control process (see FIG. 4) described later. In this joystick control process, the tilt direction of the operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 in which the occupant has tilted is obtained from the detection result of the direction detection sensor 13b before the connection point with the passage for entering or exiting an intersection or a parking lot. Then, the direction in which the vehicle 1 is to be traveled is determined based on the tilt direction, and is selected as a travel path from a plurality of recommended paths that are candidates for the travel path.

  The travel control device 100 can advance the vehicle 1 to a road or a passage where the passenger wants to travel by controlling the travel of the vehicle 1 so that the vehicle 1 travels along the selected travel path.

  In the joystick control process, the operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 is controlled by the x-axis tilting actuator 13c and the y-axis tilting actuator 13d by the occupant's operation while controlling the travel of the vehicle 1 along the travel path. The x-axis tilting actuator 13c and the y-axis tilting actuator 13d turn the tilting direction according to the yaw rate of the vehicle 1 and the steering angles of the front wheels 2FL and 2FR. As a result, the operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 can indicate the direction of the road or the like on which the vehicle 1 that is traveling automatically proceeds or the direction in which the vehicle 1 travels can be indicated by the tilt direction. .

  When the driving support switch 25 is pressed again by the passenger and turned off, the automatic traveling of the vehicle 1 ends.

  The current position detection device 27 is for detecting the current position of the vehicle 1 (absolute coordinate values composed of latitude and longitude). This current position detecting device 27 is a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiving device that measures the position of a vehicle using an artificial satellite, one of a geomagnetic sensor, a gyro sensor, a vehicle speed sensor that detects the direction of the vehicle by detecting geomagnetism, or Multiple are used. Furthermore, the current position may be identified by map matching between the map information DB 92b and the traveling track, or matching between the map information DB 92b and a structure or a sign captured by a camera or a laser radar.

  The current position of the vehicle 1 detected by the current position detection device 27 is transmitted to the travel control device 100. The travel control device 100 controls the automatic travel of the vehicle 1 based on the current position of the vehicle 1 received from the current position detection device 27 so that the vehicle 1 travels along the travel track. Also, the travel control device 100 acquires road data related to other roads connected to the road on which the vehicle 1 is currently traveling from the map information data DB 92b based on the current position of the vehicle 1 and recommends it. Generate a trajectory.

  The VICS receiving device 28 is a device that receives road traffic information from a VICS (Vehicle Information and Communication System) that provides road traffic information such as traffic jams and traffic regulations. The VICS receiving device 28 transmits the received road traffic information to the travel control device 100. The travel control device 100 determines whether or not other roads connected to the road on which the vehicle 1 is traveling can travel based on the traffic regulation information included in the road traffic information, and can travel A recommended trajectory is generated for a road or the like.

  Next, a detailed configuration of the travel control device 100 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the vehicle 1 including the travel control device 100.

  The travel control device 100 includes a CPU 91, a flash memory 92, and a RAM 93, which are connected to an input / output port 95 via a bus line 94. The input / output port 95 includes the steering drive device 5, the joystick device 13, the vehicle steering angle sensor 20, the vehicle speed sensor 22, the driving support switch 25, the current position detection device 27, the VICS reception device 28, and the like described above. An input / output device 99 or the like is connected.

  The CPU 91 is transmitted from the direction detection sensor 13b of the joystick device 13 connected to the input / output port 95, the vehicle steering angle sensor 20, the vehicle speed sensor 22, the driving support switch 25, the current position detection device 27, the VICS reception device 28, and the like. The arithmetic unit controls the x-axis tilt actuator 13c, the y-axis tilt actuator 13d, and the like of the steering drive device 5 and the joystick device 13 based on various types of information.

  The flash memory 92 is a rewritable nonvolatile memory for storing a control program executed by the CPU 91, fixed value data, and the like. The flash memory 92 is provided with a program memory 92a and a map information DB 92b.

  The program memory 92a is an area on the flash memory 92 in which various programs executed by the CPU 91 are stored. A joystick control process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4 to be described later, a travel trajectory selection process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5, a joystick turning process shown in the process of FIG. 7, and other controls of the travel of the vehicle 1 along the set travel trajectory. Each program for causing the CPU 91 to execute processing and the like is stored in the program memory 92a.

  The CPU 91 executes various processes in accordance with the programs stored in the program memory 92a, so that the vehicle is automatically driven in the direction instructed by the passenger, and the travel route is selected based on the instruction from the passenger. The passenger can be surely grasped the timing and the selected travel route.

  The map information DB 92b is a database in which information about maps and roads is stored. In this map information DB 92b, the locations of various facilities, the positions of various roads, and the like are indicated by absolute coordinate values including latitude and longitude.

  The travel control device 100 determines other roads connected to the road on which the vehicle 1 is traveling from the current position of the vehicle 1 detected by the current position detection device 27 and the information stored in the map information DB 92b. Judging. The travel control device 100 determines a road that can be traveled by adding the road traffic information received by the VICS receiver 28 to other roads determined from the map information DB 92b. Then, a recommended trajectory is generated for the road that can be traveled.

  The map information DB 92b also includes various road information related to each road, for example, various restriction information such as entry prohibition to the road, vehicle closure, road width, number of lanes, distance between intersections (road length), And the accident history in the road, other attention information, etc. are matched with each road.

  The travel control apparatus 100 determines whether or not the road is a road that can travel based on the restriction information associated with each road in the map information DB 92b. In addition, the travel control device 100 calculates a risk potential for each road and the like based on the width, the number of lanes, the accident history, other caution information, and the like associated with each road in the map information DB 92b. Then, the traveling control device 100 generates a recommended trajectory for each road or the like so that the vehicle 1 travels at a point where the calculated danger potential is the lowest.

  When the navigation device is separately provided in the vehicle 1, the traveling control device 100 uses the map information DB included in the navigation device instead of storing the map information DB 92 b in the flash memory 92. May be performed. In this case, the navigation device is connected to the input / output port 95 of the travel control device 100, and the travel control device 100 is configured to acquire various information stored in the map information DB from the navigation device via the input / output port 95. That's fine.

  The RAM 93 is a rewritable volatile memory, and is a memory for temporarily storing various data when the control program executed by the CPU 91 is executed. The RAM 93 is provided with a recommended track memory 93a, a running track memory 93b, and a running track running flag 93c.

  The recommended track memory 93a stores the recommended track information generated by the traveling control device 100 (information indicating the position of each point on the recommended track and the direction in which the vehicle should face) for each recommended track. This is an area provided in the RAM 93. The travel control device 100 is configured to detect roads and the like on which the vehicle 1 is traveling (passages for entering and exiting roads and parking lots) and other roads connected to the roads and the like. When the vehicle 1 is assumed to travel, a recommended track that is a track on which the vehicle 1 should travel is generated for each road or the like. Here, one or more recommended track information generated for each road or the like is stored in the recommended track memory 93a for each recommended track.

  The traveling track memory 93b stores traveling track information indicating the track on which the vehicle 1 is to travel (information indicating the position of each point located on the traveling track and the direction in which the vehicle should face). This is an area provided in the RAM 93. The travel control device 100 acquires travel trajectory information stored in the travel trajectory memory 93b and controls the travel of the vehicle 1 so that the vehicle 1 travels along the trajectory.

  The travel control device 100 selects a travel track from one or more recommended tracks stored in the recommended track memory 93a based on the operation state of the joystick device 13, and uses the track information as the travel track information. Store in the memory 93b.

  Specifically, when the vehicle 1 is traveling in front of a branch point such as a road, the traveling control device 100 is currently traveling at an angle substantially equal to the inclination direction θ of the operation lever 13 a provided in the joystick device 13. A road that branches off from the road that is running is extracted, a recommended trajectory generated for the road is selected as a travel trajectory, and the trajectory information is stored in the travel trajectory memory 93b.

  Thereby, the traveling control apparatus 100 controls the traveling of the vehicle 1 according to the newly stored traveling track information. Here, as described above, the newly stored travel trajectory is at an angle close to the inclined walking θ of the joystick device 13 operated by the passenger, with respect to the road branched from the currently traveling road, etc. This is the recommended orbit generated. Therefore, by making the vehicle 1 automatically travel along the newly stored travel path, the vehicle 1 can be advanced to a road or the like on which the passenger wants to travel.

  Further, when the passenger wants to travel from the currently traveling road to another road, the angle between the currently traveling road and the other road that he / she wants to travel is determined by the inclination of the joystick device 13. The joystick device 13 may be operated as the direction θ. Therefore, the passenger can intuitively perform the operation as compared with the case where the passenger operates the direction of the road or the like that the user wants to travel from the current position of the vehicle 1 as the inclination direction of the joystick device 13. Therefore, it is possible to make the occupant easily operate the joystick device 13.

  The running track running flag 93c is a flag that indicates whether or not the vehicle 1 is automatically running based on the running track information stored in the running track memory 93b. This indicates that the vehicle 1 is automatically traveling based on the traveling track information stored in the traveling track memory 93b. When the vehicle 1 is off, the vehicle 1 is based on the traveling track information stored in the traveling track memory 93b. 1 indicates that automatic driving is not performed.

  The running track running flag 93c is set to OFF as an initial value when the vehicle 1 is turned on (when the ignition switch of the vehicle 1 is turned on). In addition, when the driving support switch 25 is changed from the on state to the off state and the joystick control process (see FIG. 4) is ended, the CPU 91 sets the traveling track traveling flag to off (see S11). Thereby, when the driving support switch 25 is changed from the off state to the on state and the CPU 91 starts executing the joystick control process, the traveling track traveling flag 93c is turned off.

  When starting the execution of the joystick control process (FIG. 4), the CPU 91 confirms that the traveling track running flag 93c is turned off, and whether or not it is in front of a branch point such as a road. One or more recommended tracks are generated, and one traveling track is selected from the generated one or more recommended tracks based on the tilting direction θ of the operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 operated by the passenger (S5). . As a result, the travel control device 100 can set the travel path even when the vehicle 1 is not located in front of a branch point such as a road when the driving support switch 25 is switched from the off state to the on state. The vehicle 1 can automatically start traveling along the travel path.

  Further, in the joystick control process (FIG. 4), the CPU 91 once sets the traveling track, sets the traveling track traveling flag 93c to ON (S6). Thereby, once the traveling track is set, the traveling track is set only before the branch point of the road or the like. As a result, it is possible to prevent the vehicle 1 from being inadvertently determined in an area other than the front of a branch point such as a road while the vehicle 1 is being automatically driven. It can be run.

  Next, a joystick control process executed by the CPU 91 of the travel control device 100 mounted on the vehicle 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the joystick control process.

  The joystick control process determines the direction in which the vehicle 1 should travel from the tilt direction of the operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 tilted by the occupant, and determines the direction in which the vehicle 1 should travel, among a plurality of recommended trajectories that are candidates for the trajectory To select one as a traveling track. The joystick control process tilts the operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 regardless of the operation of the occupant while controlling the travel of the vehicle 1 along the travel path, and the tilt direction of the vehicle 1 is adjusted. Processing for turning according to the yaw rate and the steering angle of the front wheels 2FL and 2FR is also performed.

  This joystick control process is started by the CPU 91 when the driving support switch 25 is pressed by the passenger and turned on. In the joystick control process, first, the current position of the vehicle 1 detected by the current position detection device 27 is acquired (S1).

  Next, it is determined whether or not the running track running flag 93c is on (S2). If the running track running flag 93c is off (S2: No), the process proceeds to S4 as it is. If the running track running flag 93c is on (S2: Yes), it is subsequently determined whether or not the vehicle 1 is positioned before a branch point such as a road (S3). The branch point includes not only an intersection but also a connection point to a passage for entering and exiting a parking lot or the like.

  The determination as to whether or not the vehicle is a branch point is made by comparing the current position of the vehicle 1 acquired in the process of S1 with information about a map or road stored in the map information DB 92b. That is, in the process of S3, whether or not there is a connection point to an intersection or a passage to / from a parking lot within a predetermined distance (for example, 30 m) in front of the vehicle 1 from the current position of the vehicle 1. Is determined from the information stored in the map information DB. Then, when there is a connection point to a passage to / from an intersection or a parking lot within a predetermined distance range in front of the vehicle 1, it is determined that the vehicle 1 is positioned in front of a branch point such as a road. To do.

  As a result of the process of S3, when it is determined that the vehicle 1 is located in front of a branch point such as a road (S3: Yes), the process proceeds to S4 and the vehicle 1 is in front of a branch point such as a road. If it is determined that the position is not located (S3: No), the process proceeds to S12.

  Here, the running track running flag 93c is set to OFF when the joystick control process is started by the CPU 91. That is, immediately after starting the joystick control process, regardless of whether or not the vehicle 1 is positioned in front of a branch point such as a road, the process proceeds to the process of S4 through the branch of S2: No.

  In the processing after S4, one or more recommended trajectories are generated, and one travel trajectory is selected and set from the recommended trajectories based on the tilt direction of the operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 operated by the passenger. . Therefore, immediately after the start of the joystick control process, the traveling track is set regardless of whether or not the vehicle 1 is positioned in front of a branch point such as a road. As a result, the travel control device 100 can set the travel path even when the vehicle 1 is not located in front of a branch point such as a road when the driving support switch 25 is switched from the off state to the on state. The vehicle 1 can automatically start traveling along the travel path.

  Also, once the traveling track is set, the traveling track traveling flag 93c is set to ON as will be described later. Therefore, after that, the determination of S3 is performed through the branch of S2: Yes. Thereby, only when the vehicle 1 is positioned in front of a branch point such as a road by the determination of S3, the processing after S4 is executed and the traveling track is set. As a result, it is possible to prevent the vehicle 1 from being inadvertently determined in an area other than the front of the branch point such as a road while the vehicle 1 is being automatically driven. Can be made.

  In the process of S4, the joystick device 13 is instructed to bring the operation lever 13a upright (S4). As a result, the joystick device 13 controls the x-axis tilt actuator 13c and the y-axis tilt actuator 13d to bring the operation lever 13a into an upright state.

  Here, in the process of S5 described later, the operation of the operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 is received from the passenger, the tilting direction of the operation lever 13a operated by the passenger is acquired, and the vehicle 1 travels as desired by the passenger. Determine the direction to do. In the process of S4, before the process of S5, the operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 is brought into an upright state so that the direction of the vehicle 1 to travel is instructed to the passenger to operate the operation lever 13a. Can be encouraged.

  After the process of S4, next, a traveling track selection process is executed (S5). Here, with reference to FIG. 5, the detail of a driving | running | working track selection process is demonstrated. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a traveling track selection process executed by the CPU 91.

  In this travel trajectory selection process, the recommended direction of travel of the vehicle 1 indicated by the occupant is determined from the tilt direction of the operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 in which the occupant is tilted, and a plurality of recommended trajectories as travel trajectory candidates. This is a process of selecting one as a traveling track.

  In the travel trajectory selection process, first, the map information DB 92b is searched for the nearest branch point in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 (a connection point to a passage entering or exiting an intersection or a parking lot), and data regarding the branch point (of the branch point) (Location information) is acquired from the map information DB 92b (S21).

  Next, data relating to roads and the like connected to the branch point (location information such as roads) is also acquired from the map information DB 92b (S22) and temporarily stored in the RAM 93, including data relating to roads currently in progress. .

Subsequently, whether or not it is possible to enter each of the roads and the like for which data has been acquired in the process of S22, regulation information such as entry prohibition and vehicle closure included in the road information of the map information DB 92b, accident history, and other caution information Based on the traffic regulation information included in the road traffic information received by the VICS receiver 28, the road data is deleted from the RAM 93 for roads and the like that cannot be passed (S23).
Then, for each road, etc., in which data is stored in the RAM 93, the trajectory of the vehicle 1 required to advance the vehicle 1 to the road, etc. is obtained, and the recommended trajectory is set as the recommended trajectory for each road, etc. Information is stored in the recommended trajectory memory 93a (S24).

  Here, as a method of obtaining the trajectory of the vehicle 1 necessary for the vehicle 1 to travel on one road or the like, for example, the surrounding information of the vehicle 1 is obtained from various sensors such as a camera, a laser, and a sonar provided in the vehicle 1. On the road by determining the width of the road, the presence or absence of obstacles, etc. from the acquired peripheral information, road traffic information received by the VICS receiver 29, various maps included in the map information DB 92b, and road information The trajectory of the vehicle 1 may be obtained so as to generate a dangerous potential at each of the points and pass through a point having the lowest dangerous potential.

  Alternatively, a trajectory that can smoothly enter or proceed on a road or the like on which a trajectory is to be generated may be calculated. In this case, in consideration of the clothoid curve, a trajectory that can proceed or enter smoothly can be calculated, or a trajectory that can proceed or enter smoothly so that the radius of curvature can be increased.

  Alternatively, a trajectory that can travel or enter the road or the like that is the target of trajectory generation at the shortest distance may be calculated. Furthermore, the road information of the map information DB 92b may include a trajectory for each road, and the trajectory may be generated based on the road information.

  After the process of S24, it is then determined whether the operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 has been operated by the passenger (S25). This determination is performed by determining whether or not a value indicating the tilting direction of the operation lever 13a output from the direction detection sensor 13b of the joystick device 13 is output. That is, when a value is output from the direction detection sensor 13b, it is determined that the operation lever 13a has been operated by a passenger. When a value is not output from the direction detection sensor 13b, the operation lever 13a is determined. Is determined not to be operated by the passenger.

  When it is determined by the processing of S25 that the operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 has been operated by the passenger (S25: Yes), the tilt detection direction θ of the operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 is determined by the direction detection sensor 13b. Obtain (S26).

  Next, the road data stored in the RAM 93 by the processing of S22 and S23, that is, one road data connected to the branch point is acquired from the RAM 93 (S27), and the road and the vehicle 1 from which the road data has been acquired. Is obtained from the road data, and the obtained angle φ is compared with the tilt direction θ of the operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 obtained in the process of S26 (S28). ).

  Then, all the roads connected to the branch points, that is, the roads having road data stored in the RAM 93 by the processes of S22 and S23 are checked by the process of S28 (the angle θ formed by the roads and the joystick). It is determined whether or not the comparison with the tilt direction δ of the device 13 has been performed (S29). As a result, when all the roads and the like are not checked by the process of S28 (S29: No), the process returns to S27. Further, as a result of the process of S29, if all the roads and the like have been checked by the process of S28 (S29: Yes), the process proceeds to S30.

  Thus, for all roads connected to the branch point, an angle φ formed by the road and the road where the vehicle 1 is currently traveling is obtained, and the angle φ and the tilt direction of the joystick device 13 are obtained. θ is compared.

  Here, with reference to FIG. 6, the angle φ formed by one road or the like obtained in the process of S28 and the road or the like on which the vehicle 1 is currently traveling will be described. FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating an angle φa formed by a road 72 in the forward direction of the vehicle 1 and a road 71 on which the vehicle 1 is currently traveling among roads connected to the intersection (branch point) 70. FIG. 6B shows an angle φb formed by the road 73 in the left front left turn direction of the vehicle 1 and the road 71 on which the vehicle 1 is currently traveling among the roads connected to the intersection (branch point) 70. FIG. 6C shows a road 74 in the left rear left turn direction of the vehicle 1 among roads connected to the intersection (branch point) 70 and a road 71 on which the vehicle 1 is currently traveling. It is a figure which shows angle (phi) c which is formed.

  The angle φ formed between each road and the road on which the vehicle 1 is currently traveling is calculated as follows. That is, the road from the connecting point An (n = 1 in FIG. 6A, n = 2 in FIG. 6B, n = 3 in FIG. 6C) with the intersection 70 on the road to be calculated, etc. The direction of the vector to a point Bn that is a distance d away from the center is obtained. Then, the vector rotated from the connection point Ay between the road 71 on which the vehicle 1 is currently traveling and the intersection 70 to the point B that is a distance l away from the road is rotated by 180 °, and each road or the like is When the axis perpendicular to the y axis on the existing plane is the x axis, the angle formed by the x axis (positive side) and the vector from the point An to the point Bn is calculated as the angle φn.

  Here, the tilt direction θ of the operation lever 13a detected by the direction detection sensor 13b is the same as the x axis (positive side) set in the left-right direction of the vehicle 1 and the operation as shown in FIGS. It is represented by an angle formed with the lever 13a. Therefore, the angle φ between each road and the road on which the vehicle 1 is currently traveling, calculated by the method shown in FIGS. 6A to 6C, and the joystick device 13 acquired in the process of S26. By simply comparing the tilt direction θ of the control lever 13a, the road or the like whose angle φ closest to the tilt direction θ is calculated is the road or the like in the direction of the vehicle 1 to be instructed by the passenger. It can be.

  Returning to FIG. 5, the description will be continued. In the process of S30, as a result of the process of S28, among the roads and the like (roads 72 to 74) connected to the branch point (intersection 70), the road and the road where the vehicle 1 is currently traveling (road 71) The road closest to the tilt direction θ of the operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 is extracted, and the angle φ on the road or the like is substantially equal to the tilt direction θ of the joystick device 13, and the road The recommended trajectory generated for the above is selected as the travel trajectory (S30).

  Then, the recommended trajectory information selected by the process of S30 is read from the recommended trajectory memory 93a, the trajectory information is stored as travel trajectory information in the travel trajectory memory 93b (S31), and the travel trajectory selection process is terminated.

  Thereby, the traveling control device 100 controls the traveling of the vehicle 1 according to the traveling track information newly stored by the process of S30. As can be seen from the processing of S28 and S30, the travel trajectory newly stored by the processing of S31 branches off from the road that is currently traveling at an angle close to the tilt direction θ of the joystick device 13 operated by the passenger. This is a recommended trajectory generated for a road or the like. Therefore, the traveling track can be determined according to the intention of the passenger while the vehicle 1 is automatically traveling.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 has not been operated by the passenger as a result of the process of S25 (S25: No), the time after the operation lever 13a is set upright in the process of S4 However, it is determined whether or not an operation reception time (for example, 5 seconds) has elapsed (S32).

  As a result, if the operation reception time has not elapsed (S32: No), the process proceeds to S25 again. Thus, when the operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 is operated during the operation reception time, the process of S26 is executed, and the traveling track is based on the tilting direction of the operation lever 13a operated by the passenger. Is selected and set.

  On the other hand, if it is determined by the process of S32 that the operation reception time (for example, 5 seconds) has elapsed after the operation lever 13a is brought upright in the process of S4 (S32: Yes), the process of S24 Of the one or more recommended tracks stored in the recommended track memory 92a in the process, the recommended track with the highest priority is selected as the traveling track (S33). Here, the recommended track having a high priority is a track for causing the road on which the vehicle 1 is currently located to travel as it is.

  Then, the process proceeds to the process of S31, the recommended track information selected by the process of S3 is read from the recommended track memory 93a, and the track information is stored in the travel track memory 93b as the travel track information (S31). The process ends.

  Here, when it is determined that there is no operation by the rider on the operation lever 13 a of the joystick device 13, it can be determined that the rider has an intention to maintain the traveling direction of the vehicle 1. In the traveling trajectory selection process, in this case, the recommended trajectory for proceeding along the road where the vehicle 1 is currently located as it is is selected and set as the traveling trajectory. It is controlled to run as it is on the road. Therefore, it is possible to perform automatic traveling reflecting the intention of the passenger.

  If it is determined that the operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 has not been operated even after the operation reception time has elapsed (S32: Yes) as a result of the process of S32, the vehicle 1 is replaced with the process of S47. You may make it stop. And if operation of the joystick apparatus 13 is detected during the stop of the vehicle 1, you may transfer to the process of S26. Accordingly, the occupant can be prompted to operate the joystick device 13, and the traveling path can always be determined according to the operation of the joystick device 13 by the occupant.

  Returning to FIG. 4, the description of the joystick control process will be continued. When the traveling track selection process in S5 is completed, the traveling track traveling flag 93c is set to ON (S6). Thereby, once the traveling track is set, the traveling track is set only before the branch point of the road or the like by the process of S2. As a result, it is possible to prevent the vehicle 1 from being inadvertently determined in an area other than the front of a branch point such as a road while the vehicle 1 is being automatically driven. It can be run.

  Next, the operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 is tilted, and the tilting direction of the operation lever 13a is an angle formed between the road on which the vehicle 1 travels along the selected travel path and the road on which the current vehicle 1 is traveling. The joystick device 13 is instructed to make φ (see FIG. 6) (S7).

  In response to this instruction, the joystick device 13 drives the x-axis tilt actuator 13c and the y-axis tilt actuator 13d to tilt the operation lever 13a without depending on the operation of the passenger, and the tilt direction of the operation lever 13a is changed. Regardless of the operation of the passenger, the angle φ formed by the road on which the vehicle 1 travels on the selected travel path and the road on which the vehicle 1 is currently traveling is set (see FIG. 6).

  As described above, when the traveling track is set, the operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 is tilted by the process of S7 regardless of the operation of the passenger. Thereby, the passenger who instructed the direction in which the vehicle 1 should travel by operating the operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 can surely know that the traveling track has been selected and set by the instruction.

  In this case, the control lever 13a itself operated by the passenger tilts in the direction of the angle φ formed by the road on which the vehicle 1 travels along the selected traveling track and the road on which the vehicle 1 is currently traveling. Therefore, it is possible to make the passenger know the direction (road or the like) in which the vehicle 1 travels on the selected travel path intuitively and reliably from the direction in which the passenger tilts the operation lever 13a himself / herself. it can. Therefore, it is possible to make the passenger surely grasp the timing when the traveling track is selected based on the instruction from the passenger and the selected traveling track while automatically traveling the vehicle in the direction instructed by the passenger. .

  After the processing of S7, it is determined whether or not the vehicle 1 performs a turning operation such as a right or left turn from the traveling track set by the traveling track selection processing of S5 (S8). : Yes), the joystick turning process is executed (S9), and the process proceeds to S10. If the vehicle 1 does not turn (S8: No), the process of S9 is skipped and the process proceeds to S10. .

  Here, with reference to FIG. 7, FIG. 8, the detail of a joystick turning process (S9) is demonstrated. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a joystick turning process executed by the CPU 91. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram schematically showing a change in the tilting direction of the operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 when the vehicle 1 is turning. This joystick turning process is based on the operation of the occupant while maintaining the tilt of the operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 while controlling the traveling of the vehicle 1 while turning the vehicle 1 along the traveling track. This is a process of turning the tilt direction according to the yaw rate of the vehicle 1 without turning.

  When the joystick turning process is executed, first, the vehicle speed v is acquired from the vehicle speed sensor 22 (S41), and then the steering angle δt given to the front wheels 2FL, 2FR is acquired from the vehicle steering angle sensor 20. (S42). Then, the yaw rate ω of the vehicle 1 is calculated from the vehicle speed v acquired by the process of S41 and the steering angle δt acquired by the process of S42 (S43).

  Here, a method for calculating the yaw rate ω of the vehicle 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 9. FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a method of calculating the yaw rate ω of the vehicle 1. When calculating the yaw rate ω, first, from the relationship shown in FIG. 9, the turning radius R of the vehicle 1 can be obtained from the steering angle δt given to the front wheels 2FL and 2FR by the following equation (1).

R = L / tan (δt) (1)
Here, L is a wheel base that is a distance between a front wheel shaft connecting the front wheels 2FL and 2FR and a rear wheel shaft connecting the rear wheels 2RL and 2RR.

  Then, the yaw rate ω can be calculated by the following equation (2) from the turning radius R calculated by the equation (1) and the vehicle speed v.

ω = v / R (2)
In the process of S43, the yaw rate ω of the vehicle 1 is calculated from the vehicle speed v acquired by the process of S41 and the steering angle δt acquired by the process of S42, using the equations (1) and (2).

  Returning to FIG. 7, the description of the joystick turning process will be continued. After the process of S43, next, in order to turn the tilt direction of the operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 at the same angular velocity as the yaw rate ω calculated in the process of S43, in the direction opposite to the turning direction of the vehicle 1, The direction θ in which the operation lever 13a should tilt is calculated by the following equation (S44).

Here, θ ₀ is the position of the point Ay shown in FIG. 6, that is, the tilting direction of the operating lever 13a when the vehicle 1 approaches the intersection 70 from the road 71 on which the vehicle 1 is currently traveling, that is, S7 shown in FIG. Is the tilting direction φ of the operation lever 13a instructed in step (the angle formed between the road on which the vehicle 1 travels along the selected travel path and the road on which the vehicle 1 is currently traveling) (FIG. 8). (A)). Further, t ₀ is the time when the vehicle 1 passes the position of the point Ay shown in FIG. 6, that is, the time when the vehicle 1 approaches the intersection 70 from the road 71 on which the vehicle 1 is currently traveling, and t _n is the current time It's time.

That is, in the process of S44, the value obtained by subtracting the integral value of the yaw rate ω of the vehicle 1 from the tilting direction θ ₀ of the operation lever 13a when the vehicle 1 enters a branching point such as an intersection (t ₀ ) 13a is calculated as the direction θ to be tilted.

  Then, the joystick device 13 is instructed to turn the operation lever 13a in the tilt direction θ calculated by the process of S44 (S45). As a result, the joystick device 13 drives the x-axis tilt actuator 13c and the y-axis tilt actuator 13d to turn the operation lever 13a in the tilt direction θ instructed by the process of S45 as shown in FIG. 8B. Let

Here, as described above, the tilt direction θ indicated by the process of S45 is the integral value of the yaw rate ω of the vehicle 1 from the tilt direction θ ₀ of the operation lever 13a when both 1 enter the intersection (t ₀ ). It is the value which subtracted. Therefore, by turning the operation lever 13a in the tilt direction θ instructed in the process of S45, the operation lever 13a can be turned in the direction opposite to the turning direction of the vehicle 1 at the same angular velocity as the calculated yaw rate ω. it can. As a result, as shown in FIG. 8, the operation lever 13 a always tilts in a certain direction when viewed from the outside of the vehicle 1.

  In addition, when the travel control apparatus 100 newly sets a travel track on which the vehicle 1 should travel by the processing of S7 in FIG. The operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 is tilted to the road where the vehicle 1 has traveled until the road where the vehicle 1 enters by the newly set traveling track branches. ing.

  Therefore, after that, when the vehicle 1 is turned to a road or the like to travel along the set traveling track, the tilting direction of the operation lever 13a is caused to turn as described above by this joystick turning processing, so that the vehicle Since the operation lever 13a can be tilted so that it always faces in a certain direction when viewed from the outside, the road on which the vehicle 1 enters by the operation lever 13a while the vehicle 1 is turning. Etc. can always show directions. Therefore, while the vehicle 1 is turning, the direction of the road or the like on which the vehicle 1 travels can always be shown to the passenger, so that the vehicle 1 is traveling on the road or the like on which the vehicle 1 definitely wants to travel. Can be recognized. Therefore, a sense of security can be given to the passenger of the vehicle 1.

  After the process of S45, it is determined whether or not the tilt direction θ of the operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 calculated by the process of S44 is a direction indicating the forward direction of the vehicle 1, that is, a direction of 90 °. (S46). When the tilting direction θ of the operation lever 13a is 90 ° (S46: Yes), the vehicle 1 travels along the travel track selected by the travel track selection process (S5). This means that the turn to the road or the like that the passenger wants to travel has been completed and that the road has been completely entered.

  Therefore, in this case, the joystick turning process is ended, and the process of turning the tilting direction of the operation lever 13a in accordance with the turning of the vehicle 1 is ended. Thereby, after the tilting direction θ of the operation lever 13a is turned, when the tilting direction θ becomes 90 °, the passenger completely enters the road or the like that the passenger wants to travel. Can be easily grasped. Therefore, since the passenger can know the state of automatic traveling in the vehicle 1 via the operation lever 13a, the passenger can cause the vehicle 1 to perform automatic traveling with peace of mind.

  On the other hand, when the tilting direction θ of the operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 calculated by the process of S44 is not 90 ° (S46: No), the current state of the vehicle 1 is subsequently determined. The position is acquired from the current position detection device 27 (S47), and the curve when the vehicle 1 turns the vehicle 1 from the current position of the vehicle 1 according to the travel path selected by the travel path selection process (S5) is obtained. It is determined whether or not the end point P has been passed (S48).

  As a result, if the vehicle 1 has not yet passed the end point P of the curve (S48: No), the process returns to the process of S41, and the processes of S41 to S48 are executed again. As a result, the operation lever 13a is adjusted in accordance with the turning of the vehicle 1 until the vehicle 1 passes the point P where the turning of the vehicle 1 ends, except when the tilting direction of the operating lever 13a becomes 90 ° by the process of S46. The tilt direction is turned.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S48 that the vehicle 1 has passed the end point P of the curve (S48: Yes), 90 ° is instructed to the joystick device 13 as the tilt direction (S49), and the joystick turning process is performed. finish. Thereby, when the vehicle 1 passes through the end point P of the curve when the vehicle 1 is turned according to the traveling track, the operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 is in a direction of 90 °, that is, a direction indicating the forward direction of the vehicle 1. , Be inclined.

  Here, even when the vehicle 1 passes the end point P of the curve when the vehicle 1 is turned according to the traveling track, the turn to the road or the like that the passenger wants to travel is completed, and the road or the like is completely reached. It means that it entered. Therefore, after the vehicle 1 passes the end point P of the curve, the tilting direction θ of the operation lever 13a is set to 90 °, so that the passenger has completely entered the road or the like that the passenger wants to travel. Can be easily grasped. Therefore, since the passenger can know the state of automatic traveling in the vehicle 1 via the operation lever 13a, the passenger can cause the vehicle 1 to perform automatic traveling with peace of mind.

  Returning to FIG. 4, the description of the joystick control process will be continued. As a result of the process of S3, when it is determined that the vehicle 1 is located in front of the branch point such as a road (S3: No), the vehicle 1 travels when it is located in front of the branch point. The vehicle automatically travels along the traveling track set by the track selection process (S5).

  In this case, in the joystick control process, first, the steering angle δ imparted to the front wheels 2FFL, 2FR is acquired from the vehicle steering angle sensor 20 (S12), and then the tilt direction instructing the joystick device 13, that is, the operation lever 13a. The direction θ to be tilted is calculated by the following equation (3) based on the steering angle δ calculated by the process of S12 (S13).

θ = δ × α + π / 2 (3)
Here, α is a coefficient representing the degree to which the tilt direction θ of the operation lever 13a is changed with respect to the steering angle of the front wheels 2FL and 2FR.

  Then, the joystick device 13 is instructed to turn the operation lever 13a in the tilt direction θ calculated by the process of S13 (S14). Then, the process proceeds to S10.

  By the processes of S12 to S14, the joystick device 13 drives the x-axis tilt actuator 13c and the y-axis tilt actuator 13d so that the tilt direction of the operation lever 13a is the tilt direction θ calculated by the process of S13. The lever 13a is turned.

  Here, as shown in the above equation (3), the operation lever 13a turns in the tilt direction θ calculated according to the steering angle of the front wheels 2FL and 2FR. Thereby, the operation lever 13a can indicate the direction in which the vehicle 1 travels. Therefore, while the vehicle 1 is traveling along the road, the passenger can easily grasp the direction in which the vehicle 1 travels from the tilting direction of the operation lever 13a. Therefore, the vehicle 1 can be driven automatically while giving a sense of security to the passenger.

  In the process of S10, it is determined whether or not the driving support switch 25 is pressed again to enter an off state (S10). As a result, if the driving support switch 26 remains on (S10: No), the process returns to the process of S1, and the processes of S1 to S10 are executed again. As a result, while the driving support switch 26 is in the on state, the vehicle 1 continues to travel automatically, the travel route is determined according to the intention of the occupant of the occupant, and the operation of the joystick device 13 is performed. The passenger can be informed of the state of automatic traveling in the vehicle 1 according to the tilted state of the lever 13a.

  On the other hand, as a result of the process of S10, when it is determined that the driving support switch 26 is pressed and turned off (S10: Yes), the joystick control process is terminated.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, the travel of the vehicle 1 is controlled so that the vehicle 1 travels along the travel track based on the travel track information stored in the travel track memory 93b. The vehicle 1 also has a joystick device 13 for the passenger to indicate the direction in which the vehicle 1 should travel, and the operation lever 13 a of the joystick device 13 is tilted by the passenger of the vehicle 1. Then, based on the tilting direction, the direction in which the vehicle 1 that the passenger instructed should travel is determined. Then, one recommended track for causing the vehicle 1 to travel to the road closest to the tilting direction of the operation lever 13a by the occupant is set as one of the recommended tracks generated by the traveling track selection process. As a result, the traveling track is set based on the direction in which the vehicle 1 should be instructed based on the intention of the passenger, and the traveling of the vehicle 1 can be controlled along the traveling track.

  In addition, the joystick device 13 is configured so that the operation lever 13a can be tilted and turned in the tilted state without depending on the operation of the passenger. Immediately after the travel path is set, the x-axis tilt actuator 13c and the y-axis tilt actuator 13d are driven to tilt the operation lever 13a regardless of the operation of the passenger, and the x-axis tilt actuator 13c and The y-axis tilting actuator 13d is driven to set the tilting direction of the operation lever 13a to an angle φ formed by the road on which the vehicle 1 travels along the selected traveling path and the road on which the vehicle 1 is currently traveling. Thus, the passenger who has instructed the direction in which the vehicle 1 should travel by operating the operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 indicates that the traveling track has been selected and set by the instruction according to the movement of the operation lever 13a. I can know for sure.

  In this case, the control lever 13a itself operated by the passenger tilts in the direction of the angle φ formed by the road on which the vehicle 1 travels along the selected traveling track and the road on which the vehicle 1 is currently traveling. Therefore, it is possible to make the passenger know the direction (road or the like) in which the vehicle 1 travels on the selected travel path intuitively and reliably from the direction in which the passenger tilts the operation lever 13a himself / herself. it can.

  Therefore, it is possible to make the passenger surely grasp the timing when the traveling track is selected based on the instruction from the passenger and the selected traveling track while automatically traveling the vehicle in the direction instructed by the passenger. .

  Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In the first embodiment, when the traveling track is set, the operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 is tilted regardless of the operation of the occupant, and the vehicle 1 travels according to the selected traveling track. The case where the angle φ formed by the road to be traveled and the road on which the vehicle 1 is currently traveling has been described. Further, the case where the tilt direction of the operation lever 13a is turned based on the yaw rate of the vehicle 1 and the steering angle applied to the front wheels 2FL and 2FR when the vehicle 1 is traveling on the set traveling track has been described. .

  On the other hand, in the second embodiment, when the traveling track is set, the operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 is tilted regardless of the operation of the passenger, and the tilt direction is changed from the current position of the vehicle 1. The vehicle 1 is set in a direction indicating a point on the traveling track that is reached when the vehicle 1 travels for a length D along the set traveling track. Further, in the second embodiment, even when the vehicle 1 is traveling on the set traveling track, the tilting direction of the operation lever 13 a is along the traveling track on which the vehicle 1 is set from the current vehicle position of the vehicle 1. Then, the control lever 13a is turned so as to be in a direction indicating a route point on the traveling track that is reached when the vehicle travels for the length D.

  In the second embodiment, the configurations of the vehicle 1 and the travel control device 100 are the same as those in the first embodiment except that the contents of the RAM 93 and a part of the joystick control process are different. Therefore, the same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and illustration and description thereof are omitted.

  FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of the vehicle 1 including the travel control device 100 according to the second embodiment. The travel control device 100 according to the second embodiment is different from the travel control device 100 according to the first embodiment in that the RAM 93 further includes a travel trajectory selection flag 193d. Note that the recommended track memory 93a, the running track memory 93b, and the running track running flag 93c provided in the RAM 93 are all the same as those in the first embodiment, so that the description thereof is omitted here and the running track selection is performed. The flag 193d will be described below.

  The traveling track selection flag 193d is a flag indicating whether or not the traveling track has been selected and set when the vehicle 1 is positioned in front of a branch point such as a road. This indicates that the selection / setting of the vehicle has been completed, and when it is off, the selection / setting of the traveling track has not been completed.

  The traveling track selection flag 193d is set to OFF as an initial value when the vehicle 1 is turned on (when the ignition switch of the vehicle 1 is turned on). In addition, when the vehicle 1 is located at a position other than a branch point such as a road, the traveling track selection flag 193d is set to OFF. Thus, immediately after the vehicle 1 enters the area before the branch point from the area other than the road before the branch point, the travel path selection flag 193d is always set to OFF, and the travel path selection / setting is performed. Is incomplete.

  When it is determined that the vehicle 1 is positioned before a branch point such as a road, when the traveling track selection flag 193d is off, that is, when the traveling track selection / setting is not completed, the traveling A trajectory selection process (S5; see FIG. 5) is executed, and based on the tilt direction of the operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 operated by the occupant, the direction of travel of the vehicle 1 instructed by the occupant is determined. Then, a recommended trajectory for driving the vehicle 1 to a road or the like in that direction is selected and set as a travel trajectory. When the selection / setting of the traveling track by the traveling track selection process is completed, the traveling track selection flag 193d is set to ON, and the traveling track selection flag 193d is set as long as the vehicle 1 does not deviate from the front of the branch point of the road or the like. Maintained on.

  When it is determined that the vehicle 1 is positioned before a branch point such as a road, when the traveling track selection flag 193d is on, that is, when the traveling track selection / setting is completed, the traveling The trajectory selection process (S5) is skipped and not executed. Thereby, after the selection and setting of the traveling track is completed, while the vehicle 1 is positioned in front of the branch point of the road or the like on which the traveling track is set, the traveling track is set in front of the branch point. Although the selection / setting is completed, the selection / setting of the traveling track can be suppressed again.

  Next, the details of the joystick control process in the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a joystick control process executed by the CPU 91 in the second embodiment. FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram schematically showing a change in the tilting direction of the operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 when the vehicle 1 is traveling along a set traveling track.

  In the joystick control process, as in the first embodiment, the direction of travel of the vehicle 1 instructed by the passenger is determined from the tilting direction of the operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 in which the passenger has tilted. This is a process of selecting one recommended trajectory from a plurality of candidate recommended trajectories. In addition, this joystick control process tilts the operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 regardless of the operation of the passenger while controlling the travel of the vehicle 1 along the travel path, and the tilt direction is A process of turning the operation lever 13a is also performed so as to be in a direction indicating a point on the traveling track that is reached when the vehicle 1 travels for a length D along the traveling track set from the current position.

  As in the first embodiment, the joystick control process is started by the CPU 91 when the driving support switch 25 is pressed by the passenger and turned on. And the process same as S1-S3 of 1st Embodiment is performed as S1-S3. Here, the description is omitted.

  In the joystick control process according to the second embodiment, when it is determined as a result of the process of S3 that the vehicle 1 is positioned in front of a branch point such as a road (S3: Yes), the traveling track selection flag 193d is turned on. Whether or not (S51).

  When the traveling track selection flag 193d is off (S51: No), since the traveling track selection / setting is not completed before the branch point of the road or the like, the same S4 and S5 as in the first embodiment are performed. The processing is executed and the joystick device 13 is instructed to bring the operation lever 13a into an upright state (S4), and the occupant is instructed of the operation lever 13a to instruct the direction in which the vehicle 1 should travel. After prompting the operation, a traveling track selection process is executed (S5), and the direction in which the vehicle 1 that the passenger has instructed is determined from the tilting direction of the operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 in which the passenger has tilted, One travel track is selected from a plurality of recommended tracks that are candidates for the travel track. After the process of S5, the running track running flag 93c is set to ON as in the first embodiment, and in the second embodiment, the running track selection flag 193d is set to ON (S52). Then, the process proceeds to S53.

  On the other hand, if the traveling track selection flag 193d is on as a result of the processing of S51 (S51: Yes), the processing of S4, S5, and S52 has already been executed, and the traveling track It means that selection / setting is completed. Therefore, in this case, the processes of S4, S5, and S52 are skipped, and the process proceeds to S53. Thus, once the vehicle trajectory is selected and set while the vehicle 1 is positioned in front of the branch point of the road or the like on which the travel trajectory has been set, the travel trajectory is again set. The selection / setting can be suppressed.

  If it is determined as a result of the process of S3 that the vehicle 1 is located at a position other than a branch point such as a road (S3: No), the traveling track selection flag 193d is set to off (S56), The process proceeds to S53. As a result, when the vehicle 1 is again positioned in front of a branch point such as a road, a new traveling track is selected and set.

In the process of S53, the position of the route point Q on the travel path that is reached when the vehicle 1 travels along the travel path for a length D from the current vehicle position C acquired by the process of S1. Is calculated (S53). For example, as shown in FIG. 12, when the vehicle 1 is at the position C ₀ at time t ₀ , the vehicle 1 is on the traveling track that is reached when the vehicle travels the length D along the traveling track from the vehicle position C ₀ . It calculates the position of the route point Q _0. Similarly, when the vehicle 1 is at the position C ₁ at time t ₁ , the route point Q ₁ on the traveling track that is reached when the vehicle ₁ travels a length D along the traveling track from the vehicle position C ₁ . The position is calculated, and when the vehicle 1 is at the position C ₂ at time t ₂ , the route point Q on the traveling track that is reached when the vehicle 1 travels the length D along the traveling track from the vehicle position C _{2. 2} position is calculated.

Next, an angle θ formed by a straight line connecting the vehicle position C and the route point Q and an axis on the straight line connecting the rear wheels 2RL and 2RR of the vehicle 1 (the x axis shown in each vehicle 1 in FIG. 12) is calculated. (S54). In the example of FIG. 12, and calculates an angle theta ₀ at time _{t 0,} to calculate the time _{t 1} in the angle theta _1, calculates the time _{t 3} in the angle theta _3.

  Then, the operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 is tilted, and the joystick device 13 is instructed so that the tilt direction is the direction of the angle θ calculated by the process of S54 (S55). Thereby, the joystick device 13 controls the x-axis tilt actuator 13c and the y-axis tilt actuator 13d to tilt the operation lever 13a regardless of the operation of the passenger, and the x-axis tilt actuator 13c and the y-axis By driving the tilt actuator 13d, the control lever 13a is turned so that the tilt direction of the control lever 13a is the direction of the angle θ calculated by the process of S54.

That is, in the example of FIG. 12, when the the time t _0, the operation lever 13a is pivoted such that the tilt direction theta _0, at time t ₁ is pivoted to the operating lever 13a is tilted direction theta ₁ is, at time t _2, the operation lever 13a is pivoted such that the tilt direction theta _2.

  Then, after the process of S55, the same processes of S10 and S11 as in the first embodiment are executed, and after the process of S11, the joystick control process is terminated.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, when the traveling track is set, the x-axis tilting actuator 13c and the y-axis tilting actuator 13d are driven, and the operation lever 13a is operated regardless of the operation of the passenger. And the x-axis tilt actuator 13c and the y-axis tilt actuator 13d are driven so that the tilt direction of the operation lever 13a is long along the traveling track in which the vehicle 1 is set from the current vehicle position of the vehicle 1. The control lever 13a is turned so as to be in a direction indicating a route point on the travel path to be reached when the vehicle travels by the distance D. Thus, the passenger who has instructed the direction in which the vehicle 1 should travel by operating the operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 indicates that the traveling track has been selected and set by the instruction according to the movement of the operation lever 13a. I can know for sure.

  In this case, the operating lever 13a itself operated by the occupant is a route on the traveling track that is reached when the vehicle 1 travels from the current vehicle position of the vehicle 1 along the traveling track set by the length D. Since the vehicle is tilted in the direction pointing to the point, the rider can intuitively and reliably grasp the direction (road or the like) in which the vehicle 1 travels along the selected travel path. Therefore, it is possible to make the passenger surely grasp the timing when the traveling track is selected based on the instruction from the passenger and the selected traveling track while automatically traveling the vehicle in the direction instructed by the passenger. .

  Further, while the vehicle 1 is automatically traveling along the set traveling track, the tilting direction of the operation lever 13a is longer than the current traveling position of the vehicle 1 along the traveling track where the vehicle 1 is set. The operation lever 13a is turned so as to be in a direction indicating a route point on the traveling track that is reached when the vehicle travels only D. Therefore, the passenger can easily grasp in which direction the vehicle 1 travels from the tilting direction of the operation lever 13a. Therefore, the vehicle 1 can be driven automatically while giving a sense of security to the passenger.

  In addition, in 2nd Embodiment, there exists the same effect as 1st Embodiment by the structure same as 1st Embodiment.

  The “traveling route” according to each embodiment corresponds to the “traveling route” according to claim 1, and the “traveling route information” according to each embodiment corresponds to the “information about the traveling route” according to claim 1. To do.

  As described above, the present invention has been described based on the embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various improvements and modifications can be easily made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. It can be guessed. For example, the numerical values given in the above embodiments are examples, and other numerical values can naturally be adopted.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, a case has been described in which one or more recommended tracks are generated in the travel track generation process executed by the travel control device 100, and a travel track is selected from the generated recommended tracks. The travel control device 100 does not necessarily generate a recommended track, and an external device, for example, an external server or an interface that communicates with a mobile terminal device is connected to the travel control device 100. One or more recommended tracks may be acquired from the external device, and a traveling track may be selected from the acquired recommended tracks. Further, even when the travel control device 100 generates a recommended trajectory, another recommended trajectory may be acquired from an external device. By generating a recommended track with an external device, a recommended track generated by various methods can be prepared, and a traveling track can be selected from the recommended tracks.

  In the above embodiment, in the running track generation process, as a method for selecting a running track from the recommended tracks, the road and the vehicle 1 are currently traveling with respect to all the roads and the like connected to the branch points. An angle φ formed with a road or the like is calculated, and a recommended trajectory for traveling the vehicle 1 to the road or the like where the angle φ closest to the tilt direction θ of the operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 operated by the passenger is calculated However, the present invention can be applied to any method for selecting a traveling track from the recommended tracks.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, after the traveling trajectory is set before a branch point such as a road, the passenger 1 wants to proceed as a result of the vehicle 1 traveling while turning toward the road to travel on the traveling trajectory. Even when the turn to the road or the like is completed and the vehicle has completely entered the road or the like, the operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 is turned while turning toward the direction in which the vehicle 1 travels. After the turn to the road or the like that the passenger wants to travel is completed and the vehicle or the like is completely entered, the tilting direction of the operation lever 13a may be fixed at 90 °. For example, in the first embodiment, when the vehicle 1 is traveling in front of a branch point such as a road in the process of S3, the joystick is always set so that the tilting direction of the operation lever 13a is 90 °. You may make it instruct | indicate to the apparatus 13. FIG. Moreover, in the said 2nd Embodiment, after the process of S52 or S56, before the process of S53, the vehicle 1 is a driving | running track selection process (S5 from the present vehicle position of the vehicle 1 acquired by the process of S1. It is determined whether or not the end point of the curve when the vehicle 1 is turned in accordance with the traveling track selected by (1) is determined. If the end point of the curve is not passed, the processing of S53 to S55 is executed and S10 is executed. If the curve has passed the end point of the curve, the joystick device 13 is instructed to set the tilting direction of the operation lever 13a to 90 ° instead of the processing of S53 to S55, and the processing of S10 is performed. You may make it transfer. As a result, when the operation lever 13a of the joystick device 13 is fixed in the tilting direction of 90 °, the occupant completes the turn to the road or the like that the occupant wants to travel to and completes the road or the like. You can know that you have entered.

  In each of the above embodiments, once the traveling track is determined when the vehicle 1 is positioned before the branch point, the vehicle 1 newly travels while the vehicle 1 is traveling in the region before the branch point. The trajectory was not determined. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto, and the vehicle 1 may be configured so that the traveling track can be determined as long as the vehicle 1 is positioned in front of the branch point. For example, the travel control device 100 acquires the tilt direction of the operation lever 13a from the direction detection sensor 13b of the joystick device 13, and operates in a tilt direction different from the tilt direction instructed to the joystick device 13 by the travel control device 100. If it is determined that the lever 13a is tilted, it may be determined that the operation lever 13a has been tilted by the passenger, and the traveling track selection process (S5) may be executed. In the second embodiment, in the joystick control process, the processes of S51 and S56 may be skipped, and only the traveling track retroactive flag 93d may be set to ON in the process of S52. If comprised in this way, while the vehicle 1 is located in front of a branch point, a traveling track can be determined at any time. While the vehicle 1 is positioned in front of the branch point, the vehicle 1 can be determined in a direction different from the direction originally indicated by the occupant in front of the branch point by always allowing the traveling track to be determined. Even when it is desired to advance the vehicle, if the occupant operates the joystick device 13, the traveling track of the vehicle 1 can be determined based on the direction in which the operation lever 13a is newly tilted. Therefore, the traveling track can be determined while more strongly reflecting the intention of the passenger.

In each of the above embodiments, the case where the steering device 5 is configured as a rack and pinion type steering gear has been described. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited to this, and other steering gear mechanisms such as a ball nut type may be employed. Is of course possible.
<Others>
<Means>
The vehicle described in the technical idea 1 is configured so that the vehicle travels along the travel route on the basis of storage means for storing information relating to a preset travel route, and information stored in the storage means. A travel control means for controlling travel of the vehicle, an acquisition means for acquiring a plurality of candidates for the travel route, and configured to be tiltable in an arbitrary direction from an upright state, and the vehicle according to a direction tilted by a passenger of the vehicle One of the plurality of travel route candidates acquired by the acquisition means based on the operating means instructing the direction of travel of the vehicle and the direction of travel of the vehicle instructed by the operation means A selection means for selecting a route, a setting means for setting a travel route by storing information on the travel route selected by the selection means in the storage means, and the operation means. Driving means for moving and tilting the operating means without depending on the operation of the occupant, and when the travel route is selected by the selecting means, the driving of the driving means is controlled and selected. Tilt control means for tilting the operation means in a direction pointing to the travel route.
The vehicle described in the technical idea 2 is the vehicle described in the technical idea 1, in which the vehicle is located in a selection region where one travel route should be selected from a plurality of travel route candidates acquired by the acquisition unit. Position determining means for determining whether or not the vehicle is instructed, and the selection means determines that the vehicle instructed by the operation means when the position determining means determines that the vehicle is located in the selection area. On the basis of the direction to be traveled, one of the plurality of travel route candidates acquired by the acquisition means is selected, and the tilt control means determines whether the travel route is selected by the selection means. After the selected operation unit is tilted, the operation unit is tilted until the position determination unit determines that the vehicle is positioned in the next selection area. It said vehicle by the position determination means when it is determined to be located in the following the selection area, and an upright state of said operating means controls the driving of the driving means.
The vehicle described in the technical idea 3 is the vehicle described in the technical idea 1 or 2, wherein the tilt control unit is configured to tilt the operation unit when the travel route is selected by the selection unit. After that, while the vehicle is traveling along the selected travel route by the travel control unit, the drive unit is controlled to move the operation unit in a direction indicating the direction in which the vehicle travels. Tilt.
The vehicle control program described in the technical idea 4 is executed by the computer of the vehicle including a computer and a storage unit that is used by the computer and stores information related to a preset travel route. An acquisition step of acquiring a plurality of candidates for the travel route, and an operation that is configured to be tiltable in an arbitrary direction from an upright state and that indicates a direction in which the vehicle should proceed by a direction tilted by a passenger of the vehicle A selection step for selecting one travel route from among a plurality of travel route candidates acquired by the acquisition step based on a direction in which the vehicle is to be instructed by means, and a selection is made by the selection step A setting step for setting a travel route by storing information related to the travel route in the storage means, and the setting Based on the information stored in the storage means by the step, a travel control step for controlling the travel of the vehicle so that the vehicle travels along the travel route; and driving the operation means to drive the passenger Performing a tilt control step of controlling the driving means for tilting the operating means regardless of the operation so that the operating means is tilted when the travel route is selected by the selecting means. Let
<Effect>
According to the vehicle described in the technical idea 1, the vehicle is controlled so that the vehicle travels along the travel route by the travel control unit based on the information stored in the storage unit, that is, the information on the travel route set in advance. Is controlled. A plurality of travel route candidates set here are acquired by the acquisition means. The vehicle is provided with operation means that is configured to be tiltable in an arbitrary direction from an upright state and that indicates a direction in which the vehicle should proceed in accordance with a direction tilted by a passenger of the vehicle. Based on the direction of travel of the vehicle instructed by the operation means, one travel route is selected from the plurality of travel routes acquired by the acquisition means by the selection means. Then, information regarding the selected travel route is stored in the storage device by the setting device, and the travel route is set. As a result, the travel route is set based on the direction of travel of the vehicle instructed based on the intention of the passenger, and the travel of the vehicle can be controlled along the travel route. The vehicle is also provided with driving means for driving the operating means to tilt the operating means without depending on the operation of the occupant, and when the travel route is selected by the selecting means, the tilt control means The driving of the driving means is controlled, and the operating means is tilted in the direction indicating the selected travel route. Thereby, the passenger can surely know that the travel route has been selected because the operating means is tilted regardless of the operation of the passenger. Further, in this case, the operation means for instructing the direction in which the occupant should travel tilts in the direction indicating the travel route selected by the selection means, so that the user can board the selected travel route intuitively and reliably. Can be made to grasp. Therefore, it is possible to make the passenger surely grasp the timing when the travel route is selected based on the instruction of the passenger and the selected travel route while automatically driving the vehicle in the direction instructed by the passenger. There is an effect.
Note that the vehicle control program described in the technical idea 4 also has the same operational effects as the vehicle described in the technical idea 1 by executing the vehicle control program on a computer provided in the vehicle.
Here, the “travel route” described in the technical ideas 1 and 4 may indicate a track on which the vehicle should travel, or may simply indicate a road on which the vehicle should travel. Good.
The “acquisition means” described in the technical idea 1 and the “acquisition step” described in the technical idea 4 are a plurality of devices generated from the devices (servers, portable terminals, etc.) provided outside the vehicle. In addition to obtaining the travel route candidates, a plurality of travel route candidates generated in the host vehicle may be obtained. Alternatively, a plurality of travel route candidates may be acquired from outside the vehicle and inside the host vehicle.
In addition, the “instruction of the direction in which the vehicle should travel” instructed by the “instruction means” described in the technical ideas 1 and 4 is not limited to that instructing the direction in which the vehicle should travel directly, It is a concept that includes instructing the direction in which the vehicle should travel indirectly by instructing the steering direction of the vehicle.
According to the vehicle described in the technical idea 2, it is determined whether or not the vehicle is located in a selection region where one travel route should be selected from a plurality of travel route candidates acquired by the acquisition unit. A plurality of travel routes acquired by the acquisition means based on the direction of travel of the vehicle instructed by the operation means when the position determination means determines that the vehicle is located in the selected area. One travel route is selected from the candidates by the selection means. In this way, a selection area for selecting a travel route is provided, and only when the vehicle is located in the selection region, a new route is selected when the vehicle is located outside the selection region by selecting the travel route. It is possible to prevent the travel route from being selected. Therefore, since it is possible to prevent the travel route from being unnecessarily determined, the vehicle can be safely and automatically traveled. Further, after the travel route is selected by the selection unit and the operation unit is tilted by the tilt control unit, the operation is performed by the tilt control unit until the position determination unit determines that the vehicle is located in the next selection area. When the means remains tilted and the position determining means determines that the vehicle is located in the next selected area, the tilt control means controls the driving of the driving means, and the operating means is in an upright state. Thereby, in addition to the effect of the vehicle described in the technical idea 1, it can be easily determined that the vehicle is located in a region where a travel route should be newly selected, and the operation means is in an upright state. There is an effect that it is possible to prompt the passenger to operate the operation means so as to instruct the direction in which the vehicle should travel.
According to the vehicle described in the technical idea 3, after the travel route is selected by the selection unit and the operation unit is tilted by the tilt control unit, the travel control unit moves along the selected travel route. While the vehicle is traveling, the drive of the drive unit is controlled by the tilt control unit, and the operation unit is tilted in a direction indicating the direction in which the vehicle travels. Thus, while the vehicle is traveling along the selected travel route, the passenger can easily grasp in which direction the vehicle travels from the direction in which the operation means is tilted. Therefore, in addition to the effect produced by the vehicle described in the technical idea 1 or 2, there is an effect that the vehicle can be automatically run while giving a sense of security to the passenger.

1 Vehicle 13 Joystick device (operating means)
13c X-axis tilting actuator (part of driving means)
13d y-axis tilting actuator (part of driving means)
91 CPU (computer, travel control means)
92a Program memory (vehicle control program)
93b Traveling track memory (storage means)
S3 (position determination means)
S4 (part of tilt control means, part of tilt control step)
S7 (part of tilt control means, part of tilt control step)
S14 (part of tilt control means, part of tilt control step)
S24 (Acquisition means, acquisition step)
S30 (selection means, selection step)
S31 (setting means, setting step)
S45 (part of tilt control means, part of tilt control step)
S49 (part of tilt control means, part of tilt control step)
S55 (part of tilt control means, part of tilt control step)

Claims (3)

Storage means for storing information relating to a preset travel route;
Travel control means for controlling the travel of the vehicle so that the vehicle travels along the travel route based on the information stored in the storage means;
Obtaining means for obtaining a plurality of candidates for the travel route;
Position determination means for determining whether or not the vehicle is located in a selection region in which one travel route should be selected from a plurality of travel route candidates acquired by the acquisition means;
An operation means configured to be tiltable in an arbitrary direction from an upright state, and instructing a direction in which the vehicle should travel by a direction tilted by a passenger of the vehicle;
When it is determined by the position determination means that the vehicle is located in the selected area, a plurality of pieces of information acquired by the acquisition means are obtained based on the direction in which the vehicle is to be traveled instructed by the operation means. A selection means for selecting one travel route from among travel route candidates;
Setting means for setting a travel route by storing information on the travel route selected by the selection means in the storage means;
Driving means for driving the operating means to tilt the operating means without depending on the operation of the occupant;
When the travel route is selected by the selection means, the driving means is controlled so that the operation means is tilted in a direction indicating the selected travel route, and then the position determination means Until the vehicle is determined to be located in the next selection area, the operation means is tilted, and the position determination means determines that the vehicle is located in the next selection area. And a tilt control means for controlling the drive of the drive means to bring the operating means upright . The tilt control unit causes the operation unit to tilt when the travel route is selected by the selection unit, and then travels the vehicle along the selected travel route by the travel control unit. while they were, the vehicle according to claim 1 which controls the driving of the drive means, and wherein the tilting of the operating means in a direction that points to the direction in which the vehicle proceeds. A vehicle control program executed by the computer of a vehicle comprising a computer and storage means used by the computer and storing information relating to a preset travel route,
An acquisition step of acquiring a plurality of candidates for the travel route;
A position determination step for determining whether or not the vehicle is located in a selection region in which one travel route should be selected from a plurality of travel route candidates acquired by the acquisition step;
It is configured to be tiltable in an arbitrary direction from an upright state , and when the position determination means determines that the vehicle is positioned in the selection area, the direction determined by the vehicle occupant One travel route is selected from a plurality of travel route candidates acquired by the acquisition step based on the direction in which the vehicle is to be traveled, which is instructed by the operation means instructing the direction in which the vehicle is to travel. A selection step;
A setting step for setting a travel route by storing information on the travel route selected in the selection step in the storage unit;
A travel control step for controlling travel of the vehicle based on the information stored in the storage means by the setting step so that the vehicle travels along the travel route;
When the driving means is driven by the selection means by controlling the driving means that drives the operating means to tilt the operating means without depending on the operation of the occupant, the selected driving route The operation means is tilted in a direction pointing to the position, and then the operation means is tilted until the position determination step determines that the vehicle is positioned in the next selection area. A vehicle that executes a tilt control step of controlling the drive of the driving means to bring the operating means upright when the vehicle is determined to be in the next selected area by the position determining step Control program.