JP6743714B2 - Vehicle driving posture adjustment device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle driving posture adjustment device that adjusts the posture of a driver of a vehicle that is capable of autonomous driving.

In recent years, automatic driving technology for automatically driving a vehicle has been realized. In the technology of automatic driving, there is known a technology of notifying a driver when switching from automatic driving to manual driving or from manual driving to automatic driving.

For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a driving posture adjusting device which is mounted on a vehicle capable of automatic driving in place of steering operation and pedal operation and which adjusts the posture of the driver. The driving posture adjusting device includes a display unit that presents to the driver that automatic driving is being performed when executing the automatic driving, and a posture change intention determination unit that detects the intention of the driver to change the posture. In addition, the footrest part moving mechanism that changes the driver's posture, the seat seat surface moving mechanism, and the movable mechanisms that move during automatic driving and when the driver's intention to change the posture is detected. A movable control unit is provided for controlling so as to perform.

JP, 2016-196224, A

However, in Patent Document 1, the posture of the occupant can be easily adjusted to extend the lower limbs during the automatic driving, but since the posture of the occupant during the automatic driving is not restricted, the occupant may have a predetermined suitable posture in an emergency. There is a possibility that a delay may occur when adjusting the posture of the above, and there is room for improvement.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above facts, and it is possible to suppress a delay in response when the posture of the occupant is set to a predetermined proper posture in an emergency, and to make the occupant recognize that there is a duty of monitoring. With the goal.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to claim 1 determines a surrounding state of a vehicle and a traveling state of the vehicle, and performs a control for switching the operating state of the vehicle between automatic driving and manual driving. An operating section for performing an operation for adjusting each of a vehicle seat position and a steering position, a seat adjusting section for adjusting a vehicle seat position, a steering adjusting section for adjusting a vehicle steering position, a seat and a steering wheel. When the operating state by the operation control unit and the detection unit for detecting the position of each of the above, the seat adjustment unit and the steering adjustment unit are controlled according to the operation of the operation unit, and the operation control is performed. When the operating state of the vehicle is automatic, the seat adjustment is performed by limiting the adjustment range of each of the seat position and the steering position to a predetermined range based on the operation result of the operation unit and the detection result of the detection unit. and a control unit for controlling the parts and the steering adjusting unit, wherein the control unit monitors the degree of driving conditions by the occupant as the automatic operation level becomes higher can be automatically operated at a low Kunar plurality of automatic operation level The seat adjustment unit and the steering adjustment unit are controlled within the predetermined range so as to limit the degree of freedom of the occupant as the automatic driving level decreases.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the operation control unit performs control to determine the surrounding state of the vehicle and the traveling state of the vehicle and switch the operating state of the vehicle between automatic driving and manual driving. For example, in an emergency, automatic driving is switched to manual driving.

Further, the operation unit allows the operation of adjusting the seat position and the steering position of the vehicle, the seat position of the vehicle is adjusted by the seat adjusting unit, and the steering position is adjusted by the steering adjusting unit. Further, the respective positions of the seat and the steering are detected by the detection unit.

When the driving state by the driving control unit is the manual driving, the control unit controls the seat adjusting unit and the steering adjusting unit according to the operation of the operation unit to adjust the driving posture according to the instruction of the occupant. It On the other hand, when the operation state by the operation control unit is automatic operation, the seat adjustment is performed by limiting the adjustment range of each of the seat position and the steering position to a predetermined range based on the operation result of the operation unit and the detection result of the detection unit. The driving posture is limited to a predetermined range by controlling the control unit and the steering adjustment unit. Further, the control unit, monitoring the degree of driving conditions by the occupant as the automatic operation level is high is possible to automatic operation at a low Kunar plurality of automatic operation level, as the predetermined range, as the automatic operation level is low the passenger The seat adjustment unit and the steering adjustment unit are controlled within a range that limits the degree of freedom of the. As a result, it is possible to suppress the delay in handling when the posture of the occupant is changed to a predetermined proper posture in an emergency and to make the occupant recognize that he/she is obliged to monitor.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to suppress the response delay when the posture of the occupant is set to a predetermined proper posture in an emergency, and it is possible to make the occupant recognize that there is a duty of monitoring. There is.

It is a block diagram showing the composition of the control device for vehicles concerning this embodiment. It is a figure for explaining adjustment of a driving posture. It is a figure which shows an example of the adjustment restriction|limiting of the driving attitude in each of manual driving and automatic driving. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of processing performed by a driving attitude control ECU of the vehicle control device according to the present embodiment.

Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, a vehicle control device will be described as an example of a vehicle driving posture adjustment device. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the vehicle control device according to the present embodiment.

The vehicle control device 10 includes a communication control unit 12, an external sensor 14, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiving unit 16, an internal sensor 18, a map database 20, and a navigation system 22. The communication controller 12, the external sensor 14, the GPS receiver 16, the internal sensor 18, the map database 20, and the navigation system 22 are each connected to an in-vehicle network 24 such as a CAN (Controller Area Network). Each of the automatic driving control ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 26, the HMI (Human Machine Interface) 28, and the driving attitude control ECU 32 is further connected to the vehicle-mounted network 24. The automatic driving control ECU 26 corresponds to an example of a driving control unit, the HMI 28 corresponds to an example of an operation unit, and the driving attitude control ECU 32 corresponds to an example of a control unit.

The communication control unit 12 transmits/receives vehicle peripheral information and the like between the vehicle and the outside of the vehicle. For example, it communicates with an infrastructure (for example, an optical beacon) provided on the road side and receives peripheral information such as traffic information. Further, the communication control unit 12 communicates with an external server such as a cloud via a network such as a mobile phone communication network. The communication control unit 12 can transmit the acquired information such as the peripheral information to the devices connected to the vehicle-mounted network 24.

The external sensor 14 detects an external situation, which is peripheral information of the vehicle. The external sensor 14 includes at least one of a camera, a radar, and a lidar (LIDER: Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging). The camera is provided, for example, on the inside of the upper part of the windshield of the vehicle and acquires the image pickup information by photographing the outside condition of the vehicle. The camera is capable of transmitting the acquired shooting information to a device connected to the vehicle-mounted network 24. The camera may be a monocular camera or a stereo camera. In the case of a stereo camera, it has two imaging units arranged so as to reproduce binocular parallax. The image pickup information of the stereo camera also includes information in the depth direction. The radar detects an obstacle by transmitting a radio wave (for example, a millimeter wave) around the vehicle and receiving a radio wave reflected by the obstacle, and transmits the detected obstacle information to a device connected to the vehicle-mounted network 24. It is possible to send. The rider transmits light around the vehicle and receives the light reflected by the obstacle to measure the distance to the reflection point and detect the obstacle. The rider can transmit the detected obstacle information to the device connected to the vehicle-mounted network 24. The camera, the rider and the radar do not necessarily have to be provided in duplicate.

The GPS receiver 16 measures the position of the vehicle (for example, the latitude and longitude of the vehicle) by receiving signals from three or more GPS satellites. The GPS receiving unit 16 is capable of transmitting the position information of the positioned vehicle to the device connected to the in-vehicle network 24. It should be noted that instead of the GPS receiving unit 16, other means that can specify the latitude and longitude of the vehicle may be used. In addition, it is preferable to have a function of measuring the azimuth of the vehicle in order to compare the measurement result of the sensor with the map information described later.

The internal sensor 18 detects a vehicle state such as a traveling state by detecting various physical quantities when the vehicle is traveling. The internal sensor 18 includes, for example, at least one of a vehicle speed sensor, an acceleration sensor, and a yaw rate sensor. The vehicle speed sensor is provided on, for example, a wheel of a vehicle, a hub, a rotor, a drive shaft, or the like that rotates integrally with the wheel, and detects the vehicle speed by detecting the rotational speed of the wheel. The vehicle speed sensor can transmit the detected vehicle speed information (wheel speed information) to a device connected to the vehicle-mounted network 24. The acceleration sensor detects acceleration generated by acceleration/deceleration of the vehicle, turning, collision, or the like. The acceleration sensor includes, for example, a longitudinal acceleration sensor that detects the longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle, a lateral acceleration sensor that detects the lateral acceleration of the vehicle in the lateral direction (vehicle width direction), and a vertical acceleration sensor that detects the vertical acceleration of the vehicle. And an acceleration sensor. The acceleration sensor can transmit the acceleration information of the vehicle to a device connected to the in-vehicle network 24. The yaw rate sensor detects a yaw rate (rotational angular velocity) around the vertical axis of the center of gravity of the vehicle. As the yaw rate sensor, for example, a gyro sensor can be used. The yaw rate sensor can transmit the detected yaw rate information to a device connected to the vehicle-mounted network 24.

The map database 20 is a database including map information. The map database 20 is stored in, for example, an HDD (Hard disk drive) mounted on the vehicle. The map information includes, for example, road position information, road shape information (for example, curve, type of straight line portion, curvature of curve, etc.), and intersection and branch point position information. Further, the output information of the external sensor 14 may be included in the map information in order to use the position information of the shielding structure such as a building or a wall and the SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) technology. The map database 20 may be stored in a computer in a facility such as an information processing center that can communicate with the vehicle.

The navigation system 22 guides the driver of the vehicle to a destination set by the driver of the vehicle. The navigation system 22 calculates the route traveled by the vehicle based on the vehicle position information determined by the GPS receiver 16 and the map information in the map database 20. The route may specify a suitable lane in a section of a plurality of lanes. The navigation system 22 calculates, for example, a target route from the position of the vehicle to the destination, and notifies the occupant of the target route by displaying it on a display and outputting a sound from a speaker. The navigation system 22 is capable of transmitting information on the target route of the vehicle to the devices connected to the vehicle-mounted network 24. The function of the navigation system 22 may be stored in a computer of a facility such as an information processing center that can communicate with the vehicle.

The automatic driving control ECU 26 is composed of a microcomputer including a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like. Further, an actuator 34, an auxiliary device 36, a brake light 38, and an HMI 28 are connected to the automatic driving control ECU 26.

The automatic operation control ECU 26 controls the operations of the actuator 34, the auxiliary device 36, the braking light 38, the HMI 28, etc. by executing a program stored in the ROM in advance in the RAM and executing the program by the CPU to perform the automatic operation. .. The automatic driving control ECU 26 may be composed of a plurality of electronic control units.

The actuator 34 is a control target when performing automatic driving control of the vehicle, and the automatic driving control ECU 26 controls the operation of the actuator 34 to control the traveling of the vehicle. Specifically, the actuator 34 includes at least a throttle actuator, a brake actuator, and a steering actuator. The throttle actuator controls the amount of air supplied to the engine (throttle opening) in accordance with an instruction from the automatic driving control ECU 26, and controls the driving force of the vehicle. When the vehicle is a hybrid vehicle or an electric vehicle, the driving force is controlled by inputting an instruction from the automatic driving control ECU 26 to a motor as a power source without including a throttle actuator. The brake actuator controls the braking system according to an instruction from the automatic driving control ECU 26, controls the braking force applied to the wheels of the vehicle, and controls the lighting of the brake lights 38. As the brake system, for example, a hydraulic brake system can be used. The steering actuator controls the drive of the assist motor that controls the steering torque in the electric power steering system according to an instruction from the automatic driving control ECU 26. As a result, the steering actuator controls the steering torque of the vehicle. The auxiliary device 36 is usually a device that can be operated by the driver of the vehicle. The auxiliary device 36 is a general term for devices that are not included in the actuator 34. The auxiliary device 36 here includes, for example, a direction indicator light, a headlight, a wiper, and the like.

Specifically, the automatic driving control ECU 26 includes a vehicle position recognition unit 40, an external situation recognition unit 42, a traveling state recognition unit 44, a traveling plan generation unit 46, a traveling control unit 48, and an auxiliary device control unit 50. ing. The automatic driving control ECU 26 generates a travel plan along a preset target route based on the peripheral information and the map information of the vehicle by the above-mentioned units, and controls the operation of the vehicle so that the vehicle runs autonomously according to the generated travel plan. .. In addition, the automatic driving control ECU 26 determines the surrounding state of the vehicle from the information on the surroundings of the vehicle, and also determines the running state of the vehicle from the detection result of the internal sensor 18 and the operation instruction of the HMI 28 to perform automatic driving and manual operation of the vehicle. Control is performed to switch the operating state between running and running. For example, control is performed to switch from manual transporter to automatic driving in response to an instruction from an occupant, control to switch from automatic driving to manual driving in an emergency, and the like.

The vehicle position recognizing unit 40 recognizes the position of the vehicle on the map (hereinafter referred to as “vehicle position”) based on the vehicle position information received by the GPS receiving unit 16 and the map information of the map database 4. The vehicle position recognizing unit 40 may acquire the vehicle position used in the navigation system 22 from the navigation system 22 and recognize it. When the vehicle position can be measured by a sensor installed outside the road or the like, the vehicle position recognition unit 40 may acquire the vehicle position by communication from this sensor.

The external situation recognizing unit 42 is based on the peripheral information acquired by the communication control unit 12 and the detection result of the external sensor 14 (for example, the image pickup information of the camera, the obstacle information of the radar, the obstacle information of the rider, etc.). Recognize the external situation as the peripheral state of. The external condition includes, for example, the position of the white line of the traveling lane with respect to the vehicle, the position of the lane center, the road width, the road shape, the condition of obstacles around the vehicle, and the like. Note that the road shape includes, for example, the curvature of the traveling lane, the change in the road surface slope effective for estimating the line-of-sight of the external sensor 14, the swell, and the like. In addition, as the condition of the obstacle around the vehicle, for example, information for distinguishing a fixed obstacle from a moving obstacle, the position of the obstacle with respect to the vehicle, the moving direction of the obstacle with respect to the vehicle, the relative speed of the obstacle with respect to the vehicle, etc. There is. Further, it is preferable to supplement the accuracy of the position and direction of the vehicle acquired by the GPS receiving unit 16 or the like by collating the detection result of the external sensor 14 with the map information.

The traveling state recognition unit 44 recognizes the traveling state of the vehicle based on the detection result of the internal sensor 18 (for example, vehicle speed information of the vehicle speed sensor, acceleration information of the acceleration sensor, yaw rate information of the yaw rate sensor, etc.). The traveling state of the vehicle includes, for example, vehicle speed, acceleration, and yaw rate.

The travel plan generation unit 46, for example, the target route calculated by the navigation system 22, the vehicle position recognized by the vehicle position recognition unit 40, and the external situation of the vehicle (vehicle position, vehicle position recognized by the external situation recognition unit 42, The route of the vehicle is generated based on (including the bearing). As a course to be generated, a trajectory along which the vehicle travels on the target route is generated. The travel plan generation unit 46 generates a route so that the vehicle travels on the target route in light of the criteria such as safety, legal compliance, and traveling efficiency. At this time, it goes without saying that the travel plan generation unit 46 generates the route of the vehicle so as to avoid contact with the obstacle based on the condition of the obstacle around the vehicle. In addition, the destination route is explicitly set by the driver in the target route, as in the case of road traveling in Japanese Patent No. 5382218 (WO2011/158347) and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-162132. It also includes travel routes that are automatically generated based on external conditions and map information when not inspected. The travel plan generation unit 46 generates a travel plan according to the generated course. That is, the travel plan generation unit 46 generates a travel plan along a preset target route based on at least the external information that is the peripheral information of the vehicle and the map information of the map database 20. The travel plan generation unit 46 preferably generates a travel plan including a set of two elements, that is, a target position p in a coordinate system in which the course of the vehicle is fixed to the vehicle and a speed v at each target point, that is, Output as having a plurality of coordination coordinates (p, v). Here, each target position p has at least an x-coordinate position, a y-coordinate position in a coordinate system fixed to the vehicle, or information equivalent thereto. The travel plan is not particularly limited as long as it describes the behavior of the vehicle. In the travel plan, for example, the target time t may be used instead of the speed v, or the target time t and the direction of the vehicle at that time may be added. In addition, in general, future travel data of several seconds ahead of the current time is sufficient for the travel plan, but data of several tens of seconds is required depending on the situation such as turning right at an intersection or passing a vehicle. It is preferable that the number of coordination coordinates is variable and the distance between coordination coordinates is also variable. Further, a curve connecting the coordination coordinates may be approximated by a spline function or the like, and the parameters of the curve may be used as the travel plan. Any known method can be used to generate the travel plan as long as it can describe the behavior of the vehicle. Further, the travel plan may be data indicating changes in the vehicle speed, acceleration/deceleration, steering torque, etc. of the vehicle when the vehicle travels along the route along the target route. The travel plan may include a vehicle speed pattern, an acceleration/deceleration pattern, and a steering pattern. The travel plan generation unit 46 here may generate the travel plan so that the travel time (the time required for the vehicle to reach the destination) is minimized. Incidentally, the speed pattern is, for example, data including a target vehicle speed set in association with time for each target control position with respect to the target control position set at a predetermined interval (for example, 1 m) on the course. The acceleration/deceleration pattern is, for example, data of target acceleration/deceleration set in association with time for each target control position with respect to the target control position set at a predetermined interval (for example, 1 m) on the course. The steering pattern is, for example, data that includes target steering torques that are set in association with time for each target control position with respect to the target control position that is set at a predetermined interval (for example, 1 m) on the path.

The travel control unit 48 automatically controls the travel of the vehicle based on the travel plan generated by the travel plan generation unit 46. The traveling control unit 48 outputs a control signal according to the traveling plan to the actuator 34. As a result, the traveling control unit 48 controls the driving of the vehicle so that the vehicle autonomously travels according to the traveling plan. In order to run autonomously, the traveling control unit 48 travels while controlling the traveling of the vehicle while monitoring the recognition results of the vehicle position recognition unit 40, the external situation recognition unit 42, and the traveling state recognition unit 44. The driving of the vehicle is controlled according to the plan.

The auxiliary device control unit 50 integrates the signal output from the HMI 28 into the travel plan generated by the travel plan generation unit 46 to control the auxiliary device 36.

The HMI 28 notifies an occupant of various information such as the state of the vehicle and inputs information from the occupant. The HMI 28 is, for example, a switch for operating a direction indicator light, a headlight, a wiper, etc., a changeover switch related to automatic driving, a display for displaying various information, an operation unit for performing various operation inputs, and notifying various information. It includes a light emitting device, a speaker, etc. The various operation inputs include an operation input for adjusting the position of the steering wheel and an operation input for adjusting the vehicle seat. It should be noted that the changeover switch relating to the automatic driving can issue an instruction to switch between the automatic driving and the manual driving, an instruction to end the switching from the automatic driving to the manual driving, and the like.

Further, the driving posture control ECU 32 controls the adjustment of the angle of the seat back of the vehicle seat, and the movement control of the seat slide position, the lift position of the seat cushion, the up/down front/rear position of the steering wheel, and the like.

The driving posture control ECU 32 includes a seat back drive unit 30 for adjusting a seat back angle of a vehicle seat, a seat slide drive unit 31 for adjusting a seat slide position, and a lifter drive unit 33 for adjusting a lift position of a seat cushion. Are connected. Further, the driving posture control ECU 32 is connected to a tilt drive unit 35 that adjusts a steering tilt mechanism and a telescopic drive unit 37 that drives a steering telescopic mechanism (hereinafter referred to as telescopic). Then, the driving posture control ECU 32 adjusts the driving posture of the occupant by controlling the driving of each drive unit. The seat back drive unit 30, the seat slide drive unit 31, and the lifter drive unit 33 correspond to an example of a seat adjustment unit, and the tilt drive unit 35 and the telescopic drive unit 37 correspond to an example of a steering adjustment unit. Further, although the seat back drive unit 30, the seat slide drive unit 31, and the lifter drive unit 33 are driven by actuators such as separate motors in the present embodiment, by a mechanism that switches the drive using a single actuator or the like. It may be configured to drive each. Similarly, although the tilt drive unit 35 and the telescopic drive unit 37 are driven by separate actuators such as motors in the present embodiment, they are driven by a mechanism that switches the drive using a single actuator. May be

As shown in FIG. 2, the seatback drive unit 30 drives in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 2 in order to adjust the reclining angle of the seatback 56 of the vehicle seat 54.

The seat slide driving unit 31 drives the vehicle seat 54 in the direction of arrow D in FIG. 2 (vehicle front-rear direction) in order to adjust the slide position of the vehicle seat 54.

The lifter drive unit 33 drives the seat cushion 58 of the vehicle seat 54 in the direction of arrow E in FIG. 2 (vertical direction of the vehicle) in order to adjust the lift position of the vehicle seat 54.

The tilt drive unit 35 drives the tilt mechanism of the steering wheel 52 in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 2 (vertical direction of the vehicle) in order to adjust the vehicle vertical position of the steering wheel 52.

The telescopic drive unit 37 drives the telescopic mechanism of the steering in the arrow B direction (vehicle front-rear direction) in FIG. 2 in order to adjust the position of the steering wheel 52 in the vehicle front-rear direction.

The driving attitude control ECU 32 controls each drive unit to adjust the occupant attitude according to an operation instruction of the HMI 28 by the occupant. The driving posture control ECU 32 may have a function as a detection unit by detecting the position of each of the vehicle seat 54 and the steering 52 based on the drive amount of each drive unit. Alternatively, a sensor for detecting each of the slide position of the vehicle seat, the reclining angle of the seat back 56, the lift position of the seat cushion 58, the vertical position of the steering wheel, and the front-back position of the steering wheel 52 is provided as a detection unit, and each position is set. May be detected.

By the way, in this embodiment, since automatic driving is possible, it is conceivable that the occupant adjusts the driving posture to a comfortable position by operating the HMI 28 during automatic driving. When adjusting the driving posture during automatic driving, if the driving posture can be adjusted without limitation, the response delay may occur when the occupant needs to have a predetermined proper posture when switching to manual driving due to an emergency. Can occur. Therefore, in the present embodiment, in the case of automatic driving, the adjustment of the driving posture is limited, and the driving posture control ECU 32 performs the control for adjusting the driving posture, thereby suppressing the response delay in an emergency. There is.

In the present embodiment, as the automatic operation level, an automatic operation level that needs to be monitored (hereinafter referred to as an automatic operation level 2) and an automatic operation level that does not require monitoring but has a change of operation in an emergency (hereinafter referred to as an automatic operation level 3). It is possible to adjust the driving posture according to the driving situation. Here, the automatic operation level 2 is a state in which the system performs a plurality of operations of acceleration, steering, and braking, and it is necessary to monitor and operate the operation status. Examples of the automatic driving level 2 include automatic driving in which the vehicle travels following a vehicle ahead. The automatic driving level 3 is a state in which the system performs all of acceleration, steering, and braking, and the occupant responds when the system requests. In the automatic driving level 3, the system that automatically accelerates, steers, and brakes is all performed, and the driver is normally released from driving. However, in an emergency or when the system is at the limit, the system requests the operation switching. The driver needs to respond appropriately.

In the present embodiment, in the case of manual driving, as shown in FIG. 3, the adjustment of the steering wheel 52 (tilt and telescoping) and the adjustment of the vehicle seat 54 (slide, reclining, and lifter) are all freely adjusted. Made possible.

On the other hand, in the case of automatic driving, at the automatic driving level 2, since it is necessary to constantly monitor the driving situation, the adjustment of the steering wheel 52 and the adjustment of the vehicle seat 54 are restricted to be impossible. Further, in the automatic driving level 3, since it is not necessary to constantly monitor the driving situation, some of them are limited to be adjustable. Specifically, the adjustable range of each of the steering wheel 52 and the vehicle seat 54 is limited to a part of the total adjustable range to suppress the response delay in an emergency. For example, it is possible to adjust within a predetermined adjustment range from a position having a predetermined suitable posture, and to limit the adjustment beyond the adjustment range.

When the occupant operates the HMI 28 to adjust the driving posture, the driving posture control ECU 32 controls each drive unit according to the above-described limit, thereby limiting the adjustment of the driving posture according to the driving state. To do. As a result, it is possible to suppress a delay in handling when it is necessary to take the occupant in a predetermined proper posture in an emergency, and it is possible to make the occupant recognize that he/she is obliged to monitor. When the occupant tries to adjust the driving posture beyond the adjustment limit range of the driving posture, the reason for warning may be notified by sound or display.

Next, a specific process performed by the driving attitude control ECU 32 of the vehicle control device 10 according to the present embodiment configured as described above will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of processing performed by the driving attitude control ECU 32 of the vehicle control device 10 according to the present embodiment. The process of FIG. 4 starts when the occupant operates the HMI 28 to instruct the adjustment of the driving posture.

When the occupant operates the HMI 28 to instruct to adjust the driving posture, in step 100, the driving posture control ECU 32 detects the driving state and shifts to step 102. The detection of the driving state detects whether the control state of the automatic driving control ECU 26 is the state of manual driving or the state of automatic driving. In addition, when it is in the state of automatic driving, the automatic driving level is detected.

In step 102, the driving posture control ECU 32 determines whether or not the vehicle is in an automatic driving state. In the case of manual operation, the determination is negative and the process proceeds to step 104, and when the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 106.

In step 104, since the driving posture control ECU 32 is in the state of manual driving, the driving posture is adjusted by controlling each drive unit according to the instruction of the HMI 28, and the series of processes is ended. That is, since it is in the state of manual driving, as shown in FIG. 3, the driving posture is freely adjusted without limitation.

On the other hand, in step 106, the driving attitude control ECU 32 controls each drive unit according to the instruction of the HMI 28 with a restriction because the driving attitude control ECU 32 is in the automatic driving state, adjusts the driving attitude, and ends the series of processes. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, in the case of the state of the automatic driving level 2, all the adjustments are made impossible and the adjustment of the driving posture is restricted. On the other hand, in the case of the automatic operation level 3, the adjustment range is limited to a part, the current adjustment position is detected, and the adjustment is performed within the adjustment range in which the driving posture is limited. As a result, it is possible to suppress a delay in handling when the occupant takes a predetermined proper posture in an emergency. Note that, when the adjustment range limited before adjustment is exceeded, the driving posture control ECU 32 may control each drive unit so as to change the adjustment range within the limit.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the driving attitude adjustment ECU 32 performs control for adjusting the driving attitude by limiting the adjustment of the driving attitude in the case of manual driving and the case of automatic driving. It is possible to suppress a delay in responding when taking an appropriate posture and to make an occupant recognize that there is a duty of monitoring.

Note that, in the above embodiment, an example (FIG. 3) of limiting the driving posture during automatic driving has been described, but the limiting range is not limited to the above. For example, in the case of the automatic driving level 2, the adjustment may be limited to a part of the range, or the adjustment range may be limited to a part different from the above embodiment, instead of limiting all. Further, in the present embodiment, the vehicle control device 10 capable of automatic driving of the automatic driving levels 2 and 3 has been described as an example, but the automatic driving of only the automatic driving level 2 or the automatic driving of only the automatic driving level 3 can be performed. A possible vehicle control device may be applied.

Further, although the processing performed by the driving attitude control ECU 32 in the above-described embodiment has been described as the software processing performed by executing the program, the processing may be performed by hardware. Alternatively, the processing may be a combination of both software and hardware. Further, the program stored in the ROM may be stored in various storage media and distributed.

Further, the present invention is not limited to the above, and it goes without saying that other than the above, the present invention can be variously modified and implemented without departing from the spirit of the invention.

10 Vehicle control device 26 Automatic driving control ECU (driving control unit)
28 HMI (operation unit)
30 Seat back drive unit (seat adjustment unit)
31 Seat slide drive unit (seat adjustment unit)
32 Driving posture control ECU (control unit and detection unit)
33 Lifter drive unit (seat adjustment unit)
35 Tilt drive unit (steering adjustment unit)
37 Telescopic drive unit (steering adjustment unit)
52 Steering 54 Vehicle Seat 56 Seat Back 58 Seat Cushion

Claims (1)

A driving control unit that determines the surrounding state of the vehicle and the traveling state of the vehicle, and performs control to switch the driving state of the vehicle between automatic driving and manual driving,
An operation unit for performing an operation of adjusting each of a vehicle seat position and a steering position,
A seat adjustment unit that adjusts the seat position of the vehicle,
A steering adjustment unit that adjusts the steering position of the vehicle,
A detection unit that detects the positions of the seat and steering,
When the driving state by the driving control unit is manual driving, the seat adjusting unit and the steering adjusting unit are controlled according to the operation of the operation unit, and when the driving state by the driving control unit is automatic driving, A control unit for controlling the seat adjustment unit and the steering adjustment unit by limiting the adjustment range of each of the seat position and the steering position to a predetermined range based on the operation of the operation unit and the detection result of the detection unit. When,
Equipped with
Wherein the control unit monitors the degree of driving conditions by the occupant as the automatic operation level is high is possible to automatic operation at a low Kunar plurality of automatic operation level, as a range in which the predetermined, as the automatic operation level is low A vehicle driving posture adjusting device for controlling the seat adjusting unit and the steering adjusting unit within a range that limits the degree of freedom of an occupant.