WO2018179626A1 - Vehicle control system, vehicle control method, vehicle control device, and vehicle control program - Google Patents

Abstract

A vehicle control system comprising: a travel control unit (141) that executes travel control of a vehicle without driving operations being carried out by a vehicle occupant; a state assessing unit (160) that assesses the state of equipment used for the execution of the travel control by the travel control unit; and a level determination unit (180) that determines the level of travel control executed by the travel control unit on the basis of the state of the equipment assessed by the state assessing unit.

Description

Vehicle control system, vehicle control method, vehicle control device, and vehicle control program

The present invention relates to a vehicle control system, a vehicle control method, a vehicle control device, and a vehicle control program.
This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-67529 filed in Japan on March 30, 2017, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, research on a technique for automatically driving at least one of acceleration / deceleration or steering of a vehicle to drive the vehicle (hereinafter referred to as “automatic driving”) has been advanced. In relation to this, a technique is known in which individual states of a plurality of automatic driving execution units are diagnosed and a notification mode to the outside of the vehicle is determined according to the diagnosis result (for example, see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2015-162005

In the conventional technology, there are cases where it is not possible to control the traveling of the vehicle according to the state of the device used to execute the traveling control on the vehicle. The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and can be changed to an appropriate control mode based on the state of the equipment of the vehicle, a vehicle control method, a vehicle control device, and a vehicle. One of the purposes is to provide a control program.

(1): a traveling control unit that executes traveling control of a vehicle without depending on a driving operation of an occupant, a state determining unit that determines a state of a device used for execution of traveling control by the traveling control unit, and the state determination And a degree determining unit that determines a degree of traveling control by the traveling control unit based on the state of the device determined by the unit.

(2): In (1), when the degree determination unit determines that the state of the device has been lowered by the state determination unit, the degree determination unit determines the degree of the vehicle traveling control by the traveling control unit. The degree is determined to be lower than the degree of travel control.

(3): In (2), an actuator that drives, brakes, or steers the vehicle, a communication unit that communicates with a device in travel control of the vehicle, and a reduction in the state of the vehicle with respect to the occupant A first notifying unit for notifying, and a second notifying unit for notifying a state of travel control of the vehicle with respect to the occupant, wherein the degree determining unit includes the actuator determined by the state determining unit, the communication When at least one of the states of the part, the first notifying part, or the second notifying part is lowered, the degree is changed to a lower degree than the current traveling control degree.

(4): In any one of (1) to (3), when the degree determination unit determines that the degree of travel control of the vehicle is to be changed, the occupant is manually driven. It is further provided with a notification unit for performing notification to that effect.

(5): In (4), a surrounding state acquisition unit that acquires a surrounding state of the vehicle, an operating state determination unit that acquires an operating state of an actuator that executes the traveling control, and a reception unit that receives an operation of the occupant An operation state determination unit that acquires the state of the peripheral state acquisition unit, the operation state determination unit, or the operation state determination unit each provided in a plurality of systems, the state determination unit is the peripheral The status acquisition unit, the operating state determination unit, or the operation state determination unit acquires the state of each system, the notification unit, among the states determined by the state determination unit, the peripheral status acquisition unit, When it is determined that the state of at least one system among the states of the respective systems of the operating state determination unit or the operation state determination unit is reduced, manual operation is performed on the occupant. And it performs a notification to do.

(6): In (4), the information processing apparatus further includes a reception unit that receives an instruction to execute or stop travel control on the vehicle, the state determination unit acquires a state of the reception unit, and the notification unit includes the state When the determination unit determines that the instruction cannot be input from the reception unit, the occupant is notified that manual operation is to be performed.

(7): In (6), the state determination unit acquires the state of the reception unit, and the traveling control unit receives the reception acquired by the state determination unit in a state where the traveling control is not performed. When it is determined that the state of the section has decreased, the manual operation is maintained even when the reception section receives an instruction to execute the travel control.

(8): In (6), the vehicle further includes a travel state determination unit (170) for determining a travel state of the vehicle, and the travel control unit is stopped by the travel state determination unit. When it is determined that the vehicle is in a state, the current traveling control of the vehicle is maintained.

(9): A vehicle in which the in-vehicle computer executes vehicle travel control without depending on the driving operation of an occupant, and changes the degree of the travel control based on the state of a device used for execution of the vehicle travel control. It is a control method.

(10): A storage device that stores information and a hardware processor that executes a program stored in the storage device, the hardware processor performing vehicle travel control regardless of the driving operation of the occupant. The vehicle control device is configured to execute and determine the degree of the travel control based on the state of the device used for executing the travel control.

(11): The in-vehicle computer is caused to execute the vehicle travel control without depending on the driving operation of the occupant, and the degree of the travel control is changed based on the state of the device used for executing the vehicle travel control. It is a vehicle control program.

According to (1) or (9) to (11), it is possible to change to an appropriate control mode based on the state of the vehicle equipment.

According to (2) or (3), when the state of the device relating to the execution of the travel control is lowered, it is possible to perform control such as deceleration by vehicle judgment. Therefore, appropriate vehicle control can be performed.

According to (4), when the state of the equipment related to the execution of the travel control is lowered, it is possible to notify the occupant of the driving takeover request, so that the manual driving can be appropriately taken over.

According to (5) or (6), when the traveling control can be continued, the takeover request can be issued while continuing the control. Therefore, the occupant can take over the manual operation smoothly without suddenly switching the control.

According to (7) or (8), it is possible to suppress the travel control from being performed in a state where the state of the device is lowered, and it is possible to reduce occupant discomfort.

It is a figure showing an example of composition of vehicle system 1 of an embodiment. It is a figure which shows a mode that the relative position and attitude | position of the vehicle M with respect to the driving lane L1 are recognized by the own vehicle position recognition part 122. FIG. It is a figure which shows a mode that a target track is produced | generated based on a recommended lane. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the driving force output device 200, the brake device 210, and the steering device 220. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the apparatus state determination part 160. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation control degree determination table 191. It is a figure which shows an example of the traveling control table 192. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of the traveling control process of embodiment. It is a figure showing an example of hardware constitutions of automatic operation control unit 100 of an embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of a vehicle control system, a vehicle control method, a vehicle control device, and a vehicle control program according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the embodiment, it is assumed that the vehicle control system is applied to an autonomous driving vehicle. In the automatic driving, for example, the vehicle is driven by automatically controlling at least one of acceleration / deceleration or steering of the vehicle without depending on the driving operation of the occupant. For example, when the driving support device such as ALC (Auto Lane Changing), LSP (Low Speed Car Passing) is operating, or automatic driving that automatically performs lane change, merging, and branching. included.

[overall structure]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a vehicle system 1 according to the embodiment. A vehicle on which the vehicle system 1 is mounted (hereinafter referred to as a vehicle M) is, for example, a vehicle such as a two-wheel, three-wheel, or four-wheel vehicle, and a drive source thereof is an internal combustion engine such as a diesel engine or a gasoline engine, an electric motor, These are combinations. The electric motor operates using electric power generated by a generator connected to the internal combustion engine or electric discharge power of a secondary battery or a fuel cell.

The vehicle system 1 includes, for example, a camera 10, a radar device 12, a finder 14, an object recognition device 16, a communication device 20, an HMI (Human Machine Interface) 30, a seat device 40, a navigation device 50, An MPU (Micro-Processing Unit) 60, a vehicle sensor 70, a driving operator 80, a vehicle interior camera 90, an automatic driving control unit 100, a traveling driving force output device 200, a brake device 210, and a steering device 220. With. These devices are connected to each other by a multiple communication line such as a CAN (Controller Area Network) communication line, a serial communication line, a wireless communication network, or the like. The communication line and the communication network are examples of the “communication unit”. The configuration illustrated in FIG. 1 is merely an example, and a part of the configuration may be omitted, or another configuration such as a power supply unit may be added.

In the embodiment, the “vehicle control system” includes, for example, the HMI 30, the vehicle sensor 70, the driving operator 80, the automatic driving control unit 100, the travel driving force output device 200, the brake device 210, and the steering device 220. including. The automatic driving control unit 100 is an example of a “vehicle control device”.

The camera 10 is a digital camera using a solid-state image sensor such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor). One or a plurality of cameras 10 are attached to any part of the vehicle M on which the vehicle system 1 is mounted. When imaging the front, the camera 10 is attached to the upper part of the front windshield, the rear surface of the rearview mirror, or the like. When imaging the rear, the camera 10 is attached to an upper part of the rear windshield, a back door, or the like. When imaging the side, the camera 10 is attached to a door mirror or the like. For example, the camera 10 periodically and repeatedly images the periphery of the vehicle M. The camera 10 may be a stereo camera.

The radar device 12 radiates a radio wave such as a millimeter wave around the vehicle M and detects a radio wave (reflected wave) reflected by the object to detect at least the position (distance and azimuth) of the object. One or a plurality of radar devices 12 are attached to any part of the vehicle M. The radar device 12 may detect the position and velocity of the object by FMCW (Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave) method.

The finder 14 is LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging or Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging) that measures the scattered light with respect to the irradiation light and detects the distance to the target. One or a plurality of finders 14 are attached to any part of the vehicle M.

The object recognition device 16 performs sensor fusion processing on detection results of some or all of the camera 10, the radar device 12, and the finder 14 to recognize the position, type, speed, and the like of the object. The object recognition device 16 outputs the recognition result to the automatic driving control unit 100.

The communication device 20 communicates with other vehicles existing around the vehicle M using, for example, a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, Bluetooth (registered trademark), DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communication), etc. It communicates with various server devices via a station.

The HMI 30 includes, for example, a first notification unit 31, a second notification unit 32, a notification unit 33, and a reception unit 34. The 1st alerting | reporting part 31 alert | reports that the state of the vehicle M fell with respect to the passenger | crew, for example. Examples of the first notification unit 31 include a hydraulic warning light, a brake warning light, an SRS (Supplemental Restraint System) airbag system warning light, an engine warning light, an ABS (Anti-lock Brake System) warning light, a transmission warning light, and the like. is there.

The 2nd alerting | reporting part 32 alert | reports the state of the traveling control of the vehicle M with respect to a passenger | crew. The second notification unit 32 includes, for example, a lamp that is turned on when the traveling control of the vehicle M is automatic driving.

The notification unit 33 notifies the occupant of various information. For example, the notification unit 33 notifies information indicating that the occupant performs manual driving based on the degree level determined by the degree determination unit 180. The notification unit 33 is, for example, various display devices, speakers, buzzers, or the like.

The accepting unit 34 accepts an input operation by an occupant. The reception unit 34 is, for example, a touch panel, various operation switches, keys, and the like. The reception unit 34 includes, for example, a changeover switch that switches between automatic driving and manual driving of the vehicle M.

The seat device 40 is a seat (seat) on which an occupant of the vehicle M is seated. The seat device 40 includes a driver's seat to be seated for manually driving the vehicle M using the driving operator 80, a passenger seat next to the driver's seat, a rear seat behind the driver's seat and the passenger seat, and the like. It is. *

The navigation device 50 includes, for example, a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver 51, a navigation HMI 52, and a route determination unit 53. The first map information 54 is stored in a storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or a flash memory. Holding. The GNSS receiver 51 specifies the position of the vehicle M based on the signal received from the GNSS satellite. The position of the vehicle M may be specified or supplemented by an INS (Inertial Navigation System) using the output of the vehicle sensor 70. The navigation HMI 52 includes a display device, a speaker, a touch panel, keys, and the like. The navigation HMI 52 may be partly or wholly shared with the HMI 30 described above. The route determination unit 53, for example, a route (for example, a destination) from the position of the vehicle M specified by the GNSS receiver 51 (or any input position) to the destination input by the occupant using the navigation HMI 52. (Including information on waypoints when traveling to the ground) is determined with reference to the first map information 54. The first map information 54 is information in which a road shape is expressed by, for example, a link indicating a road and nodes connected by the link. The first map information 54 may include road curvature and POI (Point Of Interest) information. The route determined by the route determination unit 53 is output to the MPU 60. The navigation device 50 may perform route guidance using the navigation HMI 52 based on the route determined by the route determination unit 53. The navigation device 50 may be realized, for example, by a function of a terminal device such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal held by the user. The navigation device 50 may acquire the route returned from the navigation server by transmitting the current position and the destination to the navigation server via the communication device 20.

For example, the MPU 60 functions as the recommended lane determining unit 61 and holds the second map information 62 in a storage device such as an HDD or a flash memory. The recommended lane determining unit 61 divides the route provided from the navigation device 50 into a plurality of blocks (for example, every 100 [m] with respect to the vehicle traveling direction), and refers to the second map information 62 for each block. Determine the recommended lane. The recommended lane determining unit 61 performs determination such as what number of lanes from the left to travel. The recommended lane determining unit 61 determines a recommended lane so that the vehicle M can travel on a reasonable travel route for proceeding to the branch destination when there is a branch point, a junction point, or the like on the route.

The second map information 62 is map information with higher accuracy than the first map information 54. The second map information 62 includes, for example, information on the center of the lane or information on the boundary of the lane. The second map information 62 may include road information, traffic regulation information, address information (address / postal code), facility information, telephone number information, and the like. Road information includes information indicating the type of road such as expressway, toll road, national road, prefectural road, number of road lanes, emergency parking area, width of each lane, road gradient, road position (longitude , Latitude and height (three-dimensional coordinates), lane curve curvature, lane merging and branch point positions, road markings, and other information. The second map information 62 may be updated at any time by accessing another device using the communication device 20.

The vehicle sensor 70 includes a vehicle speed sensor that detects the speed of the vehicle M, an acceleration sensor that detects acceleration, a yaw rate sensor that detects angular velocity around the vertical axis, a direction sensor that detects the direction of the vehicle M, and the like.

The driving operation element 80 includes, for example, an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, a shift lever, a steering wheel, and other operation elements. A sensor that detects the amount of operation or the presence or absence of an operation is attached to the driving operator 80, and the detection result is the automatic driving control unit 100, or the traveling driving force output device 200, the brake device 210, and the steering device. 220 is output to one or both of 220.

For example, the vehicle interior camera 90 images the upper body around the face of the occupant seated on the seat device 40. For example, the vehicle interior camera 90 periodically images the occupant. A captured image of the vehicle interior camera 90 is output to the automatic driving control unit 100.

[Automatic operation control unit]
The automatic operation control unit 100 includes, for example, a first control unit 120, a second control unit 140, an interface control unit 150, a device state determination unit 160, a travel state determination unit 170, a degree determination unit 180, and a storage. Part 190. The first control unit 120, the second control unit 140, the interface control unit 150, the device state determination unit 160, the travel state determination unit 170, and the degree determination unit 180 are hardware such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit). This is realized by a wear processor executing a program (software). Some or all of the functional units of the first control unit 120, the second control unit 140, the interface control unit 150, the device state determination unit 160, the travel state determination unit 170, and the degree determination unit 180 are LSI (Large Scale). Integration), application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or the like, or may be realized by cooperation of software and hardware. The device state determination unit 160 is an example of a “state determination unit”.

The 1st control part 120 is provided with the external world recognition part 121, the own vehicle position recognition part 122, and the action plan production | generation part 123, for example. The external world recognition unit 121 is an example of a “peripheral situation acquisition unit”. The external recognition unit 121 may include a plurality of external recognition units in consideration of safety.

Based on information input from the camera 10, the radar device 12, and the finder 14 via the object recognition device 16, the external environment recognition unit 121 recognizes the positions, speeds, accelerations, and the like of surrounding vehicles. The position of the surrounding vehicle may be represented by a representative point such as the center of gravity or corner of the surrounding vehicle, or may be represented by an area expressed by the outline of the surrounding vehicle. The “state” of the surrounding vehicle may include acceleration and jerk of the surrounding vehicle, or “behavioral state” (for example, whether or not the lane is changed or is about to be changed).

The outside world recognition unit 121 may recognize the positions of guardrails, utility poles, parked vehicles, persons such as pedestrians, and other objects in addition to surrounding vehicles.

The own vehicle position recognition unit 122 recognizes, for example, the lane (traveling lane) in which the vehicle M is traveling, and the relative position and posture of the vehicle M with respect to the traveling lane. The own vehicle position recognition unit 122, for example, a road around the vehicle M recognized from a pattern of road marking lines (for example, an array of solid lines and broken lines) obtained from the second map information 62 and an image captured by the camera 10. The travel lane is recognized by comparing the lane marking pattern. In this recognition, the position of the vehicle M acquired from the navigation device 50 and the processing result by INS may be taken into consideration.

And the own vehicle position recognition part 122 recognizes the position and attitude | position of the vehicle M with respect to a travel lane, for example. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating how the vehicle position recognition unit 122 recognizes the relative position and posture of the vehicle M with respect to the travel lane L1. The own vehicle position recognizing unit 122, for example, an angle θ formed with respect to a line connecting the deviation point OS of the reference point (for example, the center of gravity) of the vehicle M from the travel lane center CL and the travel lane center CL in the traveling direction of the vehicle M. Is recognized as the relative position and posture of the vehicle M with respect to the traveling lane L1. Instead, the vehicle position recognition unit 122 may recognize the position of the reference point of the vehicle M with respect to any side end portion of the travel lane L1 as the relative position of the vehicle M with respect to the travel lane. The relative position of the vehicle M recognized by the own vehicle position recognition unit 122 is provided to the recommended lane determination unit 61 and the action plan generation unit 123.

The action plan generation unit 123 generates an action plan for the vehicle M to perform automatic driving on a destination or the like. For example, the action plan generation unit 123 determines events that are sequentially executed in the automatic driving control so as to travel in the recommended lane determined by the recommended lane determination unit 61 and to cope with the surrounding situation of the vehicle M. To do. The event in the automatic driving of the embodiment includes, for example, a constant speed traveling event that travels in the same traveling lane at a constant speed, a lane change event that changes the traveling lane of the vehicle M, an overtaking event that overtakes the preceding vehicle, and a preceding vehicle Follow-up event to follow and run, Join event to join vehicles at junction, Branch event to run vehicle M in target direction at road junction, Emergency stop event to stop vehicle M emergency stop, Autonomous driving finished Then, there is a switching event for switching to manual operation. During execution of these events, actions for avoidance may be planned based on the surrounding situation of the vehicle M (the presence of surrounding vehicles and pedestrians, lane narrowing due to road construction, etc.).

The action plan generation unit 123 generates a target track on which the vehicle M will travel in the future. The target trajectory includes, for example, a velocity element. For example, the target trajectory is generated as a set of target points (orbit points) that should be set at a plurality of future reference times for each predetermined sampling time (for example, about 0 comma [sec]) and reach these reference times. The For this reason, when the space | interval of a track point is wide, it has shown running in the area between the track points at high speed.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a target track is generated based on the recommended lane. As shown in the figure, the recommended lane is set so as to be convenient for traveling along the route to the destination. The action plan generation unit 123 activates a lane change event, a branch event, a merge event, or the like when it reaches a predetermined distance before the recommended lane switching point (may be determined according to the type of event). If it becomes necessary to avoid an obstacle during the execution of each event, an avoidance trajectory is generated as shown in the figure.

For example, the action plan generation unit 123 generates a plurality of target trajectory candidates, and selects an optimal target trajectory that matches the route to the destination at that time, based on safety and efficiency.

The second control unit 140 includes, for example, a travel control unit 141 and a switching control unit 142. For example, the travel control unit 141 executes vehicle travel control by automatic driving. For example, the traveling control unit 141 causes the vehicle M to pass through the target trajectory generated by the action plan generating unit 123 as the automatic driving control in a state where there is no operation instruction from the driving operator 80. In addition, the traveling driving force output device 200, the brake device 210, and the steering device 220 are controlled. The traveling control unit 141 changes the degree of traveling control for the vehicle M according to the degree level determined by the degree determining unit 180.

The switching control unit 142 switches the driving mode of the vehicle M based on the behavior plan generated by the behavior plan generation unit 123. For example, the switching control unit 142 switches the operation mode from manual operation to automatic operation at a scheduled start point of automatic operation. The switching control unit 142 switches the operation mode from the automatic operation to the manual operation at the scheduled end point of the automatic operation.

For example, the switching control unit 142 may switch between automatic driving and manual driving based on a switching signal input from an automatic driving switch included in the HMI 30. For example, the switching control unit 142 switches the driving mode of the vehicle M from automatic driving to manual driving based on an operation for instructing acceleration, deceleration, or steering of the driving operator 80 such as an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, and a steering wheel. Also good.

During manual driving, input information from the driving operator 80 is directly output to the traveling driving force output device 200, the brake device 210, and the steering device 220. Input information from the driving operator 80 may be output to the travel driving force output device 200, the brake device 210, and the steering device 220 via the automatic driving control unit 100. Each ECU (Electronic Control Unit) of the travel driving force output device 200, the brake device 210, and the steering device 220 performs respective operations based on input information from the driving operator 80 and the like.

The interface control unit 150 causes the state of equipment used for execution of travel control, the travel state during automatic operation or manual operation of the vehicle M, the timing at which automatic operation and manual operation are switched to each other, and causes the occupant to perform manual operation. The notification about the information or the like is output to the HMI 30. The interface control unit 150 may output information received by the HMI 30 to the first control unit 120 or the device state determination unit 160.

The device state determination unit 160 acquires the state of the device used for execution of travel control by the travel control unit 141. The state of the device is, for example, on / off of the power source of the device, the operating state of the device, and an output result from the device. The state of the device is an operation state of each system when there are a plurality of systems of the same device. The device state determination unit 160 determines whether or not the state of the device has decreased. Details of the function of the device state determination unit 160 will be described later.

The traveling state determination unit 170 determines the traveling state of the vehicle M. For example, the traveling state determination unit 170 determines whether the vehicle M is performing traveling control by automatic driving or traveling control by manual driving. The traveling state determination unit 170 determines whether or not the vehicle M is in a state determined to be stopped from the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor. The state determined to be stopped includes, for example, a state where the vehicle M is traveling not only at a speed of 0 [km / h] but also at a low speed of 5 [km / h] or less. The traveling state determination unit 170 determines that the vehicle M is traveling when the vehicle M is not in a state where it is determined that the vehicle M is stopped or when the vehicle M is traveling at a speed exceeding 5 km / h. Also good.

The degree determination unit 180 determines the degree of traveling control for the vehicle M based on the state of the device determined by the device state determination unit 160 and the traveling state of the vehicle M determined by the traveling state determination unit 170. For example, when the travel control such as automatic driving is being executed and the device state determination unit 160 determines that the state of the device has decreased, the degree determination unit 180 uses the travel control unit 141. The degree of traveling control of the vehicle M is determined to be lower than the current degree of traveling control.

The storage unit 190 stores information such as a driving control degree determination table 191 and a travel control table 192, for example. Details of the operation control degree determination table 191 and the travel control table 192 will be described later. The storage unit 190 is realized by a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), a flash memory, or the like. A program executed by the hardware processor may be stored in the storage unit 190 in advance, or may be downloaded from an external device via an in-vehicle Internet facility or the like. The program may be installed in the storage unit 190 by attaching a portable storage medium storing the program to a drive device (not shown).

The traveling driving force output device 200 performs driving for causing the vehicle M to travel. The brake device 210 brakes the vehicle M. The steering device 220 steers the vehicle M. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the travel driving force output device 200, the brake device 210, and the steering device 220. A throttle motor, an electric motor, and an assist motor described below are typical actuators that the vehicle M executes travel control.

The traveling driving force output device 200 outputs a traveling driving force (torque) for the vehicle M to travel to the driving wheels. The travel driving force output device 200 includes, for example, an engine that is a combination of an internal combustion engine, an electric motor, and a transmission, a throttle motor that controls the driving amount of the engine, and an engine ECU that controls the throttle motor. The engine ECU drives the throttle motor according to the information input from the travel control unit 141 or the information input from the driving operator 80, and outputs the travel driving force of the engine to the drive wheels.

The brake device 210 includes, for example, a brake caliper, a cylinder that transmits hydraulic pressure to the brake caliper, an electric motor that generates hydraulic pressure in the cylinder, and a brake ECU that controls the electric motor. The brake ECU controls the electric motor in accordance with the information input from the travel control unit 141 or the information input from the driving operation element 80 so that the brake torque corresponding to the braking operation is output to each wheel. The brake device 210 may include, as a backup, a mechanism that transmits the hydraulic pressure generated by operating the brake pedal included in the driving operation element 80 to the cylinder via the master cylinder. The brake device 210 is not limited to the configuration described above, and controls the hydraulic actuator in accordance with information input from the travel control unit 141 or information input from the driving operator 80, and transmits the hydraulic pressure of the master cylinder to the cylinder. An electronically controlled hydraulic brake device may be used. The brake device 210 may include a plurality of brake devices in consideration of safety.

The steering device 220 includes, for example, a rack and pinion mechanism that changes the direction of the steered wheels, an assist motor that applies a force to the rack and pinion mechanism, and a steering ECU that controls the assist motor. The steering ECU drives the assist motor and changes the direction of the steered wheels in accordance with information input from the travel control unit 141 or information input from the driving operator 80.

[Driving control of vehicle M based on device status]
Next, how the degree of travel control of the vehicle M is changed based on the state of the equipment used to execute the travel control of the vehicle M will be specifically described. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the device state determination unit 160. The device state determination unit 160 includes, for example, a communication state determination unit 161, an operation state determination unit 162, and an operation state determination unit 163.

The communication state determination unit 161 acquires the state of a multiplex communication line, a serial communication line, and a wireless communication network that connect devices in the vehicle M. The communication state determination unit 161 determines that the communication state is normal when, for example, a signal (for example, an alive counter) transmitted from a connection destination connected via a communication line or a communication network can be periodically received. To do. For example, when the alive counter has not been acquired from the communication line or the communication network for a predetermined time or more, the communication state determination unit 161 determines that the connection destination device, the communication line, or the communication network has been blocked or reduced. The communication state determination unit 161 may determine that the power supply is cut off or lowered when there is no signal from the communication line connected to the power supply unit or when the power from the power supply unit is lower than a predetermined value.

The operating state determination unit 162 determines, for example, the operating state of an actuator that executes traveling control. For example, the operating state determination unit 162 acquires the operating state of the throttle motor under the control of the engine ECU of the traveling driving force output device 200, and the throttle motor is driven with a driving amount corresponding to the control amount instructed by the engine ECU. In this case, it is determined that the operating state of the throttle motor is normal. The operating state determination unit 162 determines the state of the throttle motor when the throttle motor is not operating with respect to the control amount instructed by the engine ECU or when the throttle motor is not driven with a driving amount corresponding to the control amount. Is determined to have decreased. The state of the electric motor in the brake device 210 and the assist motor in the steering device 220 are similarly determined. The operation state determination unit 162 may determine that the state of the corresponding ECU is lowered when the engine ECU, the brake ECU, or the steering ECU does not operate.

The operation state determination unit 163 receives the state of the reception unit 34 and determines the state. For example, the operation state determination unit 163 determines that the operation state is normal when receiving one selection instruction from an operation button that can select only one of a plurality of selections, and selects a plurality of selections. When the instruction is accepted, it is determined that the operation state is lowered. For example, the operation state determination unit 163 receives a signal from the changeover switch when the changeover switch has been on for a predetermined time or more, or when a part of the signal continuously transmitted from the reception unit 34 is interrupted. It may be determined that the instruction cannot be input, and it may be determined that the operation state of the changeover switch is lowered. The operation state determination unit 163 acquires the state in the first notification unit 31, the second notification unit 32, or the notification unit 33. For example, when the notification or notification is not performed, or the content of the notification or notification is incorrect. In this case, it may be determined that the state of the corresponding device is deteriorated.

At least one of the communication state determination unit 161, the operation state determination unit 162, and the operation state determination unit 163 may include a plurality of systems in consideration of safety. . In the case of providing a configuration of multiple systems, the device state determination unit 160 acquires and determines the state of the device in each system.

The degree determination unit 180 refers to the driving control degree determination table 191 stored in the storage unit 190 and determines the degree of automatic driving of the corresponding vehicle M based on the state of the device determined by the device state determination unit 160. To do. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the operation control degree determination table 191. The operation control degree determination table 191 illustrated in FIG. 6 is information in which the degree level is associated with the device state determined by the device state determination unit 160. The degree level is information for identifying the degree of traveling control.

For example, the determination result by the device state determination unit 160 indicates that the degree determination unit 180 indicates that “the actuator state is reduced”, “the communication unit is blocked or reduced”, “the first notification unit 31 is reduced”, “second” The degree of travel control when the condition of the notification unit 32 is “decreased”, “the power is shut off or reduced”, or “the control amount related to driving, braking, and steering is out of a predetermined range”. The level is determined to be “first degree”. The first degree refers to, for example, switching to manual operation by an occupant without performing automatic operation of the vehicle M, or performing travel control such as emergency stop.

For example, the degree determination unit 180 is a case where the degree level does not correspond to the first degree condition, and “the state of the notification unit 33 is reduced”, “the state of the driving operator 80 is reduced”, or “ During automatic driving, if the automatic driving is turned off or the switch that switches the degree of automatic driving does not respond, the driving control level is determined to be "second degree" To do. In the second degree, the vehicle M can be continuously driven automatically, but travel control is switched to manual operation by the occupant. In addition, the degree determination unit 180 may include at least one of the states of each system when each of the external environment recognition unit 121, the operation state determination unit 162, and the operation state determination unit 163 is provided in a plurality of systems. When it is determined that the state of the vehicle is lowered, the degree of travel control may be determined to be “second degree”.

The degree determination unit 180 is a state in which the determination result by the traveling state determination unit 170 is determined to be “the vehicle M is stopped”, and the determination result by the device state determination unit 160 is “first degree or second degree”. If the condition of “degree device state” is satisfied, or if the condition “does not operate even if the changeover switch is pressed during manual operation” is satisfied, the degree of travel control is determined to be “third degree”. The third degree refers to, for example, running control that suppresses switching to automatic driving when automatic driving is not being executed. In this case, the degree determination unit 180 maintains the third degree even when a travel control execution instruction is received by the changeover switch. The above-described first to third degree levels are lower than the degree of normal automatic driving control. The degree determination unit 180 may determine another degree level based on the determination results by the device state determination unit 160 and the traveling state determination unit 170.

The degree determination unit 180 outputs information to the occupant that manual operation is performed to the interface control unit 150. The interface control unit 150 notifies the occupant of information indicating that manual operation is performed to the occupant from the notification unit 33.

The traveling control unit 141 refers to the traveling control table 192 stored in the storage unit 190 based on the degree determined by the degree determining unit 180 and performs traveling control corresponding to the degree level. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the travel control table 192. In the travel control table 192, on / off information in the first to third degrees of travel control is associated with each item of the travel control content. For example, the traveling control unit 141 refers to the traveling control table 192, and executes the items in the time series in order from the smallest number among items whose traveling control content is ON.

For example, the traveling control unit 141 can perform traveling control based on the first degree so as to perform deceleration control or the like based on vehicle determination when the state of the device is reduced. Since the traveling control unit 141 can execute the traveling control based on the second degree and can notify the occupant of the driving handover request when the state of the device related to the execution of the traveling control is lowered, the traveling control unit 141 can be manually operated appropriately. It can be taken over by driving. The travel control unit 141 executes the travel control based on the third degree, thereby suppressing the travel control from being performed in a state where the state of the device is reduced, and reducing the passenger's uncomfortable feeling. Can do.

[Processing flow]
Next, an example of the flow of the travel control process of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of travel control processing according to the embodiment. The device state determination unit 160 acquires the state of the device of the vehicle M (step S100). Next, the traveling state determination unit 170 determines whether or not the vehicle M is executing automatic driving (step S102). When it is determined that the vehicle M is performing automatic driving, the traveling state determination unit 170 determines whether the vehicle M is traveling (in a traveling state) from the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor of the vehicle M. It is determined whether or not (step S104).

When it is determined that the vehicle M is traveling, the device state determination unit 160 determines whether or not the state of the vehicle M satisfies the first degree condition (step S106). When it is determined that the first degree condition is satisfied, the degree determination unit 180 outputs the control content corresponding to the first degree to the travel control unit 141 (step S108). Next, the traveling control unit 141 performs traveling control based on the first degree (step S110).

When it is determined that the vehicle state does not satisfy the first degree condition, the device state determination unit 160 determines whether or not the second degree condition is satisfied (step S112). When it is determined that the second degree condition is satisfied, the degree determination unit 180 outputs the control content corresponding to the second degree to the travel control unit 141 (step S114). Next, the traveling control unit 141 performs traveling control based on the second degree (step S116).

In the process of S112, when it is determined that the vehicle state does not satisfy the second degree condition, the device state determination unit 160 determines whether or not the third degree condition is satisfied (step S118). The process of step S118 is also performed when it is determined in step S102 that the vehicle is not automatically driving, or when it is determined that the vehicle is not running in step S104. When it is determined that the state of the vehicle satisfies the condition of the third degree, the degree determination unit 180 outputs the control content corresponding to the third degree to the travel control unit 141 (step S120). Next, the traveling control unit 141 performs traveling control based on the third degree (step S122).

After the process of steps S110, S116, and S122 is completed, or when the state of the vehicle does not satisfy the third degree condition in the process of step S118, the travel control unit 141 ends the travel control process of the embodiment. Is determined (S124). If it is determined not to end the traveling control, the process returns to step S100. If it is determined that the traveling control process is to be terminated, the process of this flowchart is terminated.

[Modification]
For example, the device state determination unit 160 may add a time condition when determining whether or not the state of the device has decreased. For example, the device state determination unit 160 determines that the state of the device is low when the state of the device does not return to the original state even after a predetermined time has elapsed since the state of the device has decreased. Thereby, for example, when the detection result by a sensor or the like used for external recognition or the like temporarily decreases due to the influence of rain, snow, dirt, or the like, it is possible to suppress frequent changes in travel control. Therefore, the traveling control of the vehicle M can be stabilized.

According to the embodiment described above, the vehicle system 1 includes the travel control unit that executes the travel control of the vehicle without depending on the driving operation of the occupant, and the state of the equipment that is used to execute the travel control by the travel control unit. By providing a state determination unit for determination and a degree determination unit for determining the degree of travel control by the travel control unit based on the state of the device determined by the state determination unit, Based on this, it is possible to change to an appropriate control mode.

[Hardware configuration]
The automatic operation control unit 100 of the above-described embodiment is realized by a hardware configuration as shown in FIG. 9, for example. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the automatic operation control unit 100 according to the embodiment.

The automatic operation control unit 100 includes a communication controller 100-1, a CPU 100-2, a RAM 100-3, a ROM 100-4, a storage device 100-5 such as a flash memory and an HDD, and a drive device 100-6. It is the structure mutually connected by the line. The drive device 100-6 is loaded with a portable storage medium such as an optical disk. The program 100-5a stored in the storage device 100-5 is expanded in the RAM 100-3 by a DMA controller (not shown) or the like and executed by the CPU 100-2, thereby realizing the functional unit of the automatic operation control unit 100 The The program referred to by the CPU 100-2 may be stored in a portable storage medium attached to the drive device 100-6, or may be downloaded from another device via a network.

The above embodiment can be expressed as follows.
A storage device and a hardware processor for executing a program stored in the storage device,
The hardware processor executes the program,

Execute vehicle travel control without relying on the driver's driving operation,
Determine the state of the equipment used to execute the travel control,
A vehicle control device configured to determine a degree of the travel control based on the determined state of the device.

As mentioned above, although the form for implementing this invention was demonstrated using embodiment, this invention is not limited to such embodiment at all, In the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention, various deformation | transformation and substitution Can be added.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vehicle system, 10 ... Camera, 12 ... Radar apparatus, 14 ... Finder, 16 ... Object recognition apparatus, 20 ... Communication apparatus, 30 ... HMI, 31 ... 1st notification part, 32 ... 2nd notification part, 33 ... Notification 34: Reception unit, 40 ... Seat device, 50 ... Navigation device, 60 ... MPU, 70 ... Vehicle sensor, 80 ... Driving operator, 90 ... In-vehicle camera, 100 ... Automatic driving control unit, 120 ... First control , 121 ... External world recognition part, 122 ... Own vehicle position recognition part, 123 ... Action plan generation part, 140 ... Second control part, 141 ... Travel control part, 142 ... Switching control part, 150 ... Interface control part, 160 ... Device state determination unit, 170 ... running state determination unit, 180 ... degree determination unit, 190 ... storage unit, 200 ... running driving force output device, 210 ... brake device, 220 ... steering device, ... vehicle

Claims (11)

1. A travel control unit that executes the travel control of the vehicle without depending on the driving operation of the occupant;
   A state determination unit that determines the state of the device used for execution of the travel control by the travel control unit;
   Based on the state of the device determined by the state determination unit, a degree determination unit that determines the degree of traveling control by the traveling control unit,
   A vehicle control system comprising:
2. When the state determination unit determines that the state of the device has decreased, the degree determination unit has a lower degree of traveling control of the vehicle by the traveling control unit than a current degree of traveling control Decide on the degree,
   The vehicle control system according to claim 1.
3. An actuator for driving, braking or steering the vehicle;
   A communication unit that communicates with a device in the travel control of the vehicle;
   A first notification unit that notifies the occupant of a decrease in the state of the vehicle;
   A second notification unit that notifies a state of travel control of the vehicle with respect to the occupant,
   The degree determination unit is configured to display the current state when at least one of the states of the actuator, the communication unit, the first notification unit, or the second notification unit determined by the state determination unit decreases. Change to a lower degree than the degree of driving control of
   The vehicle control system according to claim 2.
4. When the degree determination unit determines to change the degree of travel control of the vehicle, the degree determination unit further includes a notification unit that notifies the occupant that manual driving is performed.
   The vehicle control system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
5. A surrounding situation obtaining unit for obtaining the surrounding situation of the vehicle;
   An operating state determination unit that acquires an operating state of an actuator that executes the travel control;
   An operation state determination unit that acquires a state of the reception unit that receives the operation of the occupant,
   Each of the surrounding state acquisition unit, the operation state determination unit, or the operation state determination unit is provided in a plurality of systems,
   The state determination unit acquires a state of each system of the surrounding state acquisition unit, the operation state determination unit, or the operation state determination unit,
   The notification unit is a state of at least one of the states of the surrounding state acquisition unit, the operation state determination unit, or the operation state determination unit among the states determined by the state determination unit. If it is determined that the vehicle has been lowered, a notification to the effect that manual operation will be performed to the occupant,
   The vehicle control system according to claim 4.
6. A reception unit that receives an instruction to execute or stop travel control for the vehicle;
   The state determination unit acquires the state of the reception unit,
   The notification unit notifies the occupant that manual operation is performed when it is determined by the state determination unit that an instruction cannot be input from the reception unit.
   The vehicle control system according to claim 4.
7. The state determination unit acquires the state of the reception unit,
   When the traveling control unit determines that the state of the receiving unit acquired by the state determining unit has decreased in a state where the traveling control is not performed, the traveling control unit instructs the traveling unit to execute the traveling control. Even if accepted, maintain the manual operation,
   The vehicle control system according to claim 6.
8. The vehicle further includes a traveling state determination unit that determines a traveling state of the vehicle,
   The travel control unit maintains the current travel control of the vehicle when the travel state determination unit determines that the vehicle is stopped.
   The vehicle control system according to claim 6.
9. In-vehicle computer
   Execute vehicle travel control without relying on the driver's driving operation,
   Changing the degree of the travel control based on the state of the equipment used to execute the travel control of the vehicle;
   Vehicle control method.
10. A storage device for storing information;
    A hardware processor for executing a program stored in the storage device,
    The hardware processor is
    Execute vehicle travel control without relying on the driver's driving operation,
    Determining the degree of the travel control based on the state of the equipment used to execute the travel control;
    Configured as
    Vehicle control device.
11. On-board computer
    Run the vehicle's driving control regardless of the driver's driving operation,
    Changing the degree of the travel control based on the state of the equipment used to execute the travel control of the vehicle;
    Vehicle control program.

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