Vehicle control device, control method and storage device

Abstract

The present invention discloses a control device, a control method and a program for a vehicle. A control device for a vehicle is provided that enables equipment related to the driving of the vehicle to operate properly. The control device for the vehicle comprises: a control target value setting unit that sets a first reference value as a control target value when a control demand value of an equipment demanded by the vehicle in the automatic driving control of the vehicle is greater than a second reference value; and a demand signal output unit that outputs a control demand signal including the set control target value to an equipment control device via a communication unit. The first reference value is a value at which the equipment control device outputs a corresponding equipment control signal when a control demand signal including the value as a control target value is sent from the demand signal output unit to the equipment control device. The second reference value is the smallest value among the values ​​at which the equipment control device does not output a corresponding equipment control signal when a control demand signal including the value as a control target value is sent from the demand signal output unit to the equipment control device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a control device, a control method, and a program for a vehicle. Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a control device has been developed for controlling the running state of a vehicle according to a desired control target in order to assist the driver in driving the vehicle or to allow the vehicle to run autonomously (Patent Documents 1 to 3).

[0003] Prior art literature

[0004] Patent Literature

[0005] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2020-100244

[0006] Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2020-93700

[0007] Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2015-58752 Summary of the invention

[0008] However, in the equipment related to the driving of the vehicle (such as brakes and steering devices), an equipment control device for controlling the equipment is provided. Therefore, the vehicle control device for controlling the driving state of the vehicle outputs a control demand signal including the control target value of each equipment required by the vehicle in the automatic driving control of the vehicle to the equipment control device of each equipment. The equipment control device of each equipment outputs an equipment control signal to each equipment according to the received control demand signal, and each equipment operates according to the equipment control signal.

[0009] However, when the control target value included in the control demand signal received from the control device is a value outside the predetermined allowable range, the device control device sometimes does not output the device control signal corresponding to the control target value. In addition, when the vehicle control device is replaced or installed later, depending on the driving state of the vehicle, there is a case where the vehicle control device sends a control demand signal including a control target value outside the allowable range to the device control device. In this way, when the vehicle control device sends a control demand signal including a control target value outside the allowable range, the device controlled by the device control device that receives the control demand signal cannot operate properly.

[0010] Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a vehicle control device capable of properly operating equipment related to driving of the vehicle.

[0011] The gist of the present disclosure is as follows.

[0012] (1) A vehicle control device that outputs a control demand signal to a device control device that controls a device related to the running of the vehicle, wherein the vehicle control device comprises:

[0013] a control target value setting unit that sets a control demand value of the device required by the vehicle in the automatic driving control of the vehicle as a control target value of the device when a control demand value of the device required by the vehicle is less than or equal to a first reference value, and sets the first reference value as the control target value when the control demand value is greater than or equal to a second reference value greater than the first reference value; and

[0014] a demand signal output unit, which outputs a control demand signal including the set control target value to the equipment control device via a communication unit,

[0015] The device control device is configured to output a device control signal corresponding to the control target value when receiving the control demand signal including the control target value that satisfies a predetermined condition, and to output the device control signal not corresponding to the control target value when receiving the control demand signal including the control target value that does not satisfy the predetermined condition.

[0016] The first reference value is a value at which the device control device outputs a corresponding device control signal when the control request signal including the first reference value as the control target value is transmitted from the request signal output unit to the device control device.

[0017] The second reference value is the smallest value among values ​​at which the device control device does not output a corresponding device control signal when the control request signal including the value as the control target value is transmitted from the request signal output unit to the device control device.

[0018] (2) In the vehicle control device described in (1) above, the first reference value is the maximum value among the values ​​of the corresponding device control signal output by the device control device when the control demand signal including the value as the control target value is sent from the demand signal output unit to the device control device.

[0019] (3) In the control device of the vehicle described in (1) or (2) above, the demand signal output unit corrects the control target value included in the provisional control demand signal received from the driving support control device for supporting the driving of the driver of the vehicle via the communication unit to the control target value set by the control target value setting unit, and outputs the control demand signal including the corrected control target value to the equipment control device via the communication unit.

[0020] (4) A vehicle control method, which outputs a control demand signal to a device control device that controls a device related to the driving of the vehicle, wherein the vehicle control method comprises:

[0021] When a control demand value of the device required by the vehicle in the automatic driving control of the vehicle is less than or equal to a first reference value, the control demand value is set as a control target value of the device, and when the control demand value is greater than or equal to a second reference value greater than the first reference value, the first reference value is set as the control target value; and

[0022] outputting a control demand signal including the set control target value to the equipment control device via a communication unit,

[0023] The device control device is configured to output a device control signal corresponding to the control target value when receiving the control demand signal including the control target value that satisfies a predetermined condition, and to output the device control signal not corresponding to the control target value when receiving the control demand signal including the control target value that does not satisfy the predetermined condition.

[0024] The first reference value is a value at which the device control device outputs a corresponding device control signal when the control request signal including the first reference value as the control target value is transmitted from the request signal output unit to the device control device.

[0025] The second reference value is the smallest value among values ​​at which the device control device does not output a corresponding device control signal when the control request signal including the value as the control target value is transmitted from the request signal output unit to the device control device.

[0026] (5) A program for a vehicle, which outputs a control demand signal to a device control device for controlling a device related to driving of the vehicle, wherein the program causes a computer to execute:

[0027] When a control demand value of the device required by the vehicle in the automatic driving control of the vehicle is less than or equal to a first reference value, the control demand value is set as a control target value of the device, and when the control demand value is greater than or equal to a second reference value greater than the first reference value, the first reference value is set as the control target value; and

[0028] outputting a control demand signal including the set control target value to the equipment control device via a communication unit,

[0029] The device control device is configured to output a device control signal corresponding to the control target value when receiving the control demand signal including the control target value that satisfies a predetermined condition, and to output the device control signal not corresponding to the control target value when receiving the control demand signal including the control target value that does not satisfy the predetermined condition.

[0030] The first reference value is a value at which the device control device outputs a corresponding device control signal when the control request signal including the first reference value as the control target value is transmitted from the request signal output unit to the device control device.

[0031] The second reference value is the smallest value among values ​​at which the device control device does not output a corresponding device control signal when the control request signal including the value as the control target value is transmitted from the request signal output unit to the device control device.

[0032] According to the present disclosure, a control device for a vehicle capable of appropriately operating equipment related to traveling of the vehicle is provided. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0033] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the vehicle control system.

[0034] Figure 2 It is the hardware structure diagram of ECU.

[0035] Figure 3 This is a functional block diagram of a processor related to vehicle control processing.

[0036] Figure 4 : is a flowchart showing a control routine of a target deceleration setting process executed by a target deceleration setting unit of a processor.

[0037] Figure 5 1 is a flowchart showing a control routine for updating a deceleration minimum limit value and a deceleration maximum allowable value executed by a target deceleration setting unit of a processor.

[0038] (Explanation of symbols)

[0039] 1: On-vehicle control system; 20: Driving support control device; 30: Accelerator control device; 40: Brake control device; 50: Electronic control device; 51: Communication interface; 52: Memory; 53: Processor; 531: Driving planning unit; 532: Target deceleration setting unit; 533: Braking demand signal output unit; 534: Target acceleration and deceleration setting unit; 535: Acceleration and deceleration demand signal output unit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, the same reference numerals are given to the same components.

[0041] <Structure of the vehicle control system>

[0042] First, refer to Figure 1 The structure of a vehicle-mounted control system 1 in which a control device of a vehicle 100 according to an embodiment is installed will be described. The vehicle-mounted control system 1 is mounted on the vehicle 100 and controls the travel of the vehicle 100 .

[0043] Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of the vehicle-mounted control system 1. Figure 1 As shown, the vehicle-mounted control system 1 includes information supply devices 11 to 14, a control device for supporting the driving of the driver of the vehicle (hereinafter referred to as a "driving support control device") 20, an accelerator control device 30 as an example of a device control device for controlling devices related to the driving of the vehicle 100, a brake control device 40 as an example of a device control device, and an electronic control device (ECU) 50 as an example of a control device of the vehicle 100. The information supply devices 11 to 14, the driving support control device 20, the accelerator control device 30, the brake control device 40 as an example of a device control device, and the ECU 50 are connected to each other so as to be communicable. In this embodiment, the vehicle-mounted control system 1 includes an outside camera 11, a distance sensor 12, a position sensor 13, and a storage device 14 as information supply devices.

[0044] In the present embodiment, for example, for a vehicle 100 equipped with a driving support control device 20, the ECU 50 is installed in the vehicle 100 separately from the driving support control device 20. The ECU 50 performs automatic driving control of the vehicle using the driving support control device 20. In addition, part of the information supply devices 11 to 14 may be installed in the vehicle 100 together with the ECU 50.

[0045] By subsequently installing the ECU 50 in the vehicle 100 in this way, the control demand signal output from the ECU 50 is input to the accelerator control device 30 and the brake control device 40 instead of the control demand signal output from the driving support control device 20. The ECU 50 receives the control demand signal (tentative control demand signal) including the control target value (for example, the target deceleration, the target acceleration and deceleration, etc.) from the driving support control device 20, and corrects the control target value included in the control demand signal to the control target value required by the vehicle 100 in the automatic driving control of the vehicle 100. Then, the ECU 50 outputs the control demand signal including the corrected control target value to the accelerator control device 30 and the brake control device 40. Therefore, the accelerator control device 30 and the brake control device 40 control the accelerator and the brake according to the control target value included in the control demand signal received from the ECU 50.

[0046] The vehicle exterior camera 11 is a device for photographing the surroundings of the vehicle 100. The vehicle exterior camera 11 is installed, for example, inside the vehicle 100 so as to face the front of the vehicle 100. The vehicle exterior camera 11 photographs the area in front of the vehicle 100 at a predetermined photographing cycle and generates an image of the area in front of the vehicle 100. Whenever the vehicle exterior camera 11 generates an image, it outputs the generated image to the driving support control device 20 and the ECU 50.

[0047] The distance measuring sensor 12 is a sensor for measuring the distance to objects existing around the vehicle 100. The distance measuring sensor 12 is, for example, a radar such as a laser imaging and detection system (LiDAR) or a millimeter wave radar, or a sonar. In the present embodiment, the distance measuring sensor 12 outputs the measurement result of the distance to the surrounding objects to the driving support control device 20 and the ECU 50 at a predetermined period.

[0048] The positioning sensor 13 is a sensor for measuring the own position of the vehicle 100. The positioning sensor 13 is, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver. The GPS receiver receives GPS signals from a plurality of GPS satellites and measures the own position of the vehicle 100 based on the received GPS signals. In the present embodiment, the positioning sensor 13 outputs the measurement result of the own position of the vehicle 100 to the driving support control device 20 and the ECU 50 at a predetermined period.

[0049] The storage device 14 has, for example, a hard disk device or a nonvolatile semiconductor memory. The storage device 14 stores map information. The map information includes information indicating the location of each predetermined section of the road and road markings (e.g., lane markings or stop lines). The storage device 14 reads the map information in accordance with a map information read request from the driving support control device 20 or the ECU 50, and sends the map information to the driving support control device 20 or the ECU 50.

[0050] In addition, the vehicle-mounted control system 1 may also include information supply devices other than the above devices, such as a navigation device for searching a planned travel route of the vehicle 100, an HMI device for accepting input from the occupant, and a communication device for devices outside the vehicle. These navigation devices and HMI devices also output data to the driving support control device 20 and the ECU 50.

[0051] In the present embodiment, all of the information supply devices 11 to 14 are connected to both the driving support control device 20 and the ECU 50. However, some or all of these information supply devices 11 to 14 may be connected to the driving support control device 20, and another part or all of these information supply devices 11 to 14 may be connected to the ECU 50.

[0052] The driving support control device 20 performs control of the vehicle 100 for supporting the driving of the driver of the vehicle 100 under a predetermined condition. In the present embodiment, the driving support control device 20 sets at least the deceleration and acceleration / deceleration required of the vehicle 100 for driving support under a predetermined condition. The predetermined condition is, for example, a condition in which the inter-vehicle distance between the vehicle 100 and another vehicle traveling in front of the vehicle 100 is required to be kept constant, and the driving support control device 20 is a control device for active cruise control. Alternatively, the predetermined condition is a condition in which the vehicle 100 is to be parked, and the driving support control device 20 is a control device for automatically parking the vehicle 100.

[0053] In this embodiment, a switch for setting whether to enable the driving support process is provided in the cabin of the vehicle 100, and the driving support control device 20 is set to operate according to the switch. Alternatively, the driving support control device 20 is set to operate during the period when the vehicle 100 is automatically driven by the ECU 50.

[0054] The driving support control device 20 outputs a braking demand signal including a target deceleration of the vehicle 100 and an acceleration / deceleration demand signal including a target acceleration / deceleration (these are collectively referred to as "control demand signals including control target values") at a predetermined period during the period of automatic driving control of the vehicle 100. In addition, during the period of automatic driving control of the vehicle 100, the target deceleration included in the braking demand signal output by the driving support control device 20 and the target acceleration / deceleration included in the acceleration / deceleration demand signal are corrected in the ECU 50, so these target decelerations and target acceleration / decelerations are not actually used in the automatic driving control of the vehicle 100.

[0055] The accelerator control device 30 outputs an accelerator control signal to the accelerator of the vehicle 100 in accordance with the acceleration / deceleration request signal received from the ECU 50 so that the acceleration / deceleration of the vehicle 100 approaches the target acceleration / deceleration included in the acceleration / deceleration request signal. In the present embodiment, the accelerator control device 30 controls the accelerator of the vehicle 100 in accordance with the acceleration / deceleration request signal received from the ECU 50 while the vehicle 100 is under automatic driving control by the ECU 50.

[0056] For example, the accelerator control device 30 stores a reference table indicating the correspondence between the target acceleration / deceleration and the accelerator opening, and determines the accelerator opening corresponding to the target acceleration / deceleration by referring to the reference table. Then, the accelerator control device 30 controls the accelerator in such a manner that the determined accelerator opening is achieved. Based on the accelerator opening thus controlled, the fuel injection amount or the intake air amount of the internal combustion engine of the vehicle 100, or the power supply amount to the driving motor of the vehicle 100 is controlled.

[0057] In addition, when the accelerator control device 30 receives an acceleration / deceleration demand signal including a target acceleration / deceleration that satisfies a predetermined condition, the accelerator control device 30 outputs an accelerator control signal (device control signal) corresponding to the target acceleration / deceleration to the accelerator. The accelerator control device 30 may also output the accelerator control signal to the ECU 50. On the other hand, when the accelerator control device 30 receives an acceleration / deceleration demand signal including a target acceleration / deceleration that does not satisfy a predetermined condition, the accelerator control device 30 does not output the accelerator control signal corresponding to the target acceleration / deceleration to the accelerator. Specifically, when the accelerator control device 30 receives an acceleration / deceleration demand signal including a target acceleration / deceleration that is below the upper limit value that the driving support control device 20 can output, the accelerator control device 30 outputs the corresponding accelerator control signal to the accelerator. On the other hand, when the accelerator control device 30 receives an acceleration / deceleration demand signal including a target acceleration / deceleration that is greater than the upper limit value, the accelerator control device 30 does not output the corresponding accelerator control signal to the accelerator, but outputs a failure signal to the ECU 50.

[0058] The brake control device 40 outputs a brake control signal to the brake of the vehicle 100 in a manner that makes the deceleration of the vehicle 100 approach the target deceleration included in the brake demand signal in accordance with the brake demand signal received from the ECU 50. The brake control device 40 may also output the brake control signal to the ECU 50. In the present embodiment, the brake control device 40 controls the brake of the vehicle 100 in accordance with the brake demand signal received from the ECU 50 while the vehicle 100 is being automatically controlled by the ECU 50.

[0059] For example, the brake control device 40 stores a reference table indicating the correspondence between the target deceleration and the braking force, and determines the braking force corresponding to the target deceleration by referring to the reference table. Then, the brake control device 40 controls the brake so as to obtain the determined braking force.

[0060] In addition, when the brake control device 40 receives a brake demand signal including a target deceleration that satisfies a predetermined condition, it outputs a brake control signal (device control signal) corresponding to the target deceleration to the brake. On the other hand, when the brake control device 40 receives a brake demand signal including a target deceleration that does not satisfy a predetermined condition, it does not output a brake control signal corresponding to the target deceleration to the brake. Specifically, when the brake control device 40 receives a brake demand signal including a target deceleration below an upper limit value that the driving support control device 20 can output, it outputs a corresponding brake control signal to the brake. On the other hand, when the brake control device 40 receives a brake demand signal including a target deceleration that is greater than the upper limit value, it does not output a corresponding brake control signal to the brake, but outputs a failure signal to the ECU 50.

[0061] Figure 2 : is a hardware structure diagram of ECU50. ECU50 uses driving support control device 20 to perform automatic driving control of vehicle 100. To this end, ECU50 has a communication interface 51, a memory 52 and a processor 53. In addition, communication interface 51, memory 52 and processor 53 may be independent circuits or may be configured as one integrated circuit.

[0062] The communication interface 51 is an example of a communication unit, and has an interface circuit for connecting the ECU 50 to the driving support control device 20, the accelerator control device 30, and the brake control device 40. Whenever the communication interface 51 receives an acceleration / deceleration request signal and a braking request signal from the driving support control device 20, the communication interface 51 sends the received acceleration / deceleration request signal and the braking request signal to the processor 53. In addition, whenever the communication interface 51 receives a failure signal output from the accelerator control device 30 and the brake control device 40, the communication interface 51 sends the received failure signal to the processor 53. In addition, the communication interface 51 outputs the acceleration / deceleration request signal to the accelerator control device 30, and outputs the braking request signal to the brake control device 40.

[0063] Furthermore, the communication interface 51 sends to the processor 53 the image obtained by photographing the surroundings of the vehicle 100 received from the external camera 11, the ranging signal received from the ranging sensor 12, the positioning signal received from the positioning sensor 13, the map information read from the storage device 14, or the planned driving route received from the navigation device.

[0064] The memory 52 is a storage device for storing data. The memory 52 includes, for example, a volatile semiconductor memory and a nonvolatile semiconductor memory. The memory 52 stores a program for vehicle control processing executed by the processor 53 of the ECU 50. In addition, the memory 52 stores images photographed by the vehicle exterior camera 11, operation information performed by the driver, measurement results of the distance to objects around the vehicle, measurement results of the own position, input information of the occupants, and various data used in the vehicle control processing.

[0065] The processor 53 includes one or more CPUs (Central Processing Units) and peripheral circuits thereof. The processor 53 may also include other operation circuits such as a logic operation unit or a numerical operation unit.

[0066] <Vehicle Control Processing>

[0067] The processor 53 of the ECU 50 executes a vehicle control process while the automatic driving control is being performed on the vehicle 100. The vehicle control process performed by the processor 53 will be described below.

[0068] Figure 3: is a functional block diagram of the processor 53 related to the vehicle control process. The processor 53 has a driving plan unit 531, a target deceleration setting unit 532, a braking demand signal output unit 533, a target acceleration and deceleration setting unit 534, and an acceleration and deceleration demand signal output unit 535. These units of the processor 53 are, for example, functional modules implemented by a computer program running on the processor 53. In addition, these units of the processor 53 can also be installed in the processor 53 as a dedicated operation circuit.

[0069] The driving planning unit 531 sets a predetermined trajectory (hereinafter referred to as "the predetermined driving trajectory") for the vehicle 100 to travel in a predetermined interval of a predetermined distance (e.g., 500m to 1km) from the current position of the vehicle 100 during the automatic driving control of the vehicle 100. Then, the driving planning unit 531 calculates the required deceleration and required acceleration and deceleration (control demand value) for the vehicle 100 to travel along the predetermined driving trajectory. The predetermined driving trajectory is represented, for example, as a collection of the positions of the vehicle 100 at each time when the vehicle 100 travels in the predetermined interval.

[0070] The driving planning unit 531 sets the planned driving trajectory, for example, in a manner along the planned driving route. For example, if there is no right turn point or left turn point on the planned driving route in the nearest planned section, the driving planning unit 531 sets the planned driving trajectory in a manner such that the vehicle 100 travels along the lane in which it is currently traveling. On the other hand, if there is a right turn point or a left turn point on the planned driving route in the nearest planned section, the driving planning unit 531 sets the planned driving trajectory in a manner such that the vehicle 100 can turn right or left at the point. At this time, if the vehicle 100 needs to move to a target lane different from the lane in which the vehicle 100 is traveling in order to turn right or left, the driving planning unit 531 sets the planned driving trajectory in a manner such that the vehicle 100 changes lanes to the target lane. In addition, the driving planning unit 531 determines the lane in which the vehicle 100 is currently traveling and the current position of the vehicle 100 by comparing the features represented by the image of the surroundings of the vehicle 100 obtained by the camera provided on the vehicle 100 and the features around the vehicle 100 represented by the map information.

[0071] Furthermore, the driving planning unit 531 sets a planned driving trajectory in such a manner that the vehicle 100 avoids a collision with an object (e.g., another vehicle) existing around the vehicle 100. To this end, the driving planning unit 531 obtains a series of images in a time series in the most recent predetermined period from the vehicle exterior camera 11 mounted on the vehicle 100. Then, the driving planning unit 531 inputs each of the obtained series of images to a recognizer that has been pre-learned in such a manner as to detect an object around the vehicle 100, thereby detecting one or more objects existing around the vehicle 100 from each image. Alternatively, the driving planning unit 531 obtains a series of ranging signals in a time series in the most recent predetermined period from the ranging sensor 12. Then, the driving planning unit 531 inputs the obtained series of ranging signals to a recognizer that has been pre-learned in such a manner as to detect an object around the vehicle 100, thereby detecting one or more objects existing around the vehicle 100 from each ranging signal.

[0072] In the driving planning unit 531, as such a recognizer, for example, a so-called deep neural network (DNN) having a convolutional neural network (CNN) type architecture is used. Such a recognizer uses a large number of images or ranging signals representing objects to be detected, and is pre-learned according to a learning method such as the back propagation method.

[0073] The driving planning unit 531 performs a predetermined tracking process on each object detected from each image or each ranging signal, tracks each object, obtains the trajectory of each object in the nearest predetermined period, and applies a predetermined prediction process to the obtained trajectory, thereby estimating a predicted trajectory assumed to be passed by the object for each object. Then, the driving planning unit 531 sets the predicted driving trajectory of the vehicle 100 in such a way that the predicted value of the distance between each object being tracked and the vehicle 100 at a predetermined time in the future becomes greater than the predetermined distance for any object based on the predicted trajectory of each object being tracked.

[0074] Furthermore, the driving planning unit 531 detects the lighting state of the signal light located in the traveling direction of the vehicle 100 from the image obtained by the vehicle exterior camera 11. At this time, the driving planning unit 531 detects the lighting state of the signal light by, for example, inputting the image into the recognizer as described above. Then, in the case where the lighting state of the detected signal light is a red light, the driving planning unit 531 sets the planned driving trajectory in such a manner that the vehicle 100 is decelerated and the vehicle 100 is temporarily stopped at the stop position of the intersection where the signal light is set. On the other hand, when the vehicle 100 is temporarily stopped at the intersection according to the red light, the driving planning unit 531 sets the planned driving trajectory in such a manner that the vehicle 100 starts and gradually accelerates when the lighting state of the signal light is detected to change from red to green.

[0075] After setting the planned travel trajectory, the driving planning unit 531 obtains the required deceleration and required acceleration / deceleration so that the vehicle 100 travels along the planned travel trajectory. That is, the required deceleration and required acceleration / deceleration become the values ​​required by the vehicle 100 when the vehicle 100 is automatically driven.

[0076] For example, the driving planning unit 531 calculates the required deceleration and required acceleration / deceleration of the vehicle 100 according to the planned driving trajectory, the current position of the vehicle 100, and the current vehicle speed of the vehicle 100 measured by the vehicle speed sensor (not shown) at a predetermined period. In particular, when the vehicle 100 is decelerated according to the demand for automatic driving control, the driving planning unit 531 sets the required acceleration / deceleration to a value indicating deceleration, and further calculates the required deceleration based on the required acceleration / deceleration.

[0077] For example, when the vehicle 100 is decelerating, the driving planning unit 531 calculates the required deceleration and the required acceleration / deceleration in such a manner that the braking force adjustable by the accelerator control device 30 (for example, the braking force generated by the engine brake) and the braking force generated by the brake are combined to achieve the deceleration for the vehicle 100 to travel along the planned travel trajectory. In particular, the driving planning unit 531 sets the required acceleration / deceleration in such a manner that it is below the upper limit value of the braking force adjustable by the accelerator control device 30, and sets the required deceleration in such a manner that the sum of the set required acceleration / deceleration and the required deceleration becomes the deceleration for the vehicle 100 to travel along the planned travel trajectory.

[0078] Whenever the driving planning unit 531 calculates the required deceleration and the required braking force, it sends the calculated required deceleration to the target deceleration setting unit 532 and sends the calculated required acceleration and deceleration to the target acceleration and deceleration setting unit 534 .

[0079] While the vehicle 100 is being automatically driven, the target deceleration setting unit 532 sets a target deceleration to be included in the brake request signal sent to the brake control device 40 .

[0080] However, as described above, when the brake control device 40 receives a brake demand signal (control demand signal) including a target deceleration (control target value) greater than the upper limit value, it does not output a corresponding brake control signal to the brake, and in particular, in the present embodiment, it outputs a failure signal to the ECU 50. As a result, when the vehicle 100 requires a large deceleration, the vehicle 100 cannot be sufficiently decelerated or cannot be decelerated at all. Therefore, when a large demand deceleration such as the brake control device 40 outputting a failure signal is sent from the driving planning unit 531, the target deceleration setting unit 532 sets the target deceleration to a value such as the brake control device 40 outputting a brake control signal corresponding to the target deceleration (a value such as not outputting a failure signal).

[0081] Figure 4 2 is a flowchart showing a control routine of a target deceleration setting process executed by the target deceleration setting unit 532 of the processor 53. The control routine shown in the figure is executed by the target deceleration setting unit 532 of the processor 53 at a predetermined cycle while the vehicle 100 is under automatic driving control.

[0082] The target deceleration setting unit 532 first obtains the required deceleration received from the driving planning unit 531 (step S11). Next, the target deceleration setting unit 532 determines whether the obtained required deceleration is greater than the minimum deceleration limit value (the second reference value) (step S12). Here, the minimum deceleration limit value is the smallest value among the target decelerations included in the braking demand signal sent to the brake control device 40 in the past, and even if the braking demand signal is sent, the brake control device 40 does not output the corresponding brake control signal (output failure signal). Therefore, when the braking demand signal output unit 533 outputs the braking demand signal including the minimum deceleration limit value as the target deceleration to the brake control device 40, the brake control device 40 does not output the corresponding brake control signal but outputs a failure signal.

[0083] When it is determined in step S12 that the required deceleration is less than the minimum deceleration limit value, the target deceleration setting unit 532 sets the target deceleration to the required deceleration received from the driving planning unit 531 (step S13). On the other hand, when it is determined in step S12 that the required deceleration is greater than the minimum deceleration limit value, that is, when it is determined that the required deceleration is a value such as the failure signal output from the brake control device 40 in the past, the target deceleration setting unit 532 sets the target deceleration to the maximum allowable deceleration value (second reference value) that is smaller than the required deceleration (step S14).

[0084] Here, the maximum permissible deceleration value is the maximum value among the target decelerations included in the brake demand signal sent to the brake control device 40 in the past and the target decelerations for which the brake control device 40 outputs the corresponding brake control signal when the brake demand signal is sent. Therefore, when the brake demand signal output unit 533 outputs the brake control device 40 with the brake demand signal including the maximum permissible deceleration value as the target deceleration, the brake control device 40 outputs the corresponding brake control signal. In addition, in the present embodiment, the target deceleration setting unit 532 sets the target deceleration to the maximum permissible deceleration value in step S14, but if it is the target deceleration included in the brake demand signal sent to the brake control device 40 in the past and the target deceleration for which the brake control device 40 outputs the corresponding brake control signal when the brake demand signal is sent, the target deceleration may be set to a value other than the maximum permissible deceleration value.

[0085] When the target deceleration is set in step S13 or step S14 , the target deceleration setting unit 532 sends the set target deceleration to the braking request signal output unit 533 (step S15 ).

[0086] Based on the above, when the required deceleration (control target value) required by the vehicle 100 for the brake during the automatic driving control of the vehicle 100 is less than the minimum deceleration limit value (second reference value), the target deceleration setting unit 532 sets the target deceleration (control target value) to the required deceleration, and when the required deceleration required by the vehicle 100 during the automatic driving control of the vehicle 100 is greater than the minimum deceleration limit value (second reference value), the target deceleration is set to the maximum allowable deceleration value (first reference value) that is smaller than the minimum deceleration limit value.

[0087] In addition, the target deceleration setting unit 532 updates the deceleration minimum limit value or the deceleration maximum allowable value based on the output from the brake control device 40 when the brake request signal including the target deceleration set in this way is sent from the brake request signal output unit 533 to the brake control device 40. Figure 5 1 is a flowchart showing a control routine for updating the minimum deceleration limit value and the maximum deceleration allowable value executed by the target deceleration setting unit 532 of the processor 53. The control routine shown in the figure is executed by the target deceleration setting unit 532 of the processor 53 at a predetermined period during the automatic driving control of the vehicle 100.

[0088] The target deceleration setting unit 532 first determines whether the control signal output from the brake control device 40 corresponds to the target deceleration included in the brake demand signal sent to the brake control device 40 (step S21). In the present embodiment, when the brake control device 40 receives the brake demand signal including the target deceleration less than the upper limit value, it outputs the corresponding brake control signal to the brake, so the target deceleration setting unit 532 does not receive the control signal from the brake control device 40. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the target deceleration setting unit 532 does not receive the control signal from the brake control device 40, it determines that the control signal output from the brake control device 40 corresponds to the target deceleration. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, when the brake control device 40 receives the deceleration demand signal including the target deceleration greater than the upper limit value, it sends a failure signal to the ECU 53, in particular, to the target deceleration setting unit 532 of the ECU 53. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the target deceleration setting unit 532 receives the failure signal from the brake control device 40, it determines that the control signal output from the brake control device 40 does not correspond to the target deceleration. Furthermore, when the brake control signal is also output from the brake control device 40 to the ECU 50 , the target deceleration setting unit 532 may directly determine whether the received brake control signal corresponds to the target deceleration.

[0089] When it is determined in step S21 that the control signal output from the brake control device 40 does not correspond to the target deceleration, the target deceleration setting unit 532 sets the minimum deceleration limit value to the target deceleration included in the current brake demand signal (step S22). As a result, the minimum deceleration limit value is updated to a smaller value for which a failure signal is output from the brake control device 40. Therefore, the minimum deceleration limit value can be said to be the smallest value among the values ​​of the brake control device 40 that did not output the corresponding brake control signal when the brake demand signal output unit 533 including the value as the target deceleration was sent to the brake control device 40 in the past.

[0090] On the other hand, when it is determined in step S21 that the control signal output from brake control device 40 corresponds to the target deceleration, target deceleration setting unit 532 determines whether the target deceleration included in the current brake request signal is greater than the maximum permissible deceleration value (step S23).

[0091] In the case where it is determined in step S23 that the target deceleration is less than the maximum permissible deceleration value, the target deceleration setting unit 532 does not update the minimum deceleration limit value and the maximum permissible deceleration value. On the other hand, in the case where it is determined in step S23 that the target deceleration is greater than the maximum permissible deceleration value, the target deceleration setting unit 532 sets the maximum permissible deceleration value to the braking target value included in the current braking demand signal (step S24). As a result, the maximum permissible deceleration value is updated to a larger value for which no failure signal is output from the brake control device 40. Therefore, the maximum permissible deceleration value can be said to be the largest value among the values ​​of the corresponding brake control signal output by the brake control device 40 when the braking demand signal including the value as the target deceleration was sent from the braking demand signal output unit 533 to the brake control device 40 in the past.

[0092] The brake request signal output unit 533 receives the brake request signal from the driving support control device 20 via the communication interface 51. In addition, the target deceleration is transmitted from the target deceleration setting unit 532 to the brake request signal output unit 533.

[0093] During the period of automatic driving control of the vehicle 100, the brake demand signal output unit 533 corrects the target deceleration included in the brake demand signal received from the driving support control device 20 to the target deceleration set by the target deceleration setting unit 532. Then, the brake demand signal output unit 533 outputs the corrected brake demand signal to the brake control device 40 via the communication interface 51. On the other hand, when the vehicle 100 is not under automatic driving control, the brake demand signal output unit 533 outputs the brake demand signal received from the driving support control device 20 to the brake control device 40 as it is.

[0094] Similar to the target deceleration setting unit 532 , the target acceleration / deceleration setting unit 534 sets a target acceleration / deceleration to be included in the acceleration / deceleration request signal transmitted to the accelerator control device 30 while the vehicle 100 is under automatic driving control.

[0095] Similar to the target deceleration setting unit 532, when a large required acceleration such as the accelerator control device 30 outputting a failure signal is sent from the driving planning unit 531, the target acceleration / deceleration setting unit 534 sets the target acceleration / deceleration to a value such as the accelerator control device 30 outputting an accelerator control signal corresponding to the target acceleration / deceleration (a value such as not outputting a failure signal).

[0096] Specifically, the target acceleration / deceleration setting unit 534 is similar to the target deceleration setting unit 532. When the required acceleration / deceleration (control required value) of the accelerator required by the vehicle 100 during the automatic driving control of the vehicle 100 is less than the minimum acceleration / deceleration limit value (second reference value), the target acceleration / deceleration setting unit 534 sets the target acceleration / deceleration (control target value) to the required acceleration / deceleration, and when the required acceleration / deceleration required by the vehicle 100 during the automatic driving control of the vehicle 100 is greater than the minimum acceleration / deceleration limit value (second reference value), the target acceleration / deceleration setting unit sets the target acceleration / deceleration to the maximum permissible acceleration / deceleration value (first reference value) that is smaller than the minimum acceleration / deceleration limit value (second reference value). (This is a feature of weight 1)

[0097] In addition, the target acceleration / deceleration setting unit 534, like the target deceleration setting unit 532, updates the minimum acceleration / deceleration limit value or the maximum allowable acceleration / deceleration value based on the output from the accelerator control device 30 when the acceleration / deceleration request signal including the target acceleration / deceleration set in this way is sent from the acceleration / deceleration request signal output unit 535 to the accelerator control device 30.

[0098] As a result, the acceleration / deceleration minimum limit value becomes the smallest value among the values ​​at which the accelerator control device 30 did not output the corresponding accelerator control signal when the acceleration / deceleration request signal including the value as the target acceleration / deceleration speed was sent from the acceleration / deceleration request signal output unit 535 to the accelerator control device 30 in the past (this is the characteristic of weight 1, which is a characteristic of the second reference value). In addition, the acceleration / deceleration maximum allowable value becomes the largest value among the values ​​at which the accelerator control device 30 output the corresponding accelerator control signal when the acceleration / deceleration request signal including the value as the target acceleration / deceleration speed was sent from the acceleration / deceleration request signal output unit 535 to the accelerator control device 30 in the past (this is the characteristic of weight 1 and weight 2, which is a characteristic of the first reference value).

[0099] The acceleration / deceleration request signal output unit 535 receives the acceleration / deceleration request signal from the driving support control device 20 via the communication interface 51. In addition, the target acceleration / deceleration setting unit 534 sends the target acceleration / deceleration to the acceleration / deceleration request signal output unit 535.

[0100] During the period of automatic driving control of the vehicle 100, the acceleration / deceleration demand signal output unit 535 corrects the target acceleration / deceleration included in the acceleration / deceleration demand signal received from the driving support control device 20 to the target acceleration / deceleration set by the target acceleration / deceleration setting unit 534. Then, the acceleration / deceleration demand signal output unit 535 outputs the corrected acceleration / deceleration demand signal to the accelerator control device 30 via the communication interface 51. On the other hand, when the vehicle 100 is not under automatic driving control, the acceleration / deceleration demand signal output unit 535 outputs the acceleration / deceleration demand signal received from the driving support control device 20 to the accelerator control device 30 as it is.

[0101] <Effects / Modifications>

[0102] As described above, the control device of the vehicle involved in the present embodiment sets the control demand value as the control target value of the device when the control demand value of the device required by the vehicle in the automatic driving control of the vehicle is less than the first reference value, and sets the first reference value as the control target value when the control demand value is greater than the second reference value greater than the first reference value. Therefore, it is not easy to input a control demand signal including a control target value that does not satisfy a predetermined condition to the device control device, so that the device controlled by the device control device is suppressed from operating improperly, and the above-mentioned device can be operated properly.

[0103] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the control target value setting unit sets the control target value to the required deceleration when the control demand value required by the vehicle 100 in the automatic driving control of the vehicle 100 is less than the second reference value, and sets the target deceleration to the first reference value when the control demand value is greater than the second reference value. However, the control target value setting unit may set the control target value to the required deceleration when the control demand value required by the vehicle 100 in the automatic driving control of the vehicle 100 is less than the first reference value, and set the target deceleration to the first reference value when the control demand value is greater than the second reference value. Therefore, the control target value setting unit sets the control target value to the required deceleration when the control demand value required by the vehicle 100 in the automatic driving control of the vehicle 100 is less than the first reference value, and sets the target deceleration to the first reference value when the control demand value is greater than the second reference value greater than the first reference value.

[0104] In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the driving support control device 20 generates a braking demand signal and an acceleration / deceleration demand signal. However, the driving support control device 20 may generate an acceleration / deceleration demand signal and send it to the accelerator control device 30, and the accelerator control device 30 may generate a braking demand signal based on the acceleration / deceleration demand signal and send it to the brake control device. In this case, the accelerator control device 30 controls the accelerator based on the acceleration / deceleration demand signal received from the driving support control device 20 or the ECU 50, and the brake control device 40 controls the brake based on the braking demand signal received from the accelerator control device 30 or the ECU 50.

[0105] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the device control device is shown as an example of the accelerator control device 30 and the brake control device 40, but the device control device may also be other devices related to the driving of the vehicle, such as a steering control device. In this case, when the steering control device receives a steering demand signal including a steering angle change speed below the upper limit value that the driving support control device 20 can output, it does not output the corresponding steering control signal to the steering device, but outputs a failure signal to the ECU 50. Then, the driving support control device 20 outputs a steering demand signal including a target steering angle change speed. Furthermore, the driving planning unit 531 of the ECU 50 calculates the target steering angle change speed of the steering wheel of the vehicle 100 so that the vehicle 100 travels along the planned driving trajectory. Then, the target steering angle change speed setting unit (control target value setting unit) and the steering demand signal output unit (demand signal output unit) of the ECU 50 output the steering demand signal to the steering control device based on the steering demand signal input from the driving support control device 20 and the target steering angle change speed sent from the driving planning unit 531.

[0106] As mentioned above, although the preferred embodiment which concerns on this invention was demonstrated, this invention is not limited to these embodiments, Various corrections and changes can be implemented within the description of a claim.

Claims

1. A vehicle control device, which outputs a control demand signal to a device control device for controlling a device related to the driving of the vehicle, wherein: The vehicle control device comprises: a control target value setting unit that sets the control demand value as the control target value of the device when a control demand value of the device required by the vehicle in the automatic driving control of the vehicle is less than or equal to a first reference value, and sets the first reference value as the control target value when the control demand value is greater than or equal to a second reference value greater than the first reference value; as well as a demand signal output unit, which outputs a control demand signal including the set control target value to the equipment control device via a communication unit, The device control device is configured to output a device control signal corresponding to the control target value when receiving the control demand signal including the control target value that satisfies a predetermined condition, and to output the device control signal not corresponding to the control target value when receiving the control demand signal including the control target value that does not satisfy the predetermined condition. The control target value setting unit is configured to determine whether the device control signal output from the device control device corresponds to the control target value included in the current control demand signal, and when it is determined that the device control signal output from the device control device does not correspond to the control target value included in the current control demand signal, update the second reference value to the control target value included in the current control demand signal; when it is determined that the device control signal output from the device control device corresponds to the control target value included in the current control demand signal, determine whether the control target value included in the current control demand signal is greater than the first reference value, and when it is determined that the control target value included in the current control demand signal is greater than the first reference value, update the first reference value to the control target value included in the current control demand signal, The first reference value is a value at which the device control device outputs a corresponding device control signal when the control request signal including the first reference value as the control target value is transmitted from the request signal output unit to the device control device. The second reference value is the smallest value among values ​​at which the device control device does not output a corresponding device control signal when the control request signal including the value as the control target value is transmitted from the request signal output unit to the device control device.

2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein: The first reference value is a maximum value among values ​​of a corresponding device control signal output by the device control device when the control request signal including the first reference value as the control target value is transmitted from the request signal output unit to the device control device.

3. The vehicle control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The demand signal output unit corrects the control target value included in the provisional control demand signal received from the driving support control device for supporting the driving of the driver of the vehicle via the communication unit to the control target value set by the control target value setting unit, and outputs the control demand signal including the corrected control target value to the equipment control device via the communication unit.

4. A method for controlling a vehicle, comprising: outputting a control demand signal to a device control device for controlling a device related to driving of the vehicle, wherein: The vehicle control method comprises: When a control demand value of the device required by the vehicle in the automatic driving control of the vehicle is less than or equal to a first reference value, the control demand value is set as a control target value of the device, and when the control demand value is greater than or equal to a second reference value greater than the first reference value, the first reference value is set as the control target value; and outputting a control demand signal including the set control target value to the equipment control device via a communication unit, The device control device is configured to output a device control signal corresponding to the control target value when receiving the control demand signal including the control target value that satisfies a predetermined condition, and to output the device control signal not corresponding to the control target value when receiving the control demand signal including the control target value that does not satisfy the predetermined condition. determining whether the device control signal output from the device control device corresponds to the control target value included in the control demand signal of this time, and if it is determined that the device control signal output from the device control device does not correspond to the control target value included in the control demand signal of this time, updating the second reference value to the control target value included in the control demand signal of this time; determining that the device control signal output from the device control device corresponds to the control target value included in the control demand signal of this time, determining whether the control target value included in the control demand signal of this time is greater than the first reference value, and if it is determined that the control target value included in the control demand signal of this time is greater than the first reference value, updating the first reference value to the control target value included in the control demand signal of this time, The first reference value is a value at which the device control device outputs a corresponding device control signal when the control demand signal including the first reference value as the control target value is sent to the device control device. The second reference value is the smallest value among values ​​at which the device control device does not output a corresponding device control signal when the control demand signal including the second reference value as the control target value is transmitted to the device control device.

5. A storage device storing a vehicle program, the program being used to output a control demand signal to a device control device for controlling a device related to the driving of the vehicle, wherein: The program causes the computer to: When a control demand value of the device required by the vehicle in the automatic driving control of the vehicle is less than or equal to a first reference value, the control demand value is set as a control target value of the device, and when the control demand value is greater than or equal to a second reference value greater than the first reference value, the first reference value is set as the control target value; and outputting a control demand signal including the set control target value to the equipment control device via a communication unit, The device control device is configured to output a device control signal corresponding to the control target value when receiving the control demand signal including the control target value that satisfies a predetermined condition, and to output the device control signal not corresponding to the control target value when receiving the control demand signal including the control target value that does not satisfy the predetermined condition. determining whether the device control signal output from the device control device corresponds to the control target value included in the control demand signal of this time, and if it is determined that the device control signal output from the device control device does not correspond to the control target value included in the control demand signal of this time, updating the second reference value to the control target value included in the control demand signal of this time; determining that the device control signal output from the device control device corresponds to the control target value included in the control demand signal of this time, determining whether the control target value included in the control demand signal of this time is greater than the first reference value, and if it is determined that the control target value included in the control demand signal of this time is greater than the first reference value, updating the first reference value to the control target value included in the control demand signal of this time, The first reference value is a value at which the device control device outputs a corresponding device control signal when the control demand signal including the first reference value as the control target value is sent to the device control device. The second reference value is the smallest value among values ​​at which the device control device does not output a corresponding device control signal when the control demand signal including the second reference value as the control target value is transmitted to the device control device.

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