Vehicle control device, vehicle control method, and computer program product

Abstract

The invention relates to a vehicle control apparatus, a vehicle control method, and a computer program product. The vehicle control device is provided with: a change rate setting unit (33) that sets the change rate of the vehicle (10) when the travel of the vehicle (10) is controlled in a high response mode in which the acceleration responsiveness is higher than the normal travel mode; the upper limit value of the rate of change in acceleration when a driving assistance mode for controlling the travel of the host vehicle (10) on the basis of the distance between the preceding vehicle and the host vehicle (10) is applied is set to be lower than the upper limit value when the driver of the host vehicle (10) performs manual driving control. And a control unit (34) that controls the travel of the host vehicle (10) such that the rate of change of the acceleration is equal to or less than a set upper limit value.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] There are vehicles in which a driver can select any one of a plurality of driving modes having different acceleration / deceleration responsiveness of the vehicle. In such a vehicle, a technique for selecting a driving mode to be applied to the vehicle according to the relationship with driving assistance control has been proposed (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2023-28560).

[0003] A driving mode with higher responsiveness during acceleration than the normal driving mode, such as a sports mode (hereinafter referred to as a high-response mode), is sometimes set as a driving mode of the vehicle together with a driving assistance mode that controls the driving of the vehicle based on the distance between the preceding vehicle and the own vehicle. In such a case, the vehicle repeatedly performs sudden acceleration and sudden deceleration in traffic congestion, which may sometimes make the driver feel uneasy. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle control device that can control the driving of a vehicle in such a way that the driver does not feel uneasy even when the driving assistance mode is applied and the high-response mode is set.

[0005] A vehicle control device according to one embodiment includes: a change rate setting unit that, when the driving of the own vehicle is controlled according to a high-response mode in which the responsiveness of acceleration is higher than that of the normal driving mode, sets an upper limit value of the change rate of acceleration when the driving assistance mode is applied to be lower than the upper limit value when the driver of the own vehicle manually controls the driving, where the driving assistance mode is a mode that controls the driving of the own vehicle based on the distance between the preceding vehicle and the own vehicle; and a control unit that controls the driving of the own vehicle so that the change rate of acceleration becomes equal to or lower than the set upper limit value.

[0006] In one embodiment, the vehicle control device further includes: a mode setting unit that stops the application of the high-response mode during the period when the driving assistance mode is applied.

[0007] In one embodiment, the vehicle control device further includes: a detection unit that detects traffic congestion around the own vehicle, and the change rate setting unit makes the upper limit value of the change rate of acceleration when traffic congestion is detected smaller than the upper limit value when traffic congestion is not detected.

[0008] In one embodiment, the slower the speed of the own vehicle, the smaller the upper limit value of the change rate of acceleration set by the change rate setting unit.

[0009] A vehicle control device according to another embodiment includes: a notification processing unit that, when the driving of the own vehicle is controlled in a high-response mode in which the acceleration responsiveness is higher than that in a normal driving mode, notifies the driver of the own vehicle via a notification device provided in the own vehicle that the high-response mode has been set when a driving assistance mode is additionally applied, where the driving assistance mode is a mode that controls the driving of the own vehicle based on the inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle and the own vehicle.

[0010] In one embodiment, the vehicle control device further includes: a detection unit that detects congestion around the own vehicle, and the notification processing unit notifies that the high-response mode has been set after the congestion is detected and before the deceleration of the own vehicle starts.

[0011] A vehicle control method according to yet another embodiment includes: when the driving of the own vehicle is controlled in a high-response mode in which the acceleration responsiveness is higher than that in a normal driving mode, setting an upper limit value of the acceleration change rate when the driving assistance mode is applied to be lower than the upper limit value when the driver of the own vehicle manually controls the driving, where the driving assistance mode is a mode that controls the driving of the own vehicle based on the inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle and the own vehicle; and controlling the driving of the own vehicle such that the acceleration change rate becomes equal to or lower than the set upper limit value.

[0012] A vehicle control computer program product according to yet another embodiment includes instructions for causing a processor mounted on the own vehicle to execute the following processing: when the driving of the own vehicle is controlled in a high-response mode in which the acceleration responsiveness is higher than that in a normal driving mode, setting an upper limit value of the acceleration change rate when the driving assistance mode is applied to be lower than the upper limit value when the driver of the own vehicle manually controls the driving, where the driving assistance mode is a mode that controls the driving of the own vehicle based on the inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle and the own vehicle; and controlling the driving of the own vehicle such that the acceleration change rate becomes equal to or lower than the set upper limit value.

[0013] The vehicle control device of the present disclosure has the following effect: It can control the driving of the vehicle in such a way that even when the driving assistance mode is applied and the high-response mode is set, the driver will not feel uneasy. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] Figure 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a vehicle equipped with a vehicle control device.

[0015] Figure 2 is a functional block diagram of a processor of an electronic control device related to vehicle control processing according to the first embodiment.

[0016] Figure 3This is a diagram for explaining the outline of acceleration / deceleration control according to the driving assistance mode in the high-response mode setting based on the first embodiment.

[0017] Figure 4 This is a flowchart of the operation of the vehicle control process based on the first embodiment.

[0018] Figure 5 This is a functional block diagram of the processor of the electronic control unit related to the vehicle control process based on the second embodiment.

[0019] Figure 6 This is a flowchart of the operation of the vehicle control process based on the second embodiment. Detailed Embodiment

[0020] Hereinafter, a vehicle control device, a vehicle control method executed on the vehicle control device, and a vehicle control computer program will be described with reference to the drawings. The vehicle control device can select and set any one of a plurality of driving modes with different acceleration response characteristics. Further, the vehicle control device can assist the driving of the driver of the host vehicle by applying a driving assistance mode, which is a mode for controlling the driving of the host vehicle according to the inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle traveling ahead of the host vehicle and the host vehicle. In particular, when a driving mode with a higher acceleration response than the normal driving mode (hereinafter referred to as the high-response mode) is set and the driving assistance mode is applied, the vehicle control device sets the upper limit value of the change amount of acceleration per unit time (hereinafter referred to as the acceleration change rate) to be lower than the upper limit value when the driver manually controls the driving. Alternatively, when the high-response mode is set and the driving assistance mode is additionally applied, the vehicle control device notifies the driver that the high-response mode is being applied.

[0021] Figure 1 This is a schematic configuration diagram of a vehicle equipped with a vehicle control device. Vehicle 10 is an example of the host vehicle and includes an external sensor 11, a notification device 12, and an electronic control unit (ECU) 13.

[0022] In the vehicle 10, it is possible to select multiple driving modes with different acceleration responses when changing the accelerator opening. Among the multiple driving modes, there are a normal driving mode and a high-response mode with a higher acceleration response than the normal driving mode. Note that among the multiple driving modes, there may also be multiple high-response modes with different acceleration responses. These high-response modes are, for example, called sports mode or power mode. Also, in the following description, the high-response mode may be one of the multiple high-response modes. Among the multiple driving modes, there may further be one or more driving modes (hereinafter referred to as low fuel consumption rate) with a lower acceleration response than the normal driving mode but good fuel consumption rate.

[0023] In addition, it may be that, depending on the driving mode, not only the acceleration response is different, but the deceleration response is also different. Therefore, it may be that in the high-response mode, not only is the acceleration response set higher than that of the normal driving mode, but the deceleration response is also set higher than that of the normal driving mode. Similarly, it may be that in the low fuel consumption rate mode, not only is the acceleration response set lower than that of the normal driving mode, but the deceleration response is also set lower than that of the normal driving mode. In the following description, it is assumed that both the acceleration response and the deceleration response are different depending on the driving mode. In addition, the acceleration response and the deceleration response are collectively referred to as the acceleration / deceleration response. Note that in the case where the deceleration responses of each driving mode are the same and the acceleration response is different depending on the driving mode, the descriptions related to the acceleration / deceleration response and the change rate of acceleration / deceleration in the following description should be understood as descriptions related to the acceleration response and the change rate of acceleration. In addition, hereinafter, the control related to acceleration or deceleration corresponding to the driving mode applied to the vehicle 10 is only referred to as acceleration / deceleration control.

[0024] The vehicle external sensor 11 is a sensor that generates an external sensor signal representing the surrounding conditions of the vehicle 10. For example, it is a camera or a ranging sensor such as LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) or radar that is configured to be able to photograph the surrounding of the vehicle 10. In the vehicle 10, multiple vehicle external sensors 11 with different detectable ranges or types may also be provided. Whenever an external sensor signal is generated, the vehicle external sensor 11 outputs the generated external sensor signal to the ECU 13.

[0025] The notification device 12 is an example of a notification unit and is provided inside the passenger compartment of the vehicle 10. The notification device 12 has, for example, at least any one of a speaker, a light source, a vibrator, or a display device. And when receiving a notification signal indicating a prescribed notification to the driver from the ECU 13, the notification device 12 executes the notification to the driver by voice from the speaker, light emission from the light source, vibration of the vibrator, or display of a message on the display device. In the case where the notification device 12 has two or more devices, the notification can be made to the driver via the two or more devices respectively.

[0026] The ECU 13 is an example of a vehicle control device and executes acceleration / deceleration control of the vehicle 10 corresponding to the set driving mode among a plurality of driving modes. Moreover, in the case where the driving support mode is applied, the ECU 13 executes driving support control for the driver of the vehicle 10.

[0027] The ECU 13 has a communication interface 21, a memory 22, and a processor 23. The communication interface 21, the memory 22, and the processor 23 can be configured as separate circuits respectively, or can also be integrally configured as one integrated circuit.

[0028] The communication interface 21 has an interface circuit for connecting the ECU 13 to other devices. The communication interface 21 transmits the signal from the vehicle exterior sensor 11 to the processor 23. Moreover, the communication interface 21 outputs a control signal for the drive system, received from the processor 23, to the drive system (not shown). Moreover, the communication interface 21 outputs a notification signal received from the processor 23 to the notification device 12.

[0029] The memory 22 is an example of a storage unit and has a volatile semiconductor memory and a non-volatile semiconductor memory. The memory 22 stores various data used in vehicle control processing executed by the processor 23 or various data generated in the middle of vehicle control processing.

[0030] The processor 23 has one or more CPUs (Central Processing Unit) and its peripheral circuits. The processor 23 can further have other arithmetic circuits such as a logical arithmetic unit, a numerical arithmetic unit, or a graphics processing unit. And the processor 23 executes vehicle control processing for the vehicle 10.

[0031] (First Embodiment)

[0032] Next, the vehicle control process performed by the processor 23 in the first embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, when the high-response mode is set as the driving mode, the processor 23 sets the upper limit value of the change rate of the acceleration and deceleration when the driving assistance mode is applied to be lower than the upper limit value during manual driving performed by the driver.

[0033] Figure 2 FIG. is a functional block diagram of the processor 23 related to the vehicle control process according to the first embodiment. The processor 23 includes a mode setting unit 31, a detection unit 32, a change rate setting unit 33, and a control unit 34. Each of these units included in the processor 23 is, for example, a functional module implemented by a computer program operating on the processor 23. Alternatively, each of these units may be a dedicated arithmetic circuit provided in the processor 23.

[0034] The mode setting unit 31 sets the driving mode to be applied to the acceleration and deceleration control of the vehicle 10 from among a plurality of driving modes with different acceleration and deceleration responses.

[0035] The mode setting unit 31 sets the driving mode specified by an operation signal from an operation device (not shown) provided inside the vehicle compartment of the vehicle 10 as the driving mode to be applied to the acceleration and deceleration control of the vehicle 10. Further, whenever the driving mode applied to the vehicle 10 is changed by an operation of the operation device, the mode setting unit 31 notifies the change rate setting unit 33 and the control unit 34 of the changed driving mode.

[0036] Moreover, when an operation to apply the driving assistance mode is performed via the operation device, the mode setting unit 31 notifies the change rate setting unit 33 and the control unit 34 that the driving assistance mode is applied. Similarly, when an operation to cancel the application of the driving assistance mode is performed via the operation device, the mode setting unit 31 notifies the change rate setting unit 33 and the control unit 34 that the application of the driving assistance mode has been canceled.

[0037] The detection unit 32 detects congestion around the vehicle 10. To this end, the detection unit 32 detects other vehicles by inputting an out-of-vehicle sensor signal representing the state of the area around the vehicle 10 obtained by the out-of-vehicle sensor 11 to a classifier that has been previously learned to detect other vehicles traveling around the vehicle 10. Such a classifier may be a classifier based on a so-called deep neural network (DNN: Deep Neural Network) having a convolutional neural network (CNN: Convolutional Neural Network) architecture or an attention mechanism.

[0038] The detection unit 32 determines whether the area around the vehicle 10 is congested based on the speeds of the detected other vehicles. To this end, the detection unit 32 tracks the other vehicles detected from a plurality of off-vehicle sensor signals obtained in a time series over a recent predetermined period, thereby determining changes in the relative positions of the other vehicles and the vehicle 10, and estimates the speeds of the other vehicles based on these changes in relative positions and the speed of the vehicle 10.

[0039] If the exterior sensor 11 is a camera configured to capture images of the surroundings of the vehicle 10, and the exterior sensor signal is an image, the position of the lower end of the region in the image (hereinafter referred to as the object region) that includes the detected other vehicle is assumed to indicate the location where the other vehicle is in contact with the road surface. Furthermore, the position in the image corresponds one-to-one with the orientation as viewed from the camera that generated the image. Therefore, the detection unit 32 can estimate the distance from the camera 2 to the other vehicle and the orientation from the vehicle 10 to the other vehicle by referring to the position of the lower end of the object region in the image and parameters such as the installation height, imaging direction, and field of view of the camera serving as the exterior sensor 11.

[0040] When the exterior sensor 11 is a distance measuring sensor, the detection unit 32 may estimate the distance measured for the direction corresponding to the other vehicle detected in the exterior sensor signal as the distance between the vehicle 10 and the other vehicle.

[0041] The detection unit 32 performs the above-described processing on each of the plurality of exterior sensor signals obtained in a time-series manner during the most recent predetermined period, thereby estimating the relative position of the other vehicles with respect to the vehicle 10 at the time each exterior sensor signal was generated. Furthermore, the detection unit 32 calculates a change in the relative position of the other vehicles with respect to the vehicle 10 based on the relative position of the other vehicles with respect to the vehicle 10 at the time each exterior sensor signal, which was arranged in a time-series manner during the most recent predetermined period, and estimates the relative speed of the surrounding vehicles with respect to the vehicle 10 based on this change in relative position.

[0042] It should be noted that when multiple other vehicles are detected, the detection unit 32 can simply apply a predetermined tracking method such as KLT (Kanade Lucas Tomasi) tracking to track each of the other vehicles across multiple off-vehicle sensor signals obtained in a time series. Furthermore, the detection unit 32 can simply estimate the relative position and relative speed of each other vehicle with respect to the vehicle 10 for each other vehicle being tracked.

[0043] When the average speed of the other vehicles estimated is slower than the specified reference speed by more than the congestion determination threshold and this situation continues for a specified period (e.g., several seconds to ten seconds) or more, the detection unit 32 determines that congestion has occurred. The reference speed can be set, for example, as the speed limit or legal speed for the road section where the vehicle 10 is traveling, or as the speed set via the operation device provided inside the vehicle compartment of the vehicle 10. It should be noted that the detection unit 32 only needs to determine the road section where the vehicle 10 is traveling and the speed limit or legal speed in this road section with reference to the map information and the current position of the vehicle 10. It should be noted that the map information is pre-stored in the memory 22. In addition, the current position of the vehicle 10 can be measured by a receiver of a satellite positioning system mounted on the vehicle 10 such as a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver.

[0044] The detection unit 32 notifies the change rate setting unit 33 of the determination result as to whether the vehicle 10 is congested.

[0045] The change rate setting unit 33 sets the upper limit value of the acceleration and deceleration change rate (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the upper limit change rate) according to the set driving mode and the presence or absence of the application of the driving assistance mode. In the present embodiment, the change rate setting unit 33 sets the upper limit change rate such that when the set driving mode is the high response mode, the upper limit change rate when the driving assistance mode is applied is lower than that when the driving assistance mode is not applied, that is, when manual driving control is performed by the driver. For example, the upper limit change rate when the driving assistance mode is applied and the high response mode is set is set to be 0.6 to 0.8 times the upper limit change rate when the driving assistance mode is not applied and the high response mode is set. Thereby, sudden acceleration and sudden deceleration are suppressed in the driving control according to the driving assistance mode. Therefore, even when the driving assistance mode is applied and the high response mode is set, the driver's uneasiness about the driving of the vehicle 10 is suppressed.

[0046] In addition, when the driving assistance mode is applied and the high response mode is set, the change rate setting unit 33 can set the upper limit change rate when congestion around the vehicle 10 is detected by the detection unit 32 to be lower than the upper limit change rate when congestion is not detected. Thereby, when the speed of the vehicle 10 is slow, the vehicle 10 accelerates or decelerates more slowly, and thus the driver's uneasiness about the driving of the vehicle 10 is further suppressed.

[0047] It should be noted that if the set driving mode is a driving mode other than the high response mode, the change rate setting unit 33 sets the upper limit change rate corresponding to this driving mode, that is, the upper limit change rate lower than the upper limit change rate when the high response mode is set, regardless of whether the driving assistance mode is applied.

[0048] The rate-of-change setting unit 33 notifies the control unit 34 of the set upper limit rate of change.

[0049] When the driving assistance mode is not applied, the control unit 34 refers to the map corresponding to the set driving mode in the maps prepared in advance for each driving mode, which represent the relationship among the accelerator opening, the rotational speed of the engine or motor included in the drive train, and the target torque. Then, based on the referred map, the control unit 34 sets the target torque according to the accelerator opening corresponding to the depression amount of the driver's accelerator pedal, and generates a control signal for the drive train according to the set target torque. However, the control unit 34 generates the control signal in such a manner that the rate of change of the acceleration or deceleration until reaching the acceleration or deceleration corresponding to the target torque is not more than the upper limit rate of change in the set driving mode. Then, the control unit 34 outputs the generated control signal to the drive train. At this time, the control unit 34 may control the drive train according to feedback control such as PID (Proportional Integral Differential) control. Moreover, the control unit 34 controls a brake device (not shown) according to the depression amount of the brake pedal applied by the driver.

[0050] In addition, during the application of the driving assistance mode, the control unit 34 controls the drive system such that the vehicle 10 travels at the set target vehicle speed. Further, the control unit 34 controls the drive system such that the inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle traveling ahead of the vehicle 10 in the lane in which the vehicle 10 is traveling and the vehicle 10 is maintained at a specified interval or more. For this purpose, the control unit 34 performs the same processing as the processing described in the detection unit 32 to detect other vehicles traveling around the vehicle 10. Further, the control unit 34 detects the lane dividing lines by inputting the image generated by the camera, which is an example of the vehicle exterior sensor 11, to the classifier that has been pre-learned to detect the lane dividing lines. Then, the control unit 34 sets the area between the two lane dividing lines closest to the vehicle 10 among the detected lane dividing lines on the image as the own lane area indicating the own lane. The control unit 34 may determine, as the preceding vehicle, the other vehicle among the detected other vehicles whose lower end position of the object area on the image is included in the own lane area and is closest to the lower end of the image. Alternatively, the control unit 34 may determine, as the preceding vehicle, the other vehicle among the detected other vehicles that is located in the azimuth corresponding to the traveling direction of the vehicle 10. Then, the control unit 34 may perform the same processing as the processing described in the detection unit 32 on the preceding vehicle to estimate the distance to the preceding vehicle. Alternatively, the control unit 34 may receive the detection result of the other vehicle from the detection unit 32 to determine the preceding vehicle, and further receive the estimation result of the distance to the determined preceding vehicle from the detection unit 32.

[0051] If the estimated distance to the preceding vehicle (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as the inter-vehicle distance) is less than the specified interval, the control unit 34 sets the target acceleration / deceleration and the rate of change of acceleration / deceleration in such a way as to decelerate the vehicle 10. At this time, the control unit 34 sets the target acceleration / deceleration in such a way that the smaller the inter-vehicle distance to the preceding vehicle or the faster the relative speed of the vehicle 10 with respect to the preceding vehicle, the greater the deceleration, and in accordance with the set driving mode. On the other hand, if the estimated inter-vehicle distance to the preceding vehicle is greater than or equal to the specified interval, the control unit 34 sets the target acceleration / deceleration in such a way that the speed of the vehicle 10 approaches the target vehicle speed and in accordance with the set driving mode. However, when the speed of the preceding vehicle is lower than the target vehicle speed, the control unit 34 sets the target acceleration / deceleration in such a way that the inter-vehicle distance becomes the specified interval and the relative speed between the vehicle 10 and the preceding vehicle becomes zero, and in accordance with the set driving mode. For this purpose, the control unit 34 sets the target acceleration / deceleration, for example, based on the relational expression corresponding to the set driving mode in the relational expressions of the inter-vehicle distance, relative speed, and target acceleration / deceleration specified in advance for each driving mode. Moreover, the control unit 34 sets the rate of change of acceleration / deceleration in accordance with the set driving mode. However, if the set driving mode is the high-response mode, the control unit 34 sets the rate of change of acceleration / deceleration to be equal to or less than the upper limit rate of change set by the rate-of-change setting unit 33. Then, the control unit 34 calculates the target torque corresponding to the set target acceleration / deceleration and outputs a control signal corresponding to the target torque and the rate of change of acceleration / deceleration to the drive system. Moreover, when decelerating the vehicle 10 or the like, the control unit 34 generates, as needed, a control signal for the braking device of the vehicle 10 corresponding to the set target acceleration / deceleration and the rate of change of acceleration / deceleration, and outputs the generated control signal to the braking device.

[0052] It should be noted that it may also be the case that when the driver steps on the accelerator pedal or the brake pedal by a specified amount or more even when the driving assistance mode is applied, the control unit 34 controls the drive system in accordance with the driving operation performed by the driver. In this case, if the high-response mode is set, the control unit 34 may apply the upper limit rate of change during manual driving performed by the driver as the upper limit rate of change.

[0053] Figure 3 This is a diagram for explaining an outline of acceleration / deceleration control according to the driving assistance mode when the high-response mode is set based on the first embodiment. In Figure 3In the figure, the horizontal axis represents elapsed time. In the topmost line graph, curve 300 represents the time change of the set state of the high-response mode. In the second line graph from the top, curve 301 represents the time change of the inter-vehicle distance between vehicle 10 according to the present embodiment and the preceding vehicle, and curve 311 represents the time change of the inter-vehicle distance when the upper limit change rate is set to the value ULM during manual driving performed by the driver as a comparative example. In addition, in the third line graph from the top, curve 302 represents the time change of the speed of vehicle 10 according to the present embodiment, and curve 312 represents the time change of the speed of vehicle 10 when the upper limit change rate is set to the value ULM during manual driving performed by the driver as a comparative example. Further, in the bottommost line graph, curve 303 represents the time change of the acceleration / deceleration of vehicle 10 according to the present embodiment, and curve 313 represents the time change of the acceleration / deceleration of vehicle 10 when the upper limit change rate is set to the value ULM during manual driving performed by the driver as a comparative example.

[0054] In the present embodiment, when the high-response mode is set and the driving assistance mode is applied, the upper limit change rate ULS of the acceleration / deceleration is set to a value lower than the upper limit change rate ULM during manual driving performed by the driver. Therefore, as shown by curves 303 and 313, the change in the acceleration / deceleration of vehicle 10 according to the present embodiment is slower than the change in the acceleration / deceleration of vehicle 10 according to the comparative example. As a result, as shown by curves 301 and 311, the change amplitude of the inter-vehicle distance between vehicle 10 according to the present embodiment and the preceding vehicle is smaller than the change amplitude of the inter-vehicle distance between vehicle 10 according to the comparative example and the preceding vehicle. Similarly, as shown by curves 302 and 312, the change amplitude of the speed of vehicle 10 according to the present embodiment is smaller than the change amplitude of the speed of vehicle 10 according to the comparative example. Thus, in the present embodiment, sudden acceleration and sudden deceleration are suppressed, and therefore the change in the speed of vehicle 10 and the change in the inter-vehicle distance between vehicle 10 and the preceding vehicle are also suppressed. As a result, even if the driving of vehicle 10 is controlled in both the high-response mode and the driving assistance mode, the driver's uneasiness is suppressed.

[0055] Figure 4 It is a flowchart of the operation of the vehicle control process based on the first embodiment.

[0056] The change rate setting unit 33 determines whether the high-response mode is set as the driving mode applied to vehicle 10 with reference to the notification from the mode setting unit 31 (step S101). When the high-response mode is not set (step S101-no), the change rate setting unit 33 sets the upper limit change rate corresponding to the set driving mode (step S102).

[0057] When the high response mode is set (step S101 - Yes), the change rate setting unit 33 determines whether the driving assistance mode is applied to the vehicle 10 with reference to the notification from the mode setting unit 31 (step S103). When the driving assistance mode is not applied (step S103 - No), the change rate setting unit 33 sets a first upper limit change rate that is higher than the upper limit change rate at the time of setting for other driving modes (step S104). On the other hand, when the driving assistance mode is applied (step S103 - Yes), the change rate setting unit 33 determines whether congestion around the vehicle 10 is detected by the detection unit 32 (step S105). When congestion around the vehicle 10 is not detected (step S105 - No), the change rate setting unit 33 sets a second upper limit change rate that is lower than the first upper limit change rate (step S106). On the other hand, when congestion around the vehicle 10 is detected (step S105 - Yes), the change rate setting unit 33 sets a third upper limit change rate that is lower than the second upper limit change rate (step S107). It should be noted that preferably, the second upper limit change rate and the third upper limit change rate are higher than the upper limit change rate at the time of setting for other driving modes.

[0058] When the upper limit change rate is set, the control unit 34 sets a target acceleration / deceleration and a change rate of the acceleration / deceleration that becomes equal to or lower than the upper limit change rate based on the set driving mode, the accelerator operation performed by the driver, or the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle and the target vehicle speed, and controls the running of the vehicle 10 according to the set target acceleration / deceleration and the change rate of the acceleration / deceleration (step S108).

[0059] As described above, when the running of the vehicle is controlled in accordance with the high response mode, the vehicle control device sets the upper limit change rate of the acceleration / deceleration when the driving assistance mode is applied to be lower than the upper limit change rate when the driver manually controls the driving. Therefore, the vehicle control device can suppress sudden acceleration and sudden deceleration in the running control of the vehicle in accordance with both the driving assistance mode and the high response mode. As a result, the vehicle control device can prevent the driver from feeling uneasy in the running control of the vehicle in accordance with both the driving assistance mode and the high response mode.

[0060] According to the modification example, it may also be that when the high response mode is set and an operation to apply the driving assistance mode is performed via the operation device and the driving assistance mode is applied to the vehicle 10, the mode setting unit 31 stops the application of the high response mode. At this time, the mode setting unit 31 may change the driving mode set during the application of the driving assistance mode from the high response mode to a normal driving mode or a low fuel consumption mode. Thereby, sudden acceleration and sudden deceleration in the running control of the vehicle 10 when the driving assistance mode is applied can be further suppressed.

[0061] According to another modification example, when the driving assistance mode is applied, the slower the speed of the vehicle 10 measured by a vehicle speed sensor (not shown) provided in the vehicle 10, the smaller the upper limit change rate is made by the change rate setting unit 33. As a result, the slower the speed of the vehicle 10, the slower the vehicle 10 accelerates and decelerates, and thus when the driving assistance mode is applied, the driver is less likely to feel uneasy.

[0062] According to still another modification example, regardless of whether congestion around the vehicle 10 is detected, the change rate setting unit 33 sets the upper limit change rate based on the set driving mode and the presence or absence of application of the driving assistance mode. In this case, the process of the detection unit 32 can also be omitted. Therefore, the arithmetic burden on the processor 23 is reduced.

[0063] (Second Embodiment)

[0064] Next, the second embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, when the high response mode is set and the driving assistance mode is additionally applied, the vehicle control device notifies the driver that the high response mode is being set. Hereinafter, the points different from the first embodiment will be described.

[0065] Figure 5 It is a functional block diagram of the processor 23 related to the vehicle control process according to the second embodiment. The processor 23 has a mode setting unit 31, a change rate setting unit 33, a control unit 34, and a notification processing unit 35. Each of these units provided in the processor 23 is, for example, a functional module implemented by a computer program operating on the processor 23. Alternatively, each of these units may be a dedicated arithmetic circuit provided in the processor 23.

[0066] When the high response mode is set and an operation signal indicating that an operation of applying the driving assistance mode has been performed is received from the operation device, the mode setting unit 31 notifies the notification processing unit 35 that the high response mode is being set and that the driving assistance mode has been additionally applied.

[0067] When the notification processing unit 35 is notified by the mode setting unit 31 that the driving assistance mode is additionally applied in the high response mode setting, the notification processing unit 35 generates a notification signal indicating that the high response mode is set and outputs the notification signal to the notification device 12. Thus, the notification processing unit 35 notifies the driver via the notification device 12 that the high response mode is set. At this time, the notification processing unit 35 causes the speaker included in the notification device 12 to output a voice indicating that the high response mode is set. Alternatively, the notification processing unit 35 causes the display device included in the notification device 12 to display a message or an icon indicating that the high response mode is set. Alternatively, in addition, the notification processing unit 35 causes the light source corresponding to the high response mode among the light sources included in the notification device 12 to light up or blink. Thus, the driver is notified that the high response mode is set. Therefore, even if the vehicle 10 is controlled according to the driving assistance mode and the high response mode and sudden acceleration and sudden deceleration occur as a result, the driver's uneasiness is suppressed.

[0068] In the present embodiment, even when the high response mode is set, the change rate setting unit 33 may set the same upper limit change rate regardless of whether the driving assistance mode is applied. And the control unit 34, in the same manner as in the first embodiment, sets the target acceleration / deceleration and the change rate of the acceleration / deceleration based on the accelerator opening or the target vehicle speed and the inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle and the vehicle 10. However, in the present embodiment, regardless of whether the driving assistance mode is applied, the control unit 34 only needs to set the change rate of the acceleration / deceleration such that the change rate of the acceleration / deceleration is less than or equal to the upper limit change rate corresponding to the set driving mode. And the control unit 34 outputs a control signal corresponding to the set target acceleration / deceleration and the change rate of the acceleration / deceleration to the drive train, and outputs a control signal corresponding to the set target acceleration / deceleration and the change rate of the acceleration / deceleration to the braking device as needed.

[0069] Figure 6 It is a flowchart of the operation of the vehicle control process based on the second embodiment. During the period when the high response mode is set to enabled, the processor 23 executes the vehicle control process according to the following flowchart.

[0070] The mode setting unit 31 determines whether an operation signal indicating that the driving assistance mode is applied is received from the operation device (step S201). If an operation signal indicating that the driving assistance mode is applied is not received (step S201 - No), the control unit 34 controls the travel of the vehicle 10 according to the high response mode and the driving operation performed by the driver (step S202).

[0071] On the other hand, when the mode setting unit 31 receives an operation signal indicating that the driving assistance mode is applied (step S201 - Yes), the notification processing unit 35 notifies the driver via the notification device 12 that the high-response mode is being set (step S203). Then, the control unit 34 controls the running of the vehicle 10 in accordance with both the high-response mode and the driving assistance mode (step S204).

[0072] As described above, when the application of the driving assistance mode starts when the high-response mode is set, the vehicle control device notifies the driver that the high-response mode is being set. Therefore, even if rapid acceleration and rapid deceleration occur due to the running control according to the driving assistance mode and the high-response mode, the driver's uneasiness is suppressed.

[0073] According to the modification example, in the second embodiment, the processor 23 may have the detection unit 32 in the same manner as in the first embodiment. In this case, preferably, the detection unit 32 detects other vehicles traveling in front of the vehicle 10 based on a part of the out-of-vehicle sensor signal indicating the area in front of the vehicle 10. For example, when the out-of-vehicle sensor 11 includes a camera that captures the front area of the vehicle 10, the detection unit 32 detects other vehicles traveling in front of the vehicle 10 by inputting an image generated by the camera to a classifier. Then, the detection unit 32 may detect congestion in the same manner as in the first embodiment based on other vehicles traveling in front of the vehicle 10. Thus, the detection unit 32 can detect congestion in front of the vehicle 10 before the vehicle 10 catches up with the end of the congestion. When congestion is detected, the detection unit 32 notifies the notification processing unit 35 to that effect. Then, when it is notified from the mode setting unit 31 that the driving assistance mode is applied during the setting of the high-response mode and it is notified from the detection unit 32 that congestion is detected, before the start of deceleration of the vehicle 10 based on the driving assistance mode, the notification processing unit 35 notifies the driver via the notification device 12 that the high-response mode is being set. Thus, even when the vehicle 10 catches up with the end of the congestion and the vehicle 10 rapidly decelerates due to the running control according to the driving assistance mode and the high-response mode, the driver's uneasiness is suppressed.

[0074] It should be noted that the processor 23 can also execute both the vehicle control processing based on the first embodiment or its modification and the vehicle control processing based on the second embodiment or its modification. That is, the processor 23 can execute the processing of each of the mode setting unit 31, the detection unit 32, the change rate setting unit 33, the control unit 34, and the notification processing unit 35. That is, it can also be that when the driving assistance mode is applied in the setting of the high response mode, the processor 23 notifies the driver via the notification device 12 that the high response mode is being set, and sets the upper limit change rate of the acceleration and deceleration to a value lower than the upper limit change rate during manual driving performed by the driver. At this time, it can also be that the slower the speed of the vehicle 10, the lower the upper limit change rate set by the processor 23, or when the surrounding of the vehicle 10 is congested, the processor 23 sets the upper limit change rate even lower. In addition, it can also be that when the driving assistance mode is applied in the setting of the high response mode, the processor 23 not only notifies the driver via the notification device 12 that the high response mode is being applied, but also notifies the driver via the notification device 12 of a recommendation to change to the normal driving mode or the low fuel consumption mode. Then, it can also be that when an operation signal indicating that an operation of consenting to the recommendation is received from the operation device, the processor 23 changes the set driving mode to the normal driving mode or the low fuel consumption mode.

[0075] A computer program for realizing the functions of the processor 23 of the ECU 13 based on the above-described respective embodiments or modifications can be provided as a computer program product, for example, in the form of a computer-readable mobile recording medium such as a semiconductor memory, a magnetic recording medium, or an optical recording medium.

Claims

1. A vehicle control device, comprising: The rate-of-change setting unit sets an upper limit value of a rate of change of acceleration when a driving assistance mode is applied to be lower than the upper limit value when the driver of the vehicle manually controls driving, in a case where traveling of the vehicle is controlled in a high-response mode in which responsiveness to acceleration is higher than that in a normal driving mode. The driving assistance mode is a mode for controlling the running of the vehicle according to the distance between the preceding vehicle and the vehicle; and A control unit that controls the running of the vehicle such that the change rate of the acceleration becomes equal to or less than the set upper limit value.

2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, further comprising: A mode setting unit that stops the application of the high-response mode during the period when the driving assistance mode is applied.

3. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, further comprising: A detection unit that detects congestion around the vehicle, The change rate setting unit makes the upper limit value when the congestion is detected smaller than the upper limit value when the congestion is not detected.

4. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein The slower the speed of the vehicle, the smaller the upper limit value set by the change rate setting unit.

5. A vehicle control device, comprising: The notification processing unit, when the driving of the present vehicle is controlled in a high-response mode in which the acceleration responsiveness is higher than that in the normal driving mode, notifies the driver of the present vehicle via a notification device provided in the present vehicle that the high-response mode has been set when the driving assistance mode is additionally applied, where The driving assistance mode is a mode for controlling the running of the vehicle according to the distance between the preceding vehicle and the vehicle.

6. The vehicle control device according to claim 5, further comprising: A detection unit that detects congestion around the vehicle, After the congestion is detected and before the deceleration of the vehicle starts, the notification processing unit notifies that the high-response mode has been set.

7. A vehicle control method, comprising: When the running of the vehicle is controlled according to a high-response mode in which the acceleration responsiveness is higher than that in a normal running mode, setting an upper limit value of the change rate of the acceleration when the driving assistance mode is applied to be lower than the upper limit value when the driver of the vehicle manually controls the driving, wherein the driving assistance mode is a mode for controlling the running of the vehicle according to the distance between the preceding vehicle and the vehicle; and Controlling the running of the vehicle such that the change rate of the acceleration becomes equal to or less than the set upper limit value.

8. A computer program product for vehicle control, comprising instructions for causing a processor mounted on the vehicle to execute the following processes: When the driving of the vehicle is controlled in a high-response mode in which the acceleration responsiveness is higher than that in a normal driving mode, the upper limit value of the rate of change of acceleration when the driving assistance mode is applied is set lower than the upper limit value when the driver of the vehicle manually controls the driving, where The driving assistance mode is a mode for controlling the running of the vehicle according to the distance between the preceding vehicle and the vehicle; and Controlling the running of the vehicle such that the change rate of the acceleration becomes equal to or less than the set upper limit value.

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