Travel control device and travel control method

Abstract

To provide a travel control device and a travel control method capable of reliably performing automatic parking.SOLUTION: A travel control device controls a vehicle on the basis of a traveling route where a driver has traveled by a manual operation, and includes: a teacher route generation part generating a first route where the vehicle travels forward on the basis of the traveling route; a reverse route generation part generating a second route where the vehicle travels in backward traveling on the basis of the traveling route; and a parking control part causing the vehicle to travel in the forward traveling on the basis of the first traveling route, and causing the vehicle to travel in the reverse traveling on the basis of the second traveling route. The parking control part selects, on the basis of prescribed information, which of either the first route or the second route, to cause the vehicle to travel in.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a cruise control device and a cruise control method. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, parking assistance devices that can park in a specific parking space by using teacher driving are known (for example, see Patent Document 1). Such parking assistance devices store the driving route of the vehicle when the vehicle is parked in the parking space by the driver as a teacher route, and automatically park the vehicle in the parking space based on the teacher route. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Special Publication No. 2013-530867 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, when parking a vehicle in a parking space in the opposite direction to the driving direction on the teacher route (e.g., reverse driving), there was a risk that automatic parking would not be possible because the vehicle's behavior differs when driving forward and when driving backward.

[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a driving control device and a driving control method that can reliably perform automatic parking. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The driving control device according to the present disclosure includes: A driving control device that controls a vehicle based on a driving route traveled by a driver's manual driving, a teacher route generating unit that generates a first route along which the vehicle travels in a forward direction based on the travel route; a reverse path generating unit that generates a second path along which the vehicle travels in reverse based on the travel path; a parking control unit that causes the vehicle to travel forward based on the first route and causes the vehicle to travel backward based on the second route; The parking control unit selects whether to cause the vehicle to travel along the first route or the second route based on predetermined information.

[0007] The driving control method according to the present disclosure includes: A driving control method for controlling a vehicle based on a driving route traveled by a driver's manual driving, comprising: generating a first route along which the vehicle travels in a forward direction based on the travel route; generating a second route along which the vehicle travels in reverse based on the travel route; The vehicle is caused to travel in a forward direction based on the first route; causing the vehicle to travel in reverse based on the second route; A route to be traveled, either the first route or the second route, is selected based on predetermined information. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present disclosure, automatic parking can be performed reliably. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a vehicle to which a parking assistance device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is applied. [Figure 2A] FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining a teacher route; [Figure 2B] FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining a reverse route. [Diagram 3] 4 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation of automatic parking control in the parking assistance device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] (Embodiment) DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a vehicle 1 to which a parking assistance device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is applied.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 1, a vehicle 1 has an automatic parking assistance function (so-called home zone parking assistance) that automatically parks the vehicle in a specified parking space, and has an operation unit 10, a detection unit 20, an alarm unit 30, and a parking assistance device 100.

[0012] The operation unit 10 includes a steering wheel and the like for the driver to operate the vehicle 1. When automatic parking control is performed by the parking assistance device 100, the operation unit 10 is controlled to perform an operation corresponding to driving on a teacher route or a reverse route.

[0013] The detection unit 20 is, for example, an in-vehicle sensor such as a radar, and detects objects around the vehicle 1. In addition, when automatic parking control is performed by the parking assistance device 100, the detection unit 20 detects the presence or absence of an obstacle in the teacher path or the reverse path.

[0014] The notification unit 30 is, for example, a display unit of a car navigation device or the like, an audio output unit, or the like, and notifies the driver of, for example, information related to parking assistance from the parking assistance device 100.

[0015] The parking assistance device 100 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and an input / output circuit (not shown), and performs automatic parking control to automatically park the vehicle in a specified parking space. The parking assistance device 100 includes a teacher path generating unit 110, a reverse path generating unit 120, and a parking control unit 130.

[0016] The teacher route generating unit 110 generates a teacher route based on manual driving by the driver of the vehicle 1. The teacher route is a route along which the vehicle 1 travels when the vehicle 1 is parked in a predetermined parking space P by reversing the vehicle 1 under manual driving by the driver of the vehicle 1, as shown in Fig. 2A, for example, and is a route bounded by T1 and T2 in Fig. 2A.

[0017] The teacher route generating unit 110 acquires information about the route along which the vehicle 1 travels while the driver of the vehicle 1 is manually driving the vehicle 1 (while the operation unit 10 is being operated).

[0018] Then, the teacher route generating unit 110 generates a teacher route by storing in a storage unit (not shown) the route traveled by the vehicle 1 from a predetermined start position to a predetermined parking space P by manual driving. The predetermined start position is, for example, the position of the vehicle 1 indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 2A.

[0019] The reverse path generating unit 120 generates a reverse path for parking the vehicle 1 in a predetermined parking space P by forward travel based on the teacher path. More specifically, the reverse path generating unit 120 generates the reverse path based on the trajectory difference between forward travel and reverse travel in the body and wheels of the vehicle 1, for example, as shown in Fig. 2B. The reverse path is, for example, a path surrounded by T3 and T4 in Fig. 2B.

[0020] Since the vehicle 1 has different steering wheel positions and overhangs when traveling forward and backward, if the vehicle travels along the same travel route when traveling forward and backward, a difference in trajectory occurs between the forward and backward travels. Therefore, even if the vehicle does not come into contact with obstacles around the travel route when traveling backward, the vehicle may come into contact with obstacles around the travel route when traveling forward. In other words, due to the difference in trajectory between the forward and backward travels, the vehicle may not be able to park in the parking space P along the same travel route.

[0021] For example, suppose that when vehicle 1 travels backward along the teacher path, there is an obstacle (such as a partition in a parking space P or ornaments around the teacher path) around the teacher path that has no possibility of contacting vehicle 1. In this case, when vehicle 1 travels forward along the teacher path, it is possible that vehicle 1 will come into contact with the obstacle due to the difference in trajectory between forward and backward travel.

[0022] Therefore, the reverse path generating unit 120 generates a reverse path based on the trajectory difference between forward traveling and reverse traveling in the body and wheels of the vehicle 1. Specifically, the reverse path generating unit 120 calculates the trajectory difference between forward traveling and reverse traveling (each inner wheel difference, each outer wheel difference, each overhang, etc.) from the teacher path and the steering angle, etc., and generates a reverse path from the teacher path using the trajectory difference. A known method can be applied as a method for generating a reverse path from the teacher path using this trajectory difference.

[0023] The reverse route generating unit 120 generates a route that does not include an obstacle as a reverse route based on the detection information from the detecting unit 20, and records the reverse route in, for example, a storage unit (not shown).

[0024] This allows the vehicle 1 to be parked in a specified parking space P using a reverse route.

[0025] Specifically, the reverse path generating unit 120 generates a reverse path so as to approximate the teacher path. The teacher path is a path based on the manual driving of the driver of the vehicle 1, but is based on a route that the driver wants to take. Examples of the route that the driver wants to take include a route that the driver simply prefers, a route that avoids potholes on the road, a route that does not go beyond the driver's property, and the like.

[0026] Therefore, by generating a reverse route that is close to the teacher route, it is possible to create a reverse route that suits the driver's preferences and convenience.

[0027] Furthermore, if the reverse path generating unit 120 is unable to generate a reverse path that does not include an obstacle within the path, it outputs to the notifying unit 30 a notification command indicating that a reverse path cannot be generated.

[0028] This allows the driver to recognize that the vehicle 1 cannot be parked in the designated parking space due to the reverse route.

[0029] In addition, the reverse route generating unit 120 may generate a reverse route when the teacher route generating unit 110 generates a teacher route, or may generate a reverse route when parking using a reverse route.

[0030] In addition, the reverse path generating unit 120 may determine whether an obstacle exists in the generated reverse path when a reverse path has been generated in the past. The case where a reverse path has been generated in the past is, for example, a case where a reverse path was generated when a teacher path was generated, or a case where a reverse path generated when automatic parking was performed in the past using a reverse path exists in the storage unit or the like.

[0031] An obstacle in a reverse path is, for example, an object that did not exist when a teacher path was generated or when a reverse path was generated in the past. The presence of an obstacle is determined based on information detected by the detection unit 20. When the reverse path generation unit 120 determines that no obstacle exists in the reverse path, it records the reverse path in, for example, a storage unit (not shown).

[0032] When the reverse path generating unit 120 determines that an obstacle exists in the reverse path, it regenerates a reverse path that avoids the obstacle, for example. This allows the vehicle 1 to be parked in a predetermined parking space P using the reverse path.

[0033] If the vehicle 1 cannot avoid an obstacle in the reverse route even after regenerating the reverse route, the reverse route generating unit 120 outputs a notification command to the notification unit 30 indicating that a reverse route cannot be generated.

[0034] This allows the driver to recognize that the vehicle 1 cannot be parked in the designated parking space due to the reverse route.

[0035] In addition, after regenerating a reverse route that avoids an obstacle, the reverse route generation unit 120 may update the reverse route data in a memory unit (not shown), or may allow the driver to select whether or not to update the reverse route data.

[0036] The parking control unit 130 selects a route from the teacher route and the reverse route that corresponds to the driving direction of the vehicle 1, and parks the vehicle 1 in a predetermined parking space P. Specifically, the parking control unit 130 identifies the driving direction of the vehicle 1 based on predetermined information, and selects either the teacher route or the reverse route.

[0037] The specified information may be any information as long as it is information that can identify the traveling direction of vehicle 1, such as instruction information when the driver presses an operation button that allows the driver to select either forward entry or backward entry, vehicle position information from a GPS (Global Positioning System) module, image information from a camera, etc.

[0038] Then, the parking control unit 130 controls, for example, the operation unit 10 based on the selected route to park the vehicle 1 in the parking space. Note that the control of the accelerator pedal, brake pedal, shift lever, and other driving-related controls may be performed by the parking control unit 130 or may be performed manually by the driver.

[0039] In this way, automatic parking can be performed reliably whether the vehicle is traveling forward or backward.

[0040] Moreover, the parking assistance device 100 may be configured to be able to identify whether or not the parking space is a predetermined parking space P. Identification of whether or not the parking space is a predetermined parking space P is performed based on vehicle position information obtained by, for example, a GPS or the like.

[0041] In this way, if the driver mistakenly attempts to use the parking assistance function of the parking assistance device 100 in a location other than the designated parking space P, the driver can be notified that the location does not contain data on the teacher route and reverse route.

[0042] An example of the operation of the automatic parking control in the parking assistance device 100 configured as above will be described. Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the automatic parking control in the parking assistance device 100. The process in Fig. 3 is appropriately executed when the parking assistance device 100 receives a parking start instruction at a parking start position, for example.

[0043] 3, the parking assistance device 100 judges whether the vehicle 1 is moving forward (step S101). If the result of the judgment is that the vehicle 1 is not moving forward, that is, is moving backward (step S101, NO), the parking assistance device 100 selects a teacher route (step S102).

[0044] On the other hand, if the vehicle 1 is traveling forward (step S101, YES), the parking assistance device 100 selects a reverse route. After step S102 or step S103, the parking assistance device 100 starts automatic parking (step S104) and completes automatic parking (step S105). After step S105, this control ends.

[0045] According to the present embodiment configured as described above, a reverse route is generated based on the teacher route, so that automatic parking can be reliably performed in a specified parking space even if the driving direction is opposite to that of the teacher route.

[0046] In addition, since the reverse path is generated based on the difference in trajectory between forward travel and reverse travel of the body and wheels of the vehicle 1, it is possible to prevent the vehicle 1 from going out of the reverse path when parking on the reverse path.

[0047] In addition, since the teacher route is the route traveled when the vehicle is parked by manual driving by the driver, a route according to the driver's preferences and convenience can be set as the teacher route.

[0048] In addition, by approximating the reverse route to the teacher route, a route that meets the driver's preferences and convenience can be set as the reverse route.

[0049] In the above embodiment, if an obstacle is present in a previously generated reverse route, the reverse route is regenerated, but the present disclosure is not limited to this, and the reverse route does not have to be regenerated. In this case, the reverse route generating unit may immediately output a notification command indicating that the reverse route cannot be generated.

[0050] In the above embodiment, when a reverse path cannot be generated, a notification command is output to that effect, but the present disclosure is not limited to this, and for example, a notification command to prompt the driver to move an obstacle or a notification command to notify the position of an obstacle that prevents automatic parking may be output. Then, after the driver moves the obstacle, the reverse path generation unit may start automatic parking based on the reverse path.

[0051] In addition, in the above embodiment, a driving route based on the driver's manual driving was generated as the teacher route, but the present disclosure is not limited to this, and a driving route based on the vehicle's automatic parking assistance function may also be generated as the teacher route.

[0052] In addition, in the above embodiment, the teacher route generating unit is included, but the present disclosure is not limited to this, and the teacher route generating unit may not be included. In this case, for example, a teacher route generated by an external device may be acquired.

[0053] In the above embodiment, the parking assistance device is provided in the vehicle, but the present disclosure is not limited to this, and the parking assistance device may be provided in an external device of the vehicle. In this case, the external device remotely controls the vehicle to park in the parking space.

[0054] In addition, multiple parking assistance devices may be configured to transmit and receive data on the teacher route and reverse route. For example, when a device having a parking assistance device that records the data is replaced, or when a vehicle that records the data is replaced with a vehicle of the same shape, the data can be easily transferred by transferring the data to another device.

[0055] In the above embodiment, the travel route for reverse travel is set as the teacher route, but the present disclosure is not limited to this, and the travel route for forward travel may be set as the teacher route. In this case, the travel route for reverse travel is set as the reverse route.

[0056] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the reverse path is generated by approximating the teacher path, but the present disclosure is not limited to this, and the reverse path may be generated without approximating the teacher path.

[0057] In addition, in the above embodiment, the reverse path generating unit and the parking control unit are incorporated in the parking assistance device, but the present disclosure is not limited to this, and the reverse path generating unit and the parking control unit may be provided in separate devices.

[0058] In addition, the above-mentioned embodiments are merely examples of the embodiment of the present disclosure, and the technical scope of the present disclosure should not be interpreted as being limited by them. In other words, the present disclosure can be embodied in various forms without departing from the gist or main features thereof. [Industrial Applicability]

[0059] INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The parking assistance device of the present disclosure is useful as a driving control device and a driving control method that can reliably perform automatic parking. [Explanation of symbols]

[0060] 1 vehicle 10 Control section 20 Detection unit 30. Notification Department 100 Parking assistance device 110 Teacher Path Generation Unit 120 Reverse path generation unit 130 Parking control unit

Claims

1. A driving control device that controls a vehicle based on a driving route traveled by a driver's manual driving, a teacher route generating unit that generates a first route along which the vehicle travels in a forward direction based on the travel route; a reverse route generating unit that generates a second route along which the vehicle travels in reverse based on the travel route; a parking control unit that causes the vehicle to travel forward based on the first route and causes the vehicle to travel backward based on the second route; The parking control unit selects whether the vehicle is to travel along the first route or the second route based on predetermined information. Cruise control device.

2. The reverse path generating unit generates the second path based on a trajectory difference between the forward traveling and the reverse traveling in a body and wheels of the vehicle. The cruise control device according to claim 1.

3. The reverse route generation unit generates the second route so as to approximate the first route. The driving control device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The parking control unit identifies a traveling direction of the vehicle based on the predetermined information and selects one of the first route and the second route. The driving control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. When an obstacle is present in the generated second route, the reverse route generation unit regenerates a second route so as to avoid the obstacle. The driving control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. The predetermined information is any one of instruction information when the driver presses an operation button, vehicle position information, and image information from a camera. The driving control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. A driving control method for controlling a vehicle based on a driving route traveled by a driver's manual driving, comprising: generating a first route along which the vehicle travels in a forward direction based on the travel route; generating a second route along which the vehicle travels in reverse based on the travel route; causing the vehicle to travel in a forward direction based on the first route; causing the vehicle to travel in reverse based on the second route; selecting, based on predetermined information, whether the vehicle is to travel along the first route or the second route; Driving control method.

8. generating the second path based on a trajectory difference between the forward travel and the reverse travel of a body and wheels of the vehicle; The cruise control method according to claim 7.

9. generating the second path so as to approximate the first path; The cruise control method according to claim 7 or 8.

10. identifying a traveling direction of the vehicle based on the predetermined information and selecting one of the first route and the second route; The cruise control method according to any one of claims 7 to 9.

11. If an obstacle is present in the generated second route, a second route is generated so as to avoid the obstacle. The cruise control method according to any one of claims 7 to 10.

12. The predetermined information is any one of instruction information when the driver presses an operation button, vehicle position information, and image information from a camera. A cruise control method according to any one of claims 7 to 11.

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