Vehicle control device, control method, and control program

Abstract

To propose a vehicle control device which is capable of restraining acceleration in ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control) which performs constant speed travel or tracking travel at an appropriate state.SOLUTION: A control device executes processing which acquires operation environment information indicating an operation environment of a vehicle; processing which restrains acceleration of the vehicle for constant speed travel or tracking travel if the operation environment of the vehicle is in a prescribed state; processing which sets the state as an acceleration restraint cancellation state when an ON operation of the accelerator of the vehicle is performed; and release processing which cancels the acceleration restraint cancellation state if a prescribed restart condition is satisfied when or after the ON operation of the accelerator is performed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle control device, a control method, and a control program for controlling a vehicle to accelerate or decelerate so as to perform constant-speed driving or following driving.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle driving control device capable of reducing the discomfort given to a driver when it is determined that the host vehicle is about to exit a main road by a driving environment acquisition means while driving on the main road. This vehicle driving control device suppresses the acceleration of the host vehicle when the driving environment acquired by the driving environment acquisition means is an acceleration-inappropriate environment. On the other hand, when the acceleration intention of the driver is acquired, the suppression of acceleration is canceled.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In a so-called ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control) that accelerates or decelerates a vehicle so as to perform constant-speed driving at a set vehicle speed or following driving while following a preceding vehicle ahead, when the driving environment of the vehicle is a predetermined situation, it is considered to perform acceleration suppression that suppresses the acceleration of the vehicle in the ACC.

[0005] On the other hand, while the driver is operating the accelerator of the vehicle to turn it on, it is conceivable to temporarily suspend the acceleration suppression on the assumption that the driver intends to accelerate the vehicle. Here, it is necessary to appropriately provide conditions for canceling the temporary suspension of the acceleration suppression. However, if it is only conditioned that the accelerator has been turned off, the acceleration suppression may be performed unnecessarily against the driver's intention, which may impair the driver's comfort.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to propose a vehicle control device, a control method, and a control program capable of performing acceleration suppression in ACC in an appropriate situation.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] A control device according to an aspect of the present disclosure is a vehicle control device that executes control to accelerate or decelerate a vehicle so as to perform constant-speed running at a set vehicle speed or follow-up running following a preceding vehicle. This control device performs a process of acquiring driving environment information indicating the driving environment of the vehicle, a process of performing acceleration suppression to suppress the acceleration of the vehicle for constant-speed running or follow-up running when the driving environment of the vehicle is a predetermined situation, a process of setting an acceleration suppression suspension state in which the acceleration suppression is temporarily suspended when the accelerator of the vehicle is turned on, and a release process of canceling the acceleration suppression suspension state when the accelerator of the vehicle is turned off or after the off operation, and a predetermined restart condition for restarting the acceleration suppression is satisfied.

[0008] This control device may include the following features. In the release process, any one of the following is satisfied as a predetermined restart condition: the vehicle speed of the vehicle is equal to or higher than a predetermined ratio with respect to the set vehicle speed, following running is being performed, the driving environment becomes a new predetermined situation where acceleration suppression is to be performed, and control for decelerating the vehicle for constant-speed running or follow-up running has been performed.

[0009] A control method according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a vehicle control method for accelerating or decelerating a vehicle so as to perform constant-speed driving at a set vehicle speed or follow-up driving following a preceding vehicle ahead. This control method includes a process in which a processor that executes at least one program acquires driving environment information indicating the driving environment of the vehicle, and when the driving environment of the vehicle is a predetermined situation, performs an acceleration suppression process for suppressing the acceleration of the vehicle for constant-speed driving or follow-up driving, a process of setting an acceleration suppression suspension state in which the acceleration suppression is temporarily suspended when an on-operation of the accelerator of the vehicle is performed, and a release process of releasing the acceleration suppression suspension state when an off-operation of the accelerator of the vehicle is performed or when a predetermined restart condition for restarting the acceleration suppression is satisfied after the off-operation is performed.

[0010] This control method may include the following features. In the release process, it is set as a predetermined restart condition that any one of the following is satisfied: the vehicle speed of the vehicle is equal to or higher than a predetermined ratio with respect to the set vehicle speed, follow-up driving is being performed, the driving environment becomes a new predetermined situation where acceleration suppression is to be performed, and control for decelerating the vehicle for constant-speed driving or follow-up driving has been performed.

[0011] A control program according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a program executed by a computer to cause the computer to execute the above-described control method.

Advantages of the Invention

[0012] According to the vehicle control device, control method, and control program according to the present disclosure, when an on-operation of the accelerator of the vehicle is performed, an acceleration suppression suspension state in which the acceleration suppression is temporarily suspended is set, while even when an off-operation of the accelerator is performed, the acceleration suppression suspension state can be continued until a predetermined restart condition is satisfied. Thereby, it is possible to reduce the unnecessary execution of acceleration suppression and perform acceleration suppression in ACC in an appropriate situation.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0013]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0014] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, when referring to numbers such as the number, quantity, amount, range, etc. of each element in the embodiments shown below, unless otherwise specified or clearly specified by principle, the ideas related to the present disclosure are not limited to the mentioned numbers. Also, the configurations etc. described in the embodiments shown below are not necessarily essential to the ideas related to the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified or clearly specified by principle. In each figure, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the redundant descriptions are appropriately simplified or omitted.

[0015] 1. Outline The control device according to the present embodiment executes ACC that accelerates or decelerates the vehicle so as to perform constant-speed driving at a set vehicle speed or follow-up driving following a preceding vehicle ahead. Further, the control device according to the present embodiment performs acceleration suppression that suppresses the acceleration of the vehicle in the ACC when the driving environment of the vehicle is in a predetermined situation.

[0016] For example, when the vehicle is traveling on an urban road, acceleration suppression is performed in a situation where a right or left turn is made at an intersection, a situation where the vehicle passes by the side of a pedestrian, a bicycle, a parked vehicle, etc., or a situation where the vehicle travels on a local road. By performing acceleration suppression in a situation where it is considered inappropriate for a large acceleration to be performed in this way, appropriate driving by the ACC can be performed.

[0017] FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the outline of acceleration suppression. FIG. 1 shows a comparison of the change in the vehicle speed V(t) (solid line) of vehicle 1 by normal control (normal control) and the change in the vehicle speed V(t) (dashed-dotted line) of vehicle 1 by control (acceleration suppression control) when acceleration suppression is performed, respectively, during constant-speed driving and follow-up driving.

[0018] The upper part of FIG. 1 shows the case during constant-speed driving, where the control of vehicle 1 is performed so that the vehicle speed becomes the set vehicle speed Vs (dotted line). The lower part of FIG. 1 shows the case during follow-up driving, where the control of vehicle 1 is performed so as to follow the preceding vehicle PV. Here, Vc represents the vehicle speed of vehicle 1 at the start point of control, and Vp(t) represents the change in the vehicle speed (dotted line) of the preceding vehicle PV.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 1, when acceleration suppression is performed, the change until vehicle 1 reaches the target vehicle speed becomes gentler compared to the normal case.

[0020] Incidentally, whether the driving environment of the vehicle 1 is in a predetermined situation is typically determined based on the detection information of sensors provided in the vehicle 1. On the other hand, when acceleration suppression is excessively performed due to misdetection of the sensors or the like, it is assumed that the driver of the vehicle 1 wants to accelerate the vehicle 1 more without performing acceleration suppression (hereinafter also referred to as "having an acceleration intention"). Therefore, while the driver is performing an on-operation of the accelerator of the vehicle 1, it is considered to be in an acceleration suppression suspension state in which acceleration suppression is temporarily suspended assuming that the driver has an acceleration intention.

[0021] FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the outline of the acceleration suppression suspension state. FIG. 2 shows a case where the control of the vehicle 1 is performed so that the vehicle speed becomes the set vehicle speed Vs, and it is determined that the acceleration suppression is performed by a target OBJ around the vehicle 1. Also, until time t1, no accelerator operation of the vehicle 1 is performed by the driver, and an on-operation of the accelerator is performed after time t1. In FIG. 2, the change V(t) in the vehicle speed of the vehicle 1 in this case is shown.

[0022] At this time, until time t1, acceleration suppression control is performed. On the other hand, after time t1, acceleration suppression is temporarily suspended by the on-operation of the accelerator (acceleration suppression suspension state), and normal control is performed.

[0023] Here, it is necessary to appropriately release the acceleration suppression suspension state. Simply, it is conceivable to release the acceleration suppression suspension state on the condition that the accelerator operation of the vehicle 1 by the driver has ended. However, under such conditions, there is a risk that acceleration suppression may be unnecessarily performed contrary to the driver's acceleration intention, such as acceleration suppression being performed again for the same situation. Also at this time, there is a risk that the driver's comfort may be impaired, such as the driver frequently performing an on-operation of the accelerator to return to the acceleration suppression suspension state again.

[0024] Therefore, in the control device according to the present embodiment, when the driver turns on the accelerator of the vehicle 1, the acceleration suppression suspension state is set. On the other hand, even when the accelerator is turned off, the acceleration suppression suspension state is continued until a predetermined restart condition is satisfied.

[0025] FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the outline of the control method by the control device according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 shows the same situation as FIG. 2, and shows a case where the vehicle 1 is controlled so that the vehicle speed becomes the set vehicle speed Vs in a situation where acceleration suppression is performed. In FIG. 3, the change V(t) of the vehicle speed of the vehicle 1 in this case, the state of the accelerator operation of the vehicle 1 by the driver, and the state of the pause flag are shown. Here, the pause flag is information given as a result of the process executed by the control device, and when the pause flag is on, the acceleration suppression suspension state is set.

[0026] In FIG. 3, at time t1, the driver turns on the accelerator of the vehicle 1, and at time t2, the accelerator is turned off. At this time, the control device turns on the pause flag at time t1 when the accelerator is turned on. On the other hand, after time t2 when the accelerator is turned off until time t3 when the predetermined restart condition is satisfied, the pause flag does not turn off, and the acceleration suppression suspension state is continued.

[0027] Thus, according to the control device according to the present embodiment, the acceleration suppression suspension state can be continued until a predetermined restart condition is satisfied, such as when it is considered appropriate to perform acceleration suppression again. Thereby, it is possible to reduce the unnecessary execution of acceleration suppression and perform acceleration suppression in ACC in an appropriate situation. Consequently, the comfort of the driver can be improved.

[0028] 2. Configuration Hereinafter, the configuration of the vehicle system of the vehicle 1 according to the present embodiment will be described.

[0029] FIG. 4 is a block diagram for explaining the configuration of the vehicle system 10 of the vehicle 1 according to the present embodiment. The vehicle system 10 includes a control device 100, sensors 200, a communication device 300, and actuators 400. The control device 100 is configured to be able to transmit information to and receive information from the sensors 200, the communication device 300, and the actuators 400. Typically, they are electrically connected to each other by a wire harness. However, they may be configured by other methods. For example, they may be connected to each other via a wireless or optical communication line.

[0030] The sensors 200 are a group of sensors that detect and output information (driving environment information) indicating the driving environment of the vehicle 1. The driving environment information detected by the sensors 200 is transmitted to the control device 100. The sensors 200 include a vehicle environment detection sensor IS and a surrounding environment detection sensor OS.

[0031] The vehicle environment detection sensor IS detects information on the internal environment of the vehicle 1, such as the driving state (vehicle speed, acceleration, yaw rate, etc.) of the vehicle 1. The vehicle environment detection sensor IS includes a sensor for detecting the state of the accelerator operation of the vehicle 1. For example, it includes an accelerator position sensor for detecting the accelerator opening. Other examples of the vehicle environment detection sensor IS include a wheel speed sensor for detecting the vehicle speed of the vehicle 1, an acceleration sensor for detecting the acceleration of the vehicle 1, and an angular velocity sensor for detecting the yaw rate of the vehicle 1.

[0032] The surrounding environment detection sensor OS detects information on the external environment of the vehicle 1, such as the surrounding environment (preceding vehicle, lane, obstacle, etc.) of the vehicle 1. The surrounding environment detection sensor OS is, for example, a millimeter-wave radar, a sensor camera, LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging), or the like.

[0033] Note that the driving environment information output by the sensors 200 may include not only the information directly detected by the sensors but also the information obtained by arithmetic processing from the directly detected information. For example, the information on the type of object (pedestrian, signboard, pole, etc.) obtained by arithmetic processing from the information such as the shape, color, and speed of the objects around the vehicle 1 directly detected may be output as the driving environment information. In this case, the arithmetic processing may be executed in each sensor, or the sensors 200 may include a device that executes the arithmetic processing.

[0034] The communication device 300 is a device that transmits and receives various information (communication information) by communicating with devices outside the vehicle 1. The communication device 300 is, for example, a device that performs vehicle-to-vehicle communication or road-to-vehicle communication, a receiver of GPS (Global Positioning System), a device that connects to a communication network and communicates with a server on the communication network, etc. The communication information received by the communication device 300 is transmitted to the control device 100. Here, the communication information acquired by the control device 100 may include information that becomes the driving environment information of the vehicle 1. For example, it may include the position of the vehicle 1 on the map, the traffic information of the road on which the vehicle 1 travels, etc.

[0035] Based on the acquired information, the control device 100 executes various processes related to the control of the vehicle 1, generates a control signal, and outputs it. The control signal output by the control device 100 is transmitted to the actuators 400. The control device 100 is typically provided in the vehicle 1. However, it may be a device outside the vehicle 1. In this case, the control device 100 acquires information and outputs a control signal via communication with the vehicle 1.

[0036] The control device 100 is a computer including a memory 110 and a processor 120. Typically, the control device 100 is an ECU (Electronic Control Unit). The memory 110 stores a control program PG executable by the processor and data DT including information acquired by the control device 100 and various information related to the control program PG. Here, the memory 110 may store time-series data of driving environment information for a certain period as the data DT. The processor 120 reads the control program PG from the memory 110 and executes processing according to the control program PG based on the information of the data DT read from the memory 110.

[0037] The processing executed by the control device 100, more specifically, the processing executed by the processor 120 according to the control program PG, includes processing related to ACC and processing related to acceleration suppression. Details of these processes will be described later.

[0038] Note that the control device 100 may be a system composed of a plurality of computers. In this case, each computer is configured to be able to transmit information to each other to the extent that it can acquire information necessary for executing processing. Also, the control program PG may be a combination of a plurality of programs.

[0039] The actuators 400 are a class of actuators that operate according to a control signal acquired from the control device 100. The actuators included in the actuators 400 are, for example, an actuator that drives an engine (internal combustion engine, electric motor, or their hybrid, etc.), an actuator that drives a brake mechanism provided in the vehicle 1, an actuator that drives a steering mechanism of the vehicle 1, and the like. By the various actuators included in the actuators 400 operating according to the control signal, various controls of the vehicle 1 by the control device 100 are realized.

[0040] 3. Processing Hereinafter, the processing executed by the control device 100 according to the present embodiment will be described.

[0041] 3-1. Flow of Processing FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the flow of processing executed by the control device 100. As shown in FIG. 5, the processing executed by the control device 100 is composed of an acceleration suppression determination processing unit SJU, a suspension determination processing unit TSU, and an ACC control processing unit ACU. These may be configured as parts of the control program PG or as separate computers. Note that the driving environment information shown in FIG. 5 may include not only the driving environment information acquired by the control device 100 from the sensors 200 but also information acquired as communication information.

[0042] The acceleration suppression determination processing unit SJU determines whether or not the driving environment of the vehicle 1 is in a predetermined situation (hereinafter also simply referred to as the "predetermined situation") in which acceleration suppression is to be performed based on the driving environment information, and outputs the determination result. The predetermined situation is, for example, a situation where the vehicle 1 is traveling on a road in a city and making a right or left turn at an intersection, a situation where it is passing by the side of a pedestrian, a bicycle, a parked vehicle, etc. and traveling, a situation where it is traveling on a local road, etc., where it is considered inappropriate to perform a large acceleration. However, there is no limitation on what kind of situation is to be the predetermined situation, and it may be optimally given for the vehicle 1 to which the control device 100 is applied. Similarly, the method of determination based on the driving environment information is not limited.

[0043] In addition, when there are a plurality of given predetermined situations, the determination result that the driving environment of the vehicle 1 is in the predetermined situation may include information about which predetermined situation it is.

[0044] The suspension determination processing unit TSU determines whether or not to enter a state of suspending acceleration suppression temporarily based on the driving environment information and the determination result acquired from the acceleration suppression determination processing unit SJU, and outputs a suspension flag. When the suspension determination processing unit TSU determines to enter the state of suspending acceleration suppression, it turns on the suspension flag. The suspension flag is, for example, a Boolean value where 0 indicates off and 1 indicates on. Details of the processing executed in the suspension determination processing unit TSU will be described later.

[0045] The ACC control processing unit ACU executes processing related to ACC based on the driving environment information, generates and outputs a control signal for realizing ACC. Further, the ACC control processing unit ACU determines whether to perform acceleration suppression based on the determination result obtained from the acceleration suppression determination processing unit SJU and the suspension flag obtained from the suspension determination processing unit TSU. And when it is determined to perform acceleration suppression, ACC is performed by acceleration suppression control. That is, the control signal is generated so as to suppress the acceleration of the vehicle 1 to a certain degree or less. This can be done, for example, by restricting the command amount of the accelerator opening given as the control signal in the processing related to ACC.

[0046] The processing for determining whether to perform acceleration suppression will be described later. The method for generating the control signal for realizing ACC is not limited, and since ACC is a known technology, the description is omitted in the present disclosure.

[0047] 3-2. Judgment on Whether to Perform Acceleration Suppression in the ACC Control Processing Unit FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the processing for determining whether to perform acceleration suppression in the ACC control processing unit ACU. The processing shown in FIG. 6 is repeatedly executed at a predetermined cycle.

[0048] In step S100, the ACC control processing unit ACU determines whether it is a predetermined situation for performing acceleration suppression. This is determined according to the determination result obtained from the acceleration suppression determination processing unit SJU.

[0049] If it is a predetermined situation for performing acceleration suppression (step S100; Yes), the processing proceeds to step S110. If it is not a predetermined situation for performing acceleration suppression (step S100; No), the processing proceeds to step S130, determines to perform ACC by normal control, and ends the processing.

[0050] In step S110, the ACC control processing unit ACU determines whether the suspension flag obtained from the suspension determination processing unit TSU is off.

[0051] When the pause flag is off (step S110; Yes), the process proceeds to step S120, determines to perform ACC by acceleration suppression control, and ends the process. When the pause flag is on (step S120; No), the process proceeds to step S130, determines to perform ACC by normal control, and ends the process.

[0052] When the process shown in FIG. 6 is executed by the ACC control processing unit ACU, ACC by acceleration suppression control or normal control is performed as follows. When it is not in a predetermined situation for performing acceleration suppression, ACC by normal control is performed. When it is in a predetermined situation for performing acceleration suppression but the pause flag is on, ACC by normal control is performed (acceleration suppression pause state). When it is in a predetermined situation for performing acceleration suppression and the pause flag is off, ACC by acceleration suppression control is performed.

[0053] 3-3. Processing executed in the pause determination processing unit FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the processing executed in the pause determination processing unit TSU. The processing shown in FIG. 7 is repeatedly executed at a predetermined cycle. In particular, the processing shown in FIG. 7 is started when it becomes a predetermined situation for performing acceleration suppression and may be repeatedly executed. In this case, whether it is a predetermined situation for performing acceleration suppression or not follows the determination result obtained from the acceleration suppression determination processing unit SJU. When the processing shown in FIG. 7 is repeatedly executed, the initial value of the pause flag is off.

[0054] In step S200, the pause determination processing unit TSU determines whether the pause flag is off.

[0055] When the pause flag is off (step S200; Yes), the process proceeds to step S400. When the pause flag is on (step S200; No), the process proceeds to step S300, where the pause flag release process is executed and the process ends. Here, the pause flag release process is a process for turning off the pause flag. Details of the process executed in the pause flag release process will be described later.

[0056] In step S400, the pause determination processing unit TSU determines whether or not an acceleration on-operation has been performed. This is to determine whether or not an acceleration on-operation has been performed, for example, when the accelerator opening degree acquired as driving environment information is a certain level or more (for example, 60% or more), assuming that the state of the accelerator operation is on. Alternatively, it may be determined that an acceleration on-operation has been performed when the accelerator opening degree is a certain level or more and continues for a predetermined time or more.

[0057] When an acceleration on-operation has been performed (step S400; Yes), the process proceeds to step S500, where the pause flag is turned on and the process ends. When an acceleration on-operation has not been performed (step S400; No), the pause flag remains off and the process ends.

[0058] FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the process executed by the pause determination processing unit TSU in the pause flag release process (step S300 in FIG. 7).

[0059] In step S310, the pause determination processing unit TSU determines whether or not the state of the accelerator operation is on. When the state of the accelerator operation is on (step S310; Yes), the pause flag release process ends. When the state of the accelerator operation is off (step S310; No), the process proceeds to step S320. This indicates that an acceleration off-operation has been performed or after an acceleration off-operation has been performed.

[0060] In step S320, the suspension determination processing unit TSU determines whether the vehicle speed of vehicle 1 is equal to or higher than a predetermined ratio (for example, 90% or higher) with respect to the set vehicle speed Vs. The predetermined ratio may be a value given in advance in the control program PG, or may be a value given according to the set vehicle speed Vs.

[0061] When the vehicle speed of vehicle 1 is equal to or higher than the predetermined ratio with respect to the set vehicle speed Vs (step S320; Yes), the process proceeds to step S360, where the suspension flag is turned off and the suspension flag release process ends. When it is less than the predetermined ratio with respect to the set vehicle speed Vs (step S320; No), the process proceeds to step S330.

[0062] In step S330, the suspension determination processing unit TSU determines whether or not the vehicle is in following running by ACC.

[0063] When the vehicle is in following running (step S330; Yes), the process proceeds to step S360, where the suspension flag is turned off and the suspension flag release process ends. When the vehicle is not in following running (step S330; No), the process proceeds to step S340.

[0064] In step S340, the suspension determination processing unit TSU determines whether the driving environment of vehicle 1 has become a new predetermined situation. This is determined to be a new predetermined situation when, for example, according to the determination result obtained from the acceleration suppression determination processing unit SJU, the driving environment of vehicle 1 is a predetermined situation different from the situation where acceleration suppression is performed. Alternatively, according to the determination result, when the situation where acceleration suppression is performed is resolved and the driving environment of vehicle 1 becomes a predetermined situation again, it is determined to be a new predetermined situation.

[0065] When the driving environment of vehicle 1 has become a new situation where acceleration suppression is performed (step S340; Yes), the process proceeds to step S360, where the suspension flag is turned off and the suspension flag release process ends. When it has not become a new situation (step S340; No), the process proceeds to step S350.

[0066] In step S350, the suspension determination processing unit TSU determines whether control to decelerate the vehicle 1 is performed by ACC.

[0067] When control to decelerate the vehicle 1 is performed by ACC (step S350; Yes), the suspension flag is turned off and the suspension flag release process ends. When control to decelerate is not performed (step S350; No), the suspension flag release process ends.

[0068] Incidentally, the determination process from step S320 to S350 turns off the suspension flag when the result is affirmative. That is, it provides a predetermined restart condition for restarting the acceleration suppression. Therefore, as shown in steps S320 to S350 of FIG. 8, in the control device 100 according to the present embodiment, the predetermined restart condition is that any one of the following is satisfied. The vehicle speed of the vehicle 1 is equal to or higher than a predetermined ratio with respect to the set vehicle speed Vs (step S320). Performing follow-up driving (step S330). The driving environment of the vehicle 1 becomes a new predetermined situation (step S340). Control to decelerate the vehicle 1 is performed by ACC (step S350).

[0069] Note that the order of executing the determination process from step S320 to S350 may be different from that shown in FIG. 8.

[0070] By executing the processes shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 by the suspension determination processing unit TSU, when the driver turns on the accelerator of the vehicle 1, the acceleration suppression suspension state is set. On the other hand, even when the accelerator is turned off, the acceleration suppression suspension state can be continued until a predetermined restart condition is satisfied. Here, the predetermined restart condition is as described above.

[0071] 4. Effects As described above, according to the control device according to the present embodiment, when the driving environment of the vehicle 1 is a predetermined situation, acceleration suppression is performed in the ACC. Then, when the driver turns on the accelerator of the vehicle 1, it is assumed that the driver has an intention to accelerate, and the acceleration suppression suspension state is set. On the other hand, even when the accelerator is turned off, the acceleration suppression suspension state can be continued until a predetermined restart condition is satisfied. Thereby, it is possible to reduce the unnecessary acceleration suppression and perform the acceleration suppression in the ACC in an appropriate situation. Consequently, the comfort of the driver can be improved.

[0072] Furthermore, by setting that any one of the following predetermined restart conditions is satisfied, when it is considered appropriate to perform acceleration suppression again, the acceleration suppression suspension state can be immediately released. The vehicle speed of the vehicle 1 is equal to or higher than a predetermined ratio with respect to the set vehicle speed Vs. Performing follow-up driving. The driving environment of the vehicle 1 becomes a new predetermined situation. Control for decelerating the vehicle 1 by the ACC has been performed.

Explanation of Signs

[0073] 1 Vehicle 10 Vehicle System 100 Control Device 110 Memory 120 Processor PG Control Program 200 Sensors 300 Communication Device 400 Actuators ACU ACC Control Processing Unit SJU Acceleration Suppression Judgment Processing Unit TSU Temporary Suspension Judgment Processing Unit

Claims

1. A control device for a vehicle that executes control to accelerate or decelerate the vehicle so as to perform constant-speed driving at a set vehicle speed or follow-up driving following a preceding vehicle ahead, a process of acquiring driving environment information indicating the driving environment of the vehicle, a process of performing acceleration suppression to suppress acceleration of the vehicle for the constant-speed driving or the follow-up driving when the driving environment is a predetermined situation, a process of setting an acceleration suppression cancellation state to temporarily cancel the acceleration suppression when an on-operation of the accelerator of the vehicle is performed, a cancellation process of canceling the acceleration suppression cancellation state when an off-operation of the accelerator of the vehicle is performed or after the off-operation is performed and a predetermined restart condition for restarting the acceleration suppression is satisfied, A control device characterized by executing the above.

2. The control device according to claim 1, In the cancellation process, that the vehicle speed of the vehicle is equal to or higher than a predetermined ratio with respect to the set vehicle speed, that the follow-up driving is being performed, that the driving environment becomes a new predetermined situation, that control for decelerating the vehicle for the constant-speed driving or the follow-up driving has been performed, Any one of the above is satisfied as the predetermined restart condition A control device characterized by the above.

3. A control method for a vehicle that accelerates or decelerates the vehicle so as to perform constant-speed driving at a set vehicle speed or follow-up driving following a preceding vehicle ahead, A processor that executes at least one program a process of acquiring driving environment information indicating the driving environment of the vehicle, a process of performing acceleration suppression to suppress acceleration of the vehicle for the constant-speed driving or the follow-up driving when the driving environment is a predetermined situation, When the accelerator of the vehicle is turned on, a process of setting the acceleration suppression to a temporarily suspended state, When the accelerator of the vehicle is turned off or after the off operation, when a predetermined restart condition for restarting the acceleration suppression is satisfied, a release process for releasing the acceleration suppression suspension state, A control method characterized by executing.

4. The control method according to claim 3, In the release process, the processor The vehicle speed of the vehicle is equal to or higher than a predetermined ratio with respect to the set vehicle speed, The vehicle is performing the follow-up driving, The driving environment becomes the new predetermined situation, Control for decelerating the vehicle for the constant speed driving or the follow-up driving has been performed, Any one of which is satisfied is set as the predetermined restart condition A control method characterized by that.

5. A vehicle control program executed by a computer and causing the computer to execute the control method according to claim 3 or 4.

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