Vehicle control device

Abstract

To provide a vehicle control device that sets a target inter-vehicle distance between an own vehicle and a vehicle ahead in order to prevent another vehicle traveling in an adjacent lane from suddenly moving ahead of the own vehicle in the situation that the flow of traffic in the adjacent lane is faster than the speed of the own vehicle.SOLUTION: A vehicle control device comprises: a determination unit configured to determine whether or not a representative speed of another vehicle traveling in an adjacent lane adjacent to a driving lane in which an own vehicle is traveling, is faster than a speed of the own vehicle; and a setting unit configured to, when the determination unit determines that the representative speed is faster than the speed of the own vehicle, set a target inter-vehicle distance between the own vehicle and a preceding vehicle located in front of the own vehicle to be shorter than that of when the representative speed is equal to or less than the speed of the own vehicle.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle control device. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a vehicle control device that controls a host vehicle so as to maintain a target inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle and a vehicle ahead.

[0003] In addition, the vehicle control device determines the possibility that another vehicle traveling in an adjacent lane adjacent to the lane in which the vehicle is traveling will cut in front of the vehicle, and controls the speed of the vehicle so that a safe distance is maintained between the other vehicle and the vehicle (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-253723 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, in a situation where the traffic in the adjacent lane is faster than the vehicle's own speed, if the vehicle is driving while trying to maintain a target distance between the vehicle in front, another vehicle in the adjacent lane may suddenly cut in front of the vehicle at a high speed.

[0006] In such a case, it is difficult for the vehicle control device to control the host vehicle so as to maintain a safe distance between the host vehicle and the other vehicle.

[0007] Therefore, the objective of the present disclosure is to provide a vehicle control device that sets a target inter-vehicle distance between the vehicle and a vehicle ahead in a situation where the flow in the adjacent lane is faster than the speed of the vehicle, so that another vehicle traveling in the adjacent lane does not suddenly move in front of the vehicle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] (1) According to one embodiment, a vehicle control device is provided, which includes a determination unit that determines whether a representative speed of another vehicle traveling in an adjacent lane adjacent to the driving lane in which the host vehicle is traveling is faster than the speed of the host vehicle, and a setting unit that, when the determination unit determines that the representative speed is faster than the speed of the host vehicle, sets a target inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle and a preceding vehicle located ahead of the host vehicle to be shorter than when the representative speed is equal to or less than the speed of the host vehicle.

[0009] (2) In the vehicle control device of (1), when the judgment unit determines that the representative speed is faster than the speed of the vehicle itself, it is preferable that the setting unit sets the target inter-vehicle distance so that the greater the difference between the representative speed and the speed of the vehicle itself, the shorter the target inter-vehicle distance is compared to when the representative speed is equal to or lower than the speed of the vehicle itself.

[0010] (3) In the vehicle control device of (1), when the judgment unit determines that the representative speed is faster than the speed of the vehicle itself, it is preferable that the setting unit sets the target inter-vehicle distance so that the longer the average inter-vehicle distance between other vehicles in adjacent lanes, the shorter the target inter-vehicle distance becomes compared to when the representative speed is equal to or lower than the speed of the vehicle itself.

[0011] (4) In the vehicle control device according to (1) to (3), the determination unit determines whether a representative speed of another vehicle traveling in an adjacent lane adjacent to the traveling lane in which the host vehicle is traveling is slower than a speed of the host vehicle; When the judgment unit determines that the representative speed is slower than the speed of the vehicle itself and the distance between the vehicle itself and the preceding vehicle is greater than the target inter-vehicle distance, it is preferable to have a decision unit that decides to drive the vehicle itself so that the time required for the distance between the vehicle itself and the preceding vehicle to reach the target inter-vehicle distance is longer than when the representative speed is not determined to be slower than the speed of the vehicle itself.

[0012] (5) In the determination device of (4), when the determination unit determines that the representative speed is slower than the speed of the host vehicle and the distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle is greater than the target inter-vehicle distance, it is preferable that the determination unit determines to decelerate the speed of the host vehicle at a first deceleration until it matches the representative speed, and then decelerate at a second deceleration smaller than the first deceleration, so that the distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle becomes the target inter-vehicle distance.

[0013] (6) In the determination device of (4), if the determination unit determines that the representative speed is slower than the speed of the host vehicle and the distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle is greater than the target inter-vehicle distance, the determination unit determines to decelerate the host vehicle at a third deceleration, and then at a fourth deceleration that is smaller than the third deceleration, so that the distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle becomes the target inter-vehicle distance, and it is preferable that the third deceleration be increased as the average inter-vehicle distance between other vehicles in adjacent lanes becomes shorter. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] The determination device of the present disclosure sets the target inter-vehicle distance shorter when the representative speed of another vehicle traveling in an adjacent lane is faster than the speed of the own vehicle than when the representative speed is equal to or lower than the speed of the own vehicle, thereby preventing the other vehicle from moving in front of the own vehicle. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an outline of the operation of the automatic control device of the first embodiment. [Figure 2] 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of a vehicle in which an automatic control device of a first embodiment is implemented. [Figure 3] 4 is an example of an operational flowchart relating to a setting process of the automatic control device of the first embodiment. [Figure 4] 10 is an example of an operational flowchart relating to a setting process of an automatic control device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram (part 1) for explaining the setting process of the automatic control device of the second embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram (part 2) for explaining the setting process of the automatic control device of the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an outline of the operation of the automatic control device of the first embodiment. A vehicle 10 has an automatic control device 12. The automatic control device 12 has an automatic driving mode (for example, a driving mode of levels 3 to 5) in which the automatic control device 12 mainly drives the vehicle 10, and a manual driving mode (for example, a driving mode of levels 0 to 2) in which the driver mainly drives the vehicle 10. The automatic control device 12 is an example of a vehicle control device. The vehicle 10 may be an automatically driven vehicle.

[0017] A vehicle 10 is traveling on a road 50. The road 50 has two lanes 51 and 52. The vehicle 10 is traveling on the lane 51. The lanes 51 and 52 are separated by a lane dividing line 53.

[0018] A vehicle 60 is traveling ahead of the vehicle 10. The automatic control device 12 controls the vehicle 10 so as to maintain a target inter-vehicle distance L between the vehicle 10 and the vehicle 60.

[0019] The automatic control device 12 sets the target inter-vehicle distance L based on the speed of the vehicle 10. For example, the target inter-vehicle distance L is set to be longer as the speed of the vehicle 10 increases. Furthermore, when the vehicle 10 is stopped, the target inter-vehicle distance L is approximately the length of one vehicle.

[0020] Vehicles 61 and 62 are traveling in lane 52 adjacent to lane 51. Based on the object detection information output by object detection device 11, automatic control device 12 acquires information about vehicles 61 and 62 traveling in lane 52.

[0021] Based on the object detection information, the automatic control device 12 determines whether the representative speed of other vehicles traveling in the lane 52 is faster than the speed of the vehicle 10. The speed of the vehicle 10 may be a recent average speed. Alternatively, the speed of the vehicle 10 may be a value within a predetermined range that includes the recent average speed.

[0022] The automatic control device 12 may determine that the representative speed is faster than the speed of the vehicle 10 if, among other vehicles detected within a predetermined reference time, the number of other vehicles that are faster than the vehicle 10 is equal to or greater than a reference rate.

[0023] When the representative speed is faster than the speed of vehicle 10, automatic control device 12 sets target inter-vehicle distance L between vehicle 10 and vehicle 60 to be shorter than when the representative speed is equal to or less than the speed of vehicle 10. Automatic control device 12 controls vehicle 10 so that this target inter-vehicle distance L is maintained between vehicle 10 and vehicle 60.

[0024] For example, in the example shown in FIG. 1, if the speed of vehicle 62 traveling in lane 52 is faster than the speed of vehicle 10, vehicle 62 may suddenly cut in front of vehicle 10 at a high speed.

[0025] In the autonomous driving mode, the automatic control device 12 may have difficulty controlling the vehicle 10 so as to maintain a safe distance between the vehicle 62 and the vehicle 10. The automatic control device 12 may request that control of the vehicle 10 be transferred from the automatic control device 12 to the driver, and a situation may arise in which the driver must drive the vehicle 10.

[0026] Therefore, when the representative speed is faster than the speed of the vehicle 10, the automatic control device 12 sets the target inter-vehicle distance L to be shorter than when the representative speed is equal to or less than the speed of the vehicle 10, thereby preventing the vehicle 62 from moving ahead of the vehicle 10.

[0027] As described above, the automatic control device 12 of this embodiment sets the target inter-vehicle distance L shorter when the representative speed of another vehicle traveling in an adjacent lane is faster than the speed of vehicle 10 than when the representative speed is equal to or lower than the speed of vehicle 10, thereby preventing the other vehicle from moving in front of vehicle 10.

[0028] 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of a vehicle 10 in which the automatic control device 12 of this embodiment is implemented. The vehicle 10 has a front camera 2a, a rear camera 2b, LiDAR sensors 3a and 3b, a speed sensor 6, a user interface (UI) 7, an object detection device 11, an automatic control device 12, and the like. The vehicle 10 may further have a distance measurement sensor such as a millimeter-wave radar sensor.

[0029] The front camera 2a, rear camera 2b, LiDAR sensors 3a, 3b, speed sensor 6, user interface (UI) 7, object detection device 11, and automatic control device 12 are communicatively connected via an in-vehicle network 13 that complies with a standard such as a controller area network.

[0030] The front camera 2a and the rear camera 2b are examples of image acquisition units provided in the vehicle 10. The front camera 2a is attached to the vehicle 10 so as to face the front of the vehicle 10. The rear camera 2b is attached to the vehicle 10 so as to face the rear of the vehicle 10.

[0031] The front camera 2a and the rear camera 2b acquire camera images showing the environment of an area within a predetermined field of view in front of and behind the vehicle 10, at camera image acquisition times that are set, for example, at a predetermined cycle. The camera images may show the road included in the predetermined area in front of and behind the vehicle 10, and road features such as lane markings on the road surface.

[0032] The front camera 2a and the rear camera 2b each have a two-dimensional detector configured with an array of photoelectric conversion elements, such as a CCD or C-MOS, that are sensitive to visible light. The front camera 2a and the rear camera 2b also have an imaging optical system that forms an image of the area to be imaged on the two-dimensional detector. The field of view of the front camera 2a and the rear camera 2b is an example of a predetermined range around the vehicle 10.

[0033] Each time the front camera 2a and the rear camera 2b capture a camera image, they output the camera image and the time the camera image was captured to the object detection device 11, the automatic control device 12, etc. via the in-vehicle network 13. The camera image is used by the object detection device 11 in processing to detect objects and road features around the vehicle 10.

[0034] The LiDAR sensors 3a and 3b emit lasers to scan a predetermined field of view in front of and behind the vehicle 10 at reflected wave information acquisition times set at a predetermined cycle. The LiDAR sensors 3a and 3b then receive reflected waves reflected by reflecting objects. The time required for the reflected waves to return contains distance information between the vehicle 10 and another object located in the direction of the laser irradiation. The LiDAR sensors 3a and 3b output the reflected wave information, along with the time at which the reflected wave information was acquired when the laser was emitted, to the object detection device 11 or the like via the in-vehicle network 13. The reflected wave information includes the laser irradiation direction and the time required for the reflected wave to return. The reflected wave information acquisition time indicates the time at which the laser was emitted. The reflected wave information is used by the object detection device 11 to detect objects around the vehicle 10.

[0035] The speed sensor 6 detects the speed information of the vehicle 10 and outputs the speed information and the time when the speed information was acquired to the object detection device 11, the automatic control device 12, etc. via the in-vehicle network 13. The speed sensor 6 is attached to, for example, an axle (not shown), detects the rotation speed of the axle, and outputs a pulse signal proportional to the rotation speed.

[0036] The UI 7 is an example of a notification unit. The UI 7 is controlled by the automatic control device 12 to notify the driver of information related to the vehicle 10. The UI 7 has a display device 7a such as a liquid crystal display or a touch panel to display the information. The UI 7 may also have an audio output device (not shown) to notify the driver of the information. The UI 7 also has, for example, a touch panel or operation buttons as an input device for inputting operation information from the driver to the vehicle 10. The UI 7 outputs the input information to the automatic control device 12, etc. via the in-vehicle network 13.

[0037] Furthermore, the object detection device 11 detects road features such as lane markings and objects around the vehicle 10 based on the camera image. The object detection device 11 has, for example, a classifier that receives the camera image as input and detects objects, structures, and road features depicted in the image. As the classifier, for example, a deep neural network (DNN) that has been trained in advance to detect objects, structures, and road features depicted in the input image can be used. The object detection device 11 may also use a classifier other than a DNN.

[0038] The object detection device 11 may also detect objects around the vehicle 10 based on reflected wave information. The object detection device 11 may also determine the orientation of the object relative to the vehicle 10 based on the position of the object in the camera image, and determine the distance between the object and the vehicle 10 based on this orientation and the reflected wave information. The object position represents a position representative of the object (e.g., the center of gravity). The object detection device 11 estimates the object's position, expressed in, for example, a vehicle coordinate system, based on the current position of the vehicle 10 and the distance and orientation of the object relative to the vehicle 10. The object detection device 11 may also track an object detected in the latest camera image by associating the object detected in the latest image with an object detected in a previous image according to a tracking process based on optical flow. An object identification number is assigned to the tracked object. The object detection device 11 may then determine the trajectory of the object being tracked based on the position of the object in the latest image from the previous image. The object detection device 11 can estimate the object's speed relative to the vehicle 10 based on changes in the object's position over time. The object detection device 11 can estimate the acceleration of an object based on changes in the object's speed over time. Note that the technique described in JP 2024-11893 A may be used as a method for determining the lane in which another vehicle is traveling.

[0039] The object detection device 11 notifies the automatic control device 12 and the like of object detection information including information describing the object and road feature information describing the road feature. The object detection information includes information indicating the type of detected object, information indicating its position, speed, acceleration, and driving lane. For tracked objects, the object detection information includes an object identification number.

[0040] The automatic control device 12 executes control processing, judgment processing, setting processing, and decision processing. To this end, the automatic control device 12 has a communication interface (IF) 21, a memory 22, and a processor 23. The communication interface 21, the memory 22, and the processor 23 are connected via a signal line 24. The communication interface 21 has an interface circuit for connecting the automatic control device 12 to the in-vehicle network 13.

[0041] The memory 22 is an example of a storage unit and includes, for example, a volatile semiconductor memory and a non-volatile semiconductor memory. The memory 22 stores computer programs of applications used in information processing executed by the processor 23 and various data.

[0042] All or part of the functions of the automatic control device 12 are functional modules implemented by, for example, a computer program running on the processor 23. The processor 23 includes a control unit 231, a determination unit 232, a setting unit 233, and a decision unit 234. Alternatively, the functional modules included in the processor 23 may be dedicated arithmetic circuits provided in the processor 23. The processor 23 includes one or more central processing units (CPUs) and their peripheral circuits. The processor 23 may further include other arithmetic circuits such as a logic operation unit, a numerical operation unit, or a graphics processing unit.

[0043] The object detection device 11 and the automatic control device 12 are, for example, electronic control units (ECUs). In Fig. 2, the object detection device 11 and the automatic control device 12 are illustrated as separate devices (for example, electronic control units (ECUs)), but these devices may be configured as a single device. Furthermore, the processor 23 has a control unit 231, a determination unit 232, a setting unit 233, and a decision unit 234, but the control unit 231, the determination unit 232, the setting unit 233, and the decision unit 234 may each be included in a different processor.

[0044] The control unit 231 controls the operation of the vehicle 10. The control unit 231 has an automatic driving mode in which the vehicle 10 is driven automatically, and a manual driving mode in which the operation of the vehicle 10 is controlled based on the driver's operation. In the automatic driving mode, the control unit 231 mainly drives the vehicle 10. In the automatic driving mode, the control unit 231 controls operations such as steering, driving, and braking based on the current position of the vehicle 10, map information, camera images, reflected wave information, etc.

[0045] In the manual driving mode, the control unit 231 controls the operation of the vehicle 10, such as steering, driving, and braking, based on the driver's operation. In the manual driving mode, the driver mainly drives the vehicle 10.

[0046] When the control unit 231 determines that the vehicle 10 cannot be driven safely under automatic control, it notifies the driver via the UI 7 of a control transfer request requesting that the subject of driving of the vehicle 10 be transferred from the control unit 231 to the driver 40. In response to the control transfer request, the driver starts driving the vehicle 10 in manual driving mode.

[0047] Based on the object detection information, the control unit 231 calculates the inter-vehicle distance between other vehicles traveling in an adjacent lane adjacent to the driving lane in which the vehicle 10 is traveling. For example, the control unit 231 places a vehicle model having a representative vehicle length at a position (e.g., the center of gravity) that represents the other vehicles traveling in the adjacent lane. The vehicle model is placed so that the center of the vehicle model in the longitudinal direction is a position that represents the other vehicles. The control unit 231 calculates the average value of the distances between the vehicle models as the average inter-vehicle distance between the other vehicles traveling in the adjacent lane.

[0048] 3 is an example of an operational flowchart relating to the setting process of the automatic control device 12 of this embodiment. The automatic control device 12 executes the setting process at a set time having a predetermined cycle in accordance with the operational flowchart shown in FIG.

[0049] First, the setting unit 233 calculates the speed of the vehicle 10 based on the speed information (step S101). The setting unit 233 may calculate the average speed of the vehicle 10 over the most recent period (for example, 5 to 10 seconds) based on the speed information. Alternatively, the speed of the vehicle 10 may be set to a value within a predetermined range including the most recent average speed. The speed of the vehicle 10 may be set to a value within a range from the average speed +10 km / h to the average speed -10 km / h.

[0050] Next, the setting unit 233 sets a reference inter-vehicle distance based on the speed of the vehicle 10 (step S102). The setting unit 233 sets the reference inter-vehicle distance so that the faster the speed of the vehicle 10 is, the longer the reference inter-vehicle distance becomes. When the vehicle 10 is stopped, the reference inter-vehicle distance is approximately the length of one vehicle.

[0051] Next, the determination unit 232 determines whether the representative speed of another vehicle traveling in an adjacent lane adjacent to the traveling lane in which the vehicle 10 is traveling is faster than the speed of the vehicle 10 (step S103).

[0052] The determination unit 232 acquires the speed of other vehicles traveling in adjacent lanes based on the object detection information. If the number of other vehicles detected within a predetermined reference time that are faster than the speed of the vehicle 10 is equal to or greater than a reference rate, the determination unit 232 determines that the representative speed is faster than the speed of the vehicle itself. The reference time may be, for example, 1 to 5 minutes. The reference rate may be, for example, 50%.

[0053] If no other vehicle traveling in the adjacent lane is detected within the reference time, the determining unit 232 determines that the representative speed is not faster than the speed of the vehicle 10.

[0054] The determination unit 232 may also make a determination based on a camera image acquired by the front camera 2a. If the number of vehicles appearing from the right end of the camera image captured by the front camera 2a, moving to the left, and disappearing upward is equal to or greater than a reference number per unit time, the determination unit 232 determines that the representative speed of another vehicle traveling in an adjacent lane adjacent to the right of the traveling lane is faster than the speed of the vehicle 10. The unit time may be, for example, 5 to 10 minutes. The reference number may be 2 to 5. Similarly, the determination unit 232 determines whether the representative speed of the adjacent lane adjacent to the left of the traveling lane is faster than the speed of the vehicle 10.

[0055] If the representative speed of the other vehicle traveling in the adjacent lane is faster than the speed of the vehicle 10 (step S103-Yes), the setting unit 233 sets the target inter-vehicle distance L between the vehicle 10 and the preceding vehicle located ahead of the vehicle 10 to be shorter than when the representative speed is equal to or lower than the speed of the vehicle 10 (step S104). Note that the target inter-vehicle distance L when the representative speed is equal to or lower than the speed of the vehicle 10 becomes the reference inter-vehicle distance.

[0056] The setting unit 233 sets the target inter-vehicle distance L to be shorter than the reference inter-vehicle distance set in step S102. The setting unit 233 may set the product of the reference inter-vehicle distance and a predetermined coefficient (a real number between 0.3 and 0.9) as the target inter-vehicle distance L. Alternatively, the setting unit 233 may set the target inter-vehicle distance L to be a value obtained by subtracting a predetermined distance from the reference inter-vehicle distance.

[0057] It is preferable that the short set target inter-vehicle distance L still provides a safe distance between the vehicle 10 and the vehicle ahead. For example, it is preferable that the target inter-vehicle distance L is equal to or greater than a lower limit inter-vehicle distance determined according to the speed of the vehicle 10. For example, if the short set target inter-vehicle distance L is below the lower limit inter-vehicle distance, the target inter-vehicle distance L may be set to the lower limit inter-vehicle distance.

[0058] Furthermore, the setting unit 233 may set the target inter-vehicle distance L so that the greater the difference between the representative speed and the speed of the vehicle 10, the shorter the target inter-vehicle distance L is compared to when the representative speed is equal to or lower than the speed of the vehicle 10. The smaller the relative speed between the representative speed and the speed of the vehicle 10, the smaller the speed difference between the vehicle 10 and other vehicles, and therefore the target inter-vehicle distance L is made closer to the reference inter-vehicle distance. For example, the target inter-vehicle distance L may be set to a value obtained by subtracting the product of the difference between the representative speed and the speed of the vehicle 10 and a predetermined coefficient from the reference inter-vehicle distance.

[0059] Furthermore, the setting unit 233 may set the target inter-vehicle distance L so that the longer the average inter-vehicle distance between other vehicles in the adjacent lane is, the shorter the target inter-vehicle distance L is compared to when the representative speed is equal to or lower than the speed of the vehicle 10. When the inter-vehicle distance between the adjacent lane is short, it is considered unlikely that another vehicle will suddenly cut in from the adjacent lane, so the target inter-vehicle distance L is set closer to the reference inter-vehicle distance. For example, the target inter-vehicle distance L may be set to a value obtained by subtracting the product of the average inter-vehicle distance and a predetermined coefficient from the reference inter-vehicle distance.

[0060] On the other hand, if the representative speed of the other vehicle traveling in the adjacent lane is not faster than the speed of the vehicle 10 (step S103-No), the setting unit 233 sets the reference inter-vehicle distance as the target inter-vehicle distance L (step S105), and ends the series of processes. Note that if there is no vehicle ahead, the control unit 231 controls the vehicle 10 to travel at a set speed. The set speed is, for example, the speed limit of the road or a speed set by the driver.

[0061] The control unit 231 controls the vehicle 10 so that the target inter-vehicle distance L is maintained between the vehicle 10 and the vehicle 60. When the distance between the vehicle 10 and the vehicle 60 is greater than the target inter-vehicle distance L, the control unit 231 controls the vehicle 10 so that the distance between the vehicle 10 and the vehicle 60 becomes the target inter-vehicle distance L within a predetermined reference time. This reference time may be changed according to the speed of the vehicle. For example, the faster the speed of the vehicle 10, the shorter the reference time may be.

[0062] When the target inter-vehicle distance L is set to be shorter than when the representative speed is equal to or less than the speed of the vehicle 10, the control unit 231 may use the UI 7 to notify the driver that the target inter-vehicle distance L is set to be shorter in order to prevent another vehicle from cutting in. The control unit 231 may also use the UI 7 to notify the driver of a hands-on request to grip the steering wheel. This allows the driver to quickly start manual driving when a control transition request is notified due to another vehicle cutting in ahead of the vehicle 10.

[0063] 1, if the speed of vehicle 62 traveling in lane 52 is faster than the speed of vehicle 10, vehicle 62 may suddenly cut in front of vehicle 10 at a high speed. If both the speed and representative speed of vehicle 10 are slow, control unit 231 may be able to control vehicle 10 so that a safe distance is maintained between vehicle 62 and vehicle 10 even in the autonomous driving mode.

[0064] However, when both the speed and the representative speed of the vehicle 10 are relatively fast, the control unit 231 may have difficulty in controlling the vehicle 10 so that a safe distance is maintained between the vehicle 62 and the vehicle 10.

[0065] When the control unit 231 determines that it is difficult to control the vehicle 10 so as to maintain a safe distance between the vehicle 62 and the vehicle 10, the control unit 231 notifies the driver of a control transition request via the UI 7. A situation may arise in which the driver must drive the vehicle 10 in response to the control transition request.

[0066] Therefore, when the representative speed is faster than the speed of the vehicle 10, the setting unit 233 sets the target inter-vehicle distance L to be shorter than when the representative speed is equal to or less than the speed of the vehicle 10, thereby preventing the vehicle 62 from moving ahead of the vehicle 10. When the inter-vehicle distance between the vehicle 10 and the vehicle 60 is short, it becomes difficult for the vehicle 62 to move between the vehicle 10 and the vehicle 60.

[0067] As described above in detail, the automatic control device of this embodiment sets the target inter-vehicle distance L to be shorter when the representative speed of another vehicle traveling in an adjacent lane is faster than the speed of vehicle 10 than when the representative speed is equal to or lower than the speed of vehicle 10, thereby preventing the other vehicle from moving in front of vehicle 10.

[0068] Next, a second embodiment of the automatic control device 12 will be described below with reference to Figures 4 to 6. With regard to the second embodiment, the above description of the first embodiment applies as appropriate to the particular points described.

[0069] 4 is an example of an operational flowchart relating to the setting process of the automatic control device of the second embodiment. This embodiment differs from the first embodiment described above in that steps S206 to S208 are added. The processes of steps S201 to S205 are the same as steps S101 to S105 of the first embodiment described above.

[0070] After the reference inter-vehicle distance is set as the target inter-vehicle distance L (step S205), the judgment unit 232 judges whether the representative speed of another vehicle traveling in an adjacent lane adjacent to the driving lane in which the vehicle 10 is traveling is slower than the speed of the vehicle 10 (step S206).

[0071] The determination unit 232 acquires the speed of other vehicles traveling in adjacent lanes based on the object detection information. If the number of other vehicles detected within a predetermined reference time that are slower than the vehicle 10 is equal to or greater than a reference rate, the determination unit 232 determines that the representative speed is slower than the speed of the vehicle itself. The reference time may be, for example, 1 to 5 minutes. The reference rate may be, for example, 50%.

[0072] If no other vehicle traveling in the adjacent lane is detected within the reference time, the determining unit 232 determines that the representative speed is not slower than the speed of the vehicle 10.

[0073] The determination unit 232 may also make a determination based on a camera image acquired by the front camera 2a. If the number of vehicles appearing from above in the camera image captured by the front camera 2a, moving to the right, and disappearing from the right edge is equal to or greater than a reference number per unit time, the determination unit 232 determines that the representative speed of other vehicles traveling in an adjacent lane to the right of the traveling lane is slower than the speed of the vehicle 10. The unit time may be, for example, 5 to 10 minutes. The reference number may be 2 to 5.

[0074] Similarly, the determination unit 232 determines whether the representative speed of the adjacent lane adjacent to the left of the driving lane is slower than the speed of the vehicle 10.

[0075] If the representative speed of another vehicle traveling in an adjacent lane is slower than the speed of vehicle 10 (step S206-Yes), the judgment unit 232 judges whether the inter-vehicle distance between vehicle 10 and a preceding vehicle located in front of vehicle 10 is greater than the target inter-vehicle distance L (step S207).

[0076] The determination unit 232 acquires the inter-vehicle distance between the vehicle 10 and the preceding vehicle based on the object detection information. Note that, when there is no preceding vehicle, the determination unit 232 determines that the inter-vehicle distance is not greater than the target inter-vehicle distance L.

[0077] If the inter-vehicle distance is greater than the target inter-vehicle distance L (step S207-Yes), the decision unit 234 decides to drive the vehicle 10 so that the time required for the distance between the vehicle 10 and the preceding vehicle to reach the target inter-vehicle distance L is longer than when the representative speed is not determined to be slower than the speed of the vehicle 10 (step S208).

[0078] The representative speed not being slower than the speed of vehicle 10 includes a case where the representative speed is faster than the speed of vehicle 10 and a case where the representative speed is the same as the speed of vehicle 10. When the representative speed is not slower than the speed of vehicle 10, control unit 231 controls vehicle 10 so that the distance between vehicle 10 and the preceding vehicle becomes target inter-vehicle distance L at the reference time.

[0079] The determination unit 234 determines to drive the vehicle 10 so that the time required for the distance between the vehicle 10 and the preceding vehicle to reach the target inter-vehicle distance L is longer than the reference time.

[0080] 5 and 6 are diagrams illustrating the setting process of the automatic control device of this embodiment. The vertical axis of Fig. 5 represents the distance between the vehicle ahead and vehicle 10, and the horizontal axis represents time. When the representative speed is not slower than the speed of vehicle 10, the time required for the distance between the vehicle ahead and vehicle 10 to reach the target inter-vehicle distance L is the reference time.

[0081] On the other hand, when the representative speed is slower than the speed of the vehicle 10, it takes longer for the distance between the vehicle ahead and the vehicle 10 to reach the target inter-vehicle distance L than when the representative speed is not slower than the speed of the vehicle 10.

[0082] For example, the decision unit 234 may decide to decelerate the speed of the vehicle 10 at a first deceleration rate until it matches the representative speed, and then decelerate at a second deceleration rate that is smaller than the first deceleration rate, so that the distance between the vehicle 10 and the vehicle ahead becomes the target inter-vehicle distance L.

[0083] The control unit 231 reduces the speed of the vehicle 10 in a short time until the relative speed with respect to the representative speed of the adjacent lane becomes zero, and then slowly reduces the speed of the vehicle 10 until it reaches the target inter-vehicle distance L. This makes the speed of the vehicle 10 the same as that of other vehicles in the adjacent lane, so that when another vehicle cuts in front of the vehicle 10, the control unit 231 has enough time to respond to the other vehicle.

[0084] Furthermore, the decision unit 234 may decide to decelerate the vehicle 10 at the third deceleration, and then decelerate at a fourth deceleration that is smaller than the third deceleration, so that the distance between the vehicle 10 and the preceding vehicle becomes the target inter-vehicle distance L. Here, it is preferable that the decision unit 234 increases the third deceleration as the inter-vehicle distance between other vehicles in adjacent lanes becomes shorter.

[0085] The shorter the average inter-vehicle distance between other vehicles in adjacent lanes, the greater the initial deceleration amount the control unit 231 will make. Since the greater the degree of congestion in the adjacent lane, the greater the possibility that another vehicle will cut in, the control unit 231 reduces the speed of the vehicle 10 early on and then makes the vehicle 10 travel slowly. This allows the control unit 231 more time to respond to another vehicle when it cuts in front of the vehicle 10.

[0086] As shown in Figure 6, a case where the representative speed is slower than the speed of vehicle 10 includes a case where an adjacent lane is congested. In Figure 6, vehicle 10 is traveling in lane 52 of road 50. Vehicle 60 is traveling ahead of vehicle 10. Vehicles 70 to 73 are traveling in lane 51, and lane 51 is congested.

[0087] By lengthening the time required for the distance between vehicle 10 and the preceding vehicle to reach target inter-vehicle distance L, control unit 231 can control vehicle 10 so that a safe distance is maintained between vehicle 10 and the other vehicle when vehicle 71 moves in front of vehicle 10 from lane 51. This makes it possible to avoid notifying the driver of a control transition request.

[0088] As described above in detail, the automatic control device of this embodiment drives the vehicle so that, when the representative speed of another vehicle traveling in an adjacent lane is slower than the speed of the host vehicle, the time required for the distance between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle to reach the target inter-vehicle distance is longer than when it is determined that the representative speed is not slower than the vehicle's speed. This enables the automatic control device of this embodiment to control the vehicle in response to the other vehicle when the other vehicle moves in front of the host vehicle. Furthermore, the automatic control device of this embodiment achieves the same effects as the first embodiment described above.

[0089] In the present disclosure, the vehicle control device of the above-described embodiment can be appropriately modified without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the technical scope of the present disclosure is not limited to those embodiments, but extends to the inventions set forth in the claims and their equivalents.

[0090] For example, there may be adjacent lanes on both sides of the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling, and the representative speed of the other vehicle traveling in one adjacent lane may be faster than the host vehicle's speed, while the representative speed of the other vehicle traveling in the other adjacent lane may be slower than the host vehicle's speed. In this case, the vehicle control device may set the target inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle and a preceding vehicle located in front of the host vehicle to be shorter than when the representative speed is equal to or less than the host vehicle's speed, and then drive the host vehicle so that the target inter-vehicle distance is longer than when it is not determined that the representative speed is slower than the host vehicle's speed. Alternatively, the vehicle control device may drive the host vehicle so that the representative speed is longer than when it is not determined that the representative speed is slower than the host vehicle's speed, and after the distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle approaches the target inter-vehicle distance, set the target inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle located in front of the host vehicle to be shorter than when the representative speed is equal to or less than the host vehicle's speed. [Explanation of symbols]

[0091] 2a Front camera 2b Rear camera 3a LiDAR sensor 3b LiDAR sensor 6 Speed ​​Sensor 7 User Interface (UI) 7a Display device 10 vehicles 11 Object detection device 12 Automatic control devices 21 Communication Interface 22 Memory 23 processors 231 Control Unit 232 Judgment section 233 Settings 234 Decision Section 13 In-vehicle network

Claims

1. a determination unit that determines whether a representative speed of another vehicle traveling in an adjacent lane adjacent to the traveling lane in which the host vehicle is traveling is faster than the speed of the host vehicle; a setting unit that, when the determination unit determines that the representative speed is faster than the speed of the host vehicle, sets a target inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle and a preceding vehicle located in front of the host vehicle to be shorter than when the representative speed is equal to or lower than the speed of the host vehicle; A vehicle control device comprising:

2. 2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein, when the determination unit determines that the representative speed is faster than the speed of the host vehicle, the setting unit sets the target inter-vehicle distance so that the greater the difference between the representative speed and the speed of the host vehicle, the shorter the target inter-vehicle distance is compared to when the representative speed is equal to or lower than the speed of the host vehicle.

3. 2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein, when the determination unit determines that the representative speed is faster than the speed of the host vehicle, the setting unit sets the target inter-vehicle distance so that the longer the average inter-vehicle distance between other vehicles in adjacent lanes, the shorter the target inter-vehicle distance becomes compared to when the representative speed is equal to or lower than the speed of the host vehicle.

4. the determination unit determines whether a representative speed of another vehicle traveling in an adjacent lane adjacent to the traveling lane in which the host vehicle is traveling is slower than a speed of the host vehicle; 2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, further comprising a decision unit that, when the determination unit determines that the representative speed is slower than the speed of the host vehicle and the distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle is greater than the target inter-vehicle distance, determines to cause the host vehicle to travel so that the time required for the distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle to reach the target inter-vehicle distance is longer than when the representative speed is not determined to be slower than the speed of the host vehicle.

5. 5. The vehicle control device according to claim 4, wherein, when the determination unit determines that the representative speed is slower than the speed of the host vehicle and the distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle is greater than the target inter-vehicle distance, the decision unit determines to decelerate the speed of the host vehicle at a first deceleration until it matches the representative speed, and then decelerate at a second deceleration that is smaller than the first deceleration, so that the distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle becomes the target inter-vehicle distance.

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