Vehicle door control device

Abstract

To provide a vehicle door control device that can change the control settings for opening the doors depending on the parking location when an occupant gets into the vehicle. [Solution] When the vehicle 2 is parked, the vehicle door control device 1 acquires parking location information 35, which is information indicating the parking location of the vehicle 2 (S5, S6). After the occupants get out of the vehicle 2, the vehicle door control device 1 predicts whether or not occupants in the vicinity of the vehicle will get into the vehicle 2. If it is predicted that occupants will get in (S10: YES, S12: YES), the vehicle door control device 1 executes control to open the doors of the vehicle 2. In this control to open the doors, the vehicle door control device 1 changes the control content according to the parking location indicated by the parking location information 35 (S11, S13).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle door control device that controls a vehicle door.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 below describes a vehicle door system that opens the vehicle door when the vehicle is parked and the occupant gets off. When the running speed of the vehicle in the vehicle door system of Patent Document 1 is below the threshold speed, based on the information of the current position of the car navigation system, it is determined whether the current position is on the road or a parking space. The vehicle door system executes control to open the door according to the determined current position.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] The vehicle door system of the above Patent Document 1 executes control to open the door according to the parking location when the occupant gets off the vehicle. However, even in the situation where the occupant gets on the vehicle, control to open the door according to the parking location is also required. When parked on the road, there is a risk that the opened door will come into contact with other vehicles traveling around the vehicle. Also, when parked in a parking lot and there are no other vehicles parked around the vehicle, by opening the door before the occupant gets on, the occupant can be smoothly made to perform operations such as loading luggage, improving usability.

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve the above conventional problems, and an object thereof is to provide a vehicle door control device capable of changing the content of control to open the door according to the parking location when the occupant gets on the vehicle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] To achieve the above objective, the vehicle door control device according to the present invention includes: a parking location information acquisition unit that acquires parking location information, which is information indicating the parking location of the vehicle, at least one of the following: when the vehicle is parked, when an occupant gets out of the parked vehicle, and when an occupant gets into the vehicle; an occupant prediction unit that predicts whether an occupant in the vicinity of the vehicle will get into the vehicle after the occupant has gotten out of the vehicle; and a control unit that, when the occupant prediction unit predicts that an occupant will get into the vehicle, executes control to open the doors of the vehicle and changes the content of the control to open the doors according to the parking location indicated by the parking location information acquired by the parking location information acquisition unit. Furthermore, in this specification, "parking," "exiting," and "getting in" are not limited to the exact moment each of these states occurs, but may refer to any timing within the series of actions related to each state. Also, in this specification, "control for opening a door" is a concept that includes control for unlocking the door, control for opening the door, and control for opening the door by changing the degree to which it is opened. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the vehicle door control device of the present invention having the above configuration, parking location information is acquired at least one of the following: parking, alighting, and boarding. The control unit executes control to open the vehicle's doors when it is predicted that an occupant in the vicinity of the vehicle will board the vehicle. The control unit also changes the content of the control to open the doors according to the parking location indicated by the parking location information. This makes it possible to change the content of the control to open the doors when an occupant boards the vehicle according to the parking location where the vehicle was parked. This makes it possible to control the opening of the doors so that they do not come into contact with other vehicles driving around the vehicle. Alternatively, by opening the doors before the occupant boards, it is possible to smoothly carry out tasks such as loading luggage. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram of the vehicle according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] This diagram shows the configuration of the vehicle door control device according to this embodiment. [Figure 3] This is a flowchart of the door control processing program according to this embodiment. [Figure 4] This is a diagram showing the condition of vehicles parked on the street. [Figure 5] This is a diagram showing the condition of vehicles parked in a parking lot. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the vehicle door control device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. First, a vehicle 2 equipped with the vehicle door control device 1 according to this embodiment will be described below. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the vehicle 2 according to this embodiment. Figure 2 is a block diagram of the vehicle door control device 1 according to this embodiment. In the following description, the front-rear direction, the left-right direction, and the up-down direction of the vehicle 2 will be simply referred to as the front-rear direction, the left-right direction, and the up-down direction, respectively. In addition, the reference numeral R may be used for devices etc. on the right side of the vehicle 2, and the reference numeral L may be used for devices etc. on the left side of the vehicle 2. Furthermore, in addition to the components shown in Figures 1 and 2, the vehicle 2 is equipped with other basic components as a vehicle 2, but in the following description, the configuration related to the control of opening and closing the doors, and the control related to said configuration will be mainly described.

[0010] As shown in Figure 1, vehicle 2 is, for example, a vehicle with a steering wheel 3 on the right side, and comprises a body 11, a driver's side front door 12R, a passenger side front door 12L, a driver's side rear door 13R, a passenger side rear door 13L, and a back door 14. Hereafter, when the front doors 12R, 12L, rear doors 13R, 13L, and back door 14 are described collectively, they may be referred to as "each door." Each door is, for example, a swing-type door. Vehicle 2 also has door lock devices 15A, 15B, 15C, 15D, 15E that control the lock of each door, and door opening and closing devices 16A, 16B, 16C, 16D, 16E that open and close each door. The door lock devices 15A to 15E control the locks of the front doors 12R, 12L, rear doors 13R, 13L, and back door 14, respectively, in that order. The door lock devices 15A to 15E are devices that switch between a locked state and an unlocked state for each door. The door opening and closing devices 16A to 16E are devices that open and close the front doors 12R, 12L, rear doors 13R, 13L, and back door 14 in that order. The door opening and closing devices 16A to 16E are equipped with a motor as a drive source, for example, and open and close each door by driving the motor.

[0011] Note that the configuration of vehicle 2 shown in Figure 1 is just one example. For example, vehicle 2 is not limited to a vehicle with the handle 3 on the right side, but may also be a vehicle with the handle 3 on the left side. Also, each door is not limited to a swing-type door, but may be a door with other opening and closing methods such as a sliding door. Furthermore, each door may have a different opening and closing method. Therefore, only the rear doors 13R and 13L may be sliding doors. Also, the drive source for the door opening and closing devices 16A to 16E is not limited to a motor, but may also be a drive source such as a hydraulic cylinder. Furthermore, vehicle 2 may be an internal combustion engine vehicle driven by an internal combustion engine (engine, etc.), an electric vehicle driven by an electric motor, a fuel cell vehicle, etc., or a hybrid vehicle having multiple drive sources such as these. Furthermore, there are no particular limitations on the type of vehicle 2, the number of wheels, etc. Also, vehicle 2 may be a vehicle capable of manual driving, a vehicle capable of automatic driving, or a vehicle capable of switching between both types of driving.

[0012] Furthermore, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the vehicle door control device 1 includes a front camera 5, side cameras 6R and 6L, a rear camera 7, various sensors 8, a wireless communication device 9, a vehicle control ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 10, and a position information acquisition device 17. Hereinafter, the front camera 5, side cameras 6R and 6L, and rear camera 7 may be collectively referred to as "each camera."

[0013] Each camera is an imaging device having a solid-state image sensor, such as a CCD, and captures images of the area around the vehicle. The front camera 5 is mounted, for example, above the front bumper of the vehicle 2 or behind the rearview mirror, and is installed with its optical axis facing forward of the vehicle 2. The side cameras 6R and 6L are mounted, for example, on the left and right side mirrors of the vehicle 2, and are installed with their optical axes facing sideways of the vehicle 2. The rear camera 7 is mounted, for example, above the license plate mounted on the rear of the vehicle 2, and is installed with its optical axis facing rearward of the vehicle 2. Each camera is an example of an imaging device in this specification. Note that the imaging device is not limited to an imaging device having a CCD, but may also be an imaging device having a CMOS.

[0014] The various sensors 8 are sensors that realize various functions of the vehicle 2. For example, sensors 8 can include ultrasonic sensors, millimeter-wave radar, and laser sensors, which can be used to detect obstacles around the vehicle. Alternatively, sensors 8 can include vehicle speed sensors, acceleration sensors, gyro sensors, steering sensors, and shift position sensors, which can be used as sensors for the driving of the vehicle 2.

[0015] The wireless communication device 9 is a device that communicates wirelessly with the portable device 41. The portable device 41 is, for example, a so-called electronic key. Alternatively, the portable device 41 may be a smartphone used in a digital key system, or another communication terminal capable of wireless communication with the vehicle 2. The portable device 41 has buttons for operating the door lock devices 15A to 15E and the door opening and closing devices 16A to 16E.

[0016] The location information acquisition device 17 includes, for example, a receiver that receives radio waves from GPS (Global Positioning System) satellites. The location information acquisition device 17 acquires location information of the vehicle 2 from the radio waves received at predetermined intervals. The vehicle control ECU 10 can detect the current position, speed, etc., of the vehicle 2 based on the location information from the location information acquisition device 17. The vehicle control ECU 10 may also acquire the location information of the vehicle 2 from other devices such as a car navigation system.

[0017] (Regarding the vehicle control ECU10) The vehicle control ECU (hereinafter simply referred to as ECU) 10 is an electronic control unit that comprehensively controls the entire vehicle 2, including the vehicle door control device 1. It includes a CPU 31 as an arithmetic device and control device, a RAM 32 used as working memory when the CPU 31 performs various arithmetic processes, a ROM 33 in which control programs and door control processing programs (see Figure 3) described later are stored, and an internal storage device such as a flash memory 34 that stores programs and flag values ​​read from the ROM 33.

[0018] The ECU 10 realizes various functional units by executing programs on the CPU 31. For example, the parking location information acquisition unit 31A is a functional unit that acquires parking location information, which is information indicating the parking location of the vehicle 2, at least in one of the cases when the vehicle 2 is parked, when the passengers get off the parked vehicle 2, and when the passengers board the vehicle 2. The boarding prediction unit 31B is a functional unit that predicts whether the passengers around the vehicle 2 will board the vehicle 2 after getting off the vehicle 2. The control unit 31C is a functional unit that, when it is predicted by the boarding prediction unit 31B that the passengers will board, executes control to open the door of the vehicle 2 and changes the content of the control to open the door according to the parking location indicated by the parking location information acquired by the parking location information acquisition unit 31A. The speed detection unit 31D is a functional unit that detects the traveling speed of other vehicles traveling around the vehicle 2 based on the detection information detected by a sensor (a camera in this embodiment) attached to the vehicle 2. The target door estimation unit 31E is a functional unit that estimates the target door, which is the door predicted to be opened by the passengers, among the doors of the vehicle 2. That is, the vehicle control ECU 10 is an example of the parking location information acquisition unit, the boarding prediction unit, the control unit, the speed detection unit, and the target door estimation unit in this specification.

[0019] Also, the flash memory 34 stores the parking location information 35 and the estimation information DB 36. The parking location information 35 is the information acquired by the parking location information acquisition unit 31A and indicates the parking location of the vehicle 2. Further, the estimation information DB 36 stores the data necessary for predicting whether the passengers around the vehicle 2 will board the vehicle 2 and the data necessary for estimating the target door, which is the door predicted to be opened by the passengers.

[0020] Further, the ECU 10 is connected to the above-described door lock devices 15A to 15E, door opening / closing devices 16A to 16E, each camera (front camera 5, etc.), various sensors 8, wireless communication device 9, and position information acquisition device 17 via an in-vehicle network such as CAN. The ECU 10 executes various calculations based on the information input from each camera and each sensor 8, and controls the vehicle 2. For example, the ECU 10 displays an aerial image or an overhead image on a monitor (not shown) of the vehicle 2 based on the imaging data captured by each camera, and executes driving assistance.

[0021] Further, the ECU 10 drives the door lock devices 15A to 15E and the door opening / closing devices 16A to 16E to control the locking (keying) and opening / closing of each door. The ECU 10 also performs wireless communication with the mobile device 41 via the wireless communication device 9, and executes key authentication, unlocking of each door, opening / closing of the door, etc. according to the button operated on the mobile device 41. Note that a device other than the ECU 10, for example, the wireless communication device 9 may execute processes such as key authentication and door locking.

[0022] (Regarding the door control processing program) Next, the door control processing program executed by the ECU 10 in the vehicle door control device 1 having the above configuration will be described based on FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the door control processing program according to the present embodiment. Here, for example, when the traveling speed of the vehicle 2 becomes a predetermined speed or less, the ECU 10 starts the door control processing program. The door control processing program acquires the parking location information 35 of the vehicle 2 during parking, and when it is predicted that the occupant will board the vehicle 2, executes control to open the door for the doors of the vehicle 2, and changes the content of the control to open the door according to the parking location indicated by the parking location information 35.

[0023] Furthermore, the conditions for starting the execution of the door control processing program are not limited to those described above. The ECU 10 may start the processing shown in Figure 3 at at least one of the following: when the vehicle 2 is parked, when an occupant gets out of the parked vehicle 2, and when an occupant gets into the vehicle 2. Parking, getting out, and getting in are not limited to the exact moment each of these states occurs, but may be any timing in the series of actions related to each state. For example, parking may be any timing in the series of actions from when the occupant slows down the vehicle 2 to park it, until the vehicle 2 comes to a stop, the occupant changes the shift lever to parking, the handbrake is applied, and the ignition is turned off. For this reason, the ECU 10 may start the processing shown in Figure 3 when any of the following conditions are met: the condition that the vehicle 2 has stopped, the condition that the shift lever has been changed to parking, or the condition that the ignition is turned off. Furthermore, the ECU 10 may start the process shown in Figure 3 when the accessory power supply of vehicle 2 is turned off.

[0024] Alternatively, when exiting the vehicle, for example, the ECU 10 may start the process shown in Figure 3 if any of the following conditions are met: the door locks are released after parking, any door can be opened, the exit of an occupant is detected by a camera or the like, or all doors of the vehicle 2 are locked after the occupant has exited. In this case, the ECU 10 may omit the process S1 described later. Also, when entering the vehicle, for example, the ECU 10 may start the process shown in Figure 3 if any of the following conditions are met: the portable device 41 approaches to within a predetermined distance from the vehicle 2, occupants are detected around the vehicle by each camera, or the door locks of the vehicle 2 are released. In this case, the ECU 10 may omit the process S8 described later.

[0025] First, in step 1 of Figure 3 (hereinafter abbreviated as S), the CPU 31 determines whether the ignition of vehicle 2 has been turned off. For this reason, the CPU 31 monitors the ignition status after the driving speed falls below a predetermined speed and repeatedly executes the determination process of S1 until the ignition is turned off (S1: NO). When the CPU 31 detects that the ignition has changed from the ON state to the OFF state, it makes an affirmative determination in S1 (S1: YES) and executes S2. Note that after starting the process in Figure 3, the CPU 31 may terminate the process in Figure 3 if it has repeatedly executed the process of S1 for a predetermined upper limit time, or if the driving speed becomes faster than the predetermined speed. This allows the process in Figure 3 to be terminated when the driving speed temporarily slows down, such as when waiting at a traffic light or making a stop, and the process in Figure 3 is started.

[0026] In S2, the CPU 31 begins monitoring surrounding vehicles. The CPU 31, for example, uses each camera to capture images of other vehicles traveling around the vehicle. Also in S2, the CPU 31 calculates the detection accuracy based on the image data from each camera. As will be described later, the CPU 31 calculates the speed of other vehicles from the image data from each camera and determines whether the calculated speed is greater than the reference speed (S4). The detection accuracy in S2 is a value that indicates whether the system can accurately calculate the speed used to compare with the reference speed in the determination in S4 from the image data. More specifically, the detection accuracy is a value that indicates whether, when the speed is calculated from the image data, the calculated speed more accurately represents the speed of other vehicles around the vehicle, and whether the system can accurately calculate the speed to the extent that it can appropriately determine whether the vehicle is in a parking lot by comparing the speed with the reference speed.

[0027] For example, Figure 4 illustrates a vehicle 2 parked on the shoulder 40. Figure 4 shows an example of left-hand traffic, with vehicle 2 parked on a white line 43 that demarcates the shoulder 40. Vehicle 2 is parked in a parallel line along the white line 43. After parking and turning off the ignition, another vehicle 45 is traveling in the driving lane 47 from the right rear to the right front of vehicle 2. The area shown by the dashed line in Figure 4 indicates the imaging range 46 (e.g., the field of view) that can be captured by the camera (such as the side camera 6R). When the other vehicle 45 travels from rear to front within the imaging range 46, the CPU 31 detects the moving other vehicle 45 by processing the image data from each camera.

[0028] Note that the example shown in Figure 4 illustrates the detection of another vehicle 45 traveling in lane 47 on a two-lane road, but it is not limited to this. The CPU 31 may also detect detection accuracy and travel speed from another vehicle 45 in the passing lane 48. Furthermore, the number of lanes is not limited to two; it may be one lane or three or more lanes.

[0029] In S2, the CPU 31 changes the detection accuracy by determining whether it is properly tracking the movement of the same other vehicle 45 based on the image data from each camera. For example, if the image (video) captured by the side camera 6R is at a predetermined frame rate (fps), the CPU 31 can detect the movement of the same other vehicle 45 from multiple frame images, and if it succeeds in tracking the movement of the other vehicle 45 as it changes position, it increases the detection accuracy value. Conversely, the CPU 31 decreases the detection accuracy if it predicts that tracking of the other vehicle 45 has failed, for example, if it loses sight of the other vehicle 45 while tracking within the imaging range 46, if it determines that the other vehicle 45 detected from multiple frame images is not the same, or if the calculated driving speed due to an imaging error exceeds the upper speed limit.

[0030] The CPU 31 starts calculating the detection accuracy from a predetermined initial value and increases or decreases the detection accuracy depending on the success or failure of tracking (S2). After executing S2, the CPU 31 determines whether the calculated detection accuracy is equal to or greater than a predetermined reference accuracy (S3). While the detection accuracy is less than the reference accuracy (S3:NO), the CPU 31 calculates the detection accuracy while tracking the movement of other vehicles 45 around the vehicle (S2).

[0031] The reference accuracy for S3 is, for example, 80%. In this case, the CPU 31 repeatedly executes the process of S2 until the detection accuracy calculated in S2 is 80% or higher (S3:NO). This allows the system to execute S4 only after confirming that it is in a state where it can calculate a highly reliable value as the driving speed to be determined in S4, which will be described later. If the detection accuracy decreases due to the shape, size, or speed of other vehicles 45, if the detection accuracy decreases due to weather, if the detection accuracy decreases due to obstacles around the vehicle, or if the detection accuracy decreases due to reflected light, the system can execute S4 and subsequent steps after the conditions around the vehicle have changed and the detection accuracy has improved, allowing the system to determine the parking location.

[0032] Figure 5 shows the state of vehicle 2 parked in parking lot 51. In the example shown in Figure 5, vehicle 2 is parked parallel to another vehicle, and the CPU 31 detects other vehicles 45, for example, using the front camera 5. In the case of parking lot 51, as in the case of on-street parking shown in Figure 4, the CPU 31 tracks the same other vehicle 45 based on the imaging data captured within the imaging range 46 of the front camera 5 and changes the detection accuracy, and when the detection accuracy becomes 80% or higher (S3:YES), it executes S4.

[0033] The above-described method for calculating detection accuracy is merely an example. For example, the CPU 31 may execute the processing from S4 onward if the number of consecutive successful calculations of the driving speed of other vehicles 45 based on the imaging data exceeds a predetermined threshold number, assuming that sufficient detection accuracy is achieved. Alternatively, if the detection accuracy does not reach or exceed the standard accuracy even after the upper limit time has elapsed, the CPU 31 may execute the processing from S4 onward using the maximum or average value of the driving speed of other vehicles 45 calculated up to that point. Furthermore, the CPU 31 does not need to execute S2 and S3. In other words, it does not need to check the detection accuracy before executing S4. For example, after making a positive judgment in S1 (S1:YES), the CPU 31 may execute the processing from S4 onward at the time when it first successfully detects the driving speed of another vehicle 45, or at the time when it has detected the average driving speed of a predetermined number of other vehicles 45.

[0034] In S4, the CPU 31 determines whether the speed of the other vehicle 45 calculated from the image data is greater than the reference speed. The CPU 31 may use the speed of the other vehicle 45 calculated in the S2 and S3 processes to perform the determination process in S4, or it may detect a new other vehicle 45 at the time of executing S4 and calculate the speed of the other vehicle 45. The CPU 31 may also compare the speed of one other vehicle 45 with the reference speed, or it may compare the average or maximum value of the speeds detected from multiple other vehicles 45 with the reference speed. The image data from each camera is an example of detection information in this specification.

[0035] If the driving speed is greater than the reference speed (S4:YES), the CPU 31 executes S5 and stores a value in the flash memory 34's parking location information 35 indicating that the parking location is on a road. On the other hand, if the driving speed is less than or equal to the reference speed (S4:NO), the CPU 31 stores a value in the flash memory 34's parking location information 35 indicating that the parking location is in a parking lot (S6). The flash memory 34 is an example of non-volatile memory in this specification. Note that the non-volatile memory is not limited to the flash memory 34, but may also be ROM 33, etc.

[0036] The reference speed in S4 is, for example, 20 km / h. In this case, the CPU 31 determines that the parking location is on the road if the speed of the other vehicle 45 calculated from the imaging data is faster than 20 km / h, and determines that the parking location is a parking lot if the speed is 20 km / h or less. The speed of the other vehicle 45 when parked on the road as shown in Figure 4 is faster than the speed of the other vehicle 45 when parked in the parking lot 51 as shown in Figure 5. Therefore, the CPU 31 can determine the parking location by comparing the detected speed of the other vehicle 45 with the reference speed. In other words, the reference speed used in S4 can be changed as appropriate, as long as it is a speed at which the parking location can be determined.

[0037] Furthermore, the method for calculating detection accuracy in S2 and the method for calculating the driving speed determined in S4 are not limited to using cameras. For example, point cloud data from millimeter-wave radar may be used to calculate detection accuracy and driving speed. In this case, millimeter-wave radar is just one example of a sensor in this specification. Also, the method for determining the parking location is not limited to comparing the driving speed with the reference speed as described above. For example, AI technology may be used to determine the parking location. The parking location may be determined by an AI that has been trained to process the image data from each camera and the point cloud data from millimeter-wave radar. For example, after the ignition is turned off (S1:YES), the CPU 31 may input the image data of the area around the vehicle captured by each camera into an AI program, and the AI ​​may determine the parking location (S4).

[0038] Furthermore, the CPU 31 may determine the parking location based on the location information of the location information acquisition device 17 and the map data of the car navigation system, in addition to or instead of the camera's image data. For example, after the ignition is turned off (S1:YES), the CPU 31 may detect the name and type of facility of the current location indicated by the location information acquisition device 17 on the car navigation system's map and determine the parking location. Alternatively, the CPU 31 may determine the parking location by comprehensively considering the information detected from the camera's image data and the location information of the location information acquisition device 17. Also, the types of parking locations classified in S4 are not limited to two types, but may be three or more types, such as parking lot, street, and home. Furthermore, even if it is a parking lot, the CPU 31 may determine what type of facility's parking lot it is and change the content of the door opening control described later.

[0039] In S5 or S6 described above, the CPU 31 sets the parking location information 35 in the flash memory 34 and then stops the operation of each camera (S7). For example, the CPU 31 stops supplying power to each camera from the battery of the vehicle 2. Therefore, the vehicle 2 keeps each camera running from the time the ignition is turned off until the parking location information 35 is set, and after the parking location information 35 is set, all cameras are stopped and the vehicle is in a parked state.

[0040] Furthermore, the timing for stopping each camera is not limited to the timings described above. For example, the CPU 31 may stop the cameras at the time it calculates the driving speed determined in S4. Also, the control content of S7 is not limited to stopping the power supplied from the battery to each camera. For example, the CPU 31 may stop the processing circuits and systems that perform image processing without stopping the cameras. Also, the CPU 31 may stop all cameras, as well as the processing circuits and systems. Also, the CPU 31 may continue processing with the cameras running even after executing S5 or S6 without executing S7. For example, the CPU 31 may keep each camera running and monitor the condition around the vehicle even while the vehicle is parked after the occupants have left the vehicle 2. Also, after stopping the cameras in S7, the CPU 31 may activate only the sensor 8 while parked to monitor the condition around the vehicle, and activate the cameras when necessary.

[0041] After executing S7, CPU 31 determines in S8 whether an occupant has approached vehicle 2. Therefore, after vehicle 2 is parked and the occupant has left vehicle 2, CPU 31 determines again whether an occupant has approached vehicle 2. Note that if an occupant has not yet exited vehicle 2 when CPU 31 starts executing S8, it may stop executing S8 until the occupant has exited. For example, CPU 31 may temporarily stop processing S8 if it detects an occupant inside the vehicle using the in-vehicle camera, if the doors of vehicle 2 are unlocked, if the doors of vehicle 2 are open, or if the portable device 41 is inside the vehicle. Alternatively, CPU 31 may temporarily stop processing S8 if the portable device 41 is within a threshold distance range from vehicle 2, as described later. Also, the occupant who exited vehicle 2 and the occupant who re-entered the vehicle may be the same person or different people.

[0042] In S8, the CPU 31 determines the approach of an occupant by, for example, determining whether the portable device 41 has approached the vehicle 2 to within a predetermined threshold distance. The CPU 31 makes a negative determination in S8 (S8: NO) as long as the portable device 41 does not approach within the threshold distance, that is, as long as the distance between the vehicle 2 and the occupant holding the portable device 41 is longer than the threshold distance, and repeatedly executes the determination process in S8. Then, when the CPU 31 detects that the portable device 41 has approached within the threshold distance (S8: YES), it executes S9.

[0043] Furthermore, in S8, the CPU 31 may, for example, detect the position of the portable device 41 (crew member) using triangulation based on the distance between the multiple radio antennas of the wireless communication device 9 and the portable device 41. Alternatively, the CPU 31 may detect the position of the portable device 41 from the location information of the smartphone of the digital key system. Or, for example, the CPU 31 may activate the camera based on the detection of radio waves from the portable device 41 and detect the approach of the crew member based on the image data captured by the camera.

[0044] In S9, the CPU 31 determines whether the parking location indicated by the parking location information 35 is a parking lot. If the parking location is parking lot 51 (S9: YES), the CPU 31 executes S10. If the parking location is not parking lot 51, i.e., the parking location is on the street (S9: NO), the CPU 31 executes S12.

[0045] In S10, the CPU 31 determines whether the occupant intends to board vehicle 2, that is, whether it is predicted that the occupant will board vehicle 2. The method for predicting whether or not the occupant will board is not particularly limited. For example, the CPU 31 may predict whether or not the occupant will board based on the occupant's position, direction of movement, speed of movement, acceleration, deceleration, etc. For example, if the occupant moves in a straight line toward vehicle 2 and their speed of movement decreases sharply near any door, the CPU 31 may determine that the occupant will board vehicle 2. On the other hand, for example, if the occupant moves forward toward vehicle 2 and decelerates, moves parallel to the side of vehicle 2 at a constant speed, or moves away from vehicle 2, the CPU 31 may determine that the possibility of the occupant boarding vehicle 2 is low.

[0046] Furthermore, the CPU 31 may predict whether or not the occupant will board the vehicle based on the orientation of their face and body. For example, the CPU 31 may decide whether or not the occupant will board the vehicle based on where the occupant is standing relative to the vehicle 2 and in what orientation their body is facing relative to the vehicle 2. The CPU 31 may also decide whether or not to board the vehicle by combining the above-mentioned judgment criteria and other information. For example, the CPU 31 may calculate an intention to board value from the occupant's movements as described above, indicating the likelihood that the occupant intends to board the vehicle. The CPU 31 may also increase the intention to board value when there is a high probability of boarding, such as when the occupant is carrying luggage. The CPU 31 may decide to board the vehicle if the intention to board value exceeds a threshold. The calculation formulas and thresholds used to estimate the intention to board the vehicle are stored in the estimation information DB 36. The CPU 31 may also change the calculation formulas and thresholds used to calculate the intention to board value depending on the type of parking location indicated by the parking location information 35.

[0047] Furthermore, in S10, the CPU 31 estimates not only whether or not the occupant will board the vehicle, but also the target door that the occupant is expected to open. The CPU 31 may estimate the target door in the same way as predicting whether or not the occupant will board the vehicle. That is, the CPU 31 may estimate the target door by combining the occupant's position, direction of movement, speed of movement, acceleration, deceleration, etc., or other judgment criteria. Specifically, the CPU 31 may estimate the target door as the destination of the occupant's movement. The CPU 31 may also estimate the target door depending on whether or not the occupant's gaze is directed in a particular direction. In addition, for example, if the occupant moves to the rear of the vehicle 2 with luggage, the CPU 31 may estimate the back door 14 as the target door because there is a high probability that the occupant will load luggage.Therefore, in this specification, "boarding the vehicle" is a concept that includes not only the action of opening each door and the occupant boarding the vehicle 2, but also actions such as opening a door to load luggage, unloading luggage, etc., where the occupant opens a door to perform work without boarding the vehicle. Therefore, the CPU 31 may open the back door 14 in the door opening control described later in S11 and S13. Also, there may be multiple target doors to estimate. That is, the CPU 31 may open multiple target doors in S11 and S13.

[0048] In S10, CPU 31 executes the decision process in S10 until it is predicted that the occupant approaching vehicle 2 will board vehicle 2 (S10: NO). If CPU 31 predicts that the occupant will board vehicle 2 (S10: YES), it executes S11.

[0049] In S11, the CPU 31 executes control to open the target door. The CPU 31 changes the control content for opening the target door according to the parking location indicated by the parking location information 35. When executing S11, since the parking location indicated by the parking location information 35 is parking lot 51, the CPU 31 executes control according to parking lot 51. For example, the CPU 31 controls the door lock devices 15A to 15E to unlock the target door and controls the door opening / closing devices 16A to 16E to open the target door. The CPU 31 opens the target door to the position of maximum opening. This state of being opened to the maximum opening is an example of the first state in this specification. After executing S11, the CPU 31 terminates the process shown in Figure 3. As a result, when the vehicle 2 is parked in parking lot 51, the target door can be opened before the occupants get in, allowing them to smoothly perform actions such as getting in and loading luggage, thereby improving usability. Furthermore, even if the parking location is parking lot 51, if it is predicted that it will be difficult to open the target door to its maximum extent, such as when other vehicles are parked adjacent to the left or right of vehicle 2, or when there are walls or pillars in the parking lot close to vehicle 2, CPU 31 may reduce the opening angle of the target door.

[0050] On the other hand, if CPU 31 determines that the parking location is on the street (S9: NO), it executes S12. Similar to S10, in S12 CPU 31 determines whether or not it is expected that an occupant will get in, and predicts which door to open. If it is expected that an occupant will get in (S12: YES), CPU 31 executes control to open the target door (S13).

[0051] In S13, the CPU 31 executes a more restricted control compared to the control performed in S11 to open the target door. The CPU 31 executes either a control that only releases the lock on the target door, or a pop-up control that releases the lock on the target door and opens it to a state that is not as open as the state in S11 (the first state in this specification) (the second state in this specification). That is, when the vehicle 2 is parked on the road, in S13 the CPU 31 causes the target door to execute a restricted operation compared to opening it to its maximum opening, such as a control that only releases the lock on the target door, or a pop-up operation that opens the target door to a position slightly higher than the closed position. After executing S13, the CPU 31 terminates the process shown in Figure 3. This prevents the open target door from coming into contact with other vehicles 45 traveling around the vehicle when the vehicle is parked on the road.

[0052] Therefore, the term "control for opening a door" in this specification can refer to various types of control, such as control to release the door lock, control to pop up the door, control to open the door to a certain extent, or control to open the door to its maximum opening degree. The CPU 31 may also change the content of this door-opening control according to the parking location information 35 acquired at least one of the following: parking, getting out of the vehicle, or getting in. For example, the CPU 31 may perform a pop-up operation in S11 and only release the door lock in S13. The CPU 31 may also perform control on multiple doors or all doors in at least one of S11 and S13. Accordingly, for example, in S11, the CPU 31 may open the front doors 12R, 12L and the rear doors 13R, 13L to their maximum opening degree. Furthermore, the CPU 31 does not need to estimate the target door.

[0053] Furthermore, the CPU 31 may notify the occupant whether S11 or S13 has been executed. For example, when executing S13, the CPU 31 may notify the occupant's smartphone that the control to open the door is restricted. Alternatively, the CPU 31 may notify the occupant of information about the door to be opened and the details of the opening control by voice from the speaker of the vehicle 2, display it on a display installed on the vehicle body, or project it onto the road surface.

[0054] Incidentally, the relationship between the content of this specification and the terminology of the above embodiments is as follows: In the above embodiments, the front camera 5, side cameras 6R, 6L, and rear camera 7 are examples of sensors and imaging devices as defined herein. Also, the flash memory 34 is an example of non-volatile memory.

[0055] (Effects of this embodiment) As described in detail above, this embodiment provides the following effects. (1) According to the vehicle door control device 1 and the computer program executed by the vehicle door control device 1 according to this embodiment, the CPU 31 of the ECU 10 acquires parking location information 35, which is information indicating the parking location of the vehicle 2, at least one of the following: when the vehicle 2 is parked, when an occupant gets out of the parked vehicle 2, and when an occupant gets into the vehicle 2 (S5, S6). After an occupant gets out of the vehicle 2, the CPU 31 predicts whether an occupant in the vicinity of the vehicle will get into the vehicle 2 (S10, S12). If it is predicted that an occupant will get in (S10: YES, S12: YES), the CPU 31 executes control to open the doors of the vehicle 2, and changes the content of the control to open the doors according to the parking location indicated by the parking location information 35 (S11, S13).

[0056] According to this, the control for opening the doors when an occupant enters vehicle 2 can be changed according to the parking location where vehicle 2 is parked. The control can be changed according to the parking location, such as a control that only releases the door lock, a pop-up operation, or a control that opens the door to its maximum opening. The system can be controlled so that the opened door does not come into contact with other vehicles 45 driving around the vehicle. Alternatively, by opening the door before the occupant enters the vehicle, it is possible to allow the occupant to smoothly enter the vehicle or load luggage.

[0057] (2) The CPU 31 also acquires parking location information 35 when the vehicle 2 is parked and stores the acquired parking location information 35 in the flash memory 34 (S5, S6). When it is predicted that the vehicle will be driven into the vehicle (S10: YES, S12: YES), the CPU 31 changes the content of the control to open the door according to the parking location indicated by the parking location information 35 read from the flash memory 34.

[0058] For example, if a vehicle is parked for a long period of time, and there is a significant gap between the time the occupants get out and get back in, keeping each camera activated during that time to determine the parking location will result in high power consumption. Therefore, by limiting the time for acquiring parking location information 35, such as after the ignition is turned off, and storing the acquired information in flash memory 34 for later use, power consumption while parked can be reduced. Furthermore, when the occupant boards vehicle 2, if the cameras are activated to determine the parking location, depending on the occupant's speed approaching vehicle 2, the time it takes to reach vehicle 2 may be short, potentially resulting in insufficient time to determine the parking location or to control the opening of the doors. In contrast, by determining the parking location when parking, the decision-making process at boarding can be omitted, allowing the doors to open smoothly. Therefore, smooth boarding becomes possible while reducing power consumption.

[0059] (3) The CPU 31 also detects the speed of other vehicles 45 traveling around the vehicle 2 based on the image data captured by each camera mounted on the vehicle 2 (S4). When the vehicle 2 is parked, the CPU 31 determines the parking location based on the speed of the other vehicles 45 (S4), and acquires parking location information 35 based on the determination result (S5, S6).

[0060] According to this, the parking location can be determined based on the speed of other vehicles 45 traveling around the parked vehicle 2. For example, if the speed of other vehicles 45 is above the standard speed, the parking location can be determined to be on the road, and if the speed is below the standard speed, the parking location can be determined to be in the parking lot 51. The parking location can be appropriately determined according to the magnitude of the speed of vehicles traveling in the parking location.

[0061] (4) After the vehicle 2 is parked, the CPU 31 determines whether the detection accuracy for detecting the parking location information 35 based on the image data from each camera is equal to or greater than the standard accuracy (S3). If the CPU 31 determines that the detection accuracy is equal to or greater than the standard accuracy (S3: YES), it acquires the parking location information 35, stores the acquired parking location information 35 in the flash memory 34 (S5, S6), and stops the operation of each camera (S7).

[0062] When determining a parking location using detection information from sensors such as cameras, the accuracy of determining the parking location varies depending on the content of the detection information. Therefore, first, it is determined whether the detection accuracy for detecting the parking location information 35 based on the detection information is equal to or greater than the standard accuracy. The CPU 31 can more accurately detect the parking location information 35 by acquiring the parking location information 35 after the detection accuracy has reached or greater than the standard accuracy. Consequently, the control content for opening the doors can be changed with greater accuracy according to the parking location. In addition, by stopping each camera after storing the parking location information 35 in the flash memory 34, power consumption during parking can be reduced.

[0063] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various improvements and modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, the processing content and order of processing in the flowchart of Figure 3 in the above embodiment are just one example. For example, CPU31 does not need to execute processes S2, S3, S7, S10, and S12. Alternatively, the CPU 31 may acquire parking location information 35 at multiple times, such as when parking, getting out of the vehicle, or getting in the vehicle, and compare the acquired parking location information 35 to determine the final parking location. Or, the CPU 31 may acquire parking location information 35 when parking or getting out of the vehicle and store it in the flash memory 34, and if parking location information 35 can be acquired when getting in the vehicle, use that information; otherwise, use the information in the flash memory 34. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the ECU 10 of the vehicle door control device 1 executes the processing of the door control processing program (Figure 3), but the execution entity can be changed as appropriate. For example, the processing of Figure 3 may be executed by the control unit of the navigation device or other in-vehicle devices. The configuration of the vehicle door control device 1 is not limited to the configuration of the embodiment described above. For example, the vehicle door control device 1 may be configured to include only the ECU 10, or to include only the ECU 10 and each camera.

[0064] Next, we will describe the technical ideas derived from the above embodiment. (Note 1) The aforementioned sensor is It is an imaging device, The speed detection unit is Based on the imaging data captured by the aforementioned imaging device, the speed of other vehicles traveling around the vehicle is detected. The detection accuracy is determined based on whether or not the same other vehicle can be tracked based on the aforementioned imaging data. The vehicle door control device according to claim 4, which determines the driving speed of the other vehicle after determining that the detection accuracy is equal to or greater than the reference accuracy.

[0065] According to this, based on the imaging data from the imaging device, it is determined that the same other vehicle can be tracked, that is, that the position and speed of the other vehicle can be detected correctly, and then the speed of the other vehicle is detected. Based on the speed, parking location information can be detected more accurately.

[0066] (Note 2) The control unit, The vehicle door control device according to claim 5, which restricts the operation to open the door when the vehicle's travel speed is greater than the reference speed, compared to the operation to open the door when the travel speed of the other vehicle detected by the speed detection unit is less than or equal to a predetermined reference speed.

[0067] According to this, when other vehicles are traveling at a faster speed, restricting the opening of the doors can prevent other vehicles from contacting the opened doors. Conversely, when other vehicles are traveling at a slower speed, relaxing the restriction on opening the doors can make it easier for passengers to board the vehicle or for luggage to be loaded.

[0068] (Note 3) The control unit, If the parking location indicated by the parking location information acquired by the parking location information acquisition unit is a parking lot, the control to open the door to the first state is executed. A vehicle door control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein if the parking location indicated by the parking location information is on a road, the device performs either a control to unlock the door, or a pop-up control to unlock the door and open it to a second state where it is not opened any further than the first state.

[0069] According to this, if the parking space is a designated parking space, the door can be opened to the first state. If the parking space is on the street, simply performing the control to unlock the door can prevent other vehicles from contacting the open door. Furthermore, even if the door is unlocked and the door is opened to a second state (not fully open than the first state) using pop-up control, contact with other vehicles can still be prevented.

[0070] (Note 4) The vehicle further includes a target door estimation unit that estimates which of the vehicle's doors is expected to be opened by the occupant, The control unit, A vehicle door control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the device executes control to open the target door estimated by the target door estimation unit, and modifies the content of the control to open the target door according to the parking location indicated by the parking location information acquired by the parking location information acquisition unit.

[0071] According to this system, only the doors that the occupants are expected to want opened can be opened. Furthermore, by changing the control method for opening those doors according to the parking location, it is possible to simultaneously reduce contact between the opened door and other vehicles and improve usability by opening the doors. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0072] 1 Vehicle door control device, 2 Vehicle, 5 Front camera (sensor, imaging device), 6R, 6L Side cameras (sensor, imaging device), 7 Rear camera (sensor, imaging device), 10 Vehicle control ECU (parking location information acquisition unit, passenger prediction unit, control unit, speed detection unit, target door estimation unit), 12R, 12L Front door (door), 13R, 13L Rear door (door), 14 Back door (door), 31A Parking location information acquisition unit, 31B Passenger prediction unit, 31C Control unit, 31D Speed ​​detection unit, 31E Target door estimation unit, 34 Flash memory (non-volatile memory), 35 Parking location information, 45 Other vehicles.

Claims

1. A parking location information acquisition unit acquires parking location information, which is information indicating the parking location of the vehicle, at least one of the following events: when the vehicle is parked, when the occupants alight from the parked vehicle, and when the occupants board the vehicle. A passenger prediction unit predicts whether or not passengers in the vicinity of the vehicle will board the vehicle after the passengers have disembarked from the vehicle. When the passenger prediction unit predicts that the passenger will board the vehicle, the control unit executes control to open the doors of the vehicle, and modifies the content of the control to open the doors according to the parking location indicated by the parking location information acquired by the parking location information acquisition unit. A vehicle door control device equipped with the following features.

2. The aforementioned parking location information acquisition unit is: When the vehicle is parked, the parking location information is acquired and stored in non-volatile memory. The control unit, The vehicle door control device according to claim 1, wherein, when it is predicted by the passenger prediction unit that a passenger will board the vehicle, the content of the control for opening the door is changed according to the parking location indicated by the parking location information read from the non-volatile memory.

3. The vehicle further includes a speed detection unit that detects the speed of other vehicles traveling around the vehicle based on detection information detected by a sensor attached to the vehicle, The aforementioned parking location information acquisition unit is: A vehicle door control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein at least one of the following occurs: when the vehicle is parked, when an occupant alights from the parked vehicle, and when an occupant gets into the vehicle, the device determines the parking location based on the speed of another vehicle detected by the speed detection unit, and acquires parking location information based on the determination result.

4. The aforementioned parking location information acquisition unit is: A vehicle door control device according to claim 3, wherein, after the vehicle is parked, the device determines whether the detection accuracy for detecting the parking location information based on the detection information of the sensor is equal to or greater than a standard accuracy, and if it is determined that the detection accuracy is equal to or greater than a standard accuracy, it acquires the parking location information, stores the acquired parking location information in a non-volatile memory, and stops the operation of the sensor.

Images