Vehicle control system, vehicle control device, and vehicle control method

Abstract

Provided are a vehicle control system, a vehicle control device, and a vehicle control method that are highly safe and prevent the vehicle from suddenly starting during a two-stage stop. The vehicle control system 1 includes: an external environment recognition unit 120 that recognizes external environment information that is information on the surroundings of the vehicle; a driver monitoring unit 130 that detects the direction of the line of sight of a driver of the vehicle; a brake holding unit 150 that maintains the state of operation of brakes of the vehicle; a brake holding control unit 144 that controls the turning ON or OFF of the brake holding unit 150; and a driver monitoring condition generation unit 143 that generates, on the basis of the external environment information detected by the external environment recognition unit, a line-of-sight condition of the driver's line of sight to be detected by the driver monitoring unit, wherein the brake holding control unit 144 controls to turn off the brake holding unit 150 when the driver's line of sight detected by the driver monitoring unit 130 satisfies the line-of-sight condition.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle control system, and more particularly to a vehicle control system, a vehicle control device, and a vehicle control method for controlling a brake operation state of a host vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, the brake hold function that keeps the vehicle stopped even when the driver releases the brake has become widespread. The brake hold function keeps the brake ON when the vehicle stops due to deceleration caused by the driver's brake operation regardless of the driving situation, and the brake is turned OFF by accelerator operation.

[0003] Also, a technology has been developed in which an external recognition device detects vehicles, obstacles, blind spots, etc. present around the vehicle, and at the same time, a driver monitoring unit detects the driver's line of sight and determines whether the driver is gazing at a place where attention should be paid while driving. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a driving support device that warns the driver when it is determined that the driver is not looking toward the blind spot of an oncoming vehicle when the vehicle is turning right at an intersection. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2006-227811 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the above-mentioned brake hold function, when the brake is turned off by accelerator operation, the vehicle may suddenly accelerate depending on the accelerator. For example, at an intersection where a stop is required and visibility is poor due to blind spots, etc., a so-called two-stage stopping operation is required, in which the vehicle stops at the stop line, then moves forward slowly to a position with good visibility, and then stops again to check for safety. If the brake hold function is activated and the vehicle suddenly accelerates due to accelerator operation when the brake is turned off, there is a risk of causing a collision with an intersecting vehicle or pedestrian. In response to this, safety can be improved if the brake hold function can be appropriately switched between enabled (ON) and disabled (OFF) depending on the situation around or inside the vehicle.

[0006] Patent Document 1 describes a technique for determining whether or not the driver has turned his / her gaze toward the blind spot and performed a safety check based on blind spot information obtained from an external environment recognition device and driver gaze information obtained from a driver monitoring means. However, this technique aims to warn the driver when the driver fails to check for safety in the blind spot when the vehicle is turning right at an intersection, and does not take into consideration the control of the brake operation state, and furthermore does not disclose anything about two-stage stopping.

[0007] Therefore, the present invention provides a vehicle control system, a vehicle control device, and a vehicle control method that prevent the host vehicle from suddenly starting during a two-stage stop and ensures high safety. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve the above problems, the vehicle control system of the present invention has an external environment recognition unit that recognizes external environment information, which is information about the vehicle's surroundings, a driver monitoring unit that detects the direction of the driver's gaze, a brake hold unit that maintains the brakes of the vehicle in an actuated state, a brake hold control unit that controls the brake hold unit to be turned ON or OFF, and a driver monitoring condition generation unit that generates a driver's gaze condition to be detected by the driver monitoring unit based on the external environment information detected by the external environment recognition unit, and is characterized in that when the driver's gaze detected by the driver monitoring unit satisfies the gaze condition, the brake hold control unit controls the brake hold unit to be turned OFF.

[0009] In addition, the vehicle control device of the present invention includes a driver monitoring condition generation unit that generates a driver's gaze condition to be detected by a driver monitoring unit that detects the direction of the driver's gaze based on external environment information detected by an external environment recognition unit that recognizes external environment information, which is information about the vehicle's surroundings, and a brake hold control unit that controls the ON / OFF of a brake hold unit that maintains the brakes of the vehicle in an actuated state, and is characterized in that when the driver's gaze detected by the driver monitoring unit satisfies the gaze condition, the brake hold control unit controls the brake hold unit to be turned OFF.

[0010] In addition, the vehicle control method of the present invention is characterized in that a driver monitoring condition generation unit generates a driver's gaze condition to be detected by a driver monitoring unit that detects the direction of the driver's gaze based on external environment information detected by an external environment recognition unit that recognizes external environment information, which is information around the vehicle, and a brake hold control unit controls a brake hold unit that maintains the brakes of the vehicle in an actuated state to be turned off when the driver's gaze detected by the driver monitoring unit satisfies the generated driver's gaze condition. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a vehicle control system, a vehicle control device, and a vehicle control method that prevent the host vehicle from suddenly starting during a two-stage stop and ensure high safety. Specifically, even in a vehicle equipped with a brake hold function, in situations where a two-stage stop is required, the brake hold function can be appropriately switched between enabled (ON) and disabled (OFF) depending on the situation around or inside the vehicle, thereby ensuring reliable judgment of the driver's safety check actions and achieving safe vehicle control that prevents the vehicle from suddenly accelerating. Problems, configurations and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a vehicle control system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view for explaining the vehicle control system according to the first embodiment, taking a temporary stop at an intersection as an example. [Diagram 3] 4 is an example of a camera sensor image for explaining the vehicle control system according to the first embodiment, taking a stop sign at an intersection as an example. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a driver's line of sight. [Diagram 5] 4 is a flowchart showing a processing operation of a vehicle control device constituting the vehicle control system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is an overhead view illustrating a vehicle control system according to a first embodiment, taking a parking scene as an example. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is an overhead view for explaining the vehicle control system according to the first embodiment, taking as an example a scene in which the vehicle is waiting to turn right at an intersection. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. EXAMPLES

[0014] [Vehicle control system configuration] Fig. 1 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a vehicle control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1, the vehicle control system 1 is mounted on a vehicle and includes a vehicle information acquisition unit 110, an external environment recognition unit 120, a driver monitoring unit 130, a vehicle control device 140, and a brake hold unit 150.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle information acquisition unit 110 includes a wheel speed sensor for acquiring wheel speed information of the host vehicle, a yaw rate sensor for acquiring yaw rate information, and a brake pedal switch for acquiring brake pedal depression information, and acquires vehicle motion information combining these.

[0016] The external environment recognition unit 120 calculates external environment information such as the relative position and relative speed between an object and the vehicle, and the type of object (e.g., pedestrian, motorcycle, or automobile) using a camera sensor using an image sensor, a radar sensor using millimeter waves or lasers, or satellite positioning information and map information. The driver monitoring unit 130 calculates driver line-of-sight information by using a camera sensor that uses an image pickup element.

[0017] The vehicle control device 140 is mounted on a general ECU equipped with a CPU and memory (ROM, RAM), and executes various processing programs stored in advance in the memory. The vehicle control device 140 is also configured with an external environment information estimation unit 141, a two-stage stop determination unit 142, a driver monitoring condition generation unit 143, and a brake hold control unit 144. Here, the external environment information estimation unit 141, the two-stage stop determination unit 142, the driver monitoring condition generation unit 143, and the brake hold control unit 144 are realized, for example, by a processor such as a CPU (not shown), a ROM for storing various programs, a RAM for temporarily storing data in the calculation process, and a storage device such as an external storage device, and the processor such as a CPU reads and executes various programs stored in the ROM, and stores the calculation results, which are the execution results, in the RAM or the external storage device. The vehicle control device 140 is not limited to being mounted on an ECU, and may be configured to be mounted on another electronic control system.

[0018] When the vehicle control system 1 loses the external environment information, the external environment information estimation unit 141 estimates the current external environment information by inputting the past external environment information and the vehicle motion information stored in a storage unit (not shown). The two-stage stop judgment unit 142 receives as input the current external environment information actually measured by the external environment recognition unit 120 or the current external environment information estimated by the external environment information estimation unit 141, judges whether the vehicle will make a two-stage stop, and generates two-stage stop information. The driver monitoring condition generating unit 143 generates a driver line of sight condition using as input the current external environment information actually measured by the external environment recognizing unit 120 or the current external environment information estimated by the external environment information estimating unit 141. The details of the driver line of sight condition will be described later. The brake hold control unit 144 receives as input the vehicle motion information obtained from the vehicle information acquisition unit 110, the two-stage stop information obtained from the two-stage stop judgment unit 142, the driver's gaze condition obtained from the driver monitoring condition generation unit 143, the driver's gaze information obtained from the driver monitoring unit 130, and the brake hold function state obtained from the brake hold unit 150, and transmits a brake hold control signal to the brake hold unit 150 to control whether the brake hold function state is enabled (ON) or disabled (OFF).

[0019] The brake hold unit 150 sets the brake hold function state using a brake hold control signal transmitted from the vehicle control device 140 as input. When the brake hold function state is enabled (ON), the brake hold unit 150 operates the brake hold function as usual and controls the ON / OFF of the brakes. On the other hand, when the brake hold function state is disabled (OFF), the brake hold unit 150 stops the operation of the brake hold function.

[0020] In describing this embodiment, a scene in which the host vehicle SV stops at an intersection with poor visibility on both sides as shown in FIG. 2 is assumed as a representative example. The pre-stop overhead view 210 is an overhead view of the surroundings of the host vehicle SV immediately before the host vehicle SV stops. When the external environment recognition unit 120 installed in the host vehicle SV detects a stop sign SS, a road marking SP, a stop line SL, a first blind spot edge E1, and a second blind spot edge E2, the external environment information including the relative position between the host vehicle SV and the stop sign SS, the relative position between the host vehicle SV and the road marking SP, the relative position between the host vehicle SV and the stop line SL, the relative position between the host vehicle SV and the first blind spot edge E1 and the second blind spot edge E2, the first blind spot edge angle A1, and the second blind spot edge angle A2 is calculated. The first blind spot edge angle A1 and the second blind spot edge angle A2 are angles formed by the X-axis and the line segments connecting the origin to the first blind spot edge E1 and the second blind spot edge E2 in a coordinate system with the center between the driver's eyes as the origin and the traveling direction as X. In this embodiment, a case will be described in which a camera sensor having a detection range DA is used as an example of the external environment recognition unit 120, and external environment information is calculated from a captured traveling path image. However, this is not limited to this. For example, the external environment information may be calculated using obstacle point cloud information around the traveling path obtained by a radar sensor, satellite positioning information, and map information. In addition, the external environment information may include information on a curve mirror CM (see FIG. 3) installed near an intersection so that the driver can check the blind spot. The external environment recognition unit 120 performs a tracking process for tracking the same information in a chronological order on the calculated external environment information, and the processed tracking information is stored in a storage unit (not shown) of the vehicle control device 140.

[0021] The stoppage overhead view 220 is an overhead view of the vicinity of the host vehicle SV stopped at the stop line. In this case, the second blind spot edge E2 falls outside the detection range DA of the camera sensor constituting the external environment recognition unit 120 and is lost. An example of this seen in a captured image of the camera sensor is shown in FIG. 3. In the camera sensor image 310 before stopping, both the first blind spot edge E1 and the second blind spot edge E2 are included in the image. On the other hand, in the camera sensor image 320 during stopping, the second blind spot edge E2 is outside the image, so the relative position between the host vehicle SV and the second blind spot edge E2 and the second blind spot edge angle A2 cannot be calculated. In such a case, the external environment information estimation unit 141 calculates the estimated position of the second blind spot edge E2 from the relative position between the second blind spot edge E2 and the host vehicle SV just before it is lost based on the above-mentioned tracking information, and the wheel speed information integral value (travel distance) and yaw rate integral value (lateral deviation distance) after the second blind spot edge E2 is lost, which are obtained from the vehicle information acquisition unit 110. In other words, the external environment information estimation unit 141 estimates external environment information outside the detection range of the external environment recognition unit 120 based on the external environment information by the external environment recognition unit 120 and the vehicle motion information by the vehicle information acquisition unit 110. Here, the estimated position of the second blind spot edge E2 may be obtained by self-position estimation by superimposing the external environment information and the map information. Note that the external environment information outside the detection range described above is not limited to the second blind spot edge E2. For example, when a stop sign SS, a road marking SP, a stop line SL, or a first blind spot edge E1 falls outside the detection range DA of the camera sensor constituting the external environment recognition unit 120 and is lost, these, the stop sign SS, the road marking SP, the stop line SL, or the first blind spot edge E1, also correspond to the external environment information outside the detection range.

[0022] The driver monitoring condition generating unit 143 generates a blind spot direction range with an allowable angle width centered on the first blind spot edge angle A1 and the second blind spot edge angle A2, and a gaze time for determining that the driver is gazing at the blind spot as the driver's gaze condition. In this embodiment, direct confirmation of the first blind spot edge E1 and the second blind spot edge E2 is assumed, but indirect confirmation by a curved mirror CM (see FIG. 3) may be assumed and the angle of the curved mirror CM direction may be included in the driver's gaze condition. Furthermore, if a camera sensor that captures an image of an intersecting road is installed at the front end of the vehicle SV and a function that displays the captured image on the in-vehicle monitor is installed, the angle of the monitor direction may be included in the driver's gaze condition. In this embodiment, the horizontal angle to the object is assumed as the main condition, as in the first blind spot edge angle A1 and the second blind spot edge angle A2, but the vertical angle may also be included in the condition. At the same time as the driver monitoring condition generating unit 143 generates the driver's line of sight conditions, the driver monitoring unit 130 calculates the driver's line of sight angle A3 shown in Fig. 4. The driver's line of sight angle A3 is calculated from the direction of the driver's head DH and the corneal position of the driver's eyeball DE.

[0023] In this embodiment, an intersection with poor visibility on both sides is assumed, but there are also intersections with poor visibility only on one side. In that case, the driver's line of sight condition is generated based on the blind spot edge and the blind spot edge angle in the direction with good visibility as in this embodiment, but at the same time, the driver's line of sight condition also includes the confirmation action in the direction with good visibility. Since there is no specific place to look at in the direction with good visibility, the driver's line of sight condition is set to the predetermined angle range (left direction confirmation range / right direction confirmation range).

[0024] [Processing operation of vehicle control device] 5 is a flowchart showing the processing operation of the vehicle control device 140 constituting the vehicle control system 1 according to this embodiment. The processing described below is repeatedly executed in the vehicle control device 140 at a predetermined cycle. First, in step S510, external environment information is acquired from the external environment recognition unit 120 constituting the vehicle control system 1, a tracking process is performed to track the same external environment information in a time series, and the tracking information is stored in a storage unit (not shown) in the vehicle control device 140. Note that, in the above description, it has been explained that the external environment recognition unit 120 performs a tracking process to track the same information in a time series for the calculated external environment information, but this is not limiting, and here, a case where the vehicle control device 140 performs the tracking process will be described as an example.

[0025] In step S511, the vehicle information acquisition unit 110 acquires the vehicle motion information. In step S512, the external environment information estimation unit 141 constituting the vehicle control device 140 compares the current and past tracking information, and if it determines that there is lost external environment information (external environment information outside the detection range described above), it proceeds to step S513. On the other hand, if it determines that there is no lost external environment information, it skips step S513 and proceeds to step S514.

[0026] In step S513, the external environment information estimation unit 141 constituting the vehicle control device 140 calculates the estimated external environment information as described above. The external environment information to be estimated includes not only the blind spot position such as the second blind spot edge E2, but also the stop sign SS, the road marking SP, and the stop line SL.

[0027] In step S514, the brake hold control unit 144 constituting the vehicle control device 140 acquires the brake hold function state from the brake hold unit 150. In step S515, the brake hold control unit 144 constituting the vehicle control device 140 determines whether the brake hold function is enabled (ON) or disabled (OFF) based on the acquired brake hold function state. If the result of the determination is that the brake hold function is enabled (ON), the process proceeds to step S516. On the other hand, if the result of the determination is that the brake hold function is disabled (OFF), the brake hold unit 150 has already been disabled (OFF) in the previous cycle, and the process proceeds to step S522.

[0028] In step S516, the two-stage stop determination unit 142 constituting the vehicle control device 140 determines whether the host vehicle SV will make a two-stage stop. Specifically, when a stop sign SS or a road marking SP is detected and a blind spot or the like is detected, and the intersection is poorly visible, if the distance from the host vehicle SV to the stop line SL becomes equal to or less than a threshold (approaching the stop line), the host vehicle SV determines that it will make a two-stage stop, and proceeds to step S517. If it is determined that the host vehicle SV will not make a two-stage stop, the subsequent processing is skipped and the processing flow ends.

[0029] In step S517, the driver monitoring condition generating unit 143 constituting the vehicle control device 140 generates the driver line of sight condition as described above. In step S518, the brake hold control unit 144 constituting the vehicle control device 140 acquires the driver's line of sight information from the driver monitoring unit 130.

[0030] In step S519, the brake hold control unit 144 constituting the vehicle control device 140 judges whether the driver's line of sight information satisfies the driver's line of sight condition. Specifically, when the cumulative count of the period in which the driver's line of sight angle A3 falls within the blind spot direction range that the driver should gaze at becomes equal to or greater than the threshold (gazing time), it is judged that the driver's line of sight information satisfies the driver's line of sight condition, and the process proceeds to step S520. The above-mentioned threshold (gazing time) is, for example, 1 second or 2 seconds. However, it is not limited to this, and the threshold (gazing time) may be set appropriately. On the other hand, if it is judged that the driver's line of sight information does not satisfy the driver's line of sight condition, the subsequent process is skipped and the process flow is terminated. In the vehicle control device 140, the cumulative count of the period in which the driver's line of sight information satisfies the driver's line of sight condition is stored in a storage unit (not shown).

[0031] In step S520, the brake hold control unit 144 constituting the vehicle control device 140 determines whether or not the brake pedal is currently being pressed by the driver, based on the brake pedal press information included in the vehicle motion information acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit 110. In step S521, the brake hold control unit 144 constituting the vehicle control device 140 transmits to the brake hold unit 150 a brake hold control signal that disables (OFF) the brake hold function state.

[0032] In step S522, the brake hold control unit 144 constituting the vehicle control device 140 judges whether or not the host vehicle SV has passed through the intersection. Specifically, if the distance between the host vehicle SV and the stop line SP starts to increase, it is judged that the host vehicle SV has passed through the intersection, and the process proceeds to step S523. On the other hand, if the judgment result shows that the host vehicle SV has not passed through the intersection, the process flow ends. Here, the intersection passing judgment may be configured to be performed based on external information other than the stop line SP or vehicle motion information. In step S523, the brake hold control unit 144 constituting the vehicle control device 140 transmits to the brake hold unit 150 a brake hold control signal for returning the brake hold function state to the active (ON) state.

[0033] The vehicle control system 1 according to the present invention can be applied to a scene where the brake hold function operates unnecessarily, and is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and includes various modified examples. For example, the vehicle control system 1 can be applied to an unnecessary operation of the brake hold function during backing up or turning around (forward) in a parking scene as shown in FIG. 6. In the pre-parking overhead view 610, based on the external environment information acquired by the external environment recognition unit 120, the vehicle control device 140 constituting the vehicle control system 1 stores information on the parked vehicles PV on the left and right of the parking space in a storage unit (not shown). Next, in the backing up overhead view 620, based on the parked vehicle information, the vehicle control system 1 disables (OFF) the brake hold function when it determines that the driver is gazing at the side mirror direction on the side where the parked vehicle is located. Even during turning around (forward), based on the parked vehicle information, the vehicle control system 1 disables (OFF) the brake hold function.

[0034] In addition, the vehicle control system 1 according to the present invention can be applied to the unnecessary operation of the brake hold function in a scene of waiting to turn right at an intersection as shown in Fig. 7. In the right turn waiting overhead view 710, the presence or absence of an oncoming straight vehicle cannot be confirmed due to an oncoming vehicle OV waiting to turn right, and a case is assumed where the driver wants to move forward a little to check for safety as shown in the right turn waiting forward overhead view 810. The vehicle control system 1 detects the blind spot edge E3 of the oncoming vehicle OV waiting to turn right based on the external environment information acquired from the external environment recognition unit 120, and disables (OFF) the brake hold function when it determines that the driver is gazing in that direction. Here, the driver's head DH (see Fig. 4) tilting toward the blind spot or the driver leaning forward may be detected and utilized.

[0035] As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to provide a vehicle control system, a vehicle control device, and a vehicle control method that prevent the host vehicle from suddenly starting during a two-stage stop and that are highly safe. Specifically, even in a vehicle equipped with a brake hold function, in situations where a two-stage stop is required, the brake hold function can be appropriately switched between enabled (ON) and disabled (OFF) depending on the situation around or inside the vehicle, thereby ensuring reliable judgment of the driver's safety check actions and achieving safe vehicle control that prevents the vehicle from suddenly accelerating. Furthermore, according to this embodiment, when performing a two-stage stop at an intersection where a temporary stop is required and there are blind spots on either or both sides of the left and right making visibility poor, the brake hold function can be appropriately switched between enabled (ON) and disabled (OFF) depending on external information and driver line of sight information, etc., thereby preventing the vehicle from suddenly accelerating, and achieving highly safe vehicle control.

[0036] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but includes various modified examples. For example, the above-described embodiment has been described in detail to easily explain the present invention, and the present invention is not necessarily limited to the embodiment having all of the described configurations. [Explanation of symbols]

[0037] 1...vehicle control system, 110...vehicle information acquisition unit, 120...external environment recognition unit, 130...driver monitoring unit, 140...vehicle control device, 141...external environment information estimation unit, 142...two-stage stop judgment unit, 143...driver monitoring condition generation unit, 144...brake hold control unit, 150...brake hold unit

Claims

1. An external environment recognition unit that recognizes external environment information that is information about the surroundings of the vehicle; A driver monitoring unit that detects a direction of a line of sight of a driver of the vehicle; a brake hold unit for maintaining a brake applied state of the vehicle; A brake hold control unit that controls ON / OFF of the brake hold unit; A driver monitoring condition generation unit that generates a driver's line of sight condition to be detected by the driver monitoring unit based on the external environment information detected by the external environment recognition unit, A vehicle control system characterized in that, when the line of sight of the driver detected by the driver monitoring unit satisfies the line of sight condition, the brake hold control unit controls the brake hold unit to be turned OFF.

2. 2. The vehicle control system according to claim 1, a two-stage stop determination unit that determines whether the vehicle will be stopped in two stages based on the external environment information; A vehicle control system characterized in that when the two-stage stop judgment unit judges that a two-stage stop will occur and the driver's line of sight satisfies the line of sight condition, the brake hold control unit controls the brake hold unit to be turned OFF.

3. 2. The vehicle control system according to claim 1, The external environment recognition unit recognizes a blind spot around a sign or a road marking indicating a stop as the external environment information, The vehicle control system according to claim 1, wherein the driver monitoring condition generating unit generates a line of sight condition of the driver to be detected by the driver monitoring unit based on at least the blind spot.

4. 2. The vehicle control system according to claim 1, A vehicle information acquisition unit that acquires vehicle motion information of the vehicle; An external environment information estimation unit that estimates external environment information outside a detection range of the external environment recognition unit based on the vehicle motion information and the external environment information, The vehicle control system is characterized in that the driver monitoring condition generation unit generates a driver's line of sight condition to be detected by the driver monitoring unit based on an external environment information estimation result estimated by the external environment information estimation unit.

5. Based on the external environment information detected by the external environment recognition unit that recognizes the external environment information around the vehicle, a driver monitoring condition generating unit that generates a line of sight condition of the driver to be detected by a driver monitoring unit that detects a line of sight direction of the driver of the vehicle; a brake hold control unit that controls ON or OFF of a brake hold unit that maintains a brake applied state of the vehicle, A vehicle control device characterized in that, when the line of sight of the driver detected by the driver monitoring unit satisfies the line of sight condition, the brake hold control unit controls the brake hold unit to be turned OFF.

6. The vehicle control device according to claim 5, a two-stage stop determination unit that determines whether the vehicle will be stopped in two stages based on the external environment information; A vehicle control device characterized in that when the two-stage stop judgment unit judges that a two-stage stop will occur and the driver's line of sight satisfies the line of sight condition, the brake hold control unit controls the brake hold unit to be turned OFF.

7. The vehicle control device according to claim 5, The external environment recognition unit recognizes a blind spot around a sign or a road marking indicating a stop as the external environment information, The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the driver monitoring condition generating unit generates a line of sight condition of the driver to be detected by the driver monitoring unit based on at least the blind spot.

8. The vehicle control device according to claim 5, An external environment information estimation unit that estimates external environment information outside a detection range of the external environment recognition unit based on vehicle motion information of the vehicle and the external environment information, The vehicle control device is characterized in that the driver monitoring condition generation unit generates a driver's line of sight condition to be detected by the driver monitoring unit based on an external environment information estimation result estimated by the external environment information estimation unit.

9. The driver monitoring condition generation unit generates a gaze condition of the driver to be detected by a driver monitoring unit that detects the gaze direction of the driver of the vehicle based on external environment information detected by an external environment recognition unit that recognizes external environment information that is information about the periphery of the vehicle; A vehicle control method characterized in that a brake hold control unit controls a brake hold unit, which maintains the vehicle's brakes in an applied state, to turn OFF when the driver's line of sight detected by the driver monitoring unit satisfies the generated driver's line of sight condition.

10. The vehicle control method according to claim 9, The two-stage stop determination unit determines whether the vehicle will make a two-stage stop based on the external environment information, A vehicle control method characterized in that when the two-stage stop judgment unit judges that a two-stage stop will occur and the driver's line of sight satisfies the line of sight condition, the brake hold control unit controls the brake hold unit to be turned OFF.

11. The vehicle control method according to claim 9, The external environment recognition unit recognizes a blind spot around a sign or a road marking indicating a stop as the external environment information, The vehicle control method, wherein the driver monitoring condition generating unit generates a driver's line of sight condition to be detected by the driver monitoring unit based on at least the blind spot.

12. The vehicle control method according to claim 9, The external environment information estimation unit estimates external environment information outside a detection range of the external environment recognition unit based on vehicle motion information of the vehicle and the external environment information, The vehicle control method, characterized in that the driver monitoring condition generation unit generates a driver's line of sight condition to be detected by the driver monitoring unit based on the external environment information estimation result estimated by the external environment information estimation unit.

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