Vehicle control device and vehicle control method

Abstract

To be able to suppress deterioration in convenience of a driver who is performing speed control of an own vehicle during automatic driving not to be obligated to be monitored.SOLUTION: A vehicular control device comprises: a place identifying part 111 that identifies a place in which an own vehicle is traveling; and a speed control part 151 that performs place-target speed control which is speed control targeting a place by which a speed of the own vehicle is automatically changed on the basis of a fact that the place, in which the own vehicle is traveling, identified by the place identifying part 111 is a specific place in which change of the speed of the own vehicle is frequently required because of a structure of a road. The speed control part 151 performs place-target speed control differently, depending on whether the own vehicle is travelling in an automatic driving mode obligated to be monitored or in an automatic driving mode not to be obligated to be monitored.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

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

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses an autonomous driving control unit that has autonomous driving functions from level 1 to level 5 in addition to a manual driving function of level 0.

[0003] As the automation level, for example, the automation levels 0 to 5 defined by SAE are known. Level 0 is a level where the driver performs all driving tasks without intervention of the system. Level 0 corresponds to so-called manual driving. Level 1 is a level where the system assists with either steering or acceleration / deceleration. Level 2 is a level where the system assists with both steering and acceleration / deceleration. Autonomous driving at levels 1 to 2 is an automated driving where the driver has the supervisory responsibility (hereinafter simply supervisory responsibility) for safe driving. Level 3 is a level where the system can perform all driving tasks in specific locations such as highways. Level 4 is a level where the system can perform all driving tasks except under specific circumstances such as incompatible roads and extreme environments. Level 5 is a level where the system can perform all driving tasks in all environments. Autonomous driving at levels 3 and above is an automated driving where the driver does not have the supervisory responsibility. Autonomous driving at levels 4 and above is an automated driving where the driver is allowed to sleep.

[0004] Furthermore, Patent Document 2 discloses a technique for decelerating a vehicle by automatically controlling braking when the vehicle is traveling around a curve. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2019-101453 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 10-19595 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] In Patent Document 1, it is not assumed that the speed control of the vehicle when the speed change of the vehicle is required is different depending on whether the vehicle is in an automatic driving mode where the driver does not have a monitoring obligation (hereinafter, automatic driving without monitoring obligation) or in an automatic driving mode where the driver has a monitoring obligation (hereinafter, automatic driving with monitoring obligation). Therefore, in the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, when performing deceleration control at a place where deceleration is likely to be required due to the structure, such as a curve, the speed control cannot be different depending on whether the vehicle is in an automatic driving mode without monitoring obligation or automatic driving with monitoring obligation. There is a high possibility that the driver's way of spending time in the vehicle cabin will be different depending on whether the vehicle is in an automatic driving mode without monitoring obligation or automatic driving with monitoring obligation. If the driver's way of spending time in the vehicle cabin is different, there is a high possibility that the speed control desired by the driver will also be different. In contrast, the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 cannot perform the speed control desired by the driver, and there is a risk of reducing convenience for the driver.

[0007] One objective of this disclosure is to provide a vehicle control device and a vehicle control method that make it possible to suppress a decrease in convenience for the driver when controlling the speed of the vehicle during autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The above object is achieved by the combination of features recited in the independent claims, and the subclaims define further advantageous embodiments of the disclosure. The reference characters in parentheses in the claims indicate a correspondence with specific means described in the following embodiment as one aspect, and do not limit the technical scope of the present disclosure.

[0009] In order to achieve the above object, 1.The vehicle control device is a vehicle control device that can be used in a vehicle that can switch between automatic driving without a monitoring obligation, which is automatic driving without a monitoring obligation for the surroundings, and automatic driving with a monitoring obligation, which is automatic driving with a monitoring obligation for the surroundings, and includes a location identification unit (111) that identifies a location where the vehicle is traveling, and a speed control unit (151, 151b, 151c, 151d, 151e, 151g, 151h) that performs location-targeted speed control, which is a speed control targeted at a location, by automatically changing the speed of the vehicle based on the fact that the location where the vehicle is traveling identified by the location identification unit is a specific location where a change in the vehicle speed is likely to be required due to the structure of the road, and the speed control unit changes the location-targeted speed control depending on whether the vehicle is in automatic driving with a monitoring obligation or in automatic driving without a monitoring obligation. The speed control unit performs a first speed control, which is a location-targeted speed control that makes it easier to suppress the speed or speed change based on the fact that the vehicle is in an automatic driving state without a monitoring obligation, compared to the case of an automatic driving state with a monitoring obligation. . In order to achieve the above object, a second vehicle control device disclosed herein is a vehicle control device that can be used in a vehicle that can switch between automatic driving without monitoring obligation, which is automatic driving without a monitoring obligation for the surroundings, and automatic driving with monitoring obligation, which is automatic driving with a monitoring obligation for the surroundings, and is equipped with a location identification unit (111) that identifies a location where the vehicle is traveling, and a speed control unit (151, 151b, 151c, 151d, 151e, 151g, 151h) that performs location-targeted speed control, which is a speed control targeted at a location, by automatically changing the speed of the vehicle based on the fact that the location where the vehicle is traveling identified by the location identification unit is a specific location where a change in the vehicle's speed is likely to be required due to the structure of the road, and the speed control unit differs in the location-targeted speed control depending on whether the vehicle is in automatic driving with monitoring obligation or automatic driving without monitoring obligation, and the speed control unit performs the location-targeted speed control during automatic driving without monitoring obligation even if the location-targeted speed control is not performed during automatic driving with monitoring obligation. In order to achieve the above object, a third vehicle control device of the present disclosure is a vehicle control device that can be used in a vehicle that can switch between automatic driving without monitoring obligation, which is automatic driving without a monitoring obligation for the surroundings, and automatic driving with monitoring obligation, which is automatic driving with a monitoring obligation for the surroundings, and includes a location identification unit (111) that identifies a location where the vehicle is traveling, and a speed control unit (151, 151b, 151c, 151d, 151e, 151g, 151h) that performs location-targeted speed control, which is a speed control that is location-targeted, and automatically changes the speed of the vehicle based on the fact that the location where the vehicle is traveling identified by the location identification unit is a specific location where a change in the vehicle's speed is likely to be required due to the structure of the road, and the speed control unit differs the location-targeted speed control depending on whether the vehicle is in automatic driving with monitoring obligation or automatic driving without monitoring obligation, and the speed control unit performs fourth speed control, which is a location-targeted speed control that makes it easier to maintain the speed compared to when the vehicle is in automatic driving with monitoring obligation, based on the fact that the vehicle is in automatic driving without monitoring obligation.

[0010] In order to achieve the above object, 1. The vehicle control method is a vehicle control method usable in a vehicle capable of switching between autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation, which is autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation for the surroundings, and autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation, which is autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation for the surroundings, and includes a location identification step executed by at least one processor, which identifies a location where the vehicle is traveling, and a speed control step which performs location-targeted speed control, which is a speed control targeted at a location, by automatically changing the speed of the vehicle based on the fact that the location where the vehicle is traveling identified in the location identification step is a specific location where a change in the vehicle speed is likely to be required due to the structure of the road, and in the speed control step, the location-targeted speed control is made different depending on whether the vehicle is in autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation or in autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation. In the speed control process, a first speed control is performed, which is a location-targeted speed control that makes it easier to suppress the speed or speed change compared to the case of automatic driving with a monitoring obligation, based on the fact that the vehicle is in automatic driving without a monitoring obligation. . In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a second vehicle control method disclosed herein is a vehicle control method that can be used in a vehicle that can switch between automatic driving without monitoring obligation, which is automatic driving without the obligation to monitor the surroundings, and automatic driving with monitoring obligation, which is automatic driving with the obligation to monitor the surroundings, and includes a location identification process executed by at least one processor, which identifies a location where the vehicle is traveling, and a speed control process that performs location-targeted speed control, which is a speed control that is location-targeted, by automatically changing the vehicle speed based on the fact that the location where the vehicle is traveling identified in the location identification process is a specific location where a change in the vehicle speed is likely to be required due to the structure of the road, and in the speed control process, the location-targeted speed control is made different depending on whether the vehicle is undergoing automatic driving with monitoring obligation or automatic driving without monitoring obligation, and in the speed control process, even if location-targeted speed control is not performed during automatic driving with monitoring obligation, location-targeted speed control is performed during automatic driving without monitoring obligation. In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a third vehicle control method disclosed herein is a vehicle control method that can be used in a vehicle that can switch between automatic driving without monitoring obligation, which is automatic driving without the obligation to monitor the surroundings, and automatic driving with monitoring obligation, which is automatic driving with the obligation to monitor the surroundings, and includes a location identification process executed by at least one processor, which identifies the location where the vehicle is traveling, and a speed control process that performs location-targeted speed control, which is a speed control that automatically changes the speed of the vehicle based on the fact that the location where the vehicle is traveling identified in the location identification process is a specific location where a change in the vehicle's speed is likely to be required due to the structure of the road, in which the location-targeted speed control is different depending on whether the vehicle is undergoing automatic driving with monitoring obligation or automatic driving without monitoring obligation, and in the speed control process, a fourth speed control is implemented, which is a location-targeted speed control that makes it easier to maintain the speed than when the vehicle is undergoing automatic driving with monitoring obligation, based on the fact that the vehicle is undergoing automatic driving without monitoring obligation.

[0011] According to the above configuration, the location-targeted speed control, which automatically changes the speed of the vehicle based on the fact that the location where the vehicle is traveling is a specific location where a change in the vehicle's speed is likely to be required due to the road structure, can be made different depending on whether the vehicle is in autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation or autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation. Therefore, it is possible to perform location-targeted speed control as desired by the driver depending on whether the vehicle is in autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation or autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation. As a result, it is possible to suppress a decrease in convenience for the driver when the speed control of the vehicle is performed during autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a vehicle system 1. FIG. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of an autonomous driving ECU 10. [Diagram 3] 11 is a diagram for explaining an example of a relationship between a specific location and acceleration / deceleration of a first speed control. FIG. [Figure 4] 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a flow of speed control-related processing in an autonomous driving ECU 10 in the first embodiment. [Diagram 5] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a flow of speed control-related processing in an autonomous driving ECU 10 in the second embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of an autonomous driving ECU 10b. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the relationship between the location where the vehicle is traveling and location-subject speed control depending on whether or not there is a monitoring obligation. [Figure 8] 11 is a flowchart showing an example of a flow of speed control-related processing in an autonomous driving ECU 10b in the third embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of an autonomous driving ECU 10c. [Figure 10] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a flow of speed control-related processing in an autonomous driving ECU 10c in the fourth embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of an autonomous driving ECU 10d. [Figure 12] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of an autonomous driving ECU 10e. [Figure 13] 20 is a flowchart showing an example of a flow of speed control-related processing in an autonomous driving ECU 10e according to a sixth embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a vehicle system 1f. [Figure 15] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of an autonomous driving ECU 10f. [Figure 16] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a notification instruction-related process in the autonomous driving ECU 10f. [Figure 17] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of an autonomous driving ECU 10g. [Figure 18] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of an autonomous driving ECU 10g. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] A number of embodiments for disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. For convenience of description, in a number of embodiments, parts having the same functions as parts shown in the drawings used in the previous description may be given the same reference numerals and their description may be omitted. For parts given the same reference numerals, the description in other embodiments may be referred to.

[0014] (Embodiment 1) <Overall configuration of vehicle system 1> Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. The vehicle system 1 shown in FIG. 1 can be used in a vehicle capable of automatic driving (hereinafter, an automatic driving vehicle). As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle system 1 includes an automatic driving ECU 10, a communication module 11, a locator 12, a map database (hereinafter, a map DB) 13, a vehicle state sensor 14, a surroundings monitoring sensor 15, a vehicle control ECU 16, an interior camera 17, a user input device 18, and an HCU (Human Machine Interface Control Unit) 19. For example, the automatic driving ECU 10, the communication module 11, the locator 12, the map DB 13, the vehicle state sensor 14, the surroundings monitoring sensor 15, the vehicle control ECU 16, and the HCU 19 may be configured to be connected to an in-vehicle LAN (see the LAN in FIG. 1). The vehicle using the vehicle system 1 is not necessarily limited to an automobile, but the following description will be given taking the case of using the vehicle system 1 in an automobile as an example.

[0015] There can be multiple levels of autonomous driving for autonomous vehicles (hereinafter referred to as "automation levels"), as defined by, for example, the SAE. The automation levels are classified into LV0 to 5, for example, as follows:

[0016] LV0 is the level at which the driver performs all driving tasks without the system intervening. The driving task may be rephrased as a dynamic driving task. The driving task may be, for example, steering, acceleration / deceleration, and surrounding monitoring. LV0 corresponds to so-called manual driving. LV1 is the level at which the system assists with either steering or acceleration / deceleration. LV1 corresponds to so-called driving assistance. LV2 is the level at which the system assists with both steering and acceleration / deceleration. LV2 corresponds to so-called partial driving automation. Note that LV1-2 are also considered to be part of autonomous driving.

[0017] For example, LV1-2 autonomous driving is autonomous driving in which the driver has a duty to monitor safe driving (hereinafter, simply referred to as the duty to monitor). In other words, it corresponds to autonomous driving with a duty to monitor. The duty to monitor includes visual monitoring of the surroundings. LV1-2 autonomous driving can be rephrased as autonomous driving in which a second task is not permitted. A second task is an act other than driving that is permitted for the driver and is a specific act that is specified in advance. A second task can be rephrased as a task other than the driving task. A second task can also be rephrased as a secondary activity, other activity, etc. It is considered that a second task must not prevent the driver from responding to a request to take over driving operations from the autonomous driving system. As an example, actions such as watching content such as videos, operating a smartphone, reading, and eating are assumed to be second tasks.

[0018] LV3 autonomous driving is a level where the system can perform all driving tasks under certain conditions, and the driver takes over driving operations in an emergency. In LV3 autonomous driving, the driver is required to be able to respond quickly when the system requests a handover of driving. This handover of driving can also be said to be a transfer of the responsibility of monitoring the surroundings from the vehicle's system to the driver. LV3 corresponds to so-called conditional driving automation. LV3 includes area-limited LV3, which is limited to a specific area. The specific area referred to here may be an expressway. The specific area may be, for example, a specific lane. LV3 also includes traffic jam-limited LV3, which is limited to traffic jams. Traffic jam-limited LV3 autonomous driving corresponds to traffic jam-limited autonomous driving. Traffic jam-limited LV3 may be configured to be limited to traffic jams on an expressway, for example. An expressway may include a motorway.

[0019] Level 4 autonomous driving is a level where the system can perform all driving tasks except under certain circumstances such as on unmanageable roads or in extreme environments. Level 4 corresponds to what is known as highly automated driving. Level 5 autonomous driving is a level where the system can perform all driving tasks in any environment. Level 5 corresponds to fully automated driving. Level 4 and Level 5 autonomous driving can be implemented, for example, on driving sections where high-precision map data has been developed. High-precision map data will be discussed later.

[0020] For example, autonomous driving at LV3 to 5 is autonomous driving where the driver does not have a monitoring obligation. In other words, it corresponds to autonomous driving without monitoring obligation. Autonomous driving at LV3 to 5 can be said as autonomous driving where a second task is permitted. Among the autonomous driving at LV3 to 5, autonomous driving at LV4 or higher corresponds to autonomous driving where the driver is permitted to sleep. In other words, it corresponds to sleep-permitted autonomous driving. Autonomous driving at LV4 or higher can be said as autonomous driving where the driver does not need to take over driving even in an emergency. Among the autonomous driving at LV3 to 5, autonomous driving at level 3 corresponds to autonomous driving where the driver is not permitted to sleep (hereinafter, sleep-non-permitted autonomous driving). The autonomous driving vehicle of the present embodiment is assumed to be capable of switching the automation level. The automation level may be configured to be switchable only between some levels among LV0 to 5. The autonomous driving vehicle of the present embodiment is assumed to be capable of switching at least between autonomous driving without monitoring obligation and autonomous driving with monitoring obligation.

[0021] The communication module 11 transmits and receives information to and from a center outside the vehicle via wireless communication. That is, it performs wide-area communication. The communication module 11 receives congestion information and the like from the center via wide-area communication. The communication module 11 may transmit and receive information to and from other vehicles via wireless communication. That is, it may perform vehicle-to-vehicle communication. The communication module 11 may transmit and receive information to and from a roadside device installed on the roadside via wireless communication. That is, it may perform road-to-vehicle communication. When performing road-to-vehicle communication, the communication module 11 may receive information on surrounding vehicles transmitted from surrounding vehicles of the vehicle via the roadside device. Also, the communication module 11 may receive information on surrounding vehicles transmitted from surrounding vehicles of the vehicle via the center via wide-area communication.

[0022] Locator 12 includes a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver and an inertial sensor. The GNSS receiver receives positioning signals from a plurality of positioning satellites. The inertial sensor includes, for example, a gyro sensor and an acceleration sensor. Locator 12 sequentially measures the position of the vehicle (hereinafter, the vehicle position) on which locator 12 is mounted, by combining the positioning signals received by the GNSS receiver with the measurement results of the inertial sensor. The vehicle position may be expressed, for example, in latitude and longitude coordinates. Note that the vehicle position may also be measured using a travel distance calculated from a signal sequentially output from a vehicle speed sensor (described later) mounted on the vehicle.

[0023] The map DB 13 is a non-volatile memory and stores high-precision map data. The high-precision map data is map data with higher precision than map data used for route guidance in the navigation function. The map DB 13 may also store map data used for route guidance. The high-precision map data includes information that can be used for automatic driving, such as three-dimensional shape information of roads, information on the number of lanes, and information indicating the travel direction permitted for each lane. In addition, the high-precision map data may include node point information indicating the positions of both ends of road markings such as dividing lines. The locator 12 may be configured not to use a GNSS receiver by using the three-dimensional shape information of the road. For example, the locator 12 may be configured to specify the vehicle position using the three-dimensional shape information of the road and the detection results of a perimeter monitoring sensor 15 such as a LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging / Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging) or a perimeter monitoring camera that detects a point cloud of characteristic points of the road shape and structures. The three-dimensional shape information of the road may be generated based on a captured image by REM (Road Experience Management).

[0024] Map data distributed from an external server may be received by wide area communication via the communication module 11 and stored in the map DB 13. In this case, the map DB 13 may be a volatile memory, and the communication module 11 may successively acquire map data of an area corresponding to the vehicle position.

[0025] The vehicle state sensor 14 is a group of sensors for detecting various states of the vehicle. The vehicle state sensor 14 includes a vehicle speed sensor. The vehicle speed sensor detects the speed of the vehicle. The vehicle state sensor 14 outputs the detected sensing information to an in-vehicle LAN. The sensing information detected by the vehicle state sensor 14 may be configured to be output to the in-vehicle LAN via an ECU mounted in the vehicle.

[0026] The perimeter monitoring sensor 15 monitors the environment around the vehicle. As an example, the perimeter monitoring sensor 15 detects obstacles around the vehicle, such as moving objects such as pedestrians and other vehicles, and stationary objects such as objects fallen on the road. In addition, the perimeter monitoring sensor 15 detects road markings such as lane markings around the vehicle. The perimeter monitoring sensor 15 is, for example, a perimeter monitoring camera that captures a predetermined range around the vehicle, a millimeter wave radar that transmits a search wave to a predetermined range around the vehicle, a sonar, a LIDAR, or other sensor. The predetermined range may be a range that at least partially includes the front, rear, left, and right of the vehicle. The perimeter monitoring camera sequentially outputs the captured images as sensing information to the automatic driving ECU 10. The sensor that transmits the search wave, such as the sonar, millimeter wave radar, or LIDAR, sequentially outputs the scan result based on the received signal obtained when receiving the reflected wave reflected by the obstacle to the automatic driving ECU 10 as sensing information. The sensing information detected by the perimeter monitoring sensor 15 may be configured to be output to the automatic driving ECU 10 without going through the in-vehicle LAN.

[0027] The vehicle control ECU 16 is an electronic control device that performs driving control of the vehicle. Examples of driving control include acceleration / deceleration control and / or steering control. The vehicle control ECU 16 includes a steering ECU that performs steering control, a power unit control ECU that performs acceleration / deceleration control, and a brake ECU. The vehicle control ECU 16 performs driving control by outputting control signals to each driving control device mounted on the vehicle, such as an electronically controlled throttle, a brake actuator, and an EPS (Electric Power Steering) motor.

[0028] The indoor camera 17 captures an image of a predetermined range in the vehicle cabin. The indoor camera 17 preferably captures an image of at least an area including the driver's seat of the vehicle. The indoor camera 17 may capture an image of an area including the passenger seat and the rear seat in addition to the driver's seat of the vehicle. The indoor camera 17 is composed of, for example, a near-infrared light source and a near-infrared camera, and a control unit that controls them. The indoor camera 17 captures an image of an occupant of the vehicle irradiated with near-infrared light by the near-infrared light source using the near-infrared camera. The image captured by the near-infrared camera is subjected to image analysis by the control unit. The control unit performs image analysis on the captured image to detect the facial features of the occupant. The control unit may detect the facial direction, the gaze direction, the posture, and the level of awakening of the occupant based on the detected features of the upper body including the face of the occupant. The level of awakening may be detected, for example, by the degree of opening and closing of the eyelids.

[0029] The user input device 18 accepts input from a user. The user input device 18 may be an operation device that accepts operation input from a user. The operation device may be a mechanical switch or a touch switch integrated with a display. An example of a display on which a touch switch is provided is a CID (Center Information Display). The CID is a display device that is disposed in the center of the instrument panel of the vehicle. Note that the user input device 18 is not limited to an operation device that accepts operation input, so long as it is a device that accepts input from a user. For example, the user input device 18 may be a voice input device that accepts voice command input from the user.

[0030] The HCU 19 is mainly composed of a computer including a processor, a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory, an I / O, and a bus connecting these. The HCU 19 is connected to an interior camera 17 and a user input device 18. The HCU 19 executes various processes related to the interaction between an occupant and the vehicle's system by executing a control program stored in the non-volatile memory. The HCU 19 accepts input from an occupant, such as the driver of the vehicle, via the user input device 18. The HCU 19 executes a process of estimating the state of the driver (hereinafter, state estimation process).

[0031] As the state estimation process, the HCU 19 preferably estimates whether the driver is asleep or awake. The HCU 19 may estimate whether the driver is asleep or awake from the degree of wakefulness detected by the indoor camera 17. The HCU 19 may estimate whether the driver is asleep or awake from the driver's biological information measured by a biological sensor. The biological sensor may be provided in the vehicle or in a wearable device worn by the driver. When the biological sensor is provided in the vehicle, the biological sensor may be provided, for example, in the steering wheel. When the biological sensor is provided in the wearable device, the HCU 19 may acquire the biological information via a short-range communication module. Examples of the biological information measured by the biological sensor include respiration, pulse, heart rate, etc. Note that the biological sensor may be configured to measure biological information other than respiration, pulse, and heart rate. For example, the biological sensor may measure heart rate fluctuation, sweating, body temperature, blood pressure, skin conductance, etc.

[0032] As the state estimation process, the HCU 19 preferably estimates whether the driver is performing periphery monitoring. The HCU 19 may estimate whether the driver is performing periphery monitoring from the driver's face direction, line of sight direction, etc. detected by the indoor camera 17. As the state estimation process, the HCU 19 preferably estimates whether the driver is performing the second task. The HCU 19 may estimate whether the driver is performing the second task from the driver's face direction, line of sight direction, posture, etc. detected by the indoor camera 17. The HCU 19 may estimate whether the driver is performing the second task from an input received by the user input device 18. For example, it may estimate that the driver is performing the second task from receiving an input by a touch switch integrated with the CID.

[0033] The autonomous driving ECU 10 is mainly configured as a computer including a processor, a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory, an I / O, and a bus connecting these. The autonomous driving ECU 10 executes a control program stored in the non-volatile memory to execute processes related to autonomous driving. This autonomous driving ECU 10 corresponds to a vehicle control device. In this embodiment, the autonomous driving ECU 10 is used in a vehicle that can at least switch between autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation and autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation. The configuration of the autonomous driving ECU 10 will be described in detail below.

[0034] <Outline of Autonomous Driving ECU 10> Next, a schematic configuration of the autonomous driving ECU 10 will be described with reference to FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the autonomous driving ECU 10 includes a driving environment recognition unit 101, an action determination unit 102, an HCU communication unit 103, a state identification unit 104, and a control execution unit 105 as functional blocks. The execution of the processing of each functional block of the autonomous driving ECU 10 by a computer corresponds to the execution of a vehicle control method. Note that some or all of the functions executed by the autonomous driving ECU 10 may be configured as hardware using one or more ICs or the like. Also, some or all of the functional blocks included in the autonomous driving ECU 10 may be realized by a combination of software execution by a processor and hardware members.

[0035] The driving environment recognition unit 101 recognizes the driving environment of the vehicle from the vehicle position acquired from the locator 12, the map data acquired from the map DB 13, and the sensing information acquired from the surrounding monitoring sensor 15. This driving environment recognition unit 101 corresponds to a driving environment specification unit. As an example, the driving environment recognition unit 101 uses these pieces of information to recognize the positions, shapes, and moving states of objects around the vehicle, and generates a virtual space that reproduces the actual driving environment. The driving environment recognition unit 101 may recognize the presence, relative positions, and relative speeds of vehicles and pedestrians around the vehicle as the driving environment from the sensing information acquired from the surrounding monitoring sensor 15. The driving environment recognition unit 101 may recognize the vehicle position on the map from the vehicle position and the map data. When the driving environment recognition unit 101 can acquire position information, speed information, and the like of surrounding vehicles and the like via the communication module 11, it may recognize the driving environment using these pieces of information as well.

[0036] The driving environment recognition unit 101 includes a location identification unit 111 as a sub-functional block. The location identification unit 111 identifies the location where the vehicle is traveling. The location identification unit 111 may identify the location where the vehicle is traveling from the vehicle position on a map. The process in the location identification unit 111 corresponds to a location identification step.

[0037] The driving environment recognition unit 101 may also determine whether the driving area is a manual driving area (hereinafter, MD area) in the driving area of ​​the vehicle. The driving environment recognition unit 101 may also determine whether the driving area is an automatic driving area (hereinafter, AD area) in the driving area of ​​the vehicle. The driving environment recognition unit 101 may also determine whether the AD area is an ST section and a non-ST section, which will be described later.

[0038] An MD area is an area where automated driving is prohibited. In other words, an MD area is an area where it is specified that the driver is to perform all of the longitudinal control, lateral control, and surrounding monitoring of the vehicle. The longitudinal direction is the direction that coincides with the front-to-rear direction of the vehicle. The lateral direction is the direction that coincides with the width direction of the vehicle. The longitudinal control corresponds to the acceleration / deceleration control of the vehicle. The lateral control corresponds to the steering control of the vehicle. For example, the MD area may be a general road. The MD area may also be a driving section of a general road for which high-precision map data is not available.

[0039] An AD area is an area where autonomous driving is permitted. In other words, an AD area is an area where it is specified that the vehicle can substitute for one or more of longitudinal control, lateral control, and periphery monitoring. For example, an AD area may be a highway. An AD area may be a driving section where high-precision map data is available. For example, area-limited LV3 autonomous driving may be permitted only on highways. Traffic jam-limited LV3 autonomous driving may be permitted only when there is a traffic jam in an AD area.

[0040] AD areas are divided into ST sections and non-ST sections. ST sections are sections where area-limited LV3 autonomous driving (hereinafter, area-limited autonomous driving) is permitted. Non-ST sections are sections where LV2 or lower autonomous driving and congestion-limited LV3 autonomous driving are possible. In this embodiment, there is no distinction between non-ST sections where LV1 autonomous driving is permitted and non-ST sections where LV2 autonomous driving is permitted. Non-ST sections may be sections of AD areas that do not fall under the ST section category.

[0041] The behavior determination unit 102 switches the control entity of the driving operation between the driver and the system of the vehicle. When the control authority of the driving operation is on the system side, the behavior determination unit 102 determines a driving plan for driving the vehicle based on the recognition result of the driving environment by the driving environment recognition unit 101.

[0042] Furthermore, the behavior determination unit 102 switches the automation level of the autonomous driving of the vehicle as necessary. The behavior determination unit 102 determines whether or not the automation level can be increased. For example, when the vehicle moves from an MD area to an AD area, it may be determined that autonomous driving can be switched from LV4 or lower to LV4 or higher. If the behavior determination unit 102 determines that the automation level can be increased and the increase in the automation level is approved by the driver, the behavior determination unit 102 may increase the automation level.

[0043] When the behavior determination unit 102 determines that the automation level needs to be lowered, it may lower the automation level. Examples of cases where it is determined that the automation level needs to be lowered include when an override is detected, when a planned driving changeover occurs, and when an unplanned driving changeover occurs. An override is an operation by which the driver of the vehicle spontaneously acquires control of the vehicle. In other words, an override is an operational intervention by the driver of the vehicle. Examples of override operations include steering the steering wheel, depressing the accelerator pedal, and depressing the brake pedal. A planned driving changeover is a planned driving changeover determined by the system. As an example, when moving from a driving section in an AD area where high-precision map data is available to a driving section where high-precision map data is not available, it may be determined that the automatic driving is switched from LV4 or higher to LV3 or lower. An unplanned driving changeover is an unexpected and unexpected driving changeover determined by the system.

[0044] The behavior determination unit 102 includes a level specification unit 121, a long- to mid-term planning unit 122, and a short-term planning unit 123 as sub-functional blocks.

[0045] The level identification unit 121 identifies the current automation level of the vehicle. The level identification unit 121 may identify the current automation level of the vehicle based on information on automation level switching in the action determination unit 102. Note that, for the LV3 automation level, it is preferable for the level identification unit 121 to distinguish between traffic jam-limited LV3 and area-limited LV3.

[0046] The long-term / medium-term planning unit 122 generates a long-term / medium-term driving plan as a driving plan for driving the vehicle. The long-term / medium-term planning unit 122 specifies and determines a planned route for driving the vehicle to a set destination as the long-term / medium-term driving plan. This long-term / medium-term planning unit 122 corresponds to a route specification unit. The planned route may be a route consisting of a plurality of links. The long-term / medium-term planning unit 122 may specify the planned route in a manner similar to the route search of the navigation function. This route search may be performed by cost calculation using the Dijkstra algorithm, for example.

[0047] The short-term planning unit 123 generates a short-term driving plan as a driving plan for driving the host vehicle. The short-term planning unit 123 determines a short-term driving plan for realizing driving according to the long-term and mid-term driving plan, using the virtual space around the host vehicle generated by the driving environment recognition unit 101. Specifically, the short-term planning unit 123 determines the execution of steering for lane changes, acceleration / deceleration for speed adjustment, steering and braking for obstacle avoidance, and the like.

[0048] The short-term planning unit 123 determines to execute location-targeted speed control based on the fact that the vehicle is traveling at a specific location. A specific location is a location where a change in vehicle speed is likely to be required due to the road structure. Examples of specific locations include curved roads, interchanges (hereinafter, ICs), intersections, and junctions. Note that curved roads, ICs, intersections, and junctions include the entrance points to each of these. For example, a road section with a curvature equal to or greater than a threshold value may be considered to be a curved road. The threshold value may be an arbitrarily settable value. The intersection may also include a branch point. The short-term planning unit 123 may determine that the vehicle is traveling at a specific location based on the vehicle's traveling location identified by the location identification unit 111. The location-targeted speed control is a location-targeted speed control that automatically changes the speed of the vehicle. The location-targeted speed control is different from speed control that targets an obstacle (hereinafter, obstacle-targeted speed control). Examples of obstacle-targeted speed control include speed control for maintaining a distance from a preceding vehicle and speed control for avoiding obstacles.

[0049] The short-term planning unit 123 varies the location-targeted speed control depending on whether the host vehicle is in autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation or in autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation. This makes it possible to perform location-targeted speed control as desired by the driver depending on whether the host vehicle is in autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation or in autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation. The short-term planning unit 123 may determine that the host vehicle is in autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation when the automation level identified by the level identification unit 121 is LV1 to LV2. The short-term planning unit 123 may determine that the host vehicle is in autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation when the automation level identified by the level identification unit 121 is LV3 or higher.

[0050] Based on the fact that the vehicle is in autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation, the short-term planning unit 123 determines to execute the first speed control, which is a location-targeted speed control that makes it easier to suppress the speed or speed change than when the vehicle is in autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation. Note that, when the vehicle is traveling in a specific location and the vehicle is in autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation, the short-term planning unit 123 may determine to execute the second speed control as the location-targeted speed control. The second speed control is set as the default control as the location-targeted speed control. In other words, the first speed control is a location-targeted speed control that makes it easier to suppress the speed than the second speed control.

[0051] During autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation, there is no need for the driver to monitor. Therefore, it is considered that speed control that maintains the operation of the host vehicle more reliably than during autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation is required. In response to this, according to the above configuration, the first speed control is executed based on the fact that the host vehicle is in autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation, making it easier to suppress the speed or speed change than when the host vehicle is in autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation. Making it easier to suppress the speed or speed change makes it easier to avoid obstacles and the like with more leeway. As a result, it becomes possible to maintain the operation of the host vehicle more reliably.

[0052] When the location where the vehicle is traveling is a specific location where deceleration is likely to be required, the short-term planning unit 123 may determine to execute the first speed control, which automatically decelerates the vehicle, as the first speed control. Examples of the specific location where deceleration is likely to be required include a curved road, an IC, and an intersection. Examples of the first speed control that automatically decelerates the vehicle include control that increases the degree of deceleration compared to the second speed control, control that causes deceleration to be performed more gently than the second speed control, and control that causes deceleration to start earlier than the second speed control. By executing control that increases the degree of deceleration compared to the second speed control, it is possible to suppress the speed lower. By executing control that causes deceleration to be performed more gently than the second speed control, it is possible to suppress the speed change lower. By executing control that causes deceleration to start earlier than the second speed control, it is possible to suppress the speed lower even with the same deceleration, or suppress the speed change lower even with the same target speed.

[0053] When the location where the host vehicle is traveling is a specific location where acceleration is likely to be required, the short-term planning unit 123 may determine to execute, as the first speed control, a first speed control that automatically accelerates the host vehicle. An example of a specific location where acceleration is likely to be required is a junction. Examples of the first speed control that automatically accelerates the host vehicle include control that reduces the degree of acceleration compared to the second speed control, and control that accelerates more gently compared to the second speed control. By executing control that reduces the degree of acceleration compared to the second speed control, it is possible to keep the speed lower. By executing control that accelerates more gently compared to the second speed control, it is possible to keep the speed change lower.

[0054] Here, an example of the relationship between the specific location and acceleration / deceleration of the first speed control will be described with reference to Fig. 3. As shown in Fig. 3, when the specific location is a curved road, an IC, or an intersection, a control for deceleration may be associated with the first speed control. On the other hand, when the specific location is a merging point, a control for acceleration may be associated with the first speed control. The same may be applied to the second speed control and a third speed control described later.

[0055] Even when the vehicle is in autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation, the short-term planning unit 123 preferably switches whether or not to perform the first speed control depending on the state of the driver identified by the state identification unit 104. In detail, whether or not to perform the first speed control may be switched depending on whether the state of the driver is a state in which the second task is being performed or a state in which surrounding monitoring is not being performed or not. This enables location-targeted speed control according to the state of the driver.

[0056] Hereinafter, the state in which the second task is being performed or the state in which peripheral monitoring is not being performed will be referred to as the non-monitoring state. Also, the state in which the second task is not being performed or the state in which peripheral monitoring is being performed will be referred to as the monitoring state.

[0057] The short-term planning unit 123 may determine to implement the first speed control when the vehicle is in autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation and the state of the driver identified by the state identification unit 104 is a non-monitoring state. On the other hand, the short-term planning unit 123 may determine to implement the second speed control when the vehicle is in autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation and the state of the driver identified by the state identification unit 104 is a monitoring state. This is because, when the driver is in the monitoring state, it is highly likely that the driver is monitoring the surroundings, and therefore it is considered acceptable to implement location-targeted speed control similar to that during autonomous driving with a surrounding monitoring obligation.

[0058] It is preferable that the short-term planning unit 123 performs the first speed control based on the fact that the vehicle is in automatic driving without a monitoring obligation other than the congestion limited LV3, while performing the second speed control when the vehicle is in automatic driving of the congestion limited LV3. This is because the vehicle speed of the vehicle should be maintained at a low speed during automatic driving of the congestion limited LV3, and it is considered that the speed can be easily suppressed even by the second speed control.

[0059] When the host vehicle is in sleep-disallowing autonomous driving, the short-term planning unit 123 may determine to implement a first speed control as a location-targeted speed control. On the other hand, it is preferable that the short-term planning unit 123 determines to implement a third speed control, which is a location-targeted speed control that makes it easier to suppress speed or speed changes than the first speed control, based on the fact that the host vehicle is in sleep-permitting autonomous driving. When the automation level identified by the level identification unit 121 is LV3, the short-term planning unit 123 may determine that the host vehicle is in sleep-disallowing autonomous driving. When the automation level identified by the level identification unit 121 is LV4 or higher, the short-term planning unit 123 may determine that the host vehicle is in sleep-permitting autonomous driving.

[0060] During sleep-permitted autonomous driving, it is required that the driver not take over driving even in an emergency. Therefore, even during the same autonomous driving without monitoring obligation, it is considered that a speed control that maintains the operation of the vehicle more reliably than during sleep-non-permitted autonomous driving is required. According to the above configuration, when the vehicle is in sleep-permitted autonomous driving, the third speed control is executed, making it easier to suppress the speed or speed change than during sleep-non-permitted autonomous driving. As a result, it is possible to maintain the operation of the vehicle more reliably. During sleep-permitted autonomous driving, it is considered that the driver is in a sleeping state. Therefore, it is more preferable that the third speed control is a control that accelerates and decelerates more gently than the first speed control so as not to disturb the driver's sleep.

[0061] The short-term planning unit 123 may determine to implement the third speed control when the vehicle is in sleep-disallowing autonomous driving and the state of the driver identified by the state identification unit 104 is a sleeping state. On the other hand, the short-term planning unit 123 may determine to implement the first speed control when the vehicle is in sleep-disallowing autonomous driving and the state of the driver identified by the state identification unit 104 is an awake state. This is because, even when the vehicle is in sleep-disallowing autonomous driving, if the driver is in an awake state, it is considered that there is little need to easily suppress the speed or speed change up to the third speed control.

[0062] The HCU communication unit 103 performs processing for outputting information to the HCU 19 and processing for acquiring information from the HCU 19. The HCU communication unit 103 acquires an estimation result of the HCU 19's state estimation processing.

[0063] The state identification unit 104 identifies the state of the driver of the vehicle. The state identification unit 104 may identify the state of the driver of the vehicle from the estimation result of the state estimation process of the HCU 19, which is acquired by the HCU communication unit 103.

[0064] When the control right of driving operation is on the side of the vehicle's system, the control execution unit 105 executes acceleration / deceleration control, steering control, etc. of the vehicle in accordance with the driving plan determined by the action determination unit 102 in cooperation with the vehicle control ECU 16. The control execution unit 105 includes a speed control unit 151 as a sub-functional block. The speed control unit 151 executes location-target speed control in accordance with the driving plan determined by the short-term planning unit 123. The processing in this speed control unit 151 corresponds to a speed control step.

[0065] The control execution unit 105 also executes, for example, adaptive cruise control (ACC), lane tracing assist (LTA), and lane change assist (LCA). The ACC control is a control that realizes constant speed driving of the host vehicle at a set vehicle speed, or driving following a preceding vehicle. In driving following, acceleration / deceleration control is performed so as to maintain the inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle and the nearest preceding vehicle at a target inter-vehicle distance. The target inter-vehicle distance may be set according to the speed of the host vehicle, or the like. The control that realizes driving following is included in the obstacle target speed control described above. The LTA control is a control that keeps the host vehicle driving within the lane. In the LTA control, steering control is performed so as to keep the host vehicle driving within the lane. The LCA control is a control that automatically changes lanes of the host vehicle from the host lane to an adjacent lane. In the LCA control, lane changes are made by performing acceleration / deceleration control and steering control.

[0066] <Speed ​​control related processing in autonomous driving ECU 10> Here, an example of the flow of processing related to location-targeted speed control in the autonomous driving ECU 10 (hereinafter, speed control-related processing) will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 4. The flowchart in Fig. 4 may be configured to be started, for example, when the host vehicle starts autonomous driving. In other words, the flowchart in Fig. 4 may be configured to be started when the host vehicle's automation level becomes LV1 or higher. Note that the flowchart in Fig. 4 may also be configured to be started when the host vehicle's automation level becomes LV2 or higher.

[0067] First, in step S1, if the location where the vehicle is traveling identified by location identification unit 111 is a specific location (YES in S1), the process proceeds to step S2. On the other hand, if the location where the vehicle is traveling is not a specific location (NO in S1), the process proceeds to step S10.

[0068] In step S2, if the automation level of the vehicle identified by level identification unit 121 is LV3 or higher (YES in S2), the process proceeds to step S4. On the other hand, if the automation level is LV1 to LV2 (NO in S2), the process proceeds to step S3.

[0069] In step S3, the short-term planning unit 123 decides to implement the second speed control as the location-targeted speed control. Then, the control execution unit 105 implements the second speed control and proceeds to step S10. As the second speed control, control according to the specific location identified in S1 may be implemented. If the specific location is a curved road, an IC, or an intersection, the second speed control may be implemented to automatically decelerate the vehicle. On the other hand, if the specific location is a junction, the second speed control may be implemented to automatically accelerate the vehicle. The same may be done in the cases of the first speed control and the third speed control described below.

[0070] In step S4, if the automation level of the vehicle identified by the level identification unit 121 is traffic congestion limited LV3 (YES in S4), the process proceeds to S3. On the other hand, if the automation level is not traffic congestion limited LV3 (NO in S4), the process proceeds to step S5.

[0071] In step S5, if the automation level of the vehicle identified by the level identification unit 121 is LV4 or higher (YES in S5), the process proceeds to step S8. On the other hand, if the automation level is lower than LV4 (NO in S5), the process proceeds to step S6.

[0072] In step S6, if the driver's state identified by state identification unit 104 is the monitoring state (YES in S6), the process proceeds to S3. On the other hand, if the driver's state is the non-monitoring state (NO in S6), the process proceeds to step S7.

[0073] In step S7, the short-term planner 123 decides to implement the first speed control as the location-specific speed control. Then, the control execution unit 105 implements the first speed control, and the process proceeds to step S10.

[0074] In step S8, if the driver's state identified by state identification unit 104 is a sleeping state (YES in S8), the process proceeds to step S9. On the other hand, if the driver's state is a non-monitoring state (NO in S8), the process proceeds to S7.

[0075] In step S9, the short-term planner 123 decides to execute the third speed control as the location-specific speed control. Then, the control execution unit 105 executes the third speed control, and the process proceeds to step S10.

[0076] In step S10, if it is time to end the speed control related processing (YES in S10), the speed control related processing is terminated. On the other hand, if it is not time to end the speed control related processing (NO in S10), the process returns to S1 and is repeated. Examples of timing to end the speed control related processing include when the power switch of the vehicle is turned off, when the automation level of the vehicle becomes LV0, etc.

[0077] In addition, in the flowchart of FIG. 4, the process of S4 may be omitted. In this case, if YES in S2, the process may proceed to S5. In the flowchart of FIG. 4, the process of S8 may be omitted. In this case, if YES in S5, the process may proceed to S9. In the flowchart of FIG. 4, the process of S5 and S8 to S9 may be omitted. In this case, if NO in S4, the process may proceed to S6. In the flowchart of FIG. 4, the process of S4 to S5 and S8 to S9 may be omitted. In this case, if YES in S2, the process may proceed to S6. In the flowchart of FIG. 4, the process of S6 may be omitted. In this case, instead of the process of S6, the process of S7 may be performed.

[0078] According to the configuration of the first embodiment, it is possible to perform location-targeted speed control as desired by the driver depending on whether the vehicle is in autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation or autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation. As a result, it is possible to suppress a decrease in convenience for the driver when the speed control of the vehicle is performed during autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation.

[0079] (Embodiment 2) In the first embodiment, the short-term planning unit 123 has been configured to determine the implementation of the second speed control as the location-targeted speed control when the vehicle is in automatic driving with congestion limiting level 3, but this is not necessarily limited to this. For example, the following configuration of the second embodiment may be used. The second embodiment is similar to the first embodiment, except that the short-term planning unit 123 determines not to implement the location-targeted speed control when the vehicle is in automatic driving with congestion limiting level 3.

[0080] Here, an example of the flow of speed control-related processing in the autonomous driving ECU 10 in the second embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 5. The flowchart in Fig. 5 may be the same as the flowchart in Fig. 4 in the first embodiment, except that the processing in step S4a is performed instead of the processing in S4.

[0081] In step S4a, if the automation level of the host vehicle identified by the level identification unit 121 is traffic congestion limited LV3 (YES in S4a), the process proceeds to S10. On the other hand, if the automation level of the host vehicle is not traffic congestion limited LV3 (NO in S4a), the process proceeds to S5. As a result, the control execution unit 105 does not implement location-targeted speed control when the host vehicle is in automated driving at traffic congestion limited LV3. According to the configuration of the second embodiment, it is possible to reduce the waste of performing location-targeted speed control during automated driving at traffic congestion limited LV3, where the host vehicle's speed is likely to be maintained at a low speed.

[0082] (Embodiment 3) The vehicle system 1 of the third embodiment is similar to the vehicle system 1 of the first embodiment, except that the vehicle system 1 of the third embodiment includes an autonomous driving ECU 10b instead of the autonomous driving ECU 10.

[0083] <Outline of the configuration of the autonomous driving ECU 10b> Here, the schematic configuration of the autonomous driving ECU 10b will be described with reference to FIG. 6. As shown in FIG. 6, the autonomous driving ECU 10b includes a driving environment recognition unit 101, a behavior determination unit 102b, an HCU communication unit 103, a state identification unit 104, and a control execution unit 105b as functional blocks. The autonomous driving ECU 10b is similar to the autonomous driving ECU 10 of the first embodiment, except that the autonomous driving ECU 10b includes the behavior determination unit 102b and the control execution unit 105b instead of the behavior determination unit 102 and the control execution unit 105. This autonomous driving ECU 10b also corresponds to a vehicle control device. In addition, the execution of the processing of each functional block of the autonomous driving ECU 10b by a computer corresponds to the execution of a vehicle control method.

[0084] The behavior determination unit 102b has a level identification unit 121, a long / medium-term planner 122, and a short-term planner 123b as sub-functional blocks. The behavior determination unit 102b is similar to the behavior determination unit 102 of the first embodiment, except that it has a short-term planner 123b instead of the short-term planner 123. The control execution unit 105b has a speed control unit 151b as a sub-functional block. The control execution unit 105b is similar to the control execution unit 105 of the first embodiment, except that it has a speed control unit 151b instead of the speed control unit 151.

[0085] The short-term planner 123b is similar to the short-term planner 123 of embodiment 1, except that the process related to the decision on execution of location-target speed control is different. The speed control unit 151b is similar to the speed control unit 151 of embodiment 1, except that the speed control unit 151b executes location-target speed control according to the travel plan determined by the short-term planner 123b. The process in the speed control unit 151b also corresponds to a speed control step.

[0086] The short-term planning unit 123b decides to implement location-targeted speed control during automatic driving without monitoring obligation, even if the short-term planning unit 123b does not decide to implement location-targeted speed control during automatic driving with monitoring obligation. In other words, the short-term planning unit 123b decides to implement location-targeted speed control during automatic driving without monitoring obligation, even if the road conditions are such that the implementation of location-targeted speed control is not decided during automatic driving with monitoring obligation.

[0087] The short-term planning unit 123b may not decide to implement control for decelerating as location-targeted speed control (hereinafter, location-targeted deceleration control) when the traveling location of the vehicle identified by the location identification unit 111 is a curved road (hereinafter, target curved road) whose degree of curvature is equal to or greater than a specified value and the vehicle is in automatic driving with a monitoring obligation. The degree of curvature may be, for example, a curvature. The specified value referred to here may be a value that can be set arbitrarily. Note that even if the location-targeted deceleration control is not implemented, the obstacle-targeted speed control may be implemented. On the other hand, the short-term planning unit 123b may decide to implement location-targeted deceleration control when the traveling location of the vehicle identified by the location identification unit 111 is a target curved road and the vehicle is in automatic driving without a monitoring obligation. Also, on a curved road whose degree of curvature is less than a specified value, the location-targeted deceleration control may not be implemented whether the vehicle is in automatic driving with a monitoring obligation or in automatic driving without a monitoring obligation.

[0088] According to this, even if the vehicle does not decelerate during automatic driving with a monitoring obligation on a curved road with a large degree of curvature, it is possible to decelerate during automatic driving without a monitoring obligation. During automatic driving without a monitoring obligation, it is considered that speed control that more reliably maintains the operation of the vehicle is required than during automatic driving with a monitoring obligation. In contrast, according to the above configuration, the vehicle can be decelerated during automatic driving without a monitoring obligation even on a curved road where the vehicle does not decelerate during automatic driving with a monitoring obligation, making it possible to more reliably maintain the operation of the vehicle.

[0089] The short-term planning unit 123b need not decide to implement location-targeted deceleration control when the location of the vehicle identified by the location identification unit 111 is an intersection and the vehicle is in autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation. On the other hand, based on the fact that the location of the vehicle identified by the location identification unit 111 is an intersection, when the vehicle is in autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation, it need only decide to implement location-targeted deceleration control.

[0090] According to this, even if the vehicle does not decelerate during autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation at an intersection, it is possible to decelerate during autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation. During autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation, it is considered that speed control that more reliably maintains the operation of the vehicle is required than during autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation. In contrast, according to the above configuration, even at an intersection where the vehicle does not decelerate during autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation, the vehicle can be decelerated during autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation to more reliably maintain the operation of the vehicle.

[0091] The short-term planning unit 123b may determine to perform location-targeted deceleration control when the traveling location of the vehicle specified by the location specifying unit 111 is an intersection where the vehicle is scheduled to turn right or left on the planned route specified by the long-term and mid-term planning unit 122, and the vehicle is in automatic driving without a monitoring obligation. On the other hand, the short-term planning unit 123b may not determine to perform location-targeted deceleration control when the traveling location of the vehicle specified by the location specifying unit 111 is an intersection where the vehicle is scheduled to go straight on the planned route specified by the long-term and mid-term planning unit 122, and the vehicle is in automatic driving without a monitoring obligation. At an intersection where the vehicle is scheduled to go straight, the need for deceleration is low if there is no obstacle. In contrast, according to the above configuration, it is possible to suppress unnecessary control at an intersection where the vehicle is scheduled to go straight by not performing location-targeted deceleration control even when the vehicle is in automatic driving without a monitoring obligation.

[0092] The short-term planning unit 123b does not need to decide to implement location-targeted deceleration control when the vehicle's traveling location identified by the location identification unit 111 is an IC and the vehicle is in autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation. On the other hand, when the vehicle's traveling location identified by the location identification unit 111 is an IC and the vehicle is in autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation, the short-term planning unit 123b does not need to decide to implement location-targeted deceleration control.

[0093] According to this, even if the IC does not decelerate during automatic driving with a monitoring obligation, it is possible to decelerate during automatic driving without a monitoring obligation. According to the above configuration, even if the IC does not decelerate during automatic driving with a monitoring obligation, it is possible to more reliably maintain the operation of the vehicle by decelerating during automatic driving without a monitoring obligation.

[0094] When the traveling location of the vehicle identified by the location identification unit 111 is a junction and the vehicle is in autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation, the short-term planning unit 123b need not decide to implement control that suppresses acceleration as location-targeted speed control (location-targeted acceleration suppression control). Note that obstacle-targeted speed control may be implemented even if location-targeted acceleration suppression control is not implemented. On the other hand, when the traveling location of the vehicle identified by the location identification unit 111 is a junction and the vehicle is in autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation, the short-term planning unit 123b need only decide to implement location-targeted acceleration suppression control.

[0095] According to this, even if acceleration is not suppressed during autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation at a junction, it is possible to suppress acceleration during autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation. Not suppressing acceleration may mean not suppressing the acceleration requested by the vehicle's system at the junction by setting a certain upper limit or suppressing the acceleration by lowering it. According to the above configuration, even at a junction where acceleration is not suppressed during autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation, it is possible to more reliably maintain the operation of the vehicle by suppressing acceleration during autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation.

[0096] Here, an example of the relationship between the traveling location of the vehicle and the location-targeted speed control with or without the monitoring obligation is summarized with reference to FIG. 7. As shown in FIG. 7, when the traveling location of the vehicle is a target curved road, an IC, or an intersection where a right or left turn is planned, and during automatic driving without the monitoring obligation, the location-targeted deceleration control is implemented. On the other hand, even if the traveling location of the vehicle is a target curved road, an IC, or an intersection where a right or left turn is planned, during automatic driving with the monitoring obligation, the location-targeted speed control is not implemented. When the traveling location of the vehicle is an intersection where the vehicle is to go straight, the location-targeted speed control is not implemented even when the vehicle is in automatic driving with the monitoring obligation or in automatic driving without the monitoring obligation. When the traveling location of the vehicle is a junction and during automatic driving without the monitoring obligation, the location-targeted acceleration suppression control is implemented. On the other hand, even if the traveling location of the vehicle is a junction, during automatic driving with the monitoring obligation, the location-targeted speed control is not implemented.

[0097] <Speed ​​control related processing in autonomous driving ECU 10b> Here, an example of the flow of speed control-related processing in the autonomous driving ECU 10b will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 8. The flowchart of Fig. 8 may also be configured to start under the same conditions as the flowchart of Fig. 4.

[0098] First, in step S21, if the location where the vehicle is traveling identified by the location identification unit 111 is a specific location (YES in S21), the process proceeds to step S22. The specific locations referred to here include target curved roads, ICs, intersections where right and left turns are planned, and junctions. On the other hand, if the location where the vehicle is traveling is not a specific location (NO in S21), the process proceeds to step S24.

[0099] In step S22, if the automation level of the vehicle identified by level identification unit 121 is LV3 or higher (YES in S22), the process proceeds to step S23. On the other hand, if the automation level is LV1 to LV2 (NO in S22), the process proceeds to step S24.

[0100] In step S23, the short-term planning unit 123b decides to implement location-targeted speed control. Then, the control execution unit 105b implements location-targeted speed control and proceeds to step S24. As location-targeted speed control, control according to the specific location identified in S21 may be implemented. If the specific location is a target curved road, an IC, or an intersection where a right or left turn is planned, location-targeted deceleration control may be implemented. On the other hand, if the specific location is a junction, location-targeted acceleration suppression control may be implemented.

[0101] In step S24, if it is time to end the speed control-related process (YES in S24), the speed control-related process is ended. On the other hand, if it is not time to end the speed control-related process (NO in S24), the process returns to S21 and is repeated.

[0102] According to the configuration of the third embodiment, based on the fact that the driving location of the vehicle is a specific location where the vehicle speed change is likely to be required due to the road structure, it is possible to vary the presence or absence of location-targeted speed control depending on whether the vehicle is in autonomous driving with monitoring obligation or autonomous driving without monitoring obligation. Therefore, it is possible to perform location-targeted speed control as desired by the driver depending on whether the vehicle is in autonomous driving with monitoring obligation or autonomous driving without monitoring obligation. As a result, it is possible to suppress the decrease in convenience for the driver when the speed control of the vehicle is performed during autonomous driving without monitoring obligation.

[0103] (Embodiment 4) The vehicle system 1 of the fourth embodiment may be configured as described below without being limited to the above-described embodiments. An example of the configuration of the fourth embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. The vehicle system 1 of the fourth embodiment is similar to the vehicle system 1 of the first embodiment, except that the vehicle system 1 of the fourth embodiment includes an autonomous driving ECU 10c instead of the autonomous driving ECU 10.

[0104] <Outline of the autonomous driving ECU 10c> Here, a schematic configuration of the automatic driving ECU 10c will be described with reference to FIG. 9. As shown in FIG. 9, the automatic driving ECU 10c includes a driving environment recognition unit 101, a behavior determination unit 102c, an HCU communication unit 103, a state identification unit 104, and a control execution unit 105c as functional blocks. The automatic driving ECU 10c is similar to the automatic driving ECU 10 of the first embodiment, except that the automatic driving ECU 10c includes the behavior determination unit 102c and the control execution unit 105c instead of the behavior determination unit 102 and the control execution unit 105. This automatic driving ECU 10c also corresponds to a vehicle control device. In addition, the execution of the processing of each functional block of the automatic driving ECU 10c by a computer corresponds to the execution of a vehicle control method.

[0105] The behavior determination unit 102b has a level identification unit 121, a long- to mid-term planner 122, and a short-term planner 123c as sub-functional blocks. The behavior determination unit 102c is similar to the behavior determination unit 102 of the first embodiment, except that it has a short-term planner 123c instead of the short-term planner 123. The control execution unit 105c has a speed control unit 151c as a sub-functional block. The control execution unit 105c is similar to the control execution unit 105 of the first embodiment, except that it has a speed control unit 151c instead of the speed control unit 151. The processing in this speed control unit 151c also corresponds to a speed control step.

[0106] The short-term planning unit 123c is similar to the short-term planning unit 123 of the first embodiment, except that the process related to the decision on execution of the location target speed control is different. The speed control unit 151c is similar to the speed control unit 151 of the first embodiment, except that the speed control unit 151c executes the location target speed control according to the travel plan determined by the short-term planning unit 123c.

[0107] The short-term planning unit 123c determines to execute the fourth speed control, which is a location-targeted speed control that makes it easier to maintain the speed than when the vehicle is in an autonomous driving state with a monitoring obligation, based on the fact that the vehicle is traveling at a specific location and the vehicle is in an autonomous driving state without a monitoring obligation. When the vehicle is traveling at a specific location and the vehicle is in an autonomous driving state with a monitoring obligation, the short-term planning unit 123c may determine to execute the second speed control described above as the location-targeted speed control. In other words, the fourth speed control is a location-targeted speed control that makes it easier to maintain the speed than the second speed control.

[0108] During autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation, there is no need for the driver to monitor. Therefore, during autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation, there are many situations in which the driver does not monitor the front of the vehicle. If the driver does not monitor the front of the vehicle, the driver is less likely to notice and feel anxious even if the degree of deceleration at a specific location becomes smaller. On the other hand, by making it easier to maintain the speed, it is possible to reduce wasteful consumption of the vehicle's traveling energy. Therefore, according to the configuration of the fourth embodiment, it is possible to reduce wasteful consumption of the vehicle's traveling energy while reducing the driver's anxiety.

[0109] When the location where the vehicle is traveling is a specific location where deceleration is likely to be required, the short-term planning unit 123c may determine to execute the fourth speed control as described below. Examples of specific locations where deceleration is likely to be required include curved roads, ICs, and intersections. Examples of the fourth speed control include control that reduces the degree of deceleration compared to the second speed control, and control that does not perform deceleration. If control that reduces the degree of deceleration compared to the second speed control is executed, it becomes easier to maintain the speed. If control that does not perform deceleration is executed, it becomes possible to maintain the speed. Note that not performing deceleration as referred to here means that deceleration is not performed as the fourth speed control, which is the location-targeted speed control. Even if deceleration is not performed in the fourth speed control, deceleration may be performed by the obstacle-targeted speed control.

[0110] When the location where the vehicle is traveling is a specific location where acceleration is likely to be required, the short-term planning unit 123c may determine to execute a fourth speed control as described below. A specific location where acceleration is likely to be required is a junction. Examples of the fourth speed control that automatically accelerates the vehicle include control that reduces the degree of acceleration compared to the second speed control, and control that does not accelerate. By executing control that reduces the degree of acceleration compared to the second speed control, it becomes easier to maintain the speed. By executing control that does not accelerate, it becomes possible to maintain the speed.

[0111] Even when the vehicle is in autonomous driving without monitoring obligation, the short-term planning unit 123c preferably switches whether or not to perform the fourth speed control depending on the state of the driver identified by the state identification unit 104. In detail, whether or not to perform the fourth speed control may be switched depending on whether the state of the driver is a state in which surrounding monitoring is not being performed. This enables location target speed control according to the state of the driver.

[0112] The short-term planning unit 123c may determine to implement the fourth speed control when the vehicle is in autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation and the state of the driver identified by the state identification unit 104 is a state in which surroundings monitoring is not being performed. On the other hand, the short-term planning unit 123c may determine to implement the second speed control when the vehicle is in autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation and the state of the driver identified by the state identification unit 104 is a state in which surroundings monitoring is being performed. This is because there is a concern that the driver may feel uneasy if the fourth speed control, which makes it easier to maintain the speed, is implemented when the driver is monitoring the surroundings.

[0113] <Speed ​​control related processing in autonomous driving ECU 10c> Here, an example of the flow of speed control-related processing in the autonomous driving ECU 10c will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 10. The flowchart of Fig. 10 may also be configured to start under the same conditions as the flowchart of Fig. 4.

[0114] First, in step S41, if the location where the vehicle is traveling identified by the location identification unit 111 is a specific location (YES in S41), the process proceeds to step S42. On the other hand, if the location where the vehicle is traveling is not a specific location (NO in S41), the process proceeds to step S46.

[0115] In step S42, if the automation level of the vehicle identified by level identification unit 121 is LV3 or higher (YES in S42), the process proceeds to step S44. On the other hand, if the automation level is LV1 to LV2 (NO in S42), the process proceeds to step S43.

[0116] In step S43, the short-term planning unit 123c decides to execute the second speed control as the location-targeted speed control. Then, the control execution unit 105c executes the second speed control, and the process proceeds to step S46. As the second speed control, the same control as that described in the description of S3 may be executed.

[0117] In step S44, if the state of the driver identified by state identification unit 104 is a state in which surroundings monitoring is not being performed (YES in S44), the process proceeds to S45. On the other hand, if the state of the driver is a state in which surroundings monitoring is not being performed (NO in S44), the process proceeds to step S43.

[0118] In step S45, the short-term planning unit 123c decides to implement the fourth speed control as the location-targeted speed control. Then, the control execution unit 105c implements the fourth speed control and proceeds to step S46. As the fourth speed control, control according to the specific location identified in S41 may be implemented. If the specific location is a curved road, an IC, or an intersection, the fourth speed control that reduces the degree of deceleration or the fourth speed control that does not decelerate may be implemented. On the other hand, if the specific location is a junction, the fourth speed control that reduces the degree of acceleration or the fourth speed control that does not accelerate may be implemented.

[0119] In step S46, if it is time to end the speed control-related process (YES in S46), the speed control-related process is ended. On the other hand, if it is not time to end the speed control-related process (NO in S46), the process returns to S41 and is repeated.

[0120] In addition, the process of S44 may be omitted in the flowchart of Fig. 10. In this case, the process may proceed to S45 if the answer is YES in S42.

[0121] (Embodiment 5) The vehicle system 1 of the fifth embodiment may be configured as described below without being limited to the above-described embodiments. An example of the configuration of the fifth embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. The vehicle system 1 of the fifth embodiment is similar to the vehicle system 1 of the third embodiment, except that the vehicle system 1 of the fifth embodiment includes an autonomous driving ECU 10d instead of the autonomous driving ECU 10b.

[0122] <Outline of the autonomous driving ECU 10d> Here, the schematic configuration of the automatic driving ECU 10d will be described with reference to FIG. 11. As shown in FIG. 11, the automatic driving ECU 10d includes a driving environment recognition unit 101, a behavior determination unit 102d, an HCU communication unit 103, a state identification unit 104, and a control execution unit 105d as functional blocks. The automatic driving ECU 10d includes the behavior determination unit 102d instead of the behavior determination unit 102b. The automatic driving ECU 10d includes the control execution unit 105d instead of the control execution unit 105b. Except for these points, the automatic driving ECU 10d is similar to the automatic driving ECU 10b of the third embodiment. This automatic driving ECU 10d also corresponds to a vehicle control device. In addition, the execution of the processing of each functional block of the automatic driving ECU 10d by a computer corresponds to the execution of a vehicle control method.

[0123] The behavior determination unit 102d includes a level identification unit 121, a long- to mid-term planner 122, and a short-term planner 123d as sub-functional blocks. The behavior determination unit 102d is similar to the behavior determination unit 102b of the third embodiment, except that it includes a short-term planner 123d instead of the short-term planner 123b. The control execution unit 105d includes a speed control unit 151d as a sub-functional block. The control execution unit 105d is similar to the control execution unit 105b of the third embodiment, except that it includes a speed control unit 151d instead of the speed control unit 151b. The processing in this speed control unit 151d also corresponds to a speed control step.

[0124] The short-term planning unit 123d is similar to the short-term planning unit 123b of embodiment 3 except that the process related to the decision on execution of location target speed control is different. The speed control unit 151d is similar to the speed control unit 151b of embodiment 3 except that location target speed control is executed according to the travel plan determined by the short-term planning unit 123d. The following describes these differences from embodiment 3.

[0125] The short-term planning unit 123d decides not to implement location-targeted speed control if the vehicle's driving location is an intersection, an interchange, or a junction, even if the vehicle is in autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation. The vehicle's driving location may be the one identified by the location identification unit 111. Intersections, interchanges, and junctions are hereinafter referred to as target locations. The speed control unit 151d does not implement location-targeted speed control if the vehicle's driving location is a target location, even if the vehicle is in autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation.

[0126] In the target location, the vehicle may go straight without changing direction. Therefore, if the location target speed control is performed every time the vehicle reaches the target location, the occupants of the vehicle may feel annoyed. In contrast, the above configuration makes it possible to suppress this annoyance. It is preferable that the short-term planning unit 123d decides not to perform the location target speed control, also on the condition that the vehicle is scheduled to go straight through the target location. This makes it possible to more accurately suppress the annoyance felt by the occupants. It is preferable that the short-term planning unit 123d decides not to perform the location target deceleration control of the location target speed control when the vehicle is traveling at the target location. This is because the location target deceleration control of the location target speed control is the more annoying to perform every time the vehicle reaches the target location.

[0127] (Embodiment 6) The vehicle system 1 of the sixth embodiment may be configured as described below without being limited to the above-described embodiments. An example of the configuration of the sixth embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. The vehicle system 1 of the sixth embodiment is similar to the vehicle system 1 of the third embodiment, except that the vehicle system 1 of the sixth embodiment includes an autonomous driving ECU 10e instead of the autonomous driving ECU 10b.

[0128] <Outline of Autonomous Driving ECU 10e> Here, the schematic configuration of the automatic driving ECU 10e will be described with reference to FIG. 12. As shown in FIG. 12, the automatic driving ECU 10e includes a driving environment recognition unit 101, a behavior determination unit 102e, an HCU communication unit 103, a state identification unit 104, and a control execution unit 105e as functional blocks. The automatic driving ECU 10e includes the behavior determination unit 102e instead of the behavior determination unit 102b. The automatic driving ECU 10e includes the control execution unit 105e instead of the control execution unit 105b. Except for these points, the automatic driving ECU 10e is similar to the automatic driving ECU 10b of the third embodiment. This automatic driving ECU 10e also corresponds to a vehicle control device. In addition, the execution of the processing of each functional block of the automatic driving ECU 10e by a computer corresponds to the execution of a vehicle control method.

[0129] The behavior determination unit 102e includes a level identification unit 121, a long- to mid-term planner 122, and a short-term planner 123e as sub-functional blocks. The behavior determination unit 102e is similar to the behavior determination unit 102b of the third embodiment, except that the behavior determination unit 102e includes a short-term planner 123e instead of the short-term planner 123b. The control execution unit 105e includes a speed control unit 151e as a sub-functional block. The control execution unit 105e is similar to the control execution unit 105b of the third embodiment, except that the control execution unit 105e includes a speed control unit 151e instead of the speed control unit 151b. The processing in this speed control unit 151e also corresponds to a speed control step.

[0130] The short-term planning unit 123e is similar to the short-term planning unit 123b of embodiment 3 except that the process related to the decision on execution of location target speed control is different. The speed control unit 151e is similar to the speed control unit 151b of embodiment 3 except that the speed control unit 151e executes location target speed control according to the travel plan determined by the short-term planning unit 123e. The following describes these differences from embodiment 3.

[0131] The short-term planning unit 123e determines to implement location-targeted speed control when the vehicle is in autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation and the vehicle is traveling on a road whose longitudinal gradient is equal to or greater than a set value. A road whose longitudinal gradient is equal to or greater than a set value is hereinafter referred to as a gradient road. On the other hand, the short-term planning unit 123e determines not to implement location-targeted speed control when the vehicle is in autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation even if the vehicle is traveling on a gradient road. The vehicle's traveling location may be the one specified by the location specification unit 111. The short-term planning unit 123e may specify the longitudinal gradient of the traveling location from the map data. The set value referred to here may be a longitudinal gradient that is estimated to be necessary for accelerating or decelerating the vehicle. The set value may be arbitrarily set. The gradient road may be an uphill road or a downhill road.

[0132] The speed control unit 151e performs location-targeted speed control when the vehicle is in autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation and the vehicle is traveling on a gradient road. On the other hand, the speed control unit 151e does not perform location-targeted speed control when the vehicle is in autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation even if the vehicle is traveling on a gradient road.

[0133] According to this, even if acceleration / deceleration is not performed during automatic driving with a monitoring obligation on a gradient road, it is possible to accelerate / decelerate during automatic driving without a monitoring obligation. Acceleration / deceleration here refers to acceleration / deceleration by vehicle control. During automatic driving without a monitoring obligation, it is considered that speed control that more reliably maintains the operation of the vehicle is required than during automatic driving with a monitoring obligation. In contrast, according to the above configuration, even on a gradient road where acceleration / deceleration is not performed during automatic driving with a monitoring obligation, it is possible to more reliably maintain the operation of the vehicle by accelerating / decelerating during automatic driving without a monitoring obligation.

[0134] When the host vehicle is performing ACC control, the short-term planning unit 123e may determine not to perform location-targeted speed control even if the host vehicle is traveling on a gradient road. In this case, the short-term planning unit 124e may determine to widen the target inter-vehicle distance in ACC control. In other words, the short-term planning unit 124e may determine to set the target inter-vehicle distance wider than when the host vehicle is traveling on a non-gradient road. Note that the location of the host vehicle may be the one identified by the location identification unit 111.

[0135] When the vehicle is performing ACC control, the speed control unit 151e does not need to perform location-targeted speed control even if the vehicle is traveling on a slope road. In this case, the control execution unit 105e needs to widen the target vehicle distance in ACC control. This control execution unit 105e corresponds to the following driving control unit. If the location-targeted speed control is performed during ACC control, the vehicle may stop following the preceding vehicle. Also, if the location-targeted speed control is performed during ACC control, the vehicle distance between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle may suddenly change. In this case, a large change in behavior occurs in order to match the target vehicle distance, which may cause the occupants to feel annoyed. In contrast, the above configuration makes it possible to suppress this annoyance. Also, by widening the target vehicle distance instead of performing location-targeted speed control, it becomes easier to naturally decelerate at a point where deceleration is required. This makes it possible to more reliably maintain the operation of the vehicle.

[0136] <Speed ​​control related processing in autonomous driving ECU10e> Here, an example of the flow of the speed control-related process in the autonomous driving ECU 10e will be described using the flowchart in Fig. 13. Note that Fig. 13 describes an example of the flow of the speed control-related process when the specific location is a gradient road. The flowchart in Fig. 13 may also be configured to start under the same conditions as the flowchart in Fig. 4.

[0137] First, in step S61, if the vehicle's travel location identified by location identification unit 111 is a road whose longitudinal gradient is equal to or greater than the set value (YES in S61), the process proceeds to step S62. On the other hand, if the vehicle's travel location is not a road whose longitudinal gradient is equal to or greater than the set value (NO in S61), the process proceeds to step S65. In Fig. 13, the set value is represented as Sv.

[0138] In step S62, if the automation level of the vehicle identified by level identification unit 121 is LV3 or higher (YES in S62), the process proceeds to step S63. On the other hand, if the automation level is LV1 to LV2 (NO in S62), the process proceeds to step S65.

[0139] In step S63, if the control execution unit 105e is performing ACC control (YES in S63), the process proceeds to step S64. On the other hand, if the control execution unit 105e is not performing ACC control (NO in S63), the process proceeds to step S65.

[0140] In step S64, the short-term planning unit 123e decides to implement location-targeted speed control. Then, the control execution unit 105e implements location-targeted speed control and proceeds to step S65. In step S65, if it is time to end the speed control-related process (YES in S65), the speed control-related process is terminated. On the other hand, if it is not time to end the speed control-related process (NO in S65), the process returns to S61 and is repeated.

[0141] (Embodiment 7) The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and may be configured as in the following embodiment 7. An example of the configuration of embodiment 7 will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0142] <Outline of the configuration of the vehicle system 1f> The vehicle system 1f shown in FIG. 14 can be used in an autonomous vehicle. As shown in FIG. 14, the vehicle system 1f includes an autonomous driving ECU 10f, a communication module 11, a locator 12, a map DB 13, a vehicle state sensor 14, a surrounding monitoring sensor 15, a vehicle control ECU 16, an interior camera 17, a user input device 18, an HCU 19f, and an alarm device 20. The vehicle system 1f includes the autonomous driving ECU 10f instead of the autonomous driving ECU 10. The vehicle system 1f includes the HCU 10f instead of the HCU 10. The vehicle system 1f includes the alarm device 20. The vehicle system 1f is similar to the vehicle system 1 of the first embodiment except for these points.

[0143] The notification device 20 is provided in the vehicle and notifies the vehicle occupants. The notification device 20 makes the notification according to instructions from the HCU 10f. The notification device 20 only needs to make a notification to at least the driver. The notification device 20 may also notify passengers other than the driver. The notification device 20 includes, for example, a display and a voice output device. The HCU 10f is similar to the HCU 10 of the first embodiment, except that the HCU 10f controls the notification device 20. The HCU 10f controls the notification device 20 according to information input from the autonomous driving ECU 10f.

[0144] The display device notifies by displaying information. For example, a meter MID (Multi Information Display), a CID (Center Information Display), a HUD (Head-Up Display), etc. can be used as the display device. The meter MID is a display device provided in front of the driver's seat inside the vehicle. As an example, the meter MID may be configured to be provided in a meter panel. The CID is a display device arranged in the center of the instrument panel of the vehicle. The HUD is provided in the vehicle interior, for example, on the instrument panel. The HUD projects a display image formed by a projector onto a projection area that is set on the front windshield as a projection member. The light of the image reflected by the front windshield into the vehicle interior is perceived by the driver sitting in the driver's seat. This allows the driver to view a virtual image of the display image formed in front of the front windshield, superimposed on a part of the foreground. The HUD may be configured to project a display image onto a combiner provided in front of the driver's seat instead of the front windshield. The audio output device notifies the user by outputting audio, and examples of the audio output device include a speaker.

[0145] <Outline of Autonomous Driving ECU 10f> Here, a schematic configuration of the autonomous driving ECU 10f will be described with reference to FIG. 15. As shown in FIG. 15, the autonomous driving ECU 10f includes a driving environment recognition unit 101, an action determination unit 102, an HCU communication unit 103f, a state identification unit 104, and a control execution unit 105 as functional blocks. The autonomous driving ECU 10f is similar to the autonomous driving ECU 10 of the first embodiment, except that the autonomous driving ECU 10f includes an HCU communication unit 103f instead of the HCU communication unit 103. This autonomous driving ECU 10f also corresponds to a vehicle control device. In addition, the execution of the processing of each functional block of the autonomous driving ECU 10f by a computer corresponds to the execution of a vehicle control method.

[0146] The HCU communication unit 103f is similar to the HCU communication unit 103 of the first embodiment, except for some different processing. The following describes this difference. The HCU communication unit 103f indirectly controls the notification in the notification device 20 by outputting information to the HCU 19f. When the speed control unit 151 performs location-targeted speed control, the HCU communication unit 103f causes a control point notification to be performed based on the fact that the vehicle is in autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation. When the speed control unit 151 performs location-targeted speed control, the HCU communication unit 103f does not cause a control point notification to be performed if the vehicle is in autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation. This HCU communication unit 103f corresponds to a notification control unit.

[0147] The control point notification is a notification of a point where the location-targeted speed control is performed. The HCU communication unit 103f outputs information to the HCU 19f to cause the notification device 20 to perform the control point notification. The control point notification may be, for example, a notification that notifies the location where the location-targeted speed control is performed. As an example of the control point notification, the location where the location-targeted speed control is performed may be highlighted in the foreground image of the vehicle displayed on the meter MID. The foreground image may be an overhead image of the vehicle and its surroundings seen from a virtual viewpoint above the vehicle. This virtual viewpoint may be directly above the vehicle or may be a position shifted from directly above the vehicle. The foreground image may be a virtual image for showing the surrounding situation of the vehicle. The foreground image may be a processed image captured by a surrounding monitoring camera of the surrounding monitoring sensor 15.

[0148] When the vehicle is in autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation, there is a high possibility that the occupant is not monitoring the surroundings of the vehicle. If the occupant is not monitoring the surroundings of the vehicle, the occupant may be surprised when the location-targeted speed control is performed. In response to this, it is possible to give the occupant a sense of security by notifying the control point when the location-targeted speed control is performed.

[0149] When the speed control unit 151 performs location-targeted speed control, it is preferable that the HCU communication unit 103f does not perform control point notification if the following condition is met, even if the vehicle is in autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation. The condition is that a behavior change of the vehicle (hereinafter, target behavior change) estimated to be caused by the performance of the location-targeted speed control is equal to or greater than a threshold. The HCU communication unit 103f may determine whether the target behavior change is equal to or greater than a threshold, for example, by whether the acceleration applied to the vehicle is equal to or greater than a threshold. As the acceleration (hereinafter, G), lateral G, longitudinal G, etc. may be used. The HCU communication unit 103f may predict the acceleration applied to the vehicle from the behavior of the vehicle planned by the short-term planning unit 123. The threshold may be set arbitrarily.

[0150] When the behavior change of the vehicle caused by the implementation of the location-based speed control is small, the possibility of surprising the occupants is low even if the location-based speed control is implemented. In such a case, if the control point notification is performed, the occupants may feel annoyed. In contrast, according to the above configuration, it is possible to prevent the control point notification from being performed when the possibility of surprising the occupants is low. As a result, it is possible to make it difficult for the occupants to feel annoyed.

[0151] When the HCU communication unit 103f performs the control point notification, it is preferable that the control point notification is performed in accordance with the timing of performing the location target speed control. In other words, it is preferable to perform the control point notification simultaneously with the location target speed control. If the control point notification is performed before the location target speed control is performed, the occupant may be prepared for the control and may not be able to enjoy the time during the automatic driving without the obligation of monitoring. In contrast, according to the above configuration, it is possible to notify the occupant of the intention to perform the location target speed control while preventing the occupant from being prepared for the control.

[0152] <Notification instruction related processing in the autonomous driving ECU 10f> Here, an example of the flow of processing related to control point notification in the autonomous driving ECU 10f (hereinafter, notification instruction related processing) will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 16. Note that Fig. 16 may be configured to be started when the speed control unit 151 performs location target speed control.

[0153] First, in step S81, if the automation level of the vehicle identified by the level identification unit 121 is LV3 or higher (YES in S81), the process proceeds to step S82. On the other hand, if the automation level is LV1 to LV2 (NO in S81), the process proceeds to step S84.

[0154] In step S82, the HCU communication unit 103f determines whether or not G due to a change in the behavior of the vehicle estimated to be caused by the execution of the location-targeted speed control is equal to or greater than a threshold. If G is equal to or greater than the threshold (YES in S82), the process proceeds to step S83. On the other hand, if G is less than the threshold (NO in S82), the process proceeds to step S84. In FIG. 16, the threshold is represented as Th.

[0155] In step S83, the HCU communication unit 103f causes the control point notification to be performed in accordance with the timing of performing the location-targeted speed control. Then, the notification instruction related process is terminated. As an example, the HCU communication unit 103f may output information for causing the control point notification to be performed in the same timing as the timing of performing the location-targeted speed control to the HCU 19f. Then, under the control of the HCU 19f, the notification device 20 may cause the control point notification to be performed in the same timing as the timing of performing the location-targeted speed control.

[0156] In the seventh embodiment, the HCU communication unit 103f is configured to function as a notification control unit, but this is not necessarily limited to this. For example, the HCU 19f may be configured to function as a notification control unit. In this case, the configuration including the autonomous driving ECU 10f and the HCU 19f corresponds to a vehicle control device.

[0157] (Embodiment 8) The vehicle system 1 of the eighth embodiment may be configured as described below without being limited to the above-described embodiments. An example of the configuration of the eighth embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. The vehicle system 1 of the eighth embodiment is similar to the vehicle system 1 of the first embodiment, except that the vehicle system 1 of the eighth embodiment includes an autonomous driving ECU 10g instead of the autonomous driving ECU 10.

[0158] <Outline of Autonomous Driving ECU 10g> Here, the schematic configuration of the automatic driving ECU 10g will be described with reference to FIG. 17. As shown in FIG. 17, the automatic driving ECU 10g includes a driving environment recognition unit 101, a behavior determination unit 102g, an HCU communication unit 103, a state identification unit 104, and a control execution unit 105g as functional blocks. The automatic driving ECU 10g includes the behavior determination unit 102g instead of the behavior determination unit 102. The automatic driving ECU 10g includes the control execution unit 105g instead of the control execution unit 105. Except for these points, the automatic driving ECU 10g is similar to the automatic driving ECU 10 of the first embodiment. This automatic driving ECU 10g also corresponds to a vehicle control device. In addition, the execution of the processing of each functional block of the automatic driving ECU 10g by a computer corresponds to the execution of a vehicle control method.

[0159] The behavior determination unit 102g has a level identification unit 121, a long- to mid-term planner 122, and a short-term planner 123g as sub-functional blocks. The behavior determination unit 102g is similar to the behavior determination unit 102 of the first embodiment, except that it has a short-term planner 123g instead of the short-term planner 123. The control execution unit 105g has a speed control unit 151g as a sub-functional block. The control execution unit 105g is similar to the control execution unit 105 of the first embodiment, except that it has a speed control unit 151g instead of the speed control unit 151. The processing in this speed control unit 151g also corresponds to a speed control step.

[0160] The short-term planning unit 123g is similar to the short-term planning unit 123 of embodiment 1 except that the process related to the decision on execution of location target speed control is different. The speed control unit 151g is similar to the speed control unit 151 of embodiment 1 except that location target speed control is executed in accordance with the travel plan determined by the short-term planning unit 123g. The following describes these differences from embodiment 1.

[0161] When performing location-targeted speed control (hereinafter, location-targeted deceleration side control) that makes it easier to suppress speed or speed changes during automatic driving without a monitoring obligation, and when a lane change of the vehicle occurs, the short-term planning unit 123g performs the following. The short-term planning unit 123g decides to implement control that makes it easier to suppress speed or speed changes than when a lane change does not occur. Making speed or speed changes easier to suppress includes deceleration to obstacles around the vehicle, maintaining speed, and reducing acceleration. When performing location-targeted deceleration side control, the control that makes it easier to suppress speed or speed changes can be rephrased as control in a direction that makes it easier to avoid approaching obstacles around the vehicle. In other words, it can be rephrased as control on the safety side. The lane change referred to here is a lane change by LCA control in the control execution unit 105g. In other words, it is an automatic lane change.

[0162] When the location-targeted deceleration side control is performed and the host vehicle changes lanes, the speed control unit 151g performs control to make it easier to suppress the speed or speed change than when the lane change does not occur. When the location-targeted deceleration side control is performed during autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation and the host vehicle changes lanes, it is considered that it is easier to avoid obstacles around the host vehicle by suppressing the speed or speed change of the host vehicle. In contrast, according to the above configuration, in such a case, by performing control to make it easier to suppress the speed or speed change, it becomes easier to avoid obstacles around the host vehicle.

[0163] When the short-term planning unit 123g performs location-targeted deceleration side control and executes control to facilitate suppression of the above-mentioned speed or speed change when the vehicle changes lanes, it is preferable that the short-term planning unit 123g does the following. When there is a specific location where the vehicle is likely to be required to decelerate within a predetermined distance from the lane change destination point, the speed control unit 151g may determine to suppress acceleration after the lane change is completed. The predetermined distance may be set arbitrarily. The speed control unit 151g may also execute control to suppress acceleration after the lane change is completed. This makes it possible to suppress unnecessary acceleration and improve the comfort of the occupants.

[0164] When performing location-targeted speed control (hereinafter, location-targeted acceleration side control) for increasing the speed during autonomous driving without monitoring obligation and when a lane change occurs for the host vehicle, the short-term planning unit 123g performs the following. The short-term planning unit 123g decides to implement control for increasing the speed compared to when a lane change does not occur. When performing location-targeted acceleration side control, the control for increasing the speed can be rephrased as control in a direction that makes it easier to avoid approaching obstacles around the host vehicle. In other words, it can be rephrased as control on the safety side. As an example, at a merging point where acceleration is required, increasing the speed makes it easier to avoid approaching a following vehicle at the merging point.

[0165] When the location-targeted acceleration side control is performed and the host vehicle changes lanes, the speed control unit 151g performs control to increase the speed compared to when the lane change does not occur. When the location-targeted acceleration side control is performed during autonomous driving without monitoring obligation and the host vehicle changes lanes, it is considered that obstacles around the host vehicle can be easily avoided by increasing the speed of the host vehicle. In contrast, according to the above configuration, in such a case, by performing control to increase the speed, obstacles around the host vehicle can be easily avoided.

[0166] In the eighth embodiment, the speed control unit 151g is configured to be able to perform both the place-targeted deceleration side control and the place-targeted acceleration side control, but this is not necessarily limited to this. For example, the speed control unit 151g may be configured to be able to perform only one of the place-targeted deceleration side control and the place-targeted acceleration side control.

[0167] (Embodiment 9) The vehicle system 1 of the ninth embodiment may be configured as described below without being limited to the above-described embodiments. An example of the configuration of the ninth embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. The vehicle system 1 of the ninth embodiment is similar to the vehicle system 1 of the first embodiment, except that the vehicle system 1 of the ninth embodiment includes an autonomous driving ECU 10h instead of the autonomous driving ECU 10.

[0168] <Outline of Autonomous Driving ECU 10h> Here, the schematic configuration of the automatic driving ECU 10h will be described with reference to FIG. 18. As shown in FIG. 18, the automatic driving ECU 10h includes a driving environment recognition unit 101, a behavior determination unit 102h, an HCU communication unit 103, a state identification unit 104, and a control execution unit 105h as functional blocks. The automatic driving ECU 10h includes the behavior determination unit 102h instead of the behavior determination unit 102. The automatic driving ECU 10h includes the control execution unit 105h instead of the control execution unit 105. Except for these points, the automatic driving ECU 10h is similar to the automatic driving ECU 10 of the first embodiment. This automatic driving ECU 10h also corresponds to a vehicle control device. In addition, the execution of the processing of each functional block of the automatic driving ECU 10h by a computer corresponds to the execution of a vehicle control method.

[0169] The behavior determination unit 102h has a level identification unit 121, a long- to medium-term planner 122, and a short-term planner 123h as sub-functional blocks. The behavior determination unit 102h is similar to the behavior determination unit 102 of the first embodiment, except that the behavior determination unit 102h has a short-term planner 123h instead of the short-term planner 123. The control execution unit 105h has a speed control unit 151h as a sub-functional block. The control execution unit 105h is similar to the control execution unit 105 of the first embodiment, except that the control execution unit 105h has a speed control unit 151h instead of the speed control unit 151. The processing in this speed control unit 151h also corresponds to a speed control step.

[0170] The short-term planning unit 123h is similar to the short-term planning unit 123 of embodiment 1, except that the process related to the decision on execution of location target speed control is different. The speed control unit 151h is similar to the speed control unit 151 of embodiment 1, except that location target speed control is executed in accordance with the travel plan determined by the short-term planning unit 123h. The following describes these differences from embodiment 1.

[0171] The short-term planning unit 123h may determine not to perform location-targeted speed control when the vehicle is performing ACC control. The speed control unit 151h may not perform location-targeted speed control when the vehicle is performing ACC control. If location-targeted speed control is performed during ACC control, the vehicle may stop following the preceding vehicle. In addition, if location-targeted speed control is performed during ACC control, the inter-vehicle distance between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle may change suddenly. In this case, a large change in behavior may occur in order to match the vehicle to the target inter-vehicle distance, which may be annoying to the occupants. In contrast, the above configuration makes it possible to suppress this annoying feeling.

[0172] (Embodiment 10) In the above embodiment, the autonomous driving ECU 10, 10b, 10c, 10d, 10e, 10f, 10g, 10h is provided with the state identification unit 104, but this is not necessarily limited to the above. For example, the function of the state identification unit 104 may be performed by a unit other than the autonomous driving ECU 10, 10b, 10c, 10d, 10e, 10f, 10g, 10h. As an example, the HCU 19, 19f may perform the function of the state identification unit 104. In this case, the configuration including the autonomous driving ECU 10, 10b, 10c, 10d, 10e, 10f, 10g, 10h and the HCU 19, 19f corresponds to a vehicle control device.

[0173] (Embodiment 11) In the above embodiment, the autonomous driving ECUs 10, 10b, 10c, 10d, 10e, 10f, 10g, and 10h are provided with the driving environment recognition unit 101 and the location identification unit 111, but this is not necessarily limited to the above. For example, an ECU other than the autonomous driving ECUs 10, 10b, 10c, 10d, 10e, 10f, 10g, and 10h may be configured to perform the functions of the driving environment recognition unit 101 and the location identification unit 111. In this case, the autonomous driving ECUs 10, 10b, 10c, 10d, 10e, 10f, 10g, and 10h may acquire information recognized by the ECU that performs the functions of the driving environment recognition unit 101 and the location identification unit 111, and identify the driving environment and the driving location. In this case, the functional blocks in the autonomous driving ECUs 10, 10b, 10c, 10d, 10e, 10f, 10g, and 10h that identify the driving environment and driving location correspond to a driving environment identification unit and a location identification unit.

[0174] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. The embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in the different embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present disclosure. The control unit and the method described in the present disclosure may be realized by a dedicated computer constituting a processor programmed to execute one or more functions embodied by a computer program. Alternatively, the device and the method described in the present disclosure may be realized by a dedicated hardware logic circuit. Alternatively, the device and the method described in the present disclosure may be realized by one or more dedicated computers configured by a combination of a processor that executes a computer program and one or more hardware logic circuits. The computer program may be stored in a computer-readable non-transient tangible recording medium as instructions executed by the computer.

[0175] (Disclosed technical idea) This specification discloses multiple technical ideas described in the following multiple dependent claims. Some of the claims may be described in a multiple dependent form, where the subsequent claim alternatively refers to the preceding claim. Furthermore, some of the claims may be described in a multiple dependent form, where the subsequent claim alternatively refers to the preceding claim. The claims described in these multiple dependent forms define multiple technical ideas.

[0176] (Technical thought 1) A vehicle control device that can be used in a vehicle that can switch between automated driving without a monitoring obligation, which is an automated driving without a monitoring obligation, and automated driving with a monitoring obligation, which is an automated driving with a monitoring obligation, A location identification unit (111) that identifies a location where the vehicle is traveling; a speed control unit (151, 151b, 151c, 151d, 151e, 151g, 151h) that performs location-targeted speed control, which is a location-targeted speed control, by automatically changing the speed of the vehicle based on the fact that the location of the vehicle identified by the location identification unit is a specific location where a speed change of the vehicle is likely to be required due to a road structure, The speed control unit is a vehicle control device that changes the location-targeted speed control depending on whether the vehicle is in the autonomous driving state with a monitoring obligation or in the autonomous driving state without a monitoring obligation.

[0177] (Technical thought 2) A vehicle control device according to Technical Concept 1, The speed control unit is a vehicle control device that performs a first speed control, which is a location-targeted speed control that makes it easier to suppress speed or speed changes based on the fact that the vehicle is in autonomous driving without monitoring obligation compared to the case where the vehicle is in autonomous driving with monitoring obligation.

[0178] (Technical Thought 3) A vehicle control device according to Technical Concept 2, A state identification unit (104) for identifying a state of a driver of the vehicle, The speed control unit is a vehicle control device that switches whether or not to perform the first speed control depending on whether the driver's state identified by the state identification unit is a state in which the driver is performing a second task, which is a task other than a driving task, or a state in which surrounding monitoring is not being performed, even during the autonomous driving without monitoring obligation.

[0179] (Technical Thought 4) A vehicle control device according to Technical Concept 3, The speed control unit implements the first speed control when the vehicle is in the autonomous driving mode without monitoring obligation and the state of the driver identified by the state identification unit is a state in which the second task is being performed or a state in which surrounding monitoring is not being performed, and implements the second speed control, which is the location-targeted speed control in the case of autonomous driving with monitoring obligation, when the vehicle is in the autonomous driving mode without monitoring obligation and the state of the driver identified by the state identification unit is a state in which the second task is not being performed or a state in which surrounding monitoring is being performed.

[0180] (Technical Thought 5) A vehicle control device according to any one of Technical Concepts 2 to 4, As the autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation, a sleep-permitted autonomous driving in which the driver of the vehicle is permitted to sleep and a sleep-non-permitted autonomous driving in which the driver is not permitted to sleep can be used in a vehicle that can be switched between the sleep-permitted autonomous driving, The speed control unit is a vehicle control device that implements the first speed control when the sleep-disallowed automatic driving is in progress, and also implements the third speed control, which is the location-targeted speed control that makes it easier to suppress speed or speed changes than the first speed control, based on the fact that the sleep-permitted automatic driving is in progress.

[0181] (Technical Thought 6) A vehicle control device according to Technical Concept 5, A state identification unit (104) is provided for identifying a state of a driver of the vehicle, The speed control unit implements the third speed control when the sleep-disallowed automatic driving is in progress and the driver's state identified by the state identification unit is a sleeping state, and implements the first speed control when the sleep-disallowed automatic driving is in progress and the driver's state identified by the state identification unit is an awake state.

[0182] (Technical Thought 7) A vehicle control device according to any one of Technical Concepts 2 to 6, The speed control unit is performing the first speed control to automatically decelerate the vehicle on the basis that the traveling location of the vehicle identified by the location identification unit is the specific location where deceleration of the vehicle is likely to be required due to a road structure, A vehicle control device that, based on the fact that the vehicle is in autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation, implements, as the first speed control, control to increase the degree of deceleration compared to when the vehicle is in autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation, control to decelerate more gently compared to when the vehicle is in autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation, or control to start deceleration earlier than when the vehicle is in autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation.

[0183] (Technical Thought 8) A vehicle control device according to Technical Concept 7, As the autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation, a congestion-limited autonomous driving in which the autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation is permitted only during congestion, and an autonomous driving other than the congestion-limited autonomous driving can be used in a switchable vehicle, The speed control unit is a vehicle control device that performs the first speed control based on the fact that the vehicle is in autonomous driving without the monitoring obligation other than the congestion-limited autonomous driving, and when the vehicle is in autonomous driving with the monitoring obligation, performs the second speed control, which is the location-targeted speed control in the case of autonomous driving with the monitoring obligation.

[0184] (Technical Thought 9) A vehicle control device according to Technical Concept 7, As the autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation, a congestion-limited autonomous driving in which the autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation is permitted only during congestion, and an autonomous driving other than the congestion-limited autonomous driving can be used in a switchable vehicle, The speed control unit performs the first speed control based on the fact that the vehicle is in the non-monitoring autonomous driving mode other than the congestion-limited autonomous driving mode, but does not perform the location-targeted speed control when the vehicle is in the congestion-limited autonomous driving mode.

[0185] (Technical Thought 10) A vehicle control device according to any one of Technical Concepts 2 to 6, The speed control unit is performing the first speed control to automatically accelerate the vehicle on the basis that the traveling location of the vehicle identified by the location identification unit is the specific location where acceleration of the vehicle is likely to be required due to a road structure, A vehicle control device that, based on the fact that the vehicle is in autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation, performs the first speed control by controlling the degree of acceleration to be smaller than when the vehicle is in autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation, or by controlling the acceleration to be gentler than when the vehicle is in autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation.

[0186] (Technical Thought 11) A vehicle control device according to Technical Concept 1, The speed control unit is a vehicle control device that performs the location-targeted speed control during the autonomous driving without the monitoring obligation, even if the location-targeted speed control is not performed during the autonomous driving with the monitoring obligation.

[0187] (Technical Thought 12) A vehicle control device according to Technical Concept 11, The speed control unit is a vehicle control device that performs control to decelerate as location-targeted speed control during autonomous driving without monitoring obligation, even if control to decelerate as location-targeted speed control is not performed during autonomous driving with monitoring obligation when the driving location of the vehicle identified by the location identification unit is a curved road whose degree of curvature is equal to or greater than a specified value.

[0188] (Technical Thought 13) A vehicle control device according to Technical Idea 11 or 12, The speed control unit is a vehicle control device that performs control to decelerate as location-targeted speed control during autonomous driving without monitoring obligation, even if control to decelerate as location-targeted speed control is not performed during autonomous driving with monitoring obligation, based on the fact that the vehicle's driving location identified by the location identification unit is either an intersection or an interchange.

[0189] (Technical Thought 14) A vehicle control device according to Technical Concept 13, A route determination unit (122) that determines a planned route of the vehicle, The speed control unit is When the traveling location of the vehicle identified by the location identification unit is an intersection where a right or left turn is planned on the planned route, even if control of deceleration as the location-targeted speed control is not implemented during the automated driving with monitoring obligation, control of deceleration as the location-targeted speed control is implemented during the automated driving without monitoring obligation, A vehicle control device that does not implement control to decelerate the vehicle as the location-targeted speed control when the location of the vehicle identified by the location identification unit is an intersection where the vehicle is scheduled to travel straight on the planned route, even during the autonomous driving without monitoring obligation.

[0190] (Technical Thought 15) A vehicle control device according to any one of Technical Ideas 11 to 14, The speed control unit is a vehicle control device that performs control to suppress acceleration as location-targeted speed control during autonomous driving without monitoring obligation, even if control to suppress acceleration as location-targeted speed control is not performed during autonomous driving with monitoring obligation when the driving location of the vehicle identified by the location identification unit is a junction.

[0191] (Technical Thought 16) A vehicle control device according to Technical Concept 11, The speed control unit (151d) is a vehicle control device that does not implement the location-targeted speed control when the vehicle's driving location identified by the location identification unit is an intersection, an interchange, or a merging point, even when the vehicle is in automatic driving without the monitoring obligation.

[0192] (Technical Thought 17) A vehicle control device according to Technical Concept 11, The speed control unit (151e) is a vehicle control device that performs the location-targeted speed control during the autonomous driving without monitoring obligation when the vehicle's driving location identified by the location identification unit is a road whose longitudinal gradient is equal to or greater than a set value, but does not perform the location-targeted speed control during the autonomous driving with monitoring obligation.

[0193] (Technical Thought 18) A vehicle control device according to Technical Concept 17, a following driving control unit (105e) for performing a following driving control for maintaining a distance between the vehicle and a preceding vehicle at a target distance; the speed control unit, when the vehicle is performing the following cruise control, does not perform the location target speed control even if the traveling location of the vehicle identified by the location identification unit is a road having a longitudinal gradient equal to or greater than a set value; The following driving control unit is a vehicle control device that increases the target inter-vehicle distance when the driving location of the vehicle identified by the location identifying unit is a road whose longitudinal gradient is equal to or greater than a set value.

[0194] (Technical Thought 19) A vehicle control device according to Technical Concept 1, The speed control unit is a vehicle control device that performs a fourth speed control, which is a location-targeted speed control that makes it easier to maintain a speed based on the fact that the vehicle is in autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation, compared to the case where the vehicle is in autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation.

[0195] (Technical Thought 20) A vehicle control device according to Technical Concept 19, A state identification unit (104) is provided for identifying a state of a driver of the vehicle, The speed control unit implements the fourth speed control when the vehicle is in autonomous driving without monitoring obligation and the driver's state identified by the state identification unit is in a state where surrounding monitoring is not being performed, and implements the second speed control, which is the location-targeted speed control in the case of autonomous driving with monitoring obligation, when the vehicle is in autonomous driving without monitoring obligation and the driver's state identified by the state identification unit is in a state where surrounding monitoring is being performed.

[0196] (Technical Thought 21) A vehicle control device according to Technical Idea 19 or 20, The speed control unit is performing the fourth speed control on the basis that the traveling location of the vehicle identified by the location identification unit is the specific location where deceleration of the vehicle is likely to be required due to a road structure, A vehicle control device that, based on the fact that the vehicle is in autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation, performs the fourth speed control by controlling the vehicle to decelerate less than when the vehicle is in autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation, or by not decelerating the vehicle.

[0197] (Technical Thought 22) A vehicle control device according to Technical Idea 19 or 20, The speed control unit is performing the fourth speed control on the basis that the traveling location of the vehicle identified by the location identification unit is the specific location where acceleration of the vehicle is likely to be required due to a road structure, A vehicle control device that, based on the fact that the vehicle is in autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation, performs the fourth speed control by controlling the vehicle to accelerate less than when the vehicle is in autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation, or by performing no acceleration.

[0198] (Technical Thought 23) A vehicle control device according to Technical Concept 1, A vehicle control device including a notification control unit (103f) that, when the speed control unit performs the location-targeted speed control, issues a control point notification, which is a notification of the location where the location-targeted speed control is to be performed, based on whether the vehicle is in the state of autonomous driving without the monitoring obligation, but does not issue the control point notification when the vehicle is in the state of autonomous driving with the monitoring obligation.

[0199] (Technical Thought 24) A vehicle control device according to Technical Concept 23, The notification control unit is a vehicle control device that, when the speed control unit performs the location-targeted speed control, causes the control point notification to be performed if the change in behavior of the vehicle estimated to be caused by the implementation of the location-targeted speed control is equal to or greater than a threshold, even if the vehicle is in autonomous driving without the monitoring obligation, but does not cause the control point notification to be performed if the change in behavior is less than the threshold.

[0200] (Technical Thought 25) A vehicle control device according to Technical Idea 23 or 24, The notification control unit is a vehicle control device that, when causing the control point notification to be performed, causes the control point notification to be performed in accordance with a timing at which the location-specific speed control is performed.

[0201] (Technical Thought 26) A vehicle control device according to Technical Concept 1, The speed control section (151g) When the location-targeted speed control is performed to make it easier to suppress the speed or speed change during the autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation, and when a lane change occurs in the vehicle, a control is implemented to make it easier to suppress the speed or speed change than when the lane change does not occur; A vehicle control device that performs location-targeted speed control to increase the speed during autonomous driving without monitoring obligation, and when a lane change occurs in the vehicle, controls the speed to be higher than when the lane change does not occur in the location-targeted speed control.

[0202] (Technical Thought 27) A vehicle control device according to Technical Concept 26, The speed control unit is When the location-subject speed control is performed to make it easier to suppress the speed or speed change during the autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation, and when a lane change occurs in the vehicle, a control is implemented to make it easier to suppress the speed or speed change than when the lane change does not occur, A vehicle control device that implements control to suppress acceleration after completion of the lane change when the specific location is within a predetermined distance from the point to which the lane change is to be made.

[0203] (Technical Thought 28) A vehicle control device according to any one of Technical Ideas 1 to 27, The speed control unit (151h) is a vehicle control device that does not perform the location-targeted speed control when the vehicle is performing follow-up driving control that maintains the distance between the vehicle and a preceding vehicle at a target distance. [Explanation of symbols]

[0204] 1, 1f Vehicle system, 10, 10b, 10c, 10d, 10e, 10f, 10g, 10h Autonomous driving ECU (vehicle control device), 103f HCU communication unit (alert control unit), 104 State identification unit, 105e Control execution unit (following driving control unit), 111 Location identification unit, 122 Answer acquisition unit, 122 Long-term and medium-term planning unit (route identification unit), 123, 123b, 123c, 123d, 123e, 123g, 123h Short-term planning unit, 151, 151b, 151c, 151d, 151e, 151g, 151h Speed ​​control unit

Claims

1. A vehicle control device that can be used in a vehicle that can switch between automatic driving without a monitoring obligation, which is automatic driving without a monitoring obligation, and automatic driving with a monitoring obligation, which is automatic driving with a monitoring obligation, A location identification unit (111) that identifies a location where the vehicle is traveling; a speed control unit (151, 151b, 151c, 151d, 151e, 151g, 151h) that performs location-targeted speed control, which is a location-targeted speed control, by automatically changing the speed of the vehicle based on the fact that the location of the vehicle identified by the location identification unit is a specific location where a speed change of the vehicle is likely to be required due to a road structure, The speed control unit varies the location-targeted speed control depending on whether the vehicle is in the autonomous driving state with a monitoring obligation or in the autonomous driving state without a monitoring obligation, The speed control unit is a vehicle control device that performs a first speed control, which is a location-targeted speed control that makes it easier to suppress speed or speed changes based on the fact that the vehicle is in autonomous driving without monitoring obligation compared to the case where the vehicle is in autonomous driving with monitoring obligation.

2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, A state identification unit (104) for identifying a state of a driver of the vehicle, The speed control unit is a vehicle control device that switches whether or not to perform the first speed control depending on whether the driver's state identified by the state identification unit is a state in which the driver is performing a second task, which is a task other than a driving task, or a state in which surrounding monitoring is not being performed, even during the autonomous driving without monitoring obligation.

3. 3. The vehicle control device according to claim 2, The speed control unit performs the first speed control when the vehicle is in autonomous driving without monitoring obligation and the driver's state identified by the state identification unit is a state in which the second task is being performed or a state in which surrounding monitoring is not being performed, while the speed control unit performs the second speed control, which is the location-targeted speed control in the case of autonomous driving with monitoring obligation, when the vehicle is in autonomous driving without monitoring obligation and the driver's state identified by the state identification unit is a state in which the second task is not being performed or a state in which surrounding monitoring is being performed.

4. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, As the autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation, a sleep-permitted autonomous driving in which the driver of the vehicle is permitted to sleep and a sleep-non-permitted autonomous driving in which the driver is not permitted to sleep can be used in a vehicle that can be switched between the sleep-permitted autonomous driving, The speed control unit of the vehicle control device implements the first speed control when the sleep-disallowed automatic driving is in progress, while implementing the third speed control, which is the location-targeted speed control that makes it easier to suppress speed or speed changes than the first speed control, based on the fact that the sleep-permitted automatic driving is in progress.

5. The vehicle control device according to claim 4, A state identification unit (104) is provided for identifying a state of a driver of the vehicle, A vehicle control device, wherein the speed control unit performs the third speed control when the sleep-disallowed automatic driving is in progress and the driver's state identified by the state identification unit is a sleeping state, and performs the first speed control when the sleep-disallowed automatic driving is in progress and the driver's state identified by the state identification unit is an awake state.

6. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, The speed control unit is performing the first speed control to automatically decelerate the vehicle on the basis that the traveling location of the vehicle identified by the location identification unit is the specific location where deceleration of the vehicle is likely to be required due to a road structure, A vehicle control device that, based on the fact that the vehicle is in autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation, implements, as the first speed control, control to increase the degree of deceleration compared to when the vehicle is in autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation, control to decelerate more gently compared to when the vehicle is in autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation, or control to start deceleration earlier than when the vehicle is in autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation.

7. 7. The vehicle control device according to claim 6, As the autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation, a congestion-limited autonomous driving in which the autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation is permitted only during congestion, and an autonomous driving other than the congestion-limited autonomous driving can be used in a switchable vehicle, The speed control unit is a vehicle control device that performs the first speed control based on the fact that the vehicle is in autonomous driving without the monitoring obligation other than the congestion-limited autonomous driving, and when the vehicle is in autonomous driving with the monitoring obligation, performs the second speed control, which is the location-targeted speed control in the case of autonomous driving with the monitoring obligation.

8. 7. The vehicle control device according to claim 6, As the autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation, a congestion-limited autonomous driving in which the autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation is permitted only during congestion, and an autonomous driving other than the congestion-limited autonomous driving can be used in a switchable vehicle, The speed control unit performs the first speed control based on whether the vehicle is in the non-monitoring autonomous driving mode other than the congestion-limited autonomous driving mode, but does not perform the location-targeted speed control when the vehicle is in the congestion-limited autonomous driving mode.

9. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, The speed control unit is performing the first speed control to automatically accelerate the vehicle on the basis that the traveling location of the vehicle identified by the location identification unit is the specific location where acceleration of the vehicle is likely to be required due to a road structure, A vehicle control device that, based on the fact that the vehicle is in autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation, performs the first speed control by controlling the degree of acceleration to be smaller than when the vehicle is in autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation, or by controlling the acceleration to be gentler than when the vehicle is in autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation.

10. A vehicle control device that can be used in a vehicle that can switch between automatic driving without a monitoring obligation, which is automatic driving without a monitoring obligation, and automatic driving with a monitoring obligation, which is automatic driving with a monitoring obligation, A location identification unit (111) that identifies a location where the vehicle is traveling; a speed control unit (151, 151b, 151c, 151d, 151e, 151g, 151h) that performs location-targeted speed control, which is a location-targeted speed control, by automatically changing the speed of the vehicle based on the fact that the location of the vehicle identified by the location identification unit is a specific location where a speed change of the vehicle is likely to be required due to a road structure, The speed control unit varies the location-targeted speed control depending on whether the vehicle is in the autonomous driving state with a monitoring obligation or in the autonomous driving state without a monitoring obligation, The speed control unit is a vehicle control device that performs the location-targeted speed control during the autonomous driving without the monitoring obligation, even if the location-targeted speed control is not performed during the autonomous driving with the monitoring obligation.

11. The vehicle control device according to claim 10, The speed control unit is a vehicle control device that performs control to decelerate as location-targeted speed control during autonomous driving without monitoring obligation, even if control to decelerate as location-targeted speed control is not performed during autonomous driving with monitoring obligation when the driving location of the vehicle identified by the location identification unit is a curved road whose degree of curvature is equal to or greater than a specified value.

12. The vehicle control device according to claim 10, The speed control unit is a vehicle control device that performs control to decelerate as location-targeted speed control during autonomous driving without monitoring obligation, even if control to decelerate as location-targeted speed control is not performed during autonomous driving with monitoring obligation, based on the fact that the vehicle's driving location identified by the location identification unit is either an intersection or an interchange.

13. The vehicle control device according to claim 12, A route specification unit (122) for specifying a planned route of the vehicle is provided, The speed control unit is When the traveling location of the vehicle identified by the location identification unit is an intersection where a right or left turn is planned on the planned route, even if control of deceleration as the location-targeted speed control is not implemented during the automated driving with monitoring obligation, control of deceleration as the location-targeted speed control is implemented during the automated driving without monitoring obligation, A vehicle control device that does not implement control to decelerate the vehicle as the location-targeted speed control when the location of the vehicle identified by the location identification unit is an intersection where the vehicle is scheduled to travel straight on the planned route, even during the autonomous driving without monitoring obligation.

14. The vehicle control device according to claim 10, The speed control unit is a vehicle control device that performs control to suppress acceleration as location-targeted speed control during autonomous driving without monitoring obligation, even if control to suppress acceleration as location-targeted speed control is not performed during autonomous driving with monitoring obligation when the driving location of the vehicle identified by the location identification unit is a junction.

15. The vehicle control device according to claim 10, The speed control unit (151d) is a vehicle control device that does not perform the location-targeted speed control when the vehicle's driving location identified by the location identification unit is an intersection, an interchange, or a merging point, even when the vehicle is in autonomous driving without the monitoring obligation.

16. The vehicle control device according to claim 10, The speed control unit (151e) is a vehicle control device that performs the location-targeted speed control during the autonomous driving without monitoring obligation when the vehicle's driving location identified by the location identification unit is a road with a longitudinal gradient of a set value or more, but does not perform the location-targeted speed control during the autonomous driving with monitoring obligation.

17. The vehicle control device according to claim 16, a following driving control unit (105e) for performing a following driving control for maintaining a distance between the vehicle and a preceding vehicle at a target distance; the speed control unit, when the vehicle is performing the following cruise control, does not perform the location target speed control even if the traveling location of the vehicle identified by the location identification unit is a road having a longitudinal gradient equal to or greater than a set value; The following driving control unit is a vehicle control device that increases the target inter-vehicle distance when the driving location of the vehicle identified by the location identifying unit is a road whose longitudinal gradient is equal to or greater than a set value.

18. A vehicle control device that can be used in a vehicle that can switch between automatic driving without a monitoring obligation, which is automatic driving without a monitoring obligation, and automatic driving with a monitoring obligation, which is automatic driving with a monitoring obligation, A location identification unit (111) that identifies a location where the vehicle is traveling; a speed control unit (151, 151b, 151c, 151d, 151e, 151g, 151h) that performs location-targeted speed control, which is a location-targeted speed control, by automatically changing the speed of the vehicle based on the fact that the location of the vehicle identified by the location identification unit is a specific location where a speed change of the vehicle is likely to be required due to a road structure, The speed control unit varies the location-targeted speed control depending on whether the vehicle is in the autonomous driving state with a monitoring obligation or in the autonomous driving state without a monitoring obligation, The speed control unit is a vehicle control device that performs a fourth speed control, which is a location-targeted speed control that makes it easier to maintain a speed when the vehicle is in autonomous driving mode without a monitoring obligation, compared to when the vehicle is in autonomous driving mode with a monitoring obligation.

19. The vehicle control device according to claim 18, A state identification unit (104) is provided for identifying a state of a driver of the vehicle, The speed control unit implements the fourth speed control when the vehicle is in autonomous driving without monitoring obligation and the driver's state identified by the state identification unit is in a state where surrounding monitoring is not being performed, and implements the second speed control, which is the location-targeted speed control in the case of autonomous driving with monitoring obligation, when the vehicle is in autonomous driving without monitoring obligation and the driver's state identified by the state identification unit is in a state where surrounding monitoring is being performed.

20. The vehicle control device according to claim 18, The speed control unit is performing the fourth speed control on the basis that the traveling location of the vehicle identified by the location identification unit is the specific location where deceleration of the vehicle is likely to be required due to a road structure, A vehicle control device that, based on the fact that the vehicle is in autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation, performs the fourth speed control by reducing the degree of deceleration compared to the case of autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation, or by not performing deceleration.

21. The vehicle control device according to claim 18, The speed control unit is performing the fourth speed control on the basis that the traveling location of the vehicle identified by the location identification unit is the specific location where acceleration of the vehicle is likely to be required due to a road structure, A vehicle control device that, based on the fact that the vehicle is in autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation, performs the fourth speed control by controlling the vehicle to accelerate less than when the vehicle is in autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation, or by performing no acceleration.

22. The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 21, The speed control unit (151h) is a vehicle control device that does not perform the location-targeted speed control when the vehicle is performing follow-up driving control that maintains the distance between the vehicle and a preceding vehicle at a target distance.

23. A vehicle control method that can be used in a vehicle that can switch between automatic driving without a monitoring obligation, which is automatic driving without a surrounding monitoring obligation, and automatic driving with a monitoring obligation, which is automatic driving with a surrounding monitoring obligation, Executed by at least one processor, a location identification step of identifying a location where the vehicle is traveling; a speed control step of performing a location-targeted speed control, which is a speed control targeting a location, for automatically changing the speed of the vehicle on the basis that the location of the vehicle travelling identified in the location identification step is a specific location where a speed change of the vehicle is likely to be required due to a road structure, In the speed control step, the location-targeted speed control is varied depending on whether the vehicle is in the autonomous driving state with a monitoring obligation or in the autonomous driving state without a monitoring obligation, In the speed control process, the vehicle control method performs a first speed control, which is a location-targeted speed control that makes it easier to suppress speed or speed changes based on the fact that the vehicle is in autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation, compared to the case where the vehicle is in autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation.

24. A vehicle control method that can be used in a vehicle that can switch between automatic driving without a monitoring obligation, which is automatic driving without a surrounding monitoring obligation, and automatic driving with a monitoring obligation, which is automatic driving with a surrounding monitoring obligation, Executed by at least one processor, a location identification step of identifying a location where the vehicle is traveling; a speed control step of performing a location-targeted speed control, which is a speed control targeting a location, for automatically changing the speed of the vehicle on the basis that the location of the vehicle travelling identified in the location identification step is a specific location where a speed change of the vehicle is likely to be required due to a road structure, In the speed control step, the location-targeted speed control is varied depending on whether the vehicle is in the autonomous driving state with a monitoring obligation or in the autonomous driving state without a monitoring obligation, A vehicle control method in which, in the speed control step, even if the location-targeted speed control is not performed during the automatic driving with monitoring obligation, the location-targeted speed control is performed during the automatic driving without monitoring obligation.

25. A vehicle control method that can be used in a vehicle that can switch between automatic driving without a monitoring obligation, which is automatic driving without a surrounding monitoring obligation, and automatic driving with a monitoring obligation, which is automatic driving with a surrounding monitoring obligation, Executed by at least one processor, a location identification step of identifying a location where the vehicle is traveling; a speed control step of performing a location-targeted speed control, which is a speed control targeting a location, for automatically changing the speed of the vehicle on the basis that the location of the vehicle travelling identified in the location identification step is a specific location where a speed change of the vehicle is likely to be required due to a road structure, In the speed control step, the location-targeted speed control is varied depending on whether the vehicle is in the autonomous driving state with a monitoring obligation or in the autonomous driving state without a monitoring obligation, The speed control process of this vehicle control method implements a fourth speed control, which is a location-targeted speed control that makes it easier to maintain the speed based on the fact that the vehicle is in autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation compared to the case where the vehicle is in autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation.

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