Vehicle control device

Abstract

To provide a vehicle control device capable of switching a control mode from manual operation control to automatic operation control taking into consideration a road surface state with improved appropriateness.SOLUTION: A vehicle control device capable of switching between automatic operation control and manual operation control comprises: a route difference determination section 11 which determines whether or not a route difference between a target travel route and a current travel route of an own vehicle is less than a predetermined switchover threshold; an automatic operation execution section 12 which executes the automatic operation control by switching a control mode from the manual operation control to the automatic operation control when receiving an instruction to switch the control mode from the manual operation control to the automatic operation control with the route difference less than the switchover threshold; a road surface determination section 13 which determines a current travel road surface state; and a threshold change section 14 which changes the switchover threshold on the basis of a determination result of the road surface determination section.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

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

[0002] The vehicle control device is configured to be able to switch the control mode from manual driving control to automatic driving control, for example, in response to the driver's operation. As a condition for this switching, it is set that the path difference between the target driving path used in the automatic driving control and the actual driving path is less than a predetermined threshold. This is because if the control mode is switched to the automatic driving control in a state where the path difference is large, the behavior of the vehicle may be disturbed due to abrupt control of the steering angle. Therefore, for example, JP 2018-172050 A discloses a steering control device that controls the steering angle so that the path difference gradually decreases after switching to the automatic driving control when the path difference is equal to or greater than a threshold. This makes it possible to make the vehicle smoothly follow the target driving path. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-172050 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Meanwhile, the behavior of a vehicle is affected by the road surface on which the vehicle is traveling (traveling road surface). When traveling on a bad road, the behavior of the vehicle is more likely to become unstable than when traveling on a good road. Therefore, for example, even if a route difference does not cause the behavior of the vehicle to become unstable on a good road, the behavior of the vehicle may become unstable on a bad road. When the road is unpaved or covered with snow, there is a relatively high possibility that the road surface condition will deteriorate due to the traveling of the vehicle, and the number of bad roads is likely to increase. From this perspective, there is room for improvement in the above-mentioned device. An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle control device that can more appropriately switch a control mode from manual driving control to automatic driving control by taking into account road surface conditions. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The vehicle control device of the present invention is a vehicle control device configured to be capable of switching between automatic driving control, which acquires a target driving route and controls the vehicle so as to eliminate the difference between the actual driving route of the vehicle and the target driving route, and manual driving control, which controls the vehicle based on the driver's operation, and is equipped with a route difference determination unit that determines whether the route difference between the target driving route and the current driving route of the vehicle is less than a predetermined switching threshold, an automatic driving execution unit that, when receiving a command to switch the control mode from the manual driving control to the automatic driving control, switches the control mode from the manual driving control to the automatic driving control and executes the automatic driving control if the route difference is less than the switching threshold, a road surface determination unit that determines the state of the current driving road surface, and a threshold change unit that changes the switching threshold based on the determination result of the road surface determination unit. Effect of the Invention

[0006] According to the present invention, the switching threshold for switching the control mode is changed according to the state of the road surface on which the vehicle is traveling. This makes it possible to set a switching threshold suitable for the road surface state. For example, according to the present invention, it is possible to increase the switching threshold on a good road to make it easier to permit switching to automatic driving control, and to decrease the switching threshold on a bad road to make it easier to prohibit switching to automatic driving control. In this way, according to the present invention, it is possible to more appropriately switch the control mode from manual driving control to automatic driving control, taking into account the road surface state. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 is a configuration diagram of a vehicle control device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a route difference (deviation degree) in the present embodiment. [Diagram 3]FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a switching threshold value according to the present embodiment. [Diagram 5] 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a control mode switching process according to the present embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] Hereinafter, as a mode for carrying out the present invention, a vehicle control device 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition to the following embodiment, the present invention can be carried out in various forms with various modifications and improvements based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art.

[0009] The vehicle control device 1 of this embodiment is an electronic control unit (ECU) or a computer (for example, an on-board computer) that includes at least one processor and at least one memory. Various programs and various data are stored in the memory. The processor reads and executes the programs from the memory to perform various calculations and controls. Communication within the vehicle is performed by CAN (car area network or controllable area network).

[0010] The vehicle control device 1 is configured to be able to switch between automatic driving control, which acquires a target driving route and controls the vehicle so as to eliminate the difference between the actual driving route of the vehicle and the target driving route, and manual driving control, which controls the vehicle based on the driver's operation. In other words, the vehicle control device 1 can switch the control mode from manual driving control to automatic driving control.

[0011] The target driving route is calculated based on, for example, the position information of the vehicle, map data, and destination information. The position information of the vehicle is, for example, positioning data of a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). The target driving route may be calculated by the vehicle control device 1, or may be calculated by another device (for example, another on-board ECU or a control system 9 outside the vehicle) and then transmitted to the vehicle control device 1. Note that the automatic driving control may be control that controls the driving force, braking force, and steering angle of the vehicle, or control that controls only the steering angle (steering). The target steering angle, which is a target value of the steering angle in the control, is calculated based on the target driving route (for example, the curvature of the target driving route, etc.).

[0012] The vehicle control device 1 includes, as functions, a route difference determination unit 11, an automatic driving execution unit 12, a road surface determination unit 13, and a threshold change unit 14. The route difference determination unit 11 determines whether or not the route difference between the target driving route and the current driving route of the vehicle is less than a predetermined switching threshold. In other words, the route difference determination unit 11 determines whether or not the deviation degree of the current driving route of the vehicle from the target driving route is less than a predetermined switching threshold. The control mode switching process is executed based on, for example, a driver's switching operation (e.g., a switch operation, etc.). A switching command is transmitted to the vehicle control device 1 by the driver's switching operation. The route difference determination unit 11 may execute a calculation related to the route difference regardless of the presence or absence of the driver's operation.

[0013] The route difference determination unit 11 calculates the driving route of the host vehicle (for example, the position of the host vehicle on a road) based on the position information of the host vehicle. The route difference determination unit 11 may calculate the driving route from the current and past positions of the host vehicle, for example. The route difference determination unit 11 may also calculate the current position and state (orientation) of the host vehicle as the driving route of the host vehicle. The route difference determination unit 11 may recognize the position of the host vehicle based on the positioning data of the GNSS, and may further recognize the position of the host vehicle by utilizing the detection result of the surroundings monitoring device 5.

[0014] The periphery monitoring device 5 is a device that monitors the periphery of the vehicle, and is configured to include, for example, a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging, or Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging). The periphery monitoring device 5 of this embodiment includes, for example, one or more LiDARs, one or more cameras that capture the periphery of the vehicle, and one or more radars that measure the distance between the vehicle and objects around the vehicle. The periphery monitoring device 5 can also be said to be a device for measuring the distance between the vehicle and objects around the vehicle in order to calculate the positional relationship between the vehicle and objects around the vehicle (for example, obstacles, other vehicles, etc.). For example, based on the detection result of the periphery monitoring device 5 and three-dimensional map data, it is possible to calculate the self-position with higher accuracy. The target driving route and the position of the vehicle may be calculated and updated as appropriate based on the detection result of the periphery monitoring device 5.

[0015] When receiving a command (request) to switch to automatic driving control by, for example, a driver's switch operation, the route difference determination unit 11 calculates a route difference between the target driving route and the current driving route of the vehicle, and compares the route difference with a switching threshold. For example, the route difference determination unit 11 calculates a value based on the minimum separation distance between the current position of the vehicle and the target driving route as the route difference. As described above, the route difference corresponds to the deviation degree of the driving route of the vehicle from the target driving route. As shown in FIG. 2, for example, if the angle between a tangent L1 of the target driving route at a point on the target driving route that is the minimum separation distance Z and a straight line L2 parallel to the traveling direction of the vehicle is called a deviation angle θ, the deviation degree can be expressed as a function of the deviation angle θ and the minimum separation distance Z.

[0016] When the automatic driving execution unit 12 receives a command to switch the control mode from manual driving control to automatic driving control, if the path difference is less than a switching threshold, the automatic driving execution unit 12 switches the control mode from manual driving control to automatic driving control and executes automatic driving control. As automatic driving control, the automatic driving execution unit 12 controls the driving force, braking force, and steering angle of the vehicle based on the position of the vehicle and the target driving path. For example, in automatic steering control, tracking control is performed to make the vehicle follow the target driving path, and when switching from manual steering control to automatic steering control, automatic steering is performed to return the vehicle to the target driving path. For example, the command value of the steering angle is calculated so as to converge the actual driving path to the target driving path with a predetermined responsiveness.

[0017] When the automatic driving execution unit 12 receives a command to switch the control mode from manual driving control to automatic driving control, if the path difference is equal to or greater than the switching threshold, the automatic driving execution unit 12 prohibits switching from manual driving control to automatic driving control. In this case, even if the driver performs a switching operation, the control mode is maintained in manual driving control. Note that, when the path difference is equal to or greater than the switching threshold, the automatic driving execution unit 12 may execute automatic driving control so that the path difference becomes smaller with a slower response than a predetermined response (response under normal conditions) after switching from manual driving control to automatic driving control (hereinafter also referred to as "gradual change processing"). The automatic driving execution unit 12 gradually (slowly) approaches the steering angle to the target steering angle. In the gradual change processing, the automatic driving execution unit 12 gradually changes the command value of the steering angle so that the actual steering angle gradually approaches the target steering angle.

[0018] The road surface determination unit 13 determines the current state of the road surface on which the vehicle is traveling. The road surface determination unit 13 of this embodiment determines whether the road surface on which the vehicle is traveling is a bad road having predetermined ruts or an uneven road surface. A specific example of road surface determination will be described.

[0019] (First example of road surface judgment) Road surface determination unit 13 stores a control amount that is set based on the target driving route or the target steering angle and serves as a reference for the actual steering angle as a reference value. The control amount is a current value of a control current that vehicle control device 1 supplies to steering motor 2 (hereinafter also referred to as an "assist current value"). The assist current value is detected by current sensor 2a.

[0020] The steering motor 2 is an electric motor that applies a steering force (hereinafter also referred to as "steering assist force") to the steered wheels (here, the front wheels). The reference value is set in advance corresponding to the target driving route or the target steering angle, and can be said to be a normative assist current value for the actual steering angle. In other words, the reference value corresponds to the assist current value for the actual steering angle when the vehicle is traveling on a paved road.

[0021] Road surface determination unit 13 acquires information on the actual control amount for the actual steering angle of the front wheels. Road surface determination unit 13 stores time series data of the actual steering angle and time series data of the assist current value. When the deviation from the reference value, which is the deviation of the actual control amount from the reference value, exceeds a predetermined deviation threshold during automatic driving control, road surface determination unit 13 determines that there are predetermined ruts or unevenness on the road surface. That is, in this case, road surface determination unit 13 determines that the traveling road surface is a bad road.

[0022] An assist current value for an actual steering angle on a road surface without unevenness is set as a reference value in road surface determination unit 13. Road surface determination unit 13 calculates the difference between the reference value and a trajectory-related value (actual control amount), which are assist current values ​​for the same actual steering angle, and compares the calculation result (deviation from the reference value) with a deviation threshold value.

[0023] The automatic driving execution unit 12 sets the assist current value so that the difference between the actual steering angle and the target steering angle is reduced, for example, by feedback control. Therefore, if the difference between the actual steering angle and the target steering angle does not become smaller due to unevenness of the road surface, the automatic driving execution unit 12 increases the assist current value and the steering assist force. When the vehicle is about to cross a rut, the road resistance against steering becomes larger compared to when the vehicle is turning on a flat road surface, and the assist current value for the actual steering angle becomes larger. In other words, when achieving the target driving route and the target steering angle, differences occur in the assist current value and the steering assist force depending on the road surface condition. The road surface determination unit 13 uses this principle to determine the road surface condition.

[0024] If the deviation from the reference is equal to or less than the deviation threshold, road surface determination unit 13 determines that there are no unevenness (good road), and if the deviation from the reference exceeds the deviation threshold, it determines that there are ruts or an uneven road surface (bad road). The deviation threshold is set assuming, for example, large ruts. Note that the determination element for the road surface may be the steering assist force (torque of steering motor 2) instead of the assist current value. The assist current value and the steering assist force are correlated. If the steering assist force is used as the determination element for unevenness, the control amount can be a value equivalent to the force (torque) with which steering motor 2 steers the front wheels, which is generated by applying a control current.

[0025] (Second example of road surface judgment) The road surface determination unit 13 may determine the road surface condition based on, for example, the wheel speed detected by the wheel speed sensor 31. When the vehicle is traveling on a bad road (a road surface having a predetermined rut or unevenness), the wheel speed of each wheel is more likely to fluctuate compared to when the vehicle is traveling on a paved road. Therefore, the road surface determination unit 13 determines that the road surface is a bad road when, for example, the number of times that the differential value of the wheel speed exceeds a predetermined threshold within a predetermined time period is equal to or greater than a predetermined number threshold. Also, the road surface determination unit 13 determines that the road surface is a bad road when the number of times that the time difference value of the wheel speed (amount of change per certain time period) exceeds a predetermined threshold within a predetermined time period is equal to or greater than a predetermined number threshold. For example, if the number threshold is 10 times, and the above-mentioned situations are detected with respect to the differential value or the time difference value five times for the right front wheel, once for the left front wheel, once for the right rear wheel, and three times for the left rear wheel within a predetermined time period, the road surface determination unit 13 determines that the road surface is a bad road.

[0026] (Third example of road surface judgment) Road surface determination unit 13 may determine the road surface condition based on, for example, the assist current value (detection value of current sensor 2a) of the control current supplied to steering motor 2. When the vehicle is traveling on a rough road, the input to the wheels varies due to unevenness, and the assist current value changes more frequently than when traveling on a paved road. Therefore, road surface determination unit 13 determines that the road surface is rough when, for example, the number of times that the amount of change in the assist current value becomes equal to or exceeds a predetermined threshold value within a predetermined time period becomes equal to or exceeds a predetermined number threshold value. Note that road surface determination unit 13 may determine the road surface condition based on the steering assist force instead of the assist current value.

[0027] (Fourth example of road surface judgment) The road surface determination unit 13 may determine the road surface condition based on, for example, the suspension stroke detected by the suspension stroke sensor 32. When the vehicle is traveling on a rough road, the suspension stroke changes more frequently than when the vehicle is traveling on a paved road. Therefore, the road surface determination unit 13 determines that the road surface is rough when, for example, the number of times that the amount of change in the suspension stroke exceeds a predetermined threshold within a predetermined time period becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined number threshold.

[0028] The suspension device is, for example, an electronically controlled suspension, and is configured to be able to execute a holding control to hold the suspension stroke. Examples of electronically controlled suspensions include those that adjust the damping force of a shock absorber by electronic control, and those that adjust the hardness by air pressure or hydraulic pressure. On a rough road, the holding control operates relatively frequently, and the control amount (for example, the supply current value) fluctuates relatively a lot. Therefore, the road surface determination unit 13 may determine that the road surface is a rough road, for example, based on the control amount in the holding control, when the number of times that the control amount change exceeds a predetermined threshold value becomes equal to or exceeds a predetermined number threshold value.

[0029] (Fifth example of road surface judgment) Furthermore, the road surface determination unit 13 may determine the road surface condition based on the acceleration in the vertical direction of the vehicle (hereinafter also referred to as "vertical acceleration") detected by the vertical acceleration sensor 33. In this case, the road surface determination unit 13 determines that the road surface is bad when, for example, the number of times that the vertical acceleration exceeds a predetermined threshold within a predetermined time period becomes equal to or exceeds a predetermined number of times threshold. The determination element is not limited to the vertical acceleration, and may be, based on the same principle, the detection value (roll rate) of the roll rate sensor 34 or the detection value (pitch rate) of the pitch rate sensor 35.

[0030] (Sixth example of road surface judgment) The road surface determination unit 13 may determine the road surface condition based on the shaking of the occupant (e.g., the occupant's head) detected by the camera 36. In this case, the road surface determination unit 13 determines that the road surface is bad, for example, when the number of times that the amount of shaking of the occupant (e.g., the amount of shaking of the occupant's head) exceeds a predetermined threshold within a predetermined time period is equal to or greater than a predetermined number threshold. The road surface determination unit 13 may also determine the road surface condition based on the pressure applied to the seat (seat) detected by the pressure sensor 37. In this case, the road surface determination unit 13 determines that the road surface is bad, for example, when the number of times that the amount of change in pressure exceeds a predetermined threshold within a predetermined time period is equal to or greater than a number threshold. The road surface determination unit 13 may determine that the road surface is bad, for example, when the number of times that at least one of the amount of shaking of the occupant and the amount of change in pressure exceeds a corresponding predetermined threshold within a predetermined time period is equal to or greater than a number threshold. When the vehicle is traveling on a rough road, the occupant sways relatively more and more frequently, and the pressure applied to the seat also changes more and more frequently. The various sensors and devices 2a, 31 to 37 used in the road surface judgment as described above can be said to be behavior detection devices that detect the behavior of the vehicle or the behavior of the occupant.

[0031] (Seventh example of road surface judgment) 3, the road surface determination unit 13 may obtain road surface information stored in a memory inside the vehicle or road surface information stored in a control system 9 outside the vehicle, and determine the current state of the road surface on which the vehicle is traveling. For example, the vehicle control device 1 may store the determination result of the road surface determination unit 13 in association with map data (i.e., store the result so that the road surface determination position can be seen on the map), or may transmit the determination result to the control system 9.

[0032] The control system 9 is, for example, a computer that functions as a server, and is arranged in a facility outside the vehicle. The control system 9 is configured to be able to communicate with a plurality of vehicles via a wireless communication device and a communication network. The control system 9, for example, acquires road surface information from a plurality of vehicles, and stores the information in association with map data. The control system 9 transmits road surface information (for example, information on the current road surface and / or the road surface to be traveled in the future) of the road on the target travel route to each vehicle provided with a vehicle control device 1, based on, for example, the position information of the vehicle itself and the judgment result of the road surface condition (for example, the latest judgment result). With this configuration, it is possible to determine in advance whether or not the vehicle will be traveling on a bad road. Note that, when the road is leveled, the information may be transmitted to the control system 9, and the road surface information may be updated.

[0033] (Change in switching threshold) The threshold value changing unit 14 changes the switching threshold value for switching the control mode from manual driving control to automatic driving control based on the judgment result of the road surface judgment unit 13. In this embodiment, the threshold value changing unit 14 sets the switching threshold value to a predetermined value (for example, an initial value) when the road surface judgment unit 13 judges that the traveling road surface is not a bad road, and sets the switching threshold value to a value smaller than the predetermined value when the road surface judgment unit 13 judges that the traveling road surface is a bad road.

[0034] The smaller the switching threshold, the more likely it is that switching of the control mode is prohibited. In other words, the larger the switching threshold, the more likely it is that switching of the control mode is permitted. When the traveling road surface is bad, the vehicle's behavior is more likely to become unstable compared to when the traveling road surface is good (normal). Therefore, it is preferable that the worse the traveling road surface is, the more likely it is that switching of the control mode is prohibited. This makes it possible to suppress the switching being permitted for route differences that cause unstable behavior.

[0035] For example, as shown in FIG. 4, according to the vehicle control device 1, even if the path difference X is the same, switching is permitted for a vehicle C1 traveling on a good road because the path difference X is less than the switching threshold, whereas switching is prohibited for a vehicle C2 traveling on a bad road because the path difference X is equal to or greater than the switching threshold.

[0036] In addition, when the road surface determination unit 13 evaluates the traveling road surface in three or more stages, such as good road, slightly bad road, and bad road, the threshold change unit 14 may change the switching threshold according to the evaluation. For example, the threshold change unit 14 may set the switching threshold to a first predetermined value when the traveling road surface is a good road, set the switching threshold to a second predetermined value smaller than the first predetermined value when the traveling road surface is a slightly bad road, and set the switching threshold to a third predetermined value smaller than the second predetermined value when the traveling road surface is a bad road. Also, for example, the threshold change unit 14 may make the switching threshold larger than the initial value when the traveling road surface is a good road, set the switching threshold to the initial value when the traveling road surface is a slightly bad road, and make the switching threshold smaller than the initial value when the traveling road surface is a bad road.

[0037] An example of the flow of a switching process for switching the control mode from manual driving control to automatic driving control will be described with reference to Fig. 5. When the driver performs an operation (e.g., a switch operation) to switch the control mode to automatic driving control, that is, when a switching command is received, the vehicle control device 1 determines whether or not automatic driving control is in progress (S1). When the control mode is automatic driving control (S1: Yes), the vehicle control device 1 continues the automatic driving control.

[0038] If the control mode is not automatic driving control (S1: No), that is, if the control mode is manual driving control, the vehicle control device 1 calculates the route difference between the current driving route and the target driving route (S2). The vehicle control device 1 executes a road surface judgment such as the above-mentioned first to seventh examples (S3) and judges whether the road surface is a bad road or not (S4). If the current road surface is a bad road (S4: Yes), the vehicle control device 1 makes the switching threshold smaller than the initial value (S5). If the current road surface is not a bad road (S4: No), the vehicle control device 1 sets the switching threshold to the initial value (S6). Next, the vehicle control device 1 judges whether the route difference is less than the switching threshold (S7).

[0039] If the route difference is less than the switching threshold (S7: Yes), the vehicle control device 1 permits switching of the control mode (S8) and starts automatic driving control (S9). If the route difference is equal to or greater than the switching threshold (S7: No), the vehicle control device 1 prohibits switching of the control mode (S10) and continues manual driving control (S11). Note that if the route difference is equal to or greater than the switching threshold (S7: No), the vehicle control device 1 may start gradual change processing in the automatic driving control instead of S10 and S11.

[0040] Also, for example, the vehicle control device 1 may execute the determination process (S1 to S8, S10) regarding switching at predetermined time intervals regardless of whether or not the driver operates the switch. For example, the vehicle control device 1 constantly determines whether switching is possible during manual driving control, so that the control mode can be switched with good responsiveness to the driver's switch operation. In this way, the vehicle control device 1 may determine whether the vehicle state is a switching permitted state or a switching prohibited state (or a gradual change start state) at predetermined time intervals (constantly) during manual driving control. The vehicle control device 1 can execute road surface determination and route difference determination before or after receiving a command to switch the control mode to automatic driving control.

[0041] (Effects of this embodiment) According to this embodiment, the switching threshold for switching the control mode is changed according to the state of the road surface on which the vehicle is traveling. This makes it possible to set a switching threshold suitable for the road surface state. According to this embodiment, when traveling on a rough road, the switching threshold becomes relatively small, making it easier to prohibit switching to automatic driving control. This suppresses the occurrence of disturbances in the vehicle behavior due to switching of the control mode. In this way, according to this embodiment, the control mode can be more appropriately switched from manual driving control to automatic driving control, taking into account the road surface state.

[0042] According to this embodiment, the road surface determination unit 13 determines the state of the road surface on which the vehicle is traveling based on the detection result of a behavior detection device that detects the behavior of the vehicle itself or the behavior of the occupant. The behavior detection device is at least one of the current sensor 2a that detects the current supplied to the steering motor 2 that steers the wheels, the wheel speed sensor 31, the suspension stroke sensor 32, the vertical acceleration sensor 33, the roll rate sensor 34, the pitch rate sensor 35, the camera 36 that detects the behavior of the occupant, and the pressure sensor 37 provided on the seat of the occupant. The road surface determination unit 13 may store in advance, as a reference value, a control amount that is a reference for the steering motor 2 with respect to the actual steering angle set based on the target traveling route, detect the actual control amount of the steering motor 2 with respect to the actual steering angle, and determine the state of the road surface on the basis of a deviation relative to the reference value, which is the deviation of the actual control amount relative to the reference value. In this way, the current road surface state can be directly detected by determining the road surface state based on the detection values ​​of various sensors, etc. The road surface determination unit 13 may determine the state of the traveling road surface based on road surface information transmitted from the control system 9 that acquires road surface information from a plurality of vehicles. By using accumulated data based on detection data of a plurality of vehicles, the road surface determination unit 13 can determine in advance not only the state of the current traveling road surface, but also the state of the traveling road surface on which the vehicle will travel in the future.

[0043] (others) The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the threshold value changing unit 14 may change the switching threshold value according to the degree of unevenness (degree of bad road) of the traveling road surface. That is, the road surface determination unit 13 may determine the unevenness level of the traveling road surface based on, for example, the detection values ​​in the above-mentioned multiple road surface determination examples. The road surface determination unit 13 may determine the unevenness level according to the magnitude of the change amount of the wheel speed. For example, in the second example of road surface determination, when the number of times that the change amount of the wheel speed exceeds a predetermined second threshold (second threshold value>predetermined threshold value) becomes equal to or greater than the number threshold value, the traveling road surface is determined to be a bad road with unevenness level 2 (the higher the level number, the more uneven the road surface). When the traveling road surface is determined to be a bad road with unevenness level 2, the threshold value changing unit 14 increases the degree of decrease of the switching threshold value compared to when the traveling road surface is determined to be a bad road with unevenness level 1. That is, in this case, the threshold value changing unit 14 changes the switching threshold value to a smaller value. As a result, on rougher roads, switching of the control mode to the automatic driving control is more likely to be prohibited, and disturbances in vehicle behavior are suppressed. In this manner, the road surface determination unit 13 may calculate the roughness level of the traveling road surface, and the threshold change unit 14 may change the switching threshold according to the roughness level. Note that the roughness level may be calculated so that it is larger as the difference between the wheel speed and a reference value or the difference between the wheel speed derivative (acceleration) and a reference value increases.

[0044] The vehicle position may be calculated based on GPS data. The behavior detection device may be other than the above, for example, a rotation angle sensor of the steering motor 2, a yaw rate sensor, a longitudinal acceleration sensor, a lateral acceleration sensor, or the like. [Explanation of symbols]

[0045] 1...vehicle control device, 11...route difference determination unit, 12...automatic driving execution unit, 13...road surface determination unit, 14...threshold change unit, 2...steering motor, 2a...current sensor, 31...wheel speed sensor, 32...suspension stroke sensor, 33...vertical acceleration sensor, 34...roll rate sensor, 35...pitch rate sensor, 36...camera, 37...pressure sensor, 9...control system.

Claims

1. A vehicle control device configured to be switchable between an automatic driving control that acquires a target driving route and controls a vehicle so as to eliminate a difference between an actual driving route of the vehicle and the target driving route, and a manual driving control that controls the vehicle based on an operation by a driver, a route difference determination unit that determines whether a route difference between the target driving route and a current driving route of the host vehicle is less than a predetermined switching threshold; an automatic driving execution unit that, when receiving a command to switch a control mode from the manual driving control to the automatic driving control, switches the control mode from the manual driving control to the automatic driving control and executes the automatic driving control if the path difference is less than the switching threshold; A road surface determination unit that determines the current state of the road surface; a threshold value changing unit that changes the switching threshold value based on a determination result of the road surface determining unit; A vehicle control device comprising:

2. The road surface determination unit determines whether the traveling road surface is a rough road having a predetermined rut or an uneven road surface, The threshold change unit is When the road surface determination unit determines that the traveling road surface is not a bad road, the switching threshold is set to a predetermined value; When the road surface determination unit determines that the traveling road surface is the bad road, the switching threshold value is set to a value smaller than the predetermined value. The vehicle control device according to claim 1.

3. When the automatic driving execution unit receives a command to switch the control mode from the manual driving control to the automatic driving control, if the path difference is equal to or greater than the switching threshold, the automatic driving execution unit prohibits switching from the manual driving control to the automatic driving control. The vehicle control device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. When the automatic driving execution unit receives a command to switch the control mode from the manual driving control to the automatic driving control, If the path difference is less than the switching threshold, the automatic driving control is executed so as to reduce the path difference with a predetermined responsiveness; If the path difference is equal to or greater than the switching threshold, after switching from the manual driving control to the automatic driving control, the automatic driving control is executed with a response slower than the predetermined response so that the path difference is reduced. The vehicle control device according to claim 1 or 2.

5. The road surface determination unit determines the state of the road surface based on a detection result of a behavior detection device that detects a behavior of the host vehicle or a behavior of an occupant. The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. the behavior detection device is at least one of a current sensor that detects a current supplied to a steering motor that steers the wheels, a wheel speed sensor, a suspension stroke sensor, a vertical acceleration sensor that detects acceleration in a vertical direction, a roll rate sensor, a pitch rate sensor, a camera that detects the behavior of an occupant, and a pressure sensor provided in the occupant's seat; The vehicle control device according to claim 5.

7. A steering motor is provided to steer the wheels, the road surface determination unit pre-stores a control amount serving as a reference for the steering motor with respect to an actual steering angle set based on the target driving route as a reference value, detects an actual control amount of the steering motor with respect to the actual steering angle, and determines a state of the traveling road surface based on a deviation from the reference value which is a deviation of the actual control amount from the reference value. The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

8. the road surface determination unit determines the state of the traveling road surface based on road surface information transmitted from a control system that acquires road surface information from a plurality of vehicles; The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. The road surface determination unit calculates a roughness level of the traveling road surface, the threshold value changing unit changes the switching threshold value in accordance with the unevenness level. The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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