Vehicle control device

Abstract

To provide a vehicle control device 10 capable of determining whether a driving lane on which an own vehicle is to be driven is a right lane or a left lane with respect to a center line of a road.SOLUTION: A vehicle control device 10 is applied to a vehicle having peripheral monitoring sensors 20, 21, 22 for monitoring peripheral information of an own vehicle and a self-position estimation sensor 30 for detecting positional information of the own vehicle. When the own vehicle travels on a road including a center line, the vehicle control device 10 determines whether a traveling lane is a right lane or a left lane based on either monitoring peripheral information of the peripheral monitoring sensors 20, 21, 22 or detection position information of the self-position estimating sensor 30.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

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

[0002] Conventionally, there has been proposed a vehicle control device that performs driving control to overtake a preceding vehicle under specified conditions when it is determined that the preceding vehicle is traveling in a lane at a speed slower than the vehicle's own speed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2016-212630 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Generally, whether the lane in which a vehicle should travel is the right lane or the left lane of the center line of the road varies from country to country. Here, in the case of a road with multiple lanes set on the right and left side of the center line, the overtaking lane is set in the lane closest to the center line.

[0005] For this reason, whether the passing lane is on the right or left side of the road in which the vehicle should be traveling varies from country to country. Therefore, if the passing lane is not correctly recognized, there is a risk that the vehicle may overtake a preceding vehicle traveling in the passing lane by using a lane that is not the passing lane. As described above, it is necessary to determine whether the lane in which the vehicle should travel is on the right or left side of the center line of the road. Such determination of the lane is necessary not only for driving control processes that require information on overtaking lanes, but also for various driving control processes.

[0006] In view of the above, the present invention provides a vehicle control device capable of determining whether the lane in which the vehicle should travel is the right lane or the left lane with respect to the center line of the road. Place The purpose is to provide. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a vehicle control device, comprising: The present invention is applied to a vehicle equipped with a surroundings monitoring sensor (20, 21, 22) that monitors surrounding information of the vehicle and a positioning detection unit (30) that detects position information of the vehicle, A surrounding information acquisition unit (S100) that acquires surrounding information monitored by a surrounding monitoring sensor and, a position information acquisition unit (S103) that acquires position information of the vehicle detected by the position measurement detection unit; a driving lane determination unit (S101, S105, S106) that determines whether the driving lane in which the vehicle should travel is the right lane or the left lane with respect to the center line of the road, based on information acquired by either the surrounding information acquisition unit or the position information acquisition unit; The driving lane determination unit is A surrounding information determination unit (S101) that determines whether the lane in which the host vehicle should travel is the right lane or the left lane with respect to the center line of the road based on surrounding information of the host vehicle monitored by a surrounding monitoring sensor; a positioning information determination unit (S105) that determines whether the lane in which the vehicle should travel is the right lane or the left lane with respect to the center line of the road based on the position information of the vehicle detected by the positioning detection unit; an arbitration unit (S106) that sets the determination result of either the surrounding information determination unit or the positioning information determination unit as the determination result of the driving lane determination unit; Equipped with picture, A traffic congestion determination unit (S111) that determines whether or not traffic congestion is occurring on the road on which the vehicle is traveling; a congestion determination canceling unit (S114) that cancels the determination result of the surrounding information determination unit from being the determination result of the driving lane determination unit when the congestion determination unit determines that a traffic congestion has occurred on the road on which the vehicle is traveling; Equipped .

[0008] Therefore, it is possible to determine whether the lane in which the vehicle should travel is the right lane or the left lane with respect to the center line of the road.

[0011] The reference symbols in parentheses attached to each component indicate an example of the correspondence between the component and specific components described in the embodiments described below. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a vehicle control system to which a vehicle control device in a first embodiment is applied. [Diagram 2] 2 is a flowchart showing an overall configuration of a driving lane detection process in a calculation processing unit of the vehicle control device of FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] 3 is a flowchart showing details of the driving lane determination process of FIG. 2 in a calculation processing unit of the vehicle control device of FIG. 1. [Figure 4] 3 is a flowchart showing details of the arbitration process of FIG. 2 in a calculation processing unit of the vehicle control device of FIG. 1; [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a diagram for assisting in the explanation of the driving lane determination process in FIG. 3, showing a state in which another vehicle is overtaking the host vehicle from the right side in the vehicle width direction. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a diagram for assisting in the explanation of the driving lane determination process in FIG. 3, showing a state in which another vehicle is overtaking the host vehicle from the left side in the vehicle width direction. [Figure 7] 10 is a flowchart showing details of a driving lane determination process in a calculation processing unit of a vehicle control device according to a second embodiment, and corresponds to FIG. 3. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram for assisting in the explanation of the driving lane determination process in FIG. 7, showing a state in which the host vehicle has overtaken another vehicle on the left side in the vehicle width direction relative to the host vehicle. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a diagram for assisting in the explanation of the driving lane determination process in FIG. 8, showing a state in which the host vehicle overtakes another vehicle on the right side in the vehicle width direction relative to the host vehicle. [Figure 10]10 is a flowchart showing details of a driving lane determination process in a calculation processing unit of a vehicle control device according to a third embodiment, and corresponds to FIG. 3. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram for assisting in the explanation of the driving lane determination process in FIG. 10, showing a state in which another vehicle is traveling in the oncoming lane to the right of the host vehicle. [Figure 12] FIG. 11 is a diagram for assisting in the explanation of the driving lane determination process in FIG. 10, showing a state in which another vehicle is traveling in the oncoming lane to the left of the host vehicle. [Figure 13] 13 is a flowchart showing details of a part of a driving lane determination process in an arithmetic processing unit of a vehicle control device according to a fourth embodiment, and corresponds to FIG. 2. [Figure 14] 13 is a flowchart showing the remaining details of the driving lane determination process in the calculation processing unit of the vehicle control device of the fourth embodiment, and corresponds to FIG. 2. [Figure 15] 13 is a flowchart showing details of an automatic control process in an arithmetic processing unit of a vehicle control device according to a fifth embodiment. [Figure 16] 13 is a flowchart showing details of a part of the automatic control process in an arithmetic processing unit of a vehicle control device according to a fifth embodiment. [Figure 17] 13 is a flowchart showing details of a part of the automatic control process in an arithmetic processing unit of a vehicle control device according to a sixth embodiment. [Figure 18] 13 is a flowchart showing the remaining details of the driving lane determination process in the calculation processing unit of the vehicle control device of the seventh embodiment, and corresponds to FIG. 2. [Figure 19] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a vehicle control system to which a vehicle control device in an eighth embodiment is applied. [Figure 20] 13 is a flowchart showing details of a part of a lane determination process in an arithmetic processing unit of a vehicle control device according to an eighth embodiment. [Figure 21] 13 is a flowchart showing the remaining details of the lane determination process in the calculation processing unit of the vehicle control device of the eighth embodiment. [Figure 22]13 is a flowchart showing a GPS determination process in an arithmetic processing unit of a vehicle control device according to an eighth embodiment. [Diagram 23] 13 is a diagram showing transition of a determination value of a GPS determination process in a calculation processing unit of a vehicle control device according to an eighth embodiment. FIG. [Figure 24] 13 is a flowchart showing an autonomous sensor determination process in an arithmetic processing unit of the vehicle control device of the eighth embodiment. [Diagram 25] 13 is a diagram showing the transition of a determination value of an autonomous sensor determination process in an arithmetic processing unit of a vehicle control device according to the eighth embodiment. FIG. [Figure 26] 13 is a table showing the relationship between the previous lane determination value, the GPS determined value, the autonomous sensor determined value, and the current lane determination value in the calculation processing unit of the vehicle control device of the eighth embodiment. [Figure 27] 13 is a timing chart to assist in explaining the transition of the judgment value when the IG switch is turned off and then on in a case where the GPS receiver can receive GPS signals in France in the eighth embodiment. [Figure 28] 13 is a timing chart to help explain the transition of the judgment value when the IG switch is turned off and then on in a case where the GPS receiver cannot receive a GPS signal in France in the eighth embodiment. [Figure 29] 13 is a timing chart showing the transition of the judgment value when the IG switch is turned off in France and then turned on in the UK in the eighth embodiment. [Diagram 30] In comparison, this is a timing chart showing the transition of the judgment value when the IG switch is turned off and then on in a host vehicle in France where only the GPS judgment value is obtained out of the GPS judgment value and the autonomous sensor judgment value. [Diagram 31] 13 is a timing chart showing the transition of the judgment value when the IG switch is turned off and then on in the subject vehicle in a case where the GPS receiver cannot receive a GPS signal in comparison. [Diagram 32]In comparison, this is a timing chart showing the transition of the judgment value when the IG switch is turned off and then on in a host vehicle in France in which only the autonomous sensor judgment value is obtained out of the GPS judgment value and the autonomous sensor judgment value. [Diagram 33] In contrast, this is a timing chart showing the transition of the judgment value when the IG switch is turned off in France and then turned on in the UK in a vehicle in which only the GPS judgment value is obtained out of the GPS judgment value and the autonomous sensor judgment value. [Diagram 34] In comparison, this is a timing chart showing the transition of the judgment value when the IG switch is turned off in France and then turned on in the UK in a vehicle in which only the autonomous sensor judgment value is obtained out of the GPS judgment value and the autonomous sensor judgment value. [Diagram 35] 13 is a flowchart showing details of a driving assistance process in a driving assistance device according to an eighth embodiment. [Diagram 36] 13 is a flowchart showing details of an overtaking suppression control process in a driving assistance device of an eighth embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, the same or equivalent parts are denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawings in order to simplify the description.

[0014] (First embodiment) The vehicle control device 10 of the first embodiment is used in a vehicle control system 1 mounted on an automobile. This vehicle control system 1 performs automatic driving of the automobile. First, the vehicle control system 1 will be described. In this specification, for convenience of explanation, the automobile on which the vehicle control system 1 is mounted is also referred to as the host vehicle.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle control system 1 includes a vehicle control device 10, a forward monitoring sensor 20, a side monitoring sensor 21, a rearward monitoring sensor 22, a self-position estimation sensor 30, a vehicle speed sensor 31, a steering angle sensor 32, and a direction indicator 33.

[0016] The vehicle control device 10 includes an input unit 11, a calculation processing unit 12, an output unit 13, and a storage unit 14. The input unit 11 outputs sensor signals output from a forward monitoring sensor 20, a side monitoring sensor 21, a rear monitoring sensor 22, a self-position estimation sensor 30, a vehicle speed sensor 31, a steering angle sensor 32, and a direction indicator 33 to the calculation processing unit 12.

[0017] For ease of explanation, the forward monitoring sensor 20, the side monitoring sensor 21, the rearward monitoring sensor 22, the self-position estimation sensor 30, the vehicle speed sensor 31, and the steering angle sensor 32 are collectively referred to as sensors 20, 21, 22, 30, 31, and 32.

[0018] The calculation processing unit 12 is configured with a microcomputer or the like, and executes a driving lane detection process in accordance with the computer programs of Figures 3 and 4. In addition, the calculation processing unit 12 executes automatic control processes such as a turn signal-linked acceleration control process and an overtaking suppression control process based on the determination result of the driving lane detection process.

[0019] The turn signal-linked acceleration control process is a process for accelerating the vehicle in order to overtake the preceding vehicle traveling in the same lane as the vehicle when the turn signal indicates the passing lane side of the road as the direction of travel in the vehicle width direction and the adjacent preceding vehicle in the passing lane is moving away from the vehicle.

[0020] The following describes an example in which there is an overtaking lane on the right side of the vehicle. When the driver blinks the turn signal lamp on the right side in the same direction as the overtaking lane on the right side, the turn signal-linked acceleration control process judges whether the adjacent preceding vehicle on the right side is several tens of meters away from the vehicle. When it is judged that the adjacent preceding vehicle on the right side is several tens of meters away from the vehicle, the vehicle is accelerated to overtake the preceding vehicle traveling in the same lane as the vehicle. On the other hand, when it is judged that the adjacent preceding vehicle on the right side is not several tens of meters away from the vehicle, the acceleration of the vehicle for overtaking is prohibited, or overtaking itself is prohibited.

[0021] In addition, the adjacent preceding vehicle on the right is a preceding vehicle that is ahead of the host vehicle in the passing lane adjacent to the right side of the host vehicle, and is the vehicle that is closest to the host vehicle among multiple preceding vehicles traveling in the passing lane adjacent to the right side of the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling.

[0022] The overtaking prevention control process is a control process in which the vehicle follows the adjacent preceding vehicle when the speed of the adjacent preceding vehicle traveling in the passing lane adjacent to the right or left of the vehicle on the road is less than or equal to the vehicle's speed.

[0023] The calculation processing unit 12 controls the running engine 40, the braking device 41, and the steering device 42 based on the sensor signals output from the sensors 20, 21, 22, 30, 31, and 32 in conjunction with the execution of the automatic control process.

[0024] The output unit 13 outputs the control signal output from the arithmetic processing unit 12 to the traveling engine 40, the brake device 41, and the steering device 42. The storage unit 14 is composed of a ROM, a RAM, a flash memory, etc., and stores various data such as a computer program for executing automatic control processing in the arithmetic processing unit 12, a driving lane map, etc.

[0025] The flash memory is a writable non-volatile recording medium on which the computer programs executed by the arithmetic processing unit 12 and various data are recorded. The RAM is a writable volatile recording medium used as a working area by the arithmetic processing unit 12. The ROM is a non-writable non-volatile recording medium on which the computer programs executed by the arithmetic processing unit 12 and the like are recorded.

[0026] The driving lane map is map data showing driving lane information of countries around the world. The driving lane map is configured to specify, for example, a country and driving lane information on a one-to-one basis. When the location information of the vehicle is detected, the calculation processing unit 12 specifies the country in which the vehicle is located based on the detected location information, and uses the driving lane map to obtain the driving lane information of the specified country.

[0027] The driving lane information indicates whether the lane on which the vehicle should travel is on the right or left side of the center line of the road on which the vehicle is traveling in each country of the world. In this specification, the lane on which the vehicle should travel on the road on which the vehicle is traveling is also referred to as the driving lane.

[0028] The driving lane map is not limited to the above, and may be any map that can identify driving lane information based on position information.

[0029] The forward monitoring sensor 20 is a sensor that monitors the front side of the host vehicle in the vehicle travel direction, and is configured with an image sensor, a radar, an ultrasonic sensor, or the like.

[0030] Here, the image sensor is a camera that captures an image of the area ahead of the vehicle in the vehicle travel direction and outputs the captured image data as a sensor signal. The radar is a distance measurement sensor that uses light or radio waves to determine the distance to an object located ahead of the vehicle in the vehicle travel direction. The ultrasonic sensor is a distance measurement sensor that uses ultrasonic waves to determine the distance to an object located ahead of the vehicle in the vehicle travel direction.

[0031] The side monitoring sensor 21 is a sensor that monitors the right and left sides of the host vehicle in the vehicle width direction. Like the front monitoring sensor 20, the side monitoring sensor 21 is composed of an image sensor, a radar, an ultrasonic sensor, etc. Therefore, the side monitoring sensor 21 can detect objects based on image data captured on the right and left sides of the host vehicle in the vehicle width direction, and can also calculate the distance between the object and the right and left sides of the host vehicle in the vehicle travel direction.

[0032] The rear monitoring sensor 22 is a sensor that monitors the rear of the host vehicle in the vehicle travel direction. The rear monitoring sensor 22 is composed of an image sensor, a radar, an ultrasonic sensor, etc., similar to the front monitoring sensor 20. Therefore, the rear monitoring sensor 22 can detect an object based on image data obtained by capturing an image of the rear of the host vehicle in the vehicle travel direction, and can also calculate the distance between the object and the host vehicle.

[0033] The forward monitoring sensor 20, the side monitoring sensor 21, and the rear monitoring sensor 22 of this embodiment constitute a periphery monitoring sensor that monitors the periphery of the host vehicle.

[0034] The self-position estimation sensor 30 is a positioning detection unit that is configured with a GPS receiver, a gyro sensor, an electronic compass, etc., and detects the position information of the vehicle itself. The GPS receiver receives a plurality of transmission signals respectively transmitted from a plurality of artificial satellites, detects the position information of the vehicle itself based on the received plurality of transmission signals, and outputs a sensor signal indicating the detected position information.

[0035] The vehicle speed sensor 31 detects the speed of the vehicle based on the rotation speed of the drive wheels of the vehicle and outputs a sensor signal indicating the detected speed of the vehicle. The vehicle speed sensor 31 in this embodiment is configured with a rotation speed sensor that detects the rotation speed of the drive wheels. The steering angle sensor 32 detects the turning angle of the steering wheel, tires, etc. of the vehicle and outputs a sensor signal indicating the detected turning angle.

[0036] The running engine 40 is a driving source for running that is constituted by an internal combustion engine that drives the drive wheels of the host vehicle. Both the running engine 40 and the running electric motor may be used as the driving source for running, or only the running electric motor may be used as the driving source for running. The brake device 41 brakes the wheels of the host vehicle. The steering device 42 controls the direction (i.e., the steering angle) of the wheels of the host vehicle.

[0037] Next, the operation of the vehicle control device 10 will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0038] The arithmetic processing unit 12 of the vehicle control device 10 executes a driving lane detection process in accordance with the flowcharts shown in Figures 2 and 3. The driving lane detection process is executed by the arithmetic processing unit 12 repeatedly.

[0039] The calculation processing unit 12 executes the first lane determination processing of steps S100 and S101 in FIG. 2 and the second lane determination processing of steps S102a to S105 in parallel, and executes the arbitration processing of step S106 depending on the results of each of the first lane determination processing and the second lane determination processing.

[0040] In the first lane determination process, the calculation processing unit 12, as a surrounding information acquisition unit, acquires the sensor signals of the forward monitoring sensor 20, the side monitoring sensor 21, and the rear monitoring sensor 22 in step S100.

[0041] For convenience of explanation, the forward monitoring sensor 20, the side monitoring sensor 21, and the rear monitoring sensor 22 will be hereinafter collectively referred to as perimeter monitoring sensors 20, 21, and 22.

[0042] In step S101, the calculation processing unit 12 detects the positions of other vehicles located around the host vehicle based on the sensor signals of the respective periphery monitoring sensors 20, 21, and 22, and determines the driving lane of the host vehicle based on the detected positions of the other vehicles.

[0043] Step S101 constitutes a surrounding information determination unit that determines the driving lane based on the sensor signals of the surroundings monitoring sensors 20, 21, and 22. The lane determination process of step S101 will be described in detail later. After that, the calculation processing unit 12 proceeds to step S106.

[0044] On the other hand, in the second lane determination process, the calculation processing unit 12 resets the reception flag stored in the storage unit 14 in step S102a.

[0045] The reception flag is information indicating the result of the determination as to whether or not the GPS receiver has received transmission signals from three or more artificial satellites. In other words, the reception flag indicates the result of the determination as to whether or not the self-location estimation sensor 30 has acquired the position information of the host vehicle.

[0046] Next, in step S102, the calculation processing unit 12 resets the timer T and starts time measurement by the timer T. The timer T is a timer for measuring the time that has elapsed since the determination process in step S102 was started. In other words, the timer T measures the time that has elapsed since the GPS receiver started a standby operation for receiving transmission signals from three or more artificial satellites.

[0047] In step S103, the arithmetic processing unit 12 determines whether the GPS receiver has received transmission signals from three or more artificial satellites. At this time, when the GPS receiver has not received transmission signals from three or more artificial satellites, the arithmetic processing unit 12 determines NO in step S103. Accordingly, in step S104, the arithmetic processing unit 12 determines whether the time measured by the timer T is equal to or longer than a certain time.

[0048] At this time, in step S104, when the time measured by the timer T is less than the certain time, the calculation processing unit 12 judges NO and proceeds to step S103. Therefore, the calculation processing unit 12 repeats judging NO in each of steps S103 and S104 as long as the GPS receiver does not receive transmission signals from three or more artificial satellites and the time measured by the timer T is less than the certain time.

[0049] Here, steps S103 and S104 constitute a detection determination unit that determines whether or not the position information of the vehicle has been detected within a certain time (i.e., a predetermined period). When the time measured by the timer T is less than the certain time, the calculation processing unit 12 determines YES in step S103 when the GPS receiver, acting as the position information acquisition unit of the vehicle, receives transmission signals from three or more artificial satellites. Accordingly, in step S103A, the calculation processing unit 12 sets a reception flag stored in the memory unit 14. Accordingly, in step S105, the calculation processing unit 12 determines the driving lane of the vehicle as follows.

[0050] Specifically, in step S105, the calculation processing unit 12 detects the position information of the vehicle itself based on a plurality of transmission signals received by the GPS receiver of the self-position estimation sensor 30 from three or more artificial satellites.

[0051] In addition, in step S105, the calculation processing unit 12 determines the country based on the position of the vehicle, and then, based on this determined country and the above-mentioned driving lane map stored in the memory unit 14, obtains driving lane information defined in the country. That is, in step S105, the calculation processing unit 12 determines whether the lane in which the vehicle should travel is the right lane or the left lane, based on the driving lane map stored in the memory unit 14 and the detected position information of the vehicle.

[0052] Here, step S105 constitutes a positioning information determination section that determines the lane the host vehicle is traveling in based on the host vehicle's position information. After that, the calculation processing section 12 proceeds to step S106.

[0053] Furthermore, if the GPS receiver does not receive transmission signals from three or more artificial satellites and the time measured by timer T reaches or exceeds a certain time, the calculation processing unit 12 makes a NO determination in step S103 and a YES determination in step S104.

[0054] In this case, the calculation processing unit 12 skips the driving lane determination process in step S105 and moves to the arbitration process in step S106. Therefore, when the GPS receiver does not receive transmission signals from three or more artificial satellites for a certain period of time, the calculation processing unit 12 stops determining the driving lane using the position information of the vehicle.

[0055] Next, the driving lane determination process in step S101 in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

[0056] First, in step S120a, the calculation processing unit 12 resets the surroundings flag stored in the storage unit 14. The surroundings flag is a flag that indicates whether or not the process of determining the driving lane in step S121 has been executed.

[0057] Next, in step S120, the calculation processing unit 12, functioning as an overtaking vehicle determination unit, determines, based on the sensor signals of the perimeter monitoring sensors 20, 21, and 22, whether or not another vehicle has overtaken the host vehicle.

[0058] Specifically, the arithmetic processing unit 12 detects another vehicle traveling in the right lane or the left lane adjacent to the host vehicle based on the sensor signals of the periphery monitoring sensors 20, 21, and 22. At the same time, the arithmetic processing unit 12 determines whether the other vehicle has overtaken the host vehicle based on the positional relationship with the other vehicle, speed information, and the like. For ease of explanation, the other vehicle that has overtaken the host vehicle is also referred to as the "overtaking vehicle."

[0059] At this time, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that an overtaking vehicle has been detected and determines YES in step S120. Here, as described above, the overtaking lane is set on the center line side of a plurality of lanes on which the host vehicle can travel, which is common to all countries.

[0060] 5, when another vehicle 110 passes the host vehicle 100 from the right side in the vehicle width direction, it can be inferred that the passing lane on the center line side of the multiple lanes in which the host vehicle can travel is on the right side, since overtaking is prohibited in lanes other than the passing lane. Therefore, the calculation processing unit 12 can determine that the lane in which the host vehicle 100 is traveling is the left lane with respect to the center line 120.

[0061] On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 6, when another vehicle 110 passes the host vehicle 100 from the left side in the vehicle width direction, it can be inferred that the passing lane on the center line side of the multiple lanes in which the host vehicle can travel is on the left side because overtaking is prohibited in lanes other than the passing lane. Therefore, the calculation processing unit 12 can determine that the lane in which the host vehicle 100 is traveling is the right lane with respect to the center line 120. Accordingly, in step S121, the calculation processing unit 12, as a lane determining unit, determines the driving lane of the host vehicle based on the positional relationship between the host vehicle and another vehicle in the vehicle width direction.

[0062] Next, in step S122, the calculation processing unit 12 sets the peripheral flag stored in the storage unit 14. After that, the calculation processing unit 12 proceeds to arbitration processing in step S106.

[0063] When the processor 12 does not detect the other vehicle that has overtaken the host vehicle, the processor 12 determines that the other vehicle has not overtaken the host vehicle and determines NO in step S120. In this case, the processor 12 proceeds to arbitration processing in step S106.

[0064] When the driving lane determination process of step S101 is completed, the process proceeds to arbitration process of step S106 in Fig. 2. Steps S106, S105, and S101 constitute a driving lane determination unit for determining whether the driving lane in which the vehicle should travel is the right lane or the left lane with respect to the center line of the road.

[0065] Next, the arbitration process in step S106 in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

[0066] The arbitration process in step S106 constitutes an arbitration section that decides the result of the determination made in either step S101 or S105 as the result to be used in the automatic control process. First, in step S110, the calculation processing unit 12, functioning as a road determination unit, determines whether or not the road on which the vehicle is traveling is an ordinary road.

[0067] In this embodiment, a general road is a road that is different from an expressway or a road exclusively for automobiles, and is accessible to pedestrians and two-wheeled vehicles in addition to motorcycles and automobiles.

[0068] For example, the calculation processing unit 12 determines whether or not the host vehicle has traveled a predetermined distance Ka or more while the vehicle speed is equal to or greater than a threshold A, based on a sensor signal output from the vehicle speed sensor 31. The threshold A is set to a speed equal to or greater than zero.

[0069] At this time, when the continuing driving distance traveled by the vehicle while the vehicle speed is equal to or greater than the threshold value A is equal to or greater than a predetermined distance Ka, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the road on which the vehicle is traveling is not a general road but an expressway or a motorway, and judges the result to be NO.

[0070] Next, in step S111, the calculation processing unit 12 determines, based on the sensor signal output from the vehicle speed sensor 31, whether or not the road on which the host vehicle is traveling is congested with automobiles.

[0071] For example, the calculation processing unit 12, as a congestion determination unit, determines whether or not the road on which the vehicle is traveling is congested with automobiles by determining whether or not the vehicle speed is equal to or lower than a threshold value B. As the threshold value B, a predetermined value larger than zero is used. In addition to the speed information from the vehicle speed sensor 31, a surrounding image may be acquired by an image sensor, and it may be determined that a traffic jam is occurring when other vehicles are detected in the own lane and adjacent lanes.

[0072] At this time, when the vehicle speed is greater than the threshold value B (≧0), the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the road on which the vehicle is traveling is not congested with automobiles and determines NO in step S111. Accordingly, in step S115, the calculation processing unit 12 determines whether the reception flag stored in the storage unit 14 is set.

[0073] When the reception flag is reset, the calculation processing unit 12 determines NO in step S115. That is, it is determined that the determination result of determining the vehicle's traveling lane based on the vehicle's position information in the above step S105 has not been obtained.

[0074] Next, in step S116, the calculation processing unit 12 determines whether or not the peripheral flag stored in the storage unit 14 is set.

[0075] At this time, when the surrounding flag is set, the calculation processing unit 12 determines YES in step S116. That is, it is determined that the determination result of the driving lane based on the surrounding information in the above step S121 is required.

[0076] In step S117, the calculation processing unit 12 sets the determination result of the driving lane based on the surrounding information of the host vehicle obtained in the above step S121 as the determination result determined by the arbitration unit in step S106. Therefore, step S117 constitutes a positioning information determination canceling unit that cancels the determination result of step S105 as the determination result determined by the arbitration unit in step S106.

[0077] Furthermore, when the reception flag stored in the memory unit 14 is set, the calculation processing unit 12 determines YES in step S115. That is, the determination result of the driving lane based on the position information of the host vehicle in the above step S105 is obtained.

[0078] In this case, in step S118, the calculation processing unit 12 sets the result of the driving lane determination in the above step S105 as the determination result determined by the arbitration unit in step S106.

[0079] That is, the calculation processing unit 12 prioritizes the result of the driving lane determination based on the position information of the host vehicle over the result of the driving lane determination based on the surrounding information of the host vehicle as the determination result of the arbitration process in step S106.

[0080] Furthermore, in step S116, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the result is NO when the surrounding flag stored in the storage unit 14 is reset. In other words, the determination result of the driving lane based on the surrounding information in the above step S121 has not been obtained.

[0081] In this case, in step S114, the calculation processing unit 12 stops determining the determination result of the driving lane to be used in the automatic control process in the arbitration process in step S106. That is, the calculation processing unit 12 stops determining the driving lane in which the host vehicle should travel based on the position information of the host vehicle and the surrounding information of the host vehicle.

[0082] Steps S114 and S117 constitute a positioning information determination canceling unit that cancels the use of the determination result of step S105 in the arbitration process of step S106.

[0083] Furthermore, in step S110, when the above-mentioned continuing traveling distance of the host vehicle is less than the predetermined distance Ka, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the road on which the host vehicle is traveling is an ordinary road, and determines YES.

[0084] Accordingly, in step S112, the calculation processing unit 12 determines whether or not the reception flag stored in the storage unit 14 is set.

[0085] At this time, when the reception flag stored in the memory unit 14 is set, the calculation processing unit 12 determines YES in step S112. That is, it is determined that the determination result of determining the driving lane of the host vehicle based on the position information of the host vehicle is required in the above step S105.

[0086] In step S113, the calculation processing unit 12 sets the driving lane determination result obtained in step S105 as the driving lane determination result determined in the arbitration process in step S106, that is, the driving lane determination result used in the automatic control process.

[0087] Furthermore, when the reception flag stored in the memory unit 14 is reset, the calculation processing unit 12 determines NO in step S112. In this case, in step S114, the calculation processing unit 12 stops determining the determination result of the driving lane to be used in the automatic control process in the arbitration process of step S106.

[0088] In other words, when the GPS receiver does not receive transmission signals from three or more satellites for a certain period of time, the calculation processing unit 12 stops using the driving lane determination result obtained in step S105 as the driving lane determination result used in the automatic control processing.

[0089] As described above, step S113 constitutes a general road judgment cancellation unit that stops the judgment result of the driving lane judged in step S121 above from being the judgment result of the driving lane determined in the arbitration processing of step S106 when the vehicle is traveling on a general road.

[0090] Furthermore, when the road on which the vehicle is traveling is congested with automobile traffic, the calculation processing unit 12 determines YES in the above step S111 based on the sensor signal output from the vehicle speed sensor 31, and proceeds to step S112.

[0091] Next, in step S112, the calculation processing unit 12 determines whether or not the reception flag stored in the storage unit 14 is set.

[0092] Next, in step S112, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the result is NO when the reception flag stored in the storage unit 14 is reset. That is, in step S105, it is determined that the determination result of determining the vehicle's traveling lane based on the vehicle's position information has not been obtained. Accordingly, in step S114, the calculation processing unit 12 stops determining the determination result of the driving lane to be used in the automatic control process in the arbitration process in step S106.

[0093] On the other hand, when the reception flag stored in the memory unit 14 is set, the calculation processing unit 12 determines YES in step S112. Accordingly, the calculation processing unit 12 sets the determination result of the driving lane obtained in the above step S105 as the determination result of the driving lane determined in the arbitration process in step S106.

[0094] In this way, step S114 constitutes a congestion judgment cancellation unit that stops the determination result of the driving lane determined in the above step S121 from being the determination result of the driving lane determined in the arbitration process of step S106 when the road on which the vehicle is traveling is congested.

[0095] As described above, in steps S113 and S118, the calculation processing unit 12 decides to use the result of the determination of the driving lane obtained in step S105 above for the automatic control process.

[0096] In step S117, the calculation processing unit 12 determines to use the determination result of the driving lane obtained in the above step S121 for the automatic control process. Furthermore, in step S114, the calculation processing unit 12 determines not to use the determination result of the driving lane for the automatic control process.

[0097] According to the present embodiment described above, the vehicle control device 10 is applied to a vehicle equipped with surroundings monitoring sensors 20, 21, 22 that monitor surrounding information of the host vehicle, and a self-position estimation sensor 30 that detects position information of the host vehicle.

[0098] When the vehicle is traveling on a road including a center line, the vehicle control device 10 determines whether the driving lane is the right lane or the left lane based on either the monitored surrounding information of the surrounding monitoring sensors 20, 21, 22 or the detected position information of the self-position estimation sensor 30.

[0099] As a result, it is possible to provide a vehicle control device 10 that can determine whether the lane in which the host vehicle should travel is the right lane or the left lane with respect to the center line of the road. In addition, when a vehicle travels across multiple countries in Europe, the driving lane changes, and the lane that is the target for preventing the vehicle ahead from overtaking, that is, the passing lane, changes whether it is on the left or right side of the vehicle. Therefore, if the direction of the passing lane is kept constant with respect to the vehicle ahead, a problem will occur where the vehicle erroneously prevents the vehicle ahead from overtaking when traveling across multiple countries.

[0100] In contrast, in this embodiment, as described above, the vehicle control device 10 determines whether the driving lane is the right lane or the left lane with respect to the center line of the road. This makes it possible to prevent the occurrence of a problem in which the vehicle erroneously suppresses overtaking of the preceding vehicle.

[0101] According to the above-described embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

[0102] (A1) The vehicle control device 10 uses the determination result in step S105 in priority to the determination result in step S101 for the automatic control process. This allows the vehicle control device 10 to use a highly accurate determination result of the driving lane in the automatic control process.

[0103] Here, when there is traffic congestion on the road on which the vehicle is traveling, the accuracy of the determination in step S101 decreases compared to when there is no traffic congestion on the road on which the vehicle is traveling.

[0104] In contrast, in this embodiment, when the vehicle control device 10 determines that traffic congestion occurs on the road on which the vehicle is traveling, the vehicle control device 10 prohibits the use of the determination result of step S101 in the automatic control process. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the use of a determination result of the traveling lane with low accuracy in the automatic control process.

[0105] (A2) Here, when the road on which the vehicle is traveling is an ordinary road, the accuracy of the determination in step S101 is lower than when the road on which the vehicle is traveling is a highway or a highway for motor vehicles.

[0106] In contrast, in this embodiment, when the vehicle control device 10 determines that the road on which the vehicle is traveling is a general road, it stops using the determination result of step S101 for the automatic control process. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a determination result of the traveling lane with low accuracy from being used for the automatic control process.

[0107] (A3) The vehicle control device 10 of this embodiment includes a storage unit 14 that stores a driving lane map in which countries and driving lane information are specified on a one-to-one basis.

[0108] The vehicle control device 10 determines whether the driving lane is the right lane or the left lane based on the driving lane information corresponding to the detected position information of the self-position estimation sensor 30 in the driving lane map stored in the memory unit 14. This makes it possible to determine the driving lane based on the position information of the host vehicle with high accuracy.

[0109] Second embodiment In the above first embodiment, an example has been described in which the traveling lane of the host vehicle is determined based on the positional relationship in the vehicle width direction between the host vehicle and another vehicle that is about to overtake the host vehicle in step S101.

[0110] In the second embodiment, instead, when the host vehicle overtakes another vehicle, the host vehicle's traveling lane is determined based on the positional relationship between the host vehicle and the other vehicle in the vehicle width direction. Hereinafter, the method will be described with reference to Figs. 7, 8, and 9.

[0111] The present embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the driving lane determination process in step S101 in the arithmetic processing unit 12 of the vehicle control device 10, and the other processes and configurations are the same. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the driving lane determination process in step S101 will be mainly described below.

[0112] The calculation processing unit 12 executes the driving lane determination process according to the flowchart of FIG. 7, which replaces FIG.

[0113] First, the calculation processing unit 12 resets the peripheral flag stored in the storage unit 14 in step S120a.

[0114] Next, in step S120A, the overtaking vehicle determination unit determines, based on the sensor signals of the surroundings monitoring sensors 20, 21, and 22, whether or not the host vehicle has overtaken another vehicle.

[0115] Specifically, the calculation processing unit 12 determines whether the host vehicle has overtaken another vehicle traveling in the right lane or the left lane adjacent to the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling.

[0116] At this time, when a vehicle that has been overtaken by the host vehicle is present in the right lane or the left lane of the host vehicle, the calculation processing unit 12 determines YES in step S120A.

[0117] 8, when the host vehicle 100 passes another vehicle 110 on the left side in the vehicle width direction, it can be generally assumed that the host vehicle 100 is passing using the passing lane. Therefore, the lane in which the host vehicle 100 is traveling is determined to be the left lane with respect to the center line 120 of the road.

[0118] On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 9, when the host vehicle 100 passes another vehicle 110 on the right side in the vehicle width direction, it can be estimated that the host vehicle 100 is passing using the passing lane. Therefore, the lane in which the host vehicle 100 is traveling is determined to be the right lane with respect to the center line 120 of the road.

[0119] As described above, in step S121A, the calculation processing unit 12, as a lane determination unit, determines whether the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling is the right lane or the left lane with respect to the center line of the road, based on the positional relationship between the host vehicle 100 and the other vehicle 110.

[0120] In this way, when the calculation processing unit 12 determines the driving lane based on the positional relationship between the vehicle 100 and the other vehicle 110, in step S122, the fact that the driving lane determination in step S121 has been performed is stored in the memory unit 14, and a surrounding flag is set.

[0121] When the host vehicle has not overtaken the other vehicle, the calculation processing unit 12 determines NO in step S120A. In this case, the calculation processing unit 12 proceeds to arbitration processing in step S106.

[0122] When the driving lane determination process in step S101 is completed, the process proceeds to arbitration process in step S106.

[0123] According to the present embodiment described above, in step S101, the calculation processing unit 12 can determine the driving lane of the host vehicle based on the positional relationship between the host vehicle and the other vehicle when the host vehicle has overtaken the other vehicle.

[0124] Third embodiment In the above first embodiment, an example has been described in which the traveling lane of the host vehicle is determined based on the positional relationship in the vehicle width direction between the host vehicle and another vehicle that is about to overtake the host vehicle in step S101.

[0125] In the third embodiment, instead, the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling is determined based on the positional relationship between the host vehicle and an oncoming vehicle. Hereinafter, a description will be given with reference to Figs.

[0126] The third embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the driving lane determination process in step S101 in the arithmetic processing unit 12 of the vehicle control device 10, and the other processes and configurations are the same. Therefore, in the following, in this embodiment, the driving lane determination process in step S101 will be mainly described.

[0127] The calculation processing unit 12 executes the driving lane determination process according to the flowchart of FIG. 10, which replaces the flowchart of FIG.

[0128] First, the calculation processing unit 12 resets the peripheral flag stored in the storage unit 14 in step S120a.

[0129] Next, in step S120B, the calculation processing unit 12, as an oncoming vehicle determination unit, determines whether or not another vehicle traveling in the oncoming lane has been detected, based on the sensor signals of the respective perimeter monitoring sensors 20, 21, and 22. Hereinafter, another vehicle traveling in the oncoming lane will be referred to as an oncoming vehicle.

[0130] The oncoming lane is a lane that is located in the vehicle width direction with respect to the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling, and is located on the opposite side of the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling with respect to the center line of the road. An oncoming vehicle is a vehicle traveling in the opposite direction to the traveling direction of the host vehicle in the oncoming lane. At this time, when the calculation processing unit 12 detects an oncoming vehicle traveling in the oncoming lane adjacent to the host vehicle, the calculation processing unit 12 judges YES in step S120B.

[0131] 11, when the driving lane of the host vehicle 100 is the left lane with respect to the center line 120 of the road, another vehicle 110 (i.e., an oncoming vehicle) will be driving in the oncoming lane to the right of the host vehicle. In this way, when an oncoming vehicle is detected on the right side of the host vehicle 100, the driving lane of the host vehicle 100 is determined to be the left lane with respect to the center line 120 of the road.

[0132] 12, when the driving lane of the host vehicle 100 is the right lane with respect to the center line 120 of the road, another vehicle 110 (i.e., an oncoming vehicle) will be driving in the oncoming lane to the left of the host vehicle 100. In this way, when an oncoming vehicle is detected to the left of the host vehicle 100, the driving lane of the host vehicle 100 is determined to be the right lane with respect to the center line 120 of the road.

[0133] As described above, in step S121B, the calculation processing unit 12, as a lane determining unit, determines the traveling lane of the host vehicle based on the relationship between the host vehicle and an oncoming vehicle traveling in the oncoming lane.

[0134] In this way, when the calculation processing unit 12 determines the driving lane based on the positional relationship between the vehicle and another vehicle traveling in the oncoming lane, in step S122, the fact that the driving lane determination in step S121 has been performed is stored in the memory unit 14, and a surrounding flag is set.

[0135] When there is no oncoming vehicle traveling in the oncoming lane, the calculation processing unit 12 judges NO in step S120B. In this case, the calculation processing unit 12 proceeds to arbitration processing in step S106. When the calculation processing unit 12 ends the driving lane determination processing in step S101, the calculation processing unit 12 proceeds to arbitration processing in step S106.

[0136] According to the present embodiment described above, in step S101, the calculation processing unit 12 can determine the driving lane of the host vehicle based on the positional relationship between the oncoming vehicle and the host vehicle.

[0137] (Fourth embodiment) In the above first embodiment, an example has been described in which in step S101, the traveling lane of the host vehicle is determined based on the positional relationship between the host vehicle and another vehicle that is about to overtake the host vehicle.

[0138] In the fourth embodiment, instead, the determination is made by combining step S101 of the first embodiment, step S101 of the second embodiment, and step S101 of the third embodiment. Hereinafter, a description will be given with reference to examples in Figs. 13 and 14.

[0139] The fourth embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the driving lane determination process in step S101 in the arithmetic processing unit 12 of the vehicle control device 10, and the other processes and configurations are the same. Therefore, in the following, in this embodiment, the driving lane determination process in step S101 will be mainly described.

[0140] The calculation processing unit 12 executes the driving lane determination process according to the flowcharts of Figures 13 and 14, which replace Figure 3. This driving lane determination process is executed by the calculation processing unit 12 repeatedly.

[0141] First, in step S120b, the calculation processing unit 12 resets the vicinity flag and the count value stored in the memory unit 14. As will be described later, the count value is used to determine whether the driving lane is the right lane with respect to the center line of the road.

[0142] Next, in the same manner as in the first embodiment, in step S120, the calculation processing unit 12 determines whether or not a vehicle that has overtaken the host vehicle has been detected based on the sensor signals of the periphery monitoring sensors 20, 21, and 22. At this time, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that a vehicle that has overtaken the host vehicle has been detected, and determines YES in step S120.

[0143] Next, in step S121, the calculation processing unit 12 determines whether or not the driving lane is the right lane with respect to the center line of the road, based on the positional relationship between the host vehicle and another vehicle.

[0144] At this time, when the calculation processing unit 12 determines in step S121 that the driving lane is the right lane with respect to the center line of the road, the calculation processing unit 12 determines YES in step S122D, and increments the count value in the next step S123.

[0145] On the other hand, when the calculation processor 12 determines in step S121 that the driving lane is the left lane with respect to the center line of the road, the calculation processor 12 determines NO in step S122D and decrements the count value in step S124.

[0146] In this way, when the calculation processing unit 12 increments or decrements the count value based on the result of the determination of the driving lane, the process proceeds to the next step S124H in FIG.

[0147] On the other hand, at this time, if the calculation processing unit 12 determines that no other vehicle has overtaken the host vehicle and determines NO in step S120, the process proceeds to the next step S120A.

[0148] In step S120A, the calculation processing unit 12 determines whether or not a vehicle that has been overtaken by the host vehicle has been detected based on the sensor signals of the periphery monitoring sensors 20, 21, and 22, as in the second embodiment.

[0149] At this time, when the calculation processing unit 12 detects another vehicle that has been overtaken by the host vehicle, the result of the determination in step S120A is YES.

[0150] Accordingly, in step S121A, the calculation processing unit 12 determines, based on the positional relationship between the host vehicle 100 and the other vehicle 110, whether or not the driving lane is the right lane with respect to the center line of the road.

[0151] At this time, when it is determined in step S121A that the driving lane is the right lane with respect to the center line of the road, the calculation processor 12 determines YES in step S122A, and increments the count value in the next step S123A.

[0152] On the other hand, when it is determined in step S121A that the driving lane is the left lane with respect to the center line of the road, the calculation processing unit 12 determines NO in step S122A, and decrements the count value in the next step S124A.

[0153] In this way, when the calculation processing unit 12 increments or decrements the count value based on the determination result of the driving lane, the process proceeds to the next step S124H in FIG.

[0154] On the other hand, at this time, if the calculation processing unit 12 determines that no other vehicle has been overtaken by the host vehicle and determines NO in step S120A of FIG. 13, the process proceeds to the next step S120B of FIG.

[0155] In step S120B, the calculation processing unit 12 determines whether or not another vehicle traveling in the oncoming lane relative to the host vehicle has been detected based on the sensor signals of the periphery monitoring sensors 20, 21, and 22, as in the third embodiment.

[0156] At this time, when the calculation processing unit 12 detects an oncoming vehicle traveling in the oncoming lane, the result of the determination in step S120B is YES.

[0157] Next, in step S121B, the calculation processing unit 12 determines whether or not the driving lane is the right lane with respect to the center line of the road, based on the positional relationship between the host vehicle and the oncoming vehicle.

[0158] At this time, when it is determined in step S121B that the driving lane is the right lane with respect to the center line of the road, the calculation processing unit 12 determines YES in step S122B, and increments the count value in the next step S123B.

[0159] On the other hand, when it is determined in step S121B that the driving lane is the left lane with respect to the center line of the road, the calculation processing unit 12 determines NO in step S122B, and decrements the count value in the next step S124B.

[0160] In this way, when the calculation processing unit 12 increments or decrements the count value based on the result of the determination of the driving lane, the process proceeds to the next step S124.

[0161] Next, in step S124H, the calculation processing unit 12 determines whether or not the absolute value of the count value (i.e., the calculated count value) is equal to or greater than the threshold value A. The threshold value A is a second threshold value used to determine whether or not the accuracy of the determination of the driving lane obtained based on the count value is high. A positive value is used as the threshold value A. At this time, in step S124, the calculation processing unit 12 judges as YES when the absolute value of the count value is equal to or greater than the threshold value A. This judges that the accuracy of the determination of the driving lane obtained based on the count value is high. In other words, it is judged that the driving lane can be determined based on the count value.

[0162] Then, the calculation processing unit 12 sets the peripheral flag stored in the storage unit 14 in step S124a.

[0163] At this time, in step S125, the calculation processing unit 12 determines whether the count value is equal to or greater than the threshold value B. The threshold value B is a first threshold value for determining whether the driving lane is the right lane. The threshold value B is a positive value smaller than the threshold value A. In this embodiment, the threshold value B is, for example, "1."

[0164] That is, in step S125, the calculation processing unit 12 determines whether or not the count value is a positive value.

[0165] At this time, when the count value is a positive value, the calculation processing unit 12 determines YES in step S125. In step S126, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling is the right lane.

[0166] On the other hand, when the count value is a negative value, the calculation processing unit 12 determines NO in step S125. In this case, the calculation processing unit 12 determines in step S127 that the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling is the left lane.

[0167] In this manner, the calculation processor 12 determines whether the lane in which the host vehicle should travel is the right lane or the left lane, based on the count value.

[0168] On the other hand, in step S124H, the calculation processing unit 12 determines as NO when the absolute value of the count value is less than the threshold value A. As a result, it determines that the accuracy of the determination of the driving lane obtained based on the count value is low.

[0169] In other words, it is determined that it is impossible to determine the driving lane based on the count value. Therefore, in the next step S128, when the absolute value of the count value is less than the threshold value A, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the determination of the driving lane based on the surrounding information of the host vehicle is invalid.

[0170] Furthermore, when the calculation processing unit 12 determines in step S120B that an oncoming vehicle is not detected and the result is NO, the calculation processing unit 12 also determines that the determination of the driving lane based on the surrounding information of the host vehicle is invalid.

[0171] According to the present embodiment described above, the calculation processing unit 12 increments the count value every time it determines that the driving lane is the right lane in steps S122D, S122A, and S121B.

[0172] On the other hand, the calculation processing unit 12 decrements the count value every time it determines in steps S122D, S122A, and S121B that the driving lane is the left lane.

[0173] Therefore, the calculation processing unit 12 determines whether the driving lane is the right lane or the left lane based on the count value. As a result, the calculation processing unit 12 can determine the driving lane of the host vehicle based on the positional relationship between the host vehicle and other vehicles, similar to the first to third embodiments.

[0174] Fifth embodiment In the fifth embodiment, the details of the automatic control processes in the first to fourth embodiments will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0175] The arithmetic processing unit 12 of this embodiment executes automatic control processing in accordance with the flowchart of FIG.

[0176] First, the calculation processing unit 12 determines whether or not the determination of the driving lane in which the host vehicle should travel based on the host vehicle position information and the host vehicle surrounding information has been stopped in step S130.

[0177] Here, if the determination of the driving lane in which the host vehicle should travel is stopped in step S114 in FIG. 4, the determination in step S130 is YES.

[0178] Next, in step S132, the calculation processing unit 12 stops the execution of the turn-indicator-linked acceleration control process and the overtaking suppression control process. Note that step S132 constitutes an acceleration stop control unit or a following control stop unit. Note that the execution of either the turn-indicator-linked acceleration control process or the overtaking suppression control process may be stopped.

[0179] On the other hand, when the calculation processing unit 12 decides in any of steps S113, S117, and S118 of FIG. 4 to use the results of the determination of the driving lane based on the position information of the host vehicle or the information about the surroundings of the host vehicle for the automatic control processing, the calculation processing unit 12 judges NO in step S130.

[0180] In this case, in step S131, the calculation processing unit 12 executes the turn signal-linked acceleration control process and the overtaking suppression control process using the determination result of the driving lane determined in step S106 of Fig. 2. Note that it is possible to execute either the turn signal-linked acceleration control process or the overtaking suppression control process.

[0181] Hereinafter, the turn signal-linked acceleration control process and the overtaking suppression control process of this embodiment will be described separately.

[0182] (Blinker-linked acceleration control processing) The calculation processing unit 12 executes the turn signal-linked acceleration control process according to the flowchart of FIG.

[0183] First, in step S141, the calculation processing unit 12 determines whether or not the traveling direction indicated by the direction indicator 33 indicates the overtaking lane side for the host vehicle, based on the determination result in step S106 in Fig. 2 and the output signal output from the direction indicator 33. Step S141 constitutes a direction indication determination unit.

[0184] For example, if the lane in which the host vehicle should travel is the right lane, the calculation processing unit 12 determines YES in step S141 when the direction indicator 33 indicates the left side in the vehicle width direction.

[0185] Moreover, in the case where the lane in which the host vehicle should travel is the left lane, when the direction indicator 33 indicates the right side in the vehicle width direction, the calculation processing unit 12 determines YES in step S141.

[0186] Next, the calculation processing unit 12 determines whether or not an adjacent preceding vehicle traveling in the overtaking lane has been detected based on the sensor signals of the perimeter monitoring sensors 20, 21, and 22 and the result of the determination of the driving lane determined in any one of steps S113, S117, and S118.

[0187] At this time, when the calculation processing unit 12 detects an adjacent preceding vehicle traveling in the overtaking lane, the calculation processing unit 12 determines YES in step S142. Next, in step S143, the calculation processing unit 12 determines whether or not the adjacent preceding vehicle is moving away from the host vehicle based on the sensor signals of the periphery monitoring sensors 20, 21, and 22.

[0188] Here, the adjacent preceding vehicle being separated from the own vehicle means that the speed of the adjacent preceding vehicle is faster than the speed of the own vehicle and the adjacent preceding vehicle is at a distance greater than a predetermined distance from the own vehicle.

[0189] Therefore, in step S142, the calculation processor 12 determines YES when the speed of the adjacent preceding vehicle is faster than the speed of the host vehicle and the adjacent preceding vehicle is separated from the host vehicle by a predetermined distance or more.

[0190] As a result, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the adjacent preceding vehicle will not obstruct the travel of the host vehicle when the host vehicle changes lanes to an overtaking lane.

[0191] Accordingly, in step S144, the calculation processing unit 12, as an acceleration control unit, controls the driving engine 40 to accelerate the vehicle in preparation for overtaking the preceding vehicle that is ahead of the vehicle in the same lane as the vehicle.

[0192] Next, in step S141, the calculation processing unit 12 determines NO when the traveling direction indicated by the direction indicator 33 indicates the direction opposite to the overtaking lane with respect to the host vehicle. Specifically, when the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the driving lane in which the host vehicle should travel is the right lane, if the direction indicator 33 indicates the right side in the vehicle width direction, the calculation processing unit 12 determines NO in step S141.

[0193] Furthermore, when the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the driving lane in which the host vehicle should travel is the left lane, and the direction indicator 33 indicates the left side in the vehicle width direction, the calculation processing unit 12 determines NO in step S141.

[0194] Accordingly, in step S145, the calculation processing unit 12 stops accelerating the host vehicle so as to overtake the preceding vehicle that is ahead of the host vehicle in the same lane.

[0195] Furthermore, when the calculation processing unit 12 does not detect an adjacent preceding vehicle in the overtaking lane relative to the host vehicle in step S142, the calculation processing unit 12 makes a NO determination and proceeds to step S144.

[0196] Moreover, in the above step S143, when the speed of the adjacent preceding vehicle is less than the speed of the host vehicle, the calculation processing unit 12 determines NO in step S143. Alternatively, when the distance between the preceding vehicle and the host vehicle is less than a predetermined distance in the above step S143, the calculation processing unit 12 determines NO in step S143.

[0197] In other words, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the adjacent preceding vehicle will obstruct the travel of the host vehicle if the host vehicle changes lanes to an overtaking lane.

[0198] In this case as well, in step S145, the calculation processing unit 12 stops accelerating to overtake the preceding vehicle, as described above.

[0199] (Overtaking suppression control processing) The calculation processing unit 12 executes the overtaking suppression control process according to the flowchart of FIG.

[0200] In step S150, the calculation processing unit 12, as a preceding vehicle determination unit, determines based on the sensor signals of the surrounding monitoring sensors 20, 21, and 22 whether or not an adjacent preceding vehicle traveling in the passing lane adjacent to the right or left of the lane in which the vehicle is traveling has been detected.

[0201] At this time, when the calculation processing unit 12 detects an adjacent preceding vehicle traveling in the overtaking lane, the result of the determination in step S150 is YES.

[0202] Next, in step S151, the calculation processing unit 12, functioning as a speed determining unit, determines, based on the sensor signals of the periphery monitoring sensors 20, 21, and 22, whether the speed of the adjacent preceding vehicle in the overtaking lane is slower than the speed of the host vehicle.

[0203] At this time, when the speed of the adjacent preceding vehicle in the overtaking lane is slower than the speed of the host vehicle, the calculation processing unit 12 determines YES in step S151. Accordingly, in step S152, the calculation processing unit 12, as a follow-up driving unit, controls the steering device 42 and the running engine 40 based on the sensor signals of the surrounding monitoring sensors 20, 21, and 22 to make the host vehicle follow the adjacent preceding vehicle.

[0204] When the speed of the adjacent preceding vehicle traveling in the overtaking lane is equal to or greater than the speed of the host vehicle, the calculation processing unit 12 determines NO in step S151.

[0205] Accordingly, in step S153, the calculation processing unit 12, functioning as a following discontinuing unit, controls the steering device 42 and the driving engine 40 to cause the host vehicle to discontinue following the adjacent preceding vehicle.

[0206] As another embodiment, in step S151, if the speed of the adjacent preceding vehicle traveling in the passing lane is equal to or greater than the speed of the own vehicle and is equal to or less than the set vehicle speed of the own vehicle, the vehicle may follow the adjacent preceding vehicle traveling in the passing lane. In this case, if the speed of the adjacent preceding vehicle traveling in the passing lane is equal to or greater than the speed of the own vehicle and is equal to or greater than the set vehicle speed of the own vehicle, the vehicle cannot perform follow-up control on the adjacent preceding vehicle traveling in the passing lane, so the vehicle stops following the adjacent preceding vehicle.

[0207] Furthermore, when the calculation processing unit 12 does not detect an adjacent preceding vehicle traveling in the overtaking lane, the calculation processing unit 12 determines NO in step S150. In this case, too, the calculation processing unit 12 proceeds to step S153.

[0208] According to the present embodiment described above, the calculation processing unit 12 executes the automatic control processing based on the determination result of the driving lane determined in the driving lane detection processing. When the driving lane is not determined in the driving lane detection processing, the calculation processing unit 12 stops the automatic control processing. Therefore, the determination result of the driving lane can be appropriately used in the automatic control processing.

[0209] Sixth embodiment In the above fourth embodiment, an example has been described in which the count value is incremented each time the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling is determined to be the right lane, and the count value is decremented each time the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling is determined to be the left lane.

[0210] However, instead of this, the count value may be decremented each time it is determined that the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling is the right lane, and the count value may be incremented each time it is determined that the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling is the left lane.

[0211] Seventh embodiment In the above first embodiment, an example has been described in which the calculation processing unit 12 determines in step S110 whether the road on which the vehicle is traveling is a general road or not by determining whether the continuous traveling distance that the vehicle has continuously traveled is equal to or greater than a predetermined distance Ka.

[0212] Instead, in this embodiment, the calculation processing unit 12 determines whether the road on which the vehicle is traveling is a general road by determining whether the continuous traveling distance that the vehicle has traveled without detecting traffic lights on the road is equal to or less than a predetermined distance b.

[0213] Specifically, the calculation processing unit 12 executes general road determination processing in accordance with the flowchart of Fig. 18. The general road determination processing is used in place of the determination processing of step S110 in Fig. 4.

[0214] First, in step S160, the calculation processing unit 12 determines, based on the sensor signals of the periphery monitoring sensors 20, 21, and 22, whether or not a traffic light on the road has been detected around the host vehicle.

[0215] Image recognition processing for detecting traffic lights on the road is a well-known technique as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-212630 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-170154.

[0216] If the calculation processing unit 12 determines in step S160 that no traffic light on the road has been detected around the host vehicle, the process proceeds to step S161 to perform a traveling determination process.

[0217] In step S161, the calculation processing unit 12 determines the traveling distance of the host vehicle based on the sensor signal of the vehicle speed sensor 31. Next, in step S162, the calculation processing unit 12 determines whether the determined traveling distance of the host vehicle is equal to or greater than a threshold value X.

[0218] At this time, if the travel distance of the host vehicle is less than the threshold value X, the calculation processing unit 12 determines NO in step S162, and returns to step S160.

[0219] When no traffic lights are detected on the road around the vehicle and the distance traveled by the vehicle is equal to or greater than the threshold value X, the calculation processing unit 12 judges YES in step S162. Accordingly, the calculation processing unit 12 judges in step S163 that the road on which the vehicle is traveling is not a general road but a motorway or expressway. In this case, the calculation processing unit 12 judges NO in step S110 of FIG. 4.

[0220] On the other hand, when the calculation processing unit 12 detects a traffic light on the road around the host vehicle, the determination in step S160 is NO.

[0221] Accordingly, the calculation processing unit 12 determines in step S164 that the road on which the vehicle is traveling is an ordinary road. In this case, the calculation processing unit 12 determines YES in step S110 of FIG.

[0222] According to the present embodiment described above, when the calculation processing unit 12 detects a traffic light on the road, it determines that the road is an ordinary road. At the same time, when the driving distance that the vehicle has traveled without detecting a traffic light on the road is equal to or greater than the threshold value X, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the vehicle is traveling on a motorway. This makes it possible to more accurately determine whether the road on which the vehicle is traveling is an ordinary road. Eighth embodiment In the above first to seventh embodiments, an example has been described in which the driving lane of the host vehicle is determined based on the output signals of the periphery monitoring sensors 20, 21, and 22 and the output signal of the host position estimation sensor 30. However, in the above embodiment, the vehicle is not necessarily in a driving lane.

[0223] In the eighth embodiment, instead, the lane in which the vehicle is traveling is determined using the previous determination result of the lane in which the vehicle is traveling. Hereinafter, the description will be given with reference to Figures 19, 20, 21, etc. In Figure 19, the same reference numerals as in Figure 1 indicate the same parts, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0224] A vehicle control system 1A of this embodiment includes a vehicle control device 10A, a forward monitoring sensor 20, a side monitoring sensor 21, a rear monitoring sensor 22, a GPS receiver 30A, and a driving assistance device 50, as shown in FIG.

[0225] The vehicle control device 10A includes a calculation processing unit 12 and a storage unit 14. The calculation processing unit 12 is configured with a microcomputer or the like, and executes lane determination processing, which will be described later.

[0226] This lane determination process is a process for determining whether the lane in which the vehicle should travel (i.e., the driving lane) is the right lane (i.e., the right-hand lane) or the left lane (i.e., the left lane) of the road.

[0227] Here, the right lane refers to the lane located on the right side of the center line of the road, and the left lane refers to the lane located on the left side of the center line of the road. In this embodiment, the "traffic lane in which the vehicle should travel" is synonymous with the "traffic lane in which the vehicle should travel" in the first to seventh embodiments. The right-hand traffic lane is synonymous with the right lane, and the left-hand traffic lane is synonymous with the left lane.

[0228] The arithmetic processing unit 12 executes lane determination processing according to a computer program recorded in the ROM 14B. In conjunction with the execution of lane determination processing, the arithmetic processing unit 12 determines the lane based on the output signals of the GPS receiver 30A, the forward monitoring sensor 20, the side monitoring sensor 21, the rear monitoring sensor 22, and the IG switch 60. The IG switch 60 is a power switch for the vehicle and is used to turn on and off the power of the engine for driving.

[0229] The storage unit 14 is composed of a flash memory 14A, a ROM 14B, and a RAM 14C. The flash memory 14A is a writable non-transient physical recording medium on which computer programs executed by the arithmetic processing unit 12 and various data are recorded.

[0230] The RAM 14C is a writable volatile recording medium used as a working area by the arithmetic processing unit 12. The ROM 14B is a non-writable non-volatile recording medium in which computer programs executed by the arithmetic processing unit 12 and the like are recorded.

[0231] The forward monitoring sensor 20 is a sensor that monitors the front side of the host vehicle in the vehicle travel direction. The side monitoring sensor 21 is a sensor that monitors the right and left sides of the host vehicle in the vehicle width direction. The rear monitoring sensor 22 is a sensor that monitors the front side of the host vehicle in the vehicle travel direction.

[0232] In this embodiment, the forward monitoring sensor 20, the side monitoring sensor 21, and the rear monitoring sensor 22 constitute a perimeter monitoring sensor that monitors the perimeter of the host vehicle. For convenience of explanation, the forward monitoring sensor 20, the side monitoring sensor 21, and the rear monitoring sensor 22 will be collectively referred to as the perimeter monitoring sensors 20, 21, and 22 below.

[0233] The GPS receiver 30A is a positioning detection unit that receives multiple transmission signals respectively transmitted from multiple artificial satellites, detects position information of the vehicle based on the received multiple transmission signals, and outputs a sensor signal indicating the detected position information.

[0234] The driving support device 50 is a driving support control unit configured with a microcomputer, a memory, etc. The driving support device 50 executes driving support processing according to a determined value output from the arithmetic processing unit 12 of the vehicle control device 10A.

[0235] The driving support process is a process for supporting the driver in driving the vehicle. The driving support device 50 controls the engine 40, the brake device 41, and the steering device 42 in accordance with the execution of the driving support process.

[0236] The running engine 40 is a driving source for running that is constituted by an internal combustion engine that drives the drive wheels of the host vehicle. Both the running engine 40 and the running electric motor may be used as the driving source for running, or only the running electric motor may be used as the driving source for running. The brake device 41 applies brakes to each of the multiple wheels of the host vehicle. The steering device 42 controls the direction (i.e., the steering angle) of the wheels of the host vehicle.

[0237] Next, the operation of the vehicle control device 10A of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0238] Fig. 20 is a flow chart showing a part of the lane determination process, and Fig. 21 is a flow chart showing the rest of the lane determination process.

[0239] The calculation processing unit 12 repeatedly executes the lane determination process according to the flowcharts of Figures 20 and 21. The calculation processing unit 12 determines the lane in which the vehicle should travel each time the lane determination process is executed. Specifically, the process is as follows.

[0240] First, in step S200, the calculation processing unit 12 acquires the position information of the host vehicle from the GPS receiver 30A.

[0241] Next, the calculation processing unit 12 acquires surrounding vehicle information from the surrounding monitoring sensors 20, 21, and 22 in step S210.

[0242] Next, in step S220, the calculation processing unit 12, as a position information determination unit, determines whether the lane in which the vehicle should travel is the right lane or the left lane with respect to the center line of the road, based on the position information of the vehicle obtained from the GPS receiver 30A.

[0243] Hereinafter, such a determination result in step S220 is also referred to as a GPS determined value. The determination process in step S220 will be described in detail later.

[0244] Next, in step S230, the calculation processing unit 12, as a surrounding information determination unit, determines whether the lane in which the vehicle should travel is the right lane or the left lane relative to the center line of the road, based on the surrounding vehicle information obtained from the surrounding monitoring sensors 20, 21, and 22.

[0245] Hereinafter, such a determination result in step S230 is also referred to as an autonomous sensor determination value. The determination process in step S230 will be described in detail later.

[0246] Next, in step S240, the calculation processing unit 12 determines whether or not the GPS determination value (ie, the determination result in step S220) and the autonomous sensor determination value (ie, the determination result in step S230) match. At this time, in step S240, the calculation processing unit 12 determines YES when the GPS determined value and the autonomous sensor determined value match.

[0247] Next, in step S250, the calculation processing unit 12 determines whether or not the GPS determination value is undetermined.

[0248] At this time, if the GPS determination value is undetermined in step S250, the calculation processing unit 12 determines as YES.

[0249] Next, in step S260, the calculation processing unit 12 determines whether the previous lane determination value recorded in the flash memory 14A is undetermined or not. The previous lane determination value is driving lane information indicating the lane in which it was previously determined that the host vehicle should travel.

[0250] The previous lane determination value is the lane determination value determined in any one of steps S270, S310, S330, S390, S410, and S430 when the lane determination process was executed the previous time.

[0251] At this time, in step S260, the calculation processing unit 12 determines YES when the previous traffic lane determination value recorded in the flash memory 14A is undetermined.

[0252] At this time, the calculation processor 12 determines in step S270 that the current lane determination value is undetermined. The current lane determination value is driving lane information indicating the lane in which the host vehicle is currently determined to be traveling.

[0253] Accordingly, in step S280, the calculation processing unit 12 updates the previous lane determination value recorded in the flash memory 14A to "undetermined."

[0254] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned step S260, when the previous lane determination value recorded in the flash memory 14A is the right lane or the left lane, the calculation processing unit 12 judges that the previous lane determination value is not undetermined and judges NO.

[0255] At this time, in step S290, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that it is inappropriate to update the previous lane determination value in the flash memory 14A.

[0256] In this case, the calculation processing unit 12 maintains the previous lane determination value recorded in the flash memory 14A without rewriting it. Accordingly, the calculation processing unit 12 proceeds to step S200.

[0257] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned step S250, when the GPS determined value (i.e., the determination result of step S220) is not undetermined, the calculation processing unit 12 determines NO. Accordingly, in step S300, the calculation processing unit 12 determines whether or not the GPS determined value indicates a right-hand traffic lane.

[0258] At this time, in step S300, when the GPS determined value indicates that the vehicle is driving on the right side of the road, the calculation processing unit 12 determines YES.

[0259] Accordingly, in step S310, the calculation processor 12 determines that the current lane determination value is the right lane.

[0260] Accordingly, in step S320, the calculation processing unit 12 updates the previous lane determination value stored in the flash memory 14A to the right lane. Accordingly, the calculation processing unit 12 proceeds to step S200.

[0261] On the other hand, when the GPS determined value indicates that the vehicle is driving on the left side of the road in step S300, the calculation processor 12 determines NO.

[0262] Accordingly, in step S330, the calculation processor 12 determines that the current lane determination value is the left lane.

[0263] Accordingly, in step S340, the calculation processing unit 12 updates the previous lane determination value stored in the flash memory 14A to the left lane. Accordingly, the calculation processing unit 12 proceeds to step S200.

[0264] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned step S240, when the GPS determined value and the autonomous sensor determined value do not match, the calculation processing unit 12 determines NO.

[0265] Accordingly, in step S350 in FIG. 21, the calculation processing unit 12 determines whether or not the previous traffic lane determination value recorded in the flash memory 14A is different from "undetermined."

[0266] At this time, when the previous lane determination value recorded in the flash memory 14A is the right lane or the left lane, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the previous lane determination value is different from "undetermined," and judges YES in step S350.

[0267] Next, in step S360, the calculation processing unit 12 determines whether or not either one of the following (a) and (b) is satisfied with respect to the previous lane determination value recorded in the flash memory 14A. (a) The calculation processing unit 12 judges whether or not the previous lane determination value and the GPS determined value match. (b) The calculation processing unit 12 determines whether or not the previous lane determination value and the autonomous sensor determination value match.

[0268] Here, when the previous lane determination value and the GPS determined value match, and the previous lane determination value and the autonomous sensor determined value match, the calculation processing unit 12 determines YES in step S360.

[0269] When the previous lane determination value and the GPS determined value do not match, and the previous lane determination value and the autonomous sensor determined value match, the calculation processor 12 determines YES in step S360.

[0270] When the previous lane determination value and the GPS determined value match and the previous lane determination value and the autonomous sensor determined value do not match, the calculation processor 12 determines YES in step S360.

[0271] In this way, when the calculation processing unit 12 judges YES in step S360, in the next step S370, it judges whether or not either one of the following (c) and (d) is established. (c) The calculation processing unit 12 determines whether the GPS determination value is undetermined or not. (d) The calculation processing unit 12 determines whether or not the autonomous sensor determination value is undetermined.

[0272] When the GPS determination value is undetermined and the autonomous sensor determination value is undetermined, the calculation processing unit 12 determines YES in step S370.

[0273] When the GPS determined value is undetermined and the autonomous sensor determined value is the right-hand traffic lane or the left-hand traffic lane, the calculation processor 12 determines YES in step S370.

[0274] When the GPS determined value indicates a right-hand traffic lane or a left-hand traffic lane and the autonomous sensor determined value is undetermined, the calculation processor 12 determines YES in step S370.

[0275] In this way, when either the GPS determined value or the autonomous sensor determined value is undetermined, the calculation processing unit 12 determines YES in step S370.

[0276] Then, in the next step S380, the calculation processing unit 12 determines whether or not the previous lane determination value recorded in the flash memory 14A is the right-hand lane.

[0277] At this time, in step S380, the calculation processor 12 determines YES when the previous lane determination value recorded in the flash memory 14A is the right lane.

[0278] Accordingly, in step S390, the calculation processor 12 determines that the current lane determination value is the right lane.

[0279] Accordingly, in step S400, the calculation processing unit 12 updates the previous lane determination value recorded in the flash memory 14A to the right lane. Accordingly, the calculation processing unit 12 proceeds to step S200.

[0280] On the other hand, in step S380, when the previous lane determination value recorded in the flash memory 14A is the left lane, the calculation processor 12 makes a NO determination.

[0281] Accordingly, in step S410, the calculation processor 12 determines that the current lane determination value is the left lane.

[0282] Accordingly, in step S420, the calculation processing unit 12 updates the previous lane determination value recorded in the flash memory 14A to the left lane. Accordingly, the calculation processing unit 12 proceeds to step S200.

[0283] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned step S350, when the previous lane determination value recorded in the flash memory 14A is undetermined, the calculation processing unit 12 judges as NO. Accordingly, in step S430, the calculation processing unit 12 judges that the current lane determination value is undetermined.

[0284] Accordingly, in step S440, the calculation processing unit 12 updates the previous lane determination value recorded in the flash memory 14A to "undetermined."

[0285] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned step S360, when the previous lane determination value and the GPS determined value do not match, and the previous lane determination value and the autonomous sensor determined value do not match, the calculation processing unit 12 determines NO.

[0286] Accordingly, in step S430, the calculation processor 12 determines that the current lane determination value is undetermined.

[0287] Accordingly, in step S440, the calculation processing unit 12 updates the previous lane determination value recorded in the flash memory 14A to "undetermined."

[0288] Furthermore, in step S370, when the GPS determined value is the right-hand lane or the left-hand lane and the autonomous sensor determined value is the right-hand lane or the left-hand lane, the calculation processor 12 determines NO.

[0289] Accordingly, in step S430, the calculation processor 12 determines that the current lane determination value is undetermined.

[0290] Accordingly, in step S440, the calculation processing unit 12 updates the previous lane determination value recorded in the flash memory 14A to "undetermined."

[0291] The calculation processing unit 12 repeatedly executes steps S200 to S440 to repeatedly determine the lane determination value, and updates the lane determination value recorded in the flash memory 14A every time this determination is made.

[0292] Steps S270, S320, S340, S400, S420, and S440 constitute a driving lane determination unit.

[0293] Next, details of the GPS determination process (that is, the determination in step S220) of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0294] Fig. 22 is a flowchart showing the GPS determination process. The calculation processing unit 12 executes the GPS determination process according to the flowchart in Fig. 22. The calculation processing unit 12 determines the lane in which the vehicle should travel based on the GPS every time the GPS determination process is executed. Specifically, the process is as follows.

[0295] That is, in step S500, the calculation processing unit 12 determines, based on the output signal of the IG switch 60, whether the IG switch 60 has transitioned from off to on.

[0296] At this time, in step S500, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the IG switch 60 has transitioned from off to on, resulting in YES. Accordingly, in step S510, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the GPS determination value is undetermined.

[0297] Furthermore, in step S500, the calculation processing unit 12 determines NO when the IG switch 60 is in the off state or the on state. Accordingly, in step S520, the calculation processing unit 12 determines whether the IG switch 60 is in the on state based on the output signal of the IG switch 60.

[0298] At this time, the calculation processing unit 12 determines YES in step S520 if the IG switch 60 is in the ON state.

[0299] Next, in step S530, the calculation processing unit 12 determines whether the GPS receiver 30A is operating normally based on the driving state signal output from the GPS receiver 30A. The driving state signal output from the GPS receiver 30A is a signal indicating whether the GPS receiver 30A is operating normally.

[0300] At this time, in step S530, the calculation processing unit 12 determines YES when the GPS receiver 30A is operating normally.

[0301] Next, in step S540, the calculation processing unit 12 determines whether or not the GPS receiver 30A is receiving GPS signals transmitted from three or more artificial satellites, based on the reception status signal output from the GPS receiver 30A.

[0302] This reception status signal is a signal that indicates whether or not the GPS receiver 30A is receiving GPS signals transmitted from three or more artificial satellites.

[0303] At this time, in step S540, the calculation processing unit 12 determines YES when the GPS receiver 30A is receiving GPS signals transmitted from three or more artificial satellites.

[0304] Next, in step S550, the calculation processing unit 12 determines whether or not the position information of a right-hand traffic lane has been continuously acquired for a specified period of time or longer based on the output signal of the GPS receiver 30A. Here, the "right-hand traffic lane country" refers to a country in which the lane in which the vehicle should travel is located on the right side of the center line of the road. The output signal of the GPS receiver 30A is a signal that indicates the position information of the vehicle.

[0305] At this time, in step S550, when the position information of the right-hand traffic lane country is continuously acquired for a specified time or more, the calculation processing unit 12 judges as YES. At this time, in step S560, the GPS judgment value is set as the right-hand traffic lane.

[0306] Furthermore, in step S550, the processor 12 judges NO when the period during which the position information of the right-hand traffic lane country has been continuously acquired is less than the specified time. Accordingly, in step S570, the processor 12 judges whether the position information of the left-hand traffic lane country has been continuously acquired for a specified time or more based on the output signal of the GPS receiver 30A. A "left-hand traffic lane country" refers to a country in which the lane in which the vehicle should travel is located on the left side of the center line of the road.

[0307] At this time, in step S570, the calculation processing unit 12 determines YES when the position information of the left-hand traffic lane country is continuously acquired for a specified time or more. Accordingly, in step S580, the calculation processing unit 12 sets the GPS determination value as the left-hand traffic lane.

[0308] In addition, in step S570, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the GPS determination value is not yet determined when the period during which the position information of the left-hand traffic state is continuously acquired is less than the specified time. Furthermore, in step S520, when the IG switch 60 is in the OFF state, the calculation processing unit 12 determines as NO. Accordingly, in step S590, the calculation processing unit 12 sets the GPS determination value as undetermined.

[0309] Furthermore, when the calculation processing unit 12 determines in step S530 that the GPS receiver 30A is malfunctioning based on the driving state signal output from the GPS receiver 30A, the calculation processing unit 12 determines NO. Accordingly, in step S590, the calculation processing unit 12 sets the GPS determination value as undetermined.

[0310] Furthermore, in step S540, when the GPS receiver 30A does not receive GPS signals transmitted from three or more artificial satellites, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the result is NO. Accordingly, in step S590, the calculation processing unit 12 sets the GPS determination value as undetermined.

[0311] As a result of the above, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the GPS determined value is undetermined from the time the IG switch 60 transitions from off to on until the GPS determined value determines whether the vehicle is in the right-hand lane or the left-hand lane.

[0312] The arithmetic processing unit 12 repeats the processes of steps S500 to S590, thereby setting a GPS determination value according to the position information received by the GPS receiver 30A.

[0313] Next, the transition of the GPS determination value in the GPS band determination process of the arithmetic processing unit 12 in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0314] When the GPS determined value indicates the right-hand traffic lane and the IG switch transitions from on to off, the calculation processing unit 12 transitions the GPS determined value from the right-hand traffic lane to undetermined, as indicated by an arrow A1 in FIG.

[0315] When the GPS determined value indicates the right-hand traffic lane, if the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the GPS receiver 30A is malfunctioning, the calculation processing unit 12 transitions the GPS determined value from the right-hand traffic lane to undetermined, as shown by arrow A1 in Figure 23.

[0316] When the GPS determined value indicates the left-hand traffic lane and the IG switch transitions from on to off, the calculation processing unit 12 transitions the GPS determined value from the left-hand traffic lane to undetermined, as shown by an arrow A2 in FIG.

[0317] When the GPS determined value indicates the left-hand traffic lane, if the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the GPS receiver 30A is malfunctioning, the calculation processing unit 12 transitions the GPS determined value from the left-hand traffic lane to undetermined, as shown by arrow A2 in Figure 23.

[0318] When the GPS determined value is the right-hand traffic lane, and the calculation processing unit 12 continuously acquires location information of a country in which the left-hand traffic lane is provided from the GPS receiver 30A for a specified period of time or more, the calculation processing unit 12 transitions the GPS determined value from the right-hand traffic lane to the left-hand traffic lane, as shown by arrow A3 in Figure 23.

[0319] When the GPS determined value is the left-hand traffic lane, if the calculation processing unit 12 receives position information of the GPS receiver 30A in a right-hand traffic lane continuously for a specified period of time or more, the calculation processing unit 12 transitions the GPS determined value from the left-hand traffic lane to the right-hand traffic lane, as shown by arrow A4 in Figure 23.

[0320] When the GPS determination value is undetermined and the calculation processing unit 12 continuously acquires location information of a right-hand traffic lane country from the GPS receiver 30A for a specified period of time or more, the calculation processing unit 12 transitions the GPS determination value from undetermined to right-hand traffic lane, as shown by arrow A5 in Figure 23.

[0321] When the GPS determination value is undetermined and the calculation processing unit 12 continuously acquires location information of a left-hand traffic lane country from the GPS receiver 30A for a specified period of time or more, the calculation processing unit 12 transitions the GPS determination value from undetermined to left-hand traffic lane, as shown by arrow A6 in Figure 23.

[0322] Next, details of the autonomous sensor determination process (i.e., the determination in step S230) of this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 24. Fig. 24 is a flowchart showing the autonomous sensor determination process. The calculation processing unit 12 executes the autonomous sensor determination process according to the flowchart in Fig. 24.

[0323] The calculation processing unit 12 determines an autonomous sensor determination value each time the autonomous sensor determination is performed. The autonomous sensor determination value is a traffic lane in which the host vehicle should travel. Specifically, the autonomous sensor determination value is as follows.

[0324] That is, in step S600, the calculation processing unit 12 determines, based on the output signal of the IG switch 60, whether the IG switch 60 has transitioned from off to on.

[0325] At this time, in step S600, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the IG switch 60 has transitioned from off to on, resulting in YES. Accordingly, in step S610, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the autonomous sensor determination value is undetermined. Accordingly, the calculation processing unit 12 proceeds to step S600.

[0326] In addition, in step S600, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the IG switch 60 is in the OFF state or the ON state as NO. Next, in step S620, the calculation processing unit 12 determines whether the IG switch 60 is in the ON state based on the output signal of the IG switch 60.

[0327] At this time, the calculation processing unit 12 determines YES in step S620 when the IG switch 60 is in the on state. Accordingly, the calculation processing unit 12 resets the timer in step S630 and starts counting the time. The timer is used to count the time that has elapsed since the calculation processing unit 12 determined YES in step S620.

[0328] Next, in step S640, the calculation processing unit 12 determines, based on the sensor signals of the periphery monitoring sensors 20, 21, and 22, whether or not an oncoming vehicle traveling in the oncoming lane adjacent to the right of the host vehicle has passed the host vehicle.

[0329] At this time, as shown in FIG. 11, when an oncoming vehicle traveling in the oncoming lane adjacent to the right side of the host vehicle has passed the host vehicle, the calculation processing unit 12 determines YES in step S640. At this time, in step S650, the calculation processing unit 12 increments the count value of the right-side passing vehicle counter Ca by 1. The right-side passing vehicle counter Ca is used to count the number of oncoming vehicles passing the host vehicle in the oncoming lane adjacent to the right side of the host vehicle. After that, the calculation processing unit 12 proceeds to step S680.

[0330] Furthermore, in step S640, the calculation processing unit 12 determines NO when there is no oncoming vehicle passing the host vehicle in the oncoming lane adjacent to the right side of the host vehicle.

[0331] Next, in step S660, the calculation processing unit 12 determines, based on the sensor signals of the periphery monitoring sensors 20, 21, and 22, whether or not an oncoming vehicle traveling in the oncoming lane adjacent to the left side of the host vehicle has passed the host vehicle.

[0332] At this time, the calculation processing unit 12 determines YES in step S660 when an oncoming vehicle traveling in the oncoming lane adjacent to the left side of the host vehicle has passed the host vehicle as shown in Fig. 12. At this time, the calculation processing unit 12 increments the count value of the left-side passing vehicle counter Cb by one in step S670.

[0333] The left passing vehicle counter Cb is used to count the number of oncoming vehicles passing the host vehicle in the oncoming lane adjacent to the left side of the host vehicle. After that, the calculation processing unit 12 proceeds to step S680.

[0334] Next, in step S680, the calculation processing unit 12 determines whether or not the time measured by the timer is equal to or greater than a specified time TA.

[0335] At this time, in step S680, the calculation processing unit 12 determines NO when the time measured by the timer is less than the specified time TA, and accordingly the calculation processing unit 12 proceeds to step S640.

[0336] Therefore, the processor 12 repeats the process of determining whether an oncoming vehicle has passed on the right in step S640, the increment process in step S650, the process of determining whether an oncoming vehicle has passed on the left in step S660, and the increment process in step S670 until the timer reaches or exceeds the specified time TA.

[0337] Therefore, the calculation processing unit 12 judges YES in step S640 every time an oncoming vehicle traveling in the oncoming lane adjacent to the right of the host vehicle passes the host vehicle, and increments the count value of the right-side passing vehicle counter Ca by one in step S650.

[0338] The calculation processor 12 determines YES in step S660 every time an oncoming vehicle traveling in the oncoming lane adjacent to the left side of the host vehicle passes the host vehicle, and in step S670 increments the count value of the left-side passing vehicle counter Cb by one.

[0339] Thereafter, in step S680, the calculation processing unit 12 makes a YES determination when the time measured by the timer becomes equal to or exceeds the specified time TA.

[0340] Next, in step S690, the calculation processor 12 determines whether the count value of the right-side passing vehicle counter Ca is equal to or greater than the threshold value S.

[0341] At this time, in step S690, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the result is YES when the count value of the right-side passing vehicle counter Ca is equal to or greater than the threshold value S. In this case, in step S700, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the autonomous sensor determination value indicates the left-hand traffic lane. Accordingly, the calculation processing unit 12 proceeds to step S600.

[0342] Furthermore, when the count value of the right-side passing vehicle counter Ca is less than the threshold value S in step S690, the calculation processing unit 12 makes a NO determination.

[0343] Next, in step S710, the calculation processing unit 12 determines whether the count value of the left-side passing vehicle counter Cb is equal to or greater than the threshold value S.

[0344] At this time, in step S710, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the result is YES when the count value of the left-side passing vehicle counter Cb is equal to or greater than the threshold value S. In this case, in step S710, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the autonomous sensor determination value indicates the right-hand traffic lane. Accordingly, the calculation processing unit 12 proceeds to step S600.

[0345] Furthermore, in step S710, when the count value of the left-side passing vehicle counter Cb is less than the threshold value S, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the result is NO. Accordingly, in step S730, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the autonomous sensor determination value is undetermined. Accordingly, the calculation processing unit 12 proceeds to step S600.

[0346] As a result of the above, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the autonomous sensor determination value is undetermined from the time the IG switch 60 transitions from off to on until the autonomous sensor determination value determines whether the lane is on the right or left side of the road. The calculation processing unit 12 determines the autonomous sensor determination value based on the sensor signals of the perimeter monitoring sensors 20, 21, and 22 by repeating the processes of steps S600 to S730.

[0347] Next, the transition of the autonomous sensor determination value in the autonomous sensor determination process of the arithmetic processing unit 12 in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0348] When the autonomous sensor determination value indicates the right-hand lane, if the IG switch transitions from on to off, the calculation processing unit 12 transitions the autonomous sensor determination value from the right-hand lane to undetermined, as shown by arrow B1 in FIG.

[0349] When the autonomous sensor determination value indicates the left lane, if the IG switch transitions from on to off, the calculation processing unit 12 transitions the autonomous sensor determination value from the left lane to undetermined, as shown by arrow B2 in FIG.

[0350] When the autonomous sensor determination value indicates the right-hand traffic lane, if the number of oncoming vehicles passing the host vehicle in the oncoming lane to the right of the host vehicle during a specified time period is equal to or greater than a specified number, the calculation processing unit 12 transitions the autonomous sensor determination value as shown by arrow B3 in Fig. 25. That is, the calculation processing unit 12 transitions the autonomous sensor determination value from the right-hand traffic lane to the left-hand traffic lane.

[0351] When the autonomous sensor determination value indicates the left lane, if the number of oncoming vehicles passing the host vehicle in the oncoming lane to the left of the host vehicle during a specified time period is equal to or greater than a specified number, the calculation processing unit 12 transitions the autonomous sensor determination value as shown by arrow B4 in Fig. 25. That is, the calculation processing unit 12 transitions the autonomous sensor determination value from the left lane to the right lane.

[0352] When the autonomous sensor determination value is undetermined, if the number of oncoming vehicles passing the host vehicle in the oncoming lane to the left of the host vehicle during a specified time period is equal to or greater than a specified number, the calculation processing unit 12 transitions the autonomous sensor determination value as shown by arrow B5 in Fig. 25. That is, the calculation processing unit 12 transitions the autonomous sensor determination value from undetermined to the right lane.

[0353] When the autonomous sensor determination value is undetermined, if the number of oncoming vehicles passing the host vehicle in the oncoming lane to the right of the host vehicle during a specified time period is equal to or greater than a specified number, the calculation processing unit 12 transitions the autonomous sensor determination value as shown by arrow B6 in Fig. 25. That is, the calculation processing unit 12 transitions the autonomous sensor determination value from undetermined to the left lane.

[0354] Next, in this embodiment, the transition of the determination final value in the lane determination process of the calculation processing unit 12 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0355] 26 is a table showing the correspondence relationships between the previous determined value, the GPS determined value, the autonomous sensor determined value, and the current determined value, for each of the numbers 1 to 27. Here, the following (1) to (27) correspond to the numbers 1 to 27 in FIG.

[0356] (1) When the previous determined value is undetermined, the GPS determined value is undetermined, and the autonomous sensor determined value is undetermined, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the current determined value is undetermined.

[0357] (2) When the previous determined value is undetermined, the GPS determined value is undetermined, and the autonomous sensor determined value is the right-hand traffic lane, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the current determined value is undetermined.

[0358] (3) When the previous determined value is undetermined, the GPS determined value is undetermined, and the autonomous sensor determined value is the left-hand traffic lane, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the current determined value is undetermined.

[0359] (4) When the previous determined value is undetermined, if the GPS determined value is the right-hand traffic lane and the autonomous sensor determined value is undetermined, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the current determined value is undetermined.

[0360] (5) When the previous determined value is undetermined, if the GPS determined value is the right-hand traffic lane and the autonomous sensor determined value is the right-hand traffic lane, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the current determined value is the right-hand traffic lane.

[0361] (6) When the previous determined value is undetermined, if the GPS determined value is the right-hand traffic lane and the autonomous sensor determined value is the left-hand traffic lane, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the current determined value is undetermined.

[0362] (7) When the previous determined value is undetermined, if the GPS determined value is the left-hand traffic lane and the autonomous sensor determined value is undetermined, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the current determined value is undetermined.

[0363] (8) When the previous determined value is undetermined, if the GPS determined value is the left-hand traffic lane and the autonomous sensor determined value is the right-hand traffic lane, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the current determined value is undetermined.

[0364] (9) When the previous determined value is undetermined, if the GPS determined value is the left-hand traffic lane and the autonomous sensor determined value is the left-hand traffic lane, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the current determined value is the left-hand traffic lane.

[0365] (10) When the previous determined value is the right-hand traffic lane, if the GPS determined value is undetermined and the autonomous sensor determined value is undetermined, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that it is inappropriate to update the previous determined value.

[0366] (11) If the previous determined value was the right-hand traffic lane, and if the GPS determined value is undetermined and the autonomous sensor determined value is the right-hand traffic lane, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the current determined value is the right-hand traffic lane.

[0367] (12) When the previous determined value was the right-hand traffic lane, and the GPS determined value is undetermined and the autonomous sensor determined value is the left-hand traffic lane, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the current determined value is undetermined.

[0368] (13) If the previous determined value was the right-hand traffic lane, and if the GPS determined value is the right-hand traffic lane and the autonomous sensor determined value is undetermined, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the current determined value is the right-hand traffic lane.

[0369] (14) If the previous determined value was the right-hand traffic lane, and if the GPS determined value is the right-hand traffic lane and the autonomous sensor determined value is the right-hand traffic lane, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the current determined value is the right-hand traffic lane.

[0370] (15) When the previous determined value was the right-hand traffic lane, if the GPS determined value is the right-hand traffic lane and the autonomous sensor determined value is the left-hand traffic lane, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the current determined value is undetermined.

[0371] (16) If the previous determined value was the right-hand traffic lane, and the GPS determined value is the left-hand traffic lane and the autonomous sensor determined value is undetermined, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the current determined value is undetermined.

[0372] (17) If the previous determined value was the right-hand traffic lane, and the GPS determined value is the left-hand traffic lane and the current autonomous sensor determined value is the right-hand traffic lane, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the current determined value is undetermined.

[0373] (18) When the previous determined value was the right-hand traffic lane, if the GPS determined value is the left-hand traffic lane and the autonomous sensor determined value is the left-hand traffic lane, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the current determined value is the left-hand traffic lane.

[0374] (19) When the previous determined value is a left-hand traffic lane, if the GPS determined value is undetermined and the autonomous sensor determined value is undetermined, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that it is inappropriate to update the previous determined value.

[0375] (20) When the previous determined value was the left-hand traffic lane, and when the current GPS determined value is undetermined and the current autonomous sensor determined value is the right-hand traffic lane, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the current determined value is undetermined.

[0376] (21) When the previous determined value was the left-hand traffic lane, if the GPS determined value is undetermined and the autonomous sensor determined value is the left-hand traffic lane, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the current determined value is the left-hand traffic lane.

[0377] (22) When the previous determined value was the left-hand traffic lane, if the GPS determined value is the right-hand traffic lane and the autonomous sensor determined value is undetermined, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the current determined value is undetermined.

[0378] (23) When the previous determined value was the left-hand traffic lane, if the GPS determined value is the right-hand traffic lane and the autonomous sensor determined value is the right-hand traffic lane, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the current determined value is the right-hand traffic lane.

[0379] (24) When the previous determined value was the left-hand traffic lane, if the GPS determined value is the right-hand traffic lane and the autonomous sensor determined value is the left-hand traffic lane, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the current determined value is undetermined.

[0380] (25) When the previous determined value was the left-hand traffic lane, if the GPS determined value is the left-hand traffic lane and the autonomous sensor determined value is undetermined, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the current determined value is the left-hand traffic lane.

[0381] (26) When the previous determined value was the left-hand traffic lane, if the GPS determined value is the left-hand traffic lane and the autonomous sensor determined value is the right-hand traffic lane, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the current determined value is undetermined.

[0382] (27) If the previous determined value was the left-hand traffic lane, and if the GPS determined value is the left-hand traffic lane and the autonomous sensor determined value is the left-hand traffic lane, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the current determined value is the left-hand traffic lane.

[0383] Next, a specific example of the transition of the determination final value when the IG switch is turned off and on in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 27, 28, and 29. FIG.

[0384] (Example 1) As shown in FIG. 27, when the GPS receiver 30A can receive GPS signals from three or more satellites in France, if the IG switch 60 is turned off and then on, the calculation processing unit 12 executes lane determination processing as follows.

[0385] The calculation processor 12 repeats steps S200 to S230, a YES determination in step S240, a YES determination in step S250, a NO determination in step S260, and a non-conformity determination in step S290 until the GPS determination value transitions from undetermined to the right-hand traffic lane.

[0386] Thereafter, when the GPS determined value transitions from undetermined to be determined to be in the right-hand traffic lane, the calculation processing unit 12 performs the processes of steps S200 to S230, and then determines NO in step S240.

[0387] Accordingly, the calculation processing unit 12 makes a YES determination in step S350, a YES determination in step S360, and a YES determination in step S370, and then makes a YES determination in step S380.

[0388] Then, in step S390, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the determined value is the right-hand traffic lane. Accordingly, in step S400, the calculation processing unit 12 updates the previous determined value in the flash memory 14A to the right-hand traffic lane.

[0389] As a result, when the GPS receiver 30A receives GPS signals from three or more satellites in France and the GPS determination value is determined to be the right-hand lane, the calculation processing unit 12 maintains the previous determination value of the right-hand lane in the flash memory 14A.

[0390] In this way, when the IG switch 60 transitions from off to on in France where the traffic lanes are the same, the calculation processing unit 12 can determine the determination final value as the right lane before the autonomous sensor determination value transitions from undetermined to the right lane. Therefore, the calculation processing unit 12 can determine the determination final value before the autonomous sensor determination value is determined.

[0391] (Example 2) As shown in Figure 28, when the GPS receiver 30A cannot receive GPS signals from multiple satellites in France, if the IG switch 60 is turned off and then on, the calculation processing unit 12 performs lane determination processing as follows.

[0392] The calculation processing unit 12 maintains the GPS determination value as "undetermined" until the autonomous sensor determination value transitions from "undetermined" to "right-hand traffic lane." Then, the calculation processing unit 12 repeats steps S200 to S230, the YES determination in step S240, the YES determination in step S250, the NO determination in step S260, and the incompatibility determination in step S290.

[0393] Thereafter, when the autonomous sensor determination value transitions from undetermined to be determined to be in the right-hand lane, the calculation processing unit 12 performs the processes of steps S200 to S230, and then determines NO in step S240.

[0394] Accordingly, the calculation processing unit 12 makes a YES determination in step S350, a YES determination in step S360, and a YES determination in step S370, and then makes a YES determination in step S380.

[0395] Then, in step S390, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the determined value is the right-hand traffic lane. Accordingly, in step S400, the calculation processing unit 12 updates the previous determined value in the flash memory 14A to the right-hand traffic lane.

[0396] As a result, when the GPS receiver 30A cannot receive GPS signals from three or more satellites, if the autonomous sensor determination value is determined to be in the right-hand traffic lane, the calculation processing unit 12 maintains the previous determination value in the flash memory 14A as being in the right-hand traffic lane.

[0397] In this way, when the GPS receiver 30A cannot receive a GPS signal and the autonomous sensor determination value transitions from undetermined to the right-hand traffic lane, the arithmetic processing unit 12 can determine the determination final value to be the right-hand traffic lane. Therefore, even when the GPS receiver 30A cannot receive a GPS signal, the arithmetic processing unit 12 can reliably determine the determination final value.

[0398] (Example 3) As shown in Figure 29, if the IG switch 60 is turned off in France, the vehicle is transported by train and passes through the Eurotunnel, and then the IG switch 60 is turned on in the UK, the calculation processing unit 12 executes the next lane determination process.

[0399] After the IG switch 60 is turned on in the UK, the autonomous sensor determination value remains undetermined, and the GPS determination value transitions from undetermined to determined to be in the left-hand traffic lane. Then, the calculation processing unit 12 goes through steps S200 to S230, a NO determination in step S240, a YES determination in step S350, and a NO determination in step S360, and then determines in step S430 that the current determination value is undetermined.

[0400] Thereafter, when the autonomous sensor determination value transitions from undetermined to determined to be in the left-hand traffic lane, the calculation processor 12 determines NO in step S300, and determines in step S410 that the current determined value is in the left-hand traffic lane.

[0401] In this way, when the GPS determined value transitions from undetermined to the left traffic lane and then the autonomous sensor determined value transitions from undetermined to the left traffic lane, the arithmetic processing unit 12 can determine the determined value to be the left traffic lane. Therefore, even if the IG switch 60 transitions from off to on after moving from France to the UK, the arithmetic processing unit 12 can reliably determine the determined value.

[0402] Furthermore, the same effect as described above can be obtained when the IG switch 60 is turned off in France, and then the vehicle is transported to the UK by ferry and the IG switch 60 is turned on in the UK.

[0403] Next, a specific example of the transition of the judgment final value when the IG switch is turned off and on in the comparative example will be described with reference to FIGS. (Example 4) As shown in FIG. 30, in a vehicle in which only a GPS determined value is obtained out of the GPS determined value and the autonomous sensor determined value, when the IG switch 60 is turned off in France and then turned on, the calculation processing unit 12 executes the following determination process.

[0404] When the GPS determined value transitions from undetermined to determined to be in the right-hand traffic lane, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the determined determined value is in the right-hand traffic lane. (Example 5) As shown in FIG. 31, in a case where the GPS receiver 30A cannot receive a GPS signal in France in a host vehicle where an autonomous sensor determination value cannot be obtained, the arithmetic processing unit 12 executes a determination process as follows.

[0405] Since the GPS determined value remains undetermined, the calculation processing unit 12 maintains the determination that the determined determined value is undetermined. (Example 6) As shown in Figure 32, in a vehicle in which only the autonomous sensor determination value is obtained out of the GPS determination value and the autonomous sensor determination value, when the IG switch 60 is turned off and then turned on in France, the calculation processing unit 12 executes the following determination process.

[0406] When the autonomous sensor determination value transitions from undetermined to determined to be in the right-hand traffic lane, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the determined determination value is in the right-hand traffic lane. (Example 7) FIG. 33 shows a case where the IG switch of the host vehicle is turned off in France, the host vehicle is transported by train and passes through the Eurotunnel, and then the IG switch is turned on in the UK.

[0407] As shown in Figure 33, when a vehicle in which only a GPS determined value is obtained out of a GPS determined value and an autonomous sensor determined value has its IG switch transition from an off state to an on state within the UK, the calculation processing unit 12 executes the following determination process.

[0408] When the GPS determined value transitions from undetermined to determined to be the right-hand traffic lane, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the determined determined value is the left-hand traffic lane. (Example 8) FIG. 34 shows a case where the IG switch of the host vehicle is turned off in France, the host vehicle is transported by train and passes through the Eurotunnel, and then the IG switch is turned on in the UK.

[0409] As shown in Figure 34, when a vehicle in which only the autonomous sensor determination value is obtained out of the GPS determination value and the autonomous sensor determination value, transitions of the IG switch from the off state to the on state occurs within the UK, the calculation processing unit 12 executes the following determination process.

[0410] When the autonomous sensor determination value transitions from undetermined to determined to be in the left-hand traffic lane, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the determined determination value is in the left-hand traffic lane.

[0411] Next, the operation of the driving support device 50 of this embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 35 and 36. Fig. 35 is a flowchart showing details of the driving support process of the driving support device 50. The driving support device 50 repeatedly executes the driving support process when ACC control is commanded. The ACC control is commanded by the driver's operation of the ACC control switch. ACC control is an abbreviation for auto cruise controller control.

[0412] First, in step S800, the driving assistance device 50 acquires a lane determination value, which is a determination result obtained by combining the GPS determination value, the autonomous sensor determination value, and the previous determination determination value, from the calculation processing unit 12. As the lane determination value in this embodiment, one of the right lane, the left lane, and undetermined is selected.

[0413] Furthermore, if the calculation processing unit 12 determines in step S290 of Figure 20 that it is inappropriate to update the previous lane determination value, the driving assistance device 50 acquires from the calculation processing unit 12 that the calculation processing unit 12 has determined that it is inappropriate to update the previous lane determination value.

[0414] Next, in step S810, the driving assistance device 50 determines whether or not either of the following (e) or (f) is true. (e) The driving assistance device 50 determines whether the lane determination value is undetermined. (f) The driving assistance device 50 determines whether or not the calculation processor 12 has determined in step S290 that updating the previous lane determination value is inappropriate.

[0415] When the lane determination value is undetermined, the driving support device 50 determines YES in step S810. Alternatively, when the calculation processing unit 12 determines in step S290 that updating the previous lane determination value is inappropriate, the driving support device 50 determines YES in step S810.

[0416] In this way, when the driving assistance device 50 determines YES in step S810, in step S820, it prohibits the execution of the overtaking suppression control process for the preceding vehicle traveling in the overtaking lane ahead of the host vehicle.

[0417] The overtaking suppression control process is a control process that suppresses the host vehicle from overtaking a preceding vehicle traveling ahead of the host vehicle in the passing lane when the speed of the preceding vehicle is slower than the host vehicle.

[0418] Also, in the above-mentioned step S810, if the lane determination value is the right lane or the left lane, it is determined that both (e) and (f) are not satisfied and the result is NO.

[0419] In this way, when the determination in step S810 is NO, the driving assistance device 50 determines in step S840 whether the lane determination value is the right-hand lane.

[0420] If the current lane determination value is the right-hand lane, the driving assistance system 50 determines YES in step S840.

[0421] Therefore, in this embodiment, in step S850, when the current lane determination value is a right-hand traffic lane, the driving assistance device 50 determines that the leftmost lane among the multiple lanes to the right of the center line on the road is the overtaking lane.

[0422] Therefore, when the host vehicle is traveling in a driving lane on the right side of the passing lane, the driving assistance device 50 executes the overtaking suppression control process in step S850 as follows.

[0423] Based on surrounding information monitored by the surrounding monitoring sensors 20, 21, and 22, the driving support device 50 executes an overtaking suppression control process for a preceding vehicle traveling ahead of the host vehicle in the overtaking lane.

[0424] The driving support device 50 controls the running engine 40, the braking device 41, and the steering device 42 based on surrounding information monitored by the surrounding monitoring sensors 20, 21, and 22 in conjunction with the execution of the overtaking suppression control process.

[0425] This allows the vehicle to follow the preceding vehicle traveling in the passing lane on the left side of the vehicle, thereby prohibiting the vehicle from overtaking the preceding vehicle traveling in the passing lane on the left side of the vehicle.

[0426] When the current lane determination value is the left lane, the driving assistance device 50 determines NO in step S840.

[0427] Therefore, in this embodiment, in step S860, when the current lane determination value is the left lane, the driving assistance device 50 determines that the rightmost lane among the multiple lanes to the left of the center line on the road is the overtaking lane.

[0428] Therefore, when the host vehicle is traveling in the driving lane to the left of the passing lane, the driving assistance device 50 executes the overtaking suppression control process based on the surrounding information monitored by the surrounding monitoring sensors 20, 21, and 22 in step S860.

[0429] The driving support device 50 controls the running engine 40, the braking device 41, and the steering device 42 based on surrounding information monitored by the surrounding monitoring sensors 20, 21, and 22 in conjunction with the execution of the overtaking suppression control process.

[0430] This prevents the host vehicle from overtaking the preceding vehicle traveling in the passing lane on the right side of the host vehicle by having the host vehicle follow the preceding vehicle traveling in the passing lane on the right side of the host vehicle.

[0431] The overtaking suppression control process will be described in detail later.

[0432] In this manner, after executing any one of steps S820, S850, and S860, the driving assistance device 50 determines in step S830 whether or not the command to the ACC control has ended.

[0433] If the state in which ACC control is commanded by the driver's operation of the ACC control switch is maintained, the determination in step S830 is NO since the command to ACC control has not ended. Accordingly, the driving support device 50 repeatedly executes each process of steps S800 to S860.

[0434] When the command to the ACC control is ended by the driver's operation of the ACC control switch, the determination in step S830 is YES, and accordingly the driving assistance device 50 ends the execution of the processes in steps S800 to S860.

[0435] Next, details of the overtaking suppression control process in the driving assistance device 50 of this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 36. Fig. 36 is a flowchart showing details of the overtaking suppression control process.

[0436] The driving assistance device 50 executes the overtaking suppression control process in accordance with the flowchart of FIG.

[0437] The following describes the overtaking prevention control process in step S850, which is executed when the lane determination value is the right-hand lane.

[0438] In step S900, the driving assistance device 50 determines, based on the monitoring information monitored by the surrounding monitoring sensors 20, 21, and 22, whether the speed of the preceding vehicle traveling ahead of the host vehicle in the passing lane to the left of the host vehicle is slower than the host vehicle's speed.

[0439] In this embodiment, the vehicle is assumed to be driven at a speed specified by the ACC control. Therefore, in step S900, the driving support device 50 determines whether the speed of the preceding vehicle traveling in the passing lane on the left side is slower than the speed specified by the ACC control.

[0440] At this time, if the speed of the preceding vehicle traveling in the overtaking lane on the left is slower than the speed of the host vehicle, the driving assistance device 50 determines YES in step S900.

[0441] Accordingly, in step S910, the driving assistance device 50, as a driving assistance control unit, controls the driving engine 40, the brake device 41, and the steering device 42 so that the host vehicle travels following the preceding vehicle traveling in the passing lane. This makes it possible to prohibit the host vehicle from overtaking the preceding vehicle traveling in the passing lane.

[0442] Next, the overtaking prevention control process in step S860, which is executed when the lane determination value is the left lane, will be described with reference to FIG.

[0443] First, in step S900, the driving assistance device 50 determines, based on the sensor signals of the periphery monitoring sensors 20, 21, 22, whether the speed of the preceding vehicle traveling ahead of the host vehicle in the passing lane on the right side of the host vehicle is slower than that of the host vehicle.

[0444] In this embodiment, the host vehicle is assumed to be driven at a prescribed speed prescribed by the ACC control. Therefore, in step S900, the driving assistance device 50 determines whether the speed of the preceding vehicle traveling ahead of the host vehicle in the overtaking lane on the right side is slower than the prescribed speed of the ACC control.

[0445] At this time, if the speed of the preceding vehicle traveling in the overtaking lane to the right of the host vehicle is slower than the host vehicle, the driving assistance device 50 determines YES in step S900.

[0446] Accordingly, in step S910, the driving assistance device 50, as a driving assistance control unit, controls the driving engine 40, the braking device 41, and the steering device 42 so as to make the host vehicle follow the preceding vehicle traveling in the overtaking lane to the right of the host vehicle.

[0447] As a result, the engine 40, the brake device 41, and the steering device 42 are controlled so as to prohibit the host vehicle from overtaking the preceding vehicle traveling in the overtaking lane to the right of the host vehicle.

[0448] According to the present embodiment described above, the vehicle control device 10A is applied to a vehicle equipped with the surroundings monitoring sensors 20, 21, 22 that detect surrounding information of the host vehicle, and the GPS receiver 30A that detects position information of the host vehicle.

[0449] The calculation processing unit 12 includes a position information acquisition unit 12a, a surrounding vehicle information acquisition unit 12b, a GPS determination unit 12c, an autonomous sensor determination unit 12d, and a combination determination unit 12e. The position information acquisition unit 12a acquires the position information of the host vehicle from the GPS receiver 30A. The surrounding vehicle information acquisition unit 12b acquires information about the surroundings of the host vehicle.

[0450] The GPS determination unit 12c is a position information determination unit in step S220 that determines whether the lane in which the vehicle is traveling is the right lane or the left lane with respect to the center line of the road, based on the position information of the vehicle itself acquired by the position information acquisition unit 12a.

[0451] The autonomous sensor determination unit 12d is a surrounding information determination unit in step S230 that determines whether the lane in which the vehicle is traveling is the right lane or the left lane with respect to the center line of the road, based on the surrounding information of the vehicle acquired by the surrounding vehicle information acquisition unit 12b.

[0452] The combination determination unit 12e is a driving lane determination unit that repeatedly determines whether the lane in which the host vehicle should travel is the right-hand lane or the left-hand lane with respect to the center line of the road when the host vehicle travels on a road including a center line.

[0453] The driving lane determination unit is made up of steps S270, S290, S310, S330, S390, S410, and S430.

[0454] In this embodiment, in order to obtain the determination result of the autonomous sensor determination unit 12d, it is necessary to detect multiple oncoming vehicles. Therefore, in an environment where there are few oncoming vehicles or where it is difficult to detect oncoming vehicles, it may take a long time to obtain the determination result of the autonomous sensor determination unit 12d.

[0455] On the other hand, the GPS determination unit 12c does not need to detect multiple oncoming vehicles, and therefore may be able to obtain the determination result of the driving lane earlier than the autonomous sensor determination unit 12d. However, in this case, if the GPS receiver 30A cannot receive a GPS signal, the determination result of the driving lane cannot be obtained.

[0456] Here, in the case of a vehicle equipped with only the autonomous sensor determination unit 12d out of the GPS determination unit 12c and the autonomous sensor determination unit 12d, if a plurality of oncoming vehicles are detected, the determination result of the driving lane can be reliably acquired.

[0457] In contrast, in this embodiment, the combination determining unit 12e determines the current driving lane based on the determination result of the GPS determining unit 12c, the determination result of the autonomous sensor determining unit 12d, and the previous determined determination value.

[0458] Therefore, even if the GPS receiver 30A cannot receive a GPS signal, the current lane determination value can be reliably acquired based on the determination result of the autonomous sensor determination unit 12d.

[0459] Furthermore, when the vehicle passes through a country where the lane determination value is the same, if the IG switch 60 is turned off and then turned on, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that the determination result of the GPS determination unit 12c is the current lane determination value. Therefore, the determination result of the current lane determination value can be obtained more quickly than when the determination result of the autonomous sensor determination unit 12d is the current lane determination value.

[0460] According to the above-described embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

[0461] (B1) When the IG switch 60 transitions from off to on, the calculation processing unit 12 can appropriately determine the lane determination value using the GPS determination value and the autonomous sensor determination value.

[0462] (B2) When the GPS determined value and the autonomous sensor determined value match, the calculation processing unit 12 can appropriately determine the lane determination value.

[0463] (B3) When the GPS determined value and the autonomous sensor determined value do not match, the calculation processing unit 12 can appropriately determine the lane determination value.

[0464] (B4) Every time the calculation processing unit 12 determines the current lane determination value, it can appropriately update the previous lane determination value in the flash memory 14A.

[0465] (B5) When the GPS determination value and the autonomous sensor determination value match, the GPS determination value is undetermined, and the previous lane determination value is the right lane or the left lane, the calculation processing unit 12 determines that it is inappropriate to update the previous lane determination value. In this case, the calculation processing unit 12 maintains the previous lane determination value recorded in the flash memory 14A as is, so that the previous lane determination value can be appropriately maintained in the flash memory 14A.

[0466] (B6) The driving support device 50 determines the overtaking lane based on the current lane determination value acquired from the calculation processing unit 12. In addition, when the speed of a preceding vehicle traveling ahead of the host vehicle in the overtaking lane is slower than that of the host vehicle, the driving support device 50 controls the driving engine 40 and the brake device 41 to prohibit the host vehicle from overtaking the preceding vehicle.

[0467] According to this embodiment, since the overtaking lane is determined based on the current lane determination value acquired from the calculation processing unit 12, the overtaking lane can be accurately determined.

[0468] Therefore, when the host vehicle is traveling in the passing lane, it is possible to avoid in advance the execution of overtaking suppression control that suppresses the host vehicle from overtaking a preceding vehicle traveling in a lane other than the passing lane.

[0469] Therefore, by executing overtaking suppression control on a preceding vehicle traveling in a lane other than the passing lane, unnecessary deceleration will not be performed, causing the vehicle to be rear-ended, and the driver of the vehicle will not feel uncomfortable. (Other embodiments) (1) In the above first to sixth embodiments, an example has been described in which the calculation processing unit 12 determines the driving lane based on either the surrounding information monitored by the surrounding monitoring sensors 20, 21, and 22 or the vehicle's position information detected by the self-position estimation sensor 30.

[0470] However, instead of this, the calculation processing unit 12 may determine the driving lane based on both the surrounding information monitored by the surrounding monitoring sensors 20, 21, and 22 and the position information of the host vehicle detected by the self-position estimation sensor 30.

[0471] (2) In the above first to sixth embodiments, an example has been described in which the calculation processing unit 12 determines whether or not there is traffic congestion on the road on which the host vehicle is traveling, using the vehicle speed of the host vehicle in step S111 of FIG. 4.

[0472] However, an in-vehicle wireless device may be employed that receives traffic information distributed from a server that distributes traffic information through a wireless communication device on the road.The arithmetic processing unit 12 may receive traffic information from the server through the wireless communication device on the road and the in-vehicle wireless device, and may determine whether or not the road on which the vehicle is traveling is congested based on the received traffic information.

[0473] (3) In the above first to sixth embodiments, an example has been described in which the calculation processing unit 12 determines whether or not the road on which the vehicle is traveling is a general road based on the vehicle speed of the vehicle in step S110 of FIG. 4. However, instead of this, the calculation processing unit 12 may perform the following (a) and (b).

[0474] (3a) Road map data in which a plurality of pieces of road information indicating road types for each piece of location information and a plurality of pieces of location information are specified on a one-to-one basis is stored in advance in the storage unit 14. The road type is information indicating information such as an expressway, a motorway, a general road, etc.

[0475] The calculation processing unit 12 determines whether or not the road on which the vehicle is traveling is an ordinary road based on road information corresponding to the position information of the vehicle detected by the self-position estimation sensor 30, which is included in the road map data.

[0476] (3b) A server that stores road map data in which a plurality of pieces of road information indicating the type of road for each piece of position information and a plurality of pieces of position information are specified on a one-to-one basis is disposed outside the vehicle.

[0477] The vehicle is equipped with an on-board wireless device that communicates with the server via a wireless communication device on the road. The calculation processing unit 12 browses road map data by communicating with the server via the on-board wireless device and the wireless communication device.

[0478] Then, the calculation processing unit 12 determines whether or not the road on which the vehicle is traveling is an ordinary road based on road information corresponding to the position information of the vehicle detected by the self-position estimation sensor 30, which is included in the road map data.

[0479] (4) In the above first to sixth embodiments, an example has been described in which the calculation processing unit 12 determines the driving lane of the host vehicle based on the driving lane map stored in the memory unit 14. However, instead of this, the following may be performed.

[0480] A server that stores a driving lane map is placed outside the vehicle. An in-vehicle wireless device that communicates with the server via a roadside wireless communication device is installed in the vehicle. The calculation processing unit 12 browses the driving lane map by communicating with the server via the in-vehicle wireless device and the wireless communication device.

[0481] Then, the calculation processing unit 12 determines the driving lane of the host vehicle based on the driving lane information corresponding to the position information of the host vehicle detected by the self-position estimation sensor 30 in the driving lane map.

[0482] (5) In the above first to sixth embodiments, the calculation processing unit 12 applies the determination result of the driving lane detection process (that is, the determination result of step S106) to the turn signal-linked acceleration control process or the overtaking suppression control process.

[0483] However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the determination result of the driving lane detection process may be applied to various automatic control processes of the automobile other than the turn signal-linked acceleration control process and the overtaking suppression control process.

[0484] For example, if it is determined that the preceding vehicle is traveling in the passing lane at a speed slower than the host vehicle, the determination result of the traveling lane detection process may be applied to driving control for overtaking the preceding vehicle.

[0485] In other words, whether the passing lane is on the right or left side of the vehicle is determined based on the determination result of the driving lane detection process.

[0486] (6) In the eighth embodiment, the IG switch 60 for turning on and off the power supply of the traveling engine is used as the power supply switch. However, in the case of an electric vehicle equipped with a traveling motor, instead of this, a switch for turning on and off the power supply of the traveling motor may be used as the power supply switch.

[0487] (7) In the above eighth embodiment, the recording medium for recording the determination final value is the flash memory 14A. However, instead of this, the recording medium for recording the determination final value may be various recording media such as a RAM, a hard disk, etc.

[0488] (8) In the eighth embodiment, the calculation processing unit 12 determines in step S540 whether or not the position information of a right-hand traffic lane has been continuously acquired for a specified period of time or longer.

[0489] Alternatively, in step S540, it may be determined whether or not the position information of the right-hand traffic state has been acquired for a specified period of time or longer. In other words, in step S540, it may be determined whether or not the position information of the right-hand traffic state has been acquired for a specified period of time or longer, regardless of whether or not the position information has been acquired continuously.

[0490] (9) In the eighth embodiment, the calculation processing unit 12 determines in step S560 whether or not the position information of a left-hand traffic lane has been continuously acquired for a specified period of time or longer.

[0491] Alternatively, in step S560, it may be determined whether the position information of the left-hand traffic state has been acquired for a specified period of time or more. In other words, in step S560, it may be determined whether the position information of the left-hand traffic state has been acquired for a specified period of time or more, regardless of whether the position information has been acquired continuously.

[0492] (10) In the above eighth embodiment, an example has been described in which the calculation processing unit 12 determines a traveling vehicle along which the host vehicle should travel, according to the flowchart in Fig. 26. However, instead of this, the calculation processing unit 12 may determine a traveling vehicle along which the host vehicle should travel, as in (10a) to (10e).

[0493] (10a) The calculation processing unit 12 may determine a traveling vehicle along which the host vehicle should travel, according to the flowchart of Fig. 3. (10b) The calculation processing unit 12 may determine a traveling vehicle along which the host vehicle should travel, according to the flowchart of Fig. 7.

[0494] (10c) The calculation processing unit 12 may determine a traveling vehicle along which the host vehicle should travel, according to the flowchart of Fig. 10. (10d) The calculation processing unit 12 may determine a traveling vehicle along which the host vehicle should travel, according to the flowcharts of Figs. 13 and 14. (11) In the above first to eighth embodiments, an example has been described in which it is determined whether the driving lane is the right lane or the left lane based on the center line of the road. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it may be determined whether the driving lane is the right lane or the left lane based on the center divider of the road.

[0495] That is, in the first to eighth embodiments, the center line of the road is not limited to a line marked on the road, but also includes a median strip.

[0496] (12) Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately modified within the scope of the claims. The above-described embodiments are not unrelated to each other, and can be appropriately combined, except when the combination is clearly impossible. It goes without saying that the elements constituting the embodiments in the above-described embodiments are not necessarily essential, except when they are particularly specified as essential or when they are clearly considered essential in principle. In addition, in the above-described embodiments, when it is described that external environment information of the vehicle (e.g., humidity outside the vehicle) is acquired from a sensor, it is also possible to eliminate the sensor and receive the external environment information from a server or cloud outside the vehicle. Alternatively, it is also possible to eliminate the sensor, acquire related information related to the external environment information from a server or cloud outside the vehicle, and estimate the external environment information from the acquired related information. [Explanation of symbols]

[0497] 1 Vehicle control system 10 Vehicle control device 20 Forward monitoring sensor 21 Side monitoring sensor 22 Rear monitoring sensor 30 Self-location estimation sensor 31 Vehicle speed sensor 32 Steering angle sensor 33 Turn signal

Claims

1. The present invention is applied to a vehicle equipped with a surrounding monitoring sensor (20, 21, 22) that monitors surrounding information of the vehicle, and a positioning detection unit (30) that detects position information of the vehicle, A surrounding information acquisition unit (S100) that acquires surrounding information monitored by the surrounding monitoring sensor; a position information acquisition unit (S103) that acquires position information of the host vehicle detected by the positioning detection unit; a driving lane determination unit (S101, S105, S106) that determines whether the driving lane in which the vehicle should travel is the right lane or the left lane with respect to a center line of a road based on information acquired by either the surrounding information acquisition unit or the position information acquisition unit, The driving lane determination unit A surrounding information determination unit (S101) that determines whether a lane in which the host vehicle should travel is a right lane or a left lane with respect to a center line of the road based on surrounding information of the host vehicle monitored by the surrounding monitoring sensor; a positioning information determination unit (S105) that determines whether a lane in which the vehicle should travel is a right lane or a left lane with respect to a center line of the road based on the position information of the vehicle detected by the positioning detection unit; an arbitration unit (S106) that sets a determination result of either the surrounding information determination unit or the positioning information determination unit as a determination result of the driving lane determination unit; Equipped with A traffic congestion determination unit (S111) that determines whether or not traffic congestion is occurring on the road on which the vehicle is traveling; a traffic congestion determination canceling unit (S114) that cancels the arbitration unit from using the determination result of the surrounding information determination unit as the determination result of the driving lane determination unit when the traffic congestion determination unit determines that a traffic congestion has occurred on the road on which the vehicle is traveling; A vehicle control device comprising:

2. The present invention is applied to a vehicle equipped with a surrounding monitoring sensor (20, 21, 22) that monitors surrounding information of the vehicle, and a positioning detection unit (30) that detects position information of the vehicle, A surrounding information acquisition unit (S100) that acquires surrounding information monitored by the surrounding monitoring sensor; a position information acquisition unit (S103) that acquires position information of the host vehicle detected by the positioning detection unit; a driving lane determination unit (S101, S105, S106) that determines whether the driving lane in which the vehicle should travel is the right lane or the left lane with respect to a center line of a road based on information acquired by either the surrounding information acquisition unit or the position information acquisition unit; Equipped with The driving lane determination unit A surrounding information determination unit (S101) that determines whether a lane in which the host vehicle should travel is a right lane or a left lane with respect to a center line of the road based on surrounding information of the host vehicle monitored by the surrounding monitoring sensor; a positioning information determination unit (S105) that determines whether a lane in which the vehicle should travel is a right lane or a left lane with respect to a center line of the road based on the position information of the vehicle detected by the positioning detection unit; an arbitration unit (S106) that sets a determination result of either the surrounding information determination unit or the positioning information determination unit as a determination result of the driving lane determination unit; Equipped with a road determination unit (S110) that determines whether the road on which the vehicle is traveling is a general road; a general road determination canceling unit (S114) that cancels the arbitration unit from using the judgment result of the surrounding information determination unit as the judgment result of the driving lane determination unit when the road determination unit determines that the road on which the vehicle is traveling is a general road; A vehicle control device comprising:

3. 3. The vehicle control device according to claim 2, wherein the road determination unit determines whether or not the road on which the vehicle is traveling is a public road based on a determination of whether or not a traffic light on the road has been detected ahead of the vehicle in the direction of travel based on surrounding information monitored by the surrounding monitoring sensor.

4. 4. The vehicle control device according to claim 3, wherein the road determination unit determines that the road on which the vehicle is traveling is not a general road when no traffic lights are detected ahead of the vehicle in the direction of travel based on the surrounding information monitored by the surrounding monitoring sensor and when the distance traveled by the vehicle is equal to or greater than a predetermined distance.

5. 5. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the arbitration unit prioritizes the judgment result of the positioning information judgment unit over the judgment result of the surrounding information judgment unit, and sets the judgment result as the judgment result of the driving lane judgment unit.

6. a detection determination unit (S103, S104) that determines whether the positioning detection unit has been able to detect the position information of the vehicle for a predetermined period of time; a positioning information determination canceling unit (S114) that cancels the arbitration unit from using the determination result of the positioning information determination unit as the determination result of the driving lane determination unit when the detection determination unit determines that the positioning detection unit has not been able to detect the position information of the vehicle for the predetermined period of time; The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising:

7. a direction indication determination unit (S141) that determines whether or not a direction indicator (33) indicating a traveling direction in a vehicle width direction of the host vehicle indicates an overtaking lane side as the traveling direction based on a determination result of the driving lane determination unit; an acceleration control unit (S144) that controls a driving source (40) for driving the host vehicle to accelerate the host vehicle when the direction indication determination unit determines that the direction indicator is indicating the overtaking lane side; The vehicle control device according to claim 1 , further comprising:

8. 8. The vehicle control device according to claim 7, further comprising an acceleration stop control unit (S132) that stops execution of at least the acceleration control unit when the determination result of the surrounding information determination unit and the determination result of the positioning information determination unit are stopped from being used as the determination result of the driving lane determination unit.

9. a preceding vehicle determination unit (S150) that determines whether or not a preceding vehicle traveling ahead of the host vehicle has been detected in an overtaking lane of the road based on a determination result of the driving lane determination unit; a speed determination unit (S151) that, when the preceding vehicle determination unit determines that the preceding vehicle traveling in the overtaking lane has been detected, determines whether or not the speed of the preceding vehicle is less than the speed of the host vehicle based on surrounding information monitored by the surroundings monitoring sensor; a follow-up driving unit (S152) for controlling a driving source (40) of the host vehicle based on surrounding information monitored by the surrounding monitoring sensor when the speed of the preceding vehicle is less than the speed of the host vehicle, to make the host vehicle follow the preceding vehicle; a following stop unit (S153) that stops the host vehicle from following the preceding vehicle by controlling a driving source (40) for the host vehicle when the speed determination unit determines that the speed of the preceding vehicle is equal to or greater than the speed of the host vehicle; The vehicle control device according to claim 1 , further comprising:

10. The vehicle control device according to claim 9, further comprising a following control cancellation unit (S132) that cancels at least one of the execution of the following driving unit and the execution of the following cancellation unit when the judgment results of the surrounding information judgment unit and the judgment results of the positioning information judgment unit are canceled from being used as the judgment results of the driving lane judgment unit.

11. a storage unit (14) for storing map data for specifying a country and the driving lane information on a one-to-one basis when the driving lane information indicates whether the driving lane is the right lane or the left lane in each country of the world; 11. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the positioning information determination unit determines the country in which the vehicle is located based on the map data and the position information detected by the positioning detection unit, and determines whether the driving lane is the right lane or the left lane based on the driving lane information of the determined country.

12. The surrounding information determination unit an overtaking vehicle determination unit (S120) that determines whether or not a vehicle that has overtaken the host vehicle has been detected based on the surrounding information monitored by the surroundings monitoring sensor; a lane determination unit (S121) that, when the overtaking vehicle determination unit determines that a vehicle that has overtaken the host vehicle has been detected, determines whether the driving lane is the right lane or the left lane based on a positional relationship between the host vehicle and the overtaking vehicle, 12. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein a result of the determination by the lane determining unit is used as a result of the determination by the surrounding information determining unit.

13. The surrounding information determination unit an overtaking vehicle determination unit (S120A) that determines whether the host vehicle has overtaken another vehicle based on the surrounding information monitored by the surrounding monitoring sensor; a lane determination unit (S121A) that determines whether the driving lane is the right lane or the left lane based on a positional relationship between the host vehicle and the other vehicle when the overtaking vehicle determination unit determines that the host vehicle has overtaken the other vehicle, 12. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein a result of the determination by the lane determining unit is used as a result of the determination by the surrounding information determining unit.

14. The surrounding information determination unit an oncoming vehicle determination unit (S120B) that determines whether or not an oncoming vehicle traveling in an oncoming lane relative to the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling has been detected based on the surrounding information monitored by the surroundings monitoring sensor; a lane determination unit (S121B) that, when the oncoming vehicle determination unit determines that the oncoming vehicle has been detected, determines whether the driving lane is the right lane or the left lane based on a positional relationship between the host vehicle and the oncoming vehicle, 12. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein a result of the determination by the lane determining unit is used as a result of the determination by the surrounding information determining unit.

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