Vehicle control device

Abstract

To provide a vehicle controller capable of controlling a display asking for permission of platooning depending on whether a vehicle, which is a candidate for the following target for platooning, is traveling in a lane change prohibited section.SOLUTION: The vehicle controller includes a processor and a display. The processor is configured to acquire information on surrounding vehicles, detect a candidate vehicle that is a candidate for the following target of an own vehicle based on the information on the surrounding vehicles, and only when the candidate vehicle is not traveling in a lane change prohibited section from the lane in which the own vehicle is traveling, cause a confirmation screen asking whether to follow the candidate vehicle and shift the own vehicle to platooning to be displayed on the display.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

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

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for displaying on a display unit whether or not an adjacent lane adjacent to the own lane is a lane into which a lane change is possible. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6829739 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] For example, there is a demand for technology that can control the display requesting permission to platoon depending on whether a vehicle that is a candidate for platooning is traveling in a zone where lane changes are prohibited.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above, and aims to provide a vehicle control device that can control a display requesting permission to platoon depending on whether a vehicle that is a candidate to follow in platoon driving is traveling in a no lane change zone. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The vehicle control device according to the present disclosure includes a processor and a display, and the processor acquires information on surrounding vehicles, detects candidate vehicles that are candidates for the vehicle to follow based on the information on the surrounding vehicles, and displays a confirmation screen on the display prompting the driver whether or not to follow the candidate vehicle and transition to platooning only if the candidate vehicle is not traveling in a no lane change zone from the lane in which the vehicle is traveling. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present disclosure, the display requesting permission to platoon can be controlled depending on whether a vehicle that is a candidate for following in the platoon is traveling in a no lane change zone. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle that realizes a vehicle control device according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a method of detecting candidate vehicles in platooning in the vehicle control device according to the embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a platooning confirmation screen in the vehicle control device according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a case where a detected candidate vehicle is traveling in a lane change prohibited section in the vehicle control device according to the embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a vehicle control method executed by the vehicle control device according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] A vehicle control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that components in the following embodiments include those that are replaceable and easy for a person skilled in the art, or those that are substantially the same.

[0010] The vehicle control device controls the vehicle 1 (hereinafter also referred to as "own vehicle") to make the vehicle platoon drive. This vehicle control device is realized, for example, by the functions of the vehicle 1. Also, "platoon drive" refers to driving a vehicle following behind another vehicle in front in order to obtain the effect of reducing fuel consumption and electricity consumption, for example.

[0011] Examples of the vehicle 1 include an engine vehicle, a hybrid vehicle (HEV: Hybrid Electric Vehicle), a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV: Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle), a fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV: Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle), an electric vehicle (BEV: Battery Electric Vehicle), etc. The vehicle 1 may be a manually driven vehicle or an automatically driven vehicle.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle 1 includes a control unit 11, a communication unit 12, a storage unit 13, a sensor group 14, and a display unit 15.

[0013] Specifically, the control unit 11 is an electronic control unit (ECU) whose main components are a microcomputer including a central processing unit (CPU), a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), etc., and executes various programs. The control unit 11 executes the various programs to comprehensively control the operation of various components mounted on the vehicle 1. In addition, the control unit 11 functions as a surrounding information acquisition unit 111, a candidate vehicle detection unit 112, and a platooning transition unit 113 through the execution of the various programs.

[0014] The surrounding information acquisition unit 111 acquires information about vehicles around the vehicle (hereinafter referred to as "surrounding vehicle information"). The surrounding vehicle information acquired by the surrounding information acquisition unit 111 includes information detected by the sensor group 14. Examples of the information detected by the sensor group 14 include images of the surrounding vehicles, position information of the surrounding vehicles, and vehicle speeds of the surrounding vehicles.

[0015] The surrounding vehicle information may include information acquired through vehicle-to-vehicle communication, such as information on whether the surrounding vehicles are in platoon mode, information on the set vehicle speed of the surrounding vehicles, and information on the vehicle speed (current vehicle speed) of the surrounding vehicles.

[0016] The candidate vehicle detection unit 112 detects vehicles (hereinafter, referred to as "candidate vehicles") that are candidates for following when platooning. The candidate vehicle detection unit 112 detects candidate vehicles 100 traveling ahead of the vehicle, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, by analyzing, for example, an image ahead of the vehicle, position information of vehicles ahead of the vehicle, and the like, which are included in the surrounding vehicle information.

[0017] The platooning transition unit 113 transitions the host vehicle to platooning under a predetermined condition when the candidate vehicle 100 is detected by the candidate vehicle detection unit 112. The platooning transition unit 113 transitions the host vehicle to platooning, for example, by the following procedure.

[0018] When the candidate vehicle 100 is detected by the candidate vehicle detection unit 112, the convoy travel transition unit 113 determines whether the candidate vehicle 100 is traveling in a lane change prohibited section. Note that a "lane change prohibited section" refers to a section marked by a solid yellow dividing line L, or a section where lane changes are prohibited by signs or the like, as shown in FIG. 2, for example.

[0019] Whether or not the candidate vehicle 100 is traveling in a lane change prohibited section can be determined using sensor data from the sensor group 14, similar to the case of detecting the candidate vehicle 100. Furthermore, the lane change prohibited section may be detected based on information acquired in advance from, for example, a navigation system mounted on the vehicle 1, or based on sensor data from the sensor group 14 (for example, images of the lane markings L and signs).

[0020] For example, as shown in Fig. 2, when the candidate vehicle 100 is not traveling in a lane change prohibited section, the platooning transition unit 113 causes the display unit 15 to display a platooning confirmation screen 200, which is a confirmation screen for asking whether or not to follow the candidate vehicle 100, as shown in Fig. 3. This platooning confirmation screen 200 includes, for example, a message inquiring of the user as to whether or not to transition to platooning, an approval button 201, and a disapproval button 202 as shown in the same figure.

[0021] Then, when the user approves the platooning, that is, when the user presses approval button 201 on platooning confirmation screen 200, platooning transition unit 113 transitions the vehicle to platooning. Note that, as a method for the user to approve the transition to platooning, other than the method via platooning confirmation screen 200, for example, the user may press a platooning approval button provided in the vehicle cabin, or the user may instruct the transition to platooning via a microphone or touch panel provided in the vehicle cabin, or the like.

[0022] 4, for example, when the candidate vehicle 100 is traveling in a lane change prohibited section, the platooning transition unit 113 does not display the platooning confirmation screen 200 on the display unit 15, and does not transition to platooning. In this way, by displaying the platooning confirmation screen 200 on the display unit 15 only when the candidate vehicle 100 is not traveling in a lane change prohibited section, it is possible to reduce the risk that the host vehicle will change lanes in a lane change prohibited section.

[0023] 4, when the candidate vehicle 100 that has been traveling in the lane change prohibited section exits the lane change prohibited section, the platooning transition unit 113 may display the platooning confirmation screen 200 on the display unit 15 at that time. In this way, by displaying the platooning confirmation screen 200 on the display unit 15 at the timing when the candidate vehicle 100 exits the lane change prohibited section, the host vehicle can smoothly transition to platooning.

[0024] The communication unit 12 is composed of, for example, a DCM (Data Communication Module) etc. The communication unit 12 is connected to a wired or wireless network and communicates with surrounding vehicles to acquire surrounding vehicle information. This network is composed of, for example, an Internet network, a mobile phone network etc.

[0025] The storage unit 13 is composed of recording media such as an EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), a hard disk drive (HDD), and removable media. Examples of removable media include a universal serial bus (USB) memory, a compact disc (CD), a digital versatile disc (DVD), and a Blu-ray (registered trademark) disc (BD). The storage unit 13 can store an operating system (OS), various programs, various tables, various databases, and the like.

[0026] The storage unit 13 stores, as necessary, for example, surrounding vehicle information acquired from surrounding vehicles, sensor data detected by the sensor group 14, and the like.

[0027] The sensor group 14 is for detecting candidate vehicles 100 for platooning. Examples of the sensor group 14 include a camera, a millimeter wave sensor, an infrared sensor, a laser sensor, a 3D-LiDAR, etc. The sensor group 14 may also include a GPS sensor for detecting the position of the vehicle, an acceleration sensor for detecting acceleration, a vehicle speed sensor for detecting vehicle speed, etc.

[0028] The display unit 15 is for outputting predetermined information to a user (e.g., a driver) of the vehicle 1. The display unit 15 is provided in a position inside the vehicle where the user can view it. The display unit 15 is realized by a car navigation device, a multi-information display, a head-up display, or the like.

[0029] The display unit 15 may be realized by, for example, a mobile information terminal (for example, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, etc.) carried by the user. The display unit 15 may also have an input function such as a microphone, a touch panel, etc., that can input instructions from the user, in addition to an information output function.

[0030] The display unit 15 displays, for example, information regarding the candidate vehicles 100 detected by the candidate vehicle detection unit 112 (for example, images and information regarding the position of the candidate vehicles 100), a platooning confirmation screen 200 generated by the platooning transition unit 113, etc.

[0031] (Vehicle control method) The processing procedure of the vehicle control method executed by the vehicle control device according to the embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Note that the processing described below is executed at a predetermined control cycle.

[0032] First, the surrounding information acquisition unit 111 acquires surrounding vehicle information through the communication unit 12 and the sensor group 14 (step S1). Next, the candidate vehicle detection unit 112 detects the candidate vehicle 100 based on the surrounding vehicle information (step S2).

[0033] Next, the platooning transition unit 113 determines whether the candidate vehicle 100 is traveling in a lane change prohibited section (step S3). If the candidate vehicle 100 is not traveling in a lane change prohibited section (No in step S3), the platooning transition unit 113 causes the display unit 15 to display the platooning confirmation screen 200 (see FIG. 3) (step S4).

[0034] Next, the platooning transition unit 113 determines whether the user has approved the platooning (step S5). In step S5, for example, if the user presses the approval button 201 on the platooning confirmation screen 200, a positive determination is made, and if the user presses the disapproval button 202, a negative determination is made.

[0035] If it is determined that the user has approved of platooning (Yes in step S5), the platooning transition unit 113 transitions the vehicle to platooning (step S6) and completes this process. Note that if the candidate vehicle 100 is traveling in a lane change prohibited section in step S3 (Yes in step S3), the process returns to the determination in step S3. Also, if it is determined in step S5 that the user has not approved of platooning (No in step S5), the platooning transition unit 113 completes this process.

[0036] According to the vehicle control device of the embodiment described above, it is possible to control the display of a request for permission to platoon depending on whether the candidate vehicle 100, which is a candidate for a vehicle to be followed in platooning, is traveling in a lane change prohibited section. That is, according to the vehicle control device, the platooning confirmation screen 200 is displayed on the display unit 15 only when the candidate vehicle 100 is not traveling in a lane change prohibited section, thereby reducing the risk that the vehicle itself will change lanes in a lane change prohibited section.

[0037] Further advantages and modifications may readily occur to those skilled in the art. Thus, the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details and representative embodiments shown and described above. Accordingly, various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept as defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.

[0038] Furthermore, in the vehicle control device according to the embodiment, a determination as to whether or not to transition to platooning is made based on surrounding vehicle information, but this determination may be made using AI (artificial intelligence). In this case, a prediction model (trained model) is constructed by machine learning using surrounding vehicle information as an input parameter and a determination result as to whether or not to transition to platooning as an output parameter. Then, in the determination of step S3 in FIG. 5, the prediction model is used to make a determination. This allows a determination regarding platooning to be made with higher accuracy.

[0039] In addition, in the embodiment, the vehicle control device has been described assuming that it is realized by the functions of the vehicle 1, but the vehicle control device may be realized by another server capable of communicating with the vehicle 1. In this case, the server can be provided with functions corresponding to the surrounding information acquisition unit 111, the candidate vehicle detection unit 112, and the platooning transition unit 113 to perform vehicle control. This can reduce the computational load on the vehicle 1 side. [Explanation of symbols]

[0040] 1 vehicle 11 Control section 111 Surrounding Information Acquisition Department 112 Candidate vehicle detection unit 113 Platooning Transition Section 12 Communications Department 13 Storage section 14 Sensor Group 15 Display section 100 candidate vehicles 200 Platooning confirmation screen 201 Approval button 202 Reject button L Lot Line

Claims

[Claim 1] A processor and a display, The processor, Obtain information on surrounding vehicles, Detecting candidate vehicles that are candidates for the host vehicle to follow based on the information on the surrounding vehicles; displaying on the display a confirmation screen prompting the driver whether or not to switch to platooning by following the candidate vehicle only when the candidate vehicle is not traveling in a lane change prohibited section from the lane in which the vehicle is traveling; When the candidate vehicle that has been traveling in the lane change prohibited section exits the lane change prohibited section, the confirmation screen is displayed on the display at that time. Vehicle control device.

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