Vehicle driving control device and vehicle driving control method

Abstract

To provide a vehicle travel control device and a vehicle travel control method capable of speed control having excellent energy efficiency, according to a landform in front of a vehicle irrespective of presence / absence of a preceding vehicle.SOLUTION: In the case where there is a special road landform ahead, there is a preceding vehicle 101, and control of increasing a vehicle speed with respect to a set vehicle speed in an energy efficiency section is scheduled to be executed, a vehicle control device 21 performs speed control so that an inter-vehicle distance becomes larger than a set inter-vehicle distance in an inter-vehicle distance maintaining section. In the case of increasing the vehicle speed with respect to the set vehicle speed in the energy efficiency section, since there is the preceding vehicle 101, the inter-vehicle distance needs to be increased. Then, since the inter-vehicle distance is made to be larger than the set inter-vehicle distance in the previous inter-vehicle distance maintaining section, in the energy efficiency section, it is possible to prevent an own vehicle from approaching too close to the preceding vehicle 101 even if the vehicle speed is increased.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The disclosure in this specification relates to a vehicle driving control device and a vehicle driving control method for controlling the driving of a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle driving control device that detects a curve ahead of a vehicle and accelerates or decelerates the vehicle in response to the detected curve. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-23021 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The vehicle driving control device described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 does not take into consideration the presence or absence of a preceding vehicle. When there is no preceding vehicle, there is no need to maintain the vehicle distance, and the desired acceleration / deceleration control can be realized by correcting the vehicle speed based on a request from the fuel-saving control, for example. However, when there is a preceding vehicle, it is also necessary to maintain the vehicle distance, and it is unclear how to realize the speed control between the vehicle distance maintenance control and the acceleration / deceleration request from the fuel-saving control.

[0005] Therefore, the disclosed object has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a vehicle driving control device and a vehicle driving control method that are capable of energy-efficient speed control in accordance with the terrain shape in front of the vehicle, regardless of whether there is a preceding vehicle or not. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present disclosure employs the following technical means to achieve the above-mentioned objectives.

[0007] The vehicle driving control device disclosed herein includes an information acquisition unit (25) that acquires position information related to a current position of the host vehicle (100), preceding vehicle information related to a preceding vehicle (101) traveling in front of the host vehicle, and road information related to the road ahead of the host vehicle, a determination unit (42) that uses the road information to determine whether or not there is a special road topography ahead that contributes to improving energy efficiency by controlling the speed, and a speed control unit (43) that controls the speed of the host vehicle to a set vehicle speed that has been set, and determines a predetermined road section that includes the special road topography as an energy efficient section, and determines a road section before the energy efficient section as a vehicle distance maintenance section. The speed control unit controls the speed of the vehicle to a set vehicle speed while maintaining a set inter-vehicle distance or more when there is no special road topography ahead and there is a preceding vehicle, controls the speed of the vehicle to increase or decrease the speed of the vehicle relative to the set vehicle speed in the energy efficiency section so as to improve energy efficiency when there is a special road topography ahead and there is a preceding vehicle and control to increase the vehicle speed relative to the set vehicle speed is scheduled to be performed in the energy efficiency section, and controls the speed in the inter-vehicle maintenance section so that the inter-vehicle distance is greater than the set inter-vehicle distance when there is a special road topography ahead and there is a preceding vehicle and control to increase the vehicle speed relative to the set vehicle speed is scheduled to be performed in the energy efficiency section. If there is a special road topography ahead, there is a preceding vehicle, and control to reduce the set vehicle speed is scheduled to be implemented in the energy efficient section, the speed control is performed in the headway maintenance section so that the inter-vehicle distance becomes smaller than the set inter-vehicle distance. This is a vehicle driving control device. Furthermore, the vehicle driving control device disclosed herein includes an information acquisition unit (25) that acquires position information related to the current position of the host vehicle (100), preceding vehicle information related to a preceding vehicle (101) traveling in front of the host vehicle, and road information related to the road ahead of the host vehicle, a judgment unit (42) that uses the road information to judge whether or not there is a special road topography ahead that contributes to improving energy efficiency by controlling the speed, and a speed control unit (43) that controls the speed of the host vehicle to a set vehicle speed that has been set, and a predetermined road section including the special road topography is set as an energy efficient section, and a road section before the energy efficient section is set as a headway maintenance section, and when there is no special road topography ahead and there is a preceding vehicle, the speed control unit controls the host vehicle to travel at a headway while maintaining a headway of at least the set headway distance. This vehicle driving control device controls the speed of the vehicle to be a set vehicle speed, and when there is a special road topography ahead and there is no preceding vehicle, controls the speed of the vehicle in energy efficient sections to increase or decrease it from the set vehicle speed so as to improve energy efficiency, and when there is a special road topography ahead and there is a preceding vehicle and control to increase the vehicle speed from the set vehicle speed is planned in the energy efficient section, controls the speed in distance maintaining sections so that the inter-vehicle distance is greater than the set inter-vehicle distance, and when traveling in an energy efficient section and there is a preceding vehicle, if the inter-vehicle distance falls below a safe inter-vehicle distance which is smaller than the set inter-vehicle distance, prioritizes speed control that maintains the safe inter-vehicle distance or greater over speed control that improves energy efficiency. The vehicle driving control device disclosed herein includes an information acquisition unit (25) that acquires position information related to a current position of the host vehicle (100), preceding vehicle information related to a preceding vehicle (101) traveling in front of the host vehicle, and road information related to a road ahead of the host vehicle, a determination unit (42) that uses the road information to determine whether or not there is a special road topography ahead that contributes to improving energy efficiency by controlling the speed, and a speed control unit (43) that controls the speed of the host vehicle to reach a set vehicle speed that has been set, and a predetermined road section including the special road topography is set as an energy efficient section, and a road section before the energy efficient section is set as a headway maintenance section, and when there is no special road topography ahead and there is a preceding vehicle, the speed control unit controls the speed to reach the set vehicle speed while maintaining a headway distance of at least the set vehicle distance. and when there is a special road topography ahead and there is no preceding vehicle, controls the speed of the vehicle in the energy efficiency section to increase or decrease it relative to a set vehicle speed so as to improve energy efficiency; when there is a special road topography ahead and there is a preceding vehicle and control to increase the vehicle speed relative to the set vehicle speed is planned in the energy efficiency section, controls the speed in the headway maintenance section so that the inter-vehicle distance is greater than the set inter-vehicle distance; and when the inter-vehicle distance is increased or decreased from the set inter-vehicle distance in order to improve energy efficiency, or when the vehicle speed is increased or decreased from the set vehicle speed in order to improve energy efficiency, outputs implementation information indicating that speed control to improve energy efficiency is planned to be implemented or is being implemented to another device (39).

[0008] Further, the vehicle travel control method disclosed herein is a vehicle travel control method for controlling the vehicle speed of a host vehicle (100), and includes, in the processing executed by at least one processor (40), acquiring position information on a current position of the host vehicle, preceding vehicle information on a preceding vehicle (101) traveling in front of the host vehicle, and road information on a road ahead of the host vehicle, using the road information to determine whether or not a special road topography that contributes to improving energy efficiency is present ahead by controlling the speed before traveling, and controlling the speed of the host vehicle to a set vehicle speed that has been set, and a predetermined road section including the special road topography is set as an energy efficiency section, a road section preceding the energy efficiency section is set as a headway maintenance section, and in controlling the speed of the host vehicle to the set vehicle speed, When there is no shape and there is a preceding vehicle, the speed is controlled to be the set vehicle speed while maintaining the set vehicle distance or more; when there is a special road topography ahead and there is no preceding vehicle, the speed of the vehicle is controlled to increase or decrease from the set vehicle speed so as to improve energy efficiency in the energy efficient section; when there is a special road topography ahead and there is a preceding vehicle and control to increase the vehicle speed from the set vehicle speed is scheduled to be performed in the energy efficient section, the speed is controlled in the vehicle distance maintenance section so that the vehicle distance is larger than the set vehicle distance; when there is a special road topography ahead and there is a preceding vehicle and control to decrease the vehicle speed from the set vehicle speed is scheduled to be performed in the energy efficient section, the speed is controlled in the vehicle distance maintenance section so that the vehicle distance is smaller than the set vehicle distance If there is a special road topography ahead, there is a preceding vehicle, and control to reduce the set vehicle speed is scheduled to be implemented in the energy efficient section, the speed control is performed in the headway maintenance section so that the inter-vehicle distance becomes smaller than the set inter-vehicle distance. The present invention relates to a vehicle driving control method. The vehicle driving control method disclosed herein is a vehicle driving control method for controlling the vehicle speed of a host vehicle (100), and includes, in the processing executed by at least one processor (40), acquiring position information on a current position of the host vehicle, preceding vehicle information on a preceding vehicle (101) traveling in front of the host vehicle, and road information on a road ahead of the host vehicle, determining whether or not there is a special road topography ahead that contributes to improving energy efficiency by controlling the speed before traveling using the road information, and controlling the speed of the host vehicle to a set vehicle speed. In this method, a predetermined road section including the special road topography is set as an energy efficiency section, a road section preceding the energy efficiency section is set as a headway maintenance section, and the speed of the host vehicle is controlled to be the set vehicle speed. In this method, when there is no special road topography ahead and there is a preceding vehicle, the speed is controlled to be the set vehicle speed while maintaining a set headway or more, and when there is a special road topography ahead, the speed is controlled to be the set vehicle speed while maintaining a set headway or more. This vehicle driving control method prioritizes speed control to maintain the vehicle's speed at or above the set vehicle speed in an energy efficient section when there is road topography and no preceding vehicle and when control to increase the vehicle speed relative to the set vehicle speed is planned to be implemented in the energy efficient section, speed control to maintain the vehicle distance greater than the set vehicle distance in a distance maintaining section when there is special road topography ahead and a preceding vehicle and control to decrease the vehicle speed relative to the set vehicle speed is planned to be implemented in the energy efficient section, speed control to maintain the vehicle distance less than the set vehicle distance in a distance maintaining section, and when traveling in an energy efficient section and there is a preceding vehicle and when the vehicle distance falls below a safe vehicle distance which is smaller than the set vehicle distance, speed control to maintain the vehicle distance at or above the safe vehicle distance over speed control that improves energy efficiency. Further, the vehicle travel control method disclosed herein is a vehicle travel control method for controlling the vehicle speed of a host vehicle (100), and the processing executed by at least one processor (40) includes acquiring position information on a current position of the host vehicle, preceding vehicle information on a preceding vehicle (101) traveling in front of the host vehicle, and road information on a road ahead of the host vehicle, determining whether or not a special road topography that contributes to improving energy efficiency is present ahead by controlling the speed before traveling using the road information, and controlling the speed of the host vehicle to a set vehicle speed. In this method, a predetermined road section including the special road topography is set as an energy efficient section, a road section preceding the energy efficient section is set as a headway maintenance section, and the speed of the host vehicle is controlled to be the set vehicle speed. In this method, when there is no special road topography ahead and there is a preceding vehicle, the speed is controlled to be the set vehicle speed while maintaining a set headway or more, and when there is a special road topography ahead and there is no preceding vehicle, the energy efficient road topography is set as an energy efficient section. the vehicle travel control method further includes: in an energy efficiency section, controlling the speed of the vehicle to increase or decrease relative to a set vehicle speed so as to improve energy efficiency; when there is a special road topography ahead and a preceding vehicle and control to increase the vehicle speed relative to the set vehicle speed is scheduled to be implemented in the energy efficiency section, controlling the speed so that the vehicle distance is greater than the set vehicle distance in the vehicle distance maintenance section; when there is a special road topography ahead and a preceding vehicle and control to decrease the vehicle speed relative to the set vehicle speed is scheduled to be implemented in the energy efficiency section, controlling the speed so that the vehicle distance is smaller than the set vehicle distance in the vehicle distance maintenance section; and outputting to another device (39) implementation information indicating that speed control to improve energy efficiency is scheduled to be implemented or is being implemented in the processing executed by the at least one processor when the vehicle distance is increased or decreased from the set vehicle distance in order to improve energy efficiency or when the vehicle speed is increased or decreased from the set vehicle speed in order to improve energy efficiency.

[0009] According to such a vehicle travel control device and vehicle travel control method, when there is no special road topography ahead and there is a preceding vehicle, the speed is controlled to a set vehicle speed while maintaining a set inter-vehicle distance or more. As a result, when there is a preceding vehicle, it is possible to travel at the set vehicle speed while maintaining a set inter-vehicle distance or more. Also, when there is a special road topography ahead and there is no preceding vehicle, the speed of the host vehicle is controlled to increase or decrease from the set vehicle speed in an energy efficient section so as to improve energy efficiency. As a result, when there is no preceding vehicle, it is possible to travel at a vehicle speed that improves energy efficiency.

[0010] Then, when there is a special road topography ahead, there is a preceding vehicle, and control is scheduled to be performed to increase the vehicle speed from the set speed in the energy efficient section, the speed is controlled so that the inter-vehicle distance is greater than the set inter-vehicle distance in the headway maintenance section. When increasing the vehicle speed from the set speed in the energy efficient section, there is a preceding vehicle, so the inter-vehicle distance needs to be increased. Therefore, the inter-vehicle distance is made greater than the set inter-vehicle distance in the preceding headway maintenance section, so that the vehicle speed is increased in the energy efficient section to prevent the vehicle from approaching the preceding vehicle. This makes it possible to perform energy-efficient speed control according to the special road topography ahead of the vehicle, regardless of whether there is a preceding vehicle or not.

[0011] The reference symbols in parentheses for each of the above-mentioned means are examples showing the correspondence with the specific means described in the embodiments described later. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a vehicle system 20 according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] 5 is a flowchart showing the vehicle speed correction control when there is no leading vehicle 101. [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a vehicle distance adjustment area. [Figure 4] 5 is a flowchart showing a vehicle speed correction control according to the presence or absence of a preceding vehicle. [Diagram 5] 5 is a flowchart showing vehicle speed correction control depending on whether fuel saving control is performed or not. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a fuel saving control region. [Figure 7] 5 is a timing chart illustrating vehicle speed correction control in a sag portion. [Figure 8] 5 is a timing chart illustrating vehicle speed correction control on an uphill road. [Figure 9] 4 is a timing chart illustrating vehicle speed correction control on a curve. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] (First embodiment) A first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Fig. 1 to Fig. 9. A vehicle system 20 shown in Fig. 1 is used in an autonomous vehicle capable of autonomous driving. As shown in Fig. 1, the vehicle system 20 includes a vehicle control device 21, a driving control electronic control device (abbreviated as ECU) 31, a locator 33, a map database 34, a surrounding monitoring sensor 35, a communication module 37, a vehicle state sensor 38, a manual operation unit 32, a driving switching unit 30, and a vehicle display device 39.

[0014] First, an autonomous vehicle will be described. As mentioned above, an autonomous vehicle is any vehicle that is capable of autonomous driving. There are multiple levels of automation, which indicate the degree of autonomous driving, as defined by the SAE, for example. The SAE defines the automation levels as follows:

[0015] Level 0 is a level where the driver performs all driving tasks without system intervention. Driving tasks are, for example, steering and acceleration / deceleration. Level 0 corresponds to so-called manual driving using the manual operation unit 32. Level 1 is a level where the system assists with either steering or acceleration / deceleration. Level 2 is a level where the system assists with both steering and acceleration / deceleration. Levels 1 and 2 correspond to so-called driving assistance.

[0016] Level 3 is a level where the system can perform all driving tasks in specific locations such as highways, and the driver takes over driving operations in an emergency. At level 3, the driver is required to be able to respond quickly when the system requests to take over driving. Level 3 corresponds to so-called conditional autonomous driving. Level 4 is a level where the system can perform all driving tasks except under certain circumstances such as roads that it cannot handle and extreme environments. Level 4 corresponds to so-called highly autonomous driving. Level 5 is a level where the system can perform all driving tasks in any environment. Level 5 corresponds to so-called fully autonomous driving. The levels correspond to so-called autonomous driving.

[0017] The autonomous vehicle of this embodiment may be, for example, an autonomous vehicle with an automation level of level 3, or an autonomous vehicle with an automation level of level 4 or higher. The automation level may be switchable. This embodiment is switchable between autonomous driving at automation level 3 or higher and manual driving at level 0.

[0018] Next, the configuration of each part will be described. Locator 33 includes a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver and an inertial sensor. The GNSS receiver receives positioning signals from a plurality of positioning satellites. The inertial sensor includes, for example, a gyro sensor and an acceleration sensor. Locator 33 sequentially determines the vehicle position of the vehicle by combining the positioning signal received by the GNSS receiver with the measurement result of the inertial sensor. The vehicle position is represented by, for example, latitude and longitude coordinates. Note that the vehicle position may be determined using a travel distance calculated from a signal sequentially output from a vehicle speed sensor mounted on the vehicle.

[0019] The map database 34 is a non-volatile memory and stores map data such as link data, node data, road shapes, and structures. The link data is composed of various data such as a link ID that identifies a link, a link length that indicates the length of the link, a link direction, a link travel time, a link shape, node coordinates of the start and end of the link, and road attributes. As an example, the link shape may be composed of a coordinate sequence that indicates the coordinate positions of both ends of the link and shape interpolation points that indicate the shape between them. The road attributes include road name, road type, road width, lane number information that indicates the number of lanes, and speed limit value. The node data is composed of various data such as a node ID that is assigned a unique number for each node on the map, node coordinates, node name, node type, and a connection link ID that describes the link ID of the link that connects to the node. The link data may be configured to be subdivided not only by road section but also by lane, that is, by lane.

[0020] From the number of lanes information and / or road type, it is possible to determine whether the road section, i.e., the link, is a road with multiple lanes in each direction, one lane in each direction, a two-way road without a center line, etc. Two-way roads without a center line do not include one-way roads. Two-way roads without a center line referred to here refer to general roads with two-way traffic without a center line, excluding expressways and motorways.

[0021] The map data may also include a three-dimensional map consisting of a point cloud of characteristic points of road shapes and structures. When a three-dimensional map consisting of a point cloud of characteristic points of road shapes and structures is used as map data, the locator 33 may be configured to identify the vehicle position using the three-dimensional map and a detection result by a perimeter monitoring sensor 35 such as a LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging / Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging) or a perimeter monitoring camera that detects the point cloud of characteristic points of road shapes and structures, without using a GNSS receiver. The three-dimensional map may be generated based on captured images by REM (Road Experience Management).

[0022] The perimeter monitoring sensor 35 is an autonomous sensor that monitors the perimeter of the vehicle. As an example, the perimeter monitoring sensor 35 detects objects around the vehicle, such as moving objects such as pedestrians, animals other than humans, and vehicles other than the vehicle, and stationary objects such as guardrails, curbs, trees, and objects fallen on the road. In addition, the perimeter monitoring sensor 35 detects road markings such as lane lines around the vehicle. Examples of the perimeter monitoring sensor 35 include a perimeter monitoring camera that captures an image of a predetermined range around the vehicle, and a distance measuring sensor such as a millimeter wave radar, sonar, or LIDAR that transmits a search wave to a predetermined range around the vehicle.

[0023] The vehicle state sensor 38 is a group of sensors for detecting various states of the host vehicle. The vehicle state sensor 38 includes a vehicle speed sensor, a steering sensor, an acceleration sensor, a yaw rate sensor, etc. The vehicle speed sensor detects the vehicle speed of the host vehicle. The steering sensor detects the steering angle of the host vehicle. The acceleration sensor detects acceleration such as the longitudinal acceleration and lateral acceleration of the host vehicle. The acceleration sensor may also detect deceleration, which is acceleration in the negative direction. The yaw rate sensor detects the angular velocity of the host vehicle.

[0024] The communication module 37 performs vehicle-to-vehicle communication, which is transmission and reception of information via wireless communication, with the communication module 37 of the vehicle system 20 mounted on the vehicle surrounding the host vehicle. The communication module 37 may also perform road-to-vehicle communication, which is transmission and reception of information via wireless communication, with a roadside device installed on the roadside. In this case, the communication module 37 may receive information on the surrounding vehicles transmitted from the communication module 37 of the vehicle system 20 mounted on the vehicle surrounding the host vehicle via the roadside device.

[0025] The communication module 37 may also perform wide-area communication, which is the transmission and reception of information via wireless communication, with a center outside the vehicle. When vehicles transmit and receive information via the center through wide-area communication, information including the vehicle position is transmitted and received, and the center can adjust the transmission and reception of vehicle information between vehicles within a certain range based on the vehicle position. Hereinafter, an example will be described in which the communication module 37 receives information about vehicles around the vehicle through at least one of vehicle-to-vehicle communication, road-to-vehicle communication, and wide-area communication.

[0026] Alternatively, the communication module 37 may receive map data distributed from an external server that distributes map data, for example, by wide area communication, and store the map data in the map database 34. In this case, the map database 34 may be a volatile memory, and the communication module 37 may successively obtain map data for an area corresponding to the vehicle position.

[0027] The manual operation unit 32 is a part that the driver operates to drive the vehicle, and includes a steering wheel, an accelerator pedal, and a brake pedal. The manual operation unit 32 outputs the amount of operation performed by the driver to the driving switching unit 30. The amount of operation is the amount of accelerator operation, the amount of brake operation, and the amount of steering operation. In the autonomous driving mode, the vehicle control device 21 outputs an instruction value for executing autonomous driving.

[0028] The driving switching unit 30 switches the driving mode between an automatic driving mode in which automatic driving is performed and a manual driving mode in which manual driving is performed. In other words, the driving switching unit 30 switches between the authority to drive and operate the host vehicle 100 being given to the vehicle control device 21 and the driver. When the driving switching unit 30 determines that the authority to drive and operate the host vehicle 100 is given to the vehicle control device 21, the driving switching unit 30 transmits an instruction value output from the vehicle control device 21 to the cruise control ECU. When the authority to drive and operate the host vehicle 100 is given to the driver, the driving switching unit 30 transmits an operation amount to the cruise control ECU.

[0029] The driving switching unit 30 switches the driving mode between the automatic driving mode and the manual driving mode in accordance with the mode switching request. There are two types of mode switching requests: a manual driving mode switching request for changing the driving mode from the automatic driving mode to the manual driving mode, and an automatic driving mode switching request for changing the driving mode from the manual driving mode to the automatic driving mode. The mode switching request is generated, for example, by a switch operation by the driver, and input to the driving switching unit 30. The mode switching request is also generated, for example, by the judgment of the vehicle control device 21, and input to the driving switching unit 30. The driving switching unit 30 switches the driving mode in accordance with the mode switching request.

[0030] In this embodiment, the autonomous driving mode is also called adaptive cruise control, and maintains a speed set by the driver without continuously depressing the accelerator pedal. In addition, the adaptive cruise control is a control to follow the preceding vehicle 101 while maintaining a constant distance from the preceding vehicle 101 when the preceding vehicle 101 is present.

[0031] The adaptive cruise control is started and ended by the driver's switch operation. The adaptive cruise control also terminates the adaptive cruise control temporarily or completely when various termination conditions are met, such as the depression of the accelerator pedal or brake pedal. The driver also sets the desired driving speed when the adaptive cruise control function is activated by the driver's switch operation.

[0032] The driving control ECU 31 is a driving control unit, and is an electronic control device that performs driving control of the host vehicle 100. Examples of driving control include acceleration / deceleration control and / or steering control. The driving control ECU 31 includes a steering ECU that performs steering control, a power unit control ECU that performs acceleration / deceleration control, and a brake ECU. The driving control ECU 31 performs driving control by outputting control signals to each driving control device, such as an electronically controlled throttle, a brake actuator, and an EPS (Electric Power Steering) motor, mounted on the host vehicle.

[0033] The vehicle display device 39 is mounted on a vehicle and is used, for example, as a combination meter device or a center information display device. In the combination meter device, various vehicle information such as vehicle speed, engine RPM, fuel efficiency, and cruising distance are displayed. In the center information display device, various device information related to, for example, a car navigation device, a car air conditioner device, and a car audio device is displayed.

[0034] The vehicle display device 39 is controlled by the vehicle control device 21 to display various information. The various information includes the above-mentioned information as well as automatic driving information related to automatic driving. The automatic driving information includes the automatic driving mode currently being executed, the set vehicle speed set by the driver, the vehicle distance set by the system, and implementation information. The implementation information is information indicating that speed control for improving energy efficiency is scheduled to be implemented or is currently being implemented. Specifically, the implementation information is information indicating that a fuel-saving mode that prioritizes fuel-saving automatic driving is currently being implemented, or information indicating that a fuel-saving mode is scheduled to be implemented in a specific section ahead in the future.

[0035] The vehicle control device 21 includes at least one processor 40, a memory 41, an I / O, and a bus connecting these, and executes processes related to autonomous driving by executing a control program stored in the memory 41. The memory 41 referred to here is a non-transitory tangible storage medium that non-temporarily stores computer-readable programs and data. The non-transitory tangible storage medium is realized by a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, or the like.

[0036] Next, a schematic configuration of the vehicle control device 21 will be described with reference to Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 1, the vehicle control device 21 includes a vehicle position acquisition unit 19, a sensing information acquisition unit 22, a map data acquisition unit 23, a communication information acquisition unit 24, a driving environment acquisition unit 25, and an automatic driving unit 26 as functional blocks. Note that some or all of the functions executed by the vehicle control device 21 may be configured as hardware using one or more ICs or the like. Also, some or all of the functional blocks included in the vehicle control device 21 may be realized by a combination of software execution by the processor 40 and hardware members. The vehicle control device 21 has the function of a vehicle driving control device that controls the driving of the vehicle.

[0037] The vehicle position acquisition unit 19 acquires the vehicle position of the vehicle 100, which is successively measured by the locator 33. The vehicle position acquisition unit 19 functions as an information acquisition unit that acquires position information related to the current position of the vehicle 100. The position information is, for example, information of latitude and longitude coordinates indicating the vehicle position.

[0038] The sensing information acquisition unit 22 acquires sensing information, which is the detection result successively detected by the periphery monitoring sensor 35. The sensing information acquisition unit 22 also acquires vehicle state information, which is the detection result successively detected by the vehicle state sensor 38. The sensing information acquisition unit 22 functions as an information acquisition unit that acquires leading vehicle information regarding a leading vehicle 101 traveling in front of the host vehicle 100. The leading vehicle information is, for example, the distance between the leading vehicle 101 and the host vehicle 100, and the vehicle speed of the leading vehicle 101.

[0039] The map data acquisition unit 23 acquires map data stored in the map database 34. The map data acquisition unit 23 may acquire map data of the surroundings of the vehicle 100 according to the vehicle position of the vehicle 100 acquired by the vehicle position acquisition unit 19. It is preferable that the map data acquisition unit 23 acquires map data for a range wider than the detection range of the periphery monitoring sensor 35. The map data acquisition unit 23 functions as an information acquisition unit that acquires road information related to the road ahead of the vehicle 100. The road information is, for example, the gradient of the road ahead, the curvature of the road, and the cross slope (cant) of the road.

[0040] The communication information acquisition unit 24 acquires information on vehicles surrounding the vehicle using the communication module 37. Examples of the information on the surrounding vehicles include identification information, speed information, acceleration information, yaw rate information, and position information of the surrounding vehicles. The identification information is information for identifying each individual vehicle.

[0041] The driving environment acquisition unit 25 acquires the driving environment of the vehicle 100, and generates a virtual space simulating the driving environment acquired by the automatic driving unit 26. Specifically, the driving environment acquisition unit 25 recognizes the driving environment of the vehicle 100 from the vehicle position of the vehicle 100 acquired by the vehicle position acquisition unit 19, the sensing information and vehicle state information acquired by the sensing information acquisition unit 22, the map data acquired by the map data acquisition unit 23, the information of the surrounding vehicles acquired by the communication information acquisition unit 24, and the like. As an example, the driving environment acquisition unit 25 uses these pieces of information to recognize the positions, shapes, movement states, and the like of objects in the vicinity of the vehicle 100, the positions of road markings in the vicinity of the vehicle 100, and the like, and generates a virtual space that reproduces the actual driving environment.

[0042] The driving environment acquisition unit 25 may recognize the distance between the vehicle 100 and the surrounding objects, the relative speed of the surrounding objects with respect to the vehicle 100, the shape and size of the surrounding objects, and the like as the driving environment from the sensing information acquired by the sensing information acquisition unit 22. In addition, when the driving environment acquisition unit 25 can acquire information on the surrounding vehicles by the communication information acquisition unit 24, the driving environment acquisition unit 25 may recognize the driving environment using the information on the surrounding vehicles. For example, the position, speed, acceleration, yaw rate, and the like of the surrounding vehicles may be recognized from information on the position, speed, acceleration, yaw rate, and the like of the surrounding vehicles. In addition, performance information such as the maximum deceleration and maximum acceleration of the surrounding vehicles may be recognized from the identification information of the surrounding vehicles. As an example, a correspondence relationship between the identification information and the performance information may be stored in advance in the memory 41 of the vehicle control device 21, and the performance information may be recognized from the identification information by referring to the correspondence relationship.

[0043] It is preferable that the driving environment acquisition unit 25 distinguishes and recognizes whether the surrounding object detected by the periphery monitoring sensor 35 is a moving object or a stationary object. It is also preferable that the type of the surrounding object is also distinguished and recognized. The type of the surrounding object may be distinguished and recognized, for example, by performing pattern matching on the image captured by the periphery monitoring camera. The type may be distinguished and recognized, for example, by structures such as guardrails, objects fallen on the road, pedestrians, bicycles, motorcycles, automobiles, etc.

[0044] The automatic driving unit 26 performs processing related to taking over driving operations from the driver. As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic driving unit 26 includes a determination unit 42 and a speed control unit 43 as functional blocks.

[0045] The automatic driving unit 26 performs vehicle control for driving the host vehicle 100 by automatic driving, using the driving environment acquired by the driving environment acquisition unit 25. The automatic driving unit 26 performs driving operation on behalf of the driver, that is, automatic driving, by having the driving control ECU 31 automatically perform acceleration / deceleration and / or steering. In this embodiment, the automatic driving unit 26 executes the adaptive cruise control described above.

[0046] The determination unit 42 uses the road information to determine whether or not there is a special road topography ahead that contributes to improving energy efficiency by controlling the speed. The special road topography is a topography that contributes to improving energy efficiency by controlling the speed before traveling. The special road topography is a topography where energy consumption can be suppressed by controlling acceleration and deceleration with respect to a set vehicle speed compared to traveling at a constant set vehicle speed. The special road topography is also called a fuel-saving control implementation area. For example, the special road topography is a sag section. In the sag section, accelerating in advance on a downhill section and preparing for an uphill section by inertia can contribute to improving energy efficiency. In the case of a gasoline vehicle, improving energy efficiency is synonymous with suppressing fuel consumption, and in the case of an electric vehicle, it is synonymous with suppressing power consumption. Hereinafter, speed control for improving energy efficiency may be referred to as fuel-saving control. A predetermined road section including the special road topography is referred to as an energy-efficient section. The energy-efficient section includes the special road topography and has a predetermined section, for example, a section of 500 m, before and after the special road topography. The predetermined section is set to a distance just before the special road topography where the contribution to improving energy efficiency is high by implementing acceleration / deceleration control based on fuel saving control. Therefore, if the predetermined section is several meters, it is too close to the special road topography and the necessary acceleration / deceleration control cannot be implemented, and if the predetermined section is several kilometers, it is too far from the special road topography and the contribution of acceleration / deceleration control is small. In addition, the road section just before the energy efficient section is called the headway maintenance section.

[0047] The speed control unit 43 controls the speed of the host vehicle 100 based on the set vehicle speed and the set following distance. The speed control unit 43 has tolerances of ±several km / h for the set vehicle speed and ±several tens of meters for the set following distance, and controls the set vehicle speed and the set following distance so as to improve energy efficiency within the tolerance ranges.

[0048] When there is no preceding vehicle 101, there is no need to maintain the distance between the vehicles, and the desired acceleration / deceleration control can be achieved by correcting the vehicle speed based on a request from the fuel-saving control. However, when there is a preceding vehicle 101, it is also necessary to maintain the distance between the vehicles, and a conflict may arise between the control to maintain the distance between the vehicles and the acceleration / deceleration request from the fuel-saving control.

[0049] Therefore, as described above, the set inter-vehicle distance is given a tolerance of about ± several tens of meters, and when it is expected to approach a special road topography, the inter-vehicle distance is intentionally adjusted in advance within the tolerance of the set inter-vehicle distance, avoiding a conflict between the acceleration / deceleration request from the inter-vehicle distance maintenance control and the fuel-saving control, thereby improving energy efficiency. For example, when an acceleration request is expected on the special road topography, the inter-vehicle distance is increased in advance, and when a deceleration request on the special road topography is expected, the inter-vehicle distance is decreased in advance. The tolerance of the set inter-vehicle distance and the set vehicle speed are changed as needed to values ​​that take into account information on the situation of surrounding traffic, such as following vehicles, obtained from the surroundings monitoring sensor 35, so that consideration is given to surrounding vehicles.

[0050] Specifically, the speed control unit 43 calculates the target vehicle speed Vref and the target inter-vehicle distance δref by sequentially correcting the set vehicle speed Vset and the set inter-vehicle distance δset based on the fuel-saving request and the following request of the preceding vehicle 101. Then, feedback control is performed so that the target vehicle speed and the actual speed match and the actual inter-vehicle distance is equal to or greater than the target inter-vehicle distance. The allowable values ​​α and β given to the set vehicle speed and the set inter-vehicle distance are set to ±several km / h and ±several tens of meters, respectively, and are made variable depending on the situation of surrounding vehicles, taking into consideration surrounding traffic.

[0051] Next, the processing of the automatic driving unit 26 will be described with reference to the flow of Fig. 2. The processing shown in Fig. 2 is started when the automatic driving unit 26 proceeds to step S19 in Fig. 4 described later. The processing shown in Fig. 2 is processing for correcting the output vehicle speed with respect to the set vehicle speed as necessary. The processing shown in Fig. 2 is also processing in the case where there is no preceding vehicle 101.

[0052] In step S1, position information of the vehicle 100 is acquired, and the process proceeds to step S2. In step S2, road information ahead of the vehicle 100 is acquired, and the process proceeds to step S3. In step S3, it is determined whether or not a special road topography is ahead, using the road information, and if so, the process proceeds to step S4, and if not, the process proceeds to step S6. In step S6, since there is no special road topography, the set vehicle speed is output, and this flow ends.

[0053] In step S4, since there is a special road topography, gradient correction is performed, and the process proceeds to step S5. In step S4, the optimal vehicle speed for improving energy efficiency is calculated according to the special road topography. For example, in a sag section, while traveling downhill, the target vehicle speed is corrected in the direction of increasing, and while traveling uphill thereafter, the target vehicle speed is corrected in the direction of decreasing. Such a correction is performed in order to increase the target vehicle speed on the downhill and efficiently travel uphill by inertia. Since the actual vehicle speed decreases on the uphill, if the target vehicle speed on the downhill remains the same, it is necessary to drive the drive unit immediately. However, by reducing the target vehicle speed on the uphill, the drive unit can be driven after effectively using inertia, and energy efficiency can be improved. In addition, in the correction in step S4, the correction is performed within the range of the allowable value as described above.

[0054] In step S5, curvature correction and cant correction are performed, the corrected set vehicle speed is output, and this flow ends. In step S5, the optimal vehicle speed with excellent energy efficiency in step S4 is corrected to a safe vehicle speed based on the curvature and cant. For example, if skidding occurs when traveling at the vehicle speed calculated in step S4, the vehicle speed is corrected to a speed that prevents skidding. In the correction in step S5, the correction is performed within the range of the allowable value as described above.

[0055] In this way, when there is a special road topography ahead and there is no preceding vehicle 101, the speed control unit 43 controls the speed of the vehicle 100 in the energy efficient section to increase or decrease the speed relative to the set vehicle speed so as to improve energy efficiency.

[0056] Next, a description will be given of speed control when there is a preceding vehicle 101. As shown in Fig. 3, when there is a preceding vehicle 101, a target speed is calculated to maintain an appropriate distance from the preceding vehicle 101 in the distance adjustment area.

[0057] Here, if the inter-vehicle time is h, the minimum inter-vehicle distance is δmin, the speed of the preceding vehicle 101 is Vp, the position of the preceding vehicle 101 is Xp, the speed of the host vehicle 100 is Vh, and the position of the host vehicle 100 is Xh, the inter-vehicle distance δ is expressed by the following equation (1). δ = Xp - Xh ... (1) The target inter-vehicle distance δref is expressed by the following equation (2). δref = h Vh + δmin … (2) The vehicle distance adjustment region is a section where δ≦δref, as shown in Fig. 3. When it is expected that the vehicle will pass a special road topography that matches the fuel-saving control, such as a gradient change, in the future, the vehicle distance from the leading vehicle 101 is adjusted in advance to ensure room for acceleration / deceleration control, in preparation for the fuel-saving control.

[0058] Next, the speed control according to the presence or absence of the preceding vehicle 101 will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 4. The process shown in Fig. 4 is repeatedly executed in a short period of time by the automatic driving unit 26. The process shown in Fig. 4 is a process for correcting the output vehicle speed with respect to the set vehicle speed as necessary.

[0059] In step S11, preceding vehicle information is acquired, and the process proceeds to step S13. The preceding vehicle information is information acquired by the sensing information acquisition unit 22, and includes the distance between the preceding vehicle 101 and the host vehicle 100, the vehicle speed of the preceding vehicle 101, and the like.

[0060] In step S12, the presence or absence of the preceding vehicle 101 is determined based on the preceding vehicle information, and if the preceding vehicle 101 is present, the process proceeds to step S13, and if the preceding vehicle 101 is not present, the process proceeds to step S19. In step S19, the above-mentioned flowchart shown in FIG. 2 is executed, and this flow ends.

[0061] In step S13, since there is a leading vehicle 101, the position information of the vehicle 100 is acquired, and the process proceeds to step S13. In step S14, road information ahead is acquired, and the process proceeds to step S15.

[0062] In step S15, the presence or absence of a special road terrain is determined based on the road information ahead. If the special road terrain is present, the process proceeds to step S16. If the special road terrain is not present, the process proceeds to step S110. If the special road terrain is present within a predetermined distance, for example, within 100 m, on the route ahead of the vehicle, it is determined that the special road terrain is present ahead. The predetermined distance for determining the presence or absence of the special road terrain is a range that can contribute to improving energy efficiency when acceleration / deceleration control is performed at an allowable acceleration within a tolerance range, for example, just before the special road terrain. Therefore, the predetermined distance has a small contribution to improving energy efficiency when it is just a few meters before the special road terrain, and similarly, when the special road terrain is far away, such as 1 km, the contribution to improving energy efficiency is small.

[0063] In step S16, since the road topography is special, the inter-vehicle time h is corrected, and the process proceeds to step S17. The inter-vehicle time h is corrected so as to become the target inter-vehicle distance δref that prioritizes fuel-saving control within the range of the allowable value β with respect to the set inter-vehicle distance δset.

[0064] In step S17, it is determined whether fuel saving control is currently being performed, is on standby, or is not being performed. If it is being performed, the process proceeds to step S111. If it is on standby, the process proceeds to step S118. If it is not being performed, the process proceeds to step S110.

[0065] In step S111, since fuel-saving control is being performed, the inter-vehicle time h is corrected, and the process proceeds to step S 18. In step S110, since fuel-saving control is not being performed, the inter-vehicle time is set to a standard time, and the process proceeds to step S 18. In step S18, inter-vehicle distance maintenance correction control, which will be described later, is performed, and this flow ends.

[0066] As shown in step S110, when there is no special road topography ahead and there is a leading vehicle 101, the speed control unit 43 controls the speed to the set vehicle speed while maintaining the set inter-vehicle distance or more.

[0067] Next, the inter-vehicle distance maintenance correction control will be described. The process shown in Fig. 5 is started when proceeding to step S18 in Fig. 4. In step S21, it is determined whether or not fuel saving control is being performed. If it is being performed, the process proceeds to step S23, and if it is not being performed, the process proceeds to step S22.

[0068] In step S22, since the fuel-saving control is not being performed and the vehicle is on standby or not being performed, the vehicle speed is corrected based on acceleration or deceleration toward the target inter-vehicle distance, and this flow ends. In step S23, since the fuel-saving control is being performed, the vehicle speed is corrected based only on deceleration toward the target inter-vehicle distance, and this flow ends.

[0069] In this way, when fuel-saving control is being implemented, only deceleration is performed when the vehicle distance is less than the target vehicle distance, and acceleration is not performed when the vehicle distance is equal to or greater than the target vehicle distance. In order to prioritize fuel-saving control, only the collision prevention function is enabled for vehicle distance maintenance. This makes it possible to maintain a safe vehicle distance while prioritizing fuel-saving control. Also, when fuel-saving control is not being implemented, acceleration / deceleration control is performed to maintain the normal target vehicle distance and target vehicle speed. This makes it possible to approach the target vehicle speed while following the preceding vehicle 101.

[0070] Next, a specific vehicle speed control will be described using a timing chart. As shown in FIG. 6, a vehicle distance maintenance control region and a fuel-saving control region are set according to the vehicle distance. That is, when the vehicle distance is equal to or less than the target vehicle distance, the vehicle distance is the vehicle distance maintenance control region, and when the vehicle distance is greater than the target vehicle distance, the vehicle distance is the fuel-saving control region. In the vehicle distance maintenance control region, acceleration / deceleration control is implemented to maintain the vehicle distance. In the fuel-saving control region, acceleration / deceleration control is implemented to achieve fuel saving. In other words, when the vehicle distance is equal to or less than the target vehicle distance, vehicle distance maintenance control is prioritized for safety, and when the vehicle distance is greater than the target vehicle distance, fuel-saving control is prioritized.

[0071] The timing chart shown in FIG. 7 shows a case where there is a special road topography with a sag in front of the vehicle and there is a preceding vehicle. At position P1, the special road topography that matches the fuel saving control is not detected in the topography change judgment, so the set inter-vehicle time h default Here, the arrows for terrain change determination in Fig. 7 correspond to the detection range for special road terrain. In terrain change determination, it is determined whether or not there is a special road terrain within the detection range ahead of the vehicle.

[0072] After that, at position P2, a special road topography that matches the fuel-saving control was detected in the topography change judgment, so the inter-vehicle time is set to h default Longer headway time than h long This artificially increases the distance between vehicles. In addition, since a special road topography has been detected, a specific road section including the special road topography is set as an energy efficient section. In addition, the road sections before and after the energy efficient section are set as distance maintenance sections.

[0073] After that, the inter-vehicle distance increases, and at position P3, the vehicle enters an energy-efficient zone, so the control is switched from the distance maintenance control region to the fuel-saving control region, and the vehicle distance is controlled to be maintained at the minimum distance required to prevent a collision. In the fuel-saving control region, the inter-vehicle distance is set to the set inter-vehicle distance h default Shortest headway time h short This is to set the target inter-vehicle distance to the minimum inter-vehicle distance required to prevent collision, and to maximize the fuel-saving control area. In other words, this is speed control to minimize the interference area with the following request of the preceding vehicle 101. As a result, the target vehicle speed becomes a value higher than the set vehicle speed, and it becomes possible to accelerate by utilizing a downhill slope when going uphill.

[0074] After that, at position P4, the vehicle is traveling in an energy efficient section, and fuel-saving control continues to be implemented. At position P4, the downhill section has ended, so the target vehicle speed is set to be slower than on the downhill section, and the vehicle travels by inertia. Because inertia is used, deceleration by braking to reach the target vehicle speed is not performed. In other words, speed control that is excellent in energy efficiency and uses inertia is implemented. After that, at position P5, the terrain change determination does not detect a special road terrain that matches the fuel-saving control, and the vehicle has entered a distance maintenance section from the energy efficient section, so the fuel-saving control area is switched from the fuel-saving control area to the distance maintenance control area, and control for normal distance maintenance is performed.

[0075] The timing chart shown in FIG. 8 shows a case where there is a special road topography of an uphill road ahead of the vehicle and there is also a preceding vehicle. At position P11, the special road topography that matches the fuel saving control is not detected in the topography change judgment, so the set inter-vehicle time h default Use.

[0076] After that, at position P12, a special road topography that matches the fuel-saving control was detected in the topography change judgment, so the inter-vehicle time is increased to h long This artificially increases the distance between vehicles. In addition, since a special road topography has been detected, a specific road section including the special road topography is set as an energy efficient section. In addition, the road sections before and after the energy efficient section are set as distance maintenance sections.

[0077] After that, the inter-vehicle distance increases, and at position P13, the vehicle enters an energy-efficient zone, so the control is switched from the distance maintenance control region to the fuel-saving control region, and the vehicle distance is controlled to be kept at the minimum distance required to prevent a collision. In the fuel-saving control region, the inter-vehicle distance is set to the short inter-vehicle distance h short This is to set the target vehicle distance to the minimum distance necessary to prevent a collision and to maximize the fuel-saving control area. As a result, the target vehicle speed becomes a value higher than the set vehicle speed, and the vehicle can accelerate within the allowable value before entering an uphill road.

[0078] After that, at position P14, the vehicle is traveling in an energy efficient section, and fuel-saving control continues to be implemented. Therefore, the vehicle is traveling uphill by inertia due to prior acceleration, and the target vehicle speed is set to the set vehicle speed or to be slower than the set vehicle speed. This is because the vehicle is traveling uphill by inertia. After that, at position P15, the terrain change determination does not detect a special road terrain that matches the fuel-saving control, and the vehicle has moved from the energy efficient section to the headway maintenance section, so the fuel-saving control area is switched to the headway maintenance control area, and control for normal headway maintenance is performed.

[0079] The timing chart shown in FIG. 9 shows a case where there is a curved road ahead of the vehicle and there is a preceding vehicle. At position P21, the terrain change judgment does not detect a special road topography that matches the fuel saving control, so the set inter-vehicle time h default Use.

[0080] After that, at position P22, a special road topography that matches the fuel-saving control was detected in the topography change judgment, so the inter-vehicle time is shortened by h short This artificially reduces the distance between vehicles. In addition, since a special road topography has been detected, a specific road section including the special road topography is set as an energy efficient section. In addition, the road sections before and after the energy efficient section are set as distance maintenance sections.

[0081] After that, the inter-vehicle distance decreases, and at position P23, the vehicle enters an energy-efficient section, so the control is switched from the distance maintenance control area to the fuel-saving control area, and the vehicle continues to maintain the minimum inter-vehicle distance to prevent collisions. short This is to set the target inter-vehicle distance to the minimum distance necessary to prevent a collision and to maximize the fuel-saving control range.

[0082] After that, at position P24, the vehicle is traveling in an energy efficient section, and fuel saving control continues to be implemented. As a result, deceleration when traveling around a curve is performed with energy efficient deceleration control, using the engine brake function that cuts fuel, or the brake function that recovers traveling energy. After that, at position P25, the vehicle does not detect a special road topography that matches the fuel saving control in the terrain change judgment, and the vehicle has moved from the energy efficient section to the headway maintenance control section, so the vehicle switches from the fuel saving control area to the headway maintenance control area, and normal headway maintenance control is performed.

[0083] As described above, the vehicle control device 21 of this embodiment controls the vehicle speed to the set vehicle speed while maintaining a set inter-vehicle distance or more when there is no special road topography ahead and there is a preceding vehicle 101, as shown in Fig. 4. This allows the vehicle to travel at the set vehicle speed while maintaining a set inter-vehicle distance or more when there is a preceding vehicle 101.

[0084] Furthermore, when there is a special road topography ahead and there is no preceding vehicle 101, the speed of the vehicle 100 is controlled to increase or decrease from the set vehicle speed in the energy efficiency section so as to improve energy efficiency, as shown in Fig. 2. As a result, when there is no preceding vehicle 101, the vehicle can travel at a vehicle speed that improves energy efficiency.

[0085] Then, when there is a special road topography ahead, there is a preceding vehicle 101, and control is scheduled to be performed to increase the vehicle speed from the set vehicle speed in the energy efficient section, the speed is controlled so that the inter-vehicle distance is greater than the set inter-vehicle distance in the inter-vehicle maintenance section as shown in Fig. 7. When increasing the vehicle speed from the set vehicle speed in the energy efficient section, the preceding vehicle 101 is present, so the inter-vehicle distance needs to be increased. Therefore, the inter-vehicle distance is made greater than the set inter-vehicle distance in the preceding inter-vehicle maintenance section, so that the vehicle speed is increased in the energy efficient section to prevent the vehicle from approaching the preceding vehicle 101. This makes it possible to perform energy-efficient speed control according to the special road topography ahead of the vehicle, regardless of whether or not there is a preceding vehicle 101.

[0086] Furthermore, when there is a special road topography ahead, there is a preceding vehicle 101, and control to reduce the vehicle speed to the set value in the energy efficient section is scheduled to be performed, the speed is controlled so that the inter-vehicle distance is smaller than the set inter-vehicle distance in the inter-vehicle maintenance section as shown in Fig. 9. When reducing the vehicle speed to the set value in the energy efficient section, since there is a preceding vehicle 101, it is necessary to prevent the inter-vehicle distance from becoming too wide when the preceding vehicle 101 decelerates. Therefore, since the inter-vehicle distance is made smaller than the set inter-vehicle distance in the preceding inter-vehicle maintenance section, it is possible to reduce the vehicle speed in the energy efficient section to get closer to the preceding vehicle 101 and perform fuel saving control.

[0087] 5, when the vehicle is traveling in an energy efficient section and there is a preceding vehicle 101, the speed control that improves energy efficiency is prioritized over the speed control that maintains the inter-vehicle distance at a set inter-vehicle distance. This allows the fuel-saving control to be prioritized in the energy efficient section, thereby improving energy efficiency.

[0088] Furthermore, in this embodiment, as described in Fig. 6, when the vehicle is traveling in an energy efficient section and there is a preceding vehicle 101, if the vehicle distance falls below the minimum vehicle distance that is smaller than the set vehicle distance, priority is given to speed control that maintains the vehicle distance at or above the minimum vehicle distance over speed control that improves energy efficiency. The minimum vehicle distance is synonymous with the safe vehicle distance. This makes it possible to ensure the minimum vehicle distance while implementing fuel saving control.

[0089] In addition, in this embodiment, when the vehicle distance is increased or decreased from a set vehicle distance in order to improve energy efficiency, or when the vehicle speed is increased or decreased from a set vehicle speed in order to improve energy efficiency, implementation information indicating that speed control to improve energy efficiency is scheduled to be implemented or is being implemented is output to another device, in this embodiment, the vehicle display device 39. This allows the driver to understand the details of the speed control from the implementation information. Therefore, the driver can recognize the reason why the vehicle distance is shorter than normal, or the reason why the actual vehicle speed is higher than the set vehicle speed. This gives the driver a sense of security.

[0090] In this embodiment, the implementation information is output by the vehicle display device 39, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration. The implementation information may be output, for example, by voice, by a portable information terminal carried by the driver, or by another device mounted in the vehicle that is capable of outputting implementation information.

[0091] In addition, in the vehicle control device 21 of this embodiment, the processor 40 executes a vehicle travel control method for controlling the vehicle speed of the vehicle. According to the vehicle travel control method of this embodiment, as described above, it is possible to execute speed control with excellent energy efficiency in accordance with the topographical shape ahead of the vehicle, regardless of the presence or absence of the leading vehicle 101.

[0092] (Other embodiments) Although the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

[0093] The structures of the above-described embodiments are merely examples, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the scope of these descriptions. The scope of the present disclosure is defined by the claims, and includes all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims.

[0094] In the first embodiment described above, the set vehicle speed is set by the driver, but the present invention is not limited to this setting. For example, the set vehicle speed may be set automatically based on the legal speed limit of the road.

[0095] In the first embodiment described above, the special road topography is realized by a sag section, an uphill road, and a curve, but is not limited to such topography. If it is a section where energy efficiency can be improved, for example, a change in the road surface environment may be taken into consideration, a change in the legal speed limit may be taken into consideration, or the degree of congestion ahead may be used.

[0096] The functions realized by the vehicle control device 21 in the first embodiment described above may be realized by hardware and software different from those described above, or a combination of these. The vehicle control device 21 may, for example, communicate with another control device, and the other control device may execute a part or all of the processing. When the control device is realized by an electronic circuit, it may be realized by a digital circuit including a large number of logic circuits, or an analog circuit.

[0097] In the above-described first embodiment, the vehicle control device 21 is used in a vehicle, but is not limited to being mounted on the vehicle, and at least a part of the vehicle control device may not be mounted on the vehicle. [Explanation of symbols]

[0098] 19... Vehicle position acquisition unit 20... Vehicle system 21... Vehicle control device 22: sensing information acquisition unit 23: map data acquisition unit 24: communication information acquisition unit 25... Driving environment acquisition unit (information acquisition unit) 26... Automatic driving unit 30... Driving switching unit 31... Driving control ECU 32... Manual operation unit 33... Locator 34...Map database 35...Periphery monitoring sensor 37...Communication module 38 ... vehicle state sensor 39 ... vehicle display device 40 ... processor 41 ... memory 42: Determination unit 43: Speed ​​control unit 100: Vehicle 101: Leading vehicle

Claims

1. an information acquisition unit (25) that acquires position information relating to a current position of a vehicle (100), preceding vehicle information relating to a preceding vehicle (101) traveling in front of the vehicle, and road information relating to a road ahead of the vehicle; a judgment unit (42) for judging whether or not a special road topography that contributes to improving energy efficiency by controlling the speed is present ahead using the road information; a speed control unit (43) that controls the speed of the host vehicle so that the speed becomes a set vehicle speed, A predetermined road section including the special road topography is defined as an energy efficient section, A road section before the energy efficient section is defined as a headway maintenance section, The speed control unit is When the special road topography is not present ahead and there is a preceding vehicle, the vehicle speed is controlled to the set vehicle speed while maintaining a set inter-vehicle distance or greater; When the special road topography is present ahead and the preceding vehicle is not present, a speed control is performed to increase or decrease the speed of the host vehicle relative to the set vehicle speed in the energy efficient section so as to improve energy efficiency; When the special road topography is present ahead, the preceding vehicle is present, and control to increase the vehicle speed from the set vehicle speed is scheduled to be performed in the energy efficient section, speed control is performed in the headway maintenance section so that the vehicle distance is greater than the set vehicle distance, A vehicle driving control device that, when the special road topography is present ahead, the preceding vehicle is present, and control to reduce the vehicle speed from the set vehicle speed is scheduled to be implemented in the energy efficiency section, controls the speed so that the vehicle distance in the vehicle distance maintenance section is smaller than the set vehicle distance.

2. an information acquisition unit (25) that acquires position information relating to a current position of a vehicle (100), preceding vehicle information relating to a preceding vehicle (101) traveling in front of the vehicle, and road information relating to a road ahead of the vehicle; a judgment unit (42) for judging whether or not a special road topography that contributes to improving energy efficiency by controlling the speed is present ahead using the road information; a speed control unit (43) that controls the speed of the host vehicle so that the speed becomes a set vehicle speed, A predetermined road section including the special road topography is defined as an energy efficient section, A road section before the energy efficient section is defined as a headway maintenance section, The speed control unit is When the special road topography is not present ahead and there is a preceding vehicle, the vehicle speed is controlled to the set vehicle speed while maintaining a set inter-vehicle distance or greater; When the special road topography is present ahead and the preceding vehicle is not present, a speed control is performed in the energy efficient section so as to increase or decrease the speed of the host vehicle relative to the set vehicle speed so as to improve energy efficiency; When the special road topography is present ahead, the preceding vehicle is present, and control to increase the vehicle speed from the set vehicle speed is scheduled to be performed in the energy efficient section, speed control is performed in the headway maintenance section so that the vehicle distance is greater than the set vehicle distance, A vehicle driving control device that, when traveling through the energy efficient section and there is a preceding vehicle, prioritizes speed control that maintains the vehicle at or above the safe vehicle distance over speed control that improves energy efficiency when the vehicle distance falls below a safe vehicle distance that is smaller than the set vehicle distance.

3. an information acquisition unit (25) that acquires position information related to a current position of a vehicle (100), preceding vehicle information related to a preceding vehicle (101) traveling in front of the vehicle, and road information related to a road ahead of the vehicle; a judgment unit (42) for judging whether or not a special road topography that contributes to improving energy efficiency by controlling the speed is present ahead using the road information; a speed control unit (43) that controls the speed of the host vehicle so that the speed becomes a set vehicle speed, A predetermined road section including the special road topography is defined as an energy efficient section, A road section before the energy efficient section is defined as a headway maintenance section, The speed control unit is When the special road topography is not present ahead and there is a preceding vehicle, the vehicle speed is controlled to the set vehicle speed while maintaining a set inter-vehicle distance or greater; When the special road topography is present ahead and the preceding vehicle is not present, a speed control is performed in the energy efficient section so as to increase or decrease the speed of the host vehicle relative to the set vehicle speed so as to improve energy efficiency; When the special road topography is present ahead, the preceding vehicle is present, and control to increase the vehicle speed from the set vehicle speed is scheduled to be performed in the energy efficient section, speed control is performed in the headway maintenance section so that the vehicle distance is greater than the set vehicle distance, A vehicle driving control device that outputs implementation information indicating that speed control to improve energy efficiency is scheduled to be implemented or is currently being implemented to another device (39) when the vehicle distance is increased or decreased from the set vehicle distance in order to improve energy efficiency, or when the vehicle speed is increased or decreased from the set vehicle speed in order to improve energy efficiency.

4. 4. A vehicle driving control device as described in claim 2 or 3, wherein the speed control unit controls the speed so that the inter-vehicle distance in the inter-vehicle maintenance section is smaller than the set inter-vehicle distance when the special road topography is present ahead, the preceding vehicle is present, and control to reduce the vehicle speed from the set vehicle speed is scheduled to be implemented in the energy efficiency section.

5. 4. The vehicle driving control device according to claim 1 or 3, wherein when the vehicle is traveling in the energy efficient section and there is a preceding vehicle, the speed control unit prioritizes speed control that maintains the vehicle distance at or above the safe vehicle distance over speed control that improves energy efficiency when the vehicle distance falls below a safe vehicle distance that is smaller than the set vehicle distance.

6. 3. A vehicle driving control device as described in claim 1 or 2, wherein the speed control unit outputs implementation information indicating that speed control to improve energy efficiency is scheduled to be implemented or is being implemented to another device (39) when the vehicle distance is increased or decreased from the set vehicle distance in order to improve energy efficiency, or when the vehicle speed is increased or decreased from the set vehicle speed in order to improve energy efficiency.

7. A vehicle driving control device as described in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the speed control unit prioritizes speed control that improves energy efficiency over speed control that maintains the inter-vehicle distance at the set inter-vehicle distance when the vehicle is traveling in the energy efficient section and there is a preceding vehicle.

8. A vehicle driving control method for controlling a vehicle speed of a host vehicle (100), comprising: The process performed by at least one processor (40) includes: Obtaining position information relating to a current position of the vehicle, preceding vehicle information relating to a preceding vehicle (101) traveling in front of the vehicle, and road information relating to a road ahead of the vehicle; Using the road information, determine whether there is a special road topography ahead that contributes to improving energy efficiency by controlling speed before traveling; controlling the speed of the host vehicle so that the speed becomes a set vehicle speed; A predetermined road section including the special road topography is defined as an energy efficient section, A road section preceding the energy efficient section is defined as a headway maintenance section, In controlling the speed of the host vehicle so as to become the set vehicle speed, When the special road topography is not present ahead and there is a preceding vehicle, the vehicle speed is controlled to the set vehicle speed while maintaining a set inter-vehicle distance or greater; When the special road topography is present ahead and the preceding vehicle is not present, a speed control is performed in the energy efficient section so as to increase or decrease the speed of the host vehicle relative to the set vehicle speed so as to improve energy efficiency; When the special road topography is present ahead, the preceding vehicle is present, and control to increase the vehicle speed from the set vehicle speed is scheduled to be performed in the energy efficient section, speed control is performed in the headway maintenance section so that the vehicle distance is greater than the set vehicle distance, When the special road topography is present ahead, the preceding vehicle is present, and control to reduce the vehicle speed from the set vehicle speed is scheduled to be performed in the energy efficient section, speed control is performed in the headway maintenance section so that the vehicle distance becomes smaller than the set vehicle distance, A vehicle driving control method, when the special road topography is present ahead, the preceding vehicle is present, and control to reduce the vehicle speed from the set vehicle speed is scheduled to be implemented in the energy efficiency section, the vehicle driving control method controls the speed in the vehicle distance maintenance section so that the vehicle distance is smaller than the set vehicle distance.

9. A vehicle driving control method for controlling a vehicle speed of a host vehicle (100), comprising: The process performed by at least one processor (40) includes: Obtaining position information relating to a current position of the vehicle, preceding vehicle information relating to a preceding vehicle (101) traveling in front of the vehicle, and road information relating to a road ahead of the vehicle; Using the road information, determine whether there is a special road topography ahead that contributes to improving energy efficiency by controlling speed before traveling; controlling the speed of the host vehicle so that the speed becomes a set vehicle speed; A predetermined road section including the special road topography is defined as an energy efficient section, A road section preceding the energy efficient section is defined as a headway maintenance section, In controlling the speed of the host vehicle so as to become the set vehicle speed, When the special road topography is not present ahead and there is a preceding vehicle, the vehicle speed is controlled to the set vehicle speed while maintaining a set inter-vehicle distance or greater; When the special road topography is present ahead and the preceding vehicle is not present, a speed control is performed in the energy efficient section so as to increase or decrease the speed of the host vehicle relative to the set vehicle speed so as to improve energy efficiency; When the special road topography is present ahead, the preceding vehicle is present, and control to increase the vehicle speed from the set vehicle speed is scheduled to be performed in the energy efficient section, speed control is performed in the headway maintenance section so that the vehicle distance is greater than the set vehicle distance, When the special road topography is present ahead, the preceding vehicle is present, and control to reduce the vehicle speed from the set vehicle speed is scheduled to be performed in the energy efficient section, speed control is performed in the headway maintenance section so that the vehicle distance becomes smaller than the set vehicle distance, A vehicle driving control method which, when traveling through the energy efficient section and there is a preceding vehicle, prioritizes speed control that maintains the vehicle at or above the safe vehicle distance over speed control that improves energy efficiency when the vehicle distance falls below a safe vehicle distance that is smaller than the set vehicle distance.

10. A vehicle driving control method for controlling a vehicle speed of a host vehicle (100), comprising: The process performed by at least one processor (40) includes: Obtaining position information relating to a current position of the vehicle, preceding vehicle information relating to a preceding vehicle (101) traveling in front of the vehicle, and road information relating to a road ahead of the vehicle; Using the road information, determine whether there is a special road topography ahead that contributes to improving energy efficiency by controlling speed before traveling; controlling the speed of the host vehicle so that the speed becomes a set vehicle speed; A predetermined road section including the special road topography is defined as an energy efficient section, A road section preceding the energy efficient section is defined as a headway maintenance section, In controlling the speed of the host vehicle so as to become the set vehicle speed, When the special road topography is not present ahead and there is a preceding vehicle, the vehicle speed is controlled to the set vehicle speed while maintaining a set inter-vehicle distance or greater; When the special road topography is present ahead and the preceding vehicle is not present, a speed control is performed in the energy efficient section so as to increase or decrease the speed of the host vehicle relative to the set vehicle speed so as to improve energy efficiency; When the special road topography is present ahead, the preceding vehicle is present, and control to increase the vehicle speed from the set vehicle speed is scheduled to be performed in the energy efficient section, speed control is performed in the headway maintenance section so that the vehicle distance is greater than the set vehicle distance, When the special road topography is present ahead, the preceding vehicle is present, and control to reduce the vehicle speed from the set vehicle speed is scheduled to be performed in the energy efficient section, speed control is performed in the headway maintenance section so that the vehicle distance becomes smaller than the set vehicle distance, The vehicle driving control method further includes, in the processing executed by at least one of the processors, outputting implementation information indicating that speed control to improve energy efficiency is scheduled to be implemented or is being implemented to another device (39) when the vehicle distance is increased or decreased from the set vehicle distance in order to improve energy efficiency, or when the vehicle speed is increased or decreased from the set vehicle speed in order to improve energy efficiency.

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