Driving Control System

Abstract

The present invention suppresses processing load, determines in real time areas where autonomous driving is possible or areas where driving assistance is possible, issues a notification at the timing of entry or transit of a host vehicle into / through areas where autonomous driving is possible or areas where driving assistance is possible, and controls switching of the host vehicle to an autonomous driving mode or a driving assistance mode.　The present invention is provided with: a drawing processing unit 220 that draws an area in which the travel trajectory traveled by the host vehicle in an autonomous driving mode or a driving assistance mode and the travel trajectory traveled by another vehicle in an autonomous driving mode or a driving assistance mode are plotted on a high-precision map; a drive control mode determination unit 120 that makes a determination as to a drive control mode on the basis of information that at a minimum includes information on the area drawn by the drawing processing unit 220 and position information for the host vehicle; a notification unit 130 that issues a notification to the occupants of the host vehicle at the timing of entry or transit of the host vehicle; and a drive control unit 140 that controls the start and end of autonomous drive control or driving assistance control at the timing of entry or transit of the host vehicle.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an operational control system. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, there has been progress in the development of autonomous vehicles that can run without the driver performing any driving operations. This autonomous driving control is defined as having six levels: Level 0, Level 1 (driving assistance), Level 2 (partially autonomous driving), Level 3 (conditional autonomous driving), Level 4 (highly autonomous driving), and Level 5 (fully autonomous driving), and development is proceeding rapidly toward the final level.

[0003] Meanwhile, development of connected cars is progressing, and in addition to the sensor technology used for autonomous driving control, connected car technology will be used to combine information from other vehicles, which is expected to not only improve autonomous driving control but also be applied to optimal route search technology.

[0004] As one example of this type of technology, a route search system has been disclosed that detects changes in the vehicle's driving lane, calculates avoidance sections that each vehicle should avoid entering based on the driving lane change information resulting from the detection, infers driving rules based on the appearance pattern of the avoidance sections, and distributes information regarding the driving rules to each in-vehicle terminal (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0005] Also, a system has been disclosed for constructing a real-time traffic map between a vehicle and a cloud for an autonomous vehicle, which uses multiple sensors mounted on multiple vehicles, senses the driving environment around the multiple vehicles, analyzes the state from the driving environment around the vehicle, and determines the real-time traffic situation at a certain point in time.Then, it is determined whether the real-time traffic situation of the driving environment matches at least one predetermined traffic situation, and if it is determined that the real-time traffic situation is unknown, data on the real-time traffic situation is transmitted to a remote server via a network, and an updated map having real-time traffic information is generated in the remote server (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

[0006] Furthermore, a traffic guidance system has been disclosed in which the routes that a vehicle has traveled in the past are collected as a driving history together with the vehicle's status at the time of travel, and when there is an event that will cause an impediment to travel on the road ahead of the vehicle due to information from other vehicles, etc., or when the vehicle enters an event that will cause an impediment to travel on the road, the system identifies the route that the vehicle is predicted to travel in the future based on the driving history that corresponds to the current status of the vehicle from among the collected driving history, and provides traffic information for the identified route (for example, see Patent Document 3). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-27904 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2019-145077 A [Patent Document 3] JP 2019-185232 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] However, the technology described in Patent Document 1 requires processes such as calculation of lane change information, calculation of avoidable driving sections, and estimation of driving rules, which results in a large processing load. Furthermore, the technology described in Patent Document 2 had the problem of a large processing load, since in order to grasp the real-time traffic conditions in the driving environment, it was necessary to carry out processes such as monitoring the vehicle and analyzing the acquired information (e.g., determining reliability), and determining the real-time traffic conditions in the obtained driving environment. Furthermore, the technology described in Patent Document 3 requires processes such as extraction of past driving history, extraction of learning targets, and route identification, and therefore does not provide real-time information and has the problem of a large processing load.

[0009] Therefore, the present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a driving control system that reduces the processing load, determines areas where autonomous driving or driving assistance is possible in real time, notifies occupants of the start or end of autonomous driving mode or driving assistance mode when the vehicle enters or passes through the area where autonomous driving or driving assistance is possible, and controls the switching of the vehicle to autonomous driving mode or driving assistance mode. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] Mode 1: One or more embodiments of the present invention include a position information acquisition unit that acquires position information of a vehicle, an other vehicle information acquisition unit that acquires information including position information of other vehicles and a driving control mode at that time, a storage unit that stores a high-precision map, and a driving locus that the vehicle travels in an autonomous driving mode and a driving locus that the other vehicles travel in an autonomous driving mode are plotted on the high-precision map. Approximated to a rectangleWe propose a driving control system comprising: a drawing processing unit that draws an area; a driving control mode determination unit that determines a driving control mode based on information including information of the area drawn by the drawing processing unit and position information of the vehicle; a notification unit that notifies occupants of the vehicle of the start of automatic driving control when the vehicle enters the area, and notifies occupants of the vehicle of the end of the automatic driving control when the vehicle leaves the area; and a driving control unit that starts automatic driving control when the vehicle enters the area, and ends the automatic driving control when the vehicle leaves the area.

[0012] Form 3: One or more embodiments of the present invention propose a driving control system comprising a database storing information regarding a driving locus traveled by the host vehicle in an autonomous driving mode or a driving assistance mode and a driving locus traveled by the other vehicle in an autonomous driving mode or a driving assistance mode, and a congestion time period information acquisition unit that acquires, based on the database, a driving locus traveled in autonomous driving mode or a driving assistance mode during a congestion time period and a driving locus traveled by the other vehicle in autonomous driving mode or a driving assistance mode, wherein the database stores information including passing time information, road type, and information regarding the start point, end point, and interruption point of autonomous driving in a linked manner, and the drawing processing unit draws areas corresponding to the driving locus traveled in autonomous driving mode or a driving assistance mode during the congestion time period and the driving locus traveled by the other vehicle in autonomous driving mode or a driving assistance mode.

[0013] Form 4: One or more embodiments of the present invention propose a driving control system comprising a route search unit that searches for a route from the current position of the vehicle to a destination based on the high-precision map, and a display unit that displays information including the searched route, wherein the display unit displays an area drawn by the drawing processing unit, superimposed on the route.

[0014] Form 5: One or more embodiments of the present invention propose a driving control system comprising a traffic information acquisition unit that acquires information on road construction sections, locations where traffic accidents are frequent, and sections where congestion is predicted, and the display unit superimposes the information acquired by the traffic information acquisition unit on the route and further displays the information. Effect of the Invention

[0015] According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to reduce processing load, determine areas where autonomous driving is possible in real time, and notify occupants of the start and end of autonomous driving mode or driving assistance mode when the vehicle enters or passes through the area where autonomous driving is possible, as well as control the switching of the vehicle to autonomous driving mode or driving assistance mode. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an operation control system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 2 is a diagram illustrating a schematic diagram of a drawing process of a drawing processing unit in the operation control system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a processing flow of the in-vehicle device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a processing flow of a server according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of an operation control system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] 13 is a diagram showing an area drawn by a drawing processing unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention, together with a route. FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a display mode of a display unit of a driving control system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a display mode of a display unit of a driving control system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0018] <First embodiment> An operation control system 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. FIG.

[0019] <Configuration of Operation Control System 1> As shown in FIG. 1, the driving control system 1 according to this embodiment includes an in-vehicle device 100 and a server 200. In the following description, it is assumed that the in-vehicle device 100 is installed not only in the subject vehicle but also in other vehicles.

[0020] The in-vehicle device 100 acquires the current position information of the vehicle, determines the driving control mode based on information received from a server 200 (described later), and controls notifications and the start and end of driving control in accordance with the drive control mode determination.

[0021] Based on the vehicle position information and driving control mode information obtained from the in-vehicle device 100 and the position information and driving control mode information of other vehicles obtained from a control system or the like, the server 200 plots on a high-precision map the area formed when the driving trajectory traveled is plotted using automatic driving control or driving assistance control, and transmits the latest high-precision map information to the in-vehicle device 100 in real time.

[0022] <Configuration of In-Vehicle Device 100> As shown in FIG. 1, the in-vehicle device 100 includes a position information acquisition unit 110, a driving control mode determination unit 120, an alarm unit 130, a driving control unit 140, a high-precision map storage unit 150, a vehicle-side communication unit 160, and a vehicle-side control unit 170.

[0023] The position information acquisition unit 110 includes, for example, a GPS receiver, a direction sensor, a distance sensor, etc., and detects position information (longitude information, latitude information) of the vehicle at a predetermined timing to acquire the position information of the vehicle. The vehicle's position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit 110 is output to the driving control mode determination unit 120 and the vehicle-side communication unit 160, which will be described later.

[0024] The driving control mode determination unit 120 determines the driving control mode by determining whether or not the vehicle is within an area drawn in a drawing processing unit 220 of the server 200 described later, based on the vehicle's position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit 110 and the map information stored in the high-precision map memory unit 150 described later. Specifically, for example, when the vehicle is within an area drawn by the drawing processing unit 220 of the server 200, the driving control mode determination unit 120 determines that the driving control mode of the vehicle is an automatic driving control mode or a driving assistance control mode, and transmits information to that effect to the notification unit 130 and the driving control unit 140 described later. In addition, even if the vehicle is outside the area drawn by the drawing processing unit 220 of the server 200, if the driving control mode determination unit 120 determines that autonomous driving control or driving assistance control is possible based on sensor information, vehicle surrounding information, etc., the driving control mode determination unit 120 determines that the driving control mode of the vehicle is autonomous driving control mode or driving assistance control mode, and transmits information to that effect to the notification unit 130, driving control unit 140, and vehicle-side communication unit 160 described later.

[0025] The notification unit 130 notifies the occupants of the vehicle that automatic driving control can be started or driving assistance control can be performed when the vehicle enters an area drawn in the drawing processing unit 220 of the server 200 based on the judgment result of the driving control mode judgment unit 120, and notifies the occupants of the vehicle that automatic driving control or driving assistance control can be ended when the vehicle leaves the area. The notification method by the notification unit 130 may be by voice, by display, or by a combination of voice and display. The notification unit 130 may be mounted not only on the in-vehicle device 100 but also on a mobile terminal such as a smartphone, a portable car navigation device, or the like.

[0026] The driving control unit 140 executes driving control based on the determination result input from the driving control mode determination unit 120. Specifically, the driving control unit 140 automatically executes driving control such as steering operation control, speed control, and brake control based on high-precision map information, sensor information, vehicle surrounding information, and the like. It is preferable that the driving assistance control mode is started not automatically, but by a driver's operation such as a switch input or voice input.

[0027] The high-precision map storage unit 150 stores a high-precision map used for automatic driving control. The map information stored in the high-precision map storage unit 150 is successively overwritten with the latest map information received from the server-side communication unit 240 of the server 200 via the vehicle-side communication unit 160 described later.

[0028] The vehicle-side communication unit 160 transmits and receives information to and from a server-side communication unit 240 of the server 200, which will be described later. Specifically, the vehicle-side communication unit 160 transmits information such as the position information of the vehicle and the driving control mode of the vehicle to the server-side communication unit 240, and receives high-precision map information and the like from the server-side communication unit 240. Then, the map information stored in the high-precision map storage unit 150 in the vehicle-mounted device 100 is updated with the high-precision map information received from the server-side communication unit 240.

[0029] The vehicle-side control unit 170 controls the entire in-vehicle device 100 based on a control program stored in a read only memory (ROM) (not shown) or the like. In this embodiment, the vehicle-side control unit 170 controls the operations and processing of the position information acquisition unit 110, the driving control mode determination unit 120, the notification unit 130, the driving control unit 140, the vehicle-side communication unit 160, and the like.

[0030] <Server 200 Configuration> As shown in FIG. 1, the server 200 includes a high-precision map storage unit 210, a drawing processing unit 220, an other vehicle information acquisition unit 230, a server-side communication unit 240, and a server-side control unit 250.

[0031] The high-precision map storage unit 210 stores a high-precision map to which drawing information has been added in a drawing processing unit 220, which will be described later. The high-precision map information stored in the high-precision map storage unit 210 is transmitted to the vehicle-side communication unit 160 via the server-side communication unit 240, which will be described later.

[0032] The drawing processing unit 220 draws the area formed when the driving trajectory of the vehicle itself traveled in autonomous driving mode or driving assistance mode and the driving trajectory of the other vehicle traveled in autonomous driving mode or driving assistance mode are plotted on a high-precision map based on information received from the vehicle-side communication unit 160 and information input from the other vehicle information acquisition unit 230 described later. As for the drawing method of the drawing processing unit 220, as shown in FIG. 2, for example, when the target road is a one-way road with two-way traffic, first, the driving trajectory of vehicle A as the own vehicle traveling in autonomous driving mode or driving assistance mode is plotted at a predetermined time interval (FIG. 2(A)), then the driving trajectory of vehicle B traveling in the oncoming lane in autonomous driving mode or driving assistance mode is plotted at a predetermined time interval (FIG. 2(B)), and a rectangular area is drawn by connecting the plotted points (FIG. 2(C)) with a line (FIG. 2(D)), and the rectangular area of ​​FIG. 2(D) is deformed to match the road shape, and the region is drawn. In addition, when there are multiple vehicle travel trajectories, the rectangle may not be neat. In that case, the area formed by connecting the outermost points may be approximated to a rectangle, and the area may be drawn by deforming it to match the road shape.

[0033] The other vehicle information acquisition unit 230 executes communication that connects the vehicle with everything, and acquires information including the position information of the other vehicle and the driving control mode at that time. Specifically, the other vehicle information is input from the control system 300, for example, via the server side communication unit 240 described later, and acquires position information at which the other vehicle started driving in the automatic driving mode or the driving assistance mode, position information at which the other vehicle ended driving, and the like, and outputs the information to the drawing processing unit 220. Here, "communications that connect vehicles with everything" refers to, for example, cellular V2X communication, or a form of communication that integrates 4G or 5G network access technology with short-range communication (DSRC) technology, and even cellular V2X (C-V2X) communication technology.

[0034] The server-side communication unit 240 receives information such as the vehicle's own vehicle's position information and driving control mode from the vehicle-side communication unit 160, and also receives other vehicle information from the control system 300, and transmits updated high-precision map information, etc. to the server-side communication unit 240.

[0035] The server-side control unit 250 controls the entire server 200 based on a control program stored in a ROM or the like (not shown). In this embodiment, the server-side control unit 250 controls the operations and processing of the drawing processing unit 220, the other vehicle information acquisition unit 230, the server-side communication unit 240, and the like.

[0036] <Processing of Operation Control System 1> The processing of the driving control system 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 3 to FIG.

[0037] As shown in FIG. 3, first, the drawing processing unit 220 of the server 200 acquires vehicle information, such as location information at which the vehicle started traveling in the autonomous driving mode or the driving assistance mode, and location information at which the vehicle ended traveling, via the vehicle side communication unit 160 and the server side communication unit 240 of the in-vehicle device 100 (step S110).

[0038] Next, the drawing processing unit 220 of the server 200 acquires other vehicle information, such as location information at which the other vehicle started driving in autonomous driving mode or driving assistance mode, and location information at which it ended driving, via the server side communication unit 240 and the other vehicle information acquisition unit 230 (step S120).

[0039] The drawing processing unit 220 of the server 200 judges whether or not a predetermined number of vehicles or more have passed through the area (step S130). Here, "a predetermined number of vehicles or more have passed through the area" can be exemplified by, for example, in the case of a one-way road with two-way traffic, that about 10 vehicles have passed through each lane in automatic driving control mode or driving assistance control mode.

[0040] Then, when the rendering processing unit 220 of the server 200 determines that a predetermined number of vehicles or more have not passed through the area ("NO" in step S130), the processing returns to the original state and the server 200 waits.

[0041] On the other hand, if the drawing processing unit 220 of the server 200 determines that a predetermined number of vehicles or more have passed through the area ("YES" in step S130), the drawing processing unit 220 of the server 200 executes drawing processing (step S140) (step S130).

[0042] The driving control mode determination unit 120 of the in-vehicle device 100 determines whether or not the vehicle has entered the area drawn by the drawing processing unit 220 of the server 200, based on the vehicle's position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit 110 and the map information stored in the high-precision map memory unit 150 (step S150). Then, if the driving control mode determination unit 120 determines that the vehicle is not within the area drawn by the drawing processing unit 220 of the server 200 ("NO" in step S150), the process returns to the original state and the process waits.

[0043] On the other hand, if the driving control mode determination unit 120 determines that the vehicle has entered the area drawn by the drawing processing unit 220 of the server 200 ("YES" in step S150), the driving control mode determination unit 120 outputs information to that effect to the notification unit 130 and the driving control unit 140, the notification unit 130 notifies the occupants of the vehicle that automatic driving control can be started or driving assistance control can be performed (step S160), and the driving control unit 140 switches the driving control mode to the automatic driving control mode or the driving assistance control mode (step S170).

[0044] Next, the driving control mode determination unit 120 determines whether or not the vehicle has left the area drawn by the drawing processing unit 220 of the server 200 based on the vehicle's position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit 110 and the map information stored in the high-precision map memory unit 150 (step S180). If the driving control mode determination unit 120 determines that the vehicle has not left the area drawn by the drawing processing unit 220 of the server 200 ("NO" in step S180), the process returns to the original state and the process goes into standby.

[0045] On the other hand, if the driving control mode determination unit 120 determines that the vehicle has left the area drawn by the drawing processing unit 220 of the server 200 ("YES" in step S180), the driving control mode determination unit 120 outputs information to that effect to the notification unit 130 and the driving control unit 140, the notification unit 130 notifies the occupants of the vehicle of the end of autonomous driving control or driving assistance control (step S190), and the driving control unit 140 switches the driving control mode to a non-autonomous driving control mode or a non-driving assistance control mode (step S200).

[0046] <Processing of the drawing processing unit 220> The drawing processing unit 220 plots the driving trajectory of the host vehicle in autonomous driving mode or driving assistance mode at predetermined time intervals based on the position information of the host vehicle received from the in-vehicle device 100 and the map information stored in the high-precision map memory unit 210 (step S141), and then plots the driving trajectory of the other vehicle in autonomous driving mode or driving assistance mode at predetermined time intervals based on the position information of the other vehicle received from the other vehicle information acquisition unit 230, etc., and the map information stored in the high-precision map memory unit 210 (step S142).

[0047] Next, the drawing processing unit 220 draws a rectangular area by connecting the plotted points with a line (step S143), and deforms the rectangular area drawn in step S143 to match the road shape, thereby drawing the area (step S144).

[0048] <Actions and Effects> As described above, the driving control system 1 of this embodiment includes a drawing processing unit 220 that draws an area formed when the driving trajectory of the host vehicle in autonomous driving mode or driving assistance mode and the driving trajectory of another vehicle in autonomous driving mode or driving assistance mode are plotted on a high-precision map, a driving control mode determination unit 120 that determines the driving control mode based on information including information on the area drawn by the drawing processing unit 220 and the position information of the host vehicle, a notification unit 130 that notifies the occupants of the host vehicle that autonomous driving control or driving assistance control is possible when the host vehicle enters the drawing area, and notifies the occupants of the host vehicle of the end of autonomous driving control or driving assistance control when the host vehicle leaves the drawing area, and a driving control unit 140 that starts autonomous driving control or driving assistance control when the host vehicle enters the drawing area, and ends autonomous driving control or driving assistance control when the host vehicle leaves the drawing area. In other words, the drawing processing unit 220 draws the area formed when the driving trajectory of the vehicle traveled in autonomous driving mode or driving assistance mode and the driving trajectory of another vehicle traveled in autonomous driving mode or driving assistance mode are plotted on a high-precision map. This makes it possible to clarify the area in which automatic driving control or driving assistance control of the vehicle is possible. In addition, the drawing processing unit 220 draws the area formed when the driving trajectory of the vehicle itself in autonomous driving mode or driving assistance mode and the driving trajectory of another vehicle in autonomous driving mode or driving assistance mode are plotted on a high-precision map, thereby making it possible to clarify the area in which autonomous driving control or driving assistance control of the vehicle is possible without performing high-load data processing. In addition, when the host vehicle enters or passes through an area formed when the driving trajectory of the host vehicle in autonomous driving mode or driving assistance mode drawn by the drawing processing unit 220 and the driving trajectory of another vehicle in autonomous driving mode or driving assistance mode are plotted on a high-precision map, the notification unit 130 notifies the occupant that autonomous driving control can be started or driving assistance control can be started, notifies the occupant of the end of autonomous driving control or driving assistance control, and provides the driving control unit 140 with information on the start or end of autonomous driving control. Therefore, when the vehicle enters or passes through an area where autonomous driving is possible or an area where driving assistance control is possible, the occupants can be accurately notified of the start and end of autonomous driving mode or driving assistance mode, and the switching of the vehicle to autonomous driving mode or driving assistance mode can be appropriately controlled. Therefore, the processing load can be reduced, areas where autonomous driving is possible can be determined in real time, and when the vehicle enters or passes through an area where autonomous driving or driving assistance is possible, the occupants can be notified of the start and end of autonomous driving mode or driving assistance mode, and the switching of the vehicle to autonomous driving mode or driving assistance mode can be controlled.

[0049] Furthermore, in the driving control system 1 according to this embodiment, the drawing processing unit 220 draws, on the high-precision map, an area that is a rectangular approximation of an area that is formed when plotted on the high-precision map. Therefore, it is possible to easily and accurately recognize the timing when the vehicle enters or passes through an area where autonomous driving control is possible or an area where driving assistance control is possible, which is a rectangular area.

[0050] <Second embodiment> The operation control system 1A according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0051] <Configuration of In-Vehicle Device 100A> As shown in FIG. 5, the in-vehicle device 100A includes a position information acquisition unit 110, a driving control mode determination unit 120, an alarm unit 130, a driving control unit 140, a high-precision map storage unit 150, a vehicle-side communication unit 160, a route search unit 171, a display unit 180, a traffic information acquisition unit 190, and a vehicle-side control unit 170A. In addition, since the components having the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment have the same functions, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0052] The route search unit 171 searches for a route from the current position of the vehicle to the destination based on a high-precision map. Specifically, the route search unit 171 searches for a route from the current position of the vehicle to the destination based on the current vehicle position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit 110, the destination position information input by the occupant, and the high-precision map.

[0053] The display unit 180 is configured, for example, with a liquid crystal panel or the like, and displays information including the route searched for by the route search unit 171 in a manner that is visible to the occupant. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6, the display unit 180 displays the area rendered by the rendering processing unit 220, superimposed on the route. Furthermore, the display unit 180 displays, superimposed on the route, an area drawn by the drawing processing unit 220 based on information acquired by a congestion time period information acquisition unit 260 (described later), as shown in FIG. 7(B). As shown in FIG. 8, the display unit 180 also displays the area drawn by the drawing processing unit 220 and traffic information acquired by a traffic information acquisition unit 190 (described later) superimposed on the route. For information on predicted or real-time congestion on commuter traffic in the morning and evening on weekdays, information on predicted or real-time congestion on expressways during the day on weekends and holidays, real-time information on traffic congestion due to weather or disasters, and information on planned or unexpected road construction, high-precision maps with such information added from map vendors can be obtained, and for information on locations where traffic accidents frequently occur, high-precision maps with such information added created by the police or local government in charge of each road can be obtained, and the area drawn by the drawing processing unit 220A described later can be superimposed on the obtained map.

[0054] The traffic information acquisition unit 190 acquires, for example, information on road construction sections, locations where traffic accidents frequently occur, and sections where congestion is predicted from the external device 400.

[0055] The vehicle-side control unit 170A controls the entire in-vehicle device 100A in accordance with a control program stored in a ROM or the like (not shown). In this embodiment, the vehicle-side control unit 170A controls the operation and processing of the position information acquisition unit 110, the driving control mode determination unit 120, the notification unit 130, the driving control unit 140, the vehicle-side communication unit 160, the route search unit 171, the display unit 180, the traffic information acquisition unit 190, etc.

[0056] <Configuration of Server 200A> As shown in FIG. 5, the server 200 is configured to include a high-precision map memory unit 210, a drawing processing unit 220A, an other vehicle information acquisition unit 230, a server-side communication unit 240, a database 251, a traffic congestion time zone information acquisition unit 260, and a server-side control unit 250A. In addition, since the components having the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment have the same functions, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0057] The database 251 stores, in a database format, information on the travel path of the host vehicle traveled in the automatic driving mode or the driving assistance mode, and the travel path of the other vehicles traveled in the automatic driving mode or the driving assistance mode. The database 251 stores information including information on the time of passing through the area drawn by the drawing processing unit 220, the road type, and the start point, end point, and interruption point of the autonomous driving, in a linked manner.

[0058] Based on database 251, traffic jam time period information acquisition unit 260 acquires the driving trajectory of the vehicle traveling in autonomous driving mode or driving assistance mode and the driving trajectory of other vehicles traveling in autonomous driving mode or driving assistance mode during traffic jam times. Specifically, for example, by using the passing time information in database 251 as a key, the driving trajectory of the vehicle traveling in autonomous driving mode or driving assistance mode in an area where congestion is predicted on weekdays or holidays, and the driving trajectory of other vehicles traveling in autonomous driving mode or driving assistance mode are obtained.

[0059] The drawing processing unit 220A draws an area corresponding to the driving trajectory of the vehicle traveling in autonomous driving mode or driving assistance mode and the driving trajectory of another vehicle traveling in autonomous driving mode or driving assistance mode during a traffic jam period.

[0060] The server-side control unit 250A controls the entire in-vehicle device 100A in accordance with a control program stored in a ROM or the like (not shown). In this embodiment, the server-side control unit 250A controls the operations and processing of the drawing processing unit 220A, the other vehicle information acquisition unit 230, the server-side communication unit 240, the traffic jam time zone information acquisition unit 260, and the like.

[0061] <Actions and Effects> As described above, the driving control system 1A of this embodiment is equipped with a congestion time period information acquisition unit 260 that acquires the driving trajectory traveled by the host vehicle in autonomous driving mode or driving assistance mode and the driving trajectory traveled by other vehicles in autonomous driving mode or driving assistance mode during a congestion time period, based on a database 251 that stores information regarding the driving trajectory traveled by the host vehicle in autonomous driving mode or driving assistance mode and the driving trajectory traveled by other vehicles in autonomous driving mode or driving assistance mode. The database 251 stores information including passing time information, road type, and information regarding the start point, end point, and interruption point of autonomous driving in a linked manner, and the drawing processing unit 220A draws areas corresponding to the driving trajectory traveled by the host vehicle in autonomous driving mode or driving assistance mode and the driving trajectory traveled by other vehicles in autonomous driving mode or driving assistance mode during a congestion time period. In other words, since the drawing processing unit 220A draws areas in real time, as shown in FIG. 7, it draws areas corresponding to multiple time periods (morning and evening commuting times, bad weather, weekends, holidays, etc.) for the same area during normal times or during traffic jam times. Therefore, even in situations that differ from normal conditions, the processing load can be reduced and areas where autonomous driving or driving assistance is possible can be determined in real time, and when the vehicle enters or passes through an area where autonomous driving or driving assistance is possible, the occupants can be notified of the start or end of autonomous driving mode or driving assistance mode, and the switching of the vehicle to autonomous driving mode or driving assistance mode can be controlled.

[0062] In addition, in the driving control system 1A according to this embodiment, the display unit 180, which displays information including the searched route, displays the area drawn by the drawing processing unit 220A, superimposed on the route searched by the route search unit 171, which searches for a route from the current position of the vehicle to the destination based on a high-precision map. That is, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, the display unit 180 displays the area drawn by the drawing processing unit 220A, superimposed on the route searched by the route search unit 171. Therefore, by visually checking the drawing area together with the vehicle position displayed on the display unit 180, the occupant can easily predict at what timing the vehicle's control mode will switch to the autonomous driving mode or the driving assistance mode, or at what timing the autonomous driving control mode or the driving assistance control mode will be released.

[0063] In addition, in the driving control system 1A according to this embodiment, the display unit 180 further displays information on road construction sections, locations where traffic accidents frequently occur, and sections where congestion is predicted, which are acquired by the traffic information acquisition unit 190, superimposed on the route. That is, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, the display unit 180 further displays information on road construction sections, locations where traffic accidents frequently occur, and sections where congestion is predicted, superimposed on the route. Therefore, the occupant can easily predict, from the information displayed on the display unit 180, for example, the possibility that the area where automatic driving is possible or the area where driving assistance control is possible will become narrower or wider in the future.

[0064] <Variation 1> In the first embodiment, it was explained that when the host vehicle enters or passes through an area formed when the driving trajectory of the host vehicle in autonomous driving mode or driving assistance mode drawn by the drawing processing unit 220 and the driving trajectory of another vehicle in autonomous driving mode or driving assistance mode are plotted on a high-precision map, the notification unit 130 notifies the occupant that autonomous driving control can be started or driving assistance control can be started, and notifies the occupant of the end of autonomous driving control or driving assistance control, thereby controlling the start of autonomous driving control or driving assistance control or the end of autonomous driving or driving assistance. However, since the above-mentioned area is rectangular, and the timing of the vehicle's entry into or passage through the rectangular area where automatic driving control or driving assistance control is possible can be easily and accurately recognized, the notification unit 130 may be configured to notify the occupants in advance before the vehicle enters or passes through that automatic driving control will be performed or driving assistance control will be possible, or that automatic driving control or driving assistance control will soon end.

[0065] <Variation 2> In the second embodiment, it has been described that the display unit 180 displays the area rendered by the rendering processing unit 220, superimposed on the route. However, when the display unit 180 displays the area drawn by the drawing processing unit 220 superimposed on the route, it may also enlarge and display a rectangular area as the area where automatic driving is possible or the area where driving assistance control is possible, as shown in Fig. 6 etc. In this way, by displaying the area drawn by the drawing processing unit 220 superimposed on the route and enlarging and displaying the rectangular area as the area where automatic driving is possible or the area where driving assistance control is possible, it is possible to make the occupant intuitively recognize that the host vehicle will soon enter the area where automatic driving is possible or the area where driving assistance control is possible, or that the host vehicle will soon leave the area where automatic driving is possible or the area where driving assistance control is possible.

[0066] <Variation 3> In the second embodiment, it has been explained that the display unit 180 displays information acquired by the traffic information acquisition unit 190 described later together with the area drawn by the drawing processing unit 220, superimposed on the route, as shown in FIG. 7(B). However, the display unit 180 may superimpose on the route and display the congestion area information acquired by the traffic information acquisition unit 190 described below together with the area drawn by the drawing processing unit 220, as shown in Fig. 7(B). By displaying in this manner, the occupant can intuitively recognize that the automatic driving possible area or the driving assistance controllable area is narrower during congestion than under normal circumstances, and that the reason why the automatic driving possible area or the driving assistance controllable area is narrower during congestion is due to the influence of congestion, etc.

[0067] <Modification 4> In the first embodiment, the drawing processing unit 220 draws an area formed when the driving trajectory of the vehicle itself in autonomous driving mode or driving assistance mode and the driving trajectory of the other vehicle in autonomous driving mode or driving assistance mode are plotted on a high-precision map based on information received from the vehicle-side communication unit 160 and information input from the other vehicle information acquisition unit 230 described later, and the driving control mode determination unit 120, the notification unit 130, and the driving control unit 140 perform determination processing, notification processing, and driving control processing using the area drawn by the drawing processing unit 220. However, the driving control mode determination unit 120, the notification unit 130, and the driving control unit 140 may perform the determination process, notification process, and driving control process using an area created in another vehicle or an area created by another person. In other words, by using communication that connects the vehicle to everything, it is possible to obtain areas created by other vehicles or other people, and by acquiring various area information, the vehicle can quickly execute control even for areas that have not been created or areas in the process of being created.

[0068] The driving control system 1, 1A of the present invention can be realized by recording the processing of the vehicle-side control units 170, 170A and the server-side control units 250, 250A in a recording medium readable by a computer system, and having the vehicle-side control units 170, 170A and the server-side control units 250, 250A read and execute the programs recorded in the recording medium. The computer system here includes hardware such as an OS and peripheral devices.

[0069] Furthermore, "computer system" also includes the homepage providing environment (or display environment) if a WWW (World Wide Web) system is used. The above program may be transmitted from a computer system in which the program is stored in a storage device or the like to another computer system via a transmission medium, or by transmission waves in the transmission medium. Here, the "transmission medium" that transmits the program refers to a medium that has the function of transmitting information, such as a network (communication network) such as the Internet or a communication line (communication line) such as a telephone line.

[0070] The program may be for implementing some of the functions described above, or may be a so-called differential file (differential program) that can implement the functions described above in combination with a program already recorded in the computer system.

[0071] Although an embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and designs that do not deviate from the gist of the present invention are also included. [Explanation of symbols]

[0072] 1. Driving control system 1A: Operation control system 100;In-vehicle equipment 100A; Vehicle equipment 110; Location information acquisition unit 120: Operation control mode determination unit 130; Information Department 140: Operation control unit 150: High-precision map memory section 160: Vehicle communication unit 170: Vehicle side control unit 170A: Vehicle side control unit 171; Route search section 180;Display section 190; Traffic information acquisition department 200;Server 200A; Server 210: High-precision map memory section 220: Drawing processing unit 220A: Drawing processing unit 230: Other vehicle information acquisition unit 240; Server side communication section 251;Database 260: Traffic jam time information acquisition unit 250: Server side control unit 250A: Server side control unit

Claims

1. A position information acquisition unit that acquires position information of the vehicle itself; an other vehicle information acquisition unit that acquires information including position information of the other vehicle and a driving control mode at that time from the other vehicle via wireless communication; A storage unit that stores a high-precision map; a drawing processing unit that draws an area that is approximate to a rectangle that is formed when a driving path of the host vehicle traveling in an autonomous driving mode and a driving path of the other vehicle traveling in an autonomous driving mode are plotted on the high-precision map; a driving control mode determination unit that determines a driving control mode based on information including information of the area drawn by the drawing processing unit and position information of the host vehicle; a notification unit that notifies an occupant of the host vehicle that an automatic driving control or a driving assistance control can be started when the host vehicle enters the area, and that notifies an occupant of the host vehicle of an end of the automatic driving control or the driving assistance control when the host vehicle leaves the area; A driving control unit that starts an automatic driving control or a driving assistance control when the host vehicle enters the area, and ends the automatic driving control or the driving assistance control when the host vehicle leaves the area; An operation control system comprising:

2. A database that stores information regarding a travel path of the host vehicle traveled in an autonomous driving mode and a travel path of the other vehicle traveled in an autonomous driving mode; a traffic jam time zone information acquisition unit that acquires a travel path in which the vehicle travels in the autonomous driving mode during a traffic jam time zone and a travel path in which the other vehicle travels in the autonomous driving mode based on the database; Equipped with The driving control system according to claim 1, characterized in that the database stores information linked to each other, including passing time information, road type, and information regarding the start point, end point, and interruption point of autonomous driving, and the drawing processing unit draws an area corresponding to the driving trajectory traveled in autonomous driving mode during the congestion period and the driving trajectory traveled by the other vehicle in autonomous driving mode.

3. a route search unit that searches for a route from a current position of the vehicle to a destination based on the high-precision map; a display unit that displays information including the searched route; Equipped with The driving control system according to claim 2 , wherein the display unit displays the area drawn by the drawing processing unit so as to be superimposed on the route.

4. A traffic information acquisition unit that acquires information on road construction sections, locations where traffic accidents frequently occur, and sections where congestion is predicted; Equipped with The driving control system according to claim 3 , wherein the display unit further displays information acquired by a traffic information acquisition unit, superimposed on the route.

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