Vehicle control system

Abstract

To notify an occupant of information concerning safety in movement in a vehicle in advance before the movement, in order to enable the occupant to safely move in the vehicle during travelling by automatic operation.SOLUTION: A vehicle control system comprises an automatic operation control part that executes automatic operation, and an input part to which an instruction by an occupant in a vehicle is inputted. The automatic operation control part executes a process including steps of: detecting an intention to move of an occupant in the vehicle, on the basis of input of an instruction by the occupant to the input part; calculating a safety vehicle speed at which the vehicle can be stopped in a range of deceleration at which the occupant can safely move in the vehicle, on the basis of a current vehicle speed of the vehicle and peripheral environment information concerning a peripheral environment of the vehicle, when the intention to move of the occupant is detected; calculating a safe travelling time which is a time at which the vehicle can travel while keeping the safety vehicle speed, on the basis of the safety vehicle speed and the peripheral environment information; and outputting first announcement by which the occupant is notified of the safety travelling time.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle control system.

Background Art

[0002] In autonomous vehicles, in order to enhance the safety of passengers during vehicle travel, technologies are known that detect the state of passengers, such as whether a seat belt is worn or the posture of the passenger, such as standing or sitting, and control the vehicle according to the state of the passenger. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle control system that calculates the degree of instability of a passenger based on fixed attribute information such as the age and gender of the passenger and variable attribute information such as the posture of the passenger, and determines the acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] By the way, there are cases where a passenger not involved in the driving operation wants to move inside the vehicle during autonomous driving of the vehicle. For example, when a mother wants to change a baby's diaper inside the vehicle, it is conceivable that she wants to remove the seat belt and move inside the vehicle. In such cases, if the vehicle suddenly decelerates while the passenger is moving inside the vehicle, there is a risk that the passenger may fall, etc., and the safety of the passenger may decrease. Therefore, measures to improve the safety of passengers moving inside the vehicle are desired.

[0005] However, in the prior art described in Patent Document 1 and the like, after the occupant actually moves inside the vehicle during autonomous driving, the vehicle can be controlled retrospectively according to the posture of the occupant after the movement. However, it is impossible to predict the safety of the movement inside the vehicle in advance and announce it to the occupant before the occupant moves. Therefore, even when the occupant wants to move inside the vehicle, the occupant cannot recognize the safety during the movement in advance before starting the movement, and there is a possibility that the occupant may hesitate to move inside the vehicle.

[0006] Therefore, in view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to enable the occupant to be notified in advance of information regarding the safety of movement inside the vehicle before the movement, so that the occupant can move safely inside the vehicle during traveling by autonomous driving.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, a vehicle control system according to an embodiment of the present invention is a vehicle control system that controls the autonomous driving of a vehicle, including an autonomous driving control unit that executes autonomous driving for automatically controlling at least one of acceleration / deceleration or steering of the vehicle, and an input unit to which an instruction from an occupant of the vehicle is input, and is provided with the autonomous driving control unit having a processor and a memory connected to the processor, the processor detects the intention of the occupant to move inside the vehicle based on the input of the occupant to the input unit, when the intention of the occupant to move is detected, calculates a safe vehicle speed at which the vehicle can stop within a range of deceleration at which the occupant can move safely inside the vehicle based on the current vehicle speed of the vehicle and surrounding environment information regarding the surrounding environment of the vehicle, calculates a safe driving time, which is the time during which the vehicle can travel while maintaining the safe vehicle speed, based on the safe vehicle speed and the surrounding environment information, outputs a first announcement for notifying the occupant of the safe driving time, and executes a process including this.

Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, in order to enable a passenger to safely move inside the vehicle during driving by automatic driving, information regarding the safety of moving inside the vehicle can be notified to the passenger in advance before the movement.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Specific dimensions, materials, numerical values, etc. shown in such embodiments are merely examples for facilitating the understanding of the invention, and do not limit the present invention unless otherwise specified. In the present specification and drawings, elements having substantially the same function and configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals to omit redundant description, and elements not directly related to the present invention are not shown.

[0011] [1. Overall Configuration of Vehicle and Vehicle Control System] First, with reference to FIG. 1, the overall configuration of a vehicle 1 equipped with a vehicle control system 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0012] Note that the vehicle 1 according to the present embodiment described below is an example of a vehicle equipped with the vehicle control system of the present invention, but the vehicle equipped with the vehicle control system of the present invention is not limited to the example of the vehicle 1 according to the following present embodiment.

[0013] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the schematic configuration of a vehicle 1 equipped with a vehicle control system 10 according to the present embodiment. The vehicle 1 is an automobile having an automatic driving function. The vehicle 1 can automatically move to the destination even if the occupant does not drive the vehicle 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 1 includes a vehicle control system 10, an engine 20, a brake 30, a steering device 40, and a seat belt 50.

[0014] The vehicle control system 10 controls the automatic driving of the vehicle 1. The vehicle control system 10 includes an automatic driving control unit 100, an external camera 112, a millimeter-wave radar 114, a GPS (Global Positioning System) sensor 122, a vehicle speed sensor 124, an in-vehicle camera 132, an in-vehicle sensor 134, a driving control unit 140, a car navigation device 150, an audio output device 160, an input button 170, a wireless communication device 180, and a mobile terminal 190.

[0015] The engine 20 is, for example, an internal combustion engine that generates power using fuel such as gasoline. The crankshaft, which is the output shaft of the engine 20, is connected to the power transmission system, and the power output from the engine 20 is transmitted to the wheels via the power transmission system. The brake 30 applies a braking force to the wheels using hydraulic pressure. The total braking force applied to the wheels by the brake 30 becomes the braking force applied to the vehicle 1. The steering device 40 receives an input of a steering operation and changes the direction of the wheels based on the input of the steering operation. The steering device 40 has, for example, a steering wheel and a steering mechanism. The steering mechanism changes the direction of the wheels according to the rotation of the steering wheel, for example.

[0016] The seat belt 50 restrains the body of the occupant sitting on the seat to the seat. As shown in FIG. 3, the seat belt 50 has a buckle 52, a seat belt switch 54, a tongue 56, a strap 58, and a buckle locking device (not shown). The buckle 52 is a fixture for attaching the tongue 56 and is installed beside the seat. The buckle 52 has an insertion hole 52a for inserting the tongue 56 and fixes the tongue 56 inserted into the insertion hole 52a. The tongue 56 is detachably attached to the buckle 52. The seat belt switch 54 is provided on the upper surface side of the buckle 52. The occupant can remove the tongue 56 attached to the buckle 52 by pressing the seat belt switch 54. The strap 58 is provided around the seat and is composed of an expandable and contractible belt. The strap 58 is inserted through the tongue 56. By attaching the tongue 56 to the buckle 52, the occupant is restrained to the seat by the strap 58.

[0017] The buckle lock device is composed of a known lock mechanism or the like and is installed inside the buckle 52. The buckle lock device locks or unlocks the tongue 56 attached to the buckle 52. The buckle lock device is communicably connected to the automatic driving control unit 100. The buckle lock device locks or unlocks the tongue 56 attached to the buckle 52 according to an instruction transmitted from the automatic driving control unit 100. For example, during automatic driving, even if the occupant presses the seat belt switch 54, the buckle lock device locks the tongue 56 attached to the buckle 52 so that the seat belt 50 cannot be removed.

[0018] The automatic driving control unit 100 executes an automatic driving that automatically controls at least one of acceleration / deceleration or steering of the vehicle 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic driving control unit 100 includes a processor 102 and a memory 104 connected to the processor 102.

[0019] The processor 102 is an arithmetic processing device mounted on a computer. The processor 102 is composed of, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), but may be composed of other microprocessors. Also, the processor 102 may be composed of one or a plurality of processors. The processor 102 executes various processes in the automatic driving control unit 100 by executing a program stored in the memory 104 or other storage media.

[0020] The program is a computer program including instructions to be executed by a computer. Note that the program may be provided to the automatic driving control unit 100, for example, by distribution through a communication network from an external device. Also, the program may be provided to the automatic driving control unit 100 via a non-transitory computer readable medium readable by a computer. By installing the program in the automatic driving control unit 100, the automatic driving control unit 100 can realize various functions defined by the program.

[0021] The memory 104 is a storage medium for storing programs and various other data. The memory 104 has, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory) and a ROM (Read Only Memory). The ROM is a non-volatile memory that stores programs used by the processor 102 and data for operating the programs. The RAM is a volatile memory that temporarily stores data such as variables, arithmetic parameters, and arithmetic results used in the processing executed by the processor 102. The program stored in the ROM is read out to the RAM and executed by a processor 102 such as a CPU.

[0022] The external camera 112 captures an image of the surrounding environment outside the vehicle 1 (hereinafter referred to as an "external image") and transmits the data of the captured external image to the automatic driving control unit 100. The external camera 112 captures the surrounding environment in at least one direction or a plurality of directions among the front, rear, left, or right directions of the vehicle 1. Note that the external camera 112 may be shared with a camera used in, for example, a drive recorder, a driving support system, etc., or may be a dedicated camera for the vehicle control system 10 according to the present embodiment. Also, the external camera 112 may capture either a moving image or a still image, but it is preferable that the external camera 112 can capture a moving image. The data of the external image captured by the external camera 112 is transmitted to the automatic driving control unit 100 and stored in a storage medium as necessary.

[0023] The millimeter-wave radar 114 detects information about objects existing around the vehicle 1. The information about the object may include, for example, information such as the presence or absence of the object and the distance to the object. Further, the millimeter-wave radar 114 may detect information about the preceding vehicle such as the relative speed between the vehicle 1 and the preceding vehicle. The information detected by the millimeter-wave radar 114 is transmitted to the automatic driving control unit 100 and stored in a storage medium as necessary.

[0024] The GPS sensor 122 receives signals from GPS satellites and detects the current position of the vehicle 1. The information on the current position of the vehicle 1 detected by the GPS sensor 122 is transmitted to the automatic driving control unit 100 and stored in a storage medium as necessary. The information on the current position includes, for example, latitude and longitude information.

[0025] The vehicle speed sensor 124 detects the traveling speed of the vehicle 1 (hereinafter referred to as "vehicle speed") and transmits the detected vehicle speed to the automatic driving control unit 100.

[0026] The in-vehicle camera 132 and the in-vehicle sensor 134 are an example of a detection unit that detects the state of the occupant. The state of the occupant is a state related to the posture, movement, and safety of the occupant inside the vehicle 1 (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "inside the vehicle"). The posture of the occupant may include, for example, a standing position, a sitting position, a lying position, an unstable posture that may fall due to sudden deceleration, a safe posture holding on to a handrail, etc., but is not limited to such examples. Further, the state of the occupant may include the presence or absence of the occupant's wearing of the seat belt 50, whether the occupant is moving inside the vehicle, and the posture of the moving occupant.

[0027] The in-vehicle camera 132 captures an image inside the vehicle 1 (hereinafter referred to as "in-vehicle image") and transmits the captured in-vehicle image to the automatic driving control unit 100. The in-vehicle image is preferably, for example, an image inside the passenger compartment of the vehicle 1 and includes an image of the occupant inside the passenger compartment. The data of the in-vehicle image captured by the in-vehicle camera 132 is transmitted to the automatic driving control unit 100 and stored in a storage medium as necessary.

[0028] The in-vehicle sensor 134 is installed inside the vehicle and detects information regarding the state of the occupant. The in-vehicle sensor 134 is, for example, a seating sensor that detects that the occupant is seated on the seat, a seat belt wearing sensor that detects whether the occupant is wearing the seat belt 50, a handrail sensor that detects whether the occupant is holding the handrail, and the like.

[0029] The driving control unit 140 controls the driving of the vehicle 1. The driving control unit 140 includes an engine ECU 142, a brake ECU 144, and a steering ECU 146. The engine ECU 142 is communicably connected to the engine 20 and controls the operation of the engine 20. The brake ECU 144 is communicably connected to the brake 30 and controls the operation of the brake 30. The steering ECU 146 is communicably connected to the steering device 40 and controls the operation of the steering device 40.

[0030] The car navigation device 150 has a storage device that stores map information. The car navigation device 150 acquires various information regarding the driving of the vehicle 1, such as traffic information, road information, and driving routes. The car navigation device 150 guides the driving route of the vehicle 1 based on the map information and various information regarding the driving of the vehicle 1. Further, the car navigation device 150 includes, for example, a display, a touch panel, and a microphone. The car navigation device 150 displays an output to the occupant on the display and receives an input of an instruction by the occupant via the touch panel or the microphone.

[0031] The voice output device 160 outputs voice inside the vehicle. The voice output device 160 is, for example, a speaker or the like. The voice output device 160 is communicably connected to the automatic driving control unit 100 and outputs an announcement voice or the like to the occupant based on the voice output information generated by the automatic driving control unit 100.

[0032] The input button 170 is an example of an input unit to which instructions by the occupant of the vehicle 1 are input. A specific instruction representing a specific intention is input to the input button 170 by the occupant of the vehicle 1. For example, when the occupant wants to move inside the vehicle, the occupant inputs a specific instruction representing the intention to move inside the vehicle to the input button 170. Then, the automatic driving control unit 100 detects the intention of the occupant to move inside the vehicle based on the input of the specific instruction to the input button 170.

[0033] As shown in FIG. 3, the input button 170 may be provided, for example, in association with the seat belt 50. Thereby, when the occupant inputs a specific instruction representing the intention to move inside the vehicle, the input button 170 can be easily operated sensuously in the same manner as the operation of removing the seat belt 50, and the operability of the input button 170 by the occupant is improved. Further, the input button 170 may be composed of a plurality of input units, and may be composed of, for example, three input buttons 170-1, 170-2, 170-3 provided on the side surface of the buckle 52 as shown in FIG. 3.

[0034] In addition, in the present embodiment, the example of the input button 170 shown in FIG. 3 will be mainly described as an input unit for the occupant to input a specific instruction, but the input unit of the present invention is not limited to such an example. The input unit may be, for example, a seat belt switch 54, a touch panel or a microphone of the car navigation device 150, or a mobile terminal 190 described later.

[0035] The wireless communication device 180 performs wireless communication with an external device such as the mobile terminal 190 and transmits and receives various types of information. For example, when a specific instruction representing the intention of the occupant to move inside the vehicle is input to the mobile terminal 190 as the above input unit, the wireless communication device 180 receives information representing the specific instruction from the mobile terminal 190 and outputs it to the automatic driving control unit 100. Further, the wireless communication device 180 transmits various types of output information generated by the automatic driving control unit 100 to the mobile terminal 190.

[0036] The mobile terminal 190 performs wireless communication with the wireless communication device 180 of the vehicle 1 and transmits and receives various types of information. The mobile terminal 190 is, for example, a smartphone, a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a smartwatch, a wearable device, or the like.

[0037] [2. Functional Configuration of Vehicle Control System] Next, with reference to FIG. 2, the functional configuration of the vehicle control system 10 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the vehicle control system 10 according to the present embodiment.

[0038] As shown in FIG. 2, the automatic driving control unit 100 includes a movement intention detection unit 300, a traveling state determination unit 302, a surrounding environment detection unit 304, a movement level determination unit 306, a deceleration determination unit 308, a vehicle speed calculation unit 310, a safe driving time calculation unit 312, a traffic jam occurrence prediction unit 314, a stoppable location search unit 316, an announcement generation unit 318, a passenger response determination unit 320, a vehicle control unit 322, a seat belt lock unit 324, and a table storage unit 326.

[0039] The movement intention detection unit 300 detects the movement intention of the passenger in the vehicle based on the input of the passenger to the input unit such as the input button 170, the car navigation device 150, and the mobile terminal 190. The movement intention of the passenger means the intention that the passenger wants to move inside the vehicle. For example, when a baby sitting in a seat away from the mother cries during the travel of the vehicle 1, the mother may want to remove the seat belt 50 and move inside the vehicle to near the baby's seat to change the baby's diaper. In such a case, the mother has the movement intention inside the vehicle and inputs a specific instruction representing the movement intention to the input button 170. Such an input operation of a specific instruction to the input button 170 may be, for example, an operation of pressing the input button 170 once.

[0040] When the input button 170 is pressed once by the occupant, the movement intention detection unit 300 detects that the occupant intends to move inside the vehicle. Further, the movement intention detection unit 300 can also detect the movement intention of the occupant inside the vehicle based on, for example, the seat belt switch 54, the touch panel of the car navigation device 150, and specific input operations of the occupant on the mobile terminal 190.

[0041] The driving state determination unit 302 determines the driving state of the vehicle 1. The driving state of the vehicle 1 may include, for example, whether the vehicle 1 is in motion, whether the vehicle 1 is stopped, whether the vehicle 1 is in autonomous driving, vehicle speed, acceleration / deceleration, the current position of the vehicle 1, and the like. The driving state determination unit 302 determines the driving state of the vehicle 1 based on, for example, the image data captured by the outside camera 112, the information detected by the millimeter-wave radar 114, the information on the current position detected by the GPS sensor 122, the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 124, and the like.

[0042] The surrounding environment detection unit 304 detects surrounding environment information regarding the surrounding environment of the vehicle 1. The surrounding environment detection unit 304 detects, as the surrounding environment information, for example, the presence or absence of a traffic signal on the road in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1.

[0043] The surrounding environment information of the vehicle 1 includes, for example, information regarding the presence or absence of other vehicles around the vehicle 1, the speeds of other vehicles, the presence or absence of obstacles, the presence or absence of traffic signals on the road in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1, the distance from the vehicle 1 to the traffic signal, the number of lanes of the road during travel, and the like. The surrounding environment detection unit 304 detects the surrounding environment information of the vehicle 1 based on, for example, various information or data obtained from the outside camera 112, the millimeter-wave radar 114, the GPS sensor 122, the vehicle speed sensor 124, the car navigation device 150, and the like.

[0044] The surrounding environment detection unit 304 detects the presence or absence of a traffic signal on the road in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 based on, for example, the map information stored in the storage device of the car navigation device 150 and the information on the current position of the vehicle 1 detected by the GPS sensor 122. Further, the surrounding environment detection unit 304 may detect the presence or absence of a traffic signal on the road in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 based on, for example, the data of the external image captured by the outside vehicle camera 112.

[0045] In addition, the surrounding environment detection unit 304 derives, as the surrounding environment information of the vehicle 1, for example, the distance between the current position of the vehicle 1 and the traffic signal on the road in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1. The surrounding environment detection unit 304 takes in, for example, the information on the current position of the vehicle 1 detected by the GPS sensor 122 into the map information stored in the storage device, derives the current position on the map, and derives the distance from the current position on the map to the nearest traffic signal on the road in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1. Further, the surrounding environment detection unit 304 may derive the distance from the current position to the nearest traffic signal on the road in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 based on, for example, the data of the external image captured by the outside vehicle camera 112 and the information detected by the millimeter-wave radar 114.

[0046] The movement level determination unit 306 determines the movement level of the occupant in the vehicle based on the input of an instruction by the occupant to the input button 170. The movement level is a level representing the degree of instability of the occupant's posture when the occupant moves inside the vehicle. The movement level is set in multiple stages according to the degree of instability of the occupant's posture. In the present embodiment, for example, the movement level is set such that the higher the number of the movement level, the higher the degree of instability of the occupant's posture. Movement level 1 is, for example, a state in which when the occupant removes the seat belt 50 and changes their body posture without moving from the seat, the occupant can brace themselves using their hands and feet against the deceleration of the vehicle 1. Movement level 2 is a state in which when the occupant removes the seat belt 50 and walks around to take care of business, etc., the occupant cannot brace themselves as effectively as in movement level 1 against the deceleration of the vehicle 1. Movement level 3 is a state in which when the occupant removes the seat belt 50 and takes a nap or has a video conference, etc., the occupant cannot direct their attention and cannot brace themselves against the deceleration of the vehicle 1. Note that the movement level is not limited to the above example of three stages, and may be set to two stages or four or more stages. Also, the movement level may be set such that the higher the number of the movement level, the lower the degree of instability of the occupant's posture.

[0047] By providing a plurality of input units corresponding to each of the plurality of movement levels, the movement level desired by the occupant can be determined by the input operation of the occupant on the plurality of input units. For example, in the present embodiment, the input buttons 170-1, 170-2, 170-3 shown in FIG. 3 are configured as input units corresponding to movement levels 1, 2, and 3, respectively. When any one of the input buttons 170-1, 170-2, 170-3 is pressed by the occupant, the movement level determination unit 306 determines that the movement level desired by the occupant is the movement level corresponding to the pressed input button 170. Note that the movement level determination unit 306 can also determine the movement level of the occupant in the vehicle based on, for example, a specific input operation of the occupant on the seat belt switch 54, the touch panel of the car navigation device 150, and the portable terminal 190.

[0048] The deceleration determination unit 308 determines the deceleration [m / s 2 at which a passenger can move safely inside the vehicle while it is in motion. Deceleration is the negative acceleration when the vehicle 1 decelerates. The deceleration at which a passenger can move safely is the deceleration to such an extent that even if the vehicle 1 decelerates while the passenger is moving inside the vehicle, the passenger does not need to lose their posture. The deceleration at which a passenger can move safely (hereinafter referred to as "safe deceleration") is, for example, within the range of 0 to 1.0 [m / s 2 .

[0049] The safe deceleration may be set step by step according to the movement level instructed by the passenger. When the movement level is movement level 1, the safe deceleration is set to, for example, 0.6 to 1.0 [m / s 2 . When the movement level is movement level 2, the safe deceleration is set to, for example, 0.3 to 0.6 [m / s 2 . When the movement level is movement level 3, the safe deceleration is set to, for example, 0 to 0.3 [m / s 2 .

[0050] The deceleration determination unit 308 determines the safe deceleration corresponding to the movement level determined by the movement level determination unit 306, for example, by referring to the deceleration table stored in the table storage unit 326 described later.

[0051] Regarding the timing of determining the safe deceleration, for example, when the movement intention of the passenger is detected, the deceleration determination unit 308 may determine the safe deceleration. Also, when the peripheral environment detection unit 304 detects that there is a traffic signal in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1, the deceleration determination unit 308 may determine the safe deceleration. Furthermore, when the movement level of the passenger is detected, the deceleration determination unit 308 may determine the safe deceleration according to the movement level.

[0052] The vehicle speed calculation unit 310 calculates a safe vehicle speed based on the current vehicle speed of the vehicle 1, the surrounding environment information regarding the surrounding environment of the vehicle 1, and the safe deceleration determined by the deceleration determination unit 308. The safe vehicle speed is the speed at which the vehicle 1 can stop within the range of the safe deceleration. The safe vehicle speed is, for example, the vehicle speed at which the vehicle 1 can be stopped by the time it reaches the nearest traffic signal in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 when the vehicle 1 decelerates at the safe deceleration. The vehicle speed calculation unit 310 calculates the safe vehicle speed based on, for example, the current vehicle speed of the vehicle 1, the safe deceleration, and the distance from the vehicle 1 to the traffic signal in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1.

[0053] For example, when the movement intention of the occupant is detected and there is no traffic signal on the road in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1, the vehicle speed calculation unit 310 sets the current vehicle speed of the vehicle 1 as the safe vehicle speed. Also, when the movement intention of the occupant is detected and there is a traffic signal on the road in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1, the vehicle speed calculation unit 310 calculates the safe vehicle speed based on the current vehicle speed of the vehicle 1, the surrounding environment information of the vehicle 1, and the safe deceleration determined by the deceleration determination unit 308.

[0054] The vehicle speed calculation unit 310 calculates the safe vehicle speed by using, for example, the current vehicle speed of the vehicle 1 detected by the vehicle speed sensor 124 and the safe deceleration determined by the deceleration determination unit 308. Specifically, first, the vehicle speed calculation unit 310 calculates the time and distance until the vehicle 1 can stop when the vehicle 1 decelerates from the current vehicle speed at the safe deceleration. Then, the vehicle speed calculation unit 310 determines whether the calculated distance is greater than the distance from the current position of the vehicle 1 to the traffic signal. As a result, when the calculated distance is small, the vehicle speed calculation unit 310 sets the current vehicle speed as the safe vehicle speed. On the other hand, when the calculated distance is large, the vehicle speed calculation unit 310 calculates the vehicle speed at which the vehicle 1 can stop by the time it reaches the traffic signal when the vehicle 1 decelerates at the safe deceleration after decelerating from the current vehicle speed, and sets the calculated vehicle speed as the safe vehicle speed.

[0055] In the calculation of the safe vehicle speed, by using the current vehicle speed of Vehicle 1, the safe deceleration, and the distance from Vehicle 1 to the traffic signal in the traveling direction of Vehicle 1, it becomes unnecessary to suddenly brake due to the stop indication of the traffic signal, and the safety of the passengers moving inside the vehicle is improved.

[0056] The safe driving time calculation unit 312 calculates the safe driving time based on the safe vehicle speed of Vehicle 1 and the surrounding environment information regarding the surrounding environment of Vehicle 1. The safe driving time is the time during which Vehicle 1 can travel while maintaining the safe vehicle speed. The safe driving time is, for example, the time until Vehicle 1 starts to decelerate depending on the presence or absence of other vehicles on the road in the traveling direction of Vehicle 1, the presence or absence of traffic signals, etc. The safe driving time calculation unit 312, for example, when the movement intention of the passenger is detected, calculates the difference between the safe vehicle speed calculated by the vehicle speed calculation unit 310 and the vehicle speed of another vehicle traveling in front of Vehicle 1 (hereinafter referred to as the front vehicle), and divides the distance between Vehicle 1 and the front vehicle by the difference in the vehicle speed to calculate the safe driving time.

[0057] Also, the safe driving time calculation unit 312 may calculate the safe driving time by using information such as the presence or absence of traffic congestion on the road in the traveling direction, the presence or absence of construction work, and the number of lanes of the road in the traveling direction. Thereby, the safe driving time can be appropriately calculated according to the sequentially changing road conditions.

[0058] The traffic congestion occurrence prediction unit 314 predicts whether traffic congestion will occur behind Vehicle 1 due to the travel of Vehicle 1. The traffic congestion occurrence prediction unit 314 predicts whether traffic congestion will occur based on the presence or absence of other vehicles traveling behind Vehicle 1 (hereinafter referred to as the rear vehicle), the safe vehicle speed calculated by the vehicle speed calculation unit 310, the legal speed of the road on which Vehicle 1 is traveling, the number of lanes of the road, etc. For example, when Vehicle 1 travels while maintaining the safe vehicle speed, if the number of lanes of the road on which Vehicle 1 is traveling is one lane, there is another vehicle traveling behind Vehicle 1, and the safe vehicle speed is lower than the legal speed, the traffic congestion occurrence prediction unit 314 predicts that traffic congestion will occur.

[0059] The parking available location search unit 316 searches for locations where the vehicle 1 can park. The locations where the vehicle can park are, for example, parking lots such as convenience stores, roadside strips, highway service areas, paid parking lots, and the like. The parking available location search unit 316 searches for locations where the vehicle 1 can park in the vicinity of the current position of the vehicle 1 based on the information on the current position of the vehicle 1 detected by the GPS sensor 122 and the map information stored in the storage device. For example, the parking available location search unit 316 searches for the nearest parking available location from the current position of the vehicle 1. Further, the parking available location search unit 316 may calculate the distance to the location where the vehicle 1 can park and the time until the vehicle 1 moves to the location where it can park. The parking available location search unit 316, for example, incorporates the information on the current position of the vehicle 1 detected by the GPS sensor 122 into the map information stored in the storage device, derives the current position on the map, and searches for the presence or absence of a parking available location in the vicinity from the current position on the map. Also, the parking available location search unit 316 may determine whether the parking available location is vacant based on, for example, traffic information. The parking available location search unit 316 outputs, as search results, the locations where the vehicle 1 can park, the distance to the locations where the vehicle 1 can park, the time until the vehicle 1 moves to the locations where it can park, and the like.

[0060] The parking available location search unit 316 calculates the distance to the location where the vehicle 1 can park and the time until the vehicle moves to that location. Thereby, the occupant can obtain information necessary for determining in-vehicle movement, such as the degree of change from the normal driving route and the time until in-vehicle movement can be started. Therefore, the convenience of the occupant's decision-making can be improved.

[0061] The announcement generation unit 318 generates announcement information to be notified to the passengers and transmits it to the voice output device 160 or the like. The announcement generation unit 318 generates, for example, an announcement (first announcement) to notify the passengers of the safe driving time, an announcement (second announcement) to notify the passengers that they can move inside the vehicle after the control of the vehicle 1 is completed, and an announcement (third announcement) to notify the passengers of the search result searched by the stoppable location search unit 316. The announcement information generated by the announcement generation unit 318 is transmitted to the voice output device 160. The voice output device 160 outputs, based on the transmitted announcement information, the voice of the announcement to the passengers. Further, the announcement generation unit 318 may transmit the generated announcement information to the car navigation device 150 or the mobile terminal 190, and cause the car navigation device 150 or the mobile terminal 190 to output the voice of the announcement to the passengers.

[0062] The passenger response determination unit 320 determines the response of the passengers to the announcements output by the voice output device 160 or the like. The passenger response determination unit 320 determines the presence or absence of the passenger's response and the response content based on the input of the passengers to the input unit such as the input button 170, the car navigation device 150, and the mobile terminal 190. For example, when the passenger presses the input button 170-1, the passenger response determination unit 320 determines that the passenger has decided to move inside the vehicle. Also, when the passenger presses the input button 170-3, the passenger response determination unit 320 determines that the passenger has canceled the movement inside the vehicle. In the present embodiment, the passenger response determination unit 320 determines the response content of the passengers based on the input of the input button 170, but the present invention is not limited to such an example. For example, when the passenger long-presses the seat belt switch 54 for a predetermined time or longer, the passenger response determination unit 320 may determine that the passenger has decided to move inside the vehicle. Alternatively, the passenger response determination unit 320 may determine that the passenger has decided to move inside the vehicle or has canceled the movement inside the vehicle based on a specific input operation of the passenger on the touch panel or microphone of the car navigation device 150 or the mobile terminal 190.

[0063] The vehicle control unit 322 controls the vehicle 1. For example, the vehicle control unit 322 controls the autonomous driving of the vehicle 1. Further, when it is determined that the occupant has decided to move inside the vehicle in response to an announcement regarding the safe driving time output by the voice output device 160 or the like, the vehicle control unit 322 controls the vehicle 1 to maintain the vehicle speed of the vehicle 1 at the safe vehicle speed and travel. Also, when there is a traffic signal on the road in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 and the road in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 has multiple lanes, the vehicle control unit 322 controls the vehicle 1 to travel in the leftmost lane. Further, when it is determined that the occupant has approved the stoppage of the vehicle 1 in response to an announcement regarding the search result of a stoppable location output by the voice output device 160 or the like, the vehicle control unit 322 controls the vehicle 1 to stop the vehicle 1 at a stoppable location.

[0064] The seat belt lock unit 324 controls the locking operation of the seat belt 50. Specifically, the seat belt lock unit 324 transmits an instruction to the buckle lock device of the seat belt 50 to lock or release the tongue 56 attached to the buckle 52 of the seat belt 50. For example, when detecting the traveling of the vehicle 1, the seat belt lock unit 324 instructs to lock the seat belt 50, and when detecting the stoppage of the vehicle 1, instructs to release the lock.

[0065] The table storage unit 326 stores various control information such as a deceleration table regarding deceleration. The deceleration table is a table associating the movement level determined by the movement level determination unit 306 with the safe deceleration.

[0066] [3. Processing Flow of Vehicle Control System] Next, with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, the processing flow by the autonomous driving control unit 100 of the vehicle control system 10 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing when the autonomous driving control unit 100 according to the present embodiment detects the movement intention of the occupant. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the safe driving time calculation process by the autonomous driving control unit 100 according to the present embodiment.

[0067] As shown in FIG. 4, first, the movement intention detection unit 300 of the vehicle control system 10 detects the movement intention of the occupant in the vehicle based on the input of the occupant to the input unit such as the input button 170 (S100). The movement intention detection unit 300 detects the movement intention of the occupant by detecting a specific input operation of the occupant on the input button 170, the car navigation device 150, the mobile terminal 190, etc.

[0068] For example, when the occupant wants to move inside the vehicle while the vehicle 1 is running, the occupant presses the input button 170 once. Then, the movement intention detection unit 300 detects the pressing of the input button 170 and detects the movement intention of the occupant.

[0069] Next, the driving state determination unit 302 determines the driving state of the vehicle 1 (S102). The driving state determination unit 302 acquires, for example, the information on the current position detected by the GPS sensor 122 and the information on the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 124. Then, the driving state determination unit 302 compares the information with the information on the driving state when the vehicle 1 is stopped, and determines whether the vehicle 1 is running.

[0070] If it is determined that the vehicle 1 is not running (NO in S102), the process ends. On the other hand, if it is determined that the vehicle 1 is running (YES in S102), the automatic driving control unit 100 performs a safe driving time calculation process (S200).

[0071] Here, with reference to FIG. 5, the safe driving time calculation process (S200) will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 5, the automatic driving control unit 100 acquires the information necessary for the safe driving time calculation process (S202). The necessary information is, for example, the information on the current position of the vehicle 1, the current vehicle speed of the vehicle 1, the surrounding environment information of the vehicle 1, the movement level of the occupant, etc. The automatic driving control unit 100 acquires the necessary information from, for example, the image data captured by the external camera 112, the information detected by the millimeter wave radar 114, the information on the current position detected by the GPS sensor 122, the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 124, etc., and uses it for the safe driving time calculation process.

[0072] Next, the surrounding environment detection unit 304 detects the presence or absence of a traffic signal on the road in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 as the surrounding environment information of the vehicle 1 (S204). The surrounding environment detection unit 304 detects the presence or absence of a traffic signal on the road in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 by referring to, for example, the map information stored in the storage device and using the information on the current position of the vehicle 1 detected by the GPS sensor 122.

[0073] When there is no traffic signal on the road in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 (NO in S204), the vehicle speed calculation unit 310 sets the safe vehicle speed to the current vehicle speed (S206). The vehicle speed calculation unit 310 sets the safe vehicle speed using the current vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 124. Thereby, when there is no traffic signal on the road in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1, even when the occupant is moving inside the vehicle, the vehicle travels without decelerating the current vehicle speed, so that the occupant can move inside the vehicle without affecting the scheduled arrival time at the destination.

[0074] On the other hand, when there is a traffic signal on the road in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 (YES in S204), the movement level determination unit 306 determines the movement level of the occupant inside the vehicle based on the input of the occupant to the input button 170 or the like (S208). The input unit such as the input button 170 has a plurality of input units corresponding to each of the plurality of movement levels. Then, the movement level determination unit 306 determines that the movement level associated with the one input unit is the movement level desired by the occupant when the occupant presses one input unit out of the plurality of input units.

[0075] Next, the deceleration determination unit 308 determines a safe deceleration corresponding to the movement level determined in S208 (S210). When determining the safe deceleration, the deceleration determination unit 308 refers to the deceleration table stored in the table storage unit 326. The deceleration table is a table that associates the movement level with the safe deceleration. When the movement level is determined in S208, the deceleration determination unit 308 determines a safe deceleration corresponding to the movement level using the deceleration table.

[0076] Next, the vehicle speed calculation unit 310 calculates a safe vehicle speed based on the safe deceleration determined in S210, the current vehicle speed of the vehicle 1, and the surrounding environment information of the vehicle 1 (S212). For example, the vehicle speed calculation unit 310 calculates a vehicle speed that can stop by the traffic signal by decelerating within the range of the safe deceleration based on the safe deceleration, the current vehicle speed of the vehicle 1, and the distance from the vehicle 1 to the traffic signal, and sets the calculated vehicle speed as the safe vehicle speed.

[0077] After calculating the safe vehicle speed, the safe driving time calculation unit 312 calculates a safe driving time based on the safe vehicle speed set in S206 or S212 and the surrounding environment information of the vehicle 1 (S214).

[0078] For example, when another vehicle is traveling in front of the vehicle 1, the safe driving time calculation unit 312 acquires information such as the distance between the vehicle 1 and the other vehicle and the vehicle speed of the other vehicle, and calculates the safe driving time using the information and the safe vehicle speed. When there is no other vehicle traveling in front of the vehicle 1, the safe driving time is calculated based on information such as traffic information, road information, and the driving route.

[0079] After executing the above safe driving time calculation process (S200), as shown in FIG. 4, the traffic jam prediction unit 314 predicts whether a traffic jam will occur behind the vehicle 1 when the vehicle 1 travels at the safe vehicle speed for the safe driving time (S104). The traffic jam prediction unit 314 predicts whether a traffic jam will occur behind the vehicle 1 based on the surrounding environment information of the vehicle 1, the road information of the road on which the vehicle 1 is traveling, and the safe vehicle speed set in S206 or S212.

[0080] When it is predicted that a traffic jam will occur behind vehicle 1 (YES in S104), the process proceeds to S116. On the other hand, when it is predicted that no traffic jam will occur behind vehicle 1 (NO in S104), the announcement generation unit 318 outputs a first announcement notifying the safe driving time to the passengers (S106). The announcement generation unit 318 generates first announcement information notifying the safe driving time and outputs it to the voice output device 160 or the like. The voice output device 160 or the like outputs a first announcement notifying the safe driving time to the passengers based on the generated first announcement information.

[0081] As a method of outputting the first announcement, for example, a voice message such as "You can move safely for 30 seconds." may be output from the voice output device 160 or the like toward the passengers in the vehicle. Also, an announcement image such as "Since there are no traffic lights for at least 5 minutes, you can move safely." may be displayed on the display of the car navigation device 150 or the mobile terminal 190.

[0082] When the first announcement is output from the voice output device 160 or the like, the passengers confirm the content and determine whether they can move inside the vehicle. For example, when a voice message "You can move safely for 5 minutes." is output from the voice output device 160, the passengers can determine to move because they can complete the work inside the vehicle in 5 minutes. Also, when a voice message "You can move safely for 30 seconds." is output from the voice output device 160, the passengers can determine to stop moving because they cannot move inside the vehicle in 30 seconds. In this way, when the passengers determine whether they can move, the passengers input a first response or a second response, which is a response to the first announcement, by a specific input operation on the input unit such as the input button 170.

[0083] When the passenger response determination unit 320 receives the first response or the second response input by the passenger, it determines whether the passenger's response to the first announcement is the first response or the second response (S108). The first response is a response indicating that the passenger has decided to move inside the vehicle during the running of the vehicle 1 based on the content of the first announcement. The second response is a response indicating that the passenger has decided to cancel moving inside the vehicle during the running of the vehicle 1 based on the content of the first announcement. The passenger response determination unit 320 identifies whether it is the first response or the second response from a specific input operation on an input unit such as the input button 170 by the passenger, and determines whether the passenger has decided to move inside the vehicle.

[0084] If it is determined that the passenger has canceled moving inside the vehicle (NO in S108), the process proceeds to S116. On the other hand, if it is determined that the passenger has decided to move inside the vehicle (YES in S108), the surrounding environment detection unit 304 detects the presence or absence of a traffic signal on the road in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 (S110). When there is a traffic signal on the road in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 (YES in S110), the vehicle control unit 322 controls the vehicle 1 so that the vehicle 1 travels in the leftmost lane (S112). For example, when the vehicle 1 is traveling on a three-lane road and is traveling in the right lane, the vehicle control unit 322 controls the vehicle 1 so that the vehicle 1 changes lanes in the order of the middle lane and the left lane. Also, when the vehicle 1 is already traveling in the left lane, the vehicle control unit 322 controls the vehicle 1 so that the vehicle 1 maintains its current left lane and travels.

[0085] On the other hand, when there is no traffic signal on the road in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 (NO in S110), or when the control of S112 is completed, the vehicle control unit 322 controls the vehicle 1 so that the vehicle speed of the vehicle 1 is maintained at a safe vehicle speed and travels (S114). For example, when the safe vehicle speed is set to the current vehicle speed (S206), the vehicle control unit 322 controls the vehicle 1 so that the current vehicle speed is maintained and travels. Also, when the safe vehicle speed is set slower than the current vehicle speed (S212), the vehicle control unit 322 decelerates the vehicle 1 until the current vehicle speed reaches the safe vehicle speed, and when the current vehicle speed reaches the safe vehicle speed, controls the vehicle 1 so that the safe vehicle speed is maintained and travels.

[0086] After the control of Vehicle 1 is completed at S114, the announcement generation unit 318 outputs a second announcement notifying the occupant that movement inside the vehicle is possible (S124). The announcement generation unit 318 generates second announcement information for notifying the occupant that movement inside the vehicle is possible, and transmits it to the voice output device 160 or the like. The voice output device 160 or the like outputs, to the occupant, a second announcement notifying the occupant that movement inside the vehicle is possible based on the generated second announcement information.

[0087] As a method of outputting the second announcement, for example, a voice message such as "You can move for 5 minutes." may be output from the voice output device 160 or the like toward the occupant inside the vehicle. Also, an announcement image such as "You can move for 5 minutes." may be displayed on the display of the car navigation device 150 or the mobile terminal 190.

[0088] After the second announcement is output at S124, the seat belt lock unit 324 transmits an instruction to release the lock of the buckle 52 to the buckle lock device of the seat belt 50. In response to this instruction, the buckle lock device releases the lock of the buckle 52 (S126).

[0089] When the second announcement is confirmed at S124 and the lock of the buckle lock device is released, the occupant can remove the seat belt 50 during the running of Vehicle 1 and move inside the vehicle.

[0090] On the other hand, when it is predicted that a traffic jam will occur behind Vehicle 1 at S104 (YES in S104), or when it is determined that the occupant has canceled the movement at S108 (NO in S108), the stoppable location search unit 316 searches for a location where Vehicle 1 can stop (S116). The stoppable location search unit 316 searches for a location where Vehicle 1 can stop near the current position of Vehicle 1 based on the information on the current position of Vehicle 1 detected by the GPS sensor 122.

[0091] Next, the announcement generation unit 318 outputs a third announcement notifying the passenger of the search result of the stoppable location (S118). The announcement generation unit 318 generates third announcement information notifying the search result searched by the stoppable location search unit 316 and outputs it to the voice output device 160 or the like. The voice output device 160 or the like outputs a third announcement notifying the search result to the passenger based on the generated third announcement information.

[0092] As a method of outputting the third announcement, for example, a voice message such as "There is one stoppable location about 3 km ahead on the driving route. It will take about 3 minutes to reach the stoppable location." may be output from the voice output device 160 or the like to the passengers in the vehicle. Also, an image of a map may be displayed on the display of the car navigation device 150 or the mobile terminal 190, and the stoppable location may be indicated and displayed on the map.

[0093] When the third announcement is output from the voice output device 160 or the like, the passenger checks the content and determines whether to stop the vehicle 1. For example, when a voice message such as "There is one stoppable location about 3 km ahead on the driving route." is output from the voice output device 160 or the like, if the passenger is on the driving route, they can determine to stop the vehicle 1 and try to move inside the vehicle. Also, when a voice message such as "There is one stoppable location about 10 minutes from the current location outside the driving route." is output from the voice output device 160 or the like, the passenger can determine to stop trying to move inside the vehicle because it will affect the estimated time of arrival at the destination. In this way, when determining whether to stop the vehicle 1, the passenger inputs a third response or a fourth response, which is a response to the third announcement, by a specific input operation on the input unit such as the input button 170.

[0094] When the passenger response determination unit 320 receives the third response or the fourth response input by the passenger, it determines the passenger's response to the third announcement (S120). The third response is a response indicating that the passenger approves to stop the vehicle 1 based on the content of the third announcement. The fourth response is a response indicating that the passenger cancels the stop of the vehicle 1 based on the content of the third announcement. The passenger response determination unit 320 identifies whether it is the third response or the fourth response through a specific input operation on the input unit such as the input button 170 by the passenger, and determines whether the passenger has approved the stop.

[0095] As a result, if it is determined that the passenger has canceled the stop of the vehicle 1 (NO in S120), the process ends.

[0096] On the other hand, if it is determined that the passenger has approved the stop of the vehicle 1 (YES in S120), the vehicle control unit 322 controls the vehicle 1 to stop at a stoppable location (S122). The vehicle control unit 322 controls the vehicle 1 to move to the stoppable location searched by the stoppable location search unit 316, and when the vehicle 1 arrives at the stoppable location, controls the vehicle 1 to stop.

[0097] After the stop of the vehicle 1 is completed in S122, the announcement generation unit 318 outputs a second announcement notifying the passenger that it is possible to move inside the vehicle (S124).

[0098] As a method of outputting the second announcement after the stop of the vehicle 1 is completed in S122, for example, a voice message "The stop is completed. It is possible to move inside the vehicle." may be output from the voice output device 160 or the like to the passengers inside the vehicle. Also, an announcement image "Stop completed. It is possible to move." may be displayed on the display of the car navigation device 150 or the mobile terminal 190.

[0099] Next, the seat belt lock unit 324 sends an instruction to the buckle lock device of the seat belt 50 to release the lock of the buckle 52. In response to this instruction, the buckle lock device releases the lock of the buckle 52 (S126).

[0100] When the second announcement is confirmed in S124 and the lock of the buckle lock device is released, the occupant can remove the seat belt 50 while the vehicle 1 is stopped and move inside the vehicle.

[0101] As described above, according to the vehicle 1 according to the present embodiment, in order to enable the occupant to safely move inside the vehicle during driving by automatic driving, the movement intention of the occupant is detected, and the safe vehicle speed, safe driving time, etc. are calculated. Thereby, information regarding the safety of moving inside the vehicle can be notified to the occupant in advance before the movement. Therefore, the occupant can appropriately determine whether to move inside the vehicle, the movement start timing, the movement time, etc. based on the notified information regarding the safety of moving inside the vehicle. Then, by controlling the vehicle 1 so as to maintain a safe vehicle speed while the occupant is moving inside the vehicle, the occupant can safely move inside the vehicle during driving by automatic driving.

[0102] Also, according to the vehicle 1 according to the present embodiment, even in a situation where there is a possibility that the occupant cannot safely move inside the vehicle within the safe movement time during driving by automatic driving, a stoppable place near the current position of the vehicle 1 is searched, and the vehicle 1 can be controlled to stop at the place. Thereby, the occupant can move inside the vehicle more safely.

[0103] Also, according to the vehicle 1 according to the present embodiment, when detecting the movement intention of the occupant, the movement level of the occupant is determined, and a deceleration corresponding to the state of the occupant's movement inside the vehicle is set. Thereby, since the safe deceleration and safe vehicle speed of the vehicle 1 can be appropriately set according to the state of the occupant's movement inside the vehicle and the vehicle 1 can be controlled, the safety of the occupant during movement inside the vehicle can be improved.

[0104] [4. Vehicle control system according to the second embodiment] Next, with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, the vehicle 1 equipped with the vehicle control system 10 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. Note that the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the points described below, and the other configurations and functions are the same as those of the first embodiment, so the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0105] FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the vehicle control system 10 according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the automatic driving control unit 100 according to the second embodiment further includes a danger situation detection unit 400 and a countermeasure action determination unit 402 in addition to the components of the automatic driving control unit 100 (see FIG. 2) according to the first embodiment.

[0106] The danger situation detection unit 400 detects a danger situation that may cause the vehicle 1 to decelerate rapidly based on the surrounding environment information of the vehicle 1. The danger situation detection unit 400 detects a danger situation that may cause the vehicle 1 to decelerate rapidly based on, for example, the data of the external image captured by the outside camera 112 or the information about the object acquired by the millimeter wave radar 114.

[0107] The danger situation is, for example, when another vehicle is stopped on the road in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 while traveling on a highway, or when a pedestrian may jump out on a road with poor visibility such as a residential area or a road with many corners. The danger situation detection unit 400 may store in advance in the storage device information representing various danger situation patterns. Then, the danger situation detection unit 400 detects, for example, the traveling situation of the vehicle 1 from the data of the external image captured by the outside camera 112 or the information about the object acquired by the millimeter wave radar 114, and determines whether or not the traveling situation matches the pattern of the danger situation, thereby detecting the danger situation.

[0108] When a dangerous situation is detected, the announcement generation unit 318 generates a fourth announcement for notifying the occupant of the warning based on the information of the detected dangerous situation, and transmits it to the voice output device 160 or the like. The fourth announcement is, for example, an announcement for warning that the vehicle 1 is traveling in a place where a dangerous situation may occur.

[0109] The coping behavior determination unit 402 determines whether the occupant is coping with a dangerous situation. Coping with a dangerous situation means performing an operation to cope with a sudden deceleration so that even when the vehicle 1 suddenly decelerates, the occupant does not fall or greatly change their posture. Coping with a dangerous situation is, for example, the occupant grasping the handrail inside the vehicle, sitting on the seat, or wearing the seat belt 50.

[0110] The coping behavior determination unit 402 detects the state of the occupant in the vehicle 1 based on, for example, the data of the in-vehicle image captured by the in-vehicle camera 132 or the information acquired by the in-vehicle sensor 134, and determines whether the occupant is coping with a dangerous situation. For example, after the fourth announcement warning of a dangerous situation is output, the coping behavior determination unit 402 uses the in-vehicle sensor 134 such as a handrail sensor to detect that the occupant is holding the handrail, and determines that the occupant has coped with the dangerous situation.

[0111] When the coping behavior determination unit 402 determines that the occupant has coped with a dangerous situation, the vehicle control unit 322 controls the vehicle 1 to maintain the current vehicle speed, which is the above-mentioned safe vehicle speed, and travel.

[0112] On the other hand, when the countermeasure action determination unit 402 determines that the occupant is not taking countermeasures against the dangerous situation, the vehicle control unit 322 controls the vehicle 1 to decelerate the vehicle 1 below the above-mentioned safe vehicle speed. For example, the vehicle control unit 322 controls the vehicle 1 to decelerate from the current vehicle speed, which is the above-mentioned safe vehicle speed, to a preset predetermined speed. The preset predetermined speed is a vehicle speed at which the occupant does not need to lose their posture due to sudden braking of the vehicle 1, and is, for example, within the range of 1 to 10 [km / h].

[0113] [5. Processing flow of the vehicle control system according to the second embodiment] FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the processing when the automatic driving control unit 100 according to the second embodiment detects a dangerous situation. The processing when a dangerous situation according to the second embodiment is detected is executed, for example, after executing the processing of controlling the vehicle 1 according to the moving intention of the occupant according to the first embodiment (the processing in FIG. 4).

[0114] As shown in FIG. 7, the dangerous situation detection unit 400 detects a dangerous situation that may cause the vehicle 1 to decelerate rapidly based on the surrounding environment information of the vehicle 1 (S300). Specifically, first, the dangerous situation detection unit 400 acquires, for example, external image data captured by the out-of-vehicle camera 112 or information detected by the millimeter-wave radar 114. Next, the dangerous situation detection unit 400 detects a dangerous situation using the external image data or the information.

[0115] When a dangerous situation is detected in S300, the countermeasure action determination unit 402 determines whether the occupant is seated and wearing the seat belt 50 (S302). The countermeasure action determination unit 402 acquires information regarding the wearing of the seat belt 50 detected by the in-vehicle sensor 134 and determines whether the occupant is wearing the seat belt 50.

[0116] When it is determined that the occupant is wearing the seat belt 50 (YES in S302), the process of FIG. 7 ends, and the vehicle 1 continues to travel while maintaining the current vehicle speed, which is the safe vehicle speed.

[0117] During this driving, even if the vehicle 1 suddenly decelerates due to, for example, a pedestrian jumping out, etc., because the occupant is wearing the seat belt 50, the occupant can secure a safe posture without falling or greatly changing the posture. Therefore, even when a dangerous situation is detected, since the occupant is wearing the seat belt 50, the vehicle 1 can continue to travel while maintaining the current vehicle speed.

[0118] On the other hand, when it is determined that the occupant is not wearing the seat belt 50 (NO in S302), the announcement generation unit 318 outputs a fourth announcement for notifying the occupant of a warning (S304). The announcement generation unit 318 generates information on the fourth announcement for warning that the vehicle 1 is in a dangerous situation during driving, and transmits it to the voice output device 160 or the like. The voice output device 160 or the like outputs a fourth announcement for warning the occupant that the vehicle 1 is in a dangerous situation during driving based on the generated fourth announcement information.

[0119] As a method of outputting the fourth announcement, for example, a voice message such as "Danger. Please hold the handrail." may be output from the voice output device 160 or the like toward the occupant inside the vehicle. Also, a warning image such as "Danger. Please take a safe posture." may be displayed on the display of the car navigation device 150 or the mobile terminal 190.

[0120] The fourth announcement is output from the voice output device 160 or the like to notify the occupant of a warning. As a result, the occupant can detect a danger such as a sudden deceleration that may occur in a dangerous situation and can take a coping action. Further, the fourth announcement may include an instruction regarding a clear coping action such as "Please grasp the handrail." Thus, the occupant can immediately cope as instructed and can take an optimal coping action against the dangerous situation.

[0121] After the fourth announcement for warning the occupant is output, the coping action determination unit 402 determines whether the occupant is coping with the dangerous situation (S306). The coping action determination unit 402 determines whether the occupant is coping with the dangerous situation based on, for example, in-vehicle image data captured by the in-vehicle camera 132 or information detected by the in-vehicle sensor 134.

[0122] If it is determined that the occupant is coping with the dangerous situation (YES in S306), the process ends, and the vehicle 1 continues to travel while maintaining the current vehicle speed.

[0123] On the other hand, if it is determined that the occupant is not coping with the dangerous situation (NO in S306), the vehicle control unit 322 controls the vehicle 1 to further decelerate the current vehicle speed, which is the safe vehicle speed (S308). For example, when a pedestrian suddenly jumps out during travel in a dangerous situation, the vehicle control unit 322 needs to rapidly decelerate the vehicle 1 by sudden braking to avoid an accident. Therefore, the vehicle control unit 322 decelerates the current vehicle speed to a vehicle speed at which the occupant does not need to lose their posture due to such sudden braking.

[0124] As described above, in the vehicle 1 of the second embodiment, when a dangerous situation is detected and the occupant is not taking any action against the dangerous situation, the vehicle 1 is controlled to decelerate further below the safe vehicle speed. Thereby, even when the vehicle 1 suddenly decelerates while the occupant is moving inside the vehicle, the occupant will not fall or significantly lose their balance, and the safety of the occupant during movement inside the vehicle is improved.

[0125] As described above, the embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to such embodiments. It is obvious that those skilled in the art can conceive of various modification examples or correction examples within the scope described in the claims, and it is naturally understood that they also belong to the technical scope of the present invention.

[0126] For example, in the above embodiment, the configuration example of the vehicle 1 shown in FIG. 1 has been described. However, the configuration of the vehicle according to the present invention is not limited to such an example. The vehicle according to the present invention may be, for example, a vehicle in which some components are deleted, added, or changed with respect to the vehicle 1 shown in FIG. 1.

[0127] Also, the vehicle according to the present invention may be, for example, a hybrid vehicle equipped with a driving motor and an engine as driving sources, or an engine vehicle equipped with only an engine as a driving source. Further, the vehicle according to the present invention may be, for example, a vehicle in which a motor is provided for each wheel (that is, four motors are provided).

[0128] Note that the series of processes by the vehicle control system 10 according to the above-described embodiment may be realized using any of software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. The program constituting the software is stored in advance, for example, in a non-transitory storage medium provided inside or outside each device. Then, the program is read from a non-transitory storage medium (for example, ROM) into a temporary storage medium (for example, RAM) and executed by a processor such as a CPU.

[0129] A program for realizing each function of the vehicle control system 10 can be created and installed in the computer of the vehicle control system 10. By the processor executing the program stored in the memory, the processing of each of the above functions is executed. At this time, the program may be executed by a plurality of processors sharing the program, or the program may be executed by one processor. Also, each function of each device may be realized by cloud computing using a plurality of computers interconnected by a communication network.

[0130] Note that the program may be provided to and installed in the computer of each device by distribution from an external device through a communication network. Alternatively, the program may be stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium readable by a computer, and provided to and installed in the computer of each device via the recording medium.

[0131] Also, according to the above-described embodiment, a program for executing the processing of each function of the vehicle control system 10 can be provided. Furthermore, a non-transitory computer readable medium storing the program can also be provided. The non-transitory recording medium may be, for example, a disk-type recording medium such as an optical disk, a magnetic disk, or a magneto-optical disk, or may be a semiconductor memory such as a flash memory or a USB memory.

Explanation of Signs

[0132] 1 Vehicle 10 Vehicle control system 100 Automatic driving control unit 102 Processor 104 Memory 124 Vehicle speed sensor 160 Voice output device 170 Input button 300 Movement Intention Detection Unit 304 Surrounding Environment Detection Unit 306 Movement Level Judgment Unit 308 Deceleration Determination Unit 310 Vehicle Speed Calculation Unit 312 Safe Driving Time Calculation Unit 316 Search Unit for Parking-Possible Locations 318 Announcement Generation Unit 322 Vehicle Control Unit 400 Hazardous Situation Detection Unit 402 Countermeasure Action Judgment Unit

Claims

1. A vehicle control system for controlling the automatic driving of a vehicle, comprising: an automatic driving control unit that executes automatic driving for automatically controlling at least one of acceleration / deceleration or steering of the vehicle; an input unit for receiving an instruction from an occupant of the vehicle; and the automatic driving control unit includes a processor and a memory connected to the processor, wherein the processor detects the movement intention of the occupant in the vehicle based on the input of the occupant to the input unit; when the movement intention of the occupant is detected, calculates a safe vehicle speed at which the vehicle can stop within a deceleration range in which the occupant can move safely in the vehicle, based on the current vehicle speed of the vehicle and surrounding environment information regarding the surrounding environment of the vehicle; calculates a safe driving time, which is the time during which the vehicle can travel while maintaining the safe vehicle speed, based on the safe vehicle speed and the surrounding environment information; outputs a first announcement for notifying the occupant of the safe driving time; and executes a process including the above, the vehicle control system.

2. The processor controls the vehicle to travel while maintaining the vehicle speed at the safe vehicle speed in response to a first response of the occupant to the first announcement; after the control of the vehicle is completed, outputs a second announcement for notifying the occupant that it is possible to move inside the vehicle; and executes a process including the above, the vehicle control system according to Claim 1.

3. The processor searches for a place where the vehicle can stop in response to a second response of the occupant to the first announcement; outputs a third announcement for notifying the occupant of the search result of the place where the vehicle can stop; and controls the vehicle to stop at the place where the vehicle can stop in response to a third response of the occupant to the third announcement; and executes a process including the above, the vehicle control system according to Claim 1 or 2.

4. The processor determines the movement level of the occupant in the vehicle based on the input of the occupant to the input unit; calculates the safe vehicle speed and the safe driving time based on the current vehicle speed, the surrounding environment information, and the movement level; and executes a process including the above, the vehicle control system according to any one of Claims 1 to 3.

5. comprises a detection unit for detecting the state of the occupant, wherein the processor Controlling the vehicle to maintain the vehicle speed at the safe vehicle speed and travel in response to the first response of the occupant to the first announcement; After the control of the vehicle is completed, when the vehicle is traveling at the safe vehicle speed, detecting a dangerous situation in which the vehicle may be suddenly decelerated based on the surrounding environment information; When the dangerous situation is detected, outputting a fourth announcement for notifying the occupant of a warning; Determining whether the occupant is coping with the dangerous situation based on the state of the occupant detected by the detection unit; When it is determined that the occupant is not coping with the dangerous situation, controlling the vehicle to decelerate the vehicle below the safe vehicle speed; The vehicle control system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, which executes a process including the above.

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