Travel control device, travel control method, and travel control computer program

Abstract

To provide a travel control device which can perform yielding control without causing a driver and surrounding traveling participants a feeling of strangeness.SOLUTION: A travel control device determines whether or not a traveling lane in which a vehicle 1 is traveling is a merged lane into which a merging lane merges using peripheral data that represents a surrounding situation of the vehicle 1; and while the traveling lane is the merged lane, repeatedly performs yielding determination to detect a merging vehicle 10 traveling in the merging lane from the peripheral data and to determine whether or not yielding control for securing a larger space for the merging vehicle 10 to change the lane to the merged lane is necessary, the yielding determination at a first time being performed based on a relative positional relationship between the merging vehicle and the vehicle, the yielding determinations at a second and subsequent times being performed based at least on a result of a previous yielding determination; and controls travel of the vehicle according to the result of the yielding determination.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a driving control device, a driving control method, and a computer program for driving control that control the driving of a vehicle.

Background Art

[0002] In a vehicle whose driving is controlled by a driving control device, it is required to drive according to the behavior of other vehicles traveling around. The driving control device described in Patent Document 1 detects a target vehicle whose entry into the own lane is predicted, and when the state of the own vehicle and the positional relationship among the own vehicle, the preceding vehicle, and the target vehicle satisfy an allowable condition for allowing the target vehicle to enter the own lane, executes a yielding control to stop the own vehicle at a yielding position that allows the target vehicle to enter the own lane.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] When determining multiple times whether to perform yielding control on a merging vehicle traveling in a merging lane, if the determination result is frequently changed, the behavior of the vehicle is frequently changed, which may give a sense of discomfort to the driver and surrounding traffic participants.

[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a driving control device that can execute yielding control so as not to give a sense of discomfort to the driver and surrounding traffic participants.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The gist of the present disclosure is as follows.

[0007] (1) A terrain determination unit that determines whether the driving lane on which the vehicle is traveling is a merging lane that merges into a confluence lane; While it is determined that the driving lane is the merging lane, a yielding determination unit repeatedly performs a yielding determination to detect a merging vehicle traveling in the confluence lane from the surrounding data and determine the necessity of yielding control to widen a space for the merging vehicle to change lanes into the merging lane. In the first yielding determination, the relative positional relationship between the merging vehicle and the vehicle is used, and in the yielding determinations after the first time, at least the result of the previous yielding determination is used; A driving control unit that controls the driving of the vehicle according to the result of the yielding determination; A driving control device comprising the above.

[0008] (2) When it is determined in the yielding determination that the yielding control is necessary, the yielding determination unit stores a first value as a value representing the result of the yielding determination in a memory. When it is determined in the yielding determination that the yielding control is unnecessary, the yielding determination unit stores a second value different from the first value as a value representing the result of the yielding determination in the memory. In the yielding determinations after the first time, the yielding determination is performed using a total value obtained by adding, at a predetermined ratio, each of a value indicating the result of the yielding determination using the relative positional relationship between the merging vehicle and the vehicle and a value indicating the result of the previous yielding determination. The driving control device according to (1) above.

[0009] (3) The first value is a value larger than the second value, In the yielding determinations after the first time, when the total value exceeds a predetermined yielding necessity threshold, the yielding determination unit determines that the yielding control is necessary, and when the total value is below the yielding necessity threshold, the yielding determination unit determines that the yielding control is unnecessary. The driving control device according to (2) above.

[0010] (4) Further comprising a merging vehicle determination unit that determines whether the merging vehicle is trying to overtake the vehicle, When the merging determination unit determines that the merging vehicle is attempting to overtake the vehicle, after this determination, regardless of the relative positional relationship between the merging vehicle and the vehicle and the result of the previous yielding determination, it determines that the yielding control is unnecessary. When it is determined that the merging vehicle is not attempting to overtake the vehicle, in the second and subsequent yielding determinations, the result of the previous yielding determination is used as it is. The traveling control device according to any one of (1) to (3) above.

[0011] (5) When the merging vehicle reaches the merging start point where the lane change of the merging vehicle into the target merging lane becomes possible, if it is predicted that the vehicle is faster than the merging vehicle and the position of the vehicle is in front of the merging vehicle, the yielding determination unit determines that the yielding control is unnecessary. When the merging vehicle reaches the merging end point where the lane change of the merging vehicle into the target merging lane becomes impossible, if it is predicted that the vehicle is slower than the merging vehicle and the position of the vehicle is behind the merging vehicle, the yielding determination unit determines that the yielding control is necessary. The traveling control device according to any one of (1) to (4) above.

[0012] (6) A traveling control device mounted on a vehicle determines whether the traveling lane on which the vehicle is traveling is a target merging lane into which the merging lane merges, while it is determined that the traveling lane is the target merging lane, repeatedly performs a yielding determination to detect a merging vehicle traveling in the merging lane from the surrounding data and determine whether yielding control is necessary to create space for the merging vehicle to change lanes into the target merging lane. In the first yielding determination, the relative positional relationship between the merging vehicle and the vehicle is used, and in the second and subsequent yielding determinations, at least the result of the previous yielding determination is used, and controls the traveling of the vehicle according to the result of the yielding determination. A traveling control method including this.

[0013] (7) determining whether the traveling lane on which the vehicle is traveling is a target merging lane into which the merging lane merges, While it is determined that the driving lane is the merging lane, a merging vehicle traveling in the merging lane is detected from the surrounding data, and a yielding determination for determining the necessity of yielding control for widening a space for the merging vehicle to change lanes to the merging lane is repeatedly performed. In the first yielding determination, the relative positional relationship between the merging vehicle and the vehicle is used, and in the yielding determination after the second time, at least the result of the previous yielding determination is used. Controlling the running of the vehicle according to the result of the yielding determination. A driving control computer program that causes a computer mounted on the vehicle to execute the above.

[0014] According to the present disclosure, yielding control can be executed so as not to give a sense of discomfort to the driver and surrounding traffic participants.

Brief Description of Drawings

[0015]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0016] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, a driving control device that can execute yielding control so as not to give a sense of discomfort to the driver and surrounding traffic participants will be described in detail. The driving control device determines whether the driving lane on which the vehicle is traveling is a merged lane into which a merging lane merges. The merging lane is a lane included in a road different from the road including the driving lane, and has a section where a lane change (merging) into the driving lane is possible. While it is determined that the driving lane is the merged lane, the driving control device repeatedly performs a yielding determination to detect a merging vehicle traveling in the merging lane from the surrounding data and determine the necessity of yielding control to widen the space for the merging vehicle to change lanes into the merged lane. The driving control device uses the relative positional relationship between the merging vehicle and the vehicle in the first yielding determination, and at least uses the result of the previous yielding determination in the yielding determinations after the second time. Then, the driving control device controls the driving of the vehicle according to the result of the yielding determination.

[0017] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the driving situation of a vehicle in the merged lane.

[0018] Vehicle 1 is traveling in lane L11 on road R1 which includes lanes L11 and L12. The merging vehicle 10 is traveling in lane L2 on road R2 which includes lane L2. Lane L2 merges into lane L11. Lane L2 corresponds to the merging lane and lane L11 corresponds to the lane being merged into. The merging vehicle 10 traveling in lane L2 can start changing lanes to lane L11 between the merging start point MSP and the merging end point MEP. The merging start point MSP is the point at which the lane change of the merging vehicle 10 to lane L11 can start. In the example of FIG. 1, it is the point where the lane dividing line on the L11 side of lane L2 and the lane dividing line on the L2 side of lane L11 are in contact. The merging end point MEP is the point at which the lane change of the merging vehicle 10 to lane L11 cannot start. In the example of FIG. 1, it is the point in front of the merging start point MSP where the interval between the lane dividing line on the side opposite to L11 of lane L2 and the lane dividing line on the L2 side of lane L11 starts to become narrower than the interval at the merging start point MSP. In FIG. 1, a line passing through each of the merging start point MSP and the merging end point MEP and crossing road R1 is shown as a virtual line representing each of the merging start point MSP and the merging end point MEP.

[0019] FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a vehicle in which a travel control device is mounted.

[0020] Vehicle 1 has a surrounding camera 2, a GNSS receiver 3, a storage device 4, and an ECU 5 (Electronic Control Unit). The ECU 5 is an example of a travel control device. The surrounding camera 2, the GNSS receiver 3, and the storage device 4 and the ECU 5 are communicably connected via an in-vehicle network conforming to a standard such as a controller area network.

[0021] The surrounding camera 2 is an example of a surrounding sensor for generating surrounding data representing the situation around the vehicle 1. The surrounding camera 2 includes a two-dimensional detector composed of an array of photoelectric conversion elements sensitive to visible light, such as a CCD or a C-MOS, and an imaging optical system that forms an image of the area to be photographed on the two-dimensional detector. The surrounding camera 2 is disposed, for example, at the upper front inside the vehicle cabin, facing forward. The surrounding camera 2 photographs the situation around the vehicle 1 through the windshield at a predetermined photographing cycle (e.g., 1 / 30 second to 1 / 10 second), and outputs a surrounding image representing the surrounding situation as surrounding data.

[0022] The GNSS receiver 3 receives GNSS signals from GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) satellites at a predetermined cycle, and measures the self-position of the vehicle 1 based on the received GNSS signals. The GNSS receiver 3 outputs a positioning signal representing the positioning result of the self-position of the vehicle 1 based on the GNSS signals to the ECU 5 via the in-vehicle network at a predetermined cycle.

[0023] The storage device 4 is an example of a storage unit, and includes, for example, a hard disk device or a non-volatile semiconductor memory. The storage device 4 stores map data including information on ground features such as lane dividing lines in association with positions.

[0024] The ECU 5 determines whether the traveling lane on which the vehicle 1 is traveling is a merging lane where the traveling lane merges into a merging lane, using the surrounding data representing the situation around the vehicle 1. While it is determined that the traveling lane is a merging lane, the ECU 5 repeatedly performs a yielding determination to detect a merging vehicle traveling on the merging lane from the surrounding data and determine whether yielding control is required to widen the space for the merging vehicle to change lanes into the merging lane. Then, the ECU 5 controls the traveling of the vehicle 1 according to the result of the yielding determination.

[0025] FIG. 3 is a hardware schematic diagram of the ECU 5. The ECU 5 includes a communication interface 51, a memory 52, and a processor 53.

[0026] The communication interface 51 is an example of a communication unit and has a communication interface circuit for connecting the ECU 5 to an in-vehicle network. The communication interface 51 supplies the received data to the processor 53. Also, the communication interface 51 outputs the data supplied from the processor 53 to the outside.

[0027] The memory 52 has a volatile semiconductor memory and a non-volatile semiconductor memory. The memory 52 stores various data used for processing by the processor 53, for example, a value indicating the result of a transfer determination in each of the cases where transfer control is determined to be necessary and unnecessary, a predetermined ratio for obtaining a total value by adding together the value indicating the result of a transfer determination and the value indicating the result of a previous transfer determination in a second and subsequent transfer determination, a transfer necessity threshold value for determining the necessity of transfer control based on the total value obtained in a second and subsequent transfer determination, and the like. Also, the memory 52 stores various application programs, for example, a running control program for executing running control processing.

[0028] The processor 53 is an example of a control unit and has one or more processors and their peripheral circuits. The processor 53 may further have other arithmetic circuits such as a logical arithmetic unit, a numerical arithmetic unit, or a graphic processing unit.

[0029] Figure 4 is a functional block diagram of the processor 53 included in the ECU 5.

[0030] The processor 53 of the ECU 5 includes, as functional blocks, a terrain determination unit 531, a merging vehicle determination unit 532, a yielding determination unit 533, and a driving control unit 534. Each of these units included in the processor 53 is a functional module implemented by a computer program stored in the memory 52 and executed on the processor 53. The computer program for realizing the functions of each unit of the processor 53 may be provided in a form recorded on a computer-readable portable recording medium such as a semiconductor memory, a magnetic recording medium, or an optical recording medium. Alternatively, each of these units included in the processor 53 may be implemented in the ECU 5 as an independent integrated circuit, a microprocessor, or firmware.

[0031] The terrain determination unit 531 determines whether the driving lane on which the vehicle 1 is traveling is a merging lane into which the merging lane merges, using the peripheral data representing the situation around the vehicle 1.

[0032] The terrain determination unit 531 acquires the lane information of the road around the self-position represented by the positioning signal received from the GNSS receiver 3 from the storage device 4 via the communication interface 51. The terrain determination unit 531 inputs the peripheral image acquired from the peripheral camera 2 via the communication interface 51 into an identifier that has been pre-learned to detect detection targets such as lane dividing lines from the image, thereby detecting the lane dividing lines from the peripheral image. The terrain determination unit 531 uses the lane dividing lines detected from the peripheral image to identify which lane among one or more lanes included in the road the driving lane on which the vehicle 1 is traveling corresponds to. For example, if the lane information acquired from the storage device 4 includes two lanes, and one lane dividing line is detected on the left side of the vehicle 1 and two lane dividing lines are detected on the right side from the peripheral image, the terrain determination unit 531 can identify the left lane among the two lanes as the driving lane. Then, the terrain determination unit 531 identifies the position of the driving lane in the lane information acquired from the storage device 4 and determines whether the driving lane is a merging lane.

[0033] The identifier can be a convolutional neural network (CNN) having a plurality of convolutional layers connected in series from the input side to the output side, such as Single Shot MultiBox Detector or Faster R-CNN. By using an image including a detection target such as a lane marking as teacher data and pre-training the CNN in accordance with a predetermined learning method such as the error backpropagation method, the CNN operates as an identifier that detects lane markings from a surrounding image.

[0034] The terrain determination unit 531 may determine whether the traveling lane is a merging lane by acquiring lane information corresponding to the self-position represented by the positioning signal received from the GNSS receiver from the storage device 4.

[0035] The merging vehicle determination unit 532 determines whether the merging vehicle 10 is trying to overtake the vehicle 1. For example, when the merging vehicle 10 is decelerating (the acceleration is negative), the merging vehicle determination unit 532 can determine that the merging vehicle 10 is trying to overtake the vehicle 1.

[0036] The merging vehicle determination unit 532 inputs a series of peripheral images obtained by the surrounding camera 2 within a recent predetermined period into a discriminator pre-trained to detect detection targets such as vehicles from the images, thereby detecting the merging vehicle 10 from each of the series of peripheral images. The merging vehicle determination unit 532 specifies the orientation of the merging vehicle 10 as seen from the vehicle 1 based on the position where the merging vehicle 10 is detected in the peripheral image. In the lane information acquired from the storage device 4 according to the self-position represented by the positioning signal received from the GNSS receiver 3, the merging vehicle determination unit 532 specifies the traveling direction in the merging lane located in the specified orientation of the merging vehicle 10 from the self-position, and estimates the direction of the merging vehicle 10 with respect to the vehicle 1. The merging vehicle determination unit 532 estimates the distance to the merging vehicle 10 based on the ratio of the size of the area where the merging vehicle 10 is represented on the peripheral image to the reference size of the merging vehicle 10 in the image in the estimated direction when the distance to the merging vehicle 10 is the reference distance, and the size of the merging vehicle 10 in the real space. The merging vehicle determination unit 532 estimates the relative position of the merging vehicle 10 with respect to the vehicle 1 based on the orientation of the merging vehicle 10 as seen from the vehicle 1 and the distance to the merging vehicle detected from each of a series of peripheral images obtained by the surrounding camera 2 within a recent fixed period, and the position of the vehicle 1 when each of the series of peripheral images is generated. The merging vehicle determination unit 532 divides the interval between the relative positions of the merging vehicle 10 in each of a pair of peripheral images among the series of peripheral images by the interval between the times when the pair of peripheral images are obtained, thereby estimating the speed of the merging vehicle 10 corresponding to the interval between the times when the pair of peripheral images are obtained. The reference distance, the reference size of the detected merging vehicle 10 in the image, and the size in the real space may be stored in advance in the memory 52, for example. The merging vehicle determination unit 532 estimates the speed of the merging vehicle 10 at each of a first time included in a fixed period and a second time after the first time, and determines that the merging vehicle 10 is trying to overtake the vehicle 1 if the speed at the second time is slower than the speed at the first time.

[0037] Vehicle 1 may have a LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) sensor that generates a distance image in which each pixel has a value corresponding to the distance to the object represented by the pixel. In this case, the merging vehicle determination unit 532 can use the distance to the object existing in the direction to the merging vehicle 10 represented in the peripheral image as the distance to the merging vehicle in the distance image.

[0038] While it is determined that the driving lane is the merging lane, the yielding determination unit 533 repeatedly performs a yielding determination to detect the merging vehicle 10 traveling on the merging lane from the peripheral image and determine the necessity of yielding control to widen the space for the merging vehicle 10 to change lanes to the merging lane.

[0039] In the first yielding determination, the yielding determination unit 533 performs a yielding determination using the relative positional relationship including the relative position and relative speed of the merging vehicle 10 detected from the peripheral image with respect to the vehicle 1.

[0040] For example, assume that vehicle 1 is traveling at a constant speed of 90 km / h 40 m before the merging start point MSP. Also, assume that the merging vehicle 10 is traveling at a constant speed of 72 km / h 40 m before the merging start point MSP. That is, the merging vehicle 10 is traveling 5 m in front of vehicle 1 at a relative speed of -18 km / h.

[0041] In this case, from the relative positional relationship, the yielding determination unit 533 predicts that the merging vehicle 10 will reach the merging start point MSP after 2 seconds, and when the merging vehicle 10 reaches the merging start point MSP, vehicle 1 will reach 10 m ahead of the merging start point MSP. That is, the yielding determination unit 533 predicts that when the merging vehicle 10 reaches the merging start point MSP, the position of vehicle 1 will be in front of the merging vehicle 10. Also, the yielding determination unit 533 predicts that when the merging vehicle 10 reaches the merging start point MSP, vehicle 1 is faster than the merging vehicle 10 (the relative speed of the merging vehicle 10 with respect to vehicle 1 is negative). In this case, the yielding determination unit 533 determines that yielding control is unnecessary.

[0042] Also, for example, assume that vehicle 1 is traveling at a constant speed of 90 km / h 55 m before the merging end point MEP. Also, assume that the merging vehicle 10 is traveling at 80 km / h 48 m before the merging end point MEP, and the acceleration of the merging vehicle 10 is 2 m / s 2 ². That is, the merging vehicle 10 is traveling at a relative speed of +10 km / h 7 m in front of vehicle 1.

[0043] In this case, from the relative position relationship, the yielding determination unit 533 predicts that the merging vehicle 10 will reach the merging end point MEP after 2 seconds, and when the merging vehicle 10 reaches the merging end point MEP, vehicle 1 will reach 5 m before the merging end point MEP. That is, the yielding determination unit 533 predicts that when the merging vehicle 10 reaches the merging end point MEP, the position of vehicle 1 will be behind that of the merging vehicle 10. Also, the yielding determination unit 533 predicts that when the merging vehicle 10 reaches the merging end point MEP, the speed of the merging vehicle 10 will be 94 km / h, which is faster than that of vehicle 1 (the relative speed of the merging vehicle 10 with respect to vehicle 1 is positive). In this case, the yielding determination unit 533 determines that yielding control is required.

[0044] Based on the relative position relationship, the yielding determination unit 533 may determine that yielding control is not required when it is predicted that when the merging vehicle 10 reaches the merging start point MSP, vehicle 1 will be slower than the merging vehicle 10 and the position of vehicle 1 will be behind that of the merging vehicle 10. Also, based on the relative position relationship, the yielding determination unit 533 may determine that yielding control is not required when it is predicted that when the merging vehicle 10 reaches the merging end point MEP, vehicle 1 will be faster than the merging vehicle 10 and the position of vehicle 1 will be in front of that of the merging vehicle 10.

[0045] In the transfer determination after the second time, the transfer determination unit 533 uses at least the result of the previous transfer determination. For example, the transfer determination unit 533 temporarily stores in the memory 52 a value (for example, "transfer control necessary": 1, "transfer control unnecessary": -1, "neither": 0) indicating the result of the transfer determination within a recent fixed period using the relative positional relationship between the merging vehicle 10 and the vehicle 1. In the transfer determination after the second time, the transfer determination unit 533 performs the transfer determination using the total value obtained by adding at a predetermined ratio (for example, 0.3 and 0.7 in order) each of the value indicating the result of the transfer determination using the relative positional relationship between the merging vehicle 10 and the vehicle 1 and the value indicating the result of the previous (for example, the previous time) transfer determination. When the total value exceeds the transfer necessary threshold (for example, 0.5), the transfer determination unit 533 determines that transfer control is necessary, and when the total value is less than the transfer unnecessary threshold (for example, -0.5), the transfer determination unit 533 determines that transfer control is unnecessary.

[0046] For example, assume that the result of the transfer determination using the relative positional relationship between the merging vehicle 10 and the vehicle 1 is "transfer control necessary" (value is 1), and the result of the previous transfer determination is "neither" (value is 0). At this time, the total value using the above ratio is 0.3. In this case, since the total value does not exceed the transfer necessary threshold and does not fall below the transfer unnecessary threshold, the transfer determination unit 533 determines "neither" and maintains the result of the previous transfer determination. Although the driving control in the case of being determined "neither" will be described later, at least driving control other than transfer control is executed.

[0047] By performing the transfer determination in this way, the ECU 5 can repeatedly perform the transfer determination so that the result is not frequently changed, and can suppress the discomfort given to the driver and other traffic participants.

[0048] In the second and subsequent yielding controls, the yielding determination unit 533 may set a predetermined ratio for a value indicating the result of yielding determination using the relative positional relationship between the merging vehicle 10 and the vehicle 1 to 0. When the merging vehicle determination unit 532 determines that the merging vehicle 10 attempts to overtake the vehicle 1, the yielding determination unit 533 may determine that yielding control after the determination is unnecessary regardless of the relative positional relationship between the merging vehicle 10 and the vehicle 1 and the result of the previous yielding determination. Then, in the second and subsequent yielding determinations when it is determined that the merging vehicle 10 does not attempt to overtake the vehicle 1, the yielding determination unit 533 may use the result of the previous yielding determination as it is.

[0049] By performing yielding determination in this way, the ECU 5 can avoid a situation where both the vehicle 1 and the merging vehicle 10 make concessions even when the merging vehicle 10 attempts to yield after yielding control is required in the first yielding determination.

[0050] The yielding determination unit 533 may vary the ratio used when adding together the value indicating the result of yielding determination using the relative positional relationship between the merging vehicle 10 and the vehicle 1 and the value indicating the result of the previous yielding determination in the second and subsequent yielding determinations according to the distance from the vehicle 1 to the merging end point MEP. For example, the yielding determination unit 533 may set the ratio such that the smaller the distance from the vehicle 1 to the merging end point MEP, the smaller the ratio of the value indicating the result of yielding determination using the relative positional relationship between the merging vehicle 10 and the vehicle 1, and the larger the ratio of the value indicating the result of the previous yielding determination. By setting the ratio in this way, the ECU 5 can make it difficult for the result of yielding determination to be frequently changed when the distance to the merging end point MEP is short.

[0051] In addition, the yielding determination unit 533 may vary the ratio used when adding together the value indicating the result of the yielding determination using the relative positional relationship between the merging vehicle 10 and the vehicle 1 in the yielding determination after the second time and the value indicating the result of the previous yielding determination according to the number of times of yielding determination while it is determined that the driving lane is the lane to be merged into. For example, the yielding determination unit 533 may set the ratio such that the higher the number of times of yielding determination (e.g., in the third yielding determination compared to the second yielding determination), the smaller the ratio of the value indicating the result of the yielding determination using the relative positional relationship between the merging vehicle 10 and the vehicle 1, and the larger the ratio of the value indicating the result of the previous yielding determination. By setting the ratio in this way, each time the yielding determination is repeated while it is determined that the driving lane is the lane to be merged into, the ECU 5 can make it difficult for the result of the yielding determination to be frequently changed when the distance to the merging end point MEP is short.

[0052] The driving control unit 534 controls the driving of the vehicle 1 according to the result of the yielding determination.

[0053] When it is determined that yielding determination is necessary, the driving control unit 534 executes yielding control to widen the space for the merging vehicle 10 to merge into the lane to be merged into (lane L11). For example, when the relative speed of the merging vehicle 10 with respect to the vehicle 1 is negative, the driving control unit 534 increases the speed of the vehicle 1 and widens the space for the merging vehicle 10 to merge at the rear side of the vehicle 1. Further, when the relative speed of the merging vehicle 10 with respect to the vehicle 1 is positive, the driving control unit 534 decreases the speed of the vehicle 1 and widens the space for the merging vehicle 10 to merge at the front side of the vehicle 1.

[0054] The driving control unit 534 controls the driving of the vehicle 1 by outputting a predetermined control signal to the driving mechanism (not shown) of the vehicle 1 via the communication interface 51. The driving mechanism includes, for example, an engine or a motor for accelerating the vehicle 1 and a brake for decelerating the vehicle 1.

[0055] When the transfer determination is not determined to be necessary or unnecessary, the travel control unit 534 executes travel control other than transfer control. The travel control other than transfer control may be, for example, a preceding vehicle following control that performs travel control to keep the distance to a preceding vehicle traveling ahead of the vehicle 1 in the travel lane constant. Further, the travel control unit 534 may execute a vehicle speed maintenance control that maintains the set vehicle speed as travel control other than transfer control.

[0056] FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the travel control process. The ECU 5 repeatedly executes it at a predetermined time interval (for example, at intervals of 1 / 10 second) while the vehicle 1 travels under automatic driving control.

[0057] First, the terrain determination unit 531 of the processor 53 of the ECU 5 determines whether the travel lane on which the vehicle 1 is traveling is a confluence lane that merges into a merging lane using the surrounding data representing the situation around the vehicle 1 (step S1).

[0058] If it is determined that the travel lane is not a confluence lane (step S1: N), the terrain determination unit 531 ends the travel control process. In this case, the automatic driving control of the vehicle 1 continues.

[0059] If it is determined that the travel lane is a confluence lane (step S1: Y), the transfer determination unit 533 of the processor 53 determines whether a value indicating the result of the transfer determination after it is determined to be a confluence lane is temporarily stored in the memory 52 (whether it is the first transfer determination) (step S2).

[0060] If it is determined that it is the first transfer determination (step S2: Y), the transfer determination unit 533 performs a transfer determination using the relative positional relationship between the merging vehicle 10 and the vehicle 1, and temporarily stores a value indicating the result of the transfer determination in the memory 52 (step S3).

[0061] If it is determined that it is not the first transfer determination (step S2: N), the transfer determination unit 533 performs a transfer determination using at least the result of the previous transfer determination, and temporarily stores a value indicating the result of the transfer determination in the memory 52 (step S4).

[0062] According to the result of the yielding determination, the driving control unit 534 of the ECU 5 controls the driving of the vehicle 1 and returns the process of the EECU 5 to step S1.

[0063] By executing the driving control process in this way, the ECU 5 can execute the yielding control so as not to give a sense of discomfort to the driver and surrounding traffic participants.

[0064] Those skilled in the art should understand that various changes, substitutions, and modifications can be made to this without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

Explanation of Signs

[0065] 1 Vehicle 10 Merging vehicle 5 ECU 531 Terrain determination unit 532 Merging vehicle determination unit 533 Yielding determination unit 534 Driving control unit

Claims

1. A terrain determination unit that determines whether the driving lane on which the vehicle is traveling is a merging lane that merges into a merging lane; While it is determined that the driving lane is the merging lane, a merging vehicle traveling in the merging lane is detected from peripheral data, and a yielding determination for determining the necessity of yielding control for widening a space for the merging vehicle to change lanes into the merging lane is repeatedly performed for the merging vehicle. In the first yielding determination, the relative positional relationship between the merging vehicle and the vehicle is used, and in the yielding determination after the second time, at least the necessity of the yielding control determined in the previous yielding determination is used. A yielding determination unit; A travel control unit that controls the travel of the vehicle according to the result of the yielding determination; A travel control device comprising:

2. When it is determined in the yielding determination that the yielding control is necessary, the yielding determination unit stores a first value as a value representing the result of the yielding determination in a memory. When it is determined in the yielding determination that the yielding control is unnecessary, the yielding determination unit stores a second value different from the first value as a value representing the result of the yielding determination in the memory. In the yielding determination after the second time, the yielding determination is performed using a total value obtained by adding, at a predetermined ratio, each of a value indicating the result of the yielding determination using the relative positional relationship between the merging vehicle and the vehicle and a value indicating the result of the previous yielding determination. The travel control device according to claim 1.

3. The first value is a value larger than the second value; In the yielding determination after the second time, when the total value exceeds a predetermined yielding necessity threshold, the yielding determination unit determines that the yielding control is necessary, and when the total value is below the yielding necessity threshold, the yielding determination unit determines that the yielding control is unnecessary. The travel control device according to claim 2.

4. Further comprising a merging vehicle determination unit that determines whether the merging vehicle is trying to let the vehicle go ahead; When it is determined that the merging vehicle is trying to let the vehicle go ahead, after the determination, the yielding determination unit determines that the yielding control is unnecessary regardless of the relative positional relationship between the merging vehicle and the vehicle and the result of the previous yielding determination. In the yielding determination after the second time when it is determined that the merging vehicle is not trying to let the vehicle go ahead, the result of the previous yielding determination is used as it is. The travel control device according to claim 1.

5. In the first passing determination, when the merging vehicle reaches the merging start point where the lane change of the merging vehicle into the target merging lane can start, if it is predicted that the vehicle is faster than the merging vehicle and the position of the vehicle is in front of the merging vehicle, the passing control determination unit determines that passing control is unnecessary. When the merging vehicle reaches the merging end point where the lane change of the merging vehicle into the target merging lane cannot start, if it is predicted that the vehicle is slower than the merging vehicle and the position of the vehicle is behind the merging vehicle, the passing control determination unit determines that passing control is necessary. The traveling control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. A traveling control device mounted on a vehicle, determines whether the traveling lane on which the vehicle is traveling is a target merging lane into which a merging lane merges, while it is determined that the traveling lane is the target merging lane, a merging vehicle traveling on the merging lane is detected from surrounding data, and a passing determination for determining the necessity of passing control for widening a space for the merging vehicle to change lanes into the target merging lane is repeatedly performed for the merging vehicle. In the first passing determination, the relative positional relationship between the merging vehicle and the vehicle is used, and in the second and subsequent passing determinations, at least the necessity of passing control determined in the previous passing determination is used. controls the traveling of the vehicle according to the result of the passing determination. A traveling control method including this.

7. determining whether the traveling lane on which the vehicle is traveling is a target merging lane into which a merging lane merges, while it is determined that the traveling lane is the target merging lane, a merging vehicle traveling on the merging lane is detected from surrounding data, and a passing determination for determining the necessity of passing control for widening a space for the merging vehicle to change lanes into the target merging lane is repeatedly performed for the merging vehicle. In the first passing determination, the relative positional relationship between the merging vehicle and the vehicle is used, and in the second and subsequent passing determinations, at least the necessity of passing control determined in the previous passing determination is used, controlling the traveling of the vehicle according to the result of the passing determination, A computer program for traveling control that causes a computer mounted on the vehicle to execute.

Images