Vehicle control device and vehicle control method

Abstract

To prevent a driver from feeling discomfort even when it becomes necessary to suspend a lane change and wait in the process of making the lane change automatically during automatic driving without observation obligation.SOLUTION: A vehicular control device includes: a situation identification unit 121 for identifying the situation of an own vehicle; and a notification processing unit 141 for allowing notification to be provided to the interior of the own vehicle. The situation identification unit 121 identifies, as the situation of the own vehicle, a first waiting situation where it is necessary to suspend a lane change and wait after the automatic start of the lane change during automatic driving without observation obligation. When the situation identification unit 121 identifies the first waiting situation, the notification processing unit 141 allows notification indicating a waiting state where the own vehicle suspends the lane change and is waiting, and notification reporting the cause of the waiting state to be provided.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle control device and a vehicle control method.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for automatically driving a host vehicle by automatically operating driving operation elements such as a throttle actuator, a brake actuator, a shift position, a steering wheel, and a turn signal. Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for performing control to change lanes toward a lane for proceeding to a road other than in the same direction when it is determined that there is no lane in which the host vehicle can travel in the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling during automatic driving.

[0003] Further, as the automation level of automatic driving, for example, automation levels classified into levels 0 to 5 defined by SAE are known. Level 0 is a level at which the driver performs all driving tasks without system intervention. Level 0 corresponds to so-called manual driving. Level 1 is a level at which the system assists either steering or acceleration / deceleration. Level 2 is a level at which the system assists both steering and acceleration / deceleration. Automatic driving at levels 1 to 2 is automatic driving in which the driver has a monitoring obligation related to safe driving (hereinafter simply referred to as the monitoring obligation). Level 3 is a level at which the system can perform all driving tasks at a specific location such as a highway, and the driver performs a driving operation in an emergency. Level 4 is a level at which the system can perform all driving tasks except in specific situations such as roads where it is impossible to respond and extreme environments. Level 5 is a level at which the system can perform all driving tasks in any environment. Automatic driving at level 3 or higher is automatic driving in which the driver has no monitoring obligation.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] During automated driving without a driver's monitoring obligation (hereinafter referred to as automated driving without a monitoring obligation), when attempting to change lanes as disclosed in Patent Document 1, the vehicle's system side determines whether a lane change is possible and is considered to start the lane change. In this case, after starting the lane change, it is also possible that due to the sudden approach of another vehicle, the lane change cannot be completed and the vehicle remains in a waiting state while waiting in the middle of the lane change. During automated driving without a monitoring obligation, there is a high possibility that the driver is not aware of the situation around the own vehicle. Therefore, if a waiting state for lane change occurs after the lane change has started, the driver may not be able to grasp the situation, which may give the driver a sense of discomfort.

[0006] One object of this disclosure is to provide a vehicle control device and a vehicle control method that make it possible to make it less likely to give the driver a sense of discomfort even when waiting for a lane change is required during automated lane change during automated driving without a monitoring obligation.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] The above object is achieved by the combination of the features described in the independent claims, and the dependent claims define further advantageous specific examples of the disclosure. The reference signs in parentheses described in the claims indicate the correspondence with the specific means described in the embodiments described later as one aspect, and do not limit the technical scope of the present disclosure.

[0008] Upper To achieve the above object, the first of the present disclosure 1The vehicle control device is a vehicle control device that can be used in a vehicle that performs driverless driving without monitoring obligation, which is a type of autonomous driving without the obligation to monitor the surroundings. The vehicle control device includes a situation identification unit (121, 121a, 121d, 121e) that identifies the situation of the vehicle, and a notification control unit (141, 141a, 141b, 141c) that causes a notification to be made toward the interior of the vehicle. The situation identification unit identifies, as a situation of the vehicle, a first standby situation that requires the vehicle to interrupt a lane change in the middle and wait after automatically starting the lane change during driverless driving without monitoring obligation. The notification control unit, when the situation identification unit identifies the first standby situation The vehicle is in a standby state where it has interrupted a lane change and is waiting. When the standby state continues for a specified time or more, a timeout is performed to end the standby state. When the timeout occurs, the notification control unit ends the standby state display before the timeout and, at a timing shifted from the timing of ending the standby state display, causes a notification indicating that the standby state has timed out to be issued causes the vehicle to Wait give a notification indicating that the vehicle is in a standby state and a notification conveying the reason for entering the standby state. When the situation identification unit identifies the first standby situation, the notification control unit (141b) causes a standby state display indicating that the vehicle is in a standby state to be made in a display area of a display device that displays information related to a second task, which is an action other than driving permitted to the driver of the vehicle The vehicle is in a standby state where it has interrupted a lane change and is waiting. When the standby state continues for a specified time or more, a timeout is performed to end the standby state. In the notification control process, when the timeout occurs, the notification control unit ends the standby state display before the timeout and, at a timing shifted from the timing of ending the standby state display, causes a notification indicating that the standby state has timed out to be issued . To achieve the above object, the 2 vehicle control device of the present disclosure is a vehicle control device that can be used in a vehicle that performs driverless driving without monitoring obligation, which is a type of autonomous driving without the obligation to monitor the surroundings. The vehicle control device includes a situation identification unit (121, 121a, 121d, 121e) that identifies the situation of the vehicle, and a notification control unit (141, 141a, 141b, 141c) that causes a notification to be made toward the interior of the vehicle. The situation identification unit identifies, as a situation of the vehicle, a first standby situation that requires the vehicle to interrupt a lane change in the middle and wait after automatically starting the lane change during driverless driving without monitoring obligation. The notification control unit, when the situation identification unit identifies the first standby situation The vehicle is in a standby state where it has interrupted a lane change and is waitingWhen the vehicle is in a standby state where it has interrupted a lane change and is waiting, it is configured to provide a notification indicating the standby state and a notification conveying the reason for entering the standby state. When the situation identification unit identifies a first standby situation, it is equipped with a control unit (132, 132d, 132e) for driving the vehicle in the standby state. When the control unit for driving during standby (132d) determines that the situation identification unit (121d) has identified traffic congestion during the standby state, it drives the vehicle with its driving position closer to the end on the side where the vehicle was attempting to change lanes than when traffic congestion has not been identified. Upper To achieve the above object, the 3 vehicle control device of the present disclosure is a vehicle control device that can be used in a vehicle that performs driverless driving without the obligation to monitor the surroundings. The vehicle control device includes a situation identification unit (121, 121a, 121d, 121e) that identifies the situation of the vehicle, and a notification control unit (141, 141a, 141b, 141c) that causes a notification to be made toward the interior of the vehicle. The situation identification unit identifies, as a situation of the vehicle, a first standby situation in which it is necessary to interrupt and wait in the middle of an automatically started lane change during driverless driving without the obligation to monitor the surroundings. When the situation identification unit identifies a first standby situation, The vehicle is in a standby state where it has interrupted a lane change and is waiting the notification control unit causes a notification indicating that the vehicle is in a standby state where it has interrupted a lane change and is waiting and a notification conveying the reason for entering the standby state to be made. When the situation identification unit identifies a first standby situation, it is equipped with a control unit (132, 132d, 132e) for driving the vehicle in the standby state. The automatic lane change is performed after moving the driving position of the vehicle in the driving lane closer to the end on the side where the vehicle is changing lanes. The control unit for driving during standby (132) moves the driving position of the vehicle closer to the end side of the driving lane based on the fact that the situation identification unit (121a) has identified a first standby situation and drives the vehicle. To achieve the above object, the 4The vehicle control device is a vehicle control device that can be used in a vehicle that performs driverless automated driving without a monitoring obligation, which is an automated driving without a surrounding monitoring obligation. The vehicle control device includes a situation identification unit (121, 121a, 121d, 121e) that identifies the situation of the vehicle, and a notification control unit (141, 141a, 141b, 141c) that causes a notification to be made toward the interior of the vehicle. The situation identification unit identifies, as a situation of the vehicle, a first standby situation that requires the vehicle to interrupt a lane change during the lane change and wait after automatically starting the lane change during driverless automated driving without a monitoring obligation. The notification control unit causes, when the situation identification unit identifies the first standby situation The vehicle is in a standby state where it has interrupted a lane change and is waiting a notification indicating that the vehicle is in a standby state where the lane change has been interrupted and is waiting, and a notification conveying the reason for the standby state. The notification control unit can cause the notification to be made by display on a display device. When the vehicle is to perform a re-challenge to perform a lane change again after it has been unable to complete the lane change, the display device that does not display information related to the lane change before the re-challenge is also caused to display information related to the lane change.

[0009] To achieve the above object, a 1 vehicle control method according to the present disclosure is a vehicle control method that can be used in a vehicle that performs driverless automated driving without a monitoring obligation, which is an automated driving without a surrounding monitoring obligation. The vehicle control method includes a situation identification step of identifying the situation of the vehicle, and a notification control step of causing a notification to be made toward the interior of the vehicle, which are executed by at least one processor. In the situation identification step, as a situation of the vehicle, a first standby situation that requires the vehicle to interrupt a lane change during the lane change and wait after automatically starting the lane change during driverless automated driving without a monitoring obligation is identified. In the notification control step, when the first standby situation is identified in the situation identification step The vehicle is in a standby state where it has interrupted a lane change and is waiting a notification indicating that the vehicle is in a standby state where the lane change has been interrupted and is waiting, and a notification conveying the reason for the standby state are caused. In the notification control step, when the first standby situation is identified in the situation identification step, a standby state display indicating the standby state is caused to be displayed in a display area of a display device that is displaying information related to a second task that is an action other than driving permitted to the driver of the vehicle, as a notification indicating the standby state. The vehicle is in a standby state where it has interrupted a lane change and is waiting. When the standby state continues for a specified time or more, a timeout is performed to end the standby state. In the notification control process, when the timeout occurs, the notification control unit ends the standby state display before the timeout and, at a timing shifted from the timing of ending the standby state display, causes a notification indicating that the standby state has timed out to be issued 。 To achieve the above object, a vehicle control method according to a first aspect of the present disclosure is a vehicle control method that can be used in a vehicle that performs a driverless automatic driving without a monitoring obligation, which is an automatic driving without a surrounding monitoring obligation, and includes a situation specifying step of specifying a situation of the vehicle, which is executed by at least one processor, and a notification control step of causing a notification to be made toward the interior of the vehicle. In the situation specifying step, as a situation of the vehicle, a first standby situation in which it is necessary to interrupt the lane change during the driverless automatic driving and wait after starting the automatic lane change is specified. In the notification control step, when the first standby situation is specified in the situation specifying step, a notification indicating that the vehicle is in a standby state in which the lane change has been interrupted and is waiting, and a notification conveying the factor that has caused the standby state are made. When the first standby situation is specified in the situation specifying step, a running-in-standby control step of causing the vehicle to run in the standby state is included. In the running-in-standby control step, as running in the standby state, when it is specified that the vehicle is in a traffic jam in the situation specifying step, the running position of the vehicle is caused to be closer to the end on the side where the vehicle was about to change lanes in the running lane of the vehicle than when it is not specified that the vehicle is in a traffic jam. 2 To achieve the above object, a vehicle control method according to a first aspect of the present disclosure is a vehicle control method that can be used in a vehicle that performs a driverless automatic driving without a monitoring obligation, which is an automatic driving without a surrounding monitoring obligation, and includes a situation specifying step of specifying a situation of the vehicle, which is executed by at least one processor, and a notification control step of causing a notification to be made toward the interior of the vehicle. In the situation specifying step, as a situation of the vehicle, a first standby situation in which it is necessary to interrupt the lane change during the driverless automatic driving and wait after starting the automatic lane change is specified. In the notification control step, when the first standby situation is specified in the situation specifying step, The vehicle is in a standby state where it has interrupted a lane change and is waiting a notification indicating that the vehicle is in a standby state in which the lane change has been interrupted and is waiting, and a notification conveying the factor that has caused the standby state are made. When the first standby situation is specified in the situation specifying step, a running-in-standby control step of causing the vehicle to run in the standby state is included. In the running-in-standby control step, as running in the standby state, when it is specified that the vehicle is in a traffic jam in the situation specifying step, the running position of the vehicle is caused to be closer to the end on the side where the vehicle was about to change lanes in the running lane of the vehicle than when it is not specified that the vehicle is in a traffic jam. Upper To achieve the above object, a vehicle control method according to a first aspect of the present disclosure is a vehicle control method that can be used in a vehicle that performs a driverless automatic driving without a monitoring obligation, which is an automatic driving without a surrounding monitoring obligation, and includes a situation specifying step of specifying a situation of the vehicle, which is executed by at least one processor, and a notification control step of causing a notification to be made toward the interior of the vehicle. In the situation specifying step, as a situation of the vehicle, a first standby situation in which it is necessary to interrupt the lane change during the driverless automatic driving and wait after starting the automatic lane change is specified. In the notification control step, when the first standby situation is specified in the situation specifying step, 3 a notification indicating that the vehicle is in a standby state in which the lane change has been interrupted and is waiting, and a notification conveying the factor that has caused the standby state are made. When the first standby situation is specified in the situation specifying step, a running-in-standby control step of causing the vehicle to run in the standby state is included. In the running-in-standby control step, as running in the standby state, when it is specified that the vehicle is in a traffic jam in the situation specifying step, the running position of the vehicle is caused to be closer to the end on the side where the vehicle was about to change lanes in the running lane of the vehicle than when it is not specified that the vehicle is in a traffic jam. The vehicle is in a standby state where it has interrupted a lane change and is waitingIn the case where [the vehicle is in a standby state where it interrupts a lane change midway and waits], it is configured to perform notification indicating that the vehicle is in a standby state where it interrupts a lane change midway and waits, and notification conveying the factor that has caused the standby state. When the first standby state is identified in the situation identification step, it includes a traveling-in-standby control step of causing the vehicle to travel in the standby state. The automatic lane change is performed after moving the traveling position of the vehicle in the traveling lane closer to the end on the side where the vehicle is to change lanes. In the traveling-in-standby control step, based on the fact that the first standby state has been identified in the situation identification step, the traveling position of the vehicle is moved closer to the end side of the traveling lane and the vehicle is caused to travel. In order to achieve the above object, the 4 vehicle control method of the present disclosure is a vehicle control method that can be used in a vehicle that performs driverless automatic driving without a surrounding monitoring obligation. It includes a situation identification step of identifying the situation of the vehicle, which is executed by at least one processor, and a notification control step of causing notification to be made toward the interior of the vehicle. In the situation identification step, as the situation of the vehicle, during driverless automatic driving without a surrounding monitoring obligation, a first standby state in which it is necessary to interrupt the lane change midway and wait after the start of the automatic lane change is identified. In the notification control step, when the first standby state is identified in the situation identification step The vehicle is in a standby state where it has interrupted a lane change and is waiting it is configured to perform notification indicating that the vehicle is in a standby state where it interrupts a lane change midway and waits, and notification conveying the factor that has caused the standby state. In the notification control step, it is possible to cause the notification to be made by display on a display device. When re-challenging to perform the lane change again after the vehicle has been unable to complete the lane change, even on a display device that does not display information related to the lane change before the re-challenge, information related to the lane change is also displayed.

[0010] According to the above configuration, in the case of a first standby situation where it is necessary to automatically interrupt the lane change during the lane change and wait without the monitoring obligation, when the vehicle is facing the interior, a notification indicating that the vehicle is in a standby state where the lane change has been interrupted and waiting is performed, and a notification conveying the factor that has caused the standby state is also performed. Therefore, even when the driver is not aware of the situation around the own vehicle during the automatic driving without the monitoring obligation, the driver can more easily grasp the situation of being in the standby state. As a result, even when it becomes necessary to wait for a lane change during the automatic lane change without the monitoring obligation, it is possible to make it less likely to give the driver a sense of discomfort.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0011]

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Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0012] While referring to the drawings, a plurality of embodiments for disclosure will be described. For the sake of convenience of explanation, among the plurality of embodiments, parts having the same functions as those shown in the drawings used in the previous explanations may be given the same reference numerals, and the explanations thereof may be omitted. For the parts given the same reference numerals, the explanations in other embodiments can be referred to.

[0013] (Embodiment 1) <Schematic Configuration of Vehicle System 1> Hereinafter, Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. The vehicle system 1 shown in FIG. 1 can be used in a vehicle capable of autonomous driving (hereinafter, an autonomous driving vehicle). As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle system 1 includes an autonomous driving ECU 10, a communication module 11, a locator 12, a map database (hereinafter, map DB) 13, a vehicle state sensor 14, a surrounding monitoring sensor 15, a vehicle control ECU 16, a notification device 17, a user input device 18, and an HCU (Human Machine Interface Control Unit) 19. For example, the autonomous driving ECU 10, the communication module 11, the locator 12, the map DB 13, the vehicle state sensor 14, the surrounding monitoring sensor 15, the vehicle control ECU 16, and the HCU 19 may be configured to be connected to an in-vehicle LAN (see the LAN in FIG. 1). The vehicle using the vehicle system 1 is not necessarily limited to an automobile, but hereinafter, the case of using it in an automobile will be described as an example.

[0014] As the level of autonomous driving of an autonomous driving vehicle (hereinafter, the automation level), for example, as defined by SAE, there can be multiple levels. The automation level is classified into LV0 to 5 as follows, for example.

[0015] LV0 is a level at which the driver performs all driving tasks without system intervention. The driving tasks may also be referred to as dynamic driving tasks. The driving tasks are, for example, steering, acceleration / deceleration, and surrounding monitoring. LV0 corresponds to so-called manual driving. LV1 is a level at which the system assists with either steering or acceleration / deceleration. LV1 corresponds to so-called driving assistance. LV2 is a level at which the system assists with both steering and acceleration / deceleration. LV2 corresponds to so-called partial driving automation. Note that LV1 to 2 are also considered to be part of autonomous driving.

[0016] For example, the automated driving at levels LV1-LV2 is defined as automated driving where the driver has the obligation to monitor (hereinafter simply referred to as the monitoring obligation) for safe driving. That is, it corresponds to automated driving with a monitoring obligation. Note that the driving at levels LV0-LV2 corresponds to driving with a monitoring obligation. The monitoring obligation includes visual peripheral monitoring. The automated driving at levels LV1-LV2 can be rephrased as automated driving where secondary tasks are not permitted. A secondary task is an act other than driving permitted to the driver and is a specifically defined act. A secondary task can also be rephrased as a secondary activity, another activity, etc. A secondary task shall not prevent the driver from responding to a takeover request of the driving operation from the automated driving system. As an example, acts such as viewing contents such as videos, operating a smartphone, reading, and eating are assumed as secondary tasks.

[0017] The automated driving at level LV3 is at a level where the system can perform all driving tasks under specific conditions and the driver performs driving operations in case of an emergency. In the automated driving at level LV3, when there is a request for a driving handover from the system, the driver is required to be able to respond promptly. This driving handover can also be rephrased as the transfer of the peripheral monitoring obligation from the vehicle-side system to the driver. LV3 corresponds to so-called conditional driving automation. As LV3, there is area-limited LV3 limited to a specific area. The specific area here may be, for example, a highway. The specific area may also be, for example, a specific lane. As LV3, there is also traffic-jam-limited LV3 limited to traffic jams. The traffic-jam-limited LV3 may be configured, for example, to be limited to traffic jams on a highway. The highway may include an expressway for automobiles.

[0018] The automated driving at level 4 is a level at which the system can perform all driving tasks except in specific situations such as non-navigable roads and extreme environments. Level 4 corresponds to so-called highly automated driving. The automated driving at level 5 is a level at which the system can perform all driving tasks in all environments. Level 5 corresponds to so-called fully automated driving. The automated driving at levels 4 and 5 may be implemented, for example, on a driving section where high-precision map data is available. The high-precision map data will be described later.

[0019] For example, the automated driving at levels 3 to 5 is defined as automated driving without the driver having the obligation to monitor. That is, it corresponds to automated driving without the obligation to monitor. The automated driving at levels 3 to 5 can also be described as automated driving in which secondary tasks are permitted. The automated driving vehicle of this embodiment is assumed to have a switchable automation level. The automation level may be configured to be switchable only between some of the levels from level 0 to level 5. The automated driving vehicle of this embodiment is assumed to be capable of performing at least automated driving with the obligation to monitor the surroundings.

[0020] The communication module 11 transmits and receives information via wireless communication with an external center of the host vehicle. That is, it performs wide-area communication. The communication module 11 receives traffic jam information and the like from the center by wide-area communication. The communication module 11 may transmit and receive information via wireless communication with other vehicles. That is, it may perform vehicle-to-vehicle communication. The communication module 11 may transmit and receive information via wireless communication with a roadside unit installed on the roadside. That is, it may perform vehicle-to-roadside communication. When performing vehicle-to-roadside communication, the communication module 11 may receive information on the surrounding vehicles transmitted from the surrounding vehicles of the host vehicle via the roadside unit. Also, the communication module 11 may receive information on the surrounding vehicles transmitted from the surrounding vehicles of the host vehicle by wide-area communication via the center.

[0021] The locator 12 is equipped with a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver and an inertial sensor. The GNSS receiver receives positioning signals from a plurality of positioning satellites. The inertial sensor includes, for example, a gyro sensor and an acceleration sensor. The locator 12 sequentially measures the vehicle position (hereinafter referred to as the host vehicle position) of the host vehicle on which the locator 12 is mounted by combining the positioning signals received by the GNSS receiver and the measurement results of the inertial sensor. The host vehicle position may be represented by coordinates of latitude and longitude, for example. Note that, for the measurement of the host vehicle position, a travel distance obtained from a signal sequentially output from a vehicle speed sensor mounted on the vehicle may also be used.

[0022] The map DB 13 is a non-volatile memory and stores high-precision map data. The high-precision map data is map data with higher precision than the map data used for route guidance in the navigation function. The map DB 13 may also store the map data used for route guidance. The high-precision map data includes information available for autonomous driving, such as three-dimensional shape information of roads, number of lanes information, and information indicating the allowed driving directions in each lane. In addition, the high-precision map data may include information on node points indicating the positions of both ends of road markings such as lane dividers. Note that the locator 12 may be configured not to use the GNSS receiver by using the three-dimensional shape information of the road. For example, the locator 12 may be configured to identify the host vehicle position by using the three-dimensional shape information of the road and the detection results of a surrounding monitoring sensor 15 such as a LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging / Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging) or a surrounding monitoring camera that detects a point cloud of feature points of the road shape and structures. The three-dimensional shape information of the road may be generated based on a captured image by REM (Road Experience Management).

[0023] Note that the map data distributed from an external server may be received via the communication module 11 by wide - area communication and stored in the map DB 13. In this case, the map DB 13 may be a volatile memory, and the communication module 11 may be configured to sequentially acquire the map data of the area corresponding to the position of the own vehicle.

[0024] The vehicle state sensor 14 is a group of sensors for detecting various states of the own vehicle. Examples of the vehicle state sensor 14 include a vehicle speed sensor, a steering torque sensor, an accelerator sensor, and a brake sensor. The vehicle speed sensor detects the speed of the own vehicle. The steering torque sensor detects the steering torque applied to the steering wheel. The accelerator sensor detects the presence or absence of depression of the accelerator pedal. As the accelerator sensor, an accelerator pedal force sensor for detecting the depression force applied to the accelerator pedal may be used. As the accelerator sensor, an accelerator stroke sensor for detecting the depression amount of the accelerator pedal may be used. As the accelerator sensor, an accelerator switch for outputting a signal according to the presence or absence of the depression operation of the accelerator pedal may also be used. The brake sensor detects the presence or absence of depression of the brake pedal. As the brake sensor, a brake pedal force sensor for detecting the depression force applied to the brake pedal may be used. As the brake sensor, a brake stroke sensor for detecting the depression amount of the brake pedal may be used. As the brake sensor, a brake switch for outputting a signal according to the presence or absence of the depression operation of the brake pedal may also be used. The vehicle state sensor 14 outputs the detected sensing information to the in - vehicle LAN. Note that the sensing information detected by the vehicle state sensor 14 may be output to the in - vehicle LAN via the ECU mounted on the own vehicle.

[0025] The surrounding monitoring sensor 15 monitors the surrounding environment of the host vehicle. As an example, the surrounding monitoring sensor 15 detects obstacles around the host vehicle such as moving objects like pedestrians and other vehicles, and stationary objects like fallen objects on the road. In addition, it also detects road markings such as lane lines around the host vehicle. The surrounding monitoring sensor 15 is, for example, a surrounding monitoring camera that images a predetermined range around the host vehicle, a millimeter-wave radar that transmits a probing wave to a predetermined range around the host vehicle, a sonar, a LIDAR, or other sensors. The predetermined range may be a range that at least partially includes the front, rear, left, and right of the host vehicle. The surrounding monitoring camera sequentially outputs the captured images captured sequentially as sensing information to the automatic driving ECU 10. Sensors that transmit probing waves such as sonars, millimeter-wave radars, and LIDARs sequentially output the scanning results based on the received signals obtained when receiving the reflected waves reflected by obstacles as sensing information to the automatic driving ECU 10. The sensing information detected by the surrounding monitoring sensor 15 may be configured to be output to the automatic driving ECU 10 without passing through the in-vehicle LAN.

[0026] The vehicle control ECU 16 is an electronic control device that performs driving control of the host vehicle. The driving control includes acceleration / deceleration control and / or steering control. Examples of the vehicle control ECU 16 include a steering ECU that performs steering control, a power unit control ECU that performs acceleration / deceleration control, and a brake ECU. The vehicle control ECU 16 performs driving control by outputting control signals to each driving control device such as an electronic control throttle, a brake actuator, and an EPS (Electric Power Steering) motor mounted on the host vehicle.

[0027] The notification device 17 is provided on the host vehicle and performs notification toward the interior of the host vehicle. The notification device 17 performs notification according to the instruction of the HCU 19. The notification device 17 may be configured to perform notification at least toward the driver. The notification device 17 may also perform notification to passengers other than the driver. The notification device 17 includes a display device 171 and an audio output device 172.

[0028] The display device 171 performs notification by displaying information. As the display device 171, for example, a meter MID (Multi Information Display), CID (Center Information Display), HUD (Head-Up Display), etc. can be used. The meter MID is a display device provided in front of the driver's seat in the interior of the host vehicle. As an example, the meter MID may be configured to be provided on the meter panel. The CID is a display device arranged in the center of the instrument panel of the host vehicle. The HUD is provided, for example, on the instrument panel in the vehicle interior. The HUD projects a display image formed by a projector onto a predetermined projection area on the front windshield as a projection member. The light of the image reflected to the vehicle interior side by the front windshield is perceived by the driver seated in the driver's seat. Thereby, the driver can visually recognize the virtual image of the display image formed in front of the front windshield by overlapping it with a part of the foreground. The HUD may be configured to project the display image onto a combiner provided in front of the driver's seat instead of the front windshield. The audio output device 172 performs notification by outputting audio. Examples of the audio output device 172 include a speaker and the like.

[0029] The user input device 18 receives an input from the user. The user input device 18 may be an operation device that receives an operation input from the user. The operation device may be a mechanical switch or a touch switch integrated with the display device 171. Note that the user input device 18 is not limited to an operation device that receives an operation input as long as it is a device that receives an input from the user. For example, it may be an audio input device that receives an input of a command by voice from the user.

[0030] The HCU19 is mainly composed of a computer including a processor, a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory, I / O, and a bus connecting these components. By executing a control program stored in the non-volatile memory, the HCU19 performs various processes related to the interaction between the occupant and the vehicle system. The HCU19 acquires the input information received from the user by the user input device 18. The HCU19 causes the notification device 17 to give a notification.

[0031] The automatic driving ECU10 is mainly composed of a computer including, for example, a processor, a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory, I / O, and a bus connecting these components. By executing a control program stored in the non-volatile memory, the automatic driving ECU10 performs processes related to automatic driving. This automatic driving ECU10 corresponds to a vehicle control device. Hereinafter, it is assumed that the automatic driving ECU10 is used in a vehicle capable of switching between at least non-monitored automatic driving and monitored automatic driving. The configuration of the automatic driving ECU10 will be described in detail below.

[0032] <Schematic Configuration of Automatic Driving ECU10> Subsequently, the schematic configuration of the automatic driving ECU10 will be described with reference to FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the automatic driving ECU10 includes a driving environment recognition unit 101, a behavior determination unit 102, a control execution unit 103, and an HCU communication unit 104 as functional blocks. Also, the execution of the processing of each functional block of the automatic driving ECU10 by a computer corresponds to the execution of a vehicle control method. Note that part or all of the functions executed by the automatic driving ECU10 may be configured hardware-wise by one or more ICs or the like. Also, part or all of the functional blocks included in the automatic driving ECU10 may be realized by a combination of software execution by a processor and hardware components.

[0033] The driving environment recognition unit 101 recognizes the driving environment of the host vehicle from the host vehicle position acquired from the locator 12, the map data acquired from the map DB 13, and the sensing information acquired from the surrounding monitoring sensor 15. As an example, the driving environment recognition unit 101 uses this information to recognize the position, shape, and movement state of the objects around the host vehicle, and generates a virtual space that reproduces the actual driving environment. In the driving environment recognition unit 101, from the sensing information acquired from the surrounding monitoring sensor 15, regarding the surrounding vehicles of the host vehicle, their presence, relative position to the host vehicle, relative speed to the host vehicle, etc. may also be recognized as the driving environment. In the driving environment recognition unit 101, the position of the host vehicle on the map may be recognized from the host vehicle position and the map data. If the driving environment recognition unit 101 can acquire the position information, speed information, etc. of surrounding vehicles and the like via the communication module 11, it may also use this information to recognize the driving environment.

[0034] Also, the driving environment recognition unit 101 may also determine the manual driving area (hereinafter, MD area) in the driving area of the host vehicle. The driving environment recognition unit 101 may also determine the automatic driving area (hereinafter, AD area) in the driving area of the host vehicle. The driving environment recognition unit 101 may also determine the discrimination between the ST section and the non-ST section described later in the AD area.

[0035] The MD area is an area where autonomous driving is prohibited. In other words, the MD area is an area defined such that the driver executes all of the longitudinal control, lateral control, and surrounding monitoring of the host vehicle. The longitudinal direction is the direction that coincides with the front-rear direction of the host vehicle. The lateral direction is the direction that coincides with the width direction of the host vehicle. The longitudinal control corresponds to the acceleration / deceleration control of the host vehicle. The lateral control corresponds to the steering control of the host vehicle. For example, the MD area may be a general road. The MD area may also be a driving section of a general road where high-precision map data is not prepared.

[0036] The AD area is an area where autonomous driving is permitted. In other words, the AD area is an area defined such that the host vehicle can substitute one or more of longitudinal control, lateral control, and peripheral monitoring. For example, the AD area may be a highway. The AD area may also be a driving section where high-precision map data is prepared. For example, area-limited LV3 autonomous driving (hereinafter referred to as area-limited autonomous driving) may be permitted only on highways. Traffic-jam-limited LV3 autonomous driving (hereinafter referred to as traffic-jam-limited autonomous driving) shall be permitted only during traffic jams in the AD area. The driving environment recognition unit 101 may determine the presence or absence of a traffic jam from traffic jam information obtained from the center via the communication module 11. The driving environment recognition unit 101 may also determine the presence or absence of a traffic jam based on the number of recognized surrounding vehicles, the inter-vehicle distance, the speed, etc.

[0037] The AD area is divided into an ST section and a non-ST section. The ST section is a section where area-limited autonomous driving is permitted. The non-ST section is a section where autonomous driving at LV2 or lower and traffic-jam-limited autonomous driving are possible. In the present embodiment, the non-ST section where LV1 autonomous driving is permitted and the non-ST section where LV2 autonomous driving is permitted are not separately divided. The non-ST section may be a section that does not correspond to the ST section in the AD area.

[0038] The driving behavior determination unit 102 switches the control subject of the driving operation between the driver and the vehicle's system. When the control right of the driving operation is on the system side, the driving behavior determination unit 102 determines a driving plan for the host vehicle to travel based on the recognition result of the driving environment by the driving environment recognition unit 101. As the driving plan, a long-term / medium-term driving plan and a short-term driving plan are generated. In the long-term / medium-term driving plan, a planned route for directing the host vehicle to the set destination is generated. The driving behavior determination unit 102 may generate this planned route in the same manner as the route search of the navigation function. For example, when the user input device 18 has received an input of the destination from the occupant, the driving behavior determination unit 102 may set this input destination as the destination of the planned route. The driving behavior determination unit 102 may acquire the input of the destination received by the user input device 18 via the HCU 10 and the HCU communication unit 104. When the user input device 18 has received an input of the destination from the occupant outside the host vehicle, the driving behavior determination unit 102 may also set this input destination as the destination of the planned route. The driving behavior determination unit 102 may acquire the input of the destination received by the terminal outside the host vehicle via the communication module 11. When the driving behavior determination unit has not received an input of the destination from the occupant, it may estimate a temporary destination (hereinafter referred to as the temporary destination) based on the driving history of the host vehicle or the like, and set the temporary destination as the destination. In this case, for the position of the host vehicle measured by the locator 12, the current time, the current day of the week, etc., a destination with a high driving frequency in the driving history may be estimated as the temporary destination.

[0039] In the short-term driving plan, the driving behavior determination unit 102 uses the virtual space around the generated host vehicle to generate a planned driving trajectory for realizing the driving according to the long-term / medium-term driving plan (that is, the planned route). Specifically, it determines the execution of steering for lane change, acceleration / deceleration for speed adjustment, and steering and braking for obstacle avoidance.

[0040] In addition, the action determination unit 102 switches the automation level of the vehicle's automatic driving as necessary. The action determination unit 102 determines whether it is possible to increase the automation level. For example, when the host vehicle moves from the MD area to the AD area, it may be determined that the driving can be switched from a driving level of LV4 or lower to an automatic driving of LV4 or higher. When the action determination unit 102 determines that it is possible to increase the automation level and the driver approves the increase in the automation level, the automation level may be increased.

[0041] When the action determination unit 102 determines that it is necessary to decrease the automation level, it may decrease the automation level. Examples of cases where it is determined that the automation level needs to be decreased include when an override is detected, during a planned driving handover, and during an unplanned driving handover. An override is an operation for the driver of the host vehicle to spontaneously acquire the control right of the host vehicle. In other words, an override is an operation intervention by the driver of the vehicle. The action determination unit 102 may detect an override from the sensing information obtained from the vehicle state sensor 14. For example, the action determination unit 102 may detect an override when the steering torque detected by the steering torque sensor exceeds a threshold value. The action determination unit 102 may also detect an override when the accelerator sensor detects the depression of the accelerator pedal. In addition, the action determination unit 102 may detect an override when the brake sensor detects the depression of the brake pedal. When an override is detected, the action determination unit 102 decreases the automation level from an automatic driving of LV1 or higher to a manual driving of LV0.

[0042] A planned driving handover is a scheduled driving handover determined by the system. For example, a planned driving handover is performed when the host vehicle moves from the ST section to the non-ST section within the AD area. In this case, the action determination unit 102 may simply switch from automated driving at area-limited LV3 to automated driving at LV2 or lower. That is, it switches from automated driving without monitoring obligation to automated driving with monitoring obligation. A planned driving handover may also be performed when the host vehicle moves from the non-ST section to the MD area within the AD area. In this case, the automation level switches from automated driving at area-limited LV3 to manual driving at LV0. When the start and end of a traffic jam section can be predicted from traffic jam information, a planned driving handover may be performed when moving from a traffic jam section to outside the traffic jam section within the non-ST section. In this case, for example, it may simply switch from automated driving limited to traffic jams at LV3 to automated driving at LV2 or lower. An unplanned driving handover is a sudden driving handover that is not scheduled, determined by the system.

[0043] For the switching to lower the automation level, the action determination unit 102 may be configured to perform the switching when the driver responds to a request from the vehicle system side, for example. For example, when switching from automated driving at level 3 or higher to automated driving at level 2 or lower or manual driving, the action determination unit 102 may be configured to generate a driving handover request and provide it to the HCU 19 via the HCU communication unit 104 described later. Then, when it is determined that the driver has responded to this driving handover request, the driving handover may be performed.

[0044] The action determination unit 102 includes the situation identification unit 121 as a sub-functional block. The situation identification unit 121 identifies the situation of the host vehicle. The situation identification unit 121 identifies the situation of the host vehicle from the driving environment of the host vehicle recognized by the driving environment recognition unit 101 and the aforementioned planned route, etc. The processing in this situation identification unit 121 corresponds to the situation identification process.

[0045] The situation identification unit 121 identifies a situation where a lane change of the host vehicle is necessary (hereinafter referred to as a necessary lane change situation). Examples of the necessary lane change situation include a situation where the number of lanes ahead of the host vehicle's driving lane decreases, so a lane change from the host lane to another lane is necessary. Other examples of the necessary lane change situation include a situation where a right or left turn along the planned route or entry into a branch road requires a lane change from the host lane to another lane.

[0046] When the situation identification unit 121 identifies a necessary lane change situation, it identifies whether the lane change is possible. As an example, when there are no surrounding vehicles in a predetermined range (hereinafter referred to as the target range) from the side to the rear side with respect to the host vehicle before the start of the lane change in the lane (hereinafter referred to as the LC target lane) to which the vehicle moves by the lane change, it may be identified as a situation where the lane change is possible. When there are surrounding vehicles in the target range of the LC target lane, it may be identified as a situation where the lane change is not possible. The target range may be set arbitrarily.

[0047] When the driving behavior determination unit 102 identifies a necessary lane change situation with the situation identification unit 121 and also identifies a situation where the lane change is possible, it determines to perform an automatic lane change (hereinafter referred to as an automatic lane change). When the driving behavior determination unit 102 determines to perform an automatic lane change, the LCA control unit 131 of the control execution unit 103 starts the automatic lane change.

[0048] When the control right of the driving operation is on the system side of the host vehicle, the control execution unit 103 performs driving control such as acceleration / deceleration control and steering control of the host vehicle in accordance with the driving plan determined by the driving behavior determination unit 102 in cooperation with the vehicle control ECU 16. The control execution unit 103 includes an LCA control unit 131, a waiting driving control unit 132, a cancellation unit 133, and a driving control unit 134 at the time of cancellation as sub-functional blocks.

[0049] The LCA control unit 131 causes an automatic lane change to be performed. The LCA control unit 131 performs LCA control to automatically change the lane of the host vehicle from the host vehicle's driving lane (hereinafter referred to as the host lane) to an adjacent lane. In LCA control, based on the recognition result of the driving environment by the driving environment recognition unit 101, etc., a planned travel trajectory having a shape that smoothly connects the target position in the host lane and the center of the adjacent lane is generated. Then, by automatically controlling the steering angle of the steering wheel of the host vehicle according to the planned travel trajectory, the lane is changed from the host lane to the adjacent lane. For example, the automatic lane change is assumed to be performed after moving the driving position in the host lane closer to the end on the side where the host vehicle is to change lanes (hereinafter referred to as the LC side end) in the host lane. The processing in the standby driving control unit 132, the cancel unit 133, and the driving control unit 134 at the time of cancellation will be described later.

[0050] When the situation identification unit 121 identifies a situation where a lane change is not possible after the start of an automatic lane change and before the lane change is completed, the situation identification unit 121 identifies a standby situation where it is necessary to interrupt the lane change midway and wait. The standby situation identified by the situation identification unit 121 during the automatic driving of the host vehicle without a monitoring obligation is hereinafter referred to as the first standby situation. The standby situation identified by the situation identification unit 121 during the automatic driving of the host vehicle with a monitoring obligation is hereinafter referred to as the second standby situation. The situation identification unit 121 may determine that the automatic lane change has started, for example, by monitoring the control execution unit 103.

[0051] When the situation identification unit 121 identifies a standby situation, the situation identification unit 121 also identifies the factor causing the lane change to be interrupted. The situation identification unit 121 may identify the factor causing the lane change to be interrupted (hereinafter referred to as the interruption factor), for example, from the driving environment recognized by the driving environment recognition unit 101. As an example, when there is a surrounding vehicle entering from the rear side of the host vehicle into the aforementioned target range, the rear side vehicle may be identified as the interruption factor. As another example, when there is a surrounding vehicle entering from the front side of the host vehicle into the aforementioned target range, congestion or the front side vehicle may be identified as the interruption factor.

[0052] When the situation identification unit 121 identifies a waiting situation, the driving determination unit 102 determines that the vehicle should enter a waiting state in which the lane change is interrupted midway and the vehicle waits. When the driving determination unit 102 determines to enter the waiting state, the situation identification unit 121 may identify the progress of the lane change of the host vehicle. As the progress of the lane change, it is sufficient to identify whether or not the vehicle has crossed the lane dividing line on the side where the lane change is to be made (hereinafter referred to as the LC side dividing line) among the lane dividing lines of the host vehicle lane. The lane dividing line of the host vehicle lane may also be referred to as a lane boundary line.

[0053] The waiting driving control unit 132 of the control execution unit 103 performs driving control in the waiting state during the lane change of the vehicle. The waiting driving control unit 132 may be included in the LCA control unit 131. When the situation identification unit 121 identifies the first waiting situation, the waiting driving control unit 132 drives the host vehicle in the waiting state. Examples of the driving of the host vehicle in the waiting state will be described below. Based on the fact that the situation identification unit 121 has identified the first waiting situation, the waiting driving control unit 132 preferably drives the host vehicle with its driving position in the host vehicle lane shifted toward the LC end side. During automated driving without a monitoring obligation, since the driver may be performing a secondary task, it is preferable to make the change in the behavior of the host vehicle smaller so as not to interfere with the secondary task. On the other hand, according to the above configuration, during automated driving without a monitoring obligation, even when the lane change of the vehicle enters the waiting state, it is possible to continue driving with the host vehicle shifted toward the LC side end for the lane change. Therefore, it is possible to make the change in the behavior of the host vehicle smaller and not to interfere with the driver's secondary task.

[0054] When the traveling control unit 132 in standby mode identifies the first standby situation with the situation identification unit 121 and the host vehicle has straddled the LC-side lane line, it is more preferable to return the traveling position of the host vehicle to within the host vehicle lane and then travel closer to the LC-side end. On the other hand, when the situation identification unit 121 identifies the first standby situation and the host vehicle has not straddled the LC-side lane line, it is more preferable to return the traveling position of the host vehicle to the center of the host vehicle lane and then travel. This is because when the host vehicle has not straddled the LC-side lane line, even if the traveling position of the host vehicle is returned to the center of the host vehicle lane, the change in the behavior of the host vehicle will not be significant.

[0055] When the traveling control unit 132 in standby mode identifies the second standby situation with the situation identification unit 121, it is preferable to return the traveling position of the host vehicle to the center of the host vehicle lane and then travel regardless of whether the host vehicle has straddled the LC-side lane line. This is because during automated driving with a monitoring obligation, since the second task is not executed, even if the traveling position of the host vehicle is returned to the center of the host vehicle lane, it will not interfere with the second task.

[0056] The situation identification unit 121 preferably also identifies a standby handover situation that requires a handover from automated driving without a monitoring obligation to driving with a surrounding monitoring obligation while the host vehicle is in a standby state. Examples of situations that require a handover from automated driving without a monitoring obligation to driving with a surrounding monitoring obligation include the transition from an ST section to a non-ST section, the resolution of congestion in a non-ST section, etc. The standby handover situation may also include a handover from automated driving without a monitoring obligation to manual driving.

[0057] When the situation identification unit 121 identifies the waiting replacement situation, the action determination unit 102 determines to cancel the vehicle lane change. The cancellation unit 133 of the control execution unit 103 performs driving control to cancel the vehicle lane change. When the situation identification unit 121 identifies the waiting replacement situation, the cancellation unit 133 cancels the vehicle lane change. When the cancellation unit 133 cancels the vehicle lane change, the driving control unit 134 during cancellation returns the driving position of the host vehicle to the center of the host lane and drives the vehicle. In addition, when the elapsed time since the host vehicle entered the waiting state reaches the specified time and a timeout occurs, the cancellation unit 133 may cancel the vehicle lane change.

[0058] While the host vehicle is in the waiting state, when the situation identification unit 121 identifies a situation where lane change is possible, the action determination unit 102 may determine to restart the vehicle lane change with a re-challenge. When the action determination unit 102 determines a re-challenge, the LCA control unit 131 restarts the vehicle lane change. In addition, when the waiting state of the host vehicle continues for a specified time or more, the driving control unit 132 during waiting may perform a timeout to end the waiting state. The specified time may be arbitrarily set. When the waiting state ends, for example, the process may shift to the LTA control described later.

[0059] In this embodiment, for the sake of convenience, the description is omitted, but in addition to the LCA control, the control execution unit 103 may perform other driving controls such as ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control) control and LTA (Lane Tracing Assist) control. The ACC control is a control that realizes constant-speed driving of the host vehicle at the set vehicle speed or following driving of the preceding vehicle. The LTA control is a control that maintains the host vehicle's driving within the lane. In the LTA control, steering control is performed to maintain the host vehicle's driving within the lane. As an example, in the LTA control, steering control may be performed to maintain the driving position of the host vehicle at the center of the host lane. When starting a lane change in the LCA control, the LTA control may be temporarily interrupted to enable the host vehicle to leave the host lane. Then, after the completion of the lane change, the LTA control may be restarted.

[0060] The HCU communication unit 104 performs output processing of information directed to the HCU 19 and acquisition processing of information from the HCU 19. The HCU communication unit 104 acquires input information and the like received by the user input device 18. The HCU communication unit 104 includes a notification processing unit 141 as a sub-functional block. The notification processing unit 141 indirectly controls the notification by the notification device 17 by sending an instruction to the HCU 19. This notification processing unit 141 corresponds to the notification control unit. Also, the processing in this notification processing unit 141 corresponds to the notification control step.

[0061] When the situation identification unit 121 identifies the first standby situation, the notification processing unit 141 may perform a notification indicating that it is a standby state in which the lane change of the vehicle cannot be completed (hereinafter, standby notification) and a notification conveying the factor for the standby state (hereinafter, standby factor notification). The standby notification and the standby factor notification may be performed from the display device 171 or may be performed from the voice output device 172. For example, the standby notification and the standby factor notification may be performed by display on the display device 171. As an example of the display of the standby notification and the standby factor notification, the following may be done.

[0062] Here, with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5, an example of the standby notification and the standby factor notification will be described. FIG. 3 is a display example of an image (hereinafter, surrounding situation image) for showing the surrounding situation of the host vehicle when the host vehicle is not in the standby state. FIGS. 4 to 5 are display examples of the surrounding situation image when the host vehicle is in the standby state. The surrounding situation image is, for example, to be displayed on the meter MID. The surrounding situation image may be an overhead view image of the host vehicle and its surroundings seen from a virtual viewpoint above the host vehicle. This virtual viewpoint may be directly above the host vehicle or may be a position deviated from directly above the host vehicle. For example, it may be an overhead view seen from a virtual viewpoint above and behind the host vehicle. Note that the surrounding situation image may be a virtual image for showing the surrounding situation of the host vehicle or may be an image obtained by processing an imaging image captured by a surrounding monitoring camera among the surrounding monitoring sensors 15.

[0063] Figs. 3 to 5 show Sc on the display screen of the display device 171. PLI in Figs. 3 to 5 shows an image representing the lane dividing line of the road (hereinafter referred to as the dividing line image). HVI in Figs. 3 to 5 shows an image representing the host vehicle (hereinafter referred to as the host vehicle image). OVI in Figs. 3 to 5 shows an image representing the surrounding vehicles of the host vehicle (hereinafter referred to as the surrounding vehicle image). LCI in Figs. 3 to 5 shows an image representing the lane change of the host vehicle (hereinafter referred to as the LC image). In Figs. 3 to 5, an arrow icon indicating the direction in which the host vehicle changes lanes is shown as an example of the LC image. Note that the surrounding situation image may also display an image representing the vehicle speed of the host vehicle or the like.

[0064] As shown in Fig. 3, the fact that the host vehicle is not in the standby state may be expressed by not displaying the surrounding vehicle image in the lane change destination indicated by the LC image. As shown in Fig. 4, the fact that the host vehicle is in the standby state may be expressed by displaying the surrounding vehicle image in the lane change destination indicated by the LC image. Displaying the surrounding vehicle image in the lane change destination indicated by this LC image corresponds to the standby notification. Note that the standby notification may be performed by superimposing a mark indicating interruption on the LC image, displaying text indicating the standby state, or other expressions. Regarding the standby factor notification, it may be expressed by the arrangement mode of the surrounding vehicle image with respect to the host vehicle image. For example, as shown in Fig. 4, by displaying the surrounding vehicle image located behind and to the side of the host vehicle image in the lane change destination indicated by the LC image, it may be expressed that the vehicle behind and to the side is the factor for the standby state. On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 5, by displaying a plurality of surrounding vehicle images located in front of and to the side of the host vehicle image in the lane change destination indicated by the LC image, it may be expressed that the traffic jam is the factor for the standby state. Note that the standby factor notification may be performed by icon display or text display representing the factor for the standby state.

[0065] According to the above configuration, during automatic driving without a monitoring obligation, when entering a standby state after starting a lane change of the vehicle, standby notification and standby factor notification are performed. Therefore, even during automatic driving without a monitoring obligation and when the driver is not aware of the situation around the own vehicle, it becomes possible for the driver to more easily grasp the situation of being in a standby state. As a result, even when it becomes necessary to wait for a lane change during automatic lane change without a monitoring obligation, it becomes possible to make it less likely to give the driver a sense of discomfort.

[0066] On the other hand, when the situation specifying unit 121 specifies the second standby situation, the notification processing unit 141 preferably performs standby notification but does not perform standby factor notification. This is because during automatic driving with a surrounding monitoring obligation, the driver should be aware of the situation around the own vehicle, so there is little need to notify the cause of the standby state.

[0067] When the situation specifying unit 121 specifies a standby handover situation, the notification processing unit 141 preferably performs a notification indicating cancellation of the automatic lane change (hereinafter referred to as cancellation notification) and a notification following the cancellation notification for notifying a driver handover (hereinafter referred to as driver handover notification). When the cancellation notification is performed by the notification processing unit 141, the automatic lane change by the cancellation unit 133 is also cancelled. As an example of the cancellation notification, it may be performed by deleting the LC image in the above-mentioned surrounding situation image. Alternatively, an icon display, text display, or voice output indicating cancellation may be performed. As an example of the driver handover notification, an icon display indicating a driver handover may be performed in the above-mentioned surrounding situation image. Alternatively, a text display or voice output indicating a driver handover may be performed.

[0068] According to the above configuration, when a driving change from automatic driving without monitoring obligation to driving with surrounding monitoring obligation is required while the own vehicle is in a standby state, a cancellation notification and a driving change notification following the cancellation notification are performed. Therefore, even when the vehicle is in automatic driving without monitoring obligation and the driver is not aware of the situation around the own vehicle, it becomes possible to more easily grasp that the lane change of the vehicle has been cancelled and a driving change is necessary.

[0069] When the situation specifying unit 121 specifies the first standby situation, it is preferable that the notification processing unit 141 causes the driver to perform a notification (hereinafter referred to as a monitoring promotion notification) that prompts surrounding monitoring even during automatic driving without monitoring obligation. As an example of the monitoring promotion notification, an icon display that prompts surrounding monitoring may be performed. Alternatively, text display or voice output that prompts surrounding monitoring may be performed. According to this, even when the driver is not aware of the situation around the own vehicle, it becomes possible to prompt the driver to grasp the situation around the own vehicle and reduce anxiety. Note that the notification processing unit 141 may also be configured to perform the monitoring promotion notification when the situation specifying unit 121 specifies the second standby situation.

[0070] When the notification processing unit 141 causes the vehicle to re-challenge to perform an automatic lane change again after entering the standby state, it is preferable to also cause the display device 171, which does not perform a display related to lane change (hereinafter referred to as LC-related display) before the re-challenge, to perform the LC-related display. After the host vehicle enters the standby state can also be rephrased as after the automatic lane change could not be completed. As an example, before the re-challenge, the LC-related display may be performed only on the meter MID, while during the re-challenge, the LC-related display may be performed on both the meter MID and the CID. In other words, before the re-challenge, the display device 171 used for the second task is not caused to perform the LC-related display, while during the re-challenge, the display device 171 used for the second task is also caused to perform the LC-related display. According to the above configuration, during the re-challenge, by increasing the number of display devices 171 to be displayed, it becomes possible to make it easier to notice by the display related to lane change. The above processing may also be configured to be limited to the case where the host vehicle enters the standby state during automatic driving without the obligation to monitor the surroundings. According to this, even a driver who does not grasp the situation around the host vehicle can be made more likely to notice by the display related to lane change. Note that the display related to lane change may be the display of the LC image described above. Alternatively, the display related to lane change may be standby notification or standby cause notification by display.

[0071] Regarding the standby cause notification, the notification processing unit 141 preferably does not end even if the cause of entering the standby state is eliminated, and continues until the duration of the standby cause notification reaches a predetermined time or until the automatic lane change is completed. The predetermined time may be arbitrarily settable. According to this, even when the first standby situation occurs continuously, the standby cause notification will continue to be performed. Therefore, even when the first standby situation occurs continuously, it is possible to suppress the annoyance caused by the frequent start and end of the standby cause notification.

[0072] Here, with reference to FIG. 6, the end timing of the waiting factor notification will be described. In the example of FIG. 6, an example is shown where the completion of the vehicle lane change is taken as the end timing of the waiting factor notification. In FIG. 6, StS indicates the occurrence of the first waiting situation, and StE indicates the end of the first waiting situation. LCE indicates the completion of the vehicle lane change. The arrow in FIG. 6 indicates the notification period of the waiting notification and the waiting factor notification. As shown in FIG. 6, for the waiting notification, the notification may be started in accordance with the occurrence of the first waiting situation and ended in accordance with the end of the first waiting situation. On the other hand, for the waiting factor notification, it may be continued regardless of the occurrence and end of the first waiting situation and ended when the vehicle lane change is completed. In addition, when the factor of the first waiting situation is traffic congestion, the waiting factor notification may be started and ended in accordance with the occurrence and end of the first waiting situation. This is because the first waiting situation caused by traffic congestion is less likely to occur and end frequently, so even if the notification is started and ended in accordance with the occurrence and end of the first waiting situation, the waiting factor notification is less likely to be troublesome.

[0073] It is preferable that the notification processing unit 141 causes the notification device 17 to notify that the vehicle lane change is started when the vehicle lane change of the host vehicle is started. As an example, the above-mentioned LC image may be displayed on the display device 171. In a configuration where a notification that the vehicle lane change is started is performed when the vehicle lane change is started during the automatic driving without monitoring obligation, when a waiting state occurs, it is particularly likely to give the driver a sense of discomfort. This is because during the automatic driving without monitoring obligation where the driver is highly likely not to grasp the situation around the host vehicle, the driver is in a waiting state even though a notification that the vehicle lane change is started has been performed, making the situation more difficult to grasp. In contrast, by having the notification processing unit 141 perform the waiting notification and the waiting factor notification, it becomes possible to make it less likely to give the driver a sense of discomfort even in a situation where it is more likely to give the driver a sense of discomfort.

[0074] <LC Waiting-related Processing in the Automatic Driving ECU 10> Here, an example of the flow of processing related to waiting for a vehicle lane change in the automatic driving ECU 10 (hereinafter referred to as LC waiting related processing) will be described using the flowchart of FIG. 7. The flowchart of FIG. 7 may be configured to start when the host vehicle starts a vehicle lane change. That is, at the start of the flowchart of FIG. 7, the host vehicle is in automatic driving.

[0075] First, in step S1, the situation identification unit 121 identifies whether the vehicle lane change (hereinafter referred to as LC) is possible. And in the case where LC is possible (YES in S1), it moves to step S2. On the other hand, in the case where LC is not possible (NO in S1), it moves to step S3.

[0076] In step S2, if the host vehicle has completed LC (YES in S2), the LC waiting related processing is terminated. On the other hand, if the host vehicle has not completed LC (NO in S2), it returns to S1 and repeats the processing. Whether the host vehicle has completed LC may be identified by the situation identification unit 121.

[0077] In step S3, if the automation level of the host vehicle is LV3 or higher (YES in S3), it moves to step S7. That is, when the host vehicle is in unsupervised automatic driving, it moves to step S7. The situation of the host vehicle when moving to S7 is the first waiting situation. On the other hand, if the automation level of the host vehicle is less than LV3 (NO in S3), it moves to step S4. That is, when the host vehicle is in supervised automatic driving, it moves to step S4. The situation of the host vehicle when moving to S4 is the second waiting situation. The automation level of the host vehicle may be determined by the action determination unit 102.

[0078] In step S4, the notification device 17 is made to perform a waiting notification according to the instruction of the notification processing unit 141. In step S5, the notification device 17 is made to perform a monitoring promotion notification according to the instruction of the notification processing unit 141. In step S6, the in-waiting driving control unit 132 returns the driving position of the host vehicle to the center of the host vehicle lane and drives, and moves to step S11.

[0079] On the other hand, in step S7, the notification device 17 is made to perform standby notification and standby cause notification according to the instruction of the notification processing unit 141. In step S8, the notification device 17 is made to perform monitoring promotion notification according to the instruction of the notification processing unit 141. In step S9, when the situation identification unit 121 identifies that the host vehicle has straddled the LC side partition line (YES in S9), the process proceeds to step S10. On the other hand, when the situation identification unit 121 identifies that the host vehicle has not straddled the LC side partition line (NO in S9), the process returns to S6. In step S10, the standby driving control unit 132 returns the driving position of the host vehicle to within the host vehicle lane and then drives the vehicle closer to the LC side end, and the process proceeds to step S11.

[0080] In step S11, when the situation identification unit 121 identifies a standby change situation (YES in S11), the process proceeds to step S12. On the other hand, when the situation identification unit 121 does not identify a standby change situation (NO in S11), the process proceeds to step S14. In S11, not only the driving change from automatic driving without monitoring obligation to automatic driving with monitoring obligation, but also the driving change from automatic driving with monitoring obligation to manual driving may be configured to proceed to step S12.

[0081] In step S12, the cancel unit 133 cancels the LC. Also, in S12, the notification device 17 is made to perform cancel notification according to the instruction of the notification processing unit 141. In step S13, the notification device 17 is made to perform driving change notification according to the instruction of the notification processing unit 141, and the LC standby related process ends. In the case of a driving change from automatic driving with monitoring obligation to manual driving, the same process as in S12 - S13 may be performed, or different processes may be performed. For example, the cancel notification may be omitted, etc., and the number of types of notifications may be changed.

[0082] In step S14, the situation identification unit 121 identifies whether the LC is possible. And when the LC is possible (YES in S14), the process proceeds to step S15. On the other hand, when the LC is not possible (NO in S14), the process proceeds to step S17.

[0083] In step S15, the LCA control unit 131 resumes the LC. That is, a re-challenge is performed. In step S16, in accordance with the instruction of the notification processing unit 141, the display device 171 that does not perform LC-related display before the re-challenge is also made to perform LCA-related display. In step S17, when the host vehicle has completed the LC (YES in S17), the LC standby-related process is terminated. On the other hand, when the host vehicle has not completed the LC (NO in S17), the process returns to S1 and is repeated.

[0084] On the other hand, in step S18, when the elapsed time since the host vehicle entered the standby state reaches the specified time and a timeout occurs (YES in S18), the process proceeds to step S19. On the other hand, when no timeout has occurred (NO in S18), the process returns to S11 and is repeated. The elapsed time since the host vehicle entered the standby state may be determined, for example, by the cancel unit 133 using a timer circuit or the like. In step S19, the cancel unit 133 cancels the LC and terminates the LC standby-related process. Note that in S19, in accordance with the instruction of the notification processing unit 141, the notification device 17 may be made to perform a cancel notification.

[0085] (Embodiment 2) The configuration is not limited to that of Embodiment 1, and the following configuration of Embodiment 2 may also be used. Hereinafter, an example of the configuration of Embodiment 2 will be described with reference to the drawings. The vehicle system 1 of Embodiment 2 is the same as the vehicle system 1 of Embodiment 1 except that it includes an automatic driving ECU 10a instead of the automatic driving ECU 10.

[0086] <Schematic configuration of the automatic driving ECU 10a> As shown in FIG. 8, the automatic driving ECU 10a includes a driving environment recognition unit 101, an action determination unit 102a, a control execution unit 103a, and an HCU communication unit 104a as functional blocks. The automatic driving ECU 10a is the same as the automatic driving ECU 10 in Embodiment 1, except that it includes an action determination unit 102a, a control execution unit 103a, and an HCU communication unit 104a instead of the action determination unit 102, the control execution unit 103, and the HCU communication unit 104. This automatic driving ECU 10a also corresponds to a vehicle control device. Also, the execution of the processing of each functional block of the automatic driving ECU 10a by a computer corresponds to the execution of the vehicle control method.

[0087] The action determination unit 102a includes a situation identification unit 121a as a sub-functional block. The situation identification unit 121a is the same as the situation identification unit 121 in Embodiment 1, except that it does not identify the standby shift situation. The processing in this situation identification unit 121a also corresponds to the situation identification step. The action determination unit 102a is the same as the action determination unit 102 in Embodiment 1, except that when the standby situation is identified, it determines not to interrupt the automatic lane change midway and enter the standby state, but to cancel the automatic lane change. In Embodiment 2, a state where the automatic lane change is canceled and the automatic lane change cannot be performed is also regarded as the standby state.

[0088] The control execution unit 103a includes an LCA control unit 131, a cancel unit 133a, and a traveling control unit 134 during cancellation as sub-functional blocks. The control execution unit 103a is the same as the control execution unit 103 in Embodiment 1, except that it does not include a traveling control unit 132 during standby and includes a cancel unit 133a instead of the cancel unit 133.

[0089] The cancel unit 133a cancels the automatic lane change when the elapsed time since the host vehicle entered the standby state reaches the specified time and a timeout occurs. In Embodiment 2, since the situation identification unit 121a does not identify the standby shift situation during standby, unlike Embodiment 1, the processing conditional on identifying the standby shift situation is not performed.

[0090] The HCU communication unit 104a includes the notification processing unit 141a as a sub-functional block. The HCU communication unit 104a is the same as the HCU communication unit 104 in Embodiment 1, except that it includes the notification processing unit 141a instead of the notification processing unit 141. When the situation identification unit 121a identifies the first standby situation, the notification processing unit 141a causes the driving position of the host vehicle to return to the center of the host vehicle lane by the cancel-time driving control unit 134, and then performs standby notification and standby cause notification. The standby notification and the standby cause notification may be the same as those described in Embodiment 1. This notification processing unit 141a also corresponds to the notification control unit. Further, the processing in this notification processing unit 141a also corresponds to the notification control step. In Embodiment 2, the cancel notification in Embodiment 1 may be used as the standby notification. When the cancel notification in Embodiment 1 is not used as the standby notification, in addition to the standby notification similar to that in Embodiment 1, a cancel notification may be performed.

[0091] According to the above configuration, similar to Embodiment 1, during automatic driving without a monitoring obligation, when a standby state is entered due to cancellation of a lane change after the start of a lane change, standby notification and standby cause notification are performed. Therefore, even when it becomes necessary to wait for a lane change during automatic lane change during automatic driving without a monitoring obligation, it is possible to make it less likely to give the driver a sense of discomfort.

[0092] Similar to the notification processing unit 141, when the situation identification unit 121a identifies the second standby situation, the notification processing unit 141a preferably performs standby notification but does not perform standby situation cause notification. When re-challenging to perform a lane change again after canceling the lane change of the host vehicle, the notification processing unit 141a preferably causes the display device 171 that does not perform LC-related display before the re-challenge to also perform LC-related display. After canceling the lane change of the host vehicle can also be paraphrased as after being unable to complete the lane change.

[0093] Similar to the notification processing unit 141, the notification processing unit 141a preferably continues the standby cause notification without terminating it even if the cause of the standby state is resolved, until the duration of the standby cause notification reaches a predetermined time or until the lane change of the vehicle is completed.

[0094] <LC standby related processing in the autonomous driving ECU 10a> Here, an example of the flow of LC standby related processing in the autonomous driving ECU 10a will be described using the flowchart of FIG. 9. The flowchart of FIG. 9 may also be configured to start when the host vehicle starts a lane change.

[0095] First, in step S21, the situation identification unit 121a identifies whether the situation allows a lane change (hereinafter referred to as LC). If the situation allows LC (YES in S21), the process proceeds to step S22. On the other hand, if the situation does not allow LC (NO in S21), the process proceeds to step S23.

[0096] In step S22, if the host vehicle has completed the LC (YES in S22), the LC standby related processing is terminated. On the other hand, if the host vehicle has not completed the LC (NO in S22), the process returns to S21 and the process is repeated. Whether the host vehicle has completed the LC may be identified by the situation identification unit 121a. In step S23, the cancel unit 133a cancels the LC.

[0097] In step S24, if the automation level of the host vehicle is LV3 or higher (YES in S24), the process proceeds to step S27. The situation of the host vehicle when proceeding to S27 is the first standby state. On the other hand, if the automation level of the host vehicle is less than LV3 (NO in S24), the process proceeds to step S25. The situation of the host vehicle when proceeding to S25 is the second standby state. The automation level of the host vehicle may be determined by the action determination unit 102a.

[0098] In step S25, the notification device 17 is caused to perform standby notification according to the instruction of the notification processing unit 141a. As the standby notification here, the cancellation notification in Embodiment 1 may be used. When the cancellation notification in Embodiment 1 is not used as the standby notification here, the cancellation notification in Embodiment 1 may be performed in S23. In step S26, the notification device 17 is caused to perform monitoring promotion notification according to the instruction of the notification processing unit 141a, and the process proceeds to step S29.

[0099] On the other hand, in step S27, the notification device 17 is caused to perform standby notification and standby cause notification according to the instruction of the notification processing unit 141a. The standby notification here is the same as the standby notification in S25. In step S28, the notification device 17 is caused to perform monitoring promotion notification according to the instruction of the notification processing unit 141a. In step S29, the cancellation-time travel control unit 134 returns the traveling position of the host vehicle to the center of the host lane and travels, and ends the LC standby-related process.

[0100] (Embodiment 3) Not limited to the configuration of the foregoing embodiments, the following configuration of Embodiment 3 may be used. Hereinafter, an example of the configuration of Embodiment 3 will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0101] <Schematic configuration of vehicle system 1b> The vehicle system 1b shown in FIG. 10 can be used in an autonomous vehicle. As shown in FIG. 10, the vehicle system 1b includes an autonomous driving ECU 10b, a communication module 11, a locator 12, a map DB 13, a vehicle state sensor 14, a surrounding monitoring sensor 15, a vehicle control ECU 16, a notification device 17, a user input device 18, and an HCU 19b. The vehicle system 1b includes the autonomous driving ECU 10b instead of the autonomous driving ECU 10. The vehicle system 1b includes the HCU 19b instead of the HCU 19. The vehicle system 1b is the same as the vehicle system 1 of Embodiment 1 except for these points.

[0102] HCU19b is the same as HCU19 in Embodiment 1 except that some processes are different. The different points will be described below. HCU19b performs a display related to the second task in the display area of the display device 171. The display related to the second task is the display provided to the driver in the second task. As an example, the display of content such as a video is mentioned.

[0103] <Schematic Configuration of Autonomous Driving ECU10b> As shown in FIG. 11, the autonomous driving ECU10b includes a driving environment recognition unit 101, a behavior determination unit 102, a control execution unit 103, and an HCU communication unit 104b as functional blocks. The autonomous driving ECU10b is the same as the autonomous driving ECU10 in Embodiment 1 except that it includes the HCU communication unit 104b instead of the HCU communication unit 104. This autonomous driving ECU10b also corresponds to a vehicle control device. Also, the execution of the processes of the respective functional blocks of the autonomous driving ECU10b by a computer corresponds to the execution of the vehicle control method.

[0104] The HCU communication unit 104b includes a notification processing unit 141b as a sub-functional block. This notification processing unit 141b also corresponds to a notification control unit. The HCU communication unit 104b is the same as the HCU communication unit 104 in Embodiment 1 except that it includes the notification processing unit 141b instead of the notification processing unit 141. The notification processing unit 141b is the same as the notification processing unit 141 in Embodiment 1 except that some processes are different. The different points will be described below.

[0105] When the situation identification unit 121 identifies the first standby state, the notification processing unit 141b causes a standby state display to be performed in the display area of the display device 171 that displays information related to the second task. The standby state display is a notification indicating that the host vehicle is in a standby state. The standby state display may be text or an icon. According to this, it becomes easy to make the driver who is concentrating on the second task recognize that the host vehicle is in a standby state. The standby state display is preferably displayed in the display area of the display device 171 together with the display related to the second task. This is to inform the driver that the host vehicle is in a standby state while making it difficult to interfere with the second task. Note that the standby state display may be displayed in the display area of the display device 171 instead of the display related to the second task.

[0106] When the standby state of the host vehicle times out, the notification processing unit 141b preferably terminates the standby state display before the timeout. "Before the timeout" may be immediately before the timeout. "Immediately before the timeout" may be, for example, a time when the remaining time until the timeout is less than several seconds. According to this, even when a change occurs in the behavior of the host vehicle due to the timeout of the standby state, it becomes easier for the driver to prepare for the change. In addition, the notification processing unit 141b preferably causes a notification indicating that the standby state has timed out to be performed with a timing shift from the timing of terminating the standby state display. The notification indicating that the standby state has timed out is hereinafter referred to as a timeout notification. According to this, it becomes less likely to cause confusion and misrecognition in the driver compared to the case where the termination of the standby state display and the timeout notification are performed simultaneously. Note that the notification processing unit 141b may perform the timeout notification by display or by voice output.

[0107] <Timeout-related notification processing in the automatic driving ECU 10b> Here, using the flowchart of FIG. 12, an example of the process flow of notification related to the timeout of the standby state in the automatic driving ECU 10b will be described. This process is referred to as the timeout-related notification process. The flowchart of FIG. 12 may be configured to start when the first standby state is specified by the situation identification unit 121. Note that the display of the second task in the display area of the display device 171 may be added as a start condition to the flowchart of FIG. 12.

[0108] First, in step S41, the notification processing unit 141b causes the display device 171 that is displaying the second task to display a standby state in its display area. In step S42, if the standby running control unit 132 determines that the standby state has timed out (YES in S42), the process proceeds to step S43. The standby running control unit 132 may determine that the standby state has timed out based on the remaining duration of the standby state becoming less than the specified time. As an example, it may be determined that the remaining duration of the standby state has reached 1 second before the specified time. On the other hand, if the standby running control unit 132 does not determine that the standby state has timed out (NO in S42), the process of S42 is repeated.

[0109] In step S43, the notification processing unit 141b ends the standby state display. In step S44, if the standby running control unit 132 determines that the standby state has timed out (YES in S44), the process proceeds to step S45. On the other hand, if the standby running control unit 132 does not determine that the standby state has timed out (NO in S44), the process of S44 is repeated. In step S45, the notification processing unit 141b causes the notification device 17 to issue a timeout notification and ends the timeout-related notification process.

[0110] (Embodiment 4) The configuration is not limited to that of the foregoing embodiment, and the following configuration of Embodiment 4 may also be used. Hereinafter, an example of the configuration of Embodiment 4 will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0111] <Schematic Configuration of Vehicle System 1c> The vehicle system 1c shown in Fig. 13 can be used in an autonomous vehicle. As shown in Fig. 13, the vehicle system 1c includes an autonomous driving ECU 10c, a communication module 11, a locator 12, a map DB 13, a vehicle state sensor 14, a surrounding monitoring sensor 15, a vehicle control ECU 16, a notification device 17c, a user input device 18, an HCU 19c, and an in-vehicle camera 20. The vehicle system 1c includes the autonomous driving ECU 10c instead of the autonomous driving ECU 10. The vehicle system 1c includes the notification device 17c instead of the notification device 17. The vehicle system 1c includes the HCU 19c instead of the HCU 19. The vehicle system 1c includes the in-vehicle camera 20. Except for these points, the vehicle system 1c is the same as the vehicle system 1 of Embodiment 1.

[0112] The notification device 17c is the same as the notification device 17 of Embodiment 1, except that it notifies the operation of the turn signal. The turn signal is also called a turn signal lamp, a turn lamp, or a wink lamp. The notification device 17c includes a display device 171c and an audio output device 172c. The display device 171c is the same as the display device 171 of Embodiment 1, except that it displays the operation of the turn signal. The display of the operation of the turn signal may be a display indicating the direction of the operating turn signal. This display may be a display by an indicator. This display may be an icon display on the meter MID. The display of the operation of the turn signal is hereinafter referred to as a turn signal operation display. The audio output device 172c is the same as the audio output device 172 of Embodiment 1, except that it outputs a sound regarding the operation of the turn signal. This sound may be an electronically synthesized sound synchronized with the blinking of the turn signal. The output of the sound regarding the operation of the turn signal is hereinafter referred to as a turn signal operation sound output. The notification regarding the operation of the turn signal includes the turn signal operation display and the turn signal operation sound output.

[0113] The in-vehicle camera 20 images a predetermined range inside the vehicle cabin of the host vehicle. The in-vehicle camera 20 images at least the range including the driver's seat of the host vehicle. The in-vehicle camera 20 may image the range including the passenger seat and the rear seat in addition to the driver's seat of the host vehicle. The in-vehicle camera 20 is constituted by, for example, a near-infrared light source and a near-infrared camera, and a control unit that controls these. The in-vehicle camera 20 photographs the passengers of the host vehicle irradiated with near-infrared light by the near-infrared light source using the near-infrared camera. The captured image by the near-infrared camera is subjected to image analysis by the control unit. The control unit detects the feature amounts of the faces of the passengers by performing image analysis on the captured image. The control unit may detect the face orientation of the passenger, the line-of-sight direction of the passenger, the line of sight, etc. based on the feature amounts of the upper body including the detected face of the passenger.

[0114] HCU19c is the same as HCU19 of Embodiment 1 except that some processes are different. This difference will be described. Hereinafter, this difference will be described. HCU19c controls the notification regarding the operation of the direction indicator at the notification device 17c. It is preferable that HCU19c estimates whether the driver is performing a secondary task. HCU19c may estimate whether the driver is performing a secondary task from the face orientation, line-of-sight direction, posture, etc. of the driver detected by the in-vehicle camera 20. HCU19c may also estimate whether the driver is performing a secondary task from the input received by the user input device 18. For example, since the input is received by a touch switch integrated with the CID, it may be estimated that the driver is performing a secondary task. The estimation result by HCU19c as to whether the driver is performing a secondary task will be referred to as a state estimation result hereinafter.

[0115] <Schematic Configuration of the Autonomous Driving ECU 10c> As shown in FIG. 14, the automatic driving ECU 10c includes a driving environment recognition unit 101, an action determination unit 102c, a control execution unit 103, an HCU communication unit 104c, and an execution identification unit 105 as functional blocks. The automatic driving ECU 10c includes the action determination unit 102c instead of the action determination unit 102. The automatic driving ECU 10c includes the HCU communication unit 104b instead of the HCU communication unit 104. The automatic driving ECU 10c includes the execution identification unit 105. Except for these points, the automatic driving ECU 10c is the same as the automatic driving ECU 10 of the first embodiment. This automatic driving ECU 10c also corresponds to a vehicle control device. Also, the execution of the processing of each functional block of the automatic driving ECU 10c by a computer corresponds to the execution of the vehicle control method.

[0116] The execution identification unit 105 identifies whether the driver is performing a second task. The execution identification unit 105 may identify whether the driver is performing a second task by acquiring a state estimation result from the HCU 19c. The execution identification unit 105 may acquire the state estimation result from the HCU 19c via the HCU communication unit 104.

[0117] The action determination unit 102c includes a situation identification unit 121 and a time setting unit 122 as sub-functional blocks. The action determination unit 102c is the same as the action determination unit 102 of the first embodiment except that it includes the time setting unit 122. The time setting unit 122 changes the specified time for the timeout in the standby state. When the execution identification unit 105 identifies that the driver is performing a second task, the time setting unit 122 changes the specified time for the timeout to be longer. Changing to be longer means changing it to be longer than when it is identified that the driver is not performing the second task.

[0118] When the driver is performing a second task, it is difficult for the driver to direct their attention to the behavior of the host vehicle. Therefore, even if the standby state continues for a long time, it is highly likely that this continuation will not bother the driver. According to the above configuration, it is possible to make the standby state longer while making it less likely to give the driver a sense of discomfort according to the situation.

[0119] The HCU communication unit 104c includes the notification processing unit 141c as a sub-functional block. This notification processing unit 141c also corresponds to the notification control unit. The HCU communication unit 104c is the same as the HCU communication unit 104 in Embodiment 1 except that it includes the notification processing unit 141c instead of the notification processing unit 141. The notification processing unit 141c is the same as the notification processing unit 141 in Embodiment 1 except that some of the processing is different. Hereinafter, this different point will be described.

[0120] The notification processing unit 141c also controls the notification regarding the operation of the direction indicator of the host vehicle directed into the interior of the host vehicle. The notification processing unit 141c indirectly controls the notification regarding the operation of the direction indicator by sending an instruction to the HCU19c. When the implementation specifying unit 105 specifies that the driver is performing a second task, the notification processing unit 141c suppresses the notification regarding the operation of the direction indicator of the host vehicle by the notification device 17. According to this, it becomes possible to make it difficult to interfere with the second task by the notification regarding the operation of the direction indicator. As an example of suppression, the direction indication operation display may be performed, but the direction indication operation sound output may not be performed. According to this, it is possible to notify about the operation of the direction indicator by the display while suppressing the sound that is likely to interfere with the second task. Note that the suppression may be performed by reducing the intensity of both the direction indication operation display and the direction indication operation sound output.

[0121] <Second task related processing in the automatic driving ECU 10c> Here, using the flowchart of FIG. 15, an example of the flow of processing (hereinafter referred to as second task related processing) according to the presence or absence of a second task in the automatic driving ECU 10c will be described. This processing is called second task related processing. The flowchart of FIG. 15 may be configured to start when the host vehicle starts automatic driving of level 3 or higher. That is, it may be configured to start when the host vehicle starts automatic driving without monitoring obligation.

[0122] First, in step S61, if the execution specifying unit 105 specifies that the driver is performing the second task (YES in S61), the process proceeds to step S62. On the other hand, if the execution specifying unit 105 specifies that the driver is not performing the second task (NO in S61), the process proceeds to step S64.

[0123] In step S62, the time setting unit 122 sets the timeout specified time to be longer than when it is specified that the driver is not performing the second task. In step S63, the notification processing unit 141c suppresses the display of the direction indication operation but does not output the direction indication operation sound. Then, the process proceeds to step S66.

[0124] In step S64, the time setting unit 122 sets the timeout specified time to be shorter than when it is specified that the driver is performing the second task. In step S65, the notification processing unit 141c does not suppress either the display of the direction indication operation or the output of the direction indication operation sound, and the process proceeds to step S66. In step S66, if it is the end timing of the second task related process (YES in S66), the second task related process is ended. On the other hand, if it is not the end timing of the second task related process, the process returns to S61 and the process is repeated. An example of the end timing includes the vehicle having ended the unsupervised automatic driving.

[0125] (Embodiment 5) Not limited to the configuration of the foregoing embodiments, the following configuration of Embodiment 5 may also be used. Hereinafter, an example of the configuration of Embodiment 5 will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0126] <Schematic Configuration of Vehicle System 1d> The vehicle system 1d shown in FIG. 16 can be used in an autonomous vehicle. As shown in FIG. 16, the vehicle system 1d includes an autonomous driving ECU 10d, a communication module 11, a locator 12, a map DB 13, a vehicle state sensor 14, a surrounding monitoring sensor 15, a vehicle control ECU 16, a notification device 17, a user input device 18, and an HCU 19. The vehicle system 1d is the same as the vehicle system 1 of Embodiment 1 except that it includes the autonomous driving ECU 10d instead of the autonomous driving ECU 10.

[0127] <Schematic configuration of the autonomous driving ECU 10d> As shown in FIG. 17, the autonomous driving ECU 10d includes a driving environment recognition unit 101, an action determination unit 102d, a control execution unit 103d, and an HCU communication unit 104 as functional blocks. The autonomous driving ECU 10d includes the action determination unit 102d instead of the action determination unit 102. The autonomous driving ECU 10d includes the control execution unit 103d instead of the control execution unit 103. The autonomous driving ECU 10d is the same as the autonomous driving ECU 10 of Embodiment 1 except for these points. This autonomous driving ECU 10d also corresponds to a vehicle control device. Also, the execution of the processing of each functional block of the autonomous driving ECU 10d by a computer corresponds to the execution of the vehicle control method.

[0128] The driving determination unit 102d includes a situation identification unit 121d, a time setting unit 122d, and a distance setting unit 123 as sub-functional blocks. The situation identification unit 121d is the same as the situation identification unit 121 in Embodiment 1 except that some processes are different. Hereinafter, this difference will be described. The situation identification unit 121d identifies whether or not there is a traffic jam. That is, the situation identification unit 121d identifies whether or not the situation where the own vehicle is placed is in a traffic jam. The situation identification unit 121d may identify whether or not the section in which the own vehicle travels is in a traffic jam. The situation identification unit 121d may identify whether or not the section in which the own vehicle travels is in a traffic jam from the traffic jam information around the own vehicle received from the center by the communication module 11. Alternatively, the situation identification unit 121d may combine the information on the position and speed of other vehicles and the information on the speed of the own vehicle to identify whether or not the section in which the own vehicle travels is in a traffic jam. The information on the position and speed of other vehicles may be identified based on the sensing information obtained from the surrounding monitoring sensor 15. The information on the speed of the own vehicle may be obtained from the vehicle speed sensor among the vehicle state sensors 14. For example, if the number of other vehicles around the own vehicle is large and the speeds of the own vehicle and the vehicles in front of and behind the own vehicle are low, it may be determined that the section in which the own vehicle travels is in a traffic jam. Note that the situation identification unit 121d may identify whether or not the section in which the own vehicle travels is in a traffic jam by means other than those described above.

[0129] The situation identification unit 121d preferably identifies whether or not the own lane and the adjacent lane are in a traffic jam. Whether or not the own lane is in a traffic jam may be identified by combining the information on the position and speed of other vehicles and the information on the speed of the own vehicle. For example, if the speeds of the vehicles in front of and behind the own vehicle are low, it may be determined that the own lane is in a traffic jam. Whether or not the adjacent lane of the own vehicle is in a traffic jam may also be identified by combining the information on the position and speed of other vehicles and the information on the speed of the own vehicle. For example, if the number of other vehicles in the adjacent lane is large and the speeds of those other vehicles are low, it may be determined that the adjacent lane of the own vehicle is in a traffic jam. Note that the situation identification unit 121d may identify whether or not the own lane and the adjacent lane are in a traffic jam by means other than those described above. Hereinafter, the situation where the own lane and the adjacent lane are in a traffic jam is referred to as a double traffic jam situation. Hereinafter, the situation where the own lane is in a traffic jam but the adjacent lane is not in a traffic jam is referred to as an own-lane-only traffic jam situation.

[0130] The situation specifying unit 121d preferably specifies whether or not the front and rear vehicles in the own lane are detected by the surrounding monitoring sensor 15 of the own vehicle. The situation specifying unit 121d may specify whether or not the front and rear vehicles in the own lane are detected from the driving environment of the own vehicle recognized by the driving environment recognition unit 101. Details of the time setting unit 122d and the distance setting unit 123 will be described later.

[0131] The control execution unit 103d includes an LCA control unit 131, a traveling-in-waiting control unit 132d, a canceling unit 133, a traveling-at-cancel control unit 134, and an ACC control unit 135 as sub-functional blocks. The control execution unit 103d includes the traveling-in-waiting control unit 132d instead of the traveling-in-waiting control unit 132. The control execution unit 103d includes the ACC control unit 135 as an essential component. The control execution unit 103d is the same as the control execution unit 103 of the first embodiment except for these points.

[0132] The ACC control unit 135 performs the ACC control described in the first embodiment. The traveling-in-waiting control unit 132d is the same as the traveling-in-waiting control unit 132 of the first embodiment except that some processes are different. Hereinafter, these different points will be described. When the traveling-in-waiting control unit 132d specifies that it is in a traffic jam by the situation specifying unit 121d, it travels as follows as traveling in a waiting state. The traveling-in-waiting control unit 132d makes the traveling position of the own vehicle closer to the end on the side where the own vehicle was about to change lanes in the own lane than when it does not specify that it is in a traffic jam. When in a traffic jam, it is considered that the rear vehicle in the lane change destination is more likely to make space for the lane change if the own vehicle is closer to the end on the side where the own vehicle was about to change lanes. Therefore, according to the above configuration, lane changes are facilitated even during traffic jams.

[0133] The time setting unit 122d is the same as the time setting unit 122 in Embodiment 4, except that some processes are different. Hereinafter, this difference will be described. When the situation identification unit 121d identifies that the vehicle is in a traffic jam, the time setting unit 122d preferably changes the specified time to be longer than when it does not identify that the vehicle is in a traffic jam. Since a vehicle in a traffic jam moves at a low speed, even if it travels while approaching the end of its own lane in a standby state, it is easy to avoid approaching surrounding vehicles. Therefore, when it is easy to avoid approaching surrounding vehicles even in a standby state, it is possible to continue the standby state for a longer time and make it easier to change lanes.

[0134] When the situation identification unit 121d identifies the situation where the front and rear vehicles in its own lane are detected by the surrounding monitoring sensor 15 of its own vehicle, the time setting unit 122d preferably changes the specified time of timeout to be longer. The longer change means that it may be changed to be longer than when the situation identification unit 121d identifies the situation where at least one of the front and rear vehicles in its own lane cannot be detected by the surrounding monitoring sensor 15. When the surrounding monitoring sensor 15 can detect the front and rear vehicles, it is easier to avoid approaching the front and rear vehicles than when at least one of the front and rear vehicles cannot be detected. Therefore, when it is easy to avoid approaching the front and rear vehicles even in a standby state, it is possible to continue the standby state for a longer time and make it easier to change lanes.

[0135] The distance setting unit 123 changes the target inter-vehicle distance in the follow-up driving control for maintaining the inter-vehicle distance between its own vehicle and the preceding vehicle of its own vehicle at the target inter-vehicle distance. That is, the distance setting unit 123 changes the target inter-vehicle distance in the aforementioned ACC control. The distance setting unit 123 preferably changes the target inter-vehicle distance when the situation identification unit 121d identifies both traffic jam situations and when the situation identification unit 121d identifies a traffic jam situation in its own lane alone. According to this, when the allowable or preferable target inter-vehicle distance is different between both traffic jam situations and a traffic jam situation in its own lane alone, it is possible to change to the target inter-vehicle distance according to the situation.

[0136] When the distance setting unit 123 determines the single-lane traffic jam situation of the host vehicle lane by the situation identification unit 121d, it is preferable to set the target inter-vehicle distance longer than when the situation identification unit 121d determines the double-lane traffic jam situation. According to this, it becomes easier to accelerate the host vehicle, and even when the host vehicle lane is in a traffic jam, it becomes easier to change lanes to the adjacent lane. When the situation identification unit 121d determines the single-lane traffic jam situation of the host vehicle lane, it may be configured to set the target inter-vehicle distance longer than when the situation identification unit 121d determines the double-lane traffic jam situation. According to this, by promoting the replacement of vehicles between the host vehicle lane and the adjacent lane by increasing the target inter-vehicle distance, it becomes possible to make it easier for the host vehicle to change lanes.

[0137] <Processing related to setting changes in the automatic driving ECU 10d> Here, with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 18, an example of the flow of processing related to setting changes during the standby state in the automatic driving ECU 10d will be described. This processing is referred to as setting change related processing. The flowchart of FIG. 18 may be configured to start when the situation identification unit 121 identifies the first standby situation.

[0138] First, in step S81, when the situation identification unit 121d determines that the vehicle is in a traffic jam (YES in S81), the process proceeds to step S82. On the other hand, when the situation identification unit 121d determines that the vehicle is not in a traffic jam (NO in S81), the process proceeds to step S84.

[0139] In step S82, the traveling control unit 132d during standby causes the host vehicle to travel while approaching the end of the host vehicle lane on the side where the host vehicle is attempting to change lanes. In step S83, the time setting unit 122d sets the timeout specified time longer than when it is not determined that the vehicle is in a traffic jam. Then, the process proceeds to step S86.

[0140] In step S84, the traveling control unit 132d during standby may cause the host vehicle to travel so as to be located at the center of the host vehicle lane. In step S85, the time setting unit 122d sets the timeout specified time shorter than when it is not determined that the vehicle is in a traffic jam. Then, the process proceeds to step S86.

[0141] In step S86, when the situation identification unit 121d determines that the own lane is congested (YES in S86), it proceeds to step S87. On the other hand, when the situation identification unit 121d determines that the own lane is not congested (NO in S86), it proceeds to step S90. In step S87, when it is determined that the adjacent lane which is the destination of the lane change is congested (YES in S87), it proceeds to step S88. In FIG. 18, the adjacent lane which is the destination of the lane change is represented as the LC destination. On the other hand, when it is determined that the adjacent lane which is the destination of the lane change is not congested (NO in S87), it proceeds to step S89.

[0142] In step S88, the distance setting unit 123 sets the target inter-vehicle distance shorter than when the own-lane-only congestion situation is identified by the situation identification unit 121d. Then, it proceeds to step S90. In step S89, the distance setting unit 123 sets the target inter-vehicle distance longer than when the double congestion situation is identified by the situation identification unit 121d.

[0143] In step S90, when the situation identification unit 121d determines that the situation where the surrounding monitoring sensor 15 can detect the front and rear vehicles is identified (YES in S90), it proceeds to step S91. On the other hand, when the situation identification unit 121d determines that the situation where the surrounding monitoring sensor 15 cannot detect at least one of the front and rear vehicles is identified (NO in S90), it proceeds to step S92.

[0144] In step S91, the time setting unit 122d sets the specified time of the timeout longer than when at least one of the front and rear vehicles cannot be detected. Then, it proceeds to step S93. In step S92, the time setting unit 122d sets the specified time of the timeout shorter than when the front and rear vehicles can be detected. Then, it proceeds to step S93.

[0145] In step S93, if it is the end timing of the setting change related process (YES in S93), the setting change related process is terminated. On the other hand, if it is not the end timing of the setting change related process, the process returns to S81 and the process is repeated. As an example of the end timing, the case where the host vehicle has ended the automatic driving without monitoring obligation, the case where the standby state has ended, etc. can be mentioned.

[0146] (Embodiment 6) Not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, the configuration of the following Embodiment 6 may also be used. Below, an example of the configuration of Embodiment 6 will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0147] <Schematic configuration of vehicle system 1e> The vehicle system 1e shown in FIG. 19 can be used in an autonomous vehicle. As shown in FIG. 19, the vehicle system 1e includes an autonomous driving ECU 10e, a communication module 11, a locator 12, a map DB 13, a vehicle state sensor 14, a surrounding monitoring sensor 15, a vehicle control ECU 16, a notification device 17, a user input device 18, and an HCU 19. The vehicle system 1e is the same as the vehicle system 1 of Embodiment 1 except that it includes an autonomous driving ECU 10e instead of the autonomous driving ECU 10.

[0148] <Schematic configuration of autonomous driving ECU 10e> As shown in FIG. 20, the autonomous driving ECU 10e includes a driving environment recognition unit 101, a behavior determination unit 102e, a control execution unit 103e, and an HCU communication unit 104 as functional blocks. The autonomous driving ECU 10e includes a behavior determination unit 102e instead of the behavior determination unit 102. The autonomous driving ECU 10e includes a control execution unit 103e instead of the control execution unit 103. The autonomous driving ECU 10e is the same as the autonomous driving ECU 10 of Embodiment 1 except for these points. This autonomous driving ECU 10e also corresponds to a vehicle control device. Also, the execution of the processing of each functional block of the autonomous driving ECU 10e by a computer corresponds to the execution of the vehicle control method.

[0149] The control execution unit 103e includes an LCA control unit 131e, a waiting driving control unit 132e, a cancel unit 133, and a driving control unit 134 during cancellation as sub-functional blocks. The control execution unit 103e includes the LCA control unit 131e instead of the LCA control unit 131. The control execution unit 103e includes the waiting driving control unit 132e instead of the waiting driving control unit 132. Except for these points, the control execution unit 103e is the same as the control execution unit 103 in Embodiment 1.

[0150] The LCA control unit 131e is the same as the LCA control unit 131 in Embodiment 1 except that some processes are different. Hereinafter, these different points will be described. The LCA control unit 131e performs overtaking control to change lanes for overtaking a preceding vehicle in the own lane. Hereinafter, the preceding vehicle to be overtaken will be referred to as the target preceding vehicle. In the overtaking control, two-stage lane changes are performed. The first stage is a lane change from the own lane to the adjacent lane. The second stage is a lane change back to the original own lane after overtaking the target preceding vehicle in the adjacent lane.

[0151] The waiting driving control unit 132e is the same as the waiting driving control unit 132 in Embodiment 1 except that some processes are different. These different points will be described in detail later. The behavior determination unit 102e includes a situation identification unit 121e and a restart determination unit 124 as sub-functional blocks. The situation identification unit 121e is the same as the situation identification unit 121 in Embodiment 1 except that some processes are different. Hereinafter, these different points will be described.

[0152] When the situation identification unit 121e performs overtaking control, it identifies whether to perform vehicle control to overtake another vehicle by the host vehicle or vehicle control to allow the host vehicle to be overtaken by another vehicle. This vehicle control in which the host vehicle overtakes another vehicle is called preceding overtaking control. This vehicle control in which the host vehicle is overtaken by another vehicle is called following overtaking control. The preceding overtaking control is overtaking control that is performed without waiting for the host vehicle to be overtaken by another vehicle. The following overtaking control is overtaking control that is performed after waiting for the host vehicle to be overtaken by another vehicle. The situation identification unit 121e may identify whether to perform preceding overtaking control or following overtaking control from the situation of the vehicle behind the lane change destination in the first stage described above. For example, when the distance from the vehicle behind is sufficiently far and the vehicle behind is not approaching the host vehicle, it may be identified that preceding overtaking control is to be performed. Also, when the distance from the vehicle behind is not sufficiently far and the vehicle behind is approaching the host vehicle, it may be identified that following overtaking control is to be performed.

[0153] The situation identification unit 121e performs following overtaking control in which the host vehicle is overtaken by another vehicle, and identifies a situation in which the other vehicle does not overtake the host vehicle. This situation is hereinafter referred to as a non-responsive situation. The non-responsive situation may be a situation in which the time elapsed since the start of the following overtaking control has reached a predetermined time, but the other vehicle does not overtake the host vehicle. The predetermined time may be an arbitrarily set time. The start of the following overtaking control here may be, for example, the timing when a notification indicating the start of overtaking control is started by the notification device 17.

[0154] When the standby driving control unit 132e identifies the first standby situation by the situation identification unit 121e during the above-described overtaking control, the standby driving control unit 132e drives the host vehicle in a standby state. The standby driving control unit 132e changes the driving position of the host vehicle in the standby state depending on whether a situation for performing preceding overtaking control is identified or a situation for performing following overtaking control is identified. According to this, when the preferable driving position of the host vehicle in the standby state is different between the preceding overtaking control and the following overtaking control, it becomes possible to change to a driving position according to the situation. As a result, it becomes possible to wait for a lane change in the overtaking control at a driving position according to the situation.

[0155] When the situation determination unit 121e determines a situation where the preceding overtaking control is to be performed, the traveling control unit 132e in the standby state preferably causes the following traveling as traveling in the standby state. The traveling control unit 132e may cause the vehicle to travel such that after changing lanes to an adjacent lane where a lane change is temporarily made for overtaking, the host vehicle is positioned at the center of the adjacent lane. On the other hand, when the situation determination unit 121e determines a situation where the following overtaking control is to be performed, the traveling control unit 132e in the standby state preferably causes the following traveling as traveling in the standby state. The traveling control unit 132e may cause the vehicle to travel while approaching the end on the side where the host vehicle was about to change lanes in the host vehicle lane. Even when the host vehicle straddles an adjacent lane, the host vehicle may return to the original host vehicle lane and travel while approaching the end on the side where the host vehicle was about to change lanes.

[0156] According to the above configuration, in a situation where there is no need to wait for another vehicle to overtake the host vehicle, after performing the first-stage lane change as described above, it becomes possible to wait for the second-stage lane change in the lane of the lane change destination. On the other hand, in a situation where it is necessary to wait for another vehicle to overtake the host vehicle, it becomes possible to wait for the first-stage lane change in the host vehicle lane. Also, in this case, since the vehicle travels while approaching the end on the side where the host vehicle was about to change lanes, it becomes possible to quickly change lanes after another vehicle overtakes the host vehicle. Note that the traveling position in the standby state may be set to another traveling position as long as it is a traveling position corresponding to the situation of the preceding overtaking control and the following overtaking control, not limited to the example described here.

[0157] When the situation determination unit 121e determines the above-described non-responsive situation, the traveling control unit 132e in the standby state preferably continues the standby state for a predetermined time. According to this, compared with the case where the lane change is restarted immediately after the situation determination unit 121e determines the non-responsive situation, it becomes easier to avoid approaching even when a vehicle behind the lane change destination suddenly approaches. Note that the predetermined time may be arbitrarily settable.

[0158] When the restart determination unit 124 determines whether to restart the lane change to the adjacent lane where the host vehicle was trying to change lanes when the non - response situation described above is identified by the situation identification unit 121e, it may simply determine whether to restart the lane change. That is, it may determine whether to restart the lane change. The restart determination unit 124 may determine whether to restart the lane change using the route guidance information of the host vehicle and the congestion level of each lane. As the route guidance information of the host vehicle, the driving plan determined by the action determination unit 102 may be used. As the congestion level of each lane, that identified by the situation identification unit 121e may be used. The situation identification unit 121e may identify the congestion level of each lane based on the sensing information acquired from the surrounding monitoring sensor 15. For example, the restart determination unit 124 may determine to restart the lane change when it is difficult to defer the lane change in the driving plan and the congestion level of the lane change destination is low.

[0159] When the LCA control unit 131e determines, as determined by the restart determination unit 124, to restart the lane change, it is preferable to change the vehicle speed of the host vehicle to a speed slower than that of the target other vehicle. This target other vehicle is the other vehicle targeted to overtake the host vehicle in the following - vehicle overtaking control. Hereinafter, this other vehicle will be referred to as the target other vehicle. Also, the LCA control unit 131e preferably changes the host vehicle to a speed slower than that of the target other vehicle and makes a lane change behind the target other vehicle. This lane change corresponds to the first - stage lane change in the overtaking control. According to the above configuration, when there is the non - response situation described above but the lane change of the host vehicle is necessary, it becomes possible to make a lane change behind the target other vehicle.

[0160] <Overtaking standby - related processing in the automatic driving ECU 10e> Here, using the flowchart of FIG. 21, an example of the flow of processing related to the standby state during overtaking control in the automatic driving ECU 10e will be described. This processing is called overtaking standby - related processing. The flowchart of FIG. 21 may be configured to start when the situation identification unit 121 identifies the first standby situation during the implementation of the overtaking control.

[0161] First, in step S101, if the situation identification unit 121e identifies the overtaking control as the preceding overtaking control (YES in S101), the process proceeds to step S102. On the other hand, if the situation identification unit 121e identifies the overtaking control as the following overtaking control (NO in S101), the process proceeds to step S104.

[0162] In step S102, the traveling control unit 132e during standby causes the host vehicle to travel to be positioned at the center of the adjacent lane after changing lanes to the adjacent lane for overtaking once. In FIG. 21, the lane change is represented as LC. In step S103, if it is the end timing of the overtaking standby related process (YES in S103), the overtaking standby related process is terminated. On the other hand, if it is not the end timing of the overtaking standby related process (NO in S103), the process of S103 is repeated. Examples of the end timing include that the standby state has timed out and that the standby state has been canceled. The cancellation of the standby state is performed when the continuation of the overtaking control becomes possible.

[0163] In step S104, the traveling control unit 132e during standby causes the host vehicle to travel while approaching the end on the side where the host vehicle was about to change lanes in the host lane. In step S105, if the situation identification unit 121e identifies a non-responsive situation (YES in S105), the process proceeds to step S106. On the other hand, if the situation identification unit 121e determines that it is not a non-responsive situation (NO in S105), the overtaking standby related process is terminated. If it is not a non-responsive situation, since the target other vehicle overtakes the host vehicle, the standby state is canceled and the overtaking standby related process is terminated.

[0164] In step S106, the traveling control unit 132e during standby continues the standby state for a predetermined time. In step S107, if the restart determination unit 124 determines to restart the lane change to the adjacent lane where the host vehicle was about to change lanes (YES in S107), the process proceeds to step S108. On the other hand, if it is determined not to restart the lane change to the adjacent lane where the host vehicle was about to change lanes (NO in S107), the process proceeds to step S109.

[0165] In step S108, the LCA control unit 131e changes the vehicle speed of the host vehicle to a speed slower than that of the target other vehicle, changes lanes behind the target other vehicle, and ends the overtaking standby related process. In step S109, when it is the end timing of the overtaking standby related process (YES in S109), the overtaking standby related process is ended. On the other hand, when it is not the end timing of the overtaking standby related process (NO in S109), the process returns to S107 and the process is repeated.

[0166] (Embodiment 7) In the above-described embodiment, the automatic driving ECUs 10, 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d, 10e are shown as configurations corresponding to the vehicle control device, but it is not necessarily limited to this. For example, an ECU other than the automatic driving ECUs 10, 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d, 10e may be a configuration corresponding to the vehicle control device. For example, the functions of the situation specifying units 121, 121a, 121d, 121e and the notification processing units 141, 141a, 141b, 141c may be borne by the HCUs 19, 19a, 19b. In this case, the HCUs 19, 19a, 19b correspond to the vehicle control device. In this case, the HCUs 19, 19a, 19b may perform the functions of the situation specifying units 121, 121a, 121d, 121e by acquiring the results specified by the situation specifying units 121, 121a of the action determination unit 102. Further, the functions of the automatic driving ECUs 10, 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d, 10e described in the above-described embodiment may be shared between the automatic driving ECUs 10, 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d, 10e and the HCUs 19, 19a, 19b. In this case, a unit including the automatic driving ECUs 10, 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d, 10e and the HCUs 19, 19a, 19b corresponds to the vehicle control device.

[0167] Note that the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope indicated in the claims. Embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present disclosure. Further, the control unit and its method described in the present disclosure may be implemented by a dedicated computer configured to include a processor programmed to execute one or more functions embodied by a computer program. Alternatively, the device and its method described in the present disclosure may be implemented by dedicated hardware logic circuits. Or, the device and its method described in the present disclosure may be implemented by one or more dedicated computers configured by a combination of a processor that executes a computer program and one or more hardware logic circuits. Further, the computer program may be stored in a computer-readable non-transitory tangible recording medium as instructions to be executed by a computer.

[0168] (Disclosed technical idea) This specification discloses a plurality of technical ideas described in a plurality of claims listed below. Some claims may be described in a multiple dependent form that alternatively quotes a preceding claim in a subsequent claim. Further, some claims may be described in a multiple dependent form that quotes a claim in another multiple dependent form. The claims described in these multiple dependent forms define a plurality of technical ideas.

[0169] (Technical idea 1) A vehicle control device that can be used in a vehicle that performs driverless driving without monitoring obligations, which is driverless driving without the obligation to monitor the surroundings, A situation specifying unit (121, 121a, 121d, 121e) that specifies the situation of the vehicle, It includes a notification control unit (141, 141a, 141b, 141c) for performing notification toward the interior of the vehicle. The situation identification unit identifies, as a situation of the vehicle, a first standby situation that requires the vehicle to interrupt a lane change in the middle and wait after automatically starting the lane change during the non-monitoring obligation automatic driving. When the situation identification unit identifies the first standby situation, the notification control unit causes the vehicle to perform a notification indicating that the vehicle is in a standby state where the lane change has been interrupted in the middle and is waiting, and a notification conveying the factor that has caused the standby state. The vehicle control device is for this purpose.

[0170] (Technical idea 2) A vehicle control device according to Technical idea 1, When the situation identification unit identifies the first standby situation, the notification control unit causes the vehicle to perform a notification that prompts the driver of the vehicle to perform peripheral monitoring even during the non-monitoring obligation automatic driving. The vehicle control device is for this purpose.

[0171] (Technical idea 3) A vehicle control device according to Technical idea 1 or 2, The situation identification unit (121) also identifies a standby handover situation that requires a handover from the non-monitoring obligation automatic driving to the driving with the peripheral monitoring obligation during the standby state. It includes a cancellation unit (133) for automatically canceling the lane change. When the situation identification unit identifies the standby handover situation, the cancellation unit automatically cancels the lane change. When the situation identification unit identifies the standby handover situation, the notification control unit (141) causes the vehicle to perform a notification indicating that the automatic lane change has been canceled, and a notification conveying the handover following that notification. The vehicle control device is for this purpose.

[0172] (Technical idea 4) A vehicle control device according to any one of Technical ideas 1 to 3, When the situation specifying unit specifies the first standby state, the notification control unit (141b) causes a display device that displays information related to a second task, which is an action other than driving permitted to the driver of the vehicle, to display a standby state display indicating that the vehicle is in the standby state in a display area of the display device as a notification indicating that the vehicle is in the standby state. A vehicle control device.

[0173] (Technical Idea 5) The vehicle control device according to Technical Idea 4, a timeout for ending the standby state is performed when the standby state continues for a specified time or longer, when the timeout occurs, the notification control unit ends the standby state display before the timeout and causes a notification indicating that the standby state has timed out to be displayed at a timing shifted from the timing of ending the standby state display. A vehicle control device.

[0174] (Technical Idea 6) The vehicle control device according to any one of Technical Ideas 1 to 5, a timeout for ending the standby state is performed when the standby state continues for a specified time or longer, a time setting unit (122) for changing the specified time of the timeout, and an execution specifying unit (105) for specifying whether or not the driver of the vehicle is performing a second task, which is an action other than driving permitted to the driver, wherein when the execution specifying unit specifies that the driver is performing a second task, the time setting unit changes the specified time to be longer than when it is specified that the driver is not performing a second task. A vehicle control device.

[0175] (Technical Idea 7) The vehicle control device according to any one of Technical Ideas 1 to 6, the notification control unit (141c) also controls a notification regarding the operation of the direction indicator of the vehicle directed into the interior of the vehicle, An execution specifying unit (105) that specifies whether or not the driver of the vehicle is performing a second task, which is an act other than driving permitted to the driver of the vehicle, The notification control unit is a vehicle control device that suppresses notification regarding the operation of the direction indicator of the vehicle directed into the interior of the vehicle when the execution specifying unit specifies that the driver is performing a second task.

[0176] (Technical idea 8) A vehicle control device according to any one of Technical Ideas 1 to 7, A vehicle control device including a standby driving control unit (132, 132d, 132e) that drives the vehicle in the standby state when the situation specifying unit specifies the first standby state.

[0177] (Technical idea 9) A vehicle control device according to Technical Idea 8, When the standby driving control unit (132d) specifies traffic congestion in the situation specifying unit (121d) as driving in the standby state, the driving position of the vehicle is set to the vehicle in the driving lane of the vehicle rather than when traffic congestion is not specified. A vehicle control device that drives closer to the end on the side where the lane change is attempted.

[0178] (Technical idea 10) A vehicle control device according to Technical Idea 9, A timeout that ends the standby state is performed when the standby state continues for a specified time or more, A time setting unit (122d) that changes the specified time of the timeout is provided, The time setting unit changes the specified time to be longer when the situation specifying unit specifies traffic congestion than when traffic congestion is not specified. A vehicle control device.

[0179] (Technical idea 11) A vehicle control device according to Technical Idea 9 or 10, A distance setting unit (123) that changes the target inter-vehicle distance in the follow-up driving control for maintaining the inter-vehicle distance between the vehicle and its preceding vehicle at the target inter-vehicle distance is provided. The distance setting unit is a vehicle control device that changes the target inter-vehicle distance when the situation specifying unit specifies that the vehicle's driving lane and the adjacent lane, which is the destination of the lane change, are congested, and when the situation specifying unit specifies that the vehicle's driving lane is congested but the adjacent lane, which is the destination of the lane change, is not congested.

[0180] (Technical idea 12) The vehicle control device according to Technical Idea 11, When the distance setting unit specifies that the vehicle's driving lane is congested but the situation specifying unit specifies that the adjacent lane, which is the destination of the lane change, is not congested, the vehicle control device increases the target inter-vehicle distance compared to the case where the situation specifying unit specifies that the vehicle's driving lane and the adjacent lane, which is the destination of the lane change, are congested.

[0181] (Technical idea 13) The vehicle control device according to any one of Technical Ideas 9 to 12, A timeout is performed to end the standby state when the standby state continues for a specified time or more, A time setting unit (122d) that changes the specified time of the timeout is provided, When the situation specifying unit specifies the situation where the surrounding monitoring sensor of the vehicle detects the vehicles in front of and behind the vehicle in the driving lane, the time setting unit changes the specified time to be longer than the case where the situation specifying unit specifies the situation where at least one of the vehicles in front of and behind the vehicle in the driving lane cannot be detected by the surrounding monitoring sensor.

[0182] (Technical idea 14) The vehicle control device according to any one of Technical Ideas 8 to 13, The vehicle control device for changing the traveling position in the standby state, wherein the standby traveling control unit (132e) determines the situation where the vehicle performs vehicle control to overtake another vehicle and the situation where the vehicle performs vehicle control to be overtaken by another vehicle identified by the situation identifying unit.

[0183] (Technical idea 15) The vehicle control device according to Technical Idea 14, when the situation identifying unit (121e) identifies the situation where the vehicle performs vehicle control to overtake another vehicle, as the traveling in the standby state, after changing lanes to an adjacent lane for overtaking by once changing lanes, the vehicle is made to travel to position itself at the center of the lane, while when the situation identifying unit identifies the situation where the vehicle performs vehicle control to be overtaken by another vehicle, as the traveling in the standby state, the vehicle is made to travel closer to the end on the side where the vehicle was about to change lanes in the traveling lane of the vehicle.

[0184] (Technical idea 16) The vehicle control device according to Technical Idea 14 or 15, wherein when the situation identifying unit identifies the situation where the vehicle performs vehicle control to be overtaken by another vehicle but the other vehicle does not overtake the vehicle, the standby state is continued for a predetermined time.

[0185] (Technical idea 17) The vehicle control device according to Technical Idea 16, a resumption determination unit (124) that determines whether to resume the lane change to the adjacent lane where the vehicle was about to change lanes when the situation identifying unit identifies the situation where the vehicle performs vehicle control to be overtaken by another vehicle but the other vehicle does not overtake the vehicle. When the lane change determination unit determines to resume the lane change to the adjacent lane in which the vehicle was about to change lanes, a lane change control unit (131e) that changes the vehicle speed of the vehicle to be slower than that of the other vehicle and changes lanes behind the other vehicle is provided.

[0186] (Technical idea 18) The vehicle control device according to Technical Idea 8, The automatic lane change is performed after bringing the traveling position of the vehicle in the traveling lane of the vehicle closer to the end on the side where the vehicle changes lanes. Based on the situation specifying unit (121a) specifying the first standby situation, the standby traveling control unit (132) is a vehicle control device that causes the vehicle to travel while bringing the traveling position of the vehicle closer to the end side of the traveling lane.

[0187] (Technical idea 19) The vehicle control device according to Technical Idea 18, It can be used in a vehicle that switches between the non-monitoring automatic driving and the automatic driving with the peripheral monitoring obligation, the monitored automatic driving, and The situation specifying unit also specifies a second standby situation that requires interrupting the lane change midway and waiting after the start of the automatic lane change during the monitored automatic driving. Based on the situation specifying unit specifying the first standby situation, the standby traveling control unit causes the vehicle to travel while bringing the traveling position of the vehicle closer to the end side of the traveling lane. On the other hand, when the situation specifying unit specifies the second standby situation, the vehicle control device causes the vehicle to travel while returning the traveling position of the vehicle to the center of the traveling lane.

[0188] (Technical idea 20) The vehicle control device according to Technical Idea 18 or 19, When the standby driving control unit identifies the first standby situation in the situation identification unit and the vehicle straddles the lane line on the side where the vehicle is to change lanes in the driving lane, the driving position of the vehicle is returned to within the driving lane and then the vehicle is driven closer to the end side. On the other hand, when the situation identification unit identifies the first standby situation and the vehicle does not straddle the lane line on the side where the vehicle is to change lanes in the driving lane, the driving position of the vehicle is returned to the center of the driving lane and the vehicle is driven. Vehicle control device.

[0189] (Technical idea 21) The vehicle control device according to any one of Technical Ideas 19 to 20, It can be used in a vehicle that switches between the above-mentioned non-monitoring automatic driving and the above-mentioned automatic driving with a surrounding monitoring obligation, that is, the automatic driving with a monitoring obligation, The situation identification unit also identifies a second standby situation that requires interrupting the lane change midway and waiting after automatically starting the lane change during the automatic driving with a monitoring obligation. When the situation identification unit identifies the first standby situation, the notification control unit causes the vehicle to give a notification indicating that it is in the standby state and a notification conveying the factor for entering the standby state. On the other hand, when the situation identification unit identifies the second standby situation, the notification control unit causes the vehicle to give a notification indicating that it is in the standby state, but does not cause the vehicle to give a notification conveying the factor for entering the standby state. Vehicle control device.

[0190] (Technical idea 22) The vehicle control device according to Technical Idea 1 or 2, It is provided with a cancel unit (133a) for canceling an automatic lane change. When the situation identification unit (121a) identifies the first standby situation, the cancel unit cancels the automatic lane change. When the cancel unit cancels the automatic lane change, it is provided with a driving control unit at the time of cancellation (134) for returning the driving position of the vehicle to the center of the vehicle's driving lane and driving the vehicle. When the situation specifying unit specifies the first standby state, the notification control unit (141a) causes the vehicle to perform a notification indicating that it is in the standby state and a notification conveying the factor causing the standby state, after the cancel-time travel control unit returns the travel position of the vehicle to the center of the travel lane.

[0191] (Technical idea 23) A vehicle control device according to any one of Technical ideas 1 to 22, The notification control unit is capable of causing the notification to be performed by display on a display device, and when the vehicle is caused to re-challenge the lane change after it has been unable to complete the lane change, the display device that does not display information related to the lane change before the re-challenge also displays information related to the lane change.

[0192] (Technical idea 24) A vehicle control device according to any one of Technical ideas 1 to 23, Regarding the notification conveying the factor causing the standby state, the notification control unit does not end the notification even if the factor causing the standby state is eliminated, and continues the notification until the duration of the notification reaches a predetermined time or until the lane change is completed.

Explanation of reference numerals

[0193] 1, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e vehicle system, 10, 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d, 10e automatic driving ECU (vehicle control device), 19, 19a, 19b HCU, 105 implementation specifying unit, 121, 121a, 121d, 121e situation specifying unit, 122, 122d time setting unit, 123 distance setting unit, 124 restart determination unit, 131e LCA control unit (lane change control unit), 132, 132d, 132e traveling during standby control unit, 133, 133a cancel unit, 134 cancel-time travel control unit, 141, 141a, 141b, 141c notification processing unit (notification control unit)

Claims

1. A vehicle control device that can be used in a vehicle that performs autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation, which is autonomous driving without a surrounding monitoring obligation, comprising: a situation specifying unit (121, 121a, 121d, 121e) that specifies the situation of the vehicle; a notification control unit (141, 141a, 141b, 141c) that causes a notification to be made toward the interior of the vehicle; the situation specifying unit specifies, as the situation of the vehicle, a first standby situation that requires the vehicle to interrupt the lane change midway and standby after automatically starting the lane change during the autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation; when the situation specifying unit specifies the first standby situation and the vehicle enters a standby state in which the lane change is interrupted midway and the vehicle is waiting, the notification control unit causes a notification indicating that the vehicle is in the standby state and a notification conveying the cause of the standby state to be made; when the situation specifying unit specifies the first standby situation, the notification control unit (141b) causes a standby state display indicating that the vehicle is in the standby state to be made in a display area of a display device that displays information related to a second task, which is an action other than driving permitted to the driver of the vehicle, as a notification indicating that the vehicle is in the standby state; a timeout is performed to end the standby state when the standby state continues for a specified time or more; when the timeout is performed, the notification control unit ends the standby state display before the timeout and causes a notification indicating that the standby state has timed out to be made at a timing shifted from the timing of ending the standby state display. A vehicle control device.

2. A vehicle control device that can be used in a vehicle that performs autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation, which is autonomous driving without a surrounding monitoring obligation, comprising: a situation specifying unit (121, 121a, 121d, 121e) that specifies the situation of the vehicle; a notification control unit (141, 141a, 141b, 141c) that causes a notification to be made toward the interior of the vehicle; the situation specifying unit specifies, as the situation of the vehicle, a first standby situation that requires the vehicle to interrupt the lane change midway and standby after automatically starting the lane change during the autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation; The notification control unit identifies the first standby state in the situation identification unit, and when the vehicle enters a standby state where the lane change is interrupted and the vehicle is waiting, it causes the vehicle to be notified that it is in a standby state where the lane change is interrupted and waiting, and to notify the cause of the standby state. When the situation identification unit identifies the first standby state, it includes a running-in-standby control unit (132, 132d, 132e) that runs the vehicle in the standby state. When the running-in-standby control unit (132d) identifies congestion in the situation identification unit (121d) as running in the standby state, the running position of the vehicle is closer to the end of the driving lane of the vehicle on the side where the vehicle was about to change lanes than when congestion is not identified. It is a vehicle control device that makes the vehicle run closer to the end of the driving lane of the vehicle on the side where the vehicle was about to change lanes than when congestion is not identified.

3. The vehicle control device according to claim 2, A timeout is performed to end the standby state when the standby state continues for a specified time or more. It includes a time setting unit (122d) that changes the specified time of the timeout. When the situation identification unit identifies congestion, the time setting unit changes the specified time to be longer than when congestion is not identified. It is a vehicle control device.

4. The vehicle control device according to claim 2, It includes a distance setting unit (123) that changes the target inter-vehicle distance in the following driving control for maintaining the inter-vehicle distance between the vehicle and its preceding vehicle at the target inter-vehicle distance. When the situation identification unit identifies congestion in the driving lane of the vehicle but identifies non-congestion in the adjacent lane that is the destination of the lane change, the distance setting unit makes the target inter-vehicle distance longer than when the situation identification unit identifies congestion in the driving lane of the vehicle and the adjacent lane that is the destination of the lane change. It is a vehicle control device.

5. The vehicle control device according to claim 2, A timeout is performed to end the standby state when the standby state continues for a specified time or more. It includes a time setting unit (122d) that changes the specified time of the timeout. When the situation identification unit is identifying the situation where the front and rear vehicles in the traveling lane of the vehicle are detected by the surrounding monitoring sensor of the vehicle, the vehicle control device changes the specified time to be longer than when the situation identification unit is identifying a situation where at least one of the front and rear vehicles in the traveling lane of the vehicle cannot be detected by the surrounding monitoring sensor.

6. A vehicle control device that can be used in a vehicle that performs automatic driving without monitoring obligation, which is automatic driving without the obligation to monitor the surroundings, a situation identification unit (121, 121a, 121d, 121e) that identifies the situation of the vehicle; and a notification control unit (141, 141a, 141b, 141c) that causes notification to be made toward the interior of the vehicle, The situation identification unit identifies, as the situation of the vehicle, a first standby situation in which it is necessary to interrupt the lane change during automatic lane change start and wait during the automatic driving without monitoring obligation. When the situation identification unit identifies the first standby situation, and the vehicle enters a standby state in which the lane change is interrupted and waiting, the notification control unit causes a notification indicating that the vehicle is in a standby state in which the lane change is interrupted and waiting, and a notification conveying the cause of the standby state to be made. When the situation identification unit identifies the first standby situation, it includes a standby driving control unit (132, 132d, 132e) that drives the vehicle in the standby state. The automatic lane change is performed after moving the traveling position of the vehicle in the traveling lane closer to the end on the side where the vehicle is to change lanes. Based on the situation identification unit (121a) identifying the first standby situation, the standby driving control unit (132) drives the vehicle with the traveling position of the vehicle closer to the end side of the traveling lane.

7. The vehicle control device according to claim 6, which can be used in a vehicle that switches between and performs the automatic driving without monitoring obligation and the automatic driving with the obligation to monitor the surroundings, which is the automatic driving with monitoring obligation, and the situation identification unit also identifies a second standby situation in which it is necessary to interrupt the lane change during automatic lane change start and wait during the automatic driving with monitoring obligation. Based on the identification of the first standby situation by the situation identification unit, the standby driving control unit causes the vehicle to drive while moving the driving position of the vehicle closer to the end side of the driving lane. On the other hand, when the situation identification unit identifies the second standby situation, the vehicle control device causes the vehicle to drive while returning the driving position of the vehicle to the center of the driving lane.

8. The vehicle control device according to claim 6, When the standby driving control unit identifies the first standby situation by the situation identification unit and the vehicle straddles the lane line on the side where the vehicle is to change lanes in the driving lane, the standby driving control unit causes the vehicle to drive while moving the driving position of the vehicle back into the driving lane and then closer to the end side. On the other hand, when the standby driving control unit identifies the first standby situation by the situation identification unit and the vehicle does not straddle the lane line on the side where the vehicle is to change lanes in the driving lane, the vehicle control device causes the vehicle to drive while returning the driving position of the vehicle to the center of the driving lane.

9. The vehicle control device according to claim 8, It can be used in a vehicle that switches between the automatic driving without monitoring obligation and the automatic driving with the obligation to monitor the surroundings, i.e., the automatic driving with monitoring obligation, During the automatic driving with monitoring obligation, the situation identification unit also identifies a second standby situation in which it is necessary to interrupt the lane change midway and wait after the start of the automatic lane change. When the situation identification unit identifies the first standby situation, the notification control unit causes a notification indicating that the vehicle is in the standby state and a notification conveying the factor causing the standby state to be issued. On the other hand, when the situation identification unit identifies the second standby situation, the notification control unit causes a notification indicating that the vehicle is in the standby state to be issued, but does not cause a notification conveying the factor causing the standby state to be issued.

10. A vehicle control device that can be used in a vehicle that performs automatic driving without the obligation to monitor the surroundings, i.e., automatic driving without monitoring obligation, A situation identification unit (121, 121a, 121d, 121e) that identifies the situation of the vehicle; A notification control unit (141, 141a, 141b, 141c) that causes a notification to be issued toward the interior of the vehicle; During the automatic driving without monitoring obligation, the situation identification unit identifies, as the situation of the vehicle, a first standby situation in which it is necessary to interrupt the lane change midway and wait after the start of the automatic lane change. The notification control unit identifies the first standby state by the situation identification unit, and when the vehicle enters a standby state in which the lane change is interrupted and the vehicle is waiting, it performs a notification indicating that the vehicle is in a standby state in which the lane change is interrupted and waiting, and a notification conveying the cause of the standby state. The notification control unit can perform notifications by display on a display device. When re-challenging to perform the lane change again after the vehicle fails to complete the lane change, the vehicle control device causes the display device, which does not display information related to the lane change before the re-challenge, to display information related to the lane change.

11. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, a timeout is performed to end the standby state when the standby state continues for a specified time or longer, a time setting unit (122) for changing the specified time of the timeout, and an execution identification unit (105) for identifying whether or not the driver of the vehicle is performing a second task, which is an action other than driving permitted for the driver. The time setting unit changes the specified time to be longer when the execution identification unit identifies that the driver is performing a second task than when it identifies that the driver is not performing a second task.

12. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the notification control unit (141c) also controls notifications regarding the operation of the direction indicator of the vehicle directed into the vehicle interior. and includes an execution identification unit (105) for identifying whether or not the driver of the vehicle is performing a second task, which is an action other than driving permitted for the driver. The notification control unit suppresses notifications regarding the operation of the direction indicator of the vehicle directed into the vehicle interior when the execution identification unit identifies that the driver is performing a second task.

13. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, comprising a standby driving control unit (132, 132d, 132e) for driving the vehicle in the standby state when the situation identification unit identifies the first standby state.

14. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, The notification control unit is a vehicle control device that, for a notification that conveys the factor causing the standby state, does not terminate the notification even if the factor causing the standby state is resolved, and continues the notification until the duration of the notification reaches a predetermined time or until the lane change is completed.

15. A vehicle control method that can be used in a vehicle that performs driverless automatic driving without a monitoring obligation, which is an automatic driving without a surrounding monitoring obligation, executed by at least one processor, including a situation identification step of identifying the situation of the vehicle, and a notification control step of causing a notification to be made toward the interior of the vehicle, in the situation identification step, as the situation of the vehicle, a first standby situation that requires interrupting the lane change midway and waiting after automatically starting the lane change during the driverless automatic driving is identified, in the notification control step, when the first standby situation is identified in the situation identification step and the vehicle enters a standby state in which the lane change is interrupted midway and waiting, a notification indicating that the vehicle is in a standby state in which the lane change is interrupted midway and waiting and a notification conveying the factor causing the standby state are made, in the notification control step, when the first standby situation is identified in the situation identification step, on the display area of a display device that displays information related to a second task, which is an action other than driving permitted to the driver of the vehicle, a standby state display indicating the standby state is made as a notification indicating the standby state, a timeout for ending the standby state is performed when the standby state continues for a specified time or longer, in the notification control step, when the timeout is performed, the standby state display is terminated before the timeout, and a notification indicating that the standby state has timed out is made at a timing shifted from the timing of terminating the standby state display.

16. A vehicle control method that can be used in a vehicle that performs driverless automatic driving without a monitoring obligation, which is an automatic driving without a surrounding monitoring obligation, executed by at least one processor, including a situation identification step of identifying the situation of the vehicle, and a notification control step of causing a notification to be made toward the interior of the vehicle, in the situation identification step, as the situation of the vehicle, a first standby situation that requires interrupting the lane change midway and waiting after automatically starting the lane change during the driverless automatic driving is identified, In the notification control step, when the first standby state is identified in the situation identification step and the vehicle is in a standby state where the lane change has been interrupted halfway and the vehicle is waiting, a notification indicating that the vehicle is in a standby state where the lane change has been interrupted halfway and a notification conveying the cause of the standby state are sent. When the first standby state is identified in the situation identification step, it includes a running-in-standby control step of running the vehicle in the standby state. In the running-in-standby control step, as the running in the standby state, when it is identified in the situation identification step that there is a traffic jam, the running position of the vehicle is made closer to the end on the side where the vehicle is trying to change lanes in the running lane of the vehicle than when it is not identified that there is a traffic jam. A vehicle control method for running the vehicle.

17. A vehicle control method that can be used in a vehicle that performs driverless autonomous driving without the obligation to monitor the surroundings, the vehicle control method being executed by at least one processor, including a situation identification step of identifying the situation of the vehicle, and a notification control step of causing a notification to be made toward the interior of the vehicle. In the situation identification step, as the situation of the vehicle, during the driverless autonomous driving without the obligation to monitor the surroundings, a first standby state in which it is necessary to interrupt the lane change halfway and wait after the automatic lane change starts is identified. In the notification control step, when the first standby state is identified in the situation identification step and the vehicle is in a standby state where the lane change has been interrupted halfway and the vehicle is waiting, a notification indicating that the vehicle is in a standby state where the lane change has been interrupted halfway and a notification conveying the cause of the standby state are sent. When the first standby state is identified in the situation identification step, it includes a running-in-standby control step of running the vehicle in the standby state. The automatic lane change is performed after moving the running position of the vehicle in the running lane of the vehicle closer to the end on the side where the vehicle is changing lanes. In the running-in-standby control step, based on the identification of the first standby state in the situation identification step, a vehicle control method for moving the running position of the vehicle closer to the end side of the running lane and running.

18. A vehicle control method that can be used in a vehicle that performs driverless autonomous driving without the obligation to monitor the surroundings, the vehicle control method being executed by at least one processor, A situation identification step of identifying the situation of the vehicle; A notification control step of causing notification to be made toward the interior of the vehicle, and in the situation identification step, as the situation of the vehicle, a first standby situation that requires automatically interrupting a lane change in the middle and waiting after starting the lane change during the automatic driving without the monitoring obligation is identified; in the notification control step, when the first standby situation is identified in the situation identification step and the vehicle is in a standby state where the lane change is interrupted and waiting in the middle, a notification indicating that the vehicle is in a standby state where the lane change is interrupted and waiting in the middle and a notification conveying the cause of the standby state are caused to be made; in the notification control step, it is possible to cause the notification to be made by display on a display device, and when re-challenging to perform the lane change again after the vehicle fails to complete the lane change, even on the display device that does not display information related to the lane change before the re-challenge, a vehicle control method for causing the display related to the lane change to be made.

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