Vehicle control device and vehicle control method

Abstract

To provide a brake technique for executing control at appropriate deceleration in accordance with situations internal and external to the vehicle.SOLUTION: A vehicle control apparatus 10, capable of executing automatic control to decelerate a vehicle, includes: an obstacle-information obtainment part 20 for obtaining obstacle information representing a position and category of an obstacle existing surroundings of the vehicle; a seating-state information obtainment part 22 for obtaining seating-state information indicating whether an occupant onboard the vehicle is seated or standing; and a setup part 26 for setting an allowance value of vehicular deceleration on the basis of the obstacle information and seating-state information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a technique that enables a vehicle to automatically decelerate. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle control device that allows a vehicle to travel in an autonomous driving mode. This vehicle control device includes a detection means for detecting the posture of an occupant seated in a seat, and a driving control means for suppressing the acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle when the occupant is in a posture in which the upper body is bent, the arms are stretched, or the upper body is twisted during autonomous driving, compared to when the occupant is not in one of these postures. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-167071 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The technology described in Patent Document 1 performs control to suppress vehicle deceleration when a seated occupant is in a bent position, but in vehicles such as buses, there may be no occupants in the seats at all, so control according to the situation inside the vehicle is desirable. Also, suppressing vehicle deceleration increases the possibility of crashing into an obstacle.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a braking technique that controls deceleration at an appropriate rate depending on the conditions inside and outside the vehicle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, one aspect of the present invention is a vehicle control device capable of executing control to automatically decelerate a vehicle, the vehicle control device including: an obstacle information acquisition unit that acquires obstacle information indicating the position and type of obstacles present around the vehicle; and a seating state information acquisition unit that acquires seating state information indicating whether an occupant in the vehicle is seated or standing. a derivation unit that derives an influence level of an obstacle according to a type of the obstacle indicated in the obstacle information, and derives an influence level of an occupant according to a seating state of the occupant indicated in the seating state information at the time the obstacle is detected; a setting unit that sets an allowable value for deceleration of the vehicle based on the obstacle information and the seating state information; a control unit that controls the deceleration of the vehicle so that it does not exceed a set allowable value; Equipped with. The setting unit sets the permissible value based on the derived degree of influence on the obstacle and the degree of influence on the occupant.

[0007] Another aspect of the present invention is a vehicle control method for a vehicle capable of automatically decelerating the vehicle, the method comprising the steps of: acquiring obstacle information indicating the position and type of an obstacle present around the vehicle; and acquiring seating state information indicating whether an occupant in the vehicle is seated or standing. a step of deriving an influence degree of the obstacle according to the type of the obstacle indicated in the obstacle information, and deriving an influence degree of the obstacle on the occupant according to the seating state of the occupant indicated in the seating state information at the time the obstacle is detected; setting a vehicle deceleration tolerance based on the obstacle information and the seating state information; controlling the deceleration of the vehicle so as not to exceed a set allowable value; Includes. In the setting step, the allowable value is set based on the derived degrees of influence on the obstacle and the derived degrees of influence on the occupant. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a braking technique that controls deceleration at an appropriate rate depending on the conditions inside and outside the vehicle. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the vehicle control system. [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the relationship between obstacle information, seating state information, and tolerances. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining control of vehicle deceleration in automatic brake control. [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart of a process for setting the deceleration of a vehicle. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the functional configuration of a vehicle control system 1. In Fig. 1, each element described as a functional block that performs various processes can be configured in hardware using circuit blocks, memory, or other LSIs, and in software using programs loaded into memory, etc. Therefore, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that these functional blocks can be realized in various forms using only hardware, only software, or a combination thereof, and are not limited to any one of these.

[0011] The vehicle control system 1 includes a vehicle control device 10, an obstacle detection sensor 12, an occupancy detection sensor 14, and a driving device 16. A vehicle equipped with the vehicle control system 1 can be driven automatically in response to instructions from the occupant, and may have functions such as automatic driving on highways, automatic parking, and automatic braking to avoid collisions. Furthermore, a vehicle equipped with the vehicle control system 1 may not have the function of moving automatically, but may have an automatic braking function to avoid collisions. In either case, the vehicle control system 1 has the function of controlling the driving of the vehicle without the operation of the driver. Furthermore, the vehicle equipped with the vehicle control system 1 may be a bus, and occupants may be able to stand up inside the vehicle.

[0012] The obstacle detection sensor 12 detects obstacles present around the vehicle. The obstacle detection sensor 12 may be, for example, an exterior camera that captures images of the area around the vehicle, a millimeter-wave radar, or a sonic sensor, or a combination of these. The obstacle detection sensor 12 detects the position and type of obstacle. The type of obstacle is information indicating a pedestrian, bicycle, vehicle, road object, non-human animal, etc. The detection result of the obstacle detection sensor 12 is attached with a timestamp.

[0013] The seating detection sensor 14 may include an in-vehicle camera that captures images of the interior of the vehicle and generates a captured image, a sensor that detects whether a seat belt is fastened, etc. The seating detection sensor 14 detects the seating state of the occupant, and detects whether the occupant is seated, the occupant's posture, and whether the seat belt is fastened. The detection result of the seating detection sensor 14 is time-stamped, and can be correlated with the detection result of the obstacle detection sensor 12 based on the time.

[0014] The traveling device 16 is an actuator that controls the traveling of the vehicle, and includes a wheel drive device, a braking device, a steering device, etc. The traveling device 16 is controlled by the vehicle control device 10, and is also controlled by the driver's operation.

[0015] The vehicle control device 10 can execute control to automatically decelerate the vehicle and execute automatic braking control to avoid collision with an obstacle. The vehicle control device 10 includes an obstacle information acquisition unit 20, a seating state information acquisition unit 22, a derivation unit 24, a setting unit 26, and a control unit 30.

[0016] The obstacle information acquisition unit 20 acquires obstacle information indicating the position and type of obstacles present around the vehicle from the obstacle detection sensor 12. The obstacle information includes the position of the obstacle, information indicating the type of obstacle, and the time when the obstacle was detected. The obstacle information, which is the result of detecting an obstacle, may be generated by detecting an object using an algorithm such as YOLO (You Only Look Once) and determining the possibility of a collision with the object using a collision determination program. The obstacle information generation process may be executed on the vehicle control device 10 side, or may be executed on the sensor side.

[0017] The seating state information acquisition unit 22 acquires seating state information indicating the seating state of occupants in the vehicle from the seating detection sensor 14. The occupant seating state information includes whether or not the occupant is seated, whether or not the seat belt is fastened, whether or not the seated occupant's posture is good or bad, and the time of image capture by the in-vehicle camera. Regarding whether or not the occupant is seated, if all occupants are seated, it is determined that the occupant is seated, and if at least one occupant is standing, it is determined that the occupant is not seated. Regarding the good or bad occupant posture, for example, if the occupant's back is not against the seat, it is determined that the occupant's posture is good, and if the occupant's back is against the seat, it is determined that the occupant's posture is good, and the occupant's posture is classified into good and bad postures based on predetermined conditions. The occupant seating state information is generated by analyzing images captured by the in-vehicle camera. The seating state information acquisition unit 22 may identify occupants included in the images captured by the in-vehicle camera through image analysis and estimate whether or not the identified occupant is seated. The seating state information of the occupant is associated with the obstacle information by time.

[0018] The derivation unit 24 receives obstacle information from the obstacle information acquisition unit 20 and derives the impact level on the obstacle according to the type of obstacle indicated in the obstacle information. For example, the derivation unit 24 derives the impact level on the obstacle when a vehicle collides with the obstacle in three levels according to the type of obstacle. The derivation unit 24 derives the impact level as "high" if the type of obstacle indicates an object including a person, derives the impact level as "medium" if the type of obstacle indicates a large object including a person, and derives the impact level as "small" if the type of obstacle indicates a small object including a person. Objects including people may include not only pedestrians but also moving vehicles. A vehicle colliding with a person has a higher impact level than a vehicle colliding with a non-person object. In other words, the impact level on the obstacle is an indicator of the severity of the collision outside the vehicle. The size of the obstacle is classified based on predetermined criteria. The impact level on the obstacle is not limited to three levels and may be derived as a score from zero to 100.

[0019] The derivation unit 24 receives seating state information from the seating state information acquisition unit 22 and derives the degree of impact on the occupant according to the seating state of the occupant indicated in the seating state information when an obstacle is detected. For example, the derivation unit 24 derives the degree of impact on the occupant when the vehicle collides with an obstacle in three stages according to the seating state of the occupant. The derivation unit 24 derives the degree of impact as "small" when the seating state of the occupant indicates that the seat belt is fastened, as "medium" when the seat belt is not fastened, and as "large" when the seating state of the occupant indicates that the occupant is standing. When the seating state information indicates that there is an occupant standing in the vehicle, the derivation unit 24 derives the degree of impact on the occupant so that it is greater than when there is no occupant standing in the vehicle. The more unstable the occupant's seating state, the greater the degree of impact on the occupant. The degree of impact on the occupant is an index indicating the likelihood of injury to the occupant in the event of a collision. The degree of impact on the occupant is not limited to three levels, but may be derived as a score from zero to 100.

[0020] The derivation unit 24 derives the degree of impact on the obstacle according to the type of obstacle indicated in the obstacle information, and derives the degree of impact on the occupant according to the seating state of the occupant indicated in the seating state information at the time the obstacle is detected. If the seating state of the occupant is seated without fastening a seat belt, the derivation unit 24 may classify the occupant's posture as good or bad. Note that the derivation unit 24 derives the degree of impact on the obstacle and the occupant when the vehicle collides with an obstacle, but the degree of impact may be the degree of impact when the vehicle comes very close to the obstacle, not limited to a collision.

[0021] The setting unit 26 sets a permissible value for the vehicle deceleration based on the obstacle information and the seating state information. When the permissible value for the vehicle deceleration is set, the deceleration applied to the vehicle by the automatic brake control can be prevented from exceeding the permissible value. The permissible value for the deceleration is set to be equal to or less than the maximum deceleration that the vehicle can exhibit. The setting unit 26 sets the permissible value each time an obstacle is detected.

[0022] The allowable value set by setting unit 26 is not limited to the vehicle deceleration, but may also be the vehicle deceleration jerk, vehicle acceleration, steering angle acceleration jerk, steering angular velocity, etc. In any case, at least the allowable value of the vehicle deceleration is set. A method for setting this allowable value will now be described with reference to FIG. 2.

[0023] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the relationship between obstacle information, seating state information, and tolerance values. The tolerance value set in the setting unit 26 is set to three levels: "large," "medium," and "small," with "large" indicating a large deceleration. If the tolerance value is "large," large deceleration is allowed, making it possible to brake suddenly. If the tolerance value is "small," only small deceleration is allowed, making it impossible to brake more than gently. In other words, if the tolerance value is "small," the vehicle is more likely to collide with an obstacle than if the tolerance value is "large."

[0024] The greater the degree of influence on the obstacle, the more likely it is that a larger tolerance value will be set. When the degree of influence on the obstacle is relatively large, the setting unit 26 tends to set a larger tolerance value than when the degree of influence on the obstacle is relatively small. When the degree of influence on the obstacle is "large," i.e., when the obstacle is a person, the largest tolerance value is set regardless of the degree of influence on the occupant.

[0025] The greater the degree of impact on the occupants, the more likely it is that a smaller tolerance value will be set. When the degree of impact on the occupants is relatively small, the setting unit 26 tends to set a larger tolerance value than when the degree of impact on the occupants is relatively large. When the degree of impact on the occupants is "small," that is, when all occupants are wearing seat belts, the setting unit 26 sets the largest tolerance value regardless of the degree of impact on the obstacle. The tolerance values ​​set by the setting unit 26 are not limited to three levels, and may be set more finely.

[0026] In this way, the setting unit 26 sets the tolerance based on the degree of impact on the obstacle and the degree of impact on the occupant. If the degree of impact on the obstacle is "small," priority is given to the degree of impact on the occupant, and a tolerance is set according to the degree of impact on the occupant. On the other hand, if the degree of impact on the obstacle is "large," priority is given to the degree of impact on the obstacle. This makes it possible to minimize risk by considering the impact of both the occupants inside the vehicle and the obstacles outside the vehicle.

[0027] Returning to FIG. 1, the driving processing unit 28 executes automatic braking control to avoid collision with an obstacle, and calculates a command value for controlling the driving device 16. The driving processing unit 28 also executes automatic driving control using obstacle information acquired by the obstacle information acquisition unit 20. In the automatic braking control, the driving processing unit 28 calculates the deceleration of the vehicle as a command value within a range that does not exceed the allowable value set by the setting unit 26. The automatic braking control may be incorporated into the automatic driving control, or may be executed separately from the automatic driving control. The automatic braking control may be turned on / off by a driver's instruction.

[0028] FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the control of vehicle deceleration in automatic brake control. The vertical axis of FIG. 3 represents deceleration, and the horizontal axis represents time. The control unit 30 controls the vehicle deceleration 32 so as not to exceed a set tolerance. If a tolerance is not set, the control unit 30 controls the vehicle deceleration at a temporary deceleration 34 to avoid obstacles. In this way, the control unit 30 controls the vehicle deceleration so as not to exceed the set tolerance, so that if the tolerance is "large," the control unit 30 applies sudden braking, but if the tolerance is "small," the control unit 30 applies gentle braking. If the tolerance is "small," the possibility of a standing occupant being injured by braking control can be reduced.

[0029] Returning to FIG. 1, the seating state of an occupant who is seated without fastening a seat belt can be quickly improved by the occupant. When the vehicle starts braking, the seated occupant can fasten the seat belt, lean against the seat, or hold on to something around them to move to a stable position. Therefore, the derivation unit 24 classifies the seating state as improvable when there is an occupant who is seated without fastening a seat belt. On the other hand, if the occupant is standing, the seating state cannot be improved unless the occupant sits in the seat, so the derivation unit 24 classifies the seating state as improvable. Furthermore, if the occupant's seating state is fastened by a seat belt, no further improvement can be made, so the derivation unit 24 classifies the seating state as improvable or already improved.

[0030] When the deriving unit 24 classifies the occupant's seating state as improvable based on the seating state information, the deriving unit 24 sets the tolerance and then changes it to a smaller tolerance after a predetermined time. For example, if the occupant's seating state at the time an obstacle is detected indicates that the occupant is seated without fastening a seat belt, the deriving unit 24 changes the degree of impact on the occupant from "medium" to "small" after a predetermined time. The predetermined time may be set, for example, within a range from several seconds to 10 seconds. The timing for starting to measure this predetermined time is not limited to when the tolerance is set, but may be set to any of the following: when the occupant's seating state information is acquired, when deceleration begins to be applied to the vehicle, and when the degree of impact on the occupant changes from "large" to "medium." This allows the tolerance for deceleration to be set by smoothly changing the degree of impact on the occupant depending on the occupant's seating state.

[0031] 4 is a flowchart of the process for setting the vehicle deceleration. If the vehicle is not in autonomous driving mode (N in S10), this process ends. If the vehicle is in autonomous driving mode (Y in S10), the obstacle information acquisition unit 20 acquires obstacle information from the obstacle detection sensor 12 (S12), and the seating state information acquisition unit 22 acquires occupant seating state information from the seating detection sensor 14 (S14).

[0032] The derivation unit 24 determines whether there is an obstacle that will hinder driving based on the obstacle information (S16). If there is no obstacle (N in S16), this process ends. If there is an obstacle (Y in S16), the derivation unit 24 receives seating state information from the seating state information acquisition unit 22 and derives the degree of impact on the occupant according to the seating state of the occupant indicated in the seating state information when the obstacle was detected (S18).

[0033] The derivation unit 24 receives obstacle information from the obstacle information acquisition unit 20 and derives the degree of impact on the obstacle according to the type of obstacle indicated in the obstacle information (S20). The setting unit 26 sets an allowable value for the vehicle deceleration based on the degree of impact on the occupant and the degree of impact on the obstacle derived by the derivation unit 24 (S22). This makes it possible to set an appropriate allowable value according to the conditions inside and outside the vehicle, and the vehicle deceleration is controlled so as not to exceed the allowable value.

[0034] The derivation unit 24 monitors whether a predetermined time has elapsed since the permissible value was set (N in S24), and if the predetermined time has elapsed (Y in S24), determines whether the occupant's seating condition can be improved (S26). If the occupant's seating condition cannot be improved (N in S26), the set value is maintained and the process ends. If the occupant's seating condition can be improved (Y in S26), that is, if the seating condition is "medium," the derivation unit 24 reduces the degree of impact on the occupant from "medium" to "small" (S28). The setting unit 26 resets the permissible value based on the new degree of impact on the occupant (S30). This allows the degree of impact on the occupant to be smoothly changed depending on the seating condition and the passage of time, and the permissible value can be set. Note that the process of resetting the permissible value after a predetermined time does not have to be executed.

[0035] It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments are merely illustrative and that various modifications are possible in the combination of the components, and that such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0036] 1 vehicle control system, 10 vehicle control device, 12 obstacle detection sensor, 14 seating detection sensor, 16 running device, 20 obstacle information acquisition unit, 22 seating state information acquisition unit, 24 derivation unit, 26 setting unit, 28 running processing unit, 30 control unit.

Claims

1. A vehicle control device capable of automatically decelerating a vehicle, an obstacle information acquisition unit that acquires obstacle information indicating the positions and types of obstacles present around the vehicle; a seating state information acquisition unit that acquires seating state information indicating whether an occupant in the vehicle is seated or standing; a derivation unit that derives an influence level of an obstacle according to a type of the obstacle indicated in the obstacle information, and derives an influence level of an occupant according to a seating state of the occupant indicated in the seating state information at the time the obstacle is detected; a setting unit that sets an allowable value for deceleration of the vehicle based on the obstacle information and the seating state information; a control unit that controls the deceleration of the vehicle so that it does not exceed a set allowable value, The vehicle control device is characterized in that the setting unit sets the tolerance based on the derived degree of influence on an obstacle and the degree of influence on an occupant.

2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, characterized in that when the seating state information indicates that there is a standing occupant in the vehicle, the derivation unit derives the information so that the impact on the occupant is greater than when there is no standing occupant in the vehicle.

3. A vehicle control method in which each step is executed by a computer in a vehicle capable of executing control to automatically decelerate the vehicle, acquiring obstacle information indicating the position and type of obstacles present around the vehicle; acquiring seating state information indicating whether an occupant in the vehicle is seated or standing; a step of deriving an influence degree of the obstacle according to the type of the obstacle indicated in the obstacle information, and deriving an influence degree of the obstacle on the occupant according to the seating state of the occupant indicated in the seating state information at the time the obstacle is detected; setting a vehicle deceleration tolerance based on the obstacle information and the seating state information; and controlling the deceleration of the vehicle so that it does not exceed a set allowable value; A vehicle control method, characterized in that in the setting step, the tolerance is set based on the derived degree of influence on the obstacle and the degree of influence on the occupant.

Images