Vehicle control device and vehicle control method

Abstract

To provide technique which stops on-vehicle function which actuates unnecessarily when washing a vehicle.SOLUTION: A vehicle control device comprises an acquisition part which acquires a pick-up image of an on-vehicle camera or position information of a vehicle and acquires speed of a vehicle, a specification part which specifies that a car washing machine exists in the neighborhood of the vehicle on the basis of the pick-up image or the position information of the vehicle and a determination part which determines to propose transition to car washing mode which stops prescribed on-vehicle function to an operator of the vehicle if speed of the vehicle travels at prescribed vehicle speed or less and moreover it is specified that the car washing machine exists in the neighbor hood of the vehicle by the specification part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle control device and a vehicle control method that propose a transition to a car wash mode for a driver.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a wiper control method in an auto wiper system that automatically controls the wiper operation of a vehicle by sensing the weather conditions with a raindrop sensor. In this wiper control method, when the door mirror is retracted, the wiper operation control by the auto wiper system is stopped so that the wiper is not operated even if the raindrop sensor detects water droplets.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Leaving the stop of in-vehicle functions during car washing to the driver's operation is inconvenient. Further, in the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, if the door mirror is not retracted, the wiper operation control is not stopped. Therefore, when washing the car with a car wash machine without retracting the door mirror, the wiper operates and interferes with the car wash machine.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a technology for stopping in-vehicle functions that operate unnecessarily during car washing.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To solve the above problems, a vehicle control device according to one aspect of the present invention includes: an acquisition unit that acquires images captured by an in-vehicle camera or vehicle position information and acquires the vehicle speed; an identification unit that identifies the presence of a car wash machine in the vicinity of the vehicle based on the images captured or vehicle position information; and a decision unit that, when the vehicle is traveling at a speed below a predetermined vehicle speed and the identification unit identifies the presence of a car wash machine in the vicinity of the vehicle, decides to propose to the vehicle driver that the device switch to a car wash mode that stops predetermined in-vehicle functions. The identification unit calculates the orientation of the vehicle toward the car wash machine based on the position of the car wash machine in the captured image, and identifies that a car wash machine exists near the vehicle if the car wash machine included in the captured image is located within a predetermined distance from the vehicle and the vehicle is facing the car wash machine.

[0007] Another aspect of the present invention is a vehicle control method. This method is a vehicle control method in which each step is performed by a computer mounted on the vehicle, comprising the steps of: acquiring an image captured by an onboard camera or vehicle position information and acquiring the vehicle speed; identifying the presence of a car wash machine in the vicinity of the vehicle based on the image captured or vehicle position information; and determining that the vehicle is traveling at a speed below a predetermined speed and that In the step The system includes the step of deciding to suggest to the vehicle driver that the system switch to a car wash mode that disables a predetermined in-vehicle function if it is determined that a car wash machine is located near the vehicle. In the identification step, the orientation of the vehicle toward the car wash machine is calculated based on the position of the car wash machine in the captured image. If the car wash machine included in the captured image is located within a predetermined distance from the vehicle and the vehicle is facing the car wash machine, then it is determined that a car wash machine is present near the vehicle. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a technology for stopping in-vehicle functions that operate unnecessarily during car washing. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This diagram shows a vehicle heading towards a car wash. [Figure 2] This is a diagram illustrating the transition to car wash mode. [Figure 3] This diagram shows the functional configuration of the vehicle control system. [Figure 4] This is a flowchart of the vehicle control process in the embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] Figure 1 shows a vehicle 10 approaching a car wash machine 12. The car wash area 14 is equipped with a car wash machine 12 and a fuel dispenser 16. The car wash area 14 shown in Figure 1 is a gas station, but it may be a dedicated car wash area without a fuel dispenser 16. The refueling vehicle 18 is using the fuel dispenser 16. The car wash machine 12 is configured in a gate shape and moves on a pair of rails 12a during the car washing operation.

[0011] Vehicle 10 is at the car wash 14 for a car wash. Vehicle 10 may be capable of operating under automatic driving control. The dashed line shows vehicle 10' entering the car wash 14 from the road and moving in front of the car wash machine 12. Vehicle 10 moves slowly in the car wash 14. Vehicle 10 has moved in front of the car wash machine 12 and is positioned between the pair of rails 12a. The driver remains in vehicle 10 and undergoes the car wash process at the car wash machine 12.

[0012] Incidentally, the vehicle 10 is equipped with a function that notifies the driver of the presence of objects such as obstacles, and also has an automatic braking function that detects objects approaching the vehicle 10 and automatically activates the braking system. The automatic braking function, for example, when the clearance sonar detects an object approaching the vehicle 10, outputs a warning inside the vehicle and activates the braking system. During car washing, the clearance sonar may detect the car wash machine 12 approaching the vehicle 10, and a warning may be output inside the vehicle, resulting in the driver receiving an unnecessary warning.

[0013] Furthermore, the automatic wiper function included in the vehicle's features detects raindrops and automatically activates the wiper system. The wiper system is installed at least on the front doors to wipe away water and other debris. During car washing, the wash water may be detected as raindrops, potentially causing the wiper system to activate. In this case, the wiper system may come into contact with the brushes of the car wash machine 12, potentially causing a malfunction.

[0014] The specifications for vehicle 10 include instructions to disable the automatic wiper function when washing the vehicle, but the driver may not be aware of the specifications. Therefore, the vehicle control device in this embodiment suggests to the driver that they switch to car wash mode before the vehicle is washed in the car wash machine 12, and prompts them to disable the automatic braking function, automatic wiper function, etc.

[0015] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating the transition to car wash mode. Figure 2 mainly shows the notification unit 20, which is an in-vehicle display. The notification unit 20 includes a speaker and an in-vehicle display. The in-vehicle display is a touch panel type and displays images and allows the driver to input operations.

[0016] The notification unit 20 informs the driver via a notification voice 24 that "If you want to wash the car, please switch to car wash mode." This notification voice 24 may be repeated multiple times until the driver responds. Along with outputting this notification voice 24, the notification unit 20 displays "Do you want to switch to car wash mode?" on the in-vehicle display and shows an "Yes" operation button 22a and an "No" operation button 22b. When the driver touches operation button 22a, the vehicle control device switches to car wash mode and disables functions such as automatic braking and automatic wipers.

[0017] Figure 3 shows the functional configuration of the vehicle control device 30. Each function of the vehicle control device 30 can be configured in hardware terms with circuit blocks, memory, and other LSIs, and in software terms with system software and application programs loaded into memory. Therefore, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that each function of the vehicle control device 30 can be implemented in various ways by hardware alone, software alone, or a combination thereof, and is not limited to any one of these.

[0018] The vehicle control device 30 is connected to the in-vehicle camera 32, the communication unit 34, and the in-vehicle sensor 36. The vehicle control device 30 includes an acquisition unit 40, a identification unit 42, a storage unit 44, a decision unit 46, an execution unit 48, and a notification unit 20.

[0019] The in-vehicle camera 32 captures the surroundings of the vehicle 10 and generates a captured image. The in-vehicle camera 32 may be composed of a plurality of imaging elements and may capture the front, rear, left, and right directions of the vehicle 10 respectively. The in-vehicle camera 32 transmits the captured image to the vehicle control device 30.

[0020] The communication unit 34 receives information indicating the position of the vehicle 10 using GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System). Also, the communication unit 34 receives information indicating the position of the car wash 12 from an external server device. The communication unit 34 may be composed of a plurality of antennas. The communication unit 34 transmits the position information of the vehicle 10 and the position information of the car wash 12 to the vehicle control device 30.

[0021] The in-vehicle sensors 36 include a vehicle speed sensor that detects the speed of the vehicle 10, a touch sensor that detects the driver's operation input, a microphone that detects the driver's voice input, etc. The notification unit 20 includes a speaker and an in-vehicle display as shown in FIG. 2.

[0022] The acquisition unit 40 of the vehicle control device 30 acquires the captured image from the in-vehicle camera 32. The acquisition unit 40 acquires the position information of the vehicle 10 from the communication unit 34 and acquires the position information of the car wash 12 from the communication unit 34. The acquisition unit 40 acquires the speed of the vehicle 10 from the vehicle speed sensor of the in-vehicle sensors 36 and acquires the driver's input result from the touch panel or microphone of the in-vehicle sensors 36.

[0023] The specifying unit 42 specifies that the car wash 12 exists near the vehicle 10 based on the captured image and / or the position information of the vehicle 10. Note that the vicinity of the vehicle 10 may be within a predetermined distance from the vehicle 10. The predetermined distance is set by experiments or the like, and may be set, for example, in the range of several meters to 5 meters.

[0024] The identification unit 42 uses image processing to determine whether an image of the car wash machine 12 is included in the captured image. The identification unit 42 may use machine learning techniques to identify the car wash machine 12 from the captured image. The identification unit 42 calculates the distance between the car wash machine 12 and the vehicle 10 included in the captured image. The identification unit 42 may detect the car wash machine 12 only from captured images taken in front of the vehicle 10.

[0025] The identification unit 42 may calculate the direction of the car wash machine 12 from the vehicle 10 based on the position of the car wash machine 12 on the captured image. The direction of the car wash machine 12 from the vehicle 10 is used to determine whether the vehicle 10 is heading towards the car wash machine 12, that is, whether the direction of travel of the vehicle 10 is directed toward the car wash machine 12. The more the direction in which the vehicle passes through the gate of the car wash machine 12 and the front-to-back direction of the vehicle 10 overlap, the higher the probability that the vehicle 10 will use the car wash machine 12. This makes it possible to determine whether the vehicle 10 will use the fuel dispenser 16 or the car wash machine 12.

[0026] The identification unit 42 identifies that a car wash machine 12 is located near the vehicle 10 if the car wash machine 12 included in the captured image is located within a predetermined distance from the vehicle 10. Furthermore, the identification unit 42 may identify that a car wash machine 12 is located near the vehicle 10 if the car wash machine 12 included in the captured image is located within a predetermined distance from the vehicle 10 and the vehicle 10 is moving towards the car wash machine 12. In this way, the identification unit 42 analyzes the captured image to identify a car wash machine 12 located near the vehicle 10.

[0027] The identification unit 42 identifies that a car wash machine 12 is located near the vehicle 10 based on the location information of the vehicle 10 and the location information of the car wash machine 12 stored in the storage unit 44. The identification unit 42 identifies that a car wash machine 12 is located near the vehicle 10 if the distance between the location information of the vehicle 10 and the location information of the car wash machine 12 is less than or equal to a predetermined distance. Processing can be simplified by using the location information of the vehicle 10. The identification unit 42 may also track the location information of the vehicle 10 and determine whether it is heading towards the car wash machine 12. The identification unit 42 may also identify that a car wash machine 12 is located near the vehicle 10 using both the image captured by the onboard camera 32 and the location information of the vehicle 10.

[0028] The determination unit 46 decides to propose to the driver of vehicle 10 that it switch to a car wash mode, which disables predetermined onboard functions, if the speed of vehicle 10 is below a predetermined speed and the identification unit 42 has determined that a car wash machine 12 is located near vehicle 10. The predetermined speed may be set to, for example, 10 kilometers per hour and used to detect that vehicle 10 is moving slowly. This is because vehicle 10 will move slowly when approaching the car wash machine 12. If vehicle 10 is moving slowly and the car wash machine 12 is located near vehicle 10, there is a high probability that vehicle 10 will be washed in the car wash machine 12, so the driver is proposed to switch to car wash mode. Before approaching the car wash machine 12, vehicle 10 is in normal driving mode and various driver assistance functions are turned on.

[0029] The notification unit 20, in accordance with the decision result of the decision unit 46, proposes to the driver the transition to car wash mode and outputs information to the in-vehicle display asking the driver to confirm whether it is OK to transition to car wash mode. As shown in Figure 2, the notification unit 20 notifies the driver of the proposal to transition to car wash mode by voice via a speaker and displays operation buttons on the in-vehicle display for the driver to confirm whether to transition to car wash mode or to obtain the driver's consent. In the notification method shown in Figure 2, a combination of voice and display is used, but the notification is not limited to this configuration, and notifications may be made by voice only or by display only. Warning sounds may also be added. In any case, the driver is asked to confirm the transition to car wash mode. The voice notification may be repeated multiple times until the driver gives confirmation.

[0030] When the driver presses the "Yes" button 22a, that is, when the driver gives an input indicating consent, the transition to car wash mode begins. When the driver presses the "No" button 22b, that is, when the driver gives an input indicating denial, the transition to car wash mode does not occur, and the suggestion to the driver ends. This allows the driver to confirm whether they want to wash the car before transitioning to car wash mode. The decision unit 46 receives the result of the driver pressing the "Yes" button 22a, decides to transition to car wash mode, and sends the decision result to the execution unit 48.

[0031] When the execution unit 48 receives input indicating the driver's consent, it switches to car wash mode. The execution unit 48 completes the transition to car wash mode by stopping a pre-set in-vehicle function. The execution unit 48 can turn predetermined in-vehicle functions on or off.

[0032] The in-vehicle functions that are stopped in car wash mode include at least an automatic wiper function that automatically activates the wiper system, and a function that notifies the vehicle 10 of the presence of an object approaching it. The function that notifies the vehicle 10 of the presence of an object approaching it may be part of the automatic braking function. The function that detects and notifies of an object using the clearance sonar also operates on the car wash machine 12 because the clearance sonar has a more difficult time distinguishing between different types of objects than a camera. Therefore, the function that detects and notifies of an object using the clearance sonar is turned off during car washing. Stopping (turning off) an in-vehicle function only requires stopping the control processing, but the power to the wiper system's rain sensor and the clearance sonar may also be turned off at the same time as stopping the control processing.

[0033] The identification unit 42 determines that the vehicle 10 has moved away from the car wash machine 12 based on the captured image and / or the vehicle 10's position information. The decision unit 46 determines that the vehicle 10 has moved away from the car wash machine 12 and switches from car wash mode to normal driving mode. The execution unit 48, upon receiving the decision result from the decision unit 46, turns on a predetermined in-vehicle function and switches from car wash mode to normal driving mode. Driver confirmation is not required for the transition from car wash mode to normal driving mode; the notification unit 20 only needs to notify the driver that the vehicle has switched to normal driving mode.

[0034] Figure 4 is a flowchart of the vehicle control process in the embodiment. The acquisition unit 40 acquires the captured image from the on-board camera 32, the position information of the vehicle 10 from the communication unit 34, and the speed of the vehicle 10 from the on-board sensor 36 (S10).

[0035] The determination unit 46 determines whether the vehicle 10 is traveling at or below a predetermined speed, that is, whether the vehicle 10 is moving slowly (S12). If the vehicle 10 is not moving slowly (N in S12), this process ends. If the vehicle 10 is moving slowly (Y in S12), the identification unit 42 determines whether the car wash machine 12 is located near the vehicle 10 based on the captured image or the vehicle 10's position information (S14).

[0036] The decision unit 46 determines that the vehicle 10 is traveling at a speed below a predetermined speed and that a car wash machine 12 is located near the vehicle 10, and decides to suggest to the driver of the vehicle 10 that it switch to car wash mode. The notification unit 20 then notifies the driver according to the decision result (S16). The notification unit 20 verbally suggests to the driver that they switch to car wash mode and also displays a confirmation message on the in-vehicle display asking the driver whether they want to switch to car wash mode.

[0037] If the driver does not agree to the transition confirmation (N in S18), this process is terminated. If the driver does not agree, this includes the driver pressing the "No" operation button 22b and the driver not responding to the proposal for a predetermined time. If the driver agrees to the transition confirmation (Y in S18), the decision unit 46 decides to transition to car wash mode, and the execution unit 48 executes the transition to car wash mode based on the decision result (S20). The execution unit 48 completes the transition to car wash mode by stopping predetermined in-vehicle functions.

[0038] The present disclosure has been explained above based on the examples described. The present disclosure is not limited to the examples described above, and various modifications such as design changes can be made based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art. [Explanation of symbols]

[0039] 10 Vehicle, 12 Car wash machine, 14 Car wash area, 16 Fuel dispenser, 18 Fueling vehicle, 20 Notification unit, 22a, 22b Operation buttons, 24 Notification voice, 30 Vehicle control device, 32 In-vehicle camera, 34 Communication unit, 36 In-vehicle sensor, 40 Acquisition unit, 42 Identification unit, 44 Storage unit, 46 Decision unit, 48 Execution unit.

Claims

1. An acquisition unit that acquires images captured by an in-vehicle camera or vehicle location information and acquires the speed of the vehicle, A identification unit that identifies the presence of a car wash machine in the vicinity of the vehicle based on the captured image or the vehicle's location information, The system includes a determination unit that, when the vehicle's speed is below a predetermined speed and the identification unit determines that the car wash machine is located near the vehicle, determines to propose to the vehicle's driver that the system switch to a car wash mode that stops a predetermined in-vehicle function, The vehicle control device is characterized in that the identifying unit calculates the orientation of the vehicle toward the car wash machine based on the position of the car wash machine in the captured image, and identifies that the car wash machine is located near the vehicle when the car wash machine included in the captured image is located within a predetermined distance from the vehicle and the vehicle is facing the car wash machine.

2. A notification unit, in accordance with the decision result of the aforementioned decision unit, proposes to the driver the transition to the car wash mode and confirms with the driver whether to transition to the car wash mode. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, further comprising: an execution unit that, upon receiving input indicating the driver's consent, transitions to the car wash mode.

3. The vehicle control device according to claim 2, characterized in that the in-vehicle functions that stop in the car wash mode include at least an automatic wiper function that automatically activates the wiper device, and a function that notifies the vehicle of the presence of an object approaching the vehicle.

4. A vehicle control method in which each step is performed by a computer mounted on the vehicle, The steps include acquiring an image captured by an in-vehicle camera or the location information of the vehicle, and acquiring the speed of the vehicle, The steps include identifying the presence of a car wash machine in the vicinity of the vehicle based on the captured image or the vehicle's location information, The process includes the step of deciding to propose to the driver of the vehicle that the vehicle switch to a car wash mode that stops a predetermined onboard function, if the speed of the vehicle is below a predetermined speed and the car wash machine is located near the vehicle in the identifying step, A vehicle control method characterized in that, in the step of identifying, the orientation of the vehicle toward the car wash machine is calculated based on the position of the car wash machine in the captured image, and the presence of the car wash machine in the vicinity of the vehicle is identified when the car wash machine included in the captured image is located within a predetermined distance from the vehicle and the vehicle is facing the car wash machine.

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