Vehicle control device

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a vehicle control device comprising: a travel area determination unit that, when a vehicle travels across a plurality of travel areas of a road in the width direction, outputs travel area information about a first travel area, which is the travel area of the vehicle before the crossing, and a second travel area, which is the travel area of the vehicle after the crossing; and a target trajectory planning unit that plans a target trajectory of the vehicle. The target trajectory planning unit includes: an area positional relationship planning unit that plans an area positional relationship between the vehicle and the first and second travel areas at each time in the future; and a target speed planning unit that plans a target speed of the vehicle at each time on the basis of the area positional relationship calculated by the area positional relationship planning unit. The area positional relationship planning unit calculates the area positional relationship on the basis of at least one of a first amount of protrusion of the vehicle into the first travel area and a second amount of protrusion of the vehicle into the second travel area at each time.

Description

Vehicle control device

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle control device, and more particularly to a vehicle control device that allows a vehicle to travel safely.

[0002] A method for automatically stopping a vehicle based on surrounding conditions when detecting a driver abnormality has been proposed. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle control technology that automatically changes the speed and position at which the vehicle approaches the shoulder depending on the condition of the shoulder. Patent Document 2 discloses a vehicle control technology that automatically decelerates while moving in the width direction during a lane change.

[0003] JP 2020-163984 A JP 2020-111092 A

[0004] In the vehicle control technologies disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, when a vehicle travels across multiple areas in the width direction, depending on the size of the vehicle, the speed is changed while part of the vehicle remains in the area before it crosses, which may disrupt traffic flow and cause the vehicle to come close to surrounding vehicles.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a vehicle control device that can allow a vehicle to travel safely while avoiding close contact with surrounding vehicles, even when the vehicle is traveling across multiple areas in the width direction.

[0006] A vehicle control device according to the present disclosure is a vehicle control device for controlling a vehicle, and includes: a driving area determination unit that determines a driving area, which is an area in which the vehicle will drive, based on road information, and, when the vehicle drives across a plurality of driving areas in a width direction of a road, outputs driving area information of a first driving area, which is the driving area before the vehicle moves, and a second driving area, which is the driving area after the vehicle moves; a target trajectory planning unit that plans a target trajectory including a target position and a target speed at which the vehicle should drive in the future; and a vehicle control unit that calculates control values ​​for realizing the target trajectory planned by the target trajectory planning unit, wherein the target trajectory planning unit: The system includes an area positional relationship planning unit that plans an area positional relationship, which is the positional relationship between the vehicle and the first and second driving areas at each future time, and a target speed planning unit that plans the target speed of the vehicle at each time based on the area positional relationship calculated by the area positional relationship planning unit, wherein the area positional relationship planning unit calculates the area positional relationship based on at least one of a first overhang amount, which is the amount of overhang of the vehicle into the first driving area at each time in the width direction, and a second overhang amount, which is the amount of overhang of the vehicle into the second driving area at each time in the width direction.

[0007] According to the vehicle control device of the present disclosure, when a vehicle travels across multiple driving areas in the width direction, the area position relationship is calculated based on at least one of the first and second protrusion amounts of the vehicle, and the target speed is planned based on the calculated area position relationship, making it possible to travel safely while avoiding close contact with surrounding vehicles.

[0008] In addition, by using the vehicle's protrusion amount, it becomes possible to adapt to vehicles of different sizes, and safety is improved because the impact on surrounding vehicles can be taken into account even when the vehicle enters another driving area at a large angle.

[0009] 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a vehicle equipped with a vehicle control device according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle control system equipped with a vehicle control device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the vehicle control device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a protrusion amount according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a protrusion amount according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of an area position relationship according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of an area position relationship according to the first embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a relationship between an area position relationship and a target speed according to the first embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of an operation of the vehicle control device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a relationship between an area position relationship and a target speed according to the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation of the vehicle control device according to the third embodiment. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a relationship between an area position relationship and a target speed according to the third embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a relationship between an area position relationship and a target speed according to the third embodiment. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a relationship between an area position relationship and a target speed according to the third embodiment.

[0010] 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a vehicle 1 equipped with a vehicle control system 500 including a vehicle control device 100 according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 1 includes, as a drive system, a steering wheel 2, a steering shaft 3, a steering unit 4, an EPS (Electric Power Steering) motor 5, a powertrain unit 6, and a brake unit 7.

[0011] The sensor system also includes a forward camera 11, a radar sensor 12, a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) sensor 13, a yaw rate sensor 16 that detects the yaw rate, a speed sensor 17 that detects the speed of the vehicle, an acceleration sensor 18 that detects the acceleration of the vehicle, a steering angle sensor 20 that detects the steering angle, and a steering torque sensor 21 that detects the steering torque.

[0012] In addition to these, the vehicle is equipped with a navigation device 14, a V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) receiver 15, a vehicle control device 100, a powertrain controller 310, a brake controller 320, and an EPS controller 330.

[0013] A steering wheel 2, which is installed so that the driver can drive the vehicle, is connected to a steering shaft 3. A steering unit 4 is connected to the steering shaft 3. The steering unit 4 rotatably supports two front tires as steered wheels, and is supported on the vehicle body frame so that it can be steered. Therefore, torque generated by the driver's operation of the steering wheel 2 rotates the steering shaft 3, and the steering unit 4 steers the front wheels left and right. This allows the driver to control the amount of lateral movement of the vehicle when it moves forward and backward.

[0014] A steering wheel 2, which is installed so that the driver can drive the vehicle 1, is coupled to a steering shaft 3. A steering unit 4 is connected to the steering shaft 3. The steering unit 4 rotatably supports two front tires as steered wheels, and is supported on the vehicle body frame so that it can be steered. Therefore, torque generated by the driver's operation of the steering wheel 2 rotates the steering shaft 3, and the steering unit 4 steers the front wheels left and right. This allows the driver to control the amount of lateral movement of the vehicle 1 when it moves forward and backward.

[0015] In addition, the steering shaft 3 can also be rotated by the EPS motor 5, and by controlling the current flowing to the EPS motor 5 with the EPS controller 330, the front wheels can be steered freely independent of the driver's operation of the steering wheel 2.

[0016] As an example, the vehicle control device 100 is an integrated circuit such as a microprocessor, also known as an ADAS-ECU (Advanced Driving Assistance Systems-Electronic Control Unit), and includes an A / D (Analog / Digital) conversion circuit, a D / A (Digital / Analog) conversion circuit, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc.

[0017] The vehicle control device 100 processes information input from various connected sensors according to a program stored in ROM, and transmits a target driving force to the powertrain controller 310 and a target braking force to the brake controller 320.

[0018] The front camera 11 is installed in a position where it can detect lane markings ahead of the vehicle as an image, and detects the environment ahead of the vehicle, such as lane information and the location of obstacles, based on the image information. Note that, although the vehicle control system 500 according to the first embodiment has only shown an example of a camera that detects the environment ahead of the vehicle, cameras that detect the environment behind and to the sides of the vehicle may also be installed. The front camera 11 may also be used to estimate the condition of the road surface on which the vehicle is traveling.

[0019] The radar sensor 12 emits radar light at a target object and detects the reflected waves, thereby outputting the relative distance and relative speed between the host vehicle and surrounding vehicles. This radar sensor 12 can be a well-known distance measurement sensor such as a millimeter-wave radar, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), laser range finder, or ultrasonic radar.

[0020] The GNSS sensor 13 receives radio waves from positioning satellites with an antenna (not shown) mounted on the vehicle, performs positioning calculations, and outputs the absolute position and absolute direction of the vehicle 1 .

[0021] The navigation device 14 has a function of calculating the optimum driving route for the destination set by the driver, and stores road information on the driving route. The road information is map node data that represents the road alignment, and each map node data incorporates information such as latitude, longitude, and altitude that indicates the absolute position at each node, as well as lane width, cant angle, and inclination angle information.

[0022] The V2X receiver 15 has a function of acquiring and outputting information via wireless communication with other vehicles, including surrounding vehicles, and roadside devices. The acquired information includes surrounding vehicle information such as the position and speed of the surrounding vehicles relative to the host vehicle, and road information such as the friction coefficient of the road surface.

[0023] The EPS controller 330 controls the EPS motor 5 so as to realize the target steering angle transmitted from the vehicle control device 100 , thereby controlling the travel route of the vehicle 1 .

[0024] The powertrain controller 310 controls the powertrain unit 6 so as to realize the target driving force transmitted from the vehicle control device 100, thereby controlling the acceleration of the host vehicle.

[0025] The brake controller 320 controls the deceleration of the vehicle 1 by controlling the brake unit 7 so as to realize the target braking force transmitted from the vehicle control device 100 .

[0026] In the vehicle control device 100 and vehicle control system 500 according to the first embodiment, a vehicle that uses only an engine as a driving force source is given as an example, but the present invention can also be applied to vehicles that use only an electric motor as a driving force source, vehicles that use both an engine and an electric motor as driving force sources, etc.

[0027] 2 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle control system 500 equipped with the vehicle control device 100 according to embodiment 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle control system 500 includes the vehicle control device 100, an information acquisition unit 200, and a controller unit 300.

[0028] The vehicle control device 100 includes a traveling area determination unit 110, a target trajectory planning unit 120, and a vehicle control unit 130.

[0029] The driving area determination unit 110 determines a driving area in which the vehicle will travel from the road information acquired by the road information acquisition unit 230, and outputs driving area information of the determined driving area.

[0030] The target trajectory planning unit 120 includes a region positional relationship planning unit 121 and a target velocity planning unit 122 .

[0031] The target trajectory planning unit 120 calculates the state quantities of the target trajectory on which the host vehicle should travel in the future, based on the information acquired by the information acquisition unit 200 and the traveling area information output from the traveling area determination unit 110. The state quantities of the trajectory include at least the target position and the target speed, and may further include information such as acceleration, jerk, yaw angle, and yaw rate.

[0032] The area positional relationship planning unit 121 plans the positional relationship between the host vehicle and the travel area. When the host vehicle travels across multiple areas, the unit plans the positional relationships between the host vehicle and the first and second travel areas that are adjacent to each other. The details of this process will be described later.

[0033] The target speed planning unit 122 plans a target speed of the host vehicle at each future time based on the area positional relationship planned by the area positional relationship planning unit 121. Details of the processing will be described later.

[0034] The vehicle control unit 130 calculates control values ​​for realizing the target trajectory planned by the target trajectory planning unit 120. That is, the vehicle control unit 130 calculates and outputs a target driving force for controlling the powertrain controller 310 of the controller unit 300, a target braking force for controlling the brake controller 320, and a steering angle for controlling the EPS controller 330.

[0035] The information acquisition unit 200 has a function of acquiring information about the vehicle 1, information about vehicles surrounding the vehicle 1, and road information, and includes a vehicle information acquisition unit 210, a surrounding vehicle information acquisition unit 220, and a road information acquisition unit 230. The information acquisition unit 200 can also be called an information acquisition device.

[0036] The vehicle information acquisition unit 210 acquires vehicle information, which is information about the host vehicle. The vehicle information includes state quantities of the host vehicle that represent the state of the host vehicle. The vehicle information acquisition unit 210 includes, for example, a GNSS sensor 13, a yaw rate sensor 16, a speed sensor 17, an acceleration sensor 18, an occupant state monitoring system 19, a steering angle sensor 20, and a steering torque sensor 21.

[0037] The surrounding vehicle information acquisition unit 220 acquires surrounding vehicle information including position information of surrounding vehicles present around the host vehicle. The surrounding vehicle information acquisition unit 220 includes, for example, a front camera 11, a radar sensor 12, and a V2X receiver 15.

[0038] The road information acquisition unit 230 acquires road information, which is information about the road the host vehicle is traveling on. The road information acquisition unit 230 includes, for example, the front camera 11, the navigation device 14, and the V2X receiver 15.

[0039] The controller section 300 includes a powertrain controller 310 , a brake controller 320 , and an EPS controller 330 .

[0040] <Operation> Hereinafter, the operation of the vehicle control device 100 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 and using the flowchart shown in FIG.

[0041] 3 is a flowchart showing a processing flow of the vehicle control device 100 in embodiment 1. Note that steps S110, S120, and S210 are executed by the traveling area determination unit 110, steps S130, S140, and S150 are executed by the area positional relationship planning unit 121, and steps S160 and S220 are executed by the target speed planning unit 122.

[0042] When the vehicle control device 100 starts processing, the driving area determination unit 110 first determines the area in which the host vehicle will travel based on the information about the host vehicle acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit 210 and the position information of the driving area acquired by the road information acquisition unit 230 (step S110). The driving area here refers to an area connected in the width direction, such as a lane, a shoulder, and a parking area. In step S110, it is determined whether or not the host vehicle will travel across multiple areas to change lanes or pull over to the shoulder. If there is a possibility of traveling across multiple areas (YES), the process proceeds to step S120. If not (NO), the process proceeds to step S210.

[0043] Here, if there is a driving area adjacent to the driving area in which the vehicle is currently driving, and the position that the vehicle should pass through is in the adjacent driving area, it is determined that there is a possibility that the vehicle will drive across multiple areas in order to move from the driving area in which the vehicle is currently driving to the adjacent driving area.

[0044] Next, the driving area determination unit 110 outputs the driving area information for the area before the host vehicle moves as a first driving area and the area after the host vehicle moves as a second driving area (step S120).

[0045] The output driving area information includes the area type, which is the type of driving area, the position and width of the driving area, the driving speed, etc. The area type information is information for distinguishing road shapes such as expressways, general roads, merging roads, branching roads, shoulders, intersections, etc. The driving speed is the speed at which the vehicle should travel in that area, and is set based on the legal speed limit, the area type, etc. By planning a target position using such driving area information, it is possible to plan a target position that is suitable for the actual driving area.

[0046] The driving speed can be changed even within the same driving area. For example, when planning to stop the vehicle within the driving area, the driving speed can be set so that the vehicle can stop at the target stopping position.

[0047] Furthermore, the driving speed can be set based on the speed of surrounding vehicles in order to travel at a speed that matches the surrounding traffic flow.

[0048] Next, the area positional relationship planning unit 121 plans a target position where the host vehicle should travel at each future time, i.e., a travel position, based on the travel area information of the first travel area and the second travel area output in step S120 (step S130). The target position in the width direction of the area can be calculated using conventional calculation methods, such as a method of calculation based on a limit on lateral speed or lateral acceleration, or a method of calculation based on a limit on steering angle or steering angular velocity. Note that if a wall or obstacle exists within the area or at the edge of the area, the target position can also be planned with the condition that the host vehicle does not come into contact with the wall or obstacle.

[0049] Next, the area positional relationship planning unit 121 plans the future protrusion amount of the host vehicle based on the target position planned in step S130 (step S140). Here, the protrusion amount into the first traveling area is planned as a first protrusion amount, and the protrusion amount into the second traveling area is planned as a second protrusion amount.

[0050] 4 and 5 are schematic diagrams showing an example of a method for planning the amount of overhang. In Figures 4 and 5, the lane on the right side of the direction of travel of vehicle 1 is designated as a first traveling area L1, the lane on the left side is designated as a second traveling area L2, and the maximum distance in the width direction from a boundary BL between the first traveling area L1 and the second traveling area L2 that vehicle 1 is included in the first traveling area L1 is planned as a first amount of overhang OH1, and the maximum distance that vehicle 1 is included in the second traveling area L2 is planned as a second amount of overhang OH2.

[0051] FIG. 4 shows an example in which the angle of entry into the second driving area L2 is sufficiently small, and the first protrusion amount OH1 and the second protrusion amount OH2 can be planned based on the center of gravity position and width of the vehicle 1.

[0052] FIG. 5 shows an example in which the angle of entry into the second driving area L2 is large, and the first protrusion amount OH1 and the second protrusion amount OH2 can be planned based on the center of gravity position of the vehicle 1, the angle of entry, the vehicle shape, etc.

[0053] This allows the amount of overhang to be planned based on the position at which the vehicle 1 is closest to surrounding vehicles, even when the size of the vehicle 1 is different or when the angle of entry of the vehicle 1 into the second driving area L2 is large, thereby reducing the possibility of approaching surrounding vehicles and improving safety.

[0054] 3, the area positional relationship planning unit 121 plans an area positional relationship, which is the positional relationship between the first traveling area and the second traveling area of ​​the host vehicle, based on the protrusion amount planned in step S140 (step S150).

[0055] Figure 6 is a diagram showing an example of calculating the area position relationship based on the first protrusion amount, and is shown as a graph in which the area position relationship changes linearly with respect to the first protrusion amount, with the horizontal axis representing the first protrusion amount and the vertical axis representing the area position relationship.

[0056] 6, the smaller the first protrusion amount, the closer the vehicle is to the second travel area, and when the first protrusion amount is zero, the vehicle is determined to be closest to the second travel area. On the other hand, the larger the first protrusion amount, the closer the vehicle is to the first travel area. When the first protrusion amount is greater than a predetermined threshold, the region positional relationship is considered constant, and the vehicle is determined to be closest to the first travel area.

[0057] Although FIG. 6 shows an example in which the area positional relationship changes linearly with respect to the first protrusion amount, the correspondence between the first protrusion amount and the area positional relationship is not limited to this, and can be expressed by any monotonic function.

[0058] Figure 7 is a diagram showing an example of calculating the area position relationship based on the second overhang amount, and is shown as a graph in which the area position relationship changes linearly with respect to the second overhang amount, with the horizontal axis representing the second overhang amount and the vertical axis representing the area position relationship.

[0059] 7, the smaller the second protrusion amount, the closer the vehicle is to the first travel area, and when the second protrusion amount is zero, the vehicle is determined to be closest to the first travel area. On the other hand, the larger the second protrusion amount, the closer the vehicle is to the second travel area. When the second protrusion amount is greater than a predetermined threshold, the region positional relationship is considered constant, and the vehicle can be determined to be closest to the second travel area.

[0060] Although FIG. 7 shows an example in which the area positional relationship changes linearly with respect to the second protrusion amount, the correspondence between the second protrusion amount and the area positional relationship is not limited to this, and can be expressed by any monotonic function.

[0061] The area positional relationship can also be calculated based on both the first and second protrusion amounts, for example, by using an average value or weighted average value of the area positional relationship based on the first protrusion amount and the area positional relationship based on the second protrusion amount, or by using a function that takes two variables, the first and second protrusion amounts, as arguments.

[0062] <Target Speed ​​Planning Procedure> Returning to the explanation of Fig. 3, the target speed planning unit 122 plans a target speed at which the host vehicle should travel in the future based on the area positional relationship calculated in step S150 (step S160).

[0063] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the relationship between the area positional relationship and the target speed, and is shown as a graph in which the relationship between the area positional relationship and the target speed changes linearly, with the horizontal axis representing the area positional relationship and the vertical axis representing the target speed.

[0064] 8 , the target speed planning unit 122 plans the target speed at a given time to be closer to the first running speed, which is the speed at which the vehicle should travel through the first running area, the closer the area positional relationship is to the first running area, so that the target speed when the area positional relationship is closest to the first running area matches the first running speed. Similarly, the target speed at a given time to be closer to the second running area, so that the target speed when the area positional relationship is closest to the second running area matches the second running speed.

[0065] This allows the speed to be planned based on the vehicle's position in the width direction, which reduces the possibility of approaching surrounding vehicles and improving safety, as well as reducing the possibility of disrupting traffic flow.

[0066] The target speed of the host vehicle can be planned in combination with a speed plan for following a surrounding vehicle ahead while maintaining a certain distance. A conventional method known as adaptive cruise control (ACC) can be used for this purpose. ACC first calculates the relative distance and relative speed between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle at a future time using the position and speed of the preceding vehicle. Furthermore, the relative distance and relative speed between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle are used to evaluate the future degree of proximity. A possible method for determining the target speed at each time is to select the smaller of the target speed calculated based on the area positional relationship or the target speed calculated by ACC.

[0067] <Procedure for Vehicle Control When Traveling Within One Area> Now, returning to the explanation of Fig. 3. When the host vehicle travels within one driving area, the driving area determination unit 110 outputs driving area information for one driving area (step S210). The output information includes the area type, the position and width of the driving area, the driving speed, etc., similar to the driving area information output in step S120.

[0068] Finally, the target speed planning unit 122 plans a speed based on the traveling speed in the traveling area (step S220). The speed can be planned in combination with a speed plan for following a surrounding vehicle ahead while maintaining a certain distance from the surrounding vehicle.

[0069] <Operation Example> Fig. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the vehicle 1 controlled by the vehicle control device 100 according to the first embodiment. Fig. 9 shows the operation when the vehicle 1 pulls over to the shoulder of the road and stops while traveling. The upper part of Fig. 9 schematically shows the position of the vehicle 1 at a future time and the amount of protrusion. The middle part of Fig. 9 shows a plan for future area positional relationships, with the horizontal axis representing the position and the vertical axis representing the area positional relationship, showing changes in the area positional relationship relative to the position. The lower part of Fig. 9 shows a plan for future target speed, with the horizontal axis representing the position and the vertical axis representing the target speed, showing changes in the target speed relative to the position.

[0070] As shown in the upper part of Figure 9, a road shoulder exists beside the road as a second driving area L2. Furthermore, a wide parking strip PS exists in a portion of the road shoulder, and the vehicle 1 aims to move into the parking strip PS and park there.

[0071] In step S120, the driving area determination unit 110 outputs road information, with the first driving area L1 being the main road and the second driving area L2 being the shoulder. To stop the vehicle at the target stopping position, the second driving speed near the stopping position is set to zero.

[0072] In step S130, as shown in the middle part of Figure 9, the area positional relationship planning unit 121 sets a target position, i.e., a driving position, so that the vehicle 1 moves close to the shoulder of the road, drives along the wall of the shoulder, and then enters the parking lane.

[0073] Next, in step S150, the area position relationship planning unit 121 determines, based on the area position relationship with respect to the planned amount of overhang, that the vehicle 1 will gradually approach the second driving area L2 while moving closer to the road, but determines that the area position relationship will not change when driving along the road shoulder wall surface.

[0074] Next, in step S160, the target speed planning unit 122 determines the target speed based on the area positional relationship. That is, as shown in the lower part of Fig. 9 , the target speed approaches the second traveling speed as the vehicle approaches the second traveling area L2 from the first traveling area L1, but during the period when the vehicle is traveling along the wall surface of the road shoulder, a constant speed between the first traveling speed and the second traveling speed is set as the target speed, and when the vehicle enters the parking strip PS and the second protrusion amount becomes zero, the target speed is made to coincide with the second traveling speed.

[0075] <Effects> According to the vehicle control device 100 of the first embodiment described above, when the vehicle travels across multiple areas, the area positional relationship is planned based on the amount of overhang, and the target speed is planned based on the area positional relationship. Therefore, the closer the vehicle is to each travel area, the smaller the relative speed with respect to surrounding vehicles traveling in that area can be, which reduces the possibility of coming into close contact with surrounding vehicles and improves safety.

[0076] Furthermore, since the area positional relationship is planned based on the amount of overhang, and the target speed is planned based on the area positional relationship, the vehicle control device 100 is not limited to the type of vehicle that can be installed, and can be installed without adjustment even if the size of the vehicle changes. Note that the vehicle control device 100 can also be installed in a remote location and control the vehicle remotely.

[0077] Furthermore, even when the approach angle to another driving area is large, the speed can be planned taking into consideration the extent of the impact on surrounding vehicles in the other area, thereby improving safety.

[0078] <Embodiment 2> The vehicle control device 100 according to the first embodiment is configured to plan a target speed such that the closer the area positional relationship is to the first traveling area, the closer the target speed is to the first traveling area, and the closer the area positional relationship is to the second traveling area, the closer the target speed is to the second traveling speed. In contrast, the vehicle control device according to the second embodiment is configured to plan a target speed by changing the acceleration based on the area positional relationship. Note that the configuration and basic operation of the vehicle control device according to the second embodiment are similar to those of the vehicle control device 100 according to the first embodiment, and will be described using the vehicle control device 100 shown in FIG. 2 , and therefore, the following description will not be repeated in the context of the first embodiment.

[0079] <Target Speed ​​Planning Procedure> In the vehicle control device 100 of the second embodiment, the target speed planning unit 122 plans the target speed in step S160 by limiting the magnitude of acceleration based on the area positional relationship.

[0080] 10 and 11 are diagrams showing an example of a target speed when the magnitude of acceleration is changed based on the area position relationship. In Fig. 10 and Fig. 11, the upper diagrams show a plan in which the area position relationship approaches from the first running area to the second running area at a constant rate, and the lower diagrams show a plan of the target speed, with the dashed lines showing reference values ​​when no limit based on acceleration is applied in the first embodiment.

[0081] Fig. 10 shows an example of the target speed when the second traveling speed is lower than the first traveling speed and deceleration is necessary, and the upper part of Fig. 10 shows the change in the area position relationship with time, with the horizontal axis representing time and the vertical axis representing the area position relationship. The lower part of Fig. 10 shows the change in the target speed with time, with the horizontal axis representing time and the vertical axis representing the target speed.

[0082] As shown in the lower part of Figure 10, the magnitude of the acceleration is restricted to a smaller value as the region positional relationship approaches the first traveling region. That is, the closer to the first traveling region, the smaller the deceleration is restricted, and the closer to the second traveling region, the more relaxed the acceleration restriction is and the larger the deceleration is, so the closer to the second traveling region, the larger the change in speed becomes.

[0083] Fig. 11 shows an example of the target speed when the second traveling speed is greater than the first traveling speed and acceleration is required, and the upper part of Fig. 11 shows the change in the area position relationship over time, with the horizontal axis representing time and the vertical axis representing the area position relationship. The lower part of Fig. 11 shows the change in the target speed over time, with the horizontal axis representing time and the vertical axis representing the target speed.

[0084] As shown in the lower part of Figure 11, the magnitude of the acceleration is restricted to a smaller value as the area positional relationship approaches the first traveling area. In other words, the closer to the second traveling area, the more relaxed the acceleration restriction is and the greater the acceleration, so the closer to the second traveling area, the greater the change in speed becomes.

[0085] This method can also be implemented in combination with the target speed planning method of embodiment 1. For example, the target speed at that time is set to the larger or smaller of the target speed when no limit based on acceleration is imposed and the target speed when acceleration is imposed based on the area positional relationship.

[0086] <Effect> In the vehicle control device 100 of the second embodiment described above, the target speed is planned by changing the acceleration based on the area position relationship, so the closer to the first driving area, the more abrupt braking can be avoided, reducing the possibility of getting close to surrounding vehicles in the first driving area, and the closer to the second driving area, the more quickly the vehicle can decelerate, reducing the possibility of getting close to surrounding vehicles in the second driving area.

[0087] <Embodiment 3> A vehicle control device according to embodiment 3 is configured to correct a target speed depending on whether or not there are surrounding vehicles. Note that the configuration and basic operation of the vehicle control device according to embodiment 3 are similar to those of vehicle control device 100 according to embodiments 1 and 2, and will be described using vehicle control device 100 shown in Figure 2, and therefore, the following description will not overlap with embodiments 1 and 2.

[0088] Fig. 12 is a flowchart showing a processing flow of the vehicle control device 100 in embodiment 3. The flowchart shown in Fig. 12 is a processing flow in which step S170 is added to the processing flow of embodiment 1 shown in Fig. 3, and step S170 is executed by the target speed planning unit 122.

[0089] <Method of correcting target speed depending on whether or not there are nearby vehicles> After planning the target speed in step S160, if there are nearby vehicles that may approach only one of the first and second driving areas and no nearby vehicles are present in the other area, the target speed planning unit 122 corrects the target speed so that it quickly approaches the speed of the driving area where there are nearby vehicles that may approach (step S170).

[0090] 13 and 14 are diagrams showing an example of a method for correcting the target speed when there are no nearby vehicles that may approach within the first traveling area. In Fig. 13 and Fig. 14, the upper diagrams show a plan in which the area positional relationship approaches the second traveling area from the first traveling area at a constant rate, and the lower diagrams show the target speed plan, with the dashed line representing the target speed before correction output in step S160 and the solid line representing the target speed after correction in step S170.

[0091] Fig. 13 shows an example in which a predetermined offset is applied to the target vehicle speed planned based on the area positional relationship to correct the target vehicle speed at each time so that it approaches the second driving speed. The upper part of Fig. 13 shows the change in the area positional relationship over time, with the horizontal axis representing time and the vertical axis representing the area positional relationship. The lower part of Fig. 13 shows the change in the target speed over time, with the horizontal axis representing time and the vertical axis representing the target speed.

[0092] As shown by the solid line in the lower part of FIG. 13, the traveling speed is shifted overall so as to approach the second traveling speed relative to the target speed before correction, and the traveling speed is reduced overall.

[0093] The predetermined offset can be a predetermined value, such as reducing the overall target speed by 10 km / h, and can be selected appropriately according to the speed of nearby vehicles that may approach.

[0094] Fig. 14 shows an example in which the target vehicle speed at each time is corrected to approach the second driving speed by multiplying the target vehicle speed planned based on the area positional relationship by a predetermined gain. The upper part of Fig. 14 shows the change in the area positional relationship over time, with the horizontal axis representing time and the vertical axis representing the area positional relationship. The lower part of Fig. 14 shows the change in the target speed over time, with the horizontal axis representing time and the vertical axis representing the target speed.

[0095] The predetermined gain can be set to a predetermined value, such as increasing the gradient of the target speed change by 10%, and can be selected appropriately according to the speed of nearby vehicles that may approach.

[0096] As shown by the solid line in the lower part of FIG. 14, the slope of the linear characteristic is steeper so that the second traveling speed is reached earlier than the target speed before correction.

[0097] In this way, when there are no surrounding vehicles that may approach the first driving area, the target speed approaches the second driving speed quickly, which has the effect of reducing the possibility of approaching surrounding vehicles that are present in the second driving area.

[0098] Note that the above example illustrates a case where there are no nearby vehicles that may approach within the first driving area, but corrections can also be made in the same way even when there are no nearby vehicles that may approach within the second driving area but there are nearby vehicles that may approach within the first driving area.

[0099] As a result, when there are no surrounding vehicles that may approach the second driving area, the target speed approaches the first driving speed quickly, which has the effect of reducing the possibility of approaching surrounding vehicles that are present in the first driving area.

[0100] <Method of correcting target speed by limiting acceleration> The method of planning speed by limiting the magnitude of acceleration shown in the second embodiment can be applied to the case where the target speed is corrected based on the presence or absence of surrounding vehicles.

[0101] In this case, in step S170, the target speed planning unit 122 plans the target speed by limiting the magnitude of the acceleration based on the area positional relationship.

[0102] 15 and 16 are diagrams showing an example in which the method of speed planning by limiting the magnitude of acceleration shown in embodiment 2 is applied to a method of correcting the target speed based on the presence or absence of surrounding vehicles. In Figures 15 and 16, the upper diagrams show a plan in which the area position relationship approaches from the first traveling area to the second traveling area at a constant rate, and the lower diagrams show the target speed plan, with the dashed line representing the target speed before correction output in step S160 in embodiment 2 and the solid line representing the target speed after correction in step S170.

[0103] Fig. 15 shows an example in which the second traveling speed is lower than the first traveling speed and deceleration is required, and the upper part of Fig. 15 shows the change in the area position relationship over time, with the horizontal axis representing time and the vertical axis representing the area position relationship. The lower part of Fig. 15 shows the change in the target speed over time, with the horizontal axis representing time and the vertical axis representing the target speed.

[0104] 15, when there are no nearby vehicles that may approach the first traveling area, the limit value of the magnitude of acceleration is corrected to be more relaxed the closer the area positional relationship is to the first traveling area. In other words, even if the area positional relationship is the same, the target speed is corrected to decelerate earlier by increasing the magnitude of the allowable acceleration.

[0105] Fig. 16 shows an example in which the second traveling speed is greater than the first traveling speed and acceleration is required, and the upper part of Fig. 16 shows the change in the area position relationship over time, with the horizontal axis representing time and the vertical axis representing the area position relationship. The lower part of Fig. 16 shows the change in the target speed over time, with the horizontal axis representing time and the vertical axis representing the target speed.

[0106] 16, when there are no nearby vehicles that may approach the first traveling area, the limit value of the magnitude of acceleration is corrected to be more relaxed as the area positional relationship approaches the first traveling area. In other words, even if the area positional relationship is the same, the target speed is corrected to accelerate earlier by increasing the magnitude of the allowable acceleration.

[0107] <Effects> In the vehicle control device 100 according to the third embodiment, the target speed is corrected based on the presence or absence of surrounding vehicles in the driving area, and therefore the target speed can be planned to approach the driving speed in the area where surrounding vehicles are present, thereby reducing the possibility of approaching surrounding vehicles and improving safety.

[0108] <Fourth Embodiment> A vehicle control device according to a fourth embodiment is configured to switch the information used when planning the area positional relationship based on the type information output from the traveling area determination unit 110. Note that the vehicle control device according to the fourth embodiment is similar in configuration and basic operation to the vehicle control device 100 according to the first embodiment, and will be described using the vehicle control device 100 shown in Fig. 2, and therefore, the following description will not overlap with the first embodiment.

[0109] <Method for Determining Input Information for Area Positional Relation> Fig. 17 is a flowchart showing the processing flow of the vehicle control device 100 in embodiment 4. The flowchart shown in Fig. 17 is a processing flow in which step S141 is added to the processing flow of embodiment 1 shown in Fig. 3, and step S141 is executed by the area positional relation planning unit 121.

[0110] The area positional relationship planning unit 121 determines information to be used when planning the area positional relationship in step S150 (step S141). The information to be input when planning the area positional relationship is at least one of the first overhang amount and the second overhang amount.

[0111] In step S141, based on the type of the first driving area and the type of the second driving area output from the driving area determination unit 110 in step S120, information to be used when planning the area position relationship is selected from the first overhang amount and the second overhang amount.

[0112] If it is assumed from the area type that there are no nearby vehicles that may approach within the travel area, it is determined that the protrusion amount of the area will not be used in planning the area positional relationship.

[0113] For example, if the type of the first driving area is a main road and the type of the second driving area is a branch road, the information used to plan the area positional relationship is only the first protrusion amount. Also, if the type of the first driving area and the type of the second driving area are the same, the information used to plan the area positional relationship is the first protrusion amount and the second protrusion amount.

[0114] <Effects> In the vehicle control device 100 of embodiment 4, the information to be used to input the area position relationship is determined from the first overhang amount and the second overhang amount based on the area type, so that an area position relationship can be obtained that takes into account the impact on areas where there is a risk of approaching nearby vehicles, thereby reducing the possibility of approaching nearby vehicles and improving safety.

[0115] <Hardware Configuration> Each component of the vehicle control device 100 according to the first to fourth embodiments described above can be configured using a computer and is realized by the computer executing a program. That is, the vehicle control device 100 is realized by, for example, a processing circuit 50 shown in FIG. 18. A processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) is applied to the processing circuit 50, and the functions of each unit are realized by executing a program stored in a storage device.

[0116] Dedicated hardware may be applied to the processing circuitry 50. When the processing circuitry 50 is dedicated hardware, the processing circuitry 50 may be, for example, a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or a combination thereof.

[0117] In the vehicle control device 100, the functions of the components may be realized by individual processing circuits, or the functions may be realized collectively by a single processing circuit.

[0118] 19 also shows a hardware configuration in the case where the processing circuit 50 is configured using a processor. In this case, the functions of each part of the vehicle control device 100 are realized by a combination of software, etc. (software, firmware, or software and firmware). The software, etc. is written as a program and stored in the memory 52. ​​The processor 51 functioning as the processing circuit 50 realizes the functions of each part by reading and executing the program stored in the memory 52 (storage device). In other words, it can be said that this program causes a computer to execute the operation procedures of the components of the vehicle control device 100 and the vehicle control method.

[0119] Here, the memory 52 may be, for example, a non-volatile or volatile semiconductor memory such as RAM, ROM, flash memory, EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), HDD (Hard Disk Drive), magnetic disk, flexible disk, optical disk, compact disk, mini disk, DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) and its drive device, or any storage medium that will be used in the future.

[0120] The above has described a configuration in which the functions of each component of the vehicle control device 100 according to embodiments 1 to 4 are realized by either hardware or software, etc. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and some of the components of the vehicle control device 100 and the vehicle control system 500 may be realized by dedicated hardware, and other components may be realized by software, etc.

[0121] For example, as shown in Figures 18 and 19, the functions of some components can be realized by a processing circuit 50 as dedicated hardware, and the functions of other components can be realized by the processing circuit 50 as a processor 51 reading and executing a program stored in memory 52 for executing the vehicle control method of embodiments 1 to 4 on a computer or the like.

[0122] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 19, the setting data used by each functional unit of the vehicle control device 100 may be installed in memory 52 from a recording medium 53 that stores part of the software, i.e., a program 54 for executing the vehicle control method according to embodiments 1 to 4 on a computer or the like.

[0123] As described above, the vehicle control device 100 according to the first to fourth embodiments can realize the above-mentioned functions by hardware, software, or a combination of these.

[0124] While the present disclosure describes various exemplary embodiments, the various features, aspects, and functions described in one or more embodiments are not limited to application to a particular embodiment, but may be applied to the embodiments alone or in various combinations.

[0125] Therefore, countless variations not illustrated are conceivable within the scope of the technology disclosed in the present specification, including, for example, cases where at least one component is modified, added, or omitted, and cases where at least one component is extracted and combined with components of another embodiment.

Claims

1. A vehicle control device that controls a vehicle, a driving area determination unit that determines a driving area in which the vehicle will drive based on road information, and when the vehicle drives across a plurality of driving areas in a width direction of the road, outputs driving area information of a first driving area that is the driving area before the vehicle moves and a second driving area that is the driving area after the vehicle moves; a target trajectory planning unit that plans a target trajectory including a target position and a target speed at which the vehicle should travel in the future; a vehicle control unit that calculates a control value for realizing the target trajectory planned by the target trajectory planning unit, The target trajectory planning unit an area positional relationship planning unit that plans an area positional relationship that is a positional relationship between the vehicle, the first traveling area, and the second traveling area at each time in the future; a target speed planning unit that plans the target speed of the vehicle at each time based on the area positional relationship calculated by the area positional relationship planning unit, The area positional relationship planning unit A vehicle control device that calculates the area positional relationship based on at least one of a first protrusion amount, which is the amount of protrusion of the vehicle into the first driving area in the width direction at each time, and a second protrusion amount, which is the amount of protrusion of the vehicle into the second driving area in the width direction at each time.

2. The target speed planning unit the closer the area positional relationship of the vehicle at each time point is to the first traveling area, the closer the target speed at that time point is to a first traveling speed that is a speed at which the vehicle should travel in the first traveling area; 2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the target speed is planned so that the closer the area positional relationship of the vehicle at each time is to the second driving area, the closer the target speed at that time is to a second driving speed, which is a speed at which the vehicle should travel in the second driving area.

3. The target speed planning unit 3. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the target speed is planned by limiting the magnitude of acceleration at each time to a smaller value as the area positional relationship at that time is closer to the first traveling area.

4. The area positional relationship planning unit a maximum distance in the width direction from a boundary between the first traveling area and the second traveling area that the vehicle is included in the first traveling area is defined as the first protrusion amount; The vehicle control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the second protrusion amount is the maximum distance from the boundary in the width direction that the vehicle is included in the second traveling area.

5. The traveling area determination unit outputting an area type, which is a type of the driving area, as the driving area information; The area positional relationship planning unit 3. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein information to be input when planning the area positional relationship between the first protrusion amount and the second protrusion amount is determined based on the area type of the first traveling area and the area type of the second traveling area.

6. The target speed planning unit 3. The vehicle control device according to claim 2, wherein when there are no surrounding vehicles that may approach the second driving area, the target speed is made closer to the first driving speed than when there are surrounding vehicles that may approach the second driving area.

7. The target speed planning unit 3. The vehicle control device according to claim 2, wherein when there are no surrounding vehicles that may approach the first traveling area, the target speed is made closer to the second traveling speed than when there are surrounding vehicles that may approach the first traveling area.

8. The target speed planning unit The vehicle control device according to claim 3 , wherein the restriction on the magnitude of the acceleration is relaxed when there is no nearby vehicle that may approach the first traveling area.

9. The traveling area information is The vehicle control device according to claim 1 , wherein the information includes at least an area type that is a type of the travel area, a position and width of the travel area, and a travel speed of the travel area.

10. The area type is:

6. The vehicle control device according to claim 5, further comprising information on expressways, general roads, merging roads, branching roads, shoulders and intersections.