Vehicular notification control device and vehicular notification control method

Abstract

The present invention comprises: a proximity possibility identification unit (122) for identifying the level of the possibility of proximity to a non-priority oncoming vehicle for which traffic at an intersection is not prioritized with respect to straight travel of the host vehicle when the host vehicle is going to travel straight through the intersection by autonomous driving; and a notification processing unit (104) for causing a notification to be issued to an occupant of the host vehicle. When the proximity possibility identification unit (122) identifies that the possibility of proximity to a non-priority oncoming vehicle is high, the notification processing unit (104) causes an avoidance-related notification, which is a notification relating to details of avoidance control for avoiding proximity to the non-priority oncoming vehicle, to be issued while highlighting a display indicating the non-priority oncoming vehicle.

Description

Vehicle notification control device and vehicle notification control method CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application is based on Patent Application No. 2024-041618 filed in Japan on March 15, 2024, and the contents of the original application are incorporated by reference in their entirety.

[0002] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle notification control device and a vehicle notification control method.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for automatically driving a vehicle.

[0004] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-324661

[0005] One scenario in which a vehicle may be driven autonomously is driving through an intersection. When driving autonomously through an intersection, various disturbances, such as oncoming vehicles, may occur even when the vehicle is simply going straight through the intersection. This can lead to occupants feeling uneasy about the autonomous driving behavior of the vehicle in response to these disturbances, potentially reducing the vehicle's convenience for the occupants. Therefore, even when driving autonomously through an intersection, it is necessary to minimize the loss of convenience for the occupants.

[0006] One object of this disclosure is to provide a vehicle notification control device and a vehicle notification control method that make it possible to minimize the loss of convenience for occupants even when a vehicle is driven automatically through an intersection.

[0007] The symbols in parentheses in the claims indicate a correspondence with the specific means described in the embodiments described below as one aspect, and do not limit the technical scope of the present disclosure.

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, the vehicle notification control device disclosed herein is a vehicle notification control device that can be used in an autonomously driven vehicle, and is equipped with an approach possibility identification unit that identifies the degree of possibility of approaching a non-priority oncoming vehicle that will have no priority at the intersection relative to the vehicle's straight-on movement when the vehicle is attempting to proceed straight through an intersection while driving autonomously, and a notification control unit that issues a notification to the vehicle's occupants.When the approach possibility identification unit identifies that there is a high possibility of approaching a non-priority oncoming vehicle, the notification control unit highlights a display indicating the non-priority oncoming vehicle and issues an avoidance-related notification that is a notification regarding the content of avoidance control to avoid approaching the non-priority oncoming vehicle.

[0009] In order to achieve the above object, the vehicle notification control method disclosed herein is a vehicle notification control method that can be used in an autonomously driving vehicle, and includes an approach possibility identification process executed by at least one processor that identifies the likelihood of approaching a non-priority oncoming vehicle that will have no priority at the intersection relative to the vehicle's straight-on movement when the vehicle is attempting to proceed straight through an intersection while autonomously driving, and a notification control process that issues a notification to the vehicle's occupants.When the notification control process identifies that there is a high likelihood of approaching a non-priority oncoming vehicle, it highlights a display indicating the non-priority oncoming vehicle and issues an avoidance-related notification that is a notification regarding the content of avoidance control to avoid approaching the non-priority oncoming vehicle.

[0010] According to the above configuration, when a vehicle is about to proceed straight through an intersection under automated driving and it is determined that a high possibility of close contact is present, it is possible to inform the occupants of the details of avoidance control to avoid close contact with a non-priority oncoming vehicle. Therefore, even if avoidance control is performed, the occupants can know what type of avoidance control will be performed. Therefore, it is less likely that the occupants will feel uneasy. As a result, it is possible to prevent a loss of convenience for the occupants even when the vehicle is driven through an intersection under automated driving.

[0011] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a vehicle system in a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of an autonomous driving ECU in the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a surrounding situation image. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an offset display. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of an avoidance-related notification process in the autonomous driving ECU. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of a content-specific notification-related process in the autonomous driving ECU. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of an autonomous driving ECU in a second embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display when the host vehicle is temporarily stopped in a stop-required transition state. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display when the host vehicle is allowed to continue traveling in a stop-required transition state. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display when a driver change promotion notification and a monitoring promotion notification are made in a stop-required transition state. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of an autonomous driving ECU in a third embodiment. FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a staggered intersection. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a Sasumata intersection. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display of guide lines when the host vehicle passes through a staggered intersection in a straight line. FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display indicating the lane from which the host vehicle is to exit at a Sasumata intersection. FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of an autonomous driving ECU in a fourth embodiment. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of an autonomous driving ECU in embodiment 5. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of an autonomous driving ECU in embodiment 6. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a vehicle system in embodiment 7. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of an autonomous driving ECU in embodiment 7. FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining a specific example of switching notifications according to the situation of surrounding vehicles. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of an autonomous driving ECU in embodiment 8. FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining an example of a case where a right / left turn avoidance-related notification indicating that an exit lane change will be made is made by display. FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining an example of a case where a right / left turn avoidance-related notification indicating that a temporary stop will be made is made by display in a surrounding situation image. FIG. 18 is a diagram for explaining an example of reducing the notification content for a notification regarding a non-priority oncoming vehicle turning right or left in a right / left turning scene compared to a notification regarding a non-priority oncoming vehicle in a straight-ahead scene.

[0012] A number of embodiments for the purpose of disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. For the sake of convenience, parts having the same functions as parts shown in the drawings used in the previous explanations in the number of embodiments will be given the same reference numerals, and their description may be omitted. For parts given the same reference numerals, the explanations in other embodiments may be referred to.

[0013] (Embodiment 1) <Outline of Vehicle System 1> Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. The vehicle system 1 shown in FIG. 1 can be used in a vehicle capable of autonomous driving (hereinafter, referred to as an autonomous vehicle). As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle system 1 includes an autonomous driving ECU 10, a communication module 11, a locator 12, a map database (hereinafter, referred to as a map DB) 13, a vehicle state sensor 14, a perimeter monitoring sensor 15, a vehicle control ECU 16, an HCU (Human Machine Interface Control Unit) 17, and an alarm device 18. For example, the autonomous driving ECU 10, the communication module 11, the locator 12, the map DB 13, the vehicle state sensor 14, the perimeter monitoring sensor 15, the vehicle control ECU 16, and the HCU 17 may be configured to be connected to an in-vehicle LAN (LAN) (see the LAN in FIG. 1). Although the vehicle using the vehicle system 1 is not necessarily limited to an automobile, the following description will be given taking an example of use in an automobile.

[0014] There are multiple levels of autonomous driving for autonomous vehicles (hereinafter referred to as "automation levels"), as defined by the SAE, for example. The automation levels are classified into LV0 to LV5 as follows:

[0015] LV0 is a level at which the driver performs all driving tasks without system intervention. The driving task may also be referred to as a dynamic driving task. The driving task may be, for example, steering, acceleration / deceleration, and periphery monitoring. LV0 corresponds to so-called manual driving. LV1 is a level at which the system assists with either steering or acceleration / deceleration. LV1 corresponds to so-called driving assistance. LV2 is a level at which the system assists with both steering and acceleration / deceleration. LV2 corresponds to so-called partial driving automation. LV1 to LV2 are also considered to be part of autonomous driving. Note that in this embodiment, driving with an automation level of LV2 or higher may also be considered autonomous driving. In other words, the explanation will continue using an example where the vehicle system 1 is used in a vehicle that performs autonomous driving with assistance in both steering and acceleration / deceleration.

[0016] For example, automated driving levels 1 to 2 are levels in which the driver has the responsibility to monitor safe driving (hereinafter simply referred to as the monitoring responsibility). In other words, these levels correspond to automated driving with a monitoring responsibility. The monitoring responsibility includes visually monitoring the surroundings. Level 3 automated driving is a level in which the system can perform all driving tasks under certain conditions, with the driver taking over driving operations in emergencies. Level 3 automated driving requires the driver to be able to respond quickly when the system requests a handover. This handover can also be described as the transfer of the responsibility to monitor the surroundings from the vehicle's system to the driver. Level 3 corresponds to so-called conditional automated driving. Level 4 automated driving is a level in which the system can perform all driving tasks except under certain circumstances, such as on uncontrollable roads or in extreme environments. Level 4 corresponds to so-called highly automated driving. Level 5 automated driving is a level in which the system can perform all driving tasks in any environment. Level 5 corresponds to so-called fully automated driving. Autonomous driving at levels 4 and 5 may be implemented, for example, in driving sections for which high-precision map data is available. High-precision map data will be described later. For example, autonomous driving at levels 3 or higher is defined as autonomous driving in which the driver has no monitoring obligation. In other words, it corresponds to autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation. In this embodiment, it is assumed that an autonomous vehicle is capable of implementing autonomous driving at least at level 2 or higher.

[0017] The communication module 11 transmits and receives information to and from a center external to the vehicle via wireless communication. That is, it performs wide-area communication. The communication module 11 receives traffic congestion information and the like from the center via wide-area communication. The communication module 11 may transmit and receive information to and from other vehicles via wireless communication. That is, it may perform vehicle-to-vehicle communication. The communication module 11 may transmit and receive information to and from a roadside device installed on the roadside via wireless communication. That is, it may perform road-to-vehicle communication. When performing road-to-vehicle communication, the communication module 11 may receive information about surrounding vehicles transmitted from surrounding vehicles of the vehicle via the roadside device. Furthermore, the communication module 11 may receive information about surrounding vehicles transmitted from surrounding vehicles of the vehicle via wide-area communication via the center.

[0018] The locator 12 includes a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver and an inertial sensor. The GNSS receiver receives positioning signals from multiple positioning satellites. The inertial sensor includes, for example, a gyro sensor and an acceleration sensor. The locator 12 sequentially determines the vehicle position of the vehicle (hereinafter referred to as the vehicle position) by combining the positioning signals received by the GNSS receiver with the measurement results of the inertial sensor. The vehicle position may be expressed, for example, in latitude and longitude coordinates. Note that the vehicle position may also be determined using a travel distance calculated from signals sequentially output from a vehicle speed sensor mounted on the vehicle.

[0019] The map DB 13 is a non-volatile memory that stores high-precision map data. The high-precision map data is map data with higher precision than the map data used for route guidance in the navigation function. The high-precision map data includes information usable for automated driving, such as three-dimensional road shape information, information on the number of lanes, and information indicating the permitted travel direction for each lane. The high-precision map data may also include node point information indicating the positions of both ends of road markings such as lane markings. The map DB 13 may also store map data used for route guidance. Note that the locator 12 may be configured to use three-dimensional road shape information without using a GNSS receiver. For example, the locator 12 may be configured to determine the vehicle's position using three-dimensional road shape information and detection results from the perimeter monitoring sensor 15. The three-dimensional road shape information may be generated based on captured images using REM (Road Experience Management).

[0020] Map data distributed from an external server may be received via wide-area communication via the communication module 11 and stored in the map DB 13. In this case, the map DB 13 may be configured as a volatile memory, and the communication module 11 may successively acquire map data for an area corresponding to the vehicle position.

[0021] The vehicle condition sensor 14 is a group of sensors for detecting various conditions of the vehicle. Examples of the vehicle condition sensor 14 include a vehicle speed sensor, a steering sensor, a steering wheel grip sensor, and a steering torque sensor. The vehicle speed sensor detects the speed of the vehicle. The steering sensor detects the steering angle of the vehicle. The grip sensor detects the grip of the steering wheel of the vehicle by the occupant. For example, the grip sensor may be a pressure-sensitive sensor provided on the steering wheel. Alternatively, the grip sensor may detect the grip of the steering wheel by recognizing the occupant's hands from an image captured by an interior camera. The steering torque sensor (hereinafter referred to as the steering torque sensor) detects the amount of steering operation. The vehicle condition sensor 14 outputs the detected sensing information to an in-vehicle LAN. Note that the sensing information detected by the vehicle condition sensor 14 may be configured to be output to the in-vehicle LAN via an ECU installed in the vehicle.

[0022] The perimeter monitoring sensor 15 monitors the environment surrounding the vehicle. As an example, the perimeter monitoring sensor 15 detects obstacles around the vehicle. Examples of obstacles include moving objects such as pedestrians and other vehicles. Examples of obstacles include objects fallen on the road and stationary objects such as roadside traffic lights. The perimeter monitoring sensor 15 also detects road markings such as lane markings around the vehicle. The perimeter monitoring sensor 15 is, for example, a perimeter monitoring camera that captures an image of a predetermined area around the vehicle, or a search wave sensor that transmits search waves within a predetermined area around the vehicle. Examples of search wave sensors include millimeter-wave radar, sonar, and LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging / Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging). The predetermined area may be a range that at least partially includes the front, rear, left, and right sides of the vehicle. For example, the predetermined area may be a range that at least includes the area ahead of the vehicle. The perimeter monitoring camera sequentially outputs the captured images to the autonomous driving ECU 10 as sensing information. The search wave sensor sequentially outputs the scanning results based on the received signal obtained when receiving the reflected wave reflected by an obstacle to the autonomous driving ECU 10 as sensing information.

[0023] The vehicle control ECU 16 is an electronic control device that controls the driving of the vehicle. Examples of driving control include acceleration / deceleration control and / or steering control. The vehicle control ECU 16 includes a steering ECU that controls steering, a power unit control ECU that controls acceleration / deceleration, and a brake ECU. The vehicle control ECU 16 controls driving by outputting control signals to each driving control device mounted on the vehicle. Examples of driving control devices include an electronically controlled throttle, a brake actuator, and an EPS (Electric Power Steering) motor.

[0024] The notification device 17 is provided in the vehicle and issues a notification to the passenger compartment of the vehicle. That is, the notification device 17 issues a notification to the occupants of the vehicle. The notification device 17 issues a notification in accordance with instructions from the HCU 18. The notification device 18 includes a display device 171 and an audio output device 172.

[0025] The display device 171 notifies the driver by displaying information. Examples of the display device 171 include a meter MID (Multi Information Display), a CID (Center Information Display), and a HUD (Head-Up Display). The meter MID is a display device provided in front of the driver's seat inside the vehicle. As an example, the meter MID may be provided on a meter panel. The CID is a display device located in the center of the vehicle's instrument panel. The HUD is provided on the instrument panel inside the vehicle. The HUD projects a display image formed by a projector onto a predetermined projection area on the front windshield, which serves as a projection member. The light of the image reflected by the front windshield toward the vehicle interior is perceived by the driver seated in the driver's seat. This allows the driver to visually recognize a virtual image of the display image formed in front of the front windshield, superimposed on part of the foreground. The HUD may be configured to project a display image onto a combiner provided in front of the driver's seat instead of onto the front windshield. The audio output device 172 outputs audio to notify the driver. Examples of the audio output device 172 include a speaker.

[0026] The HCU 18 is mainly composed of a computer including a processor, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, I / O, and a bus connecting these. The HCU 18 executes various processes related to the interaction between the occupant and the vehicle's systems by executing control programs stored in the non-volatile memory. The HCU 18 causes the alarm device 17 to issue an alarm. If an interior camera is installed in the vehicle, the HCU 18 may acquire the image captured by the interior camera.

[0027] The autonomous driving ECU 10 is mainly composed of a computer including, for example, a processor, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, I / O, and a bus connecting these. The autonomous driving ECU 10 executes control programs stored in the non-volatile memory to perform processing related to autonomous driving. This autonomous driving ECU 10 corresponds to a vehicle notification control device. The configuration of the autonomous driving ECU 10 will be described in detail below.

[0028] <General Configuration of Autonomous Driving ECU 10> Next, the general configuration of the autonomous driving ECU 10 will be described using Figure 2. As shown in Figure 2, the autonomous driving ECU 10 includes a driving environment recognition unit 101, an action determination unit 102, a control execution unit 103, and an HCU communication unit 104 as functional blocks. Execution of processing by each functional block of the autonomous driving ECU 10 by a computer corresponds to execution of a vehicle notification control method. Note that some or all of the functions executed by the autonomous driving ECU 10 may be configured as hardware using one or more ICs, etc. Also, some or all of the functional blocks included in the autonomous driving ECU 10 may be realized by a combination of software execution by a processor and hardware components.

[0029] The driving environment recognition unit 101 recognizes the driving environment of the vehicle from the vehicle position, map data, and sensing information acquired from the periphery monitoring sensor 15. The vehicle position may be acquired from the locator 12. The map data may be acquired from the map DB 13. As an example, the driving environment recognition unit 101 uses this information to recognize the position, shape, and movement state of objects around the vehicle, and generates a virtual space that reproduces the actual driving environment. The driving environment recognition unit 101 may recognize the vehicle position on the map from the vehicle position and map data. The driving environment recognition unit 101 may also recognize the presence, position, speed, etc. of vehicles around the vehicle as the driving environment from the sensing information. In other words, the driving environment including the status of the surrounding vehicles may be recognized and identified. Furthermore, if the driving environment recognition unit 101 can acquire the positions, speeds, etc. of surrounding vehicles via the communication module 11, it may also use this information to recognize the driving environment. The driving environment recognition unit 101 corresponds to a driving environment identification unit.

[0030] When the system has control over the driving operation, the behavior determination unit 102 determines a driving plan for driving the vehicle based on the recognition result of the driving environment by the driving environment recognition unit 101. The behavior determination unit 102 includes a driving plan unit 121, an approach possibility identification unit 122, and an avoidance determination unit 123 as sub-functional blocks.

[0031] The driving planner 121 determines a driving plan for driving the host vehicle in autonomous driving mode. The driving planner 121 determines a long-term / medium-term driving plan and a short-term driving plan as driving plans. In the long-term / medium-term driving plan, a planned route for driving the host vehicle to a set destination is determined. The driving planner 121 may determine this planned route in a manner similar to route search by a navigation function. The driving planner 121 may also determine a set vehicle speed for driving along the planned route. The driving planner 121 determines a short-term driving plan for realizing driving in accordance with the long-term / medium-term driving plan based on the driving environment recognized by the driving environment recognition unit 101. Specifically, as the short-term driving plan, steering, braking, etc. for obstacle avoidance are determined. Details of the processing by the driving planner 121 when the host vehicle is to travel straight through an intersection in autonomous driving mode will be described later.

[0032] The proximity possibility identification unit 122 identifies the degree of possibility of an approach to a non-priority oncoming vehicle that has a non-priority of passage through the intersection relative to the straight-on movement of the host vehicle when the host vehicle is about to proceed straight through an intersection under automated driving. Hereinafter, the target intersection through which the host vehicle is about to proceed straight is referred to as the target intersection. The possibility of an approach to a non-priority oncoming vehicle is referred to as the oncoming proximity possibility. When the host vehicle is about to proceed straight through an intersection under automated driving, this may include the time before the host vehicle enters the target intersection. In countries where driving on the left is legal, a non-priority oncoming vehicle corresponds to an oncoming vehicle that is about to turn right. In countries where driving on the right is legal, a non-priority oncoming vehicle corresponds to an oncoming vehicle that is about to turn left.

[0033] The approach possibility identification unit 122 may identify a high possibility of an oncoming approach when a non-priority oncoming vehicle overlaps with a planned straight-line trajectory, which is a planned trajectory that the host vehicle will follow when traveling straight through the target intersection in autonomous driving. A state in which a non-priority oncoming vehicle overlaps with a planned straight-line trajectory, which is a planned trajectory that the host vehicle will follow when traveling straight through the target intersection in autonomous driving, is hereinafter referred to as a straight-line blocked state. For example, the planned straight-line trajectory may be a trajectory that connects, in a straight line, a point at which the host vehicle enters the target intersection from the host vehicle's lane and an entrance point of a lane that the host vehicle will use as an exit route when traveling straight through the target intersection. The planned straight-line trajectory may have a width that corresponds to the vehicle width of the host vehicle. The width that corresponds to the vehicle width of the host vehicle may be the vehicle width or the vehicle width plus a margin. Note that the host vehicle lane refers to the lane in which the host vehicle is currently traveling.

[0034] The proximity possibility determination unit 122 may also determine that there is a high possibility of oncoming proximity when the positions of the non-priority oncoming vehicle and the host vehicle are predicted to overlap within the target intersection. A state in which the positions of the non-priority oncoming vehicle and the host vehicle are predicted to overlap within the target intersection is hereinafter referred to as a straight-line blocked predicted state. The straight-line blocked predicted state is a state in which the positions of the non-priority oncoming vehicle and the host vehicle are predicted to overlap within the target intersection if the non-priority oncoming vehicle and the host vehicle maintain their current driving state. The straight-line blocked predicted state may be determined from the predicted positions of the host vehicle and the non-priority oncoming vehicle when the non-priority oncoming vehicle is not stopped. The temporal position of the host vehicle may be predicted, for example, from the steering angle detected by a steering sensor and the vehicle speed of the host vehicle. The temporal position of the non-priority oncoming vehicle may be predicted, for example, from time-series changes in the position of the non-priority oncoming vehicle. The proximity possibility determination unit 122 may determine that the straight-line blocked predicted state is present when the predicted positions of the host vehicle and the non-priority oncoming vehicle approximately coincide at the same time.

[0035] The proximity possibility identification unit 122 may also identify that there is a high possibility of oncoming proximity when a non-priority oncoming vehicle is predicted to change lanes in a non-priority direction without noticing the host vehicle. The change of lanes to a non-priority direction referred to here corresponds to a right turn in countries where driving on the left is legal, and a left turn in countries where driving on the right is legal. A state in which a non-priority oncoming vehicle is predicted to change lanes in a non-priority direction without noticing the host vehicle is hereinafter referred to as a "both vehicles proceeding state." The proximity possibility identification unit 122 may identify a state in which a non-priority oncoming vehicle continues to move despite the host vehicle not having stopped as a "both vehicles proceeding state."

[0036] The proximity possibility identification unit 122 may be configured to use any of the straight-through blocked state, the straight-through blocked predicted state, and the two-vehicle traveling state to identify that the possibility of oncoming approach is high. The proximity possibility identification unit 122 may identify that the possibility of oncoming approach is low when none of the above three states used to identify that the possibility of oncoming approach is high is satisfied. The processing by the proximity possibility identification unit 122 corresponds to an proximity possibility identification step.

[0037] When the proximity possibility specifying unit 122 specifies that the possibility of oncoming proximity is high, the driving planner 121 performs avoidance control to avoid proximity with a non-priority oncoming vehicle. The driving planner 121 corresponds to an avoidance determination unit. Furthermore, the processing in the driving planner 121 corresponds to an avoidance determination step. On the other hand, when the proximity possibility specifying unit 122 specifies that the possibility of oncoming proximity is low, the driving planner 121 does not have to perform this avoidance control.

[0038] Examples of avoidance control include lane change control (hereinafter referred to as LC control), offset control, deceleration, temporary stop, etc. LC control is control that causes the vehicle to change lanes to an adjacent lane. In LC control, lane changes can be made by performing acceleration / deceleration control and steering control. Offset control is control that causes the vehicle to move closer to a lane boundary line within the vehicle's lane. The offset control may include control that causes the vehicle to move closer to a virtual extension of the lane boundary line of the vehicle's lane after entering an intersection and then continue straight. The offset control may also be limited to control that causes the vehicle to move closer to a lane boundary line within the vehicle's lane before entering an intersection. Details of offset control will be described later. Deceleration as avoidance control is control that reduces the vehicle speed of the vehicle compared to when the proximity possibility identification unit 122 does not identify a high possibility of oncoming proximity. Temporary stop is control that causes the vehicle to temporarily stop while continuing autonomous driving.

[0039] The avoidance determination unit 123 determines whether offset control is possible. The offset control here is a driving control in which the host vehicle moves closer to the lane boundary line on the opposite side of the lane from the side where the non-priority oncoming vehicle is located in the width direction of the host vehicle's lane. The direction opposite the side where the non-priority oncoming vehicle is located from the host vehicle's perspective is hereinafter referred to as the oncoming vehicle avoidance direction. Herein, the oncoming vehicle avoidance direction is the left side in countries where driving on the left is legal, and the right side in countries where driving on the right is legal. The amount by which the vehicle moves closer to the lane boundary line in the offset control may be set arbitrarily. For example, the vehicle may move closer to the lane boundary line until the distance between the vehicle and the lane boundary line is zero, or a margin may be provided.

[0040] The avoidance determination unit 123 may determine whether offset control is possible based on the possibility of approaching an obstacle as a result of offset control. Examples of target obstacles include moving objects such as other vehicles, such as automobiles, bicycles, motorcycles, and pedestrians. The target obstacles may also be stationary objects. For example, the avoidance determination unit 123 may determine that offset control is not possible when an obstacle exists in the oncoming avoidance direction that is within a predetermined distance from the lane boundary of the own lane. The predetermined distance may be any value that can be set. The avoidance determination unit 123 may determine that offset control is not possible when a moving object exists to the rear of the oncoming avoidance direction that is within a predetermined distance from the lane boundary of the own lane. The avoidance determination unit 123 may determine that offset control is not possible when a large vehicle such as a truck or bus exists in an adjacent lane in the offset direction of the own vehicle. The avoidance determination unit 123 may determine that offset control is possible when it does not determine that offset control is not possible.

[0041] The avoidance determination unit 123 may determine whether LC control is possible. The LC control here refers to a driving control in which the host vehicle changes lanes to an adjacent lane adjacent to the host vehicle's lane that is located in the oncoming avoidance direction. As described above, the oncoming avoidance direction is the direction opposite to the side where the non-priority oncoming vehicle is located. The avoidance determination unit 123 may determine that LC control is possible when, for example, the following two conditions are satisfied. The first condition is that an adjacent lane on the oncoming avoidance direction side is an adjacent lane that allows the host vehicle to travel straight through the target intersection. The second condition is that no other vehicle is present within a predetermined range from the side to the rear of the oncoming avoidance direction side. The predetermined range may be set arbitrarily. The avoidance determination unit 123 may determine that LC control is not possible when either of these two conditions is not satisfied.

[0042] When the travel planning unit 121 determines that there is a high possibility of an oncoming vehicle approaching because the vehicle is in a straight-line blocked state or a predicted straight-line blocked state, it may do the following, for example: When the avoidance determination unit 123 determines that offset control is possible, the travel planning unit 121 may cause the vehicle to temporarily stop as avoidance control. On the other hand, when the avoidance determination unit 123 determines that offset control is not possible, the travel planning unit 121 may cause the vehicle to temporarily stop as avoidance control.

[0043] When the avoidance determination unit 123 determines that offset control is not possible and causes the vehicle to temporarily stop as avoidance control, the travel planning unit 121 may do the following: The travel planning unit 121 may wait until the avoidance determination unit 123 determines that offset control is possible. Then, once the avoidance determination unit 123 determines that offset control is possible, the travel planning unit 121 may perform offset control.

[0044] If the proximity possibility identification unit 122 continues to identify a high possibility of oncoming proximity even after performing offset control, the driving planner 121 may perform the following: The driving planner 121 may perform avoidance control other than offset control. For example, the avoidance control may be performed by temporarily stopping the vehicle. In this case, the vehicle may wait until the proximity possibility identification unit 122 identifies a high possibility of oncoming proximity and then continue straight. Alternatively, the avoidance control may be performed by decelerating the vehicle. In this case, if the possibility of oncoming proximity continues to be identified as high even after the distance to the non-priority oncoming vehicle reaches a threshold, the vehicle may be temporarily stopped. The threshold may be set arbitrarily. Alternatively, LC control may be performed as avoidance control. LC control may be made executable when the avoidance determination unit 123 determines that LC control is possible. If LC control is not possible, the vehicle may be temporarily stopped.

[0045] The control execution unit 103 executes driving control in cooperation with the vehicle control ECU 16 when the control authority for driving operation is on the system side of the host vehicle. The control execution unit 103 executes driving control such as acceleration / deceleration control and steering control of the host vehicle in accordance with the driving plan determined by the action determination unit 102. In other words, the control execution unit 103 performs automatic driving. The control execution unit 103 also executes adaptive cruise control (ACC) control, lane tracing assist (LTA) control, etc. ACC control is constant speed driving control of the host vehicle at a set vehicle speed and / or lane tracing assist control of the host vehicle. In lane tracing assist control, acceleration / deceleration control is performed to maintain a target inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle and the nearest preceding vehicle. The target inter-vehicle distance may be set according to the speed of the host vehicle, for example. LTA control is control to maintain the host vehicle within its lane. In LTA control, steering control is performed to maintain the host vehicle within its lane.

[0046] The HCU communication unit 104 performs processing for outputting information to the HCU 18 and processing for acquiring information from the HCU 18. The HCU communication unit 104 includes a notification processing unit 141 as a sub-functional block. The notification processing unit 141 indirectly controls notifications by the notification device 17 by sending instructions to the HCU 18. In other words, the notification processing unit 141 causes notifications to be issued to the occupants of the vehicle. This notification processing unit 141 corresponds to a notification control unit. Furthermore, the processing by the notification processing unit 141 corresponds to a notification control step.

[0047] The notification processing unit 141 may display an image showing the surrounding conditions of the vehicle (hereinafter referred to as the surrounding conditions image) on the display surface of the display device 171. For example, the surrounding conditions image may be an overhead image of the vehicle and its surroundings seen from a virtual viewpoint above the vehicle. This virtual viewpoint may be directly above the vehicle, or may be a position shifted from directly above the vehicle. For example, it may be an overhead view seen from a virtual viewpoint above and behind the vehicle. The surrounding conditions image may be a virtual image showing the surrounding conditions of the vehicle, or may be a processed image captured by a perimeter monitoring camera of the perimeter monitoring sensor 15.

[0048] When the proximity possibility identification unit 122 identifies that there is a high possibility of proximity with a non-priority oncoming vehicle, the notification processing unit 141 highlights the display indicating the non-priority oncoming vehicle and issues an avoidance-related notification. The avoidance-related notification is a notification regarding the content of avoidance control to avoid proximity with a non-priority oncoming vehicle. The notification processing unit 141 may display the display indicating the non-priority oncoming vehicle in the surrounding situation image. The display indicating the non-priority oncoming vehicle will be referred to as a non-priority oncoming vehicle display hereinafter. The highlighting of the non-priority oncoming vehicle display may be performed, for example, by surrounding the image of the non-priority oncoming vehicle with a frame. Note that the highlighting of the non-priority oncoming vehicle display is not limited to surrounding it with a frame. For example, the non-priority oncoming vehicle may be highlighted by an arrow pointing to the image of the non-priority oncoming vehicle, or by flashing the image of the non-priority oncoming vehicle, etc.

[0049] The avoidance-related notification may be provided by display, by sound, or by a combination of display and sound. For example, an icon representing the details of the avoidance control may be displayed, or sound explaining the details of the avoidance control may be output. This makes it possible to notify the occupants of the details of the avoidance control to avoid close contact with a non-priority oncoming vehicle when the vehicle is about to proceed straight through an intersection under automated driving and it is determined that there is a high possibility of close contact with an oncoming vehicle. Therefore, even when avoidance control is performed, the occupants can know what type of avoidance control will be performed. Therefore, it is less likely that the occupants will feel uneasy. As a result, it is less likely that convenience for the occupants will be impaired even when the vehicle is driven through an intersection under automated driving.

[0050] The following description will continue using an example in which the avoidance-related notification is provided by display. When the type of avoidance control is offset control, LC control, or deceleration, the planned trajectory of the host vehicle may be displayed in the surrounding situation image. This planned trajectory may be expressed in a way that makes it easy to distinguish between offset control, LC control, and deceleration. For example, in the case of LC control, the planned trajectory may be a trajectory in which the host vehicle moves from the host lane to an adjacent lane before entering the intersection and then continues straight. In the case of offset control, the planned trajectory may be a trajectory in which the host vehicle approaches a lane boundary line within the host lane before entering the intersection and then continues straight. Note that in a configuration that also includes offset control after entering the intersection, the planned trajectory may be a trajectory in which the host vehicle approaches a virtual extension of the lane boundary line of the host lane after entering the intersection and then continues straight. In the case of deceleration, the planned trajectory may be a trajectory in which the host vehicle continues straight. In the case of offset control or LC control, the display of the planned trajectory may also be a display that indicates the type of avoidance control. When the type of avoidance control is to stop temporarily, a line indicating the position where the host vehicle should stop temporarily (hereinafter referred to as a stop position line) may be displayed in the surrounding situation image. The stop position line is a line that indicates the position where the vehicle will be temporarily stopped by the avoidance control, and may be different from the stop line. The avoidance-related notification may be a notification regarding the details of the avoidance control that decelerates the vehicle to give priority to the passage of non-priority oncoming vehicles. The stop position line may be configured to be superimposed on the foreground and displayed by the HUD.

[0051] Furthermore, when the avoidance control involves temporarily stopping, an audio output may be provided to indicate the stopping position of the host vehicle. One example is an audio output that provides guidance on the remaining number of meters until the host vehicle stops. In this way, the stopping position of the host vehicle may be indicated by a display or by audio. In other words, when the host vehicle is to be temporarily stopped as part of the avoidance control, the notification processing unit 141 may issue a notification indicating the stopping position of the host vehicle as an avoidance-related notification.

[0052] An example of a surrounding situation image will now be described with reference to FIG. 3 . FIG. 3 illustrates an example of avoidance control in which a vehicle is forced to stop. FIG. 3 shows a display example of a surrounding situation image. In FIG. 3 , the surrounding situation image is an overhead image of the vehicle and its surroundings, viewed from a virtual viewpoint above the vehicle. Sc in the figure indicates the display screen of the display device 171. PLI indicates an image representing lane markings (hereinafter referred to as lane marking image). HVI indicates an image representing the vehicle (hereinafter referred to as vehicle image). OVI indicates an image representing a non-priority oncoming vehicle (hereinafter referred to as non-priority oncoming vehicle image). PIc in the figure indicates an icon image corresponding to an avoidance-related notification indicating a temporary stop. SLI in the figure indicates a stop position line. HL indicates a display that highlights the non-priority oncoming vehicle image OVI. In the example of FIG. 3 , the non-priority oncoming vehicle image OVI is highlighted by displaying a frame surrounding the non-priority oncoming vehicle image OVI. As shown in Figure 3, by using not only an icon image but also a stop position line, it is possible to inform the driver that the avoidance control is a temporary stop and the location where the temporary stop will occur. Note that the surrounding situation image may also display an image showing the vehicle speed of the vehicle, an image showing the operating state of the automatic driving function, etc. The surrounding situation image is displayed, for example, on the meter MID. The surrounding situation image may also be displayed on the CID.

[0053] When the approach possibility identification unit 122 identifies a high possibility of an oncoming approach and offset control or LC control is to be implemented, the notification processing unit 141 preferably issues a monitoring promotion notification. In this case, the approach possibility identification unit 122 may identify a straight-through blocked state or a predicted straight-through blocked state as a high possibility of an oncoming approach. The monitoring promotion notification is a notification that encourages periphery monitoring. The monitoring promotion notification may be provided by display, audio, or a combination of display and audio. For example, an icon depicting an eye may be displayed or an audio message urging monitoring may be output. Because offset control and LC control may involve approaching another vehicle in an adjacent lane, occupants who are unable to recognize the surrounding situation may become anxious. In contrast, by encouraging occupants to monitor their surroundings, occupants can become aware of the surrounding situation and become less anxious about avoidance control using offset control or LC control.

[0054] It is preferable that the notification processing unit 141 is capable of displaying an offset when offset control is performed as avoidance control. The offset display is a display indicating that offset control is being performed. When displaying an offset, the notification processing unit 141 preferably displays a display that also shows the behavior of the host vehicle as it returns from the offset control. This allows the occupants to recognize the behavior of the host vehicle as it returns from the offset control, making the occupants less likely to feel anxious about the avoidance control. The offset display that also shows the behavior of the host vehicle as it returns from the offset control may be, for example, a planned trajectory of the host vehicle due to the offset control.

[0055] An example of offset display will now be described with reference to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 illustrates an example in which offset control is performed before entering an intersection. FIG. 4 illustrates an example in which offset display is performed by displaying a planned trajectory in a surrounding situation image. PtI in the figure indicates the display of the planned trajectory corresponding to the offset display. In the example of FIG. 4, the planned trajectory indicates that offset control is started before entering the intersection and that offset control is restored after exiting the intersection. Note that the display of the planned trajectory of the host vehicle by offset control may also serve as an avoidance-related notification. In this case, the offset display also serves as an avoidance-related notification. If the offset display does not also serve as an avoidance-related notification, the notification processing unit 141 may perform the avoidance-related notification by, for example, displaying an icon image indicating that offset control will be performed.

[0056] <Avoidance-related notification processing in autonomous driving ECU 10> Here, an example of the flow of processing related to avoidance-related notification in the autonomous driving ECU 10 (hereinafter, avoidance-related notification processing) will be described using the flowchart in Fig. 5. The flowchart in Fig. 5 may be configured to be started when the vehicle is about to proceed straight through an intersection while autonomously driving. As one example, the processing may be started when the distance to the entrance on the approach road side of the intersection where the vehicle is scheduled to proceed straight while autonomously driving is equal to or less than a threshold. The entrance to the intersection may be the position of the stop line, for example.

[0057] First, in step S1, the proximity possibility specifying unit 122 specifies whether the probability of oncoming approach is high or low. In step S2, if the proximity possibility specifying unit 122 specifies that the probability of oncoming approach is high (YES in S2), the process proceeds to step S3. On the other hand, if the proximity possibility specifying unit 122 specifies that the probability of oncoming approach is low (NO in S2), the process proceeds to step S4.

[0058] In step S3, the notification processing unit 141 issues an avoidance-related notification while highlighting the display indicating the non-priority oncoming vehicle in the surrounding situation image. As the avoidance-related notification, a notification indicating the content of the avoidance control executed by the control execution unit 103 is issued. In step S4, if it is time to end the avoidance-related notification (YES in S4), the avoidance-related notification is ended. On the other hand, if it is not time to end the avoidance-related notification (NO in S4), the process returns to S1 and repeats. Examples of timings to end the avoidance-related notification include exiting an intersection and switching to manual driving. Exiting an intersection may be after driving a certain distance after exiting onto an exit road.

[0059] <Content-specific notification-related processing in autonomous driving ECU 10> Next, an example of the flow of processing related to notification by content of avoidance control in the autonomous driving ECU 10 (hereinafter, content-specific notification-related processing) will be described using the flowchart of Figure 6. The flowchart of Figure 6 may be configured to be started when avoidance control is started. Note that the flowchart of Figure 6 explains an example of a case where, even if it has been determined that there is a high possibility of an oncoming vehicle approaching, it is possible to exit the target intersection by going straight if LC control is performed.

[0060] First, in step S21, the avoidance determination unit 123 determines whether offset control is possible. In step S22, if the avoidance determination unit 123 determines that offset control is possible (YES in S22), the process proceeds to step S23. On the other hand, if the avoidance determination unit 123 determines that offset control is not possible (NO in S22), the process proceeds to step S26.

[0061] In step S23, the notification processing unit 141 issues a monitoring prompt notification and an offset display. If the offset display does not also serve as an avoidance-related notification, the notification processing unit 141 also issues an avoidance-related notification indicating that offset control will be performed. In this case, the offset control is performed by the control execution unit 103.

[0062] In step S24, the approach possibility specification unit 122 specifies whether the oncoming approach possibility is high or low. In stop S25, if the approach possibility specification unit 122 specifies that the oncoming approach possibility is high (YES in S25), the process proceeds to step S26. On the other hand, if the approach possibility specification unit 122 specifies that the oncoming approach possibility is low (NO in S25), the avoidance-related notification is terminated. In this case, the host vehicle that has undergone offset control will exit the intersection by going straight.

[0063] In step S26, the avoidance determination unit 123 determines whether LC control is possible. In step S27, if the avoidance determination unit 123 determines that LC control is possible (YES in S27), the process proceeds to step S28. On the other hand, if the avoidance determination unit 123 determines that LC control is not possible (NO in S27), the process proceeds to step S29.

[0064] In step S28, the notification processing unit 141 issues a monitoring promotion notification and an avoidance-related notification indicating that LC control will be performed, and then ends the avoidance-related notification. In this case, LC control is performed by the control execution unit 103. Then, the host vehicle that has undergone LC control will exit the intersection by going straight.

[0065] In step S29, the notification processing unit 141 issues an avoidance-related notification indicating that a temporary stop will be made, and the process returns to S21 to repeat the process. In this case, the temporary stop is made by the control execution unit 103.

[0066] (Embodiment 2) The configuration of the vehicle system 1 of the embodiment 2 described below may be adopted instead of the configuration of the above-described embodiment. An example of the configuration of embodiment 2 will be described below with reference to the drawings. The vehicle system 1 of embodiment 2 is similar to the vehicle system 1 of embodiment 1, except that it includes an autonomous driving ECU 10a instead of the autonomous driving ECU 10.

[0067] <Schematic Configuration of Autonomous Driving ECU 10a> Next, the schematic configuration of the autonomous driving ECU 10a will be described using FIG. 7 . The autonomous driving ECU 10a is similar to the autonomous driving ECU 10 of embodiment 1 except for some differences in processing. The autonomous driving ECU 10a includes a driving environment recognition unit 101, an action determination unit 102a, a control execution unit 103, an HCU communication unit 104a, and a signal timing identification unit 105 as functional blocks. The autonomous driving ECU 10a includes the action determination unit 102a instead of the action determination unit 102. The autonomous driving ECU 10a includes the HCU communication unit 104a instead of the HCU communication unit 104. The autonomous driving ECU 10a includes the signal timing identification unit 105. Except for these differences, the autonomous driving ECU 10a is similar to the autonomous driving ECU 10 of embodiment 1. This autonomous driving ECU 10a also corresponds to a vehicle notification control device. Furthermore, the execution of the processing of each functional block of the autonomous driving ECU 10a by the computer corresponds to the execution of a vehicle notification control method.

[0068] The signal timing identification unit 105 identifies the signal switching timing (hereinafter referred to as signal timing) of a traffic light at an intersection. For example, the signal timing identification unit 105 may identify the signal timing from signal information indicating the lighting pattern of the traffic light. The signal timing identification unit 105 may acquire the signal information via the communication module 11. The signal information may be acquired by transmitting the signal information from a center via wide-area communication, or by transmitting the signal information via road-to-vehicle communication from a roadside device installed at the intersection. The signal information may be, for example, information such as the light color status of the traffic light, the order in which the light colors are displayed, the cycle length of one signal cycle, the proportion of time allocated to each light color in one cycle, and the expected number of seconds remaining. The light color status of a traffic light may include the arrow light of an arrow-type traffic light. When the arrow light is on, traffic is prohibited from traveling in any direction other than that indicated by the arrow light.

[0069] The behavior determination unit 102a includes, as sub-functional blocks, a driving plan unit 121a and an approach possibility identification unit 122. The behavior determination unit 102a includes the driving plan unit 121a instead of the driving plan unit 121. The behavior determination unit 102a does not necessarily include the avoidance determination unit 123. Except for these points, the behavior determination unit 102a is similar to the behavior determination unit 102 of the first embodiment.

[0070] The travel planning unit 121a is similar to the travel planning unit 121 of the first embodiment, except for some differences in processing. The following describes these differences. The travel planning unit 121a at least causes the host vehicle to temporarily stop or decelerate as avoidance control. If the travel planning unit 121a causes the host vehicle to temporarily stop or decelerate as avoidance control, and the traffic light in the straight-ahead direction of the host vehicle indicates that passage is not permitted when the host vehicle is located in an intersection, the travel planning unit 121a may do the following. A state in which the traffic light in the straight-ahead direction of the host vehicle indicates that passage is not permitted when the host vehicle is located in an intersection is referred to as a stop-required transition state below.

[0071] For example, the driving planner 121a may automatically drive the vehicle to exit the target intersection at a speed lower than the set vehicle speed of the constant speed driving control. The speed lower than the set vehicle speed of the constant speed driving control may be a slow speed such as 10 km / h. The driving planner 121a may determine that the vehicle is in a stop-required transition state using the signal timing identified by the signal timing identification unit 105. The driving planner 121a may also determine that the vehicle is in a stop-required transition state based on the result of recognition by the driving environment recognition unit 101 of the light color state of a traffic light captured by a surrounding monitoring camera. Examples of cases in which a traffic light indicates impassability include when the light color of a traffic light that is not an arrow-type traffic light is red and when the arrow light of an arrow-type traffic light is in a direction other than straight ahead.

[0072] Additionally, when the stop-required transition state is reached and the host vehicle has just entered an intersection, the travel planning unit 121a may cause the host vehicle to wait until the traffic light indicates that passage is permitted. Waiting corresponds to a temporary stop. Immediately after entering an intersection refers to a state in which the host vehicle stops within a predetermined distance from the stop line. The predetermined distance may be a short distance that can be considered to be immediately after entering an intersection, and may be set arbitrarily. This predetermined distance may be, for example, several meters. It may also be configured to be set longer as the distance from the intersection entrance to the intersection center increases. When the host vehicle temporarily stops, the travel planning unit 121a causes the host vehicle to wait in a state in which the host vehicle does not overlap the space on the crosswalk by more than a certain amount. Here, "certain amount" may refer to an overlap amount estimated to be unlikely to obstruct pedestrians' passage on the crosswalk. A state in which the host vehicle does not overlap the space on the crosswalk by more than a certain amount may refer to a state in which the host vehicle does not overlap the space on the crosswalk.

[0073] The HCU communication unit 104a includes a notification processing unit 141a as a sub-functional block. The HCU communication unit 104a is similar to the HCU communication unit 104 of the first embodiment, except that the notification processing unit 141a is included instead of the notification processing unit 141. The notification processing unit 141a is similar to the notification processing unit 141 of the first embodiment, except that some processing is different. This difference will be described below.

[0074] The notification processing unit 141a issues a planned behavior notification when the host vehicle enters a stop-required transition state as a result of temporarily stopping or decelerating as avoidance control. The planned behavior notification is a notification indicating whether the host vehicle will continue traveling or stop. This allows the occupants to know how the host vehicle will behave in the stop-required transition state, making the occupants less likely to feel anxious. If the host vehicle continues traveling, the notification processing unit 141a may issue a display or audio output indicating that the host vehicle will continue traveling as the planned behavior notification. If the host vehicle stops, the notification processing unit 141a may issue a display or audio output indicating that the host vehicle will stop as the planned behavior notification. An example of a case in which the host vehicle continues traveling in the stop-required transition state is the aforementioned exiting of the target intersection at a speed lower than the set vehicle speed of the constant-speed cruise control. An example of a case in which the host vehicle stops in the stop-required transition state is the aforementioned temporary stop immediately after the intersection. When the vehicle is stopped in the stop-required transition state, the vehicle is made to wait in the intersection until the traffic light indicates that the vehicle is clear to pass.

[0075] When the notification processing unit 141a is to perform an expected behavior notification and the host vehicle is to stop, it is preferable that the notification processing unit 141a display a stop position line and a traffic light status (hereinafter referred to as a signal light display). As described in the first embodiment, the stop position line is a line that guides the host vehicle to a temporary stop. When the expected behavior notification is to be performed and the host vehicle is to stop, it is preferable that the host vehicle is to be temporarily stopped in a stop-required transition state. On the other hand, when the notification processing unit 141a is to perform an expected behavior notification and the host vehicle is to continue traveling, it is preferable that the notification processing unit 141a display a planned trajectory of the host vehicle and a signal light display. This allows the occupant to more intuitively know whether the host vehicle will stop or continue traveling in a stop-required transition state.

[0076] Here, an example of a display when the host vehicle is temporarily stopped in a stop-required transition state will be described with reference to FIG. 8 . FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 , which will be described later, show an example of a case where the host vehicle is temporarily stopped or decelerated as avoidance control, and a stop-required transition state occurs while a non-priority oncoming vehicle is allowed to pass first. SLI in FIG. 8 indicates a stop position line. WI in FIG. 8 indicates a display indicating waiting (hereinafter, "wait display"). TLI in FIG. 8 indicates a signal light display. The signal light display may be a traffic light icon that highlights the color of the light, or the like. When the host vehicle is temporarily stopped in a stop-required transition state, a stop position line SLI and a signal light display TLI may be displayed in the surrounding situation image Sc, as shown in FIG. 8 . FIG. 8 shows an example in which a wait display WI is displayed as an expected behavior notification. The stop position line and signal light display may be displayed superimposed on the foreground by the HUD.

[0077] Next, an example of a display when the host vehicle is allowed to continue traveling in a stop-required transition state will be described with reference to Fig. 9. CI in Fig. 9 indicates the planned trajectory of the host vehicle. PaI in Fig. 9 indicates a display indicating continuation of traveling (hereinafter, "continue traveling display"). When the host vehicle is allowed to continue traveling in a stop-required transition state, as shown in Fig. 9, the planned trajectory CI and the signal lamp display TLI may be displayed in the surrounding situation image Sc. Fig. 9 shows an example in which the continue traveling display is displayed as the planned behavior notification.

[0078] Furthermore, when the avoidance control is performed to cause the host vehicle to wait in the intersection until the traffic light indicates that the vehicle is clear to pass, the notification processing unit 141a preferably issues a warning that the host vehicle is located in the intersection. This allows the occupants to know that the vehicle system is aware of the situation in which the host vehicle is waiting in the intersection, making them less likely to feel anxious about the vehicle system. The warning may be issued by display or audio output. When the warning is issued by display, an image of the host vehicle located in the intersection may be displayed, as shown in FIG. 8, to warn the occupants that the host vehicle is located in the intersection. The warning that the host vehicle is located in the intersection may also be issued by displaying an icon. The planned trajectory and signal light display may be displayed superimposed on the foreground by the HUD.

[0079] The notification processing unit 141a may issue a driver change promotion notification and a monitoring promotion notification when a stop-required transition state is reached as a result of performing a temporary stop or deceleration as avoidance control. The driver change promotion notification is a notification that prompts the occupant to change drivers. In a stop-required transition state, it is considered that the occupant may feel more secure if the driver responds by manual driving. In contrast, by prompting the occupant to change drivers in a stop-required transition state, it is possible to increase the occupant's sense of security in the stop-required transition state. Furthermore, by issuing a monitoring promotion notification, it is possible to further increase the occupant's sense of security. The driver change promotion notification and the monitoring promotion notification may be issued by display or audio output. The driver change promotion notification and the monitoring promotion notification may be issued at the same timing or at different timings.

[0080] Furthermore, the notification processing unit 141a may be configured to not issue a driver change promotion notification if the host vehicle continues traveling when the stop-required transition state is reached, but to issue a driver change promotion notification if the host vehicle is forced to temporarily stop. If the host vehicle is forced to temporarily stop in the stop-required transition state, the host vehicle will remain at the intersection, making it more likely that other vehicles will approach. In situations where other vehicles are more likely to approach, making it easier for the driver to take action increases the sense of security of the occupants. In contrast, with the above configuration, it is possible to further increase the sense of security of the occupants by prompting the driver to take a driving role in situations where other vehicles are more likely to approach.

[0081] Here, an example of a case where a driver change prompt notification and a monitoring prompt notification are displayed in a stop required transition state will be described with reference to FIG. 10 . FIG. 10 shows an example of a case where the host vehicle is temporarily stopped in a stop required transition state. SIc in FIG. 10 shows a display corresponding to a monitoring prompt notification (hereinafter, monitoring prompt notification). TOI in FIG. 10 shows a display corresponding to a driver change prompt notification (hereinafter, driver change prompt notification). When the host vehicle is temporarily stopped in a stop required transition state, as shown in FIG. 10 , the monitoring prompt notification SIc and the driver change prompt notification TOI may be displayed in the surrounding situation image Sc. FIG. 10 shows an example in which an icon representing an eye is displayed as the monitoring prompt notification SIc, but text may also be displayed, for example. FIG. 10 shows an example in which text such as "Please take over as driver" is displayed as the driver change prompt notification TOI, but an icon may also be displayed, for example.

[0082] (Embodiment 3) The configuration of the vehicle system 1 of the embodiment 3 is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, and may be the configuration of the following embodiment 3. An example of the configuration of embodiment 3 will be described below with reference to the drawings. The vehicle system 1 of embodiment 3 is similar to the vehicle system 1 of embodiment 1, except that it includes an autonomous driving ECU 10b instead of the autonomous driving ECU 10.

[0083] <Schematic Configuration of Autonomous Driving ECU 10b> Next, the schematic configuration of the autonomous driving ECU 10b will be described using FIG. 11 . The autonomous driving ECU 10b is similar to the autonomous driving ECU 10 of embodiment 1 except for some differences in processing. The autonomous driving ECU 10b includes a driving environment recognition unit 101b, an action determination unit 102b, a control execution unit 103, and an HCU communication unit 104b as functional blocks. The autonomous driving ECU 10b includes the driving environment recognition unit 101b instead of the driving environment recognition unit 101. The autonomous driving ECU 10b includes the action determination unit 102b instead of the action determination unit 102. The autonomous driving ECU 10b includes the HCU communication unit 104b instead of the HCU communication unit 104. Except for these differences, the autonomous driving ECU 10b is similar to the autonomous driving ECU 10 of embodiment 1. This autonomous driving ECU 10b also corresponds to a vehicle notification control device. Furthermore, the execution of the processing of each functional block of the autonomous driving ECU 10b by the computer corresponds to the execution of a vehicle notification control method.

[0084] The driving environment recognition unit 101b is the same as the driving environment recognition unit 101 of the first embodiment, except for some differences in processing. The differences will be described below. The driving environment recognition unit 101b recognizes the type of intersection through which the vehicle is about to pass. The driving environment recognition unit 101b distinguishes between special intersections and normal intersections and identifies them. This driving environment recognition unit 101b corresponds to the intersection identification unit. A special intersection is an intersection that is estimated to require a greater degree of caution when passing through. A normal intersection is an intersection that is estimated to require a lesser degree of caution when passing through than a special intersection. As an example, a special intersection may be a shifted intersection or a sasmata intersection. Special intersections may include intersections other than shifted intersections and sasmata intersections that are estimated to require a greater degree of caution when passing through. A normal intersection may be an intersection other than a special intersection.

[0085] As illustrated in FIG. 12 , a misaligned intersection is an intersection where the slope of the exit direction relative to the entry direction when passing through the intersection in a straight line is equal to or greater than a specified value. The specified value here may be any value that can be set. FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a misaligned intersection. The arrow indicated by AD in FIG. 12 points to the entry direction, and the arrow indicated by ED points to the exit direction. As illustrated in FIG. 13 , a Sasmata intersection is an intersection where the number of lanes in the exit direction increases compared to the number of lanes in the entry direction when passing through the intersection in a straight line. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a Sasmata intersection. The arrow indicated by AL in FIG. 13 points to the entry lane, and the arrow indicated by EL points to the exit lane. In the example of FIG. 13 , the number of lanes in the entry direction is one lane per side, while the number of lanes in the exit direction increases to two lanes per side.

[0086] The behavior determination unit 102b includes, as sub-functional blocks, a travel planner 121b and an approach possibility identification unit 122. The behavior determination unit 102b includes the travel planner 121b instead of the travel planner 121. The behavior determination unit 102b does not necessarily include the avoidance determination unit 123. Except for these points, the behavior determination unit 102b is similar to the behavior determination unit 102 of the first embodiment.

[0087] The driving planner 121b is similar to the driving planner 121 of the first embodiment, except for some differences in processing. The following describes these differences. When the vehicle is about to proceed straight through a deviated intersection under automated driving, the driving planner 121b simply sets the vehicle speed lower than when the vehicle is about to proceed straight through an intersection that is not a deviated intersection under automated driving. An intersection that is not a deviated intersection is an intersection where the inclination of the exit direction relative to the entry direction when passing through the intersection in a straight line is less than a specified value. The driving planner 121b can determine that the vehicle is about to proceed straight through a deviated intersection under automated driving based on the recognition result of the type of intersection by the driving environment recognition unit 101b.

[0088] Furthermore, when the host vehicle is to travel straight through the Sasumata intersection in autonomous driving, the travel planning unit 121b may perform the following. The travel planning unit 121b may switch the lane used as an exit route for the Sasumata intersection in accordance with the travel environment. For example, the travel planning unit 121b may switch the lane used for exiting the host vehicle in accordance with the position of a surrounding vehicle in the situation of the surrounding vehicles. The travel planning unit 121b may use the position of the surrounding vehicle recognized and identified by the travel environment recognition unit 101b as the position of the surrounding vehicle. The travel planning unit 121b may select, from among multiple lanes in the exiting direction, a lane that allows the host vehicle to avoid getting closer to the surrounding vehicles as the lane used for exiting the host vehicle.

[0089] Furthermore, when the host vehicle is to proceed straight through the Sasumata intersection in autonomous driving mode, and the autonomous driving when proceeding straight through the Sasumata intersection is in hands-on mode, the travel planning unit 121b may perform the following. The travel planning unit 121b may make it possible to select an exit lane by steering the steering wheel of the host vehicle. Hands-on mode is a mode in which the driver is required to hold the steering wheel of the host vehicle. Automated driving in hands-on mode may be automated driving with an automation level of LV2. The travel planning unit 121b may identify the degree of steering of the steering wheel from the detection results of the steering torque sensor of the vehicle state sensor 14. This makes it easier to exit the host vehicle into the exit lane desired by the driver. As a result, it is possible to improve comfort for the driver.

[0090] For example, the driving planner 121b may associate a steering amount of the steering wheel within a range that does not cause an override with a plurality of exit lanes according to the number of exit lanes. Then, the driving planner 121b may select an exit lane according to the steering amount of the steering wheel. An override is an operation by which the driver of the vehicle voluntarily acquires control of the vehicle. In order to prevent an unintended override by the driver, the vehicle system 1 is configured not to override when the steering amount of the steering wheel is less than a threshold value.

[0091] As another example, the driving planner 121b may lower the threshold value of the steering amount of the steering wheel that is used to determine an override when entering a Sasumata intersection in hands-on autonomous driving mode. In other words, when entering a Sasumata intersection in hands-on autonomous driving mode, the driving planner 121b may leave steering to the driver. This may allow the exit lane to be selected by steering the steering wheel of the vehicle. In this case, the exit lane for the vehicle is selected by the driver's driving operation.

[0092] The HCU communication unit 104b includes a notification processing unit 141b as a sub-functional block. The HCU communication unit 104b is similar to the HCU communication unit 104 of the first embodiment, except that it includes the notification processing unit 141b instead of the notification processing unit 141. The notification processing unit 141b is similar to the notification processing unit 141 of the first embodiment, except that some processing is different. This difference will be described below.

[0093] When the host vehicle is going to automatically drive straight through a misaligned intersection, the notification processing unit 141b displays guide lines that indicate the expected trajectory of the host vehicle as it passes through the misaligned intersection. This makes it easier for the occupants to understand the behavior of the host vehicle even at a misaligned intersection, further increasing the sense of security of the occupants.

[0094] An example of the display of guide lines at a misaligned intersection will now be described with reference to Fig. 14. GLI in Fig. 14 indicates the guide lines. As shown in Fig. 14, guide lines GLI indicating the planned trajectory of the host vehicle when passing through the misaligned intersection in an autonomous driving manner may be displayed in the surrounding situation image Sc.

[0095] When the host vehicle is going straight through the Sasumata intersection in autonomous driving mode, the notification processing unit 141b displays the lane through which the host vehicle is planned to exit, among the lanes of the exit road through which the host vehicle will exit the Sasumata intersection. This makes it easier for the occupant to identify the exit road through which the host vehicle will exit the Sasumata intersection, further increasing the sense of security of the occupant. Furthermore, in a configuration in which the exit lane can be selected by steering the steering wheel of the host vehicle, the selected exit lane becomes easier for the occupant to identify. This makes it easier to select the exit lane by steering the steering wheel.

[0096] Here, an example of a display indicating the planned exit lane at the Sasumata intersection will be described using FIG. 15 . CI in FIG. 15 indicates the planned trajectory of the vehicle. SeI in FIG. 15 indicates a display indicating the planned exit lane (hereinafter, referred to as the exit lane display). As shown in FIG. 15 , the exit lane display SeI may be displayed in the surrounding situation image Sc, highlighting the planned exit lane by, for example, surrounding it with a frame. Note that the planned exit lane may be highlighted by a method other than surrounding it with a frame. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 15 , the planned trajectory CI of the vehicle may also be displayed, extending to the planned exit lane. This makes it easier for the occupant to recognize the planned exit lane.

[0097] (Fourth embodiment) The configuration of the vehicle system 1 of the fourth embodiment is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiments, and may be the configuration of the following fourth embodiment. An example of the configuration of the fourth embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. The vehicle system 1 of the fourth embodiment is similar to the vehicle system 1 of the first embodiment, except that it includes an autonomous driving ECU 10c instead of the autonomous driving ECU 10.

[0098] <General Configuration of Autonomous Driving ECU 10c> Next, the general configuration of the autonomous driving ECU 10c will be described using FIG. 16 . The autonomous driving ECU 10c is similar to the autonomous driving ECU 10 of embodiment 1 except for some differences in processing. The autonomous driving ECU 10c includes a driving environment recognition unit 101, an action determination unit 102, a control execution unit 103, and an HCU communication unit 104c as functional blocks. The autonomous driving ECU 10c is similar to the autonomous driving ECU 10 of embodiment 1 except for the fact that the HCU communication unit 104c is included instead of the HCU communication unit 104. This autonomous driving ECU 10c also corresponds to a vehicle notification control device. Furthermore, the execution of processing of each functional block of the autonomous driving ECU 10c by a computer corresponds to the execution of a vehicle notification control method.

[0099] The HCU communication unit 104c includes an alarm processing unit 141c as a sub-functional block. The HCU communication unit 104c is similar to the HCU communication unit 104 of the first embodiment, except that it includes the alarm processing unit 141c instead of the alarm processing unit 141. The alarm processing unit 141c is similar to the alarm processing unit 141 of the first embodiment, except that some processing is different. This difference will be described below.

[0100] The notification processing unit 141c issues a gripping request notification during autonomous driving in hands-on mode. The gripping request notification is a notification that requests gripping of the steering wheel. The gripping request notification is issued on the condition that the grip sensor does not detect gripping of the steering wheel. The notification processing unit 141c issues a gripping request notification when an index used to determine whether or not to issue a gripping request notification exceeds a threshold for issuing a gripping request notification. The index used to determine whether or not to issue a gripping request notification is referred to as a gripping request index below. The threshold for issuing a gripping request notification is referred to as a gripping request threshold below. The gripping request index may be, for example, the time during which the grip sensor does not continuously detect gripping of the steering wheel. Alternatively, the gripping request index may be another index such as the deceleration of the host vehicle.

[0101] When the host vehicle is passing through an intersection in hands-on mode autonomous driving, the notification processing unit 141c lowers the gripping request threshold compared to when the host vehicle is not passing through the intersection. Lowering the gripping request threshold makes it easier to issue a gripping request notification. When passing through an intersection, there tends to be more disturbances that affect autonomous driving compared to when the vehicle is not passing through the intersection. Therefore, when passing through an intersection, it is preferable to grip the steering wheel quickly as needed compared to when the vehicle is not passing through the intersection. In contrast, with the above configuration, when passing through an intersection, it is easier to grip the steering wheel quickly as needed compared to when the vehicle is not passing through the intersection.

[0102] (Embodiment 5) The configuration of the vehicle system 1 of the embodiment 5 is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiments, and may be the configuration of the following embodiment 5. An example of the configuration of embodiment 5 will be described below with reference to the drawings. The vehicle system 1 of embodiment 5 is similar to the vehicle system 1 of embodiment 1, except that it includes an autonomous driving ECU 10d instead of the autonomous driving ECU 10.

[0103] <General Configuration of Autonomous Driving ECU 10d> Next, the general configuration of the autonomous driving ECU 10d will be described using FIG. 17 . The autonomous driving ECU 10d is similar to the autonomous driving ECU 10 of embodiment 1 except for some differences in processing. The autonomous driving ECU 10d includes a driving environment recognition unit 101b, an action determination unit 102b, a control execution unit 103, and an HCU communication unit 104d as functional blocks. The autonomous driving ECU 10d includes the driving environment recognition unit 101b instead of the driving environment recognition unit 101. The autonomous driving ECU 10d includes the action determination unit 102b instead of the action determination unit 102. The autonomous driving ECU 10d includes the HCU communication unit 104d instead of the HCU communication unit 104. The autonomous driving ECU 10d is similar to the autonomous driving ECU 10 of embodiment 1 except for these differences. The driving environment recognition unit 101b and the behavior determination unit 102b are the same as those described in embodiment 3. The autonomous driving ECU 10d also corresponds to a vehicle notification control device. Execution of processing by each functional block of the autonomous driving ECU 10d by a computer corresponds to execution of a vehicle notification control method.

[0104] The HCU communication unit 104d includes a notification processing unit 141d as a sub-functional block. The HCU communication unit 104d is similar to the HCU communication unit 104 of the first embodiment, except that it includes the notification processing unit 141d instead of the notification processing unit 141. The notification processing unit 141d is similar to the notification processing unit 141 of the first embodiment, except that some of the processing is different. This difference will be described below.

[0105] The notification processing unit 141d issues various types of notifications to alert the driver. Notifications regarding the notifications may be made by display, audio output, or a combination of display and audio output. An example of a notification is an intersection approach notification that notifies the driver of the approach to an intersection. The notification processing unit 141d may issue the intersection approach notification, for example, when the distance to the target intersection is equal to or less than a set distance. The default set distance may be set arbitrarily. Another example of a notification is a grip promotion notification that encourages the driver to grip the steering wheel in a situation where gripping the steering wheel is preferable. An example of a situation where gripping the steering wheel is preferable is a situation where deceleration equal to or greater than a specified value occurs. Note that the notification may be issued in a manner other than the above. For example, the notification processing unit 141d may issue the grip promotion notification when the deceleration of the vehicle is equal to or greater than a specified value. The default specified value may be set arbitrarily.

[0106] The notification processing unit 141d performs the following when the host vehicle passes through an intersection identified as a special intersection by the driving environment recognition unit 101b while driving autonomously in hands-off mode. The notification processing unit 141d issues a warning notification earlier than when passing through an intersection identified as a normal intersection by the driving environment recognition unit 101b. The hands-off mode is a mode in which the driver is not required to hold the steering wheel of the host vehicle. A special intersection is an intersection where it is estimated that a greater degree of attention is required to pass than at a normal intersection. Therefore, when passing through a special intersection while driving autonomously in hands-off mode, it is considered preferable to issue a warning notification earlier than at a normal intersection. In contrast, the above configuration makes it possible to issue a warning notification earlier at an intersection where it is preferable to issue a warning notification earlier. For the intersection approach warning, the set distance for the special intersection may be shorter than that for a normal intersection. For the grip promotion warning, the specified deceleration value for the special intersection may be lower than that for a normal intersection.

[0107] Sixth Embodiment The configuration of the vehicle system 1 of the sixth embodiment is not limited to the configurations of the above-described embodiments, and may be the configuration of the following sixth embodiment. An example of the configuration of the sixth embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. The vehicle system 1 of the sixth embodiment is similar to the vehicle system 1 of the first embodiment, except that it includes an autonomous driving ECU 10e instead of the autonomous driving ECU 10.

[0108] <Schematic Configuration of Autonomous Driving ECU 10e> Next, the schematic configuration of the autonomous driving ECU 10e will be described with reference to FIG. 18 . The autonomous driving ECU 10e is similar to the autonomous driving ECU 10 of embodiment 1 except for some differences in processing. The autonomous driving ECU 10e includes a driving environment recognition unit 101b, an action determination unit 102b, a control execution unit 103, and an HCU communication unit 104e as functional blocks. The autonomous driving ECU 10e includes the driving environment recognition unit 101b instead of the driving environment recognition unit 101. The autonomous driving ECU 10e includes the action determination unit 102b instead of the action determination unit 102. The autonomous driving ECU 10e includes the HCU communication unit 104e instead of the HCU communication unit 104. The autonomous driving ECU 10e is similar to the autonomous driving ECU 10 of embodiment 1 except for these differences. The driving environment recognition unit 101b and the behavior determination unit 102b are the same as those described in embodiment 3. The autonomous driving ECU 10e also corresponds to a vehicle notification control device. Execution of processing by each functional block of the autonomous driving ECU 10e by a computer corresponds to execution of a vehicle notification control method.

[0109] The HCU communication unit 104e includes an alarm processing unit 141e as a sub-functional block. The HCU communication unit 104e is similar to the HCU communication unit 104 of the first embodiment, except that it includes the alarm processing unit 141e instead of the alarm processing unit 141. The alarm processing unit 141e is similar to the alarm processing unit 141 of the first embodiment, except that some processing is different. This difference will be described below.

[0110] When the vehicle is about to pass through an intersection identified by the driving environment recognition unit 101b as a special intersection through autonomous driving, the notification processing unit 141e issues an advance notification that notifies the vehicle in advance that there is a possibility that the vehicle will not be able to pass through the intersection through autonomous driving. The advance notification may be provided by display, audio output, or a combination of display and audio output. A special intersection is an intersection that is estimated to require a greater level of caution to pass through than a normal intersection. Therefore, it is estimated that there are more external disturbances than at a normal intersection, and that there is a greater possibility that the vehicle will not be able to pass through the special intersection through autonomous driving. In contrast, the above configuration makes it possible to issue an advance notification when the vehicle is about to pass through an intersection where there is a greater possibility that the vehicle will not be able to pass through through autonomous driving. Therefore, when the possibility of not being able to pass through the special intersection through autonomous driving is smaller, it is possible to avoid bothering the vehicle occupants with unnecessary advance notifications. On the other hand, when the possibility is greater, the advance notification can prepare the vehicle occupants and prevent them from increasing their anxiety.

[0111] Seventh Embodiment The configuration is not limited to that of the above-described embodiment, and may be that of the following seventh embodiment. An example of the configuration of the seventh embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0112] <General Configuration of Vehicle System 1f> First, the general configuration of the vehicle system 1f will be described using Fig. 19. As shown in Fig. 19, the vehicle system 1f includes an automatic driving ECU 10f, a communication module 11, a locator 12, a map DB 13, a vehicle state sensor 14, a periphery monitoring sensor 15, a vehicle control ECU 16, an HCU 17, an alarm device 18, a body ECU 19, and a turn signal 20. The vehicle system 1f includes the automatic driving ECU 10f instead of the automatic driving ECU 10. The vehicle system 1f includes the body ECU 19 and the turn signal 20. Except for these points, the vehicle system 1f is similar to the vehicle system 1 of the first embodiment.

[0113] The body ECU 19 is an electronic control device that controls the electrical components of the vehicle. The body ECU 19 controls the direction indicators 20 of the vehicle. The direction indicators 20 are also called turn signal lamps, turn lamps, or blinker lamps. The direction indicators 20 are provided on the left and right sides of the vehicle. Illumination of only one of the left and right direction indicators 20 indicates that the vehicle is changing direction. Illumination of both the left and right direction indicators 20 corresponds to a hazard lamp, indicating an emergency. The direction indicators 20 correspond to an exterior alarm device that issues an alarm to the outside of the vehicle.

[0114] <General Configuration of Autonomous Driving ECU 10f> Next, the general configuration of the autonomous driving ECU 10f will be described using Figure 20. The autonomous driving ECU 10f has, as functional blocks, a driving environment recognition unit 101, an action determination unit 102, a control execution unit 103, an HCU communication unit 104, and a vehicle exterior notification instruction unit 106. The autonomous driving ECU 10f is similar to the autonomous driving ECU 10 of embodiment 1 except for the inclusion of the vehicle exterior notification instruction unit 106. This autonomous driving ECU 10f also corresponds to a vehicle notification control device. Furthermore, execution of processing by a computer of each functional block of the autonomous driving ECU 10f corresponds to execution of a vehicle notification control method.

[0115] The HCU communication unit 104f includes a notification processing unit 141f as a sub-functional block. The HCU communication unit 104f is similar to the HCU communication unit 104 of the first embodiment, except that it includes the notification processing unit 141f instead of the notification processing unit 141. The notification processing unit 141f is similar to the notification processing unit 141 of the first embodiment, except that some processing is different. This difference will be described below.

[0116] When the proximity possibility determination unit 122 determines that there is a high possibility of proximity with a non-priority oncoming vehicle and when offset control or LC control is performed as avoidance control, the exterior notification instruction unit 106 causes a notification using the turn signal lamps or hazard lamps. These notifications notify the vehicle that it will pass the non-priority oncoming vehicle while changing course to avoid the non-priority oncoming vehicle. Therefore, with the above configuration, it becomes easier for vehicles around the vehicle to recognize that avoidance control will be performed. The notification using the turn signal lamps can be performed by flashing one of the left and right turn indicators 20 that is closest to the direction in which the vehicle is traveling due to the avoidance control. The notification using the hazard lamps can be performed by flashing both the left and right turn indicators 20. The exterior notification instruction unit 106 corresponds to the exterior notification control unit.

[0117] When the proximity possibility identification unit 122 identifies that there is a high possibility of proximity to a non-priority oncoming vehicle and when offset control or LC control is being performed, the vehicle exterior notification control unit 106 preferably performs the following operation. The vehicle exterior notification control unit 106 may switch between providing a notification using the turn signal lamps or the hazard lamps, depending on at least one of the number of surrounding vehicles identified by the driving environment recognition unit 101 and the distance between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles. Hereinafter, a notification using the turn signal lamps will be referred to as a "turn signal notification," and a notification using the hazard lamps will be referred to as a "hazard notification."

[0118] When a turn signal is issued near an intersection, it is difficult for the surroundings to distinguish whether it is an indication of evasive control or an indication of the direction of turning at the intersection. This may confuse those around. In contrast, the above configuration makes it possible to switch to a hazard warning based on at least one of the number of surrounding vehicles and the distance between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles. The number of surrounding vehicles and the distance between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles are related to the degree of impact that the turn signal notification of the host vehicle has on confusing the surrounding vehicles. Therefore, with the above configuration, the turn signal notification is enabled in situations where the turn signal notification of the host vehicle has little impact on confusing the surrounding vehicles, while the hazard warning is enabled in situations where the turn signal notification of the host vehicle has a large impact on confusing the surrounding vehicles. As a result, it is possible to alert surrounding vehicles to the evasive control of the host vehicle through the vehicle exterior notification from the host vehicle, while minimizing the confusion of surrounding vehicles caused by the turn signal notification.

[0119] Here, a specific example of switching notifications depending on the status of surrounding vehicles will be described using FIG. 21 . Note that surrounding vehicles may exclude non-priority oncoming vehicles. FIG. 21 shows three example patterns, patterns 1 to 3. First, pattern 1 will be described. Pattern 1 is an example of switching notifications depending on the number of surrounding vehicles (hereinafter referred to as the number of surrounding vehicles). In pattern 1, the vehicle exterior notification control unit 106 issues a turn signal notification when the number of surrounding vehicles is less than a specified number. On the other hand, in pattern 1, the vehicle exterior notification control unit 106 issues a hazard notification when the number of surrounding vehicles is equal to or greater than the specified number. The specified number is a number equal to or greater than 1 and can be set to any value. The specified number may be a relatively small value, such as a few vehicles.

[0120] Pattern 2 is an example in which notification is switched depending on the distance between the host vehicle and a surrounding vehicle (hereinafter referred to as the surrounding vehicle distance). The surrounding vehicle distance may be the distance between the host vehicle and the nearest surrounding vehicle, excluding non-priority oncoming vehicles. The surrounding vehicle distance may also be the distance between the host vehicle and the nearest surrounding vehicle behind the host vehicle. In this case, if the host vehicle is traveling in a lane with multiple lanes in each direction, the surrounding vehicles behind the host vehicle also include surrounding vehicles in adjacent lanes traveling in the same direction as the host vehicle. In Pattern 2, the vehicle exterior notification control unit 106 issues a turn signal notification when the surrounding vehicle distance is equal to or greater than a specified distance. On the other hand, in Pattern 2, the vehicle exterior notification control unit 106 issues a hazard warning when the surrounding vehicle distance is less than the specified distance. The specified distance is a value that can be set arbitrarily. Pattern 3 is an example in which notification is switched depending on the number of surrounding vehicles and the surrounding vehicle distance. In pattern 3, the vehicle exterior notification control unit 106 issues a turn signal notification when the number of surrounding vehicles is less than a specified number and the distance to the surrounding vehicles is equal to or greater than a specified distance. On the other hand, in pattern 3, the vehicle exterior notification control unit 106 issues a hazard notification when the number of surrounding vehicles is equal to or greater than a specified number or the distance to the surrounding vehicles is less than a specified distance.

[0121] (Embodiment 8) The configuration of the vehicle system 1 of the embodiment 8 may be adopted instead of the configuration of the above-described embodiment. An example of the configuration of embodiment 8 will be described below with reference to the drawings. The vehicle system 1 of embodiment 8 is similar to the vehicle system 1 of embodiment 1, except that it includes an autonomous driving ECU 10g instead of the autonomous driving ECU 10.

[0122] <General Configuration of Autonomous Driving ECU 10g> Next, the general configuration of the autonomous driving ECU 10g will be described using FIG. 22 . The autonomous driving ECU 10g is similar to the autonomous driving ECU 10 of embodiment 1 except for some differences in processing. The autonomous driving ECU 10g includes a driving environment recognition unit 101g, an action determination unit 102g, a control execution unit 103, and an HCU communication unit 104g as functional blocks. The autonomous driving ECU 10g is similar to the autonomous driving ECU 10 of embodiment 1 except for the fact that the autonomous driving ECU 10g includes the driving environment recognition unit 101g, the action determination unit 102g, and the HCU communication unit 104g instead of the driving environment recognition unit 101, the action determination unit 102, and the HCU communication unit 104. This autonomous driving ECU 10g also corresponds to a vehicle notification control device. Execution of the processing of each functional block of the autonomous driving ECU 10g by a computer corresponds to execution of a vehicle notification control method.

[0123] The driving environment recognition unit 101g is similar to the driving environment recognition unit 101 of the first embodiment, except for some differences in processing. The driving environment recognition unit 101g also corresponds to a driving environment identification unit. This difference will be described below. The driving environment recognition unit 101g preferably recognizes the illumination status of turn signal lamps of vehicles surrounding the host vehicle as the status of the surrounding vehicles. As an example, the driving environment recognition unit 101g may recognize and identify the illumination status of turn signal lamps of the surrounding vehicles by recognizing images of the surrounding vehicles detected by the periphery monitoring sensor 15. The driving environment recognition unit 101g preferably also recognizes and identifies the number of lanes on each side of roads surrounding the host vehicle. As an example, the driving environment recognition unit 101g may recognize and identify the number of lanes on each side of roads surrounding the host vehicle from high-precision map data acquired from the map DB 13 and the host vehicle position acquired from the locator 12. The driving environment recognition unit 101g may recognize and identify the number of lanes on each side of the road around the vehicle based on the lane markings detected by the perimeter monitoring sensor 15.

[0124] The behavior determination unit 102g includes, as sub-functional blocks, a travel plan unit 121g, an approach possibility identification unit 122, an avoidance determination unit 123, and an obstruction situation identification unit 124. The behavior determination unit 102g includes the travel plan unit 121g instead of the travel plan unit 121. The behavior determination unit 102g includes the obstruction situation identification unit 124. Except for these points, the behavior determination unit 102g is similar to the behavior determination unit 102 of the first embodiment.

[0125] The obstruction situation identification unit 124 identifies an obstruction situation when the host vehicle attempts to turn right or left at an intersection under automated driving. Here, a right or left turn corresponds to a left turn in countries where driving on the left is legal, and a right turn in countries where driving on the right is legal. An obstruction situation is a situation in which, when the host vehicle attempts to turn right or left at an intersection under automated driving, a non-priority oncoming vehicle (hereinafter referred to as a right-or-left non-priority oncoming vehicle) that has no priority at the intersection relative to the host vehicle's right or left turn obstructs the vehicle's right or left turn. Here, the right or left-turn non-priority oncoming vehicle refers to a right-turning oncoming vehicle attempting to turn right in countries where driving on the left is legal. Here, the right or left-turning non-priority oncoming vehicle refers to a left-turning oncoming vehicle attempting to turn left in countries where driving on the right is legal. The following explanation will be continued using an example in which the host vehicle's right or left turn at an intersection is a left turn in a country where driving on the left is legal. If the turn of your vehicle at an intersection is a right turn in a country where driving on the right is legal, you can simply reverse the left and right in the following.

[0126] An example of an obstruction situation is a situation in which a right- or left-turning non-priority oncoming vehicle is also attempting to turn right or left in the direction in which the host vehicle is attempting to turn right or left (hereinafter, a conflicting obstruction situation). The obstruction situation identification unit 124 may identify a conflicting obstruction situation using the turn signal status of the host vehicle and the right- or left-turning non-priority oncoming vehicle. For example, the obstruction situation identification unit 124 may identify a conflicting obstruction situation based on the condition that the host vehicle has its turn signal indicating a left turn on, while the right- or left-turning non-priority oncoming vehicle has its turn signal indicating a right turn on. The obstruction situation identification unit 124 may determine that the host vehicle has its turn signal indicating a left turn on from a signal from the turn signal switch of the host vehicle. The obstruction situation identification unit 124 may determine that the right- or left-turning non-priority oncoming vehicle has its turn signal indicating a right turn on from the recognition result described above by the driving environment recognition unit 101g. Preferably, the obstruction situation identification unit 124 includes, as a condition for identifying a conflicting obstruction situation, a right- or left-turning non-priority oncoming vehicle entering the intersection. The interference situation identification unit 124 can determine whether a right- or left-turn non-priority oncoming vehicle is entering the intersection based on the position of the right- or left-turn non-priority oncoming vehicle relative to the intersection recognized by the driving environment recognition unit 101 g.

[0127] Another example of an obstruction situation is when a right- or left-turning non-priority oncoming vehicle enters an intersection too far and comes close to or overlaps with the planned trajectory of the vehicle's driving plan (hereinafter referred to as an obstruction situation). The proximity here may be defined as a situation in which the distance between the point on the planned trajectory closest to the right- or left-turning non-priority oncoming vehicle and the right- or left-turning non-priority oncoming vehicle is equal to or less than a threshold value. The threshold value may be set to any value.

[0128] The driving planner 121g is similar to the driving planner 121 of the first embodiment, except for some differences in processing. The following describes these differences. The driving planner 121g performs right / left turn avoidance control to avoid approaching a right / left turning oncoming vehicle without priority, based on the obstruction situation identified by the obstruction situation identification unit 124. When the obstruction situation identification unit 124 identifies an obstruction situation, the driving planner 121g may perform right / left turn avoidance control. When the obstruction situation identification unit 124 identifies a conflict obstruction situation, the driving planner 121g may perform right / left turn avoidance control depending on the deceleration situation of the right / left turning oncoming vehicle without priority. For example, even when a conflict obstruction situation has been identified, the driving planner 121g may not perform right / left turn avoidance control if the driving environment recognition unit 101g identifies a deceleration of a right / left turning oncoming vehicle that is equal to or greater than a threshold. On the other hand, when a conflict obstruction situation is identified and the driving environment recognition unit 101g has not identified a deceleration equal to or greater than the threshold of an oncoming vehicle with no priority to turn right or left, the driving plan unit 121g may perform avoidance control during right or left turns. The threshold here may be a deceleration at which the oncoming vehicle with no priority to turn right or left is estimated to stop temporarily, and is an arbitrarily settable value. When the obstruction situation identification unit 124 has not identified an obstruction situation, the driving plan unit 121g may not perform avoidance control during right or left turns.

[0129] Examples of turn avoidance control include speed suppression, temporary stop, and lane change for exiting. Speed ​​suppression refers to turning right or left at a speed slower than the speed at which the host vehicle would turn right or left if the obstruction situation identification unit 124 had not identified an obstruction situation. By performing speed suppression as turn avoidance control, the host vehicle turns right or left at a slower speed than when there is no obstruction situation. This allows a non-priority oncoming vehicle turning right or left to pass first, or allows a non-priority oncoming vehicle turning right or left to clear the path of the host vehicle, making it possible to turn right or left at an intersection while avoiding close contact with a non-priority oncoming vehicle turning right or left. The temporary stop may be performed at a position where the host vehicle is spaced a certain distance from a non-priority oncoming vehicle turning right or left. By performing a temporary stop as turn avoidance control, it is possible to turn right or left at an intersection while allowing a non-priority oncoming vehicle turning right or left to pass first and avoiding close contact with a non-priority oncoming vehicle turning right or left.

[0130] The exiting lane change is a right / left turn avoidance control that can be selected when the host vehicle is turning right or left and there are multiple lanes on each side. The exiting lane change changes the lane that the host vehicle planned to enter when exiting an intersection to an adjacent lane on the side that is farther away from the oncoming vehicle with no priority to turn right or left. For example, the driving planner 121g may perform an exiting lane change when the host vehicle plans to turn right or left and there are multiple lanes on each side and the obstruction situation identification unit 124 identifies an obstruction situation. Performing an exiting lane change as right / left turn avoidance control makes it easier to turn right or left at an intersection while avoiding proximity to an oncoming vehicle with no priority to turn right or left. Hereinafter, the lane that the host vehicle planned to enter when exiting an intersection is referred to as the "pre-change lane." Hereinafter, the adjacent lane on the side that is farther away from the oncoming vehicle with no priority to turn right or left relative to the pre-change lane is referred to as the "avoidance lane."

[0131] It is preferable that the driving planner 121g make it less likely to perform avoidance control when turning right or left in a right or left turn scene than to perform avoidance control in a straight-driving scene. A straight-driving scene refers to a case in which the host vehicle attempts to go straight through an intersection while autonomously driving. A right or left turn scene refers to a case in which the host vehicle attempts to turn right or left at an intersection while autonomously driving. In a right or left turn scene, the host vehicle travels at a slower speed due to the need to turn right or left than in a straight-driving scene. Therefore, the possibility of approaching a non-priority oncoming vehicle in a right or left turn scene is lower than the possibility of approaching a non-priority oncoming vehicle in a straight-driving scene. In contrast, with the above configuration, it is possible to make it less likely to perform control to avoid an oncoming vehicle that is a target of approach in a scene in which the possibility of approach is lower. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the annoyance caused by control to avoid an oncoming vehicle that is a target of approach being performed at a time when it is less necessary, depending on the level of necessity for control.

[0132] As a specific example, the driving planner 121g may make it less likely that avoidance control will be performed when turning right or left than that when driving straight, as follows: The driving planner 121g may make the distance between the host vehicle and the non-priority oncoming vehicle when starting avoidance control when turning right or left longer than the distance between the host vehicle and the non-priority oncoming vehicle when starting avoidance control. Additionally, the driving planner 121g may make the time between the interference situation specified by the interference situation specification unit 124 and the start of avoidance control when turning right or left longer than the time between the proximity possibility specification unit 122 specifying that there is a high possibility of oncoming proximity and the start of avoidance control.

[0133] The HCU communication unit 104g includes an alarm processing unit 141g as a sub-functional block. The HCU communication unit 104g is similar to the HCU communication unit 104 of the first embodiment, except that it includes an alarm processing unit 141g instead of the alarm processing unit 141. The alarm processing unit 141g is similar to the alarm processing unit 141 of the first embodiment, except that some of the processing is different. This difference will be explained below. The alarm processing unit 141g also corresponds to an alarm control unit. Furthermore, the processing in the alarm processing unit 141g also corresponds to an alarm control process.

[0134] When the obstruction situation identification unit 124 identifies an obstruction situation, the notification processing unit 141g may perform the following: The notification processing unit 141g highlights the display indicating the oncoming vehicle with no priority to turn right or left, and when the avoidance control for turning right or left is being performed, issues a notification related to the avoidance control for turning right or left. The avoidance control related to the avoidance control for turning right or left is a notification related to the content of the avoidance control for turning right or left.

[0135] The notification processing unit 141g may display a display indicating a right- or left-turning non-priority oncoming vehicle in the above-described surrounding situation image. The display indicating a right- or left-turning non-priority oncoming vehicle will be referred to as a right- or left-turning non-priority oncoming vehicle display hereinafter. The right- or left-turning non-priority oncoming vehicle display may be highlighted, for example, by surrounding the image of the right- or left-turning non-priority oncoming vehicle with a frame. Note that the highlighting of the right- or left-turning non-priority oncoming vehicle display is not limited to surrounding it with a frame. For example, the image of the right- or left-turning non-priority oncoming vehicle may be highlighted by an arrow pointing to the image of the right- or left-turning non-priority oncoming vehicle, or by flashing the image of the right- or left-turning non-priority oncoming vehicle, or the like.

[0136] The right / left turn avoidance notification may be provided by display, audio, or a combination of display and audio. For example, an icon representing the details of the right / left turn avoidance control may be displayed, or audio explaining the details of the right / left turn avoidance control may be output. This makes it possible to notify the occupant of the details of the right / left turn avoidance control that avoids approaching the right / left turn non-priority oncoming vehicle when an autonomously driven vehicle attempts to turn right or left at an intersection and an obstruction situation in which an oncoming vehicle with no right / left priority is preventing the vehicle from turning right or left is identified. Therefore, even when right / left turn avoidance control is performed, the occupant can know what kind of right / left turn avoidance control will be performed. This reduces the occupant's anxiety. As a result, it is possible to reduce the loss of convenience for the occupant even when the vehicle passes through an intersection under autonomous driving.

[0137] When the driving environment recognition unit 101g identifies multiple lanes on one side of the road where the host vehicle is to make a right or left turn, the obstruction situation identification unit 124 identifies an obstruction situation, and an exit lane change is performed as the right or left turn avoidance control, the notification processing unit 141g preferably performs the following. The notification processing unit 141g may issue a notification indicating that an exit lane change will be performed as the right or left turn avoidance-related notification. The notification indicating that an exit lane change will be performed may be provided visually, audibly, or visually and audibly. For example, an icon representing an exit lane change may be displayed, or a sound may be output explaining that an exit lane change will be performed. This makes it possible to notify the occupant that an exit lane change will be performed when an exit lane change is performed by autonomous driving. This reduces the occupant's anxiety. As a result, it is possible to reduce the loss of convenience for the occupant even when the vehicle is driven through an intersection by autonomous driving.

[0138] The following description will continue using an example in which the avoidance-related notification when turning right or left is displayed. When the content of the avoidance control when turning right or left is speed suppression or an exit lane change, the planned trajectory of the vehicle may be displayed in the surrounding situation image. This planned trajectory may be expressed so that speed suppression, a temporary stop, and an exit lane change can be easily distinguished. For example, when speed suppression is required, the width of the line of the planned trajectory may be narrowed, or the color may be changed from a non-warning color such as blue, green, or white to a warning color such as red or yellow. When an exit lane change is required, the destination of the planned trajectory may be changed from the lane before the change to the avoidance lane. When the content of the avoidance control when turning right or left is an exit lane change, the display of the planned trajectory may be used as the avoidance-related notification when turning right or left.

[0139] Here, an example of a case where a right / left turn avoidance-related notification indicating that an exiting lane change will be made is described using FIG. 23 . FIG. 23 illustrates an example where a right / left turn of the host vehicle at an intersection is a left turn in a country where driving on the left is legally mandated. FIG. 23 illustrates an example where a display indicating that an exiting lane change will be made is made by displaying a planned trajectory in a surrounding situation image. In the figure, PtI indicates a display of the planned trajectory of the host vehicle. PPtI indicates a display of the planned trajectory of the host vehicle when an exiting lane change is not made. ROVI indicates an image representing a right / left turning non-priority oncoming vehicle (hereinafter referred to as a non-priority oncoming vehicle image). In the example of FIG. 23 , the right / left turning non-priority oncoming vehicle is an oncoming vehicle that is about to turn right at the intersection. HL indicates a display that highlights the right / left turning non-priority oncoming vehicle image ROVI. In the example of FIG. 23 , a frame surrounding the image ROVI of an oncoming vehicle with no priority to turn right or left is displayed to emphasize the image OVI. As shown in FIG. 24 , when an exiting lane change is performed, the display of the planned trajectory PPtI extending into the lane before the change is changed to the planned trajectory PtI extending into the avoidance lane. When the planned trajectory PtI is displayed, the planned trajectory PPtI may not be displayed, or may be displayed at a lower brightness than the planned trajectory PtI. The notification processing unit 141g may display the process of transitioning the display from the planned trajectory PPtI to the planned trajectory PtI so that the change in the planned trajectory due to the exiting lane change is easily recognized. The notification indicating that an exiting lane change is being performed may be performed by highlighting the planned exiting lane in the surrounding situation image, such as by surrounding the planned exiting lane with a frame. Highlighting the planned exiting lane may be performed by a method other than surrounding it with a frame.

[0140] When the content of the avoidance control when turning right or left is to temporarily stop, a stop position line indicating the position where the host vehicle should temporarily stop may be displayed in the surrounding situation image. The stop position line here is a line indicating the position where the host vehicle should temporarily stop by the avoidance control when turning right or left, and may be different from the stop line. The stop position line may be configured to be displayed superimposed on the foreground by the HUD.

[0141] Here, with reference to FIG. 24 , an example of a case where a right / left turn avoidance-related notification indicating that a temporary stop will be made is displayed in a surrounding situation image will be described. In FIG. 24 , an example will be described in which the right / left turn of the host vehicle at an intersection is a left turn in a country where driving on the left side is legally mandated. In the figure, LPIc indicates an icon image corresponding to the right / left turn avoidance-related notification indicating a temporary stop. LSLI indicates a stop position line in right / left turn avoidance control. LIc indicates a display indicating that the host vehicle is about to turn left at an intersection by autonomous driving. As shown in FIG. 24 , the stop position line LSLI is displayed in addition to the host vehicle image HVI in the surrounding normal image to inform the driver of the position to make a temporary stop.

[0142] The notification processing unit 141g preferably reduces the notification content of notifications regarding non-priority oncoming vehicles turning right or left in right or left turning scenes compared to notifications regarding non-priority oncoming vehicles in straight driving scenes. An example of a notification regarding non-priority oncoming vehicles in straight driving scenes is highlighting the image of the non-priority oncoming vehicle. Other examples of notifications regarding non-priority oncoming vehicles in straight driving scenes are displaying a planned trajectory due to avoidance control caused by the non-priority oncoming vehicle, displaying a stop position line, and displaying an icon image corresponding to avoidance-related notifications. An example of a notification regarding non-priority oncoming vehicles turning right or left in right or left turning scenes is displaying a planned trajectory due to avoidance control caused by the non-priority oncoming vehicle, displaying a stop position line, and displaying an icon image corresponding to avoidance-related notifications when turning right or left.

[0143] As described above, the possibility of approaching an oncoming vehicle with no priority in a right-to-left turn scene is lower than the possibility of approaching an oncoming vehicle with no priority in a straight-travel scene. In contrast, with the above configuration, the less the possibility of approaching an oncoming vehicle, the less notification content there is about the oncoming vehicle that is the target of approach. Therefore, by reducing notification content that is less necessary, it is possible to reduce the annoyance caused by notification content that is less necessary. An example of reducing notification content is, for example, providing notification by visual and audio in a straight-travel scene, but providing notification by only visual or audio in a right-to-left turn scene.

[0144] Here, an example will be described using Fig. 25 in which the notification content for a right-left turning non-priority oncoming vehicle in a right-left turning scene is reduced compared to the notification content for a non-priority oncoming vehicle in a straight-ahead scene. Fig. 25 will be described with an example in which the notification for a non-priority oncoming vehicle is a highlighted display of an image of the non-priority oncoming vehicle. Fig. 25 will be described with an example in which the notification for a right-left turning non-priority oncoming vehicle in a right-left turning scene is a highlighted display of an image of the right-left turning non-priority oncoming vehicle. As shown in Fig. 25, the highlighting of the image of the non-priority oncoming vehicle is performed using a frame and flashing, whereas the highlighting of the image of the right-left turning non-priority oncoming vehicle can be performed using a frame without flashing.

[0145] (Embodiment 9) In the above-described embodiment, the autonomous driving ECUs 10, 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d, 10e, 10f, and 10g correspond to the vehicle notification control device, but this is not necessarily limited to this. For example, an ECU other than the autonomous driving ECUs 10, 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d, 10e, 10f, and 10g may correspond to the vehicle notification control device. Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the autonomous driving ECUs 10, 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d, 10e, 10f, and 10g include the driving environment recognition units 101, 101b, and 101g, but this is not necessarily limited to this. For example, an ECU other than the autonomous driving ECUs 10, 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d, 10e, 10f, and 10g may perform the functions of the driving environment recognition units 101, 101b, and 101g. In this case, the autonomous driving ECUs 10, 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d, 10e, 10f, and 10g acquire information recognized by the ECUs that perform the functions of the driving environment recognition units 101, 101b, and 101g, and identify the driving environment. In this case, the ECUs that perform the functions of the driving environment recognition units 101, 101b, and 101g correspond to intersection identification units. Alternatively, the HCU 18 may be configured to perform some or all of the functions that correspond to a vehicle notification control device.

[0146] (Disclosed Technical Ideas) This specification discloses multiple technical ideas described in the following multiple clauses. Some clauses may be described in a multiple dependent form, with the subsequent clause alternatively referring to the preceding clause. Furthermore, some clauses may be described in a multiple dependent form, referring to another multiple dependent clause. These multiple dependent clauses define multiple technical ideas.

[0147] (Technical Idea 1) A vehicle notification control device that can be used in an autonomously driven vehicle, comprising: an approach possibility identification unit (122) that, when the vehicle is about to proceed straight through an intersection while driving autonomously, identifies the likelihood of an approach to a non-priority oncoming vehicle that will have no priority at the intersection relative to the vehicle's straight-through movement; and a notification control unit (104, 104a, 104b, 104c, 104d, 104e, 104g) that issues a notification to an occupant of the vehicle, wherein, when the approach possibility identification unit identifies that there is a high likelihood of an approach to the non-priority oncoming vehicle, the notification control device issues an avoidance-related notification, which is a notification regarding the content of avoidance control to avoid an approach to the non-priority oncoming vehicle, while highlighting a display indicating the non-priority oncoming vehicle.

[0148] (Technical Idea 2) A vehicle notification control device as described in Technical Idea 1, wherein the proximity possibility identification unit identifies that there is a high possibility of proximity with the non-priority oncoming vehicle when the non-priority oncoming vehicle overlaps with a planned straight-line trajectory, which is a planned trajectory when the vehicle travels straight through the intersection in the autonomous driving mode, or when the positions of the non-priority oncoming vehicle and the vehicle are predicted to overlap within the intersection, and the notification control unit issues a monitoring promotion notification, which is a notification that encourages monitoring of the surroundings, when the proximity possibility identification unit identifies that there is a high possibility of proximity with the non-priority oncoming vehicle and when offset control, which is a driving control that moves the vehicle's body closer to the lane boundary line on the opposite side to the side where the non-priority oncoming vehicle is located in the width direction of the vehicle's lane, or lane change control, which is a driving control that changes lanes to the opposite lane, is implemented.

[0149] (Technical Idea 3) A vehicle notification control device according to Technical Idea 2, wherein the notification control unit is capable of, when the offset control is performed, causing an offset display to be displayed indicating that the offset control is being performed, and when causing the offset display to be displayed, causing a display to be displayed that includes the behavior of the vehicle recovering from the offset control.

[0150] (Technical Idea 4) A vehicle notification control device according to any one of Technical Ideas 1 to 3, wherein the vehicle at least temporarily stops or decelerates as the avoidance control, and the notification control unit issues a planned behavior notification, which is a notification indicating whether the vehicle should continue to drive or stop, when the traffic light in the straight direction of the vehicle indicates impassability when the vehicle is located in an intersection as a result of temporarily stopping or decelerating as the avoidance control.

[0151] (Technical Idea 5) A vehicle notification control device according to Technical Idea 4, wherein the notification control unit, when making the planned behavior notification and when the vehicle stops, causes a display to be made showing a stop position line, which is a line that guides the vehicle to a position where it should stop, and a light status of the traffic light, while, when making the planned behavior notification and when the vehicle continues traveling, causes a display to be made showing a planned trajectory of the vehicle and a light status of the traffic light.

[0152] (Technical Idea 6) A vehicle notification control device according to Technical Idea 4 or 5, wherein the vehicle at least temporarily stops the vehicle as the avoidance control, and the avoidance control causes the vehicle to be temporarily stopped, and if the traffic light in the vehicle's straight direction indicates that passage is prohibited when the vehicle is located within an intersection, and the position where the vehicle will temporarily stop is within a predetermined distance from the position of the stop line immediately after entering the intersection, the vehicle is made to wait until the traffic light indicates that passage is permitted, with the vehicle not overlapping the space on the crosswalk by more than a certain amount, and the notification control unit is the vehicle notification control device that issues a warning that the vehicle is located within an intersection, when the avoidance control causes the vehicle to wait within the intersection until the traffic light indicates that passage is permitted.

[0153] (Technical Idea 7) A vehicle notification control device according to any one of Technical Ideas 4 to 6, wherein the notification control unit, when the avoidance control involves causing the vehicle to temporarily stop or slow down, and the traffic light in the vehicle's straight-ahead direction indicates impassability when the vehicle is located in an intersection, issues a driver change promotion notification that prompts the occupant to take over as a driver, and a monitoring promotion notification that prompts the occupant to monitor the surrounding area.

[0154] (Technical Idea 8) A vehicle notification control device described in any one of Technical Ideas 1 to 7, wherein the notification control unit displays guide lines indicating the planned trajectory of the vehicle when passing through a deviated intersection in a straight line when the vehicle is attempting to proceed straight through the deviated intersection in the automatic driving mode, where the inclination of the exit direction relative to the entry direction when passing through the intersection in a straight line is equal to or greater than a specified value.

[0155] (Technical Idea 9) A vehicle notification control device described in any one of Technical Ideas 1 to 8, wherein the notification control unit displays a display indicating the lane through which the vehicle is planned to exit, among the lanes of an exit road through which the vehicle will exit the Sasumata intersection, when the vehicle is attempting to proceed straight through the Sasumata intersection, an intersection where the number of lanes in the exit direction increases compared to the number of lanes in the entry direction when passing through the intersection in a straight line, using the automatic driving method.

[0156] (Technical Idea 10) A vehicle notification control device according to any one of Technical Ideas 1 to 9, wherein the notification control unit lowers the threshold for issuing a gripping request notification, which is a notification requiring the driver to grip the steering wheel, when the vehicle is passing through an intersection in automatic driving in a hands-on mode in which the driver is required to grip the steering wheel of the vehicle, compared to when the vehicle is not passing through the intersection.

[0157] (Technical Idea 11) A vehicle notification control device as described in any one of Technical Ideas 1 to 10, comprising an intersection identification unit (101b) that distinguishes between special intersections that are estimated to require a greater degree of caution to pass through and normal intersections that are estimated to require a lesser degree of caution to pass through than the special intersections, and the notification control unit is configured to issue a warning alert at an earlier timing when the vehicle passes through an intersection identified by the intersection identification unit as a special intersection while driving in a hands-off mode in which the vehicle is not required to hold the steering wheel, compared to when the vehicle passes through an intersection identified by the intersection identification unit as a normal intersection.

[0158] (Technical Idea 12) A vehicle notification control device described in any one of Technical Ideas 1 to 11, comprising an intersection identification unit (101b) that distinguishes between special intersections that are estimated to require a greater degree of caution to pass through and normal intersections that are estimated to require a lesser degree of caution to pass through than the special intersections, and the notification control unit causes the vehicle notification control device to issue an advance notification that warns in advance that there is a possibility that the vehicle will not be able to pass through the intersection by automatic driving when the vehicle attempts to pass through an intersection identified by the intersection identification unit as the special intersection by automatic driving.

[0159] (Technical Idea 13) A vehicle notification control device according to any one of Technical Ideas 1 to 12, wherein the notification control unit issues a notification indicating a stopping position of the vehicle as the avoidance-related notification when the vehicle is temporarily stopped as the avoidance control.

[0160] (Technical Idea 14) A vehicle warning control device according to any one of Technical Ideas 1 to 13, comprising an exterior warning control unit (106) that issues a warning using a turn signal lamp or a hazard lamp when the proximity possibility determination unit determines that there is a high possibility of proximity to the non-priority oncoming vehicle, and when the avoidance control is an offset control that is a driving control that moves the vehicle body closer to the lane boundary line on the opposite side to the side where the non-priority oncoming vehicle is located in the width direction of the own lane, or a lane change control that is a driving control that changes lanes to the opposite lane.

[0161] (Technical Idea 15) A vehicle notification control device as described in Technical Idea 14, comprising a driving environment identification unit (101f) that identifies the driving environment including the status of vehicles surrounding the vehicle, and the vehicle exterior notification control unit, when the proximity possibility identification unit identifies that there is a high possibility of proximity to the non-priority oncoming vehicle and when the offset control or the lane change control is performed, switches between providing a notification using turn signal lamps or hazard lamps depending on at least one of the number of surrounding vehicles identified by the driving environment identification unit and the distance between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles.

[0162] (Technical Idea 16) A vehicle notification control device according to any one of Technical Ideas 1 to 15, comprising: an obstruction situation identification unit (124) that identifies an obstruction situation in which a right-to-left turning non-priority oncoming vehicle that has no priority to pass through the intersection relative to the right-to-left turn of the vehicle when the vehicle is attempting to turn right or left at an intersection by the autonomous driving; and the notification control unit (104g) that, when the obstruction situation identification unit identifies the obstruction situation, highlights a display indicating the right-to-left turning non-priority oncoming vehicle, and, when right-to-left turn avoidance control is performed to avoid approaching the right-to-left turning non-priority oncoming vehicle, issues a right-to-left turn avoidance-related notification that is a notification regarding the content of the right-to-left turn avoidance control.

[0163] (Technical Idea 17) A vehicle notification control device as described in Technical Idea 16, comprising a driving environment identification unit (101g) that also identifies the number of lanes on one side of a road around the vehicle, wherein the notification control unit, when the driving environment identification unit identifies multiple lanes on one side of a road where the vehicle is about to turn right or left, and the obstruction situation identification unit identifies the obstruction situation, issues a notification indicating that the exiting lane change will be made as the right or left turn avoidance related notification when the right or left turn avoidance control involves an exiting lane change being made to change the lane that the vehicle was planning to enter when exiting the intersection to an adjacent lane on the side that is away from the right or left turning non-priority oncoming vehicle.

[0164] (Technical Idea 18) A vehicle notification control device as described in Technical Idea 16 or 17, wherein the notification control unit reduces the notification content regarding the non-priority oncoming vehicle when the vehicle is attempting to turn right or left at an intersection under automatic driving compared to the notification regarding the non-priority oncoming vehicle when the vehicle is attempting to go straight through the intersection under automatic driving.

[0165] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. Embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also within the technical scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the control unit and method described in the present disclosure may be implemented by a special-purpose computer comprising a processor programmed to execute one or more functions embodied in a computer program. Alternatively, the apparatus and method described in the present disclosure may be implemented by a special-purpose hardware logic circuit. Alternatively, the apparatus and method described in the present disclosure may be implemented by one or more special-purpose computers configured by combining a processor executing a computer program with one or more hardware logic circuits. Furthermore, the computer program may be stored as instructions executed by a computer on a computer-readable non-transitory tangible recording medium.

Claims

1. A vehicle warning control device that can be used in vehicles performing autonomous driving, When the vehicle attempts to proceed straight through an intersection in autonomous driving mode, a proximity possibility determination unit (122) determines the likelihood of proximity to a non-priority oncoming vehicle that has no priority in the intersection relative to the vehicle's straight-ahead movement, The vehicle includes a notification control unit (104, 104a, 104b, 104c, 104d, 104e, 104g) that causes notification to be sent to the occupants of the vehicle, The notification control unit, when it determines that there is a high probability of approaching the non-priority oncoming vehicle using the proximity possibility identification unit, will highlight the display indicating the non-priority oncoming vehicle and provide avoidance-related notifications, which are notifications regarding the content of avoidance control to avoid approaching the non-priority oncoming vehicle. The aforementioned vehicle, as part of the avoidance control, will at least be made to temporarily stop or decelerate. The aforementioned notification control unit is a vehicle notification control device that, when the vehicle is located within an intersection and, as a result of performing a temporary stop or deceleration as an avoidance control, the vehicle provides a planned behavior notification indicating whether the vehicle should continue moving or stop.

2. A vehicle warning control device according to claim 1, The notification control unit, when it is to provide the planned behavior notification and the vehicle is to stop, displays a stop position line which is a line that guides the vehicle to a position where it should temporarily stop, and the status of the lights of the signal, while when it is to provide the planned behavior notification and the vehicle is to continue driving, it displays the planned trajectory of the vehicle and the status of the lights of the signal, a vehicle notification control device.

3. A vehicle warning control device according to claim 1, The aforementioned vehicle, as part of the avoidance control, will at least be made to temporarily stop. In the aforementioned avoidance control, if, as a result of causing the vehicle to stop temporarily, the vehicle is located within the intersection and the traffic light for the vehicle's straight-ahead direction indicates that it is not permitted to pass, and the vehicle stops immediately after entering the intersection, within a predetermined distance from the stop line, the vehicle is made to wait until the traffic light indicates that it is permitted to pass, while ensuring that the vehicle does not overlap the space on the pedestrian crossing by a certain amount. The notification control unit is a vehicle notification control device that, when the avoidance control causes the vehicle to wait in the intersection until the traffic light indicates that it is passable, it issues a warning indicating that the vehicle is located in the intersection.

4. A vehicle warning control device according to claim 1, The aforementioned notification control unit, when, as a result of causing the vehicle to temporarily stop or decelerate as an avoidance control, is located within an intersection and the traffic light for the vehicle's straight-ahead direction indicates that it is impassable, causes the notification control unit to issue a driver change promotion notification, which is a notification to encourage the occupants to change drivers, and a monitoring promotion notification, which is a notification to encourage monitoring of the surroundings.

5. A vehicle warning control device according to claim 1, A vehicle notification control device comprising an external notification control unit (106) that causes a notification by turn signal lamps or hazard lamps when the proximity possibility identification unit identifies a high probability of proximity to the non-priority oncoming vehicle, and when the avoidance control is performed as offset control, which is a driving control that moves the vehicle body closer to the lane boundary line on the opposite side of the lane from where the non-priority oncoming vehicle is located in the width direction of the own lane, or lane change control, which is a driving control that changes lanes to the opposite lane.

6. A vehicle warning control device according to claim 5, The vehicle is equipped with a driving environment identification unit (101f) that identifies the driving environment, including the status of surrounding vehicles. The vehicle notification control unit, when the proximity possibility identification unit identifies a high probability of proximity to the non-priority oncoming vehicle, and when the offset control or lane change control is performed, switches whether to provide notification using turn signal lamps or hazard lamps, according to at least one of the number of surrounding vehicles identified by the driving environment identification unit and the distance between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles.

7. A vehicle warning control device that can be used in vehicles performing autonomous driving, When the vehicle attempts to proceed straight through an intersection in autonomous driving mode, a proximity possibility determination unit (122) determines the likelihood of proximity to a non-priority oncoming vehicle that has no priority in the intersection relative to the vehicle's straight-ahead movement, The vehicle includes a notification control unit (104, 104a, 104b, 104c, 104d, 104e, 104g) that causes notification to be sent to the occupants of the vehicle, The notification control unit, when it determines that there is a high probability of approaching the non-priority oncoming vehicle using the proximity possibility identification unit, will highlight the display indicating the non-priority oncoming vehicle and provide avoidance-related notifications, which are notifications regarding the content of avoidance control to avoid approaching the non-priority oncoming vehicle. A vehicle notification control device comprising an external notification control unit (106) that causes a notification by turn signal lamps or hazard lamps when the proximity possibility identification unit identifies a high probability of proximity to the non-priority oncoming vehicle, and when the avoidance control is performed as offset control, which is a driving control that moves the vehicle body closer to the lane boundary line on the opposite side of the lane from where the non-priority oncoming vehicle is located in the width direction of the own lane, or lane change control, which is a driving control that changes lanes to the opposite lane.

8. A vehicle warning control device according to claim 7, The vehicle is equipped with a driving environment identification unit (101f) that identifies the driving environment, including the status of surrounding vehicles. The vehicle notification control unit, when the proximity possibility identification unit identifies a high probability of proximity to the non-priority oncoming vehicle, and when the offset control or lane change control is performed, switches whether to provide notification using turn signal lamps or hazard lamps, according to at least one of the number of surrounding vehicles identified by the driving environment identification unit and the distance between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles.

9. A vehicle warning control device according to claim 1 or 7, The proximity possibility identification unit identifies a high probability of proximity to the non-priority oncoming vehicle when the non-priority oncoming vehicle overlaps with the planned straight-ahead trajectory, which is the planned trajectory when the vehicle proceeds straight through the intersection in the automated driving mode, or when it is predicted that the positions of the non-priority oncoming vehicle and the vehicle will overlap within the intersection. The aforementioned notification control unit, when it determines in the proximity possibility identification unit that there is a high probability of approaching the non-priority oncoming vehicle, and when it implements offset control, which is a driving control that moves the vehicle body closer to the lane boundary line on the opposite side of the lane where the non-priority oncoming vehicle is located, or lane change control, which is a driving control that changes lanes to the opposite lane, the notification control unit will issue a monitoring promotion notification, which is a notification that prompts surrounding monitoring.

10. A vehicle warning control device according to claim 9, The notification control unit, When the aforementioned offset control is implemented, it is possible to display an offset indicator, which is an indicator that the aforementioned offset control is being implemented. A vehicle notification control device that, when performing the offset display, also displays the behavior of the vehicle as it recovers from the offset control.

11. A vehicle warning control device according to claim 1 or 7, The aforementioned notification control unit is a vehicle notification control device that, when the vehicle attempts to proceed straight through an intersection where the inclination of the exit direction relative to the entry direction when proceeding straight through the intersection is greater than or equal to a specified value, displays guide lines indicating the planned trajectory of the vehicle as it proceeds straight through the intersection.

12. A vehicle warning control device according to claim 1 or 7, The aforementioned notification control unit is a vehicle notification control device that, when the vehicle attempts to proceed straight through a Sasumata intersection, which is an intersection where the number of lanes in the exit direction increases compared to the number of lanes in the entry direction when the vehicle is driving straight through the intersection, displays the lane from which the vehicle is scheduled to exit among the lanes of the exit road from the Sasumata intersection.

13. A vehicle warning control device according to claim 1 or 7, The aforementioned notification control unit is a vehicle notification control device that lowers the threshold for issuing a grip request notification, which is a notification requesting the vehicle to grip the steering wheel, when the vehicle passes through an intersection in hands-on mode automatic driving where the vehicle is obligated to grip the steering wheel, compared to when the vehicle is not passing through an intersection.

14. A vehicle warning control device according to claim 1 or 7, The system includes an intersection identification unit (101b) that distinguishes and identifies special intersections where the degree of attention required to pass through is estimated to be greater, and ordinary intersections where the degree of attention required to pass through is estimated to be less than that of the special intersections, The aforementioned notification control unit is a vehicle notification control device that, when the vehicle passes through an intersection designated as a special intersection by the intersection identification unit in hands-off mode automatic driving where the vehicle is not required to hold the steering wheel, provides a warning notification at an earlier timing compared to when the vehicle passes through an intersection designated as a normal intersection by the intersection identification unit.

15. A vehicle warning control device according to claim 1 or 7, The system includes an intersection identification unit (101b) that distinguishes and identifies special intersections where the degree of attention required to pass through is estimated to be greater, and ordinary intersections where the degree of attention required to pass through is estimated to be less than that of the special intersections, The aforementioned notification control unit is a vehicle notification control device that, when the vehicle attempts to pass through an intersection identified as a special intersection by the intersection identification unit in an automated driving manner, provides advance notification that there is a possibility that the vehicle may not be able to pass through the intersection in an automated driving manner.

16. A vehicle warning control device according to claim 1 or 7, The aforementioned notification control unit, when the vehicle is temporarily stopped as an avoidance control, causes the vehicle to provide a notification indicating the stopping position of the vehicle as an avoidance-related notification.

17. A vehicle warning control device according to claim 1 or 7, When the vehicle attempts to turn right or left at an intersection in autonomous driving mode, the obstruction situation identification unit (124) identifies an obstruction situation in which an oncoming vehicle that does not have priority for turning right or left at the intersection is obstructing the vehicle's right or left turn, The notification control unit (104g) is a vehicle notification control device that, when the interference situation is identified by the interference situation identification unit, highlights the display indicating the non-priority oncoming vehicle making a right or left turn, and when a right or left turn avoidance control is performed to avoid approaching the non-priority oncoming vehicle making a right or left turn, it provides a right or left turn avoidance related notification, which is a notification regarding the content of the right or left turn avoidance control.

18. A vehicle warning control device according to claim 17, The vehicle is equipped with a driving environment identification unit (101g) that also identifies the number of lanes on one side of the road surrounding the vehicle, The aforementioned notification control unit, when the number of lanes on one side of the vehicle's destination for a right or left turn, as determined by the driving environment determination unit, is multiple, and when the obstruction situation determination unit determines the obstruction situation, and when the vehicle performs an exit lane change as a right or left turn avoidance control, changing the lane it was scheduled to enter when exiting the intersection to an adjacent lane on the side that moves away from the oncoming vehicle that does not have priority for right or left turns, the notification control unit causes the vehicle to provide a notification as a right or left turn avoidance related notification indicating that the exit lane change is being performed.

19. A vehicle warning control device according to claim 17, The aforementioned notification control unit reduces the content of the notification regarding non-priority oncoming vehicles turning right or left when the vehicle is attempting to turn right or left at an intersection, compared to the notification regarding non-priority oncoming vehicles when the vehicle is attempting to proceed straight through an intersection in the aforementioned automatic driving mode.

20. A vehicle notification control method that can be used in vehicles performing autonomous driving, Run by at least one processor, When the vehicle attempts to proceed straight through an intersection in autonomous driving mode, a proximity possibility determination step is made to determine the likelihood of proximity to a non-priority oncoming vehicle that does not have priority at the intersection relative to the vehicle proceeding straight; This includes a notification control process that causes notification to be sent to the occupants of the vehicle, In the notification control process, when it is determined that there is a high probability of approaching the non-priority oncoming vehicle, the system highlights the display indicating the non-priority oncoming vehicle and provides avoidance-related notification, which is notification regarding the content of avoidance control to avoid approaching the non-priority oncoming vehicle. The aforementioned vehicle, as part of the avoidance control, will at least be made to temporarily stop or decelerate. In the notification control step, if, as a result of causing the vehicle to temporarily stop or decelerate as an avoidance control, the vehicle is located within an intersection and the traffic light for the vehicle's straight-ahead direction indicates that it is not possible to proceed, the vehicle provides a planned behavior notification indicating whether the vehicle should continue moving or stop.

21. A vehicle notification control method that can be used in vehicles performing autonomous driving, Run by at least one processor, When the vehicle attempts to proceed straight through an intersection in autonomous driving mode, a proximity possibility determination step is made to determine the likelihood of proximity to a non-priority oncoming vehicle that does not have priority at the intersection relative to the vehicle proceeding straight; This includes a notification control process that causes notification to be sent to the occupants of the vehicle, In the notification control process, when it is determined that there is a high probability of approaching the non-priority oncoming vehicle, the system highlights the display indicating the non-priority oncoming vehicle and provides avoidance-related notification, which is notification regarding the content of avoidance control to avoid approaching the non-priority oncoming vehicle. A vehicle notification control method that includes an external notification control step for causing notification by turn signal lamps or hazard lamps when, in the proximity possibility identification step, it is identified that there is a high possibility of proximity to the non-priority oncoming vehicle, and when, as avoidance control, offset control is performed, which is a driving control that moves the vehicle body closer to the lane boundary line on the opposite side of the lane from where the non-priority oncoming vehicle is located in the width direction of the own lane, or lane change control is a driving control that changes lanes to the opposite lane.