Driving assistance device and driving assistance method

Abstract

A driving assistance device (1) comprises: a determination unit (12) that, on the basis of in-vehicle situation information indicating the situation in a vehicle interior of a vehicle (Va), determines whether or not an occupant of the vehicle (Va) is in a holding-related state including holding or trying to hold a target object in the vehicle interior; and an instruction unit (13) that executes travel control of the vehicle (Va) so as to reduce the influence of inertial force acting on the target object due to travel of the vehicle (Va) more when it is determined that the occupant is in the holding-related state than when it is determined that the occupant is not in the holding-related state.

Description

Driving assistance device and driving assistance method

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a driving assistance device and a driving assistance method.

[0002] As a conventional technology related to driving assistance devices, for example, there is a vehicle control device described in Patent Document 1. The vehicle control device described in Patent Document 1 executes travel control corresponding to the posture of an occupant during automatic driving.

[0003] Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2019-167071

[0004] In the conventional technology described in Patent Document 1, there has been a problem that when an inertial force caused by traveling of a vehicle acts on an object held by an occupant in a vehicle cabin, a trouble related to the object is likely to occur. For example, if the vehicle is suddenly braked in response to traveling of a preceding vehicle while the occupant is holding a cup containing liquid, the inertial force corresponding to the acceleration acting on the vehicle acts on the cup, which may cause the liquid to spill from the cup and wet the surrounding area.

[0005] The technology of the present disclosure solves the above problem, and an object of the present disclosure is to obtain a driving assistance device capable of suppressing the occurrence of troubles related to an object held by an occupant in a vehicle cabin.

[0006] A driving assistance device according to the technology of the present disclosure comprises: a determination unit that determines, based on vehicle cabin interior state information indicating a state of a vehicle cabin of a vehicle, whether a vehicle occupant is in a holding-related state including that the occupant is holding or is going to hold a target object in the vehicle cabin; and an instruction unit that, when it is determined that the state is the holding-related state, instructs execution of vehicle travel control for reducing the influence of inertial force acting on the target object due to traveling corresponding to a surrounding object of the vehicle, compared to a case where it is determined that the state is not the holding-related state.

[0007] According to the technology of the present disclosure, when it is determined that the state is the holding-related state, vehicle travel control for reducing the influence of inertial force acting on the target object due to traveling corresponding to a surrounding object of the vehicle is executed, compared to a case where it is determined that the state is not the holding-related state. Accordingly, the driving assistance device according to the technology of the present disclosure can suppress the occurrence of troubles related to an object held by an occupant in a vehicle cabin.

[0008] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of a driver assistance device according to Embodiment 1. Figure 2 is a flowchart showing a driver assistance method according to Embodiment 1. Figures 3A and 3B show an example of driving control (1) in Embodiment 1. Figures 4A and 4B show an example of driving control (2) in Embodiment 1. Figures 5A and 5B show an example of driving control (3) in Embodiment 1. Figures 6A and 6B show an example of driving control (4) in Embodiment 1. Figures 7A and 7B show an example of driving control (5) in Embodiment 1. Figures 8A and 8B are block diagrams showing the hardware configuration for realizing the functions of the driver assistance device according to Embodiment 1. Figure 9 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of a driver assistance device according to Embodiment 2. Figure 10 is a flowchart showing a driver assistance method according to Embodiment 2.

[0009] Embodiment 1. The driver assistance device according to Embodiment 1 is a device that assists in the driving of a vehicle. For example, if a vehicle is equipped with an automatic driving control device and automatic driving of the vehicle is possible by the automatic driving control device, the driver assistance device according to Embodiment 1 instructs the automatic driving control device to execute the vehicle driving control related to driver assistance. The automatic driving control device executes the vehicle driving control related to driver assistance in accordance with the instructions from the driver assistance device. Alternatively, the driver assistance device according to Embodiment 1 may instruct the driver of the vehicle to execute the driving control related to driver assistance by outputting instruction information to an output device inside the vehicle. In this case, the driver executes the vehicle driving control related to driver assistance by manual driving in accordance with the instructions from the driver assistance device.

[0010] In particular, in the driving assistance device according to Embodiment 1, as part of the vehicle driving control related to driving assistance, when the vehicle occupant is in a holding-related state with respect to the target object inside the vehicle cabin, the vehicle driving control is performed to reduce the influence of inertial force acting on the target object inside the vehicle cabin by driving in accordance with the surrounding objects of the vehicle, compared to when the occupant is not in a holding-related state. This driving control may be performed by an automatic driving control device or by manual driving by the vehicle driver. The target object is an object that can be brought into the vehicle cabin from outside by the vehicle occupant and that the occupant can hold inside the vehicle cabin. In addition, the target object is mainly assumed to be an inanimate object, but it may also be an animal such as a pet.

[0011] (Holding-related states) Holding-related states include states in which a vehicle occupant is holding or attempting to hold an object within the vehicle's interior. Here, "holding" assumes that the occupant is holding or cradling the object in their hands, but it also includes so-called "wearing," which involves attaching the object to a part of the occupant's body. Examples of "wearing" include, if the object is a headset, the occupant putting the headset on their head, and if the object is sunglasses, the occupant putting on the sunglasses.

[0012] Objects in a holding-related state are prone to malfunctions when subjected to inertial forces caused by the movement of a vehicle. Inertial forces acting on objects in a holding-related state occur, for example, due to the acceleration, deceleration, or turning of a moving vehicle. These inertial forces have various effects on the object depending on the vehicle's movement. Rapid acceleration generates an inertial force that pushes the object backward, while sudden braking generates an inertial force that pulls the object forward. Furthermore, when a vehicle turns a corner, centrifugal force acts, pushing the object outward.

[0013] Due to the inertial force described above, an object held by an occupant may move in accordance with the vehicle's driving conditions and may move to a position or direction unintended by the occupant. This can lead to malfunctions related to the object, such as the object tipping over inside the vehicle or accidentally colliding with an occupant. When the driver assistance device according to Embodiment 1 determines that an object is being held by an occupant, it immediately executes vehicle driving control to reduce the influence of the inertial force acting on the object inside the vehicle. As a result, the driver assistance device according to Embodiment 1 can suppress the occurrence of malfunctions related to the object on which the inertial force acts, even when, for example, the vehicle driving ahead suddenly accelerates or decelerates or changes lanes and the vehicle drives in response to this vehicle.

[0014] Furthermore, even if the target object is not currently being held by the occupant but is expected to be held in the future, if the inertial force acts on the target object when the occupant holds it in the future, it is expected that a malfunction related to the target object will occur. In this case as well, even when the target object is about to be held by the occupant, the driving support device according to Embodiment 1 will execute vehicle driving control that reduces the influence of the inertial force acting on the target object prior to the occupant holding the target object. As a result, the driving support device according to Embodiment 1 can prevent the occurrence of malfunctions related to the target object on which inertial force acts due to the movement of the vehicle.

[0015] Vehicle driving control that reduces the influence of inertial forces acting on an object is a vehicle driving control that minimizes the inertial forces generated during vehicle acceleration, deceleration, or turning, thereby preventing the object inside the vehicle from moving unstably. This control smooths the changes in acceleration acting on the object by precisely controlling the movement of the vehicle, and reduces the impact on the occupants, the in-vehicle environment, or the object itself due to the inertial forces acting on the object in response to the changes in acceleration. As a result, the driving support device according to Embodiment 1 can reduce the influence of inertial forces acting on an object in a holding-related state, and can suppress the occurrence of malfunctions related to the object.

[0016] The object in question may be, for example, an object that can have a physical impact on its surroundings due to the inertial force acting on it by the movement of a vehicle. When a vehicle accelerates, decelerates, or turns sharply, an inertial force acts on the object in question, proportional to its mass and acceleration, which can cause the object to move unexpectedly. A physical impact is the effect that the object may have on its surroundings due to its movement under the influence of the inertial force. For example, the object in question may move rapidly forward due to the vehicle's sudden braking and collide with the occupants or the structure inside the vehicle, causing a physical impact. If the object in question is heavy, hard, or has protruding parts, this collision may result in injuries to the occupants or damage to the structure, resulting in problems related to the object.

[0017] Furthermore, the centrifugal force generated by a vehicle traveling around a curve can cause the object in question to move laterally within the vehicle's interior and collide with the occupants or door panel, potentially causing physical damage. If the object is heavy, hard, or has protruding parts, this collision could result in injuries to occupants or damage to the door panel, resulting in object-related malfunctions. Additionally, if the object is a container holding liquid such as a beverage, the inertial force from the vehicle's movement can cause the liquid inside to spill, which is a physical effect. The spilled liquid could stain the floor or seats inside the vehicle, which is an object-related malfunction.

[0018] The driving assistance device according to Embodiment 1, when it determines that the target object is in a holding-related state, executes vehicle driving control to reduce the influence of inertial force acting on the target object in the vehicle cabin due to the vehicle's movement compared to when it is not in a holding-related state. Through this driving control, the driving assistance device according to Embodiment 1 can reduce the physical impact that the target object, on which inertial force acts due to the vehicle's movement, may have on its surroundings, and can suppress the occurrence of malfunctions related to the target object.

[0019] The object in question may be, for example, an object that can be deformed by the inertial force acting on it due to the movement of a vehicle. When a vehicle accelerates, decelerates, or turns sharply, an inertial force acts on the object in question, proportional to its mass and acceleration, which may cause the object to move unexpectedly. For example, if the object in question is a ceramic object stored in a box, the object may move rapidly forward inside the box due to the vehicle's sudden braking. In this case, the ceramic object may be damaged upon impact with the inner wall of the box. If the object in question is an ice cream cone, the vehicle's sudden braking may cause deformation that separates the ice cream from the cone, causing it to fly forward.

[0020] Furthermore, deformation of an object due to inertial force also includes deformation of the object due to the indirect influence of the occupants acting on it with inertial force from the vehicle's movement. For example, if the object is a pet dog brought into the vehicle by an occupant, and the occupant is holding the dog, then if the vehicle brakes suddenly and the occupant falls forward, the dog may be trapped and crushed between the occupant and the interior structure in front of them.

[0021] The driving support device according to Embodiment 1, when it determines that the target object is in a holding-related state, executes vehicle driving control to reduce the effect of inertial force acting on the target object in the vehicle cabin due to the vehicle's movement compared to when the target object is not in a holding-related state. Through this driving control, the driving support device according to Embodiment 1 can suppress deformation of the target object due to the inertial force acting on it as the vehicle moves.

[0022] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of the driver assistance device 1 according to Embodiment 1. In Figure 1, the driver assistance device 1 is mounted on a vehicle Va and is connected by wire or wireless to a surrounding situation detection device 2, an in-vehicle situation detection device 3, an automatic driving control device 4, and an output device 5. Based on the in-vehicle situation information acquired from the in-vehicle situation detection device 3, the driver assistance device 1 determines whether or not a holding-related state is in place, and outputs instruction information for vehicle driving control according to this determination result to the automatic driving control device 4 or the output device 5, thereby executing driving control.

[0023] Furthermore, although Figure 1 shows a driver assistance device 1 mounted on vehicle Va, the driver assistance device 1 may be an external device capable of communicating with vehicle Va. In this case, the driver assistance device 1 acquires information from the surrounding situation detection device 2 and the in-cabin situation detection device 3 through communication with vehicle Va, and generates instruction information that instructs the execution of vehicle driving control based on the acquired information. Then, the driver assistance device 1 transmits the generated instruction information to the automatic driving control device 4 or output device 5 through communication with vehicle Va to execute vehicle driving control.

[0024] (Surrounding Environment Detection Device) The surrounding environment detection device 2 is a device that detects the external environment and surrounding objects of vehicle Va in real time. The surrounding environment detection device 2 uses image processing sensors, LIDAR, millimeter-wave radar, or ultrasonic sensors. The image processing sensor performs recognition of surrounding vehicles, recognition of road lanes on which vehicle Va is traveling, recognition of signs, or detection of pedestrians based on the results of image analysis of video information of the area around vehicle Va captured by an external camera mounted on vehicle Va. LIDAR acquires three-dimensional information of the area around vehicle Va by irradiating laser light and performs high-precision detection of surrounding objects or terrain recognition based on the three-dimensional information. Millimeter-wave radar measures the distance or speed to surrounding vehicles or obstacles by irradiating millimeter waves. Ultrasonic sensors detect surrounding vehicles or obstacles by irradiating ultrasonic waves.

[0025] (In-cabin condition detection device) The in-cabin condition detection device 3 is a device that detects the state of the occupants inside the vehicle in real time. In particular, the in-cabin condition detection device 3 generates in-cabin condition information to determine whether or not the occupants of the vehicle are in a holding-related state. The in-cabin condition information is information that indicates the state inside the vehicle's interior. For example, the in-cabin condition detection device 3 outputs video information of the occupants inside the vehicle, captured by an in-cabin camera mounted on the vehicle Va, as in-cabin condition information to the driver assistance device 1.

[0026] (Automatic Driving Control System) The automatic driving control system 4 is a device that automates the driving of vehicle Va. The automatic driving control system 4 acquires information about the surrounding conditions of vehicle Va from the surrounding conditions detection device 2, and acquires information such as vehicle speed, engine status, brake pressure, and steering wheel angle from on-board sensors (not shown in Figure 1) as internal information of vehicle Va. The automatic driving control system 4 analyzes the acquired information and determines control parameters for appropriate driving control. For example, by setting the determined control parameters, the automatic driving control system 4 electronically controls the accelerator, brakes, or steering of vehicle Va to accelerate, decelerate, or change direction of vehicle Va. As a result, the automatic driving control system 4 performs automatic emergency braking (AEB), lane keeping assist system (IKAS), or fully autonomous driving.

[0027] (Output device) Output device 5 is a device that outputs information to the occupants visually or audibly, conveying vehicle driving information, entertainment information, or warning information. For example, output device 5 may be a display, speaker, or head-up display (HUD). The display centrally displays information such as navigation information, media playback, or vehicle status monitoring. The display may also be one that allows input operations via a touch panel provided on the monitor surface. The head-up display projects information onto the windshield of the vehicle Va, allowing the driver to check the information without moving their eyes significantly.

[0028] (Basic configuration of the driver assistance device) The driver assistance device 1 comprises a surrounding situation information acquisition unit 11, a decision unit 12, and an instruction unit 13. For example, the driver assistance device 1 is implemented by a computer. The computer's memory stores programs that constitute information processing applications for realizing each of the functions of the surrounding situation information acquisition unit 11, the decision unit 12, and the instruction unit 13. The computer's processor executes the information processing applications read from the memory, thereby realizing each of the functions of the surrounding situation information acquisition unit 11, the decision unit 12, and the instruction unit 13.

[0029] (Surrounding Situation Information Acquisition Unit) The surrounding situation information acquisition unit 11 acquires surrounding situation information from the surrounding situation detection device 2. The surrounding situation information is detection information of the surrounding environment and surrounding objects of the vehicle Va, and includes the positions of surrounding objects of the vehicle Va. For example, the surrounding situation information acquisition unit 11 is communicated via wired or wireless connection with an image processing sensor, LIDAR, millimeter-wave radar, or ultrasonic sensor, which functions as the surrounding situation detection device 2, and acquires this detection information as surrounding situation information.

[0030] While information on surrounding conditions is necessary for vehicle Va to drive in response to surrounding objects, it is not necessarily required in manual driving where the driver visually confirms surrounding objects such as surrounding vehicles, or when vehicle Va's driving control is performed independently of surrounding objects. For example, when accelerating vehicle Va in a situation where there are no vehicles driving ahead, information on surrounding conditions related to vehicles driving ahead is not used. In cases where it is assumed that surrounding conditions information will not be used, the driver assistance device 1 does not need to be equipped with a surrounding conditions information acquisition unit 11.

[0031] (Decision Unit) The decision unit 12 determines whether or not a holding-related state exists based on the in-vehicle situation information of vehicle Va. A holding-related state is a state in which a vehicle occupant is holding or attempting to hold a target object in the vehicle's interior. For example, the decision unit 12 acquires video data of the vehicle's interior from the in-vehicle situation detection device 3 as in-vehicle situation information. Subsequently, the decision unit 12 preprocesses the video data acquired from the in-vehicle situation detection device 3 to remove unnecessary noise and performs image recognition processing to extract image data in which an occupant is holding an object or an object is near the occupant. An object detection algorithm is used for this image recognition to generate a bounding box indicating the position of the object. Examples of object detection algorithms include YOLO or Faster R-CNN. Next, the decision unit 12 analyzes the features within the region in which the object is visible in the image shown by the extracted image data and determines whether or not the object is a target object. This analysis uses deep learning models, such as convolutional neural networks, to determine whether objects within the analyzed area belong to a specific category. These categories include objects like smartphones, plastic bottles, or bags.

[0032] The determination unit 12 may also input the extracted image data into a determination model and use the result of the determination model's determination of whether or not an object is a target object to determine whether or not the interior of the vehicle is in a hold-related state. For example, if the determination model determines that any object is a target object, the determination unit 12 determines that the interior of the vehicle is in a hold-related state, and if the determination model determines that any object is not a target object, it determines that the interior is not in a hold-related state. The determination model is a machine learning model that has been trained to output a determination result of whether or not an object in the image is a target object, using the image data of the interior of the vehicle as training data.

[0033] Furthermore, the judgment unit 12 acquires image data from the video data in chronological order in which an object is identified as the target object. The judgment unit 12 then performs image recognition on the image data to identify the position and shape of the target object, and further identifies the posture and body parts of the occupant to track the position, orientation, and movement of the occupant's hands. For image recognition, for example, a posture estimation algorithm using deep learning or an object detection model is used. Subsequently, the judgment unit 12 analyzes the positional relationship between the identified occupant's hands and the target object, as well as the movement of the hands, to determine whether the occupant's hands are holding the target object, approaching the target object, or performing an action such as grasping the target object by identifying the bending of the fingers or the angle of the hand. If the judgment unit 12 determines that the occupant's hands are holding the target object, approaching the target object, or performing an action such as grasping the target object by identifying the bending of the fingers or the angle of the hand, it determines that the vehicle interior is in a holding-related state.

[0034] Furthermore, the following methods can be considered for identifying target objects. For example, target objects that may have a physical impact on their surroundings due to the inertial force acting on them by the movement of a vehicle can be identified by combining image recognition technology and dynamic analysis using AI. This identification method analyzes the object's position, shape, mass estimation, and relative position to its surroundings. First, the judgment unit 12 detects candidate objects present in the vehicle by analyzing image data acquired by an in-vehicle camera installed in the vehicle using an object detection algorithm (e.g., YOLO or Faster R-CNN). This generates bounding boxes for the objects in the vehicle, and the object's position and size are determined. Next, the judgment unit 12 uses the shape and characteristics of the identified candidate objects to classify the object type (e.g., beverage container, electronic device, bag) using an AI model. Simultaneously, the judgment unit 12 estimates the weight and physical properties (e.g., slipperiness, susceptibility to tipping) of each object based on past training data, and evaluates whether the object may move when an inertial force acts on it and potentially have a physical impact on other objects or occupants. Based on these evaluation results, the determination unit 12 identifies an object that may have a physical impact on its surroundings due to the inertial force acting on it by the vehicle's movement. Note that the estimated coefficient of friction between the object and its contact surface, or the clearance with its surroundings, may also be considered when evaluating the object's mobility.

[0035] Objects that can be deformed by inertial forces acting due to vehicle movement can also be identified by combining image recognition technology with an AI model and database for estimating the physical properties of the object. This identification method analyzes the type, material, shape, or position of the object and evaluates the possibility of deformation due to inertial forces. First, the judgment unit 12 detects objects present in the vehicle by analyzing image data acquired by an in-vehicle camera installed in the vehicle using an object detection algorithm. At this time, a bounding box is generated for the object present in the vehicle, and information including its size, position, and shape is obtained. Next, the judgment unit 12 classifies the object into a specific category (e.g., soft serve ice cream, soft container, or pet) based on the visual characteristics of the object using a deep learning model. Then, the judgment unit 12 refers to the information in the database for the classified object and estimates the physical properties of each object (e.g., flexibility, material, size, or weight). Here, the database is a database in which physical properties and classification information about objects that may be detected in the vehicle are registered. This database may be an in-vehicle database for storing and managing information necessary for object recognition in the vehicle or for vehicle driving control. For example, a soft material (such as a plastic container) is determined to be highly likely to undergo elastic or plastic deformation when a specific inertial force is applied. Furthermore, the determination unit 12 simulates how much force acts on the object when the vehicle Va accelerates or turns, based on the object's position information, and determines the possibility of deformation. Based on this determination result, the determination unit 12 identifies the target object that may be deformed by the inertial force acting due to the vehicle's movement.

[0036] (Instruction Unit) When the decision unit 12 determines that a holding-related state is in place, the instruction unit 13 causes the vehicle Va to perform driving control to reduce the influence of the inertial force acting on the target object due to the vehicle Va's movement corresponding to the surrounding object, compared to when the decision unit 12 determines that a holding-related state is not in place. For example, when the instruction unit 13 is notified by the decision unit 12 that a holding-related state is in place, it uses the surrounding situation information acquired by the surrounding situation information acquisition unit 11 to determine the content of the driving control corresponding to the positional relationship of the vehicle Va with the surrounding object, and outputs instruction information to the automatic driving control device 4 to execute the driving control according to the determined content.

[0037] For example, the instruction unit 13 acquires surrounding situation information detected by external LiDAR, millimeter-wave radar, and external cameras, and uses this surrounding situation information to analyze the road conditions on which vehicle Va is traveling, the movement of surrounding vehicles, the angle of curves, or the unevenness of the road surface. Subsequently, the instruction unit 13 uses the analysis results data and an AI or dynamic motion analysis model to determine the content of the driving control that optimizes the acceleration, braking force, or steering operation of vehicle Va so that large inertial forces do not act on target objects inside the vehicle cabin due to the vehicle Va's movement in response to the movement of surrounding vehicles.

[0038] Specifically, if it is expected that the deceleration of vehicle Va in response to the sudden braking of the vehicle in front will be a sudden brake, resulting in a large inertial force acting on the target object, the instruction unit 13 determines control parameters to increase the distance between the vehicle in front and the vehicle in front so that even if the vehicle in front brakes suddenly, vehicle Va will have gradual braking control. The control parameters determined by the instruction unit 13 are included in the driving control instruction information and output to the automatic driving control device 4. The automatic driving control device 4 executes driving control of vehicle Va according to the instruction information from the instruction unit 13.

[0039] Furthermore, when the decision unit 12 determines that a holding-related state is in effect, the instruction unit 13 may output instruction information to the automatic driving control device 4 if the distance between vehicle Va and the surrounding object is shorter than a preset distance when switching the operation of vehicle Va from manual to automatic. For example, when the instruction unit 13 switches the operation of vehicle Va from manual to automatic, it outputs instruction information to the automatic driving control device 4 if the distance between vehicle Va and the vehicle traveling ahead is shorter than a preset distance. This makes it possible to execute vehicle Va driving control to reduce the effect of the inertial force acting on the target object at a timing when it is expected that a large inertial force will definitely act on the target object due to the vehicle Va's movement corresponding to the surrounding object.

[0040] Furthermore, the instruction unit 13 may generate instruction information that audibly or visually instructs the execution of vehicle Va's driving control to reduce the influence of inertial forces acting on the target object by driving in accordance with the surrounding object of the vehicle Va. This instruction information is output from the instruction unit 13 to the output device 5. The output device 5 presents the instruction information audibly or visually.

[0041] For example, if the instruction unit 13 determines that a holding-related state is in place, it generates audio or display information to warn the driver of the vehicle Va in response to a surrounding vehicle to avoid sudden acceleration, sudden deceleration, or sudden turns. The output device 5 presents this information audibly or visually. Possible audio and display information messages include, for example, "The occupant is holding the object, so please increase the distance between your vehicle and the vehicle ahead." The driver of vehicle Va controls the vehicle's movement by manually operating the vehicle Va according to the audio or display information output from the output device 5.

[0042] The instruction unit 13 may cause the output device 5 to output instruction information when it is determined using surrounding situation information that the distance between the vehicle Va and a surrounding object is shorter than a preset value. For example, the instruction unit 13 outputs instruction information to the output device 5 when the inter-vehicular distance between the vehicle Va and a preceding traveling vehicle is shorter than a preset value. The driver of the vehicle Va executes traveling control of the vehicle Va by manual driving in accordance with the instruction information output by the output device 5, in order to reduce the influence of inertial force acting on the target object. This makes it possible to execute traveling control of the vehicle Va at a timing at which a large inertial force is reliably expected to act on the target object due to traveling corresponding to a surrounding object of the vehicle Va.

[0043] (Outline of Driving Support Method) Next, a driving support method according to the first embodiment will be described. Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating the driving support method according to the first embodiment, and shows a series of operations of the driving support device 1. When traveling of the vehicle Va is started, the instruction unit 13 stores traveling control information related to the automatic driving function of the vehicle Va that is valid at that time in a memory not illustrated in FIG. 1 (step ST1). The traveling control information includes, for example, on / off settings of automatic driving functions such as AEB, inter-vehicle distance control (ACC), and IKAS, the automatic driving level of the vehicle Va, the inter-vehicle distance setting with a preceding traveling vehicle, the traveling speed setting of the vehicle Va, settings related to the timing for executing automatic driving in the vehicle Va, on / off settings for automatic following, and on / off settings for an automatic overtaking function. The traveling control information is also stored in the memory in association with the current time.

[0044] Note that although the above memory is assumed to be a memory built into the driving support device 1, it may be an external storage device provided separately from the driving support device 1. In this case, the driving support device 1 has a communication function for communicating with an external device, and the instruction unit 13 accesses the external storage device via communication to store the traveling control information.

[0045] While the vehicle Va is in motion, the in-vehicle condition detection device 3 detects the conditions inside the vehicle. The decision unit 12 then acquires in-vehicle condition information indicating the conditions inside the vehicle detected by the in-vehicle condition detection device 3 (step ST2). For example, the decision unit 12 acquires video information of the occupants inside the vehicle, captured by an in-vehicle camera mounted on the vehicle Va, as in-vehicle condition information.

[0046] Next, the determination unit 12 determines whether the interior of vehicle Va is in a hold-related state based on the interior condition information (step ST3). For example, the determination unit 12 performs image recognition processing on video data of the interior of the vehicle, including the occupants, and determines whether the target object is in a hold-related state. Specifically, the determination unit 12 performs image recognition processing on the video data, which is the interior condition information, to extract image data in which the occupants are holding an object or an object is near the occupants. Subsequently, the determination unit 12 analyzes the features within the region in which the object is shown in the extracted image data to determine whether the object is the target object. If the object is the target object, the determination unit 12 determines that it is in a hold-related state.

[0047] Meanwhile, while vehicle Va is in motion, the surrounding conditions detection device 2 detects the surrounding conditions of vehicle Va. The surrounding conditions information acquisition unit 11 acquires surrounding conditions information indicating the surrounding conditions of vehicle Va detected by the surrounding conditions detection device 2. When the determination unit 12 determines that a holding-related state is in place (step ST3; YES), it notifies the instruction unit 13 of this fact. When the instruction unit 13 receives notification that a holding-related state is in place, it acquires surrounding conditions information from the surrounding conditions information acquisition unit 11 (step ST4).

[0048] The instruction unit 13, based on the surrounding situation information, executes travel control of the vehicle Va to reduce the influence of inertial force acting on the target object caused by travel corresponding to a surrounding object of the vehicle Va, compared with a case where the vehicle is not in a holding-related state (step ST5). When the surrounding object is a surrounding vehicle, the instruction unit 13 identifies the positional relationship between the surrounding vehicle and the vehicle Va by using information about the position and movement of the surrounding vehicle included in the surrounding situation information, and determines whether the identified positional relationship satisfies a predetermined condition. When the positional relationship between the surrounding vehicle and the vehicle Va satisfies the predetermined condition, the instruction unit 13 corrects the control parameters included in the previous travel control information so that acceleration / deceleration or lane change of the vehicle Va is performed more gently than in a case where the vehicle is not in a holding-related state.

[0049] A case where a surrounding vehicle is a preceding vehicle traveling ahead of the vehicle Va will now be described. When the inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle and the vehicle Va is less than a predetermined threshold, the instruction unit 13 determines a control parameter that reduces the influence of inertial force acting on the target object, compared with the previous travel of the vehicle Va when it was not in a holding-related state.

[0050] For example, when a preceding vehicle with an inter-vehicle distance less than a predetermined threshold from the vehicle Va performs sudden deceleration, the instruction unit 13 determines a control parameter for expanding the inter-vehicle distance such that the vehicle Va can decelerate at a gentle deceleration rate without sudden braking, based on the deceleration expected from brake control of the vehicle Va. Instruction information including the control parameter determined by the instruction unit 13 is output to the automatic driving control apparatus 4.

[0051] The automatic driving control apparatus 4 determines whether the current inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle and the vehicle Va is less than a predetermined threshold, based on information about the preceding vehicle included in the surrounding situation information and information about the vehicle Va on which it is mounted. When the inter-vehicle distance is less than the predetermined threshold, the automatic driving control apparatus 4 executes travel control of the vehicle Va based on the control parameter included in the instruction information from the instruction unit 13. Accordingly, even if the preceding vehicle performs sudden braking, travel control is executed for the vehicle Va to expand the inter-vehicle distance such that gentler brake control can be performed compared with a case where the vehicle is not in a holding-related state.

[0052] The vehicle Va driving control determined by the instruction unit 13 can also be described as a control that moves vehicle Va to a position where the influence of inertial force acting on an object is reduced, even if a sudden acceleration, deceleration, or sudden lane change occurs in a vehicle surrounding vehicle Va. Before the automatic driving control device 4 executes the vehicle Va driving control based on the control parameters included in the instruction information from the instruction unit 13, the instruction unit 13 may announce to the occupants via the output device 5 that the driving control will be executed.

[0053] Next, the instruction unit 13 determines whether or not the vehicle Va has finished traveling (step ST6). For example, based on the driving control information acquired from the automatic driving control device 4, the instruction unit 13 checks whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the vehicle Va's speed became 0. If the instruction unit 13 determines that the predetermined time has elapsed and the vehicle Va has finished traveling (step ST6; YES), the driving support device 1 terminates the series of processes shown in Figure 2.

[0054] On the other hand, if the determination unit 12 determines that the system is not in a hold-related state (step ST3; NO), it notifies the instruction unit 13 of this fact. When the instruction unit 13 receives notification from the determination unit 12 that the system is not in a hold-related state, it inquires with the automatic driving control device 4 whether or not the vehicle Va is currently under driving control (step ST7).

[0055] If vehicle Va is under driving control (step ST7; YES), the instruction unit 13 instructs the automatic driving control device 4 to cancel the current driving control and return to the settings of the control parameters included in the original driving control information (step ST8). For example, the instruction unit 13 selects driving control information based on the corresponding time from the driving control information stored in memory in the process of step ST1 or the process of step ST9 described later in the series of processes shown in Figure 2 that were executed in the past. The instruction unit 13 then sets the selected driving control information in the automatic driving control device 4. As a result, the automatic driving control device 4 executes the driving control of vehicle Va that was executed in the past again. After this, the instruction unit 13 proceeds to the process of step ST6.

[0056] Furthermore, if vehicle Va is not under driving control (step ST7; NO), the instruction unit 13 stores the driving control information currently set in the automatic driving control device 4 in memory (step ST9). For example, the driving control information is stored in memory in association with the current time. After this, the instruction unit 13 proceeds to the processing in step ST6.

[0057] As long as it is determined in step ST3 that the holding-related state is in effect, the sequence of processes in steps ST2, ST3, ST4, ST5, and ST6 is repeated. After that, when it is determined that the holding-related state has been resolved, the process moves from step ST3 to step ST7, and if the travel control in step ST5 is still being executed, the process moves from step ST7 to step ST8. Then, when the travel control in step ST5 is released, the process moves from step ST7 to step ST9.

[0058] The driver assistance device 1 can suppress the occurrence of malfunctions related to the target object in a holding-related state by executing the processes shown in Figure 2 (particularly steps ST3 and ST5). Below, specific examples of vehicle Va driving control to reduce the influence of inertial force acting on the target object will be described. Vehicle Va driving control includes at least one of the following: control to reduce the vehicle Va's speed, control to increase the distance to the vehicle ahead, or control to change the vehicle Va's driving lane.

[0059] (Example of vehicle driving control A) If the instruction unit 13 determines that a holding-related state is in place, it may execute driving control to adjust the distance between vehicle Va and the vehicle traveling directly in front of vehicle Va. Figures 3A and 3B are diagrams showing an example (1) of vehicle driving control of vehicle Va in Embodiment 1, and show vehicle Va traveling on road R and the vehicle Vb traveling in front of it. Figure 3A is a diagram showing the distance between vehicle Va and the vehicle Vb before the holding-related state is entered. Figure 3B is a diagram showing the distance between vehicle Va and the vehicle Vb when the holding-related state is entered and driving control of vehicle Va is executed.

[0060] In Figure 3A, on road R, the distance between vehicle Va and the vehicle ahead Vb is the following distance L1, which depends on the vehicle Va's speed v. The following distance L1 is the distance at which vehicle Va reaches the vehicle ahead Vb in approximately 3 seconds. The driving speed v is the relative speed of vehicle Va to the driving speed of the vehicle ahead Vb. When the driving speed v is 40 km / h, 60 km / h, 80 km / h, and 100 km / h, the following distance L1 is 33.3 m, 50 m, 66.7 m, and 83.3 m, respectively.

[0061] If L2 is the distance between vehicles adjusted by the vehicle Va's driving control to reduce the effect of the inertial force acting on the target object, then L2 > L1. For example, let L2 = α1 × L1. α1 is, for example, 1.25. Note that α1 may be manually set by the driver of vehicle Va. When it is determined that a holding-related state is in effect, if the distance d between vehicle Va and the vehicle ahead Vb is shorter than L2, the instruction unit 13 will execute vehicle Va's driving control to gradually reduce the vehicle Va's speed and bring the distance d closer to L2, as shown in Figure 3B. This can also be described as vehicle Va's driving control to increase the distance d between it and the vehicle ahead Vb.

[0062] When the vehicle Vb ahead suddenly decelerates, and vehicle Va decelerates accordingly, the braking control of vehicle Va can be made more gradual when the following distance L2 is shown in Figure 3B than when the following distance L1 is shown in Figure 3A, regardless of whether the vehicle is in autonomous or manual driving mode. In other words, even if the braking control of vehicle Va is made gradual, vehicle Va can avoid colliding with the vehicle Vb ahead.

[0063] Furthermore, because the vehicle Va's brake control is gradual, the effect of the inertial force acting on the target object due to the vehicle Va's brake control is reduced. This suppresses collisions between the target object and occupants, etc., due to inertial forces, or reduces the impact of collisions with the target object. In addition, by finely adjusting the deceleration of the vehicle Va, even if the target object is a container filled with liquid, it is possible to prevent the liquid from spilling out of the container due to the inertial force acting as the vehicle Va moves, or to reduce the amount of spillage.

[0064] Furthermore, if road R has multiple lanes, surrounding vehicles traveling behind vehicle Va in an adjacent lane may change lanes into vehicle Va's lane while vehicle Va is performing driving control to gradually reduce the distance d between vehicles to L2. If the distance between the surrounding vehicle and vehicle Va is short when the surrounding vehicle changes lanes into vehicle Va's lane, it may become necessary for vehicle Va to accelerate rapidly to avoid a collision.

[0065] Therefore, if there is a surrounding vehicle traveling behind the vehicle Va in an adjacent lane, the instruction unit 13 may instruct the vehicle Va to gradually reduce the distance d between the vehicles to L2, and to perform driving control of the vehicle Va so that the distance between the vehicle Va and the surrounding vehicle is greater than a certain distance, making sudden acceleration of the vehicle Va unnecessary. As a result, even if a sudden lane change occurs by a surrounding vehicle traveling in an adjacent lane, the vehicle Va does not have to perform sudden driving control, and the influence of the inertial force acting on the target object due to the vehicle Va's movement is reduced.

[0066] (Example of vehicle driving control B) When the instruction unit 13 determines that a holding relationship state is in effect, and the vehicle Va is under ACC control, it may execute driving control to adjust the distance between the vehicle Va and the vehicle traveling directly in front of the vehicle Va. For example, on the road R shown in Figures 3A and 3B, when the vehicle Va is under ACC control and following the vehicle Vb in front, if the vehicle Va is determined to be in a holding relationship state, the driving control of the vehicle Va is executed so that the distance between it and the vehicle Vb in front becomes longer than when it is not in a holding relationship state.

[0067] If L1 is the distance between vehicles controlled by ACC when the vehicle is not in a hold-related state, and L2 is the distance between vehicles after driving control when the vehicle is in a hold-related state, the instruction unit 13 sets, for example, L2 = α2 × L1. α2 is, for example, 1.25. When the instruction unit 13 determines that the vehicle is in a hold-related state, if the distance between vehicles L1 is shorter than L2, it causes the vehicle Va to execute driving control to gradually reduce the vehicle's speed and bring the distance between vehicles d closer to L2, as shown in Figure 3B. After this, if it is determined that the vehicle is not in a hold-related state, the instruction unit 13 executes driving control to return to the original distance between vehicles L1 controlled by ACC. Furthermore, if there is a surrounding vehicle traveling behind in an adjacent lane to the vehicle Va's lane, the instruction unit 13 may cause the vehicle Va to execute driving control to gradually bring the distance between vehicles L1 closer to L2, while ensuring that the distance between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicle is above a certain distance, making rapid acceleration of the vehicle Va unnecessary.

[0068] (Example C of vehicle driving control) When vehicle Va is traveling on a road with multiple lanes, the driving control of vehicle Va may be a control that causes vehicle Va to travel so as not to travel parallel to surrounding vehicles traveling in adjacent lanes within a predetermined distance range. For example, the instruction unit 13 moves vehicle Va to a position in front of or behind surrounding vehicle vb within a predetermined distance range so as not to travel parallel to surrounding vehicle vb traveling in an adjacent lane. Figures 4A and 4B are diagrams showing an example (2) of vehicle driving control of vehicle Va in Embodiment 1, showing vehicle Va traveling on a two-lane road R and surrounding vehicle Vb traveling in an adjacent lane adjacent to the lane in which vehicle Va is traveling.

[0069] Figure 4A shows the apparent distance between vehicle Va and surrounding vehicle Vb before the holding-related state is entered. Figure 4B shows the apparent distance between vehicle Va and surrounding vehicle Vb when the vehicle Va is in a holding-related state and driving control is performed. The apparent distance is the distance between vehicle Va and surrounding vehicle Vb as viewed from the roadside of road R, which is L3 in Figure 4A and L4 in Figure 4B.

[0070] When the instruction unit 13 determines that a holding relationship state is in effect, it executes driving control to move the driving position of vehicle Va to a position in front of or behind the surrounding vehicle Vb, so as to avoid parallel driving between vehicle Va and the surrounding vehicle Vb traveling in the adjacent lane. For example, when the instruction unit 13 determines that a holding relationship state is in effect and executes driving control for vehicle Va, it gradually moves the apparent distance between vehicle Va and the surrounding vehicle Vb from a driving position where the apparent distance is L3 to a driving position where the apparent distance is L4. L4 is a distance within the forward distance range, for example, about twice the length of vehicle Va, or about 10m. Note that the driving control that gradually moves the apparent distance from L3 to L4 may also be performed by the driver of vehicle Va through manual driving.

[0071] Furthermore, if there is a surrounding vehicle traveling behind in an adjacent lane to the lane in which vehicle Va is traveling, and that surrounding vehicle suddenly changes lanes into the lane in which vehicle Va is traveling, if the distance between the surrounding vehicle and vehicle Va is short, it may become necessary to rapidly accelerate vehicle Va to avoid a collision between the two. Therefore, the instruction unit 13 may control the vehicle Va's driving so that it gradually moves from a driving position where the apparent distance between vehicles is L3 to a driving position where the apparent distance is L4, and so that the apparent distance between vehicle Va and the surrounding vehicle becomes a certain distance or greater, making rapid acceleration of vehicle Va unnecessary.

[0072] Furthermore, although Figures 4A and 4B show the case where vehicle Va is traveling behind surrounding vehicle Vb, the instruction unit 13 may also perform driving control so that vehicle Va travels in front of surrounding vehicle Vb. For example, suppose that before the holding relationship state is determined, the surrounding vehicle is traveling in the adjacent lane behind vehicle Va, and the apparent distance between this rear surrounding vehicle and vehicle Va is L3. The instruction unit 13 determines that the holding relationship state is in effect and performs driving control of vehicle Va, thereby gradually moving vehicle Va from a driving position where the apparent distance between it and the rear surrounding vehicle Vb is L3 to a driving position where it is L4. At this time, L4 is a distance within the rear distance range.

[0073] (Example of vehicle driving control D) When the instruction unit 13 determines that a holding relationship state is in effect, if there is a surrounding vehicle traveling in an adjacent lane, it may execute driving control to adjust the distance between the surrounding vehicle and vehicle Va so that parallel driving between the surrounding vehicle and vehicle Va is avoided within a predetermined longitudinal distance range. For example, if the apparent distance between vehicle Va and surrounding vehicle Vb is L3 before the holding relationship state is determined, the instruction unit 13 determines that a holding relationship state is in effect and executes driving control for vehicle Va to gradually move the apparent distance between vehicle Va and surrounding vehicle Vb from L3 to L4. Note that the driving control to gradually move the apparent distance from L3 to L4 may be performed by the driver of vehicle Va through manual driving. The instruction unit 13 assumes, for example, L4 = α3 × L3. α3 is, for example, 2.

[0074] Furthermore, if there is a surrounding vehicle traveling behind in an adjacent lane to the lane in which vehicle Va is traveling, and that surrounding vehicle suddenly changes lanes into the lane in which vehicle Va is traveling, and the distance between the surrounding vehicle and vehicle Va is short, it may become necessary to rapidly accelerate vehicle Va to avoid a collision between the two vehicles. The instruction unit 13 may gradually bring the apparent distance L3 closer to L4, and perform driving control of vehicle Va so that the distance between it and the surrounding vehicle becomes a certain distance or greater, making it unnecessary for vehicle Va to rapidly accelerate.

[0075] (Example of vehicle driving control E) When the instruction unit 13 determines that a holding related state is in place, if there is a surrounding vehicle traveling ahead in the same lane and a surrounding vehicle traveling behind in the same lane, and the distance between the rear vehicle and the surrounding vehicle ahead cannot be increased by the rear surrounding vehicle, the instruction unit 13 may cause vehicle Va to change lanes. For example, if there is a surrounding vehicle traveling ahead in the same lane and a surrounding vehicle traveling behind in the same lane, the instruction unit 13 will cause vehicle Va to change lanes. Figures 5A and 5B are diagrams showing an example (3) of vehicle Va driving control in Embodiment 1, and show vehicle Va traveling on a two-lane road R, a surrounding vehicle Vb1 traveling ahead in the same lane as vehicle Va, and a surrounding vehicle Vb2 traveling behind in the same lane as vehicle Va.

[0076] Figure 5A shows vehicle Va traveling in the same lane with surrounding vehicles Vb1 and Vb2. Figure 5B shows vehicle Va changing lanes as indicated by the dashed arrow in Figure 5A in order to execute driving control of vehicle Va in a hold-related state. The apparent distance between vehicle Va and surrounding vehicle Vb1 is L1, as shown in Figures 5A and 5B. In Figure 5A, even if an attempt is made to execute driving control of vehicle Va to further increase the distance L1 between it and the surrounding vehicle Vb1 in front, this cannot be done because the distance between it and the surrounding vehicle Vb2 behind it becomes shorter. In this case, the instruction unit 13 causes vehicle Va to change lanes to the adjacent lane, as indicated by the dashed arrow in Figure 5A. Due to the lane change to the adjacent lane, as shown in Figure 5B, there are no surrounding vehicles within the distance L2 in front of vehicle Va. Note that the lane change of vehicle Va is executed with a gentler movement than when not in a hold-related state, so as not to act a large inertial force on the target object. The instruction unit 13, because there are no surrounding vehicles within a distance L2 in front of the vehicle Va, instructs the vehicle Va to either reduce its speed or increase the apparent distance between it and the surrounding vehicles Vb1 and Vb2 in order to reduce the influence of the inertial force acting on the target object.

[0077] (Example of vehicle driving control F) When vehicle Va is traveling on a road with multiple lanes, the driving control of vehicle Va may be such that vehicle Va does not travel parallel to surrounding vehicles traveling in adjacent lanes to the left and right within a predetermined distance range. For example, the instruction unit 13 considers the distance between vehicle Va and surrounding vehicles traveling ahead in the same lane and causes vehicle Va to change lanes in order to avoid traveling parallel to surrounding vehicles traveling in adjacent lanes. Figures 6A and 6B are diagrams showing an example (4) of vehicle Va driving control in Embodiment 1, and show vehicle Va, surrounding vehicle Vb1, surrounding vehicle Vb2, and surrounding vehicle Vb3 traveling on a three-lane road R.

[0078] Figure 6A shows a vehicle Va determined to be in a holding-related state, and surrounding vehicles Vb1, Vb2, and Vb3. In Figure 6A, vehicle Va is traveling in the center lane of a three-lane road R, surrounding vehicle Vb1 is traveling ahead in an adjacent lane, surrounding vehicle Vb2 is traveling behind in an adjacent lane, and surrounding vehicle Vb3 is traveling ahead in the same lane. The apparent distance L3 between vehicle Va and surrounding vehicle Vb1 is short, so if vehicle Va increases its speed, it is likely to end up traveling parallel to surrounding vehicle Vb1. When vehicle Va and surrounding vehicle Vb1 are traveling almost parallel, if surrounding vehicle Vb1 suddenly changes lanes into vehicle Va's lane, vehicle Va will need to apply the brakes suddenly to avoid a collision with surrounding vehicle Vb1. At this time, a large inertial force acts on the object, making it highly likely that a malfunction related to the object will occur. Therefore, the instruction unit 13 instructs vehicle Va to change lanes to the adjacent lane, as shown by the dashed arrow in Figure 6A, in order to increase the distance between it and the surrounding vehicle Vb1, which has a short apparent distance L3.

[0079] Figure 6B shows vehicle Va after changing lanes as indicated by the dashed arrow in Figure 6A, in order to execute driving control of vehicle Va after entering a holding-related state. As shown in Figure 6B, by changing lanes so as to move away from surrounding vehicle Vb1, the apparent distance between vehicle Va and surrounding vehicle Vb1 remains L3, but there are no surrounding vehicles within the distance L4 in front of vehicle Va in the vehicle Va's driving lane. Therefore, the instruction unit 13 executes driving control of vehicle Va to avoid driving alongside surrounding vehicles Vb1, Vb2, and Vb3.

[0080] (Example of vehicle driving control G) When the instruction unit 13 determines that a holding related state is in effect, if there is a surrounding vehicle traveling in an adjacent lane, it may execute driving control in which vehicle Va overtakes the surrounding vehicle so as to avoid parallel driving between the surrounding vehicle and vehicle Va. Figures 7A and 7B are diagrams showing an example (5) of vehicle Va driving control in Embodiment 1, and show vehicle Va, surrounding vehicle Vb1 and surrounding vehicle Vb2 traveling on a two-lane road R.

[0081] Figure 7A shows vehicle Va, which is determined to be in a holding-related state, and surrounding vehicles Vb1 and Vb2. In Figure 7A, vehicle Va is traveling in the left lane of a two-lane road R, surrounding vehicle Vb1 is traveling ahead in the adjacent lane, and surrounding vehicle Vb2 is traveling behind in the adjacent lane. The apparent distance L3 between vehicle Va and surrounding vehicle Vb1 is short, so if surrounding vehicle Vb1 suddenly changes lanes into vehicle Va's lane, vehicle Va will need to apply the brakes suddenly to avoid a collision with surrounding vehicle Vb1. At this time, a large inertial force acts on the object, making it highly likely that a malfunction related to the object will occur. Therefore, the instruction unit 13 controls vehicle Va to overtake surrounding vehicle Vb1, as shown by the dashed arrow in Figure 6A, in order to increase the distance between vehicle Va and surrounding vehicle Vb1, which has a short apparent distance L3. Furthermore, the overtaking of the surrounding vehicle Vb1 by vehicle Va is achieved with a gentler straight-line control than in the case where the vehicle is not in a holding-related state, so as not to exert a large inertial force on the target object.

[0082] Figure 7B shows vehicle Va after it has overtaken surrounding vehicle Vb1, as indicated by the dashed arrow in Figure 7A, in order to execute vehicle Va's driving control after entering a holding-related state. By overtaking surrounding vehicle Vb1, there are no surrounding vehicles within a distance L4 in front of vehicle Va. As a result, vehicle Va avoids driving alongside surrounding vehicles Vb1 and Vb2.

[0083] (Example of vehicle driving control H) When vehicle Va is driving in the center lane of a three-lane road, and there are surrounding vehicles in the adjacent lanes in front of, behind, and to the left and right of vehicle Va, vehicle Va may be driven to a position midway between the surrounding vehicles in front and behind, and midway between the surrounding vehicles to the left and right. When there are surrounding vehicles in the adjacent lanes in front of, behind, and to the left and right of vehicle Va's driving lane, if the surrounding vehicle in front decelerates suddenly, the surrounding vehicle behind accelerates suddenly, or the surrounding vehicles to the left and right change lanes into the driving lane, vehicle Va will need to brake suddenly to avoid a collision with the surrounding vehicles. In this case, if the holding-related state is in effect, a large inertial force acts on the object, making it highly likely that a malfunction related to the object will occur. Therefore, if the instruction unit 13 determines that the holding-related state is in effect, it will execute driving control to move vehicle Va to a position midway between the surrounding vehicles in front and behind, and also midway between the surrounding vehicles to the left and right. This makes it possible to avoid parallel driving between the surrounding vehicles and vehicle Va.

[0084] Furthermore, if there are surrounding vehicles in front of and behind vehicle Va, but surrounding vehicles are present only in one of the adjacent lanes to the left or right, the instruction unit 13 may execute driving control to move vehicle Va to a position midway between the surrounding vehicles in front and behind, and closer to the adjacent lane where no surrounding vehicles are present on the left or right. Executing such driving control also helps to avoid parallel driving between the surrounding vehicles and vehicle Va.

[0085] (Decision Processing A) Next, the decision processing for determining the holding-related state will be explained with specific examples. The target for determining the holding-related state was assumed to be the driver of vehicle Va, but it may also be an occupant other than the driver. When detecting the status of occupants other than the driver, for example, an in-vehicle condition detection device 3 provided for each occupant may detect the status of occupants other than the driver in the vehicle interior. The decision unit 12 uses the in-vehicle condition information for each occupant to determine whether or not each occupant is in a holding-related state. Alternatively, the in-vehicle condition detection device 3 may be a wide-angle camera installed in the vehicle interior. In this case, the decision unit 12 may use image data of the driver, passenger in the front seat, or all occupants in the vehicle interior captured by the wide-angle camera to determine whether or not each occupant is in a holding-related state.

[0086] (Decision Processing B) The holding-related state includes a state in which the holding and releasing of the target object are intermittently repeated within a predetermined time period. "Release" means that the occupant takes the target object out of their hand. For example, if the target object is a can of beverage, and the occupant intermittently holds the can in their hand and takes the can out of their hand and places it in the cup holder for a predetermined period (for example, several minutes), it can be assumed that the occupant is intermittently drinking the liquid from the can. Therefore, the decision unit 12 identifies the can, which is the target object, based on the in-vehicle condition information acquired from the in-vehicle condition detection device 3, and determines that if the holding and releasing of the can are intermittently repeated within a predetermined period, this action is also a holding-related state. In this way, the driving support device 1 can include not only the state in which the target object is held in the hand, but also the state in which the target object is taken out of the hand and placed down (released) as part of the holding-related state.

[0087] (Decision Processing C) The decision unit 12 determines whether the target object is approaching a specific part of the occupant within a preset range, and the instruction unit 13 may execute driving control if it determines that the target object is approaching the specific part within a preset range. For example, the decision unit 12 uses the in-cabin video data captured by the in-cabin situation detection device 3 to determine whether the target object has approached the occupant's face within a predetermined distance range. If the decision unit 12 determines that the target object has approached the occupant's face within the above distance range, the instruction unit 13 considers it to be in a holding-related state and executes driving control of the vehicle Va to reduce the influence of the inertial force acting on the target object.

[0088] When an object approaches the occupant's face, the instruction unit 13 may perform driving control of the vehicle Va to further reduce the effect of the inertial force acting on the object compared to the holding-related state when the object is not approaching the occupant's face. As driving control to further reduce the effect of the inertial force acting on the object, for example, the distance between the vehicle Va and surrounding vehicles may be increased. When an object approaches the occupant's face, if an inertial force acts on the object and causes it to move, the object is more likely to collide with the occupant's face.

[0089] Therefore, when the target object is approaching the occupant's face, the vehicle Va's driving control can be implemented to further reduce the effect of the inertial force acting on the target object, thereby avoiding a collision with the occupant's face. Although the example shows the occupant's specific body part as the face, it could be any other body part. For example, the specific body part is any part of the body that would be greatly affected if the target object were to collide with it, and could be the occupant's head or throat, etc. Furthermore, the vehicle Va's driving control can be implemented at the moment the target object approaches within a predetermined distance range from the occupant's face.

[0090] (Decision Processing D) The decision unit 12 determines the type of object according to the physical impact that the object has on its surroundings due to the inertial force acting on it as the vehicle Va moves, and the instruction unit 13 may determine the content of the driving control based on the type of object and execute the driving control according to the determined content. The type of object is the type of object determined based on the result of evaluating the physical impact that the object has on its surroundings when an inertial force is applied. For example, information devices such as smartphones or tablets are classified as solid objects A, which have a significant impact when they collide with occupants. Containers such as cans or cups are classified as solid objects B, which may contain liquid. Food such as bread, rice balls or sweets are classified as solid objects C, which may contaminate surrounding occupants or interior structures of the vehicle when they collide with them. The instruction unit 13 executes driving control of the vehicle Va to further reduce the impact of the inertial force acting on the object according to the type of object. The instruction unit 13 may, for example, adopt driving control that further reduces the impact of the inertial force acting on the object in the order of solid object C < solid object B < solid object A. This allows the driving support device 1 to perform driving control of the vehicle Va according to the magnitude of the physical effect that the target object has on its surroundings when an inertial force is applied. However, objects that have little physical effect on their surroundings when an inertial force is applied, such as cloth or a handkerchief, may not be considered as target objects.

[0091] (Decision Processing E) Holding an object by an occupant includes attaching the object to the occupant. For example, objects attached to an occupant include ornaments or attachment devices. The decision unit 12 may determine that an object-holding related state exists when it detects that the occupant is wearing an ornament or attachment device. When an occupant is wearing an ornament such as a hair ornament on their head, if an inertial force acts on the ornament due to sudden braking of the vehicle Va, there is a high possibility that the ornament will collide with the occupant's head, and the occupant may suffer a head injury as a result of this collision. When the decision unit 12 determines that the occupant is in an object-holding related state, the instruction unit 13 will execute driving control of the vehicle Va to further reduce the effect of the inertial force acting on the object. In this way, the driving support device 1 can execute driving control of the vehicle Va in response to the occupant wearing an object. Note that an ornament such as a brooch or an attachment device such as eyeglasses may be determined to be an object if it is made of a hard material or has a sharp shape that would have a large impact on the occupant in the event of a collision.

[0092] (Decision Processing F) The decision unit 12 may determine that the state in which the occupant is holding the pet, or taking the contents out of the box, is a holding-related state. In this case, the pet and the contents of the box are identified as target objects. For example, if the vehicle Va brakes suddenly while the occupant is holding the pet, the inertial force will act and the occupant will fall forward, potentially trapping the pet between the occupant and the interior structure in front of the occupant, resulting in injury to the pet. Therefore, if the decision unit 12 determines that the occupant is in a holding-related state of holding the pet, the instruction unit 13 will execute driving control of the vehicle Va to reduce the effect of the inertial force acting on the target object. As a result, the driving support device 1 can reduce the effect of the inertial force on a target object that can be deformed by the inertial force acting due to the movement of the vehicle.

[0093] (Decision Processing G) The instruction unit 13 may determine the content of the driving control based on the operational capabilities of the vehicle specified by the vehicle type, and execute the driving control with the determined content. The vehicle type is a type corresponding to the operational capabilities of the vehicle, and operational capabilities include, for example, the braking distance and turning performance of the vehicle. Large vehicles such as trucks or buses have longer braking distances than passenger cars. Also, in the low-speed range, the braking distance of two-wheeled vehicles is shorter than that of passenger cars. On the other hand, as the speed increases, the braking distance of two-wheeled vehicles that are not equipped with ABS (automatic braking control) etc. becomes longer. Since a shorter braking distance results in a greater acceleration of deceleration, for example, if the vehicle type of the vehicle traveling ahead is a vehicle with a short braking distance, the instruction unit 13 needs to execute driving control of vehicle Va that increases the distance between it and the vehicle traveling ahead.

[0094] Furthermore, motorcycles have better turning performance than passenger cars. Trucks have inferior turning performance compared to passenger cars. Lane changes are often performed by vehicles with good turning performance. For example, if a nearby vehicle traveling in an adjacent lane is a vehicle with high turning performance, there is a high probability that it will change lanes when driving alongside. Therefore, if the nearby vehicle traveling in an adjacent lane is a vehicle with high turning performance, the instruction unit 13 may decide on a control to move vehicle Va to a position with a large distance range in front of or behind the nearby vehicle as part of the driving control of vehicle Va. By creating a large distance range in front of or behind, the driving support device 1 can smoothly brake vehicle Va even if the nearby vehicle suddenly changes lanes.

[0095] Furthermore, pedestrians may be included in the moving objects. In this case, the type of pedestrian may be set to include, for example, the ability to perform actions according to the age group of the pedestrian. Based on the evaluation of the possibility of the pedestrian suddenly running into the road, etc., the instruction unit 13 will, for example, execute driving control to gradually reduce the speed of the vehicle Va.

[0096] (Decision Processing H) The surrounding situation information acquisition unit 11 may acquire information about the state of moving objects present around the vehicle Va by communicating with an external source, the decision unit 12 may make a decision about the state of the moving objects based on the information about the state of the moving objects, and the instruction unit 13 may determine the content of the driving control based on the state of the moving objects and execute the driving control according to the determined content. For example, the surrounding situation information acquisition unit 11 may acquire internal information from surrounding vehicles of vehicle Va as surrounding situation information using a communication device not shown in Figure 1. Note that the internal information of surrounding vehicles may be acquired not only from surrounding vehicles but also from an external device provided separately from the driving support device 1. That is, the surrounding situation information acquisition unit 11 may acquire internal information by V2V communication with surrounding vehicles, or by V2X communication with an external device, etc.

[0097] The instruction unit 13 determines the content of the vehicle Va's driving control, taking into account the internal information of the surrounding vehicles, and executes the driving control according to the determined content. For example, depending on the internal information of the surrounding vehicles, the driving control of vehicle Va is determined to reduce the effect of the inertial force acting on the target object. The internal information is information about the state of a moving body including the surrounding vehicles, and is at least one of the following: information about the autonomous driving function of the surrounding vehicles, driving control information of the surrounding vehicles, or information about the state of the drivers of the surrounding vehicles.

[0098] For example, the instruction unit 13 evaluates the driving stability of surrounding vehicles based on internal information and executes driving control to move vehicle Va away from surrounding vehicles as the driving stability decreases. The surrounding situation information acquisition unit 11 acquires information such as vehicle speed, acceleration, steering angle, brake operation, tire slip ratio, or yaw rate (vehicle rotation) in real time as internal information of surrounding vehicles. Next, the instruction unit 13 applies a dynamic model to evaluate the driving stability of surrounding vehicles based on the surrounding situation information including internal information. For example, it analyzes the turning performance of surrounding vehicles from the relationship between yaw rate and steering angle, and if the tire slip ratio is abnormally high, it determines that the surrounding vehicle is in a slipping state. Also, if there is sudden acceleration or deceleration or excessive fluctuation in brake pressure, the instruction unit 13 determines that the driving instability of the surrounding vehicle is low. Furthermore, the instruction unit 13 comprehensively evaluates the driving stability of surrounding vehicles by also considering external environmental information such as road conditions or weather. The instruction unit 13 moves vehicle Va away from surrounding vehicles as the evaluation value of the driving stability of surrounding vehicles decreases. The internal information will be explained below with specific examples.

[0099] (Internal Information A) If the internal information is information on the autonomous driving control of surrounding vehicles, the higher the autonomous driving level of the surrounding vehicles identified from the internal information, the less likely the surrounding vehicles are to make sudden acceleration, deceleration, or lane changes. Therefore, the instruction unit 13 reduces the degree to which the influence of inertial force acting on the target object is reduced by controlling the driving of vehicle Va.

[0100] (Internal Information B) If the internal information is driving control information of surrounding vehicles, the instruction unit 13, based on the driving control information, will increase the degree to which the influence of inertial force acting on the target object is reduced by the driving control of vehicle Va if there are surrounding vehicles that are performing control with frequent or large acceleration and deceleration, surrounding vehicles that are performing control with frequent or sudden lane changes, or surrounding vehicles that are being driven erratically such as weaving. In addition, driving control of vehicle Va will be performed to move it away from surrounding vehicles that are being driven erratically.

[0101] (Internal Information C) If the internal information is information indicating the state of the driver of a surrounding vehicle, the instruction unit 13 identifies the level of alertness, psychological state, or distraction information of the driver of the surrounding vehicle, and if the driver is in an unsuitable state for driving, it increases the degree to which the influence of inertial force acting on the target object is reduced by the driving control of vehicle Va. For example, the instruction unit 13 causes vehicle Va to move away from a surrounding vehicle whose driver is in an unsuitable state for driving.

[0102] Next, the hardware configuration that realizes the functions of the driver assistance device 1 will be described. The functions of the surrounding situation information acquisition unit 11, the judgment unit 12, and the instruction unit 13 of the driver assistance device 1 are realized by processing circuits. That is, the driver assistance device 1 includes processing circuits for executing the processes from step ST1 to step ST9 shown in Figure 2. The processing circuits may be dedicated hardware, or they may be a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that executes a program stored in memory.

[0103] Figure 8A is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration for realizing the functions of the driver assistance system 1. Figure 8B is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration for executing the software that realizes the functions of the driver assistance system 1. In Figures 8A and 8B, the driver assistance system 1 acquires surrounding situation information from the surrounding situation detection device 2 and in-vehicle situation information from the in-vehicle situation detection device 3 via the input interface 100. The driver assistance system 1 outputs instruction information to the automatic driving control device 4 and the output device 5 via the output interface 101.

[0104] If the processing circuit is a dedicated hardware processing circuit 102 as shown in Figure 8A, the processing circuit 102 may be, for example, a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or a combination thereof. The surrounding situation information acquisition unit 11, the judgment unit 12, and the instruction unit 13 of the driving support device 1 may be implemented with separate processing circuits, or these functions may be implemented together with a single processing circuit.

[0105] When the processing circuit is the processor 103 shown in Figure 8B, the functions of the surrounding situation information acquisition unit 11, the decision unit 12, and the instruction unit 13 provided by the driving support device 1 are realized by software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware. The software or firmware is written as a program and stored in the memory 104.

[0106] The processor 103 reads and executes a program stored in the memory 104, thereby realizing the functions of the surrounding situation information acquisition unit 11, the decision unit 12, and the instruction unit 13 provided by the driver assistance device 1. For example, the driver assistance device 1 includes a memory 104 for storing a program that, when executed by the processor 103, results in the execution of steps ST1 to ST9 shown in Figure 2. These programs cause the computer to execute the procedures or methods performed by the driver assistance device 1. The memory 104 may be a computer-readable storage medium in which a program for causing the computer to function as the driver assistance device 1 is stored.

[0107] Memory 104 includes, for example, non-volatile or volatile semiconductor memory such as RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), flash memory, EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), and EEPROM (Electrically-EPROM) (registered trademark), as well as magnetic disks, flexible disks, optical disks, compact disks, minidiscs, DVDs, and the like.

[0108] Some of the functions of the driver assistance device 1 may be implemented by dedicated hardware, while other parts may be implemented by software or firmware. For example, the function of the surrounding situation information acquisition unit 11 may be implemented by a processing circuit 102, which is dedicated hardware, and the functions of the decision unit 12 and the instruction unit 13 may be implemented by the processor 103 reading and executing a program stored in the memory 104. In this way, the processing circuit can implement the above functions by hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof.

[0109] As described above, the driver assistance device 1 according to Embodiment 1 includes a determination unit 12 that determines whether or not a vehicle is in a holding-related state, including the state in which an occupant of the vehicle Va is holding or attempting to hold an object, based on vehicle interior condition information indicating the situation inside the vehicle Va, and an instruction unit 13 that, when it is determined that a holding-related state exists, causes the vehicle Va to execute driving control to reduce the influence of the inertial force acting on the object due to the vehicle Va's movement compared to when it is determined that a holding-related state does not exist. Since driving control to reduce the influence of the inertial force acting on the object due to the vehicle Va's movement is executed when it is determined that a holding-related state exists, the driver assistance device 1 can suppress the occurrence of malfunctions related to the object in a holding-related state. For example, when the driver of the vehicle Va is holding an object during automatic driving, the distance between the vehicle Va and the vehicle traveling directly in front of the vehicle Va is adjusted so that even if the vehicle traveling in front brakes suddenly, the vehicle Va's brake control in response will not cause a large deceleration. This driving control reduces the effect of inertial forces acting on the target object due to the vehicle Va's brake control, preventing the target object from moving significantly due to the vehicle Va's brake control. This prevents driver injury from collisions with the target object and prevents damage to in-vehicle equipment or interior components from collisions with the target object. Furthermore, even if the target object itself is easily damaged, the damage to the object when inertial forces act on it due to the vehicle Va's movement can be reduced. In addition, even if the target object is a container filled with liquid, spillage from the container due to inertial forces acting on it due to the vehicle Va's movement can be suppressed.

[0110] The driving support device 1 according to Embodiment 1 includes a surrounding situation information acquisition unit 11 that acquires surrounding situation information, including the positions of objects around the vehicle Va. The instruction unit 13 determines the content of the driving control using the surrounding situation information and outputs instruction information to the automatic driving control device 4 installed in the vehicle, instructing the vehicle to execute the driving control according to the determined content. Since automatic driving control of the vehicle Va is executed to reduce the influence of inertial force acting on the target object, the driving support device 1 can suppress the occurrence of malfunctions related to the target object in a holding-related state.

[0111] In the driving support device 1 according to Embodiment 1, when the instruction unit 13 determines that a holding-related state is in effect, and switches the operation of the vehicle Va from manual to automatic, it outputs instruction information to the automatic driving control device 4 if the distance between the vehicle Va and the surrounding object is shorter than a preset distance. As a result, the driving support device 1 can execute driving control of the vehicle Va to reduce the effect of the inertial force acting on the target object at a timing when it is expected that a large inertial force will definitely act on the target object due to the vehicle Va's movement corresponding to the surrounding object.

[0112] In the driving support device 1 according to Embodiment 1, the instruction unit 13 causes the output device 5 to output instruction information that instructs the occupant of the vehicle Va to perform driving control. The occupant (driver) of the vehicle Va performs driving control of the vehicle Va by manual driving to reduce the influence of the inertial force acting on the target object, based on the instruction information output by the output device 5. As a result, the driving support device 1 can suppress the occurrence of malfunctions related to the target object that is in a holding-related state.

[0113] The driving support device 1 according to Embodiment 1 includes a surrounding situation information acquisition unit 11 that acquires surrounding situation information, including the positions of objects surrounding the vehicle Va. The instruction unit 13 uses the surrounding situation information to determine that the distance between the vehicle Va and the surrounding object is shorter than a preset value, and then outputs instruction information to the output device 5. The driver of the vehicle Va performs driving control of the vehicle Va in accordance with the instruction information output from the output device 5, in order to reduce the effect of the inertial force acting on the target object. This makes it possible to perform driving control of the vehicle Va at a timing when it is expected that a large inertial force will definitely act on the target object due to the vehicle Va's movement corresponding to the surrounding object.

[0114] In the driving support device 1 according to Embodiment 1, the target object is an object that can have a physical impact on its surroundings due to the inertial force acting on it by the movement of the vehicle Va. As a result, when the target object that can have a physical impact on its surroundings due to the inertial force acting on it by the movement of the vehicle is in a holding-related state, the driving support device 1 can perform driving control of the vehicle Va to reduce the impact of the inertial force acting on the target object.

[0115] In the driving support device 1 according to Embodiment 1, the target object is an object that can be deformed by the inertial force acting on it as the vehicle Va moves. As a result, when the target object that can be deformed by the inertial force acting on it as the vehicle moves is in a holding-related state, the driving support device 1 can perform vehicle Va driving control to reduce the effect of the inertial force acting on the target object.

[0116] In the driving support device 1 according to Embodiment 1, the holding-related state includes a state in which the holding and releasing of the target object are intermittently repeated within a preset time. As a result, the driving support device 1 can include not only the state in which the target object is held in the hand, but also the state in which the target object is released from the hand.

[0117] In the driving support device 1 according to Embodiment 1, the determination unit 12 determines whether the target object is approaching a specific part of the occupant within a preset range, and the instruction unit 13 executes driving control when it is determined that the target object is approaching the specific part within a preset range. As a result, the driving support device 1 can execute driving control of the vehicle Va at the moment the target object approaches a specific part of the occupant.

[0118] In the driving support device 1 according to Embodiment 1, the determination unit 12 determines the type of object according to the physical effect that the target object has on its surroundings due to the inertial force acting on it by the movement of the vehicle Va, and the instruction unit 13 determines the content of the driving control based on the type of object and executes the driving control according to the determined content. As a result, the driving support device 1 can execute driving control of the vehicle Va according to the magnitude of the physical effect that the target object has on its surroundings when the inertial force acts on it.

[0119] In the driver assistance device 1 according to Embodiment 1, the driving control includes at least one of the following: control to reduce the driving speed of the vehicle Va, control to increase the distance between the vehicle and the vehicle ahead, or control to change the driving lane of the vehicle Va. This makes it possible for the driver assistance device 1 to perform driving control of the vehicle Va in order to reduce the effect of inertial forces acting on the target object.

[0120] In the driving support device 1 according to Embodiment 1, the driving control is a control that causes the vehicle Va to drive so as not to run parallel to a surrounding vehicle vb running in an adjacent lane within a predetermined longitudinal distance range when the vehicle Va is traveling on a road with multiple lanes. As a result, when the driving support device 1 drives the vehicle Va so as not to run parallel to a surrounding vehicle vb running in an adjacent lane, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of malfunctions related to the target object that is in a holding-related state.

[0121] The driver assistance device 1 according to Embodiment 1 includes a surrounding situation information acquisition unit 11 that acquires the type of moving object for moving objects present around the vehicle Va. The instruction unit 13 determines the content of the driving control based on the operational capabilities of the moving object identified by the type of moving object, and executes the driving control according to the determined content. As a result, the driver assistance device 1 can execute driving control according to the operational capabilities of the moving object.

[0122] The driver assistance device 1 according to Embodiment 1 includes a surrounding situation information acquisition unit 11 that acquires information regarding the state of moving objects present around the vehicle Va through communication with an external source. The determination unit 12 determines the state of the moving objects based on the information regarding the state of the moving objects. The instruction unit 13 determines the content of the driving control based on the state of the moving objects and executes the driving control according to the determined content. As a result, the driver assistance device 1 can realize driving control of the vehicle Va according to the state of the moving objects.

[0123] In the driver assistance device 1 according to Embodiment 1, the information relating to the state of the moving object is at least one of the following: information relating to the automatic driving function of the surrounding vehicle Vb, driving control information of the surrounding vehicle Vb, or information relating to the state of the driver of the surrounding vehicle Vb. Based on the information relating to the state of the moving object, the instruction unit 13 evaluates the driving stability of the surrounding vehicle Vb and executes driving control to move vehicle Va in a direction away from the surrounding vehicle Vb as the driving stability decreases. As a result, the driver assistance device 1 can realize driving control of vehicle Va according to the driving stability of the surrounding vehicle.

[0124] The driving assistance method according to Embodiment 1 includes a step ST3 in which the determination unit 12 determines whether or not the object is in a holding-related state based on in-cabin condition information indicating the conditions inside the vehicle Va, and a step ST5 in which the instruction unit 13, if it is determined that the object is in a holding-related state, causes the vehicle Va to perform driving control to reduce the influence of the inertial force acting on the object due to the movement of the vehicle Va compared to when it is determined that the object is not in a holding-related state. By the driving assistance device 1 performing the above method, the occurrence of malfunctions related to the object in a holding-related state can be suppressed.

[0125] Embodiment 2. The driving support device according to Embodiment 2 identifies the possibility that the vehicle Va may perform sudden braking, such as sudden braking, based on the road structure ahead of the road on which the vehicle Va is traveling, and performs driving control of the vehicle Va based on this identification result.

[0126] Figure 9 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of the driver assistance device 1A according to Embodiment 2. In Figure 9, the driver assistance device 1A is mounted on the vehicle Va and is connected by wire or wireless to the surrounding situation detection device 2, the in-vehicle situation detection device 3, the automatic driving control device 4, the output device 5, the map database (hereinafter referred to as "Map DB") 6, and the positioning device 7. Based on the in-vehicle situation information acquired from the in-vehicle situation detection device 3, the driver assistance device 1A determines whether or not a holding-related state is in place, and executes driving control by outputting instruction information for vehicle driving control according to this determination result to the automatic driving control device 4 or the output device 5.

[0127] Furthermore, although Figure 9 shows a driver assistance device 1A mounted on vehicle Va, the driver assistance device 1A may be an external device capable of communicating with vehicle Va. In this case, the driver assistance device 1A acquires information from the surrounding situation detection device 2, the in-vehicle situation detection device 3, the map DB 6, or the positioning device 7 through communication with vehicle Va, and generates instruction information that instructs the execution of vehicle driving control based on the acquired information. Then, the driver assistance device 1A transmits the generated instruction information to the automatic driving control device 4 or the output device 5 through communication with vehicle Va to execute vehicle driving control.

[0128] (Map DB) Map DB 6 is a database in which road structure information, including road shape information regarding the shape of roads and connection information regarding the connection relationships between roads, is registered on a road-by-road basis. For example, Map DB 6 may be configured in memory installed in vehicle Va (not shown in Figure 9), or it may be configured in a map distribution server located outside vehicle Va.

[0129] (Positioning device) The positioning device 7 is a device that measures the position of the vehicle Va, and calculates the position information of the vehicle Va using information acquired from, for example, the GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System). The positioning device 7 may also have a map mapping function using a vehicle speed sensor and an acceleration sensor (not shown in Figure 9) mounted on the vehicle Va. The vehicle speed sensor measures the driving speed of the vehicle Va in real time and calculates the distance the vehicle Va has traveled in a certain period of time. The acceleration sensor detects the lateral and longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle Va during acceleration, deceleration, or turning, and provides data for identifying road surface irregularities, sharp curves, or sections with inclines. For example, if the acceleration sensor detects a high lateral acceleration during a sharp curve, that point is mapped as a sharp curve and reflected in the road shape information. Slopes or steps are also detected from the longitudinal acceleration data and added to the map data of the map DB 6.

[0130] The driver assistance device 1A includes a surrounding situation information acquisition unit 11, a decision unit 12, an instruction unit 13A, and a map-related information acquisition unit 14. For example, the driver assistance device 1A is implemented by a computer. The memory of the computer stores programs that constitute information processing applications for realizing each of the functions of the surrounding situation information acquisition unit 11, the decision unit 12, the instruction unit 13A, and the map-related information acquisition unit 14. The processor of the computer executes the information processing applications read from the memory, thereby realizing each of the functions of the surrounding situation information acquisition unit 11, the decision unit 12, the instruction unit 13A, and the map-related information acquisition unit 14.

[0131] (Instruction Unit) The instruction unit 13A identifies locations on the road traveled by vehicle Va where driving control should be performed, based on road structure information and vehicle position information acquired by the map-related information acquisition unit 14, and causes the vehicle to perform driving control corresponding to the identified locations. Locations where driving control should be performed are, for example, specific locations prone to congestion. Specific locations prone to congestion include road merging points, locations where the number of lanes decreases, sag points, or tunnel entrances.

[0132] When the instruction unit 13A detects that the vehicle Va is within a predetermined distance Lth from the specified point, it executes a driving control that gradually decelerates the current driving speed v of the vehicle Va so that it becomes α4 × v at the specified point. α4 is, for example, 0.8. This driving control is an additional control that is executed in addition to the driving control executed in step ST5 of Figure 2 described in Embodiment 1. Hereinafter, the control of the vehicle Va's driving speed described above will be referred to as additional control (1).

[0133] Furthermore, the instruction unit 13A detects the lane in which vehicle Va is traveling, and if this lane connects to a merging lane or a disappearing lane, and if it is possible to smoothly change vehicle Va to the adjacent lane, it will execute this lane change. This driving control is also an additional control that is executed in addition to the driving control executed in step ST5 of Figure 2 as described in Embodiment 1. Hereinafter, the control of vehicle Va changing lanes as described above will be referred to as additional control (2). If it is not possible to smoothly change vehicle Va to the adjacent lane due to the relationship with surrounding vehicles, etc., the instruction unit 13A will execute additional control (1).

[0134] The map-related information acquisition unit 14 acquires map-related information, including road structure information regarding the road structure of the road on which vehicle Va is traveling, and vehicle position information indicating the location of vehicle Va. For example, the map-related information acquisition unit 14 acquires road structure information of the road on which vehicle Va is traveling from the map DB 6 and acquires vehicle Va's position information from the positioning device 7. The road structure information is information that shows the road structure in front of vehicle Va. The map-related information acquired by the map-related information acquisition unit 14 is output to the instruction unit 13A.

[0135] (Outline of Driving Assistance Method) Next, a driving assistance method according to Embodiment 2 will be described. Figure 10 is a flowchart showing the driving assistance method according to Embodiment 2, illustrating a series of operations of the driving assistance device 1A. When the vehicle Va starts moving, the instruction unit 13A stores driving control information related to the automatic driving function of the vehicle Va that is effective at that time in a memory not shown in Figure 9 (step ST1A). The driving control information includes, for example, on / off settings for automatic driving functions such as AEB, adaptive cruise control (ACC), or IKAS, the automatic driving level of the vehicle Va, the distance setting to the vehicle ahead, the driving speed setting of the vehicle Va, settings related to the timing of executing automatic driving with the vehicle Va, on / off settings for automatic following, or on / off settings for the automatic overtaking function. The driving control information is also stored in memory in association with the current time.

[0136] Although the above memory is assumed to be a memory built into the driver assistance device 1, it may also be an external storage device provided separately from the driver assistance device 1A. In this case, the driver assistance device 1A has a communication function to communicate with the external device, and the instruction unit 13A accesses the external storage device via communication to store driving control information.

[0137] While the vehicle Va is in motion, the in-vehicle condition detection device 3 detects the conditions inside the vehicle. The decision unit 12 then acquires in-vehicle condition information indicating the conditions inside the vehicle detected by the in-vehicle condition detection device 3 (step ST2A). For example, the decision unit 12 acquires video information of the occupants inside the vehicle, captured by an in-vehicle camera mounted on the vehicle Va, as in-vehicle condition information.

[0138] Next, the determination unit 12 determines whether the interior of vehicle Va is in a hold-related state based on the interior condition information (step ST3A). For example, the determination unit 12 performs image recognition processing on video data of the interior of the vehicle, including the occupants, and determines whether the target object is in a hold-related state. Specifically, the determination unit 12 performs image recognition processing on the video data, which is the interior condition information, to extract image data in which the occupants are holding an object or an object is near the occupants. Subsequently, the determination unit 12 analyzes the features within the region in which the object is visible in the image shown by the extracted image data to determine whether the object is the target object. If the object is the target object, the determination unit 12 determines that it is in a hold-related state.

[0139] Meanwhile, while vehicle Va is in motion, the surrounding conditions detection device 2 detects the surrounding conditions of vehicle Va. The surrounding conditions information acquisition unit 11 acquires surrounding conditions information indicating the surrounding conditions of vehicle Va detected by the surrounding conditions detection device 2. In addition, the map-related information acquisition unit 14 acquires the position information of vehicle Va from the positioning device 7 and acquires road structure information near the position of vehicle Va from the map DB 6. The road structure information and the position information of vehicle Va acquired by the map-related information acquisition unit 14 are output to the instruction unit 13A as map-related information.

[0140] If the determination unit 12 determines that the system is in a hold-related state (step ST3A; YES), it notifies the instruction unit 13A of this fact. Upon receiving notification that the system is in a hold-related state, the instruction unit 13A obtains surrounding situation information from the surrounding situation information acquisition unit 11 (step ST4A) and map-related information from the map-related information acquisition unit 14 (step ST5A).

[0141] The instruction unit 13A uses surrounding situation information and map-related information to perform driving control of vehicle Va in order to reduce the influence of inertial force acting on the target object by the vehicle Va's driving corresponding to the surrounding object compared to when it is not in a holding-related state (step ST6A). For example, the instruction unit 13A extracts specific points in front of vehicle Va that have a road structure prone to congestion from road structure information, and extracts the attributes of the specific points, the location information of the specific points, and the location information of vehicle Va. Here, the attributes of the specific points include attribute information such as the number of lanes, which lanes are merging lanes, and which lanes disappear.

[0142] Furthermore, in addition to the processing of step ST5 in Figure 2 as described in Embodiment 1, the instruction unit 13A performs additional control that takes into account congestion caused by the road structure of the road on which the vehicle Va is traveling. For example, when the instruction unit 13A detects that the position of the vehicle Va is within a predetermined distance Lth from a specific point, it performs the additional control (1) or additional control (2) described above. The predetermined distance Lth is, for example, the distance that the vehicle Va would travel to reach the specific point within a predetermined time (about 5 minutes) if it were traveling at its current speed.

[0143] The instruction unit 13A, similar to step ST5, uses information regarding the position and movement of surrounding vehicles included in the surrounding situation information to identify the positional relationship between the surrounding vehicles and vehicle Va, and determines whether the identified positional relationship satisfies predetermined conditions. If the positional relationship between the surrounding vehicles and vehicle Va satisfies predetermined conditions, the instruction unit 13A modifies the control parameters included in the driving control information up to that point so that the acceleration, deceleration, or lane change of vehicle Va is performed more gradually than when the holding-related state is not in effect.

[0144] Next, the instruction unit 13A determines whether or not the vehicle Va has finished traveling (step ST7A). For example, based on the driving control information acquired from the automatic driving control device 4, the instruction unit 13A checks whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the vehicle Va's speed became 0. If the instruction unit 13A determines that the predetermined time has elapsed and the vehicle Va has finished traveling (step ST7A; YES), the driving support device 1A terminates the series of processes shown in Figure 10.

[0145] On the other hand, if the determination unit 12 determines that the system is not in a hold-related state (step ST3A; NO), it notifies the instruction unit 13A of this fact. When the instruction unit 13A receives notification from the determination unit 12 that the system is not in a hold-related state, it inquires with the automatic driving control device 4 whether or not the vehicle Va is currently under driving control (step ST8A).

[0146] If vehicle Va is under driving control (step ST8A; YES), the instruction unit 13A instructs the automatic driving control device 4 to cancel the current driving control and return to the settings of the control parameters included in the original driving control information (step ST9A). For example, the instruction unit 13A selects driving control information based on the corresponding time from the driving control information stored in memory in the process of step ST1A or the process of step ST10A described later in the series of processes shown in Figure 10 that were executed in the past. Then, the instruction unit 13A sets the selected driving control information in the automatic driving control device 4. As a result, the automatic driving control device 4 executes the driving control of vehicle Va that was executed in the past again. After this, the instruction unit 13A proceeds to the process of step ST7A.

[0147] Furthermore, if vehicle Va is not under driving control (step ST8A; NO), the instruction unit 13A stores the driving control information currently set in the automatic driving control device 4 in memory (step ST10A). For example, the driving control information is stored in memory in association with the current time. After this, the instruction unit 13A proceeds to the processing in step ST7A.

[0148] As long as it is determined in step ST3A that the holding-related state is in effect, the sequence of processes in steps ST2A, ST3A, ST4A, ST5A, ST6A, and ST7A is repeated. After that, when it is determined that the holding-related state has been resolved, the process moves from step ST3A to step ST8A, and if the travel control in step ST6A is in progress, the process moves from step ST8A to step ST9A. When the travel control in step ST6A is released, the process moves from step ST8A to step ST10A.

[0149] By having the driver assistance device 1A perform the processes shown in Figure 10 (especially steps ST3A and ST6A), the occurrence of malfunctions related to the target object in a holding-related state can be suppressed.

[0150] The driver assistance system 1A may use a high-precision locator (HDL) consisting of a high-precision positioning device and a high-precision map DB instead of the map DB 6 and positioning device 7. The high-precision positioning device is a positioning device having sub-meter level positioning accuracy. The high-precision map DB is a database containing road shape data on a lane-by-lane basis. By using the HDL, the detection accuracy of the vehicle Va's driving lane is improved. The driver assistance system 1A can perform high-precision driving control on a lane-by-lane basis. For example, the control accuracy of lane changes by the vehicle Va is improved.

[0151] The map-related information acquisition unit 14 acquires traffic information regarding the road the vehicle Va is traveling on, and the instruction unit 13A may identify locations on the road where a lane change is necessary based on the traffic congestion information or lane closure information of the road included in the traffic information, and then execute driving control for lane changes at the identified locations. For example, the map-related information acquisition unit 14 acquires lane-level traffic congestion information, fallen object information, or temporary lane closure information for the road ahead of the vehicle Va from a traffic information providing device (not shown in Figure 9). Based on this information, the instruction unit 13A executes additional control (1) or additional control (2). As a result, the driving support device 1A can make the vehicle Va change lanes gradually at specific locations where a lane change is necessary, as identified by the traffic congestion information, fallen object information, or temporary lane closure information included in the traffic information.

[0152] As described above, the driver assistance device 1A according to Embodiment 2 includes a map-related information acquisition unit 14 that acquires map-related information including road structure information relating to the road structure of the road on which the vehicle Va is traveling and vehicle position information indicating the position of the vehicle Va. The instruction unit 13A identifies locations on the road on which driving control should be performed based on the road structure information and vehicle position information, and causes the driver assistance device 1A to execute driving control corresponding to the identified locations. As a result, the driver assistance device 1A can cause the driver assistance device 1A to execute driving control of the vehicle Va corresponding to locations on the road on which the vehicle Va is traveling. In particular, since the above locations are identified by road structure information, the driver assistance device 1A can appropriately execute driving control of the vehicle Va even if the visibility of the above locations from the vehicle Va is poor. The instruction unit 13A may also determine that the visibility of the above locations from the vehicle Va is poor based on the road structure information and cause the driver assistance device 13A to execute driving control of the vehicle Va.

[0153] In the driving support device 1A according to Embodiment 2, the map-related information acquisition unit 14 acquires driving lane information relating to the driving lane in which the vehicle Va is traveling. The instruction unit 13A identifies locations on the road where the vehicle Va needs to change its driving lane, based on the road structure information and the driving lane information, and executes driving control for changing the driving lane at the identified locations. As a result, the driving support device 1A can make the vehicle Va change its lane at locations on the road where it should do so. Furthermore, if there is a specific point prone to congestion ahead of the vehicle Va, the driving support device 1A can make the vehicle Va change its lane gradually while slowing down, or change its lane to a lane where slowing down is not necessary, without requiring the vehicle to decelerate suddenly.

[0154] In the driving support device 1A according to Embodiment 2, the map-related information acquisition unit 14 acquires traffic information related to the road being driven on. The instruction unit 13A identifies locations on the road where a lane change is necessary based on the traffic congestion information or lane closure information of the road being driven on included in the traffic information, and executes driving control for lane changes at the identified locations. As a result, the driving support device 1A can smoothly change the lane of the vehicle Va at specific points where a lane change is necessary, as identified by the traffic information.

[0155] Furthermore, it is possible to combine each embodiment, modify any component of each embodiment, or omit any component in each embodiment.

[0156] The driver assistance system described herein can be used, for example, for the automatic driving control of a vehicle.

[0157] 1, 1A Driving assistance device, 2 Surroundings detection device, 3 In-vehicle conditions detection device, 4 Automatic driving control device, 5 Output device, 6 Map DB, 7 Positioning device, 11 Surroundings information acquisition unit, 12 Decision unit, 13, 13A Instruction unit, 14 Map-related information acquisition unit, 100 Input interface, 101 Output interface, 102 Processing circuit, 103 Processor, 104 Memory.

Claims

1. A driving assistance device comprising: a determination unit that determines, based on in-cabin condition information indicating the conditions inside the vehicle's cabin, whether or not the vehicle is in a holding-related state, including the state in which an occupant of the vehicle is holding or attempting to hold an object inside the cabin; and an instruction unit that, when it is determined that the vehicle is in a holding-related state, causes the vehicle to perform driving control to reduce the influence of inertial force acting on the object due to the vehicle's movement corresponding to surrounding objects, compared to when it is determined that the vehicle is not in a holding-related state.

2. The driving support device according to claim 1, further comprising a surrounding situation information acquisition unit that acquires surrounding situation information including the positions of objects surrounding the vehicle, wherein the instruction unit determines the content of the driving control using the surrounding situation information and outputs instruction information to the automatic driving control device provided in the vehicle that instructs the execution of the driving control according to the determined content.

3. The driving support device according to claim 2, characterized in that when the instruction unit determines that the holding related state is in effect, and switches the operation of the vehicle from manual to automatic, if the distance between the vehicle and the surrounding object is shorter than a preset distance, the instruction unit outputs the instruction information to the automatic driving control device.

4. The driving support device according to claim 1, characterized in that the instruction unit causes the output device to output instruction information that instructs the occupant of the vehicle to perform the driving control.

5. The driving assistance device according to claim 4, further comprising a surrounding situation information acquisition unit that acquires surrounding situation information including the positions of objects surrounding the vehicle, wherein the instruction unit causes the instruction information to be output to the output device when it is determined using the surrounding situation information that the distance between the vehicle and the surrounding object is shorter than a preset value.

6. The driving assistance device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the target object is an object that can have a physical effect on its surroundings due to the inertial force acting on it by the movement of the vehicle.

7. The driving assistance device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the target object is an object that can be deformed by the inertial force acting as a result of the vehicle's movement.

8. The driving support device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the holding-related state includes a state in which the holding and release of the target object are intermittently repeated within a predetermined time.

9. The driving support device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the determination unit determines whether the target object is approaching a specific part of the occupant within a preset range, and the instruction unit causes the driving control to be executed when it is determined that the target object is approaching the specific part within a preset range.

10. The driving support device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the determination unit determines the type of object according to the physical influence that the target object exerts on its surroundings due to the inertial force acting on it by the movement of the vehicle, and the instruction unit determines the content of the driving control based on the type of object and causes the driving control to be executed according to the determined content.

11. The driving support device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the driving control includes at least one of the following: control to reduce the driving speed of the vehicle, control to increase the distance between the vehicle and the vehicle ahead, or control to change the driving lane of the vehicle.

12. The driving control is characterized in that, when the vehicle is traveling on a road with multiple lanes, the vehicle is driven so as not to travel parallel to surrounding vehicles traveling in adjacent lanes within a predetermined distance range, as described in any one of claims 1 to 5.

13. The driving support device according to claim 1, comprising a surrounding situation information acquisition unit that acquires the type of moving object for a moving object present in the vicinity of the vehicle, wherein the instruction unit determines the content of the driving control based on the operational capabilities of the moving object identified by the type of moving object, and causes the driving control to be executed according to the determined content.

14. The driving support device according to claim 1, comprising a surrounding conditions information acquisition unit that acquires information regarding the state of moving objects present around the vehicle by communication with an external party, wherein the determination unit determines the state of the moving objects based on the information regarding the state of the moving objects, and the instruction unit determines the content of the driving control based on the state of the moving objects and causes the driving control to be executed according to the determined content.

15. The driver assistance device according to claim 14, wherein the information relating to the state of the moving body is at least one of the following: information relating to the automatic driving function of surrounding vehicles, driving control information of the surrounding vehicles, or information relating to the state of the drivers of the surrounding vehicles, and the instruction unit evaluates the driving stability of the surrounding vehicles based on the information relating to the state of the moving body, and causes the instruction unit to execute the driving control that moves the vehicle away from the surrounding vehicles as the driving stability decreases.

16. The driving support device according to claim 1, comprising a map-related information acquisition unit that acquires map-related information including road structure information relating to the road structure of the road on which the vehicle is traveling and vehicle position information indicating the location of the vehicle, wherein the instruction unit identifies locations on the road on which the driving control should be performed based on the road structure information and the vehicle position information, and causes the driving control corresponding to the identified location to be performed.

17. The driving support device according to 16, wherein the map-related information acquisition unit acquires driving lane information relating to the driving lane in which the vehicle is traveling, and the instruction unit identifies locations on the road where a change of driving lane for the vehicle is necessary based on the road structure information and the driving lane information, and causes the driving control for changing the driving lane at the identified location to be executed.

18. The driving assistance device according to 17, characterized in that the map-related information acquisition unit acquires traffic information relating to the road being driven on, and the instruction unit identifies locations on the road being driven on which a change of driving lane is necessary based on the traffic congestion information or lane closure information of the road being driven on which the traffic information is contained, and causes the driving control to be executed for changing the driving lane at the identified locations.

19. A driving assistance method using a driving assistance device, comprising: a step of determining whether a holding-related state is in which an occupant of the vehicle is holding or attempting to hold an object in the vehicle interior, based on in-cabin condition information indicating the conditions inside the vehicle interior; and a step of causing an instruction unit, when it is determined that a holding-related state is in which the vehicle is holding-related, to perform driving control of the vehicle to reduce the influence of inertial force acting on the object by driving corresponding to surrounding objects of the vehicle, compared to when it is determined that a holding-related state is not in which the vehicle is holding-related.

Images