Automatic operation controller of vehicle

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD [Detailed description of the invention]

【0001】

[Technical field to which the invention belongs]

The present invention relates to an automatic driving control device for a vehicle, particularly a mode switching from autonomous driving to manual driving.

【0002】

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, automatic driving has been known in which autonomous driving is performed by controlling the speed and steering angle of the vehicle based on information from various sensors, and autonomous driving mode and manual driving mode can be appropriately switched by a changeover switch. ing. For example, it is described that the automatic steering device of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-286315 is provided with a steering mode changeover switch for arbitrarily switching between automatic steering of a vehicle and manual steering by normal steering operation.

【0003】

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

However, since it takes a certain amount of time to shift from the autonomous driving mode to the manual driving mode, it may not be possible to switch to the manual driving at a desired point depending on the operation timing of the changeover switch. For example, assuming that you drive autonomously on a highway and enter an interchange by manual driving, even if you operate the changeover switch near the interchange, which is the planned transition point to manual driving, you will still drive manually before reaching the interchange. It is possible that the transition to will not be completed.

【0004】

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is automatic driving control of a vehicle capable of reliably switching to manual driving at a planned point where autonomous driving should be switched to manual driving. To provide the equipment.

【0005】

[Means for solving problems]

In order to achieve the above object, the first invention is an autonomous driving control device for a vehicle having a driving control means for executing autonomous driving and a switching means for switching between autonomous driving and manual driving by the driver. Based on the predetermined transition time required on the vehicle side until the switching from to manual driving is completed, the driver makes the switching so that the switching from autonomous driving to manual driving is completed at the planned point where manual driving should be performed. It is characterized by including a calculation means for determining a timing at which the means should be operated, and a notification means for prompting the driver to operate the switching means based on the timing.

【0006】

Further, in order to achieve the above object, the second invention is a vehicle in the first invention when it is determined that the switching to manual driving is not completed by the time the vehicle reaches the planned point at the current vehicle position. It is characterized by providing a deceleration control means for forcibly decelerating.

【0007】

Further, in order to achieve the above object, the third invention further comprises, in the second invention, a steering control means for performing automatic steering control to evacuate the vehicle from the traveling lane at the time of the forced deceleration. It is characterized by.

【0008】

Further, in order to achieve the above object, the fourth invention is characterized in that, in the first, second or third invention, the planned point is a shunting point of the autonomous driving lane.

【0009】

As described above, in the present invention, since the timing for operating the changeover switch is determined in consideration of the time required to complete the transition from autonomous driving to manual driving, it is possible to reliably shift to manual driving at the planned point. .. Further, even if the driver does not operate the changeover switch at an appropriate timing, the vehicle is forcibly decelerated, so that it is possible to reliably prevent the situation where the vehicle reaches the planned point while driving autonomously.

【0010】

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

【0011】

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of the configuration of this embodiment. The automatic driving controller 10 inputs information from various sensors such as obstacle sensors and vehicle speed sensors (not shown) to drive the automatic driving actuator 14, and autonomously travels while controlling the vehicle speed and steering. Further, a changeover switch 16 for switching between autonomous driving and manual driving is provided in the vicinity of the driver's seat, and this changeover signal is supplied to the automatic driving controller 10. On the other hand, the automatic driving controller 10 is also supplied with a detection signal from the GPS device 12 for detecting the position of the own vehicle. The automatic driving controller 10 determines the timing at which the changeover switch 16 should be operated based on the transition time stored in the memory in advance, that is, the time until the switching from autonomous driving to manual driving is completed, and the own vehicle Determine if the position has reached the position where manual switching should be performed. The determination result is displayed on the warning display unit 18 provided near the driver's seat. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 1, "destination approach" and the like. Further, even when it is determined that the shift cannot be completed because the position of the own vehicle is too late to switch to manual driving, the warning display unit 18 displays that fact. Specifically, it is "prohibition of manual migration" and the like. Then, in this case, the automatic driving controller 10 drives the actuator 14 to control braking, forcibly decelerates the vehicle in front of the planned switching point, retracts the vehicle to a roadside zone or the like outside the traveling lane, and stops the vehicle. Although not shown, it is preferable to combine this system with a known navigation system.

【0012】

The configuration of this embodiment is as described above, and the processing of the automatic operation controller will be described in detail below.

【0013】

FIG. 2 shows a processing flowchart of the automatic operation controller 10. As the driving situation, it is assumed that the vehicle is manually driven on a road that can be driven automatically (for example, an expressway). During this manual driving (S101), it is assumed that the driver operates the changeover switch 16 and desires to shift to autonomous driving (S102). When switching to autonomous driving, the point to which autonomous driving is to be performed is input (S103). In this embodiment, it is assumed that autonomous driving is performed up to a certain interchange IC. In this case, the controller 10 determines whether or not it is possible to shift to autonomous driving at present (S104), and if it can shift to autonomous driving, shifts to autonomous driving (automatic driving) (S105). The case where the vehicle cannot shift to autonomous driving is, for example, the case where the vehicle is not traveling in the automatic driving lane, the remaining amount of fuel to the destination is insufficient, or the automatic driving system is abnormal.

【0014】

During autonomous driving, the current position of the vehicle is always detected based on the signal from GPS, and the vehicle speed is confirmed based on the signal from the vehicle speed sensor (S106). After confirming the position and vehicle speed, the estimated arrival time Tr to the destination, that is, the IC that should switch to manual driving, is calculated based on these data (S107). Specifically, the distance between the current location and the destination may be divided by the average vehicle speed, and the distance data between the current location and the destination may be the map data installed in the in-vehicle navigation system. After calculating the expected arrival time, whether or not the controller 10 should operate the changeover switch 16 using the transition time stored in the memory in advance, that is, the time required for switching to manual driving Tn. Is determined (S108). This judgment is made based on whether or not the difference between the expected arrival time Tr and the transition time Tn is equal to or greater than the predetermined margin time Ty, and if (Tr -Tn) is greater than or equal to the predetermined value, there is sufficient margin. It is determined that it is not the time to operate the changeover switch, and the processing after S106 is repeated again. On the other hand, (Tr -Tn ) Is less than or equal to a predetermined value, the controller 10 displays a message of "destination approaching" on the warning display unit 18 as the timing for operating the changeover switch 16 has been reached, and operates the changeover switch 16 to the driver. (S109). It is desirable that this message be accompanied by voice, and further, the seat and steering may be vibrated. Since the driver does not perform any special operation during automatic driving, there is a high possibility that the arousal level is lowered, and this message also has a meaning of urging the driver to awaken. After displaying the message, it is determined whether or not the changeover switch 16 has been operated (S110). When the driver operates the changeover switch 16 in response to this message, the controller 10 determines whether or not the next manual operation can be performed (S111). A situation in which the shift to manual driving is not possible includes, for example, a case where another vehicle interrupts the vehicle in front and the inter-vehicle distance suddenly decreases, so that the system automatically brakes. When it is determined that the current driving condition may shift to manual driving, it is determined whether or not the switching to manual driving is completed by the time the vehicle reaches the destination (S112). This determination is made using a predetermined transition time Tn, and is made based on whether Ty Tr -Tn 0 holds. For example, when Tr -Tn <0, it means that the transition to manual operation is not completed by the time the destination is reached because the timing of operating the changeover switch 16 is too late, so the transition to manual operation is performed. Is prohibited and a message to that effect is displayed on the warning display unit 18 (S113). Then, the actuator 14 is driven to forcibly decelerate the vehicle and stop at the roadside zone (S114). In this case, the driver stops at the roadside zone and then operates the changeover switch 16 again to switch to manual operation. In addition, when Tr -Tn> 0, it means that the transition to manual operation can be completed by the time the destination is reached, so the transition to manual operation is allowed (S116).

【0015】

On the other hand, it is determined whether or not Ty Tr -Tn 0 holds even when the driver does not operate the changeover switch 16 even though the driver is urged to operate the changeover switch 16 in S109. (S115). If the time required to shift to manual operation still remains, this condition is satisfied and the driver is continuously prompted to operate the changeover switch 16 when (Tr -Tn) &lt;0. However, since it is no longer possible to switch to manual operation, the shift to manual operation is prohibited and forced deceleration is performed (S113, S114).

【0016】

Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 show the case where the driver operates the changeover switch 16 at an appropriate timing (when Ty Tr -Tn 0) and the case where the changeover switch operation timing is too late (Tr -Tn &lt;0). In the case of)) is shown. In FIG. 3, since the driver operated the changeover switch 16 during the shiftable margin, the system completed the switch from the autonomous drive mode to the manual drive mode after a predetermined shift time, and the exit IC was the destination. Indicates that you can enter the vehicle manually. On the other hand, in FIG. 4, since the changeover switch 16 was operated after the transitionable limit distance was exceeded, the transition from the autonomous driving mode to the manual driving mode was not completed before reaching the destination, and this was calculated. It indicates that the determined controller 10 forcibly decelerated to guide the vehicle to the evacuation center in front of the exit IC and evacuated to the roadside zone.

【0017】

As described above, in the present embodiment, it is determined whether or not the transition from the autonomous driving mode to the manual driving mode can be completed by the time the vehicle reaches the destination in consideration of the predetermined transition time, and it is appropriate according to the determination result. Since we have taken various measures, we can surely switch to manual operation at the desired point.

【0018】

In the present embodiment, when it is determined that the operation of the changeover switch is too slow, the vehicle is forcibly decelerated to stop on the roadside, but the vehicle is simply (Tr-T n)> 0 without stopping. It is also conceivable to decelerate the vehicle sufficiently until it becomes.

【0019】

Further, in the present embodiment, GPS is used to detect the current position of the vehicle, but even if the vehicle position is detected based on the data from the road beacon laid in the autonomous driving lane or other road-to-vehicle communication. Good.

【0020】

Further, in the present embodiment, the driving lane exit before the interchange of the expressway is illustrated as a planned point where the autonomous driving mode should be switched to the manual driving mode, but it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to this. Evacuation points, such as entrances to service areas, can be set as planned points. In addition, if the planned point is not a driving lane exit or the like, but a point in front of the predetermined distance, the driver can manually drive for a predetermined distance after shifting from automatic driving to manual driving. Therefore, the driver's feeling of manual driving can be restored. [0021] [0021]

[Effect of the invention]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to reliably switch from the autonomous driving mode to the manual driving mode at a desired point.

[Simple explanation of drawings]

[Figure 1]

It is a block diagram of the embodiment of this invention.

[Figure 2]

It is a processing flowchart of the same embodiment.

[Fig. 3]

It is explanatory drawing when the changeover switch operation in the same embodiment is appropriate.

[Fig. 4]

It is explanatory drawing when the changeover switch operation in the same embodiment is inappropriate.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Autonomous driving controller, 12 GPS, 14 Autonomous driving actuator, 16 selector switch, 18 Warning display.