JP7687904B2 - Vehicle control device, system, vehicle control method, and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle control device, a system, a vehicle control method, and a program.

Conventionally, there is known a technology for controlling the driving of a vehicle according to the inclination angle of the vehicle. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for detecting the inclination angle of a vehicle, and halting the automatic driving of the vehicle if the detected inclination angle is equal to or greater than a threshold value.

JP 2012-108868 A

The technology described in Patent Document 1 uses an inclination sensor to detect the inclination angle of a vehicle. However, the inclination sensor may not be able to estimate gradients accurately due to temperature characteristics and deterioration. As a result, conventional technology may not be able to properly estimate gradients for automatic vehicle control.

The present invention has been made in consideration of these circumstances, and one of its objectives is to provide a vehicle control device, system, vehicle control method, and program that can properly perform gradient estimation for automatic vehicle control.

A vehicle control device, a system, a vehicle control method, and a program according to the present invention employ the following configuration.
(1): A vehicle control device according to one aspect of the present invention includes a parking control unit that moves the vehicle from a temporary stop position to a parking position based on a result of detecting a surrounding situation of the vehicle, a disembarkation determination unit that determines whether an occupant of the vehicle has disembarked before the parking control unit moves the vehicle, and a gradient determination unit that measures a gradient value of a road surface on which the vehicle is located and determines whether the gradient value is within a first predetermined range based on zero, wherein the parking position is set by an occupant of the vehicle performing a first operation using an in-vehicle operation device mounted on the vehicle, the disembarkation determination unit performs the disembarkation determination in response to an occupant of the vehicle performing a second operation using a terminal device outside the vehicle, and when the disembarkation determination unit determines that the occupant has disembarked, the gradient determination unit determines whether the gradient value is within the first predetermined range, and when the gradient determination unit determines that the gradient value is within the first predetermined range, the parking control unit moves the vehicle from the temporary stop position to the parking position.

(2): In the aspect of (1) above, when the gradient determination unit determines that the gradient value is outside the first predetermined range and within the second predetermined range, it releases the braking device of the vehicle, and determines whether the gradient value is within the second predetermined range based on wheel speed information measured by the wheel-side sensor during a measurement period from a measurement start time that is the first predetermined period after the release of the brake to a second predetermined period.

(3): In the aspect of (2) above, the vehicle is equipped with an inclination sensor that measures the inclination degree of the vehicle, the gradient determination unit determines whether the gradient value based on the inclination degree measured by the inclination sensor is within the first predetermined range, and when the gradient value based on the inclination degree measured by the inclination sensor is outside the first predetermined range and within the second predetermined range, the gradient determination unit determines whether the gradient value based on the wheel speed information is within the second predetermined range, and when the gradient determination unit determines that the gradient value based on the wheel speed information is within the second predetermined range, the parking control unit moves the vehicle from the temporary stop position to the parking position.

(4): In any of the above aspects (1) to (3), the gradient determination unit determines whether the gradient value is within the first predetermined range when the disembarkation determination unit determines that the occupant has disembarked and the occupant of the vehicle uses the terminal device outside the vehicle to execute a third operation to instruct the parking control unit to park the vehicle.

(5): In any of the above aspects (1) to (4), the vehicle control device further includes a gradient learning unit that learns the gradient value measured by the gradient determination unit as gradient information, and the gradient determination unit determines whether the gradient value is within the first predetermined range based on the gradient information learned by the gradient learning unit.

(6): In the aspect of (5) above, the gradient learning unit associates information indicating whether the gradient value is within the first predetermined range, image information of the surrounding conditions, and position information of the vehicle, and learns the gradient information.

(7): A system according to one aspect of the present invention includes a vehicle control device according to any one of aspects (1) to (6) above, and an application program that runs on the terminal device, accepts at least the second operation, and notifies the vehicle control device that the second operation has been accepted.

(8): In one aspect of the present invention, a vehicle control method includes a computer that moves the vehicle from a stop position to a parking position based on a result of detecting the surrounding conditions of the vehicle, determines whether an occupant of the vehicle has dismounted before moving the vehicle, measures a gradient value of a road surface on which the vehicle is located, and determines whether the gradient value is within a first predetermined range based on zero, the parking position is set by the occupant of the vehicle performing a first operation using an in-vehicle operation device mounted on the vehicle, executes the dismount determination in response to the occupant of the vehicle performing a second operation using a terminal device outside the vehicle, and, if it is determined that the occupant has dismounted, determines whether the gradient value is within the first predetermined range, and, if it is determined that the gradient value is within the first predetermined range, moves the vehicle from the stop position to the parking position.

(9): A program according to one aspect of the present invention causes a computer to move a vehicle from a stop position to a parking position based on a result of detecting the surrounding conditions of the vehicle, determine whether an occupant of the vehicle has dismounted before moving the vehicle, measure a gradient value of a road surface on which the vehicle is located, and determine whether the gradient value is within a first predetermined range based on zero, the parking position is set by an occupant of the vehicle performing a first operation using an in-vehicle operation device mounted on the vehicle, and executes the dismount determination in response to an occupant of the vehicle performing a second operation using a terminal device outside the vehicle, and if it is determined that the occupant has dismounted, determines whether the gradient value is within the first predetermined range, and if it is determined that the gradient value is within the first predetermined range, moves the vehicle from the stop position to the parking position.

According to aspects (1) to (9), gradient estimation for automatic control of a vehicle can be performed appropriately.

According to the aspect (2), the measurement of the gradient value is stopped a predetermined period after the braking device is released, thereby reducing measurement errors.

According to the aspect (3), by using both the tilt sensor and the wheel side sensor, it is possible to perform gradient estimation with higher accuracy.

According to the aspect (4), by measuring the gradient value when the occupant has dismounted from the vehicle, it is possible to perform gradient estimation with higher accuracy.

According to aspects (5) or (6), by determining whether or not automatic parking is to be performed using gradient values measured in the past, it is possible to eliminate the need to measure the gradient values of the same road surface.

1 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a vehicle system 1 equipped with a vehicle control device according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a situation in which control is executed by the vehicle control device 100. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen that is displayed when a passenger selects execution of an automatic parking function on the navigation HMI 52. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen that is displayed when an occupant selects an available parking space on the navigation HMI 52. FIG. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a disclaimer displayed on an automatic parking application of the terminal device 200. A figure showing an example of an automatic parking start screen displayed on an automatic parking app of the terminal device 200. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a scene in which a host vehicle M moves unmanned from its current position to a parking position designated by an occupant. 10 is a diagram for explaining a method of determining a gradient executed by a gradient determining unit 130 using an inclination sensor. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a gradient determination method executed by a gradient determination unit 130 using a wheel speed sensor. FIG. 11 is another diagram for explaining a method of determining a gradient executed by the gradient determining unit 130 using a wheel speed sensor. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a flow of operations executed by the vehicle control device 100. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of operations executed by the vehicle control device 100 when it is determined that a gradient check of the road surface on which the host vehicle M is currently parked is necessary. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of operations executed by the vehicle control device 100 when it is determined that it is not necessary to check the gradient of the road surface on which the host vehicle M is currently parked.

Below, with reference to the drawings, an embodiment of a vehicle control device, system, vehicle control method, and program of the present invention will be described. Note that the vehicle control device of the embodiment is mounted on a vehicle. The vehicle is, for example, a four-wheeled vehicle, and its drive source is an internal combustion engine such as a diesel engine or a gasoline engine, an electric motor, or a combination of these. The electric motor operates using power generated by a generator connected to the internal combustion engine, or discharged power from a secondary battery or a fuel cell.

[Overall configuration]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a vehicle system 1 equipped with a vehicle control device according to an embodiment. The vehicle system 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes, for example, a camera 10, a radar device 12, a LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) 14, a sonar 16, a surrounding recognition device 18, a communication device 20, an HMI (Human Machine Interface) 30, a vehicle sensor 40, a navigation device 50, a driver monitor camera 60, a driving operator 70, a driving force output device 80, a brake device 82, a steering device 84, and a vehicle control device 100. These devices and equipment are connected to each other by multiple communication lines such as a CAN (Controller Area Network) communication line, a serial communication line, a wireless communication network, etc. Note that the configuration shown in FIG. 1 is merely an example, and part of the configuration may be omitted, or another configuration may be added.

The camera 10 is a digital camera using a solid-state imaging element such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor). One or more cameras 10 are attached to any location of the vehicle (hereinafter, the vehicle M) in which the vehicle system 1 is mounted. For example, when capturing an image in front of the vehicle M, the camera 10 is attached to the top of the front windshield or the back of the room mirror. When capturing an image behind the vehicle M, the camera 10 is attached to the top of the rear windshield or the back door. When capturing an image of the sides and rear of the vehicle M, the camera 10 is attached to a door mirror or the like. The camera 10 periodically and repeatedly captures images of the surroundings of the vehicle M. The camera 10 may be a stereo camera.

The camera 10 further includes a fisheye camera capable of capturing images of the surroundings of the vehicle M at a wide angle (e.g., 360 degrees). The fisheye camera is attached, for example, to the top of the vehicle M, and captures images of the surroundings of the moving body M at a wide angle in the horizontal direction. The fisheye camera may be realized by combining multiple cameras (multiple cameras capturing images in a horizontal range of 120 degrees or 60 degrees).

The radar device 12 emits radio waves such as millimeter waves around the vehicle M and detects radio waves reflected by surrounding objects (reflected waves) to detect at least the position (distance and direction) of the objects. One or more radar devices 12 are attached to any location on the vehicle M. The radar device 12 may detect the position and speed of surrounding objects using the FM-CW (Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave) method.

The LIDAR 14 irradiates light around the vehicle M and measures the scattered light. The LIDAR 14 detects the distance to the target based on the time between emitting and receiving the light. The irradiated light is, for example, a pulsed laser light. The LIDAR 14 is attached to any location on the vehicle M.

Sonar 16 emits ultrasonic waves around vehicle M and detects the distance or position of an object by detecting reflection or scattering by an object that exists within a predetermined distance from vehicle M. Sonar 16 is installed, for example, on the front and rear ends of vehicle M, on the bumper, etc.

The surrounding recognition device 18 performs sensor fusion processing on the detection results of some or all of the external sensor components (e.g., the camera 10, the radar device 12, the LIDAR 14, and the sonar 16) to recognize the position, type, speed, etc. of objects around the vehicle M. The objects include, for example, other vehicles (e.g., surrounding vehicles within a predetermined distance from the vehicle M), pedestrians, bicycles, road structures, etc. The road structures include, for example, road signs, traffic signals, curbs, medians, guardrails, fences, walls, railroad crossings, etc. The surrounding recognition device 18 outputs the recognition results to the vehicle control device 100. The surrounding recognition device 18 may output the detection results of the external sensors to the vehicle control device 100 as they are. In that case, the surrounding recognition device 18 may be omitted from the configuration of the vehicle system 1. The surrounding recognition device 18 may also be included in the vehicle control device 100.

The communication device 20 communicates with, for example, other vehicles in the vicinity of the vehicle M, the terminal device of the user using the vehicle M, or various server devices, using a network such as a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, Bluetooth (registered trademark), DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communication), LAN (Local Area Network), WAN (Wide Area Network), or the Internet.

The HMI 30 presents various information to the user of the vehicle M and accepts input operations by the user. The users include, for example, the driver who drives the vehicle M and passengers. In the following description, they will be referred to as "occupants" unless otherwise specified. The HMI 30 includes, for example, a display unit, a speaker, and a turn signal switch. The HMI 30 may also include a buzzer, a touch panel, a switch, keys, a microphone, etc.

The vehicle sensor 40 includes a vehicle speed sensor that detects the speed of the host vehicle M, an acceleration sensor that detects acceleration, a yaw rate sensor that detects the yaw rate (for example, the rotational angular velocity around a vertical axis passing through the center of gravity of the host vehicle M), a direction sensor that detects the direction of the host vehicle M, an inclination sensor that detects the inclination angle of the road surface on which the host vehicle M is located, a wheel speed sensor that detects the number of rotations per unit time of the wheels of the host vehicle M and outputs the number of wheel speed pulses indicating the detected number of rotations as a sensor value, a seat sensor that detects the load on the seat of the host vehicle M, and a door sensor that detects the open state of the door of the host vehicle M. The vehicle sensor 40 may also include a position sensor that detects the position of the host vehicle M. The position sensor is, for example, a sensor that acquires position information (longitude and latitude information) from a GPS (Global Positioning System) device. The position sensor may also be, for example, a sensor that acquires position information using a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver 51 described later. The results detected by the vehicle sensor 40 are output to the vehicle control device 100.

The navigation device 50 includes, for example, a GNSS receiver 51 and a navigation HMI 52. The navigation device 50 holds map information 53 in a storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a flash memory. The GNSS receiver 51 identifies the position of the vehicle M based on a signal received from a GNSS satellite. The position of the vehicle M may be identified or supplemented by an inertial navigation system (INS) that uses the output of the vehicle sensor 40. The navigation HMI 52 includes a display device, a speaker, a touch panel, keys, etc. The navigation HMI 52 may be partially or entirely shared with the above-mentioned HMI 30. The navigation device 50 determines a route from the position of the vehicle M identified by the GNSS receiver 51 (or any input position) to a destination input by the occupant using the navigation HMI 52, for example, by referring to the map information 53.

The navigation device 50 further cooperates with the vehicle control device 100 described later to provide an automatic parking function for parking the vehicle M without a person in attendance. In this case, "parking without a person in attendance" means that an occupant who has dismounted from the vehicle M automatically parks the vehicle M by remotely operating the vehicle M using the terminal device 200 at a location outside the vehicle M and close to the vehicle M. In other words, "parking without a person in attendance" means parking the vehicle M without any occupants (including at least the driver). At this time, the occupant performing the operation may be outdoors or may be inside a building (such as a home) close to the parking position. The functional parts provided by the navigation device 50 to realize the automatic parking function will be described later.

The map information 53 is information that represents the road shape by, for example, links indicating roads and nodes connected by the links. The map information 53 may include road curvature and POI (Point Of Interest) information. The map information 53 may also include, for example, lane center information or lane boundary (road division line) information. The map information 53 may also include road information, traffic regulation information, address information (address and zip code), facility information, telephone number information, etc. The map information 53 may be updated at any time by the communication device 20 communicating with other devices. The map information 53 may also be stored in the storage unit 160 described later.

The driver monitor camera 60 is, for example, a digital camera that uses a solid-state imaging element such as a CCD or CMOS. The driver monitor camera 60 is attached to any location on the vehicle M in a position and orientation that allows it to capture an image of the head and upper body of the driver seated in the driver's seat of the vehicle M from the front (from a direction that captures the face). For example, the driver monitor camera 60 is attached to the top of a display device provided in the center of the instrument panel of the vehicle M, the top of the front windshield, the rearview mirror, etc. The driver monitor camera 60, for example, periodically and repeatedly captures images including the driver. The driver monitor camera 60 may also capture images including passengers in the vehicle cabin in addition to the driver.

The driving operators 70 include, for example, various operators such as a steering wheel that the driver uses to perform steering operations, an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, a shift lever, etc. Each operator of the driving operators 70 is fitted with, for example, an operation detection unit that detects the amount of operation by the driver. The operation detection unit detects the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal or brake pedal, the position of the shift lever, the steering angle and steering torque of the steering wheel, etc. The operation detection unit then outputs a detection signal indicating the detection result to the vehicle control device 100, or one or both of the driving force output device 80, the brake device 82, and the steering device 84.

The driving force output device 80 outputs a driving force (torque) to the drive wheels for driving the host vehicle M. The driving force output device 80 includes, for example, a combination of an internal combustion engine, an electric motor, a transmission, etc., and a power ECU (Electronic Control Unit) that controls these. The power ECU controls the above configuration according to information input from the vehicle control device 100 (for example, the parking control unit 140 described below) or information input from the driving operator 70.

The brake device 82 includes, for example, a brake caliper, a cylinder that transmits hydraulic pressure to the brake caliper, an electric motor that generates hydraulic pressure in the cylinder, and a brake ECU. The brake ECU controls the electric motor according to information input from the vehicle control device 100 (e.g., the parking control unit 140) or information input from the driving operation device 70, so that a brake torque corresponding to the braking operation is output to each wheel. The brake device 82 may include a backup mechanism that transmits hydraulic pressure generated by operating the brake pedal included in the driving operation device 70 to the cylinder via a master cylinder. Note that the brake device 82 is not limited to the configuration described above, and may be an electronically controlled hydraulic brake device that controls an actuator according to information input from the vehicle control device 100 to transmit hydraulic pressure from the master cylinder to the cylinder.

The steering device 84 includes, for example, a steering ECU and an electric motor. The electric motor changes the direction of the steered wheels by, for example, applying a force to a rack and pinion mechanism. The steering ECU drives the electric motor to change the direction of the steered wheels according to information input from the vehicle control device 100 (for example, the parking control unit 140) or information input from the driving operator 70.

[Configuration of vehicle control device 100]
The vehicle control device 100 includes, for example, a control unit 110, an alighting determination unit 120, a gradient determination unit 130, a parking control unit 140, a gradient learning unit 150, and a storage unit 160. The control unit 110, the alighting determination unit 120, the gradient determination unit 130, the parking control unit 140, and the gradient learning unit 150 are each realized by, for example, a hardware processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) executing a program (software). In addition, some or all of these components may be realized by hardware (including circuitry) such as an LSI (Large Scale Integration), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or may be realized by cooperation between software and hardware. The above-mentioned program may be stored in advance in a storage device (a storage device having a non-transient storage medium) such as an HDD or flash memory of the vehicle control device 100, or may be stored in a removable storage medium such as a DVD, CD-ROM, or memory card, and may be installed in the storage device of the vehicle control device 100 by mounting the storage medium (non-transient storage medium) in a drive device, a card slot, or the like. The storage unit 160 stores gradient information 162 that was previously measured by the gradient determination unit 130 and learned by the gradient learning unit 150. The storage unit 160 is, for example, an HDD, a flash memory, a RAM (Random Access Memory), or the like.

[Control by vehicle control device 100]
An overview of the control executed by the vehicle control device 100 will be described below with reference to Fig. 2 to Fig. 7. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a scene in which the control by the vehicle control device 100 is executed. Fig. 2 shows a scene in which the host vehicle M enters a parking lot PL and attempts to park in an empty parking space. Although the occupant of the host vehicle M can also park the vehicle by manual driving, in this embodiment, the occupant parks the host vehicle M using an automatic parking function in an unmanned state provided by the vehicle control device 100.

First, the occupant selects to execute the automatic parking function, for example, via the navigation HMI 52 of the navigation device 50. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed when the occupant selects to execute the automatic parking function on the navigation HMI 52. As shown in FIG. 3, in response to the occupant selecting to execute the automatic parking function on the navigation HMI 52, the control unit 110 extracts a parking space in which the host vehicle M can park, based on the surrounding conditions recognized by the surrounding recognition device 18. In particular, the vehicle control device 100 can extract a parking space in which the host vehicle M can park, based on the surrounding conditions recognized based on the fisheye camera and sonar 16 included in the camera 10.

Next, when the control unit 110 extracts a parking space where the vehicle M can be parked, it displays the extracted parking space on the navigation HMI 52. In FIG. 3, as an example, the available parking space is marked with the wording "selectable," but the display manner of the available parking space is not limited to this, and the available parking space may be indicated by, for example, a thick frame, a dotted line, a flashing line, or other manner. Also, in FIG. 3, as an example, only one available parking space is displayed, but multiple available parking spaces may be displayed at the same time. The occupant selects a parking space where the occupant wants to park from the available parking spaces displayed on the navigation HMI 52. The selection of a parking space by the occupant is an example of a "first operation."

Next, when the occupant selects a parking frame available for parking on the navigation HMI 52, the control unit 110 causes the navigation HMI 52 to display information indicating the selection of the parking frame. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed when the occupant selects a parking frame available for parking on the navigation HMI 52. As shown in FIG. 4, when the occupant selects a parking frame available for parking on the navigation HMI 52, the control unit 110 causes the navigation HMI 52 to display, in addition to the information indicating the selection of the parking frame, instruction information instructing the occupant to set the shift position of the vehicle M to P (parking), get off the vehicle, and start an automatic parking app installed on a terminal device 200 such as a smartphone owned by the occupant. At the same time, the control unit 110 generates a parking plan for moving the vehicle M to the selected parking frame. The control unit 110 may output the instruction information as audio information, for example, using a speaker of the navigation HMI 52. The position of the vehicle M when the occupant sets the shift position to P (parking) and gets off the vehicle is an example of a "stop position".

Next, the occupant sets the shift position to P according to the instruction information displayed on the navigation HMI 52, and exits the vehicle M. After exiting the vehicle M, the occupant starts the automatic parking app of the terminal device 200. When the automatic parking app of the terminal device 200 is started, the automatic parking app displays a disclaimer to confirm to the occupant that he or she has exited the vehicle M.

Figure 5 is a diagram showing an example of a disclaimer displayed on the automatic parking app of the terminal device 200. As shown in Figure 5, the automatic parking app displays, for example, a message as a disclaimer to confirm that the shift position has been set to P, that all occupants of the vehicle M have exited the vehicle, that all occupants have unloaded their luggage, and that the doors of the vehicle M have been closed. Note that the content of the disclaimer is not limited to the above, and the automatic parking app may display only a portion of the above message as a disclaimer.

When the occupant confirms the disclaimer displayed on the automatic parking app and presses the confirmation button B1, the automatic parking app transmits information indicating that the occupant has pressed the confirmation button B1 to the vehicle control device 100 via the communication device 20. When the vehicle control device 100 receives the information, the alighting determination unit 120 determines whether the occupant of the vehicle M has alighted. More specifically, the alighting determination unit 120 may determine whether the occupant has alighted based on an image captured by the driver monitor camera 60, for example, or may determine whether the occupant has alighted based on whether a seat sensor provided on the back of the seat of the vehicle M detects a load, or may determine whether the occupant has alighted based on whether the seat belt of the vehicle M is locked. In addition to whether the occupant has alighted, the alighting determination unit 120 may determine whether there is no luggage in the passenger compartment of the vehicle M or whether the door of the vehicle M has been closed after being opened. For example, the disembarkation determination unit 120 can determine whether or not there is any luggage in the passenger compartment of the vehicle M based on the output result of the seat sensor, and can determine whether or not the door of the vehicle M has been opened and then closed based on the output result of the door sensor. The operation of the occupant pressing the confirmation button B1 is an example of a "second operation."

When the disembarking determination unit 120 determines that the occupant of the vehicle M has disembarked, it transmits a notification to the terminal device 200 confirming the disembarking and permitting the execution of automatic parking. When the terminal device 200 receives the notification, the automatic parking app accepts the start of automatic parking execution from the occupant. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of an automatic parking start screen displayed on the automatic parking app of the terminal device 200. As shown in FIG. 6, when the user presses the start button B2 displayed on the automatic parking start screen, the automatic parking app transmits information indicating that the occupant has pressed the confirmation button B2 to the vehicle control device 100 via the communication device 20. The operation of the occupant pressing the confirmation button B2 is an example of a "third operation".

When the vehicle control device 100 receives information indicating that the occupant has pressed the confirmation button B2, the gradient determination unit 130 uses an inclination sensor to measure the gradient value of the road surface on which the vehicle M is located, and determines whether the gradient value is within a first predetermined range based on zero.

Figure 7 is a diagram showing an example of a scene in which the vehicle M moves unmanned from its current position to a parking position specified by the occupant. When the gradient determination unit 130 determines that the gradient value of the road surface on which the vehicle M is located is within a first predetermined range, the parking control unit 140 moves the vehicle M unmanned from its current position to the parking position specified by the occupant. At this time, the parking control unit 140 moves the vehicle M at a speed of, for example, several kilometers per hour. The control when the gradient determination unit 130 determines that the gradient value of the road surface on which the vehicle M is located is outside the first predetermined range will be described later.

The gradient learning unit 150 learns the gradient value measured by the gradient determination unit 130 as gradient information 162 and stores it in the memory unit 160. More specifically, the gradient learning unit 150 associates the gradient value measured by the gradient determination unit 130 with image information of the surrounding conditions captured by the fisheye camera and position information of the vehicle M identified by the GNSS receiver 51, and stores them in the memory unit 160. As a result, when the vehicle M performs automatic parking again at the same point, the gradient determination unit 130 can determine whether the gradient of the point is within the first predetermined range based on the gradient information 162 without having to measure the gradient value of the road surface again.

[Determination method by gradient determination unit 130]
Next, the gradient determination method executed by the gradient determination unit 130 will be described in more detail with reference to Figs. 8 to 10. Fig. 8 is a diagram for explaining the gradient determination method executed by the gradient determination unit 130 using an inclination sensor. As shown in the upper part of Fig. 8, the gradient determination unit 130 determines whether or not the gradient value measured by the inclination sensor is in the range of -4% or more and 8.5% or less as the first predetermined range. This is because the gradient value measured by the inclination sensor is expected to deviate from the true value by -4.5% to +9%, and therefore, in order to permit the execution of automatic parking in the range of a gradient of ±13%, it is preferable to set the first predetermined range to the range of -4% or more and 8.5% or less.

If the gradient determination unit 130 determines that the gradient value measured by the inclination sensor is not within the first predetermined range, it then determines whether the gradient value is within the second predetermined range. As shown in the lower part of FIG. 8, the second predetermined range is set to, for example, a range of -8% or more and 12% or less. If the gradient value measured by the inclination sensor is outside the first predetermined range and within the second predetermined range, this means that the true value of the gradient value may deviate from the range of -15% to +15%, and may be outside the range of ±13%. Therefore, if the gradient value measured by the inclination sensor is outside the first predetermined range and within the second predetermined range, the gradient determination unit 130 measures the gradient value again based on the number of wheel speed pulses output by the output wheel speed sensor, as described below. On the other hand, if the gradient value measured by the inclination sensor is outside the second predetermined range, the control unit 110 stops the execution of automatic parking and transmits a notification to that effect to the terminal device 200. When the terminal device 200 receives the notification, the automatic parking app displays, for example, information indicating that automatic parking has been canceled, and prompts the occupant to move or park the vehicle M by manually driving it.

9 is a diagram for explaining the gradient determination method executed by the gradient determination unit 130 using the wheel speed sensor. First, at time t1, the occupant of the vehicle M sets the shift position of the vehicle M to P, turns on the brake device 82, and gets off the vehicle M as instructed by the automatic parking app of the terminal device 200. After that, when the occupant checks the disclaimer displayed on the automatic parking app and the get-off determination unit 120 determines that the occupant has got off, the gradient determination unit 130 determines whether the gradient value measured by the incline sensor is within a first predetermined range. If the gradient determination unit 130 determines that the gradient value is outside the first predetermined range and within the second predetermined range, the gradient determination unit 130 sets the shift position to N (neutral) at time t2 in order to measure the gradient value again using the wheel speed sensor, and further turns off the brake device 82 for a moment at time t3. As a result, if the road surface on which the vehicle M is located is inclined, the vehicle M moves due to gravity, and the gradient determination unit 130 can measure the gradient value based on the wheel speed pulses output by the wheel speed sensor.

FIG. 10 is another diagram for explaining the gradient determination method executed by the gradient determination unit 130 using the wheel speed sensor. As shown in FIG. 10, the gradient determination unit 130 starts measuring the gradient value based on the wheel speed pulse output by the wheel speed sensor after a first predetermined period has elapsed since the occupant turned on the brake device 82 and stopped the host vehicle M. This is because, immediately after the host vehicle M is stopped, the friction coefficient μ between the brake pad and the rotor fluctuates due to temperature changes and deterioration, so in order to accurately estimate the gradient value, it is desirable that a certain period has elapsed since the host vehicle M is stopped. When the gradient determination unit 130 measures the gradient value for a second predetermined period, the control unit 110 turns on the brake device 82 and ends the measurement. Note that, if the gradient determination unit 130 confirms a pulse count indicating a gradient of a certain level or more during measurement of the wheel speed pulse, the control unit 110 turns on the brake device 82 at that point in time and stops the measurement.

When the parking control unit 140 determines that the gradient value measured by the wheel speed sensor is within the second predetermined range, it moves the vehicle M from its current position to a parking position specified by the occupant in an unmanned manner. This is because the gradient value measured by the inclination sensor was determined to be outside the first predetermined range and within the second predetermined range, and therefore the true value of the gradient value may deviate from the range of -15% to +15%, but on the other hand, it was confirmed that the gradient value measured by the wheel speed sensor is also within the second predetermined range, and therefore it was confirmed that the true value of the gradient value is highly likely to be within the range of ±13%. In this way, by measuring the gradient value using both the inclination sensor and the wheel speed sensor, it is possible to perform highly accurate estimation of the gradient of the road surface.

[Operation flow]
Next, a flow of operations executed by the vehicle control device 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 11 to Fig. 13. Fig. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of a flow of operations executed by the vehicle control device 100.

First, the vehicle control device 100 judges whether or not the occupant has selected the execution of the automatic parking function on the navigation HMI 52 (step S100). If it is not judged that the occupant has selected the execution of the automatic parking function on the navigation HMI 52, the vehicle control device 100 waits until the selection to execute the automatic parking function is received. On the other hand, if it is judged that the occupant has selected the execution of the automatic parking function on the navigation HMI 52, the vehicle control device 100 next judges whether or not the occupant has selected a parking frame in which the host vehicle M can be parked on the navigation HMI 52 (step S102). If it is not judged that the occupant has selected a parking frame in which the host vehicle M can be parked on the navigation HMI 52, the vehicle control device 100 waits until a parking frame in which the host vehicle M can be parked is selected. If it is judged that a parking frame in which the host vehicle M can be parked has been selected, the vehicle control device 100 generates a parking plan for moving the host vehicle M to the selected parking frame (step S104).

Next, the vehicle control device 100 causes the navigation HMI 52 to display instruction information instructing the occupant to set the shift position of the vehicle M to P, get off the vehicle, and start the automatic parking app installed in the terminal device 200 held by the occupant (step S106). Next, the vehicle control device 100 determines whether or not confirmation of the disclaimer displayed in the automatic parking app has been received from the terminal device 200 (step S108). If it is not determined that confirmation of the disclaimer displayed in the automatic parking app has been received from the terminal device 200, the vehicle control device 100 waits until confirmation of the disclaimer is received from the terminal device 200.

When it is determined that confirmation of the disclaimer displayed on the automatic parking app has been received from the terminal device 200, the vehicle control device 100 determines whether or not the occupant has exited the vehicle M (step S110). When it is not determined that the occupant has exited the vehicle M, the vehicle control device 100, for example, displays a message in the automatic parking app to warn the occupant to exit the vehicle M, and waits until the occupant has exited the vehicle M (step S110). On the other hand, when it is determined that the occupant has exited the vehicle M, the vehicle control device 100 next determines whether or not information instructing the start of automatic parking execution has been received from the terminal device 200 (step S112).

If it is determined that information instructing the start of automatic parking has not been received from the terminal device 200, the vehicle control device 100 waits until it receives information instructing the start of automatic parking. On the other hand, if it is determined that information instructing the start of automatic parking has been received from the terminal device 200, the vehicle control device 100 next determines whether or not it is necessary to check the gradient of the road surface on which the host vehicle M is currently parked (step S114). More specifically, the vehicle control device 100 refers to the gradient information 162 in the storage unit 160 based on the current position information of the vehicle M identified by the GNSS receiver 51, and determines whether or not a gradient value corresponding to the position information is stored.

12 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of operations executed by the vehicle control device 100 when it is determined that a gradient check of the road surface on which the vehicle M is currently parked is necessary. When it is determined that a gradient check of the road surface on which the vehicle M is currently parked is necessary, the vehicle control device 100 determines whether or not the gradient value measured by the incline sensor is within a first predetermined range (step S116). When it is determined that the gradient value measured by the incline sensor is within the first predetermined range, the vehicle control device 100 moves the vehicle M to the parking frame unmanned based on the generated parking plan (step S118). On the other hand, when it is not determined that the gradient value measured by the incline sensor is within the first predetermined range, the vehicle control device 100 determines whether or not the gradient value is within a second predetermined range (step S120). When it is not determined that the gradient value measured by the incline sensor is within the second predetermined range, the vehicle control device 100 determines not to execute automatic parking, and for example, displays information indicating the cancellation of the execution of automatic parking in the automatic parking app, or prompts the occupant to move or park the vehicle M by manual driving (step S122).

If it is determined that the gradient value measured by the inclination sensor is within the second predetermined range, the vehicle control device 100 sets the shift position to N (step S124) and sets the brake device 82 to OFF (step S126). Next, the vehicle control device 100 starts measuring the wheel speed pulse by the wheel speed sensor after a predetermined period has elapsed since the brake device 82 was turned off, and measures the gradient value based on the measured wheel speed pulse (step S128). Next, the vehicle control device 100 determines whether the gradient value based on the measured wheel speed pulse is within the second predetermined range (step S130). If it is determined that the gradient value based on the measured wheel speed pulse is within the second predetermined range, the vehicle control device 100 moves the host vehicle M to the parking frame unmanned based on the generated parking plan. On the other hand, if it is not determined that the gradient value based on the measured wheel speed pulse is within the second predetermined range, the vehicle control device 100 determines that automatic parking will not be performed, and for example, displays information indicating the cancellation of the execution of automatic parking on the automatic parking app, or prompts the occupant to move or park the host vehicle M by manual driving. Next, the vehicle control device 100 associates the measured gradient value, the image information of the surrounding conditions captured by the fisheye camera, and the position information of the vehicle M identified by the GNSS receiver 51, and stores them in the storage unit 160 (step S132). This ends the process of the flowchart that is executed when it is determined that a gradient check of the road surface on which the vehicle M is currently parked is necessary.

Figure 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of operations executed by the vehicle control device 100 when it is determined that a gradient check of the road surface on which the host vehicle M is currently stopped is unnecessary. When it is determined that a gradient check of the road surface on which the host vehicle M is currently stopped is unnecessary, the vehicle control device 100 acquires a gradient value corresponding to the position information of the road surface on which the host vehicle M is currently stopped (step S134). Next, the vehicle control device 100 judges whether the acquired gradient value is within a first predetermined range (step S136).

If it is determined that the acquired gradient value is within the first predetermined range, the vehicle control device 100 moves the vehicle M to a parking space unmanned based on the generated parking plan (step S138). On the other hand, if it is not determined that the gradient value based on the measured wheel speed pulse is within the first predetermined range, the vehicle control device 100 determines that automatic parking will not be performed, and, for example, displays information indicating that automatic parking has been canceled in the automatic parking app, or prompts the occupant to move or park the vehicle M by manual driving (step S140). This ends the process of the flowchart that is executed when it is determined that it is not necessary to check the gradient of the road surface on which the vehicle M is currently parked.

In the above flowchart of FIG. 13, the vehicle control device 100 determines whether the gradient value acquired from the memory unit 160 is within a first predetermined range, but the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and the vehicle control device 100 may determine whether the gradient value is within a second predetermined range. Furthermore, if the acquired gradient value is not determined to be within the first predetermined range, the vehicle control device 100 may determine whether the gradient value measured by the wheel speed sensor is within a second predetermined range, similar to the processing of steps S124 to S130 in FIG. 12.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the parking control unit 140 has been described as moving the vehicle M unmanned at a speed of about several kilometers per hour. At this time, the parking control unit 140 may change the vehicle speed according to the gradient value measured by the inclination sensor or the wheel speed sensor. For example, if the measured gradient value is within the range of ±4%, the parking control unit 140 may increase the vehicle speed compared to other cases, and if the measured gradient value is within the range of -8% or more and less than -4%, or within the range of +8.5% or more and less than 12%, the parking control unit 140 may decrease the vehicle speed compared to other cases. This makes it possible to improve the marketability of the vehicle control device 100 while ensuring the safety of the occupants.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, a situation where the vehicle M is parked in a parking lot PL is described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and can be applied to a situation where the vehicle M is parked in any parking space such as a garage or parking space at the occupant's home, or on the side of the road, for example.

As described above, according to this embodiment, when parking the vehicle M unmanned by automatic parking, it is determined whether or not the gradient value based on the value of the inclination sensor is within a predetermined range, and if it is determined that the gradient value is outside the predetermined range, it is determined whether or not the gradient value based on the wheel speed pulses of the wheel speed sensor is within a predetermined range to estimate the gradient of the road surface on which the vehicle M is located, and it is determined whether or not to execute automatic parking based on the estimation result. This allows gradient estimation for automatic control of the vehicle to be performed appropriately.

The above-described embodiment can be expressed as follows.
A storage device storing a program;
a hardware processor;
Based on the result of detecting the surrounding conditions of the vehicle, the vehicle is moved from a stop position to a parking position;
determining whether an occupant of the vehicle has disembarked before moving the vehicle;
measuring a gradient value of a road surface on which the vehicle is positioned, and determining whether or not the gradient value is within a first predetermined range based on zero;
The parking position is set by an occupant of the vehicle performing a first operation using an in-vehicle operation device mounted in the vehicle,
The vehicle alighting determination is executed in response to a second operation being performed by an occupant of the vehicle using a terminal device outside the vehicle;
If it is determined that the occupant has dismounted, it is determined whether the gradient value is within the first predetermined range;
If it is determined that the gradient value is within the first predetermined range, the vehicle is moved from the stop position to the parking position.
The vehicle control device is configured as follows.

The above describes the form for carrying out the present invention using an embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and various modifications and substitutions can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

1...vehicle system, 10...camera, 12...radar device, 14...LIDAR, 16...sonar, 18...peripheral recognition device, 20...communication device, 30...HMI, 40...vehicle sensor, 50...navigation device, 51...GNSS receiver, 52...navigation HMI, 53...map information, 60...driver monitor camera, 70...driving operator, 80...driving force output device, 82...brake device, 84...steering device, 100...vehicle control device, 110...control unit, 120...disembarkation determination unit, 130...gradient determination unit, 140...parking control unit, 150...gradient learning unit, 160...storage unit

Claims (6)

a parking control unit that moves the vehicle from a stop position to a parking position based on a result of detecting a surrounding situation of the vehicle;
a vehicle exit determination unit that determines whether or not an occupant of the vehicle has exited the vehicle before the parking control unit moves the vehicle;
a gradient determination unit that determines whether a gradient value that indicates a longitudinal gradient of a road surface on which the vehicle is located and that is measured using an inclination sensor is within a first predetermined range based on zero,
The parking position is set by an occupant of the vehicle performing a first operation using an in-vehicle operation device mounted in the vehicle,
the disembarking determination unit executes the determination of disembarking in response to an occupant of the vehicle performing a second operation using a terminal device outside the vehicle;
the gradient determination unit determines whether the gradient value is within the first predetermined range when the dismounting determination unit determines that the occupant has dismounted,
the parking control unit moves the vehicle from the temporary stop position to the parking position when the gradient determination unit determines that the gradient value is within the first predetermined range,
when it is determined that the gradient value is outside the first predetermined range and within the second predetermined range, the gradient determination unit releases braking of a braking device of the vehicle, and determines whether or not the gradient value is within the second predetermined range based on wheel speed information measured by a wheel speed sensor during a measurement period from a measurement start time that is the first predetermined period after the release of the brake to a second predetermined period;
when the gradient determination unit determines that the gradient value based on the wheel speed information is within the second predetermined range, the parking control unit moves the vehicle from the temporary stop position to the parking position,
The second predetermined range is a range that is broader than the first predetermined range.
Vehicle control device. the gradient determination unit determines whether the gradient value is within the first predetermined range when the disembarkation determination unit determines that the occupant has disembarked and the occupant of the vehicle executes a third operation, using the terminal device outside the vehicle, to instruct the parking control unit to park the vehicle.
The vehicle control device according to claim 1. A gradient learning unit that learns the gradient value measured by the gradient determination unit as gradient information,
the gradient determination unit determines whether the gradient value is within the first predetermined range based on the gradient information learned by the gradient learning unit;
the gradient learning unit associates information indicating whether the gradient value is within the first predetermined range, image information of the surrounding conditions, and position information of the vehicle, and learns the information as the gradient information.
The vehicle control device according to claim 1 or 2. A vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3;
an application program that runs on the terminal device, accepts at least the second operation, and notifies the vehicle control device of the acceptance of the second operation;
A system comprising: The computer
Based on the result of detecting the surrounding conditions of the vehicle, the vehicle is moved from a stop position to a parking position;
determining whether an occupant of the vehicle has disembarked before moving the vehicle;
determining whether or not a gradient value, which is measured using an incline sensor and indicates a longitudinal gradient of a road surface on which the vehicle is located, is within a first predetermined range based on zero;
The parking position is set by an occupant of the vehicle performing a first operation using an in-vehicle operation device mounted in the vehicle,
The vehicle alighting determination is executed in response to a second operation being performed by an occupant of the vehicle using a terminal device outside the vehicle;
If it is determined that the occupant has dismounted, it is determined whether the gradient value is within the first predetermined range;
If it is determined that the gradient value is within the first predetermined range, moving the vehicle from the stop position to the parking position;
when it is determined that the gradient value is outside the first predetermined range and within the second predetermined range, releasing the braking of the braking device of the vehicle, and determining whether or not the gradient value is within the second predetermined range based on wheel speed information measured by a wheel speed sensor during a measurement period from a measurement start time that is the first predetermined period after the release of the braking to a second predetermined period;
When it is determined that the gradient value based on the wheel speed information is within the second predetermined range, the vehicle is moved from the temporary stop position to the parking position;
The second predetermined range is a range that is broader than the first predetermined range.
A vehicle control method. On the computer,
Based on the result of detecting the surrounding conditions of the vehicle, the vehicle is moved from a stop position to a parking position;
determining whether or not an occupant of the vehicle has disembarked before the vehicle is moved;
determining whether or not a gradient value, which is measured using an inclination sensor and indicates a longitudinal gradient of a road surface on which the vehicle is positioned, is within a first predetermined range based on zero;
The parking position is set by an occupant of the vehicle performing a first operation using an in-vehicle operation device mounted in the vehicle,
executing a determination of dismounting in response to an occupant of the vehicle performing a second operation using a terminal device outside the vehicle;
When it is determined that the occupant has dismounted, it is determined whether or not the gradient value is within the first predetermined range;
If it is determined that the gradient value is within the first predetermined range, moving the vehicle from the stop position to the parking position;
when it is determined that the gradient value is outside the first predetermined range and within the second predetermined range, releasing the braking of the braking device of the vehicle, and determining whether or not the gradient value is within the second predetermined range based on wheel speed information measured by a wheel speed sensor during a measurement period from a measurement start time that is a first predetermined period after the release of the braking to a second predetermined period;
When it is determined that the gradient value based on the wheel speed information is within the second predetermined range, the vehicle is moved from the temporary stop position to the parking position;
The second predetermined range is a range that is broader than the first predetermined range.
program.

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