JP7798068B2 - Vehicle control device - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to a vehicle control device.

JP 2021-17214 A is known as a technical document related to a conventional vehicle control device. JP 2021-17214 A discloses technology in which driving assistance control is performed when the vehicle is located in a manual driving area (a prohibited area where autonomous driving is prohibited), and autonomous driving control is performed when the vehicle is located in an autonomous driving area.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2021-17214

In the technology described above, image data from an imaging device installed in a vehicle may be used for both driving assistance control and autonomous driving control. However, if image data is continuously transmitted to both the driving assistance ECU that executes driving assistance control and the autonomous driving ECU that executes autonomous driving control, there is a concern that communication stability may decrease due to noise interference.

The present disclosure aims to provide a vehicle control device that can suppress a decline in the stability of image data communication.

The vehicle control device disclosed herein controls the vehicle using image data from an imaging device mounted on the vehicle that captures at least an image of the area in front of the vehicle. It includes: a driving assistance ECU that performs driving assistance control using the image data; an autonomous driving ECU that is provided separately from the driving assistance ECU and performs autonomous driving control using the image data; and an image data transmission unit that, when the automatic start function of autonomous driving control is on, causes the image data to be transmitted to the driving assistance ECU when the vehicle is located in a predetermined manual driving area, and causes the image data to be transmitted to the autonomous driving ECU when the vehicle is located in a predetermined autonomous driving area. The autonomous driving ECU determines whether a first switching condition to autonomous driving control is satisfied based on the image data when the vehicle enters the autonomous driving area, and executes autonomous driving control if the first switching condition is satisfied. The image data transmission unit transmits image data to the driving assistance ECU in addition to the autonomous driving ECU when the vehicle enters the autonomous driving area, and stops transmitting image data to the driving assistance ECU if the first switching condition is satisfied.

This disclosure makes it possible to provide a vehicle control device that can suppress a decline in image data communication stability.

1 is a block diagram of a functional configuration of a vehicle control device according to an embodiment; FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the driving state when the vehicle is located in a manual driving area or an automatic driving area. 2 is a flowchart showing a process performed by the vehicle control device shown in FIG. 1 . 2 is a flowchart showing a process performed by the vehicle control device shown in FIG. 1 .

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Figure 1 is a block diagram of a vehicle control device according to one embodiment. As shown in Figure 1, the vehicle control device 1 includes an imaging device 2, a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) signal receiver 3, a map database 4, a display 5, an actuator 6, an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 10, and an ECU 20. The vehicle control device 1 controls the vehicle using image data from the imaging device 2 installed in the vehicle.

The imaging device 2 captures images of the vehicle's external environment. The imaging device 2 has multiple cameras that capture images of the front, sides, and rear of the vehicle. Each camera may be a monocular camera or a stereo camera. The imaging device 2 transmits image data to at least one of the driving assistance control unit 11 and the autonomous driving control unit 22, which will be described later, in response to a control signal from the image data transmission unit 23, which will be described later.

The GNSS signal receiver 3 measures the vehicle's position (e.g., the vehicle's latitude and longitude) by receiving signals from positioning satellites. The GNSS signal receiver 3 transmits vehicle position information to the ECU 20.

The map database 4 stores map information. The map information includes, for example, information about roads and intersections. The map information also includes information about manual driving areas and automated driving areas. The map database 4 is stored on a server that can communicate with the vehicle. The map database 4 may also be stored in a storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD) installed in the vehicle.

The display 5 is provided, for example, on the vehicle's instrument panel. The display 5 has a display screen for displaying images. The display 5 displays images on the display screen based on control signals from the ECU 10. Note that the display 5 may also be a HUD (Head Up Display) that projects images onto the vehicle's windshield or a projection screen.

The actuators 6 include a drive actuator, a brake actuator, a steering actuator, and the like. The drive actuator controls the driving force of the vehicle in response to a control signal from the ECU 20. Specifically, the drive actuator controls the amount of air supplied to the engine (throttle opening), thereby controlling the driving force of the vehicle. If the vehicle is a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), in addition to controlling the amount of air supplied to the engine, a control signal from the ECU 20 is input to the motor serving as a power source to control the driving force. If the vehicle is an electric vehicle (BEV), a control signal from the ECU 20 is input to the motor serving as a power source to control the driving force. In these cases, the motor serving as a power source constitutes a drive actuator.

The brake actuator controls the braking force of the vehicle in response to a control signal from the ECU 20. Specifically, the brake actuator controls the brake system in response to a control signal from the ECU 20, and controls the braking force applied to the vehicle's wheels. The brake system may be, for example, a hydraulic brake system.

The steering actuator controls the steering torque or steering angle of the vehicle in response to a control signal from the ECU 20. Specifically, the steering actuator controls the drive of the assist motor, which controls the steering torque or steering angle of the electric power steering system, in response to a control signal from the ECU 20.

The ECU (driving assistance ECU) 10 is an electronic control unit that has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a storage unit such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) or a RAM (Random Access Memory). Various functions of the ECU 10 are realized, for example, by the CPU executing programs stored in the storage unit. The ECU 10 is installed, for example, in a vehicle.

The ECU 10 has a driving assistance control unit 11 as a functional component. The driving assistance control unit 11 executes driving assistance control for the vehicle using image data from the imaging device 2. Manual driving is a driving state in which a person (driver) is the driving primary driver. When the vehicle is being driven manually, the driver's driving operations may be supported by driving assistance functions such as ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control) or LKA (Lane Keeping Assist). Manual driving is, for example, a driving state at level 2 or lower (levels 0 to 2) as defined in SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) J3016. In this embodiment, manual driving is a driving state at level 1.

The driving assistance control unit 11, for example, combines images captured by multiple cameras of the imaging device 2. The driving assistance control unit 11 displays the combined images as a panoramic image on the display 5. The driver of the vehicle can understand the situation around the vehicle based on the image displayed on the display 5.

The ECU (autonomous driving ECU) 20 is an electronic control unit having a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a storage unit such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) or a RAM (Random Access Memory). In the ECU 20, various functions are realized, for example, by the CPU executing programs stored in the storage unit. The ECU 20 may be provided in the vehicle, or in a server or the like that can communicate with the vehicle. The ECU 20 is provided separately from the ECU 10. The ECU 10 and the ECU 20 are physically separate pieces of hardware.

The ECU 20 has a functional configuration including a position determination unit 21, an autonomous driving control unit 22, and an image data transmission unit 23. The position determination unit 21 determines the vehicle's position based on the vehicle's position information transmitted from the GNSS signal receiving unit 3 and the map database 4. The position determination unit 21 determines whether the vehicle is located in a preset manual driving area. The position determination unit 21 determines whether the vehicle is located in a preset autonomous driving area.

The autonomous driving control unit 22 executes autonomous driving control for the vehicle using image data from the imaging device 2. Autonomous driving is a driving state in which the driving operation is performed by the system. Autonomous driving is vehicle control in which the vehicle travels automatically toward a predetermined destination. In autonomous driving, the route and speed of the vehicle are planned in advance. Autonomous driving is, for example, a driving state of level 3 or higher (levels 3 to 6) as defined in SAE [Society of Automotive Engineers] J3016. In this embodiment, autonomous driving is a driving state of level 3 or level 4.

The autonomous driving control unit 22 determines whether a first switching condition to autonomous driving control and a second switching condition to driving assistance control are satisfied based on image data from the imaging device 2. Specifically, the autonomous driving control unit 22 determines, for example, whether an obstacle is present around the vehicle based on image data from the imaging device 2. The autonomous driving control unit 22 determines, for example, whether an obstacle is present in an area around the vehicle that is difficult for the driver to see (a blind spot for the driver). An obstacle may be, for example, a child or a bicycle. The autonomous driving control unit 22 determines that the first switching condition or the second switching condition is satisfied if no obstacle is present around the vehicle. The autonomous driving control unit 22 determines that the first switching condition or the second switching condition is not satisfied if an obstacle is present around the vehicle.

When the autonomous driving control unit 22 starts determining whether the first switching condition or the second switching condition is met, it may notify the vehicle occupants, for example via a notification unit, that the first switching condition or the second switching condition is being determined. When the autonomous driving control unit 22 finishes determining whether the first switching condition or the second switching condition is met, it may notify the vehicle occupants, for example via a notification unit, of the determination result of the first switching condition or the second switching condition.

When the automatic start function of the autonomous driving control is on, the image data transmission unit 23 controls the output switch of the imaging device 2 to transmit image data from the imaging device 2 to at least one of the driving assistance control unit 11 (ECU 10) and the autonomous driving control unit 22 (ECU 20). When the vehicle is located in a manual driving area, the image data transmission unit 23 transmits image data from the imaging device 2 to at least the driving assistance control unit 11. When the vehicle is located in an autonomous driving area, the image data transmission unit 23 transmits image data from the imaging device 2 to at least the autonomous driving control unit 22.

Figure 2 shows the driving state when the vehicle is located in a manual driving area or an automatic driving area. As shown in Figure 2, the vehicle travels, for example, through manual driving area Z1, automatic driving area Z2, and manual driving area Z3 in sequence.

When the vehicle is located in the manual driving area Z1, the image data transmission unit 23 transmits the image data from the imaging device 2 to the driving assistance control unit 11 as described above, and the driving assistance control unit 11 executes driving assistance control for the vehicle as described above. When the vehicle is located in the manual driving area Z1, the image data transmission unit 23 does not transmit the image data from the imaging device 2 to the automatic driving control unit 22.

When the vehicle is located in autonomous driving area Z2, the image data transmission unit 23 causes the image data of the imaging device 2 to be transmitted to the autonomous driving control unit 22 as described above. The image data transmission unit 23 causes the image data of the imaging device 2 to be transmitted to the driving assistance control unit 11 in addition to the autonomous driving control unit 22 during a first period calculated from the time the vehicle enters autonomous driving area Z2. The length of the first period is determined based on various conditions in the manual driving area Z1 or autonomous driving area Z2. During the first period, the vehicle is located in a first area Z21 of the autonomous driving area Z2 that is adjacent to the manual driving area Z1.

When autonomous driving control is being executed and the vehicle enters a second period before escaping autonomous driving area Z2, the image data transmission unit 23 transmits image data from the imaging device 2 to the driving assistance control unit 11 in addition to the autonomous driving control unit 22. When autonomous driving control is being executed, the vehicle speed is planned in advance, so if the length of the second period is set, the timing of the start of the second period is determined. In other words, when the vehicle is located in autonomous driving area Z2, the timing of the start of image data transmission to the driving assistance control unit 11 is determined. The length of the second period is determined based on various conditions in the autonomous driving area Z2 or the manual driving area Z3. Note that during the second period, the vehicle is located in a second area Z22 of the autonomous driving area Z2 that is adjacent to the manual driving area Z3. Furthermore, there is a predetermined period between the first period and the second period. The first period and the second period do not overlap each other. A third area Z23 exists between the first area Z21 and the second area Z22.

When the vehicle enters autonomous driving area Z2, the autonomous driving control unit 22 determines whether a first switching condition to autonomous driving control is met based on image data from the imaging device 2. The autonomous driving control unit 22 repeatedly determines whether the first switching condition is met during a first period. The autonomous driving control unit 22 executes autonomous driving control if the first switching condition is met during the first period. If the first switching condition is met during the first period, the driving assistance control unit 11 terminates driving assistance control after the autonomous driving control unit 22 executes autonomous driving control. In other words, if the first switching condition is met, the vehicle's driving state switches from manual driving to autonomous driving.

The image data transmission unit 23 stops transmitting image data to the driving assistance control unit 11 when the first switching condition is satisfied during the first period. In other words, when the first switching condition is satisfied during the first period, the image data transmission unit 23 transmits image data only to the autonomous driving control unit 22 out of the driving assistance control unit 11 and the autonomous driving control unit 22.

If the first switching condition is not satisfied during the first period, the autonomous driving control unit 22 does not execute autonomous driving control. If the first switching condition is not satisfied during the first period, the driving assistance control unit 11 continues to execute driving assistance control. In other words, if the first switching condition is not satisfied, the vehicle's driving state remains manual.

If the first switching condition is not satisfied during the first period, the image data transmission unit 23 stops transmitting image data to the autonomous driving control unit 22. In other words, if the first switching condition is not satisfied during the first period, the image data transmission unit 23 transmits image data only to the driving assistance control unit 11 out of the driving assistance control unit 11 and the autonomous driving control unit 22.

When the vehicle enters the second period, the autonomous driving control unit 22 determines whether a second switching condition to driving assistance control is met based on image data from the imaging device 2. The autonomous driving control unit 22 repeatedly determines whether the second switching condition is met during the second period. If the second switching condition is met during the second period, the driving assistance control unit 11 executes driving assistance control when the vehicle exits the autonomous driving area Z2. If the second switching condition is met during the second period, the autonomous driving control unit 22 terminates autonomous driving control after the driving assistance control unit 11 executes driving assistance control. In other words, when the second switching condition is met, the vehicle's driving state switches from autonomous driving to manual driving.

If the second switching condition is satisfied during the second period, the image data transmission unit 23 stops transmitting image data to the autonomous driving control unit 22 when the vehicle exits the autonomous driving area Z2. In other words, if the second switching condition is satisfied during the second period, the image data transmission unit 23 transmits image data only to the driving assistance control unit 11 out of the driving assistance control unit 11 and the autonomous driving control unit 22.

If the second switching condition is not satisfied during the second period, the driving assistance control unit 11 does not execute driving assistance control. If the second switching condition is not satisfied during the second period, the autonomous driving control unit 22 continues to execute autonomous driving control. In other words, if the second switching condition is not satisfied, the vehicle's driving state is maintained in autonomous driving.

If the second switching condition is not satisfied during the second period, the image data transmission unit 23 stops transmitting image data to the driving assistance control unit 11. In other words, if the second switching condition is not satisfied during the second period, the image data transmission unit 23 transmits image data only to the autonomous driving control unit 22 out of the driving assistance control unit 11 and the autonomous driving control unit 22.

Next, the processing of the vehicle control device 1 will be described. Figures 3 and 4 are flowcharts showing the processing by the vehicle control device 1. Figure 3 is a flowchart when a vehicle enters the autonomous driving area Z2. Figure 4 is a flowchart when a vehicle exits the autonomous driving area Z2.

As shown in FIG. 3, in step S11, the vehicle control device 1 determines whether it is currently within a first period, which begins when the vehicle enters autonomous driving area Z2. If it is currently within the first period (step S11: YES), the vehicle control device 1 transmits image data to both ECU 20 (autonomous driving ECU) and ECU 10 (driving assistance ECU) in step S12. If it is not currently within the first period (step S11: NO), the vehicle control device 1 ends the current processing.

In step S13, the vehicle control device 1 determines whether a first switching condition to autonomous driving control is satisfied during the first period. If the first switching condition is satisfied (step S13: YES), the vehicle control device 1 executes autonomous driving control in step S14. In step S15, the vehicle control device 1 stops sending image data to the ECU 10. If the first switching condition is not satisfied (step S13: NO), the vehicle control device 1 continues executing driving assistance control in step S16. In step S17, the vehicle control device 1 stops sending image data to the ECU 20.

As shown in FIG. 4, in step S21, the vehicle control device 1 determines whether the vehicle has entered a second period before escaping from the autonomous driving area Z2. If the vehicle has entered the second period (step S21: YES), the vehicle control device 1 transmits image data to both ECU 20 (autonomous driving ECU) and ECU 10 (driving assistance ECU) in step S22. If the vehicle has not entered the second period (step S21: NO), the vehicle control device 1 ends the current processing.

In step S23, the vehicle control device 1 determines whether a second switching condition to driving assistance control is met during the second period. If the second switching condition is met (step S23: YES), in step S24, the vehicle control device 1 executes driving assistance control when the vehicle exits the autonomous driving area Z2. In step S25, the vehicle control device 1 stops sending image data to the ECU 20 when the vehicle exits the autonomous driving area Z2. If the second switching condition is not met (step S23: NO), the vehicle control device 1 continues to execute autonomous driving control in step S26. In step S27, the vehicle control device 1 stops sending image data to the ECU 10.

As described above, the image data transmission unit 23 transmits image data to both ECU 20 and ECU 10 when the vehicle enters autonomous driving area Z2. The ECU 20 determines whether a first switching condition for autonomous driving control is met based on the image data when the vehicle enters autonomous driving area Z2, and executes autonomous driving control if the first switching condition is met. Furthermore, the image data transmission unit 23 stops transmitting image data to ECU 10 when the first switching condition is met. This reduces the degradation of communication stability due to noise interference, compared to, for example, continuously transmitting image data to both ECU 20 and ECU 10. Therefore, the vehicle control device 1 reduces the degradation of image data communication stability. Furthermore, compared to, for example, continuously transmitting image data to both ECU 20 and ECU 10, power consumption is reduced, and a decrease in the processing speed (e.g., image recognition speed or display image generation speed) of ECU 10 and 20 is suppressed. Furthermore, the shared imaging device 2 reduces costs and the vehicle's weight and space.

If the first switching condition is not met during a first period starting from the time the vehicle enters the autonomous driving area Z2, the image data transmission unit 23 stops transmitting image data to the ECU 20. If the first switching condition is not met during the first period, the ECU 20 does not execute autonomous driving control. This reduces the deterioration of communication stability due to noise interference compared to, for example, a case where image data is continuously transmitted to both the ECU 20 and the ECU 10.

When the vehicle is undergoing autonomous driving control and enters a second period before escaping autonomous driving area Z2, the image data transmission unit 23 transmits image data to ECU 10 in addition to ECU 20. When the vehicle enters the second period, ECU 20 determines whether a second switching condition to driving assistance control is met based on the image data, and if the second switching condition is met, terminates autonomous driving control after executing driving assistance control. When the second switching condition is met, ECU 10 executes driving assistance control when the vehicle leaves autonomous driving area Z2. When the second switching condition is met, the image data transmission unit 23 stops transmitting image data to ECU 20 when the vehicle leaves autonomous driving area Z2. This reduces the deterioration of communication stability due to noise interference compared to, for example, continuously transmitting image data to both ECU 20 and ECU 10.

The above describes embodiments of the present disclosure, but the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments. The present disclosure can be implemented in a variety of forms, including the above-described embodiments, with various modifications and improvements based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art.

The position determination unit 21 may determine whether the vehicle is located in a manual driving area or an autonomous driving area from the recognition results of signs or road markings based on image data from the imaging device 2. Specifically, the position determination unit 21 recognizes signs or road markings using well-known image processing techniques such as edge extraction, noise removal, pattern matching, deep learning, etc. In such cases, the vehicle control device 1 does not need to be equipped with a GNSS signal receiving unit 3 and a map database 4.

The imaging device 2 must have at least a camera that captures images of the area in front of the vehicle.

If the first switching condition is not satisfied during the first period, the image data transmission unit 23 may continue to transmit image data to the ECU 20 even after the first period has elapsed.

The image data transmission unit 23 may not transmit image data from the imaging device 2 to the ECU 10 even if the vehicle enters the second period. The ECU 20 may not determine whether the second switching condition is met even if the vehicle enters the second period. The ECU 20 may terminate the autonomous driving control when the vehicle exits the autonomous driving area Z2, regardless of whether the second switching condition is met. The ECU 10 may execute driving assistance control when the vehicle exits the autonomous driving area Z2, regardless of whether the second switching condition is met.

1...vehicle control device, 2...imaging device, 11...driving assistance control unit, 22...automatic driving control unit, Z1...manual driving area, Z2...automatic driving area, 23...image data transmission unit.

Claims (3)

A vehicle control device that controls a vehicle using image data from an imaging device that is mounted on the vehicle and captures an image of at least a front of the vehicle,
a driving assistance ECU that executes driving assistance control using the image data;
an autonomous driving ECU that is provided separately from the driving assistance ECU and that executes autonomous driving control using the image data;
an image data transmission unit that, when an automatic start function of the automatic driving control is in an on state, causes the image data to be transmitted to the driving assistance ECU when the vehicle is located in a predetermined manual driving area, and causes the image data to be transmitted to the automatic driving ECU when the vehicle is located in a predetermined automatic driving area,
the autonomous driving ECU determines whether a first switching condition to the autonomous driving control is satisfied based on the image data when the vehicle enters the autonomous driving area, and executes the autonomous driving control if the first switching condition is satisfied;
The image data transmission unit transmits the image data to the driving assistance ECU in addition to the autonomous driving ECU when the vehicle enters the autonomous driving area, and stops transmitting the image data to the driving assistance ECU when the first switching condition is satisfied. the image data transmission unit stops transmitting the image data to the autonomous driving ECU if the first switching condition is not satisfied during a first period calculated from the time the vehicle enters the autonomous driving area;
The vehicle control device according to claim 1 , wherein the automatic driving ECU does not execute the automatic driving control if the first switching condition is not satisfied in the first period. the image data transmission unit transmits the image data to the driving assistance ECU in addition to the autonomous driving ECU when the autonomous driving control is being executed and the vehicle enters a second period before escaping from the autonomous driving area;
When the vehicle enters the second period, the autonomous driving ECU determines whether a second switching condition to the driving assistance control is satisfied based on the image data, and when the second switching condition is satisfied, terminates the autonomous driving control after executing the driving assistance control;
the driving assistance ECU executes the driving assistance control when the vehicle exits the automated driving area if the second switching condition is satisfied;
3. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the image data transmission unit stops transmitting the image data to the autonomous driving ECU when the vehicle exits the autonomous driving area if the second switching condition is satisfied.