JP6355780B1 - Vehicle evacuation device and vehicle evacuation method - Google Patents

Abstract

When it is difficult to continue automatic driving, the host vehicle is retracted according to the situation of other surrounding vehicles. A retraction control unit 30 detects positions of other vehicles 101 to 103 around the host vehicle 100 when the host vehicle 100 is retracted to a roadside belt 204. When another vehicle 101 is detected on the side and rear side of the host vehicle 100 in the adjacent lane 201 on the side where the host vehicle 100 is to be retracted, the retraction control unit 30 causes the host vehicle 100 to move to the other vehicle 101 in the adjacent lane 201. The speed of the own vehicle 100 is controlled so as to be overtaken, and after the own vehicle 100 causes the other vehicle 101 to overtake the adjacent lane 201, the own vehicle 100 is moved to the adjacent lane 201. [Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to automatic driving of a vehicle, and more particularly to a technique for retracting a vehicle to a road shoulder when it becomes difficult to continue automatic driving.

  Automatic driving technology that allows a vehicle to travel autonomously without requiring a human driving operation by detecting surrounding obstacles (for example, other vehicles, pedestrians, etc.) and road markings with sensors. Development is underway. In the automatic driving of a vehicle, the vehicle travels along a route set by a navigation device or the like, and the course of the vehicle is determined based on information such as the position of the own vehicle in the road, the shape of the surrounding road, and the surrounding obstacle. It is realized by controlling.

  Autonomous driving of a vehicle will ensure safety even if it becomes difficult to continue autonomous driving due to sensor failure or limited information obtained from the sensor due to the influence of weather. It is necessary to. For example, when it is difficult to continue the automatic driving, it is desirable to transfer the driving operation of the host vehicle from the automatic driving control device to the driver (driver) and to switch to driving (manual driving) by the driving operation of the driver. . However, when attempting to transfer the driving operation of the host vehicle to the driver, if the driver cannot operate normally (for example, the driver is not in an awake state), the switching to manual driving is not performed. In addition, a method is adopted in which the vehicle is brought close to the road shoulder and stopped by automatic driving. The process of automatically moving the host vehicle to an appropriate place and stopping it is called “evacuation”.

  For example, in Patent Document 1 below, when the driver does not perform a driving operation despite the failure of the sensor during automatic driving, the host vehicle is retracted based on the information acquired last by the sensor. Technology is disclosed. Further, in Patent Document 2 below, automatic driving is performed while periodically calculating a stopping point where the host vehicle can be stopped, and when the driver does not cancel the automatic driving even if it is difficult to continue the automatic driving, A technique for retracting the host vehicle to a stop point calculated in advance is disclosed.

JP 2006-088180 A JP 2014-106854 A

  In the technique of Patent Document 1, the retreat control of the own vehicle is performed using the information acquired last by the sensor, and therefore the distance between the position of the own vehicle at the time of the sensor failure and the point at which the own vehicle is withdrawn is short. Therefore, since it is necessary to decelerate suddenly when the own vehicle is withdrawn, the burden on the occupant is large and there is a possibility that the vehicle may collide with the following vehicle. Further, Patent Document 2 does not show a specific method for moving the vehicle to a point where the vehicle is retracted.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems. When it becomes difficult to continue automatic driving, it is possible to evacuate the host vehicle according to the situation of other surrounding vehicles. It aims at providing a vehicle evacuation device.

The vehicle evacuation device according to the present invention acquires an abnormality detection unit that detects a reduction in recognition accuracy or a partial failure of a sensor that acquires information for performing automatic driving of the host vehicle, and information on obstacles around the host vehicle. A surrounding information acquisition unit, a vehicle state acquisition unit that acquires information on an operation state of the host vehicle, a driver state acquisition unit that acquires a driver state of the host vehicle, and a reduction in recognition accuracy or a part of the sensor A retraction control unit that controls the retreating of the host vehicle to a road shoulder when a malfunction is detected and the driver of the host vehicle does not start the driving operation or cannot perform the driving operation normally; A control information output unit that sends control information of the host vehicle output by the control unit to the vehicle control device of the host vehicle, and the evacuation control unit, when the host vehicle evacuates, the surrounding information acquisition unit Information obtained by Accordingly, the position of another vehicle around the own vehicle is detected, and when another vehicle is detected on the side and rear side of the own vehicle in the adjacent lane on the side where the own vehicle is to be retracted, Controlling the speed of the host vehicle to be overtaken by the other vehicle in the adjacent lane, causing the other vehicle in the adjacent lane to pass the host vehicle, and moving the host vehicle to the adjacent lane , When controlling the speed of the own vehicle so that the own vehicle is overtaken by the other vehicle in the adjacent lane, the speed of the own vehicle is made slower than the speed of the other vehicle in the adjacent lane, and the adjacent The relative speed between the host vehicle and the other vehicle in the adjacent lane is kept small so that the calculation amount for detecting the position of the other vehicle in the lane does not exceed a certain value .

  According to the vehicle evacuation device of the present invention, when switching to manual operation is impossible even if it is difficult to continue automatic driving, the vehicle is evacuated by changing lanes while avoiding other surrounding vehicles. Can be made.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle evacuation device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the evacuation control of the own vehicle which the vehicle evacuation apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 performs. It is a figure for demonstrating the evacuation control of the own vehicle which the vehicle evacuation apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 performs. It is a figure for demonstrating the evacuation control of the own vehicle which the vehicle evacuation apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 performs. It is a figure for demonstrating the process in which another vehicle overtakes the own vehicle. It is a figure for demonstrating the process in which another vehicle overtakes the own vehicle. It is a figure for demonstrating the process in which another vehicle overtakes the own vehicle. It is a figure for demonstrating the process of the lane change of the own vehicle. It is a figure for demonstrating the process of the lane change of the own vehicle. It is a figure for demonstrating the process of the lane change of the own vehicle. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the vehicle evacuation device according to Embodiment 1. It is a flowchart of a driver | operator monitoring process. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle evacuation device according to Embodiment 2. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a vehicle evacuation device according to Embodiment 3.

<Embodiment 1>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the vehicle evacuation device according to the first embodiment. The vehicle evacuation device 10 is a computer mounted on the vehicle 100. Hereinafter, the vehicle 100 on which the vehicle retracting device 10 is mounted is referred to as “own vehicle”, and the other vehicles are referred to as “other vehicles”.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle evacuation device 10 includes a processor 20 and a storage device 21 as hardware. The processor 20 is an integrated circuit (IC) that performs various arithmetic processes, and more specifically, executes software such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), and a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). It is a semiconductor device.

  The storage device 21 includes a memory 40 and a storage 41. A specific example of the memory 40 is a RAM (Random Access Memory). A specific example of the storage 41 is a flash memory. The storage 41 is a portable storage such as an SD (Secure Digital) memory card, CF (CompactFlash (registered trademark)), HDD (Hard Disk Drive), flexible disk, optical disk, compact disk, Blu-ray (registered trademark) disk, DVD. It may be a medium.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle retracting device 10 includes a vehicle periphery sensor 11, a vehicle state sensor 12, a driver monitoring device 13, an automatic driving control device 14, a vehicle control device 17, and an HMI (Human) mounted on the host vehicle. Machine Interface) device 18 is connected.

  The vehicle periphery sensor 11 detects an obstacle around the host vehicle 100. Examples of the vehicle periphery sensor 11 include a camera, sonar, millimeter wave sensor, and laser sensor mounted on the host vehicle 100. A plurality of vehicle periphery sensors 11 may be mounted on the host vehicle 100.

  The vehicle state sensor 12 detects the operation state of the host vehicle 100. For example, the vehicle state sensor 12 detects the state of each device mounted on the host vehicle 100, such as the speed, acceleration, turning angle, turning angular speed, and lighting state of the host vehicle 100. A plurality of vehicle state sensors 12 may be mounted on the host vehicle 100.

  The driver monitoring device 13 monitors the state of the driver of the host vehicle 100 and determines whether or not the driver can drive the host vehicle 100 normally. For example, the driver monitoring device 13 estimates the driver's active state based on the driver's facial expression and behavior photographed by the in-vehicle camera, the driver's heartbeat and body movement observed by the biosensor, and the like. Determines whether or not the driving operation can be normally performed. Further, the driver monitoring device 13 can also determine whether or not the driver has started driving operation of the host vehicle 100 when the host vehicle is switched from automatic driving to manual driving. A plurality of driver monitoring devices 13 may be mounted on the host vehicle 100.

  The vehicle control device 17 is an electronic control unit (ECU) that controls the travel of the host vehicle 100 by controlling actuators such as an accelerator, a brake, an engine, a headlight, and a warning light of the host vehicle 100. A plurality of vehicle control devices 17 may be mounted on the host vehicle 100.

  The HMI device 18 sends various types of information to persons or devices inside and outside the host vehicle 100, such as passengers including the driver of the host vehicle 100, pedestrians around the host vehicle 100, other vehicles, and passengers thereof. It is a means of transmission. For example, the HMI device 18 transmits information using images such as characters and graphics, light, sound, vibration, and the like. A plurality of HMI devices 18 may be mounted on the host vehicle 100.

  Here, although not shown, the automatic driving control device 14 is not limited to the vehicle retracting device 10, but also includes a vehicle surrounding sensor 11, a vehicle state sensor 12, a driver monitoring device 13, a vehicle control device 17, and an HMI device 18. Both are connected through signal lines. The automatic driving control device 14 controls the vehicle control device 17 and the HMI device 18 based on various information obtained from the vehicle surrounding sensor 11, the vehicle state sensor 12, and the driver monitoring device 13.

  For example, the automatic driving control device 14 includes a route to a destination set by a navigation device (not shown) of the host vehicle 100, information on obstacles around the host vehicle 100 obtained from the vehicle periphery sensor 11, and a vehicle state. The host vehicle 100 is automatically driven by controlling the vehicle control device 17 based on the operation state information of the host vehicle 100 obtained from the sensor 12. Specifically, the automatic driving control device 14 provides control information such as the turning angle and traveling speed of the host vehicle 100 so that the host vehicle 100 travels along a route to the destination while avoiding obstacles in the vicinity. Generate. The control information generated by the automatic driving control device 14 is input to the vehicle control device 17, whereby the host vehicle 100 travels autonomously. Since the automatic driving control method performed by the automatic driving control device 14 can use a well-known technique, a detailed description thereof is omitted here.

  In addition, the automatic driving control device 14 performs automatic driving when it is not possible to acquire sufficient information for autonomously driving the host vehicle 100 due to environmental influences such as weather or a partial failure of the vehicle surrounding sensor 11. It is difficult to continue. In that case, the automatic driving control device 14 uses the HMI device 18 to notify the driver to perform the driving operation of the host vehicle 100 in order to switch the host vehicle 100 from the automatic driving to the manual driving.

  At this time, the driver monitoring device 13 determines whether or not the driver can normally perform the driving operation of the host vehicle 100. If the driver is not in a state where the driving operation of the host vehicle 100 can be normally performed, the automatic driving control device 14 instructs the vehicle retracting device 10 to retract the host vehicle 100 to the road shoulder. Further, even if the driver can drive the vehicle 100 normally, if the driver does not actually start the driving operation, the automatic driving control device 14 also retracts the vehicle 100 in this case. The vehicle evacuation device 10 is instructed to do so.

  Next, details of the vehicle retracting device 10 will be described. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the vehicle evacuation device 10 includes, as functional blocks realized by the processor 20, an evacuation control unit 30, a peripheral information acquisition unit 31, a vehicle state acquisition unit 32, a driver state acquisition unit 33, and an abnormality detection unit 34. A control information output unit 37 and an HMI control unit 38 are provided. Each of these functional blocks is realized by the processor 20 as hardware executing a program stored in the storage 41 of the storage device 21. The program is read into the memory 40 through the processor 20 and then executed by the processor 20. In addition, information, data, signal values, variable values, and the like indicating the processing results of the functional blocks are stored in the memory 40 (or may be stored in a register or a cache memory in the processor 20).

  The peripheral information acquisition unit 31 acquires information on obstacles around the host vehicle 100 from the vehicle peripheral sensor 11 and transmits the acquired information to the retraction control unit 30. The vehicle state acquisition unit 32 acquires information on the operation state of the host vehicle 100 from the vehicle state sensor 12 and transmits the acquired information to the retraction control unit 30. The driver state acquisition unit 33 acquires information on whether or not the driver can normally perform the driving operation from the driver monitoring device 13, and transmits the acquired information to the evacuation control unit 30. The abnormality detection unit 34 acquires information on whether it is difficult to continue the automatic driving from the automatic driving control device 14, and transmits the acquired information to the retreat control unit 30.

  The evacuation control unit 30 is sent from the peripheral information acquisition unit 31, the vehicle state acquisition unit 32, and the driver state acquisition unit 33 when notified from the abnormality detection unit 34 that it is difficult to continue automatic driving. Based on various types of information, control (evacuation control) for retracting the host vehicle 100 to the road shoulder is performed. That is, control information for controlling a series of operations in which the host vehicle 100 moves to the road shoulder and stops is generated. The control information output unit 37 transmits the control information generated by the retraction control unit 30 to the vehicle control device 17. When the vehicle control device 17 controls the travel of the host vehicle 100 based on the control information, the host vehicle 100 retreats to the road shoulder.

  The HMI control unit 38 controls the HMI device 18 based on an instruction from the evacuation control unit 30. The evacuation control unit 30 controls the HMI device 18 through the HMI control unit 38 to perform various notifications related to the evacuation of the host vehicle 100 toward the inside and the outside of the host vehicle 100.

  Next, the operation of the vehicle evacuation device 10 shown in FIG. 1 will be described. 2, 3 and 4 are diagrams for explaining the retreat of the host vehicle by the vehicle retractor 10, and show examples of the host vehicle 100 traveling on a road and other vehicles around it.

  Each of FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 shows a host vehicle 100 traveling on a road 200 and three other vehicles 101, 102, 103 traveling around the vehicle. Here, the road 200 is assumed to be a three-lane road on one side provided with a first lane 201, a second lane 202, and a third lane 203 from the outside. The road 200 is provided with a roadside belt (shoulder) 204 outside the first lane 201. Further, a guard rail 205 (or a side wall) exists outside the roadside belt 204, and a central separation belt 206 exists between the third lane 203 and the opposite lane (not shown).

  FIG. 2 shows a state in which the host vehicle 100 is traveling on the second lane 202 of the road 200 by automatic driving under the control of the automatic driving control device 14. Around the host vehicle 100, there are other vehicles 101, 102, and 103 that travel in the same direction. The other vehicle 101 travels in the first lane 201 and is located on the left rear side of the host vehicle 100. The other vehicle 102 travels in the second lane 202 and is located in front of the host vehicle 100. The other vehicle 103 travels in the third lane 203 and is located on the right rear side of the host vehicle 100.

  In the situation of FIG. 2, for example, heavy rain or heavy fog occurs, and the recognition accuracy of an object using a camera that is a part of the vehicle surrounding sensor 11 of the host vehicle 100 decreases, or the vehicle surrounding sensor 11 partially It is assumed that a sufficient vehicle surrounding situation cannot be acquired due to a failure.

  In that case, the automatic driving control device 14 determines that it is difficult to continue the automatic driving, and uses the HMI device 18 to notify the driver of the host vehicle 100 to perform the driving operation. As this notification, for example, a notification by a warning display by a display device or a warning lamp, a notification by a voice message, a notification by vibration of a seat, a notification by tightening of a seat belt, etc., as long as the driver can recognize, any notification Things can be used. Further, the automatic driving control device 14 uses the driver monitoring device 13 to check whether or not the driver can normally perform the driving operation. At this time, if the driver can perform the driving operation normally, the automatic driving control device 14 interrupts the automatic driving and delegates the driving operation of the host vehicle 100 to the driver.

  However, when the driver cannot perform the driving operation normally or when the driving operation is not started, the automatic driving control device 14 performs the evacuation control of the own vehicle 100 with respect to the vehicle evacuation device 10. To instruct. When the vehicle evacuation device 10 starts the evacuation control of the host vehicle 100 in response to an instruction from the automatic driving control device 14, the automatic driving control device 14 stops transmitting control information to the vehicle control device 17, and thereafter the vehicle The evacuation device 10 leads control information to the vehicle control device 17.

  When the vehicle evacuation device 10 starts the evacuation control of the host vehicle 100, the vehicle evacuation device 10 notifies the driver that the evacuation control is started via the HMI device 18 and also notifies other vehicles 101, 102, and 103 existing in the vicinity. However, it notifies that the evacuation control of the host vehicle 100 is started (that is, that an abnormality occurs in the automatic driving of the host vehicle 100). As the notification to the outside of the host vehicle 100, for example, a method of blinking a lamp (for example, a hazard lamp) of the host vehicle 100 using the vehicle control device 17 or a method of sounding a horn is conceivable. Alternatively, visual notification may be performed using the HMI device 18 that can be recognized from the outside of the host vehicle 100. Also, a notification method for causing the own vehicle 100 to meander left and right in small increments can be considered.

  Thereafter, the vehicle evacuation device 10 uses the effective detection information acquired from the vehicle periphery sensor 11 to check whether there is an obstacle around the host vehicle 100. Furthermore, the vehicle retracting device 10 sends control information for decelerating the host vehicle 100 to the vehicle control device 17. When the host vehicle 100 is decelerated, the vehicle evacuation device 10 slowly decelerates the host vehicle 100 so that the speed of the host vehicle 100 does not fall below the legal speed and the distance between the following vehicle and the following vehicle does not rapidly decrease. For example, the speed of the host vehicle 100 may be gradually decreased by causing the host vehicle 100 to perform inertial running.

  Here, in a general highway, the maximum speed is defined as 100 km / h and the minimum speed is defined as 50 km / h. Therefore, if the host vehicle 100 is running at the lowest speed, the relative speed is 50 km / h in both cases where the vehicle is overtaken by another vehicle running at the highest speed and when the vehicle passes a stationary object. That is, the relative speed between the host vehicle 100 and surrounding objects is about 50 km / h at the maximum.

  Further, if the same object can be detected continuously two to three times using the vehicle periphery sensor 11, it can be determined whether or not the object is moving. Further, in order to accurately detect that the object is moving, it is preferable that the amount of change at each detection timing in the relative position between the host vehicle 100 and the object is about 1 m to 2 m or less. If the relative speed between the host vehicle 100 and the object is 50 km / h (= 13.889 m / s), the amount of change at each detection timing of the relative position between the host vehicle 100 and the object is set to about 1 to 2 m. The vehicle periphery sensor 11 only needs to have the ability to detect an object with a period of about 100 ms. Moreover, the detection period of the vehicle periphery sensor 11 may be longer as the relative speed between the host vehicle 100 and the object is smaller.

  FIG. 3 shows the state of the host vehicle 100 and the other vehicles 101, 102, 103 after the host vehicle 100 is decelerated. In FIG. 3, the other vehicle 101 in the first lane 201 and the other vehicle 103 in the third lane 203 have overtaken the own vehicle 100 due to the deceleration of the own vehicle 100.

  The vehicle evacuation device 10 uses the available information obtained from the vehicle periphery sensor 11 and uses the information on the other vehicle 101 that travels in the first lane 201 that is the adjacent lane on the side where the own vehicle 100 is evacuated (the roadside belt 204 side). The position (relative position with respect to the host vehicle 100) is detected. Further, the vehicle evacuation device 10 can determine whether the host vehicle 100 has been overtaken by the other vehicle 101 by observing a change in the position of the other vehicle 101. Hereinafter, the direction on the side where the host vehicle 100 is retracted may be referred to as “retreat side”.

  5 to 7 show how the vehicle periphery sensor 11 is used to detect that the host vehicle 100 has been overtaken by another vehicle 101. 5 to 7, each of the dotted fan shapes surrounding the host vehicle 100 indicates an example of the detection range of the vehicle surrounding sensor 11. If it is located within the detection range of the vehicle periphery sensor 11 of the other vehicle 101, its presence is detected by the vehicle retracting device 10.

  In the state of FIG. 5, the vehicle retractor 10 recognizes that the other vehicle 101 exists on the left rear side of the host vehicle 100. When the host vehicle 100 decelerates to the state of FIG. 6, the vehicle retracting device 10 recognizes that the other vehicle 101 has moved to the left side of the host vehicle 100. Further, in the state of FIG. 7, the vehicle retractor 10 recognizes that the other vehicle 101 has moved to the left front side of the own vehicle 100, that is, that the own vehicle 100 has been overtaken by the other vehicle 101.

  When the host vehicle 100 is overtaken by another vehicle 101, the vehicle retractor 10 uses the vehicle periphery sensor 11 to move the host vehicle 100 to the side and rear side of the host vehicle 100 in the first lane 201. Check if there is. If it can be confirmed that there is a space in which the host vehicle 100 can move, the vehicle evacuation device 10 sends control information for moving the host vehicle 100 to the first lane 201 to the vehicle control device 17, and the first lane is sent to the host vehicle 100. Change the lane to 201.

  8 to 10 show how the vehicle evacuation device 10 changes lanes. When the host vehicle 100 is overtaken by the other vehicle 101 and enters the state shown in FIG. 8, the vehicle retracting device 10 sends control information to the vehicle control device 17 so as to move the host vehicle 100 in the direction indicated by the arrow. First, the vehicle retractor 10 moves the host vehicle 100 so that the other vehicle 101 is positioned on the left front side of the host vehicle 100 as shown in FIG. 9. Next, as shown in FIG. 10, the host vehicle 100 is moved so that the other vehicle 101 is positioned in front of the host vehicle 100. That is, the host vehicle 100 is made to go behind the other vehicle 101.

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, the host vehicle 100 moves from the second lane 202 to the first lane 201 that is the adjacent lane on the evacuation side. In a series of operations for changing the lane, the vehicle retractor 10 controls the relative speed between the host vehicle 100 and the other vehicle 101 so that the other vehicle 101 continues to be within the detection range of the vehicle surrounding sensor 11 of the host vehicle 100. And it is good to make the own vehicle 100 wrap around and follow the other vehicles.

  When the host vehicle 100 moves to the first lane 201, the vehicle retractor 10 further decelerates the host vehicle 100 using the vehicle control device 17. Further, the vehicle retracting device 10 uses the vehicle peripheral sensor 11 to check whether there is a space in the roadside belt 204 where the host vehicle 100 can be stopped, and uses the vehicle control device 17 to detect the left side (retracting side) of the host vehicle 100. ) Turn on the direction indicator. And if it can confirm that there is sufficient space in the roadside belt | band | zone 204, the own vehicle 100 will be moved to the roadside belt | band | zone 204 using the vehicle control apparatus 17. FIG. Based on information from the vehicle periphery sensor 11, the vehicle retracting device 10 stops the host vehicle 100 while securing a distance from the guard rail 205 so that the host vehicle 100 does not collide with the guard rail 205. Thereby, the retraction | saving of the own vehicle 100 is completed.

  In the deceleration control and the lane change control when the host vehicle 100 is retracted, the vehicle retractor 10 observes the speed and turning speed of the host vehicle 100 using the vehicle state sensor 12, and the behavior of the host vehicle 100 is not good. It is done so as not to become stable.

  Further, the amount of calculation for detecting the position of another vehicle using information acquired from the vehicle periphery sensor 11 depends on the relative speed between the other vehicle and the host vehicle 100, and the amount of calculation can be reduced as the relative speed is smaller. . Therefore, when the retraction control unit 30 controls the speed of the host vehicle 100, the other vehicle is controlled so that the amount of calculation for detecting the position of the other vehicle traveling on the retreating adjacent lane does not exceed a certain value. The relative speed between the vehicle 100 and the host vehicle 100 is kept small. Thus, an inexpensive ECU can be used as the processor 20 by suppressing the calculation amount of the retraction control unit 30 for detecting the position of the other vehicle.

  In the adjacent lane on the evacuation side of the host vehicle 100, if no other vehicle is detected on the side or rear side of the host vehicle 100, the direction indicator is turned on for a certain time defined by the Road Traffic Law. Change lanes.

  Further, while the vehicle evacuation device 10 is evacuating the host vehicle 100, the driver starts the driving operation or the driver monitoring device 13 detects that the driver can perform the driving operation normally. In such a case, the evacuation of the host vehicle 100 may be stopped at that time, and the driving operation of the host vehicle 100 may be transferred to the driver.

  In the above description, the example in which the host vehicle 100 is retracted from the second lane 202 to the roadside belt 204 has been shown. However, for example, when the host vehicle 100 is traveling in the third lane 203, If there are a plurality of lanes between the roadside belt 204 and the roadside belt 204, a plurality of lane changes may be repeated in the same procedure as described above.

  Next, details of the operation of the vehicle retractor 10 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 11 and 12.

  The vehicle retractor 10 starts the process of FIG. 11 when the automatic driving of the host vehicle 100 by the automatic driving control device 14 is started. In the process of FIG. 11, the abnormality detection unit 34 of the vehicle evacuation device 10 determines from the automatic driving control device 14 the situation of automatic driving of the host vehicle 100, specifically, whether or not it is difficult to continue automatic driving. Obtain (step S101). If it is not difficult to continue the automatic driving of the host vehicle 100 (NO in step S102), step S101 is repeated.

  When it becomes difficult to continue the automatic driving of the host vehicle 100 (YES in step S102), the evacuation control unit 30 uses the driver monitoring device 13 to start a driver monitoring process for monitoring the driver's state ( Step S103). More specifically, the driver monitoring process is performed when the driver's condition is monitored and the driver can perform the driving operation normally, or when the driver starts the driving operation. This is a process for interrupting the evacuation of the host vehicle 100 and delegating the driving operation of the host vehicle 100 to the driver. This driver monitoring process is executed in parallel with the process of FIG. The driver monitoring process is represented by the flowchart of FIG. 12, and the description thereof will be described later.

  After starting the driver monitoring process, the evacuation control unit 30 controls the HMI device 18 via the HMI control unit 38 and notifies the driver that the evacuation control of the host vehicle 100 is performed (step). S104). Further, the evacuation control unit 30 notifies other vehicles, pedestrians, and the like outside the own vehicle 100 that the evacuation control of the own vehicle 100 is performed (that is, an abnormality has occurred in automatic driving). (Step S105).

  Thereafter, the retreat control unit 30 controls the vehicle control device 17 via the control information output unit 37 to decelerate the host vehicle 100 (step S106). At that time, the retreat control unit 30 decelerates the host vehicle 100 while measuring the inter-vehicle distance from the rear vehicle by the vehicle peripheral sensor 11 so that the rear vehicle does not collide with the host vehicle 100.

  Next, the retreat control unit 30 detects the presence or absence of an obstacle around the host vehicle 100 based on the information from the vehicle periphery sensor 11 acquired by the periphery information acquisition unit 31 (step S107). At this time, it is assumed that the detection accuracy of the vehicle surrounding sensor 11 is lowered due to the influence of the weather or the like, or that the vehicle surrounding sensor 11 is partially broken. However, it is done by combining sensors that can be used at present, such as sonar and radar, that can detect obstacles.

  As a result, when there is another vehicle on the side and rear side of the host vehicle 100 in the evacuation side adjacent lane (YES in step S108), as described with reference to FIGS. Wait until the vehicle 100 is overtaken by another vehicle (step S109).

  When the host vehicle 100 is overtaken by another vehicle, the evacuation control unit 30 confirms whether there is a space in the evacuation side adjacent lane in which the host vehicle 100 can be moved (step S110). If there is no other vehicle in the evacuation side adjacent lane (NO in step S108), step S109 is skipped and step S110 is executed.

  If there is no space in the evacuation side adjacent lane where the host vehicle 100 can move (NO in step S110), the process returns to step S107. On the other hand, if there is a space in the evacuation side adjacent lane where the own vehicle 100 can move (YES in step S110), the evacuation control unit 30 notifies the surroundings that the own vehicle 100 changes the lane to the evacuation side adjacent lane. In addition, the vehicle control device 17 is controlled via the control information output unit 37 to turn on the direction indicator on the retreat side of the host vehicle 100 (step S111).

  And as demonstrated using FIGS. 8-10, the own vehicle 100 is moved to the evacuation side adjacent lane (step S112). At this time, the vehicle retracting device 10 refers to the operation state of the host vehicle 100 acquired by the vehicle state acquisition unit 32 from the vehicle state sensor 12, and the host vehicle 100 has a lane width (generally about 3.5 meters). It is controlled to move in the horizontal direction by a distance corresponding to When the lane change of the host vehicle 100 is completed, the vehicle evacuation device 10 controls the vehicle control device 17 via the control information output unit 37 and turns off the direction indicator of the host vehicle 100 (step S113).

  The retreat control unit 30 determines whether or not the own vehicle 100 has moved to the roadside belt 204 as a result of changing the lane of the own vehicle 100 (step S114). If the host vehicle 100 has not yet reached the roadside belt 204 (NO in step S114), the process returns to step S107, and the lane change is executed again.

  The determination as to whether the host vehicle 100 has moved to the roadside belt 204 can be made by the following method. For example, on the road 200 shown in FIG. 2, if an obstacle is steadily detected by the vehicle periphery sensor 11 on the side of the evacuation side of the host vehicle 100, the obstacle is estimated to be the guardrail 205, It can be determined that the vehicle 100 has moved to the roadside belt 204. On the contrary, if the state where there is no obstacle on the side of the evacuation side of the host vehicle 100 continues constantly, it can be determined that the traveling lane still exists between the host vehicle 100 and the roadside belt 204.

  In addition, since the road surface condition of the roadside band is often worse than that of the traveling lane, for example, when the vehicle state sensor 12 continuously detects vertical vibration, the host vehicle 100 travels the roadside band. You may judge that

  When it is determined that the host vehicle 100 has moved to the roadside zone (YES in step S114), the retreat control unit 30 determines the surroundings of the host vehicle 100 based on the information acquired by the surrounding information acquisition unit 31 from the vehicle periphery sensor 11. An obstacle is detected (step S115). Then, the retreat control unit 30 controls the vehicle control device 17 through the control information output unit 37, thereby decelerating and stopping the host vehicle 100 while steering the host vehicle 100 toward the guard rail 205 (step S116). ). As a result, the retreat of the host vehicle 100 to the roadside belt is completed.

  Here, the driver monitoring process started in step S103 of the flow of FIG. 11 will be described. FIG. 12 is a flowchart of the driver monitoring process.

  In the driver monitoring process, the driver state acquisition unit 33 acquires information on the driver's state from the driver monitoring device 13 (step S201). Next, the evacuation control unit 30 confirms whether or not the driver can normally drive the vehicle 100 based on the information acquired from the driver monitoring device 13 (step S202). If the driver is not in a state where the driving operation of the host vehicle 100 can be normally performed (NO in step S202), the process returns to step S201.

  If the driver can perform the driving operation normally, it is determined whether the driver has started the driving operation (step S203). If the driver does not start the driving operation (NO in step S203), the process returns to step S201. As described above, the process of FIG. 12 is executed in parallel with the process of FIG. 11, and the process of FIG. 11 is continued while the above steps S201 to S203 are repeatedly executed.

  When the driver starts the driving operation (YES in step S203), the evacuation control unit 30 stops the processing of the process of FIG. 11 in order to delegate the driving operation of the host vehicle 100 to the driver (step). S204). Accordingly, the retreat control unit 30 cancels the notification to the driver started in step S104 in FIG. 11 (step S205), and also cancels the notification to the outside of the host vehicle started in step S105 in FIG. (Step S206). Thereafter, the processing of the evacuation control unit 30 ends.

  As described above, according to the vehicle evacuation device 10 according to the first embodiment, when the other vehicle is detected on the side or the rear side of the evacuation side of the own vehicle 100, the own vehicle 100 is overtaken by the other vehicle. After waiting for it, control to change lanes is performed. Therefore, even in a situation where it is difficult for the automatic driving control device 14 to continue the automatic driving, the host vehicle 100 can be appropriately retracted to the road shoulder (roadside belt).

  In the above description, the vehicle evacuation device 10 is used as a means for evacuating the host vehicle 100 when a failure of the vehicle periphery sensor 11 occurs, but the host vehicle 100 is used when the automatic driving control device 14 breaks down. It can also be used as a means for retracting.

<Embodiment 2>
In the first embodiment, when the lane of the host vehicle 100 is changed (step S112 in FIG. 11), the lateral movement amount of the host vehicle 100 is controlled based on the lane width. Then, the control is performed based on the position of the host vehicle 100 on the map.

  FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the vehicle evacuation device 10 according to the second embodiment. The vehicle evacuation device 10 of FIG. 13 has a configuration in which a host vehicle position acquisition unit 35 that acquires information from the host vehicle position acquisition device 15 mounted on the host vehicle 100 is added to the configuration of FIG.

  The own vehicle position acquisition device 15 is based on the information about the position of the own vehicle 100 acquired by a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver (not shown) and the like, and the map information around the own vehicle 100, and the own vehicle 100 on the map. The position of is calculated. The map information used here is a high-accuracy map including not only the shape of the road but also information such as the position of each lane and road shoulder (roadside belt) in the road. Highly accurate map information, for example, is being developed under the “Strategic Innovation Creation Program (SIP)” led by the Cabinet Office. By order, the shape of the road and the position of the vehicle on the road can be obtained.

  Note that the position information of the host vehicle 100 and the map information around the host vehicle 100 acquired by the host vehicle position acquisition device 15 may be acquired from a navigation device mounted on the host vehicle 100, for example. Further, when such information is also used for automatic driving control by the automatic driving control device 14, the information may be acquired from the automatic driving control device 14.

  The own vehicle position acquisition unit 35 receives from the own vehicle position acquisition device 15 information on the shape of the road on which the own vehicle 100 is traveling, the position of each lane or road shoulder (roadside belt), and the position of the own vehicle 100 in the road. And the information is sent to the evacuation control unit 30. In the second embodiment, the retreat control unit 30 can determine the position of each lane and the shoulder of the road on which the host vehicle 100 is traveling from the information.

  The operation of the vehicle evacuation device 10 according to the second embodiment is basically the same as the processing described with reference to FIGS. However, when the lane of the host vehicle 100 is changed in step S112 of FIG. 11, the center position of the lane in which the host vehicle 100 is traveling and the evacuation side adjacent lane are determined based on the information acquired from the host vehicle position acquisition device 15. It calculates | requires and controls the movement amount to the side of the own vehicle 100 on the basis of them. Further, whether or not the vehicle has moved to the roadside belt in step S114 is determined based on the information acquired from the vehicle position acquisition device 15 whether or not the vehicle 100 has moved outside the position of the traveling lane. To do.

<Embodiment 3>
FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the vehicle evacuation device 10 according to the third embodiment. The vehicle evacuation device 10 in FIG. 13 has a configuration in which a communication processing unit 36 that performs communication using the communication device 16 mounted on the host vehicle 100 is added to the configuration in FIG. 13.

  The communication device 16 has a function of transmitting and receiving information through communication with other vehicles and communication facilities on the road. For example, the communication device 16 communicates with other vehicles in the vicinity (inter-vehicle communication), the vehicles notify each other's position, and recognize each other's position, thereby avoiding a collision between the vehicles. it can. The communication device 16 can also acquire traffic information such as traffic jam information, construction information, accident information, and road regulation information from communication equipment on the road. The communication device 16 may be a dedicated communication device or a general-purpose communication device such as a mobile phone or a smartphone.

  The operation of the vehicle evacuation device 10 according to the second embodiment is basically the same as the processing described in FIGS. 11 and 12, but the communication processing unit 36 uses the communication device 16 and the evacuation control unit 30 performs the operation. Various types of information that can be used for evacuation control to be performed are transmitted and received. For example, when notifying other vehicles that the retraction control of the host vehicle 100 is performed in step S105 of FIG. 11, the notification can be performed by inter-vehicle communication using the communication device 16. Moreover, in each process of step S107-S110, S112, it is necessary to detect the position of the other vehicle around the own vehicle 100. However, the information on the position of each other vehicle acquired by the inter-vehicle communication using the communication device 16 is included. Based on this, the positions may be detected.

  In FIG. 1, FIG. 13 and FIG. 14, the processor 20 is shown as one block, but the processor 20 may be composed of a plurality of processors. That is, a plurality of processors may operate in cooperation to realize each function of the processor 20. Similarly, the storage device 21 may be composed of a plurality of storage devices. That is, the vehicle evacuation device 10 may be composed of a plurality of devices each including a processor and a memory.

  It should be noted that the present invention can be freely combined with each other within the scope of the invention, and each embodiment can be appropriately modified or omitted.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Vehicle evacuation apparatus, 11 Vehicle periphery sensor, 12 Vehicle state sensor, 13 Driver monitoring apparatus, 14 Automatic driving control apparatus, 15 Own vehicle position acquisition apparatus, 16 Communication apparatus, 17 Vehicle control apparatus, 18 HMI apparatus, 20 Processor, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 21 Storage device, 30 Retraction | saving control part, 31 Peripheral information acquisition part, 32 Vehicle state acquisition part, 33 Driver state acquisition part, 34 Abnormality detection part, 35 Own vehicle position acquisition part, 36 Communication processing part, 37 Control information output part , 38 HMI control unit, 40 memory, 41 storage, 100 own vehicle, 101 to 103 other vehicle, 102 other vehicle, 103 other vehicle, 200 road, 201 first lane, 202 second lane, 203 third lane, 204 road Side belt, 205 guardrail, 206 median strip.

Claims (12)

An anomaly detector that detects a reduction in recognition accuracy or a partial failure of a sensor that acquires information for performing automatic driving of the host vehicle;
A peripheral information acquisition unit that acquires information on obstacles around the host vehicle;
A vehicle state acquisition unit for acquiring information on the operation state of the host vehicle;
A driver state acquisition unit for acquiring the state of the driver of the host vehicle;
Control is performed so that the host vehicle is retracted to a road shoulder when a reduction in recognition accuracy or a partial failure of the sensor is detected and the driver of the host vehicle does not start driving operation or cannot perform driving operation normally. An evacuation control unit,
A control information output unit for sending control information of the host vehicle output by the evacuation control unit to a vehicle control device of the host vehicle;
With
When the retreat control unit retreats the host vehicle,
Based on the information acquired by the peripheral information acquisition unit, detects the position of other vehicles around the host vehicle,
When another vehicle is detected on the side and rear side of the own vehicle in the adjacent lane on the side where the own vehicle is retracted, the own vehicle is overtaken by the other vehicle in the adjacent lane. Control the speed,
After allowing the other vehicle in the adjacent lane to pass the host vehicle, the host vehicle is moved to the adjacent lane ,
When controlling the speed of the own vehicle so that the own vehicle is overtaken by the other vehicle in the adjacent lane, the speed of the own vehicle is made slower than the speed of the other vehicle in the adjacent lane, and the adjacent Keeping the relative speed between the host vehicle and the other vehicle in the adjacent lane small so that the amount of calculation for detecting the position of the other vehicle in the lane does not exceed a certain value,
Vehicle evacuation device. An HMI control unit for notifying that the host vehicle is retracted toward the inside and the outside of the host vehicle when the host vehicle is retracted;
The vehicle evacuation device according to claim 1. The retraction control unit controls the own vehicle so that the other vehicle in the adjacent lane is within a detection range of a vehicle periphery sensor of the own vehicle when moving the own vehicle to the adjacent lane. Moving the vehicle behind the other vehicle in the adjacent lane,
The vehicle evacuation device according to claim 1 or 2 . If the other vehicle is not detected on the side and rear side of the own vehicle in the adjacent lane on the side where the own vehicle is to be withdrawn, the retraction control unit turns on the direction indicator of the own vehicle for a certain period of time. After, the host vehicle is moved to the adjacent lane,
The vehicle evacuation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 . A vehicle position acquisition unit that acquires information of the position of the vehicle on a map;
The evacuation control unit determines the position of each lane of the road on which the host vehicle is traveling and the position of the road shoulder based on the information acquired by the host vehicle position acquisition unit.
The vehicle evacuation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 . A communication processing unit for acquiring information on the position of the other vehicle by communication with the other vehicle;
The evacuation control unit uses the information on the position of the other vehicle acquired by the communication processing unit to detect the position of the other vehicle around the host vehicle.
The vehicle evacuation device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 . A vehicle evacuation method in a vehicle evacuation device,
An abnormality detection unit of the vehicle evacuation device detects a decrease in recognition accuracy or a partial failure of a sensor that acquires information for performing automatic driving of the host vehicle, and
The driver state acquisition unit of the vehicle evacuation device acquires the driver's state of the host vehicle,
When a reduction in recognition accuracy or a partial failure of the sensor is detected , and the driver of the host vehicle does not start the driving operation or cannot perform the driving operation normally, the evacuation control unit of the vehicle evacuation device includes the A process for controlling the vehicle to retreat to the shoulder,
Including
In the process of controlling the vehicle to retreat,
The evacuation control unit
Based on information on obstacles around the host vehicle, the position of other vehicles around the host vehicle is detected,
When another vehicle is detected on the side and rear side of the own vehicle in the adjacent lane on the side where the own vehicle is retracted, the own vehicle is overtaken by the other vehicle in the adjacent lane. Control the speed,
After allowing the other vehicle in the adjacent lane to pass the host vehicle, the host vehicle is moved to the adjacent lane ,
When controlling the speed of the own vehicle so that the own vehicle is overtaken by the other vehicle in the adjacent lane, the speed of the own vehicle is made slower than the speed of the other vehicle in the adjacent lane, and the adjacent Keeping the relative speed between the host vehicle and the other vehicle in the adjacent lane small so that the amount of calculation for detecting the position of the other vehicle in the lane does not exceed a certain value,
Vehicle evacuation method. When the host vehicle is retracted, the HMI control unit of the vehicle retractor further includes a process of notifying that the host vehicle is retracted toward the inside and the outside of the host vehicle.
The vehicle evacuation method according to claim 7 . The retraction control unit controls the own vehicle so that the other vehicle in the adjacent lane is within a detection range of a vehicle periphery sensor of the own vehicle when moving the own vehicle to the adjacent lane. Moving the vehicle behind the other vehicle in the adjacent lane,
The vehicle evacuation method according to claim 7 or 8 . If the other vehicle is not detected on the side and rear side of the own vehicle in the adjacent lane on the side where the own vehicle is to be withdrawn, the retraction control unit turns on the direction indicator of the own vehicle for a certain period of time. After, the host vehicle is moved to the adjacent lane,
The vehicle evacuation method according to any one of claims 7 to 9 . The evacuation control unit determines the position of each lane of the road on which the host vehicle is traveling and the position of the road shoulder based on information on the position of the host vehicle on a map.
The vehicle evacuation method according to any one of claims 7 to 10 . The evacuation control unit uses the position information of the other vehicle acquired by communication with the other vehicle to detect the position of the other vehicle around the own vehicle.
The vehicle evacuation method according to any one of claims 7 to 11 .

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