JP7191186B1 - vehicle control system - Google Patents

Abstract

A vehicle travel control device capable of improving traffic efficiency of vehicles at an intersection. A vehicle travel control device (20) has an information acquisition section (21), an arbitration section (22), and a transmission section (23). The arbitration unit 22 has a collision determination unit 221, a priority order determination unit 222, and an arbitration command generation unit. The collision determination unit 221 partitions the intersection 41 into a plurality of divided areas. The collision determination unit 221 determines the presence or absence of a plurality of collision determination vehicles by predicting the passage time zone of each vehicle scheduled to pass through the plurality of divided areas based on the traffic condition information and the traveling direction information. A plurality of collision determination vehicles are vehicles scheduled to pass that may collide with each other at the intersection 41 among the vehicles scheduled to pass. [Selection drawing] Fig. 2

Description

The present disclosure relates to a vehicle travel control device.

In a conventional motion determination device, when a vehicle is about to enter a main road from a side road at a T-junction and another vehicle traveling on the main road is detected by the sensor unit, the other vehicle passes through the T-junction. The vehicle is made to wait on a side road until the vehicle is stopped (see Patent Document 1, for example).

JP 2019-172068 A

When a large number of other vehicles are traveling on the main road, the conventional motion determination device as described above makes the vehicles on the side road wait for a long time until all the other vehicles pass the T-junction. As a result, the traffic efficiency of vehicles on the side road is reduced.

The present disclosure has been made to solve the problems described above, and an object of the present disclosure is to obtain a vehicle travel control device capable of improving traffic efficiency of vehicles at an intersection.

A vehicle traffic control device according to the present disclosure provides traffic condition information, which is information including the positions and speeds of each of a plurality of vehicles existing within a monitoring area including an intersection, and an information acquisition unit that acquires traveling direction information that is information about in which direction a plurality of vehicles scheduled to pass, which are vehicles that are about to pass, are scheduled to proceed at an intersection, and traffic condition information and traveling direction information; a collision determination unit that determines the presence or absence of a plurality of collision determination vehicles, which are vehicles scheduled to pass through at an intersection, among a plurality of vehicles scheduled to pass and may collide with each other at an intersection; a priority determination unit that determines the order of entry priority based on the order of entry, and an arbitration command that is a command to delay the entry into the intersection of at least one designated vehicle among the plurality of collision-determined vehicles based on the order of entry priority. and a transmission unit for transmitting the arbitration command to the designated vehicle. Presence or absence of a plurality of collision determination vehicles is determined by predicting the passage time zone of each vehicle scheduled to pass through the divided area of , and the priority determination unit determines the traveling direction of each collision determination vehicle included in the traveling direction information based on this information, determine the order of entry priority.

According to the vehicle travel control device according to the present disclosure, it is possible to improve the traffic efficiency of vehicles at intersections.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a partial block of a vehicle travel control system according to Embodiment 1; 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the vehicle travel control device of FIG. 1; FIG. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a plurality of areas set around the intersection of FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a state in which a vehicle goes straight through the intersection of FIG. 3; FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a state before the vehicle shown in FIG. 4 enters the intersection; FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a state in which the vehicle of FIG. 4 has further gone straight; FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a state in which the vehicle of FIG. 4 has further gone straight; FIG. 4 is a graph showing temporal transitions of a first passage area and a second passage area when a vehicle goes straight through the intersection of FIG. 3; FIG. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a vehicle making a left turn at the intersection of FIG. 3; FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a state in which the vehicle of FIG. 9 has entered an intersection; FIG. 11 is a plan view showing a state in which the vehicle of FIG. 10 has advanced further; FIG. 4 is a graph showing temporal transitions of a first passage area and a second passage area when a vehicle makes a left turn at the intersection of FIG. 3; FIG. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a vehicle making a right turn at the intersection of FIG. 3; FIG. 14 is a plan view showing a state in which the vehicle of FIG. 13 has entered an intersection; FIG. 15 is a plan view showing a state in which the vehicle of FIG. 14 has advanced further; FIG. 16 is a plan view showing a state in which the vehicle of FIG. 15 has advanced further; FIG. 4 is a graph showing temporal transitions of a first passage area and a second passage area when a vehicle makes a right turn at the intersection of FIG. 3; FIG. 4 is a table showing the relationship between the passage states of two vehicles scheduled to pass in the same divided area and the results of collision determination; FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining priority according to vehicle position; FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a first example of an approach priority determined by a priority determining unit in FIG. 2; FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a second example of the entry priority determined by the priority determining unit of FIG. 2; 3 is a flow chart showing an arbitration routine executed by an arbitration unit in FIG. 2; FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing a collision prediction routine executed by the collision determination unit of FIG. 2; FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a priority order determination routine executed by a priority order determination unit in FIG. 2; FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an arbitration command generation routine executed by an arbitration command generation unit in FIG. 2; FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a first example of a processing circuit that implements each function of the vehicle travel control system of Embodiment 1; FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing a second example of a processing circuit that implements each function of the vehicle travel control system of Embodiment 1;

Embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings.
Embodiment 1.
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing, in partial blocks, a vehicle travel control system according to Embodiment 1. As shown in FIG. Vehicle traffic control at the intersection 41 will be described with reference to FIG.

In Embodiment 1, the intersection 41 simultaneously satisfies the following conditions 1 and 2.
Condition 1: A T-junction or a crossroad where adjacent entrances are arranged 90 degrees or 180 degrees apart from the center of the intersection 41 Condition 2: Each entrance has a width that allows the vehicle 30 to pass in the opposite direction. there is

The intersection 41 in FIG. 1 is a crossroads. At the crossroads, the first road and the second road intersect at right angles.

A portion of the first road adjacent to one side of the intersection 41 is referred to as a first road portion 42a. A portion of the first road adjacent to the other side of the intersection 41 is referred to as a second road portion 42b. A portion of the second road adjacent to one side of the intersection 41 is called a third road portion 42c. A portion of the second road adjacent to the other side of the intersection 41 is called a fourth road portion 42d.

The vehicle traffic control system includes at least one traffic environment detection device 10 , a vehicle traffic control device 20 and a plurality of vehicles 30 . Only one vehicle 30 is shown in FIG. Each of the plurality of vehicles 30 is an automatic driving vehicle.

The traffic environment detection device 10 detects traffic conditions within the monitoring area 40 . The monitoring area 40 is an area including an intersection 41, a first road portion 42a, a second road portion 42b, a third road portion 42c, and a fourth road portion 42d.

Map information within the monitoring area 40 is registered in the vehicle travel control device 20 .

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the vehicle travel control device 20 of FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. Two traffic environment detection devices 10 are shown in FIG. Each traffic environment detection device 10 transmits traffic condition information, which is information about the detected traffic conditions, to the vehicle travel control device 20 .

The traffic condition information is information including the positions and speeds of each of the plurality of vehicles 30 existing within the monitoring area 40 .

Among the plurality of vehicles 30 existing within the monitoring area 40, the vehicles 30 that are about to pass through the intersection 41 are referred to as vehicles scheduled to pass. Each vehicle scheduled to pass transmits destination direction information to the vehicle travel control device 20 . The target direction information is information about in which direction each vehicle scheduled to pass is scheduled to travel at the intersection 41 .

The vehicle travel control device 20 has an information acquisition unit 21, an arbitration unit 22, and a transmission unit 23 as functional blocks.

The information acquisition unit 21 acquires destination direction information from each vehicle scheduled to pass. That is, the information acquisition unit 21 acquires traveling direction information from a plurality of vehicles scheduled to pass. The travel direction information is information obtained by collecting a plurality of target direction information, and is information about in which direction a plurality of vehicles scheduled to pass are scheduled to proceed at the intersection 41 . The information acquisition unit 21 also acquires traffic condition information from each traffic environment detection device 10 .

The arbitration unit 22 has, as functional blocks, a collision determination unit 221, a priority order determination unit 222, and an arbitration command generation unit.

The collision determination unit 221 determines the presence or absence of a plurality of collision determination vehicles based on traffic condition information and traveling direction information. A plurality of collision determination vehicles are vehicles scheduled to pass that may collide with each other at the intersection 41 among the vehicles scheduled to pass.

The priority determining unit 222 determines the approach priority. The entry priority is the order in which each of the plurality of collision determination vehicles is caused to enter the intersection 41 . Also, the priority determining unit 222 determines the approach priority based on the information on the direction of travel of each collision determination vehicle. Information on the direction of travel of each collision determination vehicle is target direction information of each collision determination vehicle, and is included in the direction of travel information.

Further, when two or more designated vehicles are waiting before the intersection 41, the priority determination unit 222 determines the entry priority based on the waiting time of each designated vehicle.

The arbitration command generator 223 generates an arbitration command based on the entry priority. The arbitration command is a command to delay entry of the specified vehicle into the intersection 41 . The designated vehicle is at least one of the plurality of collision determination vehicles.

The transmission unit 23 transmits traffic condition information to a plurality of vehicles 30 existing within the monitoring area 40 . Further, the transmission unit 23 transmits an arbitration command to the specified vehicle.

In the vehicle traffic control device 20, a plurality of areas are set for the intersection 41 and its surroundings. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the intersection 41 in FIG. 1 and a plurality of areas set around it.

The multiple areas include an intersection 41, a first road portion 42a, a second road portion 42b, a third road portion 42c, and a fourth road portion 42d.

The collision determination unit 221 divides the intersection 41 into a plurality of divided areas. That is, a plurality of divided areas are set within the intersection 41 . In FIG. 3, the intersection 41 is divided into four divided areas by a straight line passing through the widthwise center of the first road and a straight line passing through the widthwise center of the second road. The four divided areas are divided area A51, divided area B52, divided area C53, and divided area D54.

The collision determination unit 221 determines the presence or absence of a plurality of collision determination vehicles by predicting the passage time zones of the vehicles scheduled to pass through the four divided areas based on the traffic condition information and the traveling direction information. In addition, the collision determination unit 221 predicts the passage time zone based on the action plan, which is a plan including the speed information of each vehicle scheduled to pass and the information of the lane in which each vehicle scheduled to pass travels.

In addition, the collision determination unit 221 sets the arbitration impossible area 44a for the vehicle scheduled to pass. The arbitration-impossible area 44a is an area having a length L1 on the opposite side of the intersection 41 from the stop line 43a before the intersection 41 on the first road portion 42a.

The arbitration-impossible area 44a is an area in which a passing vehicle traveling toward the intersection 41 crosses the stop line 43a when it attempts to stop in response to an arbitration command. Therefore, the collision determination unit 221 sets the length L1 of the arbitration disabled area 44a based on the current vehicle speed _Vact of the vehicle scheduled to pass. The length L1 of the arbitration unavailable area 44a is set to a larger value as the current vehicle speed _Vact of the vehicle scheduled to pass is higher.

If there is no other vehicle in front of the vehicle in the same lane and the vehicle that is scheduled to pass has temporarily stopped before the vehicle that is scheduled to pass enters the intersection 41, the collision determination unit 221 temporarily erases the arbitration impossible area 44a. do. After that, when the vehicle scheduled to pass restarts, the collision determination unit 221 resets the arbitration disabled area 44a.

Further, the collision determination unit 221 sets an area opposite to the intersection 41 as an arbitration-enabled area 45a with respect to the arbitration-impossible area 44a.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the vehicle 30 going straight through the intersection 41 in FIG. In FIG. 4, the intersection 41 in FIG. 3 is shown rotated clockwise by 90 degrees.

In FIG. 4, the vehicle 30 is entering the divided area A51 from the first road portion 42a. From this state, the vehicle 30 is scheduled to pass through the divided area B52 and proceed to the second road portion 42b.

Of the four divided areas, the area through which the vehicle scheduled to pass is currently passing is referred to as the first passing area. Further, among the four divided areas, the area through which the vehicle scheduled to pass is about to pass is called a second passing area. In FIG. 4, the divided area A51 is the first passage area, and the divided area B52 is the second passage area.

Also, among the four divided areas, an area that does not correspond to either the first passage area or the second passage area is referred to as a free area. In FIG. 4, the divided area C53 and the divided area D54 are free areas.

5 is a plan view showing a state before the vehicle 30 of FIG. 4 enters the intersection 41. FIG. In FIG. 5, there is no first passing area, and the divided area A51 and the divided area B52 are the second passing areas.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a state in which the vehicle 30 of FIG. 4 has further gone straight. In FIG. 6, the vehicle 30 does not have the second divided area, and the divided area A51 and the divided area B52 are the first passing areas.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a state in which the vehicle 30 of FIG. 6 has further gone straight. In FIG. 7, the divided area B52 is the first passing area.

FIG. 8 is a graph showing temporal transitions of the first passage area and the second passage area when the vehicle 30 goes straight through the intersection 41 of FIG.

In FIG. 8, time _t0 is the time when the vehicle 30 enters the arbitration disabled area 44a. Time _t1 is the time when the vehicle 30 enters the divided area A51. Time t2 is the time when the vehicle 30 enters the _divided area B52. Time t3 is the time when the vehicle ₃₀ leaves the divided area A51. Time _t4 is the time when the vehicle 30 leaves the divided area B52.

The divided area A51 becomes the second passing area at time _t0 and the _first passing area at time t1. The divided area _A51 becomes a free area at time t3. The divided area _B52 becomes a free area at time t4.

Time t1 is calculated by the following equation ( ₁ ). Time t2 is calculated by the following equation ( ₂ ). Time t3 is calculated by the following equation ( ₃ ). Time t4 is calculated by the following equation ( ₄ ).

Here, v _crs is the velocity of vehicle 30 before entering intersection 41 . l _veh is the length of the vehicle 30; d ₁ is the length from the starting point of the arbitration impossible area 44 a to the boundary line between the first road portion 42 a and the intersection 41 . d2 is the traveling distance of the vehicle 30 within the _divided area A51. d3 is the traveling distance of the vehicle ₃₀ within the divided area B52.

Equation (1): t ₁ =(d ₁ /v _crs )+t ₀

Equation (2): t ₂ =(d ₁ +d ₂ /v _crs )+t ₀

Equation (3): t ₃ =(d ₁ +l _veh /v _crs )+t ₀

Equation (4): t ₄ = (d ₁ +d ₂ +d ₃ +l _veh /v _crs )+t ₀

A time period in which each divided area is the first passage area is referred to as a first time period. That is, the first time period is a passage time period during which each vehicle scheduled to pass passes through the first passage area. Also, a time period in which each divided area is a second passage area is referred to as a second time period. That is, the second time zone is a time zone during which each vehicle scheduled to pass passes through the second passage area.

In the example shown in FIG. ₈ , the _first time period of the divided area A51 is the time period from time t1 to time t3. The _second time period of the divided area A51 is the time period from time _t0 to time t1. The _first time period of the divided area B52 is the time period from time t2 to _time t4. The _second time period of the divided area B52 is the time period from time _t0 to time t2.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing the vehicle 30 making a left turn at the intersection 41 in FIG. In FIG. 9, the intersection 41 in FIG. 3 is shown rotated clockwise by 90 degrees.

In FIG. 9, the vehicle 30 is located in the arbitration disabled area 44a. Therefore, the divided area A51 is the second passing area.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a state in which the vehicle 30 of FIG. 9 has entered the intersection 41. As shown in FIG. In FIG. 10, the vehicle 30 has entered the divided area A51. Therefore, the divided area A51 is the first passing area. Also, the divided area B52, the divided area C53, and the divided area D54 are free areas.

FIG. 11 is a plan view showing a state in which the vehicle 30 of FIG. 10 has advanced further. In FIG. 11, the vehicle 30 has left the divided area A51 and is traveling on the third road portion 42c.

FIG. 12 is a graph showing temporal transitions of the first passage area and the second passage area when the vehicle makes a left turn at the intersection of FIG.

In FIG. 12, time _t0 is the time when the vehicle 30 enters the arbitration disabled area 44a. Time _t1 is the time when the vehicle 30 enters the divided area A51. Time t2 is the _time when the vehicle 30 leaves the divided area A51.

The divided area A51 becomes the _second passing area at time _t0 , the _first passing area at time t1, and the free area at time t2. Therefore, the _first time period of the divided area A51 is the time period from time t1 to _time t2. The _second time period of the divided area A51 is the time period from time _t0 to time t1.

FIG. 13 is a plan view showing the vehicle 30 making a right turn at the intersection 41 in FIG. In FIG. 13, the intersection 41 in FIG. 3 is shown rotated clockwise by 90 degrees.

In FIG. 13, the vehicle 30 exists in the arbitration disabled area 44a. The divided area A51, the divided area B52, the divided area C53, and the divided area D54 are second passage areas.

14 is a plan view showing a state in which the vehicle 30 of FIG. 13 has entered the intersection 41. FIG. In FIG. 14, the vehicle 30 has entered the divided area A51. Therefore, the divided area A51 is the first passage area. Also, the divided area B52, the divided area C53, and the divided area D54 are second passage areas.

FIG. 15 is a plan view showing a state in which the vehicle 30 of FIG. 14 has advanced further. In FIG. 15, the vehicle 30 has entered all of the divided areas A51, B52, C53, and D54. Therefore, the divided area A51, the divided area B52, the divided area C53, and the divided area D54 are first passage areas.

FIG. 16 is a plan view showing a state in which the vehicle 30 of FIG. 15 has advanced further. In FIG. 16, the vehicle 30 is entering the fourth road portion 42d from the divided area C53. Therefore, only the divided area C53 is the first passing area. A divided area A51, a divided area B52, and a divided area D54 are free areas.

FIG. 17 is a graph showing temporal transitions of the first passage area and the second passage area when the vehicle 30 makes a right turn at the intersection 41 of FIG.

In FIG. 17, time _t0 is the time when the vehicle 30 enters the arbitration disabled area 44a. Time _t1 is the time when the vehicle 30 enters the divided area A51. Time t2 is the time when the vehicle 30 enters the _divided area B52, the divided area C53, and the divided area D54. Time t3 is the time when the vehicle ₃₀ leaves the divided area A51. Time _t4 is the time when the vehicle 30 leaves the divided area C53.

The divided area A51 becomes the second passing area at time _t0 , the _first passing area at time t1 _, and the free area at time t3. Therefore _, the _first time period of the divided area A51 is the time period from time t1 to time t3. The _second time period of the divided area A51 is the time period from time _t0 to time t1.

The divided area B52 and the divided area D54 become the _second passing area at time _t0 , the first passing area at time t2 _, and the free area at time t3. Therefore, the _first time period of the divided area B52 and the divided area D54 is the time period from time t2 to _time t3. The _second time period of the divided area B52 and the divided area D54 is the time period from time _t0 to time t2.

The divided area C53 becomes the _second passing area at time _t0 , the _first passing area at time t2, and the free area at time t4. Therefore, the _first time period of the divided area C53 is the time period from time t2 to _time t4. The _second time period of the divided area C53 is the time period from time _t0 to time t2.

The collision determination unit 221 determines whether or not there is a collision determination vehicle based on the first time period and the second time period. For example, assume that two vehicles, a first vehicle and a second vehicle, are about to enter the intersection 41 at the same time. In this case, when the first time period in the divided area A of the first vehicle overlaps with the first time period in the divided area A of the second vehicle, the collision determination unit 221 determines that the first vehicle and the second vehicle collide. Then judge.

FIG. 18 is a table showing the relationship between the passage status of two vehicles scheduled to pass in the same divided area and the collision determination result. In FIG. 18, "passable" is the determination result that there is no possibility of collision between the first vehicle and the second vehicle. "Not passable" is the determination result that there is a possibility of collision between the first vehicle and the second vehicle.

As described above, when the first time period of the first vehicle and the first time period of the second vehicle overlap in any of the four divided areas, the collision determination unit 221 determines whether the first vehicle and the second vehicle determine that there is a possibility of collision.

Further, even when the second time period of the first vehicle and the second time period of the second vehicle overlap in any of the four divided areas, the collision determination unit 221 determines whether the first vehicle and the second vehicle determine that there is a possibility of collision.

If the first time period of the first vehicle and the second time period of the second vehicle overlap in any of the four divided areas, the collision determination unit 221 determines whether the first vehicle and the second vehicle are in the divided area. determine that there is no possibility of collision.

Next, a method of determining the approach priority will be described. The priority order determination unit 222 determines the approach priority order for a vehicle determined as a collision determination vehicle among a plurality of vehicles scheduled to pass by the collision determination unit 221 by the following method.

When the vehicle 30 exists in the arbitration unavailable area, the collision determination unit 221 provides information on the number of waiting vehicles existing in the arbitration possible area, the waiting time of each waiting vehicle, and the passing direction of each waiting vehicle. to get The waiting vehicle is a vehicle that stops and waits before the intersection 41 .

The priority determining unit 222 determines the approach priority. The entry priority is the order in which each of the plurality of collision determination vehicles is caused to enter the intersection 41 .

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the entry priority according to the vehicle position. FIG. 19 shows a vehicle 30a that has already entered the arbitration-impossible area 44a and a vehicle 30b that has not yet entered the arbitration-impossible area 44b. The vehicle 30a and the vehicle 30b are traveling on the same road from opposite directions toward the intersection 41, respectively. In this case, the priority determination unit 222 sets the entry priority of the vehicle 30a higher than the entry priority of the vehicle 30b.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram showing a first example of the entry priority determined by the priority determining section 222 of FIG. FIG. 20 shows a first collision determination vehicle 31, a second collision determination vehicle 32, a third collision determination vehicle 33, a fourth collision determination vehicle 34, and a fifth collision determination vehicle 35. FIG.

The first collision determination vehicle 31 is traveling toward the intersection 41 in the arbitration possible area 45a. The first collision determination vehicle 31 is scheduled to go straight through the intersection 41 . The second collision determination vehicle 32 is traveling behind the first collision determination vehicle 31 toward the intersection 41 . The second collision determination vehicle 32 is scheduled to go straight through the intersection 41 .

The third collision determination vehicle 33 stops before the stop line 43d and waits for five minutes. In this case, the third collision determination vehicle 33 exists in the arbitration enabled area 45d because the arbitration unavailable area is once erased.

The fourth collision determination vehicle 34 is traveling on the third road portion 42c toward the intersection 41 and has entered the arbitration impossible area 44c. The fourth collision determination vehicle 34 is scheduled to turn left. The fifth collision determination vehicle 35 is traveling on the second road portion 42b toward the intersection 41, and is traveling in the arbitration possible area 45b. The fifth collision determination vehicle 35 is scheduled to turn right.

In FIG. 20, the fourth collision determination vehicle 34 is the only vehicle that has entered the arbitration impossible area. Therefore, the priority determination unit 222 determines the fourth collision determination vehicle 34 as the vehicle to pass through the intersection 41 first. In this way, the priority determination unit 222 determines the entry priority based on whether or not each vehicle scheduled to pass is entering the arbitration impossible area as the specific area before the intersection 41 .

Next, based on the traffic condition information, the priority determining unit 222 selects a plurality of vehicles existing in the arbitration possible area, that is, the first collision determination vehicle 31, the second collision determination vehicle 32, and the third collision determination vehicle. 33 and the fifth collision determination vehicle 35 are set as follows. Note that the default priority of each road is a priority set in advance for each road.

Entry priority within the arbitrable area (1) Vehicles that have already waited for a set time or more (2) Vehicles that follow a set number or more (3) Vehicles that go straight (4) Vehicles that turn left (5) Vehicles that turn right (6) Vehicles that follow Vehicle with the largest number of following vehicles among vehicles less than the set number (7) Default priority of each road

The third collision determination vehicle 33 corresponds to (1) above. There are no vehicles that fall under (2) above. The first collision determination vehicle 31 and the second collision determination vehicle 32 correspond to (3) above. The fifth collision determination vehicle 35 corresponds to (5) above. There is no vehicle corresponding to the above (4), (6) and (7).

In this example, the entry priority of the first collision determination vehicle 31 and the entry priority of the second collision determination vehicle 32 are the same. However, since the second collision determination vehicle 32 is positioned behind the first collision determination vehicle 31 , the priority determining section 222 prioritizes the first collision determination vehicle 31 over the second collision determination vehicle 32 .

Therefore, the entry priority in the example of FIG. .

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram showing a second example of the entry priority determined by the priority determining section 222 of FIG. The example of FIG. 21 differs from the example of FIG. 20 only in that the fifth collision determination vehicle 35 has already entered the intersection 41 to turn right and has stopped. In the example of FIG. 21 , two or more collision determination vehicles exist within the arbitration impossible area or the intersection 41 .

For such a case, the following entry priorities are set in the priority determining unit 222 for collision determination vehicles in the arbitration disabled area and the intersection 41 .
(1a) A vehicle that exists within the arbitration-impossible area and can pass through the free area of another collision-determined vehicle or the second passage area of another collision-determined vehicle. Vehicles that can now return to normal and are able to move (3a) Vehicles that existed within the arbitration impossible area but could not pass through the intersection 41 because they were blocked by the vehicles in (2a) above.

In the example of FIG. 21 , the fourth collision determination vehicle 34 exists in the arbitration impossible area 44 c and the fifth collision determination vehicle 35 exists in the intersection 41 . When the fifth collision determination vehicle 35 has returned to normal and is movable, the priority determination unit 222 determines the entry priority of each collision determination vehicle as follows.

The priority determination unit 222 determines the fourth collision determination vehicle 34 and the fifth collision determination vehicle 35 as the first priority vehicles, and the first collision determination vehicle 31, the second collision determination vehicle 32, and the third collision determination vehicle 33. It is determined as the second priority vehicle.

The priority determination unit 222 determines the entry priority between the two first priority vehicles as follows. The fourth collision determination vehicle 34 exists within the arbitration impossible area 44c. Also, the fourth collision determination vehicle 34 is scheduled to turn left at the intersection 41 . Therefore, the fourth collision determination vehicle 34 can pass through the free area or the second passage area of the fifth collision determination vehicle 35 .

More specifically, when the fourth collision determination vehicle 34 turns left at the intersection 41, it passes through the divided area B52. In FIG. 21 , the fifth collision determination vehicle 35 exists in the divided area C<b>53 , so the divided area B<b>52 corresponds to the second passage area of the fifth collision determination vehicle 35 . Therefore, the priority determination unit 222 prioritizes passage of the fourth collision determination vehicle 34 over passage of the fifth collision determination vehicle 35 .

In this way, the priority determination unit 222 determines the entry priority based on whether any of the plurality of vehicles 30 is stopped in any of the plurality of divided areas.

Also, the priority determination unit 222 determines the entry priority among the first collision determination vehicle 31, the second collision determination vehicle 32, and the third collision determination vehicle 33 as follows.

The third collision determination vehicle 33 corresponds to (1) above. There are no vehicles that fall under (2) above. The first collision determination vehicle 31 and the second collision determination vehicle 32 correspond to (3) above. There are no vehicles that fall under (4) to (7) above.

Therefore, the entry priority in the example of FIG. 21 is the order of the fourth collision determination vehicle 34, the fifth collision determination vehicle 35, the third collision determination vehicle 33, the first collision determination vehicle 31, and the second collision determination vehicle 32. .

FIG. 22 is a flow chart showing an arbitration routine executed by the arbitration section 22 of FIG. The routine of FIG. 22 is executed, for example, each time the information acquisition unit 21 acquires traffic condition information or traveling direction information.

When the routine of FIG. 22 is started, the arbitration unit 22 determines in step S101 whether or not a vehicle that has not received a passing command exists in the arbitration possible area. Here, the passage command is one of the arbitration commands, and is a command to permit the passing vehicle to pass through the intersection 41 .

If the vehicle that has not received the passing command does not exist in the arbitration-enabled area, the arbitration unit 22 once terminates this routine. That is, the arbitration unit 22 repeats the process of step S101 until there is a vehicle that has not received the passage command in the arbitration possible area.

If a vehicle that has not received a passing command exists in the arbitration possible area, the arbitration unit 22 predicts the possibility of collision between the vehicles based on the traffic condition information and the traveling direction information in step S102.

Thereafter, in step S103, the arbitration unit 22 determines whether or not there is a collision determination vehicle based on the prediction result in step S102.

If it is determined that there is no collision determination vehicle, the arbitration unit 22 calculates the time period during which each collision determination vehicle passes through the intersection 41 in step S105. Further, in step S105, the arbitration unit 22 transmits an arbitration command to each collision determination vehicle based on the calculation result of the passage start time, and once ends this routine.

On the other hand, if the arbitration unit 22 determines in step S103 that there are collision-determined vehicles, in step S104, the arbitration unit 22 determines the entry priority order for a plurality of collision-determined vehicles to pass through the intersection 41 .

After that, in step S105, the arbitration unit 22 calculates the crossing passage time zone of each collision determination vehicle. Further, in step S105, the arbitration unit 22 transmits an arbitration command to each collision determination vehicle based on the calculation result of the passage time zone, and once ends this routine.

FIG. 23 is a flow chart showing a collision prediction routine executed by the collision determination section 221 of FIG. The routine of FIG. 23 is a subroutine of step S102 of FIG.

In step S101 of FIG. 22, when a vehicle that has not received a passing command exists in the arbitration possible area, the routine of FIG. 23 is started, and the collision determination unit 221 determines the arbitration period in step S201. The collision determination unit 221 determines the arbitration period as a period from the time when the vehicle that was to pass through the intersection 41 last through the processing of the previous routine passed through the intersection 41 until a certain period of time has passed.

After that, in step S202, the collision determination unit 221 calculates the passage time period at the intersection 41 of each vehicle scheduled to pass. That is, the collision determination unit 221 calculates the first passage time period and the second passage time period in each divided area of each vehicle to be passed.

Subsequently, in step S<b>203 , the collision determination unit 221 determines the collision possibility of each vehicle scheduled to pass based on the passage time zone of the vehicle scheduled to pass at the intersection 41 . Here, the collision possibility of each passing vehicle is determined according to the rule shown in FIG.

In other words, when the first passage time period of the first vehicle and the second passage time period of the second vehicle overlap, it is determined that the first vehicle and the second vehicle will not collide, and the second passage time period of the first vehicle is determined. If the zone overlaps with the second passage time zone of the second vehicle, it is determined that there is a possibility of collision between the first vehicle and the second vehicle.

FIG. 24 is a flow chart showing an approach priority determination routine executed by the priority determination unit 222 of FIG. The routine in FIG. 24 is a subroutine of step S104 in FIG.

In step S103 of FIG. 22, when it is determined that there is a possibility of collision, the routine of FIG. 24 is started, and the priority determination unit 222 sequentially executes the processing from step S301 to step S305 below.

Step S301: The priority determining unit 222 acquires information including the position and speed of the vehicle entering the arbitration-impossible area as the traffic condition information.

Step S302: The priority determining unit 222 acquires information about the waiting time of vehicles existing in the arbitration-enabled area.

Step S303: The priority determining unit 222 acquires information about the number of vehicles existing in the arbitration-enabled area.

Step S304: The priority determining unit 222 acquires information on the direction of travel of each collision determination vehicle.

Step S305: The priority determination unit 222 determines the entry priority of each collision determination vehicle.

FIG. 25 is a flow chart showing an arbitration command generation routine executed by the arbitration command generation unit 223 of FIG. The routine of FIG. 25 is a subroutine of step S105 of FIG.

24 is completed by the priority determination unit 222, the routine of FIG. 25 is started. judge.

If there is no vehicle with an undetermined passage time zone, the arbitration command generator 223 generates an arbitration command in step S406 and transmits the generated arbitration command to the relevant collision determination vehicle. Specifically, the arbitration command generation unit 223 transmits information about the entry time into the arbitration-impossible area to the collision determination vehicle for which the passage time zone is not determined. In addition, the arbitration command generation unit 223 transmits a standby command to the collision determination vehicle for which the passage time zone is determined.

On the other hand, if there is a collision-determined vehicle with an undetermined passage time period, the arbitration command generation unit 223, in step S402, determines whether the collision-determined vehicle with an undetermined passage time period passes through the intersection 41 and arbitrates. Calculate the transit time zone of the impermissible area.

Thereafter, in step S403, the arbitration command generator 223 determines whether or not there is a collision determination vehicle with the same entry priority.

If there are collision-determined vehicles with the same entry priority, the arbitration command generator 223 recalculates the passage time zone in step S402. If there is no collision determination vehicle with the same entry priority, the arbitration command generation unit 223, in step S404, sets the time at which each collision determination vehicle enters the arbitration impossible area at intervals, and the time at which each collision determination vehicle departs from the intersection 41. Calculate the exit time.

At this time, the arbitration command generator 223 refers to the passage time period calculated in step S402. The leaving time is the time at which the last collision determination vehicle to leave the intersection 41 leaves the intersection 41 in one routine.

Next, in step S405, the arbitration command generator 223 determines whether or not the exit time predicted in step S404 exceeds the arbitration time.

If the exit time has not exceeded the arbitration time, the arbitration command generating unit 223 once terminates this routine. That is, in this case, the arbitration command generator 223 executes the process of step S401 in the next routine without generating an arbitration command.

On the other hand, if the leaving time exceeds the arbitration time, the arbitration command generator 223 generates an arbitration command in step S406 and transmits the generated arbitration command to the passing vehicle. Specifically, the arbitration command generation unit 223 transmits information on the entry time into the arbitration-impossible area to collision-determined vehicles whose passage time zone is not determined.

In addition, the arbitration command generation unit 223 transmits a standby command to the collision determination vehicle for which the passage time zone is determined.

As described above, the vehicle traffic control device 20 includes the information acquisition section 21 , the collision determination section 221 , the priority determination section 222 , the arbitration command generation section 223 and the transmission section 23 . The information acquisition unit 21 acquires traffic condition information and traveling direction information. The traffic condition information is information including the positions and speeds of each of the plurality of vehicles 30 existing within the monitoring area 40 . The traveling direction information is information about in which direction each of the plurality of vehicles scheduled to pass is scheduled to travel at the intersection 41 . The plurality of vehicles scheduled to pass are vehicles that are about to pass through the intersection 41 from among the plurality of vehicles 30 .

The collision determination unit 221 determines the presence or absence of a plurality of collision determination vehicles based on traffic condition information and traveling direction information. A plurality of collision determination vehicles are vehicles scheduled to pass that may collide with each other at the intersection 41 among the vehicles scheduled to pass. The priority determining unit 222 determines the approach priority. The entry priority is the order in which each of the plurality of collision determination vehicles is caused to enter the intersection 41 . The arbitration command generator 223 generates an arbitration command based on the entry priority. The arbitration command is a command to delay entry of the specified vehicle into the intersection 41 . The designated vehicle is at least one of the plurality of collision determination vehicles. The transmission unit 23 transmits the arbitration command to the specified vehicle.

Furthermore, the collision determination unit 221 divides the intersection 41 into four divided areas, predicts the passage time zone based on the traffic condition information and the traveling direction information, and determines whether or not there are a plurality of collision determination vehicles. do. The passing time zone is a time zone during which each vehicle scheduled to pass passes through each of the four divided areas. The priority determination unit 222 determines the entry priority based on the information about the traveling direction of each collision determination vehicle included in the traveling direction information.

As described above, according to the vehicle travel control device 20 according to the first embodiment, the possibility of collision occurrence is determined for each divided area, and the divided areas determined to have no possibility of collision are controlled by the vehicle. can be allowed to pass through. Therefore, the traffic efficiency of the vehicle 30 at the intersection 41 can be improved.

Further, when two or more designated vehicles are waiting before the intersection 41, the priority determination unit 222 determines the entry priority based on the waiting time of each designated vehicle. Therefore, it is possible to give priority to entering the intersection 41 of the designated vehicle having a long waiting time, and to further improve the traffic efficiency of the vehicle 30 at the intersection 41 .

Also, the priority determining unit 222 determines the approach priority based on the traffic condition information. Therefore, the traffic efficiency of the vehicle 30 at the intersection 41 can be further improved.

In addition, the collision determination unit 221 predicts the passage time zone based on the action plan, which is a plan including the speed information of each vehicle scheduled to pass and the information of the lane in which each vehicle scheduled to pass travels. As a result, it is possible to improve the prediction accuracy of the passage time zone and further improve the traffic efficiency of the vehicle 30 at the intersection.

Further, the collision determination unit 221 determines the presence or absence of a plurality of collision determination vehicles based on the first time period and the second time period. Therefore, it is possible to easily determine whether or not there is a collision determination vehicle without relying on complicated calculations.

Further, the collision determination unit 221 determines that when the first time period of the first vehicle and the first time period of the second vehicle overlap in any of the plurality of divided areas, the first vehicle and the second vehicle Determine that there is a possibility of collision. Further, even when the second time period of the first vehicle and the second time period of the second vehicle overlap in any of the plurality of divided areas, the collision determination unit 221 determines that the first vehicle and the second vehicle determine that there is a possibility of collision.

As a result, it is possible to easily determine whether or not there is a collision determination vehicle without relying on complicated calculations.

In addition, the priority determination unit 222 determines the entry priority based on whether any of the plurality of vehicles 30 is stopped in any of the plurality of divided areas. Therefore, even if the vehicle 30 stops at the intersection 41, the priority can be determined, and the traffic efficiency of the vehicle 30 at the intersection 41 can be further improved.

In addition, the priority determination unit 222 determines the entry priority based on whether or not each vehicle scheduled to pass is entering the arbitration impossible area before the intersection 41 . For this reason, it is possible to preferentially enter the intersection 41 to the vehicle scheduled to pass, which is present before the intersection 41, so that the traffic efficiency of the vehicle 30 at the intersection 41 can be further improved.

In Embodiment 1, each of the first road and the second road is a one-lane road, but the vehicle travel control device 20 may be applied to a one-way road with two or more lanes. . In this case, the number of divided areas and the order of entry priority are appropriately changed according to the number of lanes.

Moreover, the intersection 41 is not limited to a crossroad, and may be, for example, a T-junction, a three-way intersection, or a five-way intersection.

Further, each function of the vehicle travel control device 20 of Embodiment 1 is implemented by a processing circuit. FIG. 26 is a configuration diagram showing a first example of a processing circuit that implements each function of the vehicle travel control device 20 of Embodiment 1. As shown in FIG. The processing circuit 100 of the first example is dedicated hardware.

Further, the processing circuit 100 is, for example, a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or a combination thereof. Applicable. Further, each function of the vehicle travel control device 20 may be realized by an individual processing circuit 100, or each function may be collectively realized by the processing circuit 100. FIG.

FIG. 27 is a configuration diagram showing a second example of a processing circuit that implements each function of the vehicle travel control system 20 of Embodiment 1. As shown in FIG. The second example processing circuit 200 comprises a processor 201 and a memory 202 .

In the processing circuit 200, each function of the vehicle travel control device 20 is implemented by software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware. Software and firmware are written as programs and stored in memory 202 . The processor 201 implements each function by reading and executing a program stored in the memory 202 .

It can also be said that the program stored in the memory 202 causes the computer to execute the procedure or method of each part described above. Here, the memory 202 is a non-volatile memory such as RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), flash memory, EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory). volatile or volatile semiconductor memory. The memory 202 also includes magnetic disks, flexible disks, optical disks, compact disks, mini disks, DVDs, and the like.

It should be noted that the functions of the respective units described above may be partially realized by dedicated hardware and partially realized by software or firmware.

In this way, the processing circuit can implement the functions of the units described above by means of hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof.

Reference Signs List 10 traffic environment detection device 20 vehicle running control device 21 information acquisition unit 22 arbitration unit 221 collision determination unit 222 priority order determination unit 223 arbitration command generation unit 23 transmission unit 30 vehicle 40 monitoring area 41 intersection, 42a first road portion, 42b second road portion, 42c third road portion, 42d fourth road portion, 43a, 43d stop line, 44a, 44b, 44c non-arbitration area, 45a, 45b, 45d arbitration possible area, 51 segmented region A, 52 segmented region B, 53 segmented region C, 54 segmented region D.

Claims (8)

traffic condition information including the position and speed of each of a plurality of vehicles existing within a monitoring area including an intersection; an information acquisition unit that acquires travel direction information, which is information about in which direction the vehicles scheduled to pass are scheduled to travel at the intersection;
Collision determination for determining whether or not there are a plurality of collision determination vehicles that are likely to collide with each other at the intersection, among the plurality of vehicles scheduled to pass, based on the traffic condition information and the traveling direction information. part,
a priority determination unit that determines an entry priority that is the order in which each of the plurality of collision determination vehicles enters the intersection;
an arbitration command generator for generating an arbitration command, which is a command for delaying entry into the intersection of at least one of the plurality of collision-determined vehicles, based on the approach priority order; and A transmitting unit that transmits to the designated vehicle,
The collision determination unit partitions the intersection into a plurality of divided areas, and predicts a passage time zone of each of the vehicles scheduled to pass through the plurality of divided areas based on the traffic condition information and the traveling direction information. By determining the presence or absence of the plurality of collision determination vehicles,
The priority determining unit determines the approach priority based on information about the direction of travel of each of the collision determination vehicles included in the information about the direction of travel. 2. The priority determination unit according to claim 1, wherein when two or more of the designated vehicles are waiting before the intersection, the priority determination unit determines the entry priority based on the waiting time of each of the designated vehicles. Vehicle control system. The vehicle travel control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the priority determining unit determines the approach priority based on the traffic condition information. 4. The collision determination unit predicts the passage time zone based on an action plan including speed information of each of the vehicles scheduled to pass and information of a lane in which each of the vehicles scheduled to pass travels. The vehicle travel control device according to any one of 1 to 1. an area through which each of the vehicles scheduled to pass is defined as a first passage area, among the plurality of divided areas;
When an area through which each of the vehicles scheduled to pass is about to pass from among the plurality of divided areas is defined as a second passing area,
The collision determination unit comprises: a first time period, which is the passage time period during which the vehicles scheduled to pass pass through the first passage area; and the passage time period, during which the vehicles scheduled to pass pass the second passage area. The vehicle travel control system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the presence or absence of the plurality of collision determination vehicles is determined based on a second time period of . When one of the plurality of vehicles scheduled to pass is designated as a first vehicle, and one of the plurality of vehicles scheduled to pass, which is different from the first vehicle, is designated as a second vehicle,
The collision determination unit
When the first time period of the first vehicle and the first time period of the second vehicle overlap in any one of the plurality of divided areas, the first vehicle and the second vehicle collide. determine that there is a possibility of
When the second time period of the first vehicle and the second time period of the second vehicle overlap in any of the plurality of divided areas, the first vehicle and the second vehicle collide. The vehicle travel control device according to claim 5, wherein it is determined that there is a possibility of The priority determining unit determines the approach priority based on whether any one of the plurality of vehicles is stopped in one of the plurality of divided areas. A vehicle travel control system according to any one of claims 6 to 6. 8. Any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the priority determination unit determines the entry priority based on whether or not each of the vehicles scheduled to pass is entering a specific area in front of the intersection. The vehicle travel control device according to the item.

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