阅读说明：本技术 车辆行驶控制装置 (Vehicle travel control device ) 是由 坂下真介 堀笼大介 石桥真人 宝神永一 于 2020-03-06 设计创作，主要内容包括：包括运算装置(110)和控制车辆的行驶用车载装置工作的车载装置用控制装置(200～500),运算装置(110)具有车外环境认定部(111)、路径设定部(112～115)、车辆运动决定部(116)以及物理量计算部(117～119),车外环境认定部(111)认定车外环境,路径设定部(112～115)设定车辆的行驶路径,车辆运动决定部(116)决定车辆的用于按照所设定的路径行驶的目标运动,物理量计算部(117～119)为了实现目标运动,计算行驶用车载装置应生成的目标物理量,车载装置用控制装置(200～500)为了实现目标物理量而计算对行驶用车载装置的控制量,并向该行驶用车载装置输出控制信号。(Comprises an arithmetic device (110) and control devices (200-500) for controlling the operation of the vehicle-mounted device for running of the vehicle, wherein the arithmetic device (110) is provided with a vehicle exterior environment recognition part (111) and route setting parts (112-115), the vehicle motion determination unit (116) determines an external environment of the vehicle, the path setting unit (112-115) sets a travel path of the vehicle, the vehicle motion determination unit (116) determines a target motion of the vehicle for traveling along the set path, the physical quantity calculation unit (117-119) calculates a target physical quantity to be generated by the vehicle-mounted device for traveling in order to achieve the target motion, and the vehicle-mounted device control device (200-500) calculates a control quantity for the vehicle-mounted device for traveling in order to achieve the target physical quantity and outputs a control signal to the vehicle-mounted device for traveling.)

1. A vehicle travel control device for controlling travel of a vehicle, characterized in that:

the vehicle travel control device includes an arithmetic device and a control device for an in-vehicle device,

the control device for the vehicle-mounted device controls the operation of the vehicle-mounted device for traveling mounted on the vehicle based on the calculation result of the calculation device,

the computing device includes a vehicle exterior environment recognizing unit, a route setting unit, a target motion determining unit, and a physical quantity calculating unit,

the vehicle exterior environment recognizing section recognizes the vehicle exterior environment based on an output from the information acquiring unit that acquires the vehicle exterior environment information,

the route setting unit sets a route on which the vehicle should travel, based on the environment outside the vehicle identified by the environment outside the vehicle identifying unit,

the target motion determination unit determines a target motion of the vehicle for traveling along the route set by the route setting unit,

the physical quantity calculation unit calculates a target physical quantity to be generated by the onboard device for traveling in order to achieve the target motion determined by the target motion determination unit,

the in-vehicle device control device calculates a control amount for the running in-vehicle device in order to realize the target physical quantity calculated by the physical quantity calculation unit, and outputs a control signal to the running in-vehicle device.

2. The vehicle travel control device according to claim 1, characterized in that:

the vehicle travel control device further includes an abnormality detection unit that detects an abnormality related to travel of the vehicle,

when an abnormality is detected by the abnormality detection unit, the in-vehicle device control device calculates a control amount for the running in-vehicle device to eliminate the abnormality, without passing through the arithmetic device, and outputs a control signal to the running in-vehicle device.

3. The vehicle travel control apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that:

the running vehicle-mounted device comprises a power transmission-related vehicle-mounted device forming a power transmission device, a braking-related vehicle-mounted device forming a braking device and a steering-related vehicle-mounted device forming a steering device,

the control device for the vehicle-mounted device comprises a power transmission control device for controlling the work of the vehicle-mounted device related to the power transmission, a brake control device for controlling the work of the vehicle-mounted device related to the brake, and a steering control device for controlling the work of the vehicle-mounted device related to the steering,

the power transmission control device, the brake control device, and the steering control device are configured to be able to communicate with each other so as to share information on the respective physical quantities calculated by the respective devices.

4. The vehicular running control apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that:

the vehicle exterior environment recognizing section recognizes the vehicle exterior environment by deep learning.

Technical Field

The technology disclosed herein belongs to the technical field related to a vehicle travel control device.

Background

Conventionally, a vehicle travel control device has been known which controls a plurality of traveling vehicle-mounted devices mounted on a vehicle.

For example, patent document 1 discloses, as a vehicle travel control device, a control system that is divided into a plurality of domains in advance according to functions of a plurality of in-vehicle devices, in which the control system is hierarchically divided into a device control section for controlling the in-vehicle devices and a domain control section that collectively controls the device control sections, the control system including an integrated control section that is located at a higher level than the domain control sections and that collectively controls the domain control sections.

In patent document 1, the device control unit calculates a control amount of the corresponding in-vehicle device, and outputs a control signal for realizing the control amount to each in-vehicle device.

Patent document 1: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2017-61278

Disclosure of Invention

Technical problems to be solved by the invention

Recently, the development of automatic driving systems is being promoted nationwide. In general, in an automatic driving system, vehicle exterior environment information is acquired by a camera or the like, and a route on which a vehicle should travel is calculated from the acquired vehicle exterior environment information. In the automatic driving system, a vehicle-mounted device for traveling is controlled so that the vehicle travels along a route to be traveled.

Here, to calculate the route on which the vehicle should travel, it is necessary to process a large amount of external environment information, which takes a long time. On the other hand, from the viewpoint of driving stability, the control of the on-vehicle device for running is required to be finely controlled in accordance with the road surface condition or the like, and therefore, the control of the on-vehicle device for running is required to be performed at as high a speed as possible. In the vehicle-mounted device for traveling, for example, there are various devices such as a spark plug, a fuel injection valve, and a valve train of an intake valve and an exhaust valve only for the engine. Therefore, if the control amount is calculated in addition to the calculation of the route in one arithmetic device, the calculation amount becomes enormous, and it takes a long time to output the control signal to each of the on-vehicle devices for traveling. As a result, the responsiveness of each of the travel-purpose in-vehicle devices to the environment outside the vehicle may be deteriorated.

The technology disclosed herein is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has an object to: a vehicle travel control device for controlling an operation of a vehicle-mounted device for travel so that a vehicle travels along a route calculated by an arithmetic device, wherein the vehicle-mounted device for travel has improved responsiveness to an environment outside the vehicle.

Technical solution for solving technical problem

In order to solve the above problems, the technology disclosed herein is directed to a vehicle travel control device that controls travel of a vehicle, and includes: the vehicle travel control device includes an arithmetic device and a control device for an in-vehicle device, the control device for an in-vehicle device controlling an operation of a travel-purpose in-vehicle device mounted on the vehicle based on an arithmetic result of the arithmetic device, the arithmetic device including an external environment recognition unit recognizing an external environment based on an output from an information acquisition unit acquiring external environment information, a path setting unit setting a path to be traveled by the vehicle based on the external environment recognized by the external environment recognition unit, a target motion determination unit determining a target motion of the vehicle for traveling along the path set by the path setting unit, and a physical quantity calculation unit for realizing the target motion determined by the target motion determination unit, and a control unit for calculating a control amount for the on-vehicle running device to realize the target physical quantity calculated by the physical quantity calculation unit, and outputting a control signal to the on-vehicle running device.

According to this configuration, the operation of the arithmetic device is performed only until the physical quantity to be realized is calculated, and the actual control quantity for the vehicle-mounted device for traveling is calculated by the vehicle-mounted device control device. This reduces the amount of computation by the computation device, and increases the computation speed of the computation device. In addition, the in-vehicle device control device may calculate an actual control amount and output a control signal to the traveling in-vehicle device, and therefore the processing speed is high. As a result, the responsiveness of the in-vehicle travel device to the environment outside the vehicle can be improved.

Further, since the calculation device only needs to calculate the rough physical quantity by causing the in-vehicle device control device to calculate the control quantity, the calculation speed can be made slower than that of the in-vehicle device control device. This improves the calculation accuracy of the calculation device.

Further, by causing the in-vehicle device control device to calculate the control amount, it is possible to cope with a slight change in the external environment of the vehicle by adjusting the control amount by the in-vehicle device control device without via the arithmetic device.

In the present specification, the term "vehicle-mounted device for running" refers to actuators and sensors that are controlled during running of the vehicle.

The vehicle running control device may further include an abnormality detection unit that detects an abnormality related to running of the vehicle, and when the abnormality detection unit detects the abnormality, the in-vehicle device control device may calculate a control amount for the running in-vehicle device to eliminate the abnormality without via the arithmetic device, and output a control signal to the running in-vehicle device.

That is, for example, when a tire slips, it is desirable to take immediate measures for stable running. According to this configuration, when an abnormality is detected, the control device for the in-vehicle device can calculate the control amount for eliminating the abnormality and output the control signal to the in-vehicle device for traveling without waiting for the calculation by the arithmetic device. Therefore, the responsiveness of the in-vehicle travel device to the environment outside the vehicle can be further improved.

The vehicle running control device may be configured such that the running vehicle-mounted device includes a power transmission-related vehicle-mounted device constituting a power transmission device, a brake-related vehicle-mounted device constituting a brake device, and a steering-related vehicle-mounted device constituting a steering device, the vehicle-mounted device control device includes a power transmission control device controlling an operation of the power transmission-related vehicle-mounted device, a brake control device controlling an operation of the brake-related vehicle-mounted device, and a steering control device controlling an operation of the steering-related vehicle-mounted device, and the power transmission control device, the brake control device, and the steering control device are configured to be capable of communicating with each other to share information on the respective physical quantities calculated by the respective devices.

According to this configuration, the running stability of the vehicle can be improved. For example, when the road surface is in a slip-prone state, the wheel speed needs to be reduced in order to avoid wheel spin (so-called traction control). To suppress wheel spin, there is a method of reducing the output of the power transmission device or using the braking force of the braking device, but if the power transmission control device and the braking control device can communicate with each other, it is possible to take optimum measures using both the power transmission device and the braking device at the same time. Further, when turning or the like, the control amounts of the power transmission-related vehicle-mounted device and the brake-related vehicle-mounted device are finely adjusted in accordance with the target steering amount of the steering device, whereby the vehicle can be smoothly turned by applying an appropriate lateral force to the vehicle. As a result, the responsiveness of the in-vehicle traveling device to the environment outside the vehicle can be further improved.

In the vehicle travel control device, the vehicle exterior environment recognizing unit may recognize the vehicle exterior environment by deep learning.

According to this configuration, the vehicle exterior environment recognizing unit recognizes the vehicle exterior environment by deep learning, and thus the amount of calculation by the computing device is large in particular. Therefore, if the control amount for the onboard device for traveling is calculated by the control device for the onboard device other than the arithmetic device, the effect of further improving the responsiveness of the onboard device for traveling to the environment outside the vehicle can be more appropriately exerted.

Effects of the invention

As described above, according to the technology disclosed herein, in the vehicle travel control device that controls the operation of the travel-purpose in-vehicle device so that the vehicle travels along the route calculated by the arithmetic device, the responsiveness of the travel-purpose in-vehicle device to the environment outside the vehicle can be improved.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of a vehicle controlled by a vehicle travel control device according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an engine configuration;

fig. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a vehicle mounted with an arithmetic device;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a control system of an automobile;

fig. 5 is a block diagram showing a relationship between the abnormality detection device and the in-vehicle device control device;

fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a vehicle travel route.

Detailed Description

Exemplary embodiments are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the present embodiment, the "in-vehicle device for running" described later means actuators and sensors that are controlled during running of the vehicle 1.

Fig. 1 schematically shows a configuration of a vehicle 1 controlled by a vehicle travel control device 100 (hereinafter referred to as a travel control device 100) according to the present embodiment. The vehicle 1 is an automobile that can perform manual driving for running the vehicle 1 in accordance with an operation of an accelerator or the like by a driver, driver assistance for driving for assisting the operation of the driver for running the vehicle 1, and automatic driving for running the vehicle 1 without the operation of the driver.

The vehicle 1 includes an engine 10, a transmission 20, a brake device 30, and a steering device 40, the engine 10 includes a plurality of (four in the present embodiment) cylinders 11 as a drive source, the transmission 20 is connected to the engine 10, the brake device 30 brakes rotation of front wheels 50 as drive wheels, and the steering device 40 steers the front wheels 50 as steered wheels.

The engine 10 is, for example, a gasoline engine. As shown in fig. 2, each cylinder 11 of the engine 10 is provided with an injector 12 for supplying fuel into the cylinder 11 and an ignition plug 13 for igniting an air-fuel mixture of the fuel and intake air supplied into the cylinder 11. Further, each cylinder 11 of the engine 10 is provided with an intake valve 14, an exhaust valve 15, and a valve train group 16 that regulates opening and closing actions of the intake valve 14 and the exhaust valve 15. The engine 10 is provided with a piston 17 reciprocating in the cylinder 11, and a crankshaft 18 connected to the piston 17 via a connecting rod. Engine 10 may be a diesel engine. When the engine 10 is a diesel engine, the ignition plug 13 may not be provided. The injector 12, the ignition plug 13, and the valve train 16 are examples of power train-related in-vehicle devices.

The transmission 20 is, for example, a stepped automatic transmission. The transmission 20 is disposed on one side of the engine 10 in the bank direction. The transmission 20 includes an input shaft (not shown) coupled to the crankshaft 18 of the engine 10, and an output shaft (not shown) coupled to the input shaft via a plurality of reduction gears (not shown). The output shaft is connected to an axle 51 of the front wheel 50. The rotation of the crankshaft 18 is transmitted to the front wheel 50 after being shifted by the transmission 20. The transmission 20 is an example of a power transmission-related in-vehicle device.

The engine 10 and the transmission 20 are power transmission devices that generate driving force for running the vehicle 1. The operation of the engine 10 and the transmission 20 is controlled by a power train ECU (Electric Control Unit) 200. For example, when the vehicle 1 is driven manually, the power transmission ECU200 controls the fuel injection amount and the fuel injection timing of the injector 12, the ignition timing of the ignition plug 13, the opening timing and the opening period of the valve train group 16 for the intake and exhaust valves 14 and 15, and the like, based on the detection value of the accelerator opening sensor SW1 or the like that detects the accelerator opening corresponding to the amount of operation of the accelerator pedal by the driver. When the vehicle 1 is driven manually, the power transmission ECU200 adjusts the gear position of the transmission 20 based on the detection result of the shift position sensor SW2 that detects the operation of the shift lever by the driver and the required driving force calculated based on the accelerator opening degree. When the vehicle 1 is driving-assist or automatic driving, the power transmission ECU200 basically calculates the control amount for each of the running vehicle-mounted devices (here, the injectors 12 and the like) so as to achieve the target driving force calculated by the arithmetic device 110 described later, and outputs a control signal to each of the running vehicle-mounted devices. Power transmission ECU200 is an example of a control device for an in-vehicle device.

The brake device 30 includes a brake pedal 31, a brake actuator 33, a booster 34 connected to the brake actuator 33, a master cylinder 35 connected to the booster 34, a DSC (Dynamic Stability Control) device 36 for adjusting a braking force, and a brake pad 37 that actually brakes the rotation of the front wheel 50. A brake disc 52 is provided on an axle 51 of the front wheel 50. The brake device 30 is an electric brake, and operates the brake actuator 33 in accordance with the operation amount of the brake pedal 31 detected by the brake sensor SW3, thereby operating the brake pads 37 via the booster 34 and the master cylinder 35. The brake device 30 sandwiches the brake disc 52 with the brake pads 37, and brakes the rotation of the front wheel 50 by the frictional force generated between the brake pads 37 and the brake disc 52. The brake actuator 33 and the DSC device 36 are examples of brake-related in-vehicle devices.

The operation of the braking device 30 is controlled by the braking microcomputer 300 and the DSC microcomputer 400. For example, when the vehicle 1 is driven manually, the brake microcomputer 300 controls the operation amount of the brake actuator 33 based on a detection value of a brake sensor SW3 or the like that detects the operation amount of the brake pedal 31 by the driver. The DSC microcomputer 400 controls the DSC device 36 to operate regardless of how the driver operates the brake pedal 31, and applies a braking force to the front wheels 50. When the vehicle 1 is driven by the assist or the automatic driving, the brake microcomputer 300 basically calculates the control amount for each of the running vehicle-mounted devices (here, the brake actuator 33) so as to achieve the target braking force calculated by the arithmetic device 110 described later, and outputs a control signal to each of the running vehicle-mounted devices. The brake microcomputer 300 and the DSC microcomputer 400 are examples of a control device for an in-vehicle device. The brake microcomputer 300 and the DSC microcomputer 400 may be constituted by one microcomputer.

The Steering device 40 includes a Steering wheel 41 operated by a driver, an EPAS (electric Power assisted Steering) device 42 for assisting the driver in Steering, and a pinion shaft 43 connected to the EPAS device 42. The EPAS device 42 includes an electric motor 42a and a reduction gear 42b that reduces the speed of the driving force of the electric motor 42a and transmits the reduced driving force to the pinion shaft 43. The steering device 40 is a steer-by-wire steering device, and operates the EPAS device 42 in accordance with the operation amount of the steering wheel 41 detected by the steering angle sensor SW4, and rotates the pinion shaft 43 to operate the front wheels 50. The pinion shaft 43 and the front wheel 50 are coupled by a rack, not shown, and the rotation of the pinion shaft 43 is transmitted to the front wheel via the rack. The EPAS device 42 is an example of a steering-related in-vehicle device.

The EPAS microcomputer 500 controls the operation of the steering device 40. For example, when the vehicle 1 is driven manually, the EPAS microcomputer 500 controls the operation amount of the electric motor 42a based on the detection value of the steering angle sensor SW4 or the like. When the vehicle 1 is driven by the assist or the automatic driving, the EPAS microcomputer 500 basically calculates a control amount for each of the running vehicle-mounted devices (the EPAS device 42 in this case) so as to realize a target steering amount calculated by the arithmetic device 110 described later, and outputs a control signal to each of the running vehicle-mounted devices. The EPAS microcomputer 500 is an example of a control device for an in-vehicle device.

In the present embodiment, the power transmission ECU200, the brake microcomputer 300, the DSC microcomputer 400, and the EPAS microcomputer 500 are configured to be able to communicate with each other, and details will be described later. In the following description, power train ECU200, brake microcomputer 300, DSC microcomputer 400, and EPAS microcomputer 500 may be simply referred to as an in-vehicle device control device.

In the present embodiment, the travel control device 100 includes the arithmetic device 110, and the arithmetic device 110 calculates a route along which the vehicle 1 should travel in order to realize the assist driving and the automatic driving, and determines the movement of the vehicle 1 for traveling along the route. The computing device 110 is computer hardware having one or more chips. Specifically, as shown in fig. 3, the arithmetic device 110 includes a processor including a CPU, a memory storing a plurality of modules, and the like.

Fig. 4 shows a configuration for performing the function (path generation function described later) according to the present embodiment in more detail. Fig. 4 does not show all the functions of the arithmetic device 110.

The arithmetic device 110 determines the target motion of the vehicle 1 based on the outputs from the plurality of sensors and the like, and controls the operation of the in-vehicle device. The sensors and the like that output information to the arithmetic device 110 include: a plurality of cameras 70 that are provided on a vehicle body or the like of the vehicle 1 and that capture images of the environment outside the vehicle; a plurality of radars 71 which are provided on a vehicle body or the like of the vehicle 1 and detect a person, an object, and the like outside the vehicle; a position sensor SW5 for detecting the position of the vehicle 1 (vehicle position information) using a Global Positioning System (GPS); a vehicle state sensor SW6 configured from outputs of sensors for detecting vehicle behavior such as a vehicle speed sensor, an acceleration sensor, and a yaw rate sensor, and acquiring the state of the vehicle 1; and an occupant state sensor SW7 that is configured from an in-vehicle camera or the like and acquires the state of an occupant of the vehicle 1. The communication information from other vehicles located around the host vehicle and the traffic information from the navigation system, which are received by the vehicle exterior communication unit 72, are input to the arithmetic device 110.

Each camera 70 is arranged to be able to photograph the surroundings of the vehicle 1 within a range of 360 ° in the horizontal direction. Each camera 70 captures an optical image representing the environment outside the vehicle and generates image data. Each camera 70 outputs the generated image data to the arithmetic device 110. The camera 70 is an example of information acquisition means for acquiring environment information outside the vehicle.

The image data acquired by each camera 70 is input to an HMI (Human Machine Interface) unit 700 in addition to the arithmetic device 110. The HMI unit 700 displays information obtained based on the acquired image data on a display device or the like in the vehicle.

Like the cameras 70, the radars 71 are respectively arranged to expand the detection range to 360 ° in the horizontal direction around the vehicle 1. The type of the radar 71 is not particularly limited, and for example, a millimeter wave radar or an infrared radar can be used. The radar 71 is an example of an information acquisition unit that acquires environment information outside the vehicle.

During the assist driving and the automatic driving, the arithmetic device 110 sets a travel route of the vehicle 1 and sets a target motion of the vehicle 1 so that the vehicle 1 travels along the travel route. In order to set the target motion of the vehicle 1, the arithmetic device 110 includes a vehicle exterior environment recognition unit 111, a candidate route generation unit 112, a vehicle behavior estimation unit 113, an occupant behavior estimation unit 114, a route determination unit 115, a vehicle motion determination unit 116, a driving force calculation unit 117, a braking force calculation unit 118, and a steering amount calculation unit 119. The vehicle exterior environment recognizing unit 111 recognizes the vehicle exterior environment based on the output from the camera 70 and the like. The candidate route generating unit 112 calculates one or more candidate routes along which the vehicle 1 can travel, based on the environment outside the vehicle identified by the environment outside the vehicle identifying unit 111. The vehicle behavior estimation unit 113 estimates the behavior of the vehicle 1 based on the output from the vehicle state sensor SW 6. The occupant behavior estimation unit 114 estimates the behavior of the occupant of the vehicle 1 based on the output from the occupant state sensor SW 7. The route determination unit 115 determines a route on which the vehicle 1 should travel. The vehicle motion determination unit 116 determines the target motion of the vehicle 1 for traveling along the route set by the route determination unit 115. The driving force calculation unit 117, the braking force calculation unit 118, and the steering amount calculation unit 119 calculate target physical amounts (for example, a driving force, a braking force, and a steering angle) to be generated by the running vehicle-mounted device so as to achieve the target motion determined by the vehicle motion determination unit 116. The candidate route generation unit 112, the vehicle behavior estimation unit 113, the occupant behavior estimation unit 114, and the route determination unit 115 constitute a route setting unit that sets a route on which the vehicle 1 should travel, based on the vehicle exterior environment recognized by the vehicle exterior environment recognition unit 111.

The computing device 110 has a route generation unit 120 and a backup unit 130 based on a rule as a security function. The rule-based route generation unit 120 recognizes an object outside the vehicle according to a predetermined rule, and generates a travel route avoiding the object. The backup unit 130 generates a travel path for guiding the vehicle 1 to a safe area such as a roadside.

The vehicle exterior environment recognition unit 111, the candidate route generation unit 112, the vehicle behavior estimation unit 113, the occupant behavior estimation unit 114, the route determination unit 115, the vehicle motion determination unit 116, the driving force calculation unit 117, the braking force calculation unit 118, the steering amount calculation unit 119, the rule-based route generation unit 120, and the backup unit 130 are examples of the modules stored in the memory 102.

Exterior environment recognition part of vehicle

The vehicle exterior environment recognition unit 111 receives outputs of the camera 70, the radar 71, and the like mounted on the vehicle 1, and recognizes the vehicle exterior environment. The identified off-board environment includes at least a road and an obstacle. Here, the vehicle exterior environment recognition unit 111 estimates the vehicle environment including the road and the obstacle by comparing the three-dimensional information around the vehicle 1 with the vehicle exterior environment model based on the data of the camera 70 and the radar 71. The external environment model is, for example, a learned model generated by deep learning, and can recognize a road, an obstacle, and the like with respect to three-dimensional information around the vehicle.

For example, the vehicle exterior environment recognition unit 111 specifies a free space, that is, a region where no object is present, from the image by performing image processing on the image captured by the camera 70. The image processing here uses a learned model generated by, for example, deep learning. Then, a two-dimensional map representing free space is generated. The vehicle exterior environment recognition unit 111 acquires information on people and objects present in the vicinity of the vehicle 1 from the output of the radar 71. The information is positioning information including the position, speed, and the like of the person and the object. Then, the vehicle exterior environment recognition unit 111 combines the generated two-dimensional map with the positioning information of the person and the object to generate a three-dimensional map representing the situation around the vehicle 1. Here, information of the installation position and the imaging direction of the camera 70 and information of the installation position and the transmission direction of the radar 71 are used. The external environment recognition unit 111 estimates the vehicle environment including the road and the obstacle by comparing the generated three-dimensional map with the external environment model. In Deep learning, a multilayer Neural Network (DNN) is used. Multilayer Neural networks are, for example, CNN (Convolutional Neural Network).

Route candidate generation section

The route candidate generation unit 112 generates a route candidate on which the vehicle 1 can travel, based on the output of the vehicle exterior environment recognition unit 111, the output of the position sensor SW5, the information transmitted from the vehicle exterior communication unit 72, and the like. For example, the route candidate generation unit 112 generates a travel route that avoids the obstacle recognized by the vehicle exterior environment recognition unit 111 on the road recognized by the vehicle exterior environment recognition unit 111. The output of the vehicle exterior environment recognition unit 111 includes, for example, lane information relating to a lane in which the vehicle 1 travels. The lane information includes information on the shape of the lane itself and information on an object on the lane. The information related to the lane shape includes the shape of the lane (straight line, curved line curvature), the lane width, the number of lanes, the lane width, and the like. The information on the object includes a relative position and a relative speed of the object with respect to the vehicle, an attribute (a type and a moving direction) of the object, and the like. Examples of the types of objects include: vehicles, pedestrians, roads, dividing lines, etc.

Here, the candidate route generating unit 112 calculates a plurality of candidate routes by using a state trellis method, and selects one or more candidate routes from the candidate routes based on route costs of the candidate routes. However, other methods may be used to perform the path calculation.

The candidate route generation unit 112 sets a virtual grid region on the lane of a line based on the lane information. The grid region has a plurality of grid points. The position on the traffic lane is determined from each grid point. The candidate route generation unit 112 sets a predetermined grid point as a target arrival position. Then, a path search is performed using a plurality of grid points in the grid region, thereby calculating a plurality of candidate paths. In the state grid method, a path branches from a grid point to an arbitrary grid point forward in the vehicle traveling direction. Therefore, each candidate path is set to sequentially pass through a plurality of grid points. Each candidate route also includes time information indicating the time of passage through each grid point, speed information relating to the speed, acceleration, and the like at each grid point, information relating to the movement of another vehicle, and the like.

The candidate route generation unit 112 selects one or more travel routes from the plurality of candidate routes, based on the route cost. The path cost here includes, for example, the degree of lane centering, the acceleration of the vehicle, the steering angle, the possibility of collision, and the like. When the route candidate generation unit 112 selects a plurality of travel routes, the route determination unit 115 selects one travel route.

Vehicle behavior estimation department

The vehicle behavior estimation unit 113 measures the state of the vehicle based on the outputs of sensors that detect the behavior of the vehicle, such as a vehicle speed sensor, an acceleration sensor, and a yaw rate sensor. The vehicle behavior estimation unit 113 generates a vehicle six-axis model representing the behavior of the vehicle.

Here, the six-axis vehicle model is obtained by modeling the acceleration in the three-axis directions of "front-rear", "right-left", "up-down" and the angular velocity in the three-axis directions of "pitch", "roll" and "yaw" of the vehicle during traveling. That is, this model does not capture the motion of the vehicle only on the plane of the motion engineering of the classical vehicle (only the front, rear, left, and right (X-Y movement) and yaw movement (Z axis)) but also captures the motion of the vehicle using the pitch (Y axis) and roll (X axis) movements of the vehicle body attached to the four wheels through suspensions, and the movement of the Z axis (up and down movement of the vehicle body), that is, a numerical model in which the motions of the vehicle are reproduced by sharing six axes in total.

The vehicle behavior estimating unit 113 applies a vehicle six-axis model to the travel route generated by the candidate route generating unit 112, and estimates the behavior of the vehicle 1 when traveling along the travel route.

Passenger behavior estimation section

The occupant behavior estimating unit 114 estimates the state of health and the emotion of the driver in particular from the detection result of the occupant state sensor SW 7. Health conditions such as health, mild fatigue, poor physical condition, decreased consciousness, etc. Mood such as happy, normal, boring, impatient, unhappy, etc.

For example, the occupant behavior estimation unit 114 extracts a face image of the driver from an image captured by a camera provided in the vehicle interior, for example, to specify the driver. The extracted face image and the determined driver information are provided as inputs to the human model. The human model is a learned model generated by, for example, deep learning, and outputs health status and emotion information from a face image of each person that may become a driver of the vehicle 1. The occupant behavior estimation unit 114 outputs the health state and emotion information of the driver, which have been output by the human model.

When a biological information sensor such as a skin temperature sensor, a heart rate sensor, a blood flow sensor, or a sweat sensor is used as the occupant state sensor SW7 for acquiring information of the driver, the occupant behavior estimation unit measures biological information of the driver based on an output of the biological information sensor. In this case, the human model outputs health state and emotion information for each person who may become a driver of the vehicle 1, using the biological information as an input. The occupant behavior estimation unit 114 outputs the health state and emotion information of the driver, which have been output by the human model.

In addition, the following models may also be employed for the human model: the emotion held by the behavior of the human being with respect to the vehicle 1 is estimated for each person who may become a driver of the vehicle 1. In this case, the output of the vehicle behavior estimating unit 113, the biological information of the driver, and the estimated emotional state may be managed in chronological order to construct a model. The model can predict, for example, a relationship between a driver's feeling of excitement (arousal level) and a vehicle behavior.

The occupant behavior estimation unit 114 may use a human model as the human model. The human body model specifies, for example, the mass of the head (e.g., 5kg) and the muscular force around the neck in the front-rear-left-right direction G. When the vehicle body motion (acceleration G, jerk) is input, the human body model outputs the expected physical information and subjective information of the occupant. Occupant physical information is, for example, very comfortable/moderate/unpleasant, subjective information is, for example, unexpected/predictable, etc. By referring to the human body model, for example, a vehicle behavior in which the head is slightly tilted back is unpleasant for the occupant, and therefore, the travel route can be made unselected. On the other hand, a vehicle body behavior in which the head portion is moved forward like a bow is easy to make the occupant take a posture against the behavior, and the occupant does not feel uncomfortable immediately, so that the running path can be selected. Alternatively, by referring to the human body model, for example, the target motion can be determined so as to avoid the head of the occupant from shaking or giving a feeling of lively jerkiness.

The occupant behavior estimation unit 114 applies a human model to the vehicle behavior estimated by the vehicle behavior estimation unit 113, and estimates a change in the current state of health and a change in emotion of the driver with respect to the vehicle behavior.

Route determination part

The route determination unit 115 determines a route on which the vehicle 1 should travel, based on the output of the occupant behavior estimation unit 114. When the route generated by the candidate route generation unit 112 is one route, the route determination unit 115 determines the route as a route on which the vehicle 1 should travel. When there are a plurality of routes generated by the candidate route generation unit 112, the output of the occupant behavior estimation unit 114 is considered, and for example, a route that is most comfortable for an occupant (particularly, a driver) among the plurality of candidate routes, that is, a route that does not give the driver a tedious feeling such as being too careful to avoid an obstacle, is selected.

Rule-based Path Generation section

The rule-based path generating unit 120 recognizes an object outside the vehicle according to a predetermined rule without using deep learning based on the outputs from the camera 70 and the radar 71, and generates a travel path avoiding the object. As with the candidate route generating unit 112, the rule-based route generating unit 120 calculates a plurality of candidate routes using a state trellis method, and selects one or more candidate routes from the candidate routes based on the route costs of the candidate routes. The rule-based path generating unit 120 calculates the path cost based on a rule that does not intrude within several meters around the object, for example. The route generation unit 120 based on the rule may calculate the route by using another method.

Information of the route generated by the route generation unit 120 based on the rule is input to the vehicle motion determination unit 116.

Spare part

The backup unit 130 generates a travel path for guiding the vehicle 1 to a safe area such as a roadside or the like when a sensor or the like fails or when the physical condition of the occupant is bad, based on the outputs from the camera 70 and the radar 71. The backup unit 130 sets a safety zone where the vehicle 1 can be stopped in an emergency, for example, based on information from the position sensor SW5, and generates a travel route to the safety zone. As with the candidate route generating unit 112, the backup unit 130 calculates a plurality of candidate routes by using the state trellis method, and selects one or more candidate routes from the candidate routes based on the route costs of the candidate routes. The backup unit 130 may calculate the route by using another method.

The information on the route generated by the backup unit 130 is input to the vehicle motion determination unit 116.

Vehicle motion determination part

The vehicle motion determination unit 116 determines the target motion for the travel route determined by the route determination unit 115. The target motion refers to steering and acceleration/deceleration for causing the vehicle to travel along the travel path. The target motion determination unit 115 refers to the vehicle six-axis model, and calculates the motion of the vehicle body for the travel route selected by the route determination unit 115.

The vehicle motion determination unit 116 determines a target motion for causing the vehicle to travel along the travel route generated by the route generation unit 120 based on the rule.

The vehicle motion determination unit 116 determines a target motion for causing the vehicle to travel along the travel route generated by the backup unit 130.

When the travel route determined by the route determination unit 115 is significantly deviated from the travel route generated by the rule-based route generation unit 120, the vehicle motion determination unit 116 selects the travel route generated by the rule-based route generation unit 120 as the route on which the vehicle 1 should travel.

When it is estimated that the sensor or the like (particularly, the camera 70 or the radar 71) is malfunctioning or the physical condition of the occupant is poor, the vehicle motion determination unit 116 selects the travel path generated by the backup unit 130 as the path on which the vehicle 1 should travel.

Physical quantity calculating department

The physical quantity calculating unit is composed of a driving force calculating unit 117, a braking force calculating unit 118, and a steering amount calculating unit 119. The driving force calculation section 117 calculates a target driving force that the power transmission device (the engine 10 and the transmission 20) should generate in order to achieve the target motion. The braking force calculation unit 118 calculates a target braking force to be generated by the brake device 30 in order to achieve the target motion. The steering amount calculation unit 119 calculates a target steering amount to be generated by the steering device 40 in order to achieve the target motion.

Peripheral device operation setting section

The peripheral device operation setting unit 140 sets the operation of the vehicle body-related in-vehicle device of the vehicle 1, such as the lamp and the door, based on the output of the vehicle motion determination unit 116. The peripheral device operation setting unit 140 sets, for example, the orientation of the lamp when the vehicle 1 travels along the travel route determined by the route determination unit 115. Further, for example, when the vehicle 1 is guided to the safe area set by the backup unit 130, the peripheral device operation setting unit 140 sets the following operation: after the vehicle reaches a safe area, the hazard flasher lights or releases the door lock.

Output destination of arithmetic device

The calculation result of the calculation device 110 is output to the power transmission ECU200, the brake microcomputer 300, the EPAS microcomputer 500, and the vehicle body-related microcomputer 600. Specifically, the power train ECU200 receives information on the target driving force calculated by the driving force calculation unit 117, the brake microcomputer 300 receives information on the target braking force calculated by the braking force calculation unit 118, the EPAS microcomputer 500 receives information on the target steering amount calculated by the steering amount calculation unit 119, and the vehicle-body-related microcomputer 600 receives information on the operation of each vehicle-body-related vehicle-mounted device set by the peripheral device operation setting unit 140.

As described above, the power transmission ECU200 basically calculates the fuel injection timing of the injector 12 and the ignition timing of the ignition plug 13 to achieve the target driving force, and outputs a control signal to the above-described onboard device for running. The brake microcomputer 300 basically calculates a control amount for the brake actuator 33 to achieve the target braking force, and outputs a control signal to the brake actuator 33. The EPAS microcomputer 500 basically calculates the amount of current supplied to the EPAS device 42 to achieve the target steering amount, and outputs a control signal to the EPAS device 42.

In this manner, in the present embodiment, the operation of the computing device 110 is performed only until the target physical quantity to be output by each of the travel-purpose in-vehicle devices is calculated, and the control quantity for each of the travel-purpose in-vehicle devices is calculated by each of the in-vehicle device control devices 200 to 500. This reduces the amount of calculation by the calculation device 110, and increases the calculation speed of the calculation device 110. In addition, each of the in-vehicle device control devices 200 to 500 need only calculate an actual control amount and output a control signal to the in-vehicle device for traveling (the injector 12 or the like), and therefore the processing speed is high. As a result, the responsiveness of the in-vehicle travel device to the environment outside the vehicle can be improved.

Further, since the arithmetic device 110 only needs to calculate the approximate physical quantity by causing each of the in-vehicle device control devices 200 to 500 to calculate the control quantity, the arithmetic speed can be made slower than each of the in-vehicle device control devices 200 to 500. This can improve the calculation accuracy of the calculation device 110.

As shown in fig. 4, in the present embodiment, the power transmission ECU200, the brake microcomputer 300, the DSC microcomputer 400, and the EPAS microcomputer 500 are configured to be able to communicate with each other. The power transmission ECU200, the brake microcomputer 300, the DSC microcomputer 400, and the EPAS microcomputer 500 are configured to share information on the control amounts of the respective travel-purpose in-vehicle devices, and to execute control in accordance with the information.

For example, when the road surface is in a slip-prone state, the wheel speed needs to be reduced in order to avoid wheel spin (so-called traction control). To suppress wheel spin, there is a method of reducing the output of the power train or using the braking force of the braking device 30, but since the power train ECU200 and the brake microcomputer 300 can communicate with each other, it is possible to take optimum measures using both the power train and the braking device 30.

Further, for example, when the vehicle 1 turns, the control amount of the power transmission and braking device 30 (including the DSC device 36) is finely adjusted in accordance with the target steering amount, so that the roll and the pitch of the front portion of the vehicle 1 sinking are generated in synchronization, and the oblique front roll (diagonalroll) posture can be generated. By generating the tilted forward rolling posture, the load acting on the outer front wheel 50 is increased, and the vehicle can turn at a small turning angle, so that the rolling resistance acting on the vehicle 1 can be reduced.

As another example, in the vehicle stabilization control (vehicle dynamic stabilization), if there is a difference between the target yaw rate and the target lateral acceleration calculated when the vehicle 1 is in an ideal steering state and the current yaw rate and the lateral acceleration calculated from the current steering angle and vehicle speed, the four-wheel brake devices 30 are operated individually, or the output of the power transmission is increased or decreased so that the current yaw rate and the current lateral acceleration return to the target values. In the related art, the DSC microcomputer 400 must comply with a communication protocol, acquire information related to an unstable state of the vehicle from a yaw rate sensor and a wheel speed sensor through a relatively low-speed CAN, and instruct the operation of the power transmission ECU200 and the brake microcomputer 300 through the CAN, thus requiring time. In the present embodiment, since information relating to the control amount can be directly exchanged between the microcomputers, it is possible to significantly shorten the time from the detection of the unstable state of the vehicle to the start of the stabilization control, that is, the braking operation of each wheel or the increase or decrease of the output, and to weaken the stabilization control performed when the driver steers in the reverse direction in real time while referring to the steering angle speed or the like from the EPAS microcomputer 500, wherein the weakening stabilization control is performed by prediction in the related art.

In addition, another example is a high-power front-wheel drive vehicle in which there is a steering angle linkage output control that suppresses the output of the power transmission and prevents the vehicle from falling into an unstable state when the accelerator is depressed with a large steering angle. In this control, the power transmission ECU200 can directly suppress the output by referring to the steering angle and the steering angle signal of the EPAS microcomputer 500, and therefore, a preferable driving experience can be achieved without giving a sudden sense of interference to the driver.

Control when abnormality occurs

Here, when the vehicle 1 travels, there may be an occurrence of an abnormality related to the travel of the vehicle 1, such as knocking of the engine 10, slipping of the front wheels 50, or the like. When the abnormality occurs, it is required to quickly control each of the in-vehicle devices for running in order to eliminate the abnormality. As described above, since the arithmetic device 110 performs enormous calculations for recognizing the environment outside the vehicle or calculating the route of the vehicle 1 by deep learning, if the arithmetic device 110 performs calculations for eliminating the abnormality, it may be impossible to cope with the abnormality in time.

In the present embodiment, when an abnormality related to the running of the vehicle 1 is detected, the control device 200 to 500 for each in-vehicle device calculates the control amount for the running in-vehicle device for eliminating the abnormality, without passing through the arithmetic device 110, and outputs a control signal to the running in-vehicle device.

Fig. 5 exemplifies the relationship between the sensors SW5, SW8, SW9 that detect an abnormality related to the running of the vehicle 1 and the respective in-vehicle apparatus control devices 200, 300, 500. In fig. 5, the sensors for detecting an abnormality related to the running of the vehicle 1 include, for example, a position sensor SW5, a knock sensor SW8, and a slip sensor SW9, but other sensors may be provided. The knock sensor SW8 and the slip sensor SW9 can employ known sensors. The position sensor SW5, the knock sensor SW8, and the slip sensor SW9 correspond to an abnormality detection unit, and an abnormality related to the running of the vehicle 1 is detected by the sensors themselves.

For example, when knocking is detected by the knock sensor SW8, a detection signal is input to each of the in-vehicle device control devices 200 to 500 (particularly, the power transmission ECU 200). Upon input of the detection signal, for example, the power transmission ECU200 adjusts the fuel injection timing of the injector 12 and the ignition timing of the ignition plug 13 to suppress knocking. At this time, the power transmission ECU200 allows the driving force output from the power transmission to deviate from the target driving force while calculating the control amount for the running vehicle-mounted device.

Fig. 6 shows an example of behavior of the vehicle 1 at the time of a slip. In fig. 6, the solid line indicates the actual travel path of the vehicle 1, and the broken line indicates the travel path set by the arithmetic device 110 (hereinafter referred to as the theoretical travel path R). In fig. 6, the solid line partially overlaps the broken line. In fig. 6, a black dot shows a target point of the vehicle 1.

As shown in fig. 6, it is assumed that water W is accumulated in the middle of the travel path of the vehicle 1, and the front wheels of the vehicle 1 enter the water W and slip. At this time, as shown in fig. 6, the vehicle 1 temporarily departs from the theoretical travel path R. The slip sensor SW9 (see fig. 5) detects a slip of the front wheels of the vehicle 1, and the position sensor SW5 (see fig. 5) detects that the vehicle 1 is out of the theoretical travel path R. The detection signal is input to the control devices 200 to 500 for each in-vehicle device. Then, for example, the brake microcomputer 300 operates the brake actuator 33 to increase the braking force of the front wheels. Furthermore, EPAS microcomputer 500 operates EPAS device 42 to return vehicle 1 to theoretical travel path R. At this time, the communication between the brake microcomputer 300 and the EPAS microcomputer 500 makes it possible to optimize the control amount of the EPAS device 42 in consideration of the braking force of the brake device 30. Thus, as shown in fig. 6, the vehicle 1 can be quickly and smoothly returned to the theoretical travel route R, and the travel of the vehicle 1 can be stabilized.

In this way, when an abnormality related to the running of the vehicle 1 is detected, the control amount for the running in-vehicle device for eliminating the abnormality is calculated by each of the in-vehicle device control devices 200 to 500 without passing through the arithmetic device 110, and the control signal is output to the running in-vehicle device, whereby the responsiveness of the running in-vehicle device to the environment outside the vehicle can be improved.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the present invention includes an arithmetic device 110 and in-vehicle device control devices 200 to 500, the in-vehicle device control devices 200 to 500 control the operation of a traveling in-vehicle device (injector 12 or the like) mounted on the vehicle 1 based on the arithmetic result of the arithmetic device 110, the arithmetic device 110 includes an external environment recognition unit 111, a route setting unit (candidate route generation unit 112 or the like), a vehicle motion determination unit 116, and physical quantity calculation units 117 to 119, the external environment recognition unit 111 recognizes the external environment based on the output from the camera 70 and the radar 71 which acquire the external environment information, the route setting unit (candidate route generation unit 112 or the like) sets a route to be traveled by the vehicle 1 based on the external environment recognized by the external environment recognition unit 111, the vehicle motion determination unit 116 determines the target motion of the vehicle 1 for traveling according to the route set by the route setting unit, the physical quantity calculation units 117 to 119 calculate a target physical quantity to be generated by the vehicle-mounted device for traveling in order to achieve the target motion determined by the vehicle motion determination unit 116, and the vehicle-mounted device control devices 200 to 500 calculate a control quantity for the vehicle-mounted device for traveling in order to achieve the target physical quantity calculated by the physical quantity calculation units 117 to 119, and output a control signal to the vehicle-mounted device for traveling. In this way, the operation of the computing device 110 is performed only until the physical quantity to be realized is calculated, and the actual control quantity for the vehicle-mounted device for traveling is calculated by the vehicle-mounted device control devices 200 to 500. This reduces the amount of calculation by the calculation device 110, and increases the calculation speed of the calculation device 110. In addition, the in-vehicle device control devices 200 to 500 need only calculate the actual control amount and output the control signal to the in-vehicle device for traveling, and therefore the processing speed is high. As a result, the responsiveness of the in-vehicle travel device to the environment outside the vehicle can be improved.

In particular, in the present embodiment, the vehicle exterior environment recognition unit 111 recognizes the vehicle exterior environment by deep learning, and therefore the amount of calculation by the calculation device 110 is particularly large. Therefore, if the control amount of the in-vehicle device for traveling is calculated by the in-vehicle device control devices 200 to 500 other than the arithmetic device 110, the effect of further improving the responsiveness of the in-vehicle device for traveling to the environment outside the vehicle can be more appropriately exhibited.

Other controls

When the vehicle 1 is driving-assisted, the driving force calculation unit 117, the braking force calculation unit 118, and the steering amount calculation unit 119 may change the target driving force or the like in accordance with the driver state of the vehicle 1. For example, when the driver enjoys a driving course (the emotion of the driver is "happy"), the target driving force or the like may be reduced to be as close as possible to manual driving. On the other hand, when the driver is in a state of physical discomfort or the like, the target driving force or the like may be increased to approach the autonomous driving as close as possible.

(other embodiments)

The technology disclosed herein is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various alternatives are possible without departing from the scope of the claims.

For example, in the above embodiment, the route determining unit 115 determines the route on which the vehicle 1 should travel. Not limited to this, the route determination unit 115 may be omitted, and the vehicle motion determination unit 116 may determine the route on which the vehicle 1 should travel. That is, the vehicle motion determination unit 116 may serve as part of the path setting unit and the target motion determination unit.

In the above embodiment, the target physical quantity such as the target driving force is calculated by the driving force calculation unit 117, the braking force calculation unit 118, and the steering amount calculation unit 119. Not limited to this, the driving force calculation unit 117, the braking force calculation unit 118, and the steering amount calculation unit 119 may be omitted, and the vehicle motion determination unit 116 may calculate the target physical amount. That is, the vehicle motion determination unit 116 may serve as both the target motion determination unit and the physical quantity calculation unit.

The described embodiments are merely examples and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure is defined by the scope of the claims, and any variations, modifications, and equivalents falling within the scope of the claims are included in the scope of the present disclosure.

Industrial applicability-

The technology disclosed herein is useful as a vehicle travel control device that controls travel of a vehicle.

-description of symbols-

1 vehicle

12 oil sprayer (vehicle device for driving and vehicle device related to power transmission)

13 spark plug (vehicle device for driving and vehicle device related to power transmission)

16 valve train (vehicle-mounted device for driving, vehicle-mounted device related to power transmission)

20 speed variator (vehicle device for driving and vehicle device related to power transmission)

33 brake actuator (vehicle device for driving and vehicle device related to brake)

42 EPAS device (vehicle-mounted device for traveling, steering-related vehicle-mounted device)

100 vehicle travel control device

110 arithmetic device

111 vehicle exterior environment recognition unit

112 candidate route generating part (route setting part)

113 vehicle behavior estimating unit (route setting unit)

114 occupant behavior estimating unit (route setting unit)

115 route determination unit (route setting unit)

116 vehicle motion determination unit (target motion determination unit)

117 drive force calculation unit (physical quantity calculation unit)

118 braking force calculation unit (physical quantity calculation unit)

119 steering amount calculation unit (physical amount calculation unit)

200 Power transmission ECU (control device for vehicle-mounted device)

300 brake microcomputer (control device for vehicle-mounted device)

400 DSC microcomputer (control device for vehicle-mounted device)

500 EPAS Microcomputer (control device for vehicle-mounted device)

SW5 position sensor (abnormality detector)

SW6 knock sensor (abnormality detector)

SW7 slip sensor (abnormality detector)