阅读说明：本技术 汽车行驶控制用运算装置及使用该运算装置的行驶控制系统 (Arithmetic device for controlling vehicle running and running control system using the same ) 是由 坂下真介 堀笼大介 石桥真人 宝神永一 于 2020-03-09 设计创作，主要内容包括：运算装置(110)包括车外环境认定部(111)、路径设定部(112～115)、车辆运动决定部(116)、驱动力计算部(117)、制动力计算部(118)、以及转向控制部(129)。车辆运动决定部(116)决定用于跟踪设定路径的目标运动。驱动力计算部(117)计算与目标运动对应的驱动力、制动力的目标物理量。转向控制部(129)计算与目标运动对应的转向量的目标物理量,将控制信号直接输出给转向部件,并且,将信息输出给驱动力计算部(117)及制动力计算部(118),该信息用于进行使驱动部件及制动部件与转向部件联系的控制。(The arithmetic device (110) is provided with an external environment recognition unit (111), path setting units (112-115), a vehicle motion determination unit (116), a driving force calculation unit (117), a braking force calculation unit (118), and a steering control unit (129). A vehicle motion determination unit (116) determines a target motion for tracking the set path. A driving force calculation unit (117) calculates a target physical quantity of a driving force and a braking force corresponding to the target motion. A steering control unit (129) calculates a target physical quantity of a steering amount corresponding to a target motion, outputs a control signal directly to the steering member, and outputs information for controlling the driving member and the braking member in relation to the steering member to a driving force calculation unit (117) and a braking force calculation unit (118).)

1. An arithmetic device for controlling the traveling of an automobile, comprising:

the arithmetic device for controlling the running of an automobile comprises an external environment recognition unit, a route setting unit, a target motion determination unit, a driving force calculation unit, a braking force calculation unit, and a steering control unit,

the outside-vehicle environment recognizing section recognizes the outside-vehicle environment based on an output from the information acquiring device that acquires the outside-vehicle environment information,

the route setting unit sets a route on which the vehicle should travel according to 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 automobile for tracking the path set by the path setting unit,

the driving force calculation unit calculates a target physical quantity corresponding to a driving force for realizing the target motion, and outputs the target physical quantity to a microcomputer that controls a driving member for generating the driving force,

the braking force calculation unit calculates a target physical quantity corresponding to a braking force for realizing the target motion, and outputs the target physical quantity to a microcomputer that controls a braking means that generates the braking force,

the steering control unit calculates a target physical quantity corresponding to a steering amount for achieving the target motion, generates a control signal for controlling a steering member that generates the steering amount based on the target physical quantity, directly outputs the control signal to the steering member, and outputs information for controlling the steering member to be in contact with the driving member and the braking member to the driving force calculation unit and the braking force calculation unit.

2. A travel control system that controls travel of an automobile, characterized in that:

the driving control system comprises a computing device, a driving microcomputer and a braking microcomputer,

the arithmetic device according to claim 1,

the drive microcomputer receives the output of the drive force calculation unit and controls the drive member,

the brake microcomputer receives the output of the braking force calculation unit and controls the brake member,

the drive microcomputer and the brake microcomputer are configured to be capable of communicating with each other and share information for performing control for bringing the drive member into contact with the brake member.

Technical Field

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

Background

Conventionally, there is known an automobile running control apparatus that controls a plurality of running in-vehicle devices mounted on an automobile.

For example, patent document 1 discloses, as an automobile running control apparatus, a control system in which a plurality of in-vehicle devices are divided into a plurality of domains (domains) in advance according to their functions, the domains are layered into a device control unit for controlling the in-vehicle devices and a domain control unit for controlling a collective device control unit, and the control system includes a collective control unit which is positioned at a higher level than the domain control units and which collectively controls the domain control units.

In patent document 1, the device control unit calculates a control amount for 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 in the country. In an automatic driving system, generally, vehicle exterior environment information is acquired by using a camera or the like, and a route on which an automobile should travel is calculated from the acquired vehicle exterior environment information. In the automatic driving system, each of the travel members is controlled to follow a route to be traveled.

Here, the tracking of the travel route is performed by adjusting physical quantities (driving force, steering amount) generated using the respective travel members. In this case, in order to avoid discomfort to the driver due to rapid acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle, it is necessary to calculate each physical quantity for realizing optimal motion of the vehicle at every instant. That is, it is necessary to increase the processing speed for the vehicle behavior control and to improve the accuracy of the vehicle behavior control. On the other hand, a control path (control path) for vehicle control needs to be as simple as possible.

The technology disclosed herein is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has an object to: in an automobile running control device, both speeding up of a processing speed of vehicle behavior control and simplification of a control route can be achieved.

Technical solution for solving technical problem

In order to solve the above-described problems, the technology disclosed herein is directed to an arithmetic device for controlling the traveling of an automobile, comprising: an external environment recognition unit that recognizes an external environment based on an output from an information acquisition device that acquires external environment information, a path setting unit that sets a path along which the automobile should travel based on the external environment recognized by the external environment recognition unit, a target motion determination unit that determines a target motion of the automobile for following the path set by the path setting unit, a driving force calculation unit that calculates a target physical quantity corresponding to a driving force for realizing the target motion and outputs the target physical quantity to a microcomputer that controls a driving member that generates the driving force, a braking force calculation unit that calculates a target physical quantity corresponding to a braking force for realizing the target motion, and a steering control unit, and a steering control unit that calculates a target physical quantity corresponding to a steering amount for realizing the target motion, generates a control signal for controlling the steering member that generates the steering amount based on the target physical quantity, directly outputs the control signal to the steering member, and outputs information for controlling the steering member, the driving member, and the braking member to be linked to each other to the driving force calculation unit and the braking force calculation unit.

Here, the term "component" in the present specification means devices such as actuators (actuators) and sensors to be controlled during the running of the automobile.

In the automatic driving technique, a vehicle control device of a simple form can be conceived as follows: a Central Processing Unit (CPU) receives functions of a microcomputer for controlling components (actuators, sensors, and the like) used for automatic driving, and concentrates the processing functions and the control functions in the processing unit, and the processing unit acquires information from each component via a communication network in a vehicle or directly controls each component. However, in a traveling member (for example, including a driving member such as an engine, a braking member, and a steering member) which requires high-speed response, if a command from an arithmetic device transmitted via a communication network is waited for, control may be insufficient. In this aspect, the present invention is configured such that: (1) the driving force calculation unit and the braking force calculation unit that calculate a target physical quantity are provided in the arithmetic device for the driving member and the braking member, and the target physical quantity is output to a microcomputer that controls each member, (2) the steering control unit that outputs a control signal for the steering member is taken into the arithmetic device for the steering member that becomes the starting point of the vehicle motion, and (3) the steering control unit outputs information for controlling the driving force calculation unit and the braking force calculation unit to connect the driving member and the braking member. In this way, in this aspect, both the high-speed response of the travel member and the simplification of the control route can be achieved by incorporating the Steering control unit, which directly outputs the control signal to the Steering member (for example, an Electronic Power Assist Steering (EPAS) device) that becomes the starting point of the vehicle motion among the travel members, into the arithmetic device.

Further, since the steering amount is configured to directly control the steering member, the processing can be speeded up compared to a case where only the target physical amount is calculated by the calculation device and the calculation result is output to the steering amount control microcomputer to be processed.

In addition, the present disclosure is directed to an automobile travel control system including the arithmetic device, including: an arithmetic device, a driving microcomputer, and a braking microcomputer, wherein the arithmetic device is the arithmetic device according to claim 1, the driving microcomputer receives an output of the driving force calculation unit and controls the driving means, and the braking microcomputer receives an output of the braking force calculation unit and controls the braking means, and the driving microcomputer and the braking microcomputer are configured to be able to communicate with each other and share information for performing control for bringing the driving means into contact with the braking means.

According to this configuration, the control relating to the steering is incorporated into the arithmetic device, while the operations of the driving member and the braking member are controlled via the microcomputer, and the two microcomputers are connected. That is, the arithmetic device is responsible for steering in which the control becomes the operation starting point of the automobile and the element of the reflection operation is relatively small, and on the other hand, the control of the driving member and the braking member, which may be required to perform the reflection operation, is realized by the control using the conventional microcomputer. This enables optimal control according to various scenes and behaviors of the vehicle.

Effects of the invention

As described above, according to the technology disclosed herein, in the vehicle travel control device, both high-speed responsiveness of the travel member and simplification of the control route can be achieved.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of an automobile controlled by an automobile running control system according to an exemplary embodiment;

fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of an engine;

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

fig. 4 is a block diagram showing a control system of an automobile.

Detailed Description

Exemplary embodiments are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the present embodiment, "component" means devices such as actuators and sensors to be controlled during traveling of the automobile 1. For example, the "components" include devices related to the running of the vehicle, such as a combustion injection valve, an ignition plug, and a brake actuator (brake actuator), and the details will be described later.

Fig. 1 schematically shows an automobile 1 controlled by an automobile running control system 100 (hereinafter referred to as a running control system 100) according to the present embodiment. The automobile 1 is an automobile that can be driven manually, by assisting driving in driving the automobile 1 in accordance with an operation of a driver such as an accelerator, and automatically, by assisting the operation of the driver in driving the automobile 1, and by assisting driving in driving the automobile 1 without an operation of the driver.

The automobile 1 includes: an engine 10 as a driving source having a plurality of (four in the present embodiment) cylinders 11; a transmission 20 coupled to the engine 10; a brake device 30 for braking rotation of a front wheel 50 as a drive wheel; and a steering device 40 that steers front wheels 50 as steered wheels.

The engine 10 is, for example, a gasoline engine. As shown in fig. 2, an injector 12 for supplying fuel into each cylinder 11 and an ignition plug 13 for igniting a mixture of fuel and intake air supplied into each cylinder 11 are provided in each cylinder 11 of the engine 10. Each cylinder 11 of the engine 10 is further provided with an intake valve 14, an exhaust valve 15, and a valve train group 16 that adjusts opening and closing operations of the intake valve 14 and the exhaust valve 15. The engine 10 is provided with a piston 17 that reciprocates in the cylinder 11, and a crankshaft 18 connected to the piston 17 via a connecting rod. The 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 drive components that are power train related components.

The transmission 20 is, for example, a stepped automatic transmission. The transmission 20 is disposed on one side in the bank direction of the engine 10. 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 changed in speed by the transmission 20 and transmitted to the front wheel 50. The transmission 20 is an example of a drive member that is a power train-related member.

The engine 10 and the transmission 20 are power transmission devices that generate driving force for running the automobile 1. The operations of engine 10 and transmission 20 are controlled by a power train ecu (electric Control unit)200 (corresponding to a drive microcomputer). For example, when the automobile 1 is in a manual driving state, the power train ECU200 controls the fuel injection amount and the fuel injection timing of the injector 12, the ignition timing of the ignition plug 13, the timing and the period of opening of the intake valve 14 and the exhaust valve 15 of the valve train group 16, and the like based on the detection values of the accelerator opening sensor SW1 and the like, and the accelerator opening sensor SW1 detects the accelerator opening corresponding to the operation amount of the accelerator pedal of the driver. Further, when the automobile 1 is in the manual drive state, the power train ECU200 adjusts the gear engagement position of the transmission 20 based on the required driving force calculated from the accelerator opening degree based on the detection result of the shift position sensor SW2, which detects the operation of the shift lever by the driver, the shift position sensor SW 2. When the automobile 1 is in the drive-assist state or the automatic driving state, the power train ECU200 basically calculates control amounts for the respective driving members (here, the injectors 12 and the like) to achieve the target driving force calculated by the arithmetic device 110 described later, and outputs control signals to the respective driving members. Powertrain ECU200 is an example of a component control 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, an anti-lock Braking System (ABS) device 36 for adjusting a Braking force, and a brake pad 37 for actually Braking rotation of the front wheel 50. A brake disk 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, and operates the brake pad 37 via the booster 34 and the master cylinder 35. The brake device 30 sandwiches the brake disc 52 with the brake pad 37, and brakes the rotation of the front wheel 50 by the frictional force generated between the brake pad 37 and the brake disc 52. The brake actuator 33 and the ABS device 36 are examples of brake components that are brake-related components.

The operation of the brake device 30 is controlled by a brake microcomputer 300 (brake microcomputer) and a DSC microcomputer 400. For example, when the automobile 1 is in a manual driving state, the brake microcomputer 300 controls the operation amount of the brake actuator 33 based on the detection value of the brake sensor SW3 or the like, and the brake sensor SW3 detects the operation amount of the brake pedal 31 by the driver. The DSC microcomputer 400 controls the operation of the DSC device 36 regardless of the operation of the brake pedal 31 by the driver, and applies a braking force to the front wheels 50. When the automobile 1 is in the driving-assist state or the automatic driving state, the brake microcomputer 300 calculates a control amount for each brake member (here, the brake actuator 33) to achieve a target braking force calculated by the arithmetic device 110 described later, and outputs a control signal to each brake member. The brake microcomputer 300 and the DSC microcomputer 400 are examples of the component control 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 device 42 for assisting the driver in steering, and a pinion shaft 43 coupled 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 operates the EPAS device 42 in accordance with the operation amount of the steering wheel 41, 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 bar, not shown, and the rotation of the pinion shaft 43 is transmitted to the front wheel via the rack bar. The operation amount of the steering wheel 41 is detected by a steering angle sensor SW4 and sent to the steering control unit 129 of the computing device 110. The EPAS device 42 is an example of a steering member that is a steering-related member.

The steering device 40 is configured to control the operation amount of the electric motor 42a in accordance with the operation amount of the steering wheel 41 when the automobile 1 is in the manual driving state. When the automobile 1 is in the assist drive state or the automatic drive state, a control signal for controlling the steering member (here, the EPAS device 42) is output from the steering control unit 129 of the arithmetic device 110 described later to the steering member driver 500. The operation amount of the electric motor 42a is controlled in accordance with a control signal of the steering member driver 500.

In the present embodiment, power train ECU200 and brake microcomputer 300 are configured to be able to communicate with each other, and details will be described later. In the following description, power train ECU200 and brake microcomputer 300 may be simply referred to as a component control device.

In the present embodiment, the travel control system 100 includes the arithmetic device 110, and the arithmetic device 110 calculates a route along which the automobile 1 should travel so as to enable the assist driving and the automatic driving, and determines a motion for tracking the route. The arithmetic device 110 is a microprocessor composed of one or more chips, and includes a CPU, a memory, and the like.

In the configuration example of fig. 3, the arithmetic device 110 includes a processor and a memory. The memory stores a module that is software executable by the processor. The functions of the respective parts of the arithmetic device 110 shown in fig. 4 are realized by, for example, a processor executing the respective modules stored in the memory. The memory stores data of a model used in the arithmetic unit 110. The number of processors and the number of memories may be plural.

As shown in fig. 4, the arithmetic unit 110 determines a target motion of the automobile 1 based on outputs from a plurality of sensors and the like, and controls the operation of the components. Fig. 4 shows a configuration for performing the functions (path generation functions described later) according to the present embodiment, and does not show all the functions of the arithmetic device 110.

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 automobile 1 and that capture an environment outside the vehicle; a plurality of radars 71 which are provided on a vehicle body or the like of the automobile 1 and detect a person, an object, and the like outside the vehicle; a position sensor SW5 for detecting the position of the automobile 1 (automobile position information) by a Global Positioning System (GPS); a vehicle state sensor SW6 configured from outputs of sensors for detecting the behavior of the vehicle, 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 automobile 1. The vehicle exterior communication unit 72 receives communication information from another vehicle located in the periphery of the own vehicle or traffic information from the navigation system, and inputs the communication information to the arithmetic device 110.

The cameras 70 are respectively arranged so as to be able to photograph the surroundings of the automobile 1 in the horizontal direction by 360 °. 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 an information acquisition device that acquires environment information outside the vehicle.

The image data acquired by each camera 70 is input to a Human Machine Interface (HMI) unit 600 in addition to the arithmetic device 110. The HMI unit 600 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 automobile 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 device that acquires environment information outside the vehicle.

During the assist driving or the automatic driving, the arithmetic device 110 sets a travel route of the automobile 1 and sets a target motion of the automobile 1 so that the automobile 1 follows the travel route. In order to set the target motion of the automobile 1, the arithmetic device 110 includes an external environment recognizing unit 111, a candidate route generating unit 112, a vehicle behavior estimating unit 113, an occupant behavior estimating unit 114, a route determining unit 115, and a vehicle motion determining unit 116. 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 on which the automobile 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 automobile 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 automobile 1 based on the output from the occupant state sensor SW 7. The route determination unit 115 determines a route on which the automobile 1 should travel. The vehicle motion determination unit 116 determines a target motion for tracking the path set by the path determination unit 115.

The arithmetic device 110 includes a driving force calculation unit 117, a braking force calculation unit 118, and a steering control unit 129. The driving force calculation portion 117 calculates a target physical quantity corresponding to the driving force for achieving the target motion determined by the vehicle motion determination portion 116. The braking force calculation unit 118 calculates a target physical quantity corresponding to a braking force for realizing a target motion determined by the vehicle motion determination unit 116. The steering control unit 129 includes a steering amount calculation unit 119, and the steering amount calculation unit 119 calculates a target physical amount corresponding to a steering amount for realizing a target motion determined by the vehicle motion determination unit 116. The steering control unit 129 generates a control signal for controlling the steering member, and directly outputs the control signal to the steering member driver 500. The concept of a steering component as used in this disclosure includes components that directly drive the steering component, such as steering component driver 500, in addition to the steering related actuator that includes EPAS device 42.

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 automobile 1 should travel, based on the external environment recognized by the external environment recognition unit 111.

Further, the arithmetic device 110 has, as a security function: a route generation unit 120 that recognizes an object outside the vehicle according to a predetermined rule and generates a travel route avoiding the object; and a backup unit 130 that generates a travel route for guiding the automobile 1 to a safe area such as a shoulder.

< 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 automobile 1, and recognizes the vehicle exterior environment. The identified out-of-vehicle 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 automobile 1.

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 around the automobile 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 automobile 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 an automobile environment including roads and obstacles by comparing the generated three-dimensional map with the external environment model. In Deep learning, a multilayer Neural Network (DNN) is used. As the multilayer Neural Network, for example, a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) is known.

< candidate Path Generation part >

The route candidate generation unit 112 generates a route candidate on which the automobile 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 related to a lane on which the automobile 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 shape of the lane includes the shape of the lane (straight line, curved line curvature), the width of the lane, the number of lanes, the width of each lane, and the like. The information on the object includes a relative position and a relative speed of the object with respect to the automobile, an attribute (a type and a moving direction) of the object, and the like. Examples of the types of objects include: cars, 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 route candidate generation unit 112 sets a virtual grid region on the roadway based on the roadway information. The grid region has a plurality of grid points. The position on the roadway is determined from the grid points. 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 in front of the traveling direction of the vehicle. 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 passing through each grid point, speed information relating to the speed, acceleration, and the like at each grid point, information relating to the motion of other cars, 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 section >

The vehicle behavior estimation unit 113 measures the state of the automobile based on the outputs of sensors that detect the behavior of the automobile, 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 automobile.

Here, the six-axis vehicle model is obtained by modeling the acceleration in the three-axis directions of "front-back", "right-left", "up-down" and the angular velocity in the three-axis directions of "pitch", "roll" and "yaw" of the running vehicle. That is, this model does not capture the motion of the vehicle only on the plane of the classical vehicle kinematics (only the front-back left-right (X-Y movement) and yaw movement (Z axis) of the vehicle), but also captures the motion of the vehicle using the pitch (Y axis) and roll (X axis) movements of the vehicle body mounted on four wheels through suspensions, and the movement of the Z axis (up-down movement of the vehicle body), that is, shares six axes in total to reproduce the vehicle behavior.

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

[ occupant 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 who may become a driver of the automobile 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 114 measures biological information of the driver based on an output of the biological information sensor. In this case, the human model outputs health status and emotional information for each person who may become a driver of the automobile 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 are output by the human model.

Further, as the human model, the following model may also be used: each person who may become a driver of the automobile 1 estimates the emotion of the human being held in the behavior of the automobile 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 behavior of the vehicle.

The occupant behavior estimation unit 114 may use a human model as the human model. The human body model specifies, for example, a head mass (for example, 5kg) and a muscle 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 to estimate a change in the behavior of the vehicle due to the current state of health or emotion of the driver.

< route determination part >

The route determination unit 115 determines a route on which the automobile 1 should travel, based on the output of the occupant behavior estimation unit 114. When the route generated by the route candidate generation unit 112 is one route, the route determination unit 115 determines the route as a route on which the automobile 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.

< route generation part based on rule >

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 m 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 shoulder of a road or the like when a sensor or the like fails or when the occupant is in poor condition, based on the outputs from the camera 70 and the radar 71. The backup unit 130 sets a safety zone in which the automobile 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 determining 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 tracking a travel path. The vehicle motion determination unit 116 refers to the vehicle six-axis model, and calculates the motion of the vehicle body with respect to the travel route selected by the route determination unit 115.

The vehicle motion determination unit 116 determines a target motion for tracking 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 tracking 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 automobile 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 automobile 1 should travel.

< physical quantity calculating part >

The physical quantity calculation unit is composed of a driving force calculation unit 117 and a braking force calculation unit 118. The driving force calculation unit 117 calculates a target driving force to be generated by the power transmission device (the engine 10 and the transmission 20) 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.

< steering control part >

The steering control unit 129 includes a steering amount calculation unit 119, the steering amount calculation unit 119 calculating a target steering amount to be generated by the steering device 40 to achieve the target motion, and the steering control unit 129 generates a control signal for controlling the steering member based on the target steering amount calculated by the steering amount calculation unit 119. An output signal from the steering control unit 129 is input to a steering member driver 500, and the steering member driver 500 drives a steering member (for example, the EPAS device 42).

The steering control unit 129 is configured to output information for controlling the "steering member" to be linked with the "driving member and braking member" to the driving force calculation unit 117 and the braking force calculation unit 118. That is, the steering control unit 129 is configured to share the physical quantity calculated by the steering amount calculation unit 119 and/or the control information of the steering member by the steering control unit with the driving force calculation unit 117 and the braking force calculation unit 118. In this way, the steering control unit 129 is configured to be able to calculate each target physical quantity so as to be able to perform control to coordinate each travel member.

Thus, for example, when the road surface is in a state of being easy to slip, so-called traction control in which the rotational driving force of the wheel needs to be reduced can be appropriately handled so as to avoid the wheel spin. Specifically, in order to suppress the spin of the wheels, there are methods of reducing the output of the power train or the braking force by the brake device 30. In the present embodiment, driving force calculation unit 117 and braking force calculation unit 118 set both the driving force generated by the power train and the braking force generated by brake device 30 to optimum values, thereby making it possible to stabilize the running of the automobile.

When the automobile 1 turns, the driving force calculation unit 117 calculates the target driving force based on the driving state of the automobile (the driving state determined by the vehicle motion determination unit 116), calculates the amount of reduction in driving force based on the target steering amount calculated by the steering amount calculation unit 119, and calculates the final target driving force of the automobile based on the target driving force and the amount of reduction in driving force, thereby making it possible to decelerate the automobile 1 in accordance with the target steering amount. This allows the roll to be generated in synchronization with the pitch of the downward movement of the front portion of the automobile 1, thereby generating a tilted forward roll (diagonall) posture. By generating the tilted forward roll attitude, the load applied to the outer front wheel 50 is increased, and the vehicle can be steered at a small steering angle, and the rolling resistance applied to the vehicle 1 can be reduced.

The following control can also be performed: for example, when the steering angle is changed during turning, for example, when it is assumed that the road surface state is likely to slip as the road surface state recognized by the vehicle exterior environment recognition unit 111 (for example, rainy weather or the like), it is assumed that understeer (under step) in which the traveling line bulges outward occurs, and therefore, the output of the engine 10 is reduced and the inner wheels are braked to suppress lateral slip of the front wheels. In contrast, the following control can be performed: when the grip of the tire on the road surface is stronger than expected (for example, when the road surface is very new on a sunny day) as the road surface state recognized by the vehicle exterior environment recognition unit 111, it is possible to assume that an oversteer (over step) in which the traveling line is drawn inward occurs, and therefore, the lateral slip of the rear wheel is suppressed by braking the outer wheel.

< peripheral component operation setting part >

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

< output destination of arithmetic device >

The calculation result of calculation device 110 is output to power train ECU200, brake microcomputer 300, steering member driver 500, and vehicle body system microcomputer 700. Specifically, information on the target driving force calculated by the driving force calculation unit 117 is input to the power train ECU200, and information on the target braking force calculated by the braking force calculation unit 118 is input to the brake microcomputer 300. Further, a control signal from the steering control unit 129 is input to the steering member driver 500, and information on the operation of each vehicle body-related member set by the peripheral member operation setting unit 140 is input to the vehicle body system microcomputer 700.

As described above, power train ECU200 calculates the fuel injection timing of injector 12 and the ignition timing of ignition plug 13 to achieve the target driving force, and outputs control signals to the above-described running components. The brake microcomputer 300 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 steering member driver 500 drives the EPAS device 42 in accordance with a control signal from the steering control section 129.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the calculation device 110 calculates the target physical quantities to be output by the drive unit and the brake unit with respect to the drive unit and the brake unit among the drive unit, the brake unit, and the steering unit, the power train ECU200 calculates the control quantity for the drive unit, and the brake microcomputer 300 calculates the control quantity for the brake unit.

In this way, the arithmetic device 110 calculates a rough target physical quantity according to the external environment and causes the power train ECU200 and the brake microcomputer 300 to perform final control, thereby enabling automatic driving according to the external environment and enabling the power train ECU200 and the brake microcomputer 300 to perform control that requires immediate responsiveness according to the behavior of the vehicle. Thus, the following effects can be achieved in the whole automobile: the optimal target motion at each time is determined and indicated to a microcomputer, and the microcomputer is made to perform processing by individually determining the motion for the processing requiring immediate responsiveness. For example, in the case where the arithmetic device 110 is disposed in a vehicle cabin or a trunk or the like, and the power train ECU200 is disposed in the vicinity of a component to be driven by the power train ECU200 and the brake microcomputer 300 is disposed in the vicinity of a component to be driven by the brake microcomputer 300, the communication speed with each other may become a bottleneck for immediate responsiveness. In contrast, with the configuration of the present application, it is possible to realize control that is independent of the communication speed between computing device 110 and power train ECU200 and brake microcomputer 300, that is, to realize both optimal control and immediate response control.

The steering control unit 129 of the computing device 110 is configured to calculate a target physical quantity to be output by the steering member among the driving member, the braking member, and the steering member, generate a control signal for realizing the target physical quantity, and directly control the steering member driver 500.

In this way, since the control relating to the steering, which is referred to as the operation start point of the automobile, is taken into the arithmetic device 110, the control signal for controlling the steering member is generated, and the target physical quantity and the control information relating to the control are output to the driving force calculation unit 117 and the braking force calculation unit 118, the accuracy of the control of each actuator can be improved.

Further, since the steering control unit 129 is configured to directly control the steering member, the processing can be speeded up compared to a case where only the target physical quantity is calculated by the calculation device 110 and the calculation result is output to the steering quantity control microcomputer to be processed.

In general, the steering member has the following features in comparison with the driving member and the braking member: the immediate response speed to be achieved as the immediate response control is low. Therefore, even when the arithmetic device 110 is installed at a position distant from the steering member, if the communication speed between the steering member and the arithmetic device reaches the current communication speed or the future communication speed of the vehicle-mounted member, the configuration of the present invention can sufficiently achieve the immediate response of the steering member.

< other controls >

When the automobile 1 is in the driving-assist state, the driving force calculation unit 117, the braking force calculation unit 118, and the steering control unit 129 may change the target driving force or the like in accordance with the state of the driver of the automobile 1. For example, when the driver enjoys driving (the emotion of the driver is "happy"), the target driving force or the like may also be reduced as close as possible to manual driving. On the other hand, if the driver is in a state of poor physical condition, the target driving force may be increased to approach the automatic driving as much as possible.

(other embodiments)

The technology disclosed herein is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be replaced within the scope not departing from the gist of the claims.

For example, in the above embodiment, the route determination unit 115 determines the route on which the automobile 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 automobile 1 should travel. That is, the vehicle motion determination unit 116 may also serve as part of the path determination unit and the target motion determination unit.

The above embodiments are merely examples and should not be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims, and all changes and modifications that fall within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are intended to be embraced therein.

Industrial applicability-

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

-description of symbols-

1 automobile

100 automobile running control system

110 arithmetic device

111 vehicle exterior environment recognition unit

112 route calculation unit (route setting unit)

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)

129 steering control unit

200 Power train ECU (drive microcomputer)

300 brake microcomputer (brake microcomputer)

500 steering component driver (steering component)