Vehicle control device

• US 10,261,516 B2
• Filed: 01/12/2018
• Issued: 04/16/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/24/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Sato, Kunihito, Ichikawa, Kentaro, Hirano, Maiko, Okumura, Bunyo
• Primary Examiner(s): McDieunel, Marc
• Application Number:
  US15/870,160
• Publication Number:
  US 20180210453A1
• Time in Patent Office: 459 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2552/30 Road curve radius
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/00 Purposes of road vehicle drive control systems not related to the control of a particular sub-unit, e.g. of systems using conjoint control of vehicle sub-units
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/12 Lane keeping
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/18145 Cornering
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/18163 Lane change; Overtaking manoeuvres
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/34 Route searching; Route guidance
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/36 Input/output arrangements for on-board computers
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0274 using mapping information stored in a memory device navigation using map-matching G01C21/30

Abstract

A vehicle control device includes a map database and at least one electronic control unit. The electronic control unit is configured to calculate a reference arrival position based on a target time or a target distance. The at least one electronic control unit is configured to determine, according to the map information or the external situation at the reference arrival position, as a target arrival position, a position where the vehicle arrives on the potential route in a time different from the target time or over a distance different from the target distance. The at least one electronic control unit is configured to calculate a transition route from the road position to the target arrival position, and generate the target route by connecting the transition route and the potential route following the target arrival position.

Claims

1. A vehicle control device comprising:

a map database that stores map information; and

at least one electronic control unit configured to

recognize a map position, the map position being a position of a vehicle on a map,

recognize an external situation of the vehicle and a road position, the road position being a position of the vehicle on a road,

recognize a traveling state of the vehicle,

generate a target route based on the map information, the map position, the external situation, and the traveling state,

cause the vehicle to travel based on the target route,

determine a potential route based on the map information,

calculate a reference arrival position based on a target time or a target distance, the road position, and the traveling state, the target time being a predetermined time required for the vehicle to arrive on the potential route, the target distance being a distance required for the vehicle to arrive on the potential route from the road position, the reference arrival position being a position where the vehicle arrives on the potential route from the road position using the target time or the target distance,

determine, according to the map information or the external situation at the reference arrival position, as a target arrival position, a position where the vehicle arrives on the potential route in a time different from the target time or over a distance different from the target distance,

calculate a transition route from the road position to the target arrival position, and

generate the target route by connecting the transition route and the potential route following the target arrival position.

2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein

the at least one electronic control unit is configured to, according to the map information or the external situation at the reference arrival position, determine, as the target arrival position, a position where the vehicle arrives on the potential route in a time shorter than the target time or over a distance shorter than the target distance.

3. The vehicle control device according to claim 2, wherein

the transition route includes a first half, the first half being from the road position to a predetermined point on a target route generated last time, and a second half, the second half being from the predetermined point to the target arrival position, and

the at least one electronic control unit is configured to generate the target route at a predetermined periodic interval and to calculate the second half.

4. The vehicle control device according to claim 2, wherein

the at least one electronic control unit is configured to

determine the reference arrival position as the target arrival position when a road curvature of the reference arrival position is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value, and

determine, as the target arrival position, the position where the vehicle arrives on the potential route in the time shorter than the target time or over the distance shorter than the target distance when the road curvature of the reference arrival position is larger than the predetermined value.

5. The vehicle control device according to claim 4, wherein

the at least one electronic control unit is configured to determine, as the target arrival position, a position on the potential route, at which road curvature is equal to or smaller than the predetermined value.

6. The vehicle control device according to claim 2, wherein

the at least one electronic control unit is configured to

determine the reference arrival position as the target arrival position when the number of other vehicles around the reference arrival position is equal to or smaller than a predetermined number of vehicles, and

determine, as the target arrival position, the position where the vehicle arrives on the potential route in the time shorter than the target time or over the distance shorter than the target distance, when the number of other vehicles around the reference arrival position is larger than the predetermined number of vehicles.

7. The vehicle control device according to claim 2, wherein

the at least one electronic control unit is configured to

determine the reference arrival position as the target arrival position when a road on which the vehicle is traveling is a freeway, and

determine, as the target arrival position, the position where the vehicle arrives on the potential route in the time shorter than the target time or over the distance shorter than the target distance when the road on which the vehicle is traveling is an open road.

8. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein

the at least one electronic control unit is configured to

generate a plurality of routes based on the map information, and

determine the potential route by selecting, according to the external situation, one route among the plurality of routes.

9. The vehicle control device according to claim 4, wherein

the map information includes a road curvature at a predetermined point on the potential route.

10. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, further comprising:

an actuator, wherein

the at least one electronic control unit is configured to cause the vehicle to travel autonomously using the actuator.