VEHICLE SYSTEM

• US 20160207537A1
• Filed: 01/15/2016
• Published: 07/21/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/19/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: ICHIKAWA, Kentaro, URANO, Hiromitsu, SUGAIWA, Taisuke, KINDO, Toshiki
• Granted Patent: US 10,227,073 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/007 Switching between manual and automatic parameter input, and vice versa
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/143 Alarm means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/146 Display means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/403 Image sensing, e.g. optical camera
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/408 Radar; Laser, e.g. lidar
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2510/202 Steering torque
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/10 Longitudinal speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/105 Longitudinal acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/125 Lateral acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/00 Input parameters relating to occupants
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/10 Accelerator pedal position
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/12 Brake pedal position
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/18 Steering angle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/801 Lateral distance
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2555/00 Input parameters relating to exterior conditions, not covered by groups B60W2552/00, B60W2554/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2900/00 Indexing codes relating to the purpose of, or problem solved of road vehicle drive control systems not otherwise provided for in groups B60W30/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/082 Selecting or switching between different modes of propelling
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/10 Interpretation of driver requests or demands
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/16 Tactile feedback to the driver, e.g. vibration or force feedback to the driver on the steering wheel or the accelerator pedal
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 60/0055 : only part of driving tasks shifted to occupants
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 60/0059 : Estimation of the risk associated with autonomous or manual driving, e.g. situation too complex, sensor failure or driver incapacity
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 1/286 : Systems for interrupting non-mechanical steering due to driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/025 : Active steering aids, e.g. helping the driver by actively influencing the steering system after environment evaluation B62D1/28 takes precedence

Abstract

A vehicle system includes a driving operation information acquisition unit acquiring an operation amount of a driver'"'"'s driving operation, a driving state switching unit switching a driving state of a vehicle between a first driving state and a second driving state based on a relationship between the operation amount and a first threshold, the first driving state including at least one of an autonomous driving state and a cooperative driving state, and the second driving state allowing the driver'"'"'s driving operation to be reflected in the traveling of the vehicle, and a notification unit notifying a driver of a relationship between the first threshold and a state of the operation amount.

Claims

1. A vehicle system comprising:

a driving operation information acquisition unit configured to acquire an operation amount of a driving operation;

a driving state switching unit configured to switch a driving state of a vehicle between a first driving state and a second driving state based on a relationship between the operation amount and a first threshold; and

a notification unit,

the first driving state including at least one of;

an autonomous driving state where traveling of the vehicle is controlled by using a traveling plan generated based on peripheral information regarding the vehicle and map information; and

a cooperative driving state where the vehicle travels with a vehicle control based on the peripheral information regarding the vehicle and the driving operation working in tandem with each other, the second driving state allowing the driving operation to be reflected in the traveling of the vehicle; and

the notification unit is configured to notify a driver of a relationship between the first threshold and a state of the operation amount.

2. The vehicle system according to claim 1, wherein

the notification unit includes a display configured to display the relationship between the first threshold and the state of the operation amount.

3. The vehicle system according to claim 1, wherein

the operation amount includes at least one of a steering operation, an accelerator operation, and a brake operation of the vehicle.

4. The vehicle system according to claim 1, wherein

the driving state switching unit is configured to switch the vehicle to the second state in response to the operation amount becoming greater than or equal to the first threshold in a case where the vehicle is in the first driving state.

5. The vehicle system according to claim 1, wherein

the notification unit includes a display configured to display the relationship between the first threshold and the state of the operation amount,

the operation amount includes at least one of a steering operation, an accelerator operation, and a brake operation of the vehicle, and

the driving state switching unit is configured to switch the vehicle to the second state in response to the operation amount becoming greater than or equal to the first threshold in a case where the vehicle is in the first driving state.

6. The vehicle system according to claim 1, wherein

the first driving state includes both the autonomous driving state and the cooperative driving state,

the driving state switching unit is configured to:

switch, in a case where the vehicle is in the autonomous driving state, the vehicle to the cooperative driving state in response the operation amount becoming greater than or equal to a second threshold and less than the first threshold;

switch, in a case where the vehicle is in the cooperative driving state, the vehicle to the autonomous driving state in response to the operation amount becoming less than the second threshold; and

switch, in a case where the driving state of the vehicle is the cooperative driving state, the vehicle to the second driving state in response to the operation amount becoming greater than or equal to the first threshold, and

the notification unit is configured to notify a state of the operation amount with respect to the first threshold and the second threshold.

7. A vehicle system comprising:

a driving state switching unit configured to switch a driving state of a vehicle between a first driving state and a second driving state on a basis of an operation amount and a first threshold value related to the operation amount, in the first driving state the vehicle autonomously controls at least one of a steering operation, an acceleration operation, and breaking operation, and in the second driving state a driver of the vehicle controls the steering operation, the acceleration operation, and the breaking operation,

a notification unit configured to notify the driver of a relationship between the first threshold value and the operation amount.

8. The vehicle system according to claim 7, wherein in response to the driving state being the first driving state and the operation amount exceeding the first threshold value, the driving state switching unit switches the driving state to the second driving state.

9. The vehicle system according to claim 7, wherein the notification unit includes a display configured to display the operation amount as a variable value, and in response to the operation amount exceeding the first threshold value on the display and the driving state being the first driving state, the driving state switching unit switches the driving state of the vehicle from the first driving state to the second driving state.

10. The vehicle system according to claim 7, wherein the first driving state includes an autonomous driving state where the vehicle autonomously controls each of the steering operation, the acceleration operation, and the breaking operation, and a cooperative driving state where the vehicle autonomously controls only one or two of the steering operation, the acceleration operation, and the breaking operation, and

the driving state switching unit switches the driving state between the cooperative driving state and the autonomous driving state based on a changing value of the operation amount that is less than the first threshold value.

11. The vehicle system according to claim 10, wherein the driving state switching unit switches the driving state to the cooperative driving state, in response to the driving state being the first driving state and the operation amount being greater than a second threshold value that is less than the first threshold value.

12. The vehicle system according to claim 11, wherein the driving state switching unit switches the driving state to the autonomous driving state, in response to the driving state being the cooperative driving state and the operation amount being less than a third threshold value that is less than the second threshold value.