Vehicle control device

• US 10,152,835 B2
• Filed: 11/10/2017
• Issued: 12/11/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/05/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Hizaki, Masaya, Yamada, Takuji
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham, Toan N
• Application Number:
  US15/809,563
• Publication Number:
  US 20180158262A1
• Time in Patent Office: 396 Days
• Field of Search: 340457, 3409951, 34099513, 34099517, 34099519, 34099524, 701 23, 701117
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 9/00 Arrangement or adaptation of signal devices not provided for in one of main groups B60Q1/00 - B60Q7/00 , e.g. haptic signalling
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 9/008 for anti-collision purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3697 Output of additional, non-guidance related information, e.g. low fuel level G01C21/3679 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0825 using optical means

Abstract

A vehicle control device that is applied to a vehicle including a driving support device that executes driving support based on an instruction for use or nonuse of a user includes an electronic control unit, the electronic control unit is configured to execute a destination information acquisition process, a path information acquisition process of acquiring path information, a section setting process of setting a notification available section, an operation information acquisition process of acquiring information on the presence or absence of a user operation, and a notification process of performing a notification to request the user to operate an information providing device and use the driving support device.

Claims

1. A vehicle control device that is applied to a vehicle including a driving support device configured to execute driving support based on an instruction for use or nonuse of a user, the vehicle control device comprising an electronic control unit configured to :

execute a destination information acquisition process of acquiring information on a destination of the vehicle,

execute a path information acquisition process of acquiring path information that is information on a path from a current position of the vehicle to the destination,

execute a section setting process of setting a section on the path from the current position of the vehicle to the destination as a notification available section on condition that a driving load in the section is not equal to or higher than a predetermined level based on the path information,

execute an operation information acquisition process of acquiring information on presence or absence of a user operation of an accessory device that is an electronic device other than a powertrain system and a chassis system of the vehicle, and

execute a notification process of performing a notification to request the user to operate an information providing device that provides information and use the driving support device on condition that a logical product of the vehicle entering the notification available section and the user not operating the accessory device is true when the user does not instruct to use the driving support device.

2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein an execution period of the path information acquisition process and the section setting process is longer than the execution period of the operation information acquisition process.

3. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein:

the path information includes information on at least one of merging and branching of a lane; and

the electronic control unit is configured to set a section that includes neither the merging nor the branching as the notification available section in the section setting process.

4. The vehicle control device according to claim 3, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to regard the driving load to be equal to or higher than the predetermined level by the vehicle reaching the at least one of the merging and the branching, and set a section within a predetermined distance from a portion in which there is the at least one of the merging and the branching as a notification prohibition section that is a section in which the notification process is prohibited in the section setting process.

5. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein:

the path information includes information on a section of at least one of a road having a gradient equal to or greater than a predetermined value and a road having a curve with a curvature equal to or greater than a predetermined value; and

the electronic control unit is configured to set a section that has neither the road having the gradient equal to or greater than the predetermined value nor the road having the curve with the curvature equal to or greater than the predetermined value as the notification available section in the section setting process.

6. The vehicle control device according to claim 5, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to regard the driving load to be equal to or higher than the predetermined level by the vehicle traveling on the at least one of the road having the gradient equal to or greater than the predetermined value and the road having the curve with the curvature equal to or greater than the predetermined value, and set a section that has the at least one of the road having the gradient equal to or greater than the predetermined value and the road having the curve with the curvature equal to or greater than the predetermined value as a notification prohibition section that is a section in which the notification process is prohibited in the section setting process.

7. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein:

the path information includes information on a section in which an amount of rain is equal to or larger than a predetermined amount; and

the electronic control unit is configured to set a section in which the amount of rain is not equal to or larger than the predetermined amount as the notification available section in the section setting process.

8. The vehicle control device according to claim 7, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to regard the driving load to be equal to or higher than the predetermined level by the vehicle traveling in the section in which the amount of rain is equal to or larger than the predetermined amount, and set the section in which the amount of rain is equal to or larger than the predetermined amount as a notification prohibition section that is a section in which the notification process is prohibited in the section setting process.

9. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein:

the path information includes information on at least one of a section with lane regulation and a section with traffic regulation; and

the electronic control unit is configured to set a section that has neither the section with lane regulation nor the section with traffic regulation as the notification available section in the section setting process.

10. The vehicle control device according to claim 9, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to regard the driving load to be equal to or higher than the predetermined level by the vehicle reaching the at least one of the section with lane regulation and the section with traffic regulation, and set a section having the at least one of the section with lane regulation and the section with traffic regulation as a notification prohibition section that is a section in which the notification process is prohibited in the section setting process.

11. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the accessory device includes at least one of a navigation system, an audio, and an air conditioning device.

12. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to execute a driving state information acquisition process of acquiring driving state information of the vehicle, and execute the notification process on condition that a logical product of a condition that the vehicle enters the notification available section, a condition that the user does not operate the accessory device, and a condition that a degree of deviation of actual traveling of the vehicle with respect to straight traveling and constant output traveling is equal to or smaller than a predetermined degree is true.