Autonomous driving device for vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11048263-B2
Application number	US-201715840221-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 13, 2017
Priority date	Dec 27, 2016
Publication date	Jun 29, 2021
Grant date	Jun 29, 2021

Abstract

An autonomous driving device for a vehicle includes: an actuator; and an electronic control unit configured to detect presence or absence of a driver, generate a first travel plan for causing the vehicle to travel autonomously, and generate a second travel plan by adding, to the first travel plan, a restriction including at least one of a lane change restriction and a vehicle speed restriction. The electronic control unit is configured to perform manned autonomous driving control for causing the vehicle to travel autonomously, by using the actuator, with the driver in the vehicle according to the first travel plan when the presence of the driver is detected, and perform unmanned autonomous driving control for causing the vehicle to travel autonomously, by using the actuator, with the driver not in the vehicle according to the second travel plan when the absence of the driver is detected.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An autonomous driving device for a vehicle comprising:
an actuator; and
an electronic control unit configured to;
detect presence or absence of a driver in a driver's seat of the vehicle,
generate a first travel plan, the first travel plan being a travel plan for causing the vehicle to travel autonomously,
generate a second travel plan, the second travel plan being generated by adding, to the first travel plan, a restriction including at least one of a lane change restriction to prohibit a lane change of the vehicle and a vehicle speed restriction to reduce a speed of the vehicle compared to the first travel plan,
perform manned autonomous driving control for causing the vehicle to travel autonomously, by using the actuator, with the driver in the vehicle according to the first travel plan when the presence of the driver in the driver's seat is detected, and
perform unmanned autonomous driving control for causing the vehicle to travel autonomously, by using the actuator, with the driver not in the vehicle according to the second travel plan when the absence of the driver in the driver's seat is detected.

2. The autonomous driving device for the vehicle according to claim 1 , further comprising
a vehicle-dispatch signal receiver configured to receive a vehicle-dispatch signal for causing the vehicle to move to a predetermined destination, wherein
the electronic control unit is configured to;
generate a third travel plan when the vehicle-dispatch signal is received by the vehicle-dispatch signal receiver during the unmanned autonomous driving control for the vehicle, and
perform the unmanned autonomous driving control according to the third travel plan, the third travel plan being a travel plan not including the restriction, the third travel plan being a travel plan for causing the vehicle to travel toward the predetermined destination.

3. The autonomous driving device for the vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the electronic control unit is configured to lock a door of the vehicle before or after a start of the unmanned autonomous driving control when the absence of the driver in the driver's seat is detected.

4. The autonomous driving device for the vehicle according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a vehicle-dispatch signal receiver configured to receive a vehicle-dispatch signal for causing the vehicle to move to a predetermined destination,
wherein the electronic control unit is configured to perform the unmanned autonomous driving control by using a third travel plan, the third travel plan being a travel plan not including the restriction, the third travel plan being a travel plan for causing the vehicle to travel toward the predetermined destination, when the vehicle-dispatch signal is received by the vehicle-dispatch signal receiver before the unmanned autonomous driving control for the vehicle is performed.

5. The autonomous driving device for the vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the electronic control unit is configured to generate the second travel plan, the second travel plan being generated by adding, to the first travel plan, the restriction including the lane change restriction to prohibit the lane change of the vehicle and the vehicle speed restriction to reduce the speed of the vehicle compared to the first travel plan.

6. An autonomous driving device for a vehicle comprising:
an actuator; and
an electronic control unit configured to,
detect presence or absence of a driver in a driver's seat of the vehicle,
perform manned autonomous driving control according to a pre-generated travel plan when the presence of the driver in the driver's seat is detected,
perform unmanned autonomous driving control according to the travel plan when the absence of the driver in the driver's seat is detected, the manned autonomous driving control causing the vehicle to travel autonomously with the driver in the vehicle, the unmanned autonomous driving control causing the vehicle to travel autonomously with the driver not in the vehicle, and
perform, by using the actuator, unmanned stop control for causing the vehicle to stop, when a predetermined time has elapsed since a start of the unmanned autonomous driving control or when the vehicle has traveled a predetermined distance since the start of the unmanned autonomous driving control, during the unmanned autonomous driving control.

7. The autonomous driving device for the vehicle according to claim 6 , further comprising;
a vehicle-dispatch signal receiver configured to receive a vehicle-dispatch signal for causing the vehicle to move to a predetermined destination,
wherein the electronic control unit is configured to;
generate the travel plan that causes the vehicle to travel autonomously,
generate the travel plan that causes the vehicle to travel to the predetermined destination when the vehicle-dispatch signal is received by the vehicle-dispatch signal receiver during the unmanned autonomous driving control for the vehicle, and
when the vehicle-dispatch signal is received by the vehicle-dispatch signal receiver during the unmanned autonomous driving control for the vehicle, perform the unmanned autonomous driving control, according to the travel plan and not to perform the unmanned stop control.

8. The autonomous driving device for the vehicle according to claim 6 , wherein the electronic control unit is configured to lock a door of the vehicle before or after the start of the unmanned autonomous driving control when the absence of the driver in the driver's seat is detected.

9. The autonomous driving device for the vehicle according to claim 6 , further comprising:
a vehicle-dispatch signal receiver configured to receive a vehicle-dispatch signal for causing the vehicle to move to a predetermined destination,
wherein the electronic control unit is configured not to perform the unmanned stop control when the vehicle-dispatch signal is received by the vehicle-dispatch signal receiver before the unmanned autonomous driving control for the vehicle is performed.

10. The autonomous driving device for the vehicle according to claim 6 , wherein the unmanned stop control prevents the vehicle from travelling.

11. An autonomous driving device for a vehicle comprising:
an actuator; and
an electronic control unit configured to;
detect presence or absence of a driver in a driver's seat of the vehicle,
generate a first travel plan, the first travel plan being a travel plan for causing the vehicle to travel autonomously,
generate a second travel plan when the absence of the driver in the driver's seat is detected or when an instruction to cause the vehicle to travel with the driver not in the vehicle is received, the second travel plan being generated by adding, to the first travel plan, a restriction including at least one of a lane change restriction to prohibit a lane change of the vehicle and a vehicle speed restriction to reduce a speed of the vehicle compared to the first travel plan, and
perform unmanned autonomous driving control for causing the vehicle to travel autonomously, by using the actuator, according to the second travel plan.

12. The autonomous driving device for the vehicle according to claim 11 , further comprising;
a vehicle-dispatch signal receiver configured to receive a vehicle-dispatch signal for causing the vehicle to move to a predetermined destination,
wherein the electronic control unit is configured to;
generate a third travel plan when the vehicle-dispatch signal is received by the vehicle-dispatch signal receiver during the unmanned autonomous driving control for the vehicle, and
perform the unmanned autonomous driving control accord

Assignees

• Toyota Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Urano Hiromitsu

Classifications

• B60R25/00

  Fittings or systems for preventing or indicating unauthorised use or theft of vehicles (locks for vehicles E05B77/00-E05B85/00) · CPC title

• B60W40/08

  related to drivers or passengers · CPC title

• B60R25/20

  Means to switch the anti-theft system on or off · CPC title

• B60W60/0018

  by employing degraded modes, e.g. reducing speed, in response to suboptimal conditions · CPC title

• G08G1/202

  Dispatching vehicles on the basis of a location, e.g. taxi dispatching · CPC title