Automated driving enabled vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11485282-B2
Application number	US-202016985864-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 5, 2020
Priority date	Sep 26, 2019
Publication date	Nov 1, 2022
Grant date	Nov 1, 2022

Abstract

An automated driving enabled vehicle includes a travel controller, an automated driving indicator lamp, and a lamp controller. The automated driving indicator lamp is switched on perceptibly from outside the vehicle on the occasion of automated driving. The lamp controller acquires, during the execution of the automated driving, attribute information regarding a place being traveled by the vehicle. The lamp controller makes a lighting control of the automated driving indicator lamp during the execution of the automated driving, in accordance with the place being traveled by the vehicle executing the automated driving.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An automated driving enabled vehicle, comprising:
a travel controller configured to control travel of the vehicle while switching a travel control state between automated driving and manual driving;
an automated driving indicator lamp configured to be switched on perceptibly from outside the vehicle on an occasion of the automated driving; and
a lamp controller configured to switch on the automated driving indicator lamp to indicate that the travel control state is the automated driving, during execution of the automated driving in which the travel controller controls the travel of the vehicle by the automated driving,
the lamp controller being configured to
acquire, during the execution of the automated driving, attribute information regarding a place being traveled by the vehicle, and
make a lighting control of the automated driving indicator lamp during the execution of the automated driving, in accordance with the place being traveled by the vehicle executing the automated driving,

wherein the lamp controller is configured to switch off the automated driving indicator lamp during the execution of the automated driving, on a condition that the vehicle executing the automated driving is traveling in an exclusive place, the exclusive place being an area that is exclusively dedicated for the automated driving.

2. The automated driving enabled vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the lamp controller is configured to
acquire information regarding a surrounding moving body around the vehicle traveling by the automated driving in the exclusive place, and
switch on the automated driving indicator lamp during the execution of the automated driving, on a condition that the surrounding moving body is present around the vehicle, regardless that the vehicle is traveling by the automated driving in the exclusive place for the automated driving.

3. The automated driving enabled vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the lamp controller is configured to
acquire information regarding a surrounding moving body around the vehicle traveling by the automated driving in the exclusive place,
switch on the automated driving indicator lamp during the execution of the automated driving, on a condition that the surrounding moving body present around the vehicle executing the automated driving comprises anything other than an autonomous vehicle, regardless that the vehicle is traveling by the automated driving in the exclusive place for the automated driving, and
switch off the automated driving indicator lamp during the execution of the automated driving, on a condition that the surrounding moving body present around the vehicle executing the automated driving comprises an autonomous vehicle.

4. The automated driving enabled vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the lamp controller is configured to
acquire, during the execution of the automated driving, the attribute information regarding the place being traveled by the vehicle, after switching off the automated driving indicator lamp during the execution of the automated driving, and
switch the automated driving indicator lamp back on that has been off during the execution of the automated driving, on a condition that the vehicle executing the automated driving has left the exclusive place and is traveling.

5. The automated driving enabled vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the lamp controller is configured to switch the automated driving indicator lamp back on, and afterwards, switch off the automated driving indicator lamp, on a condition that the travel controller switches the travel control state of the vehicle from the automated driving after the lamp controller switches off the automated driving indicator lamp during the execution of the automated driving.

6. The automated driving enabled vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the lamp controller is configured to switch the automated driving indicator lamp back on that has been off during the execution of the automated driving, on a condition that an abnormality or a disturbance that affects the travel of the vehicle is detected or predicted, with the automated driving indicator lamp off during the execution of the automated driving.

7. The automated driving enabled vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the lamp controller is configured to change, during the execution of the automated driving, a lighting state of the automated driving indicator lamp on a basis of user setting regarding the lighting control of the automated driving indicator lamp during the execution of the automated driving.

8. The automated driving enabled vehicle according to claim 1 , further comprising an alarm device configured to output an alarm, on a condition that the lamp controller changes a lighting state of the automated driving indicator lamp during the execution of the automated driving in which the travel controller controls the travel of the vehicle by the automated driving.

Assignees

• Subaru Corp

Inventors

• Yamasaki Kentarou
• Kinoshita Makoto
• Takayama Keisuke
• Muramatsu Yuta

Classifications

• B60W50/082

  Selecting or switching between different modes of propelling · CPC title

• B60Q1/0035 Primary

  relative to the vehicle · CPC title

• B60Q2300/146

  Abnormalities, e.g. fail-safe · CPC title

• B60Q2300/33

  Driving situation · CPC title

• B60Q2300/20

  Indexing codes relating to the driver or the passengers · CPC title