JP2022140084A - self-driving vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an automatic driving vehicle which can safely and surely stop when an abnormality exceeding a threshold occurs in a vehicle speed and a steering angle.SOLUTION: An automatic driving vehicle comprises a control monitoring unit 18 which detects an actual value of a drive control result of a travel unit 11, a steering unit 12 and a brake unit 13 and compares target values of various control commands with the drive control result. The control monitoring unit previously includes a model 17a which expresses a travel speed or steering angle as a correction control target corresponding to a property unique to the automatic driving vehicle 10 for the control command about acceleration, deceleration or steering in the normal travel, refers to the model when comparing the target value of the control command with the actual value of the drive control result and compares the correction control target value expected according to the travel condition at this time with the actual value of the drive control result, determines that an error has occurred when the difference has exceeded the threshold, and stops the automatic driving vehicle.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an automatic driving vehicle that monitors controls such as acceleration, deceleration, and steering, and detects abnormalities thereof.

In general, an autonomous driving vehicle controls the driving of the autonomous driving vehicle based on the detection signals from the detection unit, which consists of a position sensor, a vehicle speed sensor, a triaxial acceleration sensor, an obstacle sensor, etc. (In this application, the "automatic driving control unit" is simply referred to as the "control unit" and is used separately from the travel control unit, the drive control unit, etc.) generates a travel command, receives the travel command of the control unit, A travel control unit generates a travel signal, and based on this travel signal, the drive control unit drives and controls the travel unit, the steering unit, and the brake unit to perform automatic travel.

On the other hand, in self-driving vehicles, it is necessary to detect the occurrence of an abnormality as soon as possible in order to prevent an accident from occurring or to reduce damage. Therefore, it is possible to detect abnormalities in the output side of the control unit, such as accelerator, brake, steering, etc., by adding an error detection function to the device.

However, it is difficult to detect abnormalities in devices beyond these devices such as accelerator, brake, and steering.

In view of the above points, the present invention has a simple configuration that reliably detects the occurrence of an abnormality in each device such as a traveling unit, a steering unit, and a braking unit to be drive-controlled, and safely and reliably detects the occurrence of the abnormality. The purpose is to provide an automatic driving vehicle that can stop at

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a traveling section, a steering section and a braking section, a drive control section for driving and controlling the traveling section, the steering section and the braking section, a position sensor, a vehicle speed sensor and a steering angle for detecting the traveling state. A detection unit consisting of a sensor, a three-axis acceleration sensor, an ambient sensor, etc., and control for generating a travel command including target values for various control commands to the travel unit, steering unit, and braking unit based on detection signals from the detection unit. and a travel control unit that generates a travel signal based on a travel command from the control unit and sends it to the drive control unit,
Further, a control monitoring unit is provided for detecting actual values of drive control results of the traveling unit, steering unit and braking unit and comparing the actual values with target values of various control commands. With respect to control commands for vehicle speed or steering angle including acceleration and deceleration, a model representing the running speed or steering angle as a correction control target corresponding to the unique characteristics of the automated driving vehicle is prepared in advance, and the target value of the control command and the actual value of the drive control result, the model is referenced, and the expected correction control target according to the driving conditions at that time is compared with the actual value of the drive control result, and the difference is the threshold. When it exceeds, it is determined that an error has occurred and an error occurrence signal is sent to the control unit,
When the control unit receives the error occurrence signal, it generates a stop command and sends it to the travel control unit,
The travel control unit generates a stop signal based on the stop command, and the drive control unit receives the stop signal and drives and controls the travel unit, the steering unit, and the braking unit, thereby stopping the autonomous vehicle. Characterized by

A second configuration of the present invention includes a traveling section, a steering section, and a braking section, a drive control section that drives and controls the traveling section, the steering section, and the braking section, and a position sensor, vehicle speed sensor, and steering angle sensor that detect the traveling state. , a three-axis acceleration sensor, an ambient sensor, etc., a control unit that generates a running command including acceleration, deceleration and steering based on the detection signal from the detection unit, and a running signal based on the running command from the control unit. In an automatic driving vehicle comprising a driving control unit that generates and sends to the drive control unit,
Further, actual values of vehicle speed and steering angle including acceleration and deceleration as results of drive control of the traveling unit, steering unit and braking unit are detected, and the actual values of the vehicle speed and steering angle and control commands relating to acceleration, deceleration and steering are detected. Equipped with a control monitoring unit that compares the target value with the running speed as a correction control target that corresponds to the unique characteristics of the automated driving vehicle for control commands related to acceleration, deceleration, or steering during normal running Alternatively, a model that represents the steering angle is provided in advance, and the model is referred to when comparing the target value of the control command and the actual value of the drive control result, and the expected corrected control target value according to the driving conditions at that time. and the actual value of the drive control result, and when the difference exceeds the threshold value, it is determined that an error has occurred and an error occurrence signal is sent to the control unit. generated and sent to the travel control unit, the travel control unit generates a stop signal based on the stop command, the drive control unit receives this stop signal, drives and controls the travel unit, the steering unit, and the braking unit, and the automatic The driving vehicle is stopped.

In a third configuration of the present invention, a traveling section, a steering section, and a braking section; a drive control section that drives and controls the traveling section, the steering section, and the braking section; and a position sensor, vehicle speed sensor, and steering angle sensor that detect the traveling state. , a three-axis acceleration sensor, an ambient sensor, etc., a control unit that generates a running command including acceleration, deceleration and steering based on the detection signal from the detection unit, and a running signal based on the running command from the control unit. In an automatic driving vehicle comprising a driving control unit that generates and sends to the drive control unit,
Further, a control monitoring unit for detecting an actual value of the vehicle speed as a result of drive control of the traveling unit and the braking unit and comparing the target value of the control command for acceleration and deceleration with the actual vehicle speed as a result of the drive control, The monitoring unit is provided in advance with a model representing the running speed or steering angle as a correction control target corresponding to the unique characteristics of the automated driving vehicle with respect to the control command related to acceleration, deceleration or steering during normal running, and the control The model is referenced when comparing the command target value and the drive control result actual value, and the correction control target value expected according to the driving conditions at that time is compared with the drive control result actual value. When the difference exceeds the threshold, it is determined that an error has occurred and an error occurrence signal is sent to the control unit. When the control unit receives the error occurrence signal, a stop command is generated and sent to the travel control unit to control travel. section generates a stop signal based on the stop command, and the drive control section drives and controls the traveling section, the steering section, and the braking section according to the stop signal to stop the autonomous vehicle.

Preferably, the control monitoring unit acquires the actual vehicle speed of the automatically driven vehicle from a detection signal from a vehicle speed sensor, or obtains the actual vehicle speed of the automatically driven vehicle based on the detection signal from the position sensor, based on the difference in the position of the automatically driven vehicle as it travels. The actual vehicle speed of the automatically driven vehicle is obtained, or the actual vehicle speed of the automatically driven vehicle is obtained based on the detection signal from the surrounding sensor and the difference in the position of the automatically driven vehicle as it travels.

Further, in a fourth configuration of the present invention, a traveling portion, a steering portion, and a braking portion; a drive control portion that drives and controls the traveling portion, the steering portion, and the braking portion; A detection unit consisting of an angle sensor, a three-axis acceleration sensor, an ambient sensor, etc., a control unit that generates a running command including steering based on the detection signal from the detection unit, and a running signal based on the running command from the control unit. In an automatic driving vehicle comprising a driving control unit that generates and sends to the drive control unit,
Further, a control monitoring unit for detecting an actual steering angle as a result of drive control of the steering unit and comparing a target value of a control command relating to steering with the actual steering angle as a result of drive control is provided. However, with respect to control commands related to acceleration, deceleration or steering during normal driving, a model that represents the running speed or steering angle as a correction control target corresponding to the unique characteristics of the automated driving vehicle is prepared in advance, and the target of the control command The model is referenced when comparing the value and the actual value of the drive control result. When the threshold value is exceeded, it is determined that an error has occurred and an error occurrence signal is sent to the control unit.When the control unit receives the error occurrence signal, a stop command is generated and sent to the travel control unit, and the travel control unit stops. A stop signal is generated based on the command, and the drive control unit drives and controls the traveling unit, the steering unit, and the braking unit according to the stop signal, thereby stopping the autonomous vehicle.

The control monitoring unit acquires the actual steering angle of the automatically driven vehicle from the detection signal from the steering angle sensor, or detects the automatic operation from the difference in the turning angular velocity of the automatically driven vehicle based on the detection signal from the three-axis acceleration sensor. The actual steering angle of the driving vehicle may be obtained.

According to the present invention, when an abnormality occurs in each device such as a traveling section, a steering section, and a braking section, which are to be driven and controlled, it is possible to reliably detect the occurrence of the abnormality and stop the vehicle safely and reliably with a simple structure. We can provide self-driving vehicles.

1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of an automatic driving vehicle according to the present invention; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control system of the automatic driving vehicle of FIG. 1; FIG. FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the operation of a control monitoring unit in the automatic driving vehicle of FIG. 1; FIG.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention will be described in detail below based on embodiments shown in the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of an embodiment of an automatic driving vehicle according to the present invention. The automatic driving vehicle 10 includes a traveling unit 11, a steering unit 12, a braking unit 13, and a drive control unit that drives and controls the traveling unit 11, the steering unit 12, and the braking unit 13, which are provided in the lower part of the vehicle body (not shown). 14, a travel control unit 15, a control unit 16, a storage unit 17, a detection unit 20, and other devices (not shown) required for travel are included in the known automatic driving vehicle.
The automatic driving vehicle 10 of the present invention further includes a control monitoring unit 18 which will be described later. The sensors and control monitoring unit 18 are interconnected by a so-called in-vehicle LAN (also called CAN).

The traveling unit 11 includes, for example, four wheels (not shown) and a drive source that drives the front wheels and/or the rear wheels as drive wheels. This drive source has a known configuration, and is composed of an engine such as a gasoline engine or a diesel engine, or a drive motor.

The steering unit 12 has a known structure, and for example, by swinging the front wheels left and right as steering wheels, the self-driving vehicle 10 can be driven straight ahead, backward, or turned left or right. Note that the driving wheels and the steering wheels may be the same wheels. The braking portion 13 is composed of a known braking structure for stopping the rotation of at least the front wheels, only the rear wheels, or all the wheels among the four wheels.

The drive control unit 14 drives and controls the drive source of the traveling unit 11, the steering unit 12, and the braking unit 13, respectively. Drive control by the drive control unit 14 rotates the drive wheels and swings the steered wheels left and right, or the braking unit 13 stops the rotation of the wheels, and the autonomous vehicle 10 moves forward, backward, or turns left and right. to run or stop in a predetermined direction.

Based on the travel signal 15a from the travel control unit 15, the drive control unit 14 causes the vehicle to travel or stop at the vehicle speed set by the travel signal 15a, advance, reverse, turn left or right. In addition, the drive control unit 14 similarly drives and controls the traveling unit 11, the steering unit 12, and the braking unit 13 based on the stop signal 15b from the traveling control unit 15, so that the automatically-operated vehicle 10 can be driven slowly, for example, onto the shoulder of the road. Pull over and stop. The operation of pulling the automated driving vehicle 10 to the side of the road and stopping the vehicle is called degenerate operation.

The travel control unit 15 generates a travel signal 15a based on a travel command 16a output from the control unit 16, which will be described later, and sends it to the drive control unit 14. Based on the stop command 16b from the control unit 16, for example, the vehicle moves slowly. Then, it generates a stop signal 15b for stopping the vehicle on the road shoulder and sends it to the drive control unit 14. FIG. The run signal 15a may include a run program.
Here, the travel signal 15a is created so as to specify the travel speed, steering angle, acceleration, and deceleration when the automatically driven vehicle 10 travels along the travel route from the departure point to the destination. The driving unit 14 drives and controls the driving unit 11, the steering unit 12, and the braking unit 13 according to the driving signal 15a, so that the automatically driven vehicle 10 can travel from the departure point to the destination along the traveling route at the specified traveling speed. can be done.

The control unit 16 is composed of, for example, a personal computer or the like, and registers various detection signals S1 to S6, which will be described later, input from the detection unit 20 in the storage unit 17, and travels along the travel route while referring to these detection signals. and sends a travel signal 15a to the travel control unit 15. The running command 16a includes various control commands such as running speed, steering angle, acceleration and deceleration to the running unit 11, steering unit 12 and braking unit 13. FIG. Also, the control unit 16 generates a stop command 16b when it receives an error occurrence signal 18a from the control monitoring unit 18 and sends the stop command 16b to the travel control unit 15 .

The storage unit 17 sequentially stores the travel command 16a input by the control unit 16 or the travel command 16a input from the outside and the detection signals S1 to S6 from the detection unit 20. FIG. Here, the travel command 16a input from the outside is, for example, sent via a network from a control center (not shown) that monitors the automatic driving vehicle 10 from the outside. Furthermore, a model 17a that has been created in advance and will be described later is registered in the storage unit 17 .

The control monitoring unit 18 detects actual values of drive control results of the traveling unit 11, the steering unit 12, and the braking unit 13, compares these actual values with corrected control target values of various control commands, and determines threshold values set in advance. is exceeded, it is determined that an error has occurred in the operation of the running section 11 and the braking section 13 or the steering section 12, an error generation signal 18a is generated, and the error generation signal 18a is sent to the control section 16. . The actual values of the drive control results are, for example, the vehicle speed and the steering angle, and are input to the control monitoring unit 18 via the control unit 16 based on detection signals S3 and S6 from the vehicle speed sensor 23 and the steering angle sensor 26 of the detection unit 20. . The corrected control target values according to the driving command 16a input to the control monitoring unit 18 are obtained by further correcting the target values of the vehicle speed and steering angle according to the control commands related to the vehicle speed and steering angle including acceleration and deceleration using a model 17a described later. be done.

Here, the actual value as the actual drive control result in the automatic driving vehicle 10 with respect to the control target of the control command included in the travel command 16a, such as various control commands such as travel speed, steering angle, acceleration, and deceleration, is Characteristics unique to the automatic driving vehicle 10, such as gross vehicle weight, electrical system, drive source, hydraulic system, tires, etc., road surface conditions of the driving road, etc., output of non-linear assist force of power steering, steering motor It fluctuates depending on various conditions such as torque.
For this reason, regarding the automatic driving vehicle 10, the control target is input and the actual value that is the drive control result is output. A non-linear relational expression of the input and output of the measured steering angle is obtained and registered in the storage unit 17 as a model 17a. The control monitoring unit 18 reads out the model 17a from the storage unit 17, refers to the model 17a, corrects the control target value, and acquires the corrected control target value.
As a result, when comparing the control target and the actual value, the control monitoring unit 18 reads out the model 17a from the storage unit 17, refers to the model 17a, corrects the control target value, and corrects the control target value. Then, the corrected control target value and the actual value, which is the drive control result, are compared. This makes it possible to improve the accuracy more than comparing the control target value and the actual value.

The control and monitoring unit 18 detects the difference D1 between the actual value of the vehicle speed and the model-corrected target value, and the difference D2 between the actual value of the steering angle and the model-corrected target value as threshold values D1′ and D2 set in advance, respectively. ', it is judged that the operation of the traveling part 11, the steering part 12 and the braking part 13 is normal.
On the other hand, when at least one of the two differences D1 or D2 exceeds the corresponding threshold value D1′ or D2′, the control monitoring unit 18 determines that the traveling unit 11 and the braking unit 13 or the steering unit 11 It determines that an error has occurred in the operation of the unit 12, generates an error occurrence signal 18a, and sends the error occurrence signal 18a to the control unit 16. FIG. Here, the control monitoring unit 18 monitors the difference between the above-described actual value and the target value corrected by the model every predetermined time T while the automatically driving vehicle 10 is automatically running. The predetermined time T is, for example, several ms to 20 ms.

The detection unit 20 is composed of a sign sensor 21, a position sensor 22, a vehicle speed sensor 23, a three-axis acceleration sensor 24, an ambient sensor 25, and a steering angle sensor 26, as shown.

The marker sensor 21 is, for example, a monocular camera provided on the upper part of the windshield, captures an image of the forward direction of the automatically driven vehicle 10, and outputs the captured image signal to the control unit 16 as a detection signal S1. Based on the detection signal S1, the control unit 16 recognizes the situation in front of the automatic driving vehicle 10, especially the white lines and guardrails indicating both sides of the road in front of the vehicle, and grasps the current position in the road and sets it in advance. By comparing with the map data of the traveled route, self-position estimation is performed, and the travel command 16a is corrected so as to hold the route in the travel route, and is sent to the travel control unit 15. FIG. Note that the marker sensor 21 is not limited to a monocular camera, and may be a binocular camera, a stereo camera, or the like.

The position sensor 22 detects longitude and latitude by a GNSS sensor, eg a GPS sensor. As a result, the position sensor 22 detects the current geodetic data of the automatically driven vehicle 10, for example, at predetermined time intervals, and sends it to the control unit 16 as a detection signal S2. The control unit 16 compares the detection signal S2 with the travel path map data read from the storage unit 17, obtains the travel position of the automatically driven vehicle 10 within the travel path, and determines the course within the travel path. The travel command 16a is corrected so as to be held and sent to the travel control unit 15. FIG.

The vehicle speed sensor 23 detects, for example, the number of rotations of the wheels of the traveling section 11 and sends the number of rotations to the control section 16 as a detection signal S3. The three-axis acceleration sensor 24 is a so-called gyro, detects the three-dimensional posture of the automatic driving vehicle 10 based on the acceleration of the vehicle body in the three-axis directions, and sends a detection signal S4 to the control unit 16 .

The ambient sensor 25 is composed of, for example, a plurality of riders provided near the front and rear bumpers of the vehicle body. LIDAR, also called laser radar, performs Light Detection and Ranging or Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging. A two-dimensional lidar or a three-dimensional lidar may be used as the lidar. The three-dimensional lidar can perform laser image detection of the curved road 11c and distance measurement to the detected object. The ambient sensor 25 may include, for example, stereo cameras attached to the front, rear, left, and right of the vehicle body, or a lidar attached to the roof of the vehicle body, instead of or in addition to the rider. A monocular camera or a binocular camera can be used as a camera other than the stereo camera.

The surrounding sensor 25 can detect the surroundings of the automatic driving vehicle 10, that is, objects on the road such as front, rear, left, and right obstacles and other vehicles. When an object on the road is detected, a detection signal S<b>5 including the direction and distance of the object is sent to the travel control unit 15 .

The steering angle sensor 26 detects the steering angle of the automatically driven vehicle 10, for example, directly from the steered wheels of the traveling unit 11 or indirectly from the rotation angle of the steering wheel, and sends the steering angle as a detection signal S6 to the control unit 16. do.

The control unit 16 controls the automatic driving vehicle 10 based on detection signals S1 to S6 from the sign sensor 21, the position sensor 22, the vehicle speed sensor 23, the triaxial acceleration sensor 24, the surrounding sensor 25, and the steering angle sensor 26 of the detection unit 20. By grasping the running state such as the running position, running speed, attitude, the position and distance of objects in the front area, such as obstacles and other running vehicles, and the steering angle, the self-position is estimated, and the running at that time The progress of the signal running program 15a is determined.

Here, the comparison between the control command included in the travel command 16a and the drive control result by the control monitoring unit 18 is performed as follows. FIG. 2 shows the case of control monitoring with regard to vehicle speed. The travel control unit 15 generates a travel signal 15a based on a travel command 16a from the control unit 16, and controls the drive control unit 14 based on the travel signal 15a to drive the travel unit 11, the steering unit 12, and the braking unit 13. Control. Then, the control monitoring unit 18 directly acquires the vehicle speed of the automatically driven vehicle 10 from the detection signal S3 from the vehicle speed sensor 23 of the detection unit 20 as the driving control result of the traveling unit 11, the steering unit 12, and the braking unit 13. do.

On the other hand, the control command related to the vehicle speed of the travel command 16a input from the control unit 16 to the control monitoring unit 18, that is, the control target is corrected according to the various characteristics of the automatic driving vehicle 10 via the model 17a, and the vehicle speed is adjusted. It is sent to the control monitoring unit 18 as a corrected control target.

The control monitoring unit 18 compares the actual traveling speed based on the detection signal S3 from the vehicle speed sensor 23 of the detecting unit 20 with the above-mentioned correction control target of the vehicle speed, and determines whether the operation of the traveling unit 11 and the braking unit 13 is normal. to judge whether

The control monitoring unit 18 determines that the operation of the running unit 11 and the braking unit 13 is normal when the difference between the actual running speed and the vehicle speed correction control target is equal to or less than a preset threshold value D1'. On the other hand, if the difference between the actual traveling speed and the corrected control target of the vehicle speed exceeds the preset threshold value D1′, the control monitoring unit 18 determines that there is an error in the operation of the traveling unit 11 and the braking unit 13. It determines that an error has occurred, generates an error occurrence signal 18 a , and sends it to the control unit 16 .

According to the automatic driving vehicle 10 of the present invention, the control monitoring unit 18 detects the actual drive control result based on the detection signal from the detection unit 20, and various control commands included in the drive control result and the travel command 16a , that is, to compare with the control target.
When the traveling section 11, the steering section 12 and the braking section 13 are operating normally, the difference between the control target and the actual control result does not exceed a predetermined threshold. 11. The operation of the steering unit 12 and the braking unit 13 is normal, and the error occurrence signal 18a is not sent to the control unit 16; Therefore, the control unit 16 continues the automatic driving of the automatic driving vehicle 10 .

On the other hand, an abnormality occurs in the running unit 11, the steering unit 12, and the braking unit 13. For example, the running speed cannot be adjusted to the target value by acceleration or deceleration, or the steering angle cannot be adjusted to the target value by steering. If not, the difference between the control target and the actual control result exceeds a predetermined threshold value, the control monitoring unit 18 determines that an error has occurred, generates an error occurrence signal 18a, and sends it to the control unit 16. . In response to this, the control unit 16 generates a stop command 16b and sends it to the travel control unit 15, the travel control unit 15 generates a stop signal 15b, and the drive control unit 14 controls the travel unit 11, the steering unit 12, and the brake. The automatic driving vehicle 10 is stopped by controlling the driving of the unit 13 .
Therefore, even if an abnormality occurs in the operation of the traveling unit 11, the steering unit 12, and the braking unit 13, the control monitoring unit 18 detects various control commands included in the traveling command 16a and the drive control results detected by the control monitoring unit 18. , and when the difference exceeds the threshold value, the control unit 16 stops the automatically driven vehicle 10, so that the automatically driven vehicle 10 does not run out of control or run off the track safely and definitely stop. In this way, the control monitoring unit 18 does not directly monitor the operations of the traveling unit 11, the steering unit 12, and the braking unit 13, and the corrected control target value corrected by the model 17a with respect to the control target and the detection unit 20 The occurrence of an error can be detected by comparing with the detected drive control result.

The automatic driving vehicle 10 of the embodiment of the present invention is configured as described above and operates as follows.
In the flow chart of FIG. 3, first, in step ST1, the control unit 16 creates a running command 16a as a running program before running, or the running command 16a is input to the control unit 16 from the outside and stored in the storage unit 17. be done. At step ST2, when the vehicle 10 starts running, the control unit 16 of the automatically driven vehicle 10 reads the running command 16a from the storage unit 17 and sends it to the running control unit 15 . The travel control unit 15 generates a travel signal 15a based on the travel command 16a and controls the drive control unit 14 to drive and control the travel unit 11, the steering unit 12 and the braking unit 13. FIG. As a result, in step ST3, the drive control section 14 drives and controls the traveling section 11, the steering section 12, and the braking section 13 according to the traveling signal 15a, so the automatically driven vehicle 10 automatically travels according to the traveling signal 15a.

The control monitoring unit 18 receives the detection signal S3 from the vehicle speed sensor 23 of the detection unit 20 as the actual value of the vehicle speed at step ST4, and receives the detection signal S6 from the steering angle sensor 26 of the detection unit 20 at step ST5. is entered as the actual value of the steering angle.
On the other hand, in step ST6, the running command 16a is input from the control unit 16 to the model 17a, and in step ST7, the control command related to the vehicle speed contained in the running command 16a is corrected through the model 17a, and is controlled and monitored as a corrected control target of the vehicle speed. It is input to the part 18 . Further, in step ST8, the control command relating to steering contained in the travel command 16a is corrected through the model 17a and input to the control monitoring section 18 as a corrected control target relating to the steering angle.

Accordingly, in step ST9, the control monitoring unit 18 compares the actual value of the vehicle speed and the target value, which is the correction control target, that is, compares the difference D1 with the threshold value D1'.
If the difference D1>D1′, the control monitoring unit 18 determines that an error has occurred in the operation of the traveling unit 11 and the braking unit 13 in step ST10, generates an error occurrence signal 18a, and sends it to the control unit 16. . In response to this, the control unit 16 generates a stop command 16b in place of the travel command 16a and sends it to the travel control unit 15 in step ST11. As a result, the travel control unit 15 generates the stop signal 15b instead of the travel signal 15a in step ST12, and sends it to the drive control unit 14. FIG. Therefore, in step ST13, the drive control unit 14 drives and controls the traveling unit 11, the steering unit 12, and the braking unit 13 based on the stop signal 15b to stop the automatic driving vehicle 10, thereby ending the automatic operation.

On the other hand, in step ST9, if the difference D1≤D1', the control monitoring unit 18 does not generate the error occurrence signal 18a, and the control unit 16 continues the automatic driving of the automatically driven vehicle 10 as it is. Subsequently, in step ST14, the control monitoring unit 18 compares the actual value of the steering angle and the target value, which is the correction control target, that is, compares the difference D2 with the threshold value D2'. If the difference D2>D2', the control monitoring section 18 determines that an error has occurred in the operation of the steering section 12 in step ST15, generates an error occurrence signal 18a, and sends it to the control section 16. FIG.

In response to this, the control unit 16 proceeds to step ST11, similarly generates a stop command 16b instead of the travel command 16a, and sends it to the travel control unit 15. FIG. As a result, the travel control unit 15 generates the stop signal 15b instead of the travel signal 15a in step ST12, and sends it to the drive control unit 14. FIG. Therefore, in step ST13, the drive control unit 14 drives and controls the traveling unit 11, the steering unit 12, and the braking unit 13 based on the stop signal 15b to stop the automatic driving vehicle 10, thereby ending the automatic operation. .

On the other hand, if the difference D2≤D2', the control monitoring unit 18 does not generate the error occurrence signal 18a in step ST14, and the control unit 16 continues the automatic driving of the automatically driven vehicle 10 as it is. Then, after the predetermined time T has elapsed in step ST16, the process returns to step ST4, and steps ST4 to ST15 are repeated every predetermined time.
With the above, the control and monitoring of the automatic driving vehicle 10 of the present embodiment are completed.

When detecting the traveling speed and the steering angle as shown in FIG. It is possible to detect the running speed and steering angle and compare the drive control result with the control commands for acceleration, deceleration and steering included in the running command 16a, that is, the target speed and the target steering angle, which are control targets. When the traveling section 11, the steering section 12, and the braking section 13 are operating normally, the control monitoring section 18 detects that the difference between the control target and the actual control result does not exceed a predetermined threshold. 11. Determine that the operation of the steering section 12 and the braking section 13 are normal, and do not send the error occurrence signal 18a to the control section 16; Therefore, the control unit 16 continues the automatic driving of the automatic driving vehicle 10 .

On the other hand, if an abnormality occurs in the running section 11, the steering section 12, or the braking section 13, the running speed cannot be adjusted to the target speed by acceleration or deceleration, or the steering angle cannot be adjusted to the target steering angle by steering. If not, the control monitoring unit 18 judges that an error has occurred when the difference between the control target and the actual control result exceeds a predetermined threshold value, generates an error occurrence signal 18a, and sends it to the control unit 16. Send out. In response to this, the control unit 16 generates a stop command 16b and sends it to the travel control unit 15, the travel control unit 15 generates a stop signal 15b, and the drive control unit 14 controls the travel unit 11, the steering unit 12, and the brake. The automatic driving vehicle 10 is stopped by controlling the driving of the unit 13 . Therefore, even if an abnormality occurs in the operation of the traveling unit 11, the steering unit 12, and the braking unit 13, the control monitoring unit 18 detects the control commands related to acceleration, deceleration, and steering included in the traveling command 16a and the control monitoring unit 18. By comparing the traveling speed and the steering angle as the result of the drive control, and stopping the automatic driving vehicle 10 when the difference exceeds the threshold value, the automatic driving vehicle 10 runs out of control or runs off the road. It stops safely and reliably without being put away.

In the above-described embodiment, the control monitoring unit 18 monitors the operation of the vehicle speed and the steering angle. can be

(When detecting vehicle speed)
When detecting the running speed, the control monitoring unit 18 detects the running speed, which is the result of actual driving control, based on the detection signal from the detecting unit 20, and detects the driving control result and the acceleration contained in the running command 16a. and the control command for deceleration, that is, the target speed, which is the control target. When the traveling portion 11 and the braking portion 13 are operating normally, the difference between the control target and the actual control result does not exceed a predetermined threshold. 13 is normal, and the error occurrence signal 18a is not sent to the control unit 16. FIG. Therefore, the control unit 16 continues the automatic driving of the automatic driving vehicle 10 .

On the other hand, when an abnormality occurs in the traveling portion 11 and the braking portion 13 and the traveling speed cannot be adjusted to the target speed due to acceleration or deceleration, the difference between the control target and the actual control result is determined in advance. When the threshold value is exceeded, the control monitor unit 18 determines that an error has occurred, generates an error occurrence signal 18a, and sends it to the control unit 16. FIG. In response to this, the control unit 16 generates a stop command 16b and sends it to the travel control unit 15, the travel control unit 15 generates a stop signal 15b, and the drive control unit 14 controls the travel unit 11, the steering unit 12, and the brake. The part 13 is driven and controlled to stop the automatically driven vehicle 10 . Therefore, even if an abnormality occurs in the operation of the traveling unit 11 and the braking unit 13, the control monitoring unit 18 detects the control command regarding acceleration and deceleration included in the traveling command 16a and the drive control result detected by the control monitoring unit 18. When the difference exceeds the threshold, the control unit 16 stops the automatically driven vehicle 10, so that the automatically driven vehicle 10 does not run out of control safely and reliably. Stop.

(when detecting the steering angle)
When the steering angle is detected, the control monitoring unit 18 detects the steering angle, which is the result of the actual drive control, based on the detection signal from the detection unit 20, and compares the steering angle included in the drive control result and the travel command 16a. It is compared with a target steering angle which is a command, that is, a control target. When the steering unit 12 is operating normally, the difference between the control target and the actual control result does not exceed a predetermined threshold, so the control monitoring unit 18 determines that the operation of the steering unit 12 is normal. However, the error occurrence signal 18a is not sent to the control unit 16. Therefore, the control unit 16 continues the automatic driving of the automatic driving vehicle 10 .

On the other hand, when an abnormality occurs in the steering unit 12 and the steering angle cannot be adjusted to the target steering angle by steering, the difference between the control target and the actual control result exceeds a predetermined threshold value. As a result, the control monitor 18 determines that an error has occurred, generates an error occurrence signal 18a, and sends it to the controller 16. FIG. In response to this, the control unit 16 generates a stop command 16b and sends it to the travel control unit 15, the travel control unit 15 generates a stop signal 15b, and the drive control unit 14 causes the travel unit 11, the steering unit 12, and The automatic driving vehicle 10 is stopped by driving and controlling the braking unit 13 . Therefore, even if an abnormality occurs in the operation of the steering unit 12, the control monitor unit 18 compares the steering control command included in the travel command 16a with the steering angle detected by the control monitor unit 18 as a drive control result. When the difference exceeds the threshold, the control unit 16 stops the automatically driven vehicle 10, so that the automatically driven vehicle 10 stops safely and reliably without running off the road.

According to the automatic driving vehicle 10 according to the present invention, the control monitoring unit 18 corrects the control command related to acceleration, deceleration, or steering included in the driving command 16a during normal driving corresponding to the unique characteristics of the automatic driving vehicle 10. A model 17a representing a running speed or a steering angle as a control target is provided in advance, and the control unit 16 refers to the model 17a when comparing the control command and the drive control result to determine the driving conditions according to the running conditions at that time. It is possible to determine whether or not an error has occurred by comparing the expected correction control target and the drive control result.

According to the above configuration, the model 17a corresponds to various control commands included in the travel command 16a, such as control commands relating to acceleration, deceleration, or steering, such as target speed and target steering angle, which are control targets, and these control targets. It is set in advance as a so-called input/output nonlinear relational expression that measures what kind of running speed or steering angle is obtained in the actual environment of the automatic driving vehicle 10 . As a result, during automatic driving of the autonomous vehicle 10, the control monitoring unit 18 refers to the model 17a from the control command, calculates the expected correction control target according to the driving conditions at that time, and calculates the correction control target. By comparing the result of drive control and determining the occurrence of an error, it is possible to detect the occurrence of an error quickly and accurately.

The present invention can be embodied in various forms without departing from its gist. For example, in the above-described embodiment, when the control monitoring unit 18 detects the occurrence of an error, the control unit 16 quickly slows down the automatically-operated vehicle 10 and issues a stop command 16b by degenerate operation such that the vehicle is brought to a shoulder and stopped. Although it is generated, it may be made to make an emergency stop on the spot.

In the above-described embodiment, the control monitoring unit 18 directly acquires the actual value of the vehicle speed based on the detection signal S3 from the vehicle speed sensor 23 of the detection unit 20 provided in the automatic driving vehicle 10. However, not limited to this, based on the detection signals S2 and S5 from the position sensor 22 or the surrounding sensor 25, the distance, which is the amount of change in the position accompanying the traveling of the automatic driving vehicle 10, is used as the position difference. It is obvious that 10 vehicle speeds may be calculated to indirectly obtain the actual value of the vehicle speed.

According to these configurations, the control monitoring unit 18 directly detects the actual vehicle speed based on the detection signal from the vehicle speed sensor 23 or indirectly based on the detection signal from the position sensor 22 and the detection signal from the ambient sensor 25. can be obtained to monitor the vehicle speed, which is the drive control result.

In the embodiment described above, the control monitoring unit 18 directly acquires the actual value of the vehicle speed based on the detection signal S6 from the steering angle sensor 26 of the detection unit 20 provided in the automatic driving vehicle 10. However, not limited to this, based on the detection signal S4 from the three-axis acceleration sensor 24, the angle that is the amount of change in the turning angular velocity accompanying the traveling of the automatically driving vehicle 10 is used as the difference in the steering angle. can be calculated to indirectly obtain the actual value of the steering angle.

According to these configurations, the control monitoring unit 18 acquires the steering angle directly from the steering angle sensor 26, or indirectly acquires the steering angle based on the detection signal from the three-axis acceleration sensor 24. The steering angle, which is the drive control result, can be monitored.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Autonomous vehicle 11 Driving unit 12 Steering unit 13 Braking unit 14 Drive control unit 15 Driving control unit 15a Driving signal 15b Stop signal 16 Control unit 16a Driving command 16b Stop command 17 Storage unit 17a Model 18 Control monitoring unit 18a Error occurrence signal 20 Detector 21 Marking sensor 22 Position sensor 23 Vehicle speed sensor 24 Three-axis acceleration sensor 25 Surrounding sensor 26 Steering angle sensor S1 to S7 Detection signals

Claims (9)

A driving unit, a steering unit, and a braking unit; a drive control unit that drives and controls the driving unit, the steering unit, and the braking unit; a position sensor, a vehicle speed sensor, a steering angle sensor, a triaxial acceleration sensor, and an ambient sensor that detect the driving state; etc., a control unit that generates a running command including target values of various control commands to the running unit, the steering unit, and the braking unit based on the detection signal from the detecting unit, and a command from the control unit A driving control unit that generates a driving signal based on a driving command and sends it to the driving control unit,
Furthermore, a control monitoring unit for detecting actual values of driving control results of the traveling unit, the steering unit and the braking unit and comparing the actual values with the target values of the various control commands,
The control monitoring unit creates a model representing the running speed or steering angle as a correction control target corresponding to the unique characteristics of the autonomous vehicle, with respect to the control command for vehicle speed or steering angle including acceleration and deceleration during normal running. prepared in advance,
When the target value of the control command and the actual value of the drive control result are compared, the model is referred to, and the corrected control target value and the actual value of the drive control result expected according to the running conditions at that time. and when the difference exceeds the threshold value, it is determined that an error has occurred and an error occurrence signal is sent to the control unit;
said control unit generating a stop command and sending it to said travel control unit when said error occurrence signal is received;
The driving control unit generates a stop signal based on the stop command, and the driving control unit drives and controls the traveling unit, the steering unit, and the braking unit according to the stop signal to stop the automatically driving vehicle. vehicle. A driving unit, a steering unit, and a braking unit; a drive control unit that drives and controls the driving unit, the steering unit, and the braking unit; a position sensor, a vehicle speed sensor, a steering angle sensor, a triaxial acceleration sensor, and an ambient sensor that detect the driving state; etc., a control unit that generates a running command including acceleration, deceleration and steering based on the detection signal from the detection unit, and a running signal that generates a running signal based on the running command from the control unit. In an automatic driving vehicle comprising a driving control unit that sends to the drive control unit,
Furthermore, actual values of vehicle speed and steering angle including acceleration and deceleration are detected as a result of drive control of the running unit, steering unit and braking unit, and the actual values of the vehicle speed and steering angle and control related to the acceleration, deceleration and steering are detected. Equipped with a control monitoring unit that compares with the target value of the command,
The control monitoring unit is provided in advance with a model that represents a running speed or a steering angle as a correction control target corresponding to the unique characteristics of the automatic driving vehicle, with respect to control commands related to acceleration, deceleration, or steering during normal running,
When the target value of the control command and the actual value of the drive control result are compared, the model is referred to, and the corrected control target value and the actual value of the drive control result expected according to the running conditions at that time. and when the difference exceeds the threshold value, it is determined that an error has occurred and an error occurrence signal is sent to the control unit;
when the control unit receives the error occurrence signal, generates a stop command and sends it to the travel control unit;
The travel control unit generates a stop signal based on the stop command, and the drive control unit drives and controls the travel unit, the steering unit, and the braking unit based on the stop signal to stop the automatically operating vehicle. vehicle. A driving unit, a steering unit, and a braking unit; a drive control unit that drives and controls the driving unit, the steering unit, and the braking unit; a position sensor, a vehicle speed sensor, a steering angle sensor, a triaxial acceleration sensor, and an ambient sensor that detect the driving state; etc., a control unit that generates a running command including acceleration, deceleration and steering based on the detection signal from the detection unit, and a running signal that generates a running signal based on the running command from the control unit. In an automatic driving vehicle comprising a driving control unit that sends to the drive control unit,
Further, a control monitoring unit for detecting an actual value of vehicle speed as a result of drive control of the traveling unit and the braking unit, and comparing the target value of the control command for the acceleration and deceleration with the actual vehicle speed as the result of the drive control. prepared,
The control monitoring unit is provided in advance with a model representing a running speed or a steering angle as a correction control target corresponding to the unique characteristics of the autonomous vehicle, with respect to control commands related to acceleration, deceleration, or steering during normal running. ,
When the target value of the control command and the actual value of the drive control result are compared, the model is referred to, and the corrected control target value and the actual value of the drive control result expected according to the running conditions at that time. and when the difference exceeds the threshold value, it is determined that an error has occurred and an error occurrence signal is sent to the control unit;
when the control unit receives the error occurrence signal, generates a stop command and sends it to the travel control unit;
The travel control unit generates a stop signal based on the stop command, and the drive control unit drives and controls the travel unit, the steering unit, and the braking unit according to the stop signal to stop the automated driving vehicle. self-driving vehicle. The autonomous driving vehicle according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the control monitoring unit acquires the actual vehicle speed of the autonomous driving vehicle from a detection signal from a vehicle speed sensor. Automatic operation according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the control monitoring unit acquires the actual vehicle speed of the automatic operation vehicle based on the detection signal from the position sensor, based on the difference in the position accompanying the traveling of the automatic operation vehicle. vehicle. The autonomous driving vehicle according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the control monitoring unit acquires the actual vehicle speed of the autonomous driving vehicle based on the detection signal from the surrounding sensor and the difference in the position accompanying the traveling of the autonomous driving vehicle. . A driving unit, a steering unit, and a braking unit; a drive control unit that drives and controls the driving unit, the steering unit, and the braking unit; a position sensor, a vehicle speed sensor, a steering angle sensor, a triaxial acceleration sensor, and an ambient sensor that detect the driving state; etc., a control unit that generates a running command including steering based on the detection signal from the detecting unit, and a running signal that is generated based on the running command from the control unit and sent to the drive control unit. In an automatic driving vehicle equipped with a traveling control unit that sends out,
Furthermore, a control monitoring unit that detects an actual steering angle as a result of drive control of the steering unit and compares a target value of the control command regarding the steering with the actual steering angle as the result of the drive control,
The control monitoring unit is provided in advance with a model representing a running speed or a steering angle as a correction control target corresponding to the unique characteristics of the autonomous vehicle, with respect to control commands related to acceleration, deceleration, or steering during normal running. ,
When the target value of the control command and the actual value of the drive control result are compared, the model is referred to, and the corrected control target value and the actual value of the drive control result expected according to the running conditions at that time. and when the difference exceeds the threshold value, it is determined that an error has occurred and an error occurrence signal is sent to the control unit;
when the control unit receives the error occurrence signal, generates a stop command and sends it to the travel control unit;
The travel control unit generates a stop signal based on the stop command, and the drive control unit drives and controls the travel unit, the steering unit, and the braking unit according to the stop signal to stop the automatically driving vehicle. driving vehicle. The automatic driving vehicle according to claim 2 or 7, wherein the control monitoring unit acquires an actual steering angle of the automatic driving vehicle from a detection signal from a steering angle sensor. Automatic driving according to claim 2 or 7, wherein the control monitoring unit acquires the actual steering angle of the automatically driving vehicle by a difference in turning angular velocity of the automatically driving vehicle based on the detection signal from the three-axis acceleration sensor. vehicle.

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