IP Library Granted Patent US 12662117
Granted Patent B2
US 12662117 · App. 18/834,651 · Granted Jun 23, 2026

Vehicle control device

Inventors: Koichi Uemura (Tokyo, JP); Taku Takahama (Tokyo, JP)
Assignee: Hitachi Astemo, Ltd.
B60W30/12B60W50/10B62D6/00
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12662117
App. No.
18/834,651
Filed
Jul 31, 2024
Granted
Jun 23, 2026
Kind
B2
Art Unit
3668
USPC
701/1
Abstract

A vehicle control device that achieves preferred steering control characteristics of a driver while keeping lane tracing during lane keeping control. Included are: a lane shape detection unit that detects a lane shape around a vehicle; a steering torque detection unit that detects a steering torque of a driver who drives the vehicle; a lane keeping control unit that calculates a steering command for keeping within a lane based on the detected lane shape; and a steering control unit that controls vehicle steering based on the steering command from the lane keeping control unit, and the lane keeping control unit having a plurality of control characteristics including at least a first control characteristic and a second control characteristic selectable according to a preference of the driver, and selects the first or second control characteristic on the basis of switching information input in advance according to the preference of the driver.

Claims (30)

1 . A vehicle control device comprising:

a lane shape detection unit that detects a lane shape around a vehicle;

a steering torque detection unit that detects a steering torque of a driver who drives the vehicle;

a lane keeping control unit that calculates a steering command for keeping traveling in a lane on a basis of the detected lane shape; and

a steering control unit that controls steering of the vehicle on a basis of the steering command from the lane keeping control unit, wherein

the lane keeping control unit

has a plurality of control characteristics including at least a first control characteristic and a second control characteristic selectable according to a preference of the driver,

selects the first or second control characteristic on a basis of switching information input according to the preference of the driver,

calculates a steering control amount necessary for keeping traveling in the lane, and

calculates the steering command after correcting the calculated steering control amount on a basis of the selected control characteristic; and

wherein

the first and second control characteristics are set to be equivalent characteristics in a case where an input steering torque value is lower than a predetermined value, and are set to be characteristics different from each other depending on the input steering torque value in a case where the input steering torque value is higher than the predetermined value.

2 . The vehicle control device according to claim 1 , wherein

the first and second control characteristics are set such that, in a case where the input steering torque value is higher than the predetermined value, a characteristic difference increases as the input steering torque value increases.

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

the first and second control characteristics each have a constant characteristic regardless of the input steering torque value in a case where the input steering torque value is higher than a reference value larger than the predetermined value.

4 . The vehicle control device according to claim 1 , wherein

the first and second control characteristics are set on a basis of steering intervention from the driver detected by the steering torque detection unit,

the first control characteristic is set with an input of the driver as a first main factor, and

the second control characteristic is set with an input of the lane keeping control unit as a second main factor.

5 . The vehicle control device according to claim 4 , wherein

the first and second control characteristics are set to be equivalent characteristics in a case where an input steering torque value is lower than a predetermined value, and are set to be characteristics different from each other depending on a height of the input steering torque value in a case where the input steering torque value is higher than the predetermined value, and

in a case where the input steering torque value is higher than the predetermined value, the first control characteristic outputs a value lower than the second control characteristic.

6 . The vehicle control device according to claim 4 , wherein

the first and second control characteristics are set to be equivalent characteristics in a case where an input steering torque value is lower than a predetermined value, and are set to be characteristics different from each other depending on a height of the input steering torque value in a case where the input steering torque value is higher than the predetermined value, and

in the first control characteristic, a characteristic of a steering gain output in a case where the input steering torque value is lower than another predetermined value different from the predetermined value is different from a characteristic of a steering gain output in a case where the input steering torque value is higher than the another predetermined value.

7 . The vehicle control device according to claim 6 , wherein

in the first control characteristic, a gradient of a steering gain, which is output in a case where the input steering torque value is lower than the another predetermined value, with respect to the steering torque is smaller than a gradient of a steering gain, which is output in a case where the input steering torque value is higher than the another predetermined value, with respect to the steering torque.

8 . The vehicle control device according to claim 1 , wherein

the first and second control characteristics each have continuity with respect to an input steering torque.