IP Library Granted Patent US 12679364
Granted Patent B2
US 12679364 · App. 18/414,711 · Granted Jul 14, 2026

Vehicle control device, storage medium storing computer program for vehicle control, and method for controlling vehicle

Inventors: Satoru Akahane (Yokohama, JP); Terumoto Komori (Sunto-gun, JP); Shimpei Kokubo (Tokyo-to, JP)
Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
B60W30/16B60W30/143B60W2520/10B60W2540/223B60W2540/229B60W2554/4041B60W2554/801B60W2554/804
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12679364
App. No.
18/414,711
Granted
Jul 14, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

A vehicle control device has a processor configured to determine whether a host vehicle is located in a blind spot zone of another vehicle, to decide, when the host vehicle is located in a blind spot zone, to change speed of the host vehicle to initiate movement control to cause movement of the host vehicle out of the blind spot zone of the other vehicle, to determine whether a state in which the absolute value of the relative speed between the host vehicle and another vehicle is at or below a predetermined reference speed has continued for a predetermined reference time period after the movement control has been initiated, and to decide to end the movement control when the state in which the absolute value of the relative speed is at or below the reference speed has continued for the reference time period.

Claims (20)

1 . A vehicle control device comprising:

a processor configured to

determine whether a host vehicle is located in a blind spot zone of another vehicle based on information representing environment surrounding the host vehicle,

initiate movement control to cause movement of the host vehicle from the blind spot zone of the other vehicle to a location outside of the blind spot zone by changing speed of the host vehicle when the host vehicle has been determined to be located in the blind spot zone of the other vehicle,

determine whether a state in which an absolute value of relative speed between the host vehicle and the other vehicle is at or below a predetermined reference speed has continued for a predetermined reference time period, or whether a degree of change in speed of the host vehicle has reached a predetermined reference degree of change, after the movement control has been initiated, and

end the movement control when the state in which the absolute value of the relative speed between the host vehicle and the other vehicle has been determined to be at or below the reference speed for the reference time period, or that the degree of change in the speed of the host vehicle has reached the reference degree of change.

2 . The vehicle control device according to claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to change the reference time period to be shorter for a greater reference speed.

3 . The vehicle control device according to claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to change the reference degree of change to be smaller with a higher speed of the host vehicle when initiating movement control.

4 . The vehicle control device according to claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to

determine whether the driver is gripping a steering wheel or the driver is looking at a speed display unit, and the state in which the absolute value of the relative speed between the host vehicle and the other vehicle is at or below the reference speed has continued for the reference time period, and

end the movement control when the driver is gripping the steering wheel or the driver is looking at the speed display unit, and the state in which the absolute value of the relative speed between the host vehicle and the other vehicle is at or below the reference speed has continued for the reference time period.

5 . The vehicle control device according to claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to

determine whether the driver is gripping a steering wheel or the driver is looking at a speed display unit, and the degree of change in the speed of the host vehicle has reached the reference degree of change, and

end the movement control when the driver is gripping the steering wheel or the driver is looking at the speed display unit, and the degree of change in the speed of the host vehicle has reached the reference degree of change.

6 . The vehicle control device according to claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to control the speed of the host vehicle so that the host vehicle is accelerated or decelerated in the direction opposite from the direction in which the speed of the host vehicle has changed by the movement control when ending the movement control.

7 . A computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium storing a computer program for vehicle control, which causes a processor to execute a process, the process comprising:

determining whether a host vehicle is located in a blind spot zone of another vehicle based on information representing environment surrounding the host vehicle;

initiate movement control to cause movement of the host vehicle from the blind spot zone of the other vehicle to a location outside of the blind spot zone by changing speed of the host vehicle when the host vehicle has been determined to be located in the blind spot zone of the other vehicle;

determining whether a state in which an absolute value of relative speed between the host vehicle and the other vehicle is at or below a predetermined reference speed has continued for a predetermined reference time period, or whether a degree of change in speed of the host vehicle has reached a predetermined reference degree of change, after the movement control has been initiated; and

end the movement control when the state in which the absolute value of the relative speed between the host vehicle and the other vehicle has been determined to be at or below the reference speed for the reference time period, or that the degree of change in the speed of the host vehicle has reached the reference degree of change.