IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,441,311
Granted Patent B2
US 12,441,311 · App. 18/526,262 · Granted Oct 14, 2025

Vehicle control device

Inventor: Masamu Chiba (Numazu, JP)
Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
B60W30/12B60W30/09B60W30/095B60W30/0956B60W30/10B60W2554/4041B60W2554/801
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,441,311
App. No.
18/526,262
Granted
Oct 14, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

A vehicle control device is a device that can execute obstacle avoidance control and lane departure prevention control. The obstacle avoidance control sets a target trajectory for avoiding an obstacle that is present in the forward traveling direction of a host vehicle and controls the host vehicle so that the host vehicle travels along the target trajectory. The lane departure prevention control prevents the host vehicle from departing from a driving lane, in which the host vehicle is traveling, when the host vehicle is about to depart from the driving lane. When the lane departure prevention control is to be executed while the obstacle avoidance control is being executed to avoid the obstacle, the vehicle control device executes the lane departure prevention control to cause the host vehicle to move toward the center of the driving lane after the host vehicle passes the obstacle.

Claims (44)

1. A vehicle control device configured to execute obstacle avoidance control and lane departure prevention control, the obstacle avoidance control being configured to set a target trajectory for avoiding an obstacle that is present in a forward traveling direction of a vehicle and configured to control the vehicle so that the vehicle travels along the target trajectory, the lane departure prevention control being configured to prevent the vehicle from departing from a driving lane in a case where the vehicle is about to depart from the driving lane, the driving lane being a lane in which the vehicle is traveling, wherein in a case where the vehicle control device executes the lane departure prevention control while the vehicle control device is executing the obstacle avoidance control to avoid the obstacle, the vehicle control device is configured to:

determine whether the vehicle is about to depart from the driving lane in a case where the vehicle control device determines that the vehicle has not passed the obstacle yet;

execute the lane departure prevention control so that a driving direction of the vehicle is parallel to the driving lane in a case where the vehicle control device determines that the vehicle has not passed the obstacle yet and that the vehicle is about to depart from the driving lane;

determine whether the vehicle is about to depart from the driving lane again in a case where the vehicle control device determines that the vehicle has passed the obstacle; and

execute the lane departure prevention control so that the vehicle moves toward a center of the driving lane in a case where the vehicle control device determines that the vehicle has passed the obstacle and that the vehicle is about to depart from the driving lane.

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

a first control unit configured to execute the obstacle avoidance control; and

a second control unit configured to execute the lane departure prevention control, wherein

in a case where the second control unit executes the lane departure prevention control while the first control unit is executing the obstacle avoidance control is to avoid the obstacle, the first control unit is configured to send position information indicating a position of the obstacle to the second control unit and the second control unit is configured to execute the lane departure prevention control to cause the vehicle to move toward the center of the driving lane after the vehicle passes the position of the obstacle indicated by the position information.

3. The vehicle control device according to claim 1 , the vehicle control device comprising:

a first control unit configured to execute the obstacle avoidance control;

a second control unit configured to execute the lane departure prevention control; and

an arbitration unit configured to arbitrate between the first control unit and the second control unit, wherein, in a case where the second control unit executes the lane departure prevention control while the first control unit is executing the obstacle avoidance control to avoid the obstacle, the arbitration unit is configured to arbitrate between the first control unit and the second control unit so that

the first control unit executes the obstacle avoidance control with priority over the second control unit executing the lane departure prevention control until the vehicle passes the obstacle, and

the second control unit executes the lane departure prevention control with priority over the first control unit executing the obstacle avoidance control after the vehicle passes the obstacle.

4. The vehicle control device according to claim 1 , wherein the vehicle control device is configured to end the obstacle avoidance control in a case where the vehicle control device determines that the vehicle has passed the obstacle.

5. A vehicle control device comprising a processor configured to:

execute obstacle avoidance control that sets a target trajectory to avoid an obstacle that is present in a forward traveling direction of a vehicle and that controls the vehicle to travel along the target trajectory; and

execute lane departure prevention control to prevent the vehicle from departing from a driving lane in a case where the vehicle is about to depart from the driving lane, the driving lane being a lane in which the vehicle is traveling,

wherein, in a case where the processor executes the lane departure prevention control while the processor is executing the obstacle avoidance control to avoid the obstacle, the processor is configured to

determine whether the vehicle has passed the obstacle;

determine whether the vehicle is about to depart from the driving lane in a case where the processor determines that the vehicle has not passed the obstacle,

change a driving direction of the vehicle to be parallel to the driving lane in a case where the processor determines that the vehicle has not passed the obstacle and that the vehicle is about to depart from the driving lane,

determine whether the vehicle is about to depart from the driving lane again in a case where the processor determines that the vehicle has passed the obstacle, and

move the vehicle toward a center of the driving lane in a case where the processor determines that the vehicle has passed the obstacle and that the vehicle is about to depart from the driving lane.

6. The vehicle control device according to claim 5 , wherein the processor is configured to end the obstacle avoidance control in a case where the processor determines that the vehicle has passed the obstacle.

7. A vehicle control device comprising a processor configured to:

execute obstacle avoidance control that sets a target trajectory to avoid an obstacle that is present in a forward traveling direction of a vehicle and that controls the vehicle to travel along the target trajectory;

execute lane departure prevention control to prevent the vehicle from departing from a driving lane in a case where the vehicle is about to depart from the driving lane, the driving lane being a lane in which the vehicle is traveling; and

determine whether the vehicle has passed the obstacle, wherein

in a case where the processor determines that the vehicle has not passed the obstacle and the processor executes the lane departure prevention control while the processor is executing the obstacle avoidance control to avoid the obstacle, the processor is configured to

input a cancel signal of the lane departure prevention control to at least one of a drive actuator, a brake actuator, and a steering actuator, the cancel signal canceling a control signal of the lane departure prevention control,

prevent a control signal of the lane departure prevention control from being input to at least one of the drive actuator, the brake actuator, and steering actuator, and

set priority of the obstacle avoidance control to be higher than priority of the lane departure prevention control, and

in a case where the processor determines that the vehicle has passed the obstacle, the processor is configured to

input the control signal of the lane departure prevention control to at least one of the drive actuator, the brake actuator, and the steering actuator,

prevent a control signal of the obstacle avoidance control from being input to at least one of the drive actuator, the brake actuator, and the steering actuator, and

set the priority of the lane departure prevention control to be higher than the priority of the obstacle avoidance control.

8. The vehicle control device according to claim 7 , wherein the processor is configured to end the obstacle avoidance control in a case where the processor determines that the vehicle has passed the obstacle.

9. The vehicle control device according to claim 5 , wherein the processor is further configured to move the vehicle to a position farther from the obstacle than the center of the driving lane in a case where the processor executes the lane departure prevention control.

10. The vehicle control device according to claim 5 , wherein the processor is further configured to change the driving direction of the vehicle to be parallel to the driving lane in a case where:

the processor determines that the vehicle has not passed the obstacle and that the vehicle is about to depart from the driving lane;

the vehicle is in a position farther from the obstacle than the center of the driving lane; and

the driving direction is not parallel to the driving lane.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 5, 2023
From: CHIBA, MASAMU
To: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Reel/Frame 065763/0741 →
Priority Claims (1)
JP 2023-008083 · Jan 23, 2023 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20240246535A1 · Jul 25, 2024
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