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EP-4737250-A1 - VEHICLE AND AUTONOMOUS DRIVING SYSTEM

EP4737250A1EP 4737250 A1EP4737250 A1EP 4737250A1EP-4737250-A1

Abstract

A vehicle (1) comprises an autonomous driving system (200) and a vehicle platform (120) that controls the vehicle in response to a command received from the autonomous driving system. In the vehicle, when a first signal indicates an autonomous mode, the vehicle platform performs a shift change requested through a first command only while the second signal indicates a standstill.

Inventors

  • SUZUKI, IKUMA
  • OHASHI, YUTA

Assignees

  • Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20210121

Claims (9)

  1. A vehicle (1) comprising: a vehicle platform (120) on which an autonomous driving system (200) is mountable, wherein the vehicle platform (120) includes a shift device (124) configured to switch a shift range of the vehicle, and the vehicle comprises a control device (110) configured to control the shift device (124), the autonomous driving system (200) is configured to send to the vehicle platform (120) a first command to request to switch the shift range to another, the first command is set to any one of a first value indicating no request, a second value requesting a shift to a reverse range, and a third value requesting a shift to a drive range, the autonomous driving system is configured to obtain a first signal indicating a state of an autonomous mode or a manual mode and a second signal indicating a moving direction of the vehicle, when the first signal indicates the autonomous mode and the second signal does not indicate a standstill, the control device is configured to control the shift device not to perform a shift change, when the first signal indicates the autonomous mode, the second signal indicates a standstill, and the first command indicates the second value, the control device is configured to control the shift device to switch the shift range to the reverse range, and when the first signal indicates the autonomous mode, the second signal indicates a standstill, and the first command indicates the third value, the control device is configured to control the shift device to switch the shift range to the drive range.
  2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein when the first signal indicates the autonomous mode, the second signal indicates a standstill, and the first command indicates the first value, the control device (110) is configured to control the shift device (124) not to perform a shift change.
  3. The vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein when the first signal indicates the autonomous mode and the second signal does not indicate a standstill, the first command indicates the first value.
  4. The vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the autonomous driving system (200) is mounted on the vehicle platform (120).
  5. The vehicle according to claim 4, wherein the vehicle platform (120) further includes a brake device (121A, 121B), the autonomous driving system (200) is further configured to send the vehicle platform (120) a second command to request acceleration and deceleration, and the autonomous driving system is configured to, when the autonomous driving system issues the first command indicating the second value or the third value, also issue the second command to simultaneously request the vehicle platform to provide deceleration by the brake device (121A, 121B).
  6. The vehicle according to claim 5, wherein after the shift device (124) starts the shift change, the autonomous driving system is configured to issue the second command to continue to request the vehicle platform to provide deceleration by the brake device while the first signal indicates the autonomous mode, the second signal indicates a standstill, the first command does not indicate the first value, and the shift change is not completed.
  7. The vehicle according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the shift device (124) includes a shift lever, when the first signal indicates the manual mode, the shift device is configured to switch the shift range in response to a user operation of the shift lever, the autonomous driving system is further configured to obtain a third signal indicating a current shift range of the vehicle, and when the first signal indicates the autonomous mode, a driver operation of the shift lever is not reflected in the third signal.
  8. The vehicle according to claim 7, wherein the autonomous driving system is further configured to obtain a fourth signal indicating a shift lever position by a driver, and the autonomous driving system is configured to determine a value for the first command by referring to the fourth signal.
  9. The vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the second signal indicates a standstill when all wheels of the vehicle continue a speed of 0 for a prescribed period of time, the second signal indicates a forward motion when more than half the wheels of the vehicle rotate forward, and the second signal indicates a backward motion when more than half the wheels of the vehicle rotate backward.

Description

This nonprovisional application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-015718 filed with the Japan Patent Office on January 31, 2020, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference and to which the person of the art can refer to when considering the present disclosure. BACKGROUND Field The present disclosure relates to a vehicle and an autonomous driving system, and more specifically to a technology used to autonomously drive a vehicle. Description of the Background Art Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2018-132015 discloses a technology used to autonomously drive a vehicle. In the technology described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2018-132015, an autonomous driving ECU having a function to sense a vicinity of a vehicle is provided to the vehicle separately from an engine ECU, and the autonomous driving ECU issues an instruction to the engine ECU via an in-vehicle network. The ECU for managing the power of the vehicle and the ECU for autonomous driving that are independent from each other allow an autonomous driving function to be added without significantly changing an existing vehicle platform. In addition, it is expected that a third party should accelerate development of an autonomous driving function. SUMMARY It is also conceivable to make an autonomous driving system retrofittable to a vehicular body having a vehicle platform incorporated therein. However, a technique allowing a vehicle platform to appropriately perform vehicle control in response to a command received from such an autonomous driving system has not yet been established, and there remains room for improvement. The present disclosure has been made in order to address the above issue, and contemplates a vehicle and autonomous driving system capable of appropriately performing a shift change when a vehicle platform carries out vehicle control in response to a command received from the autonomous driving system. A vehicle in a first aspect of the present disclosure comprises an autonomous driving system and a vehicle platform that controls the vehicle in response to a command received from the autonomous driving system. The command sent from the autonomous driving system to the vehicle platform includes a first command to request switching a shift range. The autonomous driving system is configured to obtain a first signal indicating a state of an autonomous mode or a manual mode and a second signal indicating a moving direction of the vehicle. In the vehicle, when the first signal indicates the autonomous mode, the vehicle platform performs the shift change requested through the first command only while the second signal indicates a standstill. In the manual mode, in which a driver manually drives the vehicle, a shift change is performed while the driver confirms the vehicle's state and situation. In the autonomous mode, in which autonomous driving is performed, the autonomous driving system determines the vehicle's state and situation. When a shift change is performed while the vehicle is travelling, the vehicle may travel unstably depending on the vehicle's state and situation. In addition, it may be difficult to perform a shift change while the vehicle is traveling. In the above configuration, a shift change requested through the first command is performed only when it is confirmed through the second signal that the vehicle is at a standstill. This configuration allows a shift change to be appropriately performed when the vehicle platform carries out vehicle control in response to a command received from the autonomous driving system. The command sent from the autonomous driving system to the vehicle platform may further include a second command to request acceleration and deceleration. In the vehicle, the autonomous driving system may be configured such that when the autonomous driving system issues the first command to request the vehicle platform to switch a shift range of the vehicle to another thereof in order to perform a shift change of the vehicle the autonomous driving system also issues the second command to simultaneously request the vehicle platform to provide deceleration. In the vehicle, the autonomous driving system may be configured to issue the second command to continue to request the vehicle platform to provide deceleration while the shift change requested through the first command is performed. According to the above configuration, a shift change is performed in a state in which acceleration of the vehicle is suppressed in response to a request through the second command for deceleration. This allows a shift change to be easily, appropriately performed. The vehicle may include a shift lever. In the vehicle, the autonomous driving system may be further configured to obtain a third signal indicating the current shift range of the vehicle. When the first signal indicates the autonomous mode, a driver operation of the shift lever may not be reflected in the third signal. This configuration can