# US 11,079,762 B2 · Vehicle control device, vehicle control method, and storage medium

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- Number: US 11,079,762 B2
- Document ID: US11079762B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/297,748
- Filed: 2019-03-11
- Published: 2019-09-19
- Granted: 2021-08-03
- Earliest claimed: 2018-03-14
- Assignees: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Hideki Matsunaga; Masamitsu Tsuchiya; Yasuharu Hashimoto; Etsuo Watanabe
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11079762B2

## CPC

- G05D 1/0212: {with means for defining a desired trajectory (involving a plurality of land vehicles G05D1/0287)}
- B60W 30/18154: {Approaching an intersection}
- B60W 60/0015: {specially adapted for safety}
- G05D 1/00: Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots (drive control systems specially adapted for autonomous road vehicles B60W60/00)
- G06N 3/08: Learning methods
- G05D: SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES
- B60W: CONJOINT CONTROL OF VEHICLE SUB-UNITS OF DIFFERENT TYPE OR DIFFERENT FUNCTION; CONTROL SYSTEMS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR HYBRID VEHICLES; ROAD VEHICLE DRIVE CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR PURPOSES NOT RELATED TO THE CONTROL OF A PARTICULAR SUB-UNIT
- G06N: COMPUTING ARRANGEMENTS BASED ON SPECIFIC COMPUTATIONAL MODELS

## Abstract

A vehicle control device includes a recognition unit, an intersection road recognition determination unit, and a driving control unit. When a subject vehicle turns in a first direction that is one of left and right directions at an intersection road, in a case where it is determined that a situation of the intersection road is able to be recognized at a predetermined degree or more by the intersection road recognition determination unit, the driving control unit performs control of moving the subject vehicle toward a side of the first direction in front of the intersection road, and in a case where it is determined that the situation of the intersection road is not able to be recognized at the predetermined degree or more, the driving control unit suppresses the control of moving the subject vehicle toward the side of the first direction in front of the intersection road.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A vehicle control device comprising:
a recognition unit that recognizes a surrounding situation of a subject vehicle;
an intersection road recognition determination unit that determines whether or not a situation of an intersection road that is present in a progress direction of the subject vehicle is able to be recognized at a predetermined degree or more based on a recognition result by the recognition unit; and
a driving control unit that controls at least steering of the subject vehicle based on a determination result of the intersection road recognition determination unit,
wherein, when the subject vehicle turns in a first direction that is one of left and right directions at the intersection road, in a case where it is determined that the situation of the intersection road is able to be recognized at the predetermined degree or more by the intersection road recognition determination unit, the driving control unit performs control of moving the subject vehicle toward a side of the first direction in front of the intersection road, and in a case where it is determined that the situation of the intersection road is not able to be recognized at the predetermined degree or more by the intersection road recognition determination unit, the driving control unit suppresses the control of moving the subject vehicle toward the side of the first direction in front of the intersection road, and
wherein, in a case where the subject vehicle turns in the first direction, the driving control unit causes the subject vehicle to stop in the first direction with respect to an extending direction of a road on which the subject vehicle travels in front of the intersection road, in a case where it is determined that the situation of the intersection road is not able to be recognized at the predetermined degree or more by the intersection road recognition determination unit.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The vehicle control device of claim 1,
wherein, in a case where the subject vehicle turns in a second direction that is the other of the left and right directions at the intersection road, the driving control unit performs control of moving the subject vehicle toward a side of the second direction in front of the intersection road regardless of the recognition result of the intersection road by the intersection road recognition determination unit.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The vehicle control device of claim 1,
wherein the first direction is the right direction in a region of a left side traffic and is the left direction in a region of a right side traffic.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The vehicle control device of claim 1, further comprising:
an out-vehicle informing unit that informs the progress direction of the subject vehicle outside the subject vehicle; and
an informing control unit that controls operation of the out-vehicle informing unit,
wherein, in a case where the subject vehicle turns in the first direction, the informing control unit informs the first direction to the outside of the subject vehicle by the out-vehicle informing unit at a timing before a timing of suppressing the control of moving the subject vehicle towards the side of the first direction, in a case where it is determined that the situation of the intersection road is not able to be recognized at the predetermined degree or more by the intersection road recognition determination unit.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The vehicle control device of claim 1,
wherein the driving control unit sets an imaginary line at a position further in front of a position of a temporary stop line that is present in front of the intersection road recognized by the recognition unit, and starts control of directing the subject vehicle in the first direction with respect to the extending direction of the road after the subject vehicle crosses the imaginary line.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The vehicle control device of claim 5,
wherein the driving control unit sets the imaginary line at a position estimated to be able to recognize the subject vehicle before another vehicle traveling on the intersection road starts an entry to the road on which the subject vehicle travels.

### Claim 7

A vehicle control method that causes a vehicle control device to:
recognize a surrounding situation of a subject vehicle;
determine whether or not a situation of an intersection road that is present in a progress direction of the subject vehicle is able to be recognized at a predetermined degree or more based on a recognition result;
control at least steering of the subject vehicle based on a determination result;
perform control of moving the subject vehicle toward a side of the first direction in front of the intersection road in a case where it is determined that the situation of the intersection road is able to be recognized at the predetermined degree or more, when the subject vehicle turns in a first direction that is one of left and right directions at the intersection road;
suppress the control of moving the subject vehicle toward the side of the first direction in front of the intersection road in a case where it is determined that the situation of the intersection road is not able to be recognized at the predetermined degree or more; and
in a case where the subject vehicle turns in the first direction, cause the subject vehicle to stop in the first direction with respect to an extending direction of a road on which the subject vehicle travels in front of the intersection road, in a case where it is determined that the situation of the intersection road is not able to be recognized at the predetermined degree or more.

### Claim 8

A computer-readable non-transitory storage medium storing a program that causes a vehicle control device to:
recognize a surrounding situation of a subject vehicle;
determine whether or not a situation of an intersection road that is present in a progress direction of the subject vehicle is able to be recognized at a predetermined degree or more based on a recognition result;
control at least steering of the subject vehicle based on a determination result;
perform control of moving the subject vehicle toward a side of the first direction in front of the intersection road in a case where it is determined that the situation of the intersection road is able to be recognized at the predetermined degree or more, when the subject vehicle turns in a first direction that is one of left and right directions at the intersection road;
suppress the control of moving the subject vehicle toward the side of the first direction in front of the intersection road in a case where it is determined that the situation of the intersection road is not able to be recognized at the predetermined degree or more; and
in a case where the subject vehicle turns in the first direction, cause the subject vehicle to stop in the first direction with respect to an extending direction of a road on which the subject vehicle travels in front of the intersection road, in a case where it is determined that the situation of the intersection road is not able to be recognized at the predetermined degree or more.