# US 12,179,796 B2 · Autonomous control system that performs pull-over operations through sequential steering and deceleration inputs > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,179,796 B2 - Document ID: US12179796B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/310,336 - Filed: 2019-01-31 - Published: 2022-03-03 - Granted: 2024-12-31 - Earliest claimed: 2019-01-31 - Assignees: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. - Applicants: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. - Inventors: Takashi Fukushige; Satoshi Tange - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12179796B2 ## CPC - B60W 60/0013: {specially adapted for occupant comfort} - B60W 30/146: {Speed limiting} - B60W 40/08: related to drivers or passengers - B60W 40/105: Speed - B60W 50/0205: {Diagnosing or detecting failures; Failure detection models} - B60W 60/0015: {specially adapted for safety} - B60W 60/0018: {by employing degraded modes, e.g. reducing speed, in response to suboptimal conditions} - B60W 60/00253: {Taxi operations} - B60W 60/007: {Emergency override (Handing over between remote control and on-board control or handing over between remote control arrangements G05D1/227)} - B60W 2040/0818: {Inactivity or incapacity of driver} - B60W 2554/60: Traversable objects, e.g. speed bumps or curbs - B60W 2554/801: Lateral distance - B60W 2554/803: Relative lateral speed - B60W 2720/103: Speed profile - B60W 2720/106: Longitudinal acceleration - B60W 2720/12: Lateral speed - B60W 2720/125: Lateral acceleration - 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 ## Abstract When a subject vehicle arrives at a destination while traveling, or when a driver of the subject vehicle becomes unable to drive during travel or when a failure occurs that interferes with the travel of the subject vehicle during the travel, a control plan for autonomous stop control is generated, the control plan comprising deceleration control for decreasing a speed of the subject vehicle; pulling over control for moving the subject vehicle from a lane in which the subject vehicle travels to the shoulder of the road; and stop control for stopping the subject vehicle at the shoulder of the road, and on a basis of this control plan, the autonomous stop control is performed to decelerate the subject vehicle and then move it to the shoulder of the road by individually and sequentially performing each of the deceleration control, the pulling over control, and the stop control. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A travel control method for a vehicle for stopping a subject vehicle at a shoulder of a road when the subject vehicle arrives at a destination while the subject vehicle travels, or when a driver of the subject vehicle becomes unable to drive during travel of the subject vehicle or when a failure occurs that interferes with the travel of the subject vehicle during the travel of the subject vehicle, comprising: generating a control plan for autonomous stop control comprising deceleration control for decreasing a speed of the subject vehicle to a target vehicle speed while maintaining course; thereafter, pulling over control for moving the subject vehicle from a lane in which the subject vehicle travels to the shoulder of the road with maintaining the speed of the subject vehicle at the target vehicle speed; and, thereafter, stop control for stopping the subject vehicle at the shoulder of the road; and performing the autonomous stop control for decelerating the subject vehicle and then moving the subject vehicle to the shoulder of the road by individually and sequentially performing each of the deceleration control, the pulling over control, and the stop control, in order of the deceleration control, the pulling over control, and the stop control, on a basis of the control plan. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The travel control method of the vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the control plan comprises: a first mode control plan performed when the subject vehicle arrives at the destination; and a second mode control plan performed when the driver becomes unable to drive or when the failure occurs that interferes with the travel of the subject vehicle, wherein a second deceleration of the subject vehicle while performing the deceleration control corresponding to the second mode control plan is set higher than the second deceleration of the subject vehicle while performing the deceleration control corresponding to the first mode control plan. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The travel control method of the vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the control plan includes a direction indication control for operating a direction indicator of the subject vehicle a predetermined time before starting the deceleration control. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The travel control method for the vehicle according to claim 2, for setting a pulling over speed that is the speed of the subject vehicle while performing the pulling over control, comprising: detecting a distance from the subject vehicle to an edge of the shoulder of the road; calculating an amount of pulling over required to make a distance between a vehicle centerline of the subject vehicle and the edge of the shoulder of the road to a predetermined interval based on the distance from the subject vehicle to the edge of the shoulder of the road and the predetermined interval, the predetermined interval being an interval between the vehicle centerline of the subject vehicle and the edge of the shoulder of the road when the pulling over control is finished; estimating a lateral speed and a lateral acceleration caused in the subject vehicle while performing the pulling over control based on the amount of pulling over; and setting the pulling over speed based on the estimated lateral speed, the estimated lateral acceleration, and the predetermined interval. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The travel control method for the vehicle according to claim 4, wherein pulling over time required for performing the pulling over control is set based on the lateral speed, the lateral acceleration, and the predetermined interval, the lateral speed and the lateral acceleration being estimated from the amount of pulling over. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The travel control method for the vehicle according to claim 5, for generating the control plan, comprising: setting a planned stop position for stopping the subject vehicle corresponding to a mode of the control plan; setting a first deceleration caused in the subject vehicle while performing the stop control corresponding to the mode of the control plan; calculating a stop distance required to stop the subject vehicle travelling at the pulling over speed based on the pulling over speed and the first deceleration; setting a stop control start position based on the stop distance and the planned stop position; calculating a pulling over distance based on the pulling over speed and the pulling over time, the pulling over distance being a travel distance required to move the subject vehicle to the shoulder of the road; setting a pulling over control start position based on the pulling over distance and the stop control start position; setting the second deceleration caused in the subject vehicle while performing the deceleration control corresponding to the mode of the control plan; calculating a deceleration distance required to decelerate the subject vehicle to the pulling over speed based on the speed of the subject vehicle before starting the autonomous stop control and the second deceleration; and setting a deceleration control start position based on the deceleration distance and the pulling over control start position. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The travel control method for the vehicle according to claim 6, comprising: starting the deceleration control to decrease the speed of the subject vehicle to the pulling over speed with the second deceleration when the subject vehicle arrives at the deceleration control start position; starting the pulling over control to move the subject vehicle to the shoulder of the road with the pulling over speed when the subject vehicle arrives at the pulling over control start position; and starting the stop control to decelerate the subject vehicle travelling at the pulling over speed with the first deceleration and stop the subject vehicle when the subject vehicle arrives at the stop control start position. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The travel control method for the vehicle according to claim 7, wherein the pulling over control detects a distance from the subject vehicle to the edge of the shoulder of the road after starting the pulling over control and moves the subject vehicle to the shoulder of the road so that the detected distance between the subject vehicle and the edge of the shoulder of the road becomes the predetermined interval. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The travel control method for the vehicle according to claim 7, wherein the pulling over control sets a final target route for stopping the subject vehicle at the shoulder of the road based on the amount of pulling over; gradually moves a target route set along a lane center line of a lane on which the subject vehicle travels to the final target route with maintaining a longitudinal component of a travel direction of the subject vehicle parallel to the lane center line; and has the subject vehicle to follow the gradually moved target route. ### Claim 10 (depends on 7) The travel control method for the vehicle according to claim 7, further comprising: regenerating the control plan when a change occurs in a situation around the subject vehicle while performing the autonomous stop control; and performing the autonomous stop control based on the regenerated control plan. ### Claim 11 A travel control device for a vehicle for stopping a subject vehicle at a shoulder of a road when the subject vehicle arrives at a destination while the subject vehicle travels, or when a driver of the subject vehicle becomes unable to drive during travel of the subject vehicle or when a failure occurs that interferes with the travel of the subject vehicle during the travel of the subject vehicle, wherein the travel control device is configured to: generate a control plan for autonomous stop control comprising deceleration control for decreasing a speed of the subject vehicle to a target vehicle speed while maintaining course; thereafter, pulling over control for moving the subject vehicle from a lane in which the subject vehicle travels to the shoulder of the road with maintaining the speed of the subject vehicle at the target vehicle speed; and, thereafter, stop control for stopping the subject vehicle at the shoulder of the road; and perform the autonomous stop control for decelerating the subject vehicle and then moving the subject vehicle to the shoulder of the road by individually and sequentially performing each of the deceleration control, the pulling over control, and the stop control, in order of the deceleration control, the pulling over control, and the stop control, on a basis of the control plan. ### Claim 12 A travel control method for a vehicle for stopping a subject vehicle at a shoulder of a road when the subject vehicle arrives at a destination while the subject vehicle travels, or when a driver of the subject vehicle becomes unable to drive during travel of the subject vehicle or when a failure occurs that interferes with the travel of the subject vehicle during the travel of the subject vehicle, comprising: generating a control plan for autonomous stop control comprising deceleration control for decreasing a speed of the subject vehicle to a target vehicle speed while maintaining course; thereafter, pulling over control for moving the subject vehicle from a lane in which the subject vehicle travels to the shoulder of the road with maintaining the speed of the subject vehicle at the target vehicle speed; and, thereafter, stop control for stopping the subject vehicle at the shoulder of the road; and performing the autonomous stop control for decelerating the subject vehicle and then moving the subject vehicle to the shoulder of the road by individually and sequentially performing each of the deceleration control, the pulling over control, and the stop control, in order of the deceleration control, the pulling over control, and the stop control, on a basis of the control plan, and for setting a pulling over speed that is the speed of the subject vehicle while performing the pulling over control, detecting a distance from the subject vehicle to an edge of the shoulder of the road; calculating an amount of pulling over required to make a distance between a vehicle centerline of the subject vehicle and the edge of the shoulder of the road to a predetermined interval based on the distance from the subject vehicle to the edge of the shoulder of the road and the predetermined interval, the predetermined interval being an interval between the vehicle centerline of the subject vehicle and the edge of the shoulder of the road when the pulling over control is finished; estimating a lateral speed and a lateral acceleration caused in the subject vehicle while performing the pulling over control based on the amount of pulling over; and setting the pulling over speed based on the estimated lateral speed, the estimated lateral acceleration, and the predetermined interval. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The travel control method for the vehicle according to claim 12, wherein pulling over time required for performing the pulling over control is set based on the lateral speed, the lateral acceleration, and the predetermined interval, the lateral speed and the lateral acceleration being estimated from the amount of pulling over. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The travel control method for the vehicle according to claim 13, for generating the control plan, comprising: setting a planned stop position for stopping the subject vehicle corresponding to a mode of the control plan; setting a first deceleration caused in the subject vehicle while performing the stop control corresponding to the mode of the control plan; calculating a stop distance required to stop the subject vehicle travelling at the pulling over speed based on the pulling over speed and the first deceleration; setting a stop control start position based on the stop distance and the planned stop position; calculating a pulling over distance based on the pulling over speed and the pulling over time, the pulling over distance being a travel distance required to move the subject vehicle to the shoulder of the road; setting a pulling over control start position based on the pulling over distance and the stop control start position; setting a second deceleration caused in the subject vehicle while performing the deceleration control corresponding to the mode of the control plan; calculating a deceleration distance required to decelerate the subject vehicle to the pulling over speed based on the speed of the subject vehicle before starting the autonomous stop control and the second deceleration; and setting a deceleration control start position based on the deceleration distance and the pulling over control start position. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The travel control method for the vehicle according to claim 14, comprising: starting the deceleration control to decrease the speed of the subject vehicle to the pulling over speed with the second deceleration when the subject vehicle arrives at the deceleration control start position; starting the pulling over control to move the subject vehicle to the shoulder of the road with the pulling over speed when the subject vehicle arrives at the pulling over control start position; and starting the stop control to decelerate the subject vehicle travelling at the pulling over speed with the first deceleration and stop the subject vehicle when the subject vehicle arrives at the stop control start position. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The travel control method for the vehicle according to claim 15, wherein the pulling over control detects a distance from the subject vehicle to the edge of the shoulder of the road after starting the pulling over control and moves the subject vehicle to the shoulder of the road so that the detected distance between the subject vehicle and the edge of the shoulder of the road becomes the predetermined interval. ### Claim 17 (depends on 15) The travel control method for the vehicle according to claim 15, wherein the pulling over control sets a final target route for stopping the subject vehicle at the shoulder of the road based on the amount of pulling over; gradually moves a target route set along a lane center line of a lane on which the subject vehicle travels to the final target route with maintaining a longitudinal component of a travel direction of the subject vehicle parallel to the lane center line; and has the subject vehicle to follow the gradually moved target route. ### Claim 18 (depends on 15) The travel control method for the vehicle according to claim 15, further comprising: regenerating the control plan when a change occurs in a situation around the subject vehicle while performing the autonomous stop control; and performing the autonomous stop control based on the regenerated control plan.