# US 12,594,993 B2 · Vehicle control device, vehicle control method, and storage medium > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,594,993 B2 - Document ID: US12594993B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 18/589,458 - Filed: 2024-02-28 - Published: 2024-09-19 - Granted: 2026-04-07 - Earliest claimed: 2023-03-15 - Assignees: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. - Applicants: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. - Inventors: Tomotaka Teramachi - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12594993B2 ## CPC - B62D 15/0255: {Automatic changing of lane, e.g. for passing another vehicle} - B60W 10/20: including control of steering systems - B60W 30/10: Path keeping {(cruise control for automatically following a preceding vehicle B60W30/165)} - B60W 30/18163: {Lane change; Overtaking manoeuvres} - G06V 20/58: Recognition of moving objects or obstacles, e.g. vehicles or pedestrians; Recognition of traffic objects, e.g. traffic signs, traffic lights or roads - G08G 1/167: {Driving aids for lane monitoring, lane changing, e.g. blind spot detection} - B62D: MOTOR VEHICLES; TRAILERS (steering, or guiding on a desired track, of agricultural machines or implements A01B69/00; wheels, castors, axles, increasing wheel adhesion B60B; vehicle tyres, tyre inflation or tyre changing B60C; connections between vehicles of a train or the like B60D; vehicles for use on rail and road, amphibious or convertible vehicles B60F; suspension arrangements B60G; heating, cooling, ventilating or other air treating devices B60H; windows, windscreens, non-fixed roofs, doors or similar devices, protective coverings for vehicles not in use B60J; propulsion plant arrangements, auxiliary drives, transmissions, controls, instrumentation or dashboards B60K; electric equipment or propulsion of electrically-propelled vehicles B60L; power supply for electrically-propelled vehicles B60M; passenger accommodation not otherwise provided for B60N; adaptations for load transportation or to carry special loads or objects B60P; arrangement of signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor, for vehicles in general B60Q; vehicles, vehicle fittings or vehicle parts not otherwise provided for B60R; servicing, cleaning, repairing, supporting, lifting, or manoeuvring, not otherwise provided for, B60S; brake arrangements, brake control systems or parts thereof B60T; air-cushion vehicles B60V; motor-cycles, accessories therefor B62J, B62K; testing of vehicles G01M) - 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 - G06V: IMAGE OR VIDEO RECOGNITION OR UNDERSTANDING - G08G: TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS (guiding railway traffic, ensuring the safety of railway traffic B61L; arrangement of road signs or traffic signals E01F9/00; radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for traffic control G01S13/91, G01S15/88, G01S17/88; {radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for anti-collision purposes G01S13/93, G01S15/93, G01S17/93}) ## Abstract A vehicle control device recognizes a surrounding situation of a vehicle, controls steering of the vehicle such that the vehicle proceeds along a route on the basis of the surrounding situation and the route along which the vehicle is scheduled to proceed, determines whether or not to cause the vehicle to make a lane change from a traveling lane in which the vehicle is traveling to a branch lane branching from the traveling lane on the basis of a situation on a road shoulder in front of the branch lane when the vehicle is scheduled to proceed from the traveling lane to the branch lane, causes the vehicle to automatically make the lane change when it is determined to make the lane change, and causes the vehicle not to automatically make the lane change when it is determined not to make the lane change. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A vehicle control device comprising: a storage medium storing computer-readable instructions; and at least one processor connected to the storage medium, wherein the processor executes the computer-readable instructions to: recognize a surrounding situation of a vehicle; control steering of the vehicle such that the vehicle proceeds along a route on a basis of the surrounding situation and the route along which the vehicle is scheduled to proceed; determine whether or not a road shoulder in front of a branch lane branching from a traveling lane is congested on a basis of a situation on the road shoulder in front of the branch lane when the vehicle is scheduled to proceed from the traveling lane to the branch lane; determine not to cause the vehicle to automatically make a lane change when it is determined that congestion has occurred and the vehicle has reached a location within a predetermined distance from a tail end of the congestion or when it is determined that the congestion has occurred and the vehicle has reached the tail end of the congestion; and continue to not cause the vehicle to automatically make the lane change even when it is determined that the congestion has not occurred after it is determined to not cause the vehicle to automatically make the lane change. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the processor executes the computer-readable instructions to: acquire a situation of the congestion in a region of the road shoulder from a connection starting position between the traveling lane and the branch lane to a location in front at a first predetermined distance on a basis of the recognized surrounding situation. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The vehicle control device according to claim 2, wherein the processor executes the computer-readable instructions to: set the first predetermined distance to a distance varying depending on a speed of the vehicle. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The vehicle control device according to claim 3, wherein the processor executes the computer-readable instructions to: set the first predetermined distance to be longer as the speed of the vehicle increases. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the processor executes the computer-readable instructions to: continue to cause the vehicle not to automatically make the lane change until the vehicle passes a predetermined position in the branch lane even when it is determined that the congestion has not occurred after it is determined to cause the vehicle not to automatically make a lane change, and restart the processing of causing the vehicle to automatically make a lane change after having passed the predetermined position. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the processor executes the computer-readable instructions to: determine that the congestion has occurred when a predetermined number or more of different vehicles are present in a region of the road shoulder. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the processor executes the computer-readable instructions to: determine that the congestion has occurred when a plurality of different vehicles are present in a queue in a region of the road shoulder and a length of a convoy of the different vehicles present in the queue is equal to or longer than a second setting distance. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the processor executes the computer-readable instructions to: cause an information output device to output information notifying a driver of the vehicle of an operation of steering to be performed without causing the vehicle to automatically make the lane change when it is determined not to make the lane change. ### Claim 9 A vehicle control method in which a computer executes processing of recognizing a surrounding situation of a vehicle, processing of controlling steering of the vehicle such that the vehicle proceeds along a route on a basis of the surrounding situation and the route along which the vehicle is scheduled to proceed, processing of determining whether or not a road shoulder in front of a branch lane branching from a traveling lane is congested on a basis of a situation on the road shoulder when the vehicle is scheduled to proceed from the traveling lane to the branch lane, processing of determining not to cause the vehicle to automatically make a lane change when it is determined that congestion has occurred and the vehicle has reached a location within a predetermined distance from a tail end of the congestion or when it is determined that the congestion has occurred and the vehicle has reached the tail end of the congestion; and processing of continuing to not cause the vehicle to automatically make the lane change even when it is determined that the congestion has not occurred after it is determined to not cause the vehicle to automatically make the lane change. ### Claim 10 A non-transitory computer storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute processing of recognizing a surrounding situation of a vehicle, processing of controlling steering of the vehicle such that the vehicle proceeds along a route on a basis of the surrounding situation and the route along which the vehicle is scheduled to proceed, processing of determining whether or not a road shoulder in front of a branch lane branching from a traveling lane is congested on a basis of a situation on the road shoulder when the vehicle is scheduled to proceed from the traveling lane to the branch lane, processing of determining not to cause the vehicle to automatically make a lane change when it is determined that congestion has occurred and the vehicle has reached a location within a predetermined distance from a tail end of the congestion or when it is determined that the congestion has occurred and the vehicle has reached the tail end of the congestion; and processing of continuing to not cause the vehicle to automatically make the lane change even when it is determined that the congestion has not occurred after it is determined to not cause the vehicle to automatically make the lane change.