Vehicle control apparatus

A vehicle control apparatus comprising:

• an actuator used for traveling;
• and
• a microprocessor, wherein
• the microprocessor is configured to perform:
• recognizing a road traffic sign installed on a forward side in an advancing direction in association with a driving path of a subject vehicle, and a curvature of the driving path on the forward side in the advancing direction;
• setting a target driving speed of the subject vehicle on the driving path;
• and
• controlling the actuator for the subject vehicle to travel at the target driving speed, wherein
• the microprocessor is configured to perform:
• the recognizing including further recognizing a curved road based on the curvature of the driving path;
• and
• the setting including:
• when the curved road and the road traffic sign on the curved road are recognized while the subject vehicle is traveling in a merging lane to merge into a main lane, setting the target driving speed to a first target driving speed which is based on the road traffic sign;
• determining that the subject vehicle enters the main lane when the subject vehicle passes an end position of the curved road after the curved road has been recognized, and changing the target driving speed from the first target driving speed to a second target driving speed;
• and
• in a case where a plurality of curved roads is recognized, determining that the subject vehicle enters the main lane when the subject vehicle passes the end position of the curved road on a farthest side in the advancing direction, and changing the target driving speed from the first target driving speed to the second target driving speed.

A vehicle control apparatus comprising:

• an actuator used for traveling;
• and
• a microprocessor, wherein
• the microprocessor is configured to perform:
• recognizing a road traffic sign installed on a forward side in an advancing direction in association with a driving path of a subject vehicle, and a curvature of the driving path on the forward side in the advancing direction;
• setting a target driving speed of the subject vehicle on the driving path;
• and
• controlling the actuator for the subject vehicle to travel at the target driving speed, wherein
• the microprocessor is configured to perform:
• the recognizing including further recognizing a curved road based on the curvature of the driving path;
• and
• the setting including, when the curved road and the road traffic sign on the curved road are recognized while the subject vehicle is traveling in a merging lane to merge into a main lane, setting the target driving speed to a first target driving speed which is based on the road traffic sign, and setting, when the subject vehicle enters the main lane, the target driving speed to a second target driving speed different from the first target driving speed, wherein
• the microprocessor is configured to perform:
• the recognizing including further recognizing a gradient of the driving path;
• and
• the setting including, when the road traffic sign is recognized while the subject vehicle is traveling in the merging lane, setting the target driving speed to the first target driving speed, determining whether the gradient of the driving path is equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold, and when determining that the gradient is equal to or larger than the predetermined threshold, changing the target driving speed from the first target driving speed to the second target driving speed when the subject vehicle enters the main lane.