# US 12,759,595 B2 · Vehicle control device, vehicle control method and vehicle control computer program

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- Number: US 12,759,595 B2
- Document ID: US12759595B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 18/637,978
- Filed: 2024-04-17
- Published: 2024-12-05
- Granted: 2026-10-13
- Earliest claimed: 2023-06-01
- Assignees: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
- Applicants: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
- Inventors: Hiromi Nemoto
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12759595B2

## CPC

- B60W 60/0051: {from occupants to vehicle}
- B60W 50/14: Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
- B60W 2420/403: Image sensing, e.g. optical camera
- B60W 2540/223: Posture, e.g. hand, foot, or seat position, turned or inclined
- 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

A vehicle control device includes: a processor configured to: determine whether or not a situation around a vehicle or a situation of a driver of the vehicle satisfies a predetermined warning condition in a case where a driving control of the vehicle is executed without the driver holding a steering wheel, notify the driver of a hands-on request for holding the steering wheel and a warning that the driver does not hold the steering wheel via a notification device when the predetermined warning condition is satisfied, determine whether or not the driver holds the steering wheel in response to an in-vehicle sensor signal from an in-vehicle sensor that detects an action of the driver, and continue the warning until the driver holds the steering wheel even if the predetermined warning condition is no longer satisfied after the hands-on request is notified.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A vehicle control device comprising:
a processor configured to:
determine whether or not a situation around a vehicle or a situation of a driver of the vehicle satisfies a predetermined warning condition in a case where a driving control of the vehicle is executed without the driver holding a steering wheel,
notify the driver of a hands-on request for holding the steering wheel via a notification device when the predetermined warning condition is satisfied,
notify the driver of a warning that the driver does not hold the steering wheel via the notification device when the predetermined warning condition is satisfied,
determine whether or not the driver holds the steering wheel in response to an in-vehicle sensor signal from an in-vehicle sensor that detects an action of the driver, and
continue the warning until the driver holds the steering wheel even if the predetermined warning condition is no longer satisfied after the hands-on request is notified,
wherein the processor increases an intensity of the warning as an elapsed time from the notification of the hands-on request becomes longer, and
wherein the processor stops the warning even if the driver does not hold the steering wheel when the predetermined warning condition is no longer satisfied while the intensity of the warning is a first strength, and continues the warning until the driver holds the steering wheel even if the predetermined warning condition is no longer satisfied while the intensity of the warning is a second strength stronger than the first strength.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to control the vehicle to stop the vehicle when the driver does not hold the steering wheel until a predetermined grace period elapses after the intensity of the warning is changed to the second strength.

### Claim 3

A vehicle control method comprising:
determining whether or not a situation around a vehicle or a situation of a driver of the vehicle satisfies a predetermined warning condition in a case where a driving control of the vehicle is executed without the driver holding a steering wheel;
notifying the driver of a hands-on request for holding the steering wheel via a notification device when the predetermined warning condition is satisfied;
notifying the driver of a warning that the driver does not hold the steering wheel via the notification device when the predetermined warning condition is satisfied;
determining whether or not the driver holds the steering wheel in response to an in-vehicle sensor signal from an in-vehicle sensor that detects an action of the driver; and
continuing the warning until the driver holds the steering wheel even if the predetermined warning condition is no longer satisfied after the hands-on request is notified,
wherein the method further comprises:
increasing an intensity of the warning as an elapsed time from the notification of the hands-on request becomes longer,
stopping the warning even if the driver does not hold the steering wheel when the predetermined warning condition is no longer satisfied while the intensity of the warning is a first strength, and
continuing the warning until the driver holds the steering wheel even if the predetermined warning condition is no longer satisfied while the intensity of the warning is a second strength stronger than the first strength.

### Claim 4

A non-transitory recording medium that stores a computer program for vehicle control, the computer program causing a processor mounted on a vehicle to execute a process comprising:
determining whether or not a situation around the vehicle or a situation of a driver of the vehicle satisfies a predetermined warning condition in a case where a driving control of the vehicle is executed without the driver holding a steering wheel;
notifying the driver of a hands-on request for holding the steering wheel via a notification device when the predetermined warning condition is satisfied;
notifying the driver of a warning that the driver does not hold the steering wheel via the notification device when the predetermined warning condition is satisfied;
determining whether or not the driver holds the steering wheel in response to an in-vehicle sensor signal from an in-vehicle sensor that detects an action of the driver; and
continuing the warning until the driver holds the steering wheel even if the predetermined warning condition is no longer satisfied after the hands-on request is notified,
wherein the process further comprises:
increasing an intensity of the warning as an elapsed time from the notification of the hands-on request becomes longer,
stopping the warning even if the driver does not hold the steering wheel when the predetermined warning condition is no longer satisfied while the intensity of the warning is a first strength, and
continuing the warning until the driver holds the steering wheel even if the predetermined warning condition is no longer satisfied while the intensity of the warning is a second strength stronger than the first strength.