US 12,258,017 B2
Vehicle controller, vehicle, and vehicle control method
Katsuya Yashiro, Wako (JP)
Assigned to HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD., Tokyo (JP)
Filed by HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD., Tokyo (JP)
Filed on Jun. 15, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/335,466.
Application 18/335,466 is a continuation of application No. 16/830,833, filed on Mar. 26, 2020, granted, now 11,731,624.
Claims priority of application No. 2019-061509 (JP), filed on Mar. 27, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2023/0322221 A1, Oct. 12, 2023
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. B60W 30/165 (2020.01); B60W 10/11 (2012.01); B60W 50/08 (2020.01)
CPC B60W 30/165 (2013.01) [B60W 10/11 (2013.01); B60W 50/08 (2013.01); B60W 2554/4029 (2020.02); B60W 2554/802 (2020.02)] 9 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A vehicle controller of a subject vehicle, comprising a processor configured to:
recognize a surrounding state of the subject vehicle which travels in a through lane on a specific road, the specific road having two or more lanes each way, entry of a pedestrian into the specific road being restricted;
detect a pedestrian in the specific road, the specific road including: the through lane in which the subject vehicle travels; an adjacent lane or an adjacent shoulder adjacent to the through lane in which the subject vehicle travels; a shoulder having a travelling direction same as that of the through lane in which the subject vehicle travels, other than the adjacent shoulder; and a combination thereof;
provide control such that the subject vehicle follows a vehicle traveling ahead thereof, based on the detection;
make the subject vehicle operate in at least one of a first support status, and a second support status which has an automated degree higher than that of the first support status or has a task required to be done by a vehicle occupant of the subject vehicle less than that of the first support status, the second support status being realized only when the subject vehicle is traveling on the through lane in the specific road;
when the subject vehicle is traveling in the first support status and the pedestrian has been detected therein, keep a support status of the subject vehicle unchanged in the first support status;
when the subject vehicle is traveling in the second support status and when the pedestrian has been detected in the through lane, the adjacent lane or the adjacent shoulder, or a combination thereof, in the specific road, shift the support status of the subject vehicle from the second support status to the first support status; and
when the subject vehicle is traveling in the second support status, change a timing of a shift to the first support status or a remaining time before the shift to the first support status, based on a relative distance between the detected pedestrian and the subject vehicle itself.