US 12,304,520 B2
Vehicle control device, vehicle control method, and storage medium
Koichiro Wada, Wako (JP)
Assigned to HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD., Tokyo (JP)
Filed by HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD., Tokyo (JP)
Filed on Feb. 24, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/679,240.
Claims priority of application No. 2021-057523 (JP), filed on Mar. 30, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2022/0315039 A1, Oct. 6, 2022
Int. Cl. B60W 60/00 (2020.01); G01C 21/00 (2006.01)
CPC B60W 60/001 (2020.02) [G01C 21/387 (2020.08); G01C 21/3896 (2020.08); B60W 2420/403 (2013.01); B60W 2554/4041 (2020.02); B60W 2554/4049 (2020.02)] 9 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A vehicle control device that controls automated driving of a vehicle, the vehicle control device comprising a processor configured to execute a program to:
acquire map information including information of a plurality of lanes and reference information for identifying a position of the vehicle;
determine whether or not a travel lane in which the vehicle is currently traveling in the map information is identified based on the acquired reference information, the travel lane being one of the plurality of lanes;
when determining that the travel lane is identified, maintain a current control level of the automated driving;
when determining that the travel lane is not identified,
determine lane candidates in which the vehicle is likely to be traveling in the map information based on the reference information when the travel lane has not been identified, the lane candidates being determined from the plurality of lanes;
determine whether or not an event in which a control level of the automated driving needs to be changed occurs for each of the lane candidates in a section of a predetermined distance in front of the vehicle in a travel direction based on the map information;
maintain the current control level of the automated driving when determining that the event does not occur in any one of the lane candidates;
determine that the event in which the control level needs to be changed occurs for the lane candidates and lower the control level when determining that the event occurs in at least one of the lane candidates; and
maintain the current control level of the automated driving when a distance between a current position of the vehicle in the lane candidates for which it is determined that the event occurs and an occurrence position of the event is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.