US 12,344,282 B2
Apparatus for switching control between automatic driving and manual driving in vehicles
Tomohiro Abe, Tokyo (JP); Fumiya Sato, Tokyo (JP); Mika Suzuki, Tokyo (JP); and Hiroki Marumo, Tokyo (JP)
Assigned to SUBARU CORPORATION, Tokyo (JP)
Filed by SUBARU CORPORATION, Tokyo (JP)
Filed on Jul. 15, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/866,254.
Claims priority of application No. 2021-122849 (JP), filed on Jul. 28, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2023/0034419 A1, Feb. 2, 2023
Int. Cl. B60W 60/00 (2020.01); B60W 40/02 (2006.01); B60W 40/08 (2012.01); B60W 50/00 (2006.01)
CPC B60W 60/0059 (2020.02) [B60W 40/02 (2013.01); B60W 40/08 (2013.01); B60W 50/0098 (2013.01); B60W 60/0053 (2020.02); B60W 60/0057 (2020.02); B60W 2050/007 (2013.01); B60W 2050/0083 (2013.01)] 8 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A vehicle control apparatus to be applied to a vehicle having a driving mode that is switchable between automatic driving and manual driving, the vehicle control apparatus comprising:
one or more processors; and
one or more memories communicably coupled to the one or more processors,
the one or more processors being configured to;
execute determination as to whether a driving state of the vehicle involves difficulty in continuing the automatic driving;
in a case where the driving state is determined as involving difficulty in continuing the automatic driving, execute determination on a difficulty level of operation authority transfer from the automatic driving to the manual driving on a basis of information regarding a surrounding environment of the vehicle, information regarding a driving skill of a driver who drives the vehicle, and information regarding an experience level of the driver of the operation authority transfer from the automatic driving to the manual driving;
execute setting of a driving-state condition for executing the operation authority transfer in accordance with the difficulty level; and
execute the operation authority transfer from the automatic driving to the manual driving in a case where the driving-state condition is satisfied,
wherein the driving-state condition includes a reference speed of the vehicle and a reference steering angle of the vehicle,
wherein the one or more processors is further configured to:
set the reference speed and the reference steering angle based on the difficulty level; and
in response to determining that the speed of the vehicle and the steering angle of the vehicle are equal to or less than the reference speed and the reference steering angle, respectively, execute the operation authority transfer from the automatic driving to the manual driving.