Patent ID: 9643620
Date: 2017-05-09
CPC Classifications: B60W,G05D

Claim:
1. An automatic operation vehicle control apparatus comprising: a hand contact detector provided to a steering wheel of a vehicle and configured to detect a contact of a driver's hand with the steering wheel; an override detector that detects an override operation on a steering wheel by the driver, the override detector being configured to detect the override operation on a basis of a result of the hand detection by the hand contact detector; and a controller that configured to perform different operation modes comprising at least an automatic operation mode and a manual operation mode of the vehicle and to switch the operation modes on a basis of a result of the override detection by the override detector, wherein the hand contact detector comprises at least two electrodes respectively provided to one side and another opposite side of the steering wheel which are defined as left and right sides of the steering wheel when the steering wheel is at a straight position and is configured to detect a difference in voltage between the two electrodes, and wherein the hand contact detector determines whether one or both of the hands of the driver contact with the steering wheel on a basis of the detected difference in voltage between the two electrodes.