Patent ID: 9043092
Filing Date: 2015-05-26
Classification: B62D,G05D

Abstract:
1. A vehicle control apparatus mounted in a vehicle, the apparatus comprising: a lane detection unit that detects a lane in which the vehicle is driven to travel; an offset setting unit that sets an offset suitable for making a driver of the vehicle feel less stressed, the offset being a deviation of a lateral position of the vehicle from the middle position of the lane along the lane width direction, the lateral position of the vehicle being the middle position of the vehicle along the vehicle width direction; an occupant detection unit that detects the presence of a designated occupant in the vehicle other than the driver, the designated occupant being an occupant sitting in a seat laterally opposite a driver's seat; an offset adjustment unit that, when the designated occupant is detected by the occupant detection unit, adjusts the offset set by the offset setting unit such that the lateral position of the vehicle is displaced toward the driver in the lane width direction, in order to make the designated occupant feel less stressed, the offset set by the offset setting unit being set assuming that the designated occupant is absent; a vehicle-path estimation unit that estimates a vehicle path in the lane such that the vehicle can travel along the vehicle path from a current lateral position to a target lateral position of the vehicle, the target lateral position of the vehicle being a lateral position offset from the middle position of the lane by the offset set by the offset setting unit or by the offset adjusted by the offset adjustment unit; and an automatic steering control unit that automatically controls steering so that the vehicle travels along the vehicle path estimated by the vehicle-path estimation unit.