JP2009252062A - Drive support system and drive support method for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system for giving a guidance or alarm output for drive support related to temporary stop in consideration of a theoretically unavoidable error between an own vehicle position on map data and an actual position. <P>SOLUTION: Based on map data and own vehicle position information stored in advance, a guidance or alarm for temporary stop at a stop point stored in the map data is given before the own vehicle reaches this point. An in-vehicle monitoring camera is provided to detect that the own vehicle passes through a stop line at the stop point. When it is determined from visual information of the monitoring camera that the own vehicle passes through the stop line, the guidance or alarm for temporary stop is immediately stopped. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle driving support system and a vehicle driving support method using a navigation system mounted on a vehicle, and in particular, before the host vehicle reaches a stop line position that is stored or recorded in map data and needs to be temporarily stopped. The present invention relates to a vehicle driving support system and a vehicle driving support method in which a guidance or warning regarding a temporary stop on the stop line is issued to alert the driver and reduce the burden on the driver.

As a system of this type, for example, as described in Patent Document 1, based on map data stored in advance and vehicle position information, a stop line that needs to be temporarily stored and stored in the map data. When the vehicle approaches the position, it issues a warning or warning of the presence of a stop line that needs to be temporarily stopped, while detecting the passage of the stop line with an in-vehicle camera behind the vehicle and Based on the driving state information until detection, it is determined afterwards whether or not a stop at the stop line has been performed, and if it is determined that a stop at the stop line has not been performed, that fact Some warnings or warnings are issued to the driver.
JP 2006-277547 A

  In a navigation system mounted on a vehicle, it is inevitable that an error occurs between the vehicle position on the map data stored in advance and the actual position (actual position) of the vehicle. It is often the case that the position of the vehicle above is shifted forward and backward from the actual position. Nevertheless, the technique described in Patent Document 1 does not take into account the error between the vehicle position and the actual position on the map data. It cannot be done, and there is still room for improvement.

  For example, when the vehicle position on the map data is in front of the actual position when performing guidance and warning output related to the stop on the stop line as described above, the stop where the vehicle needs to be temporarily stopped In spite of passing the line, it will continue to sound information and warnings regarding unnecessary pauses, which will make the driver feel uncomfortable.

  On the other hand, if the vehicle position on the map data is ahead of the actual position, information and warnings related to the stop are issued even before the vehicle passes through the stop line that needs to be stopped. This is not preferable because it causes the driver to feel uncomfortable as in the previous case.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such problems, and considers the error between the vehicle position and the actual position on the map data, which is theoretically inevitable, for driving assistance related to temporary stop. The present invention provides a vehicle driving support system and a vehicle driving support method that can perform guidance and alarm output with high accuracy.

  The present invention is based on pre-stored map data and own vehicle position information, and guides about the temporary stop at the point before the host vehicle arrives at the point that needs to be paused stored in the map data. Or, when issuing a warning and supporting driving of a vehicle, a detection means for detecting that the vehicle has passed a stop line at a point where a temporary stop is required is provided, and the temporary stop at the point where the temporary stop is required is provided. The guidance or alarm is performed at the end of the period when the detection signal from the detection means is obtained.

  Therefore, in the present invention, if the vehicle passes a stop line that needs to be temporarily stopped, the guidance or warning related to the stop on the stop line ends at that point, and at least the driving assistance related to the stop Specifically, the end of the guidance or warning regarding the temporary stop is not affected by the error between the vehicle position and the actual position on the map data, which is theoretically inevitable.

  According to the present invention, when performing guidance and warning output related to a temporary stop on a stop line, at least at the end thereof, it is influenced by an error between the vehicle position and the actual position on map data that is theoretically inevitable. Since the guidance and warning output will stop at an appropriate timing according to actual driving, the guidance and warning output can be performed with higher accuracy, and more reliable driving support can be provided. This can be done and does not give the driver a sense of incongruity.

  1 and subsequent drawings show a more specific embodiment of a vehicle driving support system according to the present invention, and particularly FIG. 1 shows an outline of the system configuration.

  The system shown in FIG. 1 is mounted on a vehicle as a system in which a well-known car navigation system and vehicle control are linked together. Abbreviated.) 1 is the center.

  A GPS receiver 2, a gyroscope 3, and a G (acceleration) sensor 4 are attached to the N / S calculation unit 1, and each signal is input to the N / S calculation unit 1 and various types including a vehicle speed signal. Vehicle signal (information) is input to the N / S computing unit 1 via CAN (Controller Area Network). These GPS receiver 2, gyroscope 3 and G sensor 4 function as basic sensors for detecting (positioning) the vehicle position. Further, the N / S computing unit 1 is accompanied by map data (digital map data) 5 constructed as a database on a recording medium such as a CD (Compact Disc), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), or a HDD (Hard Disc Drive). Then, road map data and the like are sequentially called by the N / S calculation unit 1. At the same time, traffic information and the like are taken into the N / S calculation unit 1 via a communication device such as a radio FM receiver 6 or a VICS receiver 7 as necessary.

  The N / S calculation unit 1 calculates the current position (absolute position) of the own vehicle with high accuracy based on the signal for detecting the own vehicle position from the sensor group. By executing the map matching process using a known pattern matching method based on the road map data obtained from the map data 5, the position of the host vehicle on the map, that is, on the map of the host vehicle. The relative position of is detected. Furthermore, the basic function of the car navigation system for guiding the route from the vehicle position to the destination is realized based on the vehicle information such as the vehicle speed signal obtained via the CAN and the map data 5 described above.

  The map data 5 includes, for example, road map data all over Japan, facility data associated therewith, and the like. Further, the road map data includes road shape, road type, road distance, road width, road gradient, road name, traffic regulation data, and road data (link data) for route search. That is, the road map data includes, as ITS (Intelligent Transport System) information, position information such as stop lines, intersections, slow sections, school zones, etc. that need to be temporarily stopped, curvature information on the curve of the road, and each road Information on the speed limit at the time is included.

  The N / S calculation unit 1 includes a display such as a liquid crystal monitor for displaying navigation information, various messages, guidance information, and the like in addition to the operation switch group 8 for the user to perform various operations or instructions. 9 and a speaker 10 for generating voice guidance or various warning sounds, etc., and a driving support application control unit (hereinafter abbreviated as “driving support application control unit”) 11 and an in-vehicle camera. The surveillance camera 13 is attached.

  As described above, the locator function for displaying the current position including the traveling direction of the host vehicle along with the road map around the host vehicle on the screen of the display 9, and the destination specified by the user. A navigation function such as a route guidance function that automatically calculates a recommended travel route and guides the route, that is, a navigation function such as map display (drawing), route search, route guidance, and the like is realized.

  The driving support application control unit 11 controls or executes various driving support applications using map data around the host vehicle together with the N / S calculation unit 1, and each driving support application is controlled by the software. At the same time, necessary information is exchanged between the driving support application control unit 11 and the traveling control control unit 12 which is a traveling control system on the vehicle side. The traveling control unit 12 directly controls vehicle deceleration (braking) control and acceleration control, and has, for example, a brake speed calculation function in addition to a target speed calculation function and an engine torque calculation function.

  The monitoring camera 13 is for visually capturing the actual situation of the road surface or road in real time when executing various driving support applications. For example, the front camera for front monitoring arranged at the front of the vehicle, It is at least one of a rear camera for rear monitoring arranged at the rear of the vehicle and a side camera for side monitoring arranged at the side of the vehicle. The visual information of the road surface on which the vehicle travels, that is, the visual information including the stop line that needs to be temporarily stopped is output to the driving support application control unit 11. As the monitoring camera 13, any camera of an around view monitor system (a system in which a range of 360 degrees around the vehicle can be visualized by a plurality of cameras when the vehicle is viewed from above) is used. Of course it is also possible to do.

  When the driving support application related to the suspension control described later is executed, the visual information from the monitoring camera 13 captured by the driving support application control unit 11 is an image recognition processing unit that is a part of the driving support application control unit 11. A predetermined image recognition process is performed at, and the presence / absence determination is performed by extracting a stop line that needs to be paused at a constant cycle. In this way, the monitoring camera 13 functions as a detection unit that detects that the host vehicle has passed a stop line that needs to be temporarily stopped.

  The driving support application here is brake control or acceleration control in cooperation with the vehicle-side travel control control unit 12, for example, a stop line or intersection that is obtained as ITS information, an intersection, a slow section, a school zone. Pre-deceleration control and temporary stop control based on each position and distance information, etc., brake control or acceleration control based on regulation speed information for each road, and pre-curve deceleration based on curve position information and curvature information In addition to control (brake control or acceleration control), guidance related to them is assumed.

  In particular, a driving support application (hereinafter abbreviated as “temporary stop application”) related to temporary stop control refers to the distance remaining from the position of the host vehicle to the stop line where the host vehicle is predicted to pass and needs to be stopped. This is an automatic brake control function that automatically stops the vehicle in front of a stop line that needs to be temporarily stopped, as well as being displayed on a monitor provided in the system and also by voice. However, as long as it is a driving support application, only the monitor display and voice notification function or only the automatic brake control function may be used.

  Similarly, the driving support application relating to the regulated speed control refers to automatic brake control or acceleration control for maintaining a legally regulated speed.

  Further, the driving support application related to the pre-curve deceleration control refers to a function of performing automatic brake control or acceleration control from before the corresponding curve so that the vehicle can safely travel on a curve having a predetermined curvature.

  Further, the driving support application related to the slow section and the school zone is also equivalent to the driving support application related to the pre-curve deceleration control.

  Here, a procedure for executing the “temporary stop application” which is one of the driving support applications will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the N / S computing unit 1 executes map matching processing (described as “M / M” in FIG. 2) with its locator function at a constant cycle. Here, after calling a predetermined function by a 10 msec timer (step S1), a map matching process is executed for each movement distance according to the vehicle speed as shown in FIG. 5 (steps S2 and S3). The calculation of the position of the host vehicle is performed by detecting a change in the travel distance from the location where the calculation was performed last time and the traveling direction therebetween. The travel distance of the host vehicle is calculated based on a vehicle speed signal obtained via CAN as shown in FIG. By this map matching process, when the position of the host vehicle is specified and projected onto the map, the map is autonomously corrected so that the host vehicle is positioned on the road estimated to be currently traveling.

  If the movement distance from the place where the previous calculation was made does not reach the movement distance corresponding to the vehicle speed as shown in FIG. 5, the process proceeds to step S15 in FIG. 4 to be described later.

  After executing the map matching process, a road prefetch function (hereinafter referred to as “preview function”) in the N / S calculation unit 1 is executed, and road information several hundred meters ahead of the host vehicle, for example, 800 meters A node (longitude and latitude constituting the guidance route) and a link are read as the previous road information (step S4), and the route of the host vehicle is estimated from the preview result (step S5). Then, when there is a stop line that needs to be paused in the course estimation, the “pause application” is executed in cooperation with the driving support application control unit 11 (step S6). If there is no stop line that needs to be temporarily stopped for route estimation, the process returns to step S1.

  To execute the “pause application”, first, a distance L1 from the map-matched position of the host vehicle to a stop line that needs to be paused is calculated from the map data 5 (step S7), and then the remaining distance L1 is a predetermined value. If the remaining distance to the stop line that needs to be paused is within 50 m, the “pause flag” is set to ON. (Step S9 in FIG. 3), guidance or alarm output regarding a stop line that needs to be paused is executed, and a notice is made that the stop line that needs to be paused is near (step S10). For example, a visual indication by an indicator of the remaining distance L1 on the screen of the display 9 or voice guidance from the speaker 10 notifies that a stop line that needs to be paused is near. If the remaining distance L1 is not less than 50 m in step S8, the “pause flag” is turned OFF in step S11, and the process returns to the previous step S1.

  Next, in the next step S12, it is determined whether or not the host vehicle has passed a stop line that needs to be temporarily stopped. Here, as described above, whether or not the host vehicle has passed through the stop line is determined based on whether or not the image captured by the monitoring camera 13 includes a stop line that needs to be temporarily stopped. Do. If it is determined that the vehicle has passed a stop line that needs to be paused, the “pause flag” is set to OFF (step S13), and the guidance regarding the stop line that needs to be paused immediately as described above. Alternatively, the alarm output is stopped (step S14). For example, the notice screen of the stop line that needs to be paused is erased and the voice guidance is also stopped. On the other hand, if it is not determined in step S12 that the stop line that needs to be paused has been passed, the process returns to step S1.

  Here, since the remaining distance L1 from the position of the own vehicle to the stop line that needs to be temporarily stopped is calculated at the timing of map matching for each fixed period, the accuracy is rough. Therefore, it is necessary to complement the calculation of the remaining distance to the stop line that needs to be temporarily stopped in the section where the map matching process is not performed.

  Therefore, as shown in step S2 in FIG. 2 and S15 in FIG. 4, when the moving distance of the host vehicle is equal to or less than the map matching processing execution distance and there is a stop line that needs to be paused ahead, Complement processing is executed as part of “App”. That is, as in step S16 of FIG. 4, the travel distance L2 to the current position is calculated using the vehicle speed signal or wheel speed signal obtained via the CAN from the vehicle position where the previous map matching process was executed, and the L2 Based on the values of L1 and L1, a remaining distance L3 (= L1-L2) to the stop line that needs to be temporarily stopped is calculated (step S17). Note that if the moving distance of the host vehicle is equal to or less than the map matching processing execution distance and there is no stop line that needs to be temporarily stopped, the process returns to the previous step S1.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the remaining distance L3 is within a predetermined value, for example, 50 m as in the previous case (step S18), and the remaining distance to the stop line that needs to be temporarily stopped is within 50 m. After the “pause flag” is set to ON (step S19), guidance or alarm output related to the stop line that needs to be paused is executed as in the previous case, and the stop line that needs to be paused is displayed. A close notice is made (step S20). If the remaining distance to the stop line that needs to be paused is not within 50 m, the process returns to the previous step S1.

  Thereafter, in steps S21 to S23, exactly the same processing as steps S12 to S14 in FIG. 3 is executed.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when a stop line that needs to be temporarily stopped approaches within a predetermined distance from the position of the host vehicle, the stop line that needs to be temporarily stopped is notified to notify that the stop line is near. Although guidance or warning is output, guidance or warning output related to a stop line that needs to be stopped is stopped when it is determined that the vehicle has actually passed the stop line that needs to be stopped. Therefore, the guidance or warning regarding the stop line that needs to be temporarily stopped is performed at the end (timing) when the monitoring camera 13 captures the corresponding stop line.

  As a result, when performing guidance and warning output related to a stop line that needs to be temporarily stopped, at least at the end, it is affected by the error between the position of the vehicle and the actual position on the map data that is theoretically inevitable. The guidance and warning output will stop at an appropriate timing according to the actual driving, so that the guidance and warning output can be performed with higher accuracy, and more reliable driving support is provided. As well as making the driver feel uncomfortable.

  In the above-described embodiment, as the execution contents of the “pause application”, a case where guidance or an alarm regarding a stop line that needs to be paused is performed by monitor display and voice notification is described. Of course, it is also possible to use an automatic brake control function that automatically stops the vehicle in front of the line.

  FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of the vehicle driving support system according to the present invention.

  In the second embodiment, the hardware portion of the so-called system is the same as that of the first embodiment, but the processing logic on the so-called software is different from that of the first embodiment.

  That is, in the first embodiment, the stop line itself that needs to be temporarily stopped is detected by the monitoring camera 13 under the vehicle, and it is determined that the own vehicle has passed the stop line. On the other hand, in the second embodiment, another sign on the road surface near the stop line that needs to be temporarily stopped, for example, a pedestrian crossing near the intersection that needs to be temporarily stopped is detected by the monitoring camera 13, and then the temporary stop is detected. It is determined that the host vehicle has passed a stop line that needs to be stopped.

  Needless to say, the surveillance camera 13 can detect a pedestrian crossing in the same way as a stop line that needs to be paused. For example, an image captured by the surveillance camera 13 is analyzed by a technique such as pattern matching, and a so-called zebra crossing is obtained. By extracting the pattern, it is possible to determine the presence or absence of the pedestrian crossing.

  FIG. 6 corresponds to the a part of FIGS. 3 and 4, for example, the processing after step S12 in FIG. 3, and the processing up to step S10 in FIG. 3 is also common to this embodiment. Since the approximate distance from the host vehicle to the intersection that needs to be temporarily stopped is previously known by the so-called prefetch function of the navigation system as described above, the step of FIG. 6 is performed in the same manner as step S6 of FIG. In S31, it is determined whether or not there is an intersection that needs to be temporarily stopped ahead of the estimated course of the host vehicle.

  Next, when it is determined that there is an intersection that needs to be temporarily stopped in front of the estimated course, in the next step S32, whether or not the distance from the own vehicle to the intersection that needs to be temporarily stopped is within a predetermined value. judge.

  If the distance from the host vehicle to the intersection that needs to be temporarily stopped is within a predetermined value, it is determined in next step S33 whether the monitoring camera 13 has detected a pedestrian crossing before the intersection. Here, it is considered that the pedestrian crossing is detected for the first time when the image captured by the monitoring camera 13 is analyzed whether or not a so-called zebra pattern of the pedestrian crossing is included and the presence of the zebra pattern is recognized.

  If the presence of a pedestrian crossing is detected, the travel distance of the vehicle from that time is accumulated and monitored (step S34), and a temporary stop is required when the travel distance exceeds a predetermined distance. Then, it is determined that the host vehicle has passed through the stop line (steps S35 and S36), and thereafter, similarly to step S14 in FIG. 3, guidance or alarm output regarding the stop line that needs to be temporarily stopped is stopped.

  FIG. 7 shows a third embodiment of a vehicle driving support system according to the present invention.

  In the third embodiment, a lateral radar 23 is attached to the side of the vehicle body of the host vehicle 21 instead of the previous monitoring camera 13, and the distance from the host vehicle 1 to the obstacle on the side is measured. A sudden change in the road width is estimated based on the change in the distance measurement data, and from this sudden change in the road width, it is determined that the vehicle has passed an intersection that needs to be temporarily stopped as in the previous case.

  As shown in FIG. 7, when the own vehicle 1 tries to pass through a road having a larger road width from an intersection that needs to be temporarily stopped, the distance measurement data obtained when the sensing output of the radar 23 is sampled every predetermined time. The change is as shown in FIG. Therefore, the sudden change b in the distance measurement data is nothing but the fact that the road has a small road width and the road has a wide road width. With this timing, it can be determined that the vehicle has passed an intersection that needs to be temporarily stopped. Similar to the embodiment, the guidance or alarm output related to the temporary stop at the point where the temporary stop is required may be stopped.

  In these second and third embodiments, it goes without saying that the same operational effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained.

1 is a block circuit diagram showing a schematic structure of a vehicle driving support system according to the present invention. The flowchart which shows the treatment procedure in the driving assistance application control part of FIG. The flowchart which shows the process sequence following FIG. The flowchart which shows the process procedure following FIG. The characteristic view which shows the relationship between a vehicle speed and map matching execution distance. The flowchart which shows the process sequence in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows 3rd implementation of this invention, (A) is plane explanatory drawing at the time of the intersection of the own vehicle, (B) is a characteristic view which shows the output waveform of the radar ranging in the figure (A).

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Navigation system calculating part 2 ... GPS receiver 3 ... Gyroscope 4 ... G sensor 5 ... Map data 9 ... Display 11 ... Driving assistance application control part 13 ... Monitoring camera 21 ... Own vehicle 23 ... Radar

Claims (5)

Based on the map data stored in advance and the vehicle position information, a guidance or warning regarding the suspension at that point is issued before the vehicle arrives at the point where the vehicle needs to be stopped stored in the map data. In such a vehicle driving support system,
A detection means is provided for detecting that the vehicle has passed a stop line at a point where a temporary stop is required,
The vehicle driving support system according to claim 1, wherein the guidance or warning related to the temporary stop at the point where the temporary stop is required is performed at a time when the detection signal from the detection means is obtained. Based on the map data stored in advance and the vehicle position information, a guidance or warning regarding the suspension at that point is issued before the vehicle arrives at the point where the vehicle needs to be stopped stored in the map data. In such a vehicle driving support system,
A detection means is provided for detecting that the vehicle has passed a stop line at a point where a temporary stop is required,
The vehicle driving support system according to claim 1, wherein the guidance or warning relating to the temporary stop at the point where the temporary stop is required ends when a detection signal from the detection means is obtained.   The vehicle driving support system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the detection means detects a stop line itself or another sign on a road surface close to the stop line.   The vehicle driving support system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the detecting means detects a change in road width based on a branch or intersection of a road. Based on the map data stored in advance and the vehicle position information, a guidance or warning regarding the suspension at that point is issued before the vehicle arrives at the point where the vehicle needs to be stopped stored in the map data. In the vehicle driving support method as described above,
After issuing a warning or warning about the suspension at a point where a stop is necessary, monitor whether the vehicle has passed the stop line at the point where the stop is necessary,
A vehicle driving support method characterized in that, on the condition that the host vehicle has passed a stop line, the guidance or warning regarding the temporary stop at a point where the temporary stop is required is terminated.

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