JP2014059841A - Driving support device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To appropriately support driving by a driver when there is a possibility of a collision between an own vehicle and a pedestrian.SOLUTION: A driving support device includes: detection means 11, 12 for detecting a pedestrian ahead of an own vehicle; face orientation recognition means 12, 3 for imaging the detected pedestrian and recognizing the orientation of the face of the pedestrian; estimation means 2 for estimating the possibility that the own vehicle and the pedestrian collide on the basis of a behavior of the detected pedestrian; a warning device 14 which issues a warning to a driver who drives the own vehicle if the estimation means 2 estimates that there is a possibility of a collision; determination means 4 for determining whether the pedestrian is aware of the presence of the own vehicle on the basis of the orientation of the face recognized by the face orientation recognition means 12, 3; and control means 5 which controls the warning device 14 in accordance with a determination result by the determination means 4. The control means 5 immediately issues a warning if it is determined that the pedestrian is not aware of the presence of the own vehicle and waits for a prescribed period of time before issuing a warning if it is determined that the pedestrian is aware of the presence of the own vehicle.

Description

  The present invention relates to a driving support device that appropriately changes a warning timing for a driver using a face direction of a pedestrian when it is estimated that there is a possibility of collision between the host vehicle and the pedestrian.

  In recent years, various techniques for supporting driving of a vehicle by a driver have been developed for the purpose of reducing the driving burden of the driver. For example, Patent Document 1 predicts a pedestrian's popping out using a pedestrian's popping out case, and determines the risk of collision between the pedestrian and the host vehicle when the pedestrian is predicted to jump out onto the roadway. The technology is described. In this technology, when it is determined that the degree of danger is high, the alarm is output to the driver by an alarm device, thereby assisting the driver in driving.

  Further, in Patent Document 2, a line-of-sight direction of a pedestrian or a bicycle driver is specified from an image captured by a visible camera or an infrared camera, and the collision possibility with the own vehicle is determined using the line-of-sight direction. The technology to do is described. In this technology, it is determined that there is a possibility of collision when the line of sight of the pedestrian or the like is the direction in which the host vehicle is present, and control for generating an alarm for the pedestrian or the like and restrictions on traveling of the host vehicle are added. Control is performed to assist the driver in driving.

JP 2010-102437 A JP 2005-165422 A

  There are various types of pedestrians in front of the host vehicle, such as those who safely walk on sidewalks and roadside belts, those who walk side by side, and those who cross the roadway. Some people do not comply with traffic manners, such as pedestrians who jump out of the road without confirming the existence of the vehicle or pedestrians who overestimate that the vehicle will avoid it and walk on the road. . It is desirable that the driving support device is a device that can appropriately support the driving of the driver even for such a pedestrian.

  Although the device described in Patent Document 1 can predict whether or not a pedestrian will jump out of a roadway, there is a collision risk of a pedestrian already existing on the roadway (for example, a pedestrian crossing the roadway). Is not judged. In addition, in the apparatus described in Patent Document 2, when the sight line direction of a pedestrian or the like is a direction in which the host vehicle exists, the recognition of an object existing in front of the host vehicle and the identification of the sight line direction of the object are repeated. To be implemented. Therefore, no warning is issued to a pedestrian or the like facing the direction in which the host vehicle exists, and no restriction is imposed on the traveling of the host vehicle. However, a pedestrian who is looking in the direction in which the vehicle is present does not always avoid the vehicle.

  Further, in the device of Patent Document 2, even if the sight line direction of a pedestrian or the like is once in the direction in which the own vehicle exists, the control is limited to the control for generating an alarm or the running of the own vehicle when the other direction is subsequently turned. Additional controls may be implemented. However, pedestrians or the like may cross the road after confirming the presence of the vehicle once and confirming other road conditions such as the presence of a vehicle from the opposite lane and the presence of a bicycle. That is, a pedestrian or the like does not always cross while looking at the direction in which the host vehicle is present.

  Furthermore, pedestrians who cross the road after confirming other road conditions in addition to the presence of the host vehicle recognize the presence of the host vehicle, and therefore do not collide with the host vehicle (the host vehicle If the vehicle approaches, it can be considered to take the avoidance action. Therefore, if support control is implemented for such a pedestrian, excessive support may result.

  This case has been devised in view of such problems, and it is intended to provide a driving assistance device that can appropriately support the driving of the driver when there is a possibility of collision between the host vehicle and the pedestrian. Objective. The present invention is not limited to this purpose, and is a function and effect derived from each configuration shown in the embodiments for carrying out the invention described later, and other effects of the present invention are to obtain a function and effect that cannot be obtained by conventional techniques. Can be positioned.

(1) The driving assistance device disclosed herein includes a detection unit that detects a pedestrian existing in front of the host vehicle, and images the pedestrian detected by the detection unit to determine a face direction of the pedestrian. Recognizing face orientation recognizing means. Further, it is estimated that there is the possibility by the estimation means for estimating the possibility that the own vehicle and the pedestrian collide based on the dynamics of the pedestrian detected by the detection means, and the estimation means. A warning device that issues a warning to the driver driving the host vehicle, and the direction of the face recognized by the face direction recognition means when the possibility is estimated by the estimation means. A determination unit configured to determine whether or not the pedestrian has recognized the presence of the own vehicle; and a control unit configured to control the alarm device according to a determination result by the determination unit.
The control means issues an alarm immediately when the determination means determines that the pedestrian does not recognize the presence of the host vehicle, and the determination means recognizes the presence of the host vehicle by the determination means. In the case where it is determined that there is an alarm, a predetermined waiting time is required until an alarm is generated.

  (2) The pedestrian recognizes the presence of the host vehicle when the determination unit detects that the face direction recognized by the face direction recognition unit is longer than a predetermined time for the host vehicle. It is preferable to determine that At this time, the determination means accumulates not only when the time when the face direction is on the own vehicle side continues for a predetermined time or longer but also when the time when the face direction is on the own vehicle side is accumulated. It is preferable to determine that the pedestrian recognizes the host vehicle even when the time is equal to or longer than a predetermined time.

  (3) Moreover, once the determination means determines that the pedestrian has recognized the presence of the host vehicle, the determination result is maintained for a predetermined time from the determination time, and again after the predetermined time has elapsed. It is preferable to perform the determination based on the face orientation.

  (4) Moreover, it is preferable to provide an inter-pedestrian communication means for transmitting and receiving information to and from a communication device carried by the pedestrian. At this time, when the determination means determines that the pedestrian does not recognize the existence of the own vehicle, the control means transmits the approach information of the own vehicle to the communication device. It is preferable to control the inter-vehicle communication means.

  (5) In addition, when the determination unit determines that the pedestrian does not recognize the presence of the host vehicle, the control unit provides the pedestrian with a timing later than the timing of issuing the warning. It is preferable that the horn is sounded and the horn is stopped when the determination means determines that the pedestrian recognizes the existence of the own vehicle.

  (6) Moreover, when the said estimation means crosses the movement range of the said pedestrian at the time of preset preset time and the movement range of the said own vehicle, the said own vehicle and the said pedestrian collide. It is preferable to estimate that there is a possibility of this.

  According to the disclosed driving assistance device, when a pedestrian who may collide with the host vehicle recognizes the presence of the host vehicle, a predetermined waiting time is provided until an alarm is issued. No alarm will be given during the time. Also, no warning is given if there is no possibility of a collision during the waiting time. Therefore, unnecessary alarms can be suppressed and drivability can be improved.

  Further, when there is a possibility of collision even after the standby time has elapsed, and when a pedestrian who may collide with the own vehicle does not recognize the presence of the own vehicle, an alarm is performed. In other words, just because a pedestrian recognizes his / her vehicle does not necessarily avoid the pedestrian himself, but there are some pedestrians who continue to walk without overconfidence that the vehicle will avoid it. Can do. Even for such pedestrians, the disclosed driving support device can appropriately issue an alarm, and thus can appropriately support the driving of the driver. Therefore, appropriate driving support can be implemented while suppressing excessive notification.

1 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a driving support apparatus according to an embodiment. It is a figure explaining the estimation method of the collision possibility by the driving assistance device concerning one embodiment. It is a figure explaining the example of a detection of the pedestrian who exists ahead of the own vehicle, Fig.3 (a) shows the example of the image imaged by the imaging means, FIG.3 (b) shows the walk of Fig.3 (a). It is an overhead view which shows a person's face direction. It is a flowchart which illustrates the estimation procedure by the estimation part of the driving assistance device which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a flowchart which illustrates the determination procedure by the determination part of the driving assistance device which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a flowchart which illustrates the control procedure by the control part of the driving assistance device concerning one embodiment. FIG. 7A is a time chart showing the timing of each support control. FIG. 7A shows the case where the pedestrian recognizes the presence of the own vehicle in the support device shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. When the pedestrian recognizes the presence of the vehicle on the way, FIG. 7C is a comparative example using a support device that does not use the pedestrian face orientation information.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiment described below is merely an example, and there is no intention to exclude various modifications and technical applications that are not explicitly described in the following embodiment.
[1. Device configuration]
The driving support device of this embodiment is mounted on the host vehicle 10 shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. As shown in FIG. 3 (b), the present driving support device may cause a collision between a pedestrian existing in front of the host vehicle 10 (indicated by reference numeral 7 when individual pedestrians are not distinguished) and the host vehicle 10. When there is, the subsequent movement of the pedestrian 7 is predicted from the face direction of the pedestrian 7, and the support control is performed at an appropriate timing for the driver.

  The assistance control is controlled by a vehicle ECU (electronic control unit) 1 mounted on the host vehicle 10. Here, first, devices connected to the input side and the output side of the vehicle ECU 1 will be described in order. As shown in FIG. 1, the host vehicle 10 includes a radar 11, a camera 12 and a vehicle speed sensor 13 connected to the input side of the vehicle ECU 1, an alarm device 14, a horn device 15 connected to the output side of the vehicle ECU 1, An automatic brake device 16 and an inter-pedal communication device 17 are provided.

  The radar (detection means) 11 is, for example, a laser radar, a millimeter wave radar, or the like, and acquires peripheral information of the host vehicle 10. Here, in particular, information on the pedestrian 7 existing in front of the host vehicle 10 is acquired by transmitting a laser wave or the like in front of the host vehicle 10 and receiving the reflected wave. The pedestrian information acquired here is, for example, the presence / absence information of the pedestrian 7, distance to the pedestrian 7, angle (that is, relative position), speed (relative speed) information, and the like. For example, as shown in FIG. 3A, when the radar 11 detects that there are a plurality of pedestrians 7 in front of the host vehicle 10, information such as the relative position and relative speed of each pedestrian 7 is obtained. Each is detected. Information detected by the radar 11 is transmitted to the vehicle ECU 1 as needed.

  The camera (detection means, face orientation recognition means) 12 is equipped, for example, on the front surface of the host vehicle 10, and acquires forward information by capturing an image in front of the host vehicle 10. An image (still image) captured by the camera 12 is transmitted as image data to the vehicle ECU 1 as needed, and image processing is performed on each image data in the vehicle ECU 1. Here, in particular, information on the face orientation of each pedestrian 7 detected by the radar 11 (hereinafter referred to as face orientation information) is acquired. Further, the camera 12 may be used as a means for specifying the position of the pedestrian 7 and the like, like the radar 11. The peripheral information acquired by the camera 12 includes white line information and signal information in addition to the face orientation information.

The vehicle speed sensor 13 detects the vehicle speed of the host vehicle 10. Vehicle speed information detected by the vehicle speed sensor 13 is transmitted to the vehicle ECU 1 as needed.
The alarm device 14 uses acoustic means that functions as one of the output devices of the vehicle ECU 1 and is controlled by the control unit 5 provided in the vehicle ECU 1 described later. The alarm device 14 is a notification unit that generates a sound, a voice, or the like to call attention to the driver. The information notified here includes, for example, the presence of the pedestrian 7 in front of the host vehicle 10 and the possibility of colliding with the pedestrian 7 if the vehicle continues running.

  The horn device 15 is an informing means for sounding a horn (horn) by operating a horn switch built in a steering wheel, for example, and notifying the outside of the vehicle. Normally, the horn device 15 is a device in which the driver operates the horn switch as necessary, and is energized only while the horn switch is being operated and continues to sound a horn. Here, the control unit 5 of the vehicle ECU 1 described later is used. The horn switch is automatically operated regardless of the driver's switch operation. That is, the control unit 5 automatically sounds a horn, and appeals the presence of the host vehicle 10 to the pedestrian 7 existing in front of the host vehicle 10.

  The automatic brake device 16 includes a brake device and a brake actuator, and automatically applies a braking force to each wheel regardless of a driver's brake operation. The brake device is a general brake device such as a full-air drum brake that generates a braking force (braking force) on the front wheels and the rear wheels using air pressure in accordance with the depression of the brake pedal by the driver. The brake actuator generates a braking force of an arbitrary magnitude on each wheel as an automatic brake based on a command from the control unit 5 of the vehicle ECU 1 described later, apart from a brake operation by the driver.

  The inter-pedestrian communication device (inter-pedal communication means) 17 communicates with the communicator 20 carried by a pedestrian present in the vicinity of the host vehicle 10 directly via an antenna or via a repeater (not shown). Part. Here, in particular, the approach information of the host vehicle 10 is transmitted to the communication device 20 of the pedestrian 7 existing in front of the host vehicle 10.

  The vehicle ECU 1 is a CPU that executes various arithmetic processes, a ROM that stores programs and data necessary for its control, a RAM that temporarily stores arithmetic results in the CPU, and signals to and from the outside A computer having an input / output port and the like.

[2. Control configuration]
In the vehicle ECU 1 of the present embodiment, when there is a possibility that the pedestrian 7 existing in front of the host vehicle 10 and the host vehicle 10 may collide, notification control for the driver, automatic brake that automatically stops the host vehicle 10 is performed. Control and notification control for the pedestrian 7 are appropriately implemented. In order to realize each control described above, the vehicle ECU 1 has a functional element as the estimation unit 2, a functional element as the face orientation recognition unit 3, a functional element as the determination unit 4, and a functional element as the control unit 5. And have.

  Based on the pedestrian information (dynamics of the pedestrian 7) detected by the radar 11 and the camera 12 and the vehicle speed of the host vehicle 10 detected by the vehicle speed sensor 13, the estimation unit (estimation means) 2 The possibility of collision with the pedestrian 7 is estimated. As shown in FIG. 2, the estimation unit 2 determines the presence or absence of the pedestrian 7 from the pedestrian information, and when the pedestrian 7 exists, the movement of the host vehicle 10 when a preset set time has elapsed. Estimate the range (indicated by the symbol V when not distinguished for each set time) and the movement range of the pedestrian 7 (indicated by the symbol P when not distinguished for each set time). And when these movement ranges V and P intersect, it estimates that the own vehicle 10 and the pedestrian 7 may collide, and when these movement ranges V and P do not intersect, there is a possibility of collision. Estimated not.

The estimation unit 2 estimates the possibility of collision for alarm control for a driver, horn control for a pedestrian, and brake control, respectively. That is, the estimation unit 2 has a set time t _W for alarm control, a set time t _H for horn control, and a set time t _B for brake control, and each set time t _W , t _H , The movement ranges V _W , V _H , V _B of the host vehicle 10 and the movement ranges P _W , P _H , P _B of the pedestrian 7 at time t _B are estimated. Then, the possibility of collision is estimated for each control. Of these three set times, the brake control set time t _B is the shortest, the horn control set time t _H is the shortest, and the alarm control set time t _W is the longest (t _B <T _H <t _W ).

  This is because the warning control is performed from the stage where the distance between the host vehicle 10 and the pedestrian 7 is some distance away, so that the driver can be made aware of the presence of the pedestrian 7. Moreover, it is because it is preferable not to implement horn control except the case where the distance of the own vehicle 10 and the pedestrian 7 is near, and it cannot be avoided in order to prevent a danger. Furthermore, the brake control is performed when the collision cannot be avoided despite the alarm control and the horn control.

An example of a collision probability estimation method performed by the estimation unit 2 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, when a pedestrian 7 exists in front of the host vehicle 10, the estimation unit 2 determines the current position (t = t ₀ ) of the host vehicle 10, the moving direction (steering angle) of the host vehicle 10, and The movement ranges V _W , V _H , V _B of the host vehicle 10 when the set times t _W , t _H , t _{B have} elapsed are estimated from the vehicle speed. At the same time, from the current relative position and relative speed of the pedestrian 7 (t = t ₀ ), the movement ranges P _W , P _H , and P _B of the pedestrian 7 when the set times t _W , t _H , t _{B have} elapsed are calculated. presume. Here, the moving range V _W when the set time t _W for alarm control has elapsed, indicates P _W by a one-dot chain line, the moving range V _H, P _H when the set time t _H for horn control has elapsed The movement ranges V _B and P _B when the set time t _B for brake control elapses are indicated by solid lines, indicated by broken lines.

In the example shown in FIG. 2, since the movement range V _W of the host vehicle 10 and the movement range P _W of the pedestrian 7 intersect when the set time t _W for alarm control has elapsed, the estimation unit 2 Regarding control, it is estimated that there is a possibility of collision. On the other hand, the movement ranges V _H and P _H when the set time t _H for horn control elapses do not intersect the movement ranges V _B and P _B when the set time t _B for brake control elapses. The estimation unit 2 estimates that there is no possibility of collision in the horn control and the brake control. The estimation result in the estimation unit 2 is transmitted to the determination unit 4 and the control unit 5.

  The face orientation recognition unit (face orientation recognition means) 3 recognizes the face orientations of all pedestrians 7 detected by the radar 11 from the image captured by the camera 12. The face orientation recognition unit 3 recognizes which direction the pedestrian is facing based on, for example, the outline of the face and the position of the face parts (eyes, nose, mouth, etc.). Recognition of the face orientation by the face orientation recognition unit 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3A is an example of an image in front of the host vehicle 10 captured by the camera 12, and FIG. 3B is an overhead view of FIG. When the radar 11 detects that there are a plurality of pedestrians 7a to 7f in front of the host vehicle 10, the camera 12 captures a front landscape including the plurality of pedestrians 7a to 7f.

  Then, only the pedestrians 7a to 7f are extracted from the front scenery, and the face direction of each pedestrian 7 is recognized one by one. For example, the face orientation recognition unit 3 detects face parts including the head position by pattern matching, recognizes the nose from the detected face parts, and recognizes the direction in which the face is facing from the nose position. In the case of the pedestrian 7b, since the nose is in a position facing the own vehicle 10, it is recognized that “the face direction of the pedestrian 7b is on the own vehicle 10 side”. Further, since no face parts are confirmed for the pedestrian 7a, it is recognized that “the face direction of the pedestrian 7a is not on the own vehicle 10 side”.

  The face orientation recognition unit 3 checks the pedestrians 7b to 7f one by one for each of the pedestrians 7a to 7f detected in this manner, so that the face orientation of the pedestrian 7b, the pedestrian 7d, and the pedestrian 7f is determined automatically. It recognizes that it is the vehicle 10 side, and recognizes that the direction of the face of the pedestrian 7a, the pedestrian 7c, and the pedestrian 7e is not the own vehicle 10 side. The recognition result in the face orientation recognition unit 3 is transmitted to the determination unit 4.

The determination unit (determination unit) 4 determines the pedestrian 7 based on the face direction of the pedestrian 7 recognized by the face direction recognition unit 3 when the estimation unit 2 estimates that there is a possibility of collision regarding the alarm control. It is determined whether or not the vehicle 10 is recognized. The determination unit 4 measures a time (hereinafter referred to as a recognition time) when the face direction recognition unit 3 recognizes that the face direction of the pedestrian 7 is on the own vehicle 10 side, and this recognition time is a predetermined time t. _When more than _A has passed, it is determined that the pedestrian 7 has recognized the presence of the host vehicle 10. The predetermined time t _A is generally set slightly longer (for example, 1 second) than the time required for a person to recognize a thing.

That is, the determination unit 4 determines that the pedestrian 7 does not recognize the presence of the own vehicle 10 (not yet recognized) only when the face of the pedestrian 7 faces the own vehicle 10 for a moment. time is determined to be aware of the presence of the vehicle 10 when older than the predetermined time t _a. Here, not only when the pedestrian 7 continues to face the own vehicle 10 side for a predetermined time t _A or more, but the time when the face direction of the pedestrian 7 is the own vehicle 10 side is accumulated. Even when the accumulated time is equal to or longer than the predetermined time t _A , the pedestrian 7 determines that the presence of the host vehicle 10 is recognized.

For example, assuming that the predetermined time t _A is 1 second and the pedestrian 7f shown in FIG. 3A turns his face in the direction of the host vehicle 10 before crossing the roadway 30, the face orientation recognition unit 3 It is recognized that the face direction of 7f is the own vehicle 10 side. At this time, if the pedestrian 7f continues and faces the own vehicle 10 side for 1 second or longer, the determination unit 4 determines that the pedestrian 7f recognizes the own vehicle 10. On the other hand, when the pedestrian 7f is facing the own vehicle 10 only for about 0.5 seconds, the determination unit 4 determines that the pedestrian 7f does not recognize the own vehicle 10 at that time, but then the own vehicle 10 again. When the side is turned for 0.5 seconds or longer, the accumulated time becomes equal to or longer than the predetermined time t _A , so the determination unit 4 determines that the pedestrian 7f recognizes the host vehicle 10.

Determination section 4, when a pedestrian 7 is determined to be aware of the vehicle 10 once, maintain a constant time t _C is the determination result from the time of the determination, after a predetermined time t _C passed again determined To implement. For example, when the determination unit 4 once determines that the pedestrian 7d shown in FIG. 3A recognizes the host vehicle 10, the predetermined time t _C is the walking regardless of the face direction of the pedestrian 7d. It is assumed that the person 7d recognizes the existence of the host vehicle 10. In other words, during this fixed time t _C , the determination for the pedestrian 7 that has been determined to have recognized the host vehicle 10 is not performed, and the determination is not performed unless the fixed time t _C elapses. Therefore, the fixed time t _C is set slightly longer (for example, 3 seconds) than the predetermined time t _A for determining whether or not the host vehicle 10 is recognized in consideration of safety.

The certain time t _C may be set according to the vehicle speed of the host vehicle 10. Since the distance traveled during the same time varies depending on the speed of the host vehicle 10, a map in which the relationship between the vehicle speed of the host vehicle 10 and the predetermined time t _C is stored in advance is stored, and the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 13 the predetermined time t _C may be acquired each time. The determination result in the determination unit 4 is transmitted to the control unit 5.

  The control unit (control means) 5 controls the alarm device 14, the horn device 15, and the automatic brake device 16 based on the estimation result transmitted from the estimation unit 2 and the determination result transmitted from the determination unit 4. is there. The control unit 5 also notifies the pedestrian 7 of the approach of the host vehicle 10 using the inter-vehicle communication device 17.

First, alarm control performed by the control unit 5 will be described. When the estimation result that “there is a possibility of collision with respect to alarm control” is transmitted from the estimation unit 2, the control unit 5 controls the alarm device 14 and may collide with the pedestrian 7 with respect to the driver. An alarm is issued to inform you. At this time, when it is determined that the pedestrian 7 estimated by the determination unit as having a possibility of collision does not recognize the presence of the host vehicle 10, the control unit 5 immediately issues an alarm and recognizes the presence of the host vehicle 10. If it is determined that the alarm has been made, a predetermined waiting time t ₁ is provided before an alarm is issued.

That is, the control unit 5, when the pedestrian 7 with collision possibility with the vehicle 10 is aware of the vehicle 10, since the predetermined standby time before generating an alarm t ₁ is provided, this No alarm is provided during the waiting time t ₁ . Also, no warning is given when there is no possibility of a collision during the waiting time t ₁ . On the other hand, if there is a possibility of collision even after the waiting time t ₁ has elapsed, and if the pedestrian 7 who may collide with the host vehicle 10 does not recognize the presence of the host vehicle 10, a warning is provided. To do.

  This is because the fact that the pedestrian 7 recognizes the presence of the host vehicle 10 is aware that the host vehicle 10 is approaching, so the pedestrian 7 avoids a collision with the host vehicle 10 himself. This is because the possibility of taking avoidance action is high. In other words, even when it is estimated that there is a possibility of a collision with respect to the alarm control, the alarm control can be performed at an appropriate timing by predicting the movement that the pedestrian 7 can take thereafter from the face direction of the pedestrian 7. carry out.

In other words, when it is estimated that there is a possibility of collision regarding the alarm control, the control unit 5 changes the timing of issuing the alarm depending on whether or not the pedestrian 7 recognizes the host vehicle 10, Is generated. The predetermined waiting time t ₁ for delaying the timing (alarm control timing) for issuing an alarm when the pedestrian 7 recognizes the host vehicle 10 is a predetermined constant value here, shorter than the set time t _W for alarm control, is set to a value longer than the time set for the horn control t _H. The waiting time t ₁ may be set according to the vehicle speed of the host vehicle 10. Since the distance traveled at the same time varies depending on the speed of the host vehicle 10, it is possible to alert the driver at a more appropriate timing by changing the alarm timing according to the vehicle speed.

  Next, the horn control performed by the control unit 5 will be described. The control unit 5 controls the horn device 15 to notify the pedestrian 7 of the approach of the host vehicle 10 when the estimation unit 2 has received the estimation result “There is a possibility of collision regarding horn control”. Sound a horn. At this time, when the determination result that the pedestrian 7 estimated to have a possibility of collision is “recognizing the presence of the host vehicle 10” is transmitted from the determination unit 4, the control unit 5 The horn control is not performed regardless of the transmitted estimation result. This is because it may be an excessive notification to sound the horn even when the pedestrian 7 recognizes the presence of the host vehicle 10.

  In other words, when the determination unit 4 determines that the pedestrian 7 does not recognize the host vehicle 10, the control unit 5 sounds a horn to the pedestrian 7 at a timing later than the timing at which the alarm is issued. In addition, when the determination unit 4 determines that the pedestrian 7 recognizes the host vehicle 10 during the horn control, the control unit 5 ends the horn control (stops the horn).

  Here, the control unit 5 controls the inter-vehicle communication device 17 in accordance with the horn control. That is, the control unit 5 determines from the estimation unit 2 that the estimation result “There is a possibility of collision with horn control” is transmitted, and the determination unit 4 determines that the pedestrian 7 does not recognize the presence of the host vehicle 10. The inter-pedal communication device 17 is controlled so that the approach information of the host vehicle 10 is transmitted to the communication device 20 only when the vehicle has been detected.

  Finally, the brake control performed by the control unit 5 will be described. When the estimation result “There is a possibility of a collision with respect to the brake control” is transmitted from the estimation unit 2, the control unit 5 controls the automatic brake device 16 to generate a braking force of an arbitrary magnitude on each wheel. The own vehicle 10 is stopped. This brake control is performed when the estimation unit 2 estimates that there is a possibility of a collision regardless of whether or not the pedestrian 7 recognizes the presence of the host vehicle 10. This is because even if the pedestrian 7 is aware of the approach of the host vehicle 10, for example, there is a possibility that he / she may overestablish that the vehicle will avoid the avoidance action. The control unit 5 terminates the brake control when the estimation unit 2 estimates that there is no possibility of a collision in the brake control or when the host vehicle 10 is stopped.

[3. flowchart]
Next, each procedure performed in vehicle ECU1 is demonstrated using the flowchart of FIGS. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an estimation procedure performed by the estimation unit 2, FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a determination procedure performed by the determination unit 4, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure performed by the control unit 5. These flowcharts operate independently of each other at a predetermined cycle, and information is transmitted to each flowchart. Each of the following steps is performed by each function (means) assigned to the hardware of the computer being operated by software (computer program).

  When the driver turns on an ignition switch (not shown), the support control apparatus starts the following flowcharts. As shown in FIG. 4, pedestrian information and vehicle speed information are acquired by the radar 11, the camera 12, and the vehicle speed sensor 13 in step X10. Next, in step X20, it is determined whether or not there is a pedestrian 7 ahead of the host vehicle 10 from the pedestrian information acquired in step X10. When the pedestrian 7 exists, it progresses to step X30, and when the pedestrian 7 does not exist, this period is complete | finished and it returns.

In step X30, the movement ranges V _W , V _H , and V _B of the host vehicle 10 when the set times t _W , t _H , and t _{B have} elapsed are estimated for each of the alarm control, horn control, and brake control. In subsequent step X40, the movement ranges P _W , P _H , and P _B of the pedestrian 7 when the set times t _W , t _H , and t _{B have} elapsed are estimated for each of the alarm control, horn control, and brake control. . In step X50, it is determined whether or not the movement ranges V _W , V _H and V _B of the own vehicle 10 and the movement ranges P _W , P _H and P _{B of the} pedestrian 7 intersect each other for each control.

If the movement ranges V _W , V _H , V _{B of the} host vehicle 10 and the movement ranges P _W , P _H , P _{B of the} pedestrian 7 intersect, the process proceeds to step X60, and the intersecting controls can collide. It is presumed that there is a possibility, and this cycle is ended and the process returns. On the other hand, if the movement ranges V _W , V _H , V _{B of} the host vehicle 10 and the movement ranges P _W , P _H , P _{B of the} pedestrian 7 do not intersect, the process proceeds to step X70, and the control that does not intersect It is estimated that there is no possibility of collision, and this cycle is ended and the process returns. The estimation unit 2 uses such a flowchart to estimate the possibility of repeated collisions until the ignition switch is turned off. The result of the collision possibility estimated here is used in the flowcharts of FIGS. 5 and 6.

  As shown in FIG. 5, in step Y <b> 10, it is determined whether or not it is estimated that “there is a possibility of collision with respect to alarm control” in the flowchart of FIG. 4. When it is estimated that there is a possibility of collision in the alarm control, the process proceeds to Step Y20, and when it is estimated that there is no possibility of collision, the process proceeds to Step Y110. In step Y20, it is determined whether or not the flag F is F = 0. Here, the flag F is a variable for checking whether or not the pedestrian 7 estimated to have a possibility of collision in the alarm control recognizes the host vehicle 10. F = 0 means that the pedestrian 7 does not recognize the own vehicle 10, and F = 1 means that the pedestrian 7 recognizes the own vehicle 10. The initial value of the flag F is set to F = 0.

  If it is determined in step Y20 that the flag F is F = 0, the process proceeds to step Y30, and whether or not the face orientation recognition unit 3 recognizes that the face direction of the pedestrian 7 is on the own vehicle 10 side. Determined. If the direction of the face of the pedestrian 7 is the own vehicle 10 side, the process proceeds to step Y40 and it is determined whether or not the timer A is counting (measuring). If the timer A is not counting (if the timer A is stopped), the process proceeds to step Y50 to start the timer A. The timer A is a timer for measuring the above recognition time.

Then, in step Y60, the timer A count time (ie recognition time) whether older than the predetermined time t _A is determined. If the count time of the timer A is less than the predetermined time t _A , the process proceeds to step Y75 and it is determined that the pedestrian 7 has not recognized the host vehicle 10. Then, the flag F is set to F = 0, and this cycle is ended and the process returns. In the next cycle, since timer A is counting, the process proceeds from step Y40 to step Y60, and the determination in step Y60 is repeated.

Count time of the timer A in step Y60 is equal to or greater than a predetermined time period t _A, the process proceeds to step Y70, pedestrian 7 is determined to be aware of the vehicle 10. Then, the flag F is set to F = 1, and the timer A is stopped and reset in step Y90. Further, in step Y100, the timer C is started, and this cycle ends and returns. The timer C is a timer for measuring the time for maintaining the result determined in step Y70 (that is, the determination result that “the pedestrian 7 recognizes the host vehicle 10”).

When the flag F is set to F = 1, in the next cycle, the process proceeds from step Y20 to step Y22, and it is determined whether or not the count time of the timer C is equal to or longer than the predetermined time t _C. If the count time of the timer C is less than the predetermined time t _C , this cycle is ended and the process returns. That is, once it is determined in step Y70 that the host vehicle 10 has been recognized, the next determination is not performed until the count time of the timer C has exceeded a predetermined time t _C.

When the flowchart is repeated until the count time of the timer C reaches the predetermined time t _C or more, the process proceeds from step Y22 to step Y24, where the timer C is stopped and reset. Then, the flag F is set to F = 0, and the process proceeds to Step Y30. In the determination of the face orientation in step Y30, if it is determined that the face orientation of the pedestrian 7 is on the own vehicle 10 side, steps Y40 to Y100 are repeated as described above.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the face direction of the pedestrian 7 is not on the own vehicle 10 side, the process proceeds to step Y45 to determine whether or not the timer A is counting. If the timer A is not counting, this cycle is ended and the process returns. On the other hand, if the timer A is counting, the process proceeds to step Y55, the timer A count is temporarily stopped, this cycle is ended, and the process returns. The case where the process proceeds to step Y55 is a case where it is determined in step Y30 that the face of the pedestrian 7 is once facing the own vehicle 10 side, and the timer A is started in step Y50.

  In other words, if the pedestrian 7 once faces the other direction after facing the own vehicle 10 side, it is determined in step Y30 that the face direction is not the own vehicle 10 side. Therefore, in this case, the timer A that measures the recognition time is temporarily stopped and the time counted so far is held. Thereafter, when the face direction of the pedestrian 7 is again on the own vehicle 10 side, the count of the timer A is restarted in step Y50 and the count is accumulated.

  If it is estimated in the flowchart of FIG. 4 that there is no possibility of a collision in the alarm control, the process proceeds from step Y10 to step Y110, the flag F is reset to F = 0, and timer A and timer C are reset in step Y120. The count is stopped and reset to end this cycle and return. As described above, when there is a possibility of collision in the alarm control, it is determined whether or not the host vehicle 10 is recognized from the face direction of the pedestrian 7, and the determination result is used in the flowchart of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in step Z10, it is determined whether or not it is estimated that “there is a possibility of a collision with respect to alarm control” in the flowchart of FIG. When it is estimated that there is a possibility of collision in the alarm control, the process proceeds to step Z20, and when it is estimated that there is no possibility of collision, this cycle is ended and the process returns. In step Z20, it is determined whether or not the flag F is F = 0. This flag F is a variable for checking whether or not the pedestrian 7 estimated to have a possibility of collision in the alarm control recognizes the own vehicle 10, similarly to the flag F in FIG. 5. In step Z20, the flag information set in the flowchart of FIG. 5 is acquired and determined.

  If it is determined in step Z20 that the flag F is F = 0, the pedestrian 7 has not recognized the host vehicle 10, and thus the process proceeds to step Z30, where alarm control is immediately performed. Then, the process proceeds to step Z40 while performing the alarm control, and it is determined whether or not it is estimated that “there is a possibility of collision in the horn control” in the flowchart of FIG. If it is estimated that there is a possibility of collision in the horn control, the process proceeds to Step Z50, immediately the horn control is performed, and the process proceeds to Step Z60. When it is estimated that there is no possibility of collision in the horn control, this cycle is ended and the process returns.

On the other hand, the flag F is determined to be F = 1 at step Z20, for pedestrians 7 are aware of the vehicle 10, the process proceeds to step Z35, the warning control is performed after the standby time t ₁ has elapsed . If there is no possibility of a collision regarding the alarm control during the waiting time t ₁ , the process proceeds to the NO route in the determination of step Z10, and the alarm control is not performed. That is, in the step Z35, the time until the standby time t ₁ elapses are counted.

  When the warning control is performed in step Z35 (that is, when the pedestrian 7 recognizes the host vehicle 10), the horn control is not performed and the process proceeds to step Z60. In step Z60, it is determined whether or not it is estimated that “there is a possibility of collision with respect to brake control” in the flowchart of FIG. When it is estimated that there is a possibility of collision in the brake control, the process proceeds to step Z70, and the brake control is immediately performed. When it is estimated that there is no possibility of collision in the brake control, this cycle is ended and the process returns. In this way, each control is performed step by step.

[4. Action / Effect]
Next, each control timing by the control part 5 is demonstrated using the time chart shown to Fig.7 (a)-(c). FIGS. 7A and 7B show control timings of the driving support apparatus according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 7C shows control timings by a support apparatus that does not use the face orientation information of the pedestrian 7 as a comparative example. Indicates.

When it is estimated that “there is a possibility of a collision with respect to alarm control” at time T ₀ , when the pedestrian 7 recognizes the presence of the host vehicle 10, a timing for issuing an alarm as shown in FIG. There is delayed by the waiting time t _1, the standby time t ₁ from the time T ₀ is the warning control is started at time T ₁ has elapsed (alarm is turned on). If pedestrian 7 is aware of the presence of the vehicle 10, horn control is not performed at time T _4, which is estimated that "there is a collision possibility for brake control" immediately brake control is performed (Automatic brake is turned on). Incidentally, the warning control is carried out continuously from the time T _1, the warning control is terminated when it is estimated that there is no collision possibility for alarm control.

On the other hand, if it is estimated at time T ₀ that “there is a possibility of a collision for alarm control”, if the pedestrian 7 does not recognize the presence of the host vehicle 10, the time T as shown in FIG. Alarm control starts immediately at ₀ (alarm is turned on). Then, at time T ₂ where it is estimated that “there is a possibility of collision with respect to the horn control”, the horn control is immediately started (the horn is turned on).

Pedestrian 7 by sounding the horn faces the direction of the vehicle 10, when it is determined that recognized the vehicle 10 at time T _3, horn control is terminated at time T ₃ (horn is turned off) . Thereafter, at time T ₄ where it is estimated that “there is a possibility of a collision with respect to the brake control”, the brake control is immediately performed (the automatic brake is turned on). Although the alarm control is continuously performed from time T ₀ , the alarm control is terminated when it is estimated that there is no possibility of collision regarding the alarm control.

In contrast, if the support device which does not use the face direction information as shown in FIG. 7 (c), when it is estimated that "there is a collision possibility for alarm control" at time T _0, immediately at time T ₀ Alarm control is started (alarm is turned on). In addition, at the time T _{2 when} it is estimated that “there is a possibility of collision with respect to the horn control”, the horn control is immediately started (the horn is turned on).

Then, at time T ₄ where it is estimated that “there is a possibility of a collision with respect to the brake control”, the brake control is immediately performed (the automatic brake is turned on), and the horn is stopped. In other words, when the direction of the face of the pedestrian 7 is not taken into account, only the possibility of collision between the pedestrian 7 and the host vehicle 10 is a condition for starting or ending the control. Therefore, it is impossible to appropriately control the behavior of the pedestrian 7. On the other hand, in the case of this support apparatus, fine control is enabled by using face orientation information.

Therefore, according to the driving support device according to the present embodiment, when the pedestrian 7 who may collide with the host vehicle 10 recognizes the presence of the host vehicle 10, the predetermined waiting time t until the alarm is issued. _{Since 1} is provided, the alarm is not performed during the waiting time t ₁ . Also, no warning is given when there is no possibility of a collision during the waiting time t ₁ . Therefore, unnecessary alarms can be suppressed and drivability can be improved.

Also, if there is a possibility of collision even after the waiting time t ₁ has elapsed, and if the pedestrian 7 who may collide with the host vehicle 10 does not recognize the presence of the host vehicle 10, an alarm is provided. Is done. In other words, just because a pedestrian recognizes the host vehicle 10 does not necessarily avoid the pedestrian himself, but some pedestrians continue to walk with overconfidence that the vehicle will avoid it. Can exist. Since this driving support device can appropriately issue an alarm for such a pedestrian, the driving of the driver can be appropriately supported. Therefore, appropriate driving support can be implemented while suppressing excessive notification.

Further, when the time (recognition time) in which the face orientation of the pedestrian 7 recognized by the face orientation recognition unit 3 is on the own vehicle 10 side has exceeded a predetermined time t _A , the pedestrian 7 is present in the own vehicle 10. Therefore, it is possible to improve the determination accuracy. That is, it can be determined whether or not the host vehicle 10 is really recognized by determining that the host vehicle 10 has not been recognized for the pedestrian 7 facing the host vehicle 10 side for a moment. .

In particular, in this embodiment, not only when the pedestrian 7 continues to face the own vehicle 10 side for a predetermined time t _A or longer, but also accumulates the time when the pedestrian 7 face direction is the own vehicle 10 side. Even when the accumulated time is equal to or longer than the predetermined time t _A , since it is determined that the pedestrian 7 recognizes the presence of the host vehicle 10, practicality can be improved.

For example, a pedestrian who is going to cross a road may face his / her own vehicle 10 side and turn his face to another direction in order to check whether or not the vehicle is coming from the opposite lane. In such a case, the time during which the face is continuously kept on the own vehicle 10 side is shortened, but the existence of the own vehicle 10 may be recognized by checking the vehicle many times while scrambled. Therefore, even if the pedestrian 7 who turned his / her face toward the own vehicle 10 turns in a different direction on the way, the time facing the own vehicle 10 is accumulated, and the accumulated time becomes equal to or greater than the predetermined time t _A. If it becomes, it can be set as the control according to the situation which can actually occur by determining with "recognizing the presence of the own vehicle 10."

Further, once it is determined that the pedestrian 7 recognizes the presence of the host vehicle 10, the determination result is maintained until a predetermined time t _C elapses from the determination time, so that the practicality can be improved. For example, once a pedestrian recognizes that a vehicle is approaching, it can be imagined how much the vehicle will reach where it is, so you can check the situation of the opposite lane in the meantime. There are things to do.

That is, since the pedestrian is not always looking at the direction of presence of the vehicle 10, after determining that recognized once the presence of the vehicle 10, the "pedestrian 7 for a predetermined time t _C itself By leaving the determination result “recognizing the presence of the vehicle 10”, the calculation load can be reduced and the control according to the actual situation can be performed. Furthermore, after the predetermined time t _C has elapsed, it is determined again whether or not the host vehicle 10 is recognized based on the orientation of the face, so that it is possible to suppress a decrease in determination accuracy.

  Further, by transmitting the approach information of the own vehicle 10 directly to the communication device 20 using the inter-walk communication device 17 for the pedestrian 7 who does not recognize the presence of the own vehicle 10, the surroundings are not affected. In addition, it is possible to notify only the pedestrian 7 who may collide with the existence of the host vehicle 10.

  In addition, when the pedestrian 7 does not recognize the presence of the host vehicle 10, a horn is sounded to the pedestrian 7 at a timing later than the timing at which the alarm is issued. Approach can be recognized. Moreover, when the pedestrian 7 recognizes the presence of the own vehicle 10 by the horn, the horn is immediately stopped. Further, the horn control itself is not performed for the pedestrian 7 who recognizes the presence of the host vehicle 10 from the beginning. Therefore, unnecessary horns can be suppressed, and the pedestrian 7 can be prevented from feeling uncomfortable.

As for the possibility of collision, the movement ranges P _W , P _H , P _B of the pedestrian 7 and the movement ranges V _W , V _{H of the} host vehicle 10 when the preset times t _W , t _H , t _{B have} elapsed. , V _B intersect with each other, it is possible to easily estimate the possibility of collision by estimating that the own vehicle 10 and the pedestrian 7 may collide.

[5. Others]
Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
In the above embodiment, the case where alarm control for a driver, horn control for a pedestrian, and brake control for automatically performing braking of the host vehicle 10 has been described. However, horn and brake can be performed by the driver's intention. Therefore, as the support control, any configuration may be used as long as at least alarm control for the driver is performed. Further, the inter-vehicle communication device 17 may not be provided.

  In the above embodiment, the face orientation recognition unit 3 recognizes the face orientations of all pedestrians 7 detected by the radar 11, but transmits the estimation result of the estimation unit 2 to the face orientation recognition unit 3. The face direction recognition unit 3 may be configured to recognize only the face direction of the pedestrian 7 estimated to have a collision possibility. According to such a configuration, the calculation load can be reduced.

In the above-described embodiment, the estimation unit 2 has the movement ranges P _W , P _H , P _B of the pedestrian 7 and the movement range V _{W of the} host vehicle 10 when the preset times t _W , t _H , t _{B have} elapsed. , V _H , V _B and the case where the possibility of collision is estimated based on whether or not these movement ranges intersect has been described. However, the method for estimating the possibility of collision is not limited to the above, Various estimation methods existing from the above can be adopted.

Further, the condition that the determination unit 4 determines that “the pedestrian 7 recognizes the host vehicle 10” is not limited to the above. For example, the determination unit 4 does not accumulate recognition time, when the direction of the face of the pedestrian 7 continues a predetermined time t _A more vehicle 10 side, the pedestrian 7 recognizes the vehicle 10 May be determined. In this case, it is preferable to shorten the length of the predetermined time t _A compared to the case where the accumulated time is used. Alternatively, the predetermined time t _A may be set to be shorter, and if it is recognized that the face direction of the pedestrian 7 is the own vehicle 10 even for a moment, it may be determined that the own vehicle 10 is recognized. In this case, it is not necessary to measure the recognition time and compare it with the predetermined time t _A.

1 Vehicle ECU
2 Estimator (estimator)
3 Face orientation recognition unit (face orientation recognition means)
4. Judgment part (determination means)
5 Control unit (control means)
7 Pedestrian 10 Own vehicle 11 Radar (detection means)
12 Camera (detection means, face orientation recognition means)
13 Vehicle speed sensor 14 Alarm device 15 Horn device 16 Automatic brake device 17 Inter-vehicle communication device (inter-vehicle communication means)
20 communication equipment

Claims (6)

Detecting means for detecting a pedestrian in front of the host vehicle;
Face orientation recognition means for imaging the pedestrian detected by the detection means and recognizing the orientation of the face of the pedestrian;
Estimating means for estimating the possibility of collision between the host vehicle and the pedestrian based on the dynamics of the pedestrian detected by the detecting means;
An alarm device that issues an alarm to a driver driving the host vehicle when the estimation means estimates that the possibility exists;
Determination that determines whether or not the pedestrian recognizes the presence of the host vehicle from the face orientation recognized by the face orientation recognition unit when the estimation unit estimates the possibility Means,
Control means for controlling the alarm device according to the determination result by the determination means,
When the control means determines that the pedestrian does not recognize the presence of the host vehicle, the control means immediately issues an alarm, and the determination means recognizes the presence of the host vehicle. When it is determined that the vehicle is driving, the driving support device has a predetermined waiting time until an alarm is generated. The pedestrian recognizes the presence of the host vehicle when the determination unit is more than a predetermined time when the face direction recognized by the face direction recognition unit is on the host vehicle side. The driving support device according to claim 1, wherein the driving support device is determined. Once the determination means determines that the pedestrian has recognized the presence of the host vehicle, the determination result is maintained for a certain period of time from the determination, and the face is again oriented after the certain period of time has elapsed. The driving support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination is performed based on the determination. Comprising inter-pedestrian communication means for transmitting and receiving information to and from a communication device carried by the pedestrian,
The inter-step communication means so that the control means transmits the approach information of the own vehicle to the communication device when the determination means determines that the pedestrian does not recognize the presence of the own vehicle. The driving support device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the driving support device is controlled. When the control means determines that the pedestrian does not recognize the presence of the host vehicle by the determination means, the control means sounds a horn to the pedestrian at a timing later than the timing to issue the alarm. The driving support device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein when the determination means determines that the pedestrian recognizes the presence of the host vehicle, the horn is stopped. . There is a possibility that the host vehicle and the pedestrian may collide when the estimation unit has a movement range of the pedestrian and a movement range of the host vehicle at the time when a preset set time has elapsed. The driving support device according to claim 1, wherein the driving support device is estimated.

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