JP2016078730A - Vehicle travel control apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress discomfort exerted to a driver in the control of a vehicular speed at traveling in a curve.SOLUTION: A vehicle travel control apparatus, for use in controlling a vehicular speed of a vehicle travelling on a curve using a curve proper speed computed on the basis of a curvature of the curve or a travel history of the curve, includes: a precedent vehicle tracking speed control part for computing a precedent vehicle tracking speed in a case where existence of a precedent vehicle is determined; a curve upper limit speed control part for computing a curve upper limit speed that is higher than the curve proper speed on the basis of the curvature of the curve; and a speed control part for controlling so that the speed of the vehicle traveling in the curve matches the curve proper speed in a case where no presence of a precedent vehicle is determined. Further, when the curve proper speed is equal to or more than the precedent vehicle tracking speed or the precedent vehicle tracking speed is equal to or less than the curve upper limit speed, the speed control part controls so that the speed matches the precedent vehicle tracking speed, whereas when the precedent vehicle tracking speed exceeds the curve upper limit speed, the speed control part controls so that the speed matches the curve upper limit speed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle travel control device that controls the vehicle speed of a vehicle traveling on a curve.

  Conventionally, JP-A-2009-262895 is known as a technical document relating to vehicle speed control of a vehicle traveling on a curve. This publication describes a vehicle travel control device that causes a vehicle to travel following a preceding vehicle even during curve travel.

JP 2009-262895 A

  However, in the conventional vehicle travel control device described above, the vehicle speed of the vehicle is controlled so as to follow the preceding vehicle even when the vehicle is traveling on a curve. Therefore, when the preceding vehicle is traveling at a high speed, the vehicle is also the preceding vehicle. The vehicle may travel at a high speed following the curve, giving the driver a feeling of strangeness. Therefore, it is desired to suppress the driver from feeling uncomfortable in the control of the vehicle speed during curve driving.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a vehicle travel control device that controls a vehicle speed of a vehicle traveling on a curve using a curve appropriate vehicle speed calculated based on a curve curvature or a curve travel history. A preceding vehicle determining unit that determines whether or not there is a preceding vehicle traveling ahead of the vehicle, and a preceding vehicle for following the preceding vehicle when the preceding vehicle determining unit determines that the preceding vehicle exists. A preceding vehicle following vehicle speed control unit that calculates a vehicle following vehicle speed, and a curve upper limit vehicle speed control that calculates a curve upper limit vehicle speed that is larger than the curve appropriate vehicle speed based on the curvature of the curve when the curve appropriate vehicle speed is less than the preceding vehicle following vehicle speed. And a vehicle speed control unit that controls the vehicle speed of the vehicle traveling on the curve to be an appropriate vehicle speed when the preceding vehicle determination unit determines that there is no preceding vehicle. Is a case where the preceding vehicle determination unit determines that a preceding vehicle exists, and the vehicle travels on a curve when the appropriate curve vehicle speed is equal to or higher than the preceding vehicle following vehicle speed or when the preceding vehicle following vehicle speed is equal to or lower than the curve upper limit vehicle speed. Control is performed so that the vehicle speed of the vehicle becomes the preceding vehicle following vehicle speed, and when the preceding vehicle following vehicle speed exceeds the curve upper limit vehicle speed, the vehicle speed of the vehicle traveling on the curve is controlled to become the curve upper limit vehicle speed.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it can suppress giving a driver discomfort in control of the vehicle speed at the time of curve driving | running | working.

It is a block diagram which shows the vehicle travel control apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of control of the vehicle travel control apparatus which concerns on this embodiment.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

A vehicle travel control device 1 shown in FIG. 1 is mounted on a vehicle, for example, and controls the vehicle speed. The vehicle travel control device 1 calculates a curve appropriate vehicle speed V1 based on the curvature of the curve ahead of the vehicle or the travel history of the curve, and controls the vehicle speed of the vehicle traveling on the curve using the curve appropriate vehicle speed V1. The curve appropriate vehicle speed V1 is, for example, a vehicle speed that the driver feels comfortable when traveling on a target curve. The curve appropriate vehicle speed V1 may be a vehicle speed included in a range in which the lateral acceleration received by the vehicle when traveling on a curve is in the range of 1 m / s ² or more and less than 4 m / s ^2, for example. The curve appropriate vehicle speed V1 may be a vehicle speed included in a range in which the lateral acceleration received by the vehicle when traveling on a curve is in the range of ² m / s ² or more and less than 3 m / s ² .

  The curve appropriate vehicle speed V1 is calculated by using, for example, map data in which the curvature of the curve is associated with the curve appropriate vehicle speed V1. The curve appropriate vehicle speed V1 may be calculated as a vehicle speed when the vehicle has traveled appropriately in the past on the curve based on the travel history of the target curve. The curve travel history includes, for example, a position on the map of the curve (for example, latitude and lightness), information on the vehicle speed during the curve travel, information on the steering angle of the vehicle during the curve travel, and the like. The case where the vehicle has traveled appropriately in the past is, for example, the case where the vehicle travels on a curve that satisfies the following two conditions. The first condition is that the vehicle traveled on a curve with no preceding vehicle. The second condition is that the driver did not adjust the vehicle speed by the accelerator operation or the brake operation in the middle of the curve. The middle of the curve here is, for example, a section in the curve where the curvature is 300R or less. The traveling history of the curve may be a traveling history by another vehicle.

  When it is determined that a preceding vehicle is present ahead of the vehicle, the vehicle travel control device 1 calculates the preceding vehicle following vehicle speed V2. The preceding vehicle is another vehicle that travels in front of the vehicle on the same lane as the vehicle. The preceding vehicle following vehicle speed V2 is a vehicle speed for the vehicle to follow the preceding vehicle. The preceding vehicle following vehicle speed V2 is calculated based on, for example, the relative vehicle speed and the inter-vehicle distance between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle. The preceding vehicle following vehicle speed V2 corresponds to, for example, a target vehicle speed at the time of following the preceding vehicle in ACC [Adaptive Cruise Control].

When it is determined that a preceding vehicle is present ahead of the vehicle, the vehicle travel control device 1 calculates the curve upper limit vehicle speed V3. The curve upper limit vehicle speed V3 is, for example, an upper limit vehicle speed that the driver feels scared when traveling on a target curve. In other words, the curve upper limit vehicle speed V3 is, for example, an upper limit vehicle speed that can be permitted without causing the driver to feel uncomfortable when traveling on a curve. The curve upper limit vehicle speed V3 is higher than the curve appropriate vehicle speed V1. The curve upper limit vehicle speed V3 is calculated based on at least the curvature of the curve. The curve upper limit vehicle speed V3 can be, for example, a vehicle speed included in a range where the lateral acceleration received by the vehicle when traveling on a curve is 4 m / s ² or more. The curve upper limit vehicle speed V3 may be a vehicle speed included in a range in which the lateral acceleration received by the vehicle when traveling on a curve is 3 m / s ² or more. In this case, the curve appropriate vehicle speed V1 is, for example, a vehicle speed at which the lateral acceleration received by the vehicle when traveling on a curve is less than 3 m / s ² .

  When it is determined that there is no preceding vehicle, the vehicle travel control device 1 performs control so that the vehicle speed of the vehicle traveling on the curve becomes the curve appropriate vehicle speed V1. When the vehicle travel control device 1 determines that there is a preceding vehicle and the curve appropriate vehicle speed V1 is equal to or higher than the preceding vehicle following vehicle speed V2, or the preceding vehicle following vehicle speed V2 is equal to or lower than the curve upper limit vehicle speed V3, the curve The vehicle speed of the vehicle traveling on the vehicle is controlled to be the preceding vehicle following vehicle speed V2. When the vehicle traveling control device 1 determines that there is a preceding vehicle and the preceding vehicle following vehicle speed V2 exceeds the curve upper limit vehicle speed V3, the vehicle speed of the vehicle traveling on the curve becomes the curve upper limit vehicle speed V3. To control.

[Configuration of vehicle travel control device]
Next, the configuration of the vehicle travel control device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle travel control device 1 includes a travel control ECU 2 that comprehensively controls the travel of the vehicle. The travel control ECU 2 is an electronic control unit having a CPU [Central Processing Unit], a ROM [Read Only Memory], a RAM [Random Access Memory], and the like.

  The travel control ECU 2 is connected to the navigation system 3, the stereo camera 4, the laser radar 5, the vehicle speed sensor 6, the engine control unit 7, and the brake control unit 8. The navigation system 3 guides the driver of the vehicle to the destination set by the driver. The navigation system 3 includes, for example, a GPS receiver for measuring the position of the vehicle and a map database storing map information. The GPS receiving unit measures the position of the vehicle (for example, latitude and longitude) by receiving signals from three or more GPS satellites, for example. The map information in the map database includes, for example, road position information, road type information (type information such as curves), curve curvature, and the like. The navigation system 3 recognizes the traveling road on which the vehicle travels based on the position of the vehicle measured by the GPS receiver and the map information in the map database. The navigation system 3 transmits, for example, vehicle position information, vehicle travel road information, and map information around the vehicle to the travel control ECU 2.

  The stereo camera 4 includes, for example, two imaging units provided on the back surface of the windshield of the vehicle. The two imaging units are arranged side by side in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle, and image the front of the vehicle. The stereo camera 4 transmits imaging information in front of the vehicle to the travel control ECU 2. A monocular camera may be used instead of the stereo camera 4. The stereo camera 4 is not necessarily provided.

  The laser radar 5 is provided, for example, at the front end of the host vehicle, and detects an obstacle (another vehicle, a pedestrian, a building, etc.) in front of the vehicle using a laser. The laser radar 5 detects an obstacle, for example, by transmitting a laser forward of the vehicle and receiving a laser reflected by an obstacle such as another vehicle. The laser radar 5 transmits the detected obstacle information to the travel control ECU 2. Note that a millimeter wave radar or the like may be used instead of the laser radar 5.

  The vehicle speed sensor 6 is a sensor for detecting the vehicle speed of the vehicle. As the vehicle speed sensor 6, for example, a wheel speed sensor that is provided for a vehicle wheel or a drive shaft that rotates integrally with the wheel and detects the rotation speed of the wheel is used. The vehicle speed sensor 6 transmits the detected vehicle speed information (wheel speed information) to the travel control ECU 2.

  The engine control unit 7 is an electronic control unit that controls the engine of the vehicle. The engine control unit 7 controls the driving force of the vehicle, for example, by controlling the fuel supply amount and the air supply amount to the engine. The engine control unit 7 functions as a motor control unit that controls a motor that is driven as a power source when the vehicle is a hybrid vehicle or an electric vehicle. The engine control unit 7 controls the driving force of the vehicle according to a control signal from the travel control ECU 2.

  The brake control unit 8 is an electronic control unit that controls the brake system of the vehicle. As the brake system, for example, a hydraulic brake system can be used. The brake control unit 8 controls the braking force applied to the wheels of the vehicle by adjusting the hydraulic pressure applied to the hydraulic brake system. The brake control unit 8 controls the braking force applied to the wheels according to a control signal from the travel control ECU 2. Note that the brake control unit 8 may control both the hydraulic brake system and the regenerative brake system when the vehicle includes a regenerative brake system.

  Subsequently, a functional configuration of the travel control ECU 2 will be described. The travel control ECU 2 includes a curve recognition unit 10, a curve appropriate vehicle speed control unit 11, a preceding vehicle determination unit 12, a preceding vehicle following vehicle speed control unit 13, a curve upper limit vehicle speed control unit 14, and a vehicle speed control unit 15.

  The curve recognition unit 10 determines, for example, whether the vehicle is entering the curve or traveling on the curve based on the vehicle position information and map information from the navigation system 3. The time of entering the curve is when, for example, the distance between the vehicle and the entrance of the curve is equal to or less than a preset threshold value (for example, 10 m).

  The curve recognition unit 10 recognizes the curvature of the curve when it is determined that the vehicle is entering the curve or traveling on the curve. The curve recognition unit 10 may recognize the curvature of the curve only once when the vehicle enters the curve. For example, the curve recognizing unit 10 recognizes the curvature of the curve by referring to the curve curvature information included in the map information of the navigation system 3.

  Based on the curvature of the curve recognized by the curve recognition unit 10, the curve appropriate vehicle speed control unit 11 calculates a curve appropriate vehicle speed V1 for the vehicle to travel appropriately along the curve. The curve appropriate vehicle speed control unit 11 calculates the curve appropriate vehicle speed V1 from the curve curvature by referring to, for example, map data in which the curve curvature and the curve appropriate vehicle speed V1 are associated with each other. The map data is stored in advance in a database of the travel control ECU 2, for example. Further, the curve appropriate vehicle speed control unit 11 may calculate the curve appropriate vehicle speed V1 from the curve curvature by a predetermined calculation formula.

  Further, when there is a travel history when the vehicle has traveled appropriately in the past in a curve ahead of the vehicle, the curve appropriate vehicle speed control unit 11 may calculate the vehicle speed during the travel as the curve appropriate vehicle speed V1. In this case, the vehicle travel control device 1 has a database that stores the travel history of the vehicle. The vehicle travel control device 1 is, for example, a travel history when the vehicle travels on a curve without a preceding vehicle, and the driver does not adjust the vehicle speed by an accelerator operation or a brake operation in the middle of the curve, It is stored in the database as a travel history when the vehicle travels appropriately on a curve. For example, when the curve appropriate vehicle speed control unit 11 recognizes that the curve in front of the vehicle is a curve having a travel history that traveled appropriately in the past based on the map information and the vehicle position information, the curve is included in the travel history. Is calculated as a curve appropriate vehicle speed V1. The curve appropriate vehicle speed control unit 11 may calculate the vehicle speed when the other vehicle appropriately travels the curve as the curve appropriate vehicle speed V1 based on the travel history of the other vehicle. In this case, the vehicle travel control device 1 includes a communication unit that acquires a travel history of the other vehicle from the other vehicle or the traffic information management center by communication.

  The curve appropriate vehicle speed control unit 11 may calculate the curve appropriate vehicle speed V1 according to the curvature of the curve based on the travel history of the driver of the vehicle. The curve appropriate vehicle speed control unit 11 may acquire the driver characteristics of the driver during the curve travel from the driver's travel history, and may use the driver characteristics for the calculation of the curve appropriate vehicle speed V1. The curve appropriate vehicle speed control unit 11 determines the driver characteristics such as speed increase, speed standard, speed delay, and the like using a well-known method, and uses different map data according to the determination result to determine the curve. The curve appropriate vehicle speed V1 is calculated from the curvature. The curve appropriate vehicle speed control unit 11 uses, for example, map data in which the curve appropriate vehicle speed V1 corresponding to the curve curvature is higher when the driver characteristic is higher speed during curve driving than in the case of the speed standard.

  The preceding vehicle determination unit 12 determines whether there is a preceding vehicle that travels in front of the vehicle. For example, the preceding vehicle determination unit 12 determines whether there is a preceding vehicle based on imaging information from the stereo camera 4 and obstacle information from the laser radar 5 by a known method.

  When the preceding vehicle determining unit 12 determines that the preceding vehicle is present, the preceding vehicle following vehicle speed control unit 13 calculates a preceding vehicle following vehicle speed V2 for the vehicle to follow the preceding vehicle. For example, the preceding vehicle following vehicle speed control unit 13 acquires the relative vehicle speed and the inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle and the vehicle based on the obstacle information from the laser radar 5. The preceding vehicle following vehicle speed control unit 13 uses a known method such as ACC based on the relative vehicle speed and the inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle and the vehicle, for example, to set the inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle and the vehicle to a set value (for example, a setting in ACC). Value), the preceding vehicle following vehicle speed V2 is calculated.

  The curve upper limit vehicle speed control unit 14 determines whether or not the curve appropriate vehicle speed V1 is equal to or higher than the preceding vehicle following vehicle speed V2. When it is determined that the curve appropriate vehicle speed is less than the preceding vehicle following vehicle speed, the curve upper limit vehicle speed control unit 14 is based on the curvature of the curve and is the upper limit vehicle speed that is considered to be acceptable for the driver during curve driving. V3 is calculated. The curve upper limit vehicle speed control unit 14 calculates the curve upper limit vehicle speed V3 from the curve curvature by referring to, for example, map data in which the curve curvature and the curve upper limit vehicle speed are associated with each other. Further, the curve upper limit vehicle speed control unit 14 may calculate the curve upper limit vehicle speed V3 from the curve curvature by a predetermined calculation formula. Similarly to the curve appropriate vehicle speed control unit 11 described above, the curve upper limit vehicle speed control unit 14 may calculate the curve upper limit vehicle speed V3 according to the curvature of the curve based on the travel history of the vehicle driver. Only the curve upper limit vehicle speed control unit 14 may perform calculation based on the driving history of the driver, or only the curve appropriate vehicle speed control unit 11 may perform calculation based on the driving history of the driver.

  The curve upper limit vehicle speed control unit 14 calculates the curve upper limit vehicle speed V3 and calculates the corrected vehicle speed V4. The corrected vehicle speed V4 is a calculated value used for controlling the vehicle speed during curve driving. The curve upper limit vehicle speed control unit 14 first calculates a corrected vehicle speed V4 as a difference (V2−V1) between the preceding vehicle following vehicle speed V2 and the curve appropriate vehicle speed V1.

  The vehicle speed control unit 15 controls the vehicle speed of the vehicle by transmitting control signals to the engine control unit 7 and the brake control unit 8, for example. The vehicle speed control unit 15 may control the vehicle speed by transmitting a control signal corresponding to the requested acceleration to the engine control unit 7 and the brake control unit 8 with the vehicle acceleration as a control target. When the preceding vehicle determination unit 12 determines that no preceding vehicle exists, the vehicle speed control unit 15 performs control so that the vehicle speed of the vehicle traveling on the curve becomes the curve appropriate vehicle speed V1. It should be noted that controlling the vehicle speed of the vehicle traveling on the curve to be the curve appropriate vehicle speed V1 includes not only the control of the vehicle speed during the curve traveling but also the curve so that the vehicle speed becomes the curve appropriate vehicle speed V1 when entering the curve. It may include controlling the vehicle speed of the vehicle before entering the vehicle. For the control (adjustment) of the vehicle speed before entering the curve, a known method can be adopted. The same applies to the subsequent vehicle speed control.

  Further, the vehicle speed control unit 15 is a case where the preceding vehicle determination unit 12 determines that a preceding vehicle exists, and when the curve appropriate vehicle speed V1 exceeds the preceding vehicle following vehicle speed V2, the slower preceding vehicle following vehicle speed V2 The vehicle speed of the vehicle traveling on the curve is controlled so that

  Further, the vehicle speed control unit 15 determines whether or not the curve upper limit vehicle speed V3 exceeds the sum (V1 + V4) of the curve appropriate vehicle speed V1 and the corrected vehicle speed V4. This determination is the same as the determination as to whether or not the curve upper limit vehicle speed V3 exceeds the preceding vehicle following vehicle speed V2. When it is determined that the curve upper limit vehicle speed V3 exceeds the sum of the curve appropriate vehicle speed V1 and the corrected vehicle speed V4, the vehicle speed control unit 15 corrects the corrected vehicle speed V4. The vehicle speed control unit 15 corrects the corrected vehicle speed V4 so as to be the difference (V3-V1) between the curve upper limit vehicle speed V3 and the curve appropriate vehicle speed V1. On the other hand, when it is determined that the curve upper limit vehicle speed V3 does not exceed the sum of the curve appropriate vehicle speed V1 and the corrected vehicle speed V4, the vehicle speed control unit 15 does not correct the corrected vehicle speed V4.

  Further, the vehicle speed control unit 15 is a case where the preceding vehicle determination unit 12 determines that there is a preceding vehicle, and when the curve upper limit vehicle speed control unit 14 calculates the curve upper limit vehicle speed V3 and the corrected vehicle speed V4, the curve appropriate vehicle speed The vehicle speed of the vehicle traveling on the curve is controlled so that the corrected vehicle speed V5, which is the sum of V1 and the corrected vehicle speed V4, is obtained. The corrected vehicle speed V5 corresponds to the preceding vehicle following vehicle speed V2 when the curve upper limit vehicle speed control unit 14 does not correct the corrected vehicle speed V4 (V4 = V2-V1). The corrected vehicle speed V5 corresponds to the curve upper limit vehicle speed V3 when the curve upper limit vehicle speed control unit 14 corrects the corrected vehicle speed V4 (V4 = V3-V1).

[Control Method of Vehicle Travel Control Device]
Hereinafter, the control method of the vehicle travel control apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a flow of a control method of the vehicle travel control device 1 according to the present embodiment. This flowchart is repeatedly executed while the vehicle is running, for example.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the travel control ECU 2 of the vehicle travel control device 1 determines whether the vehicle is entering a curve or traveling in a curve by the curve recognition unit 10 in step S101. The curve recognition unit 10 performs the above determination based on, for example, vehicle position information and map information from the navigation system 3. When the curve recognition unit 10 determines that the vehicle is not entering the curve or is not traveling on the curve, the process ends. Thereafter, the determination in step S101 is repeated again.

  On the other hand, the curve recognition unit 10 recognizes the curvature of the curve by referring to the information of the curve curvature included in the map information of the navigation system 3, for example, when it is determined that the vehicle is entering the curve or is running on the curve. To do. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S102.

  Next, as step S <b> 102, the travel control ECU 2 calculates the curve appropriate vehicle speed V <b> 1 by the curve appropriate vehicle speed control unit 11. Based on the curvature of the curve recognized by the curve recognition unit 10, the curve appropriate vehicle speed control unit 11 calculates a curve appropriate vehicle speed V1 for the vehicle to travel appropriately along the curve.

  Subsequently, as step S103, the traveling control ECU 2 determines whether or not there is a preceding vehicle that travels ahead of the vehicle by the preceding vehicle determination unit 12. For example, the preceding vehicle determination unit 12 determines whether there is a preceding vehicle based on imaging information from the stereo camera 4 and obstacle information from the laser radar 5. If the preceding vehicle determination unit 12 determines that there is no preceding vehicle that travels ahead of the vehicle (S103: NO), the traveling control ECU 2 proceeds to step S104. When the preceding vehicle determination unit 12 determines that there is a preceding vehicle traveling in front of the vehicle (S103: YES), the process proceeds to step S105.

  In step S104, the vehicle speed control unit 15 of the travel control ECU 2 performs control so that the vehicle speed of the vehicle traveling on the curve becomes the curve appropriate vehicle speed V1. The vehicle speed control unit 15 performs vehicle speed control of the vehicle by transmitting control signals to the engine control unit 7 and the brake control unit 8. Then, traveling control ECU2 complete | finishes this process, and repeats a process from step S101 again.

  In step S <b> 105, the travel control ECU 2 calculates the preceding vehicle following vehicle speed V <b> 2 by the preceding vehicle following vehicle speed control unit 13. For example, the travel control ECU 2 calculates the preceding vehicle following vehicle speed V2 from the relative vehicle speed and the inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle and the vehicle based on the obstacle information from the laser radar 5.

  Subsequently, in step S106, the travel control ECU 2 determines whether or not the curve appropriate vehicle speed V1 is less than the preceding vehicle following vehicle speed V2 by the curve upper limit vehicle speed control unit 14. If the curve upper limit vehicle speed control unit 14 determines that the curve appropriate vehicle speed V1 is not less than the preceding vehicle following vehicle speed V2 (S106: NO), the travel control ECU 2 proceeds to step S107. In step S107, the vehicle speed control unit 15 of the travel control ECU 2 performs control so that the vehicle speed of the vehicle traveling on the curve becomes the preceding vehicle following vehicle speed V2. Then, traveling control ECU2 complete | finishes this process, and repeats a process from step S101 again.

  On the other hand, when the curve upper limit vehicle speed control unit 14 determines that the curve appropriate vehicle speed V1 is less than the preceding vehicle following vehicle speed V2 (S106: YES), the traveling control ECU 2 proceeds to step S108.

  In step S108, the curve upper limit vehicle speed control unit 14 calculates the curve upper limit vehicle speed V3 and calculates the corrected vehicle speed V4. Based on the curvature of the curve recognized by the curve recognition unit 10, the curve upper limit vehicle speed control unit 14 calculates a curve upper limit vehicle speed V3 that is an upper limit vehicle speed that is considered to be acceptable when the driver travels on the curve. Further, the curve upper limit vehicle speed control unit 14 calculates the corrected vehicle speed V4 as the difference (V2−V1) between the preceding vehicle following vehicle speed V2 and the curve appropriate vehicle speed V1.

  In step S109, the vehicle speed control unit 15 of the travel control ECU 2 determines whether or not the curve upper limit vehicle speed V3 exceeds the sum (V1 + V4) of the curve appropriate vehicle speed V1 and the corrected vehicle speed V4. When it is determined that the curve upper limit vehicle speed V3 exceeds the sum of the curve appropriate vehicle speed V1 and the corrected vehicle speed V4 (S109: YES), the vehicle speed control unit 15 corrects the corrected vehicle speed V4. The vehicle speed control unit 15 corrects the corrected vehicle speed V4 so as to be the difference (V3-V1) between the curve upper limit vehicle speed V3 and the curve appropriate vehicle speed V1. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S111.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the curve upper limit vehicle speed V3 does not exceed the sum of the curve appropriate vehicle speed V1 and the corrected vehicle speed V4 (S109: NO), the vehicle speed control unit 15 proceeds to step S111 without correcting the corrected vehicle speed V4. To do.

  In step S111, the vehicle speed control unit 15 of the travel control ECU 2 calculates a corrected vehicle speed V5 that is the sum of the curve appropriate vehicle speed V1 and the corrected vehicle speed V4, so that the vehicle speed of the vehicle traveling on the curve becomes the corrected vehicle speed V5. To control. Then, traveling control ECU2 complete | finishes this process, and repeats a process from step S101 again.

[Effects of vehicle travel control device]
According to the vehicle travel control device 1 according to the present embodiment described above, when there is no preceding vehicle, control is performed so that the vehicle speed of the vehicle traveling on the curve becomes the curve appropriate vehicle speed V1, so the curvature of the curve or the curve Appropriate vehicle speed control can be executed by appropriately setting the curve appropriate vehicle speed V1 in accordance with the travel history. Further, in the vehicle travel control device 1, when a preceding vehicle is present and the curve appropriate vehicle speed V1 is equal to or higher than the preceding vehicle following vehicle speed V2, or when the preceding vehicle following vehicle speed V2 is equal to or lower than the curve upper limit vehicle speed V3, Since the vehicle speed of the vehicle traveling on the curve is controlled to be the preceding vehicle following vehicle speed V2, it is possible to execute appropriate vehicle speed control in accordance with the preceding vehicle. According to this vehicle travel control device 1, when the preceding vehicle following vehicle speed V2 exceeds the curve upper limit vehicle speed V3, control is performed so that the vehicle speed of the vehicle traveling on the curve becomes the curve upper limit vehicle speed V3. By appropriately setting the vehicle speed V3, when the preceding vehicle travels on a curve at a high speed, the vehicle travels at a high speed so that the vehicle follows the preceding vehicle and suppresses the driver from feeling uncomfortable. be able to.

  As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above. The present invention can be implemented in various forms including various modifications and improvements based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art including the above-described embodiments.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vehicle travel control apparatus, 2 ... Travel control ECU, 3 ... Navigation system, 4 ... Stereo camera, 5 ... Laser radar, 6 ... Vehicle speed sensor, 7 ... Engine control part, 8 ... Brake control part, 10 ... Curve recognition part DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Curve appropriate vehicle speed control part, 12 ... Prior vehicle determination part, 13 ... Prior vehicle follow-up vehicle speed control part, 14 ... Curve upper limit vehicle speed control part, 15 ... Vehicle speed control part.

Claims (1)

A vehicle travel control device for controlling a vehicle speed of a vehicle traveling on the curve using a curve appropriate vehicle speed calculated based on a curve curvature or a curve travel history,
A preceding vehicle determination unit that determines whether or not there is a preceding vehicle traveling in front of the vehicle;
A preceding vehicle following vehicle speed control unit that calculates a preceding vehicle following vehicle speed for the vehicle to follow the preceding vehicle when the preceding vehicle judging unit determines that the preceding vehicle exists;
When the curve appropriate vehicle speed is less than the preceding vehicle following vehicle speed, a curve upper limit vehicle speed control unit that calculates a curve upper limit vehicle speed greater than the curve appropriate vehicle speed based on the curvature of the curve;
A vehicle speed control unit that controls the vehicle speed of the vehicle traveling on the curve to be the curve appropriate vehicle speed when the preceding vehicle determination unit determines that the preceding vehicle does not exist;
With
The vehicle speed control unit is a case where the preceding vehicle determination unit determines that the preceding vehicle exists, and when the curve appropriate vehicle speed is equal to or higher than the preceding vehicle following vehicle speed or the preceding vehicle following vehicle speed is the upper limit of the curve When the vehicle speed is less than or equal to the vehicle speed, the vehicle speed of the vehicle traveling on the curve is controlled to be the preceding vehicle following vehicle speed, and when the preceding vehicle following vehicle speed exceeds the curve upper limit vehicle speed, the vehicle traveling on the curve A vehicle travel control device that controls the vehicle speed of the vehicle to be the curve upper limit vehicle speed.

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