JP2019191882A - Platoon travel controller - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a platoon travel controller capable of properly recognizing an interruptive vehicle that interrupts between plural vehicles forming a platoon, and taking preventive measures for preventing the interruptive vehicle from interrupting the platoon.SOLUTION: A platoon travel controller mounted in a vehicle for controlling the platoon travel in which plural vehicles including an own vehicle 10 travel on the same lane while forming the platoon, includes: detection means 32 that detects another vehicle 14 which approaches the platoon in a vehicle width direction from a crosswise direction relative to an advancing direction of the platoon; recognition means 33 that, when a movement of the other vehicle 14 meets predetermined conditions including an index value indicating the approaching speed to the platoon as a conditional value, recognizes the other vehicle 14 as an interruptive vehicle which interrupts the front or rear of the own vehicle 10 in the platoon; and interrupt prevention means 34 that, when the interruptive vehicle is recognized, takes preventive measures for preventing the interruptive vehicle from interrupting the platoon.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a convoy travel control device that controls convoy travel in which a plurality of vehicles including a host vehicle traveling in the same lane form a convoy.

  Conventionally, for the purpose of improving the transportation efficiency of goods, etc., it has been studied to perform a platooning on a highway, for example, in which a plurality of vehicles travel in a platoon. In such a platooning, if another vehicle cuts in between the multiple vehicles that make up the platoon, the distance between the vehicles before and after it may be greatly separated and the platoon may be divided. It is desirable to prevent.

  In the vehicle travel control device described in Patent Document 1, there is a collision avoidance space by steering around the own vehicle in order to reduce the inter-vehicle distance between the vehicles constituting the platoon while suppressing safety and interrupting other vehicles. When the collision avoidance space by steering is greater than or equal to a predetermined distance, the inter-vehicle distance with the preceding vehicle is made shorter than the reference inter-vehicle distance (the distance that can avoid the collision even when the preceding vehicle suddenly brakes). The presence / absence of a collision avoidance space is determined by whether or not another vehicle is present on the side or diagonally behind the host vehicle.

JP 2008-74210 A

  In the one described in Patent Document 1, for example, when a platoon is traveling on a traveling lane on an expressway, the collision avoidance space varies depending on the vehicle traveling on the overtaking lane at a relatively high speed. It may be necessary to change the inter-vehicle distance frequently. Further, frequent changes in the inter-vehicle distance may lead to an increase in fuel consumption.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, in order to accurately recognize an interrupting vehicle that is interrupted between a plurality of vehicles constituting a platoon, and to prevent the interruption vehicle from being interrupted to the platoon. It is an object of the present invention to provide a platooning control device capable of taking the above preventive measures.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a platooning control device for controlling platooning that travels in a fleet of vehicles including a host vehicle that is mounted on a vehicle and travels in the same lane, Detection means for detecting another vehicle approaching in the vehicle width direction from the lateral direction to the formation direction toward the formation, and an index value indicating the approach speed of the other vehicle to the formation as a condition value Recognition means for recognizing the other vehicle as an interrupting vehicle that interrupts before or after the own vehicle in the platoon when the predetermined condition is included, and when the interrupting vehicle is recognized, the interrupting vehicle interrupts the platoon There is provided a row running control device having interruption preventing means for taking preventive measures to prevent this.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to accurately recognize an interrupting vehicle that interrupts between a plurality of vehicles constituting a convoy, and to suppress the interruption, so that stable convoy travel can be performed.

It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the control system of the vehicle by which the convoy travel control apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention is mounted. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which several vehicles drive | work in a formation. (A)-(g) is explanatory drawing which showed the positional relationship with the own vehicle and a preceding vehicle, and another vehicle about several patterns. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process sequence in case CPU of supervising ECU operate | moves as a detection means, a recognition means, and an interruption prevention means.

[Embodiment]
Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In addition, although embodiment described below is shown as a suitable specific example in implementing this invention, although there are some parts which have illustrated various technical matters that are technically preferable. The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to this specific embodiment.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a control system of a vehicle equipped with a convoy travel control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a plurality of vehicles including the host vehicle and a preceding vehicle and a following vehicle traveling immediately before and after the host vehicle travel in the same lane (running lane) of the highway. .

  FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of the control system 2 mounted on the host vehicle 10. This control system 2 is driven by a general ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 20 that controls the entire vehicle, a command signal from the general ECU 20, a detection signal of an accelerator sensor 210 that detects the amount of depression of an accelerator pedal, and the like. And a brake that controls the brakes provided corresponding to each wheel based on a command signal from the control ECU 20 and a detection signal of a brake sensor 220 that detects the amount of depression of the brake pedal. ECU22. In the present embodiment, the convoy travel control device is realized by the overall ECU 20.

  The overall ECU 20 detects the inter-vehicle distance sensor 201 that detects the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle 11 that travels immediately before the host vehicle 10 during platooning, and the following vehicle that travels immediately after the host vehicle 10 during platooning. The detection signal of the rear inter-vehicle distance sensor 202 that detects the inter-vehicle distance from the vehicle 12 can be acquired. The front inter-vehicle distance sensor 201 and the rear inter-vehicle distance sensor 202 detect inter-vehicle distances from the preceding vehicle 11 and the subsequent vehicle 12 using millimeter wave radar or laser radar.

  The overall ECU 20 also includes a platoon obtained by the left-side imaging camera 203 and the right-side imaging camera 204 that capture the left and right sides of the host vehicle 10 and the inter-vehicle communication device 205 that performs inter-vehicle communication. It is possible to acquire information relating to the running state of other vehicles constituting the vehicle. The inter-vehicle communication device 205 can communicate with the leading vehicle 13 in the platoon in addition to the preceding vehicle 11 and the following vehicle 12. A driver is on the leading vehicle 13, and other vehicles constituting the platoon including the host vehicle 10 automatically travel in an unattended state where the driver is not on.

  In the illustrated example of FIG. 1, the case where each vehicle constituting the platoon is a truck is illustrated. However, the vehicle constituting the platoon may be, for example, a bus, and is not limited to a large automobile. It may be a car or a normal car.

  The integrated ECU 20 functions as an automatic traveling function when performing a platooning operation, a follow-up traveling control means 31 that travels following the preceding vehicle 11 while maintaining a predetermined inter-vehicle distance, and from the lateral direction to the platoon direction. A detection means 32 for detecting the other vehicle 14 approaching in the vehicle width direction, a recognition means 33 for recognizing the other vehicle 14 as an interrupting vehicle when the movement of the other vehicle 14 satisfies a predetermined condition, and the other vehicle 14 When the vehicle is recognized as an interrupting vehicle, it has an interrupt preventing means for taking preventive measures for preventing the interrupting vehicle from interrupting the platoon.

  The follow-up running control unit 31, the detection unit 32, the recognition unit 33, and the interruption prevention unit 34 are realized by, for example, a CPU (central processing unit) of the overall ECU 20 executing a program stored in advance. Moreover, you may implement | achieve all or one part among the functions of the following travel control means 31, the detection means 32, the recognition means 33, and the interruption prevention means 34 by hardware, such as ASIC (application specific integrated circuit).

  The follow-up running control means 31 is a basic control means for carrying out the platooning, and information on the traveling state of other vehicles constituting the platoon obtained by the inter-vehicle communication device 205 and the front inter-vehicle distance sensor 201 Based on the detection signal, the drive ECU 21 and the brake ECU 22 are controlled so that the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle 11 is an appropriate distance. The inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle 11 held by the follow-up travel control means 31 is a distance that can be safely stopped even when the preceding vehicle 11 stops suddenly, for example, and changes according to the vehicle speed of the host vehicle 10. .

  The detection unit 32 detects the other vehicle 14 based on the image data captured by the left side imaging camera 203 or the right side imaging camera 204. In FIG. 1, as an example, the other vehicle 14 that merges from the junction lane of the expressway to the traveling lane is shown, and the other vehicle 14 is imaged by the left side imaging camera 203. If there is another vehicle approaching the platoon from the right side of the platoon (the passing lane in the example shown in FIG. 1), the other vehicle is imaged by the right-side imaging camera 204 and detected by the detection means 32.

  The recognition unit 33 monitors the movement of the other vehicle 14 detected by the detection unit 32 using the left side imaging camera 203 or the right side imaging camera 204. When the movement of the other vehicle 14 satisfies a predetermined condition, the recognition unit 33 The vehicle is recognized as an interrupting vehicle that interrupts before the own vehicle 10 (between the own vehicle 10 and the preceding vehicle 11) or after (between the own vehicle 10 and the following vehicle 12).

  This predetermined condition includes an index value indicating the approach speed of the other vehicle 14 to the platoon as a condition value. The recognizing unit 33 can obtain the index value by calculation by analyzing the image captured by the left side imaging camera 203 or the right side imaging camera 204. Note that, instead of the left side imaging camera 203 and the right side imaging camera 204, a strip index value indicating the approach speed of the other vehicle 14 may be calculated by, for example, left and right radar ranging devices. Details of the predetermined condition for the recognition means 33 to recognize the interrupting vehicle will be described later.

  The interruption prevention unit 34 prevents the interruption vehicle from interrupting the platoon by, for example, reducing the inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle 11 and the following vehicle 12 in the platoon to be smaller than the inter-vehicle distance held by the follow-up travel control unit 31. . In this case, reducing the distance between the platoons is an interruption prevention measure to prevent interruption. Further, the interruption prevention means 34 may suppress interruption by issuing a warning to the interruption vehicle. In this case, issuing a warning to the interrupting vehicle is an interrupt prevention measure. This warning can be performed, for example, by turning on a headlamp or sounding a horn. Further, if there is any display indicating that the formation is running, a warning may be issued by emphasizing the display.

(Conditions for determining an interrupted vehicle)
Next, a predetermined condition (interrupt determination condition) for the recognition means 33 to recognize the other vehicle 14 as an interrupting vehicle will be described. The CPU of the overall ECU 20 determines, as the recognition unit 33, whether or not the interrupt determination condition is satisfied in a predetermined calculation cycle (for example, 100 ms).

The interruption determination condition includes a first necessary condition that is satisfied when the condition value is an index value indicating the approaching speed of the other vehicle 14 detected by the detection means 32 to the platoon, and the condition value is larger than a threshold value. Yes. As this index value, for example, the difference between the lateral position of the other vehicle 14 in the previous computation cycle and the lateral position of the other vehicle 14 in the current computation cycle may be used. As a first necessary condition, an amount of change per hour of the distance with respect to the distance between the formation and the other vehicle 14 in the lateral direction with respect to the direction of movement of the formation is used as an index value. The other vehicle 14 is recognized as an interrupting vehicle. That is, in the present embodiment, the index value I indicating the approach speed is obtained by the following formula.

However, _xt-1 is the lateral distance between the other vehicle 14 and the host vehicle 10 in the previous calculation cycle, and Δx is the other vehicle 14 and the host vehicle 10 in the current calculation cycle _xt-1. lateral distance of which is the difference between _{(x t) (Δx = x} t -x t-1). The interrupt determination condition has a first necessary condition that the index value I is equal to or greater than a threshold value. This threshold value is a value greater than 0 and less than 1. According to this calculation formula, since the lateral distance between the other vehicle 14 and the host vehicle 10 in the previous calculation cycle is the denominator, the shorter this distance, in other words, the closer the other vehicle 14 is to the host vehicle 10. , Δx is the same, the index value I increases.

  The interrupt determination condition is a second necessary condition that is satisfied when the position of the other vehicle 14 with respect to the direction of travel of the platoon is closer to the host vehicle 10 than the preceding vehicle 11 or closer to the host vehicle 10 than the following vehicle 12. Contains. The second necessary condition will be described with reference to FIG.

FIGS. 3A to 3G are explanatory diagrams showing the positional relationship between the host vehicle 10 and the preceding vehicle 11 and the other vehicle 14 with respect to seven patterns. In FIG. 3 (a) ~ (g), as a reference position the corner portion _{C 10, C 11} on the left side (the other vehicle 14 side) of the corner portions of the right and left front for the vehicle 10 and the preceding vehicle 11, other vehicles 14 With respect to the left and right front corners, with the corner C ₁₄ on the right side (the host vehicle 10 and the preceding vehicle 11 side) as the reference position, the line segment connecting the corner C ₁₀ and the corner C ₁₄ and the corner C ₁₁ shows a lateral and angle perpendicular each angle theta _1, in theta ₂ with respect to the traveling direction of the line segment convoy connecting the corner portion C _14. The angles θ ₁ and θ ₂ are positive values when the corner C ₁₄ of the other vehicle 14 is behind the corners C ₁₀ and C _{11 of the} host vehicle 10 and the preceding vehicle 11 with respect to the direction of travel of the platoon, corners C ₁₄ of another vehicle 14 is assumed to be a negative value when in the forward to the traveling direction of the row than the corners C _10, C ₁₁ of the vehicle 10 and the preceding vehicle 11.

FIG. 3A shows a state where the angles θ ₁ and θ ₂ are both positive values larger than zero. In this state, the other vehicle 14 is behind the host vehicle 10. FIG. 3B shows a state in which the angle θ ₁ is larger than zero and the angle θ ₂ is zero. In this state, the corner C ₁₄ of the other vehicle 14 is aligned with the corner C ₁₀ of the host vehicle 10 in the lateral direction.

FIGS. 3C to 3E show a state in which the angle θ ₁ is a positive value and the angle θ ₂ is a negative value. In this state, the reference position of the other vehicle 14 with respect to the direction of travel of the platoon is ahead of the reference position of the host vehicle 10 and behind the reference position of the preceding vehicle 11. FIG. 3C shows a state where the absolute value of the angle θ ₁ is larger than the absolute value of the angle θ ₂ , and in FIG. 3D, the absolute value of the angle θ ₁ is equal to the absolute value of the angle θ _2. Indicates the state. FIG. 3E shows a state where the absolute value of the angle θ ₁ is smaller than the absolute value of the angle θ ₂ . In the state shown in FIGS. 3C to 3E, the position of the other vehicle 14 in the direction of travel of the formation is closer to the host vehicle 10 than the position of the preceding vehicle 11 in the same direction. Hereinafter, the state shown in FIGS. 3C to 3E is referred to as a front parallel running state of the other vehicle 14 with respect to the host vehicle 10.

FIG. 3F shows a state where the angle θ ₁ is zero and the angle θ ₂ is a negative value. In this state, the other vehicle 14 is aligned with the preceding vehicle 11 in the lateral direction. FIG. 3G shows a state in which the angles θ ₁ and θ ₂ are both negative values. In this state, the other vehicle 14 is ahead of the preceding vehicle 11 in the traveling direction.

  In the present embodiment, among the states shown in FIGS. 3A to 3G, the second necessary condition is satisfied in the forward parallel running state of the other vehicle 14 shown in FIGS. 3C to 3E. . In addition to the states shown in FIGS. 3C to 3E, the second necessary condition may be satisfied in the states shown in FIGS. 3B and 3F.

  The recognition means 33 recognizes that the other vehicle 14 is an interrupted vehicle when both the first necessary condition and the second necessary condition are satisfied. Then, the interrupt preventing unit 34 controls the drive ECU 21 to reduce the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle 11 and suppresses the other vehicle 14 from being interrupted between the host vehicle 10 and the preceding vehicle 11.

  In addition, although illustration is abbreviate | omitted, interruption of the other vehicle 14 between the own vehicle 10 and the following vehicle 12 can also be suppressed by shortening the inter-vehicle distance with the following vehicle 12 similarly to the above. In other words, the second requirement is satisfied when the position of the other vehicle 14 in the direction of movement of the platoon is closer to the host vehicle 10 than the position of the subsequent vehicle 12 in the same direction, that is, when the vehicle is in the parallel running state. If the first necessary condition is satisfied at this time, the other vehicle 14 is recognized as an interrupted vehicle. In this case, the driving ECU 21 and the braking ECU 22 are controlled to decelerate the host vehicle 10 to reduce the inter-vehicle distance from the succeeding vehicle 12, and the other vehicle 14 interrupts between the own vehicle 10 and the following vehicle 12. Can be deterred. However, when the host vehicle 10 is at the end of the platoon, even when there is another vehicle 14 that merges behind the host vehicle 10, the process of preventing the merge or issuing a warning to the other vehicle 14 is not performed.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure when the CPU of the overall ECU 20 operates as the detection unit 32, the recognition unit 33, and the interrupt prevention unit 34. In this flowchart, the case where the own vehicle 10 is not at the end of the platoon and the interruption of the other vehicle 14 is suppressed by reducing the inter-vehicle distance will be described.

  In the processing procedure shown in this flowchart, the CPU of the overall ECU 20 first determines whether or not there is another vehicle 14 that approaches the platoon from the lateral direction as the detection means 32 (step S1). This process can be performed by analyzing images captured by the left side imaging camera 203 and the right side imaging camera 204, for example.

  Next, the CPU of the overall ECU 20 serves as the recognition unit 33 whether or not the detected index value indicating the approaching speed of the other vehicle 14 to the platoon is equal to or greater than a threshold value, that is, whether or not the first necessary condition is satisfied. Is determined (step S2). As a result of this determination, when the first necessary condition is satisfied (S2: Yes), it is determined whether or not the other vehicle 14 is in the forward parallel running state (step S3), and is in the forward parallel running state. (S3: Yes), a process of reducing the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle 11 is executed (step S4).

  Further, when the other vehicle 14 is not in the forward parallel running state (S3: No), it is determined whether or not the other vehicle 14 is in the backward parallel running state (step S5). If it is (S5: Yes), a process of reducing the inter-vehicle distance from the following vehicle 12 is executed (step S6). If the determination result in step S3 or step S5 is Yes (Yes), the second necessary condition is similar. Note that the processing of steps S4 and S6 is processing executed by the CPU of the overall ECU 20 as the interrupt prevention means 34. On the other hand, if the result of determination in any of steps S1, S2, and S5 is NO (No), the series of processing shown in this flowchart is terminated without executing the processing in steps S4 and S6.

(Operation and effect of the embodiment)
According to the embodiment described above, it is possible to accurately recognize an interrupting vehicle that interrupts before and after the host vehicle 10, and to take preventive measures for preventing interruption to the interrupting vehicle. It is possible to prevent the platoon from being divided by the interruption of 14 and to perform stable platooning.

(Appendix)
As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated based on embodiment, this embodiment does not limit the invention which concerns on a claim. In addition, it should be noted that not all the combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential to the means for solving the problems of the invention.

  Further, the present invention can be appropriately modified and implemented without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the process (step S6) for shortening the inter-vehicle distance with the succeeding vehicle 12 is executed when the other vehicle 14 is in the parallel running state (S5: Yes). When the vehicle 14 is running in the parallel rearward direction, it can be expected that the following vehicle 12 accelerates and the distance between the host vehicle 10 and the host vehicle 10 is shortened. Therefore, these processes are not necessarily performed. However, if the processing of steps S5 and S6 is performed, the inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle 10 and the following vehicle 12 can be shortened more quickly in combination with the acceleration of the following vehicle 12, so that the other vehicle 14 can be more reliably connected. Interrupts can be suppressed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Own vehicle 14 ... Other vehicle 20 ... General ECU (convoy travel control apparatus) 32 ... Detection means 33 ... Recognition means 34 ... Interrupt prevention means

Claims (5)

A convoy travel control device that controls convoy travel in which a plurality of vehicles including the own vehicle traveling in the same lane is mounted in a convoy to travel.
Detection means for detecting other vehicles approaching in the vehicle width direction from the lateral direction to the direction of travel of the row toward the row;
Recognizing the other vehicle as an interrupting vehicle that interrupts before or after the own vehicle in the platoon when the condition of the other vehicle satisfies a predetermined condition including an index value indicating the approach speed to the platoon as a condition value Means,
When the interrupting vehicle is recognized, an interrupt preventing means for taking preventive measures for preventing the interrupting vehicle from interrupting the platoon;
A convoy travel control device. The predetermined condition is satisfied when the index value is a change amount per hour of the distance with respect to the distance between the platoon and the other vehicle in the lateral direction and the index value is larger than a threshold value. Including conditions,
The row running control device according to claim 1. The predetermined condition is that the position of the other vehicle in the traveling direction of the platoon is closer to the own vehicle than the position in the same direction of the vehicle immediately before the own vehicle in the platoon, or a vehicle immediately after the own vehicle in the platoon. Including a second requirement that is met when the vehicle is closer to the vehicle than a position in the same direction,
The row running control device according to claim 1 or 2. The interrupt prevention measure is to reduce the inter-vehicle distance of the convoy.
The row running control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The interruption prevention measure is to issue a warning to the interruption vehicle.
The row running control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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