JP7211291B2 - Vehicle running control device - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle travel control device that controls a vehicle using information on a preceding vehicle traveling in front of the vehicle.

A typical conventional vehicle travel control device uses information (such as the position and relative speed of the preceding vehicle) of a preceding vehicle in front of the vehicle traveling in the same lane as the vehicle travels (own lane) to follow the vehicle. Inter-vehicle distance control and follow-up steering control are executed. Following-vehicle distance control is control for causing the vehicle to travel so as to maintain the following distance from the preceding vehicle. Follow-up steering control is control that uses the travel locus of the preceding vehicle to assist the vehicle in running within the lane.

A vehicle running control device disclosed in Patent Document 1 (hereinafter referred to as a "conventional device") decelerates a vehicle from a target vehicle speed to a driving monitoring confirmation vehicle speed when following vehicle distance control is executed. After that, if the reaction of the driver is not detected within a predetermined period of time, the conventional device issues a warning to the driver and stops the follow-up distance control (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2013-39891 A

When a vehicle running control device provided in a vehicle uses information about a preceding vehicle to perform follow-up inter-vehicle distance control and follow-up steering control of the vehicle, the driver of the preceding vehicle loses the ability to drive the vehicle. It is possible to fall into an abnormal state. In this case, the driving behavior of the preceding vehicle may become abnormal, such as the preceding vehicle suddenly accelerating or deviating from the lane.

In this case as well, when following vehicle distance control and following steering control of the vehicle are executed, the abnormal running behavior of the preceding vehicle causes the vehicle to suddenly accelerate or deviate from the lane. The running behavior of the vehicle may also become unstable, such as when the

The present invention has been made to address the above-mentioned problems. That is, one of the objects of the present invention is to detect that the driver of the preceding vehicle has fallen into an abnormal state when the following vehicle distance control and the following steering control of the vehicle are being executed using the information of the preceding vehicle. Provide a vehicle running control device (hereinafter also referred to as "control device of the present invention") that can reduce the possibility of vehicle running behavior becoming unstable under the influence of the abnormal running behavior of the preceding vehicle caused by to do.

The control device of the present invention uses information about a preceding vehicle in front of the vehicle, which is traveling in the same lane as the vehicle, to set the inter-vehicle distance between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle to a predetermined target inter-vehicle distance. Following vehicle distance control for controlling the acceleration of the vehicle so that
Steering follow-up for generating a travel trajectory of the preceding vehicle using information on the preceding vehicle and controlling a steering angle of the vehicle so that the vehicle travels along a target travel line set based on the travel trajectory. control,
a travel control unit that executes
a second communication device (90) that receives information transmitted from a first communication device (90) provided in the preceding vehicle;
with
The travel control unit is
When the second communication device (90) receives the driver abnormality occurrence information transmitted from the first communication device when the driver of the preceding vehicle is in an abnormal state ("Yes" in step 305) judgment),
If the following distance control is being executed (determination of "Yes" in step 310), the acceleration of the vehicle by the following distance control is prohibited, or the following distance control is performed to accelerate the vehicle. limit acceleration (step 315);
When the steering follow-up control is being executed (determination of "Yes" in step 320), the execution of the steering follow-up control is prohibited (step 325).

According to the control device of the present invention, when the following vehicle distance control and the following steering control of the vehicle are executed using the information of the preceding vehicle, the preceding vehicle can be prevented from leading due to the driver of the preceding vehicle falling into an abnormal state. It is possible to reduce the possibility that the running behavior of the vehicle becomes unstable under the influence of the abnormal running behavior of the vehicle.

In the above description, in order to facilitate understanding of the present invention, names and/or symbols used in the embodiments are added in parentheses to configurations of the invention corresponding to the embodiments to be described later. However, each component of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments defined by the names and/or symbols.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a vehicle travel control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing a routine executed by the CPU of the driving assistance ECU of the preceding vehicle. FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing a routine executed by the CPU of the driving support ECU of the own vehicle.

<Configuration>
A vehicle cruise control device according to an embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "this embodiment device") is a vehicle (hereinafter referred to as "self-vehicle" in order to distinguish it from other vehicles). may be installed).

As shown in FIG. 1, the system includes a driving support ECU 10, an engine ECU 20, a brake ECU 30, an electric parking brake ECU 40, a steering ECU 50, a meter ECU 60, an alarm ECU 70, a navigation ECU 80, and an inter-vehicle communication device 90. In the following description, the driving assistance ECU 10 is referred to as "DSECU". The electric parking brake ECU 40 is called "EPB-ECU 40".

The above-mentioned ECU is an electric control unit having a microcomputer as its main part. The ECU and the vehicle-to-vehicle communication device 90 described above are connected via a CAN (Controller Area Network) (not shown) so as to be able to transmit and receive information to each other. A microcomputer includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, a readable and writable nonvolatile memory, an interface I/F, and the like. The CPU implements various functions by executing instructions (programs, routines) stored in the ROM.

The DSECU is connected to the sensors (including switches) listed below, and acquires detection signals or output signals of those sensors every time a predetermined time elapses. Each sensor may be connected to an ECU other than the DSECU.

The accelerator pedal operation amount sensor 11 detects the operation amount (accelerator opening) of the accelerator pedal 11a of the host vehicle and outputs a signal representing the accelerator pedal operation amount AP.
A brake pedal operation amount sensor 12 detects an operation amount of a brake pedal 12a of the own vehicle and outputs a signal representing the brake pedal operation amount BP.
The stop lamp switch 13 outputs a low level signal when the brake pedal 12a is not depressed (not operated), and outputs a high level signal when the brake pedal 12a is depressed (operated). Output.

The steering angle sensor 14 detects the steering angle of the host vehicle and outputs a signal representing the steering angle θ.
The steering torque sensor 15 detects the steering torque applied to the steering shaft US of the host vehicle by operating the steering wheel SW, and outputs a signal representing the steering torque Tra.
The vehicle speed sensor 16 detects the running speed (vehicle speed) of the host vehicle and outputs a signal representing the vehicle speed SPD.

The surrounding sensor 17 acquires information on at least the road in front of the vehicle and targets existing on the road (moving objects such as pedestrians, cyclists and automobiles, and fixed objects such as utility poles and guardrails). It's like Ambient sensors 17 include, for example, radar sensors and camera sensors, both of which are well known.

The radar sensor radiates radio waves in the millimeter wave band to a surrounding area of the own vehicle, including an area in front of the own vehicle, and receives radio waves (that is, reflected waves) reflected by targets existing within the radiating range. Based on the phase difference between the transmitted radio wave and the received reflected wave, the attenuation level of the reflected wave, the time from the transmission of the radio wave to the reception of the reflected wave, etc., the radar sensor detects each detected target. Information (position, relative speed, etc.) about the relative relationship between the host vehicle and the target is acquired at predetermined time intervals, and this information is hereinafter referred to as "target information."

The camera sensor acquires a pair of left and right image data by photographing the scenery in the left and right areas in front of the vehicle, and outputs "presence or absence of a target and target information" based on the image data. The DSECU synthesizes information output from each of the radar sensor and the camera sensor to determine target information.

Further, the camera sensor detects left and right lane markings (hereinafter referred to as "white lines") of the road on which the vehicle is traveling, based on road image data corresponding to the road included in the image data. recognize. Based on the recognition result, the camera sensor determines the width of the lane in which the vehicle is traveling (driving lane), the shape of the driving lane (for example, the radius of curvature), and the positional relationship between the driving lane and the vehicle. Information (for example, the distance in the lane width direction between the center position of the left white line and the right white line of the driving lane and the center position of the own vehicle in the vehicle width direction) and the like are output.

The operation switch 18 is a switch operated by the driver. By operating the operation switch 18, the driver can select whether or not to execute lane keeping control (LTC: Lane Trace Control), which will be described later.・It is possible to select whether or not to execute cruise control.

A yaw rate sensor 19 detects the yaw rate of the host vehicle and outputs a yaw rate YRa.
.

The engine ECU 20 is connected to an engine actuator 21 for changing the operating state of the internal combustion engine 22 . In this example, the internal combustion engine 22 is a gasoline fuel injection, spark ignition, multi-cylinder engine. The engine actuator 21 includes at least a throttle valve actuator that changes the opening of the throttle valve of the internal combustion engine 22 .

The engine ECU 20 can change the torque generated by the internal combustion engine 22 by driving the engine actuator 21 . Torque generated by the internal combustion engine 22 is transmitted to driving wheels (not shown) via a transmission and a hydraulic torque converter (not shown). Therefore, by controlling the engine actuator 21, the engine ECU 20 can control the driving force of the own vehicle and change the acceleration state (acceleration).

If the own vehicle is a hybrid vehicle, the engine ECU 20 can control the driving force of the own vehicle generated by either one or both of "the engine and the electric motor" as the vehicle drive source. Furthermore, when the own vehicle is an electric vehicle, the engine ECU 20 can control the driving force of the own vehicle generated by the electric motor as the vehicle drive source.

The brake ECU 30 is connected to the brake actuator 31 . The brake actuator 31 is provided in a hydraulic circuit between a master cylinder (not shown) that pressurizes hydraulic oil according to the force applied to the brake pedal 12a and friction brake mechanisms 32 that are provided on the left and right front and rear wheels.

The brake actuator 31 adjusts the hydraulic pressure of the working oil supplied to the wheel cylinder built in the brake caliper 32b according to the instruction from the brake ECU 30, and the hydraulic pressure operates the wheel cylinder to press the brake pad against the brake disc 32a. . As a result, a frictional braking force is generated. Therefore, the brake ECU 30 can control the braking force of the own vehicle by controlling the brake actuator 31 .

The EPB-ECU 40 is connected to a parking brake actuator (hereinafter sometimes referred to as “PKB actuator”) 41 . The PKB actuator 41 is an actuator for pressing the brake pad against the brake disc 32a. Therefore, the EPB-ECU 40 can apply the parking brake force to the wheels using the PKB actuator 41 to keep the vehicle stationary.

The steering ECU 50 is a well-known controller for an electric power steering system and is connected to a motor driver 51 . The motor driver 51 is connected to the steering motor 52 . The steering motor 52 is incorporated in a "steering mechanism including a steering wheel SW, a steering shaft US connected to the steering wheel SW, and a steering gear mechanism (not shown)" of the vehicle. The steering motor 52 generates torque by electric power supplied from the motor driver 51 . This torque is used as steering assist torque. With this torque, the left and right steered wheels can be steered. That is, the steering motor 52 can change the steering angle of the host vehicle (also called "steering angle" or "rudder angle").

The meter ECU 60 is connected to a digital display meter (not shown), and is also connected to a hazard lamp 61 and a stop lamp 62 . The meter ECU 60 can blink the hazard lamps 61 and light the stop lamps 62 according to instructions from the DSECU.

The alarm ECU 70 is connected to the buzzer 71 and the indicator 72 . The alarm ECU 70 can call the driver's attention by sounding a buzzer 71 in response to an instruction from the DSECU, and can light a mark (for example, a warning lamp) on the display 72 for calling attention. , the operation status of the travel control can be displayed.

The navigation ECU 80 includes a GPS receiver 81 that receives "signals from artificial satellites (for example, GPS signals)" for detecting the current position of the vehicle, a map database 82 that stores map information including road information, and a touch panel. It is connected to the display 83 and the like of the formula. These devices (80 to 83) are known as "navigation devices" because they perform route guidance.

The navigation ECU 80 specifies (obtains) the current position of the vehicle based on the GPS signal. The map information stored in the map database 82 includes information about roads such as road type information, road shape and road speed limit. The road type information is information that specifies the type of road (roadway) on which the vehicle is traveling. The map information stored in the map database 82 may be information acquired by the navigation ECU 80 through communication with the outside.

The vehicle-to-vehicle communication device 90 is a wireless communication device capable of communicating between the own vehicle and another vehicle. The vehicle-to-vehicle communication device 90 transmits and receives vehicle information. The vehicle information includes vehicle identification information (vehicle ID), vehicle speed, vehicle position, vehicle control information, and driver abnormality occurrence information, which will be described later. A vehicle-to-vehicle communication device 90 provided in the host vehicle receives vehicle information transmitted from a vehicle-to-vehicle communication device provided in another vehicle capable of communicating with the host vehicle.

<Outline of basic running control>
The DSECU can perform following vehicle distance control and lane keeping control.
In the following description, "front vehicle" and "preceding vehicle" mean the following.
・Foreground vehicle: Other vehicle in front of own vehicle ・Preceding vehicle: Foreground vehicle traveling in the same lane as own vehicle (driving lane) vehicle)

(Vehicle following distance control)
Adaptive cruise control (ACC) is based on the information of the preceding vehicle (target information), and maintains the distance between the preceding vehicle and the own vehicle at a predetermined distance while controlling the own vehicle. It is a control to follow the preceding vehicle. The following vehicle distance control itself is well known (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2014-148293, Japanese Patent No. 4172434, and Japanese Patent No. 4929777).

The outline of following distance control is as follows. That is, the DSECU determines (identifies) a vehicle-to-vehicle distance target vehicle (that is, a preceding vehicle) among other vehicles (vehicles in front) traveling in a predetermined area in front of the own vehicle based on the target object information. The DSECU uses a well-known method to determine an acceleration (target acceleration) for maintaining the inter-vehicle distance from the target inter-vehicle distance vehicle at a predetermined distance.

For example, when the DSECU identifies the inter-vehicle distance target vehicle (a), the DSECU calculates the target acceleration Gtgt according to either of the following formulas (1) and (2). In formulas (1) and (2), Vfx(a) is the relative speed of the target vehicle distance vehicle (a), k1 and k2 are predetermined positive gains (coefficients), and ΔD1 is the "target distance between vehicles. This is the inter-vehicle deviation (ΔD1=Dfx(a)−Dtgt) obtained by subtracting the “target inter-vehicle distance Dtgt” from the longitudinal distance Dfx(a) of the vehicle (a). The target inter-vehicle distance Dtgt is calculated, for example, by multiplying the target inter-vehicle time Ttgt set by the driver using the operation switch 18 by the vehicle speed SPD of the host vehicle (that is, Dtgt=Ttgt·SPD).

The longitudinal distance Dfx(a) is a signed distance in the central axis direction (x-axis direction) of the own vehicle between the front end of the own vehicle and the rear end of the inter-vehicle distance target vehicle (a) (target). There is, and it is acquired as target object information using the surrounding sensor 17 . The x-axis is a coordinate axis that extends along the front-rear direction of the vehicle so as to pass through the widthwise center position of the front end of the vehicle and has a positive value for the front. The y-axis is a coordinate axis that is orthogonal to the x-axis and has a positive value in the rightward direction of the vehicle.

The DSECU determines the target acceleration Gtgt using the following equation (1) when the value (k1·ΔD1+k2·Vfx(a)) is positive or "0". ka1 is a positive gain (coefficient) for acceleration and is set to a value of "1" or less.
The DSECU determines the target acceleration Gtgt using the following equation (2) when the value (k1·ΔD1+k2·Vfx(a)) is negative. kd1 is a positive gain (coefficient) for deceleration and is set to "1" in this example.

Gtgt (for acceleration)=ka1·(k1·ΔD1+k2·Vfx(a)) (1)
Gtgt (for deceleration)=kd1·(k1·ΔD1+k2·Vfx(a)) (2)

Note that if the inter-vehicle distance target vehicle cannot be identified due to the absence of another vehicle (vehicle ahead) traveling in a predetermined area ahead of the own vehicle, the DSECU determines that the vehicle speed SPD of the own vehicle is set to the operation switch 18 A target acceleration Gtgt is determined based on the target vehicle speed and the vehicle speed SPD so as to match the target vehicle speed set using .

The DSECU controls the engine actuator 21 using the engine ECU 20 so that the acceleration of the host vehicle matches the target acceleration Gtgt, and controls the brake actuator 31 using the brake ECU 30 as necessary.

(lane keeping control)
Lane keeping control automatically adjusts the steering angle (and thus the steering angle of the steered wheels) so that the position of the vehicle is maintained near the target line in the "driving lane in which the vehicle is traveling." It is a control that changes to Lane keeping control itself is well known (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 2010-6279, 2013-233930, and 2018-103863).

The outline of the lane keeping control is as follows. That is, the DSECU detects the running trajectory of the steering follow target vehicle (that is, the preceding vehicle) (preceding vehicle trajectory created based on the target object information of the steering follow target vehicle) or the white line (recognized by the surrounding sensor 17 (camera sensor)). white line) or both to set the target travel line. The DSECU applies a steering assist torque to the steering mechanism so that the lateral position of the vehicle (that is, the position of the vehicle in the vehicle width direction with respect to the road) is maintained in the vicinity of the target driving line in the driving lane, thereby controlling the vehicle. change the steering angle of the Note that the lane keeping control using the target travel line determined based on the preceding vehicle locus is sometimes referred to as "TJA (Traffic Jam Assist)". Lane keeping control including TJA is sometimes called LTA (Lane Trace Assist) with TJA function or simply LTC.

The DSECU changes the method of setting the target travel line according to the presence or absence of the steering follow target vehicle and the recognition status of the white line. For example, when the left and right white lines can be recognized far away, the DSECU sets the target driving line based on the center line of the driving lane (in other words, the DSECU sets the target driving line based only on the white line. ). When the vehicle to be steered to be followed exists and the left and right white lines cannot be recognized, or when only the vicinity of the left and right white lines can be recognized, the DSECU detects the trajectory of the preceding vehicle alone or the trajectory of the preceding vehicle and the center line of the driving lane. set the target travel line based on both If there is no steering follow target vehicle and the left and right white lines cannot be recognized far away, the DSECU cancels the lane keeping control.

The DSECU uses the locus of the preceding vehicle to set the target travel line, and uses the set target travel line to maintain the lateral position of the host vehicle in the travel lane near the target travel line. For the sake of convenience, the control of applying torque to the steering mechanism to change the steering angle of the host vehicle will be referred to as "lane keeping control by TJA" or "TJA function".

<Driver's Abnormality Judgment>
The DSECU determines whether the driver of the vehicle is in an abnormal state while the vehicle is traveling on the road. The "abnormal state" is a state in which the driver has lost the ability to drive the own vehicle (for example, dozing off while driving, mental and physical insufficiency, etc.). "Determining whether the driver is in an abnormal state" is also simply referred to as "determining whether the driver is abnormal."

For example, the DSECU determines that the driver is in an abnormal state when a situation in which it can be assumed that there is no driving operation of the own vehicle (also referred to as a "driving non-operation state") continues for a predetermined time or longer. However, the method of determining the abnormality of the driver is not limited to this. A so-called “driver monitor technology” disclosed in JP-A-2013-152700 or the like may be used to determine the abnormality of the driver. It should be noted that the non-operating state is defined by the driver's parameter (in this example, AP, BP and Tra) consisting of one or more combinations of "accelerator pedal operation amount AP, brake pedal operation amount BP and steering torque Tra". does not change.

When it is determined that the driver is in an abnormal state, the DSECU uses the vehicle-to-vehicle communication device 90 to transmit the driver's abnormality occurrence information to the other vehicle (the vehicle-to-vehicle communication device of the other vehicle).

<Outline of operation>
An outline of the operation of this embodiment device will be described. Note that, in the following description, the preceding vehicle is provided with a cruise control device similar to the above-described cruise control device provided in the own vehicle. Note that the cruise control device provided in the own vehicle should be able to execute at least the basic cruise control described above, and the cruise control device provided in the preceding vehicle should be able to execute at least the abnormality determination of the driver.

Here, when the DSECU of the host vehicle is executing following vehicle distance control and lane keeping control, the DSECU of the preceding vehicle (vehicle distance target vehicle and steering follow target vehicle) detects that the driver of the preceding vehicle is in an abnormal state. Assume a situation where it is determined that

In this case, the DSECU of the preceding vehicle uses the vehicle-to-vehicle communication device 90 of the preceding vehicle to transmit the driving abnormality occurrence information to the vehicle-to-vehicle communication device 90 of the own vehicle, which is a vehicle other than the preceding vehicle. When the vehicle-to-vehicle communication device 90 of the own vehicle receives the driver abnormality occurrence information from the vehicle-to-vehicle communication device 90 of the preceding vehicle, the DSECU of the own vehicle is affected by the abnormal driving behavior of the preceding vehicle, In order to prevent the running behavior from becoming unstable, a process that will be described later with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 3 is executed.

<Specific operation>
The CPU of the DSECU of the preceding vehicle (hereinafter simply referred to as "preceding vehicle CPU") executes the routine shown in the flowchart of FIG. 2 each time a predetermined period of time elapses.

Accordingly, at a predetermined timing, the preceding vehicle CPU starts processing from step 200 in FIG.

If the driver is not in an abnormal state, the preceding vehicle CPU determines "No" at step 210, proceeds to step 295, and terminates this routine. On the other hand, if the driver is in an abnormal state, the preceding vehicle CPU determines "Yes" in step 210, proceeds to step 220, executes the processing described below, and then proceeds to step 295. is terminated once.
Step 220: The preceding vehicle CPU causes the hazard lamps 61 to blink using the meter ECU 60 . The preceding vehicle CPU uses the vehicle-to-vehicle communication device 90 to transmit driver abnormality occurrence information to the other vehicle.

The CPU of the DSECU of the own vehicle (hereinafter simply referred to as "own vehicle CPU") executes the routine shown in the flowchart of FIG. 3 each time a predetermined period of time elapses.

Therefore, at a predetermined timing, the host vehicle CPU starts processing from step 300 in FIG. It is determined whether or not the driver's abnormality occurrence information) has been received.

If the vehicle-to-vehicle communication device 90 has not received the driver's abnormality occurrence information from the preceding vehicle, the own vehicle CPU determines "No" at step 305, proceeds to step 395, and terminates this routine. On the other hand, when the vehicle-to-vehicle communication device 90 receives the driver abnormality occurrence information from the preceding vehicle, the own vehicle CPU determines "Yes" in step 305, proceeds to step 310, and the own vehicle CPU is set as the vehicle distance target vehicle.

If the own vehicle CPU is not executing following vehicle distance control in which the preceding vehicle is set as the vehicle distance target vehicle, the own vehicle CPU determines "No" in step 310, proceeds to step 395, and exits this routine. Terminate once. On the other hand, if the host vehicle CPU is executing following vehicle distance control in which the preceding vehicle is set as the vehicle distance target vehicle, the vehicle CPU determines "Yes" in step 310 and proceeds to step 315. Acceleration of own vehicle by following distance control is prohibited.

For example, even when a target acceleration Gtgt (for acceleration) greater than 0 (zero) is set, the host vehicle CPU sets the set target acceleration Gtgt (for acceleration) to 0 (zero). As a result, the inter-vehicle distance between the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle can be increased compared to the inter-vehicle distance between the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle when normal following distance control is executed, and Even if the running behavior of the preceding vehicle is such that the preceding vehicle suddenly accelerates, it is possible to avoid the subject vehicle from rapidly accelerating following the acceleration of the preceding vehicle. The host vehicle CPU may restrict acceleration of the host vehicle through follow-up distance control instead of prohibiting the host vehicle from accelerating through follow-up distance control. In this case, the host vehicle CPU sets the target acceleration Gtgt to an acceleration smaller than the target acceleration Gtgt (for acceleration) set during normal control. Also in this case, the same effect as described above can be obtained.

After that, when the host vehicle CPU proceeds to step 320, it determines whether or not the host vehicle CPU is executing the lane keeping control in which the preceding vehicle is set as the steering follow target vehicle. If the own vehicle CPU is not executing the lane keeping control that sets the preceding vehicle as the steering follow target vehicle, the own vehicle CPU determines "No" in step 320, proceeds to step 395, and temporarily exits this routine. finish.

On the other hand, when the own vehicle CPU is executing the lane keeping control in which the preceding vehicle is set as the steering follow target vehicle, the own vehicle CPU determines "Yes" in step 320 and proceeds to step 325. , the lane keeping control by TJA is prohibited. As a result, due to the abnormal driving behavior of the preceding vehicle, such as the preceding vehicle deviating from the lane, the subject vehicle may deviate from the lane (the subject vehicle may not be able to travel stably within the lane). It is possible to reduce the possibility that the running behavior of the vehicle becomes unstable. In this case, the lane maintenance control based only on the white lines (lane maintenance control for setting the target travel line based only on the white lines) may be continued or may not be performed.

Thereafter, the host vehicle CPU proceeds to step 330 and determines whether or not there is a right adjacent lane adjacent to the right side of the travel lane (own lane) of the host vehicle.

If the right adjacent lane exists, the host vehicle CPU determines "Yes" in step 330 and proceeds to step 335 to perform lane change control to control the host vehicle to move from the own lane to the right adjacent lane. to run. This lane change control is executed so that the own vehicle is moved to the right adjacent lane when the safety of the own vehicle can be ensured (when a predetermined condition for ensuring the safety of the own vehicle is satisfied). After that, the host vehicle CPU proceeds to step 395 and once ends this routine.
In addition, as an example of this predetermined condition, for example, the following condition can be mentioned.
- The collision margin time (the value obtained by dividing the longitudinal distance of the target by the relative speed of the target) between the own vehicle and the target located in the right adjacent lane is equal to or greater than the threshold time.
- There is no target right beside (within a predetermined range right beside) the right adjacent lane side of the own vehicle.

On the other hand, if the right adjacent lane does not exist, the host vehicle CPU makes a "No" determination in step 330 and proceeds to step 340 to direct the host vehicle to overtake the leading vehicle through the right side of the leading vehicle. Execute the preceding vehicle overtaking control that controls the vehicle. The preceding vehicle overtaking control is executed so that the own vehicle passes on the right side of the preceding vehicle when the safety of the own vehicle can be ensured (when a predetermined condition for ensuring the safety of the own vehicle is satisfied). After that, the host vehicle CPU proceeds to step 395 and once ends this routine.

The above-described embodiment device (running control device provided in the own vehicle) uses the information of the preceding vehicle to perform following vehicle distance control and following steering control of the own vehicle, and when the driver of the preceding vehicle It is possible to reduce the possibility that the running behavior of the own vehicle becomes unstable due to the abnormal running behavior of the preceding vehicle caused by falling into an abnormal state.

<Modification>
Although the embodiments of the present invention have been specifically described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications based on the technical idea of the present invention are possible. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the host vehicle CPU is configured to execute the routine shown by the flowchart in which steps 330, 335 and 340 are omitted from the flowchart in FIG. 3 instead of the routine shown in FIG. may be

In the above-described embodiments, the DSECU of the own vehicle may execute lane departure avoidance control as basic driving control. Lane departure avoidance control is "vehicle steering control" in which steering assist torque is applied to a steering mechanism to change the steering angle so that the vehicle does not deviate from the lane. Lane departure avoidance control is also called "LDA (Lane Departure Alert) control with steering control" or simply "LDA control".

In the above-described embodiment, when the vehicle-to-vehicle communication device 90 receives driver abnormality occurrence information from the vehicle-to-vehicle communication device 90 of the preceding vehicle when the DSECU of the own vehicle is in a state allowing execution of lane departure avoidance control. It is preferable that the state in which the DSECU of the own vehicle permits the execution of the lane departure avoidance control is continued.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Driving support ECU, 14... Steering angle sensor, 17... Surrounding sensor, 20... Engine ECU, 21... Engine actuator, 30... Brake ECU, 31... Brake actuator, 32... Friction brake mechanism, 40... Electric parking brake ECU, 41...PKB actuator, 50...Steering ECU, 51...Motor driver, 52...Motor for steering, 90...Vehicle-to-vehicle communication device

Claims (1)

Using information about a preceding vehicle in front of the vehicle that is traveling in the same lane as the vehicle is traveling, the following control is performed so that the inter-vehicle distance between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle is a predetermined target inter-vehicle distance. Following vehicle distance control for controlling vehicle acceleration, and
Steering follow-up for generating a travel trajectory of the preceding vehicle using information on the preceding vehicle, and controlling a steering angle of the vehicle so that the vehicle travels along a target travel line set based on the travel trajectory. control,
a travel control unit that executes
a second communication device that receives information transmitted from a first communication device included in the preceding vehicle;
with
The travel control unit is
When the second communication device receives driver abnormality occurrence information transmitted from the first communication device when the driver of the preceding vehicle is in an abnormal state,
prohibiting acceleration of the vehicle by the following distance control when the following distance control is being executed, or limiting acceleration of the vehicle by the following distance control;
configured to prohibit execution of the steering follow-up control when the steering follow-up control is being performed;
Vehicle travel control device.

Images