CN113874268A

CN113874268A - Vehicle control device

Info

Publication number: CN113874268A
Application number: CN202080037340.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 造田优贵; 三苫宽人
Original assignee: Hitachi Astemo Ltd
Current assignee: Hitachi Astemo Ltd
Priority date: 2019-05-22
Filing date: 2020-05-12
Publication date: 2021-12-31
Also published as: JPWO2020235385A1; WO2020235385A1; JP7230190B2

Abstract

The invention provides a vehicle control device which can perform optimal assistance when a driver drives to pass in the process of running on a narrow road so as to realize psychological leisurely and avoid contact and wheel separation. A vehicle control device (1) according to the present invention is characterized by comprising: a three-dimensional information acquisition unit (4) that acquires three-dimensional information of a travel area of a host vehicle (50); a traffic margin region calculation unit (5) that calculates a traffic margin region set around the host vehicle on the basis of the three-dimensional information of the travel region; and a passable/impassable determination unit (6) that calculates a passable width over which the host vehicle can physically pass, based on the three-dimensional information of the travel area, and determines passable/impassable of the host vehicle within the travel area, using the passable width, the lateral width of the host vehicle, and the information of the traffic allowance area.

Description

Vehicle control device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a vehicle control device that performs control for assisting a driver in driving a vehicle when traveling on a narrow road.

Background

In recent years, a technique of a navigation device has been disclosed for the purpose of avoiding contact with driving assistance, which is to determine whether or not a vehicle can pass through a narrow road (narrow road) while traveling on the narrow road (see patent document 1).

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2013-43563

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

The related art proposes the following vehicle control devices: whether the vehicle can physically pass is determined based on information on the lateral width and height of the vehicle and information on the width and obstacles on the road, and when it is determined that the vehicle can physically pass, driving assistance is performed to avoid contact and to avoid the wheels from leaving the road.

However, in the case of performing such assistance as driving by the driver himself, even if the driver can physically pass through, there is a fear that the driver does not touch or may actually touch. Thus, it is not sufficient to determine whether or not to permit passage only from the positional relationship between the host vehicle and the obstacle on the road.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a vehicle control device that performs assistance that enables a driver to drive on a narrow road with confidence.

Means for solving the problems

A vehicle control device according to the present invention for solving the above problems includes: a three-dimensional information acquisition unit that acquires three-dimensional information of a travel area of a host vehicle; a traffic margin region calculation unit that calculates a traffic margin region set around the host vehicle based on the three-dimensional information of the travel region; and a passable/impassable determination unit that calculates a passable width over which the host vehicle can physically pass, based on the three-dimensional information of the travel area, and determines passable/impassable of the host vehicle in the travel area, using the passable width, the lateral width of the host vehicle, and the information of the traffic margin area.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

According to the present invention, whether or not the vehicle can pass is determined in consideration of the margin region in the vehicle width direction so that the driver can pass with confidence while the vehicle is traveling on a narrow road. Therefore, when the driver drives the vehicle to pass through the road during the narrow road driving, the optimal assistance can be performed to realize psychological ease and avoid contact and the wheels from leaving the road.

Further features of the present invention will be apparent from the description and drawings of the present specification. Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will be apparent from the following description of the embodiments.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle control device mounted in a host vehicle.

Fig. 2 is an overhead view showing an example of a situation where the vehicle passes through a narrow road.

Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a situation in which the host vehicle passes through a narrow road.

Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a flow of processing of the routine of the traffic margin area calculation unit.

Fig. 5 is a diagram showing a flow of processing in a routine of the traffic availability determination unit.

Fig. 6 is an explanatory diagram relating to steering assistance in the process of the contact and wheel off-road avoidance assistance unit.

Detailed Description

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be explained.

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle control device mounted on a host vehicle. The vehicle control device 1 in the present embodiment is one of driving assistance devices that assist driving of the host vehicle, and performs driving assistance control that performs traffic assistance when the host vehicle passes through a narrow road. In the present specification, the concept of a narrow road includes a road having a narrow road width in which the distance between the host vehicle and the obstacle on both sides of the host vehicle in the vehicle width direction is equal to or less than a predetermined value. The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and may be applied to any place where the vehicle can pass, for example, a traveling road in a parking lot.

The vehicle control device 1 is mounted on a host vehicle, and as shown in fig. 1, is connected to a front camera 2, host vehicle information 3, a side camera 8, a display 9, a rearview mirror 10, a speaker 11, and a steering assist system 12, and has a function of inputting and outputting information. The side camera 8, the display 9, the rearview mirror 10, the speaker 11, and the steering assist system 12 constitute control devices of the vehicle control device 1.

Roughly dividing the vehicle control device 1, the vehicle control device 1 is configured by 4 sections of a travel area three-dimensional information acquisition unit (three-dimensional information acquisition unit) 4, a traffic margin area calculation unit 5, a traffic availability determination unit 6, and a contact and wheel slip road avoidance assistance unit (assistance control unit) 7.

The travel area three-dimensional information acquisition unit 4 acquires three-dimensional information of a travel area existing in front of the host vehicle, and transmits the three-dimensional information to the traffic allowance area calculation unit 5. The three-dimensional information of the travel area is acquired by the front camera 2 and supplied to the travel area three-dimensional information acquiring unit 4. The three-dimensional information of the travel area includes three-dimensional information of a road surface in front of the host vehicle and an obstacle present on the road surface.

The traffic margin region calculation unit 5 calculates the traffic margin region of the host vehicle from the three-dimensional information of the travel region acquired by the travel region three-dimensional information acquisition unit 4. The traffic margin region has a width in the vehicle width direction and a height in the vehicle height direction. When there is an obstacle that may cause contact or wheel slip on the road due to the own vehicle passing on a narrow road, the traffic margin region calculation unit 5 calculates a traffic margin region from the contact possibility and the traffic difficulty level, and transmits the calculation result to the traffic permission determination unit 6.

The traffic-enabled/disabled determination unit 6 determines whether or not the vehicle can pass through the scene in which the vehicle is facing, based on the calculation result of the traffic margin region calculation unit 5, and transmits the determination result to the contact-and-wheel-off-road avoidance assistance unit 7. The passable/impassable determination unit 6 calculates a passable width in which the host vehicle can physically pass, based on the three-dimensional information of the travel area, and determines passable/impassable of the host vehicle in the travel area, using the passable width, the lateral width of the host vehicle, and the information of the traffic margin area.

The contact and wheel off-road avoidance assistance unit 7 performs control of assistance required when the host vehicle passes through the travel area, based on the determination result of the passable/impassable determination unit 6. The contact and wheel off-road avoidance assistance unit 7 selects assistance required for a scene to be addressed, and transmits a control signal to the control devices 8 to 12.

The front camera 2 is a camera mounted on the vehicle to capture the front of the host vehicle, and transmits a captured image to the vehicle control device 1. The vehicle control device 1 acquires three-dimensional information of a travel area from an image captured by the front camera 2. The front camera 2 may be a stereo camera as long as it can acquire three-dimensional information, but a combination of a monocular camera and a laser radar, or another sensor such as a LIDAR may be used.

The vehicle information 3 transmits information on the vehicle required for the traffic permission determination and the control execution to the vehicle control device 1. Specifically, at least one of the lateral width, the vehicle speed, the steering angle, the height of the mirror, the height of the driver's seat, and the height of the window frame of the vehicle is transmitted.

The side camera 8 is a camera (side camera) attached to the vehicle to photograph the side of the host vehicle, and has a configuration to photograph the vicinity of the passenger side tire which is a blind spot for the driver. The side camera 8 is automatically activated and transmits a captured image to the display 9 when it is determined that control is necessary, based on a control signal received from the contact and wheel off-road avoidance assistance unit 7. The display 9 displays an image captured by the side camera 8. The display 9 is installed in the vehicle interior of the host vehicle and is provided at a position where the driver can confirm the display contents while driving. The captured image of the side camera 8 is used for preventing the wheel from getting off the road, preventing the wheel from coming into contact with a roadside object, and the like, and can assist the passing of the facing scene.

The mirror 10 has a configuration capable of being automatically stored in response to a control signal received from the contact and wheel off-road avoidance assistance unit 7. For example, when the traffic-availability determination unit 6 determines that the driving assistance is required when the host vehicle passes through the driving area and transmits the determination result to the contact-and-wheel-off-road avoidance assistance unit 7, an instruction signal for housing the mirror 10 is output from the contact-and-wheel-off-road avoidance assistance unit 7 to the mirror 10, and the mirror 10 is automatically housed. When the mirror 10 of the host vehicle is automatically stored in a narrow road, the vehicle width is reduced by that amount, and the distance between the host vehicle and an obstacle such as a roadside object or a stopped vehicle is increased, so that the host vehicle can easily pass through. Thus, the passage of the scene being faced can be assisted.

The speaker 11 is mounted in the vehicle interior of the host vehicle, and notifies the driver of the need for the passage assistance or the possibility of the contact or the wheel getting out of the road, based on the assistance signal received from the contact and wheel getting out of the road avoidance assistance unit 7. Thus, the passage of the scene being faced can be assisted.

The steering assist system 12 includes an actuator that operates steering, acceleration, and braking of the vehicle, and performs steering assist so that contact and wheel slip-off from the road do not occur when the passage assist is required, based on the assist signal received from the contact and wheel slip-off road avoidance assist unit 7. Further, in the case where there is a margin from the side surface of the vehicle to the roadside object or the road side end, steering assistance for automatically steering to the side as much as possible can be performed.

Fig. 2 shows an overhead view of a situation in which the vehicle passes through a narrow road, as an example of the situation in which the present embodiment is applied.

As shown in fig. 2, on the road R, there are disposed road side objects M1 and M2 such as walls and guardrails, and an obstacle 60 such as a truck vehicle stopped on the road. The road R has a narrow road with a narrow road width for the passage of the vehicle between the obstacle 60 and the roadside object M1. The own vehicle 50 running on the road R is running in the direction indicated by the arrow v 50. Thus, the own vehicle 50 passes by the obstacle 60. That is, the situation shown in fig. 2 is a situation in which it is predicted that the own vehicle 50 will pass by the obstacle 60 on a narrow road.

When the vehicle 50 passes through a narrow road as shown in this example, the vehicle control device 1 determines whether or not the driving assistance of the vehicle 50 is required when there is little space between the vehicle and the roadside object M1 or the obstacle 60. Then, the start control devices 8 to 12 are controlled according to the determination result that the driving assistance is required.

The travel area three-dimensional information acquisition unit 4 acquires not only the position information on the two-dimensional plane as shown in fig. 2 but also three-dimensional position information including the height direction. By acquiring the three-dimensional position information of the travel area of the host vehicle by the travel area three-dimensional information acquisition unit 4, the traffic availability determination unit 6 can determine whether to allow traffic taking into account the position of the obstacle in the height direction.

In the example shown in fig. 3, it is found by acquiring the three-dimensional information that the height of the roadside object M1 is different from the height of the left side mirror on the left side of the host vehicle 50, and that the host vehicle 50 can be moved leftward to a position where the vehicle body of the host vehicle 50 contacts the roadside object M1 without interfering with the roadside object M1 even if the host vehicle 50 moves leftward toward the left side mirror. Further, it is found that the truck side surface of the obstacle 60 faces the right rear view mirror of the host vehicle 50 on the right side of the host vehicle 50, and when the host vehicle 50 is excessively leaned to the right, the tip end of the right rear view mirror may interfere with the obstacle 60. Therefore, the lateral width of the roadside object M1 and the obstacle 60, that is, the lateral width w50 of the vehicle 50 from the left end of the vehicle body of the vehicle 50 to the top end of the right rear view mirror is obtained.

Next, the processing operation of the traffic margin area calculation unit 5 will be described with reference to the flowchart of fig. 4.

First, in step S100, an initial setting of a traffic margin region for traffic availability determination is performed. The initial value of the traffic margin region may be a value set in advance, but may be set manually by the driver himself or may be set in the vehicle control device 1 with reference to the driving history in the past when the control was performed, so as to correspond to the driving level of the driver. Further, a margin region corresponding to the driving level of the driver may be set by acquiring past actual driving performances on the side and narrow road as much as possible from the driving history of the driver of the host vehicle.

In step S101, it is determined whether the driver can visually recognize the obstacle. Whether the driver can visually recognize the obstacle is determined based on at least the height information of the obstacle, and more precisely, the determination is made based on the height information of the obstacle, the height information of the driver's seat and the window of the own vehicle, and the height information of the line of sight of the driver. When it is determined that the obstacle cannot be visually observed, since the possibility of contact increases, the 1 st traffic margin region is added to the initial value of the traffic margin region.

In step S102, it is determined whether the obstacle is moving or not based on the speed information of the obstacle. When it is determined that the obstacle is moving, since the possibility of contact increases, the 2 nd traffic margin region is added to the traffic margin region calculated in the above step.

In step S103, it is determined whether or not the own vehicle is traveling at a low speed based on the speed information of the own vehicle. When it is determined that the host vehicle is traveling at a low speed, the 3 rd traffic margin region is added to the traffic margin region calculated in the above step, because it is considered that the driver determines that there is a possibility that the driver collides with an obstacle and is driving with caution.

In step S104, it is determined whether or not there is a irregularity on the road surface on which the host vehicle is traveling. In the case of uneven road surface, the road surface shape changes the height of the vehicle, and therefore the traffic margin region must be enlarged. If there is a bump on the road surface on which the host vehicle is traveling, the 4 th traffic margin region is added to the traffic margin region calculated in the above step.

In step S105, it is determined whether the type of obstacle is a person or a vehicle based on the identification information of the obstacle. When the type of the obstacle is determined to be a person or a vehicle, the possibility of contact is higher than that of a stationary solid object such as a wall, and if the contact occurs, the damage to the human body is more serious and more important than the damage to the body other than the human body, and therefore, the 5 th traffic margin region is added to the traffic margin region calculated in the above step.

Here, the width in the vehicle width direction among the traffic margin regions added in the above steps S100 to S105 is added equally to the left and right with respect to the vehicle center.

The margin area calculated in the above steps S100 to S105 is sent to the passable/impassable determination unit 6.

The traffic-passable-or-not determining unit 6 determines whether or not the vehicle can pass, based on the information on the lateral width w50 of the host vehicle 50, the width w70 in the vehicle width direction of the traffic margin region calculated by the traffic margin region calculating unit 5, and the passable width w 60. Specifically, the lateral width w50 of the host vehicle 50 is added to the width w70 in the vehicle width direction of the traffic margin region calculated by the traffic margin region calculation unit 5, and when the obtained lateral width is larger than the passable width w60, it is determined that the vehicle can pass. In this case, since it is determined that the passing is possible even if the passable width w60 is sufficiently wide, a threshold value w _ th for the purpose of making it possible not to assist is provided, and unnecessary control is avoided. The passability determination is performed by the following equation (1).

[ numerical formula 1]

w50+w70＜w60＜w_th···(1)

In the above-described passability/non-passability determination, when the passable width w60 is smaller than the lateral width obtained by adding the lateral width w50 of the host vehicle 50 to the width w70 in the vehicle width direction of the margin region calculated by the passage margin region calculation unit 5 and it is determined to be impassable, when the lateral width obtained by adding the lateral width w40 when the mirror of the host vehicle has been accommodated and the width w70 in the vehicle width direction of the margin region calculated by the passage margin region calculation unit 5 is larger than the passable width w60, it is determined to be passable. In the above, the passability determination is performed by the equation (2).

[ numerical formula 2]

w40+w70＜w60···(2)

The passable/impassable determination information determined by the above equations (1) and (2) is transmitted to the contact and wheel-off-road avoidance assistance unit 7.

Next, the processing operation of the off-wheel-road avoidance assistance unit 7 will be described with reference to the flowchart of fig. 5.

In step S200, it is determined whether the driver of the host vehicle can visually recognize an obstacle through the window from the driver' S seat. The obstacle also includes a side groove or the like lower than the road surface. As a method of recognizing whether or not an obstacle is present, for example, a known method of recognizing the obstacle from three-dimensional information of a travel area is used. Then, whether the driver can visually recognize the obstacle is determined based on at least the height information of the obstacle, and more precisely, the determination is geometrically made based on the height information of the obstacle, the height information of the driver's seat and the window of the own vehicle, and the height information of the line of sight of the driver. When it is determined that the driver cannot visually recognize the obstacle, a signal for automatically activating the side camera is transmitted to the side camera 8.

In step S201, it is determined whether the obstacle is moving. As a method of recognizing whether or not an obstacle is moving, a known method such as an optical flow using an image captured by the front camera 2 is used. Then, when it is determined that the obstacle is moving, a signal for changing the right and left distribution of the vehicle in at least the passing margin region is transmitted to the steering assist system 12.

Here, the change of the allocation of the spare area will be described with reference to fig. 6. For example, as shown in fig. 6, when a moving obstacle 60 is present in the right area of the host vehicle 50 and a stationary wall M1 is present in the left area of the host vehicle 50, the driver should drive with a moving obstacle 60 having a higher risk of contact than the wall M1. Thus, the allocation is changed as follows: the width w1 on the side of the wall M1, which is a stationary object, among the margin regions w1 and w2 that are normally equally distributed to the left and right with respect to the host vehicle 50 is reduced, and the width w2 on the side of the obstacle 60 that is moving is increased.

In step S202, it is determined whether the obstacle is a person or a vehicle. As a method of identifying whether the obstacle is a person or a vehicle, a known method such as template matching using an image captured by the front camera 2 is used, for example. When it is determined that the obstacle is a person or a vehicle, a signal for changing at least the allocation of the margin area is transmitted to the steering assist system 12. For example, the following control is performed: the margin area on the obstacle side, i.e., the human or vehicle side, is increased, and the margin area on the stationary object side is decreased.

In step S203, it is determined whether the passable/impassable determination unit 6 determines that the vehicle can pass when the mirror 10 of the host vehicle 50 is accommodated, that is, whether the passable/impassable determination unit determines that the vehicle can pass by the above expression (2). When it is determined that the vehicle can pass through the above equation (2), at least a signal for automatically housing the mirror is transmitted to the mirror 10.

As described above, the vehicle control device 1 of the present embodiment can determine whether or not the host vehicle can pass through a narrow road based on the information acquired by the front camera 2, and provide driving assistance suitable for the scene to which the host vehicle is facing.

According to the vehicle control device 1 of the present embodiment, when there is an obstacle that may cause contact or wheel slip from the road due to the own vehicle passing on a narrow road, the passing margin region is calculated from the contact possibility and the difficulty level of passing, and the passability determination is performed based on the calculation result. Thus, for example, when the driver cannot visually recognize the obstacle, the margin width is set larger than that when the driver can visually recognize the obstacle, and the driver can drive the vehicle on a narrow road with caution.

While the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments, and various design changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention described in the claims. For example, the embodiments are described in detail to explain the present invention in a manner easy to understand, and are not necessarily limited to all configurations described. Note that a part of the structure of one embodiment may be replaced with the structure of another embodiment, or the structure of one embodiment may be added to the structure of another embodiment. Further, addition, deletion, and replacement of another configuration may be performed on a part of the configuration of each embodiment.

Description of the symbols

1 … vehicle control device

2 … front camera

3 … own vehicle information

4 … travel area three-dimensional information acquisition unit (three-dimensional information acquisition unit)

5 … traffic margin area calculating unit

6 … passing/failing judgment unit

7 … contact and wheel off-road avoidance assistance unit (assistance control unit)

8 … side camera

9 … display

10 … rearview mirror

11 … speaker

12 … steering assist system

50 … self vehicle

60 … obstacles.

Claims

1. A vehicle control device is characterized by comprising:

a three-dimensional information acquisition unit that acquires three-dimensional information of a travel area of a host vehicle;

a traffic margin region calculation unit that calculates a traffic margin region set around the host vehicle based on the three-dimensional information of the travel region; and

and a passable/impassable determination unit that calculates a passable width over which the host vehicle can physically pass, based on the three-dimensional information of the travel area, and determines passable/impassable of the host vehicle in the travel area, using the passable width, the lateral width of the host vehicle, and the information of the traffic margin area.

2. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1,

the vehicle control device includes an assist control unit that performs control for assisting the passage of the host vehicle in the travel area, based on a determination result of the passable/impassable determination unit.

3. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1,

the traffic margin region calculation unit sets the traffic margin region based on a driving history of the host vehicle.

4. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1,

the traffic margin area calculation unit determines whether or not the driver of the host vehicle can visually recognize the obstacle from the driver's seat based on the height information of the obstacle in the travel area acquired from the three-dimensional information of the travel area, and adds a 1 st traffic margin area to the traffic margin area when determining that the obstacle cannot be visually recognized.

5. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1,

the traffic margin area calculation unit determines whether or not the obstacle is moving based on speed information of the obstacle in the travel area acquired from the three-dimensional information of the travel area, and adds a 2 nd traffic margin area to the traffic margin area when determining that the obstacle is moving.

6. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1,

the traffic margin region calculation unit determines whether or not the host vehicle is traveling at a low speed based on the speed information of the host vehicle, and adds a 3 rd traffic margin region to the traffic margin region when it is determined that the host vehicle is traveling at a low speed.

7. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1,

the traffic margin region calculation unit determines whether or not there is an irregularity on the road surface of the road based on the road surface information of the road on which the host vehicle is traveling acquired from the three-dimensional information of the travel region, and adds a 4 th traffic margin region to the traffic margin region when it is determined that there is an irregularity.

8. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1,

the traffic margin area calculation unit determines whether or not an obstacle in the travel area is a person or a vehicle based on identification information of the obstacle in the travel area acquired from the three-dimensional information of the travel area, and adds a 5 th traffic margin area to the traffic margin area when determining that the obstacle is the person or the vehicle.

9. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1,

the vehicle travel permission determination unit determines whether or not the vehicle is permitted to travel if the vehicle is accommodated in the rearview mirror when it is determined that the vehicle cannot travel in the travel area.

10. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 2,

the auxiliary control unit determines whether or not the driver of the host vehicle can visually recognize the obstacle from the driver's seat based on the height information of the obstacle in the travel area acquired from the three-dimensional information of the travel area, and when it is determined that the driver cannot visually recognize the obstacle, the auxiliary control unit activates a side camera mounted on the host vehicle and capturing an image of a side of the host vehicle.

11. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 2,

determining whether or not the obstacle is moving, based on speed information of the obstacle within the travel area acquired from the three-dimensional information of the travel area, and when it is determined that the obstacle is moving,

the auxiliary control unit enlarges a traffic margin area on a side where the obstacle that is moving exists, from among one side and the other side of the vehicle in the vehicle width direction of the host vehicle, and reduces the traffic margin area on the side where the obstacle that is moving does not exist.

12. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 2,

in the case where it is determined that the obstacle is a person or a vehicle on the basis of the identification information of the obstacle within the travel area acquired from the three-dimensional information of the travel area,

the auxiliary control unit enlarges a traffic margin area on a side where the obstacle is present, from among one side and the other side of the vehicle in the vehicle width direction of the host vehicle, and reduces the traffic margin area on the side where the obstacle is not present.

13. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 9,

the auxiliary control unit controls the mirror to be stored when the passable/impassable determining unit determines that the vehicle can pass through if the mirror is stored.