DE102019208525A1 - Vehicle travel control method, vehicle travel control device and computer program product - Google Patents

Abstract

The present subject matter relates in particular to a driving control method and to a device and to a computer program product that increase the safety and convenience of automated or computer-aided vehicle driving.

Description

The present subject matter relates in particular to a travel control method, to a travel control device, to a carrier vehicle that contains the travel control device, and to a computer program product which is designed to carry out the travel control method. In particular, a technical advantage is that the control enables the automated or computer-aided driving of a carrier vehicle, in particular during cornering scenarios, with increased safety and with increased driving comfort.

WO 2015/181611 A2 describes a driving support apparatus for a host vehicle that estimates the position of a moving body traveling in parallel with the host vehicle. According to this prior art, it is assumed that the host vehicle has a blind spot area defined in advance on a side portion thereof.

EP 2 853 458 A1 describes a method and an apparatus that uses a modified G-Vectoring Control (GVC) as implemented by EP 1992 537 A2 which is called "Preview G-Vectoring Control" (PGVC). The PGVC enables control of a longitudinal acceleration, the longitudinal direction being arranged along a moving direction of the host vehicle, based on information on a lateral acceleration (the lateral direction being perpendicular to the longitudinal direction) and a lateral jolt of the vehicle. The carrier vehicle can adapt to the driving behavior of a vehicle in front by using the PGVC, among other things.

However, the prior art does not describe a vehicle control method for a driver assistance system or for a system for autonomous driving that supports the constant dynamic speed and distance control (ACC) and / or the PGVC if the detected other object such as a vehicle ahead is in particular has moved out of the field of view (FOV) of the object detection sensors of the carrier vehicle during a cornering scenario. WO 2015/181611 A2 does not apply PGVC and only estimates the position of a detected object within a firmly defined area of the blind spot on the side of the carrier vehicle. EP 2 853 458 A1 does not take into account a scenario in which the detected other object such as a vehicle ahead moves out of the FOV of the host vehicle.

The subject matter described and claimed here deals with the technical problem of creating at least one control method and a driving control device for a carrier vehicle which further increase the comfort and safety of automated driving or computer-aided driving. This technical problem is solved by the appended claims.

According to the subject matter set out in the appended claims, a vehicle (driving) control method, a vehicle driving control device [or an automated driving device or an (advanced) driving assistance device], a vehicle using an automated driving control device, and a computer program product are proposed.

According to a first aspect, a vehicle travel control method is described that can adopt / mimic / imitate the driveability of another vehicle; d. That is, the controller achieves that a host vehicle behaves in accordance with another vehicle. In other words, the driving behavior is imitated. The driving behavior can contain one or more driving characteristics such as speed and lateral and / or longitudinal deceleration / lateral and / or longitudinal acceleration. The assumption of driving behavior can optionally be carried out under predefined conditions, e.g. B. the driving behavior assumption cannot start / stop when the other vehicle is at a distance from the host vehicle that is greater than a predefined value, is traveling at a lower or higher speed than a predefined value, and the like.

The controller may include checking for the presence of another vehicle in the vicinity of the host vehicle by at least one sensor of the host vehicle. The host vehicle sensor can contain a single sensor, a detection unit or multiple detection units that can scan the environment of the host vehicle, such as lidar, radar, IR sensors, an electromagnetic wave unit, etc. If another vehicle is detected, the vehicle control method can automatically, preferably if the control method is activated, assume a driving behavior of the detected other vehicle, so that the host vehicle imitates the driving behavior (the assumption optionally only starts if further conditions defined in advance for the beginning of the assumption of driving behavior are fulfilled). This procedure can be carried out repeatedly so that the host vehicle can assume the respective actual driving behavior of the other vehicle detected. If it is recognized during the repeated checking that the other vehicle has been lost, ie can no longer be detected by the at least one sensor of the carrier vehicle, a position of the previously detected and now lost other vehicle can be based on the last known Driving behavior of the other known vehicle can be determined. The last known driving behavior can include the last known speed, the last known position of the other vehicle, the last known lateral acceleration, and so on. The term “known” here should preferably mean that the driving behavior of the detected vehicle is not only repeatedly detected, but also in a memory of a control device that is built into the carrier vehicle or at a remote location such as a server to which the Data are transmitted wirelessly from the carrier vehicle, is backed up / buffered repeatedly.

If the other vehicle can be tracked even though it has moved out of the field of view (FOV) of the carrier vehicle or its sensor or sensors ("virtual tracking"), the safety and comfort of the driver of the carrier vehicle are increased because the other vehicle Vehicle e.g. B. cannot suddenly disappear from the sensor detection just because of a specific driving scenario. For example, a human driver can still see the other vehicle if it is driving ahead on a winding road. However, the sensors with a fixed FOV may lose the signal to the other vehicle when entering a sharp turn or the like.

Even more preferably, the driving behavior of the other vehicle can be assumed / imitated / imitated without interruption, even if the other vehicle can no longer be detected. Since the assumption of the driving behavior of the other vehicle is not interrupted because the vehicle is out of sight for the sensor or sensors, this has even greater advantages in terms of driving safety and comfort. The assumption can be continued on the basis of the virtual tracking of the position of the other vehicle.

It is assumed that the other vehicle of the control method described here is preferably a vehicle traveling ahead which is traveling in the same longitudinal direction as the carrier vehicle in front of the carrier vehicle. “The same direction” here preferably means that the other vehicle is heading in the same direction on the same road as the carrier vehicle. The preferred driving scenario for the control method is a road with curves, in particular a cornering scenario.

Although the host vehicle can be controlled to automatically drive on a road or to assist the driver through many other control processes, the host vehicle can preferably and most preferably pass through during a cornering scenario in which the host vehicle is traveling on a winding / windy road Determining a longitudinal acceleration target value based on a lateral acceleration and one or more setting parameters and controlled by controlling a longitudinal acceleration of the host vehicle based on the calculated longitudinal acceleration target value. When the host vehicle turns a corner during a turning scenario, the host vehicle can turn without discomfort to the driver. With the setting parameters, the driver can also specify the level of acceleration forces that he would like to experience. It is preferably assumed in the above control that the host vehicle does not adopt the driving behavior of another vehicle, e.g. B. because there is no vehicle within the FOV or the initial conditions for acceptance are not met. In other words, the above controller can control the host vehicle during the automated driving without detecting another vehicle.

Once again, the host vehicle can preferably be controlled in that a driving behavior of the other vehicle is estimated or determined and in that the one or more setting parameters for calculating the longitudinal acceleration target value are set if the driving behavior of the other vehicle is assumed, the one or more setting parameters being set to lateral acceleration acting on the other vehicle is estimated from the map information based on the determined speed of the other vehicle and the cornering information about the road. The one or more setting parameters can preferably be based on the estimated or predicted driving behavior of the other vehicle. More preferably, the estimation or determination of the driving behavior of the other vehicle comprises the estimation or determination of a lateral acceleration which acts on the other vehicle during cornering, the one or more setting parameters for the calculation of the longitudinal acceleration target value preferably based on the estimated or determined Lateral acceleration that acts on the other vehicle while cornering can be set.

In other words, a method is proposed for carrying out driver assistance / automated driving for a host vehicle moving in a longitudinal direction on a road, including and preferably determining a longitudinal acceleration target value on the basis of a (determined and / or predicted / estimated) lateral acceleration of the carrier vehicle and one or more setting parameters and the control of a longitudinal acceleration of the carrier vehicle on the basis of the calculated longitudinal acceleration Target value includes. Furthermore, it comprises estimating or determining a driving property (of driving properties or a driving behavior) of a vehicle traveling ahead which is moving in the longitudinal direction on the road in front of the host vehicle, and preferably setting the one or more setting parameters for the calculation of the longitudinal acceleration target value based on the estimated or determined driving property (s) of the preceding vehicle while cornering.

Preferably, a driving behavior of the preceding vehicle based on information received from the preceding vehicle and / or from a data center that has information about the preceding vehicle using a communication protocol between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle and / or the data center be determined or estimated. Preferably, a driving behavior of the vehicle traveling ahead is estimated or determined on the basis of information that is detected by sensors from the host vehicle; a driving behavior of the vehicle traveling in front is based on the longitudinal acceleration and / or the lateral acceleration acting on the vehicle traveling ahead, Estimated or determined and / or a driving behavior of the vehicle traveling ahead is estimated on the basis of a predicted longitudinal acceleration and / or lateral acceleration which will act on the vehicle traveling ahead.

It is noted that the information about a driving behavior of the preceding vehicle (which can indicate a speed, a position, a lateral acceleration and / or a longitudinal acceleration of the preceding vehicle) can be obtained between a data center and the host vehicle, the data sensor receiving the data from the vehicle in front or from other external vehicle sensors. Additionally or alternatively, information about the driving behavior of sensor data, e.g. B. from sensors of the carrier vehicle, which can detect a relative speed and relative position between the carrier vehicle and the vehicle ahead, can be obtained. Thereafter, the speed, the position and the longitudinal acceleration of the preceding vehicle can be determined on the basis of the speed and / or the position of the host vehicle and the relative speed and / or the relative position between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle. The lateral acceleration of the preceding vehicle can be estimated based on the estimated speed and position of the preceding vehicle and based on curvature information indicating a curvature of a road at the position of the preceding vehicle. The curvature information and the like can be obtained from a data center which provides map information for the host vehicle, including e.g. B. curvature information can provide. The curvature information can be the curvature of the road at a specific point, a course of the curvature of the entire curve and / or a derivative of the curvature with respect to the path, i.e. H. the x- and / or y-axis. Furthermore, an on-board system of the host vehicle, such as a navigation device or the like, can also provide map information.

In addition to or as a representation of the step of estimating / determining the driving behavior of the vehicle traveling ahead, the method can include estimating (e.g. predicting) or determining a lateral acceleration that occurs during cornering on a vehicle traveling ahead that is in the longitudinal direction the road in front of the host vehicle is moved, acts or will act, and the setting of the one or more setting parameters for the calculation of the longitudinal acceleration target value on the basis of the estimated transverse acceleration that acts or will act on the vehicle in front during cornering.

For example, controlling the longitudinal acceleration without any knowledge of the preceding vehicle can disadvantageously lead to a situation in which the distance to the preceding vehicle can decrease below a threshold value while cornering. The driver of the host vehicle may then have to actively use a brake in addition to the longitudinal acceleration control operation in order to avoid a further reduction in the distance to the vehicle in front, or dynamic cruise control (ACC) can be activated to keep the speed of the To reduce the host vehicle in order to avoid a further reduction in the distance to the vehicle in front, which can reduce the driving convenience / comfort for the driver of the host vehicle.

However, by setting the one or more setting parameters for calculating the longitudinal acceleration target value based on the estimated lateral acceleration that acts on the preceding vehicle during cornering, the longitudinal acceleration control can be based on an estimated lateral acceleration that is applied to the preceding vehicle Vehicle works. In particular, it helps that the setting parameters are advantageously set in such a way that the longitudinal acceleration control is on the basis of the transverse acceleration of the host vehicle is adapted to the estimated transverse acceleration of the vehicle in front, to avoid that the distance to the vehicle in front is reduced too much, so that there is no need for the driver to actively decelerate using the brake, or that none It is necessary that the dynamic speed and distance control can be activated.

The method of accepting the driving control can preferably include determining a speed of the vehicle traveling in front, the transverse acceleration acting on the vehicle traveling in front being estimated preferably on the basis of the determined speed of the vehicle traveling in front and curvature information. This has the advantage that the transverse acceleration acting on the vehicle ahead is based on curvature information such as a curvature of the road in front of the host vehicle, as it is e.g. B. can be derived from map data (z. B. navigation map data), can be reliably and accurately estimated. Preferably, the method can further include determining a position of the preceding vehicle based on map data and determining a curvature of the road at the position of the preceding vehicle based on map data, wherein the lateral acceleration acting on the preceding vehicle is preferably based on the certain speed of the preceding vehicle and the certain curvature of the road at the position of the preceding vehicle is estimated.

In accordance with the above, it is preferable that the position of the preceding vehicle is determined based on positional data received from the preceding vehicle; and / or the method can further include determining a position of the host vehicle and determining a distance from the host vehicle to the vehicle traveling ahead (e.g. by means of a sensor such as radar, sonar or light reflection, etc.), the position of the vehicle traveling ahead Vehicle is preferably determined on the basis of the position of the host vehicle and the determined distance to the preceding vehicle.

Furthermore, the step of determining the longitudinal acceleration target value on the basis of a lateral acceleration of the host vehicle and one or more setting parameters is preferably carried out in one of several setting modes, wherein the one or more setting parameters can preferably be set differently in each of the several setting modes that an average lateral acceleration and / or a maximum lateral acceleration acting on the host vehicle during cornering are different for each of the plurality of adjustment modes when they are controlled on the basis of the longitudinal acceleration control. Accordingly, possibly according to the preferences of the driver, adjustment modes can be provided which provide less longitudinal deceleration than other adjustment modes during cornering (when entering the corner) and / or provide higher positive acceleration than other adjustment modes when exiting the corner.

Furthermore, it is preferred in the above that the multiple setting modes include at least a first setting mode and a second setting mode, an average lateral acceleration and / or a maximum lateral acceleration acting on the host vehicle during cornering being greater in the second setting mode than in the are first setting mode, wherein the step of setting the one or more setting parameters for the calculation of the longitudinal acceleration target value on the basis of the estimated lateral acceleration that acts on the vehicle in front during cornering, preferably selecting the first mode, if an absolute value of the estimated lateral acceleration acting on the vehicle in front is smaller than a threshold value, and / or selecting the second setting mode if the absolute value of the estimated lateral acceleration acting on the vehicle in front , is greater than the threshold.

Accordingly, the first setting mode is still actually selected for the longitudinal acceleration control even if a driver of the host vehicle may have selected the second setting mode as a default setting in advance according to the driver's preferences, when it is determined that the estimated lateral acceleration applied during cornering is vehicle driving ahead acts, can be smaller than the threshold value, which leads to a lower average lateral acceleration and / or to a maximum lateral acceleration that acts on the host vehicle during cornering, so that efficient and advantageous it is avoided that the distance to the vehicle in front is reduced too much during cornering.

Further, the method may comprise a step of determining which setting mode has been set in advance as a standard setting according to the preferences of the driver, i. i.e., whether the driver has selected the first or second setting mode (or another setting mode) in advance. Preferably, the above selection of a setting mode can be further carried out depending on the setting mode set in advance. For example, the second adjustment mode is preferably not selected even if the absolute value of the estimated lateral acceleration acting on the vehicle in front is greater than the threshold value when the user is in the first adjustment mode (or another adjustment mode in which the average lateral acceleration and / or the maximum transverse acceleration which acts on the host vehicle during cornering is still lower than in the first setting mode) in advance. Instead, it is preferable to maintain the setting mode set in advance. The second setting mode (or an even higher setting mode) is preferably only selected if the absolute value of the estimated lateral acceleration acting on the vehicle in front is greater than the threshold value when the user is in the second setting mode (or another higher setting mode in which the average transverse acceleration and / or the maximum transverse acceleration that acts on the host vehicle during cornering is even higher than in the second setting mode) in advance.

More precisely, it is more preferable in the above that the plurality of setting modes comprise at least a first setting mode and a second setting mode, an average lateral acceleration and / or a maximum lateral acceleration acting on the host vehicle during cornering being higher in the second setting mode than in the are first setting mode, wherein the step of setting the one or more setting parameters for the calculation of the longitudinal acceleration target value on the basis of the estimated lateral acceleration acting on the vehicle in front during cornering, preferably selecting the first setting mode, if an absolute value of the estimated lateral acceleration acting on the preceding vehicle is greater than a threshold value (although the driver may have selected the second adjustment mode in advance), selecting the first adjustment mode, if the absolute ut value of the estimated transverse acceleration acting on the vehicle ahead is greater than the threshold value, but the user has selected the first setting mode in advance, and / or selecting the second setting mode if the absolute value of the estimated transverse acceleration acting on the vehicle ahead acts is greater than the threshold value and the user has set the second setting mode in advance.

In all of the above aspects, the position of the preceding vehicle can be determined based on position data received from the preceding vehicle and / or the speed of the preceding vehicle can be determined based on speed data received from the preceding vehicle will. The lateral and / or the longitudinal acceleration acting on the vehicle traveling ahead can also be determined on the basis of sensor data received from the vehicle traveling ahead. Alternatively or additionally, the position of the preceding vehicle can be determined on the basis of a relative position of the preceding vehicle, which is detected by sensors of the host vehicle (e.g. on the basis of the detected direction and / or the distance to the preceding vehicle) and / or the speed of the vehicle traveling ahead can be determined on the basis of a relative speed to the host vehicle on the basis of sensor data such as camera, sonar, lidar and / or radar. In addition or in addition, the data can be exchanged via wireless transmission.

Furthermore, the one or more setting parameters can include at least one gain factor for controlling the negative longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle, wherein an absolute value of the longitudinal acceleration target value increases with increasing gain and decreases with decreasing gain. Preferably, the step of setting the one or more setting parameters for calculating the longitudinal acceleration target value on the basis of the estimated transverse acceleration that acts on the vehicle in front during cornering includes setting the at least one gain factor for controlling the negative longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle based on a function of the estimated transverse acceleration that acts on the vehicle in front while cornering. Preferably, the at least one gain factor for controlling the negative longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle as a function of the estimated lateral acceleration that acts on the vehicle in front during cornering decreases with increasing absolute value of the estimated lateral acceleration that acts on the vehicle in front while cornering.

Accordingly, the at least one gain factor is used during the control of the negative longitudinal acceleration (the deceleration control) of the host vehicle (e.g. in the case of a Entry into a curve) on the basis of the function of the absolute value of the estimated transverse acceleration of the preceding vehicle, which decreases as the absolute value of the estimated transverse acceleration acting on the preceding vehicle increases.

That is, when it is determined that the estimated lateral acceleration acting on the preceding vehicle is lower, thereby indicating a lower cornering speed of the preceding vehicle, the at least one gain factor is set as a higher value, thereby resulting in greater longitudinal deceleration of the Host vehicle, and if it is determined that the estimated lateral acceleration acting on the preceding vehicle is higher, which thereby indicates a higher cornering speed of the preceding vehicle, the at least one gain factor is set as a lower value, resulting in a less severe longitudinal deceleration of the carrier vehicle leads.

Accordingly, it is efficiently, reliably and expediently possible to carry out the longitudinal acceleration control in such a way that the distance from the vehicle in front does not decrease slightly below a safety distance at which either the driver must be able to actively decelerate or at which an additionally provided dynamic speed and speed limit Distance control may be necessary to decelerate the vehicle at the expense of the driver's convenience and comfort.

Furthermore, the one or more setting parameters can comprise at least one gain factor for controlling the positive longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle, an absolute value of the longitudinal acceleration target value increasing with increasing gain and decreasing with decreasing gain. The step of setting the one or more setting parameters for calculating the longitudinal acceleration target value on the basis of the estimated transverse acceleration that acts on the vehicle in front during cornering preferably includes setting the at least one gain factor for controlling the positive longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle on the basis of a function of the estimated lateral acceleration that acts on the vehicle in front during cornering, the at least one gain factor for controlling the positive longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle as a function of the estimated lateral acceleration that acts on the vehicle in front during cornering, with increasing The absolute value of the estimated lateral acceleration that acts on the vehicle in front while cornering increases.

Accordingly, the at least one gain factor is determined during the positive longitudinal acceleration control (positive acceleration control) of the host vehicle (e.g. when exiting a curve) on the basis of the function of the absolute value of the estimated transverse acceleration of the vehicle traveling ahead, which increases with the increasing absolute value of the estimated transverse acceleration acting on the vehicle in front increases.

That is, when it is determined that the estimated lateral acceleration acting on the preceding vehicle is lower, thereby indicating a lower cornering speed of the preceding vehicle, the at least one gain is set to be a lower value, thereby resulting in a less strong positive Longitudinal acceleration of the host vehicle leads, and if it is determined that the estimated lateral acceleration acting on the preceding vehicle is higher, which thereby indicates a higher cornering speed of the preceding vehicle, the at least one gain factor is set as a higher value, thereby resulting in a leads to stronger positive longitudinal acceleration of the carrier vehicle.

Accordingly, it is efficiently, reliably and expediently possible to carry out the longitudinal acceleration in such a way that the distance to the vehicle in front does not decrease slightly below a safety distance at which either the driver must be able to actively decelerate or an additionally provided dynamic speed and distance control is necessary may be to decelerate the vehicle at the expense of the convenience and comfort of the driver.

Furthermore, determining the longitudinal acceleration target value can include determining a different (second) longitudinal acceleration target value which is calculated on the basis of a specific longitudinal acceleration and a corresponding lateral jerk of the vehicle during cornering.

Furthermore, as an alternative or in addition to the above, determining the longitudinal acceleration target value can comprise determining another (third) longitudinal acceleration target value, which is calculated on the basis of an estimated transverse acceleration of the vehicle at a preview point, which is preferably ahead at a predetermined preview distance the carrier vehicle or at a preview distance, which is preferably based on a predetermined Preview time and the current speed of the vehicle is calculated, the estimated lateral acceleration at a preview point is preferably calculated based on an estimate of the curvature of the road at the preview point and the current speed of the host vehicle. The target longitudinal acceleration value can be determined based on the second target longitudinal acceleration value and the third target longitudinal acceleration value.

In addition, the control method can use at least one known (which preferably means last buffered) value / parameter of the vehicle in front for "virtual tracking" of the vehicle in front if the vehicle in front is not due to the sensor (s) of the carrier vehicle or because of an interruption in communication with a data server is more detectable, which forms a specifically preferred aspect of the claimed subject matter. This can preferably be done on the basis of equation (3) described below, which provides a relationship between a longitudinal acceleration and a speed of the preceding vehicle and a curvature of the road.

The last known parameter can be the last known longitudinal acceleration value of the vehicle traveling ahead before the other vehicle has moved out of a field of view of the at least one sensor of the host vehicle or has been lost for the sensor (s). The last known value can be used to (continuously) extrapolate the position of the other vehicle out of view and its actual driving behavior. Instead of or in addition to the last known longitudinal acceleration, it can also be a last known speed and / or a last known position of the other vehicle. Furthermore, it can be assumed for the virtual tracking that the setting parameters that were previously determined do not change while the vehicle traveling in front is outside the FOV. In addition, it can be assumed that the vehicle in front, while driving through a curve, cannot increase its speed above a last measured speed before entering the curve.

The above extrapolation can preferably be carried out as follows: determining an extrapolated speed of the other vehicle based on the last known longitudinal acceleration of the other vehicle and based on a time difference between the determination of the last known longitudinal acceleration and the actual determination, determining an extrapolated distance of the other vehicle to the host vehicle based on the extrapolated speed and the time difference, determining an extrapolated position of the other vehicle based on the extrapolated distance and from map information and determining an extrapolated longitudinal acceleration at least based on curvature information about the extrapolated position from the map information. Furthermore, the last known position and the last known speed can alternatively or additionally be used in order to determine an extrapolated transverse acceleration, on the basis of which an extrapolated position can be estimated. Furthermore, the last known setting parameter values can additionally be used for the extrapolation and for the assumption of the driving behavior of the other vehicle while it is outside the field of view.

With the above extrapolated control, the other vehicle can be tracked “virtually” and its driving behavior can be imitated on the basis of the further control described above without the need for the vehicle in front to be constantly in view once it has been detected. The above extrapolation options can be repeated as long as the other vehicle is out of view, with the extrapolated values being replaced with newly extrapolated values during each iteration / extrapolation loop.

The extrapolation may assume that the other vehicle is a vehicle in front that continues to travel on the same road as it was traveling on while it was present within the field of view after moving out of the field of view. Furthermore, the above extrapolation can assume that the setting parameters are constant / unchanged compared to the last known setting parameter values during the time when the other vehicle is outside the field of view / during the extrapolation.

A field of view of the at least one sensor is preferably referenced to map information so that the field of view can be determined on the basis of geometric coordinates (which should preferably contain geographic coordinates), the other vehicle being able to be determined as “not” no longer “detectable” when it is outside the range of the geometrical coordinates referenced to the field of view of the at least one sensor of the carrier vehicle. In addition or alternatively, a field of view of the at least one sensor can be determined on the basis of geometric calculations on the basis of different road curvature values and it is determined that the other vehicle “no longer” “ "detectable" when it is outside the field of view calculated on the basis of various road value curvatures.

Determining the field of view in relation to the road on which the host vehicle and the other vehicle are traveling enables the position of the other vehicle to be estimated precisely at the moment when it begins to become undetectable. This is another preferred option to avoid having to buffer the position of the other vehicle (using buffered information about the position of the other vehicle). If the last position within the field of view can be estimated on the basis of the determination of the field of vision or its boundaries in relation to the road, the last position does not need to be provided from a memory, but can be estimated / calculated. If the position of the other vehicle is otherwise repeatedly buffered together with other information such as the speed, parameter settings and / or the lateral acceleration, the field of view does not need to be calculated and the step of determining whether the other vehicle is within the field of view or outside can be used by checking whether the other vehicle has been detected once and then not, replaced. Both options offer safe and reliable ways to begin virtual tracking of the other vehicle.

Preferably, some or all of the control steps of the method described above can be repeated or carried out in one or more loops and sub-loops and / or in a different order of the steps.

Preferably, stop conditions can be implemented for the virtual tracking, the controller z. B. can be stopped if the other vehicle is undetectable for a predefined period of time or longer. In addition, if the map information indicates that the road ahead has many different driving options such as intersections, the control can be stopped. Since the “virtual tracking” can be stopped automatically if it can begin to become imprecise, this increases the security of the above method / aspect even further.

Furthermore, a device (such as a control unit or a control system which is integrated or can be built into a vehicle) for carrying out driver assistance / automated driving of a host vehicle moving in a longitudinal direction on a road according to one of the above in one of the The method described in the preceding claims, proposed, wherein it includes a longitudinal acceleration target value determining means for determining a longitudinal acceleration target value on the basis of a lateral acceleration of the host vehicle and one or more setting parameters and a longitudinal acceleration control means for controlling a longitudinal acceleration of the host vehicle on the basis of the calculated Includes longitudinal acceleration target value.

Furthermore, the device may include driving characteristics determining means for estimating or determining driving characteristics of a preceding vehicle moving in the longitudinal direction on the road in front of the host vehicle, and setting means for setting the one or more setting parameters for calculating the longitudinal acceleration target value based on the estimated or predicted driving characteristics of the preceding vehicle.

In other words, an apparatus (such as a control unit or a control system that is integrated into or mountable in a vehicle) can be provided for carrying out the method as described in any of the above aspects / features. The apparatus may comprise a longitudinal acceleration target value determining means for determining a longitudinal acceleration target value based on a lateral acceleration of the host vehicle and one or more setting parameters and a longitudinal acceleration control means for controlling a longitudinal acceleration of the host vehicle based on the calculated longitudinal acceleration target value. In addition, the device can further include a lateral acceleration estimating means for estimating a lateral acceleration which acts during cornering on a preceding vehicle that is moving in the longitudinal direction on the road in front of the host vehicle, and a setting means for setting the one or more setting parameters for the Calculation of the target longitudinal acceleration value based on the estimated lateral acceleration applied to the preceding vehicle during cornering.

Furthermore, a program product is proposed which comprises a computer program means for causing a vehicle control device to carry out the steps of a method described in any of the above aspects / features.

In the above, the term “acceleration” can refer to a derivative of a speed (or a speed vector) with respect to time and the term jerk refers to a derivative of the acceleration with respect to time or to a second derivative of the speed (or the speed vector) with respect to time. Unless otherwise stated, the term “acceleration” as used in the present disclosure can typically include both positive acceleration (ie, increasing speed) and negative acceleration (ie, deceleration or decreasing speed).

A transverse direction of the vehicle can also be referred to as a direction of the pitch axis of the vehicle, and a longitudinal direction of the vehicle can be referred to as a direction of the roll axis of the vehicle. In addition, although the velocity vector, the acceleration and the jerk are generally vector quantities, terms such as lateral acceleration, longitudinal acceleration and lateral jerk are usually referred to as scalar quantities. In a Cartesian coordinate system of the vehicle with yaw, pitch and roll axes as the main axes of the coordinate system, a transverse acceleration relates to the pitch axis coordinate of the acceleration vector and a longitudinal acceleration relates to the roll axis coordinate of the acceleration vector. Similarly, a lateral jerk relates to the pitch axis coordinate of the jerk vector.

Although the longitudinal acceleration in the driving control preferably has to differentiate between positive acceleration (acceleration of the vehicle in the sense of increasing the speed) and negative acceleration (deceleration) of the vehicle in the sense of reducing the speed and / or braking, the lateral acceleration does not necessarily need to be between positive ones A distinction must be made between transverse acceleration (ie acceleration to the left / right) and negative transverse acceleration (acceleration to the right / left), since the driving control for driving a left-hand bend and a right-hand bend should preferably be carried out similarly.

Thus, a transverse acceleration can preferably relate similarly to the absolute value of the pitch axis coordinate of the acceleration vector, although a transverse jerk can then preferably relate to the derivation of the absolute value of the transverse acceleration with respect to time. On the other hand, a lateral jolt must again distinguish between positive jerk (i.e. increase in lateral acceleration) and negative jerk (i.e. decrease in lateral acceleration).

In summary, the reliability of a travel control method and a travel control device of a vehicle such as a passenger car, a truck, a motorcycle and the like are increased, and particularly, the driving safety and convenience can be improved.

• 1 beispielhaft ein Zeitdiagramm der Geschwindigkeit eines Trägerfahrzeugs und eines vorausfahrenden Fahrzeugs, des Abstands von dem vorausfahrenden Fahrzeug, der Längsbeschleunigung (Gx) und der Querbeschleunigung (Gy) während des Fahrens einer Kurve mit einem vorausfahrenden Fahrzeug zeigt. Gx wird durch ein PGVC- und ACC-System gesteuert.
• 2 beispielhaft eine Beziehung zwischen Querbeschleunigung Gy, Querruck G_Y und einem gemäß der GVC bestimmten Längsbeschleunigungs-Zielwert Gxt_GVC zeigt.
• 3 beispielhaft ein g-g-Diagramm zeigt.
• 4 beispielhaft ein Längsbeschleunigungsmodell auf der Grundlage eines allgemeinen Vorausschaukonzepts für eine Preview G-Vectoring Control (PGVC) darstellt.
• 5 beispielhaft eine Darstellung der Beschleunigungssteuerung durch die PGVC zeigt.
• 6 beispielhafte eine Darstellung einer Beschleunigungssteuerung durch die PGVC zeigt.
• 7 beispielhaft eine Darstellung einer Zwei-Kurvenfahrt-Streckenanordnung zeigt.
• 8 beispielhaft einen Vergleich der durch einen erfahrenen Fahrer verursachten Längsbeschleunigung und eines Rechenergebnisses des PGVC-Befehls (Gxt_PGVC) zeigt.
• 9 beispielhaft eine Darstellung der Quer- und Längsbeschleunigung mit mehreren PGVC-Einstellbetriebsarten zeigt.
• 10 beispielhaft g-g-Diagramme der Einstellbetriebsarten von 9 zeigt.
• 11 beispielhaft einen schematischen Blockschaltplan eines Controllersystems für die PGVC zeigt.
• 12 beispielhaft einen schematischen Blockschaltplan eines Controllersystems für eine fortgeschrittene PGVC zeigt.
• 13 beispielhaft eine Beziehung zwischen PGVC-Einstellungen in mehreren Einstellbetriebsarten als eine Funktion des Absolutwerts von GyestPV zeigt.
• 14 beispielhaft eine Beziehung zwischen PGVC-Verstärkungsfaktoren und dem Absolutwert von GyestPV für die Verzögerungssteuerung (14A) und für die Beschleunigungssteuerung (14B) zeigt.
• 15 beispielhaft ein Zeitdiagramm der Geschwindigkeit des Trägerfahrzeugs und des vorausfahrenden Fahrzeugs, des Abstands von dem vorausfahrenden Fahrzeug, der Längsbeschleunigung (G_x) und der Querbeschleunigung (G_y) während des Fahrens in einer Kurve mit einem vorausfahrenden Fahrzeug zeigt. G_x wird durch das fortgeschrittene PGVC- und ACC-System gesteuert.
• 16 beispielhaft eine Steuersystemanordnung zum Steuern der Längsbeschleunigung durch ACC, kombiniert mit PGVC, zeigt.
• 17 beispielhaft eine scharfe Kurve, die ein vorausfahrendes Fahrzeug nimmt, so dass es sich außerhalb des FOV des Trägerfahrzeugs bewegt, zeigt.
• 18a, b beispielhaft eine mögliche Option zum Berechnen eines FOV-Bereichs/toten Winkels von Sensoren eines Trägerfahrzeugs zeigen.
• 19 und 20 beispielhaft eine Vorgehensweise der virtuellen Nachführung zeigen.
• 21 beispielhaft einen schematischen Blockschaltplan eines Controllersystems für eine fortgeschrittene PGVC, die die virtuelle Nachführung enthält, zeigt.

In the following, the claimed subject matter is further explained on the basis of at least one preferred example and with reference to the accompanying exemplary drawings, wherein:

• 1 shows by way of example a time diagram of the speed of a host vehicle and a vehicle traveling ahead, the distance from the vehicle traveling ahead, the longitudinal acceleration (Gx) and the lateral acceleration (Gy) during cornering with a vehicle traveling ahead. Gx is controlled by a PGVC and ACC system.
• 2 shows, by way of example, a relationship between transverse acceleration Gy, transverse jerk G _Y and a longitudinal acceleration target value Gxt_GVC determined in accordance with the GVC.
• 3 shows an example of a gg diagram.
• 4th shows an example of a longitudinal acceleration model based on a general forecast concept for a Preview G-Vectoring Control (PGVC).
• 5 shows an example of an illustration of the acceleration control by the PGVC.
• 6th shows an example of an illustration of acceleration control by the PGVC.
• 7th shows an example of a two-cornering route arrangement.
• 8th shows by way of example a comparison of the longitudinal acceleration caused by an experienced driver and a calculation result of the PGVC command (Gxt_PGVC).
• 9 shows an example of a representation of the lateral and longitudinal acceleration with several PGVC setting modes.
• 10 exemplary gg diagrams of the setting modes of 9 shows.
• 11 shows an example of a schematic block diagram of a controller system for the PGVC.
• 12 shows an example of a schematic block diagram of a controller system for an advanced PGVC.
• 13th exemplifies a relationship between PGVC settings in multiple setting modes as a function of the absolute value of GyestPV.
• 14th exemplifies a relationship between PGVC gain factors and the absolute value of GyestPV for the Shows deceleration control (14A) and acceleration control (14B).
• 15th shows an example of a time diagram of the speed of the host vehicle and the vehicle ahead, the distance from the vehicle ahead, the longitudinal acceleration (G _x ) and the lateral acceleration (G _y ) while driving in a curve with a vehicle ahead. G _x is controlled by the advanced PGVC and ACC system.
• 16 shows an example of a control system arrangement for controlling the longitudinal acceleration by ACC combined with PGVC.
• 17th shows, for example, a sharp curve that a vehicle traveling ahead takes so that it moves outside of the FOV of the host vehicle.
• 18a, b show an example of a possible option for calculating an FOV area / blind spot from sensors of a carrier vehicle.
• 19th and 20th show an example of a procedure for virtual tracking.
• 21st shows by way of example a schematic block diagram of a controller system for an advanced PGVC that contains the virtual tracking.

In the following and with reference to the accompanying figures, preferred embodiments of the present invention are described. The described features and aspects of the embodiments can be changed or combined to form further embodiments of the present invention.

The longitudinal acceleration control for driving a curve or for cornering scenarios (Preview G-Vectoring Control: PGVC) is a driver assistance system to support the pedal work of a driver, e.g. B. when driving on a winding road to reduce. The PGVC can automatically decelerate / accelerate the vehicle depending on the shape of the route / route. Furthermore, the ACC can be used for decelerating / accelerating in order to maintain a distance from another vehicle that is driving ahead of the host vehicle. It is possible to combine the PGVC and the ACC, but this can result in independent longitudinal acceleration controls that can discontinuously change the longitudinal acceleration, which would be a source of discomfort for a driver of the host vehicle. It is known, discontinuous changes in the longitudinal control, that the PGVC can receive an input from an object detection device (vehicle surroundings recognition unit, sensor (s)) of the host vehicle and the longitudinal acceleration control for cornering is based on information about the preceding vehicle such as the distance and / or change the speed to avoid. PGVC parameters are set to decelerate / accelerate the carrier vehicle for cornering as the vehicle in front does. For example, the host vehicle is also turning slowly if the preceding vehicle is turning slowly in order to reduce the lateral acceleration during cornering, even if the driver may have selected a cornering setting with high acceleration if the PGVC function has different settings such as allows sporty driving, cornering with high acceleration, comfort driving or the like. As a result, the host vehicle maintains the distance from the preceding vehicle while cornering and deceleration control by the ACC to maintain a gap with the preceding vehicle would not be activated; while the longitudinal acceleration is jerk-free during cornering.

1 shows an example of the speed V of the carrier vehicle (solid line) and the speed of a vehicle in front (dash-dot line), the distance from the vehicle in front (dash-dot line) and the target distance (dotted line), the longitudinal acceleration (Gx) and the lateral acceleration (Gy) during driving in a curve with a vehicle in front. The carrier vehicle is the vehicle to be controlled, which is also referred to below as the controlled vehicle.

The longitudinal acceleration Gx of the carrier vehicle is controlled, as is known, by a PGVC and ACC system. While driving on a straight road ( 1 , Section A), the host vehicle detects the vehicle ahead, the distance between the host vehicle and the vehicle ahead decreasing due to the difference in speed (in this example the host vehicle is faster than the vehicle ahead). However, the actual distance is still sufficiently larger than the target distance and the ACC does not decelerate the carrier vehicle. After the vehicle in front begins to take a curve, the sensors of the carrier vehicle lose the vehicle in front ( 1 , Section B). In accordance with a comparative example without “virtual tracking” (the virtual tracking is further described below, among others 19th ) would delay the PGVC during this period (section B), whereby the carrier vehicle z. B. receive the curvature information of the route would ( 1 , Section C). At the end of the cornering, the carrier vehicle would again detect the vehicle in front and it would be detected that the actual distance is less than a target distance ( 1 , Section D). The ACC would suddenly start to decelerate the vehicle ( 1 , Section E), which would at least lead to discomfort for the driver of the carrier vehicle. In the above explained 1 the host vehicle may have lost the preceding vehicle due to the limitation of obstacle detection device / sensor performance or the like. If the host vehicle continues to detect the vehicle ahead, however, the known ACC would have decelerated the vehicle on the basis of the distance between the host vehicle and the vehicle ahead while cornering. This deceleration would be controlled independently of a longitudinal acceleration control for cornering, with a longitudinal acceleration not changing without jerks during cornering.

wobei Gxt_GVC der Längsbeschleunigungsbefehl (Längsbeschleunigungs-Zielwert) ist, Cxy ein Verstärkungsfaktor ist und Gy die Querbeschleunigung des Trägerfahrzeugs ist und Gy der Querruck des Trägerfahrzeugs ist, der als eine Zeitableitung der Querbeschleunigung des Trägerfahrzeugs abgeleitet wird. Gleichung (1) ist eine Grundgleichung zum Steuern der Längsbeschleunigung in Koordinaten mit Querbewegung; mit anderen Worten, es folgt die Steuerregel, dass Gxt_GVC durch das Produkt aus Cxy und Gy mit einer Zeitverzögerung der ersten Ordnung (Ts) bestimmt wird. Gemäß den Ergebnissen der Fahrzeugtests wurde bestätigt, dass Gleichung (1) einen Teil der Koordinatensteuerstrategie eines Expertenfahrers imitieren/annehmen/nachahmen kann.A previously known longitudinal acceleration control for cornering is first described below. In order to expand the function of the ACC so that it can be used while driving on winding roads, an additional longitudinal acceleration control algorithm according to the GVC or PGVC, which uses curvature information, is proposed as an example. Since the longitudinal acceleration control is based on a lateral movement, the "G-Vectoring Control" (GVC) called longitudinal acceleration is available using the lateral jolt. As a basic equation, equation (1), which defines the GVC, the following equation can be used: $${\text{G}}_{\text{xt\_GVC}}=-\text{so-called}\left({\text{G}}_{\text{y}}\cdot {\dot{\text{G}}}_{\text{y}}\right)\frac{{\text{<figure-callout id="1" label="C. xy" filenames="DE102019208525A1\_0005.png,DE102019208525A1\_0007.png" state="{{state}}">C.</figure-callout>}}_{\text{xy}}}{1+\text{Ts}}\left|{\dot{\text{G}}}_{\text{y}}\right|$$

where Gxt_GVC is the longitudinal acceleration command (longitudinal acceleration target value), Cxy is a gain factor, and Gy is the carrier vehicle's lateral acceleration, and Gy is the carrier vehicle's lateral jerk, which is derived as a time derivative of the carrier vehicle's lateral acceleration. Equation (1) is a basic equation for controlling the longitudinal acceleration in coordinates with lateral movement; in other words, the control rule follows that Gxt_GVC is determined by the product of Cxy and Gy with a time delay of the first order (Ts). According to the results of the vehicle tests, it was confirmed that Equation (1) can mimic / adopt / mimic part of the coordinate control strategy of an expert driver.

More precisely, on the basis of a sensor input by a sensor A or by a sensor system configured to input a regularly or periodically determined or even continuously monitored transverse acceleration Gy in the pitch axis direction of the host vehicle directly into a control unit (a controller) or indirectly provide sensor information on the basis of which the lateral acceleration Gy can be estimated, a longitudinal acceleration control target value Gxt_GVC is determined and output to one or more actuators B for the vehicle acceleration / vehicle deceleration in accordance with the longitudinal acceleration control target value Gxt_GVC output by the control unit. The sensor A or the sensor system can be acceleration-sensitive sensors such as e.g. B. motion sensors, accelerometers and / or yaw rate, pitch rate and / or roll rate sensitive gyro sensors. Additionally or alternatively, the sensor A can comprise a steering wheel (or a drive wheel) angle sensor which is sensitive to a steering wheel angle (or drive wheel angle), and a lateral acceleration can be calculated based on the vehicle speed and the determined steering wheel angle (or drive wheel angle) and / or it can be estimated based on the pitch, roll and / or yaw rate determined by the gyro sensor. Based on the input lateral acceleration Gy, a derivative of the lateral acceleration Gy with respect to time, which is referred to as lateral jerk Gy, is derived or calculated, and based on the lateral acceleration Gy and lateral jolt Gy, the target longitudinal acceleration control value Gxt_GVC is calculated according to the above equation (1) becomes.

Cxy and T are auxiliary control / setting parameters that are defined in advance and stored in a memory unit of the control unit 1 can be stored. Cxy is referred to as a “gain factor” (a dimensionless parameter), and the longitudinal acceleration target control value Gxt_GVC is directly proportional to the gain factor Cxy and to the absolute value of the lateral jerk Gy. The longitudinal acceleration target control value Gxt_GVC increases as the gain Cxy increases and decreases as the gain Cxy decreases. Another control factor, such as T, referred to as a "time constant" or a "time factor" (a dimensionless parameter) may be included. The longitudinal acceleration target control value Gxt_GVC increases here with a reduced time factor T and decreases with an increased time factor T. According to the above equation (1), the sign of the target longitudinal acceleration control value Gxt_GVC is opposite to the sign of the product of the lateral acceleration Gy and the lateral jerk Gy.

The transverse acceleration Gy can differentiate between left and right transverse acceleration in that it is negative for the left-hand (or right-hand) transverse acceleration and is accordingly positive for the right-hand (or left-hand) transverse acceleration. On the other hand, the transverse acceleration Gy can also relate to an absolute value of the transverse acceleration, the transverse jolt Gy then however having to relate to the derivation of the absolute value of the transverse acceleration with respect to time.

2 exemplifies a relationship among the lateral acceleration Gy, the lateral jerk Gy and the longitudinal acceleration Gx, which is controlled based on the lateral acceleration Gy and the jerk Gy as a function of time, when the longitudinal acceleration Gx is according to the longitudinal acceleration target control value Gxt_GVC as described above is controlled. 2 shows an example of the relationship between the lateral acceleration (Gy-), the lateral jerk (Gy-) and the longitudinal acceleration command of the G-Vectoring Control (GVC) (Gxt_GVC). When the vehicle begins to take a curve, it simultaneously begins to brake as the lateral jolt increases ( 2 (1) ). The braking then stops during stationary cornering ( 2 (2) ), since the lateral jolt becomes zero. When the vehicle begins to return to straight ahead, it begins to accelerate ( 2 (3) ).

More specifically, the lateral acceleration Gy (which is zero on a straight road regardless of whether the vehicle is accelerating, decelerating, or moving at a constant speed) begins to increase from zero, see the period between times t ₁ and t ₂ in FIG 2 when a vehicle enters a corner for cornering and the driver moves the steering wheel so that the vehicle turns about the yaw axis. In an interim period between times t ₂ and t ₃ in 2 the transverse acceleration Gy reaches a maximum value and can remain approximately constant until it reaches a last cornering period between times t ₃ and t ₄ in 2 decreases again to zero when the curve is left when exiting the curve. Depending on the topology of the curve, the period of time between times t ₂ and t _{3 can be} very short or not present at all. In the latter case, the transverse acceleration Gy can increase from zero to a maximum value and then decrease again directly to zero when leaving the curve. As in 2 is shown, the lateral jolt Gy increases during this cornering scenario between the times t ₁ and t ₂ to a maximum value and again to zero. In the interim period between times t ₂ and t ₃ , in which the transverse acceleration Gy does not vary significantly, the transverse acceleration Gy remains zero and in the last period between times t ₃ and t ₄ , the transverse acceleration Gy decreases from zero to a minimum during this Cornering scenario value from and back to zero.

The longitudinal acceleration target control value Gxt_GVC, as described above, behaves, since it is directly proportional to the absolute value of the lateral jerk Gy, similar to the absolute value of the lateral jerk Gy, but the sign is the opposite sign of the product of the lateral acceleration and the jerk . As a result, the longitudinal acceleration target control value Gxt_GVC decreases from zero to a minimum value during this cornering scenario and increases again to zero in the first time period between times t ₁ and t ₂ immediately after entering the corner and after starting cornering. During this period of time, the longitudinal acceleration target control value Gxt_GVC is negative and thus corresponds to a negative acceleration or deceleration (braking) of the vehicle in the first phase of cornering. Accordingly, the vehicle speed decreases (deceleration or braking control) during the entire period between times t ₁ and t ₂ . In the interim period between times t ₂ and t ₃ , the longitudinal acceleration target control value Gxt_GVC remains approximately zero as long as the lateral jolt Gy remains zero, that is, the vehicle moves during cornering during the period between times t ₂ and t ₃ by approximately constant speed through the curve. Finally, the longitudinal acceleration target control value Gxt_GVC increases in the last phase of cornering before leaving the corner during the period between times t ₃ and t ₄ from zero to a maximum value during this cornering scenario and then back to zero. During this period of time, the longitudinal acceleration target control value Gxt_GVC is positive and thus corresponds to a positive acceleration of the vehicle in the last phase of cornering. Accordingly, the vehicle speed increases for the entire period between times t ₃ and t ₄ (acceleration control).

3 shows an example of a gg diagram for the lateral and longitudinal accelerations Gy and Gx during cornering of the vehicle according to the control of the longitudinal acceleration Gx based on the lateral acceleration Gy and the jerk Gy according to the longitudinal acceleration target control value Gxt_GVC. The horizontal axis here denotes the longitudinal acceleration Gx (negative values on the left and positive values on the right) and the vertical axis denotes positive values of the transverse acceleration Gy. According to how based on 2 the relationships explained is the gg diagram 3 starting from an origin where Gx = Gy = 0, before entering the curve before cornering in move clockwise. As soon as the vehicle starts cornering, the lateral acceleration Gy increases, which leads to a negative longitudinal acceleration Gx until the lateral acceleration Gy reaches a maximum value, which means that the longitudinal acceleration Gx is zero, after which the lateral acceleration Gy in the final phase of the Cornering decreases again to zero, which leads to a positive longitudinal acceleration Gx until the transverse acceleration Gy again reaches zero when exiting the curve.

Summarizing the above, in the control of the longitudinal acceleration Gx of the vehicle according to the longitudinal acceleration target control value Gxt_GVC, the host vehicle automatically brakes (or decelerates) at the same time while the lateral jolt Gy increases (see the period between times t ₁ and t ₂ in 2 , left side of 3 ) when the vehicle begins to enter a curve, and then the vehicle remains in the period between times t ₂ and t ₃ in 2 in stationary cornering in which no longitudinal acceleration or longitudinal deceleration is performed (ie, the vehicle stops braking without accelerating again) because the lateral jolt Gy becomes zero. Finally, the vehicle begins in the end phase of cornering when the vehicle begins to return to straight-ahead travel (see the time period between times t ₃ and t ₄ in FIG 2 , right side of 3 ) to accelerate again.

In addition to the GVC as discussed above, as another longitudinal acceleration control based on curvature, the longitudinal acceleration using a longitudinal control model called “Preview G-Vectoring Control” (PGVC) is available.

4th shows the longitudinal control model based on a general look-ahead concept using a look-ahead point (e.g. a point on the route in front of the same vehicle at a distance Lpv): the speed (Vpv) of the host vehicle at this point, the vehicle speed (V) and the curvature of the road at the preview point (kpv). When the vehicle travels at a constant speed at the preview point, the lateral acceleration (Gy_pv) generated on the vehicle is given in equation (2) as follows. $${\text{G}}_{\text{y\_pv}}={\mathrm{\kappa }}_{\text{pv}}\cdot {\text{<figure-callout id="2" label="V" filenames="DE102019208525A1\_0005.png,DE102019208525A1\_0009.png" state="{{state}}">V</figure-callout>}}^2$$

By assuming that the acceleration / deceleration is performed in response to a lateral movement of the vehicle (ie, GVC) with an algorithm equivalent to the longitudinal acceleration control, it is possible to control the longitudinal acceleration before the lateral movement of the vehicle actually takes place. With the GVC, based on the above assumption, longitudinal accelerations corresponding to Gy_pv are calculated using Gy_pv instead of the lateral jolt (Gy) given in equation (1). In this way, a longitudinal acceleration command value (Gxt_pv) relating to the lateral movement of the vehicle that is generated (instead of the lateral movement of the vehicle that has been generated) is given. Under the same assumptions (kpv is positive, V is constant), Gxt_pv is given by equation (3) from equations (1), (2) using the gain (Cxy_pv) and the time constant (Tpv). In equation (3), kpv is derived from the path (although a point is used in the following equation. $${\text{G}}_{\text{xt\_pv}}=-\frac{{\text{C.}}_{\text{xy\_pv}}}{1-{\text{T}}_{\text{pv}}\text{s}}\cdot {\dot{\kappa }}_{\text{pv}}\cdot {\text{<figure-callout id="2" label="V" filenames="DE102019208525A1\_0005.png,DE102019208525A1\_0009.png" state="{{state}}">V</figure-callout>}}^2$$

The longitudinal control of the PGVC (Gxt_PGVC) is calculated on the basis of the G vectoring control command (Gxt_GVC) described by (1) and the longitudinal acceleration (Gxt_pv) described by (3) for cornering.

5 and 6th show a cornering scenario with deceleration / acceleration control by PGVC. 5 shows the first phase of cornering as an example: from approaching the corner to stationary cornering. As the vehicle approaches the curve, the curvature of the preview point (kpv) increases before the vehicle begins to slew ( 5 , Section A). In this phase, kpv increases and the command (Gxt_pv) for the deceleration before cornering is calculated on the basis of kp (dashed line). After the vehicle has started to swivel ( 5 , Section B), the lateral acceleration (Gy) begins to increase. In this phase, the G-Vectoring delay command (Gxt_GVC) is calculated on the basis of the lateral jerk information (dash-dotted line). The delay command by PGVC is obtained by combining Gxt_pv and Gxt_GVC as in FIG 5 (solid line) is calculated. As the results, the PGVC can decelerate the vehicle during the first phase of cornering. 6th shows an example of the last phase of cornering: from the steady state to the end of the curve. Although the curvature of the preview point kpv) is constant, the PGVC does not give any acceleration / deceleration (it maintains the constant speed) ( 6C ). When kpv starts to decrease and kpv becomes negative, the cornering acceleration command (Gxt_pv) is calculated based on kp (broken line) ( 6th , Section D). At the end of cornering, the Lateral acceleration (Gy) decrease and the G-Vectoring acceleration command (Gxt_GVC) is calculated on the basis of the lateral jerk information (dash-dotted line) ( 6th , Section E). The acceleration command by the PGVC can be made by combining Gxt_pv and Gxt_GVC as in 6th (solid line) can be calculated. As a result, the PGVC can accelerate the vehicle as the distance from the end of the curve decreases.

7th shows an example of the two-curve driving route in order to compare Gxt_PGVC with a real driver acceleration / driver deceleration behavior. 8th shows the comparison of the longitudinal acceleration caused by an experienced driver ( 8 (a) ) and the calculation result of the PGVC command (Gxt_PGVC) ( 8 (b) ) at 80 km / h as the initial speed (V0): The left side shows the change in the longitudinal and lateral acceleration (Gx, Gy) and the right side shows the "gg" diagram. In 8 (b) the PGVC command (Gxt_PGVC) is generated based on the above equations (1) and (3) using the method described in 7th curvature data, the measurement data of the vehicle speed and the lateral acceleration are calculated by driving tests. As in 8th shown, the lateral acceleration (Gy) changes to plus for curve A and to minus for curve B, with each lateral acceleration change having three phases: the increase phase (phase (1)), the stationary phase (phase (2)) and the acceptance phase (phase (3)). The driver controls the acceleration / deceleration as a function of the changes in lateral acceleration; he starts to decelerate the vehicle ( 8th “Delay”) before phase (1) begins and ends when phase (1) ends. The driver then begins to accelerate in phase (2), i.e. before phase (3) begins ( 8th "Acceleration"). As in 8 (b) As shown, the calculated PGVC command (Gxt_PGVC) has the same characteristic as the acceleration / deceleration of that driver. The "gg" diagram by Gxt_PGVC ( 8 (b) ) also shows the same shape as that of the driver ( 8 (a) ).

The desired acceleration while cornering depends heavily on a driver's preference. Some drivers like cornering with high acceleration and some drivers want cornering without undue delay. In response to the difference in driver preference, different settings of PGVC are prepared by changing the PGVC parameters (mainly the gain Cxy, Cxy_pv).

9 shows an example of the lateral and longitudinal acceleration with several PGVC settings (settings 1 to 4). The longitudinal acceleration (Gx, broken line) by the PGVC is set by adjusting each setting through PGVC setting parameter adjustment. As in 9 (a) As shown, Gx by the PGVC can make a difference in lateral acceleration (Gy, solid line) with the settings: The average of Gy (dotted line) increases as the setting number increases (1 to 4).

10 shows an example of the “gg” diagram with several PGVC settings. This difference also occurs in the "gg" diagram (see 9 (b) ) up: The trajectory in the “gg” diagram becomes wider as the setting number increases. However, the relationship between Gx and Gy is relatively maintained: the direction of the resulting acceleration changes seamlessly in a “gg” diagram. This change in acceleration in the “gg” graph is one of the features of the PGVC that improves the driver's feel while cornering.

11 shows an example of the block diagram of a PGVC basic system for realizing a known control as described above. In this system, a PGVC parameter setting unit / a PGVC parameter setting block 110 detects the driver's input to set the PGVC parameters. These setting parameters are sent to the PGVC block 120 and the longitudinal acceleration command is calculated by the PGVC (Gxt_PGVC). Gxt_PGVC is sent to the actuator controller (s) 200 and in order to decelerate / accelerate the vehicle by means of the actuator (s) 200. More specifically, a driver input switch 230 can be configured to enable a user to select parameter settings of the PGVC parameters that can be input as driver input information into the PGVC parameter setting block 110, which embodies a setting means. On the other hand, vehicle dynamics information detection devices 210 (such as sensors including a speed sensor, an accelerometer, a gyro sensor, a steering wheel angle sensor, etc.) can provide information on the vehicle dynamics (vehicle dynamics information) such as the vehicle speed, the steering wheel angle, the lateral and / or longitudinal acceleration, which acts on the carrier vehicle, etc. provide. The vehicle dynamics information is provided to the PGVC block 120, which embodies a longitudinal acceleration target value determining means. In addition, curvature information (such as map data and / or a curvature at a preview point determined on the basis of the map data) is provided from a curvature detection device 220 to the PGVC block 120 embodying the longitudinal acceleration target value determining means.

A PGVC controller 100 (e.g. a longitudinal acceleration control means) comprises the PGVC block 120 and the PGVC parameter setting block 110 and is designed to transmit the target control value Gxt_PGVC via an actuator controller 200 (or in other embodiments directly) to the or to output the actuator controller of the vehicle.

12 shows the block diagram of a further preferred PGVC system, which forms a preferred basis for the control method of the present application described later. In this system, an obstacle detection device 240 is added, and the information about the preceding vehicle (the speed of the preceding vehicle, the distance from the preceding vehicle) is sent to the PGVC controller 100. In the PGVC controller 100, the PGVC parameter setting block 110 sets the parameters for the PGVC based on the driver input, the curvature information of the traveling route, and the information about the preceding vehicle received from the obstacle detection device 240. The obstacle detection device 240 can record data from a vehicle in front (and / or indirectly from a data center), which includes a position and / or a speed of the vehicle in front and / or a lateral acceleration and / or a longitudinal acceleration acting on the vehicle in front, e.g. B. received via a communication protocol. Alternatively or additionally, the obstacle detection device 240 can comprise sensors (such as a camera, a radar, a sonar, etc.) in order to determine a relative position and / or speed of the vehicle traveling in front.

Using the above information, the PGVC parameters are used to decelerate / accelerate the vehicle for cornering as the preceding vehicle does to e.g. B. adjust his driving behavior, set. If the vehicle in front of the curve z. B. drives slowly to reduce the lateral acceleration during cornering, the carrier vehicle is also cornering slowly even if the driver is turning the cornering setting at high speed such as setting 4 in 9 selected. As a result, the host vehicle maintains the distance from the preceding vehicle during cornering and the deceleration control by the ACC to maintain the distance is not activated; since there are no independent control systems that issue control commands in parallel, as a combination of GVC and ACC would eventually do, the longitudinal acceleration is smooth during cornering.

13th shows an example of setting the PGVC parameters. In this case, the PGVC has several pre-set setting modes (setting 1 to 4), the parameters being set to increase the average / maximum lateral acceleration during cornering while the setting number, as in FIG 9 shown increases (1 to 4). The estimated lateral acceleration acting on the vehicle in front (GyestPV) is calculated from the speed of the vehicle in front and curvature information. The PGVC setting is selected as a function of the absolute value of GyestPV at the beginning (here G _y1 <G _y2 <G _y3 ). This selected value is compared with the selected setting by the driver and a smaller setting number is selected as the PGVC setting.

14th shows another example of setting the PGVC parameters. In this case, the PGVC gain (Cxy_d, Cxy_pv_d (for deceleration control), Cxy_a, Cxy_pv_a (for acceleration control)) which is the parameter of PGVC changes directly with the absolute value of GyestPV: take PGVC gains for deceleration control decreases as the absolute value of GyestPV increases, and PGVC gains for acceleration control increase as the absolute value of GyestPV increases. The PGVC gain (Cxy_d, Cxy_pv_d, Cxy_a, Cxy_pv_a) is calculated at the beginning and compared by the driver with the selected gain. Larger values are selected as the PGVC gain for deceleration control, and smaller values are selected as the PGVC gain for acceleration control.

15th shows an example of the speed of the carrier vehicle (solid line) and the vehicle in front (dash-dot line), the distance from the vehicle in front (dash-dot line) and the target distance (dotted line), the longitudinal acceleration (Gx) and the lateral acceleration (Gy) while driving in a curve with a vehicle in front. Gx is supported by the advanced PGVC with four differential settings as shown in 9 and controlled by an ACC system.

In this case, the driver selects setting 4 at the beginning. While driving on the straight road ( 15th , Section A), the carrier vehicle detects the vehicle in front and the distance between the carrier vehicle and the vehicle in front decreases because of the speed difference (the carrier vehicle is faster than the vehicle in front). However, the actual distance is still sufficiently greater than the target distance and the ACC does not decelerate the host vehicle. During this period of time, the PGVC setting is removed from the setting 4 changed to setting 1 ( 15th , Section B) and becomes the delay start time of the PGVC earlier than in the case of 1 ( 15th , Section C). As a result, the host vehicle can expediently maintain the distance from the vehicle in front ( 15th , Section D) and the deceleration control is not activated by the ACC; in addition, the longitudinal acceleration changes smoothly while cornering.

16 shows, by way of example, a system arrangement for controlling the longitudinal acceleration by the ACC, combined with the PGVC, which is a preferred basis for the present control method / the present control device. The control system includes a longitudinal acceleration control unit 1 (e.g. as in 11 or 12 shown), an accelerometer 2 , a gyro sensor 3 , a steering wheel 4th , a steering wheel angle sensor 5 , an obstacle detection device 6th (e.g. for detecting a distance and / or a speed of a vehicle traveling ahead), a tire 7th , a vehicle 8th , a curve detection device 9 , a brake control unit 10 , a brake actuator 11 , a drive torque control unit 12 , a drive torque actuator 13th and a communication bus line 14th .

After the arrangement of a controller for assisted driving or automated driving has been explained above, the present subject matter introduces further aspects for increased safety and increased comfort. More precisely, the above control concepts still have the challenge that a detected object such as a vehicle traveling ahead can be lost to the sensors of the host vehicle or due to a communication interruption. In other words, a scenario that can relate to the above control concepts includes that the detected object cannot remain within the FOV of the host vehicle, which the above control, e.g. B. the PGVC or the ACC combined with the PGVC would interrupt.

However, the other (preceding) vehicle can be lost quite frequently, particularly while driving on a winding road or through a sharp curve or through a curve that runs around an obstacle or the like. For example, a vehicle traveling ahead can simply pivot out of the host vehicle's FOV due to geometric limitations of the FOV of the sensor or sensors of the host vehicle if a curve is sharp.

The challenges described above, which relate to the control of assisted driving or automated driving, are solved by the subject matter described below, whereby they are solved in particular by performing what is known as “virtual tracking” of the other vehicle. The term “virtual tracking” is intended to mean that the control explained above can be continued even if the other vehicle is (temporarily) no longer in the FOV; preferably until the other vehicle is detected again.

19th shows an example of a further improved control of assisted driving or automated driving, which also offers "virtual tracking". In a step, another vehicle, preferably a vehicle traveling ahead, is detected by the sensor or the sensors of the carrier vehicle. In the present example, the FOV (the area) and / or the blind spot are subsequently calculated or determined (see e.g. 18a and b). However, the detection and the calculation / determination of the FOV / blind spot in other examples can be continuous and parallel to the sequence of steps carried out by 19th are shown. The FOC / blind spot can also be determined / calculated at another position within the sequence of steps or can be omitted. An example of a detailed calculation / determination of the FOV is described below.

The control system also recognizes whether the vehicle in front can still be detected. This can preferably be done continuously or repeatedly. In accordance with one option, it is recognized that the vehicle in front can no longer be detected if the sensor or sensors of the carrier vehicle no longer detect it after it has been detected once. In addition, it can be recognized that the vehicle in front can no longer be detected if the FOV has been calculated and if it is determined whether the vehicle in front is inside / inside the FOV or whether it is not inside the FOV, ie outside the FOV. Again next is an alternative that goes through 19th is shown to determine whether the detected vehicle is inside the FOV or outside, and subsequently, if it is determined that it is inside the FOV, it is checked again whether it is detectable. If it is detected that the vehicle in front is within the FOV, it is checked whether the activation conditions for a control as described above, such as PGVC control or PGVC control combined with ACC control, are met. As described above, activation conditions may include the relative speed of the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle and / or the distance between the two vehicles. For example, the control can be activated if the vehicle in front is within the FOV of a forward sensing sensor and is at a predefined relative speed or more / drives less. If the conditions are met, the control described above is activated and the behavior of the vehicle driving ahead is tracked / imitated / assumed, preferably by (advanced) PGVC and / or ACC. If the conditions are not met, the control returns to a previous step after or before (see 19th ) the vehicle detection back.

In addition, the present subject matter contains the further option that “virtual tracking” is used if it has been determined that the vehicle traveling ahead, after an initial detection thereof, is no longer detectable or is outside the FOV.

19th shows the virtual tracking control when following the arrow indicating “outside” the step that determines whether the preceding vehicle is outside or inside the FOV. The flowchart shows a first step after determining that the preceding vehicle is outside the FOV, which includes calculating the distance to the preceding vehicle using the last buffered / saved values of the preceding vehicle and the PGVC setting. If the last setting / values were an estimate, they can also be used. More specifically, the last settings / data that are buffered before the preceding vehicle has left the FOV preferably contain a curvature or a derivative of the curvature of the road at the position and a longitudinal acceleration of the preceding vehicle at the position. Instead or in addition, the last buffered values can be a speed of the vehicle driving ahead, which is e.g. B. is measured by sensors of the carrier vehicle or the like, contain the determined / measured distance at the position and the position itself.

An option to estimate the position during virtual tracking (see 20th ) is based on the use of the last buffered speed of the vehicle in front and the curvature (derivative) of the road at the last position before the vehicle in front left the FOV. In addition, the last parameter settings are used. Then, using the above equations (2) and (3), based on the lateral acceleration (equation (2)), the longitudinal acceleration for the position is estimated / calculated. With the longitudinal acceleration, the speed of the vehicle traveling ahead can be calculated using the time difference between the times at which the last speed value was buffered and at which the next calculation of the driving values of the vehicle traveling ahead is calculated / estimated. The newly calculated / estimated speed (as a target speed) is then used to calculate the new distance to the host vehicle, on the basis of which, including the road geometry information, the position of the preceding vehicle can be virtually fixed. As in 20th As an optional step in between, the target speed can be limited to a buffered value; z. For example, it can be assumed that the vehicle is not traveling faster within the curve than before it entered the curve, so that the target speed can be limited to the buffered speed when entering the curve. The map information can be used to determine the curvature information for this new position, and the speed and curvature information can be used to estimate / calculate a further new longitudinal acceleration, based on which the above can be repeated to keep track of the vehicle ahead, albeit it's outside of the FOV. Other options for virtual tracking can be based on the extrapolation above, but using assumptions such as that the speed or longitudinal acceleration of the preceding vehicle remain constant during the time the preceding vehicle is outside the FOV.

Another option of the extrapolation can assume that the last buffered value of the vehicle in front is its longitudinal acceleration. The extrapolation can then use differential calculus based on time differences, as discussed above, to estimate the new extrapolated velocity. The new distance can be extrapolated on the basis of this extrapolated speed. A virtual position is estimated based on the extrapolated distance, and curvature information is received from the map information. This enables a new extrapolated longitudinal acceleration to be determined on the basis of equation (3) above, and the loop can begin again.

The above extrapolation can assume that the parameter settings, in particular those of the parameters contained in equation (3), remain constant at least during the application of the “virtual tracking”.

In summary, based on map data from a map information source and based on the last known driving data of the preceding vehicle, the position of the preceding vehicle can be determined even though it is outside the FOV ("Virtual tracking"). Even if the vehicle in front is outside the FOV, with the determination of the position, ie the virtual tracking, as described above, it can also be checked whether the conditions for the following control according to the (advanced) PGVC and / or ACC are met where the behavior of the vehicle in front can be followed / imitated, even if it is outside the FOV of the respective sensor of the host vehicle (see 19th after the step "tracking the virtual object on the map"), if this is true. The driving behavior can be limited as described above by applying e.g. B. the advanced PGVC, it can be assumed that some values or parameters such as the setting parameters of the PGVC can be kept constant during the virtual tracking.

The above-mentioned calculation of the blind spot / FOV can also be carried out by the controller of the present application. The advantage of knowing the blind spot of the relevant sensor (s) of the host vehicle is that the last position of the other vehicle can be estimated / determined without it being necessary to continuously buffer a position of the other vehicle. In other words, if the controller repeatedly buffers last positions of a detected vehicle according to a preferred aspect described here, as long as it is detectable for the sensor or sensors of the carrier vehicle, the control of the virtual tracking described here does not require a determination of the blind spot / FOV of the Carrier vehicle. The virtual tracking can then be carried out simply on the basis of the decision as to whether the detection signal relating to the previously detected and tracked vehicle has been lost. If it is lost, the last known / buffered position can contain the further information required for the extrapolation, e.g. B. is described above, are necessary, are used to carry out the virtual tracking. However, the specific area of the blind spot or the FOV enables the last position of the other vehicle within the FOV to be estimated if the position should not or cannot be continuously buffered, so that the last buffered values of the other vehicle, such as its speed, are based on the estimated last known position can be mapped.

In principle, the estimate of the last known position can be based on the referencing of road data that originate from map information (map data) for the FOV. In other words, the area of the FOV that can be presumed to be defined in advance by sensor properties such as the maximum length of the “view” and the geometry of the FOV such as triangular or the like is applied to the information on the road , on which the carrier vehicle and the other detected vehicle are driving. If then z. For example, if the road on which the vehicles are traveling is known to have a sharp curve ahead (assuming that the detected vehicle in front continues to travel on the road), the position at which the vehicle in front will be lost can be derived from on the basis of an overlay of the VOC of the host vehicle and the area in which the road is to be determined, d. H. For example, the boundary position on the road at which the road begins to be no longer detected by the FOV can be assumed to be the last known position of the preceding vehicle before it is outside the FOV.

Possible options for referencing or mapping the FOV to the road information are explained below: The control can include road data that are provided by a map information unit and information about the geometry of the FOV, which can be stored in a storage unit of the control device or in a sub-unit , use. If the card information z. For example, indicate that the host vehicle is approaching a curve, and if it were known that the host vehicle's forward "looking" sensor is an isosceles triangle with a line of maximum height along the length of the host vehicle and a half-angle between the two equal sides of 10 ° (see e.g. 17th ), the FOV can be determined / calculated by positioning other isosceles triangles perpendicular to the longitudinal direction with the same half-angle as the area of the FOV and with a different side length corresponding to other possible 1 / curvatures of the curve in front of it. By performing several geometrical calculations using different reciprocal values of curve values, the FOV can be identified (see 18a) . More specifically, each sub-triangle has one side that ends at the origin of the FOV and the other side of the two equal sides that ends at the point at which the FOV has its lateral boundary. The origin of the FOV and at least one end point of the lateral boundary of the FOV can be connected by a straight line which indicates the lateral boundary of the FOV (see the bold line in the figure between the origin of the FOV and the end of one side of an auxiliary triangle). The lateral boundary that has been combined with the road information makes it possible to identify the last position of the preceding vehicle within the FOV before it was lost to the sensor of the host vehicle, ie outside the FOV. In other words, as in the 18a is shown, the auxiliary triangle in the exemplary geometric calculation is used, which corresponds to the curvature of the road on which the other vehicle and the host vehicle are driving, at one of its side ends at the boundary of the FOV. It can be assumed that this attachment point is the last position of the other vehicle before moving outside of the FOV.

In other words and as outlined by the schedule 18b shown includes the process of determining the FOV as performed by 18a shown the main steps of spanning the FOV based on the sensor specifications. For example, it may be known from a database that the forward sensor (s) (or any other sensor of the host vehicle) is triangular in shape having a corner located in the center of the front of the host vehicle. Then, in a second step, orthogonal vectors are used, such as by 18a and, as explained above according to a possible example, intersection points with the lateral boundary of the FOV are calculated. In a further (optional) step, the relevant area of the FOV is then limited by taking into account the speed of the carrier vehicle. The limit can be 1 to 10 s times the speed of the carrier vehicle. More preferably it is between 2 s to 5 s times the speed of the carrier vehicle and most preferably between 2 s to 3 s or 2.5 s times the speed of the carrier vehicle. The calculated area can then be used / spanned as the FOV area of the host vehicle at the current point in time. Furthermore, as in connection with 18a is described on the road data are mapped.

Another option for calculating the FOV would be to use geometric / geographic coordinates such as GPS coordinates or the like. The position of the FOV in front of the host vehicle can be determined using the position of the host vehicle and the geometric data about the FOV, e.g. B. the area size, the area shape, etc. can be determined. Then the coordinates that are inside the FOV and the coordinates that are outside the FOV can be determined. As soon as the FOV is determined, the other areas around the carrier vehicle can be determined as a blind spot (dead area). Furthermore, mapping / referencing the coordinates inside and outside the FOV of the road the vehicles are traveling on, with the information received via map information, allows the last position of the preceding vehicle within the FOV to be estimated before it leaves the FOV.

As explained above, when it is determined that the detected object, e.g. B. the vehicle ahead is outside the FOV or, according to another option, can no longer be detected by the sensor or sensors of the carrier vehicle, the distance to the carrier vehicle is determined, among other things, on the basis of the last known values of the vehicle ahead Map information is used to virtually position the vehicle in front on the map. The virtual positioning is performed on the assumption that the preceding vehicle continues on the same road / lane as it was driving before leaving the FOV. That is, as soon as the map information has been combined with the information about the actual distance to the host vehicle, the vehicle in front can be virtually fixed. For example, the preceding vehicle may exit the host vehicle's VOC as soon as it enters the curve and before the host vehicle enters the curve if the host vehicle is following a preceding vehicle toward a sharp curve. In other words, the preceding vehicle exits the host vehicle's FOV because of the limited width of the FOV and the sharpness of the curve to the side. However, the map information includes information about the curvature (or a derivative) of the curve and this information combined with the distance to the host vehicle, the position still being able to be determined and tracked if the above is done in a repeated manner.

With the above information about the virtual position, the map information, in particular the curvature of the curve, and the last driving data that have been buffered, the (advanced) PGVC and / or ACC control described above (see the description in 12 to 16 ) can be performed even though the vehicle is out of view. Thus, driving a winding road cannot lead to discomfort or suspended automatic driving, since the virtual tracking of the vehicle in front, even during a situation when the vehicle in front is temporarily out of the FOV, uses an uninterrupted (advanced) PGVC and / or ACC- Control enables.

In addition, the virtual tracking can be abandoned if criteria defined in advance are met, which in particular indicate that the vehicle in front was not temporarily lost. The criteria can include that a time that the preceding vehicle is outside the FOV is too long, that road junctions with multiple alternative routes are passed, and / or the like.

In addition, the virtual tracking can be stopped and actual values can be used for the PGVC / ACC if the vehicle in front is tracking again, i.e. i.e., re-entered the FOV after exiting it.

In 21st there is shown, by way of example, a control device that realizes the above control. Compared to the control device 12 it also includes a map information unit that provides map information and the virtual tracking unit for executing control during the time when the preceding vehicle is outside the FOV.

Features, components and specific details of the structures of the embodiments described above can be interchanged or combined to form further embodiments which are optimized for the respective application. To the extent that these changes are readily apparent to a person skilled in the art, for the brevity of the present description they are intended to be implicitly disclosed by the above description without explicitly specifying every possible combination.

QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of the documents listed by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

Patent literature cited

• WO 2015/181611 A2 [0002, 0004]
• EP 2853458 A1 [0003, 0004]
• EP 1992537 A2 [0003]

Claims (17)

A vehicle travel control method for assuming a driving behavior of another vehicle, the vehicle travel control method comprising: - Checking for the presence of another vehicle by at least one sensor of a carrier vehicle; - assuming a driving behavior of the other vehicle if the other vehicle has been detected by the at least one sensor of the host vehicle, and - Repeated checking whether the other vehicle can still be detected by the at least one sensor of the carrier vehicle, wherein a position of the other vehicle is estimated on the basis of at least the known driving behavior of the other vehicle and / or at least one last known position of the other vehicle if it is determined that the other vehicle can no longer be detected. Vehicle travel control procedure according to Claim 1 , wherein the driving behavior of the other vehicle is assumed to be uninterrupted, even if the other vehicle is no longer detectable. Vehicle travel control procedure according to Claim 1 wherein the other vehicle is a preceding vehicle traveling in the same longitudinal direction as the host vehicle in front of the host vehicle. Vehicle travel control procedure according to Claim 1 , wherein the carrier vehicle is controlled by: - determining a longitudinal acceleration target value (Gxt_PGVC) on the basis of a lateral acceleration (Gy; Gy_PV) of the carrier vehicle and one or more setting parameters (Cxy; Ts; Cxy_PV; Ts_PV), and - controlling a longitudinal acceleration ( Gx) of the host vehicle based on the calculated target longitudinal acceleration value (Gxt_PGVC). Vehicle travel control procedure according to Claim 1 , wherein the host vehicle is controlled by the following, if the driving behavior of a detected other vehicle is assumed: - Estimating or determining the driving behavior of the other vehicle, - Setting the one or more setting parameters (Cxy; Ts; Cxy_PV; Ts_PV) for the calculation of the Longitudinal Acceleration Target Value (Gxt_PGVC), where the lateral acceleration (Gy-est_PV) acting on the other vehicle is estimated based on the determined speed of the other vehicle and curvature information about the road from map information. Vehicle travel control procedure according to Claim 1 wherein the longitudinal acceleration of the preceding vehicle is determined using a relationship between the longitudinal acceleration and curvature information about the road and the speed of the preceding vehicle when the other vehicle is no longer detectable. Vehicle travel control procedure according to Claim 1 , wherein a last known longitudinal acceleration (Gx) of the other vehicle before the other vehicle has moved out of a field of view of the at least one sensor of the host vehicle is used to extrapolate an extrapolated position of the other vehicle outside of the field of view and / or its driving behavior, if the other vehicle is no longer detectable. Vehicle travel control procedure according to Claim 1 , wherein a last known position and speed of the other vehicle before the other vehicle has moved out of a field of view of the at least one sensor of the host vehicle is used to extrapolate an extrapolated position of the other vehicle outside of the field of vision and / or its driving behavior, if the other vehicle is no longer detectable. Vehicle travel control procedure according to Claim 7 , wherein an extrapolated speed of the other vehicle is determined for the extrapolation based on the last known longitudinal acceleration (Gx) of the other vehicle and a time difference between the determination of the last known longitudinal acceleration and the actual determination, an extrapolated distance of the other vehicle to the Host vehicle is determined based on the extrapolated speed and the time difference, an extrapolated position of the other vehicle is determined based on the extrapolated distance and map information, and an extrapolated longitudinal acceleration is determined based on at least curvature information about the extrapolated position. Vehicle travel control method according to the Claims 7 , 8th and / or 9, wherein the extrapolation assumes that the other vehicle is a preceding vehicle that continues on the same road as it was traveling on while it was present within the field of view after moving out of the field of view. Vehicle travel control procedure according to Claim 1 , wherein a field of view of the at least one sensor is referenced to map information so that geometric coordinates are referenced to a part of a road that is captured by the field of view and on which the carrier vehicle and the other vehicle are driving. Vehicle travel control procedure according to Claim 1 wherein a field of view of the at least one sensor is determined on the basis of geometrical calculations based on different road curvature values in order to determine a part of a road which is covered by the field of view and on which the host vehicle and the other vehicle are traveling. Vehicle travel control procedure according to Claim 1 , 11 or 12 , wherein at least one known position of the other vehicle is received from buffered information about the other vehicle and / or the last known position is estimated on the basis of the information about a limitation of the field of view based on map information, in particular the road on which the drive another vehicle and the carrier vehicle is referenced. A control method according to the preceding claims, wherein some or all of the control steps are carried out repeatedly. Tax procedure according to Claim 1 , wherein the control is stopped if the other vehicle is undetectable for a predetermined period of time or more. Travel control device to be mounted on a carrier vehicle, the travel control device being configured to carry out the steps of at least one of the preceding claims. Computer program product which can be stored in a memory which comprises instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry out the method of at least one of the preceding method claims.

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