JP2000280783A - Follow-up traveling device and its control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce workload of a driver by informing that interrupted follow-up traveling must be restarted and then automatically restarting follow-up traveling. SOLUTION: Whether the pedal operation is performed or not in a state where follow-up traveling is interrupted is judged (S1). If the pedal operation is not performed, whether the steering operation is performed or not is judged (S3). If the steering operation is not performed, it is judged that a driver in tends to restart follow-up traveling, and whether the driver continuously confirms a preceding vehicle or not is judged (S4). If the driver confirms the preceding vehicle, whether the specified time T passes from the interruption is judged (S5). If the time T passes, it is estimated that the follow-up traveling can be restarted, and follow-up traveling is restarted (S6), and that follow-up traveling is restarted is informed through a display unit.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention detects an inter-vehicle distance between a preceding vehicle traveling in the same lane as the own vehicle and a preceding vehicle, and follows the preceding vehicle while maintaining the inter-vehicle distance at a predetermined distance corresponding to the own vehicle speed.
The present invention relates to a following travel device that interrupts following travel by a brake operation by a driver and a control method thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As one of safe driving assist devices mounted on an automobile, there is a follow-up traveling device called an inter-vehicle distance control type constant speed traveling device. This type of follow-up traveling device is, for example, 60 m and 100 km / h when the vehicle speed is 50 km / h.
At the time of h, the target inter-vehicle distance is determined according to the own vehicle speed, such as 100 m, and the inter-vehicle distance between the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle traveling in the same lane is detected by the inter-vehicle distance detecting means. If it is smaller than this, the throttle valve is closed or the like to reduce the speed, and control is performed to maintain the inter-vehicle distance at the target inter-vehicle distance.

[0003] In a conventional follow-up traveling device, when the driver performs a driving operation such as a pedal operation such as a brake pedal or an accelerator pedal or a steering operation during the following traveling, the following traveling is temporarily interrupted. ing. Then, when the driver operates a switch or lever provided for restarting, the following running is restarted.

[0004]

However, in the conventional case,
In order to resume the once-following traveling, it is necessary for the driver to determine whether or not to resume the following traveling.
Furthermore, after it can be determined that resumption is possible, the driver must resume operation by operating a dedicated switch or lever, so that the driver has a large burden and is very complicated.

An object of the present invention is to notify the driver of the timing at which the interrupted following running should be restarted, and to automatically restart the running to reduce the burden on the driver.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a follow-up traveling device according to the present invention detects a distance between a preceding vehicle traveling in the same lane as the own vehicle and a vehicle, and converts the distance between vehicles into the own vehicle speed. A following device that follows the preceding vehicle while maintaining a predetermined distance in accordance with the preceding vehicle and interrupts the following traveling by a brake operation by the driver. In a state where the following traveling is interrupted, the following operation is performed by the driver within a predetermined time set in advance. A determining unit that determines whether there is a driving operation such as a pedal operation and a steering operation, and when the determining unit determines that there is no driving operation, the following traveling can be resumed on condition that the preceding vehicle is detected. And a notifying unit that notifies that

[0007] With this configuration, in a state where the follow-up running is interrupted, the judging section judges whether there is a driving operation by the driver within a predetermined time after the interruption, and if there is no driving operation, the driver informs the driver. On the other hand, the notification unit notifies that the follow-up running can be resumed.

Therefore, the driver can know from the notification of the notification unit that the vehicle can follow the vehicle.
The driver does not need to judge the timing of the restart by himself, and the burden on the driver is reduced.

Further, the following traveling apparatus of the present invention detects the distance between the preceding vehicle and the preceding vehicle traveling in the same lane as the own vehicle, and follows the preceding vehicle while keeping the following distance at a predetermined distance according to the own vehicle speed. In a following traveling device that travels and suspends following traveling by a brake operation by a driver, in a state where following traveling is suspended, whether there is a driving operation such as a pedal operation and a steering operation by a driver within a predetermined time set in advance. And a control unit that restarts the following operation on condition that the preceding vehicle is detected when the determination unit determines that there is no driving operation.

In this case, in the state where the following running is interrupted, the determining unit determines whether there is a driving operation by the driver within a predetermined time after the interruption, and if there is no driving operation, the driver intends to follow. Therefore, the follow-up running is automatically restarted by the control unit, and the driver does not need to operate a switch or a lever for restarting as in the related art, and the burden on the driver is reduced.

Further, the following traveling device of the present invention is characterized in that the following traveling unit is provided with a notifying unit for notifying the restart of the following traveling by the control unit. In this case, the notification unit notifies the control unit that the following traveling has been automatically restarted, so that the driver can accurately grasp whether or not the own vehicle is currently in the following traveling state.

Further, the control method of the following traveling device according to the present invention detects the inter-vehicle distance between a preceding vehicle traveling in the same lane as the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle, and maintains the inter-vehicle distance at a predetermined distance corresponding to the own vehicle speed while maintaining the predetermined distance. In a control method of a follow-up traveling device that travels following a vehicle and interrupts the following travel by a driver's brake operation, when the following travel is interrupted, a pedal operation, a steering operation, and the like by the driver are performed within a predetermined time set in advance. It is characterized in that it is determined whether or not there is a driving operation, and when it is determined that there is no driving operation, it is notified that the following running can be resumed on condition that the preceding vehicle is detected.

With this configuration, the driver can be informed that the vehicle can follow the vehicle by the notification of the notification unit, and the driver does not need to judge the restart timing by himself and the burden on the driver can be reduced. be able to.

Further, according to the control method of the following traveling device of the present invention, the inter-vehicle distance between a preceding vehicle running in the same lane as the own vehicle and the inter-vehicle distance is detected, and the inter-vehicle distance is maintained at a predetermined distance corresponding to the own vehicle speed. In a control method of a follow-up traveling device that travels following a vehicle and interrupts the following travel by a driver's brake operation, when the following travel is interrupted, a pedal operation, a steering operation, and the like by the driver are performed within a predetermined time set in advance. It is characterized in that it is determined whether or not there is a driving operation, and when it is determined that there is no driving operation, the following running is restarted on condition that the preceding vehicle is detected.

[0015] According to this configuration, the control unit automatically resumes the following operation, and the driver does not need to operate the switches and levers to resume the operation, thereby reducing the burden on the driver. .

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 is a block diagram, and FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an inter-vehicle distance detecting unit, which comprises, for example, a scanning laser radar, which irradiates a laser beam in front of the own vehicle, scans it horizontally by a predetermined angle (for example, 5 °), and reflects its light. The inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle traveling in the same lane is detected from the time from the irradiation of the laser beam to the reception of the reflected light.

Reference numeral 2 denotes a brake switch that turns on and off depending on whether or not a brake pedal is depressed, 3 denotes an accelerator switch that turns on and off depending on whether or not an accelerator pedal is depressed, 4 denotes a vehicle speed sensor that detects own vehicle speed, 5 Is a throttle valve controller for adjusting the opening of the throttle valve, 6 is a brake controller for controlling the brake, 7 is a display unit as a notification unit for displaying that the following running has been resumed, and 8 is an electronic control unit (hereinafter referred to as ECU). ) And has the following functions.

That is, the ECU 8 has a function of setting a target distance corresponding to the own vehicle speed at that time based on the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle by the inter-vehicle distance detecting unit 1 and the own vehicle speed by the vehicle speed sensor 4. The relative speed between the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle is derived from the change in the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle by the detection unit 1, and the set target distance is determined while judging the acceleration and deceleration of the preceding vehicle based on the relative speed. It has the function of controlling the following running while keeping it.

Further, in a state where the follow-up running is interrupted, the ECU 8 operates the pedal operation and the steering operation by the driver within a predetermined time T set after the interruption based on ON / OFF of the brake switch 2 and the accelerator switch 3. It has a function of judging whether or not there is a driving operation, etc., and restarting the following running on condition that the preceding vehicle is detected when it is judged that there is no driving operation, and notifying the restart of the following running.

At this time, the above-described process of determining whether or not there is a driving operation of the control unit 8 corresponds to the determination unit, the process of restarting the following travel corresponds to the control unit, and the process of notifying the following running to the notification unit. Equivalent to. It is preferable that the display unit 7 is constituted by, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD) to display a predetermined message on a screen. However, the display unit 7 is constituted by a light emitting element such as an LED, and changes the lighting state of the LED according to the content of the notification. You may do so.

Next, the operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Now, during the following running, for example, in a state where the driver has operated the brake pedal and the following running is interrupted, it is determined whether or not there is a pedal operation which is a driving operation of a brake pedal, an accelerator pedal, or the like ( In step S1), if the result of this determination is YES, it can be determined that the driver does not intend to resume following, and the suspension of following traveling is continued in step S2 (step S2).

On the other hand, if the decision result in the step S1 is NO, it is decided whether or not there is a steering operation which is a driving operation (step S3), and the decision result is YES.
If so, it is determined that the driver does not have the intention of restarting the tracking, as in the case of YES in step S1 described above, and the process proceeds to step S2. If the determination result is NO, it is determined that the driver has the intention of restarting the tracking. Since it can be determined, the process proceeds to the next step S4, and it is determined whether or not the preceding vehicle is continuously recognized (step S4). If the determination result is NO, there is no need to restart the following running. The process proceeds to step S2 described above.

If the result of the determination in step S4 is YES, it is determined whether or not a predetermined T time has elapsed since the interruption (step S5). If the result of this determination is NO, the following running is resumed. Since there is no situation in which the following traveling can be performed, the process returns to step S1 described above, and if the determination result is YES, it can be estimated that the following traveling can be resumed, and the interruption of the following traveling is released. Then, the follow-up traveling device is operated again (step S6), and the fact that the follow-up traveling has been resumed is displayed on the display unit 7 and notified to the driver (step S7), and thereafter, the process returns to the start after passing through the process of step S2.

As described above, in a state where the following running is interrupted, the driver operates the brake pedal, the accelerator pedal, etc., such as the pedal operation and the steering operation, within a predetermined T time after the interruption. If there is no driving operation, it is possible to presume that the driver intends to follow, and there is no problem even if the following operation is automatically restarted.

Therefore, according to the above-described embodiment, the follow-up running can be automatically restarted, so that the driver does not need to operate a dedicated switch or lever for restarting as in the related art. The driver does not need to judge the restart timing by himself, and the burden on the driver can be greatly reduced as compared with the related art.

Further, the fact that the following running has been automatically resumed is notified by the display of the display unit 7, so that the driver can accurately grasp the current running state, that is, whether or not the following running state is present. Will be possible.

In the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which, when it is determined that the following running can be restarted, the following running is automatically restarted and the fact is notified. The driver may be notified in advance that the following running can be resumed and will be resumed.

Further, even if it is determined that the following running can be resumed, the driver is notified at least that the following running can be restarted without automatically restarting, and the driver is prompted to restart the following running. Is also good. In this case, the driver must operate a dedicated switch or the like to resume the following travel, but it is not necessary to determine whether the following travel can be resumed by the driver itself. The burden on the driver can be reduced.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the notification unit is constituted by the display unit 7 has been described. However, it is a matter of course that a notification may be made by appealing to the auditory sense, such as a buzzer or a voice synthesis unit. .

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various changes other than those described above can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0032]

As described above, according to the first and fourth aspects of the present invention, when the following operation is interrupted, if the driver does not perform the driving operation within a predetermined time after the interruption, the driver is instructed. The driver is informed that the following traveling can be resumed, so that the notification unit informs the driver that the following traveling is possible, and the driver does not need to judge the timing of resuming by himself. Thus, the burden on the driver can be reduced, and it is very suitable as an aid for safe driving.

According to the second and fifth aspects of the present invention, in a state where the follow-up running is interrupted, the determining unit determines whether there is a driving operation by the driver within a predetermined time after the interruption. If there is no driving operation, it can be estimated that the driver intends to follow, so the control unit automatically resumes following, and the driver does not need to operate switches and levers for restart as in the past, The burden on the driver can be reduced.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the control unit informs that the follow-up running has been automatically restarted by the notifying unit, so that the driver is in a situation where the vehicle is currently in the follow-up running. It can be accurately grasped whether or not.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the embodiment of the present invention;

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 inter-vehicle distance detection unit 2 brake switch 3 accelerator switch 4 vehicle speed sensor 5 throttle valve controller 6 brake controller 7 display unit (notification unit) 8 ECU (control unit, judgment unit)

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F-term (reference)

Claims (5)

[Claims] An inter-vehicle distance is detected between a preceding vehicle traveling in the same lane as the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle, and the vehicle follows the preceding vehicle while maintaining the inter-vehicle distance at a predetermined distance corresponding to the own vehicle speed. In a following travel device that suspends following travel, when the following traveling is suspended, a determining unit that determines whether there is a driving operation such as a pedal operation and a steering operation by a driver within a predetermined time set in advance, and A notifying unit for notifying that the following running can be resumed on condition that the preceding vehicle is detected when it is determined that the driving operation is not performed by the determining unit. . 2. A preceding vehicle traveling in the same lane as the own vehicle is detected, and a distance between the preceding vehicle is detected. The vehicle follows the preceding vehicle while maintaining the predetermined distance according to the own vehicle speed. In a following travel device that suspends following travel, when the following traveling is suspended, a determining unit that determines whether there is a driving operation such as a pedal operation and a steering operation by a driver within a predetermined time set in advance, and And a control unit that restarts the follow-up running on condition that the preceding vehicle is detected when the determining unit determines that there is no driving operation. 3. The follow-up traveling device according to claim 2, further comprising an informing unit that informs the restart of the follow-up traveling by the control unit. 4. An inter-vehicle distance between a preceding vehicle traveling in the same lane as the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle is detected, the vehicle follows the preceding vehicle while maintaining the inter-vehicle distance at a predetermined distance according to the own vehicle speed, and a brake operation by a driver is performed. In a control method of a following travel device that suspends following travel, it is determined whether or not there is a driving operation such as a pedal operation and a steering operation by a driver within a predetermined time when the following traveling is suspended. A control method for a following-traveling device, comprising: when it is determined that there is no operation, notifying that the following traveling can be resumed on condition that a preceding vehicle is detected. 5. An inter-vehicle distance between a preceding vehicle traveling in the same lane as the own vehicle and a preceding vehicle is detected, the vehicle follows the preceding vehicle while maintaining the inter-vehicle distance at a predetermined distance corresponding to the own vehicle speed, and a brake operation by a driver is performed. In a control method of a following travel device that suspends following travel, it is determined whether or not there is a driving operation such as a pedal operation and a steering operation by a driver within a predetermined time when the following traveling is suspended. A control method for a following-traveling device, wherein when following operation of the following traveling device is determined, the following traveling is restarted on condition that a preceding vehicle is detected.