JP2000285392A - Vehicle travel controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle travel controller capable of making a vehicle in the vicinity of a deceleration node travel smoothly. SOLUTION: In this vehicle travel controller, an inter-vehicle distance controlling means 11 usually performs inter-vehicle distance control in a controller 10. A deceleration node approach detecting means 12 detects whether a self- vehicle approaches a deceleration node on the basis of information from a navigation device. A turn signal operation detecting means 13 detects the existence/absence of a turn signal operation of the self-vehicle on the basis of information from an operation switch 2. A deceleration controlling means 14 performs deceleration control when the means 12 detects that the self-vehicle approaches the deceleration node and also when the means 13 detects the existence of a turn signal operation.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle travel control device capable of suitably controlling travel of a vehicle near a point (deceleration node) where the vehicle must be decelerated.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a preceding vehicle is present, a following control is performed so as to have an inter-vehicle distance corresponding to the traveling speed of the preceding vehicle, and when there is no preceding vehicle, a constant speed running at a set vehicle speed is performed. Distance control devices have been put to practical use. By using such a device, the burden on the driver when the vehicle travels is reduced.

When the following control of a preceding vehicle is performed using this type of device, for example, when the own vehicle or the preceding vehicle changes lanes and there is no preceding vehicle in front of the own vehicle, the own vehicle is controlled at the set vehicle speed. Entering constant speed driving, smooth driving can be continued. However, for example, on a highway, if the vehicle exits at an interchange or attempts to enter a service area while following the preceding vehicle, the vehicle accelerates to the set vehicle speed because there is no preceding vehicle despite the need for deceleration. And the driver may be forced to brake.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 10-67255 proposes a device which eliminates such troublesome brake operation and improves operability. This device determines whether or not the vehicle has approached a node that must be decelerated, based on the information on the guidance route to the destination obtained from the navigation device, and when it is determined that the vehicle has approached the decelerated node, This is to end the inter-vehicle distance control type constant speed traveling control.

[0005]

However, as in the above-mentioned apparatus, when the constant speed traveling control of the following distance control type is terminated due to approaching the deceleration node, the deceleration nodes such as the exit lane of the interchange and the entrance lane of the service area. The driver may approach the preceding vehicle in the vicinity, and in such a case, it is dangerous, and the driver must perform the brake operation, which increases the burden. Further, in the above-mentioned device, for example, even if the driver tries to go straight through this deceleration node without following the guidance route information from the navigation device that the driver exits the interchange on the expressway, the above-mentioned inter-vehicle distance control type constant speed traveling control is performed. Ends. For this reason, the driver needs to set the control device again, and there is a problem that it is troublesome.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle traveling control device capable of smoothly traveling a vehicle near a deceleration node.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to perform follow-up control so that an inter-vehicle distance corresponding to the traveling speed of a preceding vehicle is provided when there is a preceding vehicle, and to perform constant speed traveling control at a set vehicle speed when there is no preceding vehicle. Inter-vehicle distance control means, a deceleration node approach detection means for detecting that the own vehicle has approached the deceleration node based on information from the navigation device, and a turn signal operation detection for detecting the presence or absence of a turn signal operation of the own vehicle Means, and deceleration control means for performing deceleration control when the deceleration node approach detection means detects that the vehicle has approached the deceleration node, and when the turn signal operation detection means detects the presence of a turn signal operation. This is achieved by a vehicle travel control device provided. With this configuration, the inter-vehicle distance control for the preceding vehicle can be performed even during the deceleration control, so that safety and convenience are improved. Further, since the condition of the deceleration control is based on the presence of the turn signal operation, unnecessary deceleration control can be avoided.

[0008]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of a vehicle traveling control device according to the present invention. As shown in the figure, a controller 10 performs various kinds of detection and control in the present apparatus, and includes an inter-vehicle distance control unit 11, a deceleration node approach detection unit 12, and a turn signal operation detection unit 1.
3 and deceleration control means 14. Controller 10
Inputs various signals from the radar 1, the operation switch 2, the vehicle speed sensor 3, the navigation device 4, etc., processes them, and outputs various control signals to the engine 7, the automatic transmission (A / T) 8, the display device 9 respectively. Output to

The inter-vehicle distance control means 11 performs follow-up control so that the inter-vehicle distance is in accordance with the traveling speed of the preceding vehicle when there is a preceding vehicle, and performs constant speed traveling control at a set vehicle speed when there is no preceding vehicle. And information on the distance to the preceding vehicle obtained from the radar 1 and the vehicle speed sensor 3
The engine 7 and the A / T 8 are controlled based on the vehicle speed information obtained from. The deceleration node approach detection means 12 detects whether or not the vehicle has approached a deceleration node such as an exit of an interchange or an entrance of a service area, based on information from the navigation device 4. The turn signal operation detecting means 13 detects the presence or absence of a turn signal operation based on information from the operation switch 2. The deceleration control means 14
When the deceleration node approach detecting means 12 detects that the own vehicle has approached the decelerating node and the turn signal operation detecting means 13 detects that a turn signal operation is performed, the engine 7 and the A / T 8 are controlled to decelerate. Perform control.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are flowcharts showing an example of the operation in this embodiment. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3A, the following distance control is normally performed (step 21), and when there is a preceding vehicle, the following control is performed so that the following distance is set according to the traveling speed of the preceding vehicle. Is performed, and when there is no preceding vehicle, constant speed running control at the set vehicle speed is performed. In such a situation, the deceleration node approach detecting means 12 determines the exit of the interchange (IC) or the service area (S) based on the information from the navigation device 4.
It is determined whether the vehicle has approached a deceleration node such as the entrance of A) (step 22). As a result, if it is not detected that the own vehicle has approached the deceleration node, step 2
The process returns to the following inter-vehicle distance control. When it is detected that the vehicle has approached the deceleration node, the presence or absence of a turn signal operation is detected based on information from the operation switch 2 (step 2).
3). As a result, when the presence of the turn signal operation is not detected, the process returns to the inter-vehicle distance control in step 21. When the presence of the turn signal operation is detected, for example, "caution at IC exit", "caution at SA entrance" or the like is displayed on the display device 9 to provide information to the driver (step 24).
The engine 7 and the A / T 8 are controlled to shift to deceleration control (step 25). This information provision may be performed by voice, or may be performed by both display and voice.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the presence of a turn signal operation is used as the condition for deceleration control. Therefore, the vehicle should go straight without following the guidance route information from the navigation device set to exit the interchange on the expressway. Even in the case where the turn signal operation is not performed, the deceleration control is not performed and the normal inter-vehicle distance control is performed. Therefore, the driver does not need to reset the released control device as in the related art, and can continue the smooth running.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2B, even if the turn signal is operated and the deceleration control is performed, it is determined again whether or not the vehicle approaches the deceleration node (step 26). As a result, if it is determined that the vehicle is not already in the deceleration node approach state due to the passage of the deceleration node, it is determined whether or not the driver has performed an acceleration operation (step 27). The determination of the presence or absence of this acceleration operation is made by the signals from the accelerator pedal and the accelerator switch.
This is done by inputting to. Then, when the driver performs an acceleration operation, the set vehicle speed and the like are displayed on the display device 9 to provide information to the driver (step 28), and then the process returns to the normal inter-vehicle distance control described above (step 21). . If no acceleration operation has been performed by the driver, the process returns to step S26. Step 2 above
Step 28 may be performed directly without performing step 7.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the own vehicle is still in the approaching state of the deceleration node as a result of determining again whether the vehicle has approached the deceleration node (step 26), it is next determined whether or not there is a preceding vehicle. (Step 2
9). When there is a preceding vehicle, the following distance control is performed (step 30). When there is no preceding vehicle, the process returns to step 25 to perform deceleration control.

As described above, according to the present invention, the inter-vehicle distance control for the preceding vehicle can be performed as needed even during deceleration control, so that safety and convenience are improved. When the vehicle has passed through the deceleration node, it is possible to immediately return to the following distance control automatically or by the acceleration operation of the driver. Furthermore, since the condition of the deceleration control is that the turn signal operation is performed, unnecessary deceleration control can be avoided. In this case, in addition to the condition of the turn signal operation, if the deceleration control is performed when, for example, the direction of the exit of the IC or the direction of the SA entrance of the own vehicle coincides with the direction of the turn signal operation, a more strict vehicle Travel control can be performed.

[0015]

According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a vehicle traveling control device capable of smoothly traveling a vehicle near a deceleration node.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a vehicle travel control device according to the present invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are flowcharts showing an example of an operation in the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 radar 2 operation switch 3 vehicle speed sensor 4 navigation device 7 engine 8 automatic transmission (A / T) 9 display device 10 controller 11 inter-vehicle distance control means 12 deceleration node approach detection means 13 turn signal operation detection means 14 deceleration control means

Continued on front page F term (reference) 3D044 AA21 AA25 AB01 AC00 AC16 AC26 AC55 AC56 AC59 AD01 AD17 AE21 3G093 AA01 AA05 BA23 CB12 DA06 DB00 DB05 DB16 DB18 EA01 EB03 FB02 5H180 AA01 CC14 LL01 LL04 LL09

Claims (1)

[Claims] An inter-vehicle distance control means for performing follow-up control so as to have an inter-vehicle distance corresponding to the traveling speed of the preceding vehicle when there is a preceding vehicle, and performing constant speed traveling control at a set vehicle speed when there is no preceding vehicle; Deceleration node approach detection means for detecting whether or not the vehicle has approached the deceleration node based on information from the navigation device; turn signal operation detection means for detecting the presence or absence of a turn signal operation of the own vehicle; Deceleration control means for performing deceleration control when the detection means detects that the own vehicle has approached the deceleration node, and when the turn signal operation detection means detects the presence of a turn signal operation. Vehicle travel control device.