JP2001023094A - Semi-automatic driving system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the sense of complication of a driver by switching an announcement method according to the degree of emergency of countermeasure when traffic lane maintenance traveling being semi-automatic driving is stopped since necessary data can not be obtained when the driver does not perform any manual operation. SOLUTION: A traffic lane maintenance traveling controlling part 2 operates traffic lane maintenance traveling along a white lane on a road detected by a camera 10. When the white line can not be detected, the traffic lane maintenance traveling is stopped, and a stop signal is outputted to an information controlling part 1. The information controlling part 1 calculate the change and speed of the traveling direction form the degree of road bending obtained from a navigation device 3 and horizontal G detected by a horizontal G sensor 4, and predicts a reaching time to an obstacle existing in a left or right direction detected by a left side radar 6 or a right side radar 7. When the reaching time is within 2 seconds, a warning sound is immediately issued from a warning device 9 and in the other case, display warning is presented at a display device 8. When the traffic lane maintenance traveling is resumed, or a manual operation is performed, the announcement is stopped.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a semi-automatic driving system in which a part of driving operation is performed by automatic driving, and the semi-automatic driving is stopped when the driver does not perform an operation intended to stop the semi-automatic driving. The present invention relates to a semi-automatic driving system for notifying a driver of the suspension of the semi-automatic driving when the operation is performed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, development of a semi-automatic driving system for performing a part of driving operation on behalf of a driver has been advanced. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-309961 discloses a semi-automatic driving system that performs control so that switching from semi-automatic driving to manual driving by a driver can be performed without any problem when the semi-automatic driving is completed. In the above-mentioned conventional example, when switching from semi-automatic driving to manual driving by a driver, the operation sharing ratio at the time of the transition is smoothly controlled by giving a time margin according to the external environment.

[0003]

However, when the operation is switched from the semi-automatic operation to the manual operation, when the driver intends to switch the operation from the semi-automatic operation to the manual operation, and when the driver performs the semi-automatic operation. In some cases, necessary situation data could not be obtained. In the above-mentioned conventional example, although it is effective for the transition operation when the semi-automatic operation is ended by the manual operation, no consideration is given to the measures to be taken when the semi-automatic operation is stopped at a timing not predicted by the driver. .

On the other hand, when semi-automatic driving is stopped when the driver does not perform an operation intended to stop the semi-automatic driving, a semi-automatic driving system for notifying the driver of the stop of semi-automatic driving by an alarm sound is known. Have been. However, when the situation data necessary for performing the semi-automatic operation cannot be temporarily obtained, for example, the semi-automatic operation is resumed immediately after the suspension of the semi-automatic operation, but an alarm is sounded.
Further, even when the driver recognizes the suspension of the semi-automatic driving and takes an appropriate action, an alarm sound is issued. For this reason, there is a problem that the driver feels complicated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional problems, and when semi-automatic driving is stopped when the driver does not perform an operation intended to stop semi-automatic driving, the operation is performed according to the urgency of coping. It is an object of the present invention to provide a semi-automatic driving system that can reduce the complexity of giving a driver when notifying a semi-automatic driving stop by switching a notification method.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a semi-automatic driving system for performing a part of a driving operation of a vehicle by an automatic driving.
Surrounding situation detecting unit that detects surrounding situation data of the vehicle, and surrounding situation data necessary for performing semi-automatic driving according to the surrounding situation detected by the surrounding situation detecting unit and performing semi-automatic driving from the surrounding situation detecting unit If not obtained, a semi-automatic driving control unit to stop the semi-automatic driving, and, when the semi-automatic driving by the semi-automatic driving control unit is stopped, the notification control unit that notifies the driver of the suspension of the semi-automatic driving A notification control unit for predicting a running state of the vehicle after the suspension of the semi-automatic driving, an obstacle determining unit for determining whether an obstacle is present in a direction of the vehicle, and a prediction of the running prediction unit. According to the result and the judgment result of the obstacle judging means, a notifying switching means for notifying that the semi-automatic driving has been stopped by switching the notifying method stepwise is provided.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the vehicle is predicted to reach an obstacle within a predetermined time from the prediction result of the traveling prediction means and the determination result of the obstacle determination means, When the vehicle is not predicted to reach an obstacle within a predetermined time, a warning is issued to notify that the semi-automatic driving has been stopped. It was to be announced.

In the invention according to claim 3, the notification switching means stops the notification when the driver performs a predetermined driving operation while notifying that the semi-automatic driving has been stopped. did.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when the semi-automatic driving control unit obtains the surrounding situation data necessary for performing the semi-automatic driving again from the surrounding situation detecting unit while the semi-automatic driving is stopped, The semi-automatic operation is restarted, and the notification switching means stops the notification when the semi-automatic operation is restarted while notifying that the semi-automatic operation has been stopped.

[0010] According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the obstacle judging means determines whether or not an obstacle exists in the traveling direction of the vehicle based on a detection result obtained by the obstacle detecting unit provided separately from the surrounding situation detecting unit. Is determined.

According to the present invention, the surrounding condition detecting section is a camera for photographing a road ahead of the vehicle, and the semi-automatic driving control section detects a position of a white line on the road from an image photographed by the camera. Is a lane keeping traveling control unit that stops lane keeping traveling when a white line cannot be detected, the notification control unit is connected to the navigation device and the lateral G sensor, and the traveling prediction unit includes: When the lane keeping traveling is stopped, based on the road bending degree obtained from the navigation device and the lateral G immediately after stopping the lane keeping traveling,
It is assumed that the traveling direction of the vehicle after stopping the lane keeping traveling is predicted.

According to the present invention, the surrounding condition detecting section is a radar for detecting the front of the vehicle, and the semi-automatic driving control section detects the preceding vehicle from the radar reflection signal and determines the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle. It is an inter-vehicle distance following control unit that performs inter-vehicle distance following traveling that is maintained at a distance or more and runs at a preset speed or less and stops the following distance traveling when a preceding vehicle cannot be detected. Is connected to the navigation device and the vehicle speed sensor, and when the following distance is stopped, the traveling prediction means determines the relationship between the road gradient obtained from the navigation device, the traveling vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor, and the set vehicle speed. Based on this, the acceleration / deceleration of the vehicle after stopping the following distance following the vehicle is predicted.

[0013]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when semi-automatic driving is stopped when the driver does not perform an operation intended to stop semi-automatic driving, the prediction result of the traveling predicting means and the obstacle judging means. The notification method is switched between a case where the situation around the vehicle requires an urgent response and a case where no urgent response is required according to the determination result of the above. Therefore, when the situation around the vehicle does not require an urgent response, it is possible to use a notification method that does not give the driver a complicated feeling.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when it is predicted that the vehicle will reach an obstacle within a predetermined time after the suspension of the semi-automatic operation, that is, when an emergency response by the driver is required, an alarm sound is issued. If it is not predicted that the vehicle will reach the obstacle within a predetermined time after the suspension of the semi-automatic operation, that is, if it is not necessary for the driver to take urgent action, a display warning is presented. Therefore, the frequency of occurrence of the alarm sound can be reduced, and the feeling of complexity given to the driver is reduced.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the driver performs a predetermined driving operation, the notification is stopped, so that the driver can recognize that the semi-automatic driving has been stopped and take appropriate measures. Regardless, the notification operation is prevented from continuing. According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when the semi-automatic operation is restarted, the notification is stopped, so that the notification operation is prevented from continuing even though the semi-automatic operation is restarted.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the obstacle detecting section is provided separately from the surrounding situation detecting section. Therefore, when the surrounding situation detecting section has some abnormality, the surrounding situation data cannot be obtained. However, an obstacle can be detected without any trouble.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, when the lane keeping running is stopped, the running direction after the stopping is predicted on the basis of the road bending degree and the lateral G, so that the left direction is stopped after the lane keeping running is stopped. Or, even if the driving direction changes to the right, the driver switches the lane to the lane using an appropriate notification method by switching the notification method step by step based on the predicted time until reaching the obstacle existing in the driving direction. It is possible to notify that the maintenance traveling has been stopped, and it is possible to reduce the complexity of the driver.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, when the following distance following is stopped, acceleration / deceleration after the stop is predicted based on the relationship between the road gradient, the traveling vehicle speed, and the set speed. After stopping driving, the driver can be notified that lane keeping following running has been stopped by using an appropriate notification method by switching the notification method stepwise according to the acceleration or deceleration state and the presence or absence of an obstacle. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the complexity of the driver.

[0019]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to examples. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the first embodiment of the present invention. The notification control unit 1 is connected to a lane keeping traveling control unit 2, a navigation device 3, a lateral G sensor 4, a steering operation detecting unit 5, a left radar 6, a right radar 7, a display device 8, and an alarm device 9. I have.

The lane keeping traveling control unit 2 is connected with a steering operation detecting unit 5 and a camera 10 mounted at a position where an image of a road ahead of the vehicle can be taken. When the lane keeping traveling switch (not shown) is turned on by the driver, the lane keeping traveling control unit 2 detects the position of the white line on the road from the image taken by the camera 10, and the vehicle moves along the white line. The lane keeping traveling for automatically controlling the traveling direction to travel is started, and a lane keeping traveling signal is output to the notification control unit 1.

When the white line position cannot be detected, the lane keeping traveling control section 2 suspends the lane keeping traveling and outputs a stop signal to the notification control section 1. When the lane keeping traveling is stopped, the photographing by the camera 10 and the detection of the white line position are continued, and when the white line position is detected again, the automatic control of the traveling direction is restarted. The steering operation detection unit 5 detects that the driver has performed a steering operation, and outputs operation input information to the notification control unit 1 and the lane keeping traveling control unit 2. In the lane keeping traveling control unit 2, when the switch is turned off, the operation input information is transmitted to the steering operation detecting unit 5.
When the input is received from the vehicle, the lane keeping traveling is ended, and an end signal is output to the notification control unit 1.

The navigation device 3 has a GPS (Gl
The navigation device 3 detects a traveling position based on a signal received by the GPS receiver 11, and outputs the detected traveling position to the notification control unit 1 together with road map information stored in advance. The lateral G sensor 4 provides lateral G (acceleration) of the vehicle.
Is detected and output to the notification control unit 1.

The left radar 6 and the right radar 7 are
The left radar 6, which is an obstacle detection unit, is attached to the left side of the vehicle, detects a distance to an obstacle existing on the left side, and outputs the distance to the notification control unit 1. The right-side radar 7 is attached to the right side of the vehicle, detects a distance to an obstacle existing on the right side, and outputs the distance to the notification control unit 1.

When the lane keeping running is stopped, the warning device 9 emits a warning sound to notify the driver that the lane keeping running has been stopped under the control of the notification control unit 1. The display device 8 is provided at a position where the driver can easily recognize the display. When the lane keeping traveling is stopped, the display device 8 notifies the driver that the lane keeping traveling has been stopped under the control of the notification control unit 1. To present a display alert. The notification controller 1 is provided with a timer 12.

Next, the operation of the lane keeping traveling system having the above configuration will be described. When the driver turns on a switch (not shown), the lane keeping traveling control unit 2 detects the position of the white line on the road from the image taken by the camera 10 by image processing, and controls the vehicle to travel along the white line. Start lane keeping running. Further, it outputs a lane keeping traveling signal to the notification control unit 1.

When the switch is turned off by the driver,
When the operation input information is input from the steering operation detection unit 5, the lane keeping traveling is ended, and an end signal is output to the notification control unit 1. When the white line cannot be detected, the lane keeping running is stopped, and a stop signal is output to the notification control unit 1. When the lane keeping traveling is stopped, the detection of the white line is continued, and when the white line is detected, the lane keeping traveling is restarted, and the lane keeping traveling signal is notified to the notification control unit 1.
Output to

The operation of the notification control unit 1 will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. When the lane keeping traveling signal is output from the lane keeping traveling control unit 2 to the notification control unit 1, first, at step 101, the notification control unit 1 starts operation. In step 102, it is determined whether or not an end signal has been output from the lane keeping traveling control unit 2. If the end signal has been output, the process proceeds to step 103, and the operation ends. If the end signal has not been output, the process proceeds to step 104.

In step 104, it is determined whether or not a stop signal is output from the lane keeping traveling control unit 2. If the stop signal has not been output, the process returns to step 102 and repeats step 102 at predetermined time intervals. If the stop signal has been output, the process proceeds to step 105.

In step 105, the road curvature of the currently traveling road is calculated from the map information output from the navigation device 3 and the travel position. And if it is greater than a predetermined value, it is determined that the road type is a curved road. In step 106, based on the lateral G detected by the lateral G sensor 4, the lateral G when the lane keeping traveling is stopped is compared with the lateral G after a lapse of a minute predetermined time, and the lateral G immediately after the suspension of the lane keeping traveling is determined. Calculate the increase or decrease.

In step 107, the road type and the horizontal G
The traveling direction of the vehicle after the stoppage of the lane keeping traveling is predicted based on the increase / decrease of the vehicle speed. If the vehicle is traveling on a straight road while maintaining lane keeping and the lane keeping traveling is stopped, the control of the traveling direction is released, and the traveling direction of the vehicle changes to either the left or right. Which side, left or right, changes can be predicted from the increasing direction of the lateral G immediately after stopping the lane keeping traveling.

That is, as shown in FIG. 4A, if the lateral G increases to the left immediately after the stoppage of the lane keeping traveling, the vehicle travels while changing the traveling direction from the initial traveling direction to the right. it seems to do. For this reason, after stopping the lane keeping traveling, it can be predicted that the vehicle travels while gradually turning right.

Conversely, if the lateral G increases rightward immediately after the stoppage of the lane keeping running, it is considered that the vehicle is traveling while changing the traveling direction from the initial traveling direction to the left. For this reason, after stopping the lane keeping traveling, it can be predicted that the vehicle travels while turning gradually to the left. That is, as shown in FIG. 4B, when the vehicle is traveling on a straight road and the lateral G increases to the right when the lane keeping traveling is stopped, the traveling direction can be predicted to change to the left, When the lateral G increases to the left, it can be predicted that the traveling direction changes to the right.

As shown in FIG. 5A, when the vehicle is traveling on a curved road while maintaining the lane, if the lane keeping is stopped, the control of the traveling direction is released. The traveling direction of the vehicle changes from the initial traveling direction along the curve to the straight traveling direction. The change in the traveling direction of the vehicle after the stoppage of the lane keeping traveling can be predicted from the decreasing direction of the lateral G immediately after the suspension of the lane keeping traveling. During traveling on a curved road, a lateral G in a direction opposite to the bending direction of the curve acts on the normal vehicle.

That is, when traveling on a curved road that is curving to the left, the lateral G in the right direction acts. When traveling on a curved road that is curving to the right, the lateral G in the left direction is applied. Working. Therefore, if the lateral G in the right direction decreases immediately after the stoppage of the lane keeping running, the vehicle is considered to have shifted from the initial running direction to the straight traveling direction. Conversely, left side G
Is decreased, it is considered that the vehicle is traveling while changing the traveling direction to the left straight traveling direction from the state of traveling on the right curve.

That is, as shown in FIG. 5 (b), when the vehicle is traveling on a curved road and the lateral G in the right direction decreases when the lane keeping traveling is stopped, the traveling direction changes to the right. When the lateral G in the left direction decreases, the traveling direction can be predicted to change to the left. If it is predicted that the driving direction changes to the left from the initial driving direction, step 1
Proceed to 08. When it is predicted that the driving direction is initially changed to the right, the process proceeds to step 111.

In step 108, an initial speed in the left direction is calculated by taking a short time in the lateral G immediately after the stop of the lane keeping running. In step 109, the distance to an obstacle existing on the left side of the vehicle is detected by using the left radar 6 attached to the left side of the vehicle. In step 110, the distance to the obstacle detected in step 109 and step 1
The time until the vehicle reaches the obstacle from the initial speed calculated in step 08 is calculated, and the process proceeds to step 114.

In step 111, an initial speed in the right direction from the side G immediately after the stoppage of the lane keeping running is calculated. In step 112, the distance to an obstacle existing on the right side of the vehicle is detected using the right radar 7 attached to the right side of the vehicle. In step 113, the distance to the obstacle detected in step 112 and the time from the initial speed calculated in step 111 to reach the obstacle are calculated. The remaining time until the vehicle reaches the obstacle is measured by the timer 12.

In step 114, it is determined whether the time required to reach the obstacle calculated in step 110 or 113 is within 2 seconds. If it is within 2 seconds, go to step 115. If not within 2 seconds, the process proceeds to step 121. In step 115, an alarm sound is issued from the alarm device 9 to notify the driver that the lane keeping traveling has been stopped.

In step 116, it is determined whether or not lane keeping traveling has been resumed. When the lane keeping traveling is restarted, that is, when the lane keeping traveling signal is input from the lane keeping traveling control unit 2, the process proceeds to step 117. If the lane keeping traveling signal is not input, step 118
Proceed to. In step 117, the alarm is stopped and the process returns to step 102. When the operation proceeds from step 114 to step 115 and proceeds to step 117, only an alarm sound is emitted, but step 127 described later is performed.
When the operation proceeds from step to step 115 and proceeds to step 117, a display alarm is presented and an alarm sound is emitted. In step 117, both alarms end.

In step 118, it is determined whether or not operation input information has been output from the steering operation detection unit 5. If the operation input information has been output, step 11
Go to 9. If the operation input information has not been output, the process returns to step 116. In step 119, the generation of the alarm sound is stopped, and in step 120, the operation ends.

In step 121, a display warning for notifying the driver that the lane keeping traveling has been stopped is presented on the display device 8. In step 122, it is determined whether or not lane keeping traveling has been resumed. If the lane keeping running has been resumed, the process proceeds to step 123, where the presentation of the display warning is stopped, and the process returns to step 102. If the lane keeping running has not been restarted, the routine proceeds to step 124.

In step 124, it is determined whether or not operation input information has been output from the steering operation detector 5. If the operation input information has been input, step 125
Then, the presentation of the display alarm is stopped, and the operation is ended in step 126. If no operation input information has been entered,
Proceed to step 127. In step 127, the timer 1
The remaining time to reach the obstacle measured in 2 is 2
It is determined whether it is within seconds. If it is within 2 seconds, go to step 115. If not within 2 seconds, step 1
Return to 22.

Steps 105 to 108 and step 1 in the flowcharts shown in FIGS.
11 constitutes the traveling prediction means of the invention, Steps 109 and 112 constitute an obstacle determination means, and Step 11
0 and steps 113 to 127 constitute a notification switching unit.

According to the above-described operation, while the lane keeping running is being performed, the white line on the road cannot be detected temporarily due to the dirt of the road or the white line, and the lane keeping traveling control unit 2
When the stop signal is output to the notification control unit 1 from, the process proceeds from step 104 to step 105 first. In steps 105 to 107, it is determined whether the running direction changes to the left or right. If the running direction changes to the left, the process proceeds to step 108, where the left side of the wall and other obstacles such as vehicles are detected. And predicts how many seconds after the left turn speed it may hit the wall. If the traveling direction changes to the right, the process proceeds to step 111, and similarly, the time required to reach the obstacle existing on the right side is predicted.

As shown in FIG. 6 (a), when the lane keeping running is stopped at time a1 and the time to reach the obstacle is less than 2 seconds, the process proceeds from step 114 to step 115. Almost at the same time as the time a1, an alarm is sounded to notify the driver that the lane keeping traveling has been stopped and to urge the driver to take action. If the lane keeping running is restarted at time a2 during the generation of the alarm sound, the process proceeds from step 116 to step 117, in which the generation of the alarm sound is stopped, and the process returns to step 102. The notification control unit 1 enters a standby state in which steps 102 and 104 are repeated.
As shown in FIG. 6B, when the lane keeping traveling is stopped at time b1 and the steering operation is performed at time b2 while the alarm sound is being generated, the process proceeds from step 118 to step 119. Then, the generation of the alarm sound is stopped, and the operation is terminated. At this time, the lane keeping running has also been completed.

If the time to reach the obstacle is 2 seconds or more, the process proceeds from step 114 to step 121, and as shown in FIG. 7A, at time c1 when the lane keeping running is stopped, Present a display alert. At time c2 when the remaining time until reaching the obstacle is less than or equal to 2 seconds, the process proceeds from step 127 to step 115 to emit an alarm sound,
Encourage the driver to respond. Usually, the driver can act within 0.5 seconds after the warning sound is emitted. For this reason, if the warning sound is issued when the remaining time until reaching the obstacle is 2 seconds or less, at time c3 which is approximately 0.5 seconds after the warning sound is issued, The driver performs the steering operation, the generation of the alarm sound is stopped, and the operation ends. At this time, the lane keeping running has also been completed.

If the white line cannot be detected because the white line on the road is dirty, for example, as shown in FIG. 7B, at the time d2 immediately after the lane keeping running is temporarily stopped at the time d1. Will be resumed. In this case, the process proceeds from step 122 to step 123, and the presentation of the display alarm is ended.
Returning to step 102, the notification control unit 1 enters a standby state.

That is, the display warning is instantaneously presented between the time d1 and the time d2, and thereafter the normal lane keeping traveling control is continued. Therefore, when the lane keeping traveling control is momentarily interrupted, the driver:
The alarm will not bother you. Further, as shown in FIG. 7C, the lane keeping running is stopped at time e1, and at time e2 when the display warning is presented, the driver notices that the lane keeping traveling is not being performed, and the steering is performed. If the operation has been performed, the process proceeds from step 124 to step 125, where the presentation of the display alarm is ended, and the operation of the notification control unit 1 also stops.

As described above, when it is predicted that the vehicle will reach the obstacle within two seconds after the stoppage of the lane keeping, that is, when an urgent response by the driver is required, an alarm is sounded and the lane keeping is performed. If it is not predicted that the vehicle will reach the obstacle within two seconds after the driving is stopped, that is, if it is not necessary for the driver to take urgent action, a display warning is presented to reduce the frequency of the warning sound. This can reduce the complexity of the driver.

When the driver performs a steering operation, the notification is stopped regardless of whether an alarm sound is issued or an alarm display is presented, so that the operation shifts to the travel control by manual operation. Despite this, the continuation of the notification operation is prevented. Further, when the lane keeping traveling is restarted, the notification is stopped, so that the reporting operation is prevented from continuing even though the lane keeping traveling is resumed.

Further, since an obstacle in the traveling direction is detected by the left radar 6 and the right radar 7 provided separately from the camera 10, some abnormality has occurred in the camera 10, so that a white line on the road may be detected. Even if it cannot be detected, the obstacle can be detected without any trouble.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the second embodiment of the present invention. The notification control unit 21 includes a following distance control unit 22, a navigation device 3, and a vehicle speed sensor 2.
3. The accelerator / brake operation detection unit 24, the stereo camera 25, the display device 8, and the alarm device 9 are connected. An accelerator / brake operation detecting unit 24 and a laser radar 26 attached at a position capable of detecting the front of the vehicle are connected to the following distance control unit 22.

When the driver switches on the inter-vehicle distance following travel switch (not shown), the inter-vehicle distance following traveling control unit 22 detects the preceding vehicle from the radar reflected light input to the sensor unit of the laser radar 26. Then, an inter-vehicle distance following travel in which the traveling speed is automatically controlled so as to keep a predetermined inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle is started, and an inter-vehicle distance following travel signal is output to the notification control unit 21. Further, when performing the following distance running, if the preceding vehicle is running faster than a preset speed, the preceding vehicle is controlled to run at the set speed.

If the preceding vehicle cannot be detected, the inter-vehicle distance following travel is stopped, and a stop signal is output to the notification control unit 21. When the inter-vehicle distance following traveling is stopped, the detection of the front of the vehicle by the laser radar 26 is continued, and when the preceding vehicle is detected again, the automatic control of the traveling speed is restarted. The accelerator / brake operation detection unit 24 detects that the driver has performed an accelerator or brake operation, and outputs operation input information to the notification control unit 21 and the following distance control unit 22.

The inter-vehicle distance following control unit 22 operates when the switch is turned off or when the accelerator or the brake is operated and operation input information is input from the accelerator / brake operation detecting unit 24. And outputs an end signal to the notification control unit 21. Note that the notification control unit 21 is provided with a timer 27.

The operation of the notification control section 21 will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. When the inter-vehicle distance following travel control unit 22 is started by the driver's operation, and the inter-vehicle distance following travel signal is output to the notification control unit 21, first, at step 201, the notification control unit 21 starts operating. In step 202, the following distance control unit 22
It is determined whether or not an end signal has been output from. If the end signal has been output, the process proceeds to step 203, and the operation ends. If the end signal has not been output, the process proceeds to step 204.

In step 204, it is determined whether or not a stop signal has been output from the following distance control unit 22. If the stop signal has not been output, step 202
Returning to step, step 202 is repeated at predetermined time intervals. If the stop signal has been output, the process proceeds to step 205. If the inter-vehicle distance following operation is stopped and the stop signal is output, the sensor portion of the laser radar 26 is dirty or blocked, and the radar reflected light cannot be received, or the road is curved, The reflected light may not return from the vehicle, or the reflected light may not return because the preceding vehicle has changed lanes.

In step 205, it is determined whether or not the traveling vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 23 is lower than a preset speed. If the traveling vehicle speed is lower than the set speed, the process proceeds to step 206. If the traveling vehicle speed is equal to or higher than the set vehicle speed, the process proceeds to step 212. In this case, the traveling vehicle speed is substantially the same as the set speed because the normal traveling vehicle speed does not become faster than the set speed.

In step 206, an alarm sound is issued from the alarm device 9 to inform the driver that the following distance following operation has been stopped. When proceeding to this step, in the immediately preceding step 205, it is determined that the traveling vehicle speed is lower than the set speed, and when the following distance following traveling is stopped,
It is possible that acceleration control has been performed to follow the preceding vehicle moving away, and there is a possibility that the vehicle will be accelerated after stopping following the inter-vehicle distance, so an alarm will sound immediately, prompting the driver to take appropriate action. .

In step 207, it is determined whether or not the following distance following travel has been resumed. If the inter-vehicle distance following travel signal is output from the following distance following traveling control section 22, the following distance following traveling has been resumed, and thus step 208 is executed.
Then, the alarm sound ends and the process returns to step 202. If the inter-vehicle distance following travel signal has not been output, the inter-vehicle distance following traveling has not been restarted, and the process proceeds to step 209.

In step 209, it is determined whether or not operation input information has been output from the accelerator / brake operation detecting section 24. If the operation input information has been output, the process proceeds to step 210 to end the alarm sound, and ends the operation in step 211. If the operation input information has not been output, the process returns to step 207.

In step 212, the gradient of the currently traveling road is determined from the map information and the traveling position output from the navigation device 3, and it is determined whether or not the road gradient is down. If it is down, go to step 220.
If not, the process proceeds to step 213.

In step 213, the display device 8 presents a display warning notifying the driver that the inter-vehicle distance following travel has been stopped. In addition, the timer 27 measures the elapsed time from the presentation of the display alarm. When proceeding to this step, it is determined in step 205 that the traveling vehicle speed is the same as the set speed, and it is determined in step 212 immediately before that the road gradient is not going down, and the vehicle speed is accelerated. Since there is no possibility, there is no need to alert the driver immediately. For this reason, notifying the display of the display warning but not the warning sound informs the user that the following distance following travel has been stopped.

In step 214, it is determined whether or not the following distance following travel has been resumed. If the inter-vehicle distance following travel has been resumed, the process proceeds to step 215, where the presentation of the display warning is ended, and the process returns to step 202. If the following distance travel has not been resumed, the process proceeds to step 216. In step 216, it is determined whether or not operation input information has been output from the accelerator / brake operation detection unit 24. If the operation input information has been output, the process proceeds to step 217 to end the presentation of the display alarm, and ends the operation in step 218. If the operation input information has not been output, the process proceeds to step 219.

At step 219, it is determined whether or not the elapsed time from the presentation of the display alarm measured by the timer 27 is 4 seconds or more. If four seconds have elapsed, the process proceeds to step 206, and an alarm sound is emitted. That is, even if 4 seconds have elapsed since the display warning was presented, the following distance following travel was not restarted, and the driver did not operate the accelerator or the brake, so that the warning sound was appropriate for the driver. Prompt response.

In step 220, the stereo camera 25
It is determined whether or not an obstacle such as a preceding vehicle exists within a predetermined distance in front of the vehicle from the captured image of. If there are no obstacles, there is less need to alert the driver,
Proceed to step 213 to present a display alarm,
The operation from step 13 to step 219 is repeated, and when 4 seconds have elapsed, an alarm sound is generated. If there is an obstacle, the process proceeds to step 221 to present a display warning. In addition, the timer 27 measures the elapsed time from the presentation of the display alarm.

To proceed to this step, step 22
0 indicates that an obstacle is present in front of the vehicle. Even when the driver is driving following distance,
Normally, steering operation is performed, so that even if an obstacle exists in front of the vehicle, it is not necessary to call the driver's attention so quickly. However, it is not desirable to continue the presentation of the display alarm for 4 seconds, so that the steps 213 to 226 are performed by the steps 221 to 226.
The same operation as the operation at 18 is performed, and step 227 is performed.
Then, when the display / warning is presented for two seconds, the process proceeds to step 206, in which a warning sound is emitted to urge the driver to take appropriate action.

Steps 205 and 212 of the flow charts shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 constitute the traveling prediction means of the invention, step 220 is an obstacle determination means, and steps 206 to 211 and step 213 are performed.
Step 219 and Step 221 to Step 22
7 constitutes a notification switching means.

According to the above-described operation, if the running vehicle speed is lower than the set vehicle speed after stopping the following distance following the inter-vehicle distance and the vehicle speed may be accelerated due to the suspension of the speed control of the vehicle, the steps from step 205 to step 205 Proceeding to 206, an alarm is immediately sounded to prompt the driver to take appropriate action. The traveling vehicle speed is the same as the set vehicle speed, and there is no possibility that the vehicle speed will be accelerated due to the suspension of the vehicle speed control,
If the road gradient is not down and there is no possibility of acceleration due to the influence of the road gradient, the process proceeds from step 212 to step 213, where a display warning is presented for 4 seconds, and then a warning sound is emitted.

Although there is a possibility that the vehicle is accelerated due to the influence of the road gradient when the road gradient is lowered, if there is no obstacle in front of the vehicle, the process proceeds from step 212, step 220 to step 213, again for 4 seconds. Presents a display alarm and then emits an alarm sound. If the road gradient is descending and acceleration may be caused by the influence of the road gradient, and there is an obstacle in front of the vehicle, the process proceeds from step 212 to step 220 and step 221 in consideration of ensuring safety. After presenting the display alarm for 2 seconds, an alarm sound is emitted.

If the inter-vehicle distance following travel is resumed while the display warning is being presented, the notification control unit 21 suspends the presentation of the display warning and returns to the normal operation without generating an alarm sound. Back. When the driver performs a brake operation or an accelerator operation to control the traveling vehicle speed, the display warning is stopped and the operation is ended without generating a warning sound.

Therefore, if it is necessary to prompt the driver to take an urgent action after the inter-vehicle distance following operation has been stopped, an alarm sound is issued immediately. If no urgent action by the driver is required, a display alarm is issued. By presenting, the occurrence frequency of the alarm sound can be reduced when the inter-vehicle distance following travel is stopped, and the complexity of the driver is reduced.

Further, when the driver performs an accelerator operation or a brake operation, the notification is stopped regardless of whether a warning sound is issued or a display warning is presented, so that the vehicle must be driven manually. This prevents the notification operation from being continued despite the transition to the control. Also,
When the inter-vehicle distance tracking travel is restarted, the notification is stopped, so that the notification operation is prevented from continuing even though the inter-vehicle distance tracking travel is restarted.

Further, since an obstacle existing in front of the vehicle is detected by the stereo camera 25 provided separately from the laser radar 26, any abnormality occurs in the laser radar 26, so that the preceding vehicle cannot be detected. In this case, an obstacle such as a preceding vehicle can be detected without any problem.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation flow according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation flow according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a travel prediction direction.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a travel prediction direction.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a notification operation.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a notification operation.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an operation flow according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation flow according to the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 21 Notification control unit 2 Lane keeping running control unit 3 Navigation device 4 Lateral G sensor 5 Steering operation detection unit 6 Left radar 7 Right radar 8 Display device 9 Alarm device 10 Camera 11 GPS receiver 12, 27 Timer 22 Inter-vehicle Distance following travel control unit 23 Vehicle speed sensor 24 Accelerator / brake operation detection unit 25 Stereo camera 26 Laser radar

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) B62D 113: 00 B60R 21/00 624G 628C F-term (Reference) 3D032 CC08 CC20 CC30 DA03 DA23 DA29 DA84 DA87 DA88 DA90 DA92 DA93 DC09 DC33 DC34 GG01 5H180 AA01 CC03 CC04 CC12 CC14 CC24 CC27 FF05 FF22 FF32 LL01 LL07 LL08 LL15

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A semi-automatic driving system which substitutes a part of a driving operation of a vehicle by automatic driving, a surrounding situation detecting unit for detecting surrounding situation data of the vehicle, and responding to the surrounding situation detected by the surrounding situation detecting unit. Perform semi-automatic driving,
Further, when the surrounding situation data necessary for performing the semi-automatic driving cannot be obtained from the surrounding situation detecting unit, the semi-automatic driving control unit for stopping the semi-automatic driving, and the semi-automatic driving by the semi-automatic driving control unit are stopped. If the vehicle has a semi-automatic operation, the information control unit has a notification control unit for notifying the driver of the suspension of the semi-automatic driving. In accordance with the obstacle determination means for determining whether an object is present or not, the prediction result of the traveling prediction means, and the determination result of the obstacle determination means, the notification method is switched in a stepwise manner, and the semi-automatic driving is stopped. A semi-automatic driving system comprising an information switching unit for notifying that the operation has been completed. 2. The alarm switching means according to claim 1, wherein said vehicle is predicted to reach an obstacle within a predetermined time based on a result of the travel prediction and a result of the obstacle determination. To notify that the semi-automatic driving has been stopped, and, if the vehicle is not predicted to reach the obstacle within a predetermined time, notify the display warning that the semi-automatic driving has been stopped. The semi-automatic driving system according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The system according to claim 2, wherein the notification switching unit stops the notification when the driver performs a predetermined driving operation while notifying that the semi-automatic driving has been stopped. 3. The semi-automatic driving system according to 1 or 2. 4. The semi-automatic driving control unit restarts the semi-automatic driving when the semi-automatic driving is stopped and when the surrounding situation data necessary for performing the semi-automatic driving is obtained again from the surrounding situation detecting unit. The notification switching means stops the notification when the semi-automatic operation is resumed while reporting that the semi-automatic operation has been stopped, according to claim 1, 2, or 3. Semi-automatic driving system. 5. The obstacle determining unit determines whether an obstacle exists in the direction of travel of the vehicle based on a detection result obtained by an obstacle detecting unit provided separately from the surrounding situation detecting unit. The semi-automatic driving system according to claim 1, 2, 3, or 4, wherein: 6. The surrounding situation detecting section is a camera for photographing a road ahead of the vehicle, and the semi-automatic driving control section detects a position of a white line on the road from an image photographed by the camera, and follows the white line. A lane keeping traveling control unit that stops lane keeping traveling when a white line cannot be detected, and the notification control unit includes a navigation device and a lateral G
Connected to a sensor, the travel prediction means, when the lane keeping travel is stopped, based on the road bending degree obtained from the navigation device and the lateral G immediately after the stop of the lane keeping travel, the travel predicting means is provided. 6. The semi-automatic driving system according to claim 1, wherein a traveling direction of the vehicle is predicted. 7. The surrounding situation detecting section is a radar for detecting the front of the vehicle, and the semi-automatic driving control section detects a preceding vehicle from the radar reflection signal, and sets an inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle to a predetermined distance or more. The inter-vehicle distance tracking travel control unit that keeps and performs the following distance running below the preset speed, and if the preceding vehicle cannot be detected, is an inter-vehicle distance following travel control unit that stops the following distance travel, and the notification control unit is Connected to a navigation device and a vehicle speed sensor, the travel prediction means determines, when the inter-vehicle distance following travel is stopped, the relationship between the road gradient determined from the navigation device, the traveling vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor, and the set vehicle speed. 6. The semi-automatic driving system according to claim 1, wherein acceleration / deceleration of the vehicle after the following distance following the vehicle is stopped is predicted.