JP2001167387A - On-vehicle device for supporting traveling and travelling supporting method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To effectively use information on a road object provided from the side of the road. SOLUTION: On-vehicle equipment 1 is the on-vehicle equipment for a traveling supporting road system AHS. An object information obtaining part 30 obtains information on the road object within a detection area installed along the road by using a road-vehicle communication equipment 14 from the outside of the vehicle. An entry judging part 34 judges that a vehicle enters the detection area. When the vehicle enters the detection area, traveling supporting is executed based on information on the road object in a non-front area such as behind the vehicle. It is preferable that the road object information in a front area is used for the purpose of supporting traveling until the vehicle enters the detection area and that object information in the front and non-front area is used for the purpose of supporting traveling after the vehicle enters the detection area.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an in-vehicle device for obtaining service information from a road and providing driving support. The present invention preferably employs AHS (Advanced Cruise-Assist Hig).
hway Systems), but is not limited thereto.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, ITS (Intelligent Transport)
Systems: The development of intelligent transportation systems is progressing, and one of the ITS is AHS (Advanced Cruise-As).
sist Highway Systems). In the AHS, a road-side system (infrastructure system) and an in-vehicle device are connected by communication, and they integrally provide driving support. Driving support is typically information provision. In the present invention, a warning to the driver is considered to be included in the information provision. Further, the driving support includes vehicle control such as vehicle speed.

At present, in the AHS, collision prevention of obstacles in front, prevention of danger of entering a curve, prevention of lane departure, prevention of collision at intersections (assistance when approaching an intersection and assistance during transmission), prevention of right-turn collision (right-turn vehicle support), pedestrian crossing Functions such as pedestrian collision prevention have been proposed.

[0004] For example, in the "prevention of obstacle collision in front", a device (camera or the like) for detecting a stopped vehicle or the like in a detection area set on the road is provided on the road side. Information about the obstacle is transmitted to the vehicle-mounted device by communication, and is transmitted from the vehicle-mounted device to the driver. This type of technology is disclosed in, for example,
No. 3695. Thus, AHS
Thus, it is possible to receive useful information that cannot be found by the vehicle alone from the infrastructure system.

[0005]

In the related art of AHS, it has been proposed to provide only obstacle information in front of a vehicle. The vehicle receives the obstacle information in front of the detection area and provides it to the user. Even after the vehicle enters the detection area, information on the front is provided exclusively. Information on objects other than the front is also obtained in the detection area, but such information is not used effectively and is wasted. Eliminating this waste will increase the amount of useful information that can be provided,
AHS will be more convenient.

[0006] Here, the provision of the obstacle information has been described, but other services to which the information on the road object are provided have similar problems. Although the information provision has been described, a similar problem may occur when performing other driving support.

The present invention has been made in view of the background art described above, and an object of the present invention is to provide an in-vehicle apparatus capable of more effectively using information on a road object to provide driving support.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, an on-vehicle apparatus according to the present invention comprises an object information acquiring section for acquiring information on a road object existing in a predetermined detection area set on the road side from outside the vehicle. And an entry determination unit that determines that the vehicle has entered the detection area, and when the vehicle has entered the detection area, among the information on the road object obtained from the object information acquisition unit, And a non-forward driving support unit that performs driving support based on information on a road object in a non-forward region that is a region of the vehicle. ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, when a vehicle enters a detection area, useful driving | running | working assistance using the information of the road object of a non-front area | region can be performed.

The driving support may be information provision or vehicle control, and the information provision may be alarm generation. The non-front region is a region extending from the side to the rear of the vehicle. A configuration in which driving support is provided for at least a part of the area behind from the side is included in the scope of the present invention. For example, a device that provides travel assistance for an object behind and behind the rear is included in the scope of the present invention.

The present invention is suitably applied to a peripheral monitoring technique. It is possible to monitor surrounding objects without installing a camera for taking pictures of the rear, etc. on the vehicle, so that costs can be reduced,
In addition, a camera mounting space is not required. Or,
By using the monitoring technology using the on-vehicle camera and the technology of the present invention together, the reliability of monitoring can be increased.

Preferably, the on-vehicle apparatus includes a forward driving support unit for performing a driving support based on information on a road object in a front area of the vehicle among information on the road object obtained from the object information obtaining unit. Further, the in-vehicle device may include a support mode switching unit. The assistance mode switching unit causes the forward traveling assistance unit to perform traveling assistance before the vehicle enters the detection area, and the forward traveling assistance unit and the non-forward traveling after the vehicle enters the detection area. Have the support unit provide driving support. In both inside and outside the detection area, the information obtained from the road side can be effectively used to provide appropriate driving support.

Preferably, when the information on the road object acquired by the object information acquisition unit includes information on a road object at the same position as the vehicle, the approach determination unit preferably enters the detection area. Is determined. The information on the road object can also be used for approach determination.

The approach determination section may determine the approach to the detection area by another method. For example, the shape of the detection area may be obtained from outside through communication and compared with the vehicle position. Further, a marker may be provided on the road at the beginning of the detection area.

The embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the vehicle-mounted device. For example, another embodiment of the present invention relates to a driving support method.
The method includes the steps of: acquiring information on a road object existing in a predetermined detection area set on the road side from outside the vehicle; determining that the vehicle has entered the detection area; When entering the area,
Performing driving support based on information on a road object in a non-forward area that is an area other than the area in front of the vehicle, among information on the road object obtained from the object information acquisition unit.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention (hereinafter, referred to as embodiments) will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In the present embodiment, the present invention relates to AHS (Advanc
ed Cruise-Assist Highway Systems. The in-vehicle device according to the present embodiment provides information about an obstacle to a driver, and particularly gives an alarm.
The obstacle is a kind of road object, and the warning is a form of driving support.

The provision of an obstacle alarm is performed in a service area of the "front obstacle collision prevention" function proposed by the AHS. However, as a feature of this embodiment, an alarm is provided not only for an obstacle in front but also for an obstacle other than the one in front. In addition, the on-vehicle device according to the present embodiment is configured to perform A
It goes without saying that HS-related functions may be combined.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a vehicle-mounted device for driving assistance according to this embodiment. The in-vehicle device 1 includes an information providing ECU
10, a marker detector 12, a road-vehicle communication device 14, and a vehicle speed sensor 16. Marker detector 12 (marker sensor)
Detects a service-in marker (base marker) and a service-out marker (end marker) installed on the road. The road-to-vehicle communication device 14 receives service information from a transmitter installed on the road side in association with the marker. When the service-in marker is detected, the information providing ECU 10 provides information for driving support using service information obtained by road-to-vehicle communication. The vehicle speed sensor 16 provides vehicle speed information (for example, a pulse signal indicating the wheel rotation speed) as information EC.
Send to U10. The vehicle speed information is used for position detection.

For providing information to the driver, a display 18 and a speaker 20 are used as output means.
Character information may be displayed on the display 18,
An image representing a road, an intersection shape, or the like may be displayed. The speaker 20 may output a notification sound or audio information.

Further, the information providing ECU 10 includes, as components related to the present invention, an object information acquiring unit 30, a position information acquiring unit 32, an entry determining unit 34, an exit determining unit 35, a forward information providing unit 36, a non-forward information providing unit. 38 and a support mode switching unit 40. These configurations will be described later.

Next, an "infrastructure system", that is, a roadside system will be described with reference to FIG. FIG.
1 shows a system related to an obstacle collision prevention function as an example of an AHS infrastructure system.

In FIG. 2, the detection area 50 is set at a place where visibility is poor, for example, at a curve exit. An obstacle 52 (including a road object, a stopped vehicle, and a person) in the detection area 50 is detected by the road condition detection device 54. The detection device 54 is, for example, a visible camera, an infrared camera, or an infrared sensor. The transmission information generation unit 58 of the infrastructure control device 56 specifies an obstacle in the detection area 50 based on the information sent from the detection device 54. For example, image processing is performed on an image obtained from a visible camera, and a vehicle or the like in the image is obtained.

The transmission information generation section 58 transmits transmission information to be transmitted to the vehicle to the transmitter 60. The transmission information includes information on obstacles (objects on the road) and road alignment information. Obstacle information
Preferably, it includes the presence / absence, position, size, and speed of an obstacle.
The road alignment information is read from the road alignment storage unit 62.
It is preferable that the transmission information further includes useful information such as a road surface condition. The transmission information is transmitted from the transmitter 60 to the information communication range 64. Although one transmitter 60 is installed in the figure, in order to form a desired communication range 64,
It is preferable to install a plurality of transmitters as needed. The transmission interval currently set in AHS is 100
msec.

A service in marker 66 is provided at the start of the information communication range 64. The service-in marker 66 is a radio wave marker and has a role of instructing the vehicle to enter the service providing area. Service in marker 66
Provides further necessary information to the vehicle. further,
The vehicle can use the service-in marker 66 to specify the position along the lane direction and to specify the own vehicle traveling lane.

In the example of FIG. 2, the vehicle is about to pass the service-in marker 66. When the vehicle passes the service-in marker 66, the in-vehicle device receives information sent from the infrastructure and provides information to the driver.

A service out marker 67 is provided at the end of the information communication range 64. The service-out marker 67 is the same radio wave marker as the service-in marker 66, and has a role of instructing the vehicle to leave the service providing area.

FIG. 2 shows one service-in marker 66 and one service-out marker 67.
In an actual road, it is preferable to arrange a plurality of markers in the width direction of the road so as to cover the entire width of the lane. Thereby, the two-wheeled vehicle can also detect the service-in-marker and receive the AHS information.

By the way, in order to receive services of an intelligent system such as AHS, it is necessary for a vehicle to pass a marker on the road. If one vehicle is parked on the marker, other vehicles cannot receive service. As a countermeasure against such a problem, when the vehicle stops on the marker, the driving support device of the vehicle detects "stop on the marker" and issues an alarm to urge the driver to move the vehicle. Good. The roadside computer also detects the vehicle stop on the marker. Then, the road-side computer communicates to the traveling support device of another vehicle that "there is no service at present because the vehicle is on the marker".

Returning to FIG. 1, the function of the information providing ECU 10 will be described.

The object information acquisition unit 30 is a communication device for the road-vehicle communication device 14.
Obtain obstacle information from the infrastructure system using. The presence / absence and position information of an obstacle in the detection area can be obtained. When there are a plurality of obstacles, their position information is obtained.

The position information acquisition section 32 detects the position of the vehicle. In the present embodiment, the position is represented by a distance from the service-in marker (FIG. 2). Therefore, the position information acquisition unit 3
Step 2 calculates the travel distance after the marker detector 12 detects the service-in marker. The traveling distance is determined by the vehicle speed sensor
From the vehicle speed obtained from Note that the position information may be obtained by another method. For example, the position of the vehicle may be detected by obtaining position information from a navigation device or the like.

The entry determining section 34 determines whether or not the vehicle has entered the detection area (FIG. 2). The entry determination unit 34
When it is found that the obstacle information acquired by the object information acquisition unit 30 includes an obstacle at the same position as the vehicle,
It is determined that the vehicle has entered the detection area.

The approach determination section 34 may make an approach determination using another method. For example, the start position of the detection area is obtained by road-vehicle communication. After the start position, it is determined that the vehicle has entered the detection area. Alternatively, a special marker may be provided at the start of the detection area. When this marker is detected, it is determined that the vehicle has entered the detection area.

However, in these modified examples, it is necessary to increase communication information or to newly install a marker. On the other hand, if it is determined whether or not the vehicle itself has been detected as an obstacle, the information on the obstacle can be effectively used for the approach determination, and the infrastructure system does not need to be changed.

The exit determination section 35 determines whether or not the vehicle has exited the detection area (FIG. 2). The principle of the determination is the same as that of the entry determination unit 34. The exit determination unit 35 determines that the vehicle has left the detection area when an obstacle at the same position as the vehicle has disappeared from the obstacle information acquired by the object information acquisition unit 30.

Also in this case, the exit determination section 35 may perform the exit determination by another method. That is, the end position of the detection area may be obtained by road-to-vehicle communication. Further, a marker installed on a road may be detected. However, as compared with these modifications, the above-described processing is advantageous in that obstacle information can be effectively used.

The forward information providing section 36 provides the user with information on obstacles ahead of the vehicle. The forward information providing unit 36 implements a normal forward obstacle warning function. First,
It is determined whether there is an obstacle in front of the vehicle. If an obstacle exists, a distance from the vehicle to the obstacle is determined based on the position of the vehicle and the position of the obstacle. When the distance becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value, the forward information providing unit 36 issues a warning to notify the driver of the presence of the object and to urge the driver to decelerate. Preferably, the relative speed between the obstacle and the vehicle is also used for determining whether to generate an alarm. The alarm is output from the display 18 and the speaker 20. From the speaker 20, an alarm sound may be output, and a sound may be output.
The forward information providing unit 36 starts functioning after passing the service-in marker. It continues to function until the vehicle exits the detection area or passes the service out marker.

On the other hand, the non-forward information providing unit 38 provides the user with information on obstacles existing in an area other than the front of the vehicle, that is, an area extending from the side to the rear. As shown in FIG. 3, the non-front region includes side, rear side and rear regions. However, the forward information providing unit 36 does not need to provide the obstacle information of all areas other than the forward area. That is, it is only necessary to provide the obstacle information of at least a part of the area rearward from the side. Here, information on rear and rear obstacles is provided.

The non-forward information providing unit 38 determines whether there is an obstacle behind and behind the vehicle. If there is an obstacle, the distance to the obstacle is determined. When this distance becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value, an alarm is issued. The display 18 and the speaker 20 are used similarly to the non-forward information providing unit 38. The necessity of an alarm is determined in consideration of the relative speed between the obstacle and the vehicle.

The function of the non-forward information providing section 38 is from when it is determined that the vehicle has entered the detection area to when it exits the detection area. However, in the case of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the communication range continues beyond the detection area. Accordingly, the non-forward information providing unit 38 may function until the service detector is detected by the marker detector 12.

The support mode switching section 40 switches between a forward monitoring mode and a peripheral monitoring mode. The forward monitoring mode is set from when the vehicle passes through the service-in marker until the vehicle enters the detection area. In the forward monitoring mode, only the forward information providing unit 36 functions, and only an alarm for an obstacle in front is provided. The peripheral monitoring mode is set from when the vehicle enters the detection area until it exits the detection area (or until the vehicle passes the service out marker). In the surroundings monitoring mode, the forward information providing unit 36 and the non-forward information providing unit 38 function to provide warnings of obstacles located in front, behind, and rear sides.

Next, the operation of the information providing ECU 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 shows the overall process, which is started when the ignition switch of the vehicle is turned on. First, it is determined whether the vehicle has passed the service-in marker and has entered the service providing area (S10). If S10 is YES, the forward monitoring mode is set, and the above-described normal forward obstacle warning service is performed by the forward information providing unit 36 (S12). Then, it is determined whether or not the vehicle has entered the obstacle detection area of the roadside sensor (S14).

FIG. 5 shows the entry judgment processing of S14, and this processing is performed by the entry judgment unit 34. The approach determination unit 34 determines whether or not the own vehicle is found in the obstacle information obtained from the road (S30). The position of the own vehicle is compared with the position of each object obtained from the road side. If there is an object at the same position, it is determined that the vehicle has entered the detection area (S32). Therefore, even if the start position of the detection area is not known, entry into the detection area can be detected. In other words, there is no need to request the AHS infrastructure system to transmit the shape of the detection area and the like.

Referring back to FIG. 4, when the vehicle enters the detection area, the surroundings monitoring mode is set, and the rear and rear warning services are started (S16). Forward warning service has already been started. Thus, an alarm is provided for obstacles around the vehicle (front, rear, rear side).

FIG. 6 shows the rear / rear side warning process. The position information acquisition unit 32 calculates the distance from the service-in marker as the own vehicle position (S40).
Through the roadside communication, information on the rear and rear obstacles is acquired (S42). The relative position and relative speed between the detected obstacle and the host vehicle are calculated (S44). Based on the relative position and the relative speed, it is determined whether there is a high possibility that the own vehicle collides with the obstacle (S46). For example, when the distance between the obstacle and the host vehicle becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value, it is determined that the possibility of collision is high. However, even if the distance is equal to or less than the predetermined value, if the relative speed is 0 or equal to or less than the predetermined value, it is determined that the possibility of collision is low (this determination is also performed in the forward obstacle warning process).

If the determination in S46 is YES, an alarm is output and other necessary information is provided (S4).
8). For example, a warning sound is emitted from the speaker 20, while the display 18 displays the distance to the object and the relative speed.

Returning to FIG. 4, next, the exit determination section 35 determines whether or not the vehicle has exited the detection area (S18).

FIG. 7 shows the exit determination processing in S18. The exit determination unit 35 determines whether the own vehicle has disappeared from the obstacle in the roadside information (S50). The position of the vehicle and the position of each object obtained from the road side are compared. If there is no matching object, it is determined that the vehicle has left the detection area (S52).

Returning to FIG. 4, when the vehicle exits the detection area, the alarm service ends (S20). Then, it is determined whether the vehicle has passed the service out marker and has left the service providing range (S22). If S22 is YES, the information providing ECU 10 waits until the next service-in marker is found.

The above is the obstacle warning processing shown in FIGS.

Next, FIG. 8 shows a road condition when the above-mentioned warning processing is performed. When the vehicle is in front of the detection area, the forward monitoring mode is set. An alarm service is provided for obstacles in the detection area ahead.
When the vehicle enters the detection area, the surroundings monitoring mode is set. Information on obstacles in front, behind and behind is obtained. These are used to provide alert services.

The on-vehicle device for driving assistance according to the present embodiment has been described above. Next, a modified example of the present embodiment will be described.

(1) There is a case where only information of a stopped obstacle is provided from the infrastructure system, or a case where only information of a stopped or moving obstacle at a low speed is provided. In this case, the in-vehicle device according to the present embodiment includes an obstacle,
Alternatively, it functions suitably as a periphery monitoring device used when an obstacle and the own vehicle are stopped or moving at a low speed.

(2) In the present embodiment, a warning about an obstacle ahead is provided in front of the detection area, and a warning about obstacles ahead and non-forward is provided in the detection area. On the other hand, only a warning about a non-forward obstacle may be provided in the detection area.

(3) In the present embodiment, the object on the road is an obstacle, and a warning is issued as driving assistance. However, these do not limit the invention. An alert may be generated in relation to a road object other than an obstacle. Further, as the driving support, information provision other than the warning may be performed, or driving support other than the information provision may be performed. For example, vehicle control (vehicle speed, steering, etc.) as one form of travel support may be performed.

In the AHS, various service functions have been proposed in addition to the obstacle alarm. The present invention may be applied to other service functions that can obtain information on road objects.

(4) In the present embodiment, the present invention
Although applied to HS, the invention is not so limited. A
The present invention may be applied to a driving support system other than the HS. It is also preferable to apply the present invention to a system in another country corresponding to the AHS system in Japan.

[0058]

As described above, according to the present invention, when a vehicle enters a detection area of a road object, driving support is performed using information of a road object in a non-forward area.
Therefore, the information on the road object can be used effectively.

According to the present invention, the surrounding objects can be monitored without mounting a camera for monitoring the surroundings on the vehicle.
Cost can be reduced, and a space for mounting a camera is not required.

Further, according to the present invention, by switching between the forward monitoring mode and the surroundings monitoring mode, it is possible to perform appropriate driving support by effectively using information on road objects.

Further, according to the present invention, it can be appropriately determined that the vehicle has entered the detection area by determining whether or not the information on the road object at the same position as the vehicle is included in the information on the road object.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a vehicle-mounted device for driving assistance according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing infrastructure equipment of a driving support system.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating definitions of a front area and a non-front area of a vehicle.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an alarm providing process by the information providing ECU of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a process of a step of determining entry into a detection area in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing processing of a rear / rear side warning service step in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a process of a step of determining exit from a detection area in FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a road condition when the warning providing process of FIG. 4 is performed.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 in-vehicle device, 10 information providing ECU, 12 marker detector, 14 road-vehicle communication device, 16 vehicle speed sensor, 18
Display, 20 speakers, 30 object information acquisition unit, 32 position information acquisition unit, 34 entry determination unit, 35
Exit determination unit, 36 forward information providing unit, 38 non-forward information providing unit, 40 support mode switching unit.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An object information acquisition unit for acquiring information on a road object existing in a predetermined detection area set on the road side from outside the vehicle, and an entry determination unit for determining that the vehicle has entered the detection area. And when the vehicle enters the detection area, among the information on the road object obtained from the object information acquisition unit, based on the information on the road object in the non-forward area that is an area other than the area in front of the vehicle, provides driving support. And a non-forward running support unit for performing. 2. The on-vehicle device for driving support according to claim 1, wherein the driving support is performed based on information on a road object in a region in front of the vehicle among information on the road object obtained from the object information obtaining unit. An in-vehicle device for driving support, comprising a forward driving support unit. 3. The in-vehicle device for driving assistance according to claim 2, wherein the front traveling assistance unit performs driving assistance before the vehicle enters the detection area, and the vehicle enters the detection area. An in-vehicle device for driving assistance, comprising: an assistance mode switching unit that causes the forward traveling assistance unit and the non-forward traveling assistance unit to perform traveling assistance after the driving. 4. The in-vehicle device for driving assistance according to claim 1, further comprising: a position acquisition unit that acquires position information of the vehicle, wherein the entry determination unit acquires the object information acquisition unit. An in-vehicle device for driving assistance, characterized in that it is determined that the vehicle has entered the detection area when the information on the road object at the same position as the vehicle is included in the information on the road object. 5. A step of acquiring information on a road object existing in a predetermined detection area set on the road side from outside the vehicle; a step of determining that the vehicle has entered the detection area; When entering the detection area, among the information on the road object obtained from the object information acquisition unit, the step of performing a driving support based on the information on the road object in a non-forward area that is an area other than the front of the vehicle, A driving support method comprising: