JP2002120596A - Auto-cruise device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To minimize operating burden on a driver for prohibiting the unnecessary stop of follow-up travel and resetting follow-up travel during follow-up travel with an ACC system. SOLUTION: ACC control is temporarily suspended when braking operation by the driver is detected. The ACC control which is temporarily suspended is resumed if a braking operating time is less than five seconds, a preceding vehicle exists at starting braking operation, a preceding vehicle exits at finishing braking operation, the preceding vehicle at starting braking operation is the same as the preceding vehicle at finishing it, a following time to the preceding vehicle at finishing braking operation is one second or more, a difference between speeds at stating and finishing braking operation is less than 20 km/h, the variation of a yaw rate from starting braking operation to finishing it is less than 2 deg/sec, and the radius of a corner from starting braking operation to finishing it is 300 m or more.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ACC system in which a vehicle travels at a constant speed at a preset vehicle speed when a preceding vehicle does not exist, and performs a follow-up traveling while maintaining a preset inter-vehicle distance when a preceding vehicle exists. (Adaptive Cruis
e Control System).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a driver depresses a brake pedal while keeping a predetermined inter-vehicle distance with a preceding vehicle by such an ACC system, the driver temporarily suspends the following traveling. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 9-290665 discloses a method in which if a preceding vehicle is detected by a radar device when a driver depresses an accelerator pedal or a clutch pedal, temporary suspension of following running is released and the vehicle automatically returns to following running. It is known from the gazette. In this way, even if the driver depresses the brake pedal, the following operation is not immediately stopped, and there is no need to stop the following operation based on the state of the preceding vehicle when the driver operates the accelerator pedal or the clutch pedal. It is possible to reduce the driver's operation load for judging the case, prohibiting unnecessary stop of the following running, and returning to the following running.

[0003]

In the case where it is not necessary to stop the follow-up running even if the driver depresses the brake pedal, various cases may be considered other than the case described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-290665. In this case, if the suspension of the following running is prohibited, the operation burden on the driver for returning to the following running can be further reduced.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and minimizes the operation burden on a driver for prohibiting unnecessary suspension of following running and returning to following running during following running by the ACC system. Can be suppressed.

[0005]

According to the present invention, the above object is achieved by the structure shown in the claim correspondence diagram of FIG.

That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an object detection device for detecting an object in the traveling direction of the own vehicle,
A preceding vehicle determining means for determining a preceding vehicle to be followed by the own vehicle based on the detection result of the object detection device; a following inter-vehicle distance setting means for setting a following inter-vehicle distance between the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle; Following running control means for accelerating or decelerating the own vehicle such that the following inter-vehicle distance matches the following inter-vehicle distance set by the following inter-vehicle distance setting means; deceleration means for operating the driver to decelerate the own vehicle; An automatic cruise device comprising: a follow-up running stop means for stopping the follow-up running by the follow-up running control means when is operated.
The traveling state detecting means for detecting the traveling state of the own vehicle from the start to the end of the operation of the deceleration means, and the suspension of the following traveling by the following traveling stopping means based on the detection result of the traveling state detecting means is prohibited, and the following traveling is stopped. There is proposed an auto cruise device including a continuous following running continuation unit.

According to the above arrangement, the preceding vehicle determining means determines the preceding vehicle from the objects in the traveling direction of the own vehicle detected by the object detecting device, and the following distance between the following vehicles set by the following following distance setting means and the actual distance between the following vehicles. The follow-up traveling control means accelerates or decelerates the own vehicle so that the following inter-following distance becomes equal, and when the driver operates the deceleration means, the follow-up traveling stop means suspends the follow-up traveling by the follow-up traveling control means. Based on the traveling state of the vehicle from the start of operation of the deceleration means to the end of operation of the deceleration means detected by the traveling state detection means, the following continuation means prohibits the following travel stop means from stopping the following travel and continues the following travel. In addition, it is possible to prevent the following running from being stopped unnecessarily, thereby reducing the driver's operation burden for restarting the following running.

According to the invention described in claim 2,
2. The automatic cruise system according to claim 1, wherein the traveling condition is an operation time of a deceleration unit, and the following traveling continuation unit continues the following traveling when the operation time is less than a predetermined time. Is proposed.

According to the above configuration, when the operation time of the deceleration means is shorter than the predetermined time, the follow-up traveling continuation means continues the follow-up travel, so that it is possible to prevent the follow-up travel from being unnecessarily stopped.

The predetermined time is set to 5 seconds in the embodiment, but is not limited to 5 seconds.

According to the third aspect of the present invention,
In addition to the configuration according to claim 1 or 2, the traveling condition is whether or not the preceding vehicle at the start and end of the operation of the deceleration unit is the same, and the following traveling continuation unit is the same as the preceding vehicle. An auto-cruise system is proposed, wherein the following cruise is continued when.

According to the above configuration, the follow-up traveling continuation means continues the follow-up travel when the preceding vehicle at the start of the operation of the deceleration means and at the end of the operation are the same, so that the follow-up travel is unnecessarily stopped. Can be prevented.

Further, according to the invention described in claim 4,
In addition to the configuration according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the traveling condition is the presence or absence of a preceding vehicle at the time of starting operation of the deceleration unit, and the following traveling continuation unit follows when the preceding vehicle exists. An auto cruise device characterized by continuing running is proposed.

According to the above construction, the follow-up traveling continuation means continues the follow-up travel when the preceding vehicle is present at the time of starting the operation of the deceleration means, so that it is possible to prevent the follow-up travel from being unnecessarily stopped. .

According to the invention described in claim 5,
In addition to the configuration according to any one of claims 1 to 4, the traveling condition is the presence or absence of a preceding vehicle at the end of the operation of the deceleration unit, and the following traveling continuation unit follows when the preceding vehicle exists. An auto cruise device characterized by continuing running is proposed.

According to the above configuration, the follow-up traveling continuation means continues the follow-up travel when the preceding vehicle is present at the end of the operation of the speed reduction means, so that it is possible to prevent the follow-up travel from being unnecessarily stopped. .

According to the invention described in claim 6,
In addition to the configuration of any one of claims 1 to 5, the traveling condition is a headway time with a preceding vehicle at the end of operation of the deceleration means, and the follow-up traveling continuation means is a headway time of a predetermined time or more. An automatic cruise device characterized by continuing the follow-up running at the time of (1).

According to the above configuration, the follow-up traveling continuation means continues the follow-up travel when the headway with the preceding vehicle at the end of the operation of the speed reduction means is longer than the predetermined time, so that the follow-up travel is unnecessarily stopped. Can be prevented.

The predetermined time is set to 1 second in the embodiment, but is not limited to 1 second. It is also possible to substitute the headway time by the inter-vehicle distance.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention,
In addition to the configuration according to any one of claims 1 to 6, the traveling condition is a difference between the own vehicle speed at the time of starting the operation of the deceleration device and the time of ending the operation of the decelerating device, and the following traveling continuation device is the difference between the own vehicle speed An automatic cruise device that continues to follow when the speed is less than a predetermined speed.

According to the above construction, when the difference between the vehicle speed at the start of the operation of the deceleration means and the end of the operation at the end of the operation is less than the predetermined speed, the follow-up traveling continuation means continues the follow-up travel, so that the follow-up traveling is unnecessarily stopped Can be prevented.

In the embodiment, the predetermined speed is 20 km / km.
h, but is not limited thereto.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention,
In addition to the configuration according to any one of claims 1 to 7, the traveling condition is a yaw rate change amount during operation of the deceleration unit, and the following traveling continuation unit is configured to execute when the yaw rate change amount is less than a predetermined amount. An auto cruise device characterized by continuing the following travel is proposed.

According to the above configuration, the follow-up traveling continuation means continues the follow-up travel when the amount of change in the yaw rate during the operation of the deceleration means is less than the predetermined amount, thereby preventing unnecessary follow-up travel from being stopped. be able to.

In the embodiment, the predetermined amount is 2 deg / s.
ec, but is not limited to this. It is also possible to substitute the yaw rate by the steering angle or the lateral acceleration.

[0026]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on embodiments of the present invention shown in the accompanying drawings.

1 to 6 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an object detecting device, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the object detecting device, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a second diagram of the flowchart for explaining the operation.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the operation, and FIG. 6 is a diagram corresponding to the claims.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an object detecting device S for detecting the distance and direction of an object in front of the own vehicle.
t is provided with a laser radar device, and the light transmitting unit 1
, A light transmission scanning unit 2, a light receiving unit 3, a light receiving scanning unit 4, and a distance measurement processing unit 5. The light transmitting unit 1 includes a laser diode 11 integrally provided with a light transmitting lens, and a laser diode driving circuit 12 for driving the laser diode 11. The light transmitting scanning unit 2 includes a light transmitting mirror 13 that reflects the laser output from the laser diode 11.
A motor 15 for reciprocating the light transmitting mirror 13 about the vertical axis 14; and a motor drive circuit 16 for controlling the driving of the motor 15. The light beam emitted from the light-sending mirror 13 has an elongated pattern in the vertical direction with a limited left-right width, which reciprocates in the left-right direction at a predetermined cycle to scan an object.

The light receiving section 3 includes a light receiving lens 17, a photodiode 18 for receiving a reflected wave converged by the light receiving lens 17 and converting the reflected wave into an electric signal, and a light receiving amplifier circuit 19 for amplifying an output signal of the photodiode 18. Prepare. The light receiving scanning unit 4 includes a light receiving mirror 20 that reflects a reflected wave from an object and guides the reflected wave to the photodiode 18.
And a motor drive circuit 23 for controlling the driving of the motor 22. The light receiving area, which has an elongated pattern in the left-right direction with a limited vertical width, is reciprocated in the vertical direction by the light receiving mirror 20 in a predetermined cycle to scan the object.

The distance measurement processing unit 5 performs communication between a control circuit 24 for controlling the laser diode drive circuit 12 and the motor drive circuits 16 and 23, and an electronic control unit 25 for controlling the adaptive cruise control device. It comprises a circuit 26, a counter circuit 27 for counting the time from the transmission of the laser to the reception of the laser, and a central processing unit 28 for calculating the distance to the object and the direction of the object.

Thus, a portion where the vertically elongated light transmission beam and the horizontally elongated light receiving area intersect is an instantaneous detection area, and this detection area has a horizontal width equal to the horizontal scanning width of the light transmission beam. And scans the object by moving in a zigzag the entire detection area having a vertical width equal to the vertical scanning width of the light receiving area. Then, the distance to the object is detected based on the time from when the light transmission beam is transmitted until the reflected wave reflected by the object is received, and the instantaneous detection area at that time is detected. The direction of the object is detected based on the direction.

As shown in FIG. 6, the ACC system includes:
The object detection device St for detecting the relative position and the relative speed of the preceding vehicle, the vehicle speed detection means Sa for detecting the own vehicle speed, and the yaw rate detection means Sb for detecting the yaw rate of the own vehicle are connected.

In the flowchart of FIG. 3, when the driver depresses the brake pedal during the follow-up running by the ACC system in step S1, the ACC control is temporarily suspended in step S2 to give priority to the deceleration operation by the driver. The object detection device St detects a preceding vehicle every frame at intervals of 0.1 sec. In step S3, data of the preceding vehicle of the current frame detected by the object detection device St when the driver depresses the brake pedal, The corresponding vehicle data (that is, the own vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed detecting means Sa and the yaw rate detected by the yaw rate detecting means Sb) are stored in the initial value memory. In a succeeding step S4, a brake-on counter for counting an elapsed time from the start of the brake operation is started.

In the following steps S5 and S6, the detection of the preceding vehicle by the object detection device St and the vehicle speed detection means S
The detection of the own vehicle speed by a and the detection of the yaw rate by the yaw rate detection means Sb are continued until the brake operation detection means Sa detects the release of the brake operation by the driver. In the following step S7, the count of the brake-on counter is stopped. When the driver releases the brake operation in step S8, the data of the preceding vehicle of the current frame and the data of the own vehicle corresponding thereto (that is, the data of the preceding vehicle are detected by the vehicle speed detecting means Sa). The own vehicle speed and the yaw rate detected by the yaw rate detecting means Sb) are stored in an end value memory.

In steps S9 to S17 of the flow chart of FIG. 4 following the flow chart of FIG. 3, it is determined whether or not the temporarily suspended ACC control can be restarted. That is, in step S9, the count time of the brake-on counter is compared with a predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds), and if the count time is equal to or longer than the predetermined time (that is, if the brake operation is equal to or longer than the predetermined time), it is temporarily stopped in step S19. Cancel the suspended ACC control. If the driver automatically returns to ACC control after depressing the brake pedal for a long time, the driver may forget that the ACC control was being performed at the start of the brake operation and may feel uncomfortable. However, the driver was temporarily suspended as described above. By stopping the ACC control, the driver's discomfort can be eliminated.

If the count time of the brake-on counter is less than the predetermined time in step S9, step S1
At 0, it is determined whether or not there is a preceding vehicle at the start of the brake operation based on the data stored in the initial value memory.
In step 9, the ACC control which has been temporarily suspended is canceled. As described above, when the brake operation is performed without the preceding vehicle, the ACC control is in a state to be stopped, and therefore, the automatic return to the ACC control is not performed.

If there is no preceding vehicle at the start of the brake operation in step S10, it is determined in step S11 whether or not there is a preceding vehicle at the end of the brake operation based on the data stored in the end value memory. If there is no preceding vehicle at the end of the operation, in step S19, the ACC control temporarily suspended until then is stopped. If there is no preceding vehicle at the end of the brake operation, it is considered that the situation has changed during the brake operation, and the automatic return to the ACC control is not performed.

If there is no preceding vehicle at the end of the brake operation in the step S11, the data in the initial value memory and the data in the end value memory are compared in a step S12 to compare the preceding vehicle at the start of the brake operation with the one at the end of the brake operation. It is determined whether or not the preceding vehicle is the same, and if not, the ACC control which has been temporarily suspended is stopped in step S19. If the preceding vehicle is switched between the start and end of the brake operation in this way, it is considered that the situation has changed during the brake operation, and therefore the automatic return to the ACC control is not performed.

If the preceding vehicle at the start and end of the brake operation is the same in step S12, the headway time with the preceding vehicle at the end of the brake operation is determined at step S13 from the data in the end value memory by a predetermined time (for example, 1se
As compared with c), if the headway time is shorter than the predetermined time, the ACC control temporarily suspended until then is stopped in step S19. The headway time is an inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle in consideration of the own vehicle speed, and is defined by "how many seconds later the vehicle reaches the current position of the preceding vehicle when the own vehicle runs at the current vehicle speed". When the headway time is short in this way, the deceleration of the ACC control may be insufficient, so that the automatic return to the ACC control is not performed.

If the headway time is equal to or longer than the predetermined time in step S13, the speed difference of the vehicle at the start and end of the braking operation is determined in step S14 from the data in the initial value memory and the end value memory by a predetermined speed (for example, 20 km). /
Compared with h), if the speed difference is equal to or more than the predetermined speed, the ACC control temporarily suspended until then is stopped in step S19. When the speed difference between the start and end of the brake operation is large, it is considered that the situation has changed during the brake operation, and the automatic return to the ACC control is not performed.

If it is determined in step S14 that the speed difference between the start and end of the brake operation is small, step S15
Then, the vehicle speed at the end of the brake operation is compared with a predetermined speed (for example, 40 km / h, which is the lower limit vehicle speed at which the ACC system can operate) from the data in the end value memory, and if the vehicle speed is lower than the predetermined speed, the process proceeds to step S19. The ACC control temporarily suspended until is stopped. If the speed at the end of the braking operation is lower than the lower limit vehicle speed of the ACC system,
Automatic return to ACC control is not performed.

If the speed at the end of the brake operation is equal to or higher than the lower limit vehicle speed of the ACC system in step S15, the change in the yaw rate from the start to the end of the brake operation is calculated from the data in the initial value memory and the end value memory in step S16. Compared with a predetermined amount (for example, 2 deg / sec corresponding to the yaw rate change amount generated when changing lanes), if the yaw rate change amount is equal to or larger than the predetermined amount, the ACC control temporarily suspended until then is stopped in step S19. . When the yaw rate change amount from the start to the end of the brake operation is large, it is considered that the lane change has been performed, and the automatic return to the ACC control is not performed.

If the yaw rate change from the start to the end of the brake operation is small in step S16, the radius of the corner from the start to the end of the brake operation is calculated in step S17 from the data in the initial value memory and the end value memory. If the radius of the corner is smaller than the predetermined radius as compared with the predetermined radius (for example, 300 m), the ACC control temporarily suspended until that time is stopped in step S19. The radius of the corner can be calculated from the yaw rate detected by the yaw rate detecting means Sb, or from the result of detecting a fixed object such as a cat's eye or a delineator with the object detecting device St. When the radius of the corner is small as described above, it becomes difficult to detect the preceding vehicle by the object detection device St.
Automatic return to CC control is not performed.

If the radius of the corner is large in step S17, the ACC control is canceled in step S18 and the ACC control is restarted.

Next, an example of the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to the operation explanatory diagram of FIG.

When the own vehicle is following the preceding vehicle with a set inter-vehicle distance by the ACC control (FIG. 5A).
(See FIG. 5 (B)). However, the self-vehicle automatically decelerates to follow the deceleration of the preceding vehicle, but the deceleration is insufficient and the inter-vehicle distance decreases (see FIG. 5 (B)). The inter-vehicle distance is further reduced, and at the same time, the ACC control is suspended (see FIG. 5C). Thereafter, when the driver releases the brake pedal because the preceding vehicle starts accelerating and the inter-vehicle distance starts to increase (see FIG. 5D), the ACC control that has been held is restarted without being interrupted (see FIG. 5D). 5
(E)).

As described above, when the driver performing the ACC control releases the brake operation after performing the brake operation, it is possible to prevent the ACC control from being unnecessarily stopped. The driver's operation burden can be reduced.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, various design changes can be made in the present invention without departing from the gist thereof.

For example, the object detection device St of the embodiment has a laser radar device, but may have a millimeter wave radar device.

[0050]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the preceding vehicle determining means determines the preceding vehicle from among the objects in the traveling direction of the own vehicle detected by the object detecting device, and The follow-up traveling control means accelerates or decelerates the own vehicle so that the following inter-vehicle distance set by the distance setting means coincides with the actual following inter-vehicle distance. The following running due to is stopped. Based on the traveling state of the vehicle from the start of operation of the deceleration means to the end of operation of the deceleration means detected by the traveling state detection means, the following continuation means prohibits the following travel stop means from stopping the following travel and continues the following travel. In addition, it is possible to prevent the following running from being stopped unnecessarily, thereby reducing the driver's operation burden for restarting the following running.

According to the second aspect of the present invention,
When the operation time of the deceleration means is less than the predetermined time, the follow-up traveling continuation means continues the follow-up travel, so that it is possible to prevent the follow-up travel from being unnecessarily stopped.

According to the third aspect of the present invention,
When the preceding vehicle at the start of the operation of the speed reduction means and at the end of the operation at the end of the operation are the same, the follow-up traveling continuation means continues the follow-up travel, so that it is possible to prevent the follow-up travel from being unnecessarily stopped.

According to the invention described in claim 4,
When the preceding vehicle is present when the operation of the deceleration means is started, the following travel continuation means continues the following travel, so that it is possible to prevent the following travel from being unnecessarily stopped.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention,
When the preceding vehicle is present at the end of the operation of the speed reduction unit, the following traveling continuation unit continues the following traveling, so that it is possible to prevent the following traveling from being unnecessarily stopped.

According to the invention described in claim 6,
When the headway with the preceding vehicle at the end of the operation of the speed reduction means is equal to or longer than the predetermined time, the follow-up traveling continuation means continues the follow-up travel, so that it is possible to prevent the follow-up travel from being unnecessarily stopped.

According to the invention described in claim 7,
When the difference between the vehicle speed at the start of the operation of the speed reduction unit and the vehicle speed at the end of the operation is less than the predetermined speed, the follow-up traveling continuation unit continues the follow-up traveling, so that it is possible to prevent the follow-up traveling from being unnecessarily stopped. .

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention,
When the amount of change in the yaw rate during operation of the deceleration means is less than the predetermined amount, the following travel continuation means continues the following travel, so that it is possible to prevent the following travel from being unnecessarily stopped.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an object detection device.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an object detection device.

FIG. 3 is a first partial diagram of a flowchart for explaining the operation;

FIG. 4 is a second partial diagram of a flowchart for explaining the operation;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an operation.

FIG. 6 is a diagram corresponding to claims.

[Explanation of symbols]

 M1 preceding vehicle determining means M2 following inter-vehicle distance setting means M3 following traveling control means M4 deceleration means M5 following traveling stop means M6 traveling state detecting means M7 following traveling continuous means St Object detecting device

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. An object detection device (St) for detecting an object in a traveling direction of the own vehicle, and a preceding vehicle determining means for determining a preceding vehicle to be followed by the own vehicle based on a detection result of the object detection device (St). (M1), a following inter-vehicle distance setting means (M2) for setting a following inter-vehicle distance between the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle, and an actual following inter-vehicle distance set by the following inter-vehicle distance setting means (M2). When the following running control means (M3) for accelerating or decelerating the own vehicle to match the distance, the decelerating means (M4) operated by the driver to decelerate the own vehicle, and when the decelerating means (M4) is operated An auto-cruise system including a follow-up traveling stop means (M5) for stopping the follow-up traveling by the follow-up traveling control means (M3), and detects a traveling state of the own vehicle from the start of the operation of the deceleration means (M4) to the end of the operation. Traveling A situation detecting means (M6), a following running continuation means (M7) for prohibiting the following running stop by the following running stopping means (M5) based on the detection result of the running situation detecting means (M6), and continuing the following running. An auto cruise device comprising: 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the traveling state is an operation time of a deceleration unit (M4), and the following traveling continuation unit (M7) continues the following traveling when the deceleration time is less than a predetermined time. The auto cruise device according to claim 1. 3. The running condition is whether or not the preceding vehicle at the start and end of the operation of the deceleration means (M4) is the same, and the following running continuation means (M7) is the same as the preceding vehicle. The auto-cruise system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the follow-up running is sometimes continued. 4. The running condition is the presence or absence of a preceding vehicle at the time of starting operation of the deceleration means (M4), and the following running continuation means (M7) continues the following running when there is a preceding vehicle. Any one of claims 1 to 3
Auto cruise device according to the item. 5. The running condition is the presence or absence of a preceding vehicle at the end of the operation of the deceleration means (M4), and the following running continuation means (M7) continues the following running when there is a preceding vehicle. Any one of claims 1 to 4
Auto cruise device according to the item. 6. The running condition is a headway time with the preceding vehicle at the end of the operation of the deceleration means (M4), and the follow-up running continuation means (M7) continues the follow-up running when the headway time is longer than a predetermined time. The automatic cruise device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the automatic cruise device is operated. 7. The running condition is a difference between the own vehicle speed at the start of the operation of the deceleration means (M4) and the end of the operation of the deceleration means (M4). The following running is continued, The claim 1 characterized by the above-mentioned.
The auto cruise device according to claim 6. 8. The running condition is a change in the yaw rate during operation of the deceleration means (M4), and the follow-up running continuation means (M7) determines that the follow-up running is continued when the change in the yaw rate is less than a predetermined value. The auto cruise device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the auto cruise device is characterized in that: