JP2002137649A - Travel controlling device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a travel controlling device for a vehicle allowing travel harmonized with the flow of peripheral traveling vehicle. SOLUTION: An electronic controlling unit 50 is provided with an inter-vehicle time computing part 52 computing an actual inter-vehicle time between both vehicles from a traveling distance of own vehicle and a traveling speed of the following vehicle, which are detected until the next vehicle enters a detection area after a vehicle traveling on the adjacent lane enters the detection area of a radio radar 2, a statistic processing part 53 selecting a highest frequency inter-vehicle time in an inter-vehicle time distribution found by statically processing the sequentially computed actual inter-vehicle time, and a target inter-vehicle time setting part 54 setting the highest frequency inter-vehicle time as a target inter-vehicle time. The electronic controlling unit controls a vehicle speed so that the inter-vehicle distance to the precedent vehicle on the own vehicle traveling lane becomes a target inter-vehicle distance matching the target inter-vehicle time.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a travel control device for a vehicle, and more particularly, to a travel control device capable of traveling in harmony with the flow of surrounding vehicles.

[0002]

2. Related Art In order to reduce a driver's driving operation, a control device for following the vehicle is sometimes mounted on a vehicle. This travel control device includes an inter-vehicle distance control device that adjusts an engine output and a braking force such that an inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle and a preceding vehicle detected from detection information from a camera, a radar, or the like becomes a target inter-vehicle distance. If necessary, the vehicle is accelerated or decelerated to travel following the preceding vehicle.

In general, an inter-vehicle distance control device calculates a target inter-vehicle distance based on a predetermined inter-vehicle time and a vehicle speed of the own vehicle. I try to keep it short when driving. In such an inter-vehicle distance control device, an inter-vehicle time setting switch or a setting dial which can be manually operated by a driver is provided so that the inter-vehicle time can be adjusted in multiple steps or steplessly by manual operation of the driver. There is.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-36698 discloses that
In order to eliminate the trouble of manually adjusting the reference inter-vehicle distance related to the warning or the automatic brake drive in the rear-end collision prevention system by the adjustment switch, the rear-end collision degree obtained from the inter-vehicle distance or the own vehicle speed at the time of foot brake operation is determined. A device for automatically adjusting the reference inter-vehicle distance has been proposed.

[0005]

According to an inter-vehicle distance control device provided with an inter-vehicle time setting switch and a setting dial, a set inter-vehicle time for inter-vehicle distance control can be adjusted according to the driver's judgment. The manual operation for changing the time is complicated. In addition, since the inter-vehicle time is set based on the driver's judgment, the set inter-vehicle time and, consequently, the inter-vehicle distance may not conform to the road traffic condition, that is, the degree of vacancy or congestion of the road. When the road traffic condition changes, the driving state of the own vehicle may not be in harmony with the flow of the surrounding vehicles unless the driver changes the once set inter-vehicle time.

The device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-36698 is intended only to prevent rear-end collisions, and does not enable the vehicle to travel in harmony with the flow of the surrounding vehicles. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a traveling control device for a vehicle that enables traveling in harmony with the flow of traveling of surrounding vehicles.

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided a lane determining means for determining a driving lane, a vehicle detecting means for detecting a vehicle traveling around the own vehicle, and a vehicle detecting means for detecting a vehicle traveling around the own vehicle. Inter-vehicle time calculating means for calculating the inter-vehicle time between running vehicles, target inter-vehicle time setting means for statistically processing the inter-vehicle time calculated sequentially to set a target inter-vehicle time, and Control means for controlling the traveling of the vehicle.

As described above, according to the present invention, the inter-vehicle time between vehicles running around the own vehicle is calculated by the inter-vehicle time calculation means, and the target inter-vehicle time is set by performing statistical processing by the target inter-vehicle time setting means. It is possible to automatically determine the target inter-vehicle distance for traveling control. Therefore, the complexity of manually setting the target inter-vehicle distance using the setting switch or the like is eliminated. Moreover, in the present invention, the inter-vehicle time between vehicles running around the own vehicle is used as basic data for setting the target inter-vehicle time. It will be suitable.
In the present invention, the traveling control based on the target inter-vehicle distance is performed, so that the own vehicle can travel in harmony with the flow of the surrounding vehicles.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the vehicle detecting means detects a vehicle traveling in the adjacent lane or the own vehicle traveling lane, and the inter-vehicle time calculating means detects a vehicle traveling in the adjacent lane or the own vehicle traveling lane. Is calculated. According to the present invention, the inter-vehicle time between vehicles traveling in the adjacent lane or the own vehicle traveling lane is sequentially calculated, and accordingly,
The target inter-vehicle time obtained by statistically processing the inter-vehicle time reflects the flow of the vehicle running around the own vehicle. For this reason, the traveling state of the own vehicle is in good harmony with the flow of the surrounding vehicle traveling by the traveling control based on the target inter-vehicle time.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a vehicle traveling control device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, a radio wave radar 2 that scans a millimeter wave toward the front of the vehicle in a beam shape and receives a millimeter wave reflected by a preceding vehicle or an obstacle is mounted on a front portion of the vehicle 1. A CCD camera 4 for detecting obstacles on the road, lanes (white lines), and the like is mounted on the ceiling in the passenger compartment. The radio radar 2 detects not only the preceding vehicle traveling in the same lane as the own vehicle (hereinafter referred to as the own vehicle traveling lane) but also the vehicle traveling in the adjacent lane adjacent to the right or left side of the own vehicle traveling lane. It is provided so as to be able to detect a vehicle traveling in front of the preceding vehicle in the own vehicle traveling lane. That is, the radio wave radar 2
The vehicle has a function of detecting a vehicle traveling in the adjacent lane, preferably a vehicle traveling in the adjacent lane and the own vehicle traveling lane.For example, from the relationship between the millimeter wave scanning angle and the reflected wave reception timing, It is possible to detect whether the reflected wave is reflected from a vehicle traveling in the adjacent lane or the own vehicle traveling lane.

A throttle actuator 12 for opening and closing the throttle valve 8 in response to a driver's accelerator operation is mounted on the engine 6, and a service brake 24 such as a disc brake is provided on the front wheel 20 and the rear wheel 22. ing. Each service brake 24 is connected to a brake pedal 28 via a master cylinder 26 having a negative pressure booster, and when the hydraulic pressure generated in the master cylinder 26 in response to the brake operation by the driver is supplied to each service brake 24. In addition, a braking force is applied to the wheels 20, 22. Further, the master cylinder 2
6 is provided with a brake actuator 30 that generates hydraulic pressure in the master cylinder 26 regardless of the driver's pedal operation.

An ECU (electronic control unit) 50 installed in the vehicle compartment includes an input / output device (not shown), a storage device, a central processing unit, a timer counter, and the like, and executes engine control and follow-up control (running control). It has become. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, the radio wave radar 2 and the CCD camera 4 are connected to the input side of the ECU 50, and an operation switch 38 provided near the steering 34 for instructing the execution of the following control is provided. Manual selection switch 3 for manually selecting any one of the inter-vehicle times set in
9. Automatic setting switch 4 for selecting automatic setting of the inter-vehicle time
0, various sensors such as a pair of wheel speed sensors 32 for detecting the wheel speed Vs of the right and left rear wheels 22 as the driven wheels are connected. Manual selection switch 39 and automatic setting switch 40
Is provided, for example, on the instrument panel and the steering 34. The throttle actuator 12 and the brake actuator 30 are connected to the output side of the ECU 50.

In connection with the follow-up control, the ECU 50 has various functional units shown in FIG. In the ECU 50, a lane determining unit 51 as a lane determining means is configured to detect lanes based on the image output of the CCD camera 4 (exemplified by reference numeral 4a in FIG. 6).
Is determined, and an inter-vehicle time calculating unit 5 as inter-vehicle time calculating means
2 calculates an inter-vehicle time between adjacent vehicles (vehicles running in adjacent lanes) which are sequentially detected by the radio wave radar 2 when the automatic setting switch 40 is turned on by the driver, and determines a predetermined number of adjacent vehicles. The number of detected adjacent vehicles per unit distance is detected as the degree of congestion of adjacent lanes based on the traveling distance of the own vehicle during the detection. Further, the statistical processing unit 53 sequentially inputs the inter-vehicle time calculated by the inter-vehicle time calculation unit 52, and sequentially determines which of the plurality of predetermined inter-vehicle time regions each calculated inter-vehicle time falls into. Then, an inter-vehicle time distribution is obtained, an inter-vehicle time representing the most frequent inter-vehicle time region in the inter-vehicle time distribution is determined, and the most frequent inter-vehicle time is selected. When the automatic setting switch 40 is on, the target inter-vehicle time setting unit 54, which functions as a target inter-vehicle time setting unit together with the statistical processing unit 53, outputs the highest frequency inter-vehicle time and inter-vehicle time selected by the statistical processing unit 53. The target inter-vehicle time is set based on the degree of congestion of the adjacent lane calculated by the calculation unit 52. On the other hand, if the manual setting switch 39 is on, the target inter-vehicle time setting unit 54 sets the target inter-vehicle time candidate among a plurality of preset target inter-vehicle time candidates.
The value corresponding to the switch position of the manual setting switch 39 is set as the target inter-vehicle time.

The ECU 50 includes a target acceleration calculator 55 connected to the radio radar 2, the CCD camera 4, the wheel speed sensor 32, and the operation switch 38.
The vehicle speed Va of the own vehicle is calculated based on the detection information from the wheel speed sensor 32, and the inter-vehicle distance L and the relative speed with respect to the preceding vehicle traveling in the own vehicle running lane are detected based on the distance information from the radio wave radar 2. The target inter-vehicle distance Ls is calculated from the vehicle speed Va and the target inter-vehicle time set by the target inter-vehicle time setting unit 54.
Is calculated, and the target acceleration is calculated based on the deviation between the target inter-vehicle distance Ls and the actual inter-vehicle distance L and the relative speed. The ECU 50 has a vehicle speed control unit 54 as control means for controlling the vehicle speed of the own vehicle based on the target acceleration. The vehicle speed control unit 54 detects the actual acceleration detected from the wheel speed sensor output Vs. The actual inter-vehicle distance L is set to the target inter-vehicle distance Ls so that the acceleration becomes
Thus, the vehicle speed of the own vehicle is controlled.

Hereinafter, the operation of the traveling control device having the above configuration will be described. When the operation switch 38 is turned on, the following control routine illustrated in FIG. 3 is started. This control routine is executed by the ECU 50 at predetermined intervals. In the control routine, the average value of the detection information of the pair of wheel speed sensors 32 is calculated as the vehicle speed Va of the vehicle 1 (step S1). When the preceding vehicle is recognized based on the detection information from the radio wave radar 2 and the CCD camera 4, the inter-vehicle distance L and the relative speed between the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle are detected from the detection information of the radar 2 (step S2).

The vehicle speed Va is calculated based on the target inter-vehicle time set by the target inter-vehicle time setting unit 54 and the vehicle speed Va.
Target inter-vehicle distance Ls is calculated according to (step S
3) A deviation ΔLs between the target inter-vehicle distance Ls and the actual inter-vehicle distance L is calculated (step S4). Next, a target acceleration is calculated (step S5), and it is determined whether the target acceleration is negative (step S6). If the determination result is negative (No), the throttle actuator 12 is set so that the actual following distance L becomes the target following distance Ls.
Is driven (step S7), the throttle valve 8 is opened, the output of the engine 6 is increased, and the vehicle 1 is accelerated. On the other hand, the determination result in step S6 is affirmative (Yes).
If so, the throttle actuator 12 is driven so that the throttle valve 8 is closed (step S8), and the brake actuator 30 is further driven such that the actual inter-vehicle distance L becomes the target inter-vehicle distance Ls (step S8).
9) The engine output is reduced and the braking force is applied to the wheels 20 and 22, so that the vehicle 1 is decelerated.

The target inter-vehicle time used in the target inter-vehicle distance calculating step S3 of the following control routine shown in FIG. 3 is set according to the position of the manual setting switch when the manual setting switch 39 is turned on. Is on, the target inter-vehicle time setting routine shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is set. That is, when the automatic setting switch 40 is turned on, the execution of the target inter-vehicle time setting routine is started.

In this setting routine, the flags F1, F
2. It is sequentially determined whether or not the value of F3 is "1" (steps S21, S22, S23). If none of these determination results is negative, the vehicle is running in the adjacent lane. Whether or not the vehicle has entered the detection area of a vehicle adjacent to the radio radar 2 (hereinafter referred to as a radar detection area) is based on the radio radar output (millimeter wave scanning angle in the radio radar 2 and reflected wave reception output of the radio radar 2). Inter-vehicle time calculator 5
2 (step S24), and if the result of this determination is negative, the processing in this cycle ends.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG.
When it is determined that the adjacent vehicle 1a has entered the vehicle speed a, the vehicle speed Va of the own vehicle is detected based on the output of the wheel speed sensor (step S25), and the vehicle speed Va is multiplied by the execution period ΔT of the target inter-vehicle time setting routine. The travel distance ΔS of the own vehicle for one cycle is calculated (step S26), and the travel distance for one cycle from the time when the adjacent vehicle enters the radar detection area to the previous cycle is calculated. The travel distance Sn up to the current cycle is calculated by adding ΔS (step S27). Next, it is determined whether or not the adjacent vehicle has left the radar detection area based on the radio wave radar output (step S28). If the determination result is negative, the value of the flag F1 is set to "1" (step S28). S29), the processing in this cycle ends. In the next cycle, the processing after step S25 is performed via step S21, and the traveling distance S
n is updated.

Thereafter, when it is determined in step S28 that an adjacent vehicle has left the radar detection area, it is determined whether an adjacent vehicle has entered the radar detection area (step S3).
0), if the result of this determination is negative, the traveling distance Sn is updated (step S31). In this traveling distance update step S31, the same vehicle speed detection and traveling distance calculation processing as the processing in steps S25 to S27 is performed. Next, the value of the flag F1 is reset to "0" and the value of the flag F2 is set to "0". 1 is set (step S32).

In the next and subsequent cycles, the control process proceeds to step S30 via steps S21 and S22. Then, when the determination result in step S30 is affirmative, that is, when the next adjacent vehicle enters the radar detection area, the process proceeds to step S33 in FIG. 5 and the running distance Sn is read by the inter-vehicle time calculation unit 52. The travel distance Sn is determined by the distance traveled by the own vehicle from the time when an adjacent vehicle enters the radar detection area to the time when the next adjacent vehicle enters the radar detection area.
The distance between two adjacent vehicles is shown.

Next, the vehicle speed Vn of the adjacent vehicle is calculated from the vehicle speed Va of the own vehicle and the relative speed between the own vehicle and a new adjacent vehicle (step S34), and the traveling distance Sn is divided by the vehicle speed Vn. Thereby, the inter-vehicle time tn between two adjacent vehicles is calculated (step S35), and the traveling distance Sn and the inter-vehicle time tn are stored in the memory (step S36). next,
The number of adjacent vehicles detected n is updated by adding the value “1” to the number of adjacent vehicles detected n (initial value 1) (step S37), and it is determined whether or not the updated detected number n has reached the predetermined number N. (Step S38). If the result of this determination is negative, the flag F
The value of 2 is reset to "0", and the value of the flag F3 is set to "1" (step S39), and the process in the current cycle ends. In the next cycle, steps S21 through S21
The processing after step S25 is repeatedly executed via 23, and the inter-vehicle time between a predetermined number N of adjacent vehicles is sequentially calculated.

Thereafter, when the determination result in step S38 is affirmative, that is, when the calculation of the inter-vehicle time for the predetermined number N is completed, the predetermined number N is set to the inter-vehicle distance Sn (n =
The number of adjacent vehicles detected per unit distance, that is, the congestion degree of adjacent lanes N / ΣSn, is calculated by dividing the total by 1, 2,..., N-1) ΣSn (step S34). At 53, the inter-vehicle time distribution shown in FIG. 7 is obtained by determining which of the plurality of inter-vehicle time regions the inter-vehicle time tn stored in step 36 of each cycle falls into. The inter-vehicle time t representing the inter-vehicle time region having the highest frequency in the distribution (shown by hatching in FIG. 7) is determined (step S4).
1). Next, based on the maximum inter-vehicle time t and the congestion degree N / ΣSn of the adjacent lane, the target inter-vehicle time is set from the following equation.

Target inter-vehicle time = W1 × t−W2 × N / ΣSn Here, W1 and W2 are constants representing weights of inter-vehicle time t and congestion degree N / ΣSn in target inter-vehicle time calculation.
The target inter-vehicle time obtained from the above equation becomes longer as the value t representing the actual inter-vehicle time between adjacent vehicles increases, and becomes shorter as the congestion degree N / ΣSn of the adjacent lane increases. As described above, the target inter-vehicle time reflects the flow of the vehicle traveling in the adjacent lane, that is, around the own vehicle. Generally, the vehicle traveling speed differs between the own vehicle traveling lane and the adjacent lane, but the inter-vehicle time in the adjacent lane is substantially equal to the inter-vehicle time in the own vehicle traveling lane, and the own vehicle traveling lane is determined based on the actual inter-vehicle time in the adjacent lane. The target inter-vehicle time can be set appropriately. Therefore, by the traveling control based on the target inter-vehicle time set in this way, the traveling state of the own vehicle is in harmony with the flow of the traveling of the surrounding vehicles and its change.

The description of one embodiment of the present invention is finished above, but the present invention is not limited to this embodiment and can be variously modified. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the actual distance between the adjacent vehicles based on the travel distance of the own vehicle from the time when the adjacent vehicle enters the radar detection area to the time when the next adjacent vehicle enters the radar detection area and the vehicle speed of the latter adjacent vehicle. The inter-vehicle time is calculated, but the present invention is not limited to this.For example, the actual inter-vehicle time of both adjacent vehicles is calculated based on the time when an adjacent vehicle enters the radar detection area and the time when the next adjacent vehicle enters the radar detection area. May be detected.

In the embodiment, the target inter-vehicle time is set in consideration of the degree of congestion in the adjacent lane. However, it is not essential to consider the degree of congestion in setting the target inter-vehicle time. The most frequent inter-vehicle time among the inter-vehicle times between adjacent vehicles can be set as the target inter-vehicle time. In the statistical processing of the actual inter-vehicle time according to the present invention, it is not essential to select the highest inter-vehicle time from the inter-vehicle time distribution, and it is possible to select the average or the median of the actual inter-vehicle time from the inter-vehicle time distribution, When selecting the inter-vehicle time, the actual inter-vehicle time located at both ends of the inter-vehicle time distribution may be removed.

In the embodiment, the case has been described where the target inter-vehicle time is set based on the traveling state of a vehicle traveling in a lane adjacent to the right side of the own vehicle traveling lane at a speed higher than the traveling speed of the own vehicle. Similarly, the target inter-vehicle time can be set from the traveling state of a vehicle traveling at a speed lower than the traveling speed of the own vehicle in the adjacent lane. Also, if a vehicle traveling in front of the preceding vehicle in the own vehicle traveling lane is detected as in the case of mounting a millimeter wave radar, instead of setting the target inter-vehicle time based on the traveling state of the vehicle traveling in the adjacent lane, The target inter-vehicle time can also be set based on the vehicle traveling state in the own vehicle traveling lane.

Further, in the embodiment, the inter-vehicle time is calculated based on the vehicle running information detected by a detecting means such as a radio wave radar mounted on the own vehicle, but the vehicle running time notified from an external notification system is used. The inter-vehicle time can be calculated based on the information, and the notification system detects, for example, each traveling vehicle electromagnetically or optically and notifies each traveling vehicle of vehicle traveling information indicating the flow of the vehicle traveling by wireless communication. What you do is good.

Further, in the embodiment, any one of the target inter-vehicle times fixedly set in advance is made selectable by operating the manual setting switch. However, it is not essential that the manual selection be possible. The vehicle speed control according to the present invention is not limited to the embodiment. For example, when the target acceleration is determined to be negative in the follow-up control routine, a method disclosed in
As described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 11273, an auxiliary braking force may be generated to assist the driver in braking by operating the brake pedal.

[0030]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a lane determining means for determining a traveling lane, a vehicle detecting means for detecting a vehicle traveling around the own vehicle, and a vehicle traveling around the own vehicle. Inter-vehicle time calculating means for calculating an inter-vehicle time between the vehicles, target inter-vehicle time setting means for setting a target inter-vehicle time by performing statistical processing on the sequentially calculated inter-vehicle time, and controlling traveling of the own vehicle using the target inter-vehicle time. Control means for automatically setting the target inter-vehicle distance, which eliminates the complexity of manually setting the target inter-vehicle distance using a setting switch or the like. Moreover, in the present invention, the inter-vehicle time between vehicles running around the own vehicle is used as basic data for determining the target inter-vehicle time, so that the target inter-vehicle time is adapted to road traffic conditions and changes thereof. It is possible to realize a running in harmony with the flow of the surrounding vehicle running.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the vehicle detecting means detects a vehicle traveling in the adjacent lane or the own vehicle traveling lane, and the inter-vehicle time calculating means detects the distance between the vehicles traveling in the adjacent lane or the own vehicle. Since the inter-vehicle time between vehicles traveling in the traveling lane is calculated, the target inter-vehicle time obtained by statistically processing the inter-vehicle time between vehicles traveling in the adjacent lane or the own vehicle traveling lane is the flow of vehicle traveling around the own vehicle. , And the vehicle travels well in harmony with the flow of the surrounding vehicle travel.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a traveling control device for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing various functional units of the electronic control unit shown in FIG. 1 together with peripheral elements.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a follow-up control routine executed by an electronic control unit.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a part of a target inter-vehicle time setting routine executed by the electronic control unit.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the rest of the target inter-vehicle time setting routine.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a vehicle traveling in an adjacent lane has entered a radar detection area of the own vehicle.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a method of performing statistical processing on an actual inter-vehicle time performed in a statistical processing unit of the electronic control unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle 2 Radio wave radar 4 CCD camera 12 Throttle actuator 30 Brake actuator 40 Automatic setting switch 50 Electronic control unit 51 Lane judgment unit 52 Inter-vehicle time calculation unit 53 Statistical processing unit 54 Target inter-vehicle time setting unit 56 Vehicle speed control unit

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat II (reference) F02D 45/00370 F02D 45 / 00370B G08G 1/16 G08G 1/16 E (72) Inventor Yoshihide Nakane Minato-ku, Tokyo Shiba 5-chome No. 33-8 Mitsubishi Motors Corporation F term (reference) 3D044 AA01 AA25 AB01 AC26 AC56 AC59 AD04 AD21 AE03 AE07 AE21 3G084 BA00 BA05 DA15 EA07 EB12 EC04 FA04 FA05 3G093 BA23 CB11 DB02 DB05 DB16 DB18 FA03 EB 5H180 AA01 CC04 CC12 CC14 CC24 LL01 LL04 LL06 LL09

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A traveling control device for a vehicle which controls traveling speed by controlling a traveling speed of a vehicle so that a distance between the vehicle and a preceding vehicle traveling in the traveling lane of the vehicle becomes a target distance. Lane determining means, vehicle detecting means for detecting vehicles traveling around the own vehicle, inter-vehicle time calculating means for calculating inter-vehicle time between vehicles traveling around the own vehicle, and the inter-vehicle time A target inter-vehicle time setting means for statistically processing the inter-vehicle time calculated by the calculation means to set a target inter-vehicle time; and controlling the travel of the own vehicle using the target inter-vehicle time set by the target inter-vehicle time setting means. A travel control device for a vehicle, comprising: a control unit. 2. The vehicle detecting means detects a vehicle traveling in an adjacent lane or the own vehicle travel lane, and the inter-vehicle time calculating means travels in the adjacent lane detected by the vehicle detecting means. The travel control device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein an inter-vehicle time is calculated between vehicles in the vehicle or between vehicles traveling in the own vehicle travel lane.